Free Hatch (The Dragons Of Laton) by James Stevens Page B

back at Fulgid. “It’s unheard of! I’ve been teaching Dragonhood for almost twenty years! I’ve read every book ever written on the subject. I know the histories since the building of the Nests over eight hundred years ago and even some of before that…but this? This is…” He trailed off without finishing and stared at Fulgid.
The little dragon stretched out on Ammon’s lap and closed his eyes as if nothing unusual had happened.
Boris leaned forward and whispered. “May I touch him?”
Surprised that he would ask, Ammon nodded and Boris crawled forward to sit beside Ammon. Very slowly he reached out and gingerly touched Fulgid’s back. Smiling, he gently ran his hand down the side of the dragon, feeling the hard smooth scales. Wonder lit up his face.
Softly, Fulgid began to snore and Ammon grinned. “I still don’t understand? What is unheard of?”
Never taking his eyes from the dragon, Boris began to explain. “I don’t understand what has happened here myself. Perhaps it has something to do with his late hatching, which is a definite oddity in itself. All I can tell you is that there are no gold dragons. Never were, either. Dragons are either black or gray and there are no variations in those colors. The blacks are stubborn, but are favored because they usually grow larger and stronger. Grays are more submissive than blacks, but are quick, like lightning. Only once in all the history records we’ve kept since the founding of Gaul was there an exception. A dragon hatched that was both black and gray, split right down the middle. It was also stunted, which is a mutation that is not so uncommon. It died very young, not long after hatching as is typical of that mutation. But that is nothing compared to this! How is his appetite? Is he eating okay?”
Ammon nodded. “As far as I can tell. He goes hunting and brings me back food. I saw him eating field mice once.”
Boris raised an eyebrow. “He brings you food? Interesting. Well, he certainly doesn’t look thin, but he is quite small. You’d know if he was hungry anyway, you’d feel it.”
Ammon blinked. “I would feel it?”
The older man’s eyes squinted. “Yes, it’s hard to explain but hopefully you’ll understand soon enough. Dragons are empaths.”
At the blank expression on Ammon’s face Boris explained. “Empaths…he senses your emotions, and you will eventually sense his. That’s what the link does, and if he’s hungry, you’ll know it.”
Ammon bit his lip. “You mean he’ll tell me when he wants to eat?”
Boris shook his head. “No, it’s not like that. They don’t talk, they just feel. How do you know when you’re hungry? Your stomach tells you. Same thing with the dragon, you just…know.”
Fulgid snored softly, oblivious to their conversation and Ammon idly scratched him behind his ears. “Tirate said that because Fulgid is young, the link could be broken and a new one formed to him?”
Boris snorted in disgust. “Tirate is a fool. No, the link cannot be broken like that and he knows it. He’s desperate for a dragon and will do anything to get one. The king’s health is failing and Tirate is next in line for the throne. By law he has to have a dragon before he can ascend to the throne. Whether the dragon lives or not doesn’t matter I guess, as long as he has been linked. He has been attending hatches for years trying to link, but it’s the dragons that make the decision. I’d imagine at this point he’d settle for anything, including one that has already linked or one that may not live to adulthood. If he can give the appearance of having linked, once it dies, no one can prove it otherwise.”
Ammon’s blood ran cold. Licking his lips, he tried to speak and his voice croaked. “So you want to take us back…back to Tirate so he can become king?”
Boris turned and looked him in the eye, his gaze hard and unblinking. “I want nothing of the sort. Tirate is the last man I ever want to see on the throne.” His