19. Judgement
D irector Vale cut a furious figure as she stood in front of Aeden, Vivienne, Serene, and Harrison, who all stood to attention at the director’s presence.
She wore a long black overcoat, her eyes darting between each and every one of them.
Master Storme was standing beside her, his hands placed behind his back and his chin raised, alongside two other faculty members who Aeden did not know.
One was a burly woman with mottled skin and scraggy grey hair.
She wore a serious look on her face that accentuated her hooked nose.
Her eyes were dark, circled by bluish purple bags that hung heavy under her eyes.
Beside her was a strongly built man, although not as large as Master Storme.
That didn’t make him any less imposing. Unlike Master Storme, he had long dark hair, which was tied back tightly, and an equally dark beard which covered most of his face.
A thin jagged scar ran down his right cheek.
Aeden’s hands were trembling as he stood with his hands by his sides, waiting for the director to address them.
Nyra was picking up on his anxiety as she sat beside Aeden.
She was still aching from Master Ember’s examination of her wings, something that Aeden got no enjoyment from feeling.
He felt powerless to help her right now.
“ This will all be over soon ,” he said to her through their bond, and Nyra seemed to take some comfort from that.
“What is the meaning of this?” Director Vale asked.
“It is simply unheard of to bring a wild Aer-Kin onto campus grounds. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?” Spittle left her mouth as she spoke.
There was a sternness to her that caused Aeden to wither inside.
He really did not want to get on the wrong side of the academy.
And yet, he still found himself answering back in defence of Nyra.
“She’s not wild,” he said, keeping his eyes fixed forward.
“Pardon?” the director said, stopping in her tracks and spinning on her heels to address Aeden.
“You said we brought a wild Aer-Kin onto the academy grounds, but she isn’t wild.” Aeden could sense the thickening coat of anxiety that rippled through the group as the air suddenly felt heavier around them.
Director Vale marched towards Aeden, stopping just in front of him and coming within inches from his face.
“That is an unregistered Aer-Kin hatchling, one that belongs in the wilds, not in the academy. We have rules in place for a reason. What if the hatchling’s parents descended on the academy?
Would you want the death of your fellow students on your hands?
” Her face continued to redden with rage as she addressed him, edging closer and closer.
“Master Ember.” She addressed him without looking in his direction. “What is the protocol for unregistered hatchlings at the academy? ”
Master Ember shuffled around awkwardly, clearly not wanting to answer the question.
“Master Ember,” she demanded again.
“The codex says that all unregistered hatchlings should be exterminated, such as it dictates in section twelve, paragraph three.”
“You can’t!” Aeden stepped out of line, closing the space between Director Vale and himself. He heard Harrison audibly gasp at his action. Vivienne and Serene managed to stay still, although sweat was starting to pool on Serene’s forehead.
“Master Storme, Master Joren, please escort Cadet Harrington to my chambers for further interrogation.”
Interrogation? What did she mean by that?
Aeden had nothing to hide. Before he had a chance to do anything, Master Storme and the other burly man now identified as Master Joren stepped forward and took hold of an arm each, pinning Aeden tightly in place and rendering him useless.
They overpowered him with ease, and Aeden couldn’t help but think that this was an overreaction.
“You can’t exterminate her, you can’t kill her!” Aeden protested, struggling in vain against the two men’s superior strength.
“I can, and I will. I order this Aer-Kin’s extermination in concordance with the codex, Cadet Harrington.
It is my duty as Director at the academy to hold you all to the bylaws that define us.
Without them . . .” She paused and straightened a strand of hair that had fallen down her face, tucking it behind her ear.
“Well, without them, there would be chaos.” The director’s eyes darted to the rest of the group.
“The rest of you will also be punished for this. ”
“Please, they had nothing to do with this! I acted on my own, you can’t punish them for something I did.”
“You seem to think you are in a position to tell me what I can and cannot do.” Director Vale’s voice was cold and stern.
Aeden’s stress levels were rising, and Nyra was becoming more and more restless.
“Master Ember, you will exterminate this hatchling.”
Master Ember didn’t move. Instead, he shuffled his foot through the dirt in front of him, as if drawing an imaginary line in the ground as he muttered something under his breath.
“Master Ember!” the director said, her voice spiking with frustration. She turned to face Master Ember, who couldn’t raise his head to meet her stony gaze.
“I can’t,” he said, barely audible.
Director Vale covered the ground between them. “Pardon?” she said as she towered over the short master.
“I can’t exterminate the hatchling, Director,” he said, still refusing to meet her gaze.
“Master Ember, this is your job, need I remind you. Your role here is to cultivate the eggs until they hatch, and exterminate the ones that do not meet the criteria.” She turned to glance at Nyra, a wry sneer forming in the corner of her mouth.
“And from what I can see, this one has deformed wings, does it not?”
“That is my role, yes. But as much as you want me to exterminate this Aer-Kin, I can’t.”
The director leaned right over the top of Master Ember, speaking slowly, not taking any care to hide the disdain in her voice. “And why is that?”
“Article five, chapter seventeen, paragraph four of the codex.” Master Ember raised his head but not to meet the eyes of the director.
Instead, he held Aeden’s gaze. “I’m not at liberty to exterminate an Aer-Kin that is bonded to a rider.
To do so would be in contradiction of the academy’s mission here in the mountains.
We are here to train riders, not destroy them. ”
“Bonded?” She spun around to face Aeden once again. “Is this true? Have you bonded with this unauthorised Aer-Kin?”
