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Chapter Text

Walking up to General Sorrengail’s office with Keir at my side. Gods, it will be so hard to leave him behind, and not be able to see him for the next three years if I'm lucky. Keir, my dog, since my 16th birthday, no one knows how he got into my room that morning or even how he got into basgiath. He was so small then; now he is enormous, twice my weight, but that sweet little puppy snuggled up against me when I woke up.

As we near the general’s office, Keir tilts his head and whines at the yelling coming from the other side of the door. Only one person on the continent would dare yell at the general. Opening the door to the office and almost tripping over my pack’s weight, Keir wasted no time jumping up onto the upholstered couch.
“ Damn it, Mom, she can’t even handle her rucksack,” Mira hisses, rushing to my side to help me.

The general swears under her breath as I try to tell Mira I am fine
“ Violet, I told you a hundred times to keep that hound of yours off the furniture,” he says as he makes himself more at home on the couch by rolling over, much to Mom’s chagrin. I tune the rest of their argument. I know there is no point once Lilith Sorrengail made up her mind; nothing would change it. When she dismisses Mira she turns toward me, “ I won’t be able to acknowledge for next three years”, not that would be a massive change from usual I thought to myself, she continues “ Oh and Violet make sure to keep that hound on a leash, he can’t be running around as he pleases” mom hands me a lead. “ right i will get right to that.

Once the three of us start on the way back toward what used to be the room, Mira lets out her complaints again
“She is insane, sending you to the riders’ quadrant.”
“ I’m more worried that Keir would drive her insane while I am gone. I don’t want to leave him,” I say as we near my old room

Mira snorts, “ I can’t believe she let you keep him, let alone take care of him.”
“ Markharm was willing, if not a bit reluctant, to join me in the sribes. And she wants to keep him leashed all the time.”
Mira gives Keir pats on his head. “How much do you want to bet on how long it will take before he causes structural damage and mom tries to ship him off somewhere?”

“Trust me, he loves to chew on the infantry cadets when some of the professors ask to borrow him for lessons, she will just send Keir there by the end of the day,” I tell her. Mira gives me a corset with dragon scales and tells me to go change as she repacks my bag to her liking. Having to fight to keep my book about poisons, I relent on the book on fables of the barrens.

She sits and braids my hair into a cornet braid while she gives me information on how to survive the next three years.
“Remember, Violet, find Dain, and stay away from Xaden Riorson,” she said as she finished my hair. I put the lead on Keir as we went down to the courtyard, “Remember everything I told you, Vi.”

“Next,” we hear as we are called forward. The scribe is conversing awkwardly about me joining the riders’ quadrant. I walk forward, and Keir tries to follow me into the turret. Violet,” the scribe calls out, “Keir has to stay here or return to the general’s quarters.”

Keir lets out a pitiful whine while looking at the rider and scribe at the entrance with the saddest expression he could muster, “I mean, if he uses the tunnel to go back to General Sorrengail's office once you reach the top, I'm sure that would be fine. You will go right back, right, Keir.”

Keir nods his head to the scribe, agreeing. Mira pulls me in for one final hug, “ I swear that dog is a master manipulator. Don’t die, Violet, I don’t want to be an only child.”
I watch her return to her post before Mom reports her.
“ Never seen a dog play someone that well before,” the woman in front of me comments from inside the tower. I nod my head in agreement
“He has always been that way, though I doubt he would listen or do as he promised.”
“Are you even sure he is a dog and not some wolf? Never seen a dog that could be confused with a small horse.”

The blonde man, two people ahead of me, commented. I laugh as we make our way up the tower, I learn their names are Rhiannon and Dylan as we make our way up the tower. Making sure to hold the leash, Mom made me put on Keir as he walked up with us, chiming in on their conversation. Hate to die by tripping over the thing. When we almost reach the top
“You might make it across the parapet, but this one is one breeze away from falling,” an asshole behind me comments
“Shut up and focus on yourself,” Rhiannon snaps at him. Keir let out a growl, turning his head towards the ass.

“Let me see your boot,” I whisper to Rhiannon. She looks puzzled but shows me smooth soles.
“Quick, what size are you? I will trade my left boot until we make it across.”
“What?” She blinks
“Mine are rider boots; they will grip the stone better. Plus, the storm looks like it’s about to come down any minute, the smooth soles will make you slip.” I explained to her
“ I am eight.”

“Crap, I’m a seven, but we can make it work. Let’s hurry; it’s almost our turn to cross.”
As we switched left boots as fast as we could, Keir tried to cover us. We made our way outside.

Chapter Text

“Let’s go. Some of us have things to do on the other side.”
The ass behind me says, Jack something was his name. He is not worth the effort to respond to him,

“Here, let me help you.” Jack lunges at me and shoves me off, but Keir snaps at him and lets out a low warning growl. Jack jumps back, nearly knocking over the person next in line.
I laugh and look forward to the entrance of the parapet. Three riders are posted there, one to take names for the record and another to help Dylan get in place on the walkway of death. The last one was the most exquisite man I had ever seen. Dark windswept hair, darker eyes, his body seemed to be built by the gods. I feel a light nudge on my hand. Looking down, I see Keir give me a smug look, as if he is reading my appraisal of the rider before us.

“Oh, don’t you start.”
“Ready for the next one, Roirson.”
One rider calls out, and my eyes zero in on the relic on the handsome man’s arm, which I somehow completely missed when I was ogling him. Keir brings his front paw to his face as if he were face-palming. Just great, the person I was told to avoid is the one I must get past on the parapet.
“Ready for this, Sorrengail?”
Rhiannon asked. Crap, Roirson’s head snaps in my direction as he stalks towards me,
“Sorrengail?” I am reminded of how small I am, putting any fear into a little box in my mind. Keir moves just a step ahead, lowering himself if he has to attack. I put my hand on his head to keep him from doing that.
“Violet, is everything ok?” Rhiannon asks as she gives Riorson a suspicious look.

“You’re General Sorrengail’s youngest,” he spats, “unlike me, who has no control over who my mother is.”
“And you’re Fen Riorson’s son,” I shot back, Mira’s warning ringing in my ears. This is it, he is just going to pick me up and throw me off the edge of the turret.

Xaden takes a deep breath, and his jaw muscles flex.
“You’re Mother captured my father and oversaw his execution.” White hot rage courses through my veins. He acts as the only one who lost something in the rebellion. “Your father killed my older brother. Seems that makes us even”

“Hardly”, his glare goes over as if to take in every detail about me, or looking for the best spot to kill me, “your sister’s a rider, correct. Guess that explains the leathers.”
“Guess so,” holding his glare as if it could get me into the quadrant. Xaden’s hands clench into fists, looking like he is getting ready to strike. Keir begins moving closer to me, trying to size up Xaden, bearing his teeth. “Well, what do we have here?” Xaden says in a mocking tone, “Never thought that General Sorrengail would keep a house beast.”

“Leave Keir alone, he is going to head back soon anyway.” I don’t care if Xaden kills me, but I will not let anyone mess with my dog.
“Are you all right?” Rhiannon asks, her gaze going between Xaden, Keir, and me. His stare turns towards Rhiannon. “Friend of yours?”
“We met on the stairs,” she tells him as she squares shoulders. He looks down and takes in our mismatched boots, raising a scared brow, "Interesting.” Of course, the sky chose that moment to open up and let rain come crashing down, soaking everything, making the walk across the parapet that much harder. Thanks a lot, Mom. Steadying myself, I dare to look him in the eyes. “So are you going to kill me or what?” A scream cuts through the air. Rhiannon, Keir, and I see Dlyan catch himself from slipping completely off the parapet.
“Come on, Dlyan, pull yourself up,” Rhiannon yells. But it’s too late, he loses his grip and falls to his death.

“Why on earth would I waste my time killing you when the parapet would do it for me?” a wicked smile on his face, “Your turn, Sorrengail.”

Chapter Text

I will not die today, I repeat to myself.
“I’ll see you on the other side,” Rhiannon tells me as she begins to cross.
“ Name for the record,” the rider with the scroll asks, as the other tries in vain to cover the roll to stop it from getting completely soaked—a useless task. A clash of thunder is heard overhead. Most people are indifferent or afraid of it, but Keir and I have always loved watching storms together. Storms are relaxing, and I try to steady my nerves as I get ready to cross, dropping Keir’s leash.
“Name,” the rider with the scroll asks.

“ Violet Sorrengail,” I answer,
“ as in General Sorrengail? I thought she only had one daughter?”

“ Yes, the same, though she wishes she only had one daughter.” Being compared to my mother is getting old fast. They will see me as gifted or weak, as the rest of my family, making it open season on my life.

I step up onto the parapet to get my bearings to cross.
“I think you could even mount a dragon of your size. I pity whatever wing you end up in. That is, if you even make it across.” The ass behind me mocks. Keir gives him a quick backup kick, and then he moves to try to jump onto the parapet.
“Where do you think you're going?” Xaden steps on the end of his leash and picks it up. Tying it into more of a loop knot.

“Keir, stay here, or take the healers’ tunnel and return to the barracks,” I tell him. He gives me a whine, disagreeing with me
“No, Keir, stay.”

“Name?” the rider asks again
“ Jack Barlowe, you better remember it, cause I am going to be a wingleader one day.”
“You'd better get going, Sorrengail,” Xaden tells me
“Unless you need a little motivation,” Jack lunges for me, getting ready to push me off, but Keir turns quickly and moves to bite him. Just grazing his upper thigh.

Fear shoots through me as I make my way out, hearing Jack curse at my dog, and he nearly avoids a full-on bite from Keir. Stay calm, start saying things you know, don’t look down. “Beyond Krovla, beyond our enemy, lie the distant Barrend, a desert-“

Thunder cracks, and a strong gust slams into me, “Shit”.
Crouching down, trying to make myself as small as possible, waiting for the wind to subside. Since I got onto the parapet, the storm just got even worse. Guess Mom is not taking it easy on me, or even helping, for that matter. Thanks a lot, Mom. There are easier methods if she wanted me dead.

I can almost see the riders’ quadrant when I go to stand again. I feel something touch the top of my head. Turing, I see Keir on the god damn parapet! “ Keir, what in all the gods above are you doing here?” He is crouched, looking like he crawled his way to me. How he is not falling off is a gift from Zinhal himself.

“You know what, fine, no sending you back now.” I grab his leash hanging off the end and hook it to me, the best I can, 200 feet in the air and in a storm. “Let's go.”
As I stand, I look behind me to see where Jack is; he stands there waiting.
He stands just at the quarter mark, when they send the next candidate to cross, the wind not even affecting his balance, his back to Keir and me. The next candidate is wobbly as he tries to keep his balance. Jack grabs the gangly boy and throws him off the parapet. Holy shit.

“You’re next, Sorrengail! And I am shoving that deranged mutt of yours off as well!” Jack bellows, jerking my gaze from the ravine.

“Keir, let’s move now!” My left foot is slipping a little more with each step I take. Another gust of wind slams into me, making me stumble and fall hard on my left knee. I yelp in pain, Keir letting out a soft whine I can barely hear over the wind and rain. Gripping the sides of the parapet, I brace as much weight as I can on the slick stones to hold. Keir nudges my back in encouragement as I try to get my right foot under me. Keir and I will discover how cold the river is if one wrong move is made. We’ll be dead on impact.

“Coming for you, Sorrengail. Honestly, I am doing the quadrant a favor by killing you now,” Jack calls. He is getting closer. I move as fast as I can, seeing stone rise on both sides of us, “ you think you’ll be safe in there, his voice is harsh and close. Running the last ten feet, we jump down the parapet where two riders wait.

Spinning around, I pull a dagger from its sheath at my ribs as Jack comes to a sudden stop, my dagger at his balls.
“I think. I’ll be safe for right now,” I manage between my breaths, Keir behind me bearing his fangs.
“Will you?” Jack snarls, pure rage on his face.
“It’s unlawful for a rider to cause harm to another while in a quadrant formation or in the presence of a superior-cadet,” my heartbeat is in my throat, “Judging from the crowd behind us, I think it’s clear we are in a formation.”

“I don’t give a shit!” Jack goes to move, but I hold my ground, and my dagger digs deeper into his crotch, slicing through the first layer of his breeches. “ I think you may want to reconsider, or else my hand might slip.”
“Name?” The rider beside me drawls, “You’re pretty small for a rider, but you made it by the looks of it.”
“Violet Sorrengail,” I answer, “Before you ask, yes, I am that Sorrengail.”
“I'm not surprised by that move,” the rider says. Your name.”
“Jack Barlowe”, the look in his eyes says he will snap my neck as soon as he gets down.

“Well, Jack,” the male rider says, “ Cadet Sorrengail has you by the actual balls here. She’s right. Regs says that there is nothing but respect among riders at formation. If you want to kill her, either do it on your time or during a challenge. That is, if she lets you off the parapet. She is on the grounds, and you’re not,” he tells Jack, a lazy smile coming across his face at that last part.

“ What if I just kill her as soon as I get down?” Jack snarls.
“ Then you get to meet the dragons early; we just execute around here,” the female rider informs him.

“What’s it going to be, Sorrengail, going to let Jack here start as a eunuch?” the male rider asks.
“Are you going to follow the rules?” I ask Jack
“Not like I have a choice, “ he huffs out.

I slowly pull my dagger away from him and step back, but before Jack can jump down the 12 inches, Keir lunges forward and bites Jack right where I had my dagger. He lets out such a high-pitched sound, I think only Keir could hear it. He falls off the parapet holding his balls. The female rider holding the sculls smirks a little, and the male rider sucks in a breath but tries to hide his smile.

“Are you really going to let that beast stay?” Jack gasps between breaths, trying not to pass out

“ Well, let’s see here. Most animals are considered property; whatever a rider carries across is theirs. Look here: the end of a rope attached to Cadet Sorrengail is attached to that dog,” the male rider points out, as if he is talking about the weather, which has miraculously cleared up.

“She didn’t carry that monster; it walked across itself,” Jack snarls, still on the ground.

“The dog is attached to her person, and the dog did make it across the parapet,” the female rider adds, smirking, “guess it’s up to whatever wingleader she is assigned to can make that call if the dog stays or not. What is the dog's name for fun and for the record?”

“His name is Keir,” I tell her. She hums and, I guess, writes Keir’s name next to mine. I start to walk away to find Rhiannon, putting most of my weight onto Keir as we go.

“You are both dead, Sorrengail, you and that damn dog,” Jack threatens.

Chapter Text

I’m alive. I made it. My body trembles even more now that the adrenaline is wearing off. I lean slightly toward Keir, who looks very pleased with himself.
“You do know I don’t have any of your stuff, and I doubt Mom will let me go and get it now that you are also in the quadrant.” He gave me a shocked look, as if he didn’t think that pet through all the way.

“I think you made an enemy there,” the redhead says, looking me up and down. I’d watch your back with that if I were.” Keir lets out a bark as if telling her he dares Jack to come and try. “Though he might want to think twice with your unique’ weapon ‘,” she glances at Keir. I laugh, and Keir just wags his stubby tail.

Someone grips my shoulder from behind and spins me. My dagger is halfway up, and Keir is ready to pounce on the person who touched me, when we realize it’s Rhiannon.
“We made it!” She grins
“We made it,” I repeat, forcing a smile. Now that we are both here, as cadets, can I trust her?

“I can’t thank you enough. You were right, those soles were slick as shit, I almost fell three times. And I thought Keir had to stay on the other side of the parapet?” She asks
“ Keir had other ideas, “I tell her, scratching him behind his ear. He decided to bite Jack in the balls before he could step off the parapet.” I explain that it would be up to whichever wingleader I get whether he can stay or not.

Rhiannon starts laughing
“ Oh, and Keir and I will get along just fine. Who wouldn’t want such a sweet face in their wing?” Once she can talk again, she loops her arm in mine as we begin our way into the crowd, making sure to sneak a pat to Keir’s head. “We need to trade boots, there is a bench-“

A tall figure in a pristine black uniform steps and charges towards us. Rhiannon manages to double while I slam right into his chest.
“ Violet?” Strong hands catch me to steady me. I look into a pair of familiar chocolate brown eyes, wide with shock. It’s Dain Aetos. When I last saw him, he seemed taller and more filled out than last summer.
“ What the hell are you doing here?” he barks out at me. Keir, not taken to being ignored, nudges Dani’s hand to get his attention, telling him that he is here, too.

“Keir, how the hell, you know what, not now.” Keir lets out a whine.
“It's Good to see you, too, Dain,” I say sarcastically. God, the nausea is getting worse, and my knee gives out.
“Damn it, Vi.” Dain leads me away from the crowd into an alcove in the wall. Keir follows happily behind us. There is a well-hidden spot with a bench. Dain helps me take off my rucksack and sit down.
“Head between your knees,” he orders in a harsher tone than necessary. Keir gives him a light shove as he sits beside me and licks my face.

“ Really, Keir,” Dain exasperates. Keir lets out a snort. I hear approaching footsteps on the gravel, “Who the hell are you?” Keir lets out a small bark as a greeting.
“I’m Rhiannon. I’m Violet’s …. friend”
“ Listen to me, Rhiannon. Violet is fine,” he commands. If anyone asks, you tell them it is just the adrenaline working out of her system.”

“It’s no one’s business what’s going on with Violet,” she retorts to him. Her tone just as sharp, “So I won’t say shit. Especially when she is the reason I made it across.”
“You better mean that,” he warns, his tone at odds with the soothing circles he is making on my back.
“I could just as easily ask who you are to Violet,” she retorts.
“He is one of my oldest friends,” I say as I unlace my left boot.

“Oh,” Rhiannon answers
“And a second-year rider, cadet,” he growls. Rhiannon takes a small step back. “No one can see you here, Vi. Take your time,” he tells me softly.
“Because puking my guts out after I crossed the parapet and the ass who wanted to throw me off would make me seem weak,” I rise slowly, sitting upright, petting Keir’s head.
“Exactly, are you hurt?” His gaze racks over my form with a desperate edge.
“My knee is a bit sore,” I admit only in a whisper because it’s Dain.

“Is that all, and are you wearing daggers?” he exclaims. Keir gives a warning huff. Dain raises his hands in surrender.
“Yes, what else did you expect me to fight with while I am here, Dain?”

“Just get your boots switched back, you look ridiculous,” Dain leans close to my ear and whispers, “Vi, do you trust this one?” I nod, “ as much as you can trust another first year.”

“Alright then,” he says and stands, turning to Rhiannon. I’m Dain Aeros, the leader of Second Squad, Flame Section, Second Wing. We still have a few parapets, depending on how fast the candidates are. Go find the redhead with the crossbow and tell her to put you and Violet in my squad. Tell her she owes me for saving her during Threshing if she troubles you. I will bring Violet back to the courtyard shortly, " he tells Rhiannon.
She glances at me, and I give her a nod.
“Go now before someone sees us,” Dain barks at her.

“Going,” she answers after lacing up her boot. She is only leaving this easily cause Dain will be her squad leader.

“You cross the parapet with an equestrian boot that was too big for you?!” Dain asks, glaring down at me with incredulity. Keir nudges him again, giving a low growl.
“She would have died without trading mine,” I stand and wince on my bad knee. Keir comes to my side to help me walk. “And you’re going to die if we don’t get you out of here. Let me take you to my room to wrap your knee.” He offers his arm, Keir jumps up and knocks it down before I could take it.

“I am fine with Keir’s help, thank you very much,” I tell him
“Damn it, Violet, damn it.” He moves to pick up my rucksack as he leads us towards a tunnel at the end of the alcove. “You’re not supposed to be here, either of you.” he gives Keir a dirty look. Dain is upset at him for not letting him help me up to his room.

I roll my eyes at him, “Well aware, Dain.” I limp a little with Keir.
“You’re supposed to be in the Scribe Quadrant,” he seethes, leading us through the tunnel. “Please tell me you did not volunteer for the Riders Quadrant and didn’t purposely bring Keir along.”

“What do you think happened, Dain?” I challenge him. He lets out a string of curses: " Your mother.”

“Yes, my mother, and before you ask, no, Keir decided that he was going to cross. He manipulated his way up to the start,” I tell him. Keir wagging his tail, like he came up with a golden plan.

We make it to the second-year floor, and Dain tries to tell me I am not supposed to be on this floor. I respond that if anyone sees us, I was so overcome with lust that I just had to have it now. I will even throw in a few ‘oh Dain’ to make it believable.

“Ever the smart-ass.” A wry smile tugs at his lips, and is that a hint of blush down his neck? He drops my bag before a wooden door and unlocks it with lesser magic.

“Oh, don’t look so surprised.” He rolls his eyes and helps me into his room. I see the book I gave him last summer, which is front and center on his desk.
“Do you have wraps in here?” Dain asks, pointing to my bag.
“Major Gillstrad gave me some,” I answer with a nod.

“Make yourself at home.” He grins. Keir makes a beeline for his bed. “Keir, no, get down!” He snaps his fingers, and Keir enters a play bow like Dain just started a game. I laugh as I sit down on the bed as well.
“ You did say make yourself at home, he thought you were talking to him. I missed you.”

Dain rubs his hand down his face, softening, “ I missed you too, and I was talking to you, not Keir. Gods, he is going to get fur all over my bed. You'd better get that leg wrapped.” Moves to turn and face away from, Keir then grabs the blanket at the foot of his bed, “shit no, drop that right now, Keir, bad dog!” Keir dances around him. Dain grabs one end of the blanket and starts pulling. Keir now believes he is in a game of tug of war. I laugh as I start removing my pants to wrap my knee.

“It’s not anything you haven’t seen before, and if you keep pulling, Keir is going to keep playing,” I tell him
“Well, we are not sneaking away to swim in a river now. And we are not playing, " he teases, still trying to get his blanket back from Keir. Once my knee is wrapped and my pants are back on, “ all covered.”

Dain finally manages to get his blanket back from Keir, half-covered in dog drool. He glances at me, “You look different,” eyes not leaving my body.

“Well, well, Dain Ateos, you've seen me in just about everything, and you're telling me that leather does it for” I tease him
He scoffs, “ Glad a year apart hasn’t dulled your tongue, Vi.”
“Oh, I am sure you will be impressed by what my tongue could do.”

He flushes, his eyes are heated, and Dain tries to lean in closer to me. Just then, Keir tackles Dain to the ground. Whatever spell he was under breaks at Keir, lands on top of him. I laugh, pulling open his door and returning to the courtyard, “Looks like Keir is not done playing with you yet, Dain.”

“Is he even allowed to be here Vi”
“ That will be up to the wingleader of second wing Dain. Not like he is against the codex.” I tell him.
“Why would something like that even be in the codex to begin with.” Dain rubs his face again and moves towards the door.

Dain groans, “We need to get you out of here, Vi.” he locks his door. No one is in the hall or staircase, so we make our way down quickly.
“Thanks, Dain. My knee feels a lot better now.”

“I still can’t believe your mother thought sending you to the riders’ quadrant was a good idea.” I can feel the anger vibrating off of him.
“Me neither, though the thought of her trying and keeping Keir under control for the next three years without killing or getting rid of him seems even more unlikely.” I try to ease the tension with a joke. “She announced her decree last spring and only gave me six months of training with Major Gillstead.”

Dain gives me a hard look, “A door to the left will take you to the healers' quadrant. If you hurry, you can still take the test for the scribes.”
I pause, anger building in me, “I can’t go, Dain, she will not stand for it.” He takes a step back, “Vi, please, go, you can have an incredible bar story to tell-“

“No, Dain. I am not going anywhere. How did you even tell Rhiannon to put us in your squad if you are just going to make me leave?”

“To get her to leave!” He shouts, lowering his voice, “Please, Violet, you will break in the first match they put you in. You need to go before the dragons-“

“ Before, the dragons saw how weak I am.”

“ Don’t go putting words in my mouth, Vi. There is no guarantee a dragon will bind you. Please, I can’t watch my best friend die! I can’t protect you, at least. Not here.”

“I never asked for your protection, Dain. My mother will not let me leave. Even Mira could not talk her out of it.”

He searches my eyes, trying to find the answer, “Shit,” he says under his breath.

“Yeah, shit,” I shrug, going to find Rhiannon.

Dain calls out, “We will find another way to get you out, Vi, I promise.” Keir body slams him into the wall as he walks past to join my side. Letting out a huff of a bark.

Chapter Text

Leaving Dain behind, Keir and I begin to look for Rhiannon. It takes a few minutes, but we find her in a growing crowd. She is talking to another girl, whose jet black hair is as short as Dain’s. “There you two are, I was starting to worry. Is everything….” She lifts her eyebrows.
“I’m good to go,” I tell her, turning towards the other woman as Rhiannon induces us. Her name is Tara.

Tara has the same air about her as Mira does, a born rider. “Aww, what a handsome boy you have there, Violet.” Tara coons. “ Can I pet him? I figured I would ask first, but I would hate to lose my hand if he says no.”
I laugh at her last statement; she is not wrong: “Go ahead, Keir would be insulted otherwise.” We spend the next hour talking, well, Rhiannon and Tara do, I stay mostly quiet, taking in information in case I have to use it to form alliances later. Keir is just in the middle of the three of us, soaking up all the attention he can. He even rolled onto his back for belly rubs at one point. “At least one of us is enjoying ourselves,” I mumble to him. Keir wags his tail, letting out a happy bark.

An hour passes, and the last cadets walk into the courtyard, followed by three riders from the other turret. Xaden is among them. Not his height makes him stand out; it’s how everyone gets out of his way. I can’t help but wonder what his signet is to make even third-year riders avoid him. There are ten of them up on the dais. Commandant Pancheo moves to the front, facing us-
“I think we’re about to start,” I say to Rhiannon and Tara both turn to face the dais. Kier gets up, seeming upset that his pets were interrupted.

“Three hundred and one survived the parapet to become cadets today,” Commandant Pancheck starts with a politician’s smile, gesturing to us. This guy always talks with his hands. Good job. Sixty-seven people died trying to get here.” Keir lets out a low grumble. He never did trust Pancheck.

“I’ve heard this position is just a stepping stone for him.” Tara whispers, “He wants Sorrengail’s job, then General Melgren’s.”
“General Melgren’s,” Rhiannon whispers from my other side.
“He’ll never get it,” I say quietly. Melgren’s dragon gives him the ability to see the outcome of battles. It's hard to be killed if you see it before it happens.”

I am half-listening to Pancheck as he welcomes us to the quadrant. “ With that said, I’ll leave you to your wingleaders. My best advice? Don’t die.” He walks off the dais, leaving only the riders on the stone stage.

A brunette woman with broad shoulders and a scarred sneer stalks forward, the spikes on her uniform shine in the sunlight. “I’m Nyra, the senior wingleader of the quadrant and head of first wing. Section and squad leaders, take your positions now. When your name is called, cadets take up formation behind your squad leader.”

I sighed in relief when the wingleader for the second wing stepped forward, and it was not Xaden. Rhiannon and I were called to Dain’s squad, who was trying his best not to look at me. We were silent as the rest of the wings were called. Skin was burning, and Keir was panting. I wish I had his special water skin so he could get a drink.

When the order sounds, we all turn to face the dais. Xaden watches me with a cold, calculating look that feels like he is plotting my demise from his position as the leader of the Fourth Wing. I lift my chin, and Keir sits up straighter.

He cocks his scared brow, then says something to the leader of the second wing. Which turned into a heated discussion among all the wingleaders.
“What do you think they are talking about?” Rhiannon whispers
“Quiet.” Dain hisses, Keir sticks his tongue out at him.
Finally, the wingleaders turn to face us once again, and the slight tilt of Xaden’s lips makes me uneasy.

“Dain Aetos, you and your squad will switch with Aura Beinhaven’s.” Nyra orders.
Dain mobs as we move to our new wing. Wait, no shit. We are being moved to the fourth wing, which means I am now at the mercy of Xaden. And by the smirk on his face, he just knows it.

Xaden steps forward once the assignments are done, “You’re all cadets now.” His voice carries over the courtyard. “Take a good look at your squads, they are the only people guaranteed by the codex not to kill you. Doesn’t mean others won’t try to kill you. You want a dragon, then earn one.”

People cheer, but I can’t bring myself to, thinking of the sixty-seven people who lost their lives today. “Bet you feel pretty badass right now, untouchable,” Xaden starts. Another round of applause, no, not cheering, that is the sound of wing beats. Eight dragons are flying toward us; they land on the outer wall.

A few cadets scream. Steam blasts my face as a navy blue one in front of me exhales through its wide nostrils. People start to run, and the dragons make quick work of them, blasting them with fire. Dragons are not a fan of Rhodes, who runs.

The navy blue dragon tilts its head at me as if daring me to run, narrowing its golden eyes. I bet it can sense the binding of my knee. It knows I am at a disadvantage. Keir comes closer to my side and bears his fangs on the dragon, letting out a low growl. Crap, does he have a death wish? The dragon blinks and looks away. Hopefully, that is a sign of approval, not that it wants to kill me and my dog.

“Anyone else feel like running?” Xaden asks and then grins. “Good. Most of you will be dead by this time next summer. A third of you again by the following year, and the same after that. Your mommy and Daddy can’t save you now; King Tauri’s son learned that two years ago.”

They want us scared, mission accomplished. “Remember this: to the dragons, you are nothing more than prey.”

Chapter Text

This morning, we’re all in rider black, standing in silent formation as the death roll is read. We are in the fifties now, but I lost count. My skin is agitated from wearing the armor all night, like Mira asked. There are a hundred and fifty-six of us in the first-floor dorms.

“We commend their souls to Malek.” Captain Fitzgibbons closes the scroll. Guess we were closer to the end than I thought. The squad leaders turn and begin to address their squads.

“Hopefully you all ate breakfast, because you will not get another chance till lunch,” Dain announces, his eyes meet mine for a split second, but he looks away just as quickly. “ Second and third year, I assume you know where to go. For the first years, at least one of you must have memorized your schedule when it was handed out. Stick together. I expect you all to be alive when we meet in the sparring gym this afternoon.”

Shit, I almost forgot we are sparring today. It’s fine if I can survive today. I can make it a few more days before we return. At least we have some time before training for the Gauntlet.

“And if we’re not?” A smart ass first year behind me asks.
“Then I don’t have to learn your name.” Dain deadpans. I don’t even look, Keir snorts, and Rhiannon rolls her eyes. “Sawyer?” Dain looks to the first year to my left.
“ I’ll get them there.” A tall, wiry cadet answers with a tight nod.
“Get going.” Dain orders. The squad breaks apart.

“We have about twenty minutes to get to class,” Sawyer shouts at the eight of us, “ fourth floor, second room on the left in the academic wing.” He doesn’t bother waiting and heads off to the dorms to get his stuff.

“Must be hard having to repeat your first year,” Rhiannon says as we follow the crowd toward the dorms.
“Better than being dead,” the smart ass says as he passes us, trying to bop Keir in the head. Keir makes a half-hearted attempt at nipping his hand. Ridoc, I think, is his name. A bird whistles to the left. Keir perks up his ears and turns in that direction.

I recognize it immediately; it’s Dain. It comes again near the rotunda. “I’ll be, “ I try to tell Rhiannon, but she already follows mine and Keir’s line of sight.

“ I’ll go grab your stuff, it’s not a problem, your bunk is right next to mine,” she tells me. “ Thank you,” I tell her. Keir and I make our way over to see what Dain wants.
Passing the dark red dragon statue, a hand grabs me and pulls me behind it. “It’s just me,” Dain says.

“I figured that much, first of your bird call and second if it weren’t you, Keir would have taken your arm off,” I tell him. Keir lets out a bark of agreement and sits down, and starts to like his butt.

“We only have a few minutes before it’s packed in here. How is your knee?” He asks.
“A little sore, but I’ll live.”
“No, he tried to screw with you last night,” concern lines his face. I lean back to take some weight off my knee, “Would it be so bad if they did?” I tease him.

Dain groans, frustrated,” You know that’s not what I mean, Vi.”
“ No one tried to kill me last night, Dain. Pretty sure we were all too tired, and Keir can spook most people off who are tired while I slept.” Keir lets a bark of agreement and goes back to cleaning himself.

“And you ate breakfast this morning?” He asks
“Yes, Dain, both Keir and I ate. Thanks for asking about him as well. And I wrapped my knee and braided my hair an hour before the bells chimed at six. I still keep scribe hours and must let Keir go to the bathroom in the morning. Makes me want to sign up for breakfast duty, actually.”

Dain looks at my hair. “You should cut it. There is a reason girls keep their hair short here, Vi.”

“Don’t you start, Dain?” I shake my head. My hair is one thing I have control over.” We are getting off topic. I need to know why we were moved to the fourth wing and if Keir can stay.
“Why was our squad moved from the second wing to the fourth wing, Dain?” He stiffens and looks away, “Tell me, Dain.”

“Fuck, Xaden Riorson wants you dead.” He rubs his hand through his hair.
“he moved the squad so he has a direct line to me.”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Violet.” Dain goes to cup my face, Keir decides to jump on Dain and lick his face.
“Bawls, yuck, what the hell, Keir? I think your tongue got into my mouth!” Dain started spitting and rubbing his lips. I just laughed at him. “What? Keir just wanted to apologize for yesterday.”

“Violet, he was just licking his ass, then put his tongue in my mouth!”
“Dain, there is not much you can do.” I start to leave. “ I have to get to class. Let’s go, Keir.”

His jaw tightens, “Just do your best to keep a low profile. I’ll see if I can get one of the second years to stand-“

Cut him off, “ Dain, no one will kill me in history, and I already have a guard. Cute one at that.” I point to Keir, who puffs up his chest. I took the leash off of him, and I did more work, and he has always been good off leash, well, for me anyway. I will keep it to myself just in case. “Do you really think he will stab me in the middle of class?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s fucking ruthless, Violet. Why do you think his dragon chose him?”
“The navy blue one, Keir thought, was a good idea to growl at the other day.”

“Still can’t believe he did that and lived, Sgaeyl is a blue dagger tail, and she is vicious.” He swallows hard, “Don’t get me wrong, Cath is a nasty piece of work when he gets riled up. But Sgaeyl, other dragons steer clear of her.”

“What is your signet power?” I ask him. I can’t help but wonder what Xaden’s power is and if he would use it to kill me.

He hesitates, “ I can read a person’s recent memories,” Dain admits quietly, “ not like an intuition, I have to be touching the person. I am not much of a security risk. But my signet is not common knowledge. I think they will use me in intelligence.” He points to the compass patch on his shoulder.
“No way,” I smile at him.

He nods, excitement on his face, then it drops, “This place can wrap almost everything about a person, Vi. It cuts away the bullshit and the niceties, revealing whoever you are at your core. Trust me, Vi, if they let me, I would have written to you daily while I was gone.”

“I have to get to class, Dain.”
“Yeah, and I have to get to the flight field. Look, Riorson is still a wingleader, he will find a way to kill you but will make sure it is within the codex.” He flushes, “ I became a good friend with Amber Mavis, the wingleader of the third wing, last year.” Keir makes a gagging sound at that statement, and Dain glares at him and Keir just wags his tail with a happy face. “Anyways, the codex is scared of the wingleaders.”

“ I’ll see you later, Dain,”
I turn to leave Keir at my side, but the hairs on my neck stand up, and Keir looks up at the top of the steps. Oh shit.
Xaden Riorson is watching us with narrowed eyes. My heart jumps. I should run, but I have to know if Keir can stay; he hasn't ruled on it yet. Xaden tilts his head and studies me with his dark eyes until something else takes his attention.

Dain emerges from behind the pillar, “What are you two looking at?”
“Top of the steps. Fourth door.” I hiss, Keir is going on high alert.
Dain's gaze snaps up, and he pales.

“I already knew your parents were tight,” Xaden starts, “but do you have to be so fucking obvious?” He has a cruel smile on his lips.
A few cadets turn and look at us.
“Let me guess,” Xaden continues, “ childhood friends? First loves, even?”

“He can’t hurt you without cause,” I whisper to Dain.

“Correct, but you’re not. Run, Violet. I will try to hold him off.” Dain tells me.
“No,” I say
Dain looks at me like I have gone insane.
“Vi, you can’t be serious. Is this about Keir? He is not worth it.” Dain tries to plead with me.
Keir growls at Dain.
“Yes, Dain, this is about Keir. It is worth it to me, and I have to know if he can stay or not.”

“I expected you to do a better job of hiding where your affections lie, Aetos.” Xaden moves, walking down the steps

“ I was helping this first year find her class, Wingleader Riorson.” Dain tries to cover.

“Oh, really.” Xaden raises his brow. “And what help does this first year need so bad that you had to do it behind a pillar?”
Dain stumbles over his words.
“Dismissed, Squad leader.”
“But, sir,” Dain starts
“I said dismiss.” Xaden orders, leaving no room for. Dain leaves, giving me a look as if it will be the last time he sees me.

Once Dain is gone, Xaden asks me, “Do you really need help finding your class?” I just noticed the other person standing beside him, a tall, hulking figure with curly dark hair and a relic on his arm.

“No, I don’t, but I want to know if Keir is staying,” I tell him. “Apparently, it’s up to you now if he can be here.”

Xaden turns to look Keir up and down. Keir gives him puppy dog eyes, “The hound who growled at my dragon wants to stay?”
The man next to him gives him a sideways look, as if waiting for his answer. “ Frankly, I don’t give a shit, seeing as to the reports he was attached to you. He can stay; leash him.”

Keir gives him a grumble, “Keir hates to be on leash,” I say under my breath.

Xaden looks at the two of us. “Well, seeing as it will annoy the hell out of Aetos, he can stay off leash for now. But if he causes trouble, the leash will be the least of your worries.”

I give Xaden a bright, cheerful smile. “Thank you so much, Wingleader Riorson. Let’s get to class before we are late, Keir.” As we go, I baby talk to Keir, “Now we just need to figure out where to get your stuff, sweet boy. I doubt Mom would let us go back and pack you a bag. We will figure something out so you can get your blanket and toys.” I coo to him.

Keir gives a happy bark and dances around me as we turn to leave. I don’t notice the shock and slightly flustered face on Xaden as he walks away, but Keir does, giving Xaden a look that can only be described as smug and plotting. Looks like Keir has a new toy to play with.

Chapter Text

“Welcome to your first battle brief,” Professor Devera says from the floor of the massive lecture hall. Every seat is filled, and the third years are standing in the back. The first years in my squad are all sitting together. Keir is sitting between Rhiannon and me. He has room to lie under the table if he chooses to. But he is at attention as if he is also taking the class.

