Chapter twenty four- The Weight of a Drop
Liora woke with a heaviness she couldn't name.
It pressed against her chest the moment her eyes opened, a quiet, persistent weight that made the room feel colder than it should.
The dormitory was still dim, the early morning light barely filtering through the thin curtains.
Mira slept in the bed across from hers, curled beneath her blanket, breathing softly and evenly — untouched by the restless churn that had kept Liora awake most of the night.
She pushed herself upright, feeling the stiffness in her shoulders.
Nothing in the room had changed. The two beds.
The shared desk. The single window overlooking the courtyard.
Everything was exactly as it had been the night before, yet she felt as though something inside her had shifted, leaving her slightly off balance.
A faint rustle outside drew her attention. She turned toward the window.
Ashwing stood directly below it, on the packed earth of the courtyard.
His wings were folded neatly against his sides, but every feather along his spine was alert.
His head was lifted toward her window, golden eyes tracking her movement with unwavering focus.
He looked steady, grounded, unshakable — everything she wasn't this morning.
He hadn't slept either. She could tell by the way he shifted his weight, by the way his gaze never drifted, by the subtle tension in his posture. He was watching over her, guarding her, as if something in the night had unsettled him too.
Liora rose quietly, careful not to wake Mira, and pulled on her leather uniform. The familiar weight settled over her shoulders, grounding her only slightly. She crossed the room and pushed open the window. Cool morning air rushed in, brushing against her face.
Ashwing lifted his head higher, nudging the stone wall beneath the window with his beak — a soft, questioning gesture, protective rather than anxious.
"I'm fine," she whispered down to him.
Ashwing tilted his head, unconvinced.
Behind her, Mira groaned awake. She stretched, rubbing her eyes before focusing on Liora.
"You look... off."
Liora forced a small smile. "Just tired."
"You're always tired lately."
"I know."
Mira studied her for a moment, then sighed. "If you ever want to talk about it—"
"I don't," Liora said too quickly.
Mira lifted her hands. "Okay. No pressure."
Liora grabbed her books and headed for the door. Outside, Ashwing moved immediately, falling into step beside her as she crossed the courtyard — never entering buildings, never leaving her unguarded, always watching.
The strategy classroom was grand in a way that felt deliberate — a reminder of who this Academy was built for.
High vaulted ceilings arched overhead, carved with the crests of ancient noble houses.
Tall windows let in sharp beams of morning light, illuminating rows of polished wooden desks arranged in perfect symmetry.
She and Mira slipped into the back row, the only place where the Academy's single non?noble student wouldn't be stared at like an intruder. Even so, she felt the weight of the nobles' gazes the moment she sat down — assessing, judging, dismissing.
Outside the tall windows, Ashwing stood in the courtyard, head lifted toward the classroom. His feathers were slightly raised, alert as always. He didn't need to see her to know where she was. He simply knew.
Professor Halden entered with the heavy, measured steps of someone who had lived through more battles than the students could imagine.
His uniform was worn at the edges, the leather softened by years of use.
He set a stack of scrolls on the podium and surveyed the room with a gaze that cut through every whisper.
"Today," he began, "we discuss the role of Academy graduates in the defense of the Kingdom."
A ripple of excitement moved through the second?years. Kael sat in the front row, posture straight, expression unreadable. Aiden sat beside him, leaning forward with interest. Their uniforms bore the silver insignia of second?year riders — a mark of status the nobles wore proudly.
Mira leaned toward Liora, whispering, "Brace yourself."
Professor Halden unrolled a large map of the Kingdom and pinned it to the board. Red markers dotted the borders like wounds.
"After two years at this Academy," he said, "you will be considered ready for active defense assignments. Not full deployment — but reinforcement, border watch, and strategic support."
The nobles straightened with pride. Some exchanged excited glances. Others smirked, already imagining themselves as heroes.
Liora felt a knot tighten in her stomach.
