I tilted my head and looked at her with incredulity.

  Cami chuckled softly from my other side, but tried to hide it as well as she could.

  Eventually, Lisella walked away and I would have liked to enjoy my satisfaction at confusing her yet again. But every time I looked out across the expanse of water which spread before us, I got that eerie feeling I was being watched all over again.

  Chapter 38 - The Deep

  It was frustrating when I learned what a crooked route the ship had to take. Perhaps one of the best parts of being a dragon was that you just flew straight towards your destination. There was no worrying about currents or areas where leviathans and giant squids were most active.

  The voyage to where we were going to land and take the final trek by horseback was about nine hundred miles. Serius informed us that if we could fly as the crow does, that it would only be about seven hundred miles. I almost couldn't even listen to him. Who cares how crows fly?

  The weather mage wasn't able to maintain the wind at peak at all times, as he had to retain a store of mana in case a storm blew in. That meant that we were going to travel somewhere between a hundred and a hundred and forty miles per day. So the sea voyage would take us between seven and nine days.

  Lisella insisted on torturing me with more reading lessons. Even her praise about the rapid progress I was making was annoying. We had just finished up our morning lesson on the fourth day out to sea. I was glad it was done, because then I could go up on main deck and practice sparring with Galbrecht. Liam joined in, and occasionally I'd practice with Modessa and Cami.

  "You're coming along very quickly with this, Nico. I'm proud of you. You can now read at a basic level. A few more days and I'll be able to start giving you introductory magic texts to study."

  I groaned. "Why would anyone need books about magic?"

  Lisella laughed, but then stopped when she realized I hadn't joined in. Something like confusion crossed her face. "Wait… How do dragons learn magic, then?"

  "We just do. We don't so much learn magic, as we are magic."

  She slammed the palm of her hand against her forehead, eyes, and part of her nose. Fortunately, she didn't hit herself very hard because I worried what would happen if her face became any more squished.

  "I can't believe I didn't realize it before. That's how you can just duplicate spells when you see us cast them. Magic must be an innate thing for you."

  "Of course, how do humans learn magic?"

  She shook her head. "From books and with far more difficulty. We must learn the theory of the magic, first. Only then can we learn to cast spells properly."

  "That sounds like a lot of work," I groaned.

  "It is. But it's worth it." She smiled. "Now, let's practice what you've learned today."

  Then I really groaned as she made me read the sentences she had written on what she called a magical chalk board. Serius conjured it for us each morning and it lasted the full day.

  The old wizard had yet to conjure the thing without complaining—but as I understood it, the type of magic required was not one Lisella could master. He called it conjuration magic and, interestingly enough, when I watched him casting the spell, it made no sense to me. At first I'd thought it was too high of a level, but by the third day I was beginning to believe it was because something about the magic he used evaded me.

  I didn't let it get me down. There were more things I needed to know than how to conjure a torture board. As I finished the last of today's lesson, Lisella got up to leave the cabin that I shared with Galbrecht, Liam, and Daggin.

  She had initially offered to let me share her cabin, but then her face had gotten red and she said that maybe that wouldn't be a good idea. I didn't really care either way. I just wanted to get off the ship.

  As she started to move, I asked her the question that had been bouncing around inside my head ever since I’d revealed my full stats page to her. "Why did you do it?"

  Her back was to me, but I saw her shoulders slump—and I knew what that meant amongst humans.

  "Do what?"

  "Invade my home and kill my sister? I have so many questions, but maybe we should start with that one."

  "Oh, Nico, I didn't fully understand. There is so much you don't know. It didn't even occur to me that you'd believe your sister was dead. I wasn't sure if you cared."

  "Most dragons likely wouldn't,” I admitted, “but I find that I have odd thoughts. It may have something to do with Cami, or it may be something just a bit different about me."

  Lisella turned around then and I saw another human emotion I didn't recognize on her face. "I wish I could explain it in a way that makes it sound better. But every time I go over it in my head, it only sounds worse."

  I stood up, and without even trying, I felt the aura of my dragon fear erupt from me.

  Lisella was too powerful to be affected by it, but she had to have felt it.

  Inside my head, I heard Cami's voice. "Nico, are you okay?"

  "Just getting some answers," I sent my bonded.

  Then I looked at Lisella again and said aloud, "Try."

  "We were sent on orders from the emperor to retrieve a clutch of baby dragons from the desert. It was thought that if we captured them early enough, they might be more pliable and we could finally have new dragon knights. You have to understand, the empire is facing a danger from monsters which haven't been seen in more than a century.

  "But your sister isn't dead. She was taken by Serius to the City of the Dawn. The emperor's own mages are going to try to form a bond between her and a prospective dragon knight. She will be well taken care of."