Aeden nodded. “I have, Director. I stand by my words though. These students had nothing to do with it. They simply took part in a search to find me when I had gone missing. As for my punishment, I will accept any you may deem necessary, but please do not exterminate her. She does not deserve that.”
Director Vale stood rooted to the spot, seemingly at a loss for words. Each second felt like an eternity as Master Storme’s grip grew tighter around Aeden’s arm.
“This is unheard of,” she finally said, breaking the silence that had filled the space. “No rider has bonded with an Aer-Kin in the wild outside of the academy’s grounds.”
“Technically the forest falls within the boundaries of the academy.” Harrison blurted the words out before quickly shrinking into himself when the director’s attention landed on him.
“The boy is right,” Master Ember said. “Harrington, was it the forest where you discovered your Aer-Kin’s egg?”
“Yes,” he said, “we were out on exercise. I fell down a hill and stumbled on the cave where her egg was. As I approached, she hatched and bonded with me straight away. ”
“Well, Director, I’m sure that despite the situation, that removes exterminating his Aer-Kin as an option. To do so would also kill Harrington.”
The director stood in silence, her eyes switching from Aeden to Nyra and then back to Aeden. “You went through the bonding ritual without any training and survived?” She spoke as if she didn’t believe her own words, like she was trying to figure out a complex puzzle.
“I did. I didn’t have any say in the matter. I don’t think Nyra, did either. I can’t say how it happened or why it happened, only that it did before either of us had any chance to do anything. It was out of our control.”
“And you have named her already,” she said, looking at Nyra, who was twitching. She was uneasy, and it showed on her scales; a thick, dark ridge had formed down her spine again. “And the two of you are bonded?”
“Yes,” Aeden said, and he began explaining everything he had experienced – the pulsating core, the light threads that wound around them, and the shared senses that they had experienced since bonding.
“You can feel what she feels? What is she feeling now?” Director Vale asked.
Aeden homed in on their bond. It was hard to differentiate between his own feelings and hers. “Right now she is scared and angry.”
“Let Cadet Harrington go,” the director demanded.
“The two of them are bonded, and she hasn’t retaliated or attacked us.
Most hatchlings would have acted on instinct alone by now.
The fact that she feels this and hasn’t shows that she is pliable to the academy.
” She spoke as if Nyra was a simple commodity.
“Master Ember, when did you discover this?”
“Just as you arrived, Director,” he said. “They came straight here to seek advice on the situation.”
The director remained silent as she mused on her thoughts. “I see,” she said. “You’re right, we can’t exterminate a hatchling that is bonded to a rider. However, that does not eliminate them from needing to pass the necessary examinations to advance in the academy.”
“But her wings,” Master Ember protested, “they are damaged beyond repair in my opinion. They won’t pass examinations.” His colour drained, leaving him a deathly shade of grey.
“We will do whatever it takes, Director,” Aeden said. He had no choice. They wouldn’t last two seconds outside of the academy grounds, especially without any training. Damaged wings or not, Aeden felt they would be up to whatever challenge the director threw at them.
“You do understand what this means, Harrington?” Master Ember asked.
“That we will either pass the examinations or die in the process,” Aeden said, the gravity of his words weighing heavy on him.
“There must be another way,” Serene interrupted. “They aren’t ready for any kind of examination. We only just enrolled, and he shouldn’t have an Aer-Kin until the end of term.”
The director smirked. “Well, he should have thought of that before he came parading through the academy, breaking every convention known to us. He should be grateful that he is being given a fair chance. ”
“You call this fair?” Serene said. “You’re sentencing him to death, both of them.”
“I accept,” Aeden said.
“ Are you sure? ” Nyra said. “ I don’t think she likes us. I don’t want to hinder you .”
“We’re bonded, which means she is mine and I am hers. I wouldn’t want to be treated any differently from the other riders at the academy.”
“Very well, but please understand that this will affect your schedule to some degree. You will be expected to attend classes the same as the other students, but you will need additional training now that you’re a bonded rider.
” The director shook her head. “You will receive no leeway when you train with the riders in second year. Fall behind, you get left behind.” She looked over Nyra as she moved in front of her, tutting and shaking her head.
“It remains to be seen what use to the academy an Aer-Kin rider will be that cannot fly. Master Ember, the Aer-Kin will remain in the hatchery, unless on exercise or training, no exception. I want a report on my desk by the morning, covering everything you know about it.”
“Yes, Director.”
“As for you, Cadet Harrington . . . Consider yourself lucky today but not so much for the future. I have seen some thoroughbreds fail the gauntlets. I imagine you two will fail, too.”
Aeden continued to look straight ahead. He didn’t want to rise to the bait, and he didn’t understand the hatred that the director was aiming at the two of them.
They had done nothing wrong. None of this was what Aeden had asked for, but it was the situation they were put in.
As for Nyra’s wings, he didn’t want her to be treated differently from the other Aer-Kin.
He was determined to prove the director wrong, as well as anyone else who might doubt them.
“If that’s what is to happen, so be it. I’d rather fate was left to our own hands,” he said.
“I do admire your confidence, Cadet Harrington.” Director Vale’s eyes raked over Nyra once again, who was trying her hardest not to react. “However misplaced.”
With that, she left, Master Storme, Joren, and the other faculty member following close behind.
Aeden could still feel the vice-like grip of Master Storme and Master Joren around his arms as he massaged them. Something told him that his time at the academy was about to get even more dangerous than it already was.