Chapter 29 Alar
ALAR
"To forge one's own destiny, one must first break free from the shackles of family obligations and expectations."
—Prince Alaranthus Tekumuton the Fifth
Iwasn't expecting mail.
The first-years had been at the Citadel for over two months, and so far, most had received only one letter from home. It wasn't that people didn't write to their loved ones; letters just weren't delivered frequently.
An explanation had been provided about the need to forge a cohesive unit that required isolation from former connections.
We were allowed to write as many letters as we wished, but we'd been told that they would be delivered only once a month.
I'd been careful with my wording in the letters I sent to my fake merchant family, describing life as a cadet in the Dragon Force without giving out details that might get my letters confiscated.
When the second-year cadet walked into the mess hall during dinner, carrying a bag with the symbol of Elucian mail on its side, all the other cadets got excited, but I thought nothing of it. My parents wouldn't write back to me.
"Mail!" the second-year announced.
Kailin straightened beside me. "I hope my grandmother sent me a letter as well as my parents."
I put my hand over hers on the table. "I'm sure she did. She sent you one last month."
The officer began calling names. "Cadet Strom. I have two letters for you."
She hurried forward to collect two thick envelopes, her face lighting up with joy. It was good to see her smile like that. She was finally starting to look like the Kailin I had fallen in love with, and not a mere shadow of her.
Shovia's name was called. A dozen others. Then Morek's.
I returned to my lunch, figuring that was it. My family wouldn't write.
"Cadet Tekum!"
I froze with my fork halfway to my mouth.
Codric looked at me sharply, and I stood and made my way to the second-year. He handed me an envelope made of expensive paper, sealed with a merchant house mark I recognized.
The handwriting on the front was my mother's.
My heart started racing.
"Thank you." I took the envelope and walked back to our table on legs that felt unsteady.
"What is it?" Kailin asked, her excitement about her own letters fading as she saw my expression.
"Letter from home."
"That's good, isn't it?"
I stared at my mother's elegant handwriting. The last time I'd seen that script, it had been in official correspondence. She never wrote casual letters. "I don't know."
My mother wouldn't have bothered penning the letter herself if this was just a response to my carefully worded updates about life at the Citadel.
"I need to read this somewhere private," I said.
Kailin looked at me with worried eyes. "Do you want company?"
"Yours, always, but I need to read this first alone."
She nodded. "I understand. I hope you get good news."
"So do I." I kissed her cheek and stood.
I went out to the landing platform, sat on the stone bench, and opened the envelope carefully, unfolding a single page covered with my mother's formal script.
My dear Alar,
I hope this letter finds you well. I write with troubling news. Your father has fallen ill, and the physicians are concerned. He asks about you and when you will be back.
Your brothers send their regards and say that you should return home and be by your father's side at such a difficult time.
The business continues to thrive, but Father is not happy with you being away, and he misses your eye for detail. Consider taking at least a short leave to visit home.
Your family needs you.
—Mother
I read it twice. Three times.
Father was ill. The physicians were concerned. Everyone thought I should come home.
Was he actually ill, though?
The timing was too perfect. The Day of Volition was in less than two weeks, and suddenly, my father was ill and needed me home. Right before the ceremony that would determine whether I bonded with a dragon and became a permanent part of the Dragon Force?
I didn't believe in coincidences. Not when it came to my father and his maneuvering.
But what if it was real? What if he was actually sick and I was being selfish, choosing dragons and prophecies over my family?
I needed Codric's perspective. I'd already told him that my father knew where I was, but I hadn't told him my long-term goals and why I needed to become a rider beyond our shared boyhood fantasies of living forever and ruling the skies from the backs of dragons.
Not yet.
I should, though. It didn't seem right to keep Codric in the dark, and besides, I had a feeling he'd already figured it out.
We were close, and I wasn't as guarded with him as I was with everyone other than Kailin.
I had let plans slip a number of times, and I had no doubt that Codric had catalogued those slips.
When I returned to the mess hall, though, Kailin and Codric were gone, and so were Shovia and Morek.
