*Katerina's POV*

I sat on a rock across the fire from Randel. If I hadn't been so preoccupied, I would have been surprised the pile of firewood wasn't burning yet, but too many thoughts were fighting for my attention.

Part of me was still mad at Rakota for picking me as a rider without asking. The magic might have prevented him from asking, but he could have given some clues or at least realized I didn't feel like traveling nonstop. I made a face as I realized that was exactly what I had been doing.

I sighed and took a drink of water, although the sparkle of the blue gems reminded me of the water purification spell he'd given me. I glanced at the beautiful bow by my feet; the polished wood shone and flickered in the firelight. I was still unable to believe he had been able to turn the old bow into this. After a bit of practice, I'd even been able to hit the target five times in a row.

It was hard to remain mad at someone when your most valuable possessions had been gifts from them. I tried to think of something – anything – to criticize or complain about, but Rakota had always ensured I had fire, food, and shelter throughout the entire trip, never once asking for anything in return.

And he had offered to help my relatives if a mage ever cornered them.

But I was still mad at him for unveiling my secret in the first place. Dragons now knew.

My magic continued to flow into the bond regardless of what I did with my shields. There was no way to stop it or even slow it down. The shields were meant to hide our magic, nothing more.

The other Wellsprings were in potential danger now that I had been discovered. Even if the dragons didn't tell any humans, the dragons knew and would be watching. Perhaps they would be too busy fighting the naga to look for them, but the naga themselves were another potential threat.

One that Rakota had also said he was willing to help fight.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead in an attempt to dispel my headache. Regardless of how I looked at things, I had several problems I couldn't personally fix or change. Now I had to decide what I was going to do about them.

The rider detail was, surprisingly, the least of my worries, so I pushed it aside to deal with later. That left the discovery of my Wellspring ability and the possible invasion of the naga as my two biggest issues, neither of which I could directly do anything about. If nothing else, I could warn others.

I pursed my lips, wondering if I could convince Rakota to let me visit a city. I could write a letter to one of my non-Wellspring cousins, who could relay the information to those who were part of the bloodline. Then they'd know my secret was out as well as that the naga might soon be lurking in the rivers and lakes.

After my earlier concerns of being discovered, it'd be hard to persuade Rakota to let me go into a place with so many mages. My eyes flickered to Randel. Perhaps I could always bribe him to deliver a letter. It could go to a relative without the ability, and ask them to relay it through a few more hands before reaching those with the hidden magic. It was a decent backup plan.

I glanced over my shoulder to check if Rakota was still watching me, and he was. Since I'd been caught looking, I picked a different topic to keep him from thinking that I was doing something I wasn't supposed to, like warning other Wellsprings about the dragons.

"Why did you previously insist on flying me to Emeret City when you could have left me in any of the villages?"

The red dragon regarded me patiently. "Magic rules. When you freed me from the shadow mage's trap, it created a magical debt. You risked your life, which meant there was far too much to leave unpaid.

It would have eventually affected my casting ability. The trip would have been repayment, although the bond canceled the debt. Now that I think about it, the sheer amount of magedebt was likely because you were a Wellspring who risked discovery by shadow mages."

So much for my code of honor theory, although I hadn't been too far off.

"That was why you offered gold or a spell after we landed, wasn't it?"

"Yes. I was trying to reduce the debt to a level where I could have left you at a village."

I made a face. "If I would have known that, I would have accepted it. I kept remembering the warnings about taking anything a dragon owned."

He looked amused. "It would have taken more than a water purification spell or a new bow to balance things out."

That was another thing to add to my letter. Cautioning people that if they helped a dragon, to accept a gift in return. But the letter would have to wait until Rakota was preoccupied, not reclining against the bottom of the ledge behind me.

I wasn't used to him being this close or paying so much attention to me. His patience was a welcome change, but it still had me off balance. I was used to fading into the background, not having a dragon's undivided attention. I glanced at the sky, but Andar hadn't returned yet. For a powerful aerial predator, it was sure taking him a long time to hunt.

