by Amelia Jade
She snarled at him and turned away, heading back inside, then changing her mind and pushing through the double doors out to the back of the Academy and the nearest stone circle. A nice aerial workout would be just what she needed to calm herself.
How could I have been so weak as to be with someone as immature as him? What the hell had she been thinking?
Okay, so maybe I wasn’t thinking with the logical part of my body. I’m going to have to work on better controlling my needs, however. I can’t allow myself to get into a situation like this again.
She didn’t bother to control her shift this time, and flames rolled out across the stone, just licking at the scrub of vegetation that pressed up against the edges of the circle.
With an angry hiss she spread her wings and launched herself into the sky.
***
The lavish house came into view as the trees ended and the carefully manicured lawns took over.
Home.
Well, her parents’ home, to be precise.
Rhynne banked slightly to the right as she began to descend. The house had been built to exacting specifications. Set in a meadow to the east of the town, it had been constructed in a cross-shape pattern. Each of the crosses was a different wing of the house, and one of them aligned directly with a primary compass point.
Extending away from the house along a direct line from the wings were stone pathways reminiscent of some ancient civilization. Solar lights lit up the pathways, acting like beacons for the runways. At the end of each, in front of the house, were stone circles. One for each point on the compass.
They were no ordinary circles either, she noted as her talons clacked against it as she settled herself in. The stone was a red quartz, kept constantly polished and smoothed despite the frequent amounts of airborne visitors that used them.
Rhynne purposefully kept her shift quick and efficient. She was not interested in putting on a display of power, as Blaine had the other morning with his fume-shaped dragon. Rhynne could mimic that, though she kept that knowledge to herself. There might come a time where having it was handy. She’d worked too hard in secret to achieve such a feat, and didn’t want to use it for the first time to minimal effect.
“Refreshments, madame?” a butler in white livery asked as he stepped around the exquisitely sculpted garden that sat between the landing circle and the house. The gardens each had one magnificent Vallenwood tree, towering high above everything else at the center, with smaller bushes and flowers placed around it for maximum effect on guests, both those coming and leaving.
The whole place was, in fact, designed to showcase the power and wealth of those within. It was a statement piece, really. To Rhynne it was more like a movie set, or a political building. It was her parents’ house, but growing up she had to admit in hindsight that it really hadn’t felt like a home.
She nodded politely in acquiescence to his question. “Yes, Kenneth, that would be lovely.”
Her ruby-red dress caught the light of the cold-white solar lamps overhead as she moved toward him, the thigh-high slit on the right showing a copious amount of leg that the butler did his best to avoid glancing at.
Rhynne tried not to smile as she saw him have much more luck with that than he did not allowing his eyes to wander down her neck to the rounded curve of her cleavage that the plunging neckline left exposed. Although she wasn’t particularly blessed with ample amounts to see, the dress did a wonderful job of amplifying what she did have.
He didn’t ogle, and his eyes constantly flicked back as he fought to keep them under control while she took a glass of ice water from the tray in his hand and tossed it back, glad for the liquid after her flight.
She considered grabbing something a little stronger from him to help fortify her before she went inside, but decided against it. No matter how strong, it wouldn’t matter once her parents got going. She would just have to deal with it.
Kenneth took one last look at her figure as she strode inside. Rhynne did her best not to let her hips sway enticingly. He had been quite polite in his staring. Besides, if Rhynne wasn’t comfortable with people looking at her, she wouldn’t have worn the dress she did.
Truth be told, she kind of liked the attention. Being so tall and naturally blessed with a fair amount of muscle, it wasn’t until approximately a decade earlier that men had truly begun to notice her. Rhynne had also filled out a tiny bit at that time, gaining some extra size in her hips and her bust without sacrificing any muscle.
She’d also grown her auburn hair long and begun to style it fashionably.
The effect had been instantaneous, and suddenly suitors were all but throwing themselves at her in a way she had never before experienced. Although she was used to it now, the subtle glances from men when she dressed up still flattered the old her which lived inside.
The door was open, with only a mesh screen draped over the opening to keep any bugs out. She pushed between the two halves and strode inside.
Her calves were already beginning to hurt from the heels she had chosen to wear that evening.
I should wear these more often.
Or not. Truth be told, though her ego enjoyed the attention of getting all dolled up, Rhynne hated the effort. She would much rather be in a comfortable shirt, pants, and shoes, at a bar having a brew with her friends.
Hell, even an evening with Blaine and Zander would be enjoyable next to this.
She couldn’t turn down the invite, however, despite the extreme desire to do so. Her parents had ensured she had everything she needed as a child, and though her choice to work toward Academy acceptance and becoming a Guardian of Cadia had not been what they wanted, they hadn’t fought her too hard either.
And when she succeeded beyond even her own wildest dreams, they had been only too happy to strut her around at parties, as if to say “Look at our daughter; she is your better.”
