Scaled Soul (Dragon Academy Book 1)

by Gage Lee

  Taun ignored the ancient dragon's murderous suggestion. Lira was right. Most of the other tables only had one or two lights, which were either red or yellow. Two other tables had green lights, but only Karsi's lodge and the Broken Blades had blue, and the silver was only shining down on a single table. Taun's.

  “Look at Auris,” Lira said. “His table only has yellow light. A whole lodge full of warriors who think they're better than everyone else.”

  “To be fair,” Sutari said, “warriors are the backbone of the empire.”

  “And if it weren't for scouts, those sword luggers would get lost on their way to the battlefield,” Lira responded.

  Taun frowned at both of the girls. “You two don't have to fight every minute of the day,” he said. “We're all on the same team.”

  “Tell her that,” Lira shot back.

  “Don't bother,” Sutari responded. “I won't needle the skulk anymore.”

  Before the argument could explode again, the big bronze dragon professor clapped his hands together at the center of the room.

  “I have reached a final tally,” Professor Lors said with a grin. “I know you are all dying to hear the results, so I will get right to it. In last place, with a grand total of three thousand bihn, we have the Bolas Shield lodge. Congratulations, you have earned two Glory for your efforts.”

  The last-place team hung their heads and grumbled. Taun was shocked to see Karsi among their number. He'd thought for sure whatever lodge was lucky enough to have a princess would have placed higher. He tried to catch her eye, but Karis was too busy consoling her teammates to notice anything else. Taun found that admirable, and hoped they'd have time to talk about it later.

  He was also staggered by the sheer amount of treasure the students had gathered. Currency in the frontier was normally counted out in standardized coins. A couple copper coins would buy a man a flagon of ale in most inns, a silver coin got you a decent meal, and a gold coin made a fair trade for a pack horse. But the dragons who lived at the heart of the Empire needed to measure much larger transactions. A lhan was equal to ten gold coins, a bihn was the equivalent of a hundred. The amount gathered in this room was a fortune so large the knight could scarcely believe it. And none of the dragons seemed impressed by the enormous piles of wealth stacked on their tables. Not even Moglan, who'd admitted to coming from a poor home.

  Well, almost none of the dragons noted the money. Lira watched the coins with an undisguised hunger. Taun couldn't blame her. She'd been bought and sold for a fraction of the treasure that Moglan had looted in a handful of minutes. Not for the first time, Taun wondered just how much wealth lay hidden in the hoards of dragons.

  “In fourth place, with a respectable five thousand and thirty-seven bihn worth of treasure, we have the Noctis Fountain lodge.” Professor Lors smiled widely at the second-to-last place lodge, who looked sick to their stomachs. As near as Taun could tell, members of this lodge were all attuned to the wood element. He imagined they would have had a hard time finding much of that in the vault.

  It does not have to be made of wood to represent that element. Vitality elixirs and infused pills have significant amounts of wood energy within them. I spotted a few of those in your own chest. Still, they are more difficult to spot than gold coins. It is a good thing you and your spectacled friend were both attuned to metal or all these coins would be worthless.

  “Seven thousand one hundred and twelve bihn earned third place for the Onyx Fan lodge,” Professor Lors announced. “A truly impressive amount of treasure. You've all done very well, but I must say that the top two teams went far above and beyond any score achieved by earlier teams. It is my honor to announce that the Orichalcum Forge and Broken Blades nearly tied in their totals.”

  Taun's heart skipped a beat. The other members of his team looked at him with wide eyes. How could this be possible? Auris's lodge was made up entirely of warriors who needed earth to fill their hoards. It seemed impossible that they would have anywhere near the value in their treasure as the Broken Blades who could use any type of element. The young knight's fingers curled into fists as he waited for the results.

  “With twelve thousand seven hundred and sixty-six bihn, good for an impressive second place and ten Glory,” Professor Lors said, his eyes beaming at the members of each of the remaining lodges, “let me congratulate the Broken Blades.”

