Dragonrider Academy: Episode 3

by Flowers, A. J.

  He settled Topaz into the nest by his bed, carefully tucking the wyvern’s tail over his nose before he laid down on his bed—completely clothed.

  “So, you’re just going to sleep in your uniform?” I asked. He was reading way too much into our kiss. I’d been half-dead and he was already kind of kissing me. Give a girl a break.

  He closed his eyes and ignored me, making a point to tuck his hands behind his head that he wasn’t going anywhere.

  Releasing a growl, I stormed out of the room and slammed the door.

  “We don’t have to deal with his crap,” I told my egg as I hugged it tightly against my chest.

  My body protested, more accustomed to the hibernation type of sleep that Killian and I had fallen into these past few days, or weeks, or however long it had been. I struggled to keep my eyes open though as I made my way to the cafeteria.

  I spotted Lily in line and marched up to her, not caring at the glares I got from other students as I cut in line.

  Lily didn’t comment on it and gave me a nod of welcome. After the morning I’d had, nobody better mess with me.

  “What’d he do?” she asked, her tone conspiratorial as we picked up our trays. “Did he try to make a move on you?”

  I snorted. More like I was the one who’d made a move on him—and he’d made it clear he wasn’t interested. “That jerk doesn’t know what he wants,” I said, snatching up the first thing I saw. The cafeteria didn’t have the magical white mush today and instead had layers of vegetables, slabs of meat, and some type of diced potatoes.

  Lily sighed. “I can relate.” She picked up a conservative portion of meat and nothing else. “James has some brainwashing issues with that sword of his—and it seriously doesn’t like me.” She shrugged. “Dragon problems, right?”

  I stared at her, numbly picking up something cold and putting it onto my plate. “His sword… doesn’t like you?” Was that some kind of euphemism?

  She chuckled. “Yeah. He’s from a royal line of Knights, so he has a sword splintered from Excalibur itself. It’s the weapon for killing dragons, so our relationship can be… strained, at times.”

  And I thought I had guy issues.

  “Well, that sucks,” I said as we found seats next to her mate. James smirked at me when we sat down.

  “That was quite the show today,” he said before taking a bite of his sandwich. He glanced down at the egg strapped to my chest. “You’re an odd one, that’s for sure.”

  “James,” Lily chided. “Don’t be rude.”

  He shrugged. “She’s intriguing. That’s all I’m saying.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Well, stop creeping her out. We’re already isolated enough as it is.”

  He snorted and went back to his food.

  Lily turned to me, all smiles as I pushed food around my plate. I’d tried eating some of the meat, but it tasted like rubber to me. “So, are you up for more classes today?” she asked, delicately taking one of her pieces of meat and nibbling on it. “We have lance fighting next.” She glanced at her mate. “It’s one of my favorites, because I always win.”

  James winked at her. “We’ll see how you do today, beautiful.”

  I scrunched my nose. “Lance fighting?” I asked, not looking forward to using more energy when my eyelids were so heavy.

  I took another bite of the mystery meat and felt a fresh surge of energy.

  Hmm, that’s interesting.

  James smirked. “Looks like you’re not the only one who enjoys mutton,” he said to his mate. “Dragons always do.”

  “I’m not a dragon,” I said around the mouthful, which was starting to taste pretty good now.

  Lily leaned in and glanced at my egg. “No, but you’re the mother to one, so you need to keep up your strength.”

  I smiled, deciding that I liked Lily. She didn’t judge me for picking an egg with no soul inside, didn’t tell me that it was a hopeless cause. She believed in me.

  Unlike Killian.

  “Makes sense,” I agreed, working on my food as my strength fluttered to life.

  Maybe I could do this.

  My mind drifted as I considered the possibilities if I succeeded, indulging in the daydream that I would hatch a wyvern and work side-by-side with Killian. He’d come around, eventually, I was sure of that. He had to. Topaz was counting on him and so was I, even if I hated to admit it.

  Like today, when the corruption had pushed me into the worst memory of my life.

  He’d brought me back from the darkness. I could have been lost in it forever, but he breathed life back into me.

