Chapter 59 Alar
ALAR
"Cadets may engage privately and discreetly with one another, but only within their rank. Regulations exist to ensure that personal allowances never come at the expense of proper conduct or unit cohesion."
—Dragon Flight Academy
Rulebook Appendix
Isat cross-legged on my bed with the combat tactics manual propped against my knee, trying to focus on the chapter about aerial assault formations and push through the fatigue that was dulling my mind, but the words kept blurring together anyway.
Across the room, Codric had his own book open, but his head was slumped, his eyes were closed, and he was snoring lightly.
If I had a pillow to spare, I would have chucked it at his head to wake him up, but I was using mine to cushion my back against the wall.
"Codric, wake up!" I called.
The only response I got was an even louder snore.
"Codric! The book is not going to get into your head by osmosis."
He startled awake, wiping drool from his chin. "How long was I asleep?"
I shrugged. "I noticed the snoring only a minute ago, but given how hard it was to wake you up, you've been out for a while."
Codric flipped one more page, sighed in resignation, and closed the book. "My brain is fried. Nothing is getting in." He set it on his desk chair, which he was using as a nightstand.
I knew the feeling.
We were all exhausted after the intense day we'd had, so even though curfew was almost two hours away, most of us had retreated to our rooms right after dinner to study and rest.
A soft knock on our door had Codric perking up. "I wonder who that is?"
He bolted out of bed as if he hadn't been pretending to be half-dead only a moment ago.
"Well, hello there," he said as he opened the door, his voice dropping to that smooth, flirtatious tone he reserved for special company. "This is an unexpected pleasure."
I glanced up to see Shovia leaning against the doorframe, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. She wore casual clothes rather than her uniform—a simple long shirt and leggings that somehow managed to look distinctly feminine on her tall, athletic frame.
"Is it?" she asked, glancing at me with a raised brow.
I had a distinct feeling that Shovia's visit wasn't spontaneous, and that Codric had been supposed to arrange for me not to be there and forgot or simply hadn't had the guts to ask.
"I didn't expect you to have the energy after the day we had," he admitted.
She snorted, sauntering into our room and sitting on his bed. "I'm antsy." She gave me a pointed look.
The girl wasn't subtle or bashful about what she wanted, and I appreciated it.
"Okay, I get the dragon-sized hint." I closed my book, pushed my feet into my boots, and grabbed my jacket on my way out.
I probably should grab the sleeping bag as well, but that would have meant opening the wardrobe and further delaying my departure.
"Have fun," I said as I closed the door behind me.
"Thanks, Alar," Shovia called after me. "You should check on Kailin. She might be a little lonely without me."
That was another dragon-sized hint, but I wasn't going to knock on Kailin's door and invite myself. It might be unfair, but females were allowed more leeway than males and could do things that would get males in trouble.
Not that I had a problem with that.
My mother had raised me to always wait for an explicit invitation and double-check before assuming that it had been given.
I headed to the lounge, which was located near the end of the corridor, next to the staircase that led to the upper floors.
I hadn't paid much attention to what was inside when we'd been given the tour, and now that I was here, I was pleasantly surprised.
The modestly appointed common area had several worn couches and armchairs that looked comfortable, a few bookcases full of books, and a dated television.
I didn't expect anyone there, but the soft rustle of turning pages betrayed the sole occupant who was hiding behind the tall back of one of the swiveling armchairs that were facing the windows.
"Hello," I said as I walked inside.
The armchair swung around, revealing Kailin.
Understanding shining in her eyes, she smiled. "Exiled from your room?"
"Temporarily displaced," I corrected, settling into the armchair next to hers. "At least I hope it's temporary, or I will have to sleep on one of these couches if Shovia is not back before curfew."
"Is that your way of asking me if she told me her plans?"
I nodded.
"She said she would see how it goes and not to wait up for her." Kailin closed her book, keeping one finger between the pages to mark her place. "We didn't have the opportunity to talk about your first flight during dinner. How did it go?"
I looked away to hide the guilt in my eyes.
Kailin had arrived late, and before she'd gotten there, I had learned that Commander Ravel had been her flight instructor.
