Sloane #2
“What?” I trip over my own feet, and she grabs my elbow to keep me from face-planting in the dirt.
“Particular dragons who might be sympathetic to our cause tend to seek us out.” She lets go of my arm, the same one that bears the identical rebellion relic to my brother’s. “Thoirt is yours.”
Thoirt. Something in my chest starts to ache, but I push it away.
I’m not bonding today. I’m not bonding ever.
“Good to know. Thanks.” I try the nod and smile.
A cracking sound splits the air, and we both whip our attention to the east. Wood splits in the distance, followed by a shriek and a low thud. A second later, smoke rises above the canopy.
“Don’t be scared,” Imogen says. “That’s not going to happen to you. Not with Thoirt already searching for you.”
I blink and meet her gaze. “I’m not scared.”
Her mouth curves into a smile. “You really aren’t, are you?”
“No.’’ I shake my head.
“Good. That will serve you well with a red. Their tempers require a rider who isn’t as hotheaded as they are. Look, telling you about Thoirt isn’t the only reason I’m here.” She swallows, then reaches into the pocket of her uniform and draws out a tiny wooden figurine of a daggertail.
I take the offering and cradle it with both hands. It’s perfect, from the snarling snout to the knife marks on the tail. I don’t need to ask her who made it. My heart threatens to crack open and spill the messy contents I’ve worked so hard to keep locked away. “How do you have this?”
“He was carrying it when he died,” she says softly.
“I kept it for you. For this moment. So you’d see how much he loved Deigh.
So you’d realize how much you’re going to love Thoirt.
” Her next breath shakes. “Guess Sorrengail isn’t the only cadet Malek might feel slighted by, but I couldn’t burn it. ”
“Thank you.” My fingers close around the figurine.
“You’re welcome.” She squeezes my folded hands. “Would you like me to stay with you?”
“No.” I pull my hands from hers, then look her in the eye and lie with my whole heart. “I’ll see you on the flight field.”
“All right.” She smiles. “But in all seriousness, are you fucking Graycastle? I find myself oddly curious, and as I feel like an honorary big sister, I’ve determined it’s my right to ask.”
“No.” I scrunch my face in disgust. “He’s hot, but he’s like…another brother. All my squadmates are. Well, not to one another. Pretty sure I caught Baylor and Avalynn sneaking around last night.”
“The night before Threshing? Absolutely.” Her brow knits. “You did some sneaking around of your own, right? Everyone should get laid before Threshing. And after. Whenever possible around here, really. Never know when you’ll wind up on the death roll.”
I press my lips together because what the hell am I supposed to say to that?
“Oh gods.” Her face falls. “You haven’t been sneaking around? Enjoying all the freedom the first year gives you?”
“Is that what your sister recommended?” How are we even having this conversation?
“Katrina died when I was fifteen, so we didn’t really get to have these chats.” She taps her chin. “But I definitely think she would recommend fully experiencing what life has to offer.”
“Well…” I struggle for words. “I’d like this conversation to end—now.”
“Fair.” She retreats a few steps, then turns her back and walks away. “See you on the flight field. The world could use another Mairi in rider black,” she calls back over her shoulder.
Except this Mairi doesn’t want to be wearing rider black. I stand there for what feels like an eternity, staring at my brother’s figurine. Screams echo in the distance. The breeze comes in with a hint of sulfur. Wings beat high above me as cadets bond.
Only when I have every detail of the figurine memorized do I tuck it into my pocket and begin walking.
Thoirt. Maybe knowing her name should change my mind about bonding, but it doesn’t. I ignore the tugging sensation in my chest that tells me to head east and continue southward. She’ll be far better off with someone who wants the power, who doesn’t abhor the thought of wielding.
And in the next few hours, I’ll finally be free.
I let the rage bubble back up as I walk for the better part of an hour, coming across a few frazzled cadets and one Brown Swordtail who doesn’t bother to look my way.
Shit. There went a wasted chance.
An hour later, I step directly into the path of a Green Morningstartail. It stalks toward me, huffing steam through its nostrils, and I hold my position, chin raised, arms locked at my sides. My heart starts to pound as it comes closer, crushing leaves under its claws.
Twenty feet away. I look it straight in the eye.
Ten feet. I hold my breath and brace for collision.
Now.
It steps right over me, its talons striking the ground no more than a few feet behind where I stand.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
The rage within me doesn’t just simmer, it starts to sizzle.
