9. Morek
MOREK
"Eat first. Celebrate second. You cannot toast the future on an empty stomach."
—Morek's father, on every occasion
Iwas the first of our group to arrive at the celebration, which surprised no one who knew me.
The others were probably still fussing over their hair and their uniforms and having deep, meaningful conversations about their feelings.
I'd gotten dressed in four minutes, spent another two trying to flatten a cowlick that refused to cooperate, gave up, and headed straight for the food.
My father would have approved. The man believed that every problem in life could be solved, or at least improved, with a proper meal.
Bad news? Eat first, then deal with it. Good news?
Eat first, then celebrate. Funeral? Eat first, then grieve.
He'd fed half the village after the last Shedun scare, standing behind the counter of our shop and handing out sausages to anyone who walked through the door, because in his view, a fed community was a strong community.
I missed him. I missed my mother, the way she charmed customers into buying more than they had come in for.
They'd be so proud of me tonight. I'd written them a letter, but it would be a long time before they got it. I told them about Korthax and how magnificent my dragon was.
I could feel him in the back of my mind even now, a steady thrum of restless energy that matched mine. He was in the aviary, probably annoying other dragons the same way I annoyed my friends by getting overexcited and talking their heads off.
We were going to get along great.
The dining hall looked incredible. White tablecloths, crystal glasses, garlands of mountain flowers on the stone walls. I'd never seen it dressed up like this, and the contrast with the utilitarian space where we'd choked down countless bowls of porridge in the morning was disorienting.
In a good way.
I wouldn't mind if the dining hall looked like this every day. But I knew it wouldn't. Tomorrow, it would go back to being boring.
I loaded a plate with everything within reach.
First with the roasted mountain fowl, then some herb-crusted potatoes, and then a tiny portion of grilled vegetables just because everyone kept telling me that I had to eat more of them.
I knew I probably wouldn't eat them, so I topped them with three promising kinds of pastry.
I saw a spot at one of the long tables where I could see both the entrance and the food stations, which was strategic planning at its finest, and headed that way.
Other cadets filtered in, all of them looking polished and uncomfortable in their starched dress uniforms. Conversations buzzed with the same energy I felt, that post-bonding glow that made everything seem brighter and more important.
People who'd barely spoken to each other during training were now swapping stories about their dragons, comparing notes on first flights, and laughing too loudly at jokes that weren't that funny.
Bonding seemed to crack people open and unite them in a way that all the grueling training that had come before hadn't.
I spotted Commander Ravel near the far wall, holding a glass of wine and looking bored. But that was just for show. I saw the way his eyes scanned the room, drifted to the entrance, lingered there for a moment, pulled away, and drifted back again.
He was waiting for someone, and I had a pretty good idea who that someone was.
I decided to change directions and walked over to him with my overloaded plate. "Great evening, isn't it, Commander?"
"It is. Congratulations on your bond, Morek." He sounded distracted, his eyes flicking to the doorway again before settling on me.
"Thank you, sir. Korthax is incredible. During our first flight, we did this dive where he tucked in his wings completely, and we dropped straight down, and I swear we broke some kind of speed record.
He says there's no official record for a vertical dive, but he's pretty sure we'd hold it if there was. And then we pulled up so hard that—"
"Impressive," Ravel cut me off, but I knew that he hadn't intended to be rude.
He was distracted and probably hadn't been listening to what I'd been saying. I wasn't offended. I was used to people's eyes glazing over when I got overexcited and talkative. My mouth moved faster than most people's attention spans.
Then again, I did everything faster than everyone else. I just lived in an accelerated state. Well, aside from learning from books. In that, I was slower than most, but I wasn't complaining. It was a small price to pay for all the other gifts Elu had bestowed upon me.
Ravel's gaze returned to the entrance, and I recognized the expectant expression on his face because it reflected how I used to feel whenever Erona walked into a room.
Thankfully, I'd gotten past Erona, but Ravel still seemed to be gripped in the clutches of unrequited desire despite how ruthlessly he tried to suppress it.
"Anyway," I said, putting down the pastry I'd eaten half of. "The food is great. You should try some."
"I will," Ravel agreed without sparing the feast even a cursory glance.
