by LJ Andrews
"Is he fae?" I asked.
"Nah, defective class."
I widened my eyes. Not possible. He was brimming in something so potent I could taste it.
Mitch scratched one of the points of his ears. "He just got here over the weekend. His name is Teagan.”
“So, what did he do?” Raffi asked.
“Well, big guy, not my place to say. You’ll need to ask him,” Mitch said. He faced me with a friendly smile. “Listen, I’ve got to go to class. Us criminals can’t afford to be late and all.”
“Thanks, Mitch." I gave him a small wave before he walked away.
“Jade what’s with the look?” Dash asked.
My stomach was in knots at the thought of seeing him face to face. This Teagan. There was something inside taking away every bit of free will—I needed to see him again.
“Didn’t you feel his energy?” I whispered before entering the room. Raffi looked uncomfortable, and Dash didn’t answer. “There’s something strange about this reform. I think he might be . . . wyvern.”
“No way,” Raffi said. “We would know.”
“He’s something, I feel this . . . connection. The second I saw him.”
“What are you talking about?” Dash hissed.
“I can’t explain it, but I intend to find out exactly who he is.”
“Jade, wait,” Raffi started.
I ignored him and forced my heart to return to my chest. In the back of the room, Teagan's head was down, staring at something on the desk. Then, as if the ground shifted, a spark of power, and his eyes lifted to mine.
They reminded me of the summer sky, right when the dawn wakes the earth. Like blue diamonds. He didn’t blink, his expression one of shock, did he recognize me the same way my heart knew him? How would I know him?
“Jade, are you blocking us?” Dash hissed.
“Don’t you dare,” Raffi said, hardly moving his mouth.
Oh, yes. I dared.
The gift to manipulate the mind into not seeing what it was seeing was going to come in handy today. Raffi and Dash didn’t need to be keen to this first conversation. Taking my place next to him, I grinned widely. Would he tell me the truth in class? Would he explain the power bursting from his veins? Or would he come to us later? He eyed me, then Raffi and Dash. I manipulated them to look away even more. I blocked the teacher from caring we were there.
Tilting my head, I watched him for half a breath.
“Hi,” I said easily. “You’re new.”
Raffi mumbled something, but all my focus was on his strong face, his ocean eyes, his radiant soul.
Sitting there in that moment, I would never know how much meeting the reform named Teagan would change everything about my life.
How much he would change everything about our entire world.
Thank You
This is the first book I’ve ever written with dragons. It was AMAZING.
Thank you as always for my family, my kids, husband—you always give me so much time to write and dream up a new world. Seriously, I couldn’t do this without you.
Thank you to Aubrey for reading like a maniac and begging for more chapters to keep me writing.
Thank you to my wonderful readers. Without you this would not be nearly as awesome, and not nearly as fulfilling. I love you.
May we all be the good,
LJ