  Then there was that kiss.

  “Hello, anybody home?” Lily asked, waving her hand over my eyes.

  “Huh?” I asked, coming out of my thoughts.

  I glanced up to see Jasmine staring at me. She smirked, pushing around her food without eating it.

  When had she gotten here?

  “Lance fighting, huh?” she asked, clearly amused by the idea. “Have you ever even held a lance before?”

  I frowned. “No, but I’d never held a dagger before either, but I kicked your butt just fine.”

  Instead of being put off by my taunt, Jasmine grinned. She loved a challenge. “We’ll see how you do today, hotshot.”

  Taking another bite of my mutton, I decided that I was up for the challenge. Maybe this was how I brought my egg back to life, by being what my wyvern ultimately needed me to be.

  A true dragonrider.

  “I thought you were taking a nap,” I quipped when Killian waltzed across the field, lance in hand.

  He grinned at me, both of us drawn together as if by an invisible thread.

  “And miss this?” he said, tapping the lance on the soft ground. “I don’t think so.”

  Whatever resentment he’d held onto seemed like a forgotten memory as we moved around each other. The professor stepped out, a tall lean man. “All right!” he barked as he spun a long lance over his head. A massive dragon groaned at his side. “Pair up!”

  The rest of the students paired off, the sound of their lances tapping making my instincts go on edge.

  “You’re going to have to put down your egg,” Killian informed me.

  My hand went to the cold shell at my chest. I glanced around, seeing if there were any other freshmen who’d come with unhatched eggs. I spotted a nest near the edge of the building where a few eggs were nestled together.

  Killian offered his hand. “It’s okay. Parting with it for a little while won’t hurt anything. We’ll be right here.”

  I swallowed hard, but I hadn’t left the egg for more than a few seconds. “Are you sure?” I asked, a sting radiating through my chest at the thought of parting with it.

  He smiled. “Yes. Do you think dragons are constantly caring for their young? They have to hunt, so leaving little ones on their own is natural.” He rested his hand on my shoulder, making me flinch as energy swarmed through us. His fingers tightened momentarily before relaxing. The energy I’d gotten from the mutton helped us both. “Do you want me to walk with you?”

  I glanced up at him, wondering why he was being so nice.

  Flip-flop Killian. That would be my new nickname for him.

  “I got it,” I snapped, irritated.

  Whacking him with a lance sounded pretty good about now.

  I hurried to the freshmen nest and picked a spot for my egg, nestling it between a group of others so stay warm. A magical orb radiated heat from above the nest, but I wanted to be sure the cold breeze didn’t get to it.

  My fingers brushed the other eggs, sensing life inside stirring with strength and eagerness. They would be fine. They had warmth to spare and they seemed to welcome my egg into their nest.

  Satisfied, I clutched my lance and returned to Killian.

  “I’m so going to kick your butt,” I said.

  He smirked, his whitewashed eyes flashing with delight. “Let’s see what you’ve got, freshman.”

  I lunged, surprised when Killi
an reacted swiftly as he shifted out of the way. His lance swung back, smacking me in the face.

  “Point!” the professor shouted.

  Growling, I swung again, my vision darkening at the edges. Killian sidestepped again, seeming to expend no effort in dodging me.

  “You’re going to have to do better than that,” he taunted.

  Anger boiled in me, returning a familiar hum in my ears.

  I couldn’t recall any fantasy novels where I’d read about lance fighting. Just jousting, maybe, so I jumped to my feet with an idea. I ran to the end of the field, ignoring shouts wondering if I was retreating.

  Nope, but I was going to teach Killian a lesson.

  I turned, adjusting my lance to face him as I began long strides.

  One step.

  Two.

  There.

  I aimed at him, increasing my momentum as I ran. He could sidestep me, but I knew that he wouldn’t.

  He took the bait, aligning his lance to my heart and began to run.

  I’d read about this once before. The trick to jousting was strength. I could already feel the weight of my lancing pulling the end down, but something in me had surged to life. That hum in my ears was my goddess blood, giving me a boost of energy that would keep my lance steady and on target.

