by Megan Linski
But something told me I wasn’t prying the information from Doya’s lips without complete and utter honesty. I was playing by her rules.
“I won’t tell anyone,” I promised.
Doya took a breath. “You will have to find a powerful item that will serve to fulfill the prophecy.”
“A specific item? Where am I supposed to find it? What does it look like?” So many questions raced through my head. Chief among them... was the prophecy even worth fulfilling?
“I don’t know.” Madame Doya’s features hardened, quickly turning her back into her usual unhelpful self. “I’m not the one who will fulfill this prophecy. You are. But for the ancestors’ sake, Sophia, tread carefully. The other Houses have not yet confirmed you are the one, but as soon as they do, you better be ready. They would rather see you dead than see the Koigni in their rightful place of power.”
With that, Madame Doya turned and hurried across the lawn toward the back of the castle. Her dress billowed out behind her, and Naomi prowled in her wake.
I stood at the top of the steps, completely stunned. A shiver crawled down my spine as my eyes traveled toward the courtyard. People from all Houses swarmed the lawn. It suddenly occurred to me that any one of them might want me dead. And I hadn’t even done anything wrong yet.
Yet. Key word. Did that mean I would fulfill this prophecy? Would I be responsible for the downfall of the other three Houses?
It didn’t seem possible, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the ancestors wouldn’t have delivered this prophecy if it weren’t true.
“Girl, where have you been?” Imogen demanded with a smile when I met up with her in Dragonology later that day.
I’d spent the last three hours poring over books with Esis in the library, searching for any further information about the prophecy. But as I’d already come to find, the library was useless when it came to Hawkei history. I’d learned they much preferred passing down stories orally rather than writing them down. Who knew how much the prophecy had been twisted since it was first foretold?
“Sorry I’m late,” I said vaguely as I joined her in the back of the class.
The sky above us had darkened since earlier, but it hadn’t started raining yet. I’d asked Imogen once why the Elementai didn’t just control the weather around here, and she told me they didn’t like to mess with it because it could damage the ecosystem. Plus, you never knew if another Elementai was messing with the weather a few miles away. It was strictly forbidden, except in controlled cases like the cruise ship and during the tournament.
Dragonology took place in a clearing along a ledge between the castle and the ocean. It made for a perfect view of the beach. We’d spent the first half of the semester in the classroom studying dragon anatomy and taking care of Aisha, a baby dragon whose mother had abandoned her because she was born with a limp wing. She reminded me a lot of Squeaks. Today was our first class outside, and it was our first chance to meet a full-grown dragon up close and personal. As excited as I was about this opportunity, my mind was elsewhere.
I stared down the mountain toward the beach. Students prowled the rocky shore near the pier, but it wasn’t the crowd that caught my eye. A quarter mile down the beach from them, a guy with long black hair sat alone on a big rock. He stared out across the vast water and twisted something beige around in his hands, almost like he was knitting a sweater. I’d recognize those broad shoulders and silky black hair anywhere.
Liam.
A whistle sounded from beside me, pulling me out of my daze. I turned to Imogen.
She wiggled her eyebrows and sang, “Somebody’s got the hots for Liam.”
“Shut up.” I swatted at her. “I do not. Besides, I’m not allowed to date anyone who isn’t Koigni.”
Which meant my love life was going nowhere. Koigni guys were all assholes.
“Says who?” Imogen challenged. She placed her hands on hips, on top of the floral skirt she wore over skinny jeans.
“Um… everyone?” I pointed out.
Imogen rolled her eyes. “So you can’t marry him. That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.”
I suppressed a smile. “You’re naughty.”
Imogen smiled proudly. “Live a little.”
An involuntary frown crossed my face. I wasn’t the kind of girl who broke the rules, not even for a guy like Liam.
“Seriously, come here.” Imogen grabbed my shoulders and shook me. “Just relax. Let all that tension go.”
Esis cooed from my shoulder, but his voice vibrated. I didn’t feel much like smiling, but I couldn’t help it.