I'd promised myself not to obsess over their special relationship and accept it as a given, but it wasn't easy.
Afraid that I would say something I would later regret, I'd engaged in the general flow of conversation around the table and avoided talking to Kailin privately.
"It was indescribable," I admitted. "There's something about being that high in the sky and seeing the world from that perspective.
.." I trailed off, searching for words adequate to describe the experience.
"It changes you, makes you feel superior, which I know is wrong, but we belong to a very exclusive club now. "
I was a member of another exclusive club, the monarchy of Catonia, but somehow being a rider meant more to me.
"I know what you mean," Kailin said. "Very few people ever get to experience it, but that makes me feel privileged rather than superior."
Elucians were compelled to tell the truth, so I knew she meant what she'd said, but perhaps she just wasn't all that attuned to her own feelings. There was no way being chosen didn't make her feel superior.
"How about your fear of heights?" I asked. "How did you manage that?"
I really didn't want to bring up Commander Ravel and how she must have felt secure with his arms around her.
A shadow crossed her eyes. "It went well, I think. Commander Ravel distracted me with stories about dragons and how they enjoy engaging in gossip."
"Really?" I was proud of myself for not reacting to her mention of the commander. "What do they gossip about?"
"Everything, it would seem, but mostly riders. He told me that my brother's dragonia sings his praise to the other dragons, so to speak."
"Well, that kind of makes sense. There isn't much else dragons can do to entertain themselves after they are done hunting for the day, and since they communicate telepathically with one another, they don't even have to be close to each other to gossip."
"It's not…" she trailed off. "So, are you planning to camp out here until Shovia returns?"
I glanced around the empty lounge. "That was the idea, though it looks like I might end up sleeping on one of these couches. I doubt they'll be done before curfew."
"That would be against academy rules," she pointed out. "Page 43 of the rulebook explicitly states that cadets must be in their assigned quarters after curfew unless given special dispensation by the floor monitor."
I raised an eyebrow, impressed. "You've memorized the rulebook, including what page every rule was written on?"
"Not all of it. But the section on curfew violations caught my attention because the penalties seemed particularly harsh."
"So, what do you suggest? That I knock on the door and tell them to be done before curfew?"
She hesitated for a moment. "Worst case scenario, if it's almost curfew time and Shovia is not back yet, you can sleep in her bed."
The suggestion caught me off guard, sending a rush of heat through my body and getting me instantly hard, but a moment later, reason cleared the haze of lust, and I realized that Kailin hadn't issued an invitation to anything other than using her friend's bed.
"Thank you." I shifted the book so it was hiding the evidence of my arousal. "I hope it won't come to that."
Kailin gave me a quizzical look as if that hadn't been the response she'd hoped for.
Had I been misreading the situation?
The slight flush that colored her cheeks made me wonder if perhaps her thoughts hadn't been entirely innocent after all, and the possibility sent another surge of heat through me.
"We still have plenty of time before curfew," I said, swiveling the chair sideways to better hide what was going on in my loose pajama pants. I pointed to her book. "What are you studying? That doesn't look like the rule book."
"Commander Ravel recommended this reading about dragons and said that the library in our lounge should have it."
"We have a library?"
She turned her chair around and pointed at the bookcases in the back of the room. "There are several copies if you want to read up on dragons ahead of the class."
I thought that the bookcases contained just casual reading material and expected the academy to have a proper library like the one in Vedona. I'd spent many pleasant evenings in that one.
Still, reading up on dragons was a good idea, and I was definitely taking one of those books to my room later. "Did you learn anything interesting?"
"I spent most of the evening studying dragon physiognomy. Did you know they have three eyelids? The third one is transparent and helps them fly through ash or smoke. It's also the reason their eyes don't dry out in the wind while we have to wear goggles to protect ours."
"Aren't those known facts in this part of the world?"
She shook her head. "We don't learn stuff like that in school in Elucia. Only riders get to learn the mysteries of dragons."
I didn't want to reiterate my previous statement about riders' elite status. "I suppose it makes sense. Dragons are creatures of the skies, while we are ground-bound. We are privileged to be allowed to join them." I used her terminology.