  Killian, though, I could already spot his lance dropping, which would give me the edge. He was weak, and even if I was to blame for that, I would use any weakness to my advantage. If he didn’t want to lose, he should have sidestepped instead of taking my taunt.

  His pride was something that kept him from accepting our mate-bond, that made him so unpredictable and worked as an invisible wedge between us.

  For a Nephilim like Killian, we didn’t have room for the both of us, our wyverns, as well as his pride. Something had to give and if this was what it took, then so be it.

  The ground shook as Killian and I neared, shockwaves going out with each of my steps as the hum turned into a roar in my ears. My goddess blood would give out after this, but one shot was all I needed.

  Killian tired at the last moment, his lance dropping just enough that I could slip the tip underneath my arm, avoiding impact as my weapon hit hard.

  Snap.

  It broke in half as the impact jolted up my arms. Killian roared with pain as he lurched to the side.

  The roar in my ears vanished, the dark edges of my vision closing in as I hurried to his side. I’d wanted to break him, not kill him. “Killian?” I asked, worried that I’d gone too far.

  He grabbed at his chest, ripping his uniform to reveal chainmail.

  “That was… quite the hit,” he said, commending me as he groaned and let his head hit the soft ground. He chuckled. “Stop looking at me like that. I’m okay.”

  I released a sigh of relief. “Good,” I said, then rubbed my eyes as stars sprinkled across my vision.

  “Viv?” he asked as nausea wound through my stomach.

  I sank to my knees, wobbling as dizziness threatened to take me under. “Something’s not right,” I said as a tingling sensation swept over my body.

  “What’s going on?” Lily asked as footsteps sounded around us.

  “Give her space!” the professor ordered. I didn’t look up to see if anyone obeyed him.

  “She hit me with a heck of a jousting strike, then she collapsed,” Killian supplied. “Viv?” he asked again, his touch going to my shoulder.

  A zap sounded as the energy between us retaliating, feeling wrong. He jerked away with a curse. I curled in on myself with a whimper as a strange sense of loneliness wrapped over me like a shroud, an inescapable sensation that threatened to take me under.

  Like that night in the ocean.

  “Where’s her egg?” Lily asked, her voice on the edge of frantic. “She needs her egg. You shouldn’t have pulled her away from it.”

  “I got it!” someone shouted, making me snap my gaze up as Jasmine ran to me with my egg in her hands.

  For some reason seeing someone else touch my egg filled me with rage. I surged to my feet and snatched it from her, hissing like a wild animal before I crumpled to the ground, wrapping myself around the shell that seemed even colder than before.

  Strong arms swept around me, pulling me against a hard chest as Killian’s scent consumed me.

  I’d never realized it before, but I placed his scent now. As a rider bonded to a water dragon, his scent had a musky saltiness to it.

  It should have brought me back to my worst memory.

  Instead, it felt right. As if he could wash away the sadness with something new.

  Satisfied, I rested my cheek against his warmth, grateful to shut my eyes as he carried me back to our room.

  I’ll never let you go again.

  My new mantra brushed my lips, a promise to my unhatched wyvern that I wouldn’t fail a second time.

  What had I been thinking?

  Leaving my egg alone in this state had been a horrible idea. I couldn’t blame Killian, only myself. Maybe other dragons left their eggs in their nest for a few hours while they went hunting, but my egg needed me at all times. It had the echo of a lost soul inside of it and I was its only tether. I couldn’t stop searching for it now.

  Killian left me alone in my bed as I twisted and turned, lost in a fretful hibernation that took me deeper than I’d ever gone before. A horrible darkness wrapped around me, creating a permanent shadow over my mind.

  His voice came to me, seeming distant as did his touch when his knuckles brushed my cheek. Sometimes he was angry, sometimes he was kind.

  Flip-flop Killian at his finest.

  Grief weighed me down too much to care about Killian’s internal dilemma. Although grief due to what, I wasn’t sure. Grief because I had failed my egg? Grief because we were both going to die?

