~A Wattpad featured and Wattys Longlisted story~
Lana can hardly remember what it's like to be free. After nine years as a captive on board a ship ruled by ruthless bounty hunters, sailing across Maris with no clear direction, she's desperate for so...
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LANA FINDS HERSELF pacing the length of her cell, her bare feet padding against the worn down wood beneath her toes, making a slight noise as she walks to and fro. She's since forgotten when she started this agitated movement, but it seems like decades ago.
The more she moves, the more the walls seem to close in on her, but not out of fear. Lana simply can't stand being here any longer, her restlessness causing unwanted energy to pulse through her, giving her strength and stamina the small space doesn't allow her to use. She wants nothing more than to escape and rejoin the fight against Vyanna and the dragon hunters. She feels useless here, pacing back and forth like an idiot. It's degrading, and humiliating even if the only person who can see her now is Arlo.
Arlo is dealing with this tense anticipation in his own way, sitting on the edge of the cot. He's unnaturally still, as if he's really a stone statue rather than a living person, his expression and body so tense that it truly completes the picture. They've been this way for an endless period— silent, moving and unmoving— but suddenly, she finds words bubbling up within her.
"We need to leave this ship but I don't know what to do. "You've been here for a couple weeks, and before that, I was captured for nine years. It all seems so hopeless."
For a split second, he seems indecisive of whether to say anything, but then he speaks softly. "Our situation may be dire but your small rebellion earlier does give me hope. You have a power that will be able to overcome all these barriers."
"But I don't know how to wield this Drumaux magic you spoke of!" She says angrily, and stops pacing, looking him in the eye, "How am I supposed to free us if I can't even do that?"
Arlo's eyes soften and he stands, putting his hand on her shoulder softly, "You are too harsh on yourself, Lana. Your magic will grow with time and practice, and until then, you are a skilled fighter and one of the fastest learning Dragon Riders I've ever seen. Use the skills you already have."
She nods slowly to his words, then suddenly she blurts out, "Teach me. You said I need practice, so teach me."
Arlo smiles, as if he'd been waiting for her to say those words for a long time, "Sit down."
They both sit down on the cot together and Lana feels herself growing eager to learn about the elevated magic within her, but also scared. The entirety of Maris seems to be on her shoulders, with all the free and innocent people depending on her magic to annihilate the Morai. The idea that she's the only one who can destroy one of those creatures is terrifying. How is she, a new Dragon Rider, even supposed to do that? She's only had her magic and dragon for a couple weeks. Skye must have had his dragon for years now, and has been training for longer than that. He's more worthy for this role.
"I've seen that same expression before, Lana." Arlo says suddenly, and she turns to look at him in curiosity, realizing he noticed her anxiousness, "You just need to trust yourself, and feel your magic flowing within you."
