Chapter 44 Annalise #2
“Nothing happened, Honey.” I rush before whatever hidden eyes and ears lurking around campus hear Matt recall how, during the exercise where we had to sense and evade the Bravo assistants tracking us, Abel “accidentally” lodged his dagger deep in Sean's throat.
He claimed Sean came for him first, but Sean’s weapons were still sheathed at his thighs, and we all know there had been bad blood between them since they failed their first mission.
I swallow hard, trying to push the image of Sean’s pale face, vacant eyes, all the blood pooling around his body, out of my mind. The instructors made us analyze what went wrong, to take notes, to memorize the angles of the wound.
And then they made us continue the exercise.
My panic had only lasted seconds, flashbacks trying to tear me away, but thankfully, Matt knew what was happening and was able to pull me back from the edge before the rest of the class noticed.
Sean lost his life, while Abel was just given the memory tincture and kicked out of the program quietly.
Aiden reads every thought written across my face. Even without knowing the details, he steps in and folds me into a hug, arms banding around me like he can shield me from anything I can’t outrun.
Matt clears his throat, unnaturally loud in the tense room. “Sooo,” he says, forcing a grin that doesn’t reach his eyes, “How about the dragons, huh? I really felt a connection with the young one who was with you before the red one almost smoked you.”
Aiden’s arms tense around me before he pulls back, staring at me expectantly. Fucking Matt, today.
“Sweetheart, I think you forgot to mention almost dying when you gave me your recap of the day.”
Matt’s face finally registers the disaster he’s just created. “She didn’t almost die, die,” he backpedals, hands up. “He just—threatened her a little. A growl, some smoke, maybe a few teeth—minor stuff. Anyway, I’m gonna go ... somewhere else.”
“Yup! Thanks for all that, Mattey.”
He comes over, gives me a quick kiss on the top of my head, and whispers his apologies before slipping out the door.
Aiden’s eyes track his every move, and as soon as the door closes, they lock back on mine.
“Ana…?”
“He made it sound a lot worse than it was,” I say quickly. But Aiden’s expression tells me he isn’t moving on without the full story.
So, I tell him everything—every dragon I met, every nudge and sniff, and then the moment the red one locked onto me and crossed the glen with his lethal, deliberate stride.
He zones out for a minute when I finish telling him everything, and I know he’s talking with Hades.
“Son of a bitch!”
His sudden spike in anger makes me flinch away from him instinctually, and he doesn’t miss it.
“Sweetheart, no. I’m so sorry! That wasn’t toward you.” He reassures me quickly as he pulls me tight against his chest. “Hades says it was Tyr, one of the dragon alphas, and a really dangerous fucker.”
“He didn’t actually do anything, not really; he just flew off with one of the females I had just met.” I’m not sure who I’m trying to reassure.
“If he had such a visceral reaction to you, bonding may have just gotten a lot more difficult for you than for everyone else. Any of the dragons under his influence might refuse you completely.”
“Okay? So, then I just bond one of the dragons not in his hoard?” I suggest, because it seems like the obvious solution.
“It’s not that simple.” His voice is soft but grim as he shakes his head, “Something about you set him off, which means he could pass it along to the other alphas, and you could essentially be blacklisted.” His hand tightens on my waist. “And if that happens, Hades says any dragon, even the calmer ones, could go further than he did today.”
“You can’t be serious? I didn’t do anything! One of the females liked me and was pushing into me, then the young one came bounding over for a minute before he got distracted and ran off, and the female got my attention again. Then all of a sudden, he was up and stalking over to me.”
“I’m so damn sorry, Ana.”
When I don’t say anything, he continues, “Hades and I can try to be at more of your classes, but since your class isn’t in orientation anymore, Lorenson really only wants us there for flight maneuver instruction. And you have a few more classes before then.”
My mind is spinning at a mile a minute as I try to think through all of the possible outcomes.
I mean, as long as I can excel in Ghost Walking, then I can ‘select’ Vanguard, and then go Ghost Walking.
It could work, right? No, I have to survive all of Dragon Riding until track selection.
And to get that far, I have to ride dragons.
Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck!
“Ana, we’ll figure something out,” he tries to reassure me.
“I need to go for a run,” I tell Aiden, quickly pulling out the sports bra and workout leggings I just put away.
“Ok, but I’m coming. Even if I just run behind you, I can’t just let you run this late by yourself.”
I nod, and remind myself to tell him and Matt about the eerie feeling of being watched and followed, which I’ve been getting more frequently.
It may be nothing, but I can’t exactly get on Aiden about lying if I’m going to keep secrets.
And gods help me if Matt were to find out I kept it from him, he’d probably buy a cot and turn my room into a hostel.
Guilt streaks through me when I finally realize Aiden has been talking while I’ve been spiraling in my own head. Somehow, without me noticing, he’s already changed into his workout clothes.
I really need to get out of this room to clear my head.
Aiden keeps his word, staying a few steps behind me while I run. I can feel his steady presence, but I don’t think about him as I let my body work through all the things my mind can’t right now.
I run one full loop, and then another. Aiden still trailing, though, a bit further behind me than when we started.
It’s not until I reach the Vanguard building on my third lap that the truth settles in—I have only one option, and it may kill me.