Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
An enemy in our dorms? And a missing dragon? How is that possible?
Shock ripples through the gathered fledglings. Most of them. I notice that Olive’s not very surprised. Nor Helene, who’s watching me like a hawk.
“At this time, we’re not sure if those two events are linked or not. Thanks to some quick thinking by two of your peers, we’ve taken the intruder into custody. Our job now is to ensure there are no remaining threats on campus and to find the escaped dragon. Fledglings will take to the sky. You’ll cover the entire encampment, the shore, and the Cyne mountain range. If you find anything out of the ordinary, report back to us immediately. Vice Commander Torno will give each unit further instructions.”
After Bigley leaves, Torno gives the closest unit their assignments. As they head straight to the stable, she moves to the next group.
When she comes to our unit, she addresses me directly. “When you were near the dragon aerie earlier today, did you notice anything unusual?”
An icy chill crawls down my spine. What wasn’t unusual about my encounter with the dragon? Not that I can admit to any of that without sounding like a loon.
“No, Vice Commander Torno.” I will my racing heart to calm and feign nonchalance. “I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.”
Torno regards me for a long moment—the glint in her amber eyes reminding me of a cat’s—and nods. Does she believe me, or is she pretending to because she doesn’t have enough evidence to prove otherwise? Does she know I was actually inside the dragon aerie?
Her face is a mask. Flickering flames in the surrounding metal barrels turn her auburn hair a fiery red and sharpen her features, lending them an unearthly quality.
My mouth’s so dry, I can’t swallow. The intensity of her scrutiny makes me half afraid she’s reading my thoughts.
Stay calm. Don’t fidget. Try to look innocent.
Easier said than done, even though I am innocent. I may have fudged my way into the aerie, but that’s all. It’s not like I kidnapped the dragon myself.
Shouts and commotion surround us, but she doesn’t bother glancing at the others. I’m her sole focus. “Are you all right, Axton?”
“I’m fine. Just antsy to help with the search.” The question circling my mind spills from my lips. “I was just wondering, which dragon is missing?”
“The black one.”
Tiny hairs on the back of my neck prickle. The only black dragon at Flighthaven Academy—the one I had a weird… connection with earlier—has gone missing. How can that be a coincidence?
I give myself a mental shake. What am I thinking? Of course it’s a coincidence. How could getting overrun by strong emotions while in the aerie and a dragon disappearing possibly be related?
Fighting to hide my unease from Torno, I only half listen as she assigns my unit the area directly east of the eyril field.
Without another word, she turns to address the next group.
Olive and the others break for the stable to saddle their alicorns. Since Zephyr’s already at my side, I remain in place.
I pat his neck, leaning close to whisper. His big ear twitches in my direction. “I know it’s been a long night already. I’m sorry about this.”
The alicorn fixes a dark chocolate eye on me. He nudges me with his nose, as if to tell me he’s okay, and a trickle of calm ripples through me. As I wait for the rest of my unit to ready their mounts, my mind drifts to the night’s events, and then to my sister. Gods, how I wish Leesa were here with me.
Before I can dwell on my problems any longer, Olive, Nick, and Abel lead their alicorns from the stable and mount. I put my left foot in the stirrup and swing my right leg over the saddle. After establishing a quick game plan, we take to the sky to search the location Torno assigned. We coast above the treetops for a good minute before reality punches me.
I’m flying an alicorn. By myself. Unattended. Just me and Zephyr, racing with the wind, without any of the old panic rushing in to suffocate me. I conquered my fear, and I owe it all to Thorne.
Once the initial burst of elation disperses, I settle in for the hunt. Even with the silvery moonlight illuminating the grounds, there isn’t much to see. Stands of trees, grassland, and a few ponds inhabit the area…nothing the black dragon could hide in. The creature’s too immense.
I direct Zephyr lower. Leaves rustle, and blades of grass wiggle from the wind his wings create, but there aren’t any prints from the dragon lumbering over the ground. Not that a beast that size was likely to stomp around in the plants when he could fly. Unless he was injured.
I recall the half-anguished, half-crazed look in his golden eyes the day before, and my heart clenches. No creature should have to endure imprisonment…whether human or animal.
As a last resort, I scour the area for any signs of the dragon.
There’s nothing.
“Any luck?” Olive flies Nova as close to Zephyr as she can without their wings touching.
“Not a bit.” No depressions in the ground, no burn marks from his fire…nothing that indicates the dragon took this route. “You?”
Biting her lip, she regards the area. “Nope.”
