by Amelia Jade
“Haven’t felt like laughing much lately,” he said with a shrug. “Nothing against either of you.”
“Well, that’s one concern off our shoulders,” Asher said. “We were concerned we’d done something to piss you off, and we wanted to fix it.”
Dom shook his head. “No, it’s not what you’ve done. It’s what I haven’t done.”
He could feel both of them intently focus their attention on him. Dom hadn’t meant to be quite so revealing, but the damage was done now.”
“What do you mean, man? You’re in Top Scale, and on the path to graduating and getting a shot at becoming a Guardian. How many others can say that?”
“Not many,” he said reluctantly.
“Okay, so you’re on your way to making something of yourself,” Zeke chimed in. “You’re barely starting your life. We can reasonably expect to live another thousand years. So it can’t be that you feel you’ve failed at life. None of us has really lived yet. Can we agree there?”
Dom shrugged, not really ready to agree or disagree with them.
Asher sobered up, looking at his friend. “Okay, so if you don’t want to talk about it, can you at least tell us why you don’t want to talk about what’s bothering you?”
He laughed silently for a second. Then he thought about the question. Why wasn’t he willing to open up to them? Was it because of jealousy? Was he mad, and didn’t want to hear any condescending replies?
You know better than that. Neither of them would talk to you like that.
“I don’t want to involve you in my problems,” he said at last, knowing that they both saw that as lamely as he did.
“Yeah, if you kept them all to yourself, instead of wearing them externally, then that excuse might fly. But your change in attitude, your distance from us, your friends, kind of makes that argument moot,” Zeke said.
They were right, and he knew it.
So tell them the truth.
“I guess I’m just jealous,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Jealous?” Asher asked with a confused frown. “Of what?”
“Of you,” Dom replied, then looked at Zeke. “And you.”
“Of us? What the hell are you talking about, man?” Zeke exchanged a look with Asher.
Dominick sighed. “Well, you’re both younger than me by a good few years. You both have already found your strengths here, and on top of all that, you’ve found a mate who cares for you,” he said with more bitterness than he’d intended.
Was it really affecting him that badly?
“Ah” Asher said, giving his shoulder a brotherly squeeze. “Shit man, I’m sorry. Were we just rubbing it in your face all this time, inviting you over to come hang out with us?”
Zeke also apologized, but he waved them off. “No, no, you weren’t rubbing it in my face. At least, I know you weren’t doing so intentionally, which is all that matters. It was more me not being able to accept the fact that I haven’t found anyone yet. That is the problem. I mean there was a period where you had Quinn, and Zeke was still unattached, and he didn’t deal with it badly. So no, do not feel bad. You did not do this to me. I did. I just need to come to terms with the fact that I have not found a mate yet.”
His mind flashed to Rhynne, as it often did at times like this. Dominick often wondered how things between them might have worked out. They had always gotten along well, even within the boundaries of the cadet/instructor relationship. As things had progressed with Asher and Quinn, and then Zeke and Amber, he had felt himself more and more drawn to her.
Then, one night when they were the only two at the Academy for the evening, things had grown heated, and they had spent one passionate night in each other’s arms. It had been—to him—nearly perfect. He couldn’t remember being with another woman who made him feel the way she had.
But the next morning it was like a wall had sprung up between them. Every day it had gotten taller and covered in more ice and other defenses as a way to keep him out. Dominick hadn’t done a damn thing either, which was the most irritating point. If he’d said or done something bad, then he could at least own up to that himself and accept it.
Instead, near as he could tell, Rhynne had subconsciously realized how hard things would be to continue on with him, and had decided that shutting him out would be easier. That was something that—though he would have had a hard time with it—Dominick felt he could have done if Rhynne had had the decency to talk to him and explain things.
All he’d gotten, however, was the cold shoulder and the crass treatment during exercises like the day before, where she’d dumped him on the ground unnecessarily at the end. And all of that was beginning to rub him the wrong way.
“Thanks for talking, Dom,” Asher said. “I’m not gonna give you some trite bullshit about it all working out. You know I feel that way, and I know that doesn’t help you at all at the moment. I’m just glad we got this out, and that you aren’t pissed off at us for something we did.”
Dom leaned back in his chair, and this time the other two let their shoulders slide off.
“Surprisingly, speaking aloud actually helped. I should have opened up to you guys earlier,” he said. “Maybe we can have a beer at the end of the day?”
Zeke slapped his hand on the table loudly. “No!”
Dominick frowned. “Uh, okay. Maybe not?”
“I demand we have two beers,” Zeke said, throwing an elbow at Dom, who blocked it effortlessly.
“Well, if you’re going to twist my rubber arm about it,” Dom told them as the three had a chuckle. “For now though, I have a few things I need to take care of,” he said, his mood souring slightly as he noticed movement coming down the hallway.
Tall, lithely powerful movement, with long pulled-back reddish-brown hair, engrossing brown eyes with that tantalizing hint of red all framed by high cheekbones and thin, but utterly kissable lips.