Rakota began plucking small scales from between his fingers, wincing slightly as he yanked each one out. I watched in growing confusion.

"Why are you doing that?" I finally asked.

Before the dragon could reply, Randel said, "Riders have dragon scales on their shoulders." The rider flicked invisible dust off the green scales adorning his shoulders, proudly adding, "We have to look the part."

"Don't tempt me to throw mud at you. I bet Andar would give me permission," I dryly told him.

"I would." Andar's voice had the same close-by clarity I normally heard when talking with Rakota as we flew.

We all glanced up as the green dragon flew over the cliff. His wings fanned as he drifted down to land behind Randel.

"If she throws mud at me, then I get to throw some at her too," Randel countered.

"Then you wouldn't get this," Andar said as his feet touched the ground. He held out something in his hand while folding his wings.

Randel got up to investigate. "Oh! Is that a ham?"

"Yes. It will have to be reheated, but it was cooking when I paid the village for it. I figured you two would enjoy it."

Randel brought the ham over. "It's been a while since I had ham. Let's get this heated up!"

"The fire has to burn down before we can put it on," I told him. "We can set it close to start warming up, but there are too many flames to put it over the coals."

"Do we have to wait?" He asked plaintively, his eyes never leaving the large chunk of meat in his hands.

"Yes, or you'll burn it. If I start some bread, it'll be ready about the same time."

"Okay... I guess this means no more wood on the fire."

"Not unless you want burnt meat and bread." When he began grumbling, I said, "You were the one who kept adding firewood when you knew Andar was bringing something back."

With a heavy sigh, he passed the ham to me. The lack of an argument made me wonder if it might be possible to train him to keep the fire at food-safe levels if we used quicker meals as incentive.

Preparing the food was a welcome distraction, and I quickly skewered the ham onto a branch and propped it beside the fire. After mixing the bread dough, I set it to the side since the fire was still too hot.

Rakota was talking with Andar, so I pulled some paper and a pencil out of my backpack. I quickly addressed the letter and gave directions on who to pass it to, then grabbed another sheet and began writing in my family's secret language. I told them of the naga I had seen, and how more might be coming.

Dreading my cousin's dismay when he read this, I mentioned I had helped a dragon and it had discovered I was a Wellspring when it picked me as its rider. But when I was about to write down how it had happened and how to avoid it, my pencil stopped.

I frowned at it and tried again without any success. I glanced at the dragons, but they were still talking. Nor did I feel any magic brush against mine. It was something deeper. On a hunch, I brought the pencil to the paper and was able to write about how the dragons were fighting the naga and the potential invasion.

As soon as I tried to deliver my other warning, the pencil stopped. It was the rider bond. Rakota hadn't lied when he said the bond prevented dragons or riders from talking about it. I couldn't even write about it in a language only known by a couple hundred people.

After a few failed attempts to use code words that none of the dragons could have possibly guessed, I needed a break. The fire had died down enough for me to put the ham and bread near the coals.

As much as I wanted to warn my relatives to avoid dragons, if the naga did invade, being in an area where dragons regularly patrolled was possibly the safest place to be. Picking up my pencil, I told them to keep their shields up and to carry a low-quality spell since it had kept me from discovery on a dragon's back for several days.

I told the entire story of what had happened, at least as much as I could with the bond intervening, and left a parting farewell explaining I wasn't sure if I could ever see them again or could even receive any letters without them endangering themselves due to tracking spells.

Hopefully they could read between the lines. Behind me, Andar spread his wings and flew to an upper cliff. I tucked the papers into my backpack as Rakota's attention returned to me. As I checked the bread again, a brainwave struck me. I wouldn't have to try bribing Randel and wondering if he'd actually give the papers to someone – I could give them to a messenger the next time I went into a village to buy flour.

Satisfied with that alternate plan, I turned the ham and checked how much flour I had left. Even with Randel's appetite, it would be a week before we could use it all. There would be less in a couple of days, and I could ask Rakota then. Maybe I could claim I was running low on sugar, which I was, but I didn't want to ask today in case it roused his suspicion.

My plans and actions weren't much, but they were the best I could do at the moment.