She was a first?year. She shouldn't even be thinking about deployment. But the nobles' glances toward her said otherwise.
Professor Halden tapped the map with a piece of chalk.
"The enemy kingdom has grown bolder. Their goal is simple: weaken us. And the most effective way to do that is to target our dragons."
A murmur spread through the room.
Halden's voice hardened.
"They want our eggs. And if they cannot steal them, they will destroy the Academy to prevent us from raising new riders."
The room fell silent.
Then the whispers began.
"She'll be first line for sure."
"She's not important."
"And her dragon's getting big."
"Too big."
"She'll be sent out before any of us."
Liora stared at her parchment, jaw tight. She didn't look up. She didn't need to. She could feel every word like a needle against her skin.
Mira leaned closer, whispering sharply.
"Ignore them."
Liora didn't answer.
Outside the window, Ashwing's feathers rose higher, reacting to her spike of emotion. His tail lashed once against the ground.
Professor Halden's gaze flicked toward the window, then back to the class.
"Size," he said, "is not a weakness. Nor is rarity. A dragon's growth reflects its potential — and its rider's bond."
Several nobles shifted uncomfortably.
Halden continued.
"But it also makes such dragons targets."
Liora's heart dropped.
He wasn't looking at her.
But he didn't need to.
Everyone knew who he meant.
Kael's eyes flicked back toward her for a brief moment — unreadable, assessing — before returning to the map.
Aiden glanced back too, concern flickering across his face.
Halden tapped the map again.
"This Academy stands between the Kingdom and annihilation. You will train. You will learn. And one day, you will protect this land with your dragons at your side."
He paused.
"Some of you sooner than others."
The nobles smirked.
Mira muttered, "I swear, if one more of them looks at you like that—"
Liora forced a breath out, steadying herself.
She didn't want to be first line.
She didn't want to be a target.
She didn't want any of this.
But Ashwing was outside, watching her with unwavering loyalty.
And she knew — deep down — that she would stand wherever he stood.
Even if it was the front.
Lunch felt louder than usual. The courtyard buzzed with noble laughter, polished boots clicking against stone, the clatter of silver trays and the hum of conversations that never included her.
Liora sat with Mira beneath the shade of an old archway, trying to focus on her food, but her mind kept drifting back to the whispers in class.
First line.
Not important.
Her dragon is getting big.
She tried to push the words away, but they clung to her like burrs.
And beneath all of it — beneath the noise, the whispers, the nobles' stares — there was the thought she kept trying not to think:
Kael took Ashwing's blood.
Just one drop.
Just a moment.
But it lived in her mind like a bruise she couldn't stop pressing.
Ashwing stood a few meters away, positioned where he could see everything — her, the crowd, every possible angle of approach. His feathers were slightly raised, a silent warning to anyone who looked at her too long.
Mira nudged her. "You're spiraling."
"I'm not."
"You are."
Before Liora could answer, Aiden appeared.
He crossed the courtyard with that easy, sun?warm confidence that made people turn to look at him. He looked like everything the Academy wanted its riders to be — noble, composed, destined.
And he smiled when he saw her.
"Hey," he said, sliding onto the bench beside her. "Mind if I join you?"
Mira smirked. "You're already sitting."
Aiden laughed, then turned to Liora, his expression softening.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
Mira nodded. "She's been weird all morning."
"Mira."
"What? You have."
Aiden hesitated, then took a breath — the kind someone takes when they're about to step off a cliff.
"Liora... I wanted to ask you something."
Her heart stuttered.
Aiden rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly shy in a way she wasn't used to seeing.
"Would you... maybe... want to go out with me? Just the two of us?"
Mira's eyes widened. "Finally."
"Mira!"
"What? I've been waiting for him to ask."
Liora's breath caught.
She liked him.
She really did.
He was warm, kind, steady — the kind of person who made the world feel less sharp. He made her laugh. He made her feel seen. He made her feel normal in a place where she never belonged.