“Okay, okay,” I said through suppressed giggles. “I’m relaxed.”
“Good, now—”
“Everyone.” The sound of Professor Curt’s voice cut Imogen off. “Meet Kalina.”
He gestured to the trees and stepped aside. Aisha, who he’d taken a fondness to, sat on a rock near him and scratched the back of her blue ear with her hind leg.
From out of the thick forest stepped a beautiful dragon coated in shiny red scales. Long horns protruded from her head, and short spikes traveled the length of her spine and down her tail. She only took a few steps out of the trees before lowering herself to the ground and folding her bat-like wings across her back. She held her head high and looked positively comfortable despite the thirty pairs of eyes staring back at her.
“She’s magnificent,” I whispered in wonder.
Esis huffed like he was offended.
I’d seen plenty of dragons since arriving at Orenda Academy, but I’d never been this close to one before. None except Aisha. Aisha was the size of a medium dog, while Kalina was bigger than a pickup truck. She held herself in a way Aisha never would. She was basically a work of art.
“Don’t be shy,” Professor Curt encouraged. “Kalina is my Familiar. She will not harm you— unless I tell her to, of course.” He let out a light laugh. “But I assure you I won’t. It’s perfectly safe.”
Imogen bent and scooped up Sassy in her arms, who’d been playing with her shoelace the whole time. “Let’s go meet a dragon!”
Imogen pushed through the group and was the first to approach Kalina. I followed closely behind her with Esis on my shoulder. Kalina sat as still as a stone when Imogen approached. She held Sassy up to Kalina’s face, as if introducing them. Sassy promptly let out a loud sneeze, her whole body tightening under the pressure. Kalina drew her head back in surprise, but she quickly stretched forward to give Sassy a good sniff.
Imogen cradled Sassy in her arms. “Oh, sweetheart, are you allergic to dragons?”
Whispers broke out behind us, but I was so used to it now that it barely registered.
Sassy reached out a paw to touch Kalina’s nose. If she wasn’t careful, her paw would fit straight up Kalina’s nostril.
I giggled at the thought, which drew Kalina’s eyes to me. She stared at me with a look in her eyes I couldn’t quite place. Admiration, maybe? Whatever it was, it was inviting.
“Come on,” Professor Curt said, motioning for me to step forward. “She likes you.”
I wanted to pet Kalina, but she was so large and confident, it was intimidating. She could literally bite my arm off. I stepped forward anyway and gently reached out my hand. Kalina bowed her head, allowing me to pet the space between her eyes. Her scales were soft and warm.
“Good, good,” Professor Curt said. “Anyone else?”
Several other students rushed forward to marvel at his beautiful Familiar. Imogen and I were pushed aside.
“You’re fine, Sassy,” Imogen said, bouncing her in her arms. “You’ve never had any problems with Aisha, have you?”
Imogen held Sassy up to Aisha’s face. The baby dragon immediately stuck her tongue out and dragged it across Sassy’s cheek. We both laughed.
“I think they like each other,” I giggled.
“Of course they do,” Imogen agreed. “Who wouldn’t love this little red fur ball?”
From my shoulder, Esis stretch
ed out a hand, as if he wanted to touch Aisha. I bent to Aisha’s rock until they were close enough to touch. Esis grabbed her small horn and climbed onto her head. She spun in a circle, nipping playfully at him as he slid down her back. Sassy squirmed in Imogen’s arms as if she wanted to play with them.
“Oh, my gosh!” I exclaimed. “They’re too cute.”
Behind us, a guy scoffed. I threw a glance over my shoulder to see Brandon, a Koigni senior, and his Familiar, an orange cat the size of a lynx, staring at us.
“Is there a problem, Brandon?” Imogen snapped at him.
He shot her an unamused expression. “That dragon’s not cute. There’s a reason its mother abandoned it.”
My gut twisted at his blatant disregard for another being’s life. What did Aisha ever do to him?
“Screw you, Brandon,” Imogen shot back at him. “You wouldn’t know cute if it bit you in the ass.”
I stifled a laugh. Sometimes Imogen’s bold personality was a blessing.