Together, we do another sweep. Eventually, Nick and Abel approach on their mounts.
Nick yawns, revealing his even white teeth. “See anything?”
Olive shakes her head. “Lark and I didn’t.”
“Neither did we.” He pats Solara’s neck. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but my bed is calling my name.”
Abel snorts. “He needs his beauty sleep. Otherwise, I’ll have a long day dealing with his grumpy ass.”
My thoughts shift to a certain moody instructor. I have a feeling Nick won’t be the only “grumpy ass” in the morning.
Finished with our search to the east of the eyril, our unit turns and heads back toward Flighthaven.
As we approach the field, Nick swivels in his saddle to face me. “We should check out the stalks.”
I eye the field that looms ahead. “Are they tall enough for a dragon to hide in?”
He shrugs. “Won’t hurt to look.”
True. Even if we find no dragon there, the area’s worth checking out for signs of any lurking intruders.
Abel hollers from behind us. “Let’s do it…if little princess over there isn’t about to go night night in the air.”
Nick glares at Abel. “Bite me.”
Laughing, Abel swoops ahead of us and begins to descend.
Muttering another curse, Nick suggests we divide and conquer, then flies off to the farthest section of the field.
Olive and I break apart and fly to our allotted locations.
As Zephyr glides over our designated area, my neck tingles. Uneasiness I can’t shake washes over me. My senses whisper that someone’s skulking in the plants below. Someone or something.
Mimicking the commands I heard Thorne utter earlier, I tug the reins and direct Zephyr to fly even lower, low enough that his hooves almost brush the tallest stalks. Even though there’s no breeze at the moment, the eyril appears to undulate as we pass overhead. At the edge of the field, we come across an adjoining grassy one. A black vein snakes across it like a giant serpent.
I blink, certain I’ve never seen anything like that before.
I guide Zephyr into a slow descent to get a better view. The black vein pulses. Moves. As if reacting to our presence. Darkness oozes from the vein at a rapid pace, spreading outward to the surrounding grass. My breath catches. One moment, the field is green. The next, all the grass dies, leaving the meadow dark and barren.
I rub my eyes. Look again. The field is still dead, the ground coated with an inky substance.
How can this be happening? It’s not an escaped dragon, but I need to tell the others.
As I steer Zephyr around, leaves flutter and stalks sway. A faint humming grows steadily louder, and I swear I can almost hear a seductive voice calling out. Luring me to fly Zephyr lower, into the welcoming embrace of the eyril.
Come close…agon…call…
I cock my head. What is the voice saying? Surely, flying a little closer couldn’t hurt.
Zephyr fights the command, but I barely notice. The voice keeps whispering. It’s such a nice sound. Soothing. Maybe if I just?—
An oily cloud bursts from the stalks in front of us. Zephyr banks a hard right, and we avoid the tainted air by the skin of our teeth.
Fear clogs my veins. An icy cold snakes down my throat and into my lungs.
I’ve seen that oily cloud before, in one of my nightmares.
But how?
The cloud and tendrils reach toward us, so I urge Zephyr upward until we’re high above the field. I force myself to take slow, steady breaths and squeeze my eyes shut.
“Lark?” Olive’s voice drifts across the field. “Why are you way up there? Did you see something?”
My eyes pop open. “Yes. You won’t believe this, but I saw?—”
I glance down at the eyril field and freeze. Everything looks normal. The tendrils are gone, and there’s no sign of the oily black cloud. The grassy field is as green as ever.
Could I have imagined it?
Maybe Nick isn’t the only one who needs his beauty sleep to function.
“Saw what?”
“Nothing. I saw nothing.” I nudge Zephyr toward Olive and Nova. “Just thought I’d fly higher to get a better overall view.”
Once we’re all satisfied no one is hiding in the eyril field, we head to the stable in silence. Everyone is tired. Even Nick and Abel aren’t ribbing each other, and I want nothing more than to put this day to rest and start over. Too many bizarre or unsettling events have happened in too short a time frame. One more, and my brain might explode.
Back in the stable, I groom Zephyr, making sure I brush him thoroughly. After the night we’ve had, he deserves the care.
Olive produces some sugar cubes from her pocket, handing me one to give to Zephyr and feeding a second one to Nova. “Do you think we baby these alicorns too much?”
Zephyr’s mouth tickles as he takes the treat from my outstretched palm. “Of course not.”
“I don’t think so either, but Nick and Abel love their alicorns and still got out of here in a flash.” She shakes her head. “Typical guys. Once they get what they want, they’re gone.”