Professor Devera continues by saying that this is our most important class, and it’s usually only the third year that gets called out into the field. Her gaze sweeps along the first years, and her eyes go wide for a heartbeat when she spots me, but she gives me a smile of approval. Her gaze softens when she catches Keir sitting next to me, and he gives her a silent bark as if he is saying hi. Whenever our paths crossed at Basgiath, she would sneak Keir a treat or two.

“Because this class is taught daily and relies on the most current information, you will also answer to Professor Markham, who deserves nothing but your utmost respect.” She waves the scribe forward, and he stands beside her. He leans in when she whispers something to him, and his thick eyebrows fly high as he whips his head in my direction. There is no approving smile on his face, only a look of disappointment. Keir pins his ear back and scrunches his face at Professor Markham. Those two never got along and barely tolerate one another.

“First topic of the day.” Professor Devera moves towards the map and brings out a mage light directly over the eastern border with the Proromiel province of Braevick. “The eastern wing attack last night near the village of Chakir by a drift of Braevi gryphons and riders.”
Oh shit, I dip my quill into the inkpot on the desk in front of me so I am ready to take notes.

“Naturally, some information is redacted for security purposes, but we can tell you that the ward faltered along the top of Esnen. Allowing the drift to not only enter Navarrian territory but for their riders to be able to wield sometime around midnight.”

My stomach sinks as murmur rises from the cadets. “Thirty-seven civilians were killed in the attack in the hour before a squad from the eastern wing could arrive, but the riders and dragons managed to repel the drift.” Professor Devera finishes, “Based on this information, what questions would you ask, only the first years?”

I studied the map, and the Espen Mountain range is the highest along the eastern border. Gryphons don’t tolerate altitude nearly as well as dragons, so why attack there? “Come on, first years, show me you have more than good balance.” Professor Devera demands, “It’s more important than ever that you’re ready for beyond our borders.”

“Is this the first time the wards have faltered?” A first-year student, a couple of rows ahead, asks. Professor Devera and Markham share a look before she turns to answer, “No.”
My heart jolts with this information. The girl clears her throat. “And how….often are they faltering?” she asks.
Markham’s eyes narrow at her, “That is above your pay grade, cadet. Next question.” He turns towards my section.

“How many casualties did the wing suffer?” A first-year student to my right asks.
“One injured dragon and one dead rider. Why would you ask that particular question?” Professor Devera asks the cadet.

“To know how much reinforcement they’ll need.” He answers. Professor Devera turns towards Pryor, the meekest first year in our squad. He keeps putting his hand up, then back down again, like he can’t decide to ask a question.

“Did you want to ask a question?” Professor Devera prompts him.
“Yes,” he nods and shakes his head. “No, never mind.”
“So decisive,” Luca mocks- the catty member of our squad, whom I will do anything to avoid. So that Keir doesn’t bite and take a limb from her.
“He’s in our squad,” Aurelie chastises her. As Luca and Aurelie argue, Keir puts his wet nose in my ear, and I look at him, giving him a questionable look. He nudges his head towards the front of the room as if telling me to ask what I am thinking.

“Dain said to lie low,” I hiss at him. Keir huffs as if to tell me screw that. I feel Dain staring at the back of my head, willing me to listen to him, not Keir.

“What was the altitude of the village?” I ask. It's too late, and I'm trying to keep a low profile. Professor Devera’s eyebrows rise as she turns toward me, and every head in the room also turns to me.
“Markham”
“A little less than ten thousand feet,” he answers. “Why?”
“Gryphons aren’t as strong at that altitude, and neither is their ability to channel,” I say. “It’s an illogical place for them to attack unless they knew the wards would fail, especially since the village looks to be about an hour’s flight from the nearest outpost.” Glancing at the map to be sure. “That is Chakir right there, isn’t it?”

“It is.” A corner of Professor Devera’s mouth lifts into a smirk. “Keep going with that line of thought, Cadet Sorrengail.”
I can feel Dain's disapproval of not listening to him. Wait a minute. “Didn’t you say it took an hour for the squad of riders to arrive?”
“I did.” She looks at me with expectation.
“Then they were already on their way,” I blurted before I could stop myself.

Laughter sounds around me from the other cadets.
“Yeah, because that makes sense.” Jack turns around in his seat a few rows ahead of me and laughs at me. “General Melgren knows the outcome of a battle before it happens, but even he doesn’t know when it will happen, dumbass.”
Keir bares his fangs at Jack as he and most of my other classmates chuckle at me.

“Fuck off, Barlowe,” Rhiannon snaps.
“I’m not the one who thinks precognition is a thing,” he retorts. “Gods help us if that one ever makes it onto the back of a dragon.” Another round of laughter.

“Why do you think that, Violet-“ Professor Markham winces. “Cadet Sorrengail?”
“Because there’s no logical way they get there within an hour of the attack unless they were already on their way,” shooting Jack a glare. “It would take at least half that long to light the beacons in range and call for help, and no full squad is sitting around just waiting to be needed. More than half those riders would have been asleep, which means they were already on their way.” I conclude.

“And why would they already be on their way?” Professor Devera prods, and the light in her eyes tells me I’m right.
“Because they somehow knew the wards were breaking.” I lift my chin.

“That’s the most-“ Jack starts.
“She’s right,” Professor Devera interrupts, and a hush falls over the room. “One of the dragons in the wing sensed the faltering ward, and the wing flew. Had they not, the casualties would have been far higher and the destruction of the village much worse. Second and third years take over,” Professor Devera orders. “Let's see if you can be more respectful to your fellow cadets.” She arches an eyebrow to Jack as questions are being asked.

I write down every question and answer. “What was the condition of the village?” a deep voice asks from the back of the lecture hall, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Riorson?” Markharm asks, shielding his eyes from the bright light.
“The village,” Xaden restates, “Professor Devera said the damage would have been worse. But what is the actual condition? Was it burned? Destroyed? They wouldn’t do that if they were trying to get a foothold. So establishing the condition of the village matters in finding the motive for the attack.”

Professor Devera smiles in approval. “The building they’d already gone through was burned, and the rest were looted when the wing arrived.”
“They were looking for something,” Xaden says, “and it wasn’t riches. That’s not a gem mining district. Which begs the question, what do we have that they want so badly?”

“Exactly. That’s the question.” Professor Devera glanced around the room. “And that is why Riorson is a wingleader. It takes more than strength and courage to be a good rider.”

“You seriously knew every answer in history and apparently every right question to ask in a battle brief,” Rhiannon says, shaking her head as we sit on the sidelines of the sparring mat after lunch, watching Ridoc and Aurelie circle each other in their fighting leathers. Keir is stretched out in front of us, and we absently pet him while we watch the matches for the day.

“You’re not even going to have to study for tests, are you?” She teases as Keir rolls onto his back for a belly rub from her. I swear, he feeds off of attention.
“I was trained to be a scribe.” I shrug. There are three squads from each wing in here this afternoon, and luckily, I, from the first wing, sent in the squad that has Jack in it.

“Guess that means you’re not worried about academics,” Rhiannon says, scratching Keir’s chest.
“Stop circling each other like your dance partners and attack!” Professor Emerterio orders them.
“I’m more worried about this,” I tell Rhiannon, tilting my chin towards the mat.

“Really? I figured as a Sorrengail, you’d be a hand-to-hand threat.” She shoots me a skeptical look and stops petting Keir, to which he seems to take offense.

Ridoc tries to pull one of his daggers before Emetterio stops him, reminding him not to use blades today; it's just an assessment.
“The brunette packs a punch,” Rhiannon says with an appreciative smile before glancing my way.
“I’m pretty good on the mat. My village is on the Cygnisen border, so we all learned to defend ourselves young. Physics and math aren’t problems, either. But history?” She shakes her head and goes back to petting Keir. “That class might be the death of me.”

“They don’t kill you for failing history. I’m probably going to die on these mats.” I deadpan.
“I could probably offer some tips to survive combat training,” Sawyer says from the other side of Rhiannon. “History isn’t my strongest subject, though.”

A tooth goes flying out of Aurelie’s mouth.
“Enough!” Professor Emetterio shouts. “Cianna, take Aurelie to the healers. No need to lose a tooth during assessment.”
“I’ll make you deal,” Rhiannon says, locking her eyes with mine. “Let's help each other out. We’ll help you hand-to-hand if you help us with history. Sounds like a deal, Sawyer?”
“Absolutely.”
“Deal, but I think I’m getting the better end.”
“You haven’t seen me try to memorize dates.” Rhiannon jokes.

A couple of mats over, someone shrieks, making Keir roll over and jolt up, going on high alert. We all turn to look, and see Jack has another first year in a headlock. Jack yanks his arms, his hands still around the other man’s head.

“That guy is such an ass, I’m glad Keir bit him in the “ Rhiannon starts.
The sickening crack of bones breaking sounds across the gym, and the first year in Jack’s hold goes limp.

“Sweet Malek,” I whisper as Jack drops the man. Keir goes to stand at my side in case anything wants to attack me while I try not to lose my lunch.
“What did I say?” their instructor shouts as he charges onto the mat. “You broke his damned neck!”
“How was I supposed to know his neck was that weak?” Jack argues back.

“Eyes forward,” Emetterio orders, his tone kinder than it should be, as we all look away from the dead first-year. On the other hand, Keir keeps his glare on Jack as he moves to stand with his squad. “You don’t have to get used to it. But you do have to function through it. You and You.” He points to Rhiannon and other first-year students from our squad.

She makes quick work of him. What was his name again? Timmy? Tanner? Tyler?
“Do you yield?” She asks the guy when she takes him to his back.
“No!” He shouts as he hooks his legs around Rhiannon’s and slams her to her back. She recovers quickly and puts him in the same position as before.
“I don’t know, Tynan, you might want to yield,” Dain says with a grin, “she’s handing you your ass.”

“Fuck off, Aetos!” Tynan snaps, but Rhiannon presses her boot to his throat. It appears Tynan has more egos than brains.
“He yields,” Emetterio calls out, and Rhiannon steps back, offering her. Tynan takes it.
Keir wags his tail as she walks back towards us.

“You—“ Emetterio points to the pink-haired second-year with the rebellion relic. And you.” His finger swings to me. I quickly hooked Keir to the leash I was holding. He lets out a whine. “Sorry, boy, but I can’t have you getting involved when I’m on the mat.” I hand the leash to Rhiannon. Try to keep him here.”
You’ve got this,” she tells me as she takes his leash and taps my shoulder.

“Sorrengail,” the pink-haired girl looks me over like I’m something Keir threw up, narrowing her pale eyes, “you really should dye your hair if you don’t want everyone to know who your mother is.”
“Never said I cared if everyone knows who my mother is.” I circle the second year on the mat. “I am proud of her service to protect our kingdom- from enemies, both without and within.”

Her jaw tightens at the dig, “You bitch, your mother murdered my family!” She lunges forward and swings wildly. I quickly sidestep, spinning away with my hands up. We go a few rounds, and I land a few jabs. She growls low in her throat as she misses me again. Her foot flies towards my head. I duck, but she then drops to the ground and kicks out with her other foot, which lands square in my chest, sending me backward.

I hit the mat with a thud. She is already above me.
“You can’t use your powers in here, Imogen!” Dain shouts.
Shit, she is really trying to kill me. I feel the quick slide of something hard against my ribs as she smiles down at me. But her smile fades as it comes in contact with my armor, and I can’t help but notice a dagger being re-sheathed.

Confusion crosses her face just long enough for me to send a fist to her cheek and roll out from under her.
“Imogen!” Emetterio shouts. “Do it again, and I’ll-“
I swerve the wrong way, and she catches me, taking me to the floor as she pulls my right arm behind me.

“Yield!” She shouts.
I can’t; I will look even more like a target if I yield. “No,” I seeth
She pulls my arm even more.
“Yield, Violet!” Dain yells.
“Yield!” Imogen demands.
Gasping for breath against the weight of her on my back.
“She yields, Emetterio says. “That’s enough.”

Right after the call, she twisted my shoulder and I heard it again- the macabre sound of snapping bone- but it’s mine this time. I feel Imogen’s weight suddenly leave me with a rush of air. I feel Keir standing over me, growling low at her. Telling her that if she moves any closer, he will rip her throat out.
“What Sorrengail, need your puppy to fight your battles for you?” She taunts.
“Enough Imagen,” Emetterio warns her.

“Violet!” I hear Dain shout as he rushes to me, “Keir, move.” Keir barely registers him as Dain shoves him from me. Dain scoops me into his arms and runs from the gym with Keir hot on our heels.

“Almost there,” he reassures me, his grip firm but careful on my ribs and beneath my knees as my useless arms rest on my chest.
“Everyone saw you lose it, Dain,” I whisper, doing my best to block out the pain.

“I didn’t lose it.” He tries to defend himself. Keir huffs at him as he paws and jumps at the door to get the healer’s attention.
“You shouted and carried me out there like I mean something to you.”
“You do mean something to me, Vi.”
Keir is still jumping at the door, now trying to open it himself.

When the door swings open, it’s Winifred, a healer at my side since coming to Basgiath. She stands back as Dain carries me in with Keir right behind, before she can close the door on him. “Another injury? You riders are trying to fill our beds to- Oh no, Violet?” Her eyes fly wide.

“Hi, Winifred,” I manage over the pain in my arm.
“This way.” She leads us into the infirmary and the rider section. Hopefully Nikon’s around tonight, he’s been mending me for the last five years.

Dain gently lays me onto the bed as Winifred leans into the edge of the mattress, near my hip. “Helen, go get Nolon,” she orders a healer walking by.
“No!” Dain barks at the healer. Keir levels him with a glare as if to tell him off.

“Helen, this is Violet Sorrengail, and if Nolon finds out she was here and you didn’t call him. Well, that’s on you.” Winifred says in a calm, tender voice.
Dain tries to pull a chair out to sit next to me, but Keir stops him.

“Violet, I know you’re hurting, but maybe…”
“Maybe what, Dain Aetos? You want to see her suffer?” Winifred begins. “ You brought her here, and now you will return to your squad. As a squad leader, it’s your duty. You've been here too long. Keir, be a dear and escort Squad leader Aetos out of my infirmary.”

Keir gives her a happy bark, grabs Dain’s hand in his mouth, and pulls him to the door. He tries to argue and stop Keir from removing him, but he fails. “You can’t let him mend her. Please!” His voice fades as Keir drags him away.

“I told her they’d break you. Would she have listened to me? Absolutely not. Your mother is so damned stubborn.” Winifred mutters as she examines me.
“Well, that is certainly broken. Mind telling me what happened, Violet?”
“Sparring.”

She sighs, “Drink this.” She hands me a tonic for the pain until Nolon can get here. A few minutes later, Keir is back, with no Dain in sight. The curtain whips back, and Nolon walks in, leaning heavily on his cane. He smiles at his wife, “You sent for me, my—" His smile falters as he sees me. Violet?”

“Hi, Nolon.” I try to smile. “I’d wave, butone ofmyarms doesn’t workand theotger feels realllllyyyheavy. Keeeiirrrrr waaavvee for meee.” Excellent, I am slurring my words. At least Keir lifts one of his front paws to Nolon in a doggy wave.

“Leigheas serum.” Winifred offers her husband a crooked smile. “Keir is with you, but I thought someone from your squad would also be here,” Nolon states.
“Dain is her squad leader, but I had Keir see to it that he had returned to his duties. Trying to say not to mend her. The nerve.” Winifred explains.
“He is not doing such a good job now?” Nolon mutters under his breath.

I am too out of it to try to defend him. But I feel the only reason Dain doesn’t want me mended is so I could go to the scribes. Fuck that!
“Ready?” Nolon asks, his hands hovering above my shoulder.
“Bite down.” Winifred holds a strap of leather in front of my mouth.

“Here we go,” Nolon mutters as he mends me. White hot agony erupts in my shoulder. My teeth slice into the leather strap as I scream, before I black out.

Keir POV
I watch Poppop Nolon and Nana Winifred help Mama. Once they are done and she is out cold, I go over to her uninjured side and nudge with my nose.

“She will be fine in a few hours, Keir.” Pop pop Nolon tells me as he scratches behind my ear. “Though I am surprised that the higher-ups let you stay with Violet while in the quadrant.”
I bark to try and tell him that the broody wingleader, who everyone says wants Mama dead, let me say. He says it’s because I annoy Dain. Joke's on him, cause that’s one of my favorite things to do. I might just up my game with how Dain has been acting lately, saying Mama should be healed.

“Keir, shush!” Nana Winifred scolds me. I wince a bit. She lets out a sigh. “If you promise to behave and be quiet, you can stay till she wakes up.” I nod to her.
“She won’t wake up till after dinner. I will bring you both some food before we discharge her.” Nana Winifred goes to leave, and I take up my post to guard my mama.
“Don’t worry, old boy,” Nolon says as he leaves. He turns, “I will see about sneaking you a bacon cheese scone while Winifred isn’t looking, to go with your supper.” I perk up how I love my bacon and cheese treats.

Violet’s POV
The barracks are nearly full when Keir and I return later in the night. My right arm is cradled in a light-blue sling. The sun has long since gone down, but the glow of mage lights lights the hall as the other first years get ready for bed. I offer a smile to a girl who is holding a blood-speckled cloth to her swollen lip; she returns it to me with a wince.

I count three empty bunks in our row. I hope those cadets are either at the healers like I was or in the bathing chambers.
“You’re here!” Rhiannon jumps from her bed, already dressed in her sleepwear. Relief in her eyes as she sees Keir and me.
“I’m here,” I assure her. “Down a shirt, but still here.”

“You can get another one at the central issue tomorrow.” She looks like she wants to hug me, but sees the sling. “How bad is it?” She asks as she sits on her bunk.
“It’s going to hurt the next few days, but I’ll be fine as long as I keep it immobilized.” I sit on mine, facing her, as Keir jumps to sit at the foot of my bunk. I have two weeks to figure out how to keep this from happening again.

“I’ll help you get ready and can take Keir out if you want.” She promises. “You’re the only friend I have in here, so I’d rather you not die when it gets real.” A corner of her mouth lifts into a wry smile. “Though if you do, I don’t mind caring for Keir.”

I laugh, “I’ll try my best not to, and as for Keir, you might have to fight Mira for him. And I’ll help you with history.” I brace my left hand, and it slides just beneath my pillow. There is something there.

“We’ll be unstoppable,” Rhiannon declares, her gaze tracking Tara as she walks by.
She is too distracted by Tara and me by a small journal with a note to notice that Keir found something under my bunk.

I read the note from Mira and swallow past the knot in my throat. “What is it?” Rhiannon asks.
“It’s my brother’s,” the words barely make it past my lips, “ the book of Brennan.” Tears prick my eyes. “It’s his journal; he died five years ago.”
“Oh, that’s…” she leans in, “we don’t always burn everything, either. Sometimes it’s nice to have something, you know?”
“Yeah,” I whisper back

Before I could read more of the journal, “Ummm, Vi, I think Keir found something?” I see Keir trying to pull something from under my bunk. I go to my knees and Rhiannon follows to help me pull it out, and it’s….

All of Keir’s stuff. His bed is made with his favorite blanket, pillow (with a note), and a weighted stuffed dragon. There are even a couple of different rucksacks.
“Well, Keir has the most stuff in the quadrant.” Rhiannon laughs. “Where did this even come from?”

We go through the bags, the first one is filled with Keir’s puzzle feeder, lick mats, poop bags, a water bowl, and his special water skin that he can drink from. The second one is filled with his toys, and the third is filled with his winter gear, bandannas, bow ties, boots for the heat and cold, and a custom pair of dog flight goggles. The fourth is filled with different homemade treats. I made some of them before I left, but not all. At least two dozen of Keir’s favorite bacon and cheese scones exist. I know I didn’t make that many. And there is a rucksack that appears that Keir can carry around full-time.

Rhiannon goes through the fifth and final bag and starts laughing.
“What is it?” I ask as I stop Keir from eating the whole rucksack filled with treats.
“I didn’t know Keir had his own sleepware,” she says, holding up a onesie that would fit him, covered in little dragons. And that you have a matching pair,” she tosses me a matching set of sleep shorts and a tank.

“They were a gag gift,” I try to defend myself.
“Oh, then why do you two have so many different pairs. Wait, what is this?” She pulls out a wrapped gift. Rhiannon hands it to me. I try my best to open it. Once I do, a black sweatshirt-like dress appears to me that says, ‘Wherever I go, Trouble follows.’ I pull out a bandanna that says, ‘Trouble,’ and it looks like it’s for Keir. We both start laughing.

“You know you can store some of Keir’s stuff under my bunk if he cuddles with me two nights a week,” Rhiannon says through fits of giggles.
“Deal!” I tell her. Once we put Keir’s stuff away, his bed is between our bunks. I can finally see what’s in the journal.

I fall back into Brennan’s history, starting on the third page, full of information on where they keep the list of who faces whom in the challenges and how not to be seen when checking. My mind spins, forming a plan on just how I will survive. No one knows the grounds of Basgiath like I do. It’s all here.

I look over at Keir lying on his back in his doggie bed, his blanket half on, half off. He holds his stuffed dragon between his front paws, raising and lowering it to his face. He seems so happy to have his things back. I finally read the note that was left with his stuff.

‘The kitchen staff has been instructed to provide Keir with breakfast and dinner.’

There is no signature to the note.

Chapter Text

Keir’s POV
Mama and I went for a walk after everyone had gone to bed. Rhi-Rhi sleepily asked where we were going. Mama told her I had to go potty.
It's not true, but I love walks, so I guess that’s okay. Mama told me we are out to get supplies to help her with challenges, so what Pinky Meanie did to Mama won’t happen again.

I use my new bag, which I got the other night, to help Mama carry the stuff we collect. We move closer to an oak tree that Mama wants to climb. I try my best to help Mama get up the tree. Once she is up, I sit and wait for her to come back down, watching like the good boy I am.

Mama is picking berries when I smell something coming towards us. I jump onto the tree trunk, letting out a quiet bark, trying to warn Mama.
“Keir, what is it?” She asks, a bit too loudly. I huff to tell her to be silent and prod my head toward the college. She gets my clue and moves higher up the tree.
“Keir, go hide.” She tells me.

I run to hide under some shrubs, far enough away that I am not seen but close enough to defend Mama if I have to. Two figures come and stop under Mama’s tree. I know those smells. It’s the Pinky Meanie and Broody.

I’m tempted to get back at Pinky Meanie, but that will expose Mama. We can’t use our excuse if I’m on the ground and Mama is in a tree. But I smell more people coming. I see over two dozen people, and they all have that mark on them.

I listen in on them and will attack them if they plan against Mama. I can’t take them all, but some are better than none. It will give Mama time to get away.
“Like it or not, we’ll have to stick together if you want to survive until graduation.” Pinky Meanie says.

Oh, they are not here for Mama. Just trying to survive. I crouch low, still ready to defend my start to turn them out. My mind wanders to the time I first met Mama.

Flashback
It was raining, and I stumbled into a castle-like structure. I was walking around, trying to find somewhere to sleep. I found a basket of what looked like linen. I climbed into it and snuggled down.
I don’t know how long I was asleep, but I felt I was being moved.

Whoever is carrying the linen, and I stop at a door. They knock and I hear some voice say, “Lieutenant Colonel Sorrengail, I’m sorry it’s early, but I brought the fresh linen and need to collect the old ones.”

“Come in,” a male voice calls out. We move, and I feel put down. Whoever brought me here takes what I guess is the old linen and leaves. I poke my head out and look around. I see a man in cream robes with his back to me. Looks like he is reading something. I jump out of the basket and wander around.

I see a hallway with a door cracked open. I go over and push into the room, which looks like a bedroom. I see a figure in the bed. I’m still sleepy. I don’t think they will mind a cuddle buddy. I run and jump on the bed. In the bed is a girl with brown and silver hair. She appears to be having a nightmare of some sort.

I nudge my nose in her face, trying to comfort her. She wakes up at that and gasps.
“Where in Amari did you come from?” She smiles as she scoops me, cradles me, and leaves the room.

“Dad, I thought I had to solve the scavenger hunt to get my birthday present? Not having it on my bed to wake me up. Though this is a pleasant surprise.” She states.

The man in cream robes responds, “Happy sixteenth birthday, sweetie. Violet, what are you talking about? I have your first clue right here.” He turns around, and his eyes widen when he spots me in the girl’s arms. I tilt my head at him.
“Violet, where did you get that puppy from?”

“What are you talking about, Dad? I thought the puppy was my gift?” She starts rocking me.
“Sweetie, you know what your mother says about getting a dog.” The man tries.
“I know, that’s why I was so surprised about my gift. I am shocked you guys would get me a puppy after Mira left, and you know…” she chokes on the last part. I try to lick her hand to make her feel better.

“Violet, I didn’t get you a puppy.”
“Then how and why was he in my bed this morning?”
“I don’t know. Sweetie, let’s take him out before your mother returns from her flight.” The man makes a move to grab me. The girl pulls me closer to her chest.
“No! Mira is gone, and Dain is busier than ever, training for the quadrant. I want to keep him.”
The man sighs in defeat. The front door opens, and a woman with short hair and a sour look enters.

Her eyes narrow at me and the girl. “Violet, what in Amari’s name are you holding?”
Violet curls in on herself and pulls me even tighter. " The gift you got me, " she says in a small voice.
The woman rubs her temples, Now, why would I get you a gift?”

I look up to see a hurt look cross Violet’s face, “For my sixteenth birthday today. You didn’t forget, did you?”
Sour looks shocked as she turns to the man in cream robes.
“Yes, your birthday gift. How could I have forgotten your birthday and the lovely gift we got you? Happy Birthday, Violet. Asher, a word now.”

The man in cream robes pats Violet’s head as he heads down the hall. “Violet, why don’t you go get breakfast with Dain and work on your scavenger hunt for your present. While me and your mother talk.”
Violet nods as she goes to her room to get dressed. As the door closes, we hear, “Lilith, my love! I can explain.”

As me and who I am now calling Mama leave to find this Dain. Her parents were in a heated argument.

This Dain is shocked to see me cradled in Mama’s arms.
“Umm, Happy Birthday, Vi. Who is your friend?”
Mama lights up at him, “Thanks, Dain! I think I am going to name him Keir Bren Sorrengail. Mom tried to act like she forgot my birthday.”
Dain looks unsure. “Vi, are you sure he is your gift. Your brother and sister always asked for a puppy and never got one.
“Dain, why else would a puppy be in my bed when I woke this morning. Let’s eat and see what else I got in the scavenger hunt dad made me.”

Later in the night, I was tucked into Mama’s arms in our bed, and her dad, who is paw-paw now, got her a book. Mama fell asleep reading to me, the book lying open in her lap. I was about to fall asleep when the room door opened. In walks Mama’s mama, or Grumpy Grammy, GG for short.

She lifts me from Mama, and I let out a little whine and try to nip at her hands. She holds me out at arm's length.
“Put me down, I wanna go back to Mama.”
She glares at me.
“Listen here, you little shit. I don’t know how you got past the wards and into my family’s living quarters. But if, and I mean a big if, it's about letting you stay. You will protect my Violet. If you don’t, you will get to meet my dragon. Do you hear me?”
I let out a little howl, “Why wouldn’t I protect my Mama? Grumpy Grammy, you're weird.”

She just sighs as she puts me on the ground. The look in her eyes screams that she is missing something. I don’t know, but I immediately jump back onto the bed. Mama pulls me close and snuggles me in her sleep, the book falling to the floor. GG has a far-off look as she leaves and shuts the door.

End Flashback

“When do we get to kill Violet Sorrengail?” My ears perk up to that and snap me out of my daydream. I curl my lips at the person who dares to hurt my Mama.
“Yeah, Xaden?” Pinky Meanie says, turning to Broody. “When do we get to have our revenge?”
Fluff that, over my dead body!

“I told you already, the youngest Sorrengail is mine, and I’ll handle her when the time is right,” Broody tells the others
“Didn’t you already learn that lesson, Imogen?” A Broody look-alike chides her, “What I hear, Aetos has you scrubbing dinner dishes for the next month for using your powers on the mat.”

Pinky Meanie snaps in his direction, “Her mother is responsible for the execution of my mom and sister. I should have done more than snap her shoulder.” How dare she! Mama is not responsible for what GG did to them. If I see Pinky Meanie alone, she will become my new chew toy. Maybe I can find a way into her room. I can trash it, rip up all her clothes, chew her books, eat her homework, and poop in her bed.

“Her mom is responsible for the capture of nearly all our parents,” the Moving Tree counters, “not her daughter. Punishing children for the sins of their parents is the Navarrian way, not the Tyrrish.”
“So we get conscripted because of what our parents did years ago and shoved into this death sentence of a college-“ Pinky Meanie starts

“In case you didn’t notice, she’s in the same death sentence of a college,” the Moving Tree retorts. “Seems like she’s already suffering the same fate.”
“Who happens to have a beast that attacks people unprovoked?” Pinky Meanie tries to argue.
“Imogen, he only tackled you, and if he wanted, he could have ripped your throat out, but he didn’t.” Broody looks a like points out.

“Don’t forget her brother was Brennan Sorrengail,” Broody adds. “She has just as much reason to hate us as we do here. That goes for the hound, too.” He pointedly looks at Pinky Meanie, the one who started this mess. “And I’m not going to tell you again. She’s mine to handle. Does anyone else feel like arguing?”

Silence reigns among the group.
“Good. Then get back to bed and go in groups of threes.” Broody motions with his head, and they slowly disperse. Leaving only Broody behind.
He seems to be about to leave, so I follow him to be sure.
He stops right out of Mama’s line of sight.

When Mama finally comes down from the tree. Broody lunges to my Mama. I try to jump at him before he can touch her, but black tentacles wrap around me, holding me in the air. I thrash and snarl, trying to break away before one of them wraps around my muzzle.

“Scream and you die,” he whispers to Mama, holding a dagger to her throat. He ya is Mama’s hood down. “Fucking Sorrengail.”
“How did you know?” She asks Broody. “Let me guess, you could smell my perfume. Isn’t that what always gives the heroine away in books?”

Broody scoffs. “I command shadows, but sure, it was your perfume that gave you away.” He lowers the knife and begins to step away from Mama. “Though it seems you command your own little shadow.” He brings me closer to Mama, still wrapped in the tentacles and thrashing about.

Mama gasps when she sees me.
“What, Aetos hasn’t warned you two not to get caught alone in the dark with yet?”
She grabs one of her blades, ready to defend herself. “Let Keir go! Is this how you plan to handle me?”

“Eavesdropping, were we?” He sheathes his own weapon, as if Mama is no threat to him. “Now I might actually have to kill you?” I fight even harder to get to Mama.

“Then go ahead and get it over with, but please let Keir go. He has nothing to do with whatever this is.” Mama pleads with him to take out another dagger.

Broody looks at Mama and sighs, folding his arms across his chest. “Now, why would I let go of a dog who seems hell bent on ripping me to pieces, not like he could. And is that stance really the best defense you can muster? No wonder Imogen nearly ripped your arm off.”

“I’m more dangerous than you think, and Keir can also do more damage to you,” Mama tells him.
“So I see. I’m quaking in my boots.” Broody mocks Mama.
Mama flips and throws her daggers. They fly past his head and land in the tree behind him.
“You missed.” Broody doesn’t even flinch.

“Did I? Why don’t you back up a few steps and test that theory?” Mama pulls two more daggers.

His back hits the tree with Mama’s daggers in it. “Fascinating. You look all frail and breakable, but you’re really a violent little thing, aren’t you?” One of his shadows dances up the tree, plucks one of the daggers, and brings them to Broody’s waiting hands.

I fight harder to get loose. “You should show that little trick to Jack Barlowe,” Broody says as he holds the daggers to Mama. “He’d probably think twice about plotting to murder you if you threw a few daggers at his head.”

“Release my dog, Riorson!” Mama tells him firmly. He sighs as he moves her cloak and sheaths her dagger, first at her ribs and then at her thigh.
“Only if you can make sure he doesn’t try to do what he did to Barlowe to me. Then I will let him go.”

“Keir, stand down and come here, no bites.” Mama commands. I stop thrashing but still let out a growl. The shadows drop me to the ground, and I run and stand between Mama and Broody, who lifts an eyebrow at me.
“See no biting. And let me guess, the honor of killing goes to you. You wanted me dead long before your little club met under my tree. So I imagine you’ve buried me in your mind now.” Mama tells him.

“Do you plan on telling anyone about my little club?” His eyes meet hers.
“No. You were helping them. I don’t see why that should be punished. No matter what the codex says. You weren’t doing anything wrong.” Mama explains. “I’m not going to tell.”

Broody looks at Mama as if he is trying to see through her. “Interesting,” he says softly. “We’ll see if you keep your word, and if you do, then unfortunately, it looks like I owe you a favor. But why are you out of bed at this time of night, Violence?”

Mama bristles at the nickname. “My name is Violet. And Keir had to go to the bathroom. I doubt people would like to wake up to the smell of dog poop.”
“Then why were you up in a tree?” He prides.
“Berry picking for a snack for Keir.” Mama fibs

Broody hums as he steps away, turns, and starts to walk towards the staircase on the cliff that leads to the citadel.
Wait what?

“You’re not going to handle me?” Mama shouts after him.
“Not tonight,” he throws over his shoulder.
Mama scoffs, “What are you waiting for?”
“It’s not fun if you expect it,” he answers. “Now, finish Keir’s ‘walk’ and get back to bed before your wingleader realizes you’re out after curfew.”
Mama gawks after Broody. “You’re my wingleader!”

He doesn’t answer her. A slow smile spreads across Mama’s face as she tucks the fonilee berries into my pack. “Come on, Keir, we have a few more items to get before your ‘walk’ ends.”
I wag my tail and follow Mama.

Chapter Text

The women’s hall is quiet as I dress for the morning, the sun barely peeking over the horizon in the far windows. It’s good that I’ve gotten pretty good at getting my dragon scale corset on by myself, since Rhi is not in her bed.

At least one of us is getting some much-needed orgasms. Since she is not in her bed, Keir decided it was a fair game. He gets up when I finish packing our bags for the day. Keir goes into a huge stretch, shaking out each of his back legs, and shakes his head; the jiggle of his collar sounds through the hall.
“Let’s go, boy.”

The squad leaders talk a good game about enforcing curfew, but they don’t care. Well, all but Dain, who cares about every rule. As Keir and I open the door out of the barracks, there he is.

Dain’s eyes light up as he pushes off the hallway wall where he’s obviously been waiting for me. “Morning.”
I can’t help the smile that curves my lips. “You don’t have to escort me to duty every morning, you know? I have Keir for that.”

“It’s the only time I get to spend with you when I’m not your squad leader and Keir gets to spend as much time with you as he wants.” He counters. “Trust me, it’s worth getting up an hour early, though. Why must you be up nearly half an hour earlier than normal? Why did you even pick breakfast duty anyway?”

“What, I have to make Keir’s breakfast? When I report early for breakfast duty, I do prep work for his meals. Plus other reasons.”
Dain grumbles something under his breath, “You never made breakfast from scratch for me.”
“You say something, Dain?”
“Nope, nothing at all.”
Keir looks up at him with a smile.

A door on the right flies open, and Dain darts in front of me, dragging me behind him with his arm, so I face-plant into his back. Keir wags his tail and goes to whoever opened the door.
“Rhiannon?” He snaps.
“Sorry!” Rhiannon’s eyes widen. Keir is whining for pets.

I step out from behind Dain, “I wondered where you were this morning. Keir took your bed while you were away, by the way.” A grin spreads across my face as Tara appears next to her. “Hey, Tara.”
“Hey, Violet.” She gives me a wave and gives Keir a quick scratch behind his ear as she heads down the hallway, tucking her shirt into her pants.

“We have curfew for a reason, cadet,” Dain starts. I fight not to roll my eyes. Keir lets out a huff. “And you know that no one is supposed to be in the private dorms till after Threshing.”
“Maybe we were just up early,” Rhiannon counters. “You know, like you are right now.” She glances between us with a mischievous look.
Dain rubs the bridge of his nose. “Just get back. To the dorms and pretend you slept there, will you?”

“Absolutely!” She pats Keir again and squeezes my hand as she passes by.
“Way to go,” I whisper quickly. She had a thing for Tara since we got here.
“ I know, right?” She backs away with a smile, then turns and returns to the dorms.
“Monitoring the sex lives of first-years was not what I had in mind when I applied to be a squad leader,” Dain mutters, and we continue toward the kitchen.

“Oh, come on. Like you weren’t a first year yourself last year.”
He lifts his brows in thought and shrugs. “Fair point. And you’re a first year now…” His eyes slide my way as we near the arched doorways. His lips part as if to say something, but he looks away at the last second.
“Why, Dain Aetos! Are you asking me about my sex life?” I let my fingers trail up his arm, teasing him.

“No!” He shakes his head, fighting the blush creeping up his neck. “I mean… is there a sex life to ask about?
We climb steps that lead to the commons, and I turn and level him with a grin, “So I detect a bit of jealousy.” I taunt, he stumbles over his words. “Since I got here?” Tapping my finger to my chin, “That’s none of your business. Before I got here? Still none of your business.”

He sighs in defeat, “Another fair point.” His mouth curves into a grin. “Should Keir even be allowed in the kitchens?”
Keir lets out a protest bark at his question.
“He stays away from the main cooking areas. Plus, the normal kitchen staff adore him.” I state. “They just use him to clean up anything that falls to the floor, plus they even step up a little spot where his food items are stored and cooked.”

Dain shakes his head, “ Like Keir needs to be any more spoiled. I swear he is getting special treatment.” Keir barks, telling Dain he is worth all the spoils.
“Are you ready for today?” Dain asks as we near the gathering hall. “For challenges to start this afternoon?”

My stomach is in knots. “I’ll be alright.”
“ I know you’ve been practicing with Rhiannon, but….” Worry lines his forehead, and Keir nudges him and huffs at Dain.
“I’ve got it,” I promise, looking into his eyes so he knows I mean it. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I always worry about you.” Dain’s hands curl into fists.
“Don’t.” I shake my head at him, “I can handle myself.”
“I just don’t want to watch you get hurt again.”

I sigh, “Then don’t watch.” Taking his hand into mine.
“You can’t save me from this, Dain. I’m going to be challenged once a week, just like every other cadet. And it’s not going to stop there. You can’t protect me from Threshing, or the Gauntlet, or Jack Barlowe-“

“You need to lay low with that one.” Dain grimaces. “Avoid that pompous ass whenever you can, Vi. Don’t give him more of an excuse to come after you. He’s already responsible for too many names on the death roll.”
“Then the dragons are going to love him.” They always go for the vicious ones. “And here I thought you were going to call him a bitch.”

Dain squeezes my hand gently. “Just steer clear of him. And I won’t insult Keir’s kind by comparing Jack to a dog.”
Keir shakes his head to tell me to ignore Dain’s advice and go with Xaden’s.