Oh yes, he knew who that movement belonged to. She walked like that in his mind, in her knee-high black boots with white shirt and black vest, occupying almost every waking second when he wasn’t immediately focused on something else.
“See you outside,” he said quickly, ending the conversation abruptly and ignoring the odd looks from them at his change of tone.
He rose, grabbing his food tray, and departed the area before Rhynne could see him.
It may have felt good to open up to his friends. But Rhynne Nova was another matter entirely.
***
They were high in the air once more. It was a beautiful early summer day. He was glad for it, the winter having been long, cold, and lonely.
It was hard to believe that in just a few short months, their first year at the Academy would be over. They would spend many more years training with the instructors, perfecting their skills, growing stronger, and learning to hone their powers. But much of it had been instilled in them already, including the work ethic necessary to proceed to the next level.
In three months he would find out if he was a graduate or not. The previous nine had been grueling affairs, with little downtime and long, arduous days. Dominick wasn’t expecting the next three to be any easier either, but he found himself looking forward to it.
His talk with his friends had momentarily lifted the cloud of darkness that was perched on his shoulders lately, and a ray of sunshine was beating down on him.
“Ready?” Zeke asked from next to him.
“Oh sure. Nothing like plummeting through the sky,” he said dryly.
In the air below them were the other instructors. Blaine, Zander, and a little farther below, even Daxxton had come out for this exercise. After Dominick’s previous stunt had gone awry, he’d convinced Asher to take him up. On his first try, unencumbered by his relationship with Rhynne—or lack thereof—he’d jumped free and shifted well before coming close to the ground.
After demonstrating his ability in front of the others, Blaine had determined them ready to move on, and hadn’t bothered to hide how impressed he
was with them.
“Most cadets need dozens of tries before they nail free-fall shifting. Good job,” he had said.
Now they were set to try the reverse.
Once more, Blaine had partnered him with Rhynne. He’d thought about arguing, and he’d seen the glare Rhynne had shot at Blaine. Clearly she wasn’t happy about the pairing either.
Did he know about what had happened between them? Dom wished fervently that Rhynne would let him in, so that they could at least discuss things and perhaps even be civil with each other. He would do anything that would let him at least be close to her.
His thoughts were cut off as Daxxton, from far below, launched a small fireball up toward them. Dom knew he wasn’t aiming at them, and the powerful bolt shot up between the trio, before eventually losing power and dissolving into the air in a shower of sparks.
That was their cue.
“Well lads,” he said to the others. “Shall we commit suicide together?”
Asher barked a laugh. “Let’s!”
Lightning clouds appeared around Dominick as he did something no sane person would do.
He shifted in mid-air. Moments later, his body began to change within his clouded sphere of black, shot through with the continuous bolts of lightning.
At the same time he suddenly began to fall, dropping swiftly from the air toward the ground far, far below.
The shift finished swiftly, and the protective cloud around him evaporated.
“Oh shit!” he swore.
His target was far closer than he had thought. Dominick had just enough time to spread his arms and legs wide, using the air rushing by to adjust his course slightly before he was forced to curl up into a ball and prepare for impact.
The breath was slammed from his lungs as he impacted upon the ocher-colored left wing of Rhynne and bounced up, his legs flailing rapidly. He hit again, this time closer to where the wing joined her shoulder.
Dominick gathered himself, sliding across her back and getting his legs under him, then standing up as he slowed. He walked out across her other wing, which Rhynne was holding out wide, soaring easily through the sky.
“Well done Dominick!” Daxxton said.
“Thank y—”
His acknowledgment of the compliment turned into a yelp of distress as the wing, once so firm beneath him, suddenly disappeared as Rhynne banked to the side without warning.
Dominick plunged from his perch in stunned surprise.
He looked up at Rhynne, just in time to see her look of satisfaction at having pulled a fast one over him.
Angrily, he focused on himself, touching the ball of lightning in his mind, calling forth his dragon. His animal was angry as well, and it came to him in a brilliant flash. This time the lightning clouds didn’t dissipate. Instead, they actually exploded outward as his power overwhelmed the sphere.
His dragon was already aimed downward and he swept his wings out wide, slowly easing back until they caught the air. It propelled him through a swift loop until he was winging his way high into the air, his blazing eyes focused intently on something.
A red dragon.
“Dominick!’ Blaine called warningly, but he ignored him.
This had gone on too long.
He managed to refrain from unleashing a blast of lightning at her, but it was a close thing. Doing so would have seen him expelled from the Academy, however, and Dominick wasn’t looking to do that.
All he was doing was showing that he was tired of the way she was treating him. Being polite hadn’t done a damn thing, and today he had quite literally been pushed over the edge.
He slammed into Rhynne, his larger sapphire-blue dragon crumpling her wing in on itself as they collided and began to spiral out of the sky.
Rhynne responded instantly, folding her other wing in tight against her body, but Dominick was too close now. He matched her, long jaws full of razor-sharp teeth snapping at each other as they locked talons, trying to inflict damage on the other while simultaneously defending themselves.
