43. Aurora
AURORA
Lunch was a silent affair. Ryse had been right—nobody could look anyone else in the eye.
There were a few exceptions. I saw Jorn-o and Greer casting longing looks at each other across the Mess Hall and was glad that my friend seemed to have made some kind of real connection. But most of the cadets around me kept their eyes down on their trays and almost everyone ate in silence.
About halfway through the meal, the Healer, Professor Zephyr, came to the middle of the room and asked for silence to make an announcement. Since almost no one had been talking anyway, her calm, clear voice was easy to hear.
“I have been searching through my records and last night’s Mating Flight was the most violent and intense that has been felt in this Academy for over a century,” she said.
“I want you to know that the way you reacted was not your fault—we all know that dragons have strong emotions. Last night those emotions overcame many of you—there is no shame in that.”
I saw many of the cadets looking around surreptitiously, as though they were wondering if they could really believe her.
“Now, having said that, I’m quite certain that some of you probably sustained some injuries,” she went on.
“Some of you probably engaged in acts you’d never done before and weren’t prepared to do either physically or emotionally.
Listen to me—if you are injured, come see me.
” She looked across the sea of faces, her own face earnest and intense.
“Don’t try to go on without treatment. Injuries—especially internal ones—can become very serious if left untreated. ”
I saw several cadets wince and shift in their seats and I understood what the Healer meant.
“That’s all I have to say,” Professor Zephyr told us. “I’ll be in the Infirmary all day today. Please, if you’re hurt, come see me.”
As she left the Mess Hall, I saw several cadets get up and push their half-full trays through the rectangular window on the side of the wall. Many of them were walking with a kind of limp, as though they were in pain, but no one laughed at them, which surprised me.
Not that I thought it was funny myself, but by now I knew how the boys around me behaved. They liked to joke about everything—especially if the joke was at the expense of one of their friends. Everything was funny and the more personal and private, the funnier it was.
But not today.
I had the feeling that the whole Academy was shaken to its core by the events of last night. And worse, no one really knew why it had happened. What had caused the Mating Flight to be ten times worse than it usually was?
No one knew. Which meant no one knew how to prevent it from happening again. Now that was a sobering thought—especially since a Mating Flight could occur at any time.
At last, lunch was over and everyone moved to get back to their classes.
It had been announced that—for today only—we only had to go to classes if we wanted to.
The Head Master had made a fumbling announcement about how he understood if we were “too fatigued to function properly” but that tomorrow everything would be business as usual.
I left a silent Toady, Bugs, and Leaper—Jorn-o had already left awhile ago with Greer—and moved to take my try to the window.
“Here, I’ve got that.”
Ryse suddenly appeared beside me. He took my barely-touched tray in his hand and pushed both our trays through the side window together.
“Are you going to class?” I asked, as we left the Mess Hall.
He shook his head.
“I want to spend some time in the library to see if I can find an explanation for what happened last night.”
“Don’t you think the professors are already doing that?” I asked.
He frowned.
“Maybe, but I’m not sure they’re looking in the right places. Most of them are talking to their dragons—or asking riders whose dragons rose for mating last night to question them. But I don’t think the explanation for what happened lies in the present—we need to look to the past.”
I gave him a surprised look.
“You think this kind of thing has happened before?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” he said grimly. “Unfortunately, there was a fire around a century ago that destroyed a lot of the Academy’s records, but I’m hoping I can find a few that survived.”
“And you really think you’ll find an explanation?”
He frowned.
“I don’t know, but something’s going on here.
For years we’ve had milder Mating Flights and the dragons’ numbers have been declining.
Now, suddenly, we have a flight like nobody in living memory has experienced before—a flight that’s certain to result in a lot more eggs in the near future.
The more intense a flight is, the more eggs the females lay. ”
“They’ll have to get more riders then,” I said doubtfully. “Or maybe relax their standards some.”
The Academy was barely at a quarter of its capacity—maybe less.
But part of that was the fact that the Head Master preferred to take mostly sons of Noble Houses if he could.
But you didn’t have to have Noble blood to be a rider—it just meant you were much more likely to Impress and bond with a Noble dragon.
“Something’s going on here, Auri,” Ryse said, frowning. “But it’s not new—I’d bet my life on it. With dragons, there’s nothing new—there are only cycles that repeat again and again.”
“You think we’re in some kind of new cycle now?” I asked him, surprised.
He shrugged.
“Don’t know. But there has to be some explanation for what happened last night.”
“Well, good luck with your research,” I told him. “I’m going to class.”
“All right, I’ll see you later. Oh, and don’t bother going back to your dorm afterwards,” he remarked. “I’ve already moved all your things into my room.”