“Violet? Did you hear me?” Dain asks, lifting a hand to cradle my face. But Keir shoves him back a bit before he can touch me with his paw. He sighs, “Vi, please steer clear of Barlowe.”
He drops his hand as it hangs in mid-air and shoves it into his pocket. “Hopefully, he’ll forget about his little vendetta against you and Keir.”

“Do most men forget when a woman holds a knife to their balls? Or when a dog bites their balls?” I cock an eyebrow at him. “I’m shocked Barlowe still has a deep voice after that.”
“No.” He sighs. “It’s not too late to sneak you down to the scribes. Fitzgibbons will take you-“

Keir nudges me, whining, asking for his breakfast. “Sorry, Dain, I have to go. Keir wants his breakfast. I’ll be all right. I’ll see you at formation.” I squeeze his hand, then walk away, leaving him as Keir and I make our way to the kitchen. We are always the first ones here, and today is no exception. I get started on Keir’s food. I make sure to pocket the vial of powdered fonilee berries. I sprinkle it over Oren’s scrambled eggs when he approaches the line.

“Keep the temperament of each specific breed in mind when you decide which dragons to approach and which to run from at Threshing.” Professor Kaori says. “Red Scorpiontails, like Gheian here, are the quickest to temper. So if you offend him. You’re-“
“Lunch,” Ridoc says from my left, and the class laughs. Even Jack Barlowe, who hasn’t quit glaring at Keir and me since his squad took over their quarter of the room a half hour ago.

“Precisely,” Professor Kaori responds. “So what’s the best way to approach a Red Scorpiontail?” He glances around the room.
I know the answer, but I try to heed Dain’s advice. Keir gently nudges me from where he is lying on the ground.
“If possible, they prefer that you approach from the left and from the front,” I answer before I can think better of it.

“Excellent.” Professor Kaori nods. “For this Threshing, three Red Scorpiontails are willing to bond.”
“How many dragons are there in total?” Rhiannon asks.
“A hundred for this year,” Professor Kaori answers, changing the image again. “But some might change their minds during the Presentation in about two months, depending on what they see.”

My stomach drops. “That’s thirty-seven fewer than last year.”
Professor Kaori’s dark eyebrows rise. “Yes, Cadet Sorrengail, it is, and twenty-six fewer than the year before that.”

“Will they tell you why they won’t bond?” Asks another first year.
“No, jackass,” Jack scoffs, “Dragons only talk to their bonded riders, just like they only give their full name to their bonded rider. You should know that by now.”

Professor Kaori sends Jack a look that shuts the first year’s mouth, but doesn’t stop him from sneering at the other cadet. “They don’t share their reasons, and anyone who respects their life won’t ask a question they’re unwilling to answer.” Our instructor says.

“Do the numbers affect the wards?” Aurelie asks where she sits behind me, tapping her quill against the edge of her desk. She’s never happy sitting still.

Professor Kaori’s jaw ticks twice. “We’re not sure. The number of bonded dragons has never affected the integrity of Navarre’s wards before, but I’m not about to lie to you and say that we’re not seeing increased breaches when you know from Battle Brief that we are.”

The image changes to Sgaeyl, the navy blue dragon bonded to Xaden. My stomach pitches as I remember how she looked right through me, and Keir growled at her on that first day.
“You won’t have to worry about how to approach blue dragons, since none are willing to bond this Threshing, but you should be able to recognize Sgaeyl if you see her,” Professor Kaori says.

“So you can fucking run,” Ridoc drawls. I nod along while the others laugh.
“She’s a Blue Daggertail, the rarest of the blues, and yes, if you see her without her bonded rider, you should… definitely find somewhere else to be. Ruthless does not begin to describe her, nor does she abide by what we assume to be what dragons consider law. She even bonded with the relative of one of her previous riders, which you all know is typically forbidden, but Sgaeyl does whatever she wants, whenever she wants. In fact, if you see any blues, don’t approach them. Just…”

“Run,” Ridoc repeats, running his hand through his floppy brown hair.
“Run.” Professor Kaori agrees with a smile. “There are a handful of other blues in active service, but you’ll find them all along the Esben Mountains in the east, where the fighting is most intense. They’re all intimidating, but Sgaeyl is the most powerful of them all.”

“What about the black dragon?” The first year, next to Jack asks.
Jack’s face lights up. “I want that one.” Keir shakes his head at Jack.’
“Not that it’s going to matter.” Professor Kaori flicks his wrist, Sgaeyl disappears, and a massive black dragon takes her place. Even the illusion is bigger, making me crane my neck slightly to its head. “But just to appease your curiosity, since this is the only time you’ll ever see him, here is the only black besides General Melgren’s.”

“He’s huge,” Rhiannon says, “And is that a clubtail?”
“No. A morning star. He has the same bludgeoning power of a clubtail, but those spikes will eviscerate a person just as well as a daggertail.”
“Best of both worlds.” Jack calls out. “He looks like a killing machine.”
“He is,” Professor Kaori answers. “ and honestly l, haven’t seen him in the last five years, so this image is more than a little outdated. But since we have him up here, what can you tell me about black dragons?”

“They’re the smartest and most discerning,” Aurelie calls out.
“They’re the rarest,” I add in. “There hasn’t been one born in the last century.”
“Correct.” Professor Kaori spins the illusion again, and I’m met with a pair of glowing yellow eyes. “They’re also the most cunning. There’s no such thing as outsmarting a black dragon. This is a little over a hundred, making him about middle-aged. He’s revered as a battle dragon among their kind, and if not for him, we probably would have lost during the Tyrrish rebellion. Add to it he’s a moringstartail and one of the deadliest dragons in Navarre.”

“I bet he powers one hell of a signet. How do you approach him?” Jack asks, leaning forward in his seat. There’s pure avarice in his eyes, mirrored by his friend next to him. That’s the kingdom's last need: someone as cruel as Jack bonding with a black dragon. No, thank you. I glance at Keir, and the look in his eyes says, ‘As if a black dragon will ever choose Jack. They are known for their cunning, discerning, and smarts. And Jack is lacking in all three. A black dragon would never go so low.’

“You don’t,” Professor Kaori answers. “He hasn’t agreed to bond since his previous and only rider was killed during the uprising, and the only way you’d ever be near him is if you are in the Vale, which you won’t be, because you’d be incinerated before you ever got through the gorge.”
“Someone should ask him again.” Jack urges.

“It doesn’t work that way, Barlowe. Now the only other black dragon, which is in service-“
“General Melgren’s,” Sawyer says. His book is closed before him, but I can’t blame him. I’d hardly be taking notes if this were the second time I’d gone through this class. “Codagh, right?” Keir notices Sawyer isn’t taking notes and takes his chance. He crawls over to him, begging for pets. Sawyer just absently pets him.

“Yes.” Professor Kaori nods. “The eldest of their den and a swordtail.”
“But just for curiosity’s sake.” Jack’s blue eyes never leave the image of the unbonded black dragon. “What signet ability would this guy gift his rider?”

Professor Kaori closes his fist, and the image disappears. “There’s no telling. Signets result from the unique chemistry between rider and dragon and usually say more about the rider than the dragon. The stronger the bond and the more powerful the dragon, the stronger the signet.”

“Fine. What were his previous riders?” Jack asks.
“Naolin’s signet was siphoning.” Professor Kaori’s shoulders fall. “He could absorb power from various sources, other dragons, other riders, and then use it or redistribute it.”
“Badass.” Ridoc’s tone has more than a bit of hero worship.
“He was,” Professor Kaori agrees.
“What kills someone with that kind of signet?” Jack asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

Professor Kaori glances at me for a heartbeat before looking away. “He attempted to use that power to revive a fallen rider- which didn’t work, because there’s no signet capable of resurrection- and depleted himself in the process. To use a phrase you’ll become accustomed to after Thresshing, he burned out and died next to that rider.”

The bells ring, signaling the hour is up, and we all gather our things. I rise behind my desk, shouldering my satchel as Rhiannon waits at the door. Keir is by my side once again. “It was Brennan, wasn’t it?” I ask Professor Kaori.
Sadness fills his eyes as he meets mine. “Yes. He dies trying to save your brother, but Brennan was far too gone.”

“Why would he do that?” I shift the weight of my satchel, resting a hand on Keir’s head. “Resurrection isn’t possible. Why would he essentially kill himself if Brennan was already gone?”

Professor Kaori sits back against his desk, “Being a Sorrengail doesn’t do you any favors here, does it?”
I shake my head. “More than a few cadets would like to take me, my last name, down a peg.”

He nods. “It won’t be like that once you leave. After graduation, you’ll find that being General Sorrengail’s daughter means others will do anything to keep you alive, even pleased, not because they love your mother but because they either fear her or want her favor.”
“Which was Naolin?”
“A little of both.” Keir goes to move one of his hands on top of his head. Forcing Professor Kaori to pet him. I slap my thigh to call Keir back over.

“Thank you for answering.” Once Keir is back, I turn and start towards the door.
“Violet,” he calls out, and I pivot to look back. “I taught both your siblings. A signet like mine is useful in the classroom because it lets me deploy with a wing for a long time. Brennan was a spectacular rider and a good man. Mira is shrewd and gifted in the saddle.”

I nod.
“But you’re smarter than both of them.” I blink. It’s not often I get compared to both my siblings and somehow come out on top.
“From what I’ve seen of you helping your friends study in ok Commons every night, you might be more compassionate, too. Don’t forget that.”

“Thank you, but being smart and compassionate will help when it comes to Threshing.
“They choose for reasons they don’t see fit to share with us.” He pushes off his desk. “And not all strength is physical, Violet.”
I nod and head over to meet Rhiannon at the door. Only to notice Keir sitting still by Professor Kaori. Head tilt to the side.

I laugh, “I think he is waiting for his turn for praise, Professor.”
He laughs at Keir, “Yes, Keir, you help your squad out, too. Animals offer comfort to those in stressful situations.” He pats him one more time. Now go back to Violet before you're late to your next class.”

I’m so nervous I could puke as I stand on the side of the mat, watching Rhiannon beat the shit out of her opponent.
“She makes it look so easy,” I say to Dain as he stands at my side, his elbow brushing mine. Keir is sitting in front of us.

“He’s going to try and kill you.”
Keir lets out a low growl. “What?” I glance up, then follow his line of sight two mats over. Dain’s glaring daggers at Xaden across the mat, a look of sheer boredom on his face as Rhiannon squeezes the neck of the second wing first year tighter.

“Your opponent,” Dain says softly. “I overheard him and a few friends. Thanks to that Barlowe kid, they think you’re a liability to the wing.” His gaze shifts to Oren. But there’s a greenish twinge to his complexion that makes me grin.
“I’m going to be fine,” I recite, because that’s my fucking mantra.

Rhiannon’s opponent passes out, and she rises victorious as we clap. Keir stomps the ground before him, clapping in his own way. “Looks like this is mine now. Enjoy your nap.” She pats him on the head, which makes me laugh.

“Not sure why you’re laughing, Sorrengail,” a sneering voice calls out behind me. Keir moves to my back teeth bare.
I see Jack standing with his feet apart against the wood-planked wall about ten feet away, wearing a smile that can only be described as evil.

“Fuck off, Barlowe.” I gave him the middle finger.
“I honestly hope you win today’s challenge.” His eyes dance with sadistic glee. “It would be a shame for someone else to kill you before I get the chance. But I wouldn’t be surprised. Violets are such delicate, fragile things, you know.”

Delicate, my ass. Xaden’s words filter through my mind from that night beneath the oak. I unsheathe both daggers from my ribs and flick them in his direction in one smooth movement. They land right where I intended - one nearly nicking his ear and the other an inch beneath his balls.

Fear widens his eyes. I shamelessly grin and wiggle my fingers in a wave.
“Violet,” Dain hissed as Jack maneuvered around my blades, stepping away from the way.
“You’ll pay for that.”
Jack stands there with rage in his eyes till Keir starts to charge at him. Jack quickly covers his balls and tries to move as fast as possible.

Keir stops at the wall to retrieve my daggers. Once he has them, Keir prances back to me with both daggers in his mouth.
“Thank you, sweet boy,” I tell him as I return my daggers to their proper place.

“What the hell was that?” He seethes. “I told you to lay low when it comes to him, and you…” He shakes his head at me. “You just puss him off more?”
“Lying low wasn’t going to get me anywhere,” I say with a shrug. “He needs to realize I’m not a liability.”
There’s no ignoring the prickle at my scalp, and I let my gaze shift to meet Xaden’s.

My heart stutters in my chest, as if he’d sent shadows straight through my ribs to squeeze the organ. He lifts his scarred brow, and I swear there’s a hint of a smile on his lips as he leaves.
“Badass,” Rhiannon says as she moves to my other side. “I couldn’t tell if Jack was going to shit himself after you threw your daggers or when Keir charged him.”
I smother a smile. Keir wags his tail with a huge doggie smile.

“Stop encouraging both of them,” Dain chastises. Keir barks at him.
“Sorrengail.” Professor Emetterio glances at his notebook and raises one bushy black brow before continuing. “Seidert.”

Swallowing back panic that threatens to creep up my throat, I step onto the mat opposite Oren, who looks green now.
Right on time.
I’ve prepared my best, wrapping my ankles and knees in case he goes for the legs.

“Don’t take this personally,” he says as we circle each other. “But you’ll only be a hazard to your wing.”
He charges at me, but his footwork is sluggish, and I spin away, palming one of my daggers.
“I’m no more a hazard than you are.” I accuse.

His chest heaves, sweat dots his forehead, but he shakes it off. “My sister is a healer. I’ve heard your bones snap like twigs.”
“Why don’t you come find out?” I force a smile and wait. I watch him fight. Keir has more grace than he does. He swings his knife downward, and I dodge to the left, nicking his side with my blade in the process, then turn and deliver a kick to his back, sending him sprawling.

He falls to the mat, and I take immediate advantage, digging a knee into his spine just like Imogen had with me and putting my blade to his throat.
“Yield.” Who needs strength when you have speed and steel?
“No!” He shouts, but his body undulates under mine, and he retches, bringing up everything he’s eaten since breakfast and splattering it across the mat to the side of us.

So fucking gross. Keir tries to cover his nose with his paw.
“Oh my gods,” Rhiannon calls out, disgust dripping from her tone.
“Yield,” I demand again, but he’s heaving in earnest now, and I have to pull my knife away so I don’t accidentally slit his throat.
“He yields,” Professor Emetterio declares, his face contorted in revulsion.

I sheathe my blade and climb off him. Then I take the dagger Oren dropped a few feet back as he continues to vomit.
“You won!” Rhiannon says, clasping me in a hug as I walk off the mat. Keir goes to jump on me. I start petting him, “ he’s sick.”
“I’ll take being lucky over being good any day,” Rhiannon counters
“I have to find someone to get this cleaned up,” Dain says, his complexion turning peaked.

Timing is the hardest thing about my plan. I win next week from a stocky girl who can’t concentrate long enough to throw punches. She gets a good kick to my knee, though.
I won the week after that when a tall guy stumbled because he lost all feeling. His timing was off with that one; he got a few good hits to my face. I won again when a cadet’s vision went blurry mid-match.

I earn my fifth dagger, this one with a pretty ruby in the hilt, the last challenge in August, when I take a particularly sweaty guy with a gap between his front teeth. The bark of the carmine tree that finds its way into his waterskin makes him ill and sluggish. Unfortunately, the entire third squad, the claw section of the third wing, suffers the same stomach upset.

Come early September, there’s a spring to my step as I walk onto the mat, Keir sitting at the edge waiting for me with the rest of my squad. I roll my sore shoulders and wait for my opponent. But Rayma Corrie from Third Wing doesn’t step forward this week like she should.

“Sorry, Violet,” Professor Emetterio says, scratching his short black beard. “You were supposed to challenge Rayma, but she’s been taken to the healers because she can’t seem to walk straight.”
“That’s” - shit - “too bad.” I wince. “Should I just…” I start to back off the mat.
“I’m happy to step in.” That voice. That tone. That prickle of ice along my scalp…
Oh no. Hell no. No. No. No.

“You sure?” Professor Emetterio asks, glancing over his shoulder.
“Absolutely.”
My stomach hits the floor.
Keir covers his eyes with his paws.
And Xaden walks onto the mat.

Chapter Text

I’m so thoroughly screwed.

Xaden steps forward, dressed in midnight fighting leathers and a tight-sleeved shirt. My heartbeat kicks up, as if my body knows the truth my mind doesn’t want to accept. I’m about to have my ass kicked or worse.

“You are all in for a treat.” Professor Emetterio says, clapping his hands.

“Xaden’s one of the best fighters we have. Watch and learn.”

“Of course he is,” I mutter under my breath. A corner of Xaden’s mouth rises in a smirk. The sadistic ass is enjoying this.

“A little out of her league, don’t you think?” Dain argues from the side of the mat, tension radiating from every word as he clutches Keir’s leash. I always hook him before my challenges, so he doesn’t run onto the mat. However, that would not stop him if he genuinely wanted to charge.

“Relax, Aetos.” He looks over my shoulder, his gaze hardening toward where I know Dain is standing. The look he gives Dain makes me realize how easy Xaden has been on me in the glare department. “She’ll be in one piece when I finish teaching her.”
“I hardly think it’s fair-“ Dain tries to argue.

“No one asked you to think, squad leader. Just be like Keir, and sit there.” Xaden fires back.
He moves to the side, handing off every weapon he has to Imogen. My mouth has a bitter, illogical taste of jealousy, but no time to examine that oddity. “You don’t think you’ll need those?” I ask, as I grip my own blades.

“Nope. Not when you have enough for the both of us.” A wicked smile curves on his lips as he stretches out his hand and curls his fingers in a come-hither motion. “Let's go.”
He’s not in my squad; he can kill me without punishment.
I fling a dagger straight at his well-sculpted chest. He fucking catches it and clicks his tongue. “Already seen that move. Do you have anything else?”

Crap, he is fast. I have to be quicker. I move forward in a swipe and kick combo that Rhiannon’s drilled into me over the past six weeks. Xaden gracefully dodges my blade and then captures my leg. I am slammed onto my back, the sudden impact driving the air from my lungs.

But he doesn’t go for the kill. Instead, he drops the dagger he’s caught and kicks it off the mat. When air returns to my lungs, I lunge with the next blade, aiming for his thigh. Xaden blocks my strike with his forearm, grips my wrist with his other hand, and plucks the dagger out. His face leans down so low, it’s merely inches from mine. “Going for blood today, are we, Violence?”

He kicks the dagger past my head and out of reach. He’s not taking my weapons to us against me; he’s disarming me just because he can. My blood boils.

“I told you before, my name is Violet,” I seethe.
“I think my version fits you better.” He releases my wrist and stands, offering me a hand. “We’re not done yet.”

My chest heaves, still recovering from the why he knocked the wind out of me. As I go to take the offering hand, I hear Keir let out a whine bark. Before I could react, Xaden tugs me to my feet, then twists my arm behind my back and yanks me against his hard chest, pinning out our joined hands before I have a chance to get my balance.
“Damn it!” I snap.
There’s a tug at my thigh, and another one of my daggers is pressed to my throat as his chest rests against the back of my head. Xaden’s forearm is locked across my ribs, and he might as well be a statue for all the give in his frame.

“It seems your dog has a better sense of what to do on the mat than you do,” he taunts. “Don’t trust a single person who faces you on this mat,” Xaden warns in a hiss, his breath warm against my ear. I realize he’s quiet for a reason. This lesson is just for me.

“Even someone who owes me a favor?” I counter, my voice just as low. Xaden drops the third dagger and kicks it forward - to where Dain stands, one dagger he is holding, the other in Keir’s mouth. There’s murder in his eyes as he glares at Xaden. Keir looks at me with concern.

“I’m the one who decides when to grant that favor. Not you.” He releases my hand and steps back. I whirl, aiming a punch to his throat, and he knocks my hand aside.

“Good,” he says with a smile, deflecting my next blow without hitching to his breath. “Going for the throat is your best option, so long as it’s exposed.”
Fury makes me kick out in the same pattern as before. He captures that leg again, this time snatching the dagger sheathed there. Dropping it to the mat before he lets me go. Cocking a disappointed brow at me. “I expect you to learn from your mistakes.” I only have the five daggers sheathed at my ribs.

Gripping one and putting my hands in a defensive position, I circle him. To my annoyance, the bastard doesn’t bother facing me. Xaden stands in the center of the mat, his arms loose as I move around him.
“You going to prance or are you going to strike?”
Fuck him!

I punch forward, but he dips, and my dagger sails over his shoulder. Missing him by six inches. Xaden grips my arm, yanking me forward and flipping me around the side of his body. I’m airborne for a heartbeat before I smack into the mat.
He cranks my arm into a submission hold. Pain shoots through my arm as I drop the dagger, but Xaden’s not done. No, his knee is in my ribs, and he uses his other hand to pluck another dagger and fling it towards Dain. Before taking another and holding it to the tender area where my jaw meets my neck.

He leans closer. “Taking out your enemy before the battle is really clever; I’ll give you that,” Xaden whispers, his warm breath brushing my ear.
Oh gods, he knows!
“Problem is, you aren’t testing yourself in here-“ Xaden scrapes the dagger down my neck, but he doesn’t break the skin - “then you’re not going to get any better.”
This isn’t just painful, it’s humiliating! “You’d rather I die, no doubt.” I see him.
“And be denied the pleasure of your company?” he mocks.
“I fucking hate you.” The words are out before I can stop them.
“You’re not the first to say that.” The pressure releases from my chest and arm as he goes to kick both daggers toward Dain.

Two left. I only have two left. Ignoring Xaden’s outstretched hand, I stand on my own feet. His lips curve into an approving smile. “She can be taught.”
“She’s a quick learner.”
“That remains to be seen.” Xaden backs up two steps before crooking his fingers at me.
“You’ve made your damn point,” I snap loud enough that I can hear Imogen gasp. Keir barks, now with a collection of my daggers between his paws.

“Trust me, I’ve barely gotten started,” he folds his arms and leans back, waiting for me to make the first move. I don’t think, I move, going for a low kick and taking out the backs of his knees. Xaden goes down like a tree, and I pounce, aiming for a headlock. Catching his throat in the crook of my elbow, I squeeze.

Instead of going for my arms, he twists, grabbing ahold of the backs of my thighs so I lose my leverage and our bodies careen into a roll. He comes out on top.

His forearm rests against my throat, not cutting off air, and his hips have mine pinned, my legs useless on either side of his as he lies heavily between my thighs. I slip one of my last daggers free and go for his shoulder. Xaden seizes my wrist and pins it above my head.

Heat rushes up my neck, and flames like my cheeks, as he lowers his face, his lips mere inches from mine. I can make out every detail in his face, every speck of gold in his eyes. My breath catches in my throat, and my body warms. You are not attracted to toxic men, I scream at myself. He pushes his fingers into my fist, forcing it open, then sends it skittering across the mat before he lets go.
“Get your dagger,” he orders.
“What?” My eyes fly wide.
“Get. Your. Dagger,” he repeats, taking my hand in his and retrieving my last weapon. His fingers curl over mine, clasping the hilt.

Toxic. Dangerous. Wants to kill you. Nope, my pulse still skitters like a teenager.
“You’re tiny,” Xaden says, it like an insult.
“Well aware.” I snap and narrow my eyes.
“So stop going for bigger moves that expose you.” He drags the tip of the blade down his side. “A rib shot would have worked just fine.” He guides our hands to his back. “Kidneys are a good fit from this angle as well.”

I swallow, refusing to think of other things that are a good fit from this angle. Xaden leads our hands to his waist, his gaze never leaving mine. “Chances are, your opponent is in armor; it’s weak here. Those are three places you could easily hit before they could stop you.”
Those three spots are all fatal, and I’ve avoided them at all costs.

“Do you hear me?”
I nod.
“Good. Because you can’t poison every enemy you come across.” He whispers into my ear.
“How did you know?” My muscles lock, including my thighs, which are still bracketing his hips.
Xaden’s eyes darken, “Oh, Violence, you’re good, but I’ve known better poison masters. The trick is not to make it so obvious.”

“I think she’s been taught enough for the day!” Dain barks. Keir is just lying down now.
“I expect your dog to be more overprotective?” Xaden grumbles, still in the same spot.
“He cares about me.”
“He’s holding you back. And I’m not talking about Keir. Don’t worry, your little secret is safe with me.” Xaden arches a brow, then guides our hands back to my ribs and slides the blade back into its sheath.

“You’re not going to disarm me?” I challenge as he releases his grip and removes his weight from my body.
“Nope. Defenseless women have never been my type. We’re done for today.” He stands and walks away without another word.

There’s pure relief in Dain’s eyes when I reach his side to take Keir’s leash and to retrieve my daggers. “You all right?”
I nod, my fingers trembling as I pet Keir to calm my nerves. Xaden had every chance to kill me, but never did. What kind of game is he playing?
“Aetos,” Xaden calls from across the mat.
Dain’s head snaps, and his jaw locks.
“She already has a dog for protection. Why don’t you try to do your job as squad leader and instruct her instead?” Xaden stares Dain down until he nods. Professor Emetterio calls the next challenge.

I am in the bathing chambers, finishing my loose braid before meeting with Dain. I am wearing a black T-shirt with my corset underneath and sleep pants with patterns on them. Keir is waiting outside the chambers. I grab my stuff and stuff it into my bag, taking out Keir’s matching button-up shirt and putting my pants back in the bag. I make sure I have what I need to brush his teeth when I get to Dain’s room.

Once I exit the bathing chambers, I look for my pup. He is not where I left him.
“Keir! Here, boy!” I hear a bark from around the corner and head that way. When I round the corner, I see Keir and a blonde cadet. The cadet is kneeling while he scratches Keir’s body, and Keir is trying to lick his face.
“Keir!”
My boy turns to look at me and lets out a happy bark.
“I see you made a new friend.” I walk over toward the two. I get a good look at the blonde. He is as tall as Sawyer, but it's hard to tell from his position, blue eyes, and a relic on his arm. It’s Liam Mairi.

“Sorry, Sorrengail,” he smiles as he stands to his full height. “I was walking by when this boy followed me. Pawing at me, he rolls over, asking for belly rubs when I turn to look.” He scratches the back of his neck. I laugh, “Keir might have smelled something he wanted in your bag and was trying to get you to lower your guard so he could steal it.” Liam mocks a gasp and touches his heart in false hurt. “Here I thought you liked me for me and not what I have to offer.” Keir wags his tail as he jumps on Liam, his paws on his shoulders, licking his face.
Liam turns his head and laughs as Keir licks him.

“Keir, get down.”
“It’s fine, really.” Keir jumps off of him, going to paw at his bag.
I sigh, “Keir, you can’t take stuff that doesn’t belong to you.” Liam laughs again and goes into his bag, “I think he wants a piece of wood.” He pulls out a block of wood from his bag. Keir hops around him and tries to get it, but Liam holds it above his head. Keir is wagging his tail so much that his whole butt is shaking with it.
“He can have this one. If that’s ok with that, is.” I nod my head, and Liam hands the block over to Keir.

“Why do you have blocks of wood to begin with?” I ask.
He sheepishly scratches his cheek, his dimple showing.
“I like to crave stuff. Kinda my hobby.”
“I was wondering why there were wood shavings around the quadrant.” We both laugh.
“I actually just finished up a carving of Keir.”
“Really!?” Both Keir and I look at Liam.
“I was going to crave dragons, but I don’t see them enough yet to do a good enough replication of them. And isn’t that sleep shirt you’re holding a bit big for you?”

“It’s Keir’s,” I say aloud before I realize I just admitted to having matching sleepwear with my dog. Liam lets out a huge laugh, tears pricking in the corners of his eyes. “I. Can’t. Believe. You. Have. Matching. Pairs.” He says through fits of laughter. He clears his throat, “Sorry, just never thought I'd see that. He seriously lets you put that on him?”
Keir drops the block of wood, lets out a bark, and starts to paw at Liam’s bag again.

“He gets cold some nights. And Keir, please leave Liam’s bag alone.”
“I think he wants to see if I have his finished carving. Is that a boy?” Keir barks again. Liam digs into his bag and pulls out a figure of Keir sitting.
“Here you can keep it.”
“Oh no, it’s yours. I couldn’t.”
“I insist. Think of it as payment for the laugh.”
I thank him for the Keir carving. “Thank you, Liam.” We stand off to the side as we talk so as not to block the walkway. Keir is tossing around his block of wood.

“Violet!” Liam and I turn our heads and are met with a frantic-looking Dain. Crap, I forgot I was going to meet him when I was done in the bathing chambers.
“Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Well, I will take this as my cue to go. Later Violet. See ya, Keir.” Liam walks away, and I’m left with a fuming Dain.

“Sorry, Dain, Keir-“
He cuts me off, “What were you thinking?”
“Excuse me?”
“After what happened at sparring…”
“Dain, calm down, everything is fine.”
He pulls me toward his room, and Keir growls and picks up his new toy as he follows us. Once in his room, “Dain, what the hell!”

“I talked to Colonel Markham this evening.”
I pale as fear races down my spine, “Did something happen? Is it Mira’s wing?”
“No!” Dain’s head snaps up, and his eyes have so much misery. “It’s nothing like that. I told him…that I think Riorson wants to kill you.”
I blink, “Oh. Well, that’s not really new. Everyone who’s read a history of the rebellion can put two and two together, Dain.”
“Yeah, well, I told him about Barlowe and Seifert.” He rubs his hand over his hair. “Don’t think I didn’t notice how Seifert shoved you into a wall before formation this morning as Keir tried to nip his leg.” He lifts a brow at me.

“He’s just pissed that I took his dagger at that first challenge.” I pat Keir’s neck.
“And Rhiannon told me you found crushed flowers on your bed last week?” He stares me down.
I shrug. “They were just dead flowers. Keir brings me those from time to time.”
“They were mutilated violets. His mouth tightens.
“It’s not like they came with a death note or anything.” I tease, stroking his cheek to help calm him.

He looks at me with his big brown eyes. “They're threats.”
I shrug, “Every cadet gets threatened.”
“Every cadet doesn’t have to wrap their knees every day,”
“The injured ones do.” My brow furrows, annoyance taking root in my chest.

“Why would you tell Markham about it anyway?” He’s a scribe, and there’s nothing he would do even if he could?”
“He said he’d still take you,” Dain blurts, his hands flying to my hips, holding me in place. Keir lets out another warning growl, but Dain doesn’t back down.
“I asked him if he’d allow you into the scribe quadrant for your safety, and he said yes. They’d put you with the first years. It’s not like you’d have to wait until next Conscription Day.”

“You what!?” I break free from my best friend’s hold, and Keir gets between us.
“I saw a way to get you out of danger, and I took it.” He stands his ground.
“No! You went behind my back because you think I’m not cutting it.” Tears well in my eyes, but I will not let them fall.
Dain sighs. “I never said I don’t think you can cut it, Violet.”

“You say it every day!” I snap. “You say it when you walk me from formation to class, which I know makes you late for the flight line. You say it when you yell at your wingleader when he takes me to the mat-“
“He had no right to “
“He’s my wingleader!” I back away from him. “ he has the right to do whatever he wants with me- including execute me.”
“And that’s why you must get out of here!” Dain laces his fingers behind his neck as he starts to pace. “So you know what happens at Threshing?” He asks

“Are you calling me ignorant?!” Rage bubbles in my veins
“It’s not just about bonding,” he continues. “They throw every first year into the training grounds, the ones you've never been to, and the second and third are supposed to watch as you decide which dragons to approach and which to run from.”
“I know how it works,” my jaw clenches.
“Yeah, while the riders are watching, the first years are taking out their vendettas and eliminating any liabilities to the wing.”

“I’m not a damn liability.” My chest tightens.
“Not to me,” he whispers, cradling my cheek. Keir stops him again, done with his bullshit.
“But they don’t know you the way I do, Vi. And while the first years, like Barlowe, are hunting you. I’ll have to watch Violet.” The break in his voice takes the anger from me, but not from Keir.

“We are not allowed to help you. To save you.”
“Dain-“
“And when they gather the bodies for the roll, no one’s going to document how that cadet died.”
I breathe through the jolt of fear.
“Markham says he’ll put you through the first year without telling your mother. When she finds out, you’ll already be inducted as a scribe. There’s nothing she can do after that.” He pulls me close by my waist and rests his forehead on my head.

“Please. If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for me.”
My heart stutters, and I sway; his reasoning is sound.
“I can’t lose you, Violet,” he whispers. “I just can’t. Just promise me you’ll think about it.” He begs. “ We still have four weeks until Threshing. Just think about it.”

A small part of me is screaming, "You made it this far." I glance down at Keir, and he seems to agree with that part of me telling me to stay.

Chapter Text

I looked up, and, up, and up, fear settled in my stomach. I pet Keir to help calm my nerves. His head tilted all the way back.

“Well, that’s…” Rhiannon swallows, her head tilted just as far back as Keir's and mine as we stare at the menacing obstacle course carved into the front of a ridgeline so steep, it might as well be a cliff.

“Amazing.” Aurelie sighs.
The three of us turn to her, staring like she must have hit her head.
“You think that hellscape looks amazing?” Rhiannon asks.
“I’ve been waiting years for this!” Aurelie grins, her usually serious black eyes are shining with excitement in the morning sun. “My dad- he was a rider until he retired last year - used to set up obstacle courses like this all the time so we could practice, and Chase, my brother, said it’s the best part of being here before Threshing. It’s a real adrenaline rush.”

“He’s with the southern wing, right?” I ask, focusing on the death trap in front of us.
“Yep. Pretty much desk duty for all the action they see near the Krovlan border. She shrugs and points about two-thirds up the course. “He said to watch out for those giant posts jutting from the side of the cliff. They spin, and you can get crushed between them if you're not fast enough.”
“Great, I was wondering when it might get difficult,” Rhiannon mutters.

“Thanks, Aurelie,” I tell her. The obstacle course is the embodiment of my worst nightmare. For the first time, Dain told me about his plan to get me out, and I am tempted to take it. Keir leans into me, as if reading my thoughts, encouraging me to tackle this.
“Still not sure why they call it the Gauntlet,” Ridoc says from my right.

“To ensure dragons keep coming to Threshing by weeding out the weaklings.” Tynan sneers from Ridoc’s other side, as he casts a pointed look at me. I shoot him a glare as Keir growls at him. He’s been pissy ever since Rhiannon handed his ass to him on the mat at assessment.

“Knock it the fuck off,” Ridoc snaps, earning the entire squad’s attention. My eyebrows lift. I have never seen him lose his temper or use anything other than humor to defuse a situation before.
“What’s your problem?” Tynan, as he tries to intimidate Ridoc, who is twice as wide and half a foot taller than he is.
“My problem? You think because you made friends with Barlowe and Siefert that you have the right to be a dick to your own squadmate?” Ridoc challenges.

“Exactly. Squadmate.” Tynan gestures towards the obstacle course. “Our times aren’t just ranked individually, Ridoc. We’re scored as a squad, too, which is how the order for the Presentation is decided. Do you really think any dragon wants to bond a cadet who walks in after every other squad in the processional?”

Fine, he made a shitty point.
“They’re not time us for Presentation today, asshole.” Ridoc takes a step forward. Keir zones in, and it looks like he wants to enjoy the show if Ridoc beats up Tynan.

“Stop.” Sawyer shuffles between the two, shoving Tynan’s chest hard enough to make him stagger back into the girl behind him. Keir lets out a sigh. I guess he really wanted to see Ridoc kick his ass. “Take it from someone who made it through last year: your time doesn’t mean anything. The last cadet to walk in last year bonded just fine, and some of the cadets in the first squad onto the field were passed over.”

“Little bitter about that, aren’t you?” Tynan smirks.
Sawyer ignores the barb. “Besides, it’s not called the Gauntlet because it weeds out cadets.”

“It’s called the Gauntlet because this is the cliff that guards the Vale,” Professor Emetterio says, walking up behind our squad. “Plus, actual gauntlets are slippery as hell, and the name stuck about twenty years ago.” He cocks a brow at Sawyer and Tynan. “Are you two done arguing? Because all nine of you have an hour to get to the top before it’s another squad’s chance to practice, and from what I’ve seen of your agility on the mat, you’ll need every second.”
There’s a grumble of assent in our little group.

“As you know, hand-to-hand challenges are on hold for the next two and a half weeks before the Presentation so that you can focus here.” Professor Emetterio flips a page in the little notebook he carries. “Sawyer, you’re going to show them how it’s done, since you already have the lay of the land. Then Pryor, Tynan, Rhiannon, Ridoc, Violet, Aurelie, and Luca.” As we file into the order, he said, a smile curves on his lips. “You’re the only squad to remain intact since parapet. That’s incredible. Your squad leader must be very proud. Wait here for a second.” He walks past us, waving at someone high up on the cliff. No doubt that someone has a watch.

“Aetos is especially proud of Sorrengail.” Once the professor is out of earshot, Tynan gifts me with a mocking sneer. Keir gifts Tynan a flash of his teeth. That reminds me that I need to schedule an appointment with the healers for him. Might as well get his teeth professionally cleaned for the year. “Look, if you want to talk shot about me, that's one thing. Hell, you can try and talk shit about Keir, he might bite you for it before I stab you. But leave Dain out of it.

“Tynan,” Sawyer warns, shaking his head.
“Like it doesn’t bother any of you that our squad leader is fucking one of us?” Tynan throws his hands up.
“Honestly, it’s none of your godsdamned business who I’m sleeping with, Tynan.”
“It is if it means you get preferable treatment!” Luca adds in. “Just look, you’re the only one allowed to keep a pet in the quadrant.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Rhiannon mumbles, rubbing her nose. “Luca, Tynan, shut up. They’re not sleeping together. They’ve been friends since they were kids, or do you not know enough about leadership to know his dad is her mom’s aide? And as for Keir, he crossed the parapet just like the rest of us, and it was up to our wingleader that he got to stay, not our squad leader.”

Tynan’s eyes widen, like he’s actually shocked. “Really?”
“Really.” I shake my head and study the course.
“Shit. I’m… sorry. Barlowe said-“
“And that’s your first mistake,” Ridoc interjects. “Listening to that sadistic ass is going to get you killed. Barlowe has a vendetta against our lovable mascot since he gave him a love bite. And you’re lucky Aetos isn’t here.”

True Dain would more than take exception to Tynan’s assumptions and probably assign him clean-up duty for a month. Xaden would just beat the crap out of him. I shove that comparison and any other thought of Xaden Riorson out of my head.

