the room tremble, and Darius had to squint. The spell quickly dimmed, however, revealing the surprised dragon.
‘Sorry, it sort of… reacted differently,’ said the boy, staring intently at one of the spheres of light.
‘Did you use more energy?’ Bleist suspected what had actually happened, but he wanted his pupil to figure it out for himself.
‘No… or maybe…?’ Reptile tore his gaze away from the dragon runes and focused on his master. ‘I’m not sure. It was just like before, and yet different.’ The boy paused longer between words, clearly pondering each one. ‘More. . . like mana flowed more easily?’ he asked himself. ‘Yes! That’s it. Its movement was smoother! I hadn’t noticed it before, but now I didn’t have to make any effort at all to set it in motion. Until now, I’d needed my will and concentration to get it moving, but this. . .’ With fascination, he tapped the glowing orb. ‘The mana moved just like my thoughts… without compulsion, without any conscious intention…’
‘Congratulations, Draco,’ said Darius, clapping his hands lightly. ‘Up until now, you’ve been in control of your source, but now you’ve managed to become one with it. You’ll need practice to get a feel for how to use your energy, but knowing you, it won’t take long.’ The mage smiled sincerely. He was pleased that something good had come out of the danger after all. ‘What’s more, meditation should be easier, so I’d like to practise with you this evening.’
‘Practice…’ Draco’s eyes widened as he remembered something. ‘I’ve got riding class today!’ he blurted out suddenly, forgetting the conversation they’d been having. ‘I’ve got to get Fen ready. With all this going on, I’ve forgotten to say anything…’ He was getting flustered.
‘Take it easy, you’ll have time for everything.’ Gizel’s soothing voice worked wonders, and the dragon focused his attention on her.
‘Exactly, don’t worry.’ Bleist glanced at the clock. ‘You’ve still got plenty of time, and afterwards I’ll give you a lift back to Solvein.’
‘I was thinking of riding.’ The lad looked over at his master.
