Page 46 of Claim the Light
The air tingles between me and the armor and my heart misses a beat.
I’ve had barely any training with dragon’s gold, but I know how to sense when the gold is calling to me.
I can’t resist the call, hurrying to stand in front of it.
“Is this a suit of dragon’s gold?”
Micah is slower to follow me, appearing even warier of the armor and the weapon than he was of the Sentinels’ spears.
“Those should be behind glass,” he says. “Isaac promised to find a safer place for them.”
“Why?” I ask, lifting my hand toward the hammer’s handle.
Micah’s arm snakes out and he takes hold of my wrist before I can make contact.
“That armor belonged to Atrox Imperator,” he says, his voice strained. “The hammer was used by his brother, Dominus Audax. It’s a dangerous weapon of light magic.”
I inhale a sharp breath. Atrox Imperator was Callan’s dragon shadow. Just like Bella Vorago was mine. They’d been reincarnated within us, old souls reborn over and over again because the dragon’s light had been hidden from us.
Atrox’s power and rage were the reason that Callan couldn’t control his flames for years. The reason he couldn’t safely touch another supernatural without his fire being triggered.
It wasAtrox’s flames that burned me the night I protected Emika.
“I should fear this armor,” I whisper. “But it feels…lost.Hurt.” I turn to Micah. “Dragon’s gold isn’t meant to be alone.”
His expression softens, although he hasn’t let go of my wrist. His hold is light and his thumb brushes across my hand, no longer holding me so much as caressing me.
“That’s true,” he says. “It forms a deep bond with its owner. That’s why it can only be controlled by that dragon. But that’s all the more reason why we can’t use this armor or this weapon.”
I tip my head with a growing smile. “Unless you’re Lana. Daughter of the Grudge King and Thief of Gold.”
Micah grimaces. It was only because Lana had the power to steal the Grudge dragons’ gold that she survived Solomon Grudge’s bid to end her.
“True,” he says. “I’ll admit there have been times when I wished that power had been passed to me.” He returns his attention to the armor. “Even so, this gold is far too volatile to ever be used again.”
“And the hammer?” I ask.
“Dominus used it to give Atrox’s soul the power to take control of Callan’s body.”
I shudder while Micah steps a little closer to the weapon.
“My senses tell me it’s made from dragon’s gold,” he says, his forehead creasing. “But it feels different. As if it’s heavy in my mind. Lana described it the same way. She told me she couldn’t bend it to her will, despite her abilities.”
I nod. “I sense it, too. Perhaps the runes have something to do with that. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen runes carved into dragon’s gold before.”
“It’s certainly unusual.” Micah urges me to step back, inclining his head to the main arena. “Let’s get started.”
I cast a backward glance at the armor before I enter the training room itself.
The floor has the appearance of wood, but I’m immediately aware of the spongy feel beneath my feet and the bounce in my step. Dropping to a knee, I press the heel of my palm against the surface. “It has a spring in it.”
“That’s good,” Micah says, pressing his palm to the wall beside the opening. “The wall does, too.”
I arch an eyebrow. “All the better for avoiding injuries.”
As we step farther into the room, the far wall shimmers and becomes transparent, revealing a vast, open space beyond it. “And that would be where we can fly,” I say.
“All in good time.” Micah plants his bare feet and throws me a challenge. “Show me what you can do.”