"I'm going to find a table and save places for my friends," I told him. "See you later, Commander."
He nodded and returned to his vigil.
I walked over to the spot I'd had my eyes on with an uncomfortable feeling in my gut.
Commander Ravel had a thing for Kailin, and even though he had never made an improper move, it was disturbing on so many levels.
First, Kailin was with Alar. Second, cadets and commanders were forbidden from forming intimate relationships. And third, he was much too old for her.
I didn't know if others had picked up on the subtle intensification of the vibrations whenever these two were together, or if it was just me.
Anyway, it was none of my business. I just felt sorry for Ravel because I had walked a mile in his shoes and knew firsthand how lousy it felt.
With a sigh, I stuffed another pastry into my mouth and turned my attention to the room.
The instructors were clustered along one wall, looking relaxed, even friendly for a change.
Captain Odinah was talking with Major Harlow, and she was smiling, which I found more unsettling than her usual glare.
Commander Langston was laughing with a group of instructors, and even Captain Kaveek, who I was fairly certain had been manufactured in a factory that produced humorless automatons, appeared to be enjoying himself.
General Lesten Zorian hadn't arrived yet, but he would after everyone else was accounted for. A small podium space at the head of the hall had been prepared for him.
As more cadets arrived, I spotted Baila, whom I'd befriended over a shared kitchen duty, and I waved her over.
"Hey." I motioned at the space across from me. "Take a load off and tell me about your dragon."
"Dragonia," she said, placing her plate on the table. "Her name is Essyrath, and she has beautiful deep violet scales. She's a bit stuck-up for my taste, though. She kept commenting about my less-than-perfect posture and how important it was for dragon riders to look dignified in the saddle."
"My dragon, Korthax, told me I think too fast and move too slow. I told him that it was the first time anyone had accused me of moving too slowly or thinking too fast. Usually, it's the other way around."
We were laughing when I saw Kailin and Alar entering the hall.
They were holding hands, which was normal for them, and smiling, which was also normal, but there was a tightness in Alar's jaw that suggested he was putting on a performance.
He was unhappy about something, and I hoped it wasn't about his dragonia.
She was beautiful, probably the prettiest dragonia I'd ever seen, but if she was like her human counterparts, the girls who knew they were beautiful because all the boys competed for their attention, that might translate into arrogance and a sense of entitlement.
Then again, those traits were true of all dragons and for a good reason. They were the apex predators of Aurorys, immortal, smart, terrifying, and magnificent in every possible way.
On second thought, perhaps the Shedun were the apex predators. After all, they had almost managed to wipe dragonkind out of existence.
Kailin looked great, better than she had looked in weeks, perhaps even better than she had before the start of the pilgrimage.
She'd always been pretty, in a bookish, unassuming way, but now she looked like a princess.
Not that I knew what princesses looked like in person, but she had regal confidence that seemed to radiate from her.
She was destined to become a shaman, and she was the Hero of Elucia, but until she'd bonded with the baddest of the badass dragons, she hadn't looked like that.
I glanced at Ravel.
He wasn't looking at Kailin. He was looking at his wine glass, but I knew that he was doing it to avoid staring at her.
None of my business.
Kailin grinned when she spotted me. "Morek! First to arrive when the food is served." She glanced at Codric. "I'm surprised that you didn't join him."
Codric wrapped his arm around Shovia's shoulders. "My lady comes first. For her, I would delay the gratification of a festive meal."
That didn't sound like Codric. He was just as bad as I was about food.
I frowned. "What happened to you? Did you start drinking before getting here?"
"I'm drunk on love." Codric leaned over and kissed Shovia's cheek.
Looking annoyed, she shrugged his arm off her shoulders. "Stop it. I told you not to overdo it."
Codric released a long-suffering sigh. "There is no pleasing you, my lovely."
Alar and Kailin came to sit next to me, Codric and Shovia sat across from us, and for the next few minutes, we compared dragon stories. I told them about Korthax's obsession with speed, which sparked a spirited debate over whether raw speed or tactical agility was more important in aerial combat.
"Speed," I said.
"Agility," Alar countered.
"Both," Kailin said diplomatically.