That wasn’t entirely fair to her parents. They loved her dearly, and in the rare moments of family privacy, hadn’t been shy about showing it. But most of her life until she struck out on her own had been one giant pageant. But she owed them, and this was a big occasion indeed, so Rhynne hadn’t objected once when her parents had told her to be there—under the guise of a carefully worded request.
Besides, it wasn’t every day that a group of shifters from another enclave came by.
Cadia was, as far as anyone knew, the largest of the shifter territories that the human world governments had given them over a century ago, when their presence had first been revealed to the human populace as a whole.
Fenris was the second largest, however, and a big rival to Cadia any time the territories assembled, be it for sporting events or anything else that dictated power between them. Cadia had been unchallenged for a long time, but recently Fenris had begun to make inroads. Many predicted it wouldn’t be long now before they started to openly challenge Cadia for supremacy.
Rhynne was quite interested in meeting the Fenris delegation. She wanted to size up the competition. It was even rumored that several Wards of Fenris were part of the delegation. They were the Fenris equivalent to the Guardians.
A tall man with a reserved expression on his face and perfectly groomed hair swept off to the side stepped in front of her just before she entered the main hall at the center of the cross, where the gathering was to take place.
“Rhynne,” he said with a nod of his head.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Daxxton!” she exclaimed, needed an extra moment to recognize him. “You shaved!”
“I did,” he replied, his lips tugging upward very slightly in amusement. “I figured it was time for a change.”
Rhynne returned his smile, baring her teeth to make up for his lack of facial expression, and happily taking his arm as he offered it to her.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here,” she said, happy to have someone else with her who wasn’t all about the formality of functions like this.
“The Wards will b
e here. I like to keep up with them, and to try and find out any tidbits to see if there are ways I can improve Top Scale. Hawk’s Nest has come a long way since it was founded. I don’t want to get complacent.”
Rhynne nodded, impressed as always by the depth of knowledge Daxxton possessed. He was not a man predisposed toward long conversations and idle chitchat, but over her tenure as an instructor at Top Scale, she’d come to know him on a level few others could say they did. She saw now why he was Wing Commander of Cadia.
“Shall we, then?” she asked, nodding at the figures all intermingling in the room.
“Oh, yes please,” he said with fake enthusiasm.
The pair strode into the room, nodding politely to the movers and shakers of Cadia, all of whom had come to her parents’ reception for the guests from Fenris.
As she moved through the room, Rhynne endured the usual compliments from her parents’ friends, and said her pleasantries to those who deserved them. Most of the Cadian Council was present tonight, meaning she had to talk to far more people than she would have preferred.
“Rhynne, darling!” her mother said with an accent that humans had learned to mimic—and mock—with a surprising ease. The aristocratic snob act was, unfortunately, not something that shifters had taken from humans, but the other way around.
“Mother,” she said, slipping all too easily into the same accent, and hating herself all the while for doing so as they embraced.
“Daxxton,” her mother said, giving her hand to the Wing Commander, who swept it up elegantly to his mouth where he brushed his lips against her skin.
“Klara,” he said, polite as ever to a member of the Cadian Council, even if he was somewhat outside of their jurisdiction, and didn’t care much for the power games they played.
Rhynne marveled at his ability to switch gears with ease, though she knew it rivaled her own to a degree. When one’s mother was on the ruling council for all of Cadia, that one learned a great many things growing up. Not all of it was bad, but this forced pageantry bugged her to no end.
“Rhynne my dear, you simply must meet this fellow from Fenris. Come along,” she said, tugging at Rhynne’s arm.
She glanced helplessly over her shoulder as she was dragged away from Daxxton.
Help me, she mouthed at him.
Daxxton’s lips swept upward slightly, and he shrugged in equal helplessness as he was mobbed by several other prominent members of Cadian society. They all tried to gain some sort of social influence with him, not realizing he didn’t care about it at all.
“Who am I meeting, Mother?” she asked as they moved toward a knot of people at the very center of the hall.
“His name is Garviel,” Klara gushed.
Rhynne felt her mood sour. She recognized that tone in her mother’s voice. It was the tone she took when she’d found someone who just had to be a perfect suitor for her daughter, no matter how often Rhynne told her she didn’t care, and wanted no part of it.
“I am not interested in your matchmaking today, Mother,” she protested, letting some of her dissatisfaction leak through, in hopes it might penetrate the bubble around Klara.
“Oh nonsense. Trust me, once you meet him, you’ll understand,” came the distracted reply.
“Garvi! Garvi! This is Rhynne, my daughter that I told you about? She finally made it. You two will have so much in common. I am sure of it.”
Rhynne forcefully kept her eyebrows down as a tall handsome man separated himself from the crowd, straightening up as he turned to look at her mother. His eyes danced and he turned them to Rhynne, who had a hard time maintaining her calm.
Oh, he’s easy on the eyes. Mother got that part right, at least. Very easy on the eyes.
“Klara, you never told me your daughter was a spitting image of you.”
His attention turned to Rhynne. “You are gorgeous, m’lady,” he said, offering a short bow in her direction while Rhynne’s mother twittered at his words.