“Here we go!” Professor Emetterio walks to the head of our line. “You’ll get your time at the top of the course, if you make it, but remember, you’ll still have nine practice sessions before we rank you for Presentation in two and a half weeks, which will determine if the dragons find you worthy of Threshing.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to let the first year start practicing right after parapet?” Rhiannon asks. “You’ll know, to give us a little more time so we don’t die?”
“No,” Professor Emetterio replies. “The timing is part of the challenge. Any words of wisdom, Sawyer?”

Sawyer blows out a calming breath. “There are ropes every six feet that run from the top of the sheer cliff side to the bottom,” he tells us. “So if you start to fall, reach out and grasp a rope. It’ll cost you thirty seconds, but death costs you more.” At the start of the uphill climb, the fifteen-foot log begins to spin—the pillars on the third ascent shake. The giant wheel at the first switchback starts its counterclockwise rotation, and those little posts Aurelie mentioned? They all twist in opposite directions.

“Every one of the five ascents on this course is designed to mimic the challenges you will face in battle.” Professor Emetterio turns to look at us. “From the balance you must keep on the back of your dragon, to the strength you’ll need to hold your seat during maneuvers, to…” he gestures upward, towards the last obstacle. “The stamina you’ll need to fight on the ground, and still be able to mount your dragon at a second’s notice.”

“Whoa,” Trina whispers. She’s the quietest in our squad.
“You all right?” I ask her in a whisper. She swallows and nods.

“What if we can’t make it up?” Luca asks from my right. “What’s the alternative route?”
“There’s no alternative. If you don’t make it, you can’t get to the Presentation, can you? Take your position, Sawyer.” Professor Emetterio orders. “After he makes it past the final obstacle, so everyone can learn from this cadet completing the course, the rest of you will start every sixty seconds. And…go!”

Sawyer makes it up, no problem. Rhiannon and I scream and cheer for him in his almost flawless approach. Keir happily barks and wags his tail as he makes it to the top.

“Perfect technique!” Professor Emetterio calls out. “That’s exactly what you should all be doing.”
“Perfect, and yet he was still passed over last year.” Luca snarks. “Guess the dragons have some sense of taste.”
“Give it a rest, Luca,” Rhi says
“I’m too short for the ramp,” I whisper to Rhi. She glanced over to me, “You’re wicked fast. If you get your speed up, I bet the momentum will take you to the top.”

Pryor struggles with the swinging steel rods in the third ascent due to somewhat predictable hesitation, but he makes it just as Trina nearly falls at the shaking pillars, reaching for a rope.
“You can do it!” Sawyer shouts from the top.
“They go in opposite directions!” Aurelie calls up.
“Tynan, start.” Professor Emetterio orders, watching his pocket and not the course.

I can hear my heartbeat in my ears when Trina makes it past the steps, and it doesn’t let up as Rhiannon is called to start. She is making up the course with the grace I expected until she comes to a halt. Tynan hangs from the second of the buoy balls on the second ascent, right where the ground drops.
“You have to keep moving, Tynan!” I shout, though it’s doubtful he can hear me from here. Keir is trying to be encouraging by barking at our squad mates on the course. He might be a gullible ass, but he’s still my squadmate.

“He’s going to screw her time,” Aurelie says.
“Good thing this is only practice, then,” Ridoc says, then yells up at Tynan. “What’s the matter, Tynan?” Scared of heights? Who’s a liability now?” Keir wags his tail at Ridoc’s remark.
“Stop.” I elbow him in the side. “And Keir quit enjoying Tynan’s suffering. Just because he’s a dick doesn’t mean you have to be.”

“But he’s giving me so much to work with,” Ridoc replies with a smirk as he backs away, heading toward the starting position.
“Swing to the next one!” Trina suggests from the top.
“I can’t!” Tynan's shriek could break glass as it echoes down. Keir lies down and uses his front paws to cover his ears.

“Ridoc, start!” Professor Emetterio commands. Ridoc charges over the log.
“Rhi!” I shout up. “The rope is between the first and the second!”
She nods to me as she jumps to the first buoy ball. Gravel crunches beneath my boots as I move to the starting position.
“Wish me luck, Keir boy.” Rhiannon gets the rope into Tynan’s hand, but he climbs down instead of using it to swing to the next ball.

“Violet, Begin!” Emetterio orders. Here goes nothing. Keir barks encouragement as I start my run. I bolt up the first part of the ascent, coming to the spinning log.
“It’s just balance. You got this.” I mumble and start to cross. “Quick feet. Quick feet.” I repeat all the way across. I land on the first of four granite columns, each higher than the last. There are about three feet between them, but I manage to leap from one pillar to the next without skidding off the ends.

I jump into the rotating wheel, leaping over the only opening as it flies by once. This one is all about timing. The opportunity comes, and I seize it, racing through the opening and returning to the gravel path for a second ascent. The buoy balls are just ahead of me; I have to focus if I’m going to make it. So I do what I always do, recite facts in my mind.

“Green dragons,” I mutter under my breath, “known for their keen intellect-“
“Are you… studying?” Aurelie calls from where she leaps onto the first ball below.
“Calms me down,” I shoot back in explanation. There are three iron rails in front of me. My right hand loses its grip, my weight swings me into the face of ringing erupts in my ears, and my vision darkens momentarily.

“Violet!” Rhiannon shouts.
“Next you!” Aurelie calls out. “The rope is right next to you!” I swear I see a black blur start to run up the course. Iron scrapes my hand as it slips, but I spot the rope and grab it. I’ve survived seven weeks in this death trap, and this course is not going to beat me today.
I finally land on the first shaking iron pillar and jump to the next one before landing on the gravel path at the end of the ascent.
Aurelie is behind me, “This is the best!”
“You need to see the healers. If you think this is fun, you must have hit your head or something.” I smile at her joy.
“Just run straight across this ascent. If you pause, it’ll roll you right off. Trust me.” I give her a thankful nod and then run to the other side.

“Yes!” I shout with glee as I get out of the way for Aurelie.
“Go, Violet!” She shouts. “Here I come!” Her footwork is more agile than mine was. A roar sounds from overhead, and I look up in time to see a Green Daggertail as it flies overhead, returning to the Vale. I’m never going to get used to that. Aurelie cries out, and my head snaps toward her just in time to see her wobble and slip on the fifth post.

“Aurelie!” I scream, lunging for her, my fingertips skimming the seventh post. Our eyes meet, shock and terror fill her wide black eyes as the post rolls her away from me, and she falls.
But as she falls towards the first of the shaking iron pillars, Keir grabs her arm in his mouth, trying to pull her up.

“Keir! Aurelie!” How!? When did he get up on the course?! This is worse than when he followed me onto the parapet. Aurelie screams in pain. I think her arm is dislocated.

“Screw this!” I grab a rope and climb back to where Keir and Aurelie are.

It’s later at night, and I sit by Aurelie’s side in the infirmary as she sleeps. Her arm was ripped from her socket when Keir pulled her up and jumped back to solid ground from the iron pillars. Keir rests his head on her bedside, waiting for her to wake up. Nolon had to mend her, and Winferd gave her something for the pain. She groans as she starts to wake up.
“Aurelie! You’re awake.” Keir lifts his head.

“Mmmm, I’m alive.”
“Yeah. You're alive.” I confirm. “When I almost fell, he started up the Gauntlet. He was at the iron pillars when you fell and grabbed you.”
“I guess I owe Keir a treat or two for that.” She jokes.
“Sorry about your arm.”
“Better than being dead. Thank you, Keir. I owe you my life.” Keir starts to sniff and lick her face gently.

“Yeah, definitely better than being dead,” I confirm. She starts petting Keir with her good arm, with a soft look in her eyes. “What are you thinking about?” I ask.
“Just my old cat.” She answers. Both Keir and I give her a puzzled look. “When I was younger, she traveled with us whenever my dad got transferred to different outposts. She always ran around with me all over the outposts. Guess you can call her my Keir.”

I laugh as she tells us stories about what she and her cat got up to. “So, your mother let you have any other pets besides Keir?”
“Oh gods, no,” I say a bit too quickly. “My brother and sister begged her for years and years for a dog, my brother more than my sister. But she always said no dogs or any other pets.
“But she finally gave in. I mean, you have Keir.” She points out.

“Well, she really gave in, per se.” I scratched the back of my head. “He kinda just showed up in my bed on my sixteenth birthday. Thought he was my gift. Mom was shocked when she saw him in my arms. Called my dad to talk, she thought he got me a puppy behind her back.”

“But did he? How else would Keir get in your room?” Aurelie asks.
“Nope. He swears he didn’t do it. To this day, we have no idea how Keir made it into my room.”
“Violet. Keir. It’s time to go.” Winifred tells us.
“Ok, I’ll see you in the morning, Aurelie.”
As we go to leave, Winifred gifted Keir a new tennis ball. Instead of returning to the dorms, I decided to take Keir for a walk and throw his new ball around before bed.

We headed to the alcove Dain had first brought me on that first day. It’s almost been two months and I’m still here. Should I even be here? Aurelie would have been dead if it weren’t for Keir. Should I take Dani’s offer and leave? The door that leads to the tunnel we took to cross the ridgeline to the Gauntlet opens along the courtyard, and my brow furrows, and Keir tilts his head to the side with his ball in his mouth. Who would be returning this late?

Sitting back against the wall, I let the darkness conceal me. I call Keir closer with a hand symbol, as Xaden, Garrick, and Bodhi pass under a mage light, heading toward us. Three dragons. They were out doing what?
“There has to be something more we can do,” Bodhi argues, looking to Xaden. His voice lowers as they pass us, their boots crunching on the gravel.

“We’re doing everything we can,” Garrick hisses. My scalp prickles, and Xaden stops mid-step ten feet away. The set of his shoulders was rigid.

Crap!

He knows we’re here. Instead of the normal fear I feel whenever he is near, it is replaced with white hot anger. I’m so over waiting for him to kill me. He should get it over with if he wants to do it.
“What’s wrong?” Garrick asks, immediately looking over his shoulder to Xaden.

“Go on. I’ll meet you inside,” Xaden says.
“You sure?” Bodhi’s forehead puckers, and his gaze sweeps over the courtyard.
“Go.” Xaden orders, standing completely still until the other two walk away. Only when they’re gone does he turn and face the spot where we’re sitting.
“I know you know we’re here.” I force myself to stand and move toward him, Keir keeping to my side.

“And please don’t prattle on the commanding the dark. Not in the mood tonight.”
“No questions about where I’ve been?” He folds his arms across his chest as he studies me.
“I honestly don’t care.” I shrug. Keir hands me his ball to throw again, and I oblige him. Keir runs after his ball.

He cocks his head to the side. “You really don’t, do you?”
“Nope. It’s not like we’re out after curfew ourselves.” A heavy sigh blows past my lips as Keir brings his ball back.
“What are you doing out after curfew, first year?” He uses one of his shadows to take Keir’s ball and throw it farther than I could.
“Debating running away, playing with my fur baby,” I retort. “How about you? Feel like sharing?” I ask mockingly, knowing damn well he won’t answer me.

“The same.”
Smartass.
“Look, if you’re going to kill me, just get it over with. At least let me get my affairs in order so Mira knows what to do with Keir. Or are you going to kill him too?” Keir joins us after he retrieves his ball.
“Haven’t decided yet,” he answers, like I asked what he wanted for dinner.

“Well, could you?” I mutter, throwing the ball again. “It would definitely help me make my plans for the week.” Scribe or rider.
“Am I affecting your schedule, Violence?” There is a definite smirk on those lips as he throws Keir’s ball again.
“I just need to know what my chances are here.”

The ass has the nerve to smile. “That’s the oddest way I’ve ever been hit on and in front of your child, no less-“

“Not my chance with you, you conceited prick!” I throw the ball in rage, and Keir runs after it.
“Chances at what?” He asks, standing beside me, his arm brushing against mine.
“Nothing.” He wouldn’t understand.
“Chances at what?” He repeats. “Don’t make me ask three times.” He gently takes my chin in his hand. His ominous tone is at odds with his gentle grasp. Shit, does he smell good?

“At living through all of this! I can’t make it up the damned Gauntlet.” I tug my face from his grasp.
“I see.” He’s so infuriatingly calm.
“No, you don’t. You’re probably celebrating because I’ll fall to my death and you won’t have to kill me yourself.”

“Killing you won't be any trouble, Violence. Leaving you alive seems to cause most of my trouble.”
I roll my eyes at him, continuing to play with Keir. “So sorry to be a hassle.” Sarcasm drops from my voice. “You know what really sucks about this place?” He touches my face again. “Besides, you touching things that don’t belong to you?” My eyes narrow on him.

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me.” My stomach flutters at his touch. He throws Keir’s ball again.
I answer before I can stop myself. “Hope.”
“Hope?” He tips his head closer to mine.

“Hope. That someone like you would never get it. But I knew coming here was a death sentence. It doesn’t matter what I was training my whole life for; when General Sorrengail gives an order, you can’t exactly ignore it.” Gods, why am I running my mouth to this man? Keir seems to have enough play time and comes to lie at my side.

“Sure, you can.” He shrugs. “You just might not like the consequences.”
“I knew what the odds were, and I came anyway. Just never thought Keir would follow, though I’m not shocked.”

“Ah. You almost lost a squadmate, can’t quite get up the chimney, and give up. I’m starting to see. It’s not a flattering picture, but if you want to run off to the Scribe Quadrant-“
I gasp, fear courses through me. “How do you know about that?”
A wicked smile curves Xaden’s perfect lips. “I know everything that goes on here.” Darkness swirls around us. “Shadows, remember? They hear everything, see everything, conceal everything.” The rest of the world disappears.

“My mother would definitely reward you if you told her about Dani’s plan.”
“She’d definitely reward you for telling her about my little… what did you call it? Club.”
“I’m not going to tell her.” The words sound defensive.
“I know. It’s why I'm still alive.” He holds my gaze, and Keir lets out a low growl.

“Here’s the thing, Sorrengail. Hope is a fickle, dangerous thing. It steals your focus and aims it towards possibilities instead of probabilities.
“So what am I supposed to do? Not hope that I live? Just plan for death?”
“You’re supposed to focus on the things that can kill you so you find ways not to die.” He shakes his head. “I can barely count the number of people in this quadrant who want you dead, either as revenge against your mother or because you and your hound are really good at pissing people off.” Shadows wrap around me. I swear I feel one of them caressing my face. “It’s been rather surprising to watch, actually.”

“Happy to be your entertainment. I’m going to bed. Let’s go, Keir.” Spinning on my heel, we head toward the entrance to the barracks, but Xaden is right behind us. Close enough that the door would slam in his face if he didn’t catch it.

“Maybe if you stopped sulking in your self-pity, you’d see that you have everything you need to scale the Gauntlet,” he calls after us.
“Myself - what?” I turn around.

“People will die,” he says slowly, his jaw ticking before he takes a deep breath. “It’s going to happen over and over again. It’s the nature of what happens here. What makes you a rider is what happens after people die. You want to know why you’re still alive? Because you're the scale I measure myself on every night. Every day I let you live, I get to convince myself that there is still a part of me that is a decent person. So if you want to quit, then please, spare me the temptation and fucking quit. But if you want to do something, then do it.”

“I’m too short to span the distance!” I hiss.
“The right way isn’t the only way. Figure it out.” Xaden then turns and walks away.
Fuck him.

Chapter Text

The following Gauntlet practice sessions were no more successful than my first, but at least a squadmate didn’t have another near-death experience.
Tynan has quit talking about me being a liability, since he can’t seem to make it up entirely either. The buoy balls are his downfall. Ridoc hadn’t stopped teasing him that Keir could make it past the buoy balls, and he couldn’t. The chimney is mine. I feel like Keir could get past that as well.

By the ninth and next-to-last session, I’m ready to set the whole thing on fire. The section of the course that is my downfall is meant to simulate the strength and agility it takes to mount a dragon. It’s clear my size is going to fuck me in that regard.
“Maybe you can climb up onto my shoulders and then…” Rhiannon shakes her head as we study the crevice that’s become my nemesis. Keir lifts his head from where he is lying next to Aurelie. She started joining my group and I more since Keir saved her when Rhi made her suggestion.

“Then I’m still stuck halfway up,” I answer, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
“Doesn’t matter. You can’t touch another cadet on the route.” Sawyer folds his arms beside me.
“Are you here to squash hopes and dreams, or do you have a suggestion?” Rhiannon retorts. “Because Presentation is tomorrow, so if you’ve got any bright ideas, now is the time.”
I glance over to Keir. I don’t like the look in his eyes at the information Sawyer just dropped, and Rhi is asking for ideas. I feel like he is plotting something. I swear my fur baby can be too smart for his own good.

“Doris Merrill,” Captain Fitzgibbons says from the dais. His features are getting clearer because the sun is behind the clouds. But because I’m closer. Our formation gets tighter with every cadet who falls. According to Brennan and statistics, today will be one of the deadliest for first years. It’s Presentation Day, and to get to the flight field, we’ll have to climb the Gauntlet first. Everything about the riders' quadrant is designed to weed out the weak, and today is no exception.

“Kamryn Dyre.” Captain Fitzgibbons continues to read from the roll. He sat across from me in dragonkind.
“Ariel Pelipa.”
Imogen and Quinn - both second years - suck in a breath ahead of me. First years aren’t the only ones at risk; we have a higher chance of meeting Malek.
“Michel Iverem.” Captain Fitzgibbons closes the roll. “We commend their souls to Malek.”

“Second and third years, unless you’re on Gauntlet duty, head to class. First years, it’s time to show us what you’ve got.” Dain smiles and doesn’t look me in the eyes as he looks at our squad.
“Good luck today.” Imogen aims a sickly sweet right at me. “Hopefully you won’t fall… short.” Keir gives her a growl. I can’t tell if he wants to bite her or destroy everything she owns.
“See you later,” I reply, lifting my chin and placing a hand on Keir to calm him.

She stares at Keir and me with complete loathing for a second, then walks away with Quinn and Cianna.
“Best of luck.” Heaton - the thickest third year in our squad, with red flames cut and dyed into their hair- taps their heart, right over two patches. Before heading to class, they offer us a genuine but flat-lipped smile. As I stare at their retreating backs, I wonder what the circular patch with water and floating spheres means.
“I didn’t realize Heaton actually knew how to speak.” Two lines appear between Ridoc’s brows.
“Maybe they figure they should at least say hi before we’re potentially roasted today,” Rhiannon says.

“Back to formation,” Dain orders.
“Are you going with us?” I ask.
He gives me a nod, still refusing to look at me. The nine of us fall into two lines, one of four and the other of five—the same as the other squads around us. Keir stands next to me, between the two lines.

“Awkward,” Rhiannon whispers from my side. “He seems kind of pissed at you.”
I glance over Aurelie’s shoulders. “ he wants something I can’t give him.”
Her eyebrows rise. I roll my eyes. “Not like that. But even if we did try anything, Keir always pushes his way into the middle of us. Or just straight up shoves or tackles Dain sometimes with kisses, after he licks his butt. Sometimes Keir steals Dain’s things and instigates a game of chase.”
“I wouldn’t care if it was like that,” she says. “He’s hot. He has that whole boy next door who can still kick your ass vibe going for him. But it seems like you have a Chasity Puppy.” She laughs under her breath. I fight a smile because she is right on both accounts.

“We’re still the only squad who didn’t lose anyone yet,” Ridoc notes behind us as the squads farthest left file out through the western gate in the courtyard.
“What are we down to?” Tynan asks. “Hundred and eighty-one?”
“Hundred and seventy two,” Dain answers. Squads from the Second wing begin to move, led by their wingleader, which means Xaden is somewhere ahead of us. My nerves are saved for the obstacle course, but I can’t help but wonder which way his scales will tip today.

“For a hundred dragons? But what will we…” Aurelie asks.
“Stop letting fear leak into your voice,” Luca snaps from behind Rhiannon. “If the dragons think you’re a coward, you’ll be nothing but a name tomorrow.”
“Who said I was a coward!” Aurelie snaps at her. “I was thinking about the statistics.”
“Just ignore her, I’m sure you will be fine.” I lean in so our squad mates behind us can’t hear me as the third wing begins to march for the gate.
“Thanks.” She whispers back. Dain’s narrowed gaze finally locks onto mine.

“Nervous, Rhi?” I ask, knowing we’re about to be called out next.
“For you?” She asks. “Not at all. We’ve got this.”
“Oh, I meant about the history test tomorrow,” I tease, and Keir snorts. “Nothing is going on today to panic about.”
“Now that you mention it, the Treaty of Arif might just be my death.” She grins, “And Keir, I would love to see you try and take a history test.”
“Ahh, the agreement between Navarre and Krovla for mutually shared airspace for both dragons and gryphons over a narrow strip of the Esben Mountains, between Sumerian and Draitgus,” I recall, nodding.

“Your memory is terrifying.” She shoots me a smile. “And now that I think about it, Keir might do better at history than I. Look at who raised him. Hey, sweet boy, do you want to do your Auntie Rhi a favor and take her history test for her?” She baby-talks Keir. He wags his tail at her.
“You might have to get him treats and a new ball to attempt.” I snort.

“Fourth Wing!” Xaden calls from somewhere in the distance. I don’t need to see him to know he gave the order and not his executive officer. “Move out!”
We file off, flame section, then claw, and finally tail. There’s a bit of a bottleneck at the gate, but then we’re through, walking into the mage-lit dimness of the tunnel. Shadows blanket the edges of the rocky floor. I wonder what the limits of Xaden’s power are anyway.
Dain falls back and tries to take Keir’s spot between Rhiannon and me.

“Change your mind.” His voice is barely a whisper. Keir stops for a moment, and Dain stumbles into him.
“No.” I sound way more confident than I feel.
“Change. Your. Mind.” His hand tries to find mine, but Keir once again puts his butt between us. “Please, Vi.”
“I can’t.” I shake my head.” “Anymore than you would leave Cath and run to the scribes yourself.”

“That’s different.” His hand squeezes Keir’s fur. I can see the tension in him. “I’m a rider.”
“Well, maybe I am too,” I whisper as light appears ahead.
“Don’t be - “ he takes his hand from Keir. “I don’t want to bury you, Vi.”
“It’s inevitable that one of us must bury the other, Dain.”
“You know what I mean.” The light grows brighter.
“Please don’t do this,” Dain begs, more than Keir does for his bacon cheddar scones. The view is spectacular as always.

“I don’t know if I can watch,” Dain says, drawing back my full attention.
“Then close your eyes.” I have a plan- a shitty one, but it’s still a plan. And by the looks Keir has been giving me, he also has a plan.
“What changed between Parapet and now?” Dain asks again, a wealth of emotions in his eyes.
“Me.”

An hour later, my feet fly over the spinning posts of the staircase, and I jump to the safety of the gravel path. Third ascent complete. Two more to go, and I haven’t touched a single rope. I feel Dain starting from the bottom of the course, where Tynan and Luca have yet to start. I glance down and notice the lack of my dog at the bottom. I want to say I am shocked, but everything else my dog has done so far this year, I’m not.

“You can do it!” Rhi and Aurelie yell from the top as I reach the chimney structure.
“Or you can do us all a favor and fall!” Jack fucking Barlowe yells at me. I look up at the hollow column I’m supposed to climb. But before I can dart back and enact my plan, Keir is beside me again.
He inclines his head to the chimney, barking as if trying to express his idea. He lunges on the path and looks at the chimney. I finally understand what he is saying.
“Fine, sweet boy, we will do it your way.”

As I run to the chimney, I get as high as possible, and Keir jumps onto it. He stretched his body the length of the chimney and started to scoot up. Keir acts like a footstool for me as I reach the top. Keir then jumps back down and avoids the drop to the bottom of the course. He backs up, gets a running start, and gets up the chimney by backing off from side to side till he is back at my side.
“Hell yes!” Ridoc yells from the top. “That’s our girl! That’s our mascot!”
“Get up!” Rhiannon shouts.
“Just one more!” Aurelie adds.

My chest heaves, and my lungs ache. I look to Keir, who seems to have the time of his life running this course. I’m on the last ascent, the final path to the flight field, and standing in front of me is a wooden ramp that juts ten feet from the cliff wall, then curves upward like a bowl. The obstacle tests a cadet’s ability to scale a dragon’s foreleg and reach its saddle. And I’m too short.

But Xaden’s words that the right way isn’t the only way play over and over again in my head. One look at Keir, and he gives me an approving nod. We went over this till the sun rose. I unsheathed my largest dagger from home and wiped away the sweat on my forehead with the back of my hand. I forget about the throbbing of my shoulders and the twinge in my knee from landing wrong after the pillars. I charge, using my speed to my advantage.

There’s a drum-like sound as my feet beat against the ramp, and the incline sharpens. I throw my body forward, and the momentum carries me upward, running up the side of the ramp. I wait until I feel the precious shift, the moment gravity reclaims my body, almost two feet from the top, I swing my arm up and slam my dagger into the slick, soft wood of the ramp. A primal scream rips from my throat as my shoulder cries in protest, just as my fingers graze the lip of the edge. I throw my elbow over the top to gain more leverage and pull myself up and over, using the handle of my dagger as a final step before lurching onto the top of the cliff.

On my stomach, I turn to face the ramp, recover the side, and yank my dagger free. As I am doing that, I see Keir back up as far as he can and takes his own running start. He manages to climb the ramp. His front paws dig into the ground as he kicks his back legs to get up. I grab him by his collar and help him the rest of the way. I sheath my dagger at my ribs before I stagger to my feet. We made it! Relief sucks the adrenaline right out of my body.

Rhiannon’s arms sweep around me, Aurelie joins her, and Ridoc hugs me. Keir jumps onto us, saying he wants in the hug too. Ridoc obliges him.
“She can’t do that!” Someone shouts.
“Yeah, well, she just did!” Ridoc tosses over his shoulder, loosening his grip on me.
“You made it!” Rhiannon takes my face in her hands, tears filling her eyes. Keir huffs at her. “You both made it!”

“Luck, Adrenaline, and a stubborn dog who does not quit,” I tell her.
“Cheating!” I turn towards the voice as Keir pins his ears back, going for a snarl.
It’s Amber Mavis, Dain’s close friend from last year, and the wingleader of the third wing. She has nothing but fury on her face as she charges at Xaden.

“The cheater clearly used foreign materials. Or should I say cheaters? That stupid mutt helped her up the course.”
“Back the hell up, Mavis,” Garrick threatens.
“It’s not to be tolerated! We live by the rules or we die by them!” She argues. No wonder she and Dain got along so well. Both love the codex.
“I don’t take kindly to calling anyone in my section a cheater,” Garrick warns. His massive form blocked me from Amber's view. “And my windleader will handle any rule-breaking in his wing.” He moves to the side.

“Sorrengail?” Xaden asks, arching an eyebrow.
“Surely she’s out! You can’t tolerate lawlessness within your own wing, Riorson!” She screeches.
But Xaden’s gaze never leaves mine.
“A rider may only bring to the quadrant the items they can carry-“ I start before she cuts me off.
“Are you equating the Codex to me?!” Amber shouts.
“-and they shall not be separated from those items, no matter what they may be,” I continue. “For once carried across the parapet, they are considered part of their person. Article three, section six, addendum B.”

Her blue eyes flare with pure rage. “That addendum was written to make thievery an executional offense!”
“Correct.” I nod and pull the dagger I used. “But by doing so, it gave any item carried across the parapet the status of being part of a rider. This isn’t a challenge blade. It’s one I carried across and therefore considered part of myself.” Xaden’s eyes flare, and I don’t miss the ghosts of a smirk on his lips.
“The right way isn’t the only way,” I throw at Amber.
“She has you, Mavis,” Xaden responds
“On a technicality!”
“She still has you.”

“What about the filthy mutt. Other cadets can’t touch or help one another. And that thing clearly helped her up.”
Xaden cuts in on this. “Last time I checked, the codex says nothing about dogs. And since they are property, the same point still stands as the dagger.”
Garrick shows him the stopwatch he is holding to Xaden.

“But!” She tries to argue
He lets out a smirk at what he sees.
“If we do now consider that Keir here is now a cadet. And by the looks of the stopwatch Garrick used for his run. It looks like Keir beats your time up the Gauntlet, Mavis.”
Her face turns a bright red, and she looks like she is about to explode.
“What will it be, Mavis?” Garrick taunts, “are you willing to admit, now what did you call Keir again. A stupid, filthy mutt beat your time.”

“You think like a scribe!” She screeches at me. It’s intended as an insult, but I nod my head and pet Keir. “I know.”
She marches off fuming, and I sheathe the dagger again. My hands go to give my boy more pets. I did it. I passed another test.

“Sorrengail,” Xaden’s eyes flare, says, and my eyes fly open. “You might owe someone more balls after this.”
I nod, returning away with Keir on my heels, joining our squad. I cheer our last two squad mates up the cliff. We all make it.

Chapter Text

There are 179 of us by the time morning is done, and, even with Mavis trying to have me disqualify with Keir helping me up the chimney, we’ve placed eleventh out of the thirty-six squads for Presentation. Anxiety seized my legs at the thought of walking so close to dragons, determined to weed out the weak.

Liam Mairi was the fastest up the Gauntlet, earning him the Gauntlet patch. I am curious to know what Keir’s time was. He started when I was more than halfway through the buoy balls. Xaden refuses to tell me. Prick. I wasn’t the slowest, so that’s a win for me. The box canyon that makes up the training field is breathtaking in the autumn.

Then there are the dragons. Averaging twenty-five feet tall, they’re in a formation, lined up several feet from the path.
“Let’s go, Second Squad, you’re up next,” Garrick says, beckoning us with a wave. Dain and the other squad leaders stayed behind. I’m not sure if he’ll be thrilled I made it up the Gauntlet or disappointed that Keir and I bent the rules.

“Into formation,” Garrick orders, his tone all business. Go figure, he seems to be so close to Xaden. We comply, Rhiannon, Aurelie, Keir, and I end up near the back this time.
“Hopefully Aetos has done his job, so you know that it’s a straight walk down the meadow.” Garrick’s hazel eyes skim over us. “I’d recommend staying at least seven feet apart-“
“In case one of us gets torched,” Ridoc mutters.

“Correct, Ridoc. Cluster if you want. If a dragon finds disfavor with one of you, it’s likely to burn the whole lot to weed out one.” Garrick warns. “Also, remember you’re not here to approach them; if you do, you won’t return to the dormitory tonight.”
“Keir, please don’t approach any dragons,” I whisper. He cocks his head at me.

“Can I ask a question?” Luca says from the front. Garrick nods, but I can tell he is annoyed. Luca brings that out of people and dogs. “Third squad, tail section of fourth wing already went through, and I talked to some cadets…”
“That’s not a question.” Garrick cuts her off. Yep, definitely annoyed.
“Right. It’s just that they said there’s a feather tail?” Her voice goes up in pitch.
“A feather tail?” Tynan sputters from in front of Keir and me. “Who the hell would ever want to bond a feather tail?”

I roll my eyes. Rhiannon and Aurelie shake their heads. And Keir shoves Tynan. He falls forward a bit and looks back to glare at Keir.
“Professor Kaori never told us there would be a feather tail,” Sawyer says. “I know because I memorized all one hundred dragons willing to bond this year.”
“Well, guess there’s a hundred and one now,” Garrick replies. “Relax. Feather tails don’t bond. It’s probably just curious. You’re up. Stay on the path. You walk up, wait for the entire squad, and walk back. It can’t get any simpler, kids. So if you can’t do that, you deserve whatever happens to you.” We follow him up to the senior wingleader.

“They’re all yours,” Garrick tells her. She nods and dismisses him. “Single file.”
We all shuffle into a line. Rhiannon is right behind me, and Aurelie is right before me. Unfortunately, Keir is to my side, and Tynan is right in front of Aurelie, so that I will be treated joyfully by his commentary the whole time. Lucky me.
“Talk,” the senior wingleader says.
“Nice day for a Presentation.” Ridoc jokes. She narrows her gaze on Ridoc, “Not to me.”

Then, she motions to the line of cadets before her. “Talk to your nearby squadmates while you’re on the path, as it will help the dragons understand who you are and how well you play with others. There’s a correlation between bonded cadets and the level of chatter. Feel free to look at the dragons, especially if they show off their tails. I would abstain from eye contact if you value your life. If you encounter a scorch mark, ensure nothing’s currently on fire before continuing.” She paused just long enough for the advice to sink in. “See you after your stroll.”

With a wave of her hand, the senior wingleader steps to the side, revealing the dirt path that leads through the center of the valley, and up ahead, sitting perfectly still are a hundred and one dragons willing to bond this year. The line starts, and we give each other the recommended seven feet before following.
The trail is hard beneath my boots and has a lingering sulfur odor—my poor sweet baby must not be having fun with the smell. We pass a trio of red dragons first.

“I can’t see their tails!” Tynan shouts in front of Aurelie. “How can we know what breeds they are?!”
As we walk by, I keep my eyes locked at level with their shoulders. “We’re not supposed to know what breeds they are.” I try to explain.
“Fuck that,” he says over his shoulder. “I need to figure out which one I will approach during Threshing!”
“Did you even pay attention to what Professor Kaori said in class?” Aurelie tells him.

“Pretty sure this little walk is so they can decide,” I retort.
“Hopefully one of them will decide you don’t get to make it to Threshing.” Rhiannon says, so quietly that I doubt Keir could barely hear it.

I laugh as we approach a set of browns, both smaller than my mother’s Aimsir.
“They’re a little bigger than I thought they would be,” Rhiannon says
“Didn’t you see the ones at Parapet?” Aurelie asks.
“Yes!” Rhiannon retorts. “But..” I look back at her to see Rhi’s gaze flicker between the path and the dragons. Crap, she’s nervous. Keir notices too and goes to try to comfort Rhi. She keeps her hand on his shoulder, petting his fur. “Thanks, Keir.”

She still looks unsteady. “So, do you know if you’re having a niece or nephew?” I ask as our group passes by some oranges.
“What?” She asked, confused.
“Just heard some healers can make some pretty good guesses once a woman is far enough along in her pregnancy.”
“Oh. No clue.” She says. “Guess I will find out when we can write our families next year.

“I always found that to be one of the stupidest rules in the codex.”
“You don’t think it encourages loyalty to the wing?” Aurelie asks.
“I think I’m just as loyal to my sister whether we had letters from each other or not.” I counter. “There are bonds that can’t be broken.”
“Like how Keir is to you.” Rhiannon chimes in.
“Ya, just like Keir.” Keir happily barks as he comes back to my side after it appears that Rhi calmed down.

“I’d be loyal to your sister, too,” Tynan says, turning around and grinning as he walks backwards. “She’s one hell of a rider, and that ass. I saw her right before Parapet, and damn, Violet. She’s hot.”
And the moment is gone. Keir growls at Tynan.
We pass by another set of reds, a pair of greens, and a single brown.
“Turn around.” I make a spinning motion with my finger. “Mira would eat you for breakfast, Tynan.”

“I’m just wondering how one of you got all the good traits and the other looks like she got the leftovers.” His gaze skims down my body.
Full body-shudder gross. Keir crouches lower and starts growling and creeping closer to Tynan. Tynan’s eyes go wide as he quickly turns.
“Guess someone doesn’t want Keir’s Jack treatment.” Aurelie smirks. Her, Rhi, and I all laugh.

“Wait, did I miss a dick joke!” Ridoc calls from ahead of us. “No, I live for those!”
“A nephew would be good,” Rhiannon says, like the conversation was never interrupted. “Boys aren’t too bad.”
“My brother was awesome, but he and Dain are my only experience with growing up around little boys.” We pass more dragons. “Though Dain was most likely a bit more rule-abiding than what was normal. He’s probably going to give me shit about how I got up the Gauntlet, like Mavis did.”

We pass the halfway point.
“Why didn’t you tell me about yours and Keir’s plan for the chimney?” Or the dagger?” Rhiannon asks, her tone hurt, into pitching it. “You can trust me, you know.”
“Well, my original plan was to use the rope to climb up the chimney. It would have destroyed my hands, though. But my sweet boy here had other ideas.” I answer, taking the time to look over my shoulder so I can see her. “Besides, if it didn’t work, I didn’t want you to be an accomplice. You have a real future here, and I refuse to bring you down if I didn’t make it.”

“I don’t need you to protect me.”
“I know. But it’s just what friends do, Rhi.” I shrug as we walk by a trio of browns.
“You keeping any other secrets up there?” Aurelie eventually asks.
Guilt settles in my bones when I think of Xaden and his meeting with the other marked ones. “I knit and crochet. Oh, I enjoy sewing too. Along with cooking and baking for Keir.” I try to deflect.
Aurelie laughs, “Other than the craving facts, you cooking and baking for Keir is not a secret.”

“Then I guess it’s impossible to know everything there is to know about someone.”
Rhi and Aurelie laugh again. “If that wasn’t skirting the question,” Aurelie says.
“Promise me that if you need help, you’ll let me give it to you,” Rhiannon adds.
“That goes for me, too, Violet. I can never thank Keir enough for saving my life.” A smile spreads across my face, “How about this?” I hold up a single finger. “I promise that if I need help, either of you is capable of giving, I’ll ask, but only if you two promise the same.”
“Deal!” They both say.

“You might regret that when it comes time to bathe Keir. It goes one of two ways. Either he is a complete angel or a total menace. And don’t get me started when I have to catch him to go to the healers for his S.h.o.t.s.” Keir snaps his head at him.
“Kidding.” All three of us laugh.

“You guys done bonding back there?” Tynan sneers, “because we’re almost to the end of the line, if you haven’t noticed.” He pauses in the middle of the path. “And I still can’t figure out which one I’m going to choose.”
“With arrogance like that, I’m sure any dragon would feel lucky to share your mind for the rest of your life.” His gaze goes to the right.

“Not that there is much to share in that department,” Aurelie says under her breath. Making Rhiannon and me laugh.
The rest of the squad is gathered ahead of us, facing the direction at the end of the path, but all their attention is focused to the right. As we pass the last dragon, I inhale sharply.
“What the hell?!” Tynan stares
“Keep walking,” I order, but my gaze is transfixed.

Standing at the end of the line is a small golden dragon. The sunlight reflects off its scales and horns as it stands to its full height, fucking a feathered tail around the side of its body. My jaw drops as I take in the sharp teeth and quick, darting movements of its head as it studies us. At its full height, it’s probably only a few feet taller than I am.
Keir charges forward before I can grab his collar.

“Shit should’ve put him on his lead.”
I run straight into Tynan. “Get off me, Sorrengail.”
“Trying to stop my dog from becoming dragon chow! Asshole!”
“Who the hell would want to bond that thing?”
“They can hear you.”
Keir runs right up to the feathertail. It lowers its head to my Keir. They start sniffing each other.
“Wait? What?” Aurelie asks.