  Taun's breath rushed out of his lungs like he'd been punched in the stomach. This made no sense. He couldn't imagine how the gold dragon's team had won. The pile of treasure on their table was scarcely half the size of what Moglan's trunk held.

  The rest of the Broken Blades wouldn't meet the human's eyes. The looks on their faces screamed of frustration and disappointment. They'd all been so sure that their clever plan had taken them to the top of the ranks. And while ten Glory was nothing to sneeze at, it was only half of what they could've gained.

  “And that means the Orichalcum Forge lodge has won this challenge,” Professor Lors said, “with a surprising total of twelve thousand eight hundred and five bihn. Congratulates noble Auris and allies. This was truly a well-earned victory.”

  Taun's ears burned as the other students applauded the haughty gold dragon. He hated to lose, and losing to Auris was worse than the times his brothers had beaten him in the sparring ring and laughed at his efforts. Despite that, Taun added to the applause. Being a sore loser would gain him nothing. He didn't know how he'd lost, but there it was. It was his duty to take his lumps like a man.

  He kept reminding himself of that as the class ended, and Professor Lors told them all their share of the treasure would be delivered to their lodge quarters after dinner.

  “What happened?” Sutari asked him as they climbed the stairs back up to the Academy's main floor. “How could we have lost?”

  Taun set his jaw and put an arm around the young silver's shoulders, as he would with any other comrade in arms after a lost battle. “I don't know,” he admitted, “but I will find out.”

  And then we will make them pay.

  THE BROKEN BLADES HAD a bit of free time for lunch before their path classes began. Unfortunately, Taun knew there was no way for them to get back to their quarters, eat their gruel, and then get all the way back across the campus without being late for the afternoon session. His stomach growled at the thought of a missed meal. “We'll have to bring lunch with us tomorrow,” he said. “Otherwise we'll starve to death.”

  Moglan grunted at that. “I could stand to lose a few pounds, but missing a meal every day will whittle me down to skin and bones in no time. I'll be weak as a kitten before long.”

  Sutari chuckled at that and poked the shaman's thickly muscled bicep. “I'm more worried that you'll get too hungry and eat one of us.”

  Though the warrior's comment was an obvious joke, the shaman did not take it that way. His eyes went wide and his jaw fell open. “I would never do such a thing,” he said, looking to all the other members of his lodge for reassurance. “Surely none of you believes I'm a cannibal. I know there are rumors that the people of the Sunset Ridge are savage barbarians, but believe me when I say that I have taken a solemn oath to never harm another dragon.”

  “I'm not a dragon,” Taun said with a grin, but immediately raised his hands to placate Moglan. “I'm sorry, friend. I know you would never hurt any of us.”

  Though his stomach still grumbled, the banter at least lightened the mood. Taun had worried the loss would crush his lodge's spirit, but the Broken Blades had rallied before they reached the surface. They were disappointed, and angry, but also determined.

  Just like Taun.

  “Here,” Lira said. She extended a leaf-wrapped bundle packed near to bursting with something. “It's not much, but it will get us through to this afternoon. We'll need a better plan for tomorrow, but I think I have one.”

  Taun took the offered packet and carefully untied the thin vine tied around it. The waxy green leaf unfolded to reveal a tightly packed square of fried rice stu
dded with bits of spiced meat and sauteed vegetables. The food was cold, but he didn't care. He used the edge of the leaf to scoop out a small bite, and passed the bundle on to Kam. “This is really good,” he said after he'd swallowed his share. “Where'd it come from?”

  Lira gave him a faint, mysterious smile. “Best you don't ask.”

  “Who cares?” Kam asked. “I promise to never ask a question if you bring us more good stuff like this. The gruel doesn't agree with me.”

  Lira chuckled, but said nothing. She watched Moglan take a bite and hand the rice to Sutari. When the warrior hesitated, the former slave reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Eat,” she said softly. “You owe me nothing for this gift. We all have our skills, and this is one of mine.”