But he was also Royal.
A future leader.
A noble with a path already carved in stone.
Someone who would one day stand at the front of the Kingdom, with expectations she could never meet.
And he was her friend.
Her safe place.
Someone she didn't want to lose.
And then there was Kael.
Kael, with his cold certainty.
Kael, with his unreadable eyes.
Kael, who always seemed to know more than he said.
Kael, who made her feel something sharp and electric and terrifying.
Kael, who had taken Ashwing's blood with steady hands and no hesitation.
Her voice came out small.
"I... I don't know."
Aiden's smile softened, gentle and patient.
"That's okay. You don't have to answer now. Just think about it."
She nodded, but her chest felt tight.
Because she wanted to say yes.
And she couldn't.
Not when her life was already tangled in things she didn't understand.
Not when Ashwing was growing faster than he should.
Not when Kael's shadow lingered at the edge of every thought.
The rest of lunch passed in silence.
Aiden talked with Mira about classes.
Mira teased him about his handwriting.
Liora sat between them, feeling like she was made of glass.
Night settled over the Academy like a slow?moving tide, washing the courtyards in silver light and long shadows. The nobles drifted back to their dormitories in clusters, laughing softly. Liora walked alone.
Ashwing followed at her side, his steps heavy and deliberate, wings tucked tight. He didn't like this — she could feel it in the tension of his movements, in the way his tail flicked every few seconds, in the way he scanned every shadow as if expecting danger to step out of it.
She didn't like it either.
Not the silence.
Not the uncertainty.
Not the thought that had been gnawing at her all day:
She reached the training hall this time they would meet incide. Ashwing stopped at the entrance, But he stood guard, wings half?unfurled, ready.
Liora stepped inside.
Kael was waiting.
He stood in the center of the hall, arms crossed, posture rigid, expression unreadable. The air felt colder here, sharper, as if the walls themselves held their breath.
Liora's pulse quickened.
Kael didn't move. He didn't speak. He simply watched her, as if measuring the distance between who she had been yesterday and who she was now.
Finally, he broke the silence.
"We ran the blood."
Her breath caught.
"And?"
Kael's eyes flickered — not with fear, not with surprise, but with something heavier. Something that made her stomach twist.
"He's powerful," Kael said. "More powerful than any dragon born in this kingdom for centuries."
Liora's throat tightened. "What does that mean?"
"It means," Kael said slowly, "that he is like the dragons from before the decline. Before the bloodlines weakened. Before they shrank."
Outside, Ashwing shifted, reacting to her spike of emotion. His claws scraped against the stone.
Kael continued.
"The examiners want more proof. They want the shell of his egg.
Liora's breath hitched. "Why?"
"To confirm the lineage," Kael said. "Blood alone isn't enough. The shell carries the oldest imprint. If it matches what they suspect..."
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Liora felt the room tilt.
"No," she whispered. "That can't be right."
"It's possible," Kael said. "And it's why they want him."
Her breath shook. The room felt too small, the air too thin.
"Kael... what do we do?"
Kael stepped closer, his voice low and steady.
"We find the shell," he said. "And we test it."
Liora swallowed hard. "And if the shell confirms it?"
Kael held her gaze, his expression tightening just slightly.
"This would buy more time than I hoped."
Not reassurance.
Not comfort.
Just truth — cold, measured, and terrifying in its honesty.
Liora's stomach twisted. "Time for what?"
Kael didn't answer immediately. His gaze held hers, steady and unreadable, as if he were weighing how much she could handle.
"When are you going to tell me the truth?" she whispered.
Kael stepped closer, close enough that she could see the faint tension in his jaw, the way his eyes darkened at her question.
"When the time is right."
The words hit her harder than she expected — not because they were vague, but because they were final. A line drawn. A door closed. A promise and a warning wrapped into one.
Outside, Ashwing growled low, sensing her spike of fear and frustration. The sound vibrated through the stone floor.