Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
I struggle to keep up with Torno’s brisk pace. I’m still not one-hundred-percent after my fainting spell, and I’m less than eager to meet Commander Bigley.
As Torno and I weave through numerous hallways, I spot Theo leaning against the door. Taking a break? He grins and waves.
I nod in greeting as we pass him.
Torno observes the exchange. “Making friends already, Fledgling Axton?”
“I’ve made several…acquaintances since I got here.”
She studies me while we walk. “Hmm.”
What does that mean?
Her face gives nothing away. Despite her earlier friendliness, she’s now assumed Taffy Quinnelle-like behavior, which reminds me of talking to a wall. “How are you adjusting to life at Flighthaven?”
Uncertain how to respond, I decide to stay vague. “I’m…adjusting. Some classes are…more difficult than others, but I always welcome a challenge.”
In the following silence, I do my best to memorize the building’s layout.
“Here we are.” She opens the heavy door in front of us. “This is Commander Bigley’s office.”
It’s spacious and airy, with numerous windows open to the balmy afternoon breeze, and I make a mental note that the office must be at the back of the main building.
Several feet ahead, Bigley’s seated at an enormous purpleheart desk with gold and silver embellishments.
The walls, ceiling, and floor bear the same wood. Framed maps adorn the area behind the desk, with illustrations of Aclaris, Tirene, and Kamor taking up a place of prominence.
Bigley stands. Broad-shouldered and muscular, he’s almost as tall as Instructor Thorne. His silver hair, worn in wild waves around his craggy face, reminds me of a lion’s mane.
Unlike Torno, he doesn’t smile.
The moment we reach Bigley’s desk, Torno assumes an at-attention stance, her feet apart, hands clasped behind her back, shoulders pulled back, chin high, and eyes forward.
I mimic her.
“Fledgling Axton.” Settling into his chair, Bigley taps the desk to punctuate his words. My gaze drops to his massive hands. I can’t help but imagine them around an enemy’s throat, squeezing the life from them.
Even sitting, the man is formidable.
I bite the inside of my cheek. “Sir?”
He continues to drum the desk. “I suppose you’re wondering why you’re here.”
The thought has crossed my mind.
Torno elbows me to answer.
I clear my throat. “I am, sir.”
Bigley’s face reveals nothing.
What’s with these people? Do they enjoy tormenting AWs with their prolonged silences and stony expressions?
“It’s protocol. Whenever fledglings arrive at Flighthaven under unusual circumstances and have a late start, as you have, I meet them.” He regards me, his manner stoic. “How are you settling into the routine here?”
“Thank you for asking, sir.” I offer a hopeful smile, then dance around the truth. “Everything’s going well. I’ve enjoyed each…challenge so far.”
“It’s good to hear you’re adjusting to life at Flighthaven Academy.” He lifts a booklet from his desk. “You’ll find our regulations here. Please commit them to memory.”
After taking the booklet from him, I hold the volume behind me as I resume my at-attention stance. “I will, sir.”
“Despite your late start, you’ll be required to take part in the upcoming trial with the other fledglings.”
“When is the trial?”
“In five weeks.”
“Five weeks?” I croak. He can’t be serious. I get five measly weeks to master the skills needed to succeed in the academy’s first trial? Highly unlikely, and that’s with my low-bar definition of success as failure to die in a spectacularly painful fashion.
Before horror can take complete control of my body, I remember that the current plan is for me to leave in four weeks. A dizzying wave of relief follows.
“Yes. Although it’s unfortunate your sister is…missing,” he averts his gaze, “you’re expected to get up to speed as quickly as possible so the rest of your unit doesn’t suffer.”
He drops his gaze, an unreadable emotion streaking across his features before disappearing.
My skin prickles, apprehension welling up within. “Sir, do you know?—”
“You’re dismissed.” Bigley busies himself by straightening his desk, not sparing me another glance.
Torno ushers me outside the office, only speaking once she shuts the door behind us. “If anything is ever amiss, don’t hesitate to report it to me so I can pass your concerns on to the commander. It’s protocol.”
Why? We were mid-conversation when Bigley dismissed me. “Of course.”
We walk down the corridor in silence. She doesn’t stop until we’re well out of earshot of Bigley’s office. “Never, and I do mean never , mention Leesa’s disappearance to Commander Bigley. He’s touchy about the subject.”
I know I should keep my mouth shut, but curiosity gets the better of me. “Why?”
Torno swears under her breath. “The…incident… reflects poorly on him and Flighthaven. If you don’t want to get chewed out, I suggest you keep any upsetting questions to yourself or pose them to me instead.”
“I will.” Is there a reason Bigley doesn’t want to speak of my sister…other than guilt? Does he know something? Does Torno? “Do you happen to?—”
“I know as little as everyone else.”
I sag.
She pauses and taps a fingertip against her lower lip, as if conducting an internal debate. “I suppose it can’t hurt to tell you that your sister took a keen interest in the dragons in the week or two before she vanished.”
Any hope that Torno was about to share a meaningful nugget of information fizzles. “Yeah, I’m not surprised. Leesa’s wanted to be a dragonrider for as long as I can remember.”
Torno gives a thoughtful nod. “I can see that. But fledglings aren’t given the opportunity to prove themselves on a dragon unless they rank as one of the top two students in the first trial. Besides, she was part of a select group that was given the opportunity to visit the dragons, so there was no reason for her to be skulking near the dragon aerie at odd hours.”
My teeth grind together. Skulking? What’s that supposed to mean? Did Torno truly notice Leesa hanging out around the dragon enclosure? Or is she implying that Leesa was engaged in nefarious activities in an effort to absolve Flighthaven of blame in her disappearance?