  It struck Taun that Lira had probably been stealing food for a long time. Slaves were usually fed scraps, if that, and she'd likely spent hours figuring out how to fill her empty belly. The knight felt a stab of shame that he'd taken her food. He'd spent most of his life eating as well as any human, and better than most. Leaning on Lira in one of his few moments of mild discomfort left him feeling weak and disappointed with himself. He'd do better in the future.

  But that didn't stop him from eating another bite when the leaf came around again. It only took the lodge three rounds to finish all the food; it hadn't been enough to settle their stomachs, but it would at least give them the energy they needed to get through their path classes in the afternoon.

  “Thank you, very much, Lira,” Taun said. “You've set an example the rest of us will have a hard time living up to.”

  Lira blushed at his words and turned her face toward the ground. “You are most welcome,” she said. “It is the least I could do. Now I must go. I do not wish to be late for my classes, and the scout's tower is not nearby.”

  The dragon sprinted off into the shadows between the Academy's buildings. She was gone far faster than Taun had imagined possible.

  Watch that one, Axaranth warned. Her life has been hard, and her soul is jagged as broken glass. Handle her with care if you do not wish to be cut.

  “Lira's right,” Sutari said, “we should all get moving. I'll see you all at the lodge tonight. We have a lot of plans to make.”

  And with that, the group broke up. Taun felt his mood improving. He was even happier when a familiar voice came from behind him.

  “Taun!” Karsi called. “I'm glad I found you. You missed orientation yesterday. Let me show you to class.”

  And before the young knight could respond, the silver princess had slipped her arm through his and guided him between a pair of towering buildings. For the first time since Taun had arrived at the Academy, he didn't want to be anywhere else.

  Chapter 11

  KARSI POINTED OUT THINGS Taun hadn't seen because he’d missed the student orientation. “And that tower over there is the dining hall for the devoted. If you look off to the side there, you can see my lodge sticking out of the fifth floor of that building next to it.”

  Taun craned his neck to sight along the silver's outstretched arm. Her lodge jutted from the side of an enormous tower with polished stone sides. A magenta glow flowed down the building in rippling waves, as if phosphorescent waterfalls splashed down its walls. “Wow,” he said. “You must have gotten high marks on your initial challenges.”

  Karsi said nothing for a moment. She looked off to the distance, her lower lip caught between her teeth. After a few moments, she furrowed her brow. “Promise you won't get mad?”

  No conversation that begins this way ever ends well.

  The knight tried to dismiss the dragon's words, but that was easier said than done. Axaranth had a very good point. Despite knowing better, Taun nodded to Karsi and promised he wouldn't get mad without any idea what he was about to hear.

  “I didn't take part in any of the placements after the first challenge,” she said. “You have to understand. My parents didn't even want me to come to the Academy. They think it's stupid for someone in my position to become a shaman. So they made it clear to the school that I wasn't allowed to do anything dangerous.”

  Taun let those words roll around in his head. He wasn't mad, not exactly, but he wasn't thrilled by this news, either. As the youngest son of a powerful honorblade, the knight had known his share of privilege. He'd trained under the best saber tutors his father could find, and Sage Lantan was an incredibly wise man who'd taught Taun a thousand things no commoner would ever know.

  But his father had always drilled one simple fact into Taun's head. “There are no shortcuts in life. A man who rides in the tracks of his forebears will come to the end of that road in time, and will then be too far along to find his own way. Earn your place in the world, Taun. Nothing worth having is given freely.”

  The young dragon knight had taken those words to heart. Or, at least, he thought he had. It seemed the truth was more complicated than he'd imagined. That gave him an idea.

  “It's my turn to ask for your patience,” he said. “Will you promise not to get mad if I ask you a question?”

  Karsi chuckled and nodded at once. “I'd be a hypocrite if I said no. Well played, Taun. Now, hurry and ask me before we reach the class tower for servants.”

  Taun dove straight into the question. Sometimes it was better to rip the poultice off and deal with the pain rather than drag it out. “Did your family buy your position at the school?”

  The young silver dragon blushed all the way up to her roots. For a moment, Taun thought she would refuse to answer. She was a princess, and it would not have surprised him if she stuck her nose in the air and walked away.