I wonder if she’s speaking from experience. “There must be some nice ones out there.”
“Yeah, but nice guys are like dragons. You know they exist, but they’re a rarity.” Olive brushes Nova’s shoulder, laughing when the animal makes a contented grunt. “But is that what you really want?”
“What?”
“A nice guy.”
I never put much thought into what kind of man I might like but whenever I did, I pictured someone out of a storybook. Someone courtly and kind, who doted on me, agreed with everything I said, and whispered sweet words in my ear. Now, I’m certain a man like that would bore me to tears. “Umm?—”
She gives me a sly wink. “There’s a certain dangerous, brooding instructor who’d be a lot more fun than any nice guy I know.”
Swallowing hard, I widen my eyes and feign innocence. “Who would that be?”
“Don’t play dumb.” She shoots me a you know exactly who I’m talking about look. “I’ve seen the way you two act around each other.”
My face burns. “If you’re talking about Instructor Thorne, he was only helping me get up to speed with flying. And even if I did like him and he did like me, he’s off-limits. You know that.” Why is it so damn warm in here? “And what do you mean by how we ‘act’ around each other?”
“When you’re not arguing,” a grin spreads across her face, “you two act as if you’re a few seconds away from tearing each other’s clothes off and?—”
“Okay.” I hold up my hand. “I don’t know where you got that idea, but there’s nothing between us.” Somehow, the words sound less convincing out loud than they do in my head.
“Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that. Don’t think I forgot how the sparks were flying this morning.” Olive props her hands on her hips. “I can’t believe you had the balls to call him an obnoxious asshole! What happened when you snuck into his room, anyway?”
“First of all, I never specified that he was the obnoxious asshole in question.” Even though he totally was. “If he inferred as much, that’s on him. Secondly, I’m kind of beat. Can we table this conversation for later?”
Olive’s shrewd eyes study my face. I try not to blush but can feel the warmth climbing my neck. She cackles and claps her hands. “Oh my gods! You hooked up! You hooked up with Instructor Tall, Dark, and Broody!”
“What? No!” Cringing, I slap my palm over her mouth and do a quick check of the stable. Empty. Thank the gods. For once, luck is on my side. “I didn’t hook up with him. Not like that, anyway. We just?—”
Olive rips my hands from her mouth and squeals. “You just what? Planted the parsnip? Fed the kitty? Swallowed his sword? Took a trip to pound town? Did the no-pants dance?”
I’m glad there’s no mirror around because my face must be bright red. “No. We just kissed. That’s it.”
Her eyes go round like saucers. “Ha! So something did happen. I was just giving you a hard time. I can’t believe you actually kissed him. How was it? Is he a good kisser? I bet he is. No man with the kind of confidence and sex appeal he oozes could be bad.”
As I remember our kiss, my skin warms for an entirely different reason. “The kiss was good. Perfect. But don’t get excited. He kicked me out right afterward and told me to go find another fledgling if I wanted a hookup, because he wasn’t on the menu.”
Olive winced. “Oof. Sorry, that’s rough. Maybe he was just trying to push you away.”
“I don’t really want to talk about it anymore. I want to know why you were so freaked out when you first saw me.”
The excitement dims from Olive’s face. “You know how Bigley announced there was an intruder in the dorms?” She waits for my nod before continuing. “Well, he broke into our room.”
I go still. “What?”
“Yeah. And there’s more.” She casts a worried glance at me, and my nerves begin to vibrate. Whatever she has to say next, I’m not going to like. “He had a dagger out and jumped you in the bed. Or, he at least jumped the clothes you stuffed under the blanket, thinking it was you. We all did. If Helene hadn’t been in the bathroom, I’m not sure what would have happened. She caught him while he was focused on your bed and woke me up. Between the two of us, we managed to subdue him.”
I stare into her concerned eyes as my mind attempts to process the news. “Does that mean…do you think someone targeted me to kill me?”
I don’t realize my hands are shaking until she clasps them in her own. “Torno told us not to jump to any conclusions before we have all the information. She also told us not to share details with anyone but fuck that. If someone’s after you, you deserve to know.”
Wild thoughts race through my head. Leesa’s scribbled note to keep me away from Flighthaven. The tombstone with my name. The freakish experiences with the eyril and the escaped dragon.
It’s too much to handle when I’m already close to passing out. I need sleep first. Maybe with a fresh mind, things will make more sense in the morning.
Once we finish caring for the alicorns, we leave the stable. Dawn isn’t too far off. If we hurry back, we might luck out with a few hours of sleep.