35. Whispers
“ W hat do you think that was all about?” Harrison asked.
The four of them were standing in the courtyard, the rest of the cohort hurrying back to their bunkers with the free time they had between now and their next classes.
All of the students had poured out of the Great Hall, but Aeden had yet to see any of the faculty or the Sable twins leave.
Aeden realised that, for the first time in what felt like ages, he had some free time without any obligations.
And he knew exactly what he was going to do with it: head to the archives and start digging for information on his parents.
“The Sable twins.” Harrison raised his hand and moved it in the air as he spoke with a sarcastic tone. “It kind of has a ring to it.”
“He was pretty,” Serene said.
“So you keep saying,” Harrison said. “The question is, why are they here?”
“They already said why they’re here,” Serene said, confused.
“And you believe them? Gods, you’re naive,” Harrison huffed.
The familiar look of disdain that Aeden was used to Serene showing Harrison returned, and everything felt like it had returned to normal.
“I have to agree with Harrison,” Aeden said. “Not that you’re naive,” he quickly corrected himself, “just that something seems off. Surely if it was something to do with the academy’s standards, then the Conclave would have sent someone here. They didn’t look like they were from the Conclave.”
“What makes you so sure that they aren’t from the Conclave?” Vivienne asked.
“Because Lyric warned me just a few days ago that Director Vale may have already sent word to the Conclave about the circumstances around me and Nyra. About how I just walked into the academy with her, seconded by the fact that usually Aer-Kin like Nyra are deemed to be damaged or defected, and are usually terminated as hatchlings.”
“That doesn’t explain why, you don’t think they are from the Conclave,” Serene said.
“Given how surprised Director Vale looked, she was not expecting them to walk through the door. As well as that, the Conclave usually send someone senior on visits to academies. The Sable twins didn’t look that much older than us,” Aeden said, racking his brain for who could have sent them.
As far as he knew, it was only the Conclave who would have any investment or interest in the academy, so maybe he was wrong .
“What if she didn’t send word to the Conclave, and they just turned up? That might explain why Director Vale looked so surprised,” Harrison said.
He had a point. That could have been what happened, but something about the whole exchange felt off, and Aeden knew there was something more to them arriving at the academy.
“Do you think they arrived on their Aer-Kin?” Harrison smiled. “Do you think they’re around? I would love to see them.”
“They will be at the garrison,” Vivienne said, “on the other side of the academy where we are not allowed access to. Not until we are bonded riders, at least.”
“I’m sure we’ll find out what they really want soon enough,” Aeden said.
They may have declared why they were here, but something about them made Aeden question if that truly was their motive.
His worry returned to Nyra. He reached out again through the Weave, only to be greeted with blissful silence on her part, which was not what he needed right now.
At least she seemed safe. “Do you think they’re here for Nyra?
” he asked, his worry appearing in his voice.
“They seem to hold rank over the director. What if they don’t share the same opinion of the academy with her wings being damaged? ”
“Try not to overthink it,” Harrison said.
“That’s easier said than done,” Aeden quipped. As much as he had been pushing them away, he was grateful to be able to offload on them. It was something that he had missed, the comraderie, the reassurance, or even just talking about absolute nonsense .
“What should we do now?” Serene asked, taking her schedule from her bag.
“What do we have here?” The smug sound of Kael’s voice brought instant anger to Aeden, who tried his hardest to bite down and suppress his frustration. The last thing he wanted was to cause a scene in the courtyard, no matter how much he wanted to smash Kael’s head into the wall.
He was on his own, the swagger about him infuriating in itself. He carried himself like the Sable twins, except he wore no gilded armour, he rode no Aer-Kin.
“I’d be careful hanging around with Harrington,” Kael sneered. “You don’t want to be associated with the crippled rider.”
Aeden surged forward, incensed by Kael’s words