28. Aurora
AURORA
The next day I still felt unsettled. It was like everything I’d gone through the day before had left a mark on me—literally.
When I looked in the mirror, I saw that the red marks Chud Larson had left on my throat were now a ring of purple bruises.
My throat felt hoarse and sore too, as though I was getting over a cold.
I thought about going to the Head Healer and dismissed the thought at once. Professor Zephyr was kind and soft-spoken, but she had sharp eyes. I didn’t want to be subjected to her scrutiny or have to explain how I’d gotten finger-shaped bruises on my neck.
So I pulled my uniform collar as high as I could, wishing I still had long hair to cover the necklace of bruises, and went about my day. Because, what else could I do?
After the events of the day before, I was hoping for things to go back to normal, and it almost seemed that they had…until my Battlefield Signaling class.
“All right, cadets, it’s time,” Professor Humbolt said, clapping his hands together. “Today’s the day—we’re going to take what you’ve learned and put it to use.”
A cheer went up from the class and everyone jumped out of their seats.
“Does everyone have their flags?” Professor Humbolt asked.
There was a chorus of agreement as everyone grabbed the bundle of practice flags we’d all been given at the beginning of the class.
I picked up mine as well—a lot of colorful clothes striped with different designs, mounted on the ends of long, flexible sticks.
They were all bright and distinct enough to be seen from a distance on dragonback.
“All right—let’s get to the Flight Terraces,” Professor Humbolt called. “Everyone bespeak your dragons and let them know to meet us there.”
That was when it struck me—we were going to practice the signaling in flight.
But I had no dragon to ride.
“Professor Humbolt,” I said anxiously, as my classmates all hurried out the door. “What am I going to do? I don’t have a dragon to ride.”
The professor frowned at this, as though it was a problem he was just now considering, though I had been in his class for weeks and weeks.
“Well, that’s a problem, Cadet,” he remarked, rubbing his chin. “Because the rest of your grade in this class depends on being able to signal correctly from the back of a dragon.”
“Yes, but I don’t have a dragon,” I pointed out again.
“Well, you ought to have thought of that before you signed up for this class,” he said crossly.
“But I didn’t sign up—I was assigned here,” I protested. “I just can’t take a failing grade because I don’t have a dragon yet!”
“Well—” the professor began, looking extremely irritated.
“I’ll take him.”
The deep voice was coming from behind me. I turned and saw Ryse Skoren standing there, frowning down at me.
“Will you?” Professor Humbolt looked extremely relieved. “Good man, Skoren! Just be certain to give Lysandra time to signal too—I’ll be watching you both.”
Ryse gave a short nod. Then he grabbed me by the wrist and towed me out of the classroom.