  Or maybe grief that after everything, my father would have given his life for nothing? He could have lived on with my mother, leaving me in the cold darkness where I belonged.

  Distant voices woke me, their urgency forcing me to crack open my eyes. The window shades were open, leaving a view of the emerging stars that sparkled along with the light drizzle of rain. A shadow passed every now and then, making me frown until I realized the silhouettes were dragons sporting their riders for a midnight run.

  My heart warmed, hoping that for myself and my wyvern, one day.

  “That’s your plan?” Jasmine asked, her tone sharp as her words cut through the cracked door. I craned my neck to get a better look, spotting Killian’s arm as he leaned against the doorway, crossing his tattooed arms.

  “You have a better one?” he asked, sounding tired.

  Had he gotten any sleep at all?

  How long had I been out, anyway?

  “We’re both going to get expelled,” she said, rubbing her temples.

  “So, you’re in?” Killian asked.

  She sighed, slapping her hand at her side. “Stealing the Dean’s sword and severing a bond to save your mate, which will probably kill you in the process? No, I’m not in, Killian. You need to come up with a better plan.”

  What? Stealing the Dean’s sword?

  I wanted to jump to my feet and demand answers. Did Killian hate me so much that he’d rather be dead than be bonded to me for a second longer? Despite my anger, I wanted to give Killian the benefit of the doubt. Surely he had more to his plan than destroying everything we’d created and losing Topaz in the process.

  He shifted, the moonlight hitting him so that I could see his grin. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who was about to lose his dragon, making me relax. “There’s a Class Seven Tunnel tonight.”

  She stared at him. “So?”

  He tapped his fingers over his forearm. “And I’m a Nephilim. I could survive a trip to the Light Realm.”

  She studied him for a moment before her eyes blew wide. “Wait. You can’t be serious. You’re going to ask daddy for help?”

  “Why not?” he asked. “If things continue to progress like this, I’m
dead anyway. At least if we break the bond, this will give us a chance.” He unwrapped his arms, reaching up to scratch Topaz’s nose. The wyvern looked smaller, somehow, and pressed in close to his cheek as he shivered. “Plus,” Killian added, his voice dropping, “I can’t stand seeing Topaz like this. He’s not going to last much longer, and even if I have to lose him, at least he can live in the Light Realm. There’s enough magic to sustain him.”

  Oh…

  Guilt washed over me as I held my egg tighter to my chest. I’d been hoping to find some sort of magical solution, but this was what failure looked like.

  Still… no. I couldn’t allow Killian to sever the bond, even if he had a plan. It would break my connection to my own wyvern before it even hatched.

  “What about Viv?” Jasmine asked after a moment, her tone the softest I’ve ever heard.

  “She’ll go back home,” he decided, his features hard. “Once the bond is broken, the Dean won’t have a reason to keep her here and they’ll send her back.” He cleared his throat and pushed off of the doorway. “You’ll make sure she gets home safely, yeah?”

  Jasmine chewed her lip. “Yeah, okay.” She jerked her head, indicating the stairs. “Well, come on. Let’s go get ourselves expelled. I always wanted to live in the Human Realm, anyway.”

  He chuckled, closing the door behind him. He paused, just for a moment, to stare at me. I could feel his gaze on me, desperate, wanting. I watched him in the dark, knowing that he couldn’t see me, but our bond screamed for nourishment, for connection. He restrained himself, curling his fingers into a fist before he closed the door, making a sob catch in my throat.

  He was really going to go through with this.

  I waited for a long time after Killian and Jasmine’s footsteps had disappeared before I tested my leg. One at first, then the other, both functional, although jerky.

  Needles ran up my arms as I shifted, moving into a sitting position as I clutched onto my egg. “We’ve been out for a while, huh?” I asked, twisting my egg so that I could warm the other side, although I wasn’t sure how much warmth I could provide. I had no energy and my fingertips had gone numb.

  Ignoring the dread creeping up my stomach, I forced myself to my feet, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment as a wave of dizziness passed over me, but raw determination kept me standing.