By the time another hour passes, a Red Clubtail has blinked my way and continued on, and a pair of browns pick their way over me.
I’ve seen countless dragons take to the sky through the holes of the canopy, heard their wingbeats as they bring their riders on their first flight.
I bet there are only a few dozen of us left out here, and we’re so scattered that I haven’t seen another human in what feels like ages.
Gauging from the position of the sun, because gods know I didn’t think to bring a pocket watch, I only have another two hours before Kaori scoops up all of us who haven’t bonded and sets us back a year.
Fuck no. Absolutely not. I’m tired of living in limbo, and I won’t do it for another year.
“Come on!” I scream up at the forest, the sky, at whoever might be listening. “I don’t want to be here! I don’t want any of it!” It’s so freeing to finally voice the insidious thoughts that I can’t stop once I start. “Take me already or let me go!”
I throw my arms out, exposing every vital organ in my body as I walk between towering redwoods that have seen more of this kingdom’s history than I could ever stomach.
A giant Orange Swordtail swings its head in my direction, then pivots and moves straight for me, coming from about fifty yards away.
My stomach clenches. This is it. I know in the marrow of my bones that this creature brings my fate closer with every step.
“Yes, you!” I shout, holding out my arms. “Come on! I don’t want to be a rider!”
The orange lowers its head and narrows its golden eyes as it approaches.
“Mairi!” a deep voice yells, tickling my brain with recognition, but I ignore it.
“I don’t want your power!” My voice rises as I walk toward the orange, more than willing to meet my destiny halfway and uncaring if anyone sees. If it’s a second- or third-year, they’re bound by Codex not to interfere. “Fuck this place and these people. I’m not meant for this!”
The orange unhinges its jaw, and its tongue curls.
“Mairi!” The voice grows louder. “Move!”
That’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m moving, extricating myself from a future where I’m nothing more than a sharpened blade used to harm other people.
Fire rolls up the back of the orange’s throat, then shoots forward, barreling toward me in a stream that will only take seconds to arrive.
I close my eyes and welcome the impending release.
Liam. Mom. Dad.
I’m hit in the side so hard, my feet leave the ground and I’m sent careening through the air.
Arms band around me as heat rushes by, stinging my exposed skin, but the agony I sought doesn’t arrive.
Instead, a different pain strikes my left shoulder, and my eyes pop open to see the world somersaulting as I’m hurtled along the forest floor, pulled tight against a rigid chest.
When we finally come to a stop, I look up into a beautiful pair of deep brown eyes, so bottomless I feel completely untethered. I could lose myself here entirely, stare for an eternity without exploring past the surface or noting every ribbon of amber that draws me in even further.
“What the fuck are you doing, Mairi?” His voice booms, vibrating through my own ribs.
Reality comes crashing back in with the speed of an arrow, and I recoil, but there’s no give in the arms that hold me suspended over the forest floor.
Dain Aetos hovers above me, one hand braced on the ground to my right, the other splayed across my back, as though he—
My eyes fly wide. He sheltered me from the worst of the impact. He knocked me out of the way. He’s holding me against his torso like I’m something he needs to protect.
But I know better.
“Get off me!” Anger courses through my veins, hotter than any fire a dragon could produce, and I shove both my hands against his immovable chest.
His eyes flare, and he moves with disconcerting speed, untangling himself from my frame and jumping to his feet.
My back hits the ground, but I don’t lie there longer than a heartbeat. I scramble to my feet as the tip of the orange’s swordtail passes by.
“I’m going to ask you again. What the fuck are you doing?” he shouts, the tendons in his neck straining as his hands curl into fists at his sides. “Are you trying to die?”
“What business is it of yours?” I yell right back, disregarding every rule and regulation that’s been thrown at me since Parapet. This asshole got my brother killed.
“I’m your fucking wingleader!” His hands fly upward like I’m the one who’s out of line here. “I’m responsible for you!”
“Like you were Liam?” The rage gets the best of me, and I fly at him, throwing a fist up toward his face.
He retreats a step and I miss, causing me to nearly trip. “If you want to talk about your brother, it’s not going to be while you’re swinging at me.”
“Fuck you!” I surge forward and swing again, despite the difference in our heights. “You got him killed!”
“Stop it!” He catches my fist, then traps the next one when I try my left hook.
“It’s your fault they were sent to Athebyne!” Screw my hands; I still have feet. I kick out at him, and he grunts when I make contact with his shin. “I hate you!”