“Yeah, well—” Brandon started to retort, but Imogen turned away, ignoring him. He huffed but apparently couldn’t come up with a strong enough comeback, because he let it drop.
Esis reached the point behind Aisha’s shoulder blades, right between her wings. He stretched out to her limp wing like he was about to climb out onto it.
“Hey, there, buddy,” I said, scooping him up off the dragon’s back. “We don’t want to hurt her.”
Esis’ small claws dug into the fabric of my sweatshirt as he tried to pry himself away from me.
“Whoa.” I held onto him tighter. “What’s up? Where are you going?”
Esis struggled harder until his hands were clamped around the exposed skin on my hands, digging in so deeply that I thought he might draw blood. Instinctively, I yelped and dropped him in the dirt.
I rubbed my hands while Esis scurried up the rock and returned to Aisha’s back. “Ow, Esis. What’s gotten into you?”
Esis grabbed Aisha’s wing again and pumped it, as if encouraging her to take flight.
“Esis, she can’t fly,” I told him, as if he could understand. I noticed for the first time that Aisha’s wing looked straighter and stronger than normal. Maybe she’d eventually grow out of her deformity.
“Relax,” Imogen insisted. “They’re just having fun.”
Except I could tell something was wrong. Esis had never jumped out of my hands like that before.
Esis trilled and continued the flapping motion. Aisha stood high on her rock and began flapping her good wing.
“See?” Imogen said. “Just having—”
The words died on her lips as Aisha’s body lifted into the air. Esis cheered in victory the same moment my stomach dropped to the ground. I should’ve been happy for Aisha, considering none of us ever thought she would ever fly, but I wasn’t. I was terrified for Esis as I watched them climb higher. Aisha dropped several feet between each flap of her wings, as if she was simply limping along. Sheer terror filled me as a slew of possibilities rushed through my mind. Esis could fall and get hurt! I couldn’t let that happen.
Behind me, all infatuation with Kalina died as everyone’s attention turned to Esis and Aisha as they rose above the trees.
“Esis!” I ran after them. If he fell, I’d be right there to catch him.
Professor Curt didn’t seem at all concerned with my Familiar’s well-being. He just laughed in disbelief and said, “That’s my girl, Aisha. You’re flying!”
I rushed into the trees to stay under them. I tried to keep an eye on them, but I only caught glimpses of blue scales through the canopy. The top of a tree moved as Aisha’s toes grazed it.
“Esis!” I cried.
Oh, God. Ancestors. Whoever. Don’t let my little guy die! He means the world to me.
His trill of excitement echoed through the trees.
“Esis! You get down here this instant!” I screamed.
To my horror Aisha caught the top of another tree and her body slammed into the next one. It pulled her from the air like a giant monster reaching for its prey, and she and Esis went tumbling to the ground. Twigs snapped on their way down, and pine needles rained to the forest floor. They both landed in the dirt with a sickening thud.
My gut immediately tightened like I’d been punched. I quickly rushed forward to where Aisha and Esis lay sprawled. Aisha’s bad wing was even more twisted than before, and blood trickled out of a wound on her face. The red liquid was in stark contrast to her blue scales. Her eyes were closed, and I wasn’t sure she was breathing.
Beside her, Esis lay still. My heart hammered ferociously against my rib cage. I skidded onto my knees beside them. My hands shot out to cradle Esis, but before I touched him, his eyes popped open and he sprang up to his feet. Dirt coated his white fur. Though he normally dusted off, he ignored it this time. He ignored me, too, pushing my hands away when I reached for him. His eyes locked on the cut on Aisha’s face.
I froze as Esis stood beside her. He was barely the size of her head, but he bent over her like he was the stronger, wiser of the two. He placed his tiny little paws on either side of her wound and then closed his eyes.
My eyes widened as Aisha’s cut began to knit itself together right in front of my eyes.
“Esis,” I whispered. What kind of magical creature are you?
I didn’t have a chance to finish my thought aloud before someone cleared their throat from behind me. I whirled around to see that Imogen had followed me. She held Sassy in her arms.