Keir and the feathertail start bouncing around each other as if in play.
“It’s fucking yellow.” Luca points right at the dragon in disgust. “So not only is it obviously too small to carry a rider in battle, but it’s not even powerful enough to be a real color.”
“Maybe it’s a mistake,” Sawyer says quietly, watching my dog play with a dragon. “Maybe it’s a baby orange.”
“It’s full-grown,” Rhiannon argues. “There’s no way the other dragons would let a baby bond. Right?”

“It’s a mistake all right.” Tynan looks at the scene in front of him and scoffs. “You should totally bond it, Sorrengail. You’re both freakishly weak. It’s a match made in heaven.”
Keir and the feathertail stop playing at his words and snap their heads at him, both growling.
“It looks powerful enough to burn you to death,” I counter. Fucker just had to call me weak in front of the dragons.

Sawyer lunges between us, grabbing Tynan’s collar. “Don’t ever say that about a squadmate, especially not in front of unbonded dragons.” Keir is barking, as if he is encouraging Sawyer to hit Tynan.
“Let him go. He’s just saying what we're all thinking,” Luca mutters. Keir is now growling at her. I turn slowly and look at her.

“What?” Luca gestures to my hair. “Half of your hair is silver, and you're so petite.” She puts on a fake ass smile. “Golden and small. You match.” Keir barks in protest.
Aurelie puts her hand on Sawyer’s shoulder. “Don’t make a mistake in front of them. We don’t know what they’ll do.” She whispers.
I signaled for Keir to come back to my side, but he went back to playing with the feathertail. Sawyer drops Tynan.

“Someone should kill it before it bonds,” Tynan sputters, and for the first time in my life, I want to kick someone’s ass even while they're down. Keir has the same idea, so he stands in front of the feathertail, guarding it. “It’s just going to get its rider killed, and it’s not like we get a choice if it wants to bond us.”
“You’re just picking up on that now, are you?” Ridoc shakes his head.

“We should go back,” Pryor says as his gaze darts around the group. “I mean, if you think we should. We don’t have to, of course.”
“For once in your life,” Tynan shoves past Pryor. “Make a damn decision, Pryor.”
We take off one by one, leaving the suggested space between us.
“Keir, come on! We’re leaving!” Keir appears to say goodbye to his new friend and return to my side. Of course, my dog would befriend a dragon.

Rhi goes before me this time, and Ridoc follows behind, Aurelie behind him, and Luca bringing up the rear.
“They’re pretty incredible, aren’t they?” Ridoc says.
“They are,” I agree
“Can’t believe our little mascot went right up to a dragon and didn’t get burned?” Ridoc wonders out loud.
“Is any going to do that. It would be Keir.” I agree, Keir is wagging his tail, happy as can be.

“They’re honestly a little underwhelming after seeing that blue at Parapet.” Luca’s voices Carrie’s all the way up here. Rhiannon turns around with an incredulous look. “Like this isn’t stressful enough without you insulting them?”
I need to defuse this fast. “I mean, it could be worse. We could be walking past a line of wyvern, right?”

“Oh, please, Violet, do give us one of your nervous-babble story times,” Luca says sarcastically. Keir growls again at her. He loves story times. “Let me guess, they are some elite squad of gryphon riders created after some battle that only you can remember with your scribe brain.”
“You don’t know what a wyvern is?” Rhi asks as she begins to walk again. “Didn’t your parents tell you bedtime stories, Luca?”

“Do enlighten me,” she drawls.
I roll my eyes, and Keir shakes his head, jiggling his tags, continuing along the path. “They’re folklore,” I say over my shoulder. “Kinda like dragons but bigger and with two feet instead of four. With a taste for humans.”

“My mom used to love telling my sister Raegan and me that we’d be plucked right off the front porch if we talked back, and their eerie-eyed venin riders would take us prisoner if we took treats we weren’t allowed to have,” Rhi says. I can’t help notice her steps seem to be lighter when talking about home.
“My dad used to read to me those fables every night,” I tell her. “I would ask if Mom would turn into one because she could channel.”
Rhi laughs, “Did he tell you people supposedly only turn vein if they channel directly from the source?”

“He did, but it was after my mom had a really long day at work. She came home with bloodshot red eyes, so I freaked out and started screaming. She took my book of fables away for a month because the outpost guards all came running. And I was hiding behind my brother, who couldn’t stop laughing. I keep my eyes forward as a large orange sniffs the air when I pass.

Rhiannon shakes with laughter. “I wish we’d had a book like that. I seriously think Mom just altered the stories to scare us whenever we misbehaved.”
“That sounds like some border-village nonsense.” Luca scoffs. “Venin? Wyvern? Anyone with an ounce of education knows the wards stop all magic that isn’t channeled from dragons.”

“They’re stories, Luca,” Aurelie tells her.
“Pryor, you can walk a little faster if you want up there.”
“Maybe we should slow down and take our time?” Pryor suggests ahead of Rhiannon. “Or I guess we can go faster if we want to get out of here.”
A red steps out of line, and my stomach drops as dread fills my body. “No, no, no,” I whisper, but it’s too late. The red opens its mouth and fire erupts alongside its tongue, heat streaming from the path ahead of Rhiannon.

She yells in shock. Heat blasts the front of my face, and then it’s over.
“Are you alright, Rhi?” I called forward. Keir is pawing at his nose to get rid of the smell of sulfur. She nods, but the movement is jerky. “Pryor is…He’s…”
Pryor’s dead.

“Keep walking!” Sawyer shouts from farther down the path.
“It’s all right, Rhi. You have to…” I don’t know how to finish that sentence.
“Fire’s out,” she says over her shoulder.
I nod because there is nothing else I can do.
“Oh my gods, the smell,” Luca complains.
“Could you please have some level of decency?” I snap, turning around and leveling a glare at her. “Keir is showing more…” I stop when I see Ridoc’s face.

His eyes are as wide as saucers, and his mouth hangs open. “Violet.”
A warm huff of steam blows against the back of my neck. Shit. Keir is right next to me before I turn and take what might be my last breath. “I guess if we go out, we go out together, boy,” I tell him.

The golden eyes of two green dragons meet mine and Keir's. I drop my gaze and place my hand on Keir’s head to lower his as one chuffs another breath at me. It’s hot and wet, but I’m not dead, so that’s a plus—the one on the right chortles deep in its throat. I lift my head and suck in a sharp breath. They’re even closer now. The one to my left nudges Keir and sniffs him, and he returns the favor. “Umm, this is Keir. He made it up the Gauntlet on his own and helped me out.” The one on the right sets its nose right at my breast and chuffs again.

It inhales, making a noise that calls the other one over from Keir. That one shoves its nose into my ribs, making me raise my arms.
“Violet!” Rhi and Aurelie whisper-shout.
“I’m all right,” I call back as gently as I can, so I don’t yell right into a dragon’s ear. Another chuff. Another chortle, are they talking to each other? Then realization hits me, and I choke back a laugh. “You smell Teine, don’t you?” I ask. They both draw back just enough for me to look them in the eyes.

“I’m Mira’s sister, Violet.” I slowly lower my arms. “She collected Teine’s scales after he shed them last year and had them shrunk down so she can make armor to help keep me safe.”
The one on the right blinks.
The one on the left sticks its nose into again, sniffing loudly.
“The scales have saved me a few times,” I whisper. “But no one else knows they’re in there. Just Mira, Teine, and Keir.”

They both blink at me, and I lower my gaze, bowing my head. They both give Keir one more sniff each, and he just gives them a doggy smile with a tail wag. Step by step, they retreat until I see them take up their places in line, and I finally raise my head. Taking a few deep breaths, I check on Keir to keep from shaking.

“Violet.” Rhiannon is only a few feet away, a look of terror on her and Aurelie’s faces.
“I’m fine.” I force a smile. “I will tell you two later, I promise.”
“I think I just shat myself,” Ridoc says, and my laughter only pitches higher as we move through the field.
“Honestly, I thought they were going to eat you and your dog.” Luca remarks
“Me too,” I admit—Starching Keir’s head.
“I wouldn’t have blamed them,” she continues.

“You’re insufferable,” Ridoc calls back.
I focus on the path ahead.
“What? She’s obviously our weakest link after Pryor, and I don’t blame them for snuffing him out.” She argues. “He could never make a decision. And no one wants someone like that as their rider-“
A blast of heat singes my back, and I halt. Don’t be Ridoc. Please don’t be Ridoc.
“Guess the dragons think she’s insufferable too,” Ridoc mutters. And just like that, our squad is down to seven first-year players.

It’s later in the night. Aurelie moved her bunk to the other side of mine after it became available after Gaulent practice.
We are crowded around my bunk in our sleepwear. I am brushing Keir’s teeth for the night as he sits in his bed in a doggie onesie. I tell them about the dragon scale armor Mira had made for me.

“So they smelled your sister’s dragon?” Aurelie asks.
“That’s what I think. Please don’t tell anyone.”
“Not a peep from me,” Aurelie says and zips her lips.
“I won’t,” Rhi promised.
We continue talking as Ridoc walks into the woman’s dorm.
“Ridoc, for the last time, you are not allowed in here.” Rhi chides him.
“But Keir gets to be here, look, he has his own bed.” He jokes.

“Not that he uses,” I mutter, finishing up his teeth.
“What do you mean?” He questions.
Aurelie gets a mischievous look on her face as she answers, “Oh, it’s just that Keir here takes turns sleeping in each of our beds. He is a great little spoon, but a better big spoon.”
“Keir, you traitor! What about bro code?” Ridoc says as dramatically as he can. We laugh at him, and Keir lets out a happy bark.

“What can I say, it’s hard for a girl to resist cuddles from the most handsome boy in the whole quadrant.” Rhi rubs salt into Ridoc’s fake ass wound. He goes down to Keir. “Come on, boy, switch spots with me, you can spoon Sawyer. Just let Ridoc cuddle the girls. Please, man.” Keir tilts his head like he is thinking about it and just paws Ridoc to the ground.
“That will be a no from him, Ridoc,” I tell him.

Chapter Text

October 1st is always Threshing. I am free from breakfast duty today, so I can spend my last meal with my squad, just in case - how nice of leadership. Keeping scribe hours for most of my life, I am still up at 5 am. I take Keir out for a morning walk since I am not needed in the kitchens, but I still show up.

“Violet, you don’t have breakfast duty today. It’s Threshing.” Gabe tells me.
“I know, but I figured I would still make Keir’s breakfast myself. It might be the last time I can.” I explain.
“Of course.”
I make Keir an egg and veggie scramble. Along with oatmeal with blueberries, pumpkin pancakes, and salmon spinach biscuits. I make his morning smoothie with his morning supplements and vitamins.
“Violet looks like your squad just got here. Why don’t you go sit with them?” Gabe tells me.
“Ok, will do.” I place all of Keir’s food onto a tray and only take a little bit of fruit for myself. I don’t think I'll be able to eat today.

“Look who is going to join us for breakfast,” Rhi says. I can feel her nerves.
“No breakfast duty?” Aurelie asks.
“All first years’ duties are cancelled for Threshing,” Sawyer explains as I take my seat next to Rhiannon. It seems everyone else shares my lack of appetite this morning. Well, everyone except Ridoc, who is shoveling food into his mouth.
I place Keir’s food on the table and kiss him on the forehead and nose. Keir will never eat his meals unless he gets kisses, such a baby sometimes.

“Morning, guys, ready for today?”
They all nod.
“I’m so ready,” Ridoc looks up from his meal. “What gives? They can serve a good-looking breakfast.” Ridoc is eyeing up Keir’s tray.
The table laughs at him. “Actually, Ridoc, I make all of Keir’s food.”
“You are just now noticing that Keir gets better-looking meals than the rest of us.” Rhiannon teases.
“Not to mention healthier too,” Aurelie adds.
His eyes go wide, “and here I thought Keir knew whose leg to hump for a decent meal.” He jokes. Sawyer shakes his head at our antics.

I pity Ridoc, who’s currently heaving up his guts against a tree. Shouldn’t have eaten this morning. A sword is strapped to Rhiannon’s back as she stretches.
“Remember to listen here,” Professor Kaori says in front of the 148 of us here. “If a dragon has already selected you, they’ll be calling. Also, please pay attention to your feelings and follow them.”
“Which one are you going for?” Rhiannon asks me.
“Don’t know.” I shake my head and pet Keir on his head. “Dain tried talking me into a brown.”
“Dain lost his vote the moment he tried to get you to leave,” Aurelie says from my other side. Keir barks in agreement.
“Agreed,” Rhiannon says.

I haven’t spoken to Dain in days since the Presentation, and he tried to get me to leave within the first five minutes. Keir just dragged me away and wouldn’t let him near me at all. “What about you guys?”
Rhiannon grins. “I’m thinking about that green. The one closest to me when they got all up and personal with you and Keir.”
“Funny, I was going for the other green that was next to it.” Aurelie chimes.
“Well, they didn’t eat either of you, so that’s a good sign.”
“I think so too.” They say at the same time.
“What if we don’t make it back by dinner?”
Someone asks.

I look and see Jack Barlowe running a finger across his neck at me. Then Oren and Tynan flack his sides. Keir snarls at them, so much for squad loyalty.
“If you’re not chosen by nightfall, there’s a problem,” Professor Kaori responds. “A professor or a senior leadership brings you out, so don’t give up and think we forgot about you.”
“Be careful,” Rhiannon tells us, pulling Aurelie and me in for a hug. Keir jumps to join.
“I would ask if it is a good idea to bring Keir, but I feel like nothing will stop him from being at your side,” Aurelie says.
“Don’t I know it. And you, too, guys.”
Another pair of arms swept around us.
“Don’t die.” Ridoc orders. And what’s left of our squad heads out in our own directions.

Guessing by the position of the sun, it’s been a few hours since the dragons flew in. I came across a few dragons, but none of them felt like mine. For the last hour, I’ve seen dragons launch into the air with their new rider on their back. But I’ve also seen some fall to their deaths. I think getting to higher ground might help me, so I find the nearest climbable tree and start climbing.

“Keir, hide just in case someone or a dragon sees you.” He barks and runs to hide nearby. I stop three-quarters of the way up and take a look around.
There’s a clearing to the north, and my eyes narrow as a flash catches the sun. Shit, the golden feathertail. Guess it’s still curious, but not going to find my dragon in a tree, so I climb down, and Keir meets me.

“Okay, Keir, where do you think we should— “ I am cut off by approaching footsteps.
“Shit, back to hiding, boy.” I whisper-shout.
“I’m telling you, I think I saw it headed this way.” It’s Tynan.
“You’d better be right, because if we just hiked all the way the fuck over here, I’ll kill you myself.” Jack’s voice rings out. My stomach drops as I reach and clamp my hand over Keir’s mouth to stop him from making a sound. He still curls his lips.

“Shouldn’t we be spending our time looking for our own dragons instead of hunting the freak down?” Yep, Oren is here too.
Keir and I stay hidden as the trio passes. I have nine daggers and one overprotective dog. Wait, did they say hunting?
“It’s not like our dragons are going to bond with other riders,” Jack snaps at him. “They’ll wait for us. This has to be done. That scrawny one is just going to get someone killed.” They are going to kill the little golden one. Rage fills me at the thought.

“If we get caught, we’re fucked,” Oren complains.
“Then you’d better shut up so no one hears us.” Tynan countered, Should’ve let Keir bite him more.
“It’s for the best,” Jack argues, his tone dropping. “It’s unrideable, and you know feathertails are useless in battle. They don’t fight.” His voice fades as they head north.
“Shit,” I mutter under my breath as I remove my hand from Keir. I have no way of contacting Professor Kaori, and there is no hint of a senior rider. What if the golden dragon can’t breathe fire? There’s a chance they won’t find it, but still.

“Ok, Keir, new plan. We go and warn the golden dragon and get it to leave.” Keir nods and lets out a short bark. We head towards the clearing, thank goodness Dain and I played in these woods. And Keir loves to hike them; we know them better than anyone.

I hear a pop, and the ground falls out from under me, then rushes to my face. I slam into the forest floor. Keir is at my side in an instant. I curse as I see the fallen branch hidden by the foliage. Crap, my ankle is wrecked. Keir walks up to the branch that tripped me and snaps it in his jaws. I lean on Keir as we make our way to the clearing as fast as my busted ankle will allow. Block out the pain. The meadow is big enough for ten dragons, but the golden one stands alone in the center.

“You have to get out of here!” I hiss at it from the cover of trees. It should be able to hear me. “They’re going to kill you if you don’t leave!” Its head pivots toward Keir and me, then tilts it like Keir does when he doesn’t understand something.
“Yes!” I whisper loudly. “You! Goldie!”
It blinks its golden eyes and swishes its tail. Fuck it’s like having a second Keir when he is being stubborn.

“Go! Run! Fly!” I shooed at it, then remembered this was a dragon, not my dog. The trees rustle from the south, and Jack steps into the meadow flanked by his minions, weapons drawn.
“Shit,” I mutter, “Keir time for plan B.”
The golden dragon snaps its head in their direction, a low growl rumbling in its chest.
“We’ll make it painless,” Jack promises
“We won’t let you do this!” We come out of our hiding spot, daggers drawn, and Keir is baring his fangs. I won’t let them know I am hurt. Keir and I place ourselves between them and the golden dragon.

“Oh, look!” Jack grins, pointing his sword at me. “We can take out both weak links at the same time!” He and his friends laugh. And Keir makes a sound I have never heard before, like he will rip someone’s throat out.
“Been waiting a long time for this Sorrengails!”
“If you can fly, now would be a good time!” I shout over my shoulder. The dragon chuffs. Thanks, so helpful.
“You can’t kill a dragon!” I try reasoning.
“Sure, we can.” Jack shrugs, but Oren looks unsure.
“You can’t,” I look directly at Oren as I say this. “It goes against everything we believe in!” Oren flinches; Jack doesn’t.

“Letting something so weak live goes against what we believe in.” Jack snares
“Then you’re going to have to go through Keir and me first.” I raise my daggers, and Keir gets into a fight pose.
“I don’t see that as an issue,” Jack says. They are lifting their swords at us. It’s two on three; we've got this. Three on three, if you count the golden dragon.

My scalp prickles. “I would strongly recommend you rethink your actions.” A deep voice sounds. I turn my head and see Xaden! He is leaning against a tree, and behind him, watching with narrowed golden eyes, her fangs exposed, is Sgaeyl.

I have never been this happy to see Xaden Riorson in my life. Hope fills my chest; he’s a wingleader. He won’t let them kill a dragon. But I know the rules better than anyone. I am going to have an audience for my death, and because of me, Keir’s death, too.

“And if we don’t want to rethink our actions?” Jack shouts.
Xaden looks towards Keir and me, and I swear I see his jaw clench.
“There’s nothing you can do, right? Wingleader?” Jack bellows.
“It’s not me who should worry about today,” Xaden responds, and Sgaely tilts her head—nothing but menace in her eyes.

“You really going to do this?” I ask Tynan. “Attack a squadmate?”
“Squads don’t mean shit today!” He seethes.
“So I guess that’s a no on the flying?” I toss over my shoulder to the dragon. And the dragon chuffs low in response. “Great. Well, if you can back Keir and me up with those claws, we’d really appreciate it.”
It chuffs twice, and Keir whines a bit, making me glance down. And I see paws, not claws.

“Fucking, hell, you don’t have any claws?” Keir barks to get me back into the fight as Jack lets out a battle cry. As he sprints to us, I throw a dagger right into his shoulder. Into his sword hand, the sword falls to the ground. But Oren and Tynan both charge at the same time. Keir lunges at Tynan, biting into his shoulder full force. Oren swings for my neck, but I dodge it.

He quickly recovers and pivots his sword to hit my stomach, but my armor stops it.
“What the hell?” Oren’s eyes go wide. He gets over his shock and manages to strike my arm. I let out a curse.
“She’s destroyed my shoulder!” Jack bellows, stumbling to his feet. “I can’t move it!”
I grin, “That’s the thing about having weak joints,” I say as I palm by blade. “You know where to aim.”

“Kill her!” Jack orders as he turns and runs from the battle. Fucking coward.
Tynan is fighting Keir, who is dodging all his blows with his sword. That leaves Oren to me. I plug my dagger into his side and hit him with my elbow. The attack rattles Oren’s head.

“Fucking flea bag!” Tynan screams as he dodges a paw from Keir. “How original.” I take advantage and slice Oren’s hip, turning to try and help Keir.
“Behind you!” Xaden shouts.

I pivot to see Oren’s sword raised high to chop off my head. But he stumbles to the side with terror-filled eyes, as the golden dragon snaps at him. As if he had just now remembered that dragons have teeth. I take the opportunity and hit him in the head with the handle of my blade, knocking him out. And then there was one.

“You can’t interfere!” Tynan shouts, trying to find an opening in Keir’s defense.
“No, but I can narrate,” Xaden retorts. Ok, he is clearly on our side. Maybe it’s because we are defending the golden dragon? I chance a glance at Sgaeyl. And she looks beyond pissed off.
“Your leg looks shot, Sorrengail.” Tynan taunts.
“I’m used to pain. Are you an asshole?”
Tynan is charging at me and has forgotten all about Keir. Who runs and jumps and grabs Tynan by his throat and bites down and starts shaking his head side to side. Keir did not let go till Tynan goes limp.

I barely register that my dog just killed someone when a gust of wind slams into my back, and I stumble forward onto my destroyed ankle, flinging my arms out to keep balance and grimacing at the shooting pain. Shade envelops us as I turn to see what the cause is.

And my heart goes to my throat. Standing with the golden one tucked under an enormous, scarred black wing is the biggest dragon I’ve ever seen in my life. Keir drops Tynan’s body and rushes to check on me, and then he makes a beeline for the golden dragon. It steps out from the black dragon and meets Keir halfway. Keir is sniffing and licking the little dragon. “Geez, thanks, boy.”

A growl resonates through its chest, vibrating the ground around me as it lowers its gigantic head. It breaths hot air in my face, and Keir, once he made sure Goldie is ok, is back at my side.
“Well done, Silver one and furry one.” A deep, gruff, definitely male voice praises us. I blink as I look at Keir and back to the dragon. Did he just speak to me? “Yes, how observant of you.” I can feel the sarcasm drip from each word.
His giant golden eyes study me, but I hold my ground, tilting my chin upwards.

“You should end the enemy at your feet.” My eyebrows jerk up. His mouth didn’t move. He spoke to me, but his mouth didn’t move. Oh shit, it’s because he’s in my head.
“I can’t kill an unconscious man.” I shake my head.
“He would kill you if given the same chance.”
“I glance down at Oren’s body. “Well, that’s a statement of his character and not mine.”

The dragon only blinks in response, and I can’t tell if that is a good thing or a bad one. There’s a flash of blue out of the corner of my eye, then a whoosh of air as Xaden and Sgaeyl take off. Guess his concern for my life is over now that the golden dragon is safe.

The dragon’s nostrils flare. “You’re bleeding, stop it.”
My arm. “It’s not that simple when you’ve been hit with a -“ I shake my head again. Am I seriously arguing with a dragon? “You know what? That’s a great idea.” I managed to make a bandage on my right sleeve. I wrap it tightly around the wound. “There. Better?”
“It will do.” He tilts his head at me. “Do you bleed often?”
“I try not to.”

Keir is barking up a storm and is running back to Tynan’s body and us, pointing at it.
“What does the furry one want?”
“I think he wants you to burn Tynan’s corpse. Is that it, boy?” Keir nods his head once and barks.
“Why would I do that?”
“So Keir doesn’t get in trouble.”
“As if he could.”
Keir barks and whines.
“I think he doesn’t want people to know he did it.”
The golden one chuffs at the black dragon. And he lets out what I can only describe as a sigh. “Fine.” And he burns what is left of Tynan.

He scoffs. “Let’s go, Violet Sorrengail.”
“How do you know my name?” I gawk up at him.
“And to think, I’d almost forgotten just how loquacious humans are.” He sighs, the gust of his breath rattles the trees. “Get on my back.”
Oh. Crap. He’s choosing me.
“Get on your back?” I repeat like a fucking parrot. “Have you seen yourself? Do you have any idea how huge you are?” I need a fucking ladder to get up.

The look he gives me can only be described as annoyance. “One does not live a century without being well aware of the space one takes up. Now get on.” The golden one moves to Keir once again. I guess it’s completely defenseless except for those teeth. “I can’t leave Goldie here. And what about Keir? I can’t leave him either. What if a dragon gets him or another cadet? I know he would defend it, but-“ I ramble.

The black dragon chuffs. The golden one bends down, flexing its legs, and then launches into the sky. So it can fly. That would have been nice to know twenty minutes ago.
“Get. On.” The black dragon growls.
“You don’t want me,” I argue.
“I'm not going to tell you again.”
Point taken. Fear grasps me as I hobble over to his legs. I look back at Keir. How can I leave him here?
“If the furry one can make it up, I will let him ride me. This. One. Time. You are a rider, are you not?”

“That seems up for debate at the moment.”
A low, frustrated grumble sounds in his chest, and to my shock, he stretches forward, his front leg. Becoming a ramp. I don’t hesitate, crawling over his shoulder and reaching his back, Keir right behind me.
“Sit.”
I see the seat and sit as Professor Kaori taught us. “Wait, how is Keir going to stay on?”
“I will handle it.”
I grab hold of the tick ridges of scales called the pommel. Keir is at my back, lying perpendicular to my position.

“My name is Tairneanach, son of Murtcuideam and Fiaclanfuil, descended from the cunning Dubhamdinn line.” He stands to his full height, and I squeeze my thighs tighter.
“But I’m not going to assume that you’ll be able to remember that once we reach the field, so Tairn will do until I inevitably have to remind you.”
I inhale sharply as he takes to the sky.

“Holy shit!” The ground falls away as we soar, Tairn’s enormous wings beating the air into submission and pitching upward.
My body lifts off his back, and I dig in with my hands, trying to stay anchored. But my hands slip.
“Fuck!” I scramble for purchase, and Keir tries to grab me in his mouth as I skid past his wings. “No, no, NO!”

He banks left, and whatever hope I had gotten tumbles right off with me. I’m in free fall.
Terror grips my heart. Airbrushed past me as I plummeted towards the mountainous terrain beneath. I hear Keir let out a gut-wrenching cry. Vise-like clamps around my ribs and over my shoulders, stopping my descent, and my body jerks with whiplash as if yanked upward again.
“You’re making us look bad. Stop it.”

I’m clasped in Tairn’s claws. He caught me instead of letting me fall to my death. “It’s not like it’s easy to stay on your back when you are doing acrobatics.”
“Simple flight is hardly acrobatics.”
“There’s nothing simple about you! How is Keir staying on?”
Tairn swings me upward and then releases me, sending me flying high above him. Tairn catches me on his back between his wings. I get back into my seat.
“Like this silver one.” I feel bands of magic wrap around me, keeping me in place. “We are going to have to strengthen your legs if you are going to stay on. Did you even practice? You need to get better, or no one will believe I’ve actually chosen you,” he growls.

“Of course I practiced!”
“There’s no need to shout. I can hear you just fine. The entire mountain can probably hear you.”
Was everyone’s dragon a curmudgeon? Or just mine?
“I still can’t believe that you chose me. I’m just not as strong as the other riders.”
“I know exactly who and why you are, Violet Sorrengail.”
I sigh.

“We’re going to have to put on a show.”
“Fantastic. Well, let’s give them a good one.” I don’t like the fact that he has to keep me in place. I have to ask the burning question. “Why did you choose me?”
“Because you saved her.” Tairn’s head inclines toward the golden as we approach, and she follows after us. Our speed slows. “But Keir helped too.”
“Yes, and that’s the only reason I let him on my back.” Keir barks happily and wags his tail.
“Don’t get used to it, furry one. This is a one-time deal as thanks.” Tairn grumbles to my dog.

I suck in a sharp breath at the sight of so many dragons. There are hundreds gathered along the rocky edges of the mountain slopes behind the bleachers that were erected overnight. Spectators. And at the bottom of the valley are two lines of dragons facing each other.

“They are divided between those still in the quadrant who chose in years past and those who chose today,” Tairn explains. “We are the seventy-first bond to enter the fields.”
Mom will be here, on the dais in front of the bleachers. I will get more than a cursory glance, but her attention will primarily be on the other seventy or so newly bonded pairs and not on me.
A ferocious roar of celebration goes up among the dragons as we fly in, every head swinging our way, and I know it’s in deference to Tairn. So is the parting of dragons at the very center of the field, making room for Tairn to land.

He releases the bands of magic that are holding Keir and me to him, then hovers over the grass for a few wing beats, and I see the golden dragon flying furiously to catch up. How ironic. Tairn is the most celebrated dragon in the Vale, and I’m the most unlikely rider in the quadrant.
“You are the smartest in your year. The most cunning.”
I gulp at the compliment. I was trained as a scribe, not a rider.

“You and your hound defended the smallest with ferocity. And the strength of courage is more important than physical strength. Since you apparently need to know before we land.” I swallow past the lump forming in my throat. Oh. Shit. I hadn’t spoken those words. I’d thought them.
He can read my thoughts.
“See? Smartest of your year.”
So much for privacy in my head.
“You’ll never be alone again.”
“That sounds more like a threat than a comfort,” I think. Tairn scoffs in reply. The golden dragon reaches us, her wings beating twice as hard as Tairn’s, and we land in the dead center of the field. The impact jars me slightly, but I sit up tall in the seat.

“See, I can hang on just fine when you’re not moving.” Tairn tucks his wings up and looks over his shoulder at me with what I can describe as an eye roll. “You need to dismount before I rethink my selection, then tell the roll keeper-“
“I know what to do,” I say in a shaky breath. “Just didn’t think I’d make it this far. I scoot over the scales of Tairn’s shoulder, Keir at my back. Before I can lament about the distance and how it will hurt Keir and my ankle more. Tairn shifts slightly, angling his front leg. There’s a sound from the other dragons.
Wait, dragons mutter!

“They do and they are. Ignore it.” His tone leaves no room for argument.
“Thanks. And Keir thanks you too.” I slide down on my but like he is a bumpy piece of playground equipment. And Keir runs down his leg. I try not to land on my right leg.
“The furry one has more grace. But that’s one way to do it.”

I can’t stop the smile on my face. I’m alive, and I’m no longer a cadet, but a rider. “Keir, stay here with Tairn while I give our names to the roll keeper.” Keir goes to play with the golden dragon.
I hear Tairn grumble something. “ I’m glad you made it,” the golden dragon looks up from Keir. “But maybe you should fly off next time someone suggests you save yourself, eh?”

She blinks at me. “Maybe I was saving you.” Her voice is higher, sweeter in my mind. My lips part, “Didn’t anyone tell you that you’re not supposed to speak to humans who aren’t your rider?” Don’t get yourself in trouble, Goldie.” I whisper. “From what I hear, dragons are pretty strict about that rule.” She sits, tucking her wings in and tilting her head at me in that impossible angle, and Keir mimics her. I try not to laugh.

My ankle is killing me as I limp across the field. Dusk falls, and a series of mage lights illuminates the crowd in the bleachers and on the dais. In the very center, right above the roll keeper, sits my mother.

Melgren, the commanding general of all Navarrian forces, has his beady eyes on Tairn. His focus shifts to me, and I try not to shudder. Mom rises as I approach the roll keeper at the base of the dais. Professor Kaori jumps off the six-foot platform to my left and stares open-mouthed at Tairn.

“Is that really-“ Commandant Pancheck starts.
“Don’t say it,” Mom hisses, her eyes on Tairn, not me. Go figure. “Not until she does.” Thanks for the confidence, Mom. She is the one who forced me into the fucking riders' quadrant to begin with. The only thing she ever cared about was how my flaws marred her sterling reputation. Not whether I lived or died, just how it would look on her. ‘No child of mine will be a scribe.’ And now she’s staring at my dragon without even bothering to look down and see if I’m all right.

Fuck. Her.

I should be shocked about it, but I am not. Still hurts to know your own mother doesn’t care about you but what she can get out of you. The rider ahead of me finishes, and it's my turn.

“Violet Sorrengail,” she says as she writes in the book of riders. “Nice to see that you made it.” She offers me a quick shaky smile. “For the record, please tell me the name of the dragon who chose you.”
I lift my chin. “Tairneanach.”
“Pronunciation could use some work.” Tairn’s voice rumbles.
“Hey, at least I remembered.”

“At least I didn’t let you fall to your death and let your furry hatchling ride me.” He sounds utterly bored. The woman grins, shaking her head as she writes down his name. “I can’t believe he bonded. Violet, he’s a legend.”
I open my mouth to agree with her-

“Andarnaurram.” The sweet, high voice of the golden dragon fills my mind. “Andarna for short.”
I feel blood rush from my face as I turn to stare back at where Andarna, now standing between Tairn’s front legs.
“Excuse me?”
“Violet, are you all right?” The redhead asks.
“Tell her, Tairn,” she insists.
“Tairn. What am I supposed to? “ I think to him.
“Tell the role keeper her name,” Tairn echoes.
“Violet?” The roll keeper repeats. “Do you need a mender?”

I turn back to the woman and clear my throat. “And Andarnaurram,” I whisper.
Her eyes fly wide. “Both dragons?” she squawks.
I nod my head, “Yes, both dragons.”
And all hell breaks loose.

Chapter Text

“Absolutely not!” One shouts loud enough that I can hear him all the way from the medical tent they set up. Keir wanders over to me as a healer is looking me over, sending someone to get Nolon for my ankle and to heal my arm. Lucky, Tynan only grazed the muscles in it, so mending shouldn’t hurt that much for it, if I even allow Nolon to mend me that is.

I can’t believe I have two dragons and that Tairn let Keir onto his back and didn't make him walk his way back to the flight field. The generals have been screaming at each other for the last half hour. Keir is glaring and growling at Jack, who unfortunately bonded with a dragon. He is getting his shoulder looked over, and by the looks of it, he would need surgery and mending to fix the damage I caused. Good, the bastard deserves much worse.

Jack bonded to a small orange scorpion tail and recorded the name to the roll keeper. Who is doing a fantastic job at ignoring the chaos going on behind her. Jack hasn’t stopped staring at Tairn since he got off his own dragon.
“How is that?” Professor Kaori asks, tightening the splint around my ankle. I can tell that he has a million questions to ask, but is keeping them to himself.

“Hurts like hell, but nothing new there.” I will be lucky to get my boot back on due to the swelling, but I can manage. At least I didn’t have to crawl across the field like some other girl who broke her leg and is crying while the healers set it back into place.
“You’ll be focused on strengthening your bonds and riding in the next couple of months, so as long as you don’t have any issues with mounting or dismounting.” His head tilts as he ties off the straps of my split. “Which, after what I saw, I don’t think you will.”

“Violet!?” I hear Nolon call out as he approaches us. Keir turns away from Jack and walks up to greet him, trying to go for a kiss. “Keir, wait, why is he covered in blood!?” Nolon takes in Keir’s muzzle and chest, soaked in Tynan’s blood, and he still has some in his teeth.
“Oh, you know, Threshing.” I try my best to play it off, but I'm going to have to give him a quick bath before we head to bed tonight.
“That doesn’t help!” He scolds me. Keir is wagging his tail as he joins me standing next to Professor Kaori.
“Does it help that it isn’t my blood?”
“No!”
Keir just huffs at Nolon.

“Now, let's see about getting you mended.”
“No, I’ll heal,” I shake my head at him as he comes closer to me.
“But…” Nolon starts
“It’s just a minor sprain, and the cut on my arm isn’t too deep. It will likely scar, but it will be fine. Besides, my ankle should heal before challenges start back up.”
Both he and Professor Kaori give me a look, asking if I am sure.
“Every eye in this valley is on me and my dragons. I can’t afford to appear weak.”
They both frown but nod. Keir lets out a weak whimper, but knows it’s for the best. He will miss morning runs till I am better. But I’m sure one of my friends will happily join him in my stead till I’m better.

“If you are sure, but if the pain gets worse, please come see me or Winifred immediately, Violet.”
I nod my head at Nolon, and Keir hands me my boot so I can get it back on. “But, Nolon, can you please look Keir over? He wasn’t with me when I was initially checked over.” Nolon sighs but agrees, “Keir, I would like it if you could avoid getting blood on me.”

Keir barks happily at him and raises a blood and mud soak paw to Nolon and wipes it on his uniform.
“Keir, what did I just tell you.” He chides him gently, trying to keep a smile off his face at Keir’s antics. Keir just gives him a huge puppy smile. “Winifred is not going to be happy with you, Keir.”
Keir barks as if to tell him he is wearing black and it won’t show as much as it would on healer or scribe uniforms. And to also tell Nolon that Winifred can never be mad at him. Nolon yes. Keir Never. I suppress a smile as I watch Keir mess with Nolon, knowing full well that Winifred would scold and be more upset with him over Keir. She would playfully chide him then give him a treat.

As Nolon gives my sweet boy a once-over, I turn to Professor Kaori before he leaves. “Do you know who made it out of my squad?” Please let Rhiannon and Aurelie be alive. And Trina. And Ridoc. And Sawyer.

“I haven’t seen Trina or Tynan,” Professor Kaori answers slowly, trying to soften the blow.
“Tynan won’t be coming,” I whisper, guilt gnawing in my stomach. Nolon flinches, most likely figuring out where the blood on Keir came from.
“That is not your kill to take credit for Silver One. That goes to the furry one. Most would be proud of their hatchling’s first kill.” Tairn mentally growls.
“Who said it was his first?” Andarna chimes in.
“I see,” Professor Kaori murmurs.
“Looks like Keir only has very minor scratches,” Nolon tells me. I thank him as he returns to his duties. Muttering on how not to scolded my Winifred.

As I finish lacing up my boot, I hear, “What the hell do you mean you think it needs surgery?” Jack screeches from my left. Keir flinches a little at the pitch in his voice, then begins to wag his tail at Jack’s misery. “ Really, Keir?” I look at as he turns to me. “This one time I agree with you.”

“I mean, it looks like the weapon severed a couple of ligaments, but we’ll have to get you to the healers to be sure,” the other instructor says as he secures Jack’s sling.
“Why the fuck can you just get the mend to fix it now? He was just over there.” Jack sounds like an impatient child. “If the ligaments are severed, then you would need surgery first, then mending. Unless you want to lose total use of your dominant arm.”

Keir gives me a lopsided doggie smile, tongue sticking out. He barks and charges over to Jack, making him jump and hide behind the instructor. He lets out a yelp as Keir comes to a halt and is sniffing, looking for something. Keir finds my dagger, I threw at Jack, and lets out a happy bark as he picks it up and prances back to me to give me back my dagger.

