He turned over her explanation, which created more questions about alliances and wanting to train with another clan. Maybe he should be thinking of the clans as separate countries than family units. And right now, the big one to worry about was Takahashi.
“Can all dragons do magic?” he inquired, changing the direction of his questions. He didn’t want to arouse her suspicion that he was specifically pumping her for information about their form of government.
Mio laughed and turned to face him. “Where did you get the idea that dragons are magical? Only a god has such power, and there are none left in this world.”
She started walking and Adrian couldn’t get his feet to follow immediately. None of that made sense to him. Well, the god part a little, since most of the world thought the gods had died off in the war. Their power was left behind in the Erya Godstone. Even Adrian had believed that until Caelan had proved him wrong.
He hurried after her, his brain trying to figure out where he’d made a mistake in his logic. Eno had described what Drayce looked like in his dragon form. Couldn’t they all do that? Was Drayce one of the few? Was it something about being here on the Isle of Stone versus on the rest of the continent?
“You appear very confused,” Mio murmured, watching him from the corner of her eye.
“I am. I was under the impression that you could shift into giant scaled dragons with wings and talons.”
Mio stopped, a frown marring her lovely face. Her hair was pulled into several long braids that were woven together. Today’s robe was a pale lilac with a darker purple sash tied to her right. “You think shifting is magic?”
“Isn’t it?”
She tipped her head to the side, frowning. “I guess I simply never thought of it that way. We think of it as being a dragon. A biological function. Maybe it is magic.”
“So, all dragons are magical.”
Mio’s frown deepened and she released a heavy sigh. That was not a good sign, though she didn’t seem angry. “Let’s have a seat in the park over there,” she said, tilting her head toward a small green space that was partially enclosed by large pine trees.
Adrian followed, holding in his questions until they’d reached the quiet area. She took a seat on a stone bench and Adrian carefully arranged all the packages around her so they were within easy reach. He stood back and watched as she picked through them, her small hands finally settling on a small box of cookies that had been purchased at the third shop. She opened it and selected one with delicate blue icing, then offered the box to him.
“Thank you,” he murmured as he selected one with pale-green icing.
“It’s not something we talk about in the Chasm, but it’s best we discuss it before you or your companions stumble onto it,” Mio said after finishing her cookie. She brushed away the crumbs and stared at her hands. She had long, narrow fingers that struck him as being incredibly nimble and quick. “Everyone born on the Isle of Stone is a dragon, but not everyone can shift.”
“Why do I feel like this has created an us-versus-them issue?”
Mio’s eyes snapped up and he swore he saw fire burning in their depths. “Because it has. Those who can’t shift are technically half-breeds. Somewhere along the way, one of their ancestors was a human. And to them,” she snarled, pointing toward the mountains that towered over the Valley, “you’re not a real dragon if you don’t have scales, can’t fly, and can’t breathe fire. You’re forced to live here in the Chasm. You can’t belong to a clan if you’re not a dragon. You can only serve.”
“Oh,” Adrian whispered.
Something dark tightened in his chest. He’d witnessed plenty of this kind of elitism in his lifetime after being around the royal family. Caelan had never treated him or any of the guards as less because of the station of their birth, but there had been guests of the royal family, visiting dignitaries who all thought they were better than the rest of the world because of the accident of their birth rather than based on any real merit.
“But that’s not the sole reason to live in the Chasm. If you or your family has cast some dishonor on your family name or clan, you can be banished to the Chasm. There are plenty of full-blooded dragons stuck here because of some slight to another clan. Or maybe you’re just sold to another clan to clear a debt.”
“So, those assholes up in the clans don’t see you as real dragons because you’re not part of a clan. The Chasm is mostly slaves and servants to the clans?” Adrian demanded, his voice growing tighter and harder with every word.