Page 115 of Mage of the Dragon Prince
“What do you mean?” Auslin accepted the sword back.
Without warning, Jaega sent a blast of orange fire dragon at Auslin. The human defensively held up his arms on reflex. Before he could summon a barrier, the flames fizzled out into smoke.
“The sheath acts as a natural shield against both magical and physical attacks,” Jaega explained. “In the event you are attacked before you can erect a protective shield, this will activate to keep you safe. But you must be wearing it for it to work since it draws from your aura to protect you.”
The Enchanters never failed to impress Auslin. “That’s incredible!”
Jaega nodded. “Of course, the real power is in amplifying your purifying abilities. You destroyed a wall when you were only tentatively testing the weapon. Imagine how much more you could do if you used it with all your strength.”
It was true that Auslin had exerted little energy in his first attempt. What else could he do with it once he had trained with it more?
“Actually, I have an idea.” Jaega gestured for them to follow him to the grassy garden outside the training hall side doors. He summoned a ring of twentyhuman-sized bunny dummies. Instead of floating like normal, they sat stationary on the dirt. “Thrust the sword into the ground, then channel your purification in an outward burst. Imagine all the dummies being incinerated at once.”
“Is that really possible?” It seemed too unbelievable to be true.
“There is only one way to find out,” Jaega said. It came as a shock when orange dragon wings appeared from his back as he hovered above the ground.
Auslin’s jaw dropped when Kitaro followed suit. “You guys can partially shift? I didn’t know that was even possible!”
“It takes considerable training, but it is possible,” Kitaro explained. “As you will send out a powerful blast of your purifying powers amplified by the sword, it would be unwise for us to remain on the ground when you do so. Now, show us what you can do.”
Auslin squared his shoulders as he accepted the challenge. Although he felt bad doing so, he stabbed the beautiful sword hard into the ground. He channeled his powers down the sword, which then flared out in a blast circle around him.
All twenty of the dummies instantly vaporized into dust. Auslin looked all around to make sure he had gotten rid of them all at the same time. “How did that actually work?Wow!”
“Well done, Vanra!” Kitaro praised him as he landed.
Auslin’s excitement surged. “I can’t believe I did it! That’s amazing!” He pulled the sword out of the ground, studying it with awe.
Jaega lowered himself back to the dirt. He walked over to Auslin, then clasped his shoulder with a squeeze. “You should be proud, Vanra. How do you feel?”
It came as a surprise to realize that despite the huge outburst of power, Auslin wasn’t as exhausted as normal. “I feel totally fine.”
“That would be the amplifying abilities of the sword, requiring less energy from you to do more,” Jaega said. “Let us return inside to continue training.”
As it was chillier outside than Auslin was dressed for, he jumped at the chance to go back inside to keep working with the two shifters. He couldn’t wait to learn what else he could do with the help of the Divine sword.
Chapter 59
Auslin
Somehow, the past few weeks had flown by in the blink of an eye. All too quickly, it was the night before Auslin and Kitaro were supposed to embark on their journey to Arenvale to seek Satsuma for guidance about Fate’s Gate. It didn’t feel real to Auslin that they were leaving in the morning to start the long trip. He was still in denial about it on an emotional level because of what it meant for his future with Kitaro.
Kitaro rubbed Auslin’s shoulder. “You should rest. Morning will come early.”
The reminder made the human sigh. “I know, but…”
“I understand, but it would still be wise to sleep.”
Auslin traced Kitaro’s shifter markings on his chest. “Sleeping in this bed for so longwill make sleeping on the hard ground even worse than before. You’ve spoiled me.”
“There is much about life in the castle I miss during my travels,” Kitaro agreed. “However, I would much prefer traveling just the two of us instead of with Father’s army.”
“It’ll be weird waking up early again.” Auslin wasn’t looking forward to that part. He had grown spoiled by Kitaro’s afternoon starts to the day.
“Perhaps it will not be necessary. As I have excellent night vision, traveling in the evening is not impossible if you are riding me.”
“Riding you?” Auslin propped himself up on his elbow to look down at Kitaro in surprise.