“Thank you, sweet boy, though let’s try and avoid this version of fetch unless it becomes necessary again.” I glare over at Jack as I take my dagger from Keir.
I am done being scared of Barlowe; he ran away from that meadow. Rage mottles his cheeks as he comes from his hiding spot. “You!”
“Hmm,” I slip off the table, holding my dagger in one hand and the other resting on Keir, who is daring Jack to make a move by the look on his face.

Professor Kaori’s eyebrows jump as he glances between the three of us. “You?”
Keir gives him a happy short bark as if to confirm what he is thinking.
“Me,” I answer, never looking away from Jack. But Professor Kaori steps between us, “I wouldn’t get any closer to her if I were you, Cadet Barlowe.”
“Hiding behind our instructors now, Sorrengail?” Jack sneers.

“That’s rich, coming from someone who just hid behind an instructor a moment ago.” I taunt him, and Keir gives him a smug look, enjoying the fear response he caused in Barlowe. “Besides, I didn’t hide out there, and I’m not hiding here.” I raise my chin, “I’m not the one who ran.”
“She doesn’t need to hide behind me when she bonded to the most powerful dragon of your year,” Professor Kaori warns Jack. “Your orange is a good choice, Cadrt Barlowe. Baide, right? He’s had four other riders before you.”

He nods, eyes narrowing at me.
Professor Kaori looks past me and at the dragons lined up, “As aggressive as Baide might be, from the way Tairn is staring at you, he’ll have no issue with burning you where you stand if you take another step towards his rider.”
Jack looks like the wind was knocked out of him. “You?!”
“Me.” The pain in my ankle is not as bad with the pain meds and my boot for support. I can at least put weight on it.

Jack shakes his head, and looks like he has gone through the first two stages of grief. But lands in fear as he turns to Professor Kaori. “I don’t know what she told went on in that meadow, but I was only doing it for the good of the wing!”
“I never mentioned a meadow,” I say in a sing-song, and Keir watches with delight as Jack's face goes ghostly white.
“She hasn’t mentioned anything, but is there something I need to know, Cadet?” Professor Kaori crosses his arms.

“Everyone who needs to know already knows.” I lock eyes with Jack.
“Guess we are done here for the night.” Professor Kaori diffuses the tension between us. “The senior riders are back. You two should return to your dragons.” Jack huffs and curses under his breath as he walks away.

I take a risk to glance at my mother and the other generals, who are still in a heated debate. She isn’t even looking at me, only at Tairn and Andarna. Her face, as cold as stone, reveals no hint of emotion or concern for her child at all. Keir nudged me, offering comfort at my mother’s lack of concern for my well-being.
“Professor Kaori, has anyone ever bonded two dragons?”

He turns to face the fighting leadership. “You would be the first. Not sure why they are fighting over it. The decision is not up to humankind.”
I nod, the dragons are going to meet to decide my fate. “Thank you for tending to my ankle. I’d better get back over there. Let’s go, Keir.” I offer him a small smile and head back across the field to Tairn and Andarna, feeling the weight of every stare as we go.

“You two are causing a ruckus, you know.” I look at Andarna, then glance up to Tairn. “They’re not going to let us do this.” Oh shit, what if they make me choose? In my heart, I can’t turn either of them away.
“It is up to the Empyrean to decide.” Tairn says, but I can feel tension in his voice. “Don’t leave the field. This might take a while.” Keir is on high alert when the most enormous dragon I’ve ever seen stalks toward us from the opening to the valley. Each dragon that it passes walks into the center of the field and follows. “Is that…”

“Codagh,” Tairn answers.
Codagh growls low in his throat and turns his eyes on me. Keir stands in front of me, letting out a warning growl.
“The furry one is brave, but should learn when to pick his battles.” Tairn lets out his own growl, stepping forward so Keir and I are between his massive claws.
There’s zero doubt I’m the subject of both disgruntled snarls.

“Yep! We’re talking about you! And your hatchling.” Andarna chimes as the line passes by, and she joins.
“Stay close to the wingleader until we return,” Tairn orders. Surely he meant squad leader.
“You heard what I said.”
I sigh and reach to pet Keir to calm him down. I glance around and spot Xaden standing across the field, arms crossed and legs spread as he stares at Tairn.

The field is eerily silent as the dragons leave the meadow. The second the last of the dragons flies off, chaos erupts. First-year swarm the center of the field, shouting in excitement and looking for their friends. My eyes scan the crowd, hoping to find a glimpse of-
“Rhi!” I shout, spotting Rhiannon in the mob, Keir helping me limp over to her.
“Violet! Keir!” She crushes me in a hug, pulling away when I wince at the pain in my arm, and Keir barks at her. “What happened? Why is Keir covered in blood?”

“Tynan’s sword.” I barely get the answer out before I’m snatched off my feet, Ridoc. Keir is jumping at his back, stopping him from spinning me around.
“Aww, but Keir.”
“Put her down!” Rhiannon chides. “She’s bleeding!”
“Oh shit, sorry,” Ridoc places me on my feet.
“It’s fine.” The wound is bleeding a bit, but I don’t think the stitches ripped. “Are you all alright? Who did you guys bond?”
“The Green Daggertail!” Rhiannon grins. “Feirge.”
“Aotrom,” Ridoc beams with pride. “Brown Swordtail.”
“Àilean, a Green Clubtail.” Aurelie bursts with joy.
“Sliseag!” Sawyer throws his arms around Rhiannon and Ridoc. “A red Swordtail.” We all cheer, and I’m swept into his hug next.
“Trina?” I ask as he lets me go.
Sawyer shakes his head in sorrow. “I saw her fall from the back of an Orange Clubtail.” My heart drops at the news

“Tynan?” Ridoc asks. Keir lets out a proud bark. “Keir ripped his throat out,” I say softly. My friends all stare down at Keir, who couldn’t be happier with himself. “In his defense, Tynan was charging at me with his sword. And Oren already slashed my arm. Beside him, Jack and Oren were trying to-“
“Trying what?”

Keir intersected whoever came up behind us.
“Keir, please just let me check on her.” It’s Dain, with his arms up in surrender, and he has a desperate pleading look in his eyes as he tries to reason with Keir.
“Keir, Dain, and I need to talk anyway.”
My boy backs off, if only slightly.

Dain pulls me into a tight hug, which I return with equal enthusiasm. I feel him take in my scent. His face buried into my neck. “Damn it. Violet. Just…damn.” He squeezes me tighter to him, then pushes me only far enough to look into my eyes. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine,” I assure him, and Keir barks in agreement with me. But it does little to quell the worry in his eyes. “But we are all that’s left of our squad’s first years.”
Dain doesn’t let go of me as he looks at the others and nods. “Five out of nine. That’s” his jaw ticks. “To be expected. The dragons are holding a meeting of the Empyrean. Stay here till they are done. He says to the others, finally letting me go. “You come with me.” Dain takes my hand and tries to lace our fingers together as he leads me to the far edge of the field.

As I look behind me, I see Xaden’s intense stare as Dain takes me away. Keir is hot on our heels. We are hidden in shadows when Dain finally says what is on his mind.
“What the actual fuck happened out there? Catch is telling me that not only did you bond Tairn, but also the small one, Adarn?” He pulls me close again, panic swirling in his eyes. Keir growls in warning.
“Andarna,” I correct him on push back from his embrace.

“They’re going to make you choose.” His expression hardens, and it’s enough to make me break from his embrace completely.
“I am not choosing, Dain.” Keir lets his agreement in my determination. “No human has ever chosen, and I am not going to be the first.”
“You are.” He paces and rips at his hair as his composure slips. “You have to trust me. You do trust me, right?”
I try not to let his guilt trip work on me, but, “Of course I do-“

“Then you have to choose Andarna.” He acts like his decree is a decision made. “She is the safer of the two.” Does my oldest friend think I am too weak for a dragon like Tairn? I keep my mouth shut so I don’t tell Dain to go fuck himself. Keir growls more at Dain.
“Are they going to make me choose?” I think to my dragons. No response.
“I’m not choosing,” I repeat, softer this time, to my oldest friend. Keir is losing more respect for Dain by the day since we entered the quadrant. And I feel he lost even more now.

“You are! And it has to be Andarna.” He grips my shoulders and leans in. Keir gets in the middle of us, trying to get Dain to back off. There is an urgency in his tone, “Please, Vi, I know she’s too small to bear a rider-“ Keir growls in warning to tell him to back off.
“That hasn’t been tested yet!”
“And it doesn’t matter. It will mean that you won’t be able to ride with a wing, but they’ll probably make you a permanent instructor here like Kaori.”
“That’s because his signet power makes him indispensable as a teacher, not because his dragon can’t fly,” I argue. Keir is now shoving Dain away from me. “And even he had the requisite four years with a combat wing before he was put behind a desk.”

Dain looks away. I can see the gears turn in his mind. “Even if you take Andarna into battle, there is only a chance you would be killed. You take Tairn, and Xaden will get you killed. You think Melgren is terrifying? I’ve been here for a year longer than you have, Vi. At least you know what you’re getting when it comes to Melgren. Xaden isn’t only twice as ruthless, but he’s dangerous unpredictable.” Keir is now on guard, standing directly in front of Dain. I blink. “I already know Tairn is mated to Sgaeyl. Professor Kaori mentioned it in class when someone asked about black dragons.”

“Then you know why you must pick Andarna. Tairn and Sgaeyl are the strongest mated pair in centuries. You know mated pairs can’t be separated for long. You will be sucked with Xaden for the rest of -“ he cuts himself off. Pulling his hair even more, he looks at me and then at Keir. “Just…tell me how it happened.” He must see how worked up Keir is getting because his voice softens. So I do. I tell him about Jack and his band of murderous friends hunting Andarna. I tell him about falling and hurting my ankle. The field, Xaden was watching, and he was shockingly protecting me with his warning when Oren was at my back.

Dain cuts me off, “Xaden was there?!”
“Yes,” I nod. “But he left after Tairn showed up.”
“Xaden was there when you and Keir defended Andarna, and then Tairn just showed up?” He asked slowly.
“Yes, what part of this are you not getting, Dain?”
He clenches his fists, and I can tell he is trying to keep his anger at bay. “Don’t you see what happened? What Xaden’s done?”

“Please, do tell me what it is you think I’ve done.” A shape emerged from darkness, falling off him like a discarded veil. Keir perks his head up at Xaden’s presence. Heat rushes through every fiber of my being. I hate how my body reacts to the sight of him, but I can’t deny his appeal is so fucking inconvenient.
“You manipulate Threshing!” Dain turns his fury to our Wingleader.

“Dain, that’s…” Paranoid. It is a huge allegation to accuse a wingleader of breaking the codex. If Xaden was going to kill me, he had plenty of opportunities. He wouldn’t have waited this long. Now that I am bonded to his dragon’s mate, Xaden Riorson won’t kill me now. That realization makes my head spin as I reexamine everything that happened in that field.
“Is that an official accusation?” Xaden looks at Dain like he is an annoyance.

“Did you step in?” Dain demands. Keir’s ears are now pinned back as he glares at my oldest friend. Xaden takes notice of Keir’s reaction to Dain.
“Did I what?” Xaden cocks his head to Dain with a look that would make lesser people wither. “Did I see her outnumbered and already wounded, with only a hound as backup? Did I think her bravery was as admirable as it was fucking reckless?” He turns that look to me, and Keir turns his growl to him.

“And I will do it again, and I know Keir would follow me without hesitation. And if I fell in battle, he would continue to fight and defend whoever I was protecting.” I raise my chin, and Keir lets out a proud bark.
“Well-the-fuck-aware,” Xaden roars, losing his temper for the first time since I met him. Keir crouches low to be ready just in case.
I pull in a breath and place a hand on Keir to get his attention off the men fighting in front of us. Xaden does the same as if he, too, is shocked by his outburst.

“Did I see her fight off three bigger cadets?” His glare is back at Dain. “Did I see her hound maul someone to death by his throat for trying to attack her? I am shocked he didn’t ripped the head off when he was through.”
“Because the answer to all of those is yes. But you are asking the wrong question, Aetos. What you should be asking is if Sgaeyl saw it, too.” Dain looks away, trying to process the information in his head.

“His mate told him, Dain,” I say softly, trying to get through to him.
“She’s never been a fan of bullies,” Xaden says casually. “But don’t think this was an act of kindness to you, Sorrengail, or your dog. She’s fond of the little dragon. Unfortunately, Tairn chose you all on his own.”

“Fuck,” Dain mutters.
“My thoughts exactly.” Xaden shakes his head at Dain. “Sorrengail is the last person on the continent I’d ever want to be chained to me. I didn’t do this.” Keir lets out a string of protest barks at both of them. As if telling them I am more than worthy to bond both of my dragons, let alone Tairn. That softens the blow of Xaden’s words only slightly. I feel the same way about him, the son of the man responsible for Brennan’s death.

“And even if I had.” Xaden takes a step closer to Dain. “Would you really level that accusation knowing that it would have been what saved the woman you call your best friend and who she treasures most?” Keir whines and cocks his head between the two as if he knows that it is an unfair thing to ask of Dain. I can’t help but think, what do I really mean to him?

“There are… rules.” Dain tilts his chin to Xaden to look him in the eyes. However, there is a hint of hesitation.
“And out of curiosity, would you have, let’s say, bent those rules to save your precious little Violet in that field? Would you have done it to save who she sees as her child?” His voice ices over as he studies Dain, as if he is prey. I feel it deep in my soul that Xaden would have taken a step if Keir hadn’t killed Tynan. Dain’s jaw tightens, and I see the war going on inside of him. Keir nudges Dain’s hand and brings it to his temple, letting out a slight whine.

“That’s unfair to ask him.” I move to join Keir at Dain’s side as the sound of wings interrupts the night. The dragons have made their decision.
“I am ordering you to answer, squad leader.” Xaden doesn’t even spare a glance at me or Keir.
Dain swallows, his eyes slamming shut. “No. I wouldn’t have.” Keir recoils at his response as my heart hits the ground. I’ve always known that deep down, Dain valued rule and order more than relationships, more than me. But to hear it so plainly hurts more and cuts deeper than any blade. Xaden scoffs.

Dain immediately jerks his head towards mine. “It would have killed me to watch something happen to you or Keir, Vi, but the rules-“
“It’s all right,” I force out, touching his shoulder, but it isn’t. Keir is back at my side, avoiding Dain.
“The dragons are returning,” Xaden says as the first of them lands on the field. “Get back to formation, squad leader.”

Dain rips his gaze from mine and walks away with his tail between his legs.
“Why would you do that to him?” I hurled at Xaden, and Keir gave him one aggressive bark. I shake my head, “Forget it, let’s go, sweet boy,” I march off, heading to the spot where Tairn told me to wait.
“Because you put too much faith in him, your dog puts less in him than you do,” Xaden answers anyway, catching up to us without even lengthening his stride. “And knowing who to trust is the only thing that will keep you alive - keep us alive- not only in the quadrant, but after graduation.”

“There is no us,” I tell him.
“Oh, I think you’ll find that’s no longer the case,” Xaden murmurs next to me, gripping me and yanking me from the path of another rider. “Tairn’s bonds are powerful, both to mate and rider, because he’s so powerful. Losing his last rider nearly killed Sgaeyl. Each time a dragon bonds a rider, that bond grows stronger, so if you die, Sorrengail, so will Sgaeyl. Which means..”

“If I die, so do you.” I finish. I see pure rage on his face.
“So yeah, unfortunately for everyone involved, there is an us now if the Empyrean lets Tairn’s choice stand.”
I stare at him, petting Keir to calm my nerves.
“And now that Tairn is in play, that other cadets know he’s willing to bond…” He sighs, and Keir growls low in his throat.

“That’s why Tairn told me to stay close to you, because of the unbounded.” There are at least three dozen of them standing on the opposite side of the field, including Oren Seifert.
“The unboned are going to try and kill you in hopes they’ll get Tairn to bind them.” Keir barks in challenge at that. Xaden shakes his head at Garrick as he approaches, and the section leader glances between us, his mouth set in a firm line as he retreats across the field.

“Tairn is one of the strongest dragons, and now that power is about to be yours. In the next few months, the unbonded will try to kill a newly bonded pair when the bond is at its weakest, hoping the dragon will pick them and not be set back a full year. And for Tairn? They’ll do just about anything.” He sighs like he just got a new full-time job he didn’t want. “There are forty-one unbonded riders, who are now your target number one.” He holds up a single finger.

“And Tairn thinks you’ll play bodyguard.” I snort. “Little does he know just how much you dislike me.”
“He knows how much I value my own life.” Xaden retorts, and he glances up and down my body. Keir huffs and nudges him with his body. “You’re freakishly calm for someone who just heard she's about to be hunted.”

“It’s a typical Wednesday for me.” I shrug and scratch Keir behind his ear. “And honestly, being hunted by forty-one people is way less intimidating than constantly watching dark corners for you.” My dragons return, and Xaden goes to stand next to Sgaeyl and the other wingleaders.

“Tell it’s going to be all right,” I ask Andarna and Tairn.
“It is how it should be,” Tairn answers.
“You didn’t answer before.”
“Humans can’t know what’s said within the Empyrean,” Andarna answers. “It’s a rule.”
I glance at my mother, but she is looking any but me, typical.

General Melgren moves to the front of the dais, his dragon at his back. “Codagh has relayed that the dragons have spoken regarding the Sorrengail girl.”
Keir growls low at the general.
“While tradition has shown us that there is one rider for every dragon, there has never been a case of two dragons selecting the same rider, and therefore, there is no dragon law against it.” He declares. “While we riders may not feel as though this is …equitable.” His tone says he is one of them. “Dragons make their own laws. Both Tairn and…” he looks to his aid. “Andarna have chosen Violet Sorrengail, and their choice stands.”

The crowd murmurs, and I sigh in relief. I don’t have to pick.
“As it should be,” Tairn grumbles. “Humans have no say in the laws of dragons.”
Mom steps forward to give the traditional closing speech for Threshing, promising the unbonded another chance next year. My scalp prickles as I look over to Xaden, who is holding up one finger as if to remind me, target number one.

“Riders, step forward.”
I look left and right in confusion, but so does every new rider.
“Five steps or so,” Tairn answers.
I take them.
“Dragons, it is our honor as always,” Mom calls out. “Now we celebrate!”
Heat blasts my back, and everyone in the field is cheering. Other riders are caught up in embraces.
“You’ll like it,” Tairn promises. “It’s unique.”
“I’ll like what?”

“Violet!” Dain races to me and picks me up, holding me close as he spins me around laughing. He cups my face with both hands. “You kept both of them!”
“Guess I did.” I am in a daze after being spun around. He lets me go and asks if he can unlace my corset. Keir growls and barks at him. “Just the top half, Keir, so that she can see it,” Keir grumbles to him.

“Holy shit!” You have to see this.”
“Tell the boy to move.” Tairn orders.
“Tairn says you should move.”
Dain steps out of the way. And suddenly my vision isn’t mine. I am looking at my back through Andarna’s eyes. A black glistening relic of a dragon with a small golden one is now on my back. Keir is jumping and prancing around me. Letting his joy and happiness be known.
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper. I now belong to them.
“We know,” Andarna answers. She goes to see and entice with Keir’s dog celebrating.

I blink as my vision returns to mine own. Dain laces my corset back up and looks into my eyes. “You have to know that I would do anything to save you, Violet, to keep you safe.” He blurts out, panic in his eyes. “What Riorson said.” He shakes his head.
“I know,” I say reassuringly, even though something breaks in my heart. “You always want me safe.” He’s do anything except break the rules.
“You have to know how I feel about you and about Keir.” His thumb strokes over my cheeks.

And before I or Keir can react, his lips are on mine. The kiss is soft but firm. Dain is finally kissing me, but there is no spark, no heat, no energy. Not even a hint of lust on my part. I feel a rush of air as Keir tackles Dain to the ground, licking him all over his face. The smile he had from kissing me is gone. I definitely see Keir stick his tongue into Dain’s mouth over and over again.
Keir is not letting Dain up, as he pins him to the ground with his paws on his shoulders. I think Keir leaves no place on Dain’s face unlicked. Even licking his ears before sticking his tongue in Dain’s mouth again.

“Blah. Keir. No. Stop. Please. I. Beg. Blah. Of. Blah. You. Blah. Have. Blah. Mercy. Blah. Please.”
I realize I don’t want Dain that way anymore after he kissed me. Keir seems to have more passion than I did when it comes to kissing him.

Chapter Text

We stand in line to receive our new private room assignments, which are organized by wings and sections, so it doesn't take long. After that, we return to the communal dorm to gather our belongings and move into our rooms. Then, we are free to celebrate as we see fit, within the confines of the codex, that is.

“Thanks again, you two, for helping me with Keir’s stuff.” I turn to Rhiannon and Aurelie. They each took two of Keir’s bags while also carrying their own stuff.
“Don’t worry about it, Violet, happy to help,” Aurelie reassures me. “Besides, we don’t have that much stuff to transport so that we can get all of our stuff and Keir’s in one trip.”
“Not to mention all three of our rooms are right by each other.” Rhiannon chimes in. We are placed in a hall that has been rarely used in the past couple of decades for the first years. But my room is right across from Rhiannon’s, and Aurelie’s is next to hers.

“Though what on earth happened to Keir’s bed? Hard for something that large to disappear.” Aurelie muses. I wonder that too, but he would more than likely share my bed from now on.
“Sucks going to lose our nighttime cuddle buddy.” Rhiannon jokes.
“You mean your cuddle buddy when it’s your turn and not with Tara.” Aurelie teases.
“I never skip out on a chance to snuggle our puppy. Violet, how do you feel about letting Keir have sleepovers with one of his favorite squad mates?” Rhiannon bats her eyes at me. “I mean, if you get some special company, I will be more than happy to babysit.”

“And I can take over when she has Tara over,” Aurelie adds.
“Hey, Tara and I are on a break, not to mention she would also love to snuggle Keir. We can all just cuddle. I don’t have to have sex that night if I get the baby.”
Rhiannon defends. I laugh at their bickering, and Keir is pacing beside us, carrying one of his bags in his mouth while his backpack is on. We make it to my door, “You guys can just drop his stuff in front of the door and go unpack in your new rooms so you can get to celebrating fast.”

“Nonsense, at least let us put the bags inside.” Rhiannon insists.
I shrug and go to open the door. Most of the rooms are only big enough to fit a weapon rack, a bed, a desk, and a small armoire. The more spacious rooms are reserved for the third-years and top officers. When we glance inside, our jaws drop. The room is at least two and a half, if not three times, larger than it should be.

Rhiannon lets out a low whistle, “Damn, this is bigger than any room me and Tara hooked up in.” I can only nod my head, too stunned to say anything. The room has the basics, but it features two large armoires and a fireplace with a small seating area. The bed seems larger than a normal one given to cadets. One wall is half covered with bookshelves. And to the far wall with the windows sits Keir’s old bed. I said 'old' because there is a new plush, light blue bed that looks like a bed you would give a human to sleep in if they came over, along with boxes and boxes of some of my old stuff. My cookbooks for recipes for Keir, yarn, thread, fabrics, my needles, and whatever else I need for my crafting hobbies. Some boxes carry more of Keir’s toys, blankets, pillows, pajamas, bath equipment, outfits, and bandannas. This is going to take a while to unpack.

“Wow, it almost makes me even more excited to see what our rooms will be like.” Aurelie teases me. Keir rushes past us, overjoyed to have even more of his things. But he passes it all up and goes straight to three new large bone-shaped wicker baskets filled with new toys.
“What the fuck!” I question. There are even some empty baskets to store what Keir already has with him and what’s no doubt in the boxes.
“You guys can go; it looks like I will be celebrating by unpacking all of this.” I jest to all of the boxes.
“We could help,” Aurelie says
“No, you guys have your own rooms to set up. Don’t want to keep you guys.” After some more back and forth, I finally convinced them to go and enjoy themselves. I promise to catch up when I'm done.

“Alright, boy, let’s get to work. New toys can wait till we are done.” I turn to Keir once the door is closed. Keir whines in protest cause he wants to play now. “No, Keir, let’s unpack, then you can play as much as you want.” More whining. I then notice a few more boxes and baskets over in the corner. I go to check and pray, it’s not more toys for Keir. I love him, but we don’t have as much space as we used to. It’s brand new yarn for me, and I am shocked yet again. Who got all this stuff for us? And how did they even have the time to get it all here between the end of Threshing and now? Everyone was in the field or the air.

“Keir, if you help me unpack and don't get distracted, I can make you a new plush pillow.” He perks up at that and scampers over to me. “Good boy, let’s get a move on. I have a feeling this will take all night.”
I work on organizing and putting the books up first. I have them in piles. I want them on the floor. And as I put one book up, Keir runs and grabs the next, handing it to me. Next, I organize our armoires. Keir’s has more drawers, so I store the extra blankets there. I then organize Keir’s toy storage baskets around the room. I set up my weapons rack before going to the last task of organizing my crafting supplies.

It appears I missed a set of drawers I can store my supplies in, along with a few wicker baskets of my own. Keir’s new bed is set up on the side of the bed away from the door. You won’t be able to see it when you first walk in. But of course, Keir drags his small blanket from when he was a puppy onto my bed, leaving the larger one in his new bed. Keir then jumps down, goes to his bag, pulls out his weighted dragon plush, and trots over to my bed, jumps up, and places it on what Keir deems his side of the bed. “Two beds, and you have to share mine.” I joke with him.
He gives one bark as if to say Of course, this is my main bed. It's late by the time I am done unpacking and breaking down the boxes.

I found a note instructing me to leave them outside my door, and they will be taken care of. As long as one tells me, the kitchen staff will provide access to a small kitchen for Keir to cook. Telling me all the ingredients and supplies will be there, and if I need any other ingredients, I can write them down and hand the list to the head of the staff, along with a key to lock up the kitchen. I am slower than I would like due to my ankle, so I'll call it a night. Don’t feel like finding anyone to celebrate with tonight anyway.

It’s early the next morning when I open my door to take Keir out for a walk. When I see Rhiannon’s door swing open, out steps Sawyer. He runs his fingers through his hair, and when he sees me and Keir, his eyebrows rise, and he freezes.
“Good morning,” Keir and I are sporting matching grins.
“Violet. Keir.” He forces an awkward smile and walks off, heading toward the main hallway of the first-year dormitory.
I test my ankle by rolling it back and forth. It’s sore but not any worse than the other times I sprained it. If I were anywhere else, I would have asked for crutches, but I can do that here in the quadrant.

Rhiannon walks out of her room when she hears me and Keir.
“Well, look who finally showed up.” She gives me a teasing smile.
“Morning to you, too.” I tease back.
“Breakfast duty?”
“Nope, no more of that. I was told last night when I picked up my keys that all the less desirable duties were being handed off to the unbonded, so our energy can be redirected towards flight lessons.”
“One more reason for the unbonded to hate us,” Rhiannon mutters. “If that’s the case, then why are you up early?”

“Keir’s morning walk, and I was given access to a kitchen so I can still cook for him. Want to join our walk?”
“Of course,”
We make our way outside as Keir attends to business.
“So, Sawyer, huh, Rhi?”
A grin curves her lips. “I felt like celebrating. Would have invited Aurelie to come with us on this walk, but I think she is still asleep with her celebration buddy from last night.”
I let out a chuckle.
Rhiannon gives me a side eye. “And why have I not heard of you celebrating?”
“Haven’t found anyone to celebrate with, and was busy unpacking last night.”

“Man, your room is huge compared to the one I got, but don’t change the subject. Because I heard that you and a certain squad leader had a moment last night.”
My gaze whips to her. “I feel like a certain squad leader, and Keir had more of a moment than I did.”

“There she goes again, changing the subject. Come on, Vi, the entire quadrant was out there, and you don’t think someone saw you?” She rolls her eyes. “You won’t get a lecture from me about it. Who gives a shit to be in a relationship with a superior officer? No rule against it.”
“Solid points,” I admit. “But it’s…” I shake my head as Keir comes back over to us. Trying to find the words. “It’s not like that with us. I’d always hoped it would be, but when he kissed me, there was nothing there. Like nothing. Nothing.” It’s impossible to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

She loops her arm through mine. “While that's shitty to hear, I’m sorry, Vi.“
“Me too.” I sigh. Heading back inside to get started on Keir’s breakfast.
Rhiannon gets a Cheshire Cat smile. “But do tell me about his moment with Keir.”
I laugh as I relay Dain and Keir’s hot, spicy moment on the flight field. She had to stop to brace against a wall because she was laughing so hard when we entered the rotunda.

“Good morning, ladies,” Ridoc says as he makes his way to us. Most likely back from celebrating himself with someone. Looks like everyone had a celebration last night but me. “Or should I say, riders? What’s so funny?”
“I like the sound of riders,” Rhiannon replies once she can breathe again. “Vi, you have to tell Ridoc what happened.”
“I will when I join you guys for breakfast.”
“Awwwww,” Ridoc pouts.
“Anyways, where’s your relic?”
“Right here.” He shoves up the sleeve of his tunic to reveal the brown mark of a dragon on his upper arm. “You?”
“Can’t see it. It’s on my back.”

“That will keep you safer if you’re ever separated from that massive dragon of yours.” His eyes dance. “I swear, I thought I was going to shit myself when I saw him on the field. What about yours, Rhi?”
“Somewhere you’ll never see it.” She responds.
“You wound me.” He slaps his hand over his heart.
“I highly doubt that.” She teases. I say my goodbyes to them, telling them I will see them at breakfast, and then I'm going to see my new kitchen and get Keir’s breakfast ready.

I finish up his breakfast, set it on a tray, and cover it so I can put my tray on top without damaging Keir’s food. And make our way to the mess hall so I can get in line for breakfast. With sheer luck, I end up right behind Aurelie, Rhi, and Ridoc. Sawyer is right behind me.
It’s odd being on this side of it, and I startle at the sight of the guy behind the counter. Keir let out a low growl, showing teeth.

It’s Oren.
He glares at Keir and me with hatred that I skipped his station, opting for just fresh fruit that I know can’t be tampered with. Just in case he takes a page from my book and adds something special to my food.
“Asshole,” Ridoc mutters from in front of me. “I still can’t believe they tried to kill you and Keir.”
“I can.” I shrug, taking a chance on a mug of juice. “I’m the weakest link, right? Unfortunately for me, that means people are bound to try to take me out for the good of the wing.” Keir barks at my statement. We head toward the Fourth Wing section and find a table with five extra seats.

“Mind if we-“ Ridoc starts
“Absolutely! It’s yours!” The couple of guys from tail section scurry out of their seats.
“Sorry, Sorrengail!” The other says over his shoulder as they find another table.
Keir tilts his head at their reactions.
What the hell?
“Well, that was really fucking weird.” Rhiannon rounds to the other side of the table and sits down. I place Keir’s tray at the head of the table and follow her so our backs are to the wall.

I am tempted to give Keir a sniff to see if he still smells. I gave him a quick bath last night.
“Even weirder?” Ridoc remarks, gesturing across the hall toward First Wing. We follow his line of sight. My eyebrows lift, and Keir seems to take great joy in what we see. Jack Barlowe is being squeezed out of his table. He is forced to stand as others take his seat.
“What the hell is going on?” Rhiannon bites into a pear and chews.

Jack moves to another table - whose occupants won’t make room for him - and finds a place on the outskirts of his section, at a near-empty table where the occupants won’t even look at him. Keir is wagging his tail at Jack’s suffering.
“How the mighty have fallen,” Ridoc notes, watching the same show as I am. But there’s no satisfaction in watching Jack struggle; feral dogs bite harder when cornered.

“Hey, Sorrengail,” a stocky girl from First Wing I beat in my second challenge says with a tight-lipped smile as she passes our table.
“Hi,” I wave awkwardly as she walks away. I turn to my table and whisper, “She hasn’t spoken to me since I took one of her daggers in that challenge.”
Keir whines, waiting to start eating. When I turn to him to give him his kisses, we get two more at our table.
“It’s because you bonded with Tairn.” Imogen sits right across from me with Quinn sitting next to her. Keir grumbles at her joining us.

“Oh, shush you,” Imogen tells Keir off. “The morning after Threshing is always a clusterfuck. Power balance shifts, and you, little Sorrengail, are now to be the most powerful rider in the quadrant. Anyone with common sense is going to be scared of you.” Keir chuffs at her. “Oh come on, I said something nice to your owner,” As Keir argues with Imogen. I take note of what is going on. Social groups have split up, and some cadets I would have considered threats are no longer seated where they usually are.

“Which is why you’re now sitting with us?” Rhiannon arches a brow to the pink-haired second-year. “Because I can count on one hand the number of nice words you’ve said to any of us.” She holds up a fist with zero fingers raised.
“Hey, you can add one nice thing she said to any of you,” Quinn quips. She hasn’t even looked our way since Parapet.

“You weren’t interesting enough to sit with before,” Imogen responds, then digs into her food. I give Keir his kisses as Imogen scoffs at me.
“I usually sit with my girlfriend in Claw Section—besides, no point in getting to know you when most of you die. No offense.” Keir glares at her before he takes an angry bite of his food.
“None taken?” I start on my apple. I nearly spit out my food when Heaton and Emery, the only third-years in our squad, sit on the same side as Imogen and Quinn.

“I thought Seifert would have bonded,” Heaton says to Emery. Guess they were in the middle of a conversation. “Other than losing to Sorrengail, he nailed every challenge.” Keir beams with pride when they mention me defeating Oren on my first challenge.

“He tried to kill Andarna.” As ever, the head at the table snaps in my direction. Shit should’ve kept that to myself.
“I would guess that Tairn told the others.” I shrug.
“But Barlowe bonded?” Aurelie questions. “But from what I’ve heard, his dragon is on the smaller side.”
“She is,” Quinn confirms. “Which is why he is struggling this morning.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll make up for his lack of social standing in other ways,” Rhiannon mutters, her gaze narrows when she sees what I grab for breakfast. “Vi, you have to have some protein. You can’t survive on just fruit.”

“It’s the only food I can make sure that it’s tampered with, especially with Oren behind the counter.” I start to peel my orange.
“Why don’t you just make food when you cook for Keir?” Aurelie argues.
I open and close my mouth; I don’t have a response to that.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Imogen scraps three pieces of sausage into my plate. “They’re right. You will need all your strength to ride, especially with a dragon like Tairn.” I stare at what she put on my plate.
“You can trust her,” Tairn says, and I startle, dropping my orange.
“She hates me.”
“Stop arguing with me and eat something.” He leaves no room for debate.

“Look, Sorrengail,” Imogen cuts a piece of sausage off her plate. “Look, your dog will eat it.” She holds it to Keir, and he turns his head away, sticking his nose into the air and taking his paw to shove Imogen’s hand down and away from him. All while giving Imogen a firm huff, he seems insulted that he would take anything she had to offer him. “Really,” Imogen sounds expatriated. Quinn laughs at her friend and takes the piece of food from Imogen, offering it to Keir, who takes it happily from her, while glaring at Imogen as he chews.
“It was the same piece of food, asshole.” Imogen says annoyed by Keir’s treatment of her trying to be nice. I slowly start to eat the sausage as I continue to listen in on the conversation at the table.
“I think he likes me more than you I’m.” Quinn teases.

“Awww, looks like we found our mascots least favorite person. You might have beaten Aetos out of his spot.” Ridoc jokes as he watches Kier. If looks could kill than Ridoc would be dead twice over with the glare Imogen shot him.

“Does this mean we have to add the second and third years to the Keir snuggle schedule now?” Ridoc asks.
Imogen looks annoyed, Quinn looks delighted. And Heaton and Emry look confused. I explain that during our study session and down time Keir just cuddles and snuggles one of us. Helps with stress relief on a non sexual and violent way.
“It’s like have our own, little therapy dog.” Aurelie sighs.
“Little my ass.” Imogen mutters under her breath.

“But our mascot always has to sleep with Violet.” Ridoc laminates. “Unless?”
“No,” I say, plainly going back to my food.
“Aww,” Ridoc pouts, joking.
“Ridoc, Rhi and I already called dibs on watching Keir if he can’t sleep in Violet’s room for whatever reason,” Aurelie tells him.
“What, no fair…”

“What’s your signet?” Rhiannon asks Emery, trying to stop Ridoc and Aurelie from fight at the table.
Air rushes down the table, blowing Keir’s ears. Air manipulation. Got it.
“That’s epic!” Ridoc’s eyes go wide. “How much air can you move?”
“None of your business, first year.” He barely spares him a glance.
“Sorrengail, after class is done for the day, you are mine,” Imogen says. Keir growls low in protest.
“I’m sorry?”

Her pale green eyes narrow at Keir as she turns to look at me. “The sparring gym.”
“I’m already working with her sparring-“ Rhiannon starts, but is cut off.
“Good. We can’t afford for her to lose any challenges,” Imogen retorts. “But I’m going to help you with weights. We need to strengthen the muscles around your joints before challenges resume. The only way you will survive.”

The hair on the back of my neck stands up. “And since when do you care about my survival?”
“Since now,” she is gripping her fork, but I catch her giving a glance at the leadership table of the Fourth wing. She isn’t doing this out of kindness. Xaden is ordering her to help me.

“Squads are about to be condensed at morning formation. We’ll be down to two in each section.” Imogen explains. “Since Aetos kept most of his first years alive -hence your iron squad patch- so he’ll be allowed to retain his squad. But will probably gain a few when they strip the squads from those who weren’t as successful.”

As she talks, I look over to the table where Xaden is. He is sitting next to Garrick, who looks my way first. His face is lined with worry when he meets my gaze, and it doesn’t take me long to figure out why. My life is tied to Xaden’s. If I die, so does he. Xaden is using a dagger to peel an apple when he finally looks my way. My whole head tingles. Gods, is there any part of my body that doesn’t physically react to the sight of him?

“Hello, earth to Vi?” Ridoc calls me.
I snap out of my daze as I hum in reply to him.
“Can you please tell me what you told Rhi that almost had her peeing her pants this morning?”
Rhiannon tosses something at Ridoc’s head for his remark. I retell how Keir’s tongue got to know the inside of Dain’s mouth intimately at Threshing. Making the whole table, even Imogen roared in laughter. “At least he didn’t lick his butt after peeing this time before he put his tongue in Dain’s mouth,” I say absent-mindedly. “What do you mean?” Sawyer asks, wiping a tear from his eye. That leads me to tell them about what happened on the day after the parapet, with a few details missing. This caused another wave of laughter.