  I could see Lisella searching for more words, but none came. Her desperation was tangible, but it didn't feel like fear. Maybe she really was sorry about it. Regret was an emotion I had only learned about since encountering humans.

  I was about to say as much, but then the ship was rocked from side to side. Something massive had hit us or we had struck some rocks or something. Even with my strength I was thrown forward and I crashed into Lisella, landing on top of her. I managed to catch myself just enough, so that I didn't hurt her, although, I had to remind myself that she was more durable than she looked.

  She stared up at me from the floor. "Not how I expected to see you like this. We should go. We need to find out what's happening."

  I was already moving as she spoke, pushing myself up and racing out the door. Perhaps I should have helped her up, but it wasn't like it would be difficult for her to clamber to her feet just as I had. And at the moment, I didn't feel like it.

  As I reached the main deck, I saw what all the commotion was about. There were massive tentacles wrapping their way around the ship. I felt offended at the size of whatever it was that held the ship, because it would have been large even if I were in my natural form. Even worse, it was a fish. I'd never had the opportunity to eat seafood, but knew that several of my ancestors simply adored it.

  I looked around for Cami and sensed the fear within her. That wasn't acceptable. When I saw her, she was hanging onto some ropes dangling loose from one of the masts.

  The weather mage fired off a lightning bolt from the quarter deck. It sizzled one of the tentacles, but that was it. Liam was scrambling up one of the masts just like the humans’ monkey ancestors. Serius was busy casting a spell, while Galbrecht and Modessa attacked another tentacle with their blades.

  I ran to Cami who was holding onto the ropes for dear life, and in a split second I had her in my arms and then on my back, as I scaled the mast. She clung to me tightly, not wanting to let go, even when we reached a spar on the mast.

  From up here, I could see what was happening below us more clearly. The tentacles seemed to be coming from some kind of massive sea-monster—a squid-like creature, which disrupted our ship's direction as it swam beneath us. Our crew attacked it with all their strength, trying to pierce the monster’s bulbous head with arbalests.

  Only a few of the spear length bolts were hitting it, even though the monster wasn't moving that much. The ship was simply shaking too much for accurate fire. More than one of the sailors screamed as they were grabbed by a tentacle and then tossed into the creature's massive beak-like maw.

  I kept climbing, only stopping when I got to the top of the mast and put Cami into the space the sailors called the crow's nest. What was it with humans and their apparent fixation with crows?

  I could only shake my head. "We'll stay up here. I don't want to risk losing you."

  "But we have to help," Cami cried.

  I looked down at the adventurers—mostly at Lisella. They seemed to be making some headway in killing the beast. The only real question, was if they would manage the task before it turned our ship into kindling?

  "I don't know if I can.” I blew out a breath. “Lisella told me what they were doing. They didn't kill my sister."

  Cami threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. "That's good news."

  "Yes, but they captured her. They were trying to capture my entire clutch. For some reason they are trying to create dragon riders, or dragon knights, or something like that."

  She stared up at me, her eyes wide. "Why?"

  The ship was still shaking beneath us. I began to wonder if I should simply change shape and fly away with Cami. "Something about terrible monsters waking up. The thing is, they never asked. They treated us like monsters. All I was doing was minding my own business, and they took away the only home I’ve ever known."

  There were tears in Cami's eyes—and because of the connection we shared, I knew they were of sorrow and grief for me, and not fear about what was happening. She was so tiny and fragile, yet so brave. She made me want to be more.

  I looked down and saw that more than half of the giant squid’s tentacles had been seared, cut, or otherwise disintegrated. The beast was losing.

  Cami said, "It will never make what they did okay, but if they hadn't, I never would have met you."

  I felt the intent behind her words, the sincere emotion. I shook my head. "I don't know about that. I think we were meant to be. I'm sorry for acting like I could control you. It's a dragon thing… but that isn't a good excuse. I want you to be more than that to me. I want to have a friend."

  A surge of confusing, tangled emotions roared from her across our connection, but then she said, "I already am your friend."

  We both looked down and saw Serius unleash yet another spell—a devastating green beam which seemed to cut right through the remaining tentacles. The creature flailed about before falling back into the water. One of those final flailing blows smashed into Galbrecht and Modessa. The paladin was sent flying into the mast, which shook with the impact. Even from all the way up here, I could see that he was no longer moving.

  Lisella rushed to his side.

  Cami, however, only had eyes for Modessa—her mentor was flung not into the mast but through the ship’s railing and out into the churning maelstrom which was the ocean. Her body was limp as it hit the water, and she quickly sank from sight.

  Cami started to try to climb back down, but I grabbed her. "You can't rescue her. She'll have sunk too deep before you can reach her."

  "No, but you could."

  I groaned. She was right. Blue dragons can breathe underwater. It is another of our contrasts, that we are so attuned to water and yet generally live in the desert.