Despite Vice Commander Torno’s relative friendliness, I’m not na?ve enough to trust her with that knowledge. For all I know, someone at Flighthaven could be responsible for Leesa’s vanishing act.
My only option is to uncover the truth myself.
I grip the booklet tighter, my knuckles blanching as I battle a relentless rush of negativity that I’m not up to the challenge.
Torno surveys me. “Are you certain you’re doing well here? You can be honest with me. I’m aware of the hazing that goes on with new recruits.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m still getting my bearings, but I’m doing fine.” Or I will be. I hope.
She meets my gaze, appraising me with a touch of disbelief. “Keep in mind, Axton, that you’re not the first to endure what happens here. I’ll admit things have gotten a little out of hand these past years. If anything goes too far or you have any concerns, don’t hesitate to come to me.”
Like Helene poisoning my food? Or fledglings slamming me into walls? Elijah dousing me with hot coffee? As much as I’d love to put a stop to these incidents, sharing them with Torno would only make my time here worse. I’ll just have to…handle things on my own.
I widen my eyes with false sincerity. “I appreciate that, Vice Commander Torno.”
I just hope the hazing doesn’t turn deadly.
That evening, I dine with Olive and Theo. Nick, Abel, and several other recruits eat their dinners nearby.
Helene and Elijah sit at the other end of our table, and I find myself thankful they’re close enough for me to keep an eye on.
Theo spears a piece of ham with his fork. “I see you made it through your first day at Flighthaven in one piece.”
I take a long drink of water and set the cup down. “I did.”
“No broken bones or missing teeth.” He chews the ham like he’s starving. “I’d say that’s a record.”
What? “Are you saying it’s normal for people to break bones and get their teeth knocked out on the first day?”
“No,” he draws out the word as he forks another piece of meat, “but I’m not saying it’s not normal either.”
“Really?” It’s the training, rather than the hazing, that I’m worried about now. “Just how common are serious injuries here?”
“Hard to say. Strength training is the most dangerous, though. Just the other week, two recruits almost died from doing fifty push-ups within a twenty-four-hour period.” While his delivery is matter-of-fact, I don’t miss the twinkle in his eyes. “Eating dessert is the second most dangerous activity.”
I level him with a you’re not as funny as you think you are stare. “No one dies from push-up training.”
He laughs. “I know, but you should have seen how huge your eyes got at first. I would pay to see that expression again.”
Olive glares at him, but I can tell she’s fighting back a smile. “Don’t be an ass, Theo. Lark’s had a rough day.”
Theo holds up his hands in surrender. “All right. I’m sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood. Everyone’s so quiet tonight.”
“It’s okay.” I push the food around on my plate. “Thank you for helping me this morning, by the way. I meant to say that earlier.”
His grin reveals a dimple in each cheek. “No need to thank me.”
Abel lifts his eyebrows. “What happened?”
I shrug. “Somone with earth magic tripped me on a root. Theo helped me stand up.”
“I missed that. Guess I was too busy trying not to get whistled to death.”
I snort. “Glad I’m not the only one who hates his whistle. It should be physically impossible to be that loud.”
“Better get used to it.” Abel leans back in his chair, balancing his weight on the two back legs. “Where did you go during today’s flight training? I didn’t see you.”
This is the most Abel has said to me since I got here, and my chest tightens with the realization that this is the first time I can remember sitting and talking with people my age. And actually laughing.
Is this what normal feels like?
I’m not ready to admit my fear of alicorns, especially when the people in my unit are starting to warm up to me. “I got a little dizzy, so Thorne sent me to the infirmary. He wasn’t too happy.”
“I’ll say.” Nick crosses his arms. “He made us stay late to do extra drills. Compared to us, you got off easy.”
Olive clucks her tongue. “Thorne’s shitty moods aren’t Lark’s fault. He’s always griping about something we’ve done.” She taps the table close to me. “Just try to stay on his good side, and you’ll be fine.”
Stay on his good side? Too late for that. I’m pretty sure I’ve earned a spot on his bad side just by breathing. Though for a minute, he was actually…nice. After I blacked out.
Odd. Maybe I hit my head harder than I thought.
“And for the love of the gods, please don’t be one of those fledglings who bats her eyelashes and makes a fool of herself trying to lure him to her bed. I get secondhand embarrassment every damn time.” Theo winces. “I’ll never get over the expression of utter boredom on his face the last time someone tried.”
Even the typically more stoic Nick flinches in agreement. “Yeah, that was painful to watch. I don’t know how she didn’t find a giant hole to crawl in after.”
My two run-ins with Thorne are enough to elicit a sympathetic shudder from me. “Is that even allowed? Instructors hooking up with students?”
Theo points his fork at the booklet near my plate. “No, and you’ll know that once you finish reading the rule book.”
“Don’t worry. I have no plans to hit on Thorne anytime soon. Or ever. He despises me already, and I’m sure there’s plenty of abuse in store for me here as it is without striking up a relationship with that grumpy asshole.” I flip through the rule book. “Bigley just gave me this in his office. I guess I’d better get a jump on learning the policies.”
Everyone’s eyebrows raise. Theo props his elbows on the table. “Bigley personally delivered our rule book to you?”
“No. Torno took me to his office. I was scared I was in trouble, but he said it’s protocol to meet any new fledgling who’s here under unusual circumstances.”
Olive nods. “Makes sense.”
There’s scattered conversation as we finish our meals, and then Olive and I head to our room. When we enter, we find Helene inside folding her uniform. I’m not even a little upset by her annoyed, muttered reply to Olive’s chirped greeting or by her turning her back on us, because I’m done. After a day full of people, I’m more than ready to curl up alone on my bed and pass out.
Olive chatters away about classes and funny anecdotes and how everything will work out fine. Her upbeat monologue shifts into a hazy drone as sleep claims me.