Chapter Text

A few hours later, after the squads are rearranged and the death roll is read, all the first-year riders in Fourth Wing stand waiting in front of our dragons.
Keir is lying on my side. Professor Devera came up to me after my first class, asking me if I wanted her to take Keir when I am in flight lessons. I was about to respond when I heard Andarna chime, “Tell her no.”

So here I am in the field with my dog and one of my dragons.
“The furry one will not ride me again, sliver one,” Tairn grumbles in my mind.
“Then why did Andarna tell me to bring Keir here and not let him hang out with Professor Devera? And where is she, anyway?”
“The golden one does not need flight lessons when she can’t bare you in flight yet.”
“Good point, but why bring Keir if he can’t come?” It would have been nice to see her. She’s quieter in my head, too, not as meddlesome as Tairn.
“I heard that. Now tell the furry one to head down the path leading to the valley.”

“What?” I snap my head in that direction and, as I look up into the sky, I think I see a flash of gold land somewhere near the entrance, but still hidden.
“The golden one wishes to train the furry one.” Tairn sighs out in my head as if he is already regretting this plan.
I kneel to Keir, “Hey, sweet boy, looks like Andarna wants to play in the valley.” He perks up and practically high-tails it down into the Valley. Nearly running over Professor Kaori as he takes off. Professor Kaori gives me a puzzled look.

“Keir wanted to play in the valley while I am in class. It will be good for him to get some energy out while the weather is still nice.” I explain this while also trying not to mention that my other dragon will be with him. Professor Kaori shrugs and starts our first lesson.

Later that evening, after dinner, Keir and I made our way to the sparring gym. Everything hurts from how many times I slid off Tairn’s back. We are through the rotunda and crossing into the academic wing when I hear Dain calling my name and jogging to catch up to us. Keir lets out a frustrated sigh. I didn’t think dogs could make. And turns to face Dain, clearly annoyed at the squad leader. I feel nothing but awkwardness when he comes over. What the hell is wrong with me? I had a crush on Dain for years. He is gorgeous, kind, a really good man, and honorable.

“Last one is debatable.” Tairn butts in.
“Rhiannon said you were headed this way,” he says once he reaches my side, concern knitting his brows. Keir grumbled and forced his way into the middle between us. Making sure Dain stays an arm’s length away from me.
“Keir, what has gotten into you? You've been cold and more of a pain to me since Violet crossed the parapet. And not in the fun way, your normal pranks, they seem to be more mean-spirited.”
Keir ignores Dain’s hurt look and fixes him with a glare, not even a huff or a bark in reply.

“I’m going to work out.” I force a smile as we turn a corner.
“You didn’t get enough during flight?” He reaches out to touch me, but Keir slams into his side, making him stumble, and Dain stops. I stop and turn to look at my ‘best’ friend.
“I definitely fell enough today.” I check the bandage on my arm.
His jaw twitches. “I honestly thought you’d be all right once Tairn chose you.”
“And I will be,” I assure him. “I just need to strengthen my muscles to stay seated through maneuvers. And Tairn insists on making things more complex than what Kaori is doing.”

“For your own good.”
“Are you always around?” I snap back mentally.
“Yes. Get used to it.”
I fight the urge to growl at the intrusive, overbearing-
“Still here, silver one.”

“Violet?” Dain asks, still keeping the distance that Keir has set.
“Sorry, I’m not used to Tairn butting into my thoughts.”
“It’s a good sign. Means your bond is strengthening. And I don’t know why he is giving you a hard time with maneuvers. Not like there’s any aerial threat out there other than gryphons. One blast of fire would take care of those birds. Tell him to lighten up on you.”
Keir growls at Dain’s dismissive attitude towards my dragon.

“Tell the squad leader to mind his own business.”
“I’ll uh do that.” I bite back a laugh.

Dain looks like he has something to say by the sigh he lets out. Going to touch my face before Keir gives him a warning snarl. Dain looks hurt at Keir’s actions; he was never like this with Dain till I joined. Dain gazes longingly at my lips, “Look. About last night…”
“The part where you told me Xaden would get me killed if I bonded Tairn? Or the part where you kissed me? Or do you mean when you made out with my dog?” I fold my arms across my chest. Keir sits right in front of me, blocking Dain from getting any closer.

“The kiss, with you,” he admits, his voice lowering. “It…it never should have happened.”
I barely hear muttering out, “and I didn’t consent to Keir’s kiss attack.” And I didn’t consent to your kiss either. Keir was showing what it felt like to be kissed without asking first. But relief coursed through me; he must have felt that there was no spark between us. No passion. “Right?” I crack a smile. “Doesn’t mean we’re not friends.”

“The best of friends,” he agrees. Keir barks, telling Dain that he is my best friend, not Dain. But sadness is heavy in his eyes. Wait, no, no. Please, the fuck no!
“And it’s not that I don’t want you, I-“
“What!?” My eyes blow wide open. Fuck! “What are you saying?” No way our wires are this poorly crossed.
“I’m saying the same thing you are.” Keir chuffs in amusement at Dain’s confusion, not getting what I am thinking.
“It’s incredibly frowned upon to have a physical relationship with anyone in our chain of command.”
“Oh.” Not what I am saying.

“And you know how hard I worked to be a squad leader. I’m determined to be a wingleader next year, and as much as you mean to me…” he shakes his head.
So this is all about politics for him. Guess he was right about my best friend. “Right.” I nod slowly, and Keir intensifies his glare at Dain. “I get it.” It shouldn’t matter; the only reason he isn’t pursuing me is rank, and it doesn’t. But it definitely makes me lose respect for Dain. I agree even more with what someone told me about him. Much to my horror, I think of that person.
“And maybe next year, if you’re in a different t wing or even after graduation,” he starts, hope lighting up his eyes. Yep, definitely making me think about what someone told me about Dain and his father. And I don’t want to think about that person who told me this about my oldest friend.

“Sorrengail, let’s go. I am not sitting around all night,” Imogen calls from the doorway. “If our squad leader is done with you, that is.” Keir rolls his eyes and gets up and walks into the gym, bumping past Imogen.
Dain rears back, glancing between Imogen and me and to where Keir wanders. “She’s training you?”
“She offered.” I shrug, going to follow Keir into the gym, leaving behind a stunned Dain.
“Squad loyalty and all that. Blah, Blah.” Imogen offers a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her. Bye, Aetos,” she turns and shuts the door. Leaving Dain gaping like a fish trying to figure out what just happened.

I try to figure out where Keir disappeared to in the gym. I don’t see him right away.
“This way, Sorrengail.” Imogen leads me towards a corner on the left where glass meets stone. I look through the glass to see a variety of wooden machinery, including racks, ropes, pulleys, benches with levels, and bars attached to the wall. On the other side is one of the first years Tyrs I saw in the woods that night, doing push-ups as Garrick crouched down next to her, counting and urging her on. And I finally find Keir, who commandeered the free weights as toys.
“Don’t worry, Sorrengail,” Imogen coos in a fake sweet voice.
“There’s only the three of us, and I guess your mutt in here. You’re perfectly safe.”

Garrick turns, his gaze meeting mine even as he continues calling off reps for the other first year. He nods once, then goes back to his task. Keir is testing how much weight he can carry around the gym in his mouth. Well, at least he will enjoy himself.
“You’re the only one I worry about,” I say, setting up a water bowl for Keir off to the side so it doesn’t trip anyone. Then follow Imogen to a machine with a polished wooden seat and two cushioned squares that meet in the front at knee height. She laughs, and I think that is the first genuine sound I’ve heard her make.
“Fair point. Since we can’t work on your ankle or arms until you heal up, we are going to work on your weak ass thighs so you can stay on your dragon.”

“You’re only doing this because Xaden is making you, right?” I can’t help but ask what I already know.
Her eyes narrow at me, “Rule number one. He’s Riorson to you, first year, and you never get to question me about him. Even” Keir snaps his head when he hears the tone she took with me and sneaks over with what looks like a fucking forty-pound dumbbell in his mouth. He is carrying it like it weighs nothing.

“First off, that’s two rules,” she scoffs at my comment and sasses, “and what else first year?”
I sent her a wicked grin. “Keir, please don’t drop that weight you're carrying on Imgoen’s foot.” Imogen looks down and sees Keir getting ready to drop the weight on top of her. “You fucking asshole!”
“Second, keep an eye on Keir. He likes to play with weights, I guess, never brought him to a gym before that even had weights. And he takes offense on my behalf when he thinks I am threatened or insulted.” I finish up, as Keir goes back to whatever else he pulled out to play with.

“Noted,” she grumbles as she pulls a lever that puts immediate tension on the wood, and they rush outward, separating my thighs. “Now get to work. Push them back together. Thirty reps.”
We hear the patting of Keir’s paws. “Please.” She adds at the end.

I start working out, trying to focus on what Imogen is telling me and keeping an eye on Keir to make sure he stays out of trouble. He is picking up different weighted dumbbells and running from one end of the room to the other. When Imogen gives me a five-minute water break, I notice that Keir picked up a twenty-pound disc weight in his mouth like it’s a frisbee and prances over to Garrick. He places it at his feet, wagging his tail so hard his butt is shaking as he goes into a play bow. Barking to get the section leader’s attention off the first year he is helping and onto him.

“What in Amari’s name?” Garrick looks down at my dog.
“Keir Bren Sorrengail, a disc weight is not a Frisbee.” I scold my boy. He drops his back half down to the floor and whines at me.
“She’s right, I can’t throw that,” Garrick tells him gently. I see the look that flashes in Keir’s eyes. Oh, no, I think to myself.
“Oh, this is going to be good,” Andarna beams in my mind.
Keir huffs at Garrick in challenge and scampers off to grab a ten-pound disc and places it on top of the other one.
“The answer is still no.” Garrick crosses his arms over his chest. Keir narrows his eyes to the third-year rider. He goes and gets a one-pound disc weight, sits in front of Garrick, drops the weight, and slides it towards him with his paw, while pulling the heavier ones towards himself. Barks at him with a smug look and cocks his head in challenge. Garrick raises an eyebrow at Keir.

“I hope Chradh’s rider is smart enough not to rise to the bait the furry one is laying out.” Tairn sighs in my mind.
“What, you don’t think I can throw the others?” Keir looks away from Garrick, making a close to a humming sound a dog could make.
“You don't!” Garrick says, shocked at what Keir is implying.
“And he’s taken the bait. So much for him being smart enough not to take the bait.” Andarna sings.

Garrick reaches down, takes the ten-pound disc, and throws it across the room. Keir bolts up and chases it, jumping into the air to catch the weight mid-air, and brings it back to Garrick. Imogen facesplams and drags her hand down her face. Tyrs excused herself after the fifth throw, thanking Garrick as she left. After another set and a half, and gods know how many throws from Garrick, Imogen calls out. “Travis, stop throwing the fucking weight before you two break something.” That seems to snap Garrick out of it. “Ok, let’s see how much you can lift, soldier.”

Garrick goes over to a different machine with a pulley that appears to be designed for arm curls. He sets it to the lowest setting, and Keir grabs the handle, walking backward as he pulls it. They make it up to fifty pounds, before Garrick says, “Ok, ok, you can lift weights, but can you fight?”
Keir drops the handle, jumping side to side, barking happily. “Alright, show me what you got.”

Imogen finally lets me call it a night. When we turn, we see Garrick and Keir roughhousing.
“I can’t believe he took the bait,” I say absent-mindedly.
“Unfortunately, I can,” Imogen mutters under her breath.
Garrick and Keir are circling each other. Garrick makes a lunge for Keir, and he avoids him. Keir comes back around and knocks Garrick onto his stomach. Keir ends up lying his whole body on top of Garrick’s back. “Thanks, needed some weight for when I do my push-ups.”
“Keir, time to go,” I say, and I get up to gather our things.
“Aww,” Garrick and Keir whine at the same time.
“Don’t you have to meet with our Wingleader, Travis?” Imogen says, patience is wearing thin with both of them and me.
“Oh crap!” He calls out.

I am sitting at my vanity, brushing out my hair, in a white sleep dress that barely covers my thighs. Keir is lying on my bed in his rubber duckie onesie, wearing the matching slippers I crocheted for him. Thank the gods he can use the bathroom while wearing it, so I don’t have to take it off him if he has to go in the middle of the night. He is cuddling his weighted dragon plush, which I made for him. I designed it to look like Brennan’s dragon. I thank Professor Kaori for showing me what Marbh looked like so I can make corrections to Keir’s favorite toy so it looks more like Marbh now.

“Hey, guess what, sweet boy?” Placing my hairbrush back onto the vanity, I looked at him in the mirror. He tilted his head as he looked up at me.
“I am now on Archive duty, you know what that means.” He starts to wag his tail, smiling hugely, and barks once.
“Yep, that’s right. You get to see Jesinia. Well, if she is there when we go in the morning.” Keir does a silent bark, telling me that, of course, we will see her. Laughing, “You’re right, sweet boy. Let’s get your slippers off and head to bed.” I walk over to him, taking his slippers off, pulling back the covers, and getting into bed. Keir paws me and whines.

“Yes, sweet boy?” He looks to the bookshelf and back to me.
“Keir, I don’t have the book of the barrens, remember.” He gives me a sad look. I let out a long sigh, “ok, fine, you can get a book from the shelf, and I will pretend that it’s the fables as I recount a story to you.” He drops his dragon on my stomach and goes to grab a book from the shelf. I pull back the covers so he can join me in bed. He lies down next to me on his back, and I place the covers over him. His head on my shoulder, dragon and puppy blanket being held in his paws as I open the book and pretend I am reading my favorite book to him. I go with his favorite story from the book, “A long time ago…” Keir lets out a contented sigh as he snuggles deeper into the bed and into me.

Chapter Text

The wooden library cart squeaks as I push it over the bridge and into the heart of Basgiath. Keir is my helper for this chore, which, if I had to choose, would be my absolute favorite. The sting of longing still hits me to my core since I was assigned, but it’s not as sharp as it was the other day. I nod to the first-year scribe at the entrance to the Archives, and he jumps out of his seat to let Keir and me in.

“Good morning, Cadet Sorrengail, Keir,” he says, holding the entrance open so we can pass. “I missed you yesterday. I was surprised when Keir showed up by himself, pulling the cart.” He says, a bit flustered. Keir gives him a greeting.
“Good morning, Cadet Pierson.” I offer him a smile as I push the cart. “I wasn’t feeling well,“ no doubt from not drinking enough water, causing dizzy spells. “And Keir knows the Archives just as well as I do. So he took over for me yesterday.” My pup beams with pride that he got the chore done all by himself. Keir perks up, and I smile as he walks over, wagging his tail as a woman approaches in a cream tunic and hood.

I sign, “Jesinia!” Keir goes in for an instant kiss and rolls over for a belly rub.
“Cadet Sorrengail, Keir,” she signs back, and she gives Keir a quick belly rub before standing and smothering her smile.
For a second, I abhor the rituals and customs of the scribes.
“It’s really good to see you and Keir missed you,” I signed, and couldn’t wipe the grin from my face. “I knew you would pass the test.”
“Only because I studied with you for the past year,” she signs back, pressing her lips together so they don’t curve upwards. Then her face falls. “I was horrified to hear about you being forced into the riders' quadrant. And how Keir crossed the parapet. Are you both alright?”

“I’m fine,” I assure her, then try to remember the sign for bond. “I’m bonded and…” I hesitate for a moment, but I can’t deny the truth. “I’m happy. And Keir seems to be enjoying himself as well.”
Her eyes widen. “Aren’t you constantly worried you’re going-“ she glances around us to make sure no one can see us. “You know die? What if someone attacks Keir?”
“Sure.” I nod. “But oddly enough, you get used to that, and as for Keir, I would love to see someone try.” I tell her.

“Remember when he was tasked with hunting down the infantry cadets, and they had to evade capture. He would drag them to the drop-off point and get a new one to target next.”
Jesinia tries hard to smother her smile at the memory.
They had each squad go one at a time, and the exercise only lasted an hour for each squad. The goal was simple: don’t get caught by Keir. If you did, try to escape before he dragged you to the clearing. Keir would hunt each one of them down in the woods. They were not allowed to carry weapons, so Keir didn’t get hurt. Also, they couldn’t injure Keir. Only one member of the squad had to remain uncaught for the hour to pass. I think if they failed, they had to go and do an hour’s worth of drills for each member captured. Let’s say that quadrant is not a huge Keir fan.

“He managed to take out like 90% of the infantry cadets.” She signs.
“And that was only one of the exercises the professor put them through with Keir.”
“Let’s get you taken care of. Are these all returns?”
I nod as Keir stands up, and I reach into my pocket for a small scroll of parchment and hand it to her before signing, “And a few requests from Professor Devera.” The rider in charge of our small library sends a list of requests and returns every night.
“Anything else?”

Maybe it’s being in the Archives or Keir begging for a story every night, but a stab of homesickness bowls over me. “Any chance you guys have a copy of ‘The Fables of Barren?” Mira was right, I had no business bringing the book of fables with me, but it would be nice to lie and read them with Keir at night, without me trying to remember how the stories went when I am tired. Keir perks up when I ask about the book.
Jesinia’s brow furrows. “I’m not familiar with that text.”
Keir whimpers as I blink. “It’s not for academics or anything, just a collection of folklore my dad shared with me. A little on the dark side, but honestly, I love it.” There’s no sign for wyvern or venin, so I spell them out. “Wyvern, venin, magic, the battles of good and evil - you know, the good stuff. Keir has been bugging me for bedtime stories since Threshing. It would be nice to read it and not cite it from memory.” I grin at her as I look to Keir. If anyone can understand my love for books, it's Jesinia.

“I’ve never heard of that one, but I’ll look for it while I pull these.”
“Thank you. I’d really appreciate it, and so does Keir. Isn’t that right, sweet boy?” Keir lets out a very quiet, happy bark when I ask about getting him his stories.
Jesinia nods and pushes the cart, disappearing into the shelves. It usually takes about fifteen minutes to gather the requests that come in both from professors and cadets in my quadrant. But I am more than content to wait. Scribes come and go, some in groups as they train to become our kingdom’s historians. I find myself searching for a face that I know I will not see, no matter how hard I look, my father. Keir whimpers and gently nudges my hand when he sees me looking for Dad. But immediately goes to my left and curls his lip slightly.

“Violet?”
I turn to see who called me and who is setting Keir on edge. I see Professor Markham leading a squad of first-year scribes. “Hello, Professor.” I keep my face blank around him because I know he’ll expect it.
“I didn’t realize you had library chore duty.” He glanced toward the spot in the shelves where Jesinia disappeared. “Are you being helped?” He gives a heated glare towards Keir, who returns it with equal measure.
“Jesinia-“ I cringe. “I mean, Cadet Neilwart is most helpful.”

“You know,” he says to the squad of five first years as the arc around Keir and me. “Cadet Sorrengail here was my prized student until the Riders Quadrant stole her away. I was even willing to let her hound join her in the quadrant as special treatment.” His gaze meets mine under his hood, and I can tell Keir is holding in a growl. “I had hoped she would return, but alas, she has bonded to not one but two dragons.”
A girl to his right gasps, then covers her mouth and mutters an apology.
“Don’t worry, I felt the same way,” I tell her.

“Perhaps you can explain something to Cadet Nasya over here, who was just griping that there’s not nearly enough fresh air in here.” Professor Markham turns his focus to a boy to his left. “This group is just starting their rotation in the Archives.”
Nasya turns beet red under his cream hood. Keir grumbles, never liking how Professor Markham goes out of his way to humiliate those around him.
“It’s part of the fire mitigation system,” I tell him with a small kind smile. “Less air, less risk of our history burning to the ground.”
“And the stuffy hoods?” Nasya lifts a brow.
“Makes it harder for you to stand out against the tomes,” I explain. “A symbol that no one and nothing is more important than the documents and books in this very room.” I suppress a wave of homesickness as I gaze around the chamber.

“Exactly.” Professor Markham levels a glare at Nasya. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, Cadet Sorrengail, we have work to attend. I’ll see you tomorrow in Battle Brief.”
“Yes, sir.” I step back, signaling for Keir to do the same so that the squad can pass.
“He didn’t even greet or acknowledge your hatchling at all.” Andarna pipes in, I can tell she is annoyed at Markham.
“That’s always been the dynamic between the two,” I tell her.
“Are you sad?” She asks after a moment.
“Just visiting the Archives. No need to worry.” I say as I pet Keir on his head.
“It’s hard to love a second home as much as the first.”
“Its easy when the second home is the right one.”

Jesinia reappears with the cart, laden down with the requested books and bits of mail for the professors in my quadrant. She signs, “I’m so sorry, but I couldn’t find that book. I even searched the catalog for wyvern, but there’s nothing.”
Keir tilts his head to the side, curious and a bit sad he won’t get those stories. I stare for a second. Our Archives have either a copy or the original of almost every book in Navarre. Only ultrarare or forbidden tomes are excluded. But why would a book of folklore fall under of either of those two categories.

“That’s alright. Thank you for checking.” I sign back.
She pulls out a satchel from under her robes. “I found some other collection of fairy tales for Keir or do you think he would prefer a fantasy book series. I pulled a few stand alone and two different book one of two different series. They are all for young teens.”
Keir perks his ears up has he sees what Jesinia just signed.
“Thank you so much.” I sign back as I go through the books she pulled for me.
“You can take them all, we have plenty of copies of all the books I got you, keep as long as you need.” She signs once I look up. “You look different.”
My eyes widen.

“Not bad different, just different. Your face is leaner, and even your posture…” she shakes her head.
“I’ve been training.” I pause before I continue, “it’s hard, but great, too. I’m getting quicker on the mat.”
“Right. I forgot that you guys fight each other too.” Sympathy fills her eyes.
“I’m really all right, I have Keir to watch my back.” I give her a reassuring smile. “How about you? Is it everything you wanted?”
“It’s everything and more.” She presses her lips together as she tells me all about her duties. I am happy for my friend. And I tell her so.

She asks about Dain and by the way my face falls at the mention of him and how Keir lips curls up, she knows something is up between us.
“That’s a story for another day.” I sign to her.
Jesinia nods and signs, “I’ll try and be here around this time so I can see you both”
“Sounds wonderful.” I refrain from pulling her into a hug and walk through the door she opens.

By the time Keir and I return the cart to the library and make it through the lunch line, our time is almost up. Which means I am busy shoveling food in my mouth as fast as I can while the members of our original squad talk around us. Thank the gods I pack Keir’s lunch ahead of time. The newbie to our squad refuse to sit with marked ones so fuck them.

“It was the coolest thing ever,” Ridoc continues. “One second he was sparring against that third year with that wicked broadsword skills, and then Sawyer-“
“You could let him tell the story.” Rhiannon chided.
“No thank you,” Sawyer counters, looking at his fork like it’s about to stab him.
Ridoc grins as he continues. “And then the sword just twists in Sawyer’s hand, curving towards the third yer even though he was way off the mark.” He grimaces in Sawyer’s direction. “Sorry, man, but you were. -“
“You’re a metallurgist?” Quinn questions. “Really?”
As far as I know he is the first one of us to display any form of power, let alone a signet.

He nods. “That’s what Carr says. Aetos dragged me straight to the professor when it happened.” I can see Keir roll his eyes at the mention of Dain.
“I’m so jealous!” Ridoc grabs his chest. “I want my signet power to manifest!”
“You wouldn’t if it meant being unsure if your fork will attack or not. All because you can’t control it yet.” Sawyer pushes his tray away from him and Keir takes this as a go head to clean his plate for him.
“Good point.” Ridoc looks at Keir as he covers his own tray to protect it from my sweet boy.

“You’ll manifest when your dragon is ready to trust you with all that power,” Quinn finishes her water. “Just hope your dragons trust you before about six months and -“ she makes a sound like an explosion and mimics it with her hands. Keir tilts his head, Sawyer’s lunch covering his face.
“Stop scaring the children,” Imogen says. “That’s hasn’t happened in-“ she stops mid sentence. “Hey what the fuck!” We all look and see Keir wiping his face off using Imogen as his napkin. “Sorrengail control your beast!” She snaps.

“Sorry, Keir, no, come here.” I wipe the rest of his face.
“Where was I? Oh, yes, that hasn’t happened in decades.” The rest of the first years all look to her as I busy myself with Keir.
“Look, the relic your dragons transferred onto you at Threshing is the conduit to let all the magic into your body if you don’t manifest a signet and let it out, then after a bunch of months. Bad things happen.”
Quinn hands Imogen a moist napkin to clean herself from Keir. “The magic consumes you,” Quinn adds.
“Relax, it’s not like a hard deadline or something. It’s just an average.” Imogen shrugs.
“We‘ll get you some wooden utensils,” I tell Sawyer as I try to finish up my meal.

“And you should avoid the armory or sparring with anything metal for the time being,” Aurelie adds.
Sawyer scoffs. “That’s the truth. At least I’ll be safe during flight this afternoon.”

The wings rotate access to the flight field, and today is our lucky day to go after two meals instead of one. Always makes it harder on the stomach. I feel a tingle in my scalp and know if I turn l, I’ll find Xaden watching us. But I will not give him the satisfaction. He hasn’t said so much as a word to me since Threshing. That doesn’t mean he isn’t lurking, no he sends people to do that for him. There is always an upperclassmen somewhere near me at all times. Walking Keir, heading to class, going to the kitchen to cook for Keir, he’ll even on the way to the gym. I don’t miss how all of them have a rebellion relic either.

“I’ll see you tonight,” Imogen says as she walks away from the table.
“Is she any nicer when she is training you?” Rhiannon asks
“No. But she is efficient.” I finish up as we all make our way to the scullery window. “What’s Professor Carr like?” I ask.
“Fucking terrifying,” Sawyer answers. “I can’t wait for the entire year to start wielding lessons so everyone can enjoy his particular brand of instruction.”
Turns out that the unbonded still have a chance if looking at Barlowe and Ashton are anything to go by. She just bonded to Gleann who lost his rider on our first flight lessons.

“You only fell about a dozen times that trip,” Tairn remarks as we land.
“I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or an insult.”
“Take it as you wish.”
I mentally roll my eyes and scoot out of the seat as he dips his shoulder so I can slide down his foreleg. “Besides, you could make it easier, you know.”
“Oh, I know.”
Keir runs to my side, looks like he had fun playing with Andarna in the valley while I was trying not to fall.
“I caught you, silver one.”
“You could let up on the spirals with steep banks, when we are being tight basic dives.”
“I am training you for battle.”

I do all the checks Kaori taught us.
“I am not foolish enough to not know that I have something stuck in my flesh. And before you ask, I will not have Andarna join us unless she requested it. She can’t keep up the speed, and it will only draw unwanted attention.”
“Keir gets to see her more than I do.” I blantantly whine. Keir seems to enjoy that he gets to play and hang out with Andarna while I don’t. “I’m always stuck with your grumpy ass.”
“I’m always here,” Andarna answers. “And I love playing with your hatching, Violet.”
“This grumpy ass just caught you a dozen times, Silver One.”
“Eventually you could call me Violet, you know.” I take the time to examine every row of his scales. Keir is dancing around Tairn’s claws. Most likely annoying the dragon.
“I know,” he repeats. “And I could call you Violence like the wingleader.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” I narrow my eyes I mace forward, checking where his vest begins to rise. “And you know how much that ass annoys me.” Keir is now jumping onto Tairn’s front foot.
“Annoys you?” Tairn chuckles above me, slowly moving his foot so Keir will get off of him. “Is that what you call it when your heart rate-“
“Don’t you even start with me.”

A growl rumbles through both Tairn and Keir’s chests. I pivot, my hands hovering along my sheathed daggers as Dain approaches.
“It’s just Dain.” I tell both of the overprotective men in my life, as I walk out from between Tairn’s forelegs when Dain pauses a dozen feet away. Keir goes to stand in front of me, acting as another barrier between the two of us. I see Dain fidgeting with a sheathed dagger.
“Anger does not suit him.” Tairn growls and a puff of steam hits the back of my neck.

“Relax,” I say and glance back over my shoulder at him. “That goes for you too, Keir.” My boy ignores me.
I am shocked to see Tairn’s golden eyes are narrowed in a glare on Dain. His teeth are bared, dripping saliva as another growl rumbles. I look over to Keir, who is mimicking Tairn’s reaction to Dain down to the letter.
“You’re a menace. Stop it. Or Keir might actually attack Dain, with how you respond to him.”

“Good, tell the Furry One he will have my full support if he does. Tell the squad leader if he harms you, I’ll scotch the ground where he stands and turn his bones into a necklace for the Golden one, and any left overs I shall give to the Furry One as a gift.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Tairn.” I roll my eyes and walk to Dain, Keir sticking close to me. Dain’s jaw is locked, but his eyes are wide with apprehension. As I get closer I see he is holding the dagger I gifted him, the one I gave him shortly after I got Keir.
“Tell him, or I’ll take it up with Cath.”

“Tairn says if you harm me, he’ll burn you,” I say as dragons to the left and right take to the sky, heading back to the Vale. But not my grump. Nope, he’s still standing behind me like an overprotective dad.
“I’m not going to harm you!” Dain snaps and Keir gives a warning bark.
“Word for word, Silver One.”

I blow a breath out slowly. “Sorry he actually said, if you harm me, he’ll scotch the ground where you stands and turn your bones into a necklace for the Golden one, and any left overs he’ll shall give to the Furry One as a gift.” I turn and look over my shoulder. “Better?”
Tairn blinks.

Dain keeps his eyes on me, while keeping Keir in his line of sight at all times. But I see it there, the swirling anger Tairn warned me about. “I would rather die than harm you, and you know it.” He is clenching the dagger over his heart like a lifeline.
“Happy now?” I ask Tairn.
“I’m hungry. Think I’ll partake in a flock of sheep.” He launches with great beats of his wings.
“I need to talk to you.” Dain’s voice drops, and he narrows his eyes as he hooks the dagger to his chest, right over his heart.

“Fine. Walk me back. Keir go join Rhiannon and Aurelie.” My boy gives me a whine in protest. “Now, Keir.” Keir joins them as I motion for them to go on without me. We fall back at the edge of the field.
“Why didn’t you tell me you can’t keep your fucking seat?” He shouts at me, grabbing my elbow. I almost wish I didn’t send Keir ahead.

“I’m sorry?” I yank my arm free from him. Tairn growls in my mind. “I’ve got this,” I shout back.
“All this time, I’ve been letting Kaori teach you, thinking he must have everything under control. After all, if the rider of the strongest dragon in the quadrant couldn’t keep her seat, then surely we’d all know.” he rips his hand over his hair and the other sliding over the dagger for comfort. “Surely I would know if my best friend fell every fucking day that she flew!”

“Its not a secret!” anger bubbles in my veins. “Everyone in our wing knows! I'm sorry if you haven't been keeping tabs on your own squad. Who I might add you are in charge of. But trust me, Dain. Everyone knows. And I'm not going to stand here while you lecture me like I'm a child.” I stalk off, my strides eating up the ground as I follow the wing.
“You didn't tell me,” he says, anger in his voice giving away to hurt as he catches up.

“There’s not a problem.” I shake my head. “Tairn can keep me buckled in magically I'd he needs to. I'm the one asking him to loosen the restraints. And I'd think twice before you question him. He's more of the char- first- ask- questions-later type.”
“Its a huge problem, because he can't channel-”
“His full powers?” I ask as we make it out of the field and on to the stairs. “I know that. Why do you think I'm up there asking him to loosen up?”

“You’ve been flying for a month, and you're still falling.” his voice follows me down.
“So is half the wing, Dain!”
“Not a dozen times, they aren't.” he shoots back. He is at my back again as we go through the tunnel.
I sigh as I try not to loose it in him. “You should have seen me a month ago when it was three dozen times.”
“Three dozen?!” his voice rises on the last word.
I halt part way through the tunnel and offer a smile in the mage lights. “It sounds worse than it is, Dain. I promise.”

“Will you at least tell me what part of the flight you have trouble with? At least let me help you.”
“You want a list of my flaws?” I roll my eyes. “My thighs are too weak, but I’m building muscle. My hands can’t grip the pommel, but they’re getting stronger. It took a few weeks for my biceps to heal, so I’m training that one, too. But you don't have to worry about me, Dain- Imogen is training me.”

“Only because Riorson asked her to.” Folding his arms across his chest, palming the dagger again.
“Probably. But why should that matter?”
“Because he doesn’t have your best interest at heart.” He shakes his head like he is seeing me for the first time. “First, it was bending the rules to make it up the Gauntlet, and yes, Amber lit into for an hour about how you acted dishonorably.”
“Well, isn’t that just fun pillow talk to have with your fuck buddy, Dain?”

“I am not fucking Amber anymore. I haven’t touched her since the end of January last year.”
“Oh, that’s rich.”
“It’s true, Violet. Believe me. I haven’t so much as laid a hand or any part of my body on her in over ten months!”
“What she tried to tear me down in hopes that you would fuck her?”
“I don’t know, Vi,” he is gripping his hair in frustration.
“And of course you took her word for it? Didn’t even ask? Keir made it up the Gauntlet to help me. Couldn’t even ask me what happened.”

“Violet! Please. She is a wingleader; I’m not going to question her integrity. And I tried to stop Keir, but he just jumped over me and slammed me into the ground before I could do anything.”
“Yet you have no issue with questioning the integrity of our own wingleader. You only take the word of someone you fucked.”
“Fine! Not having a fight about who is in my bed with you right now. No one, by the way. You and Keir both made it. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t stand to live with myself if anything happened to you. Whether you handled the trial the right way or not.”

“Right way isn’t the only way. And for the Gauntlet, there is getting up the normal way or getting creative with it. Which I did!”
He glares at my interpretation. And I give him one right back.
“Don't get me started on Keir bring here in the first place. I thought you would be fine after Threshing-“ he shakes his head.
“Go on, say it, Dain. I dare you.”

“I’m terrified you’re not going to make it to graduation, Vi!” He blurts out.
“You know how I feel about you. You are my heart, the air I breathe! Whether or not I can do anything to protect you. I’m terrified that I can’t! Please,” that last word comes out in a whisper. I can’t help but laugh. Protect me when he wouldn’t even defend me to a fuck. His eyes widen.

“This place cuts away the bullshit and niceties, revealing whoever you are at your core,” I repeat his own words against him. “Isn’t that what you said to me? Is this who you really are at your core? Someone so enamored with the rules that he doesn’t know when to bend or break them for someone, now what was it again? Oh, yes, who is your heart? The air you breathe. That is, except when it comes to yourself.”

He opens his mouth to speak, but I don’t give him the chance. “I know that Mavis was your squad leader up until last January, when you so conveniently stopped fucking her after you were no longer under her direct command. Funny, you told me that it was discouraged to have relations within the chain of command, but it didn’t stop you last year. Not against the code, perfectly fine when it’s not your rank at risk. And look, your fuck buddy still made it to wingleader. Did you fuck your new squad leader when you moved? That was your main hang-up about us getting together.” I let out a dry laugh.
“Vi-“

I cut him off again. “Listen here, Squad leader Aetos, I am not just a toy you can pick up when it’s convenient for you, when there is no better political option for you to further your career nearby.”

The warmth drains from his eyes along with all the color from his face. I take a step closer, “The reason we’ll never be anything more than friends, if you’re lucky at this point, isn’t because of your rules that you follow when it suits you or when it’s convenient to be with me. It’s because you have no faith in me. Even now, you only see what I can’t do, not what I can do. Look, I’ve survived against all the odds and bonded not just one but two badass dragons! Yet you still think I won’t make it! So forgive me, Squad leader Aetos, but you’re about to be some of the bullshit that I cut away.”

I march past him, and he looks shell-shocked at what I said, but I don’t care. But I can’t help but get in one more hit on him and say over my shoulder, “You know, Hal told me once that you would chase away anyone interested in me, even if you were briefly with someone else when we were teens. Also, you made sure that I stayed single so that I would always be available for you. Hal called you a social climber. I defend you. Now I am not so sure.” I make my way out of the tunnel, sunlight blinding me.

I walk over to where Keir, Rhiannon, and Aurelia wait for me. Keir comes up licking my hand to try and calm me down. Classes are out for the afternoon, and I see Xaden and Garrixk leaned up against the walls of the academic building. Xaden arches a dark eyebrow as I pass by. I flip him the middle finger. Not taking his crap today.
“Everything all right?” Rhiannon asks as Keir and I catch up to her and the others.
“Dain is a fucking ass-”

“Make it stop!” someone screams, rushing down the steps of the rotunda and holding his head. It's a first year in Third Wing. “For gods’ sake, make it stop!” he shrieks, as he stumbles into the courtyard. My hand hovers over my blades and Keir crouched low getti g ready to attack if he needs to. A shadow moves to my left, and a glance tells me Xadrn has moved. He casually puts himself just ahead of me, acting as a second barrier, right after Keir. The crowd hollows, forming a circle around the first year as he screams, clutching his head.

“Jeremiah!” someone shouts, coming forward.
“You! Jeremiah spins, pointing his finger at the third year. “You think I've lost it!” his head tilts, and his eyes flare. “How does he know? He shouldn't know!” His tone shifts again, pointing at a second year in First Wing. “What the hell is wrong with him? Why is he screaming?”

He turns again, this time focused on Dain. “Is Violet going to hate me forever? Why can’t she see that I want to keep her alive? No matter who I was with, it was her I was thinking about. Who I was imagining I was with in the most intimate moments. When the only way I could even get it up with Mavis last year was to imagine I was with my Violet. Why I couldn’t say a name out loud for fear it would be hers and not anyone else. I can only have sex when I have her in my mind. Who I - how is he…? He’s reading my thoughts!” The impression is uncanny, embarrassing, and terrifying.

“Oh gods,” I whisper, forget embarrassment. Who cares if people know what Dain think of me and how he gets it up in the bedroom? Jeremiah’s signet power is manifesting. He is an inntinnsic. His power is a death sentence.
“Damn, who would have thought that Aetos - “ Ridoc is cut off by someone shoving him aside and comes to my side. The scent of mint somehow steadies my heatbeat.
Jeremiah unsheathes his shortsword. “Make it stop. Can't any of you see? The thoughts won't stop!” His panic is palpable.
“Do something,” I beg Xaden, glancing up at him.
His unwavering, lethal focus is on Jeremiah, but he tenses at my plea. “Start mentally reciting whatever bookish shit you've learned.”

“I'm sorry?” I hiss up at him.
“If you value your secrets, clear your thoughts. Now.” Xaden orders.
“And you!” Jeremiah turns, his gaze locking on Garrick. “Damn it all to hell. He’ll know about-” Shadows at Jeremiah’s feet snake up and cover his mouth before he can continue talking.