  I wanted to refuse her wish, to say that Modessa only got what she deserved. But if I was doing this, I wasn't doing it for Modessa, I was doing it for Cami. And I found it almost impossible to disappoint my bonded.

  Without another word, I leapt out and down, pushing off from the mast with my enhanced strength and diving into the depths not far from where Modessa had sank beneath the water. Even as I pushed off, I activated my shape change. I just needed to survive long enough to complete the transformation.

  Chapter 39 - Water Wings

  My mind raced as I contemplated the transformations which were possible. I could just as easily have become some version of the kraken we had just fought, or a merman, or whatever other option I felt was best. Yet there was a yearning within me. I needed to be myself.

  My true body was perfectly situated to this situation. As a blue dragon, I could breathe underwater, swim with an instinctive ability—despite never having done so in my life—and I would be able to fight just about as well as any aquatic creature. It was also the most natural form I could take.

  The water below the waves roiled, alive with monstrous creatures, swirling currents, and churning chaos. I inhaled deeply before hitting the water, steeling myself for the plunge before launching into the void. The wind whistled past my ears as I plummeted down, the sea rushing up to meet me.

  My eyes were fixed on the roiling water, the creatures below its surface growing larger and more menacing with each passing moment. As I approached the waves, my arms and legs tensed, ready for impact. That was complicated by my transformation, as during the three seconds of my dive, my body began its transformation.

  And then I hit the water.

  It was a shock like I had never experienced before, a sudden and intense deceleration that seemed to compress my entire body. I'd been hit hard in sparring, but nothing could quite equate to the experience of having your entire body impacted at the same instant. The water's resistance created a force that jolted my bones, muscles, and internal organs. The impact created a deafening roar that echoed in my ears.

  The initial sensation was disorienting, as if I were suspended in an alien environment. The pressure of the water was all around me, squeezing my body and compressing my chest. The churning currents made it difficult to keep my bearings, and for a moment, I felt as if I were lost in the chaos.

  But then my transformation took form and my body extended, swelling to its normal dimensions. All of the clothing and items I wore were automatically shunted into whatever extra-dimensional space was provided as part of the Shape Change ability.

  I was already fifty feet below the water, which was so dark and frothy from the swarming creatures that I didn't fear anyone on the ship being able to see me. Cami knew that I had changed. I couldn't have put a claw on exactly how I knew that, but it was a certainty I felt.

  My eyes opened, and I was greeted by a scene out of nightmares. The kraken was dead, even if all of its body didn't seem to realize it yet. Hundred-foot-long tentacles thrashed about under the water. The shredded bodies of dead sailors filled the sea with their blood, terror still apparent on their now lifeless faces.

  No less dangerous than the kraken were the many other denizens of the deep called to the feast by the scent of blood. Sharks in all shapes and sizes swam around us—and while I could admit the bite of a particularly massive great white could injure me, none of them were my match.

  It wasn't me that I was worried about, though.

  I had come down here to save Modessa—not for her sake, but for that of my bonded companion. She was important to Cami, and so I was doing my best not to disappoint the girl. A nagging voice of draconic pride whispered in the back of my mind that I was acting like a dog fetching a stick for my mistress, but I knew that wasn't the case. It was just the nature of dragons to resist attachment.

  I allowed the joy of being back in my natural form to fill me. Even taking in the chaos of the situation, it made me feel more alive. This was what it was to be a dragon, to struggle, to prevail and live on. And for a moment, I felt invincible.

  I needed to find Modessa, though, before she drowned. She was capable, but had been unconscious when she hit the water. Then I saw her. Of course, a dozen sharks had caught scent of her as well. Two big hammerheads were fighting over her, even as I approached.

  My tail moved like a fin and I shot forward through the water like a fish. No, that wasn't fair. Fish could only dream of being as agile as I was.

  The shark closest to Modessa shifted position, and its jaws opened wide. Mouth agape, its razor-sharp teeth glinted in the faint light filtering down from the surface and I knew that if I didn't act, she would soon be a meal for some scavenger of the deeps.

  Instinct kicked in and my body responded faster than thought, propelling me forward in a flurry of scales and claws. The speed at which I moved surprised even me, but then again, I am a dragon. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised at my superiority, even beneath the water.

  I crashed into the shark, using my bulk to knock it away from Modessa and send it careening off into deeper waters, dazed from the blow but still alive. The other sharks seemed to sense my presence now, and that was when Dragon Fear took effect.

  These so-called cold-blooded killers of the deep fled like prey, proving they were just overgrown guppies. For a moment, I forgot about Modessa and started to wonder what sharks tasted like. Some of my ancestors seemed to remember liking them raw, with rice. It took an effort of will for me to focus on doing this favor for Cami.