There had been no wings under the cloak as I had previously suspected. The kin’s shirt had been tailored like a human’s instead of a kin's – there were not any openings for what should have protruded from his shoulder blades. While I had never met one of his kind before, I knew that this was not what the back of a dragon-kin should look like. It was almost like seeing a faun without hooves, or a human without hands. I was not sure what to make of this discovery.
I watched intently as he reached out to the glowing sphere, the water barely reaching his waist. When he touched the globe it burst, sending water everywhere. The glowing stopped, leaving a dull object behind on the stand. The kin snatched it up before I could identify it. As he turned back toward me, I felt very embarrassed of what I had seen. I stared at the floor until he lifted the cloak out of my arms.
It was then, when I dared look up at him again, I found his eyes locked with mine. His gaze told me one thing: he had let me see his weak point, and he did not show it lightly. If I had any inkling to ask about what made a dragon-kin lack wings, that look all but glued my mouth shut.
Refastening the cloak, he dropped whatever he had obtained from the pool into a bag attached to his belt. If I had not felt that he would kill me, I would have asked him what it was. He grabbed the torch from where he had propped it against the wall, and headed back the way we had come.
Returning to the largest chamber seemed much quicker than leaving it. I looked around uneasily. It struck me how very quiet it was, and I felt more aware of the dark than before. I stayed close to the dragon and his torch, though I wanted nothing more at this point than to run away from him.
Halfway across the room, I stopped, my ears perking up. I heard something very faint. I turned, looking about the room and seeing only the dim outline of the white tree. It sounded almost like the pillar when it emerged from the pool, but it was irregular and getting much louder much faster. The dragon-kin had noticed it, too, and had stopped about ten feet away from me.
Suddenly, the ground heaved beneath me, sending me stumbling backwards. The dragon had assumed a wider stance to keep his balance as the ground continued to shake, now emitting a grinding, growling sound.
“What’s going on?” I yelled over the noise.
The dragon did not respond but looked ahead as the floor moved – cracked –