  But Karsi surprised him by letting her arm slide down and tangling her fingers in his. “Not in so many words. They made donations to the Academy, and they have political sway with its board. So, yes. They bought my position here at the Academy. It's not uncommon.”

  Taun nodded at her words and offered the princess a smile. “I'm not mad at you, but this changes my view on a lot of things.”

  Karsi squeezed Taun's hand and looked up at him. “About me?”

  “No,” Taun said. “About the Academy. I was very disappointed about losing the challenge today. But now I know that maybe I didn't.”

  The young knight chewed on his thoughts as they walked the last yards to the classroom tower in silence. If Karsi's family bought her position at the Academy, then Auris probably had a similar arrangement. And given that his family was even higher in the dragon social and political strata than Karsi, the benefits he enjoyed would likely stretch far beyond his admission status. With his family's pull, Auris could find out about upcoming challenges with ease. And if he knew the Vault Raid was coming, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to carry in some extremely high value items to boost his total.

  This development frustrated Taun, but it was also a relief. It meant he hadn't really lost. He'd been cheated. That made the Glory Chase a lot more complicated than an honest competition, but it also meant the gloves were off. The knight would use any means, fair or foul, to win challenges for his lodge. If all dragons valued was winning, Taun would show them the price they would have to pay.

  Now you're thinking like a dragon.

  KARSI SLIPPED HER FINGERS out of Taun's hand as they climbed the stairs to their path classroom. She didn't say a word, but Taun was grateful for her caution. The attention the princess had showered on him the day before had earned Taun a duel that nearly broke Axaranth's soul scale. Slipping away from him and entering the classroom ahead of the knight would save him from another challenge. Taun honored her maneuver by waiting in the hall outside until the bell rang. He slipped in before its tolling stopped and swiftly moved to join the other students gathered in the middle of the classroom.

  Or, more accurately, the workshop. Because there were no desks or chairs here, and the floors and walls were all made of brushed metal. Ten anvils formed a loose U around the open space at the heart of the room, with a stool and series of hammers in varying weights line
d up next to each anvil. A small box waited behind each of the stools. Stacks of rough steel bars leaned against the stands supporting those weird boxes.

  A slow smile spread over Taun's features. He was far from a master blacksmith, but he'd spent hundreds of hours in the forge with the keep's weapon and armor smiths. If the servant's path involved forging blades or crafting breastplates, he was far ahead of the curve. What he didn't understand was the lack of forges.

  Before he could ponder that curiosity, the door flew open and a tall dragon, black scales covering her arms up to the shoulders and down the sides of her elongated snout, hurried into the room with her wings and tail thrashing the air behind her. The sight of such a highly manifested dragon sent a chill down Taun's spine. He knew the sensation was a leftover instinct from a time when primitive humans were meat for the dragons' bellies. That didn't make the dread he experienced any less real.

  “Good afternoon, class,” the professor said. She snapped her fingers, summoning a strand of metal pneuma that lashed around a wrought-iron lectern and dragged it across the floor. Sparks and the piercing shriek of metal on metal filled the air as the heavy furniture crossed the space and stopped in front of the professor. “Now that I have your attention, let's get down to business. Those of you on the servant path, grab a stool in front of an anvil. Shamans, sit at the table over there.”

  The students hurried to obey the professor, who seemed like she would have rather been almost anywhere else. She watched the young dragons, and one human, scramble to find a seat. Puffs of smoke left her nostrils as she leaned her elbows on the lectern and cupped her jaws in her scaled hands. She hadn't raised her voice, but the black dragon was an incredibly imposing figure that made the students want to stay well clear of her.

  “Congratulations, you managed to sit down without killing yourselves.” The black dragon straightened and gave the students a round of slow applause. “Fantastic. Let's see if you can remember that I am Professor Geth, blade smith to the Scaled Council. I'm not sure who I angered, but it must have been someone important for me to wind up here teaching hatchlings how to hammer raw iron into nails.