He disengaged as they fell, maneuvering himself until he was above her slightly, at which point his long tail swung around and slapped Rhynne in the side of the head. She roared in anger and her teeth clamped down on his neck momentarily, easily slicing through his protective scales.
Dominick responded by digging his talons into the soft skin on her shoulder where her wing joined, ripping into it deeply as blood poured out and over his feet.
“Enough!” Blaine thundered as his dragon approached the pair. Green fumes began to gather near his mouth.
Dominick pushed off of Rhynne and dove away, headed for the stone circles in the rear of Top Scale. Behind him, he heard the others doing the same.
Rhynne landed next to him as he was halfway through his change. He strode forward toward the ball of smoke and flame that surrounded her as Blaine passed overhead, seemingly content to let them settle their differences once they were on the ground. For the moment at least.
“What the hell is your problem?” he roared as the powerfully built Rhynne appeared out of the flames, her unusually stern expression even more reserved just then. “Are you trying to kill me?”
She snorted. “No more than you’re trying to kill yourself, Dom.”
He shook his head. “So what, you thought you’d just do the job for me?” Lowering his voice, he continued. “Ever since, since, that,” he didn’t elaborate, knowing she would understand, “you’ve treated me like nothing more than a piece of garbage. I get that you regret it, that you wish it never happened. But face it. I wasn’t an ass to you, I didn’t try anything more. But you just became a stone-cold bitch. So tell me, right here, right now, what the hell is your problem with me, Instructor Nova?” he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he used her formal title.
“That will be enough, Cadet,” she replied, ignoring his questions and trying to impose her authority over him.
“No, no, I don’t think it will. You need to get off your damn high horse, and treat me like a person. So tell me, why the hell are you treating me so poorly?”
She rolled her eyes. “You don’t help the fact when I come upon you at a seedy bar after just getting into a fight with some nobodies.”
Dom’s jaw dropped open.
“Wow, you really do think I’m a lower class than you, don’t you?” He laughed in her face. “For your information, those ‘nobodies’ were pawing at the waitress and basically trying to force themselves upon her. I’m not really into that, so I stepped in and helped her out. That’s what the fight was about,” he practically spat at her. “Perhaps you shouldn’t be so quick to judge others. Just because we weren’t all born high and mighty like you, doesn’t make us useless pigs.”
Dominick pushed past her and headed inside. He needed a beer.
Leaving Rhynne there sputtering for words wasn’t ideal, but it had to be done. He hated himself for speaking so harshly to her, but something was affecting the Rhynne he’d known, and perhaps a change of tactics would better get through to her. He could only hope she didn’t despise him forever for saying those things. He wanted her too badly for that to happen.
If only he could convince her of his true feelings, and make her see that everything would be okay if she were with him. It might be difficult given the expectations placed upon her, but together they could weather it, he was sure of it.
Chapter Four
Rhynne
Just because we weren’t all born high and mighty like you.
The sentence echoed around in her head as she walked down the cobblestone street. Downtown Cadia was a decent enough size, housing a large chunk of the population, though many lived in their own small enclaves outside the city.
But many thousands lived inside it. Human forms and shifter forms all shared the space between buildings equally. Very few of the shifters had vehicles, so it was mostly foot traffic.
To her right a pride of lions meandered by on some unknown errand, while a lonely grizzly bear wal
ked about five paces in front of her, ambling slowly down the road in the slow, uncaring way that only a two-thousand-pound beast on four legs could.
Overhead a solitary Pegasus flew by, its brilliant horn glittering in the daylight.
After the dust had settled, Rhynne had been told to take a couple of days off from the Academy to cool herself. Blaine had also said that before she was reinstated, she would have to sit down with him and tell him what was going on.
She frowned at that, the sentence once again echoing through her head.
What was wrong with her? She wasn’t this cold, this mean. Dominick had a point when he told her that he hadn’t done a damn thing to deserve her coldness.
Not that she dared tell him about the flames, of the burning desire that her walls were hiding from him, and the world. She couldn’t. Not now, possibly not ever, no matter how much it hurt her to keep them contained. Her parents would kill her, disown her, and…
And…
What else would happen?
The presence of someone at her side distracted her from that particularly nasty line of thinking, one that she wasn’t sure she was quite ready to confront yet. There were, apparently, some parts of herself she wasn’t proud of.
“Rhynne?”
Fake-sounding surprise in the tone.
“Hello Garviel,” she replied, turning to face the newcomer and trying to sound polite, even though she wanted nothing to do with him just then.
“How lovely to see you here,” the shifter from Fenris said as he came up alongside her, easily slipping his arm into hers.
Rhynne managed not to violently pull herself away.
Barely.
Who was this guy, and why did he think it was okay to just touch her like that? She had met him all of once, for thirty seconds at a party. He did not have the right to be that friendly with her, no matter how easy on the eyes his classical good looks were.
Still, manners were manners, and she was in public. The last thing Rhynne felt like dealing with were the results of making a scene. So she endured his proximity, hoping that it would be a short, quick thing. Her eyes began to discreetly roam the streets ahead of her, looking for anything that might provide an exit from what was sure to be an awkward conversation.