“Imogen, I— I—” I glanced between her and Aisha, who was starting to wake. The cut had completely vanished, and her scales were perfectly intact, as if nothing had happened at all.
I didn’t know what to say. This changed everything. It meant that Esis wasn’t just a helpless Familiar after all. He was powerful. So powerful that if anyone got wind of this, they might take him from me.
Like Doya had said, I needed to tread lightly. This kind of thing just might get us killed.
I could barely think straight, but there was no denying Imogen’s expression. Her usual smile had vanished, and her mouth hung open slightly. She didn’t even blink.
“Imogen, please—” I couldn’t finish my sentence before Professor Curt and the rest of our class rushed up behind her.
Professor Curt knelt beside me to inspect Aisha’s injuries, but I never tore my gaze from Imogen’s eyes. Before I could rise from the ground and drag her away to talk about what had just happened, she’d whirled around and bolted past our classmates and out of the trees.
It was in that moment that the skies decided to open. Rain fell to the ground in large, heavy drops, soaking my clothing and Esis’ fur within seconds. Students scattered but I remained frozen, staring through the trees where Imogen had just ditched me.
A chilling fear traveled down my spine. Imogen saw. She saw Esis heal Aisha. She knew as well as I did that Esis wasn’t all he appeared to be. The only question was, would she honor our friendship, or would she turn us in to the Nivita Elders?
I wasn’t sure how long Esis and I had before another House confirmed the prophecy and decided to kill us for it.
Survival Instincts had been held in the woods almost every time I went to it, but since it was pouring out today, it’d been moved into Professor McCauley’s main classroom, located in the dungeons.
Professor McCauley wasn’t one to be afraid of “a little rain,” but when there had been a tornado sighted nearby, Head Dean Alric put his foot down and forced us to relocate inside.
McCauley had ranted that young people today were coddled before she started her lesson. Made me laugh.
Good thing, too. I could keep the rain off of me, but I didn’t want to hear the rest of the class whine that it was too wet. I guess the Yapluma would get their kicks when the rest of us were carried off by a twister, though.
Although… I would almost rather be outside in these dangerous conditions than inside McCauley’s creepy classroom. There were no windows down here, and
besides the wooden desks, the only decor she had were multiple arrays of skeletons, both human and Familiar. They were mounted throughout the room in various poses before dark tapestries that depicted gruesome scenes. Every day was Halloween when McCauley was concerned.
“When you are in a survival situation, the first thing you need to do is stop and assess your surroundings,” Professor McCauley boomed. “It is better to create a plan and execute it than to hesitate too long and lose precious seconds. If you panic, you will most certainly end up dead.”
McCauley’s Familiar, Bram, was lurking around the room and making people shiver. I ignored him and tried to focus. Professor McCauley’s Familiar was a wendigo, and it was creeping out the majority of the people in this class. It was easy to tell why. The wendigo had the skeletal body of a horse, with wolf’s paws and a reptilian tail. The head was merely the skull of a deer, the antlers intact. Its black skin was drawn tightly over its skeletal form, and its bones clicked together as it wandered around the room.
Bram hissed and gnashed his sharp teeth near a student who’d fallen asleep. The guy woke up screaming, and the class laughed. I was pretty sure the dude pissed himself.
Bram chuckled like he was pleased before he moved on. The thing looked like it could survive in the wilds alone without a problem. In fact, Bram looked like he could survive, kill, and maim everything within a hundred miles of wherever he’d been abandoned.
McCauley was pretty creepy herself, and had to be close to a hundred by now. She matched her Familiar in looks, taut skin stretched over thin bones. The two of them appeared to be walking skeletons. McCauley dressed in all black, only increasing her frightening appearance.
They should’ve retired from teaching to become crypt keepers years ago. I was pretty sure McCauley was gonna outlive me.
This wasn’t McCauley’s class— Professor Devante usually taught Survival Instincts— but he and his wife had just had a baby, so McCauley was filling in for this semester.