I found Codric in the lounge, sitting on one of the old couches and staring at nothing with an odd expression on his face.
"You okay?" I asked.
"No letters for me." He shrugged. "Not that I expected any, but still. Everyone else got something. What does yours say?"
His parents had never been overly attentive, and after he'd sent a letter home informing them where he had really gone, he hadn't received a response and assumed they had disowned him for joining the pilgrimage.
"Let's go somewhere private."
His expression sharpened. "That bad?"
"I don't know. I want your impression."
I considered going back to the landing platform, but an empty classroom beckoned, and I chose that instead.
After the explosion and the covert attacks, even finding private spaces required checking for security threats first. I glanced around the classroom, confirming we were alone before closing the door.
I handed Codric the letter. "Read it and tell me what you think."
He read it, frowning. "Do you think it's real?"
"I don't know. It could be manipulation to get me home."
"Why now? Right before bonding?"
"Exactly. The timing is too convenient. My father probably never believed I would get in, and he wants me out of here before I'm bonded to a dragon and cannot leave."
Codric examined the letter again, analyzing every word as if it were a coded message. Which, in a way, it was.
"'Your family needs you.' Plural, not just Father," he muttered. "That suggests a broader issue. Political?"
"Maybe. Or just making it sound more urgent."
"'The business continues to thrive'—that's code for the kingdom being stable."
"Which means this isn't about a crisis that requires my immediate return for governance reasons."
"And 'your eye for detail'..." Codric looked up. "That might be code for intelligence work."
I nodded. I was here to gather information, read situations, understand the undercurrents of Elucian politics, and report it all back to my father. My so-called eye for detail was my ability to see what others missed.
"This is well worded," Codric said. "Do you think your mother came up with it?"
"It's her handwriting, but my father probably dictated it to her. He wants me home for some reason. I hope the illness isn't real."
Codric examined the letter again. "Your mother didn't specify what's wrong with him. No diagnosis, no symptoms. If he were really sick, wouldn't she include those details?"
That was a good point. If it were me writing such a letter to one of my brothers and my father was indeed ill, I would indicate what was wrong with him, or at least what the medics suspected.
My mother was being deliberately vague because there was nothing specific to name.
"So, you think it's fake," I said.
"I think it's suspicious." Codric met my eyes. "What do you want to do?"
"Stay. Bond with a dragon. Stay with Kailin." The words came out more forcefully than I'd intended, but they were true. "What if he's really sick, though? What if I stay here and he dies, and I never get to say goodbye?"
Codric was quiet for a moment. "Can you even get a leave if you ask?"
"Maybe. There must be exceptions for family emergencies. But travel time is two weeks minimum each way." I ran a hand through my hair. "I'd miss bonding and would have to wait for the next round, if I can even return. I might not be allowed back."
"That's the real trap, isn't it? If you go home, the Council might pressure you to stay."
"Exactly. The Elucians might not allow me back either."
Codric smiled. "They will allow you back because Saphir will demand it. You are part of the prophesied seven. But that also means they won't let you leave. Not without real pressure. I don't think anything less than an official letter from your father demanding your release will do the trick."
He had a point.
We sat in silence, both of us contemplating the impossible position I was in. Would Codric come with me if I were forced to go? Or would he stay here without me?
And what about the prophecy?
We were needed in Elucia. We were supposed to save the world. After the pilgrimage, the explosions, fighting off attackers, and discovering we were part of the prophesied seven, could I just abandon it all?
"Write back," Codric suggested. "Ask for more information."
"The response would take two weeks to get there and two weeks back. I'd be past the Day of Volition by the time I hear anything. I won't know if it's the right choice until it's too late."
Codric let out a breath. “You could ask to make a call, but that would expose you and who you are. Saphir knows, as does the top brass of the Dragon Force, but given the situation with the assassins, I doubt Saphir or General Lesten wants the information to spread to every cadet and rider, which will be unavoidable because security monitors all outgoing and incoming calls. Your identity becoming common knowledge would paint a target on your back.”