A professor pushes through the crowd, his shock of white hair bouncing with every steps.
“He’s an inntinnsic!” someone shouts and that seems to be all that's necessary. The professor grips Jeremiah’s head with both hands, and a crack echoes off the walls. Xaden recalls his shadows now that Jeremiah is dead. The professor bends down and lifts Jeremiah’s body away from the rotunda. Xaden inhails sharply, waiting till Keir is beside me before walking away with Garrick. Nice to see you, too. Ass.

“Maybe I don't want a signet power after all,” Ridoc murmurs.
“That death is merciful compared to what will happen if you don't manifest one,” Dain says refusing to look in my direction. I swear I feel my relics burn across my back even though my dragons haven't started channeling.
“And that,” Sawyer says from Aurelia’s side, “was Professor Carr.”

Chapter Text

“You always have to check your sources,” Dad tells me, ruffling my hair as he stands beside me in the Archives. “Remember that firsthand accounts are always more accurate, but you have to look deeper, Violet. You have to see who is telling the story.”

“But what if I want to be a rider?” I ask with a smaller voice. “Like Brennan and Mom?”

“WAKE.” A familiar, consuming voice rumbles through the Archives.
“You’re not like them, Violet. That’s not your path.” Dad offers me an apologetic smile, the kind he gives me when Mom makes a choice he disagrees with, and there’s nothing he can do about it. “And it’s for the best. Your mother has never understood that while riders may be our kingdom’s weapons, the scribes have all the real power in this world.”

“Wake before you die! The furry one is doing what he can!” The bookshelves in the Archives tremble, and my heart jolts. “Now!”
My eyes fly open, and I gasp.

“Move!” Tairn bellows.
“Fuck! She’s awake!” Moonlight reflects off a sword slicing through the air above me. Oh shit. I roll towards the opposite side of my bed, but not fast enough; the blade slams into the side of my back with a force even my thick winter blankets can’t diffuse. I fall into Keir’s bed, thrust my hands beneath his pillow, pull back two daggers, and rise to my feet. How the hell did they get my door unlocked?

Blowing my hair out of my face, I meet the wife, shocked eyes of an unbonded first year, and he’s not the only one. There are seven cadets in my room. Four unbonded men. Three unbonded women. I see Keir fighting off two of my would-be assassins. It looks like he is trying to get to the group's ringleader. Then I look at who my boy is fighting tooth and nail to get at. Make that two unbonded women. Once she sees I am awake, she runs for the door, and Keir takes out two men. Keir rushes to the door. In her hurry, the woman doesn’t realize she didn’t close the door behind her, letting Keir out of the room as he gives chase.

Ok with the two he took out and the one who ran that, leave four for me to deal with. I got this.
“Get away from the wall! Don’t let them trap you!”
“Good point. At least with a larger room, I have more space to move around.
“Where does the Furry One think he’s going?”
“To get the one no one would believe did this.” I seeth, focusing on my attackers.
“Damn it! I told you her armor is impenetrable!” Oren hisses from where he tries to get up from Keir, mulling him. Shit, I guess those two are not down for the count. He goes to shut the door, blocking my only exit. Fucking Asshole!

“I should have killed you during Threshing,” I admit. Hopefully, Keir will be back soon. But how can he get on with the door closed? Fuck I wish Dain had let me put the pulls on the handles so Keir could open the door on his own. A woman lunges for me, and I dodge. Looking to the window. That’s it!

“It’s too high. You’ll fall to the ravine, and I can’t get there fast enough!”
Shit, no window. Got it. Another woman throws her knife, rending the fabric of my nightgown’s sleeve as it lodges into Keir’s armoire. She misses any flesh. I spin, leaving the sleeve behind as it rips away, and flick my dagger as I round the end of my bed. It lands on her shoulder, my favorite target. And she goes down with a cry, clutching her wound.

I thank Keir for his love of hiding my blades around the room, instead of me leaving them all by my door. I grab another dagger from Keir’s hiding spots and hit another one in their shoulder. I stab right into a man’s thigh as I maneuver out of the way of an incoming attack. I make sure to slice her arm as I move out of the way. But now I’m cornered between my desk and the armoire. There are too many of them. The ones I hurt are now getting back up. Including the one Keir took out beside Oren.

They all rush me at the same time. My daggers are kicked out of my hands with appalling ease, and my heart seizes as Oren grips my throat, yanking me towards him. I sweep out for his knees, but my bare feet make no impact as he lifts me off the ground, cutting my air supply. No. No. No!
I dig my hands into his armoire, my fingernails puncturing his skin as I claw, drawing blood.

“He’s almost there!” Tairn promises, panic lacing his tone. He who? He can’t mean Keir. Tairn can’t track him. I can’t breathe. Can’t think.
“Finish her!” The man Keir attacked earlier, clearly, Keir tore some muscles in his arm, if I go by how he is holding it. “He’ll only respect us if we finish her!”
They’re after Tairn.
Tairn’s roar of rage fills my head as Oren lowers my body, flipping me around as he curls his arm so my back is against his chest. At least my feet are on the ground.
The greedy eyes of a bleeding first-year stare back into mine. “Do it!” She demands.

“Your dragon is mine,” Oren hisses in my ear, and his hand falls away, replaced by a blade. “And after I kill you, I am going to kill that fucking mutt of yours next.”
Rage fills my veins at the threat to Keir’s life, but I freeze as the cold touch of the blade hits my neck. My bedroom door flies open, wood splintering as it slams against the stone wall. I can’t turn to see who it is before a shriek pierces my vision.

“MINE!” Andarna screams. Skin-prickling energy zings down my spine, then rushes to my fingertips and toes, and my next breath is entirely silent.
“Go!” Andarna demands.
I blink and realize the first year in front of me doesn’t. She isn’t breathing. Isn’t moving. No one is. Everyone in this room is frozen in place… except for me.

Keir’s POV
I chase after the one who unlocked Mama’s door. I heard them before the door opened. I attack the stupid one who went after Mama in the field and took out one of his buddies. They didn’t see me till I was on top of them. I was so happy when Mama finally woke, but I had to keep fighting and keep Mama safe. Then the disgrace of a wingleader ran as soon as Mama woke up, and I took out her goons.

She didn’t even close the door all the way behind her, letting me open it so I can get her. I will make sure to bring her back alive to Mama, the rules she read me say no hurting the wingleaders. Fluff that!
No matter how much I want to kill her myself, it is not my place because of her rank. I am snarling while I chase her up the steps.
“Get away from you, filthy mutt!” She shrieks at me.
Fluff You!

We made it halfway up the stairs to the second-year floor. I lunge and sink my teeth into her leg, digging as far as I can into her flesh. She lets out a scream as she falls and hits her head on the steps.
I drag her down the stairs. She is trying to kick me to let her go, but it's never going to happen. I ensure she hits her head as much as possible as I return to Mama. I told myself I wasn’t going to kill her, but that doesn’t mean I can hurt her like she wanted to hurt Mama.

I drag her into an alcove with no way out except through me. I fling her into the wall, baring my fangs in full. Her blood on my blue flower onesie. Fluff, Mama might scold me for getting blood on my jammies. But this is worth the trouble. She is not getting away unscathed for daring to attack Mama.

“I did nothing wrong, flea bag. It’s all your owner’s fault. She doesn’t belong here. I was doing the wing a favor-“That’s debatable. I bite into her shoulder as she screams, making sure to shake my head to make the wound worse before going to rip up her last good leg so she can’t run from me. She screams in agony as I turn fluffing Mavis into my chew toy. I make sure to leave no part of her unbitten. She didn’t even bring a weapon with her to attack Mama. Most likely hoping to get others to do her dirty work. Just in case they got caught, so she can’t pin the blame on them and get away scotch free—fluffing coward. It’s a shame, I was hoping to take her weapon and present it to Mama as a gift. Guess her bloodied body will have to do. As I drag her back to Mama, I put her face into my mouth, so her screams won’t wake anyone up. I think Mama’s dragons would like to have a word with Mavis. She can barely move her arms anymore; there is no escape from her punishment, so much for living or dying by the fluffing codex.

Violet’s POV
What. The. Hell.
It’s like everything is frozen but for me. Oren’s body is warm, flesh malleable under my fingers as I shift my grip and shove his bloody forearm, forcing the blade away from my neck.
A single drop of blood drips from my neck.
“Quick! I can’t hold it!” Andarna urges, her voice thready. She is the one doing this. I breathe through my battered windpipe as I free myself from Oren.

I see the ones I hurt hunched over in pain, holding their wounds. And I see Xaden filling my doorway like some dark, avenging angel, the messenger of the queen of the gods. He is dressed in his flight leathers, his face a mask of veritable rage as shadows curl from the walls on either side of him. For the first time since Threshing, I am glad to see him. Andarna gasps in my mind, and chaos resumes.

“It’s about damned time,” Tairn rumbles.
Xaden’s gaze snaps to mine, his onyx eyes flaring in shock for a millisecond before he steps forward. His shadows race up and down my sides before he stands next to me. With a snap of his fingers, my room illuminates with mage lights as he takes in the damage that has taken place.
“You’re all fucking dead.” His voice is eerily calm and all the scarier for it.

All my attackers’ heads snap in his direction.
“Riorson!” Oren’s dagger clatters to the floor.
“You think begging for your life will save you now?” Xaden’s lethally soft tone sends goose bumps down my spine. “It’s against our code to attack another rider in their sleep.”
“You know he never should have bonded her!” Oren puts his hands up. “If she didn’t knock me out, Tairn would have picked me. You of all people should want her dead. We were fixing a mistake!”

“Dragons don’t make mistakes.” Xaden’s shadows wrap around their necks and snap them, all but Oren. He watches as his fellow consciencers fall to the ground lifeless. A shadow picks up my discarded dagger as Xaden prowls to Oren like he has all the time in the world.
“Let me explain, please.” Oren eyes the dagger as he trembles.

“I’ve heard everything I need to hear.” Xaden’s fingers curl around the hilt. “She should have killed you in that field or let her hound finish you off like he did to your friend. But she’s merciful, that’s not a flaw I possess.” He slashes forward so quickly that I barely catch the move. Oren’s throat is sliced open, blood streaming down his neck and chest in a torrent. And he joins the others, dead on my floor.

“Damn, Xaden.” Garrick walks in, sheathing his sword as his gaze rakes over the room. “No time for questioning?” He looks to me as if to catalog my injuries, eyes stopping at my throat.
“No need for it,” Xaden counters as Bodhi enters, repeating Garrick’s motions. An illogical laugh bubbles up through my lips, and all three men look at me like I’ve gone insane.
“Let me guess,” Bodhi says, “we’re on cleanup?”

“Call in help if you need it,” Xaden answers with a nod as he wipes the blood on the dagger into Oren’s body.
Xaden walks to me, most likely checking how badly hurt I am.
“Umm, not to point out the obvious,” Garrick starts. “But where is your dog? Thought he would have stayed by your side while you were being attacked?”
“That is a good point. Where the fuck is he?” Xaden seethes as he is just now taking in that Keir is gone.
“There was a rider who unlocked my door and let them in. She ran before you came,” I explain. “Keir chased after her.”

“Doesn’t explain why he left you outnumbered.” Xaden starts.
“Because no one would believe me when I said who it was!” I yell as much as I can with my hurt throat.
“Try me. At some point, we will have to start trusting each other. Violence.” Xaden says. As I debate with myself, Keir comes back, dragging a bloodied body with him in his mouth.

“Keir!” I sigh in relief as I wrap my arms around his neck. He throws whoever is in his mouth down at Xaden’s feet, sniffing and licking me, taking me in to make sure I am okay.
“Oh, my sweet boy, I worried about you.”
Keir is whining as he wags his tail softly.
I can hardly recognize the person he brought back until they speak.
“I will feed that fucking mutt to my dragon, after I kill you, you fucking whore!” Amber Mavis chokes out, spitting up blood.

“Now, why would the dog attack you, Mavis? How, please tell me, did a dog in a locked room even get to you when you should have been in a locked room?” Xaden is scarily calm as he finally figures out who unlocked my door.
Mavis sees the dead bodies and the three new people in my room.
“I don’t know what the fuck she told you, Riorson,” she spits his name like it is poison on her lips. “But I did nothing wrong! I am innocent.” Keir growls as he marches over to her on the floor and rips the spare key to my room from her cloak pocket.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” Xaden picks it up. “You know, wingleader Mavis, last I checked, you shouldn’t have access to keys to rooms not in your wing. Then how did you get this, if you weren't part of the attack on Cadet Sorrengail?”
Her eyes go wide, then narrow in complete hatred of me.

“It is that bitch’s fault for everything!” She tries to push herself up, but can’t. “She is the reason my love wants nothing to do with me! He said he can’t be in a relationship with someone higher-ranked in his squad, so I moved him. Only for him to not give me the time of day right after! He was only fucking me to get rid of stress, after I chased him for months to get him even to do that!” She looks crazy. “What’s worse, he would call out her name! I thought it was a nickname for me, calling me his sweet flower. But no! It was her! Always her! Said how she would be the greatest scribe there ever was! Gods, how I wanted to go down to the Archives and kill her so he would be with me! I only banned him from that chore so he couldn’t see her! So it will give me time to show him I am the best choice!”

Mavis chokes. “Even when we were together in my room! He only thought of her! Could only get it up because of her! Pretended I was her! He was everything to me! The one I wanted most, that’s why I chased him so much till he gave in and slept with me! If he saw how good I was then he would not think about another! But it only lasted till I switched him to another squad! Like he only was with me because I held power over him! Like I forced him to be with me! Said no feelings, I agreed! I knew I was lying to him! But if he could only see me the way I saw him! Then he would have feelings for me too!”

Mavis looks rabid. “Then you showed up, and he placed you under him. Anytime I went to his room, he turned me away! Saying he won’t do that to you! That you will not be a rebound! You will be his last one! When your fucking mutt helped you, I saw my chance to kill you, but no! And you bonded two fucking dragons, how dare you! I ordered everyone in my wing to kill you on the mat, but you managed to escape death each time! He would only be with you when you were ready! No one else could be in his bed!”

Mavis has completely lost it as she laughs bitterly. “He would talk non stop about you, you know! Your hair, your eyes, your skin! Made me want to peel it from your bones! Goes on and on, on how great of a mother to your children you would be! How you would make outfits for them, tell them stories, cook and bake like a perfect wife and mother! I told him I could be that for him and he laughed, saying I would never be as good as his love! How he dreamed of riding his dragon with you cradled between his arms! Made me fucking sick!”

Keir is growling at Mavis. “He wouldn’t let me touch anything you gave him! A blanket you made would go up, so as he put it, ‘I wouldn’t taint it.’ A shirt or sweater I tried to put on after we were done, he would snatch them from me, telling me to put on my clothes and not his and to leave immediately. Especially the ones made by his love! He only wore those when he knew no damage would come to them! Oh, and that dagger he carried like it was a gift from Dunne herself. No one was allowed to touch. All because it was from her! He would sleep with it, that Violet dagger always by his side! Always over his heart!”

Before Mavis can continue her descent into madness, Xaden wraps a shadow around her mouth. She is still going even though she is gagged.
“That’s enough of that, Mavis.” Xaden turns to Garrick and Bodhi, “Take her to the healers so she doesn’t bleed out before the quorum. We have more than enough evidence to condemn her. I will call it in the morning. Wake up Pancheck and the other wingleaders to inform them. Put guards on Mavis so she can’t run. And get back here to clean up this mess. Oh, and Mavis, what were your words? Ah, yes, we live or die by the codex. And for someone who loves it so much, you broke the most sacred rule. You choose death.”

He orders as the other two salute. They drag Mavis away, and Garrick mutters, “Thanks to this psycho, we most likely have to clean up the dog’s mess, too.” I notice that Keir left a trail of blood when he dragged Mavis back. Xaden kneels before me, and Keir lets out a warning growl, still on high alert from the attack. He raises his hands, “Are you hurt?” His words are clipped and break whatever mental block of pain I have, as it comes back full force. Every breath hurts, but I manage. Xaden helps me to my feet and walks me over to my bed. I sit down as Keir jumps up to lie beside me. He goes over to the armoire, but he opens Keir’s. He is met with doggie sweaters, jackets, booties, slippers, onesies, and bandannas. Keir huffs at him, telling him to go to the other one. He opens mine and takes out a cloak and my boots. Xander returns to Keir and me, “Come on, Violence.” His cajoling words contradict his terse tone as he folds my cloak over his arm and drops my boots.

“Pull your shit together and tell me where it hurts.”
I can barely breathe, but do I risk it and tell him? He just killed six people in my room. His fingers are warm under my chin as he tilts my head so our gazes collide. Do I see a hint of panic in his eyes? Keir gives another warning, and Xaden says. “We are going to have to start trusting one another, Violence. At some point soon.” He looks deep into my eyes, “You’re breathing like crap, so I’m guessing it has to do with-“

“My ribs,” I finish for him, resting a hand on Keir to try and mask the pain. “The one by the bed hit the side of my ribs with the sword, but I think they’re just bruised.”
“Must have been a dull sword.” He cocks an eyebrow. “Unless it has something to do with why you sleep in your leather vest, even though you have a guard.”
“Trust him,” Tairn demands
“It’s not that easy.”
“It has to be for now.”

“It’s dragon-scale.” I lift my right arm and twist slightly so he can see the gaping hole in my nightdress. “Mira made it for me. It’s why I’ve lived this long.”
He glances between our bodies and Keir, his mouth tensing before he nods once. “Ingenious, though I’d say there are multiple reasons you’ve made it this far.” Keir barks in agreement with Xaden before I could argue. His gaze narrows at the purple handprint around my neck. “I should have killed him slower, or left him to your dog.”
“I’m fine.” I’m not.

His focus snaps back to me. “Never lie to me.” He says it with such ferocity, out through gritted teeth, I can’t help but nod in agreement, and Keir raises his lip slightly.
“It hurts.” I finally admit.
“Let me see.”
I open and close my mouth before, “Is that a request or a demand?”
“Your choice, as long as I see if that fucker broke your ribs.” His hands curl into fists. Two more men come in with Garrick and Bodhi, who most likely handed Mavis off to someone else so they can get to clean up. I see that they are all fully dressed at two in the morning.
“Take those two, and we’ll get the last ones,” Garrick orders.

“Careful, Keir likes to hide daggers around the room.” I give them a fair warning. The two newcomers look up at Keir and me. He gives me a nod, and the other one whispers, “Are we going to ignore the fact that the giant murder dog is in a light blue onesie covered in flowers that is now covered in blood? Or that Sorrengail is wearing a matching nightgown to the dog?”

“Get to work.” Bodhi orders.
They all have rebellion relics, but I keep that to myself.
“Thank you,” Xaden says, then flicks his hand, and my door shuts softly. “Now, let me see your ribs. We’re wasting time.”

I swallow, then nod. I stand and face my back to him, going to stand in front of my full-length mirror. I shrug out of the billowing sleeves of my nightdress, holding it above my breasts and dipping it in the back to my waist. “You’ll have to-“
“I know how to handle a corset.” His jaw flexes, and something that reminds me of raw hunger flitters across his expression. Before he locks it down, he draws my hair over my shoulder with surprising gentleness. I catch Keir in the Mirror behind us. His gaze never leaves Xaden. As his fingers touch my bare skin, I fight not to arch into his touch.

“How the hell do you get yourself into this every morning? Doubt you trained him to tie and untie a corset. Though that would be impressive.” He asks, clearing his throat as inch after inch of my skin is exposed to him.
“I’m freakishly flexible. It’s part of the whole bones-snapping, joints-tearing thing.” I answer over my shoulder.

Our eyes met, and I felt a rush of warmth in my stomach. He pulls my armor apart, inspecting my right side. Gentle fingers stroke over my abused ribs, then prod carefully. Keir is still not letting up his glare at Xaden as he checks me.
“You have one hell of a bruise, but nothing appears to be broken.”
“That’s what I thought. Thank you for checking.” It isn’t even awkward with me being half-dressed in front of him. He laces me back up, “You’ll live. Turn around.”

I do as told, tugging my light blue floral nightdress back on. He drops to his knees, and my eyes go wide at the sight. Keir comes off the bed and joins us.
“You’re going to have to walk through the pain. Can you do that?” He taps my leg to put on and tie my boot on my foot, and he does this with the other leg. He wraps my cloak around me. “We have to hurry.” He adjusted my cloak as if I were something precious to him. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” I ask
“To talk to our dragons.” He answers.

Chapter Text

His gaze drifts over my hair, and he blinks once before tugging my hood over the fading dark to light mass. We hear a gut-wrenching cry. I pull away from Xaden to go to Keir.
“What’s wrong, sweet boy? Are you hurt?” I can’t keep the panic from my voice. Keir is crying, holding up his Marbh plush, which is sporting a new tear in the yarn. Must have gotten damaged in the fight. The cut looks like it goes to the pouch that holds the weighted beads inside—spilling them onto the floor. “Oh, Keir, don’t worry, I will fix it, and your Marbh will be as good as new.”

“For fucks sake.” Xaden groans and grabs my hand to pull me from the room. “We don’t have time for his antics.”

Every other door is shut. The attack wasn’t even loud enough to rouse my neighbors. I’d be dead if Xaden didn’t show up when he did, even if I got away from Oren.
“Fucking Mavis must have put up a sound ward before the attack, so as not to draw unwanted attention.”
“Where are we going?” Blue mage lights dimly light the hallways.
“Keep talking loud enough for others to hear; someone will stop us before we get anywhere.”
“Can’t you hide us in shadows or something?” Keir grumbles beside us.

“Sure, because a giant black cloud moving down the hallway isn’t going to look more suspicious than a couple sneaking around.” He shoots me a look that keeps me from countering. But not Keir, who bumps into his leg, reminding Xaden that he is still here.
“You better not be leaving bloody paw prints behind.” Keir huffs at him but looks down at his paws to make sure that he is, in fact, not leaving paw prints behind.

Point taken. Not a couple, but the point is well made. I wouldn’t climb the man like a tree if presented with the correct circumstances. Keir gives me a side eye, and I cringe. There will never be the right set of circumstances for him. Let alone right after he’s executed half a dozen people. However, his rescue was pretty damned hot in a sick twisted kind of way.

Even though he only did it to save his life, it’s tied to me now. Our boots against the marble floor as he leads down a set of stairs that leads to storage. Halfway down the steps, he pauses, and I nearly run into his back. Keir stops right next to us, tilting his head at Xaden in question. He gestures with his right hand, keeping mine in his left. Xaden pushes on the stones, and a hidden door swings open.

“Holy shit,” I whisper at the tunnel revealed before us.
“Hope you’re not afraid of the dark.” He pulls me inside, and suffocating darkness envelops us as the door closes.
“But just in case you are, and so your ‘sweet boy’ doesn’t trip us,” Xaden’s voice is at full volume as he snaps. A mage light hovers ahead of us.
“Thanks,” I follow Xaden down the dark path.

“Really, Violence, matching sleep ware. I thought Liam was fucking with me.”
“Excuse you, Keir happens to enjoy wearing them.” Keir barks to back me up.
“But onesies, and ones with flowers on them in girly light blue?”
“What, to manly to wear a floral onesie, Wingleader?”

Xaden drops my hand, “Keep up.”
“You could—" I wince, and Keir comes to support me since Xaden let go. Fuck, my chest hurts. “Be a little more considerate.” Keir and I try to keep pace with Xaden.
“I’m not going to baby you like Aetos does,” he says without turning. I can tell he spits on Dain’s name. “That’s only going to get you killed once we get out of Basgiath.”
“He doesn’t baby me.” Keir gives me a look as if to tell that Dain does baby me.
“He does, and you know it. You hate it, too, if the vibe I’m picking up on from both you and your dog is any indication.” He falls back, so Keir is in the middle of us. “Or did I read that wrong?”

“He thinks this place is too dangerous for someone like me, and after what just happened, I’m not sure I can really argue with him.” I was asleep. Keir was asleep. That is the only time we’re guaranteed safety in the quadrant. “I don’t think I’ll bother sleeping again.” I looked to Keir before looking at Xaden. “And if you even think about suggesting that you sleep with me for safety from now on-“
He scoffs. “Hardly. I don’t fuck first years -even when I was one- let alone…you.” Keir gives Xaden a look I can’t describe, like he knows something I don’t.

“Who said anything about fucking?” I fire back, and Keir now looks to me with the same look. “I’d have to be a masochist to sleep with you, and I can assure you, I’m not.” Fantasizing about it doesn’t count.
“Masochist, huh?” A corner of his mouth turns up into a smirk.
“You hardly give off snuggly morning-after vibes.” My own smile finds its way onto my face. “Unless you’re worried about me killing you while we sleep.” We round a corner, “Besides, there is only room in my bed for one man in my life, and it’s not you, isn’t that right, sweet boy?” Keir barks and wags his tail, knowing I mean him and no one else.

Xaden pauses briefly before continuing, “I have zero concern about that. As violent as you are and as skilled as you are with your daggers, you have never killed. Your dog has killed more than you.”
“I have never taken another’s life before,” I whisper like a secret.
“You’ll have to overcome that; you can’t have Keir do it for you either. All we are after graduation are weapons, and it’s best if we’re honed before leaving the gates.”
“Is that where we are going?”

“We’re going to ask Tairn what the hell just happened.” His jaw flexes. “Hopefully, Mavis has no backup plans to kill you now that she will be taken care of, because I am not sleeping on your floor like a guard dog.”
I scoff, “I already have one, thank you, isn’t that right, sweet boy?” Keir barks happily. “And I am sure, my sweet, caring Keir would let you sleep in one of his doggy beds.” Keir and Xaden both grumble at that idea. “Wait. This is another way to the flight field?”

“Yes,” Xaden says, and the path curves again. “It’s not exactly common knowledge. And going to ask you to tuck this little tunnel into the file of secrets you keep on my behalf.”
“Let me guess, and you’ll know if I tell?”
“Yes.” Another smirk appears.
“Are you going to promise me another favor?”
“Having one of my favors is more than enough, and we’ve already reached mutually assured destruction status, Sorrengail. Now, can you push through it, or do you need me to carry you?”

My steps wobble as Keir braces me and Xaden’s arm wraps around my waist, steadying me. I take in his scent.
“What were you doing tonight anyway?”
“What makes you ask?” His tone clearly insinuates that I shouldn’t. Too bad for him.
“You made it to my room within minutes, and Keir is more dressed for sleeping than you are.”
“Maybe I sleep in my armor, too.”
“Then you should pick more trustworthy bedmates.”
He snorts as he suppresses a genuine smile. “So you’re not going to tell me?”
I’d be frustrated if I weren’t in pain.
“Nope.” He pops the P. “Third-year business.” He lets go when we reach the stonewalled end of the tunnel.

“What the hell,” I whisper. The door is built into a stack of boulders on the side of the field. I hear the sound of wings. I look up and see three dragons coming towards us.
“I’m guessing the wingleader wants a word?” Tairn steps forward, and Sgaeyl follows, her golden eyes locked onto me. Andarna scurries from between Sgaeyl’s claws, galloping toward us. She skids the last dozen feet, stopping right in front of me and Keir. She brings her nose to my ribs as an urgent sense of anxiety fills my head.
“No broken bones,” I promise, stroking my hand over her head. “They’re just bruised.” She then goes to sniff Keir, checking on him next. Andarna looks tired.

“Yes, I want a word. What the hell kind of power are you channeling to her?” Xaden demands of the massive black dragon. I hold my breath, sure that Tairn is about to roast Xaden for his disrespect.
“None of your business what I choose or not choose to channel to my rider,” Tairn growls at him.
Well, this is just going to go well. Before I can tell him what Tairn said, Xaden goes, “I heard him.”
“You what?” My eyebrows hit my hairline. Andarna goes back to stand with Tairn and Sgaeyl.

“It is my fucking business when you expect me to protect her.” Xaden retorts, his voice rising.
“I got the message to you just fine, human.” Tairn’s head moves in that snakelike motion that tells me he is more than agitated. Keir whimpers and backs away from my large dragon.

“And I barely made it on time.” His words are clipped through his clenched teeth. “She would have been dead if I had been thirty seconds later.”
“Seems like you had thirty seconds gifted to you.” Tairn’s chest rumbles.
“And I like to know what the fuck happened in there!”
I take in a sharp breath, and Keir goes to hide behind me this time.
“Do not dare to try and read me, human. Or you’ll regret it.” Tairn snarls, mouth opens in a way I am familiar with. I move to stand between Xaden and Tairn. “He’s just a little freaked out. Don’t scorch him, please.”

“At least we agree on something.” A feminine voice sounds in my mind.
Sgaeyl.
I blink up in awe at the navy blue dagger tail. “She spoke to me.” Xaden moves to my side, and Keir takes the other.
“I know. You hear her the same way I hear Tairn.” His arms fold over his chest. “Part of the whole mated dragons.”
“You make it sound like it’s so much fun.”
“It’s not.” He deadpans. He turns to face me. “But you and I are exactly that, Violence. We’re chained. Tethered. You die, I die, so I damn well would like to know how in fucks name you were under Seifert’s knife one second and out the next. Is that your signet from Tairn?” His eyes bore into me.
“I don't know what happened,” I answer honestly.

“Nature likes all things in balance,” Andarna answers. “It’s one of our first lessons.”
I look at my golden dragon, repeating her words to Xaden.
“What does that mean?” He asks me, not her.
“Well, not the first thing.” Andarna sits, flicking her tail along the frost-laden grass. Keir joins her. “The first is that we shouldn’t bond till we are fully grown. Or is it where to find the sheep? I like goats more than sheep.”
“This is why feathertails don’t bond.” Tairn sighs with exasperation.
“Let her explain,” Sgaeyl urges.

“Feathertails shouldn’t bond because they can accidentally gift their powers to humans.” Andarna gets back on track. “Dragons can’t channel- not really- not until we’re grown. But we are all born with something special.”
I relay the message. “Like a signet?” I ask.
“No,” Sgaeyl answers. “A signet is a combination of our power with your ability to channel. It shows who you are at your core.”
Andarna curls around Keir, “But I gave my gift right to you because I am still a feathertail.”
I repeat for Xaden till it sinks in what she just told me. “You’re still a feathertail?”
“Yep! For a few more years, probably.” She blinks slowly. I can tell she is getting more tired.

“You’re…you’re a hatchling,” I whisper.
“Am not!” Andarna puffs steam into the air. “I’m two. Hatchlings can’t even fly!”
She curls more around Keir, treating him like a plushie.
“She’s a what?” Xaden looks between Andarna and me.
I glare up at Tairn. “You let a juvenile bond?”
“We mature must faster than you humans.” He argues. “And I’m not sure anyone lets Andarna do anything.”
“How much faster? She’s two!”
“She’ll be fully grown in a year or two,” Sgaeyl answers. “And if I thought she’d actually bond, I would have objected harder to her right of benefaction.” She chuffs in disapproval at Andarna.

“Wait, is Andarna yours?” Xaden walks closer to his dragon, his voice sounding hurt. “Have you hidden a hatchling away from me these last two years?”
“Don’t say such nonsense.” She blows hot air at him. “As if I’d ever let one of my offspring bond while still feathered.”
Tairn explains that Andarna’s parents died before she hatched, so the elders are taking care of her. Tairn explains that feathertails don’t bond because their powers can become unpredictable.
“Unpredictable?” Xaden questions.
“The same reason you wouldn’t hand the Furry One your signet, would you wingleader.”

“The Furry one- wait, do you mean Keir?”
Tairn gives him a dragon eye roll as Andarna slumps against him. “Yes, the Furry Hatchling.”
“Gods, no. I could barely control it in my first year.”
“My point is, bonding too young allows them to give their gift directly, and a rider could easily drain and burn them out.”
“I would never!”
“I know, that’s why I chose you.”
“If leadership knew riders could take her gifts for themselves, rather than depending on their own signets-“
“Then they would hunt her.” I finish for him.
I promise not to tell a soul what Andarna truly is, so I can help keep her safe.
She tells me that she can make time stop in small increments and relay the information to Xaden.

Xaden’s PoV
I walk Violence back to her room after the talk with our dragons. I am in shock at what I learned tonight. She can stop time in small amounts, but at the cost of the golden dragon. It appears that the others have finished cleaning her room. Part of me wants to make her stay in my room, if only for tonight. For her safety, that is.

“Keep telling yourself that, wingleader.” Sgaeyl chimes in.
“I thought you went to sleep.”
“Can’t sleep with your loud thoughts of the silver one.”
I slam my shields down.

“Oh, Keir, look at your jammies,” I hear Violence. “Hopefully, I can get the blood out.” The dog looks a little sad that he ruined his outfit. Still shocked that a dog like that would even wear, well, anything but a collar.
“Sorry, sweet boy, no time to change your onesie. Looks like you will have to sleep nakie for the rest of the night.” He whines more at the thought. What the fuck is with that dog? How can he go from being an oversized baby to a monster, then back to being a baby?
“No, I am not going to sleep naked with you, Keir.”

“Bet you wish she sleep naked with you.” Sgaeyl teases.
I slam my shields down, not trusting myself to say something that will have her dropping me into a lake.

I feel eyes on me, and look to see Violence’s dog staring at me; he has his front paws in a bin. Then, he pounces in the basket and looks back at me.
“What for fuck’s sake is your dog doing, Violence?” I can stop myself from asking.

She is at her armoire getting a new nightgown. “Well, Xaden, since you so lovingly pointed out that we are stuck together for the rest of our lives, my sweet boy wants to share with you what he wants most.” I give her a confused look.
“Just go see what the furry hatchling wants,” Sgaeyl tells me. “You do owe him for saving the trouble of proving the guilt of Claidh’s rider.”

I sigh and see what the overgrown puppy wants. Still cannot believe that the dog that killed someone and mauled Mavis and this toddler is one and the same. I look and see that the basket is full of tennis balls and other balls that are perfect for someone of his size to hold without choking on them. He starts digging and jumping in the basket, but only his front paws fit.

“Looks like you have more than enough balls and toys, by the look of how many baskets you have all over the place. I am not getting you more crap.”
He dares to whine at me before going back to what he was doing.
“He is trying to say he wants a ball pit big enough for him to play in.” Violence answers, sitting on her bed in a fresh nightgown. I didn’t even notice she changed her outfit.

“Don’t sound so disappointed, Wingleader.” I feel Sgaeyl’s smirk.

“How many would that even take?” I ask out loud, not expecting an answer.
“For a pit that is five feet by four feet and five feet deep, and to fill it about three-fourths of the way up, about 10,000 balls.” She says it as if I were asking about the weather. “Though that is if Keir gets a small one based on his size.”
She takes a look at my face and adds, “What I did the calculations for it?”

“And you just happen to have those numbers and dimensions memorized?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Never know when it might come up in conversation.”
“When the fuck would a ball pit for a dog ever come up in a conversation!?”
“Just did a moment ago.” She smirks.
“Walked right into that one, Wingleader.” Sgaeyl agreed with Violence.

Xaden’s POV

I leave before I do something stupid, like inviting her to spend the night in my room or kissing her.
Once I make it back, Garrick and Bodhi are waiting for me inside.

“Those fucking daggers hidden everywhere, what the fuck is with that dog?” Garrick stretches out on my bed. “It’s like he is a fucking squirrel hading nuts for winter.”
“I know. But man, did he have to leave such a long blood trail?” Bodhi asks.
“Ya, started on the steps that led to an alcove, with a massive pool of blood, then finally to Sorrengail’s room.” Garrick groans. “I don’t think we got it all up.”

“Look on the bright side, it can be used as evidence,” Bodhi adds and looks up as I enter my room.
“So what’s the plan for tomorrow?” My cousin asks.

“Simply bring Mavis up, call a quorum, and have Tairn burn her. It won’t be hard because Sorrengail’s dog brought her right to us and showed us she had the key.” I answer.
“Not to mention, we could always bring up her insane rant she had. That was a confession in itself.” Garrick muses. “Damn, didn’t think Aetos would really say Sorrengail’s name with Amber, and throw in what happened earlier with that first year manifesting. Drove her right off the edge.”

I shot my best friend a glare, and he raised his hands, “What? You heard it.”

“Did you inform Pancheck and the others?” I changed the topic
“Not happy about being woke up, but ya, we told them. Pancheck sent two other riders to stand guard and will bring Mavis to morning formation for her trial.” Garrick responds, then rubs his neck, “Thank gods that drop went faster without your bitch of an ex there. Hopefully, Syrena keeps the bitch away if she knows what’s good for her.”

The best decision I ever made was calling things off with Catriona. I regret ever putting my dick in crazy. And after what just happened, never doing that again, her fucker of an uncle would never give us the luminary, even if I fulfilled my end of the bargain. We have to find another way that doesn’t include the fucking bitch who, like Mavis, can’t take the word no for an answer.

“You know I’ve been thinking,” Garrick starts.
“That’s a first.” Bodhi cuts in. And Garrick flips him off.
“In respect for Keir, I feel like we should stop calling Cat a bitch. It’s insulting.”
We give him a questionable look.
“To Keir, that is. No need to insult his species by calling Cat one of them.”
Bodhi laughs, and I shake my head.
“Then what should we use? Slut?”
“Whore?”
“Harlet?”
“Wench?”

They go back and forth with new insults for my ex. I am surrounded by children.
“Ok, ok, but are we going to talk about how the big bad dog was in an onesie?”
Garrick brings up.
“A matching onesie to Sorrengail’s nightgown,” Bodhi adds.
“I really thought Liam was punking us. Hey Bodhi, you owe me money. I won that bet on whether it was true or not.” Garrick holds his hand out.
“Ya, ya, I’ll get your money.” Bodhi waves Garrick off.

“Speaking of Keir, I think you owe him something for bringing Mavis and making your job tomorrow easier, Honey Bear.” I flinch at the nickname he uses.
“Quit calling me that.”
“Nope, too much fun.”
“He already put in a request, and I am not doing it.”
“Which was?” Bodhi prompts.

“The furry fucker wants an extra-large ball pit. He would most likely throw them at people. Not sure how, but very little surprises me anymore when it comes to that dog.” I rub my face.
“How many would that take?” Bodhi asks.
“According to Violence, about 10,000 balls for a small one for her ‘sweet boy’ that she always calls him.”

Garrick and Bodhi share a look, one I know I’m not going to like.
“You can always ask Brennan to get it for you.” Garrick starts.
“Ya, have it set up at home. Give the kid something to do when you spend some ‘quality time’ with his mother.” Bodhi wiggles his eyebrows.
“I don’t see Violence in that way.”
“Sure.” They say at the same time.
“Just think about how much it will confuse Brennan to get a letter asking for an ungodly amount of balls. Best part we don’t tell him why, just that it is crucial for the cause and don’t question it.” Garrick jokes.
I am surrounded by idiots.