Rhynne, however, was instantly on her guard, though she didn’t let it show through her exterior façade. This man was smooth and charming in a way that made her so uncomfortable that she knew it had to be an act of some sort. There was no way he was actually like that.
“Oh, I think I’m needed by your father, dear. I’ll be right back,” Klara Nova said, easily untangling herself from the duo and disappearing into the crowd before Rhynne could say a word.
Subtle, Mother. Very subtle.
“So, you’re from Fenris?” she asked, deciding to go on the offensive for a change. Playing the weak helpless daughter of a socialite grew old fast, and there was something about this guy that rubbed her the wrong way.
“I am,” he replied easily.
“Interesting. What do you do?’
“I’m a Ward.”
Interesting.
“What brings you to Cadia?” Rhynne wasn’t wasting any time.
Garviel gave her a knowing look. “If you had the chance to leave Cadia and see some of the world, would you turn it down?”
Rhynne felt herself smiling. “Touché. I can’t say as I would argue that.”
He nodded. “If putting up with bullshit functions like this are the price I have to pay, well, life could be worse,” he said, dropping the pretentious attitude with an ease that caught her off guard.
“You play the part well,” she said, crossing her arms as she tried to recover her composure at being so easily surprised.
He’s good. Very good. He had you completely fooled. Don’t let it happen again.
“As do you,” he said with a respectful nod. “May I?” he asked, extending his arm.
Before she could interrupt, her mother returned with a smile so broad Rhynne thought it might break her face. Her mother wasn’t a pushover, but the delight she took from functions like this annoyed Rhynne to no end, mostly because she should know Rhynne better than that.
“Jessalyn, tell Rhynne your news!” her mother said, tugging along one of the children near Rhynne’s age that she had been “friends” with growing up, if being forced to interact with each other was friendship.
“I’m pregnant!” She practically squealed with delight.
“Oh Jess, I’m so happy for you,” Rhynne said, not having to fake it for once. She might not be best of friends with Jessalyn, but she knew this was something she’d wanted for a long time. Even if it wasn’t for Rhynne, she wouldn’t object if someone else found enjoyment from it.
The pair embraced.
“So now that Jessalyn is expecting,” her mother said forcefully, “that only leaves you without any young ones of your own, Rhynne.” Klara’s eyes darted to Garviel and then back at Rhynne.
Her jaw dropped open at the blatancy of her mother.
“Did you seriously just say that?” she asked in shock, feeling her temper rise.
“Now, Rhynne,” her mother said cautiously, as if she realized she’d overstepped her boundaries.
“No, Mother. Do not patronize me by saying you meant something else,” she turned to Jessalyn. “I am very happy for you, I really am.” Her glare hardened as it swiveled back to her mother. “And you. I am not a baby factory. If I have children, it will be on my own terms, not the fantasy ones you want them to be.”
She turned on her heel and left the hall. Her evening was ruined now. There was no point in sticking around.
What a miserable few days.
She just hoped it wouldn’t get any worse.
Chapter Three
Dominick
Sunlight streamed in through the huge wall of windows in front of him. The three-story-high wall faced east, and so every morning it was greeted by the sun with a fiery display of colors and brightness. Dom leaned back and looked at the roof, three full stories above him.
He liked this view.
The easternmost part of the dormitory in which he now sat was completely open. There were no floors above him. A three-story-high roof that felt nice and airy, perfect for a dragon shifter who pr
eferred to be soaring through the sky. Behind him, vaguely visible in the reflection from the window, were the walkways that ran along the second and third floor, evenly spaced with doors leading to rooms of differing function.
The ground floor was completely open-concept. Behind him to his right was the kitchen, and in the far rear left corner, a common room.
But this was Dominick’s preferred area. The library. Stacks upon stacks of books lined shelves that rose fourteen feet up, with ladders on metal tracks looping between them so that one could easily reach whatever they needed.
He sat now at a table between two stacks, looking out the window, and slowly inhaling the scent of real leather-bound books. The table and chairs were made of thick mahogany wood, which added a pleasant aroma to the air.
Right now it was overwhelmed by the food on his plate, but he liked that smell too.
“Dom.”
“Dominick.”
“How are—”
“You today?”
He blinked, shaking his head at the broken sentences coming as Asher and Zeke plunked themselves down next to him, arms around his shoulders, so that he couldn’t get up from his seat.
“This isn’t fair play,” he complained, finishing his food and pushing the tray out in front of him, across the table at which they sat.
“Nope.”
“Not at—”
“All. But really—”
“How are you—”
“Today?”
He glared at one then the other of his fellow cadets. “If I talk, do you promise to shut the hell up and speak normally?”
The pair of them leaned forward so they could look at each other.
“Per—” Zeke started.
“—haps,” Asher finished.
Dominick couldn’t help it. He barked a single, short laugh.
“It’s good to see you laugh,” Asher said, speaking normally, though he didn’t remove his arm from around Dom’s shoulder.
“Yeah, it’s been far too long man,” Zeke echoed.
