Daryn stared at Canton with an incredulous gaze. His thoughts scrambled to understand it. His stomach hardened and he gasped. "How did that happen? I didn't even realize that my spirit was away from my body. I was concentrating on my inner energy when all I saw was a spark of white light that left me and I felt that my body had frozen. I found myself floating and talking to Dawn. The experience panicked me and so I opened my eyes after willing the light to come back to me!"

"My liege, this is very dark magic and you will have to control that light. It is used only to deal with the dead. When you were under the spell, I saw you chanting very old language, one that I had seen your mother chanting very long time back when she wasn't married to your father about three hundred years back. At that time she was stopped by the warlocks because they feared that she was raising the dead."

​​

"I just can't believe this!" Daryn said in a restless voice. "What should I do to control it?"

"You will not meditate anymore. I will go back to Ixoviya and ask other sorcerers about the ways to restrain your dark power and hone the positive side. For now all I can say is that you need to have happy emotions around you all the time. Whatever makes you happy, do that. The magic usually crackles automatically when you are angry. It feeds on your emotions, draws the feeling and then sucks your energy in the form of lights. The more angry you are, the more it sparks," said Canton. He looked towards Dawn and asked, "How do you control it?"

"Practice," she shrugged and got out of Daryn's lap. "Plus my magic is not as powerful as his." She realized how basic her powers were in front of Daryn.

"Does this mean that even Caleb holds such magic, such sorcery?" asked Daryn suddenly wondering about his brother who was wooing his mate these days. Would it affect his mate?

"He might," said Canton. "But the fact is that your magic was awakened when you saw your mate in trouble. That hasn't happened with Caleb as yet. So chances are that he doesn't know much about it. Maybe you should talk to him and warn him."

"Hell no!" Dawn said. "If he doesn't know there is no need to tell him about it." She shuddered to think what would happen to his mate if she came to know about his powers. "If he is affected, he would call you instead."

Canton nodded. "That is also correct."

Daryn scratched his stubble feeling too exhausted. "I really want to rest. I thought that I will be practicing for the whole day, but right now I feel I can sleep for the whole day!" He got up. "Also I am hungry!"

As soon as he said it, a branch laden with plums, bent in front of him. "Ah! Great," he said and plucked the plums.

"We can go back home, Daryn," Dawn suggested as she checked his forehead. It was slightly warm.

"No, I will stay here with you and watch you practice your magic."

"Never! You need to calm down. Please let's go back home," she insisted.

"I will go, Dawn. But you should continue to hone yours. You have come here after a long gap and you shouldn't waste this time. Your dragon is waiting for you," he encouraged.

'He is right Dawn,' said Quetz. He hoped that Dawn agreed because as far as he could see the Lykae looked fine.

Dawn put her hand on his throat to check his temperature and said, "Are you sure?"

"I am pretty sure," he assured her. "I need to be alone to think about all that just happened with me. It will take a lot of time to process."

Canton interjected, "If my liege is okay with it, I will take my leave." How he wished there was a portal that directly took him to Ixoviya. Although he could create a portal being a sorcerer but he was afraid that the dragon might not like it to tamper in his grounds. He sighed. "I will talk to other warlocks and sorceresses and come back with a better plan for you."

Daryn nodded. "You may go. Next time you better come up with a solid plan and be here for at least two days."

"I will," he said and bowed.

"Come let us go together," Daryn said.

"My dragon says that I can create a portal to Ixoviya for him to leave right from here," said Dawn.

The men stopped in their tracks, totally astonished. "You can do that?" asked Canton. Such a relief. He looked at Quetz with gratitude.

Quetz bobbed his head. He looked at Dawn and said, 'You know what to do when I breathe fire.'

"Yes!" She had created a portal for them when they had gone to find the Stone of Solaris.

Quetz turned away and took to flight. Canton gazed at the mighty creature with awe. Quetz circled above them and then slanted his body to the left to come down a little lower. Dawn focused on his movements. His neck became red as his breath became warmer in his throat. Within a few seconds he breathed out fire a few meters away from them.

Dawn brought her hands forward and held the fire in its place as Quetz soared away higher. She used both her hands to pull the ball of fire apart into a circle. The orange and yellow flames on the periphery formed the shape of a dragon. "Enter it now!" said Dawn. "I can't hold this portal for long!" She was using all her power to hold the circle in place.

Canton was speechless and wide-eyed. He looked at the portal of fire and his admiration for the lady went ten notches higher. He bowed to her and hurriedly walked in the portal. Dawn let go of it and the fire doused into black smoke.

"I am impressed, wife!" said Daryn as he walked to her and circled her shoulders while watching the smoke disappearing into thin air.

She hugged him and said, "I won't do this again. It is pretty tiresome. Portals are not really my specialty. Brantley is the one who is good at them." She chuckled as she thought about her fellow dragon rider.

Daryn left soon after and Dawn mounted her dragon to continue with her training.

"I think I need a list of magic that I shouldn't perform," she said. "Otherwise Brantley is going to be one angry guy!" She giggled.

'Yes, that is true. Why don't you summon him?' said Quetz as he flew with her inside the vale over River Lifye. He loved the flights with her and today he was flying with her solo after a long time without tension. He simply let himself go. All he wanted was to fill that void he had been feeling when she wasn't with him. After flying for about an hour, they came to the forest when she practiced speaking with the animals or commanding them with her magic. While she was doing it, her gaze fell upon a green colored hair man who was watching her from a distance. He was sitting on a boulder with a leg sprawled in front and with his elbows resting on the knee of the other one.