“What?” I exclaimed, stopping dead in the middle of the hallway, which made other cadets curse and go around me.
Ryse stopped too.
“I said, I’ve moved your things into my room,” he said. “I did it right before lunch—it was easy—you don’t have much.”
I wondered if he’d seen the wide bandages I’d wrapped around my breasts before I knew the Dragon Glass pendant would hide my identity.
“You can’t just decide to move me into your room!” I protested.
Ryse frowned.
“Yes, I can. I’m your Wing Leader and you’re under my protection. You’ll be safer with me.”
“But…but you didn’t even ask anyone!” I sputtered.
He shrugged.
“Didn’t have to. I can choose to have a roommate if I want—that’s one of the privileges of being a Wing Leader.”
“But you didn’t ask me!” I pointed out.
“Look, Auri, let’s talk.” Ryse took me by the shoulder and steered me to an alcove. There were a few curious glances from the other cadets passing by, but most of them probably just assumed we were hashing out something that had happened during the Mating Flight.
I put my back against the stone wall, crossed my arms, and frowned up at him belligerently.
“You can’t just decide I’m moving in with you,” I said. “I should get a say about where I stay.”
Though I had longed to be in a two-person room at the start of the semester, it felt dangerous now. I couldn’t shake the feeling that, of all the people at the Academy, Ryse was the most likely to pierce the glamour the Dragon Glass pendant shielded me with and discover my secret.
“I need to keep you with me to keep you safe.” Ryse put a hand on the wall above my head and leaned over me. He looked down into my eyes, his golden gaze intense. “I can’t risk you getting hurt like you almost were last night.”
“After what you did to Larson, I doubt he’ll come near me again,” I said, trying not to notice how close he was. The way he was leaning over me it was almost like he was going to kiss me again.
A memory from the night before flashed though my mind—me straddling his lap, kissing him, and rubbing against him while something hot and hard rubbed against my core…
No! I pushed the thought away.
“If you think that, you don’t know Larson,” Ryse said, frowning. “We both know the Head Master won’t kick him out. As soon as he heals up, he’ll be after you again. But even if he isn’t, I want to keep you close in case we have another Mating Flight like the one last night.”
“But…there’s only one bed in your room,” I pointed out, wishing my voice didn’t come out sounding so breathless.
Ryse frowned.
“Are you worried I’ll try something?” he asked bluntly.
I could feel my cheeks burning.
“I never said that!”
“But I can tell you’re thinking it—look at how you’re blushing.” He brushed his knuckles against my hot cheek and looked into my eyes. “I told you, Auri—I don’t like other men. Last night was a one-off—just an effect of the Mating Flight.”
“What if there’s another Mating Flight like that one, though?
” I asked in a small voice. I didn’t want to say that I wasn’t sure I could control myself with him if another intense Flight happened.
It wasn’t that I was afraid he would hurt me—it was more like I was worried I would blow my own disguise if I got too overcome by the dragons’ emotions to think rationally.
“I’ll make sure to lay in a double dose of the calming tea I usually have on hand—some for both of us,” Ryse promised.
“But you said that nothing can stop the emotions if it’s your own dragon that rises,” I pointed out. “What if M’alex rises while I’m in the room with you?”
“Then you’ll lock yourself in the bathroom again,” he replied.
“Look, Auri…” He leaned even closer—close enough to kiss, whispered a little voice in my head—and looked at me, his golden eyes blazing.
“I can’t explain this, but I need to have you near me.
I need to know you’re safe. Remember I told you my dragon blood makes me protective of people I care about? ”
What he’d actually said was that it made him possessive of people he loved, but I supposed it was sort of the same thing.
“I…I remember,” I said, my heart pounding as I looked up at him.
“You’ve become very important to me,” Ryse said in a low voice. “I don’t exactly know why, but I know I need you close. I need to keep you safe. Do you understand?”
I bit my bottom lip, trying to think what to say. He was so close I could smell his warm, masculine scent and feel the heat from his big, muscular body radiating against mine.
My pulse was racing, and I wanted him to kiss me again—wanted it so badly I had to clench my hands into fists to keep myself from pressing my mouth to his.
“I understand,” I whispered.
“Good. I’m glad.” His gaze kept traveling from my eyes to my lips and back again. “Then you’ll stay with me?” he asked.
Oh God and Goddess, I knew I shouldn’t. It was dangerous to be so close to him, and not just because he might find out my secret. But when I opened my mouth, I found myself agreeing.
“Yes, I…I’ll stay with you,” I whispered.
“Thank you.” He straightened up at last, leaving me aching in ways I couldn’t define. “Then I’ll see you later.”
“See you later,” I echoed.
But as he left, I wondered what I had just gotten myself into…and how much harder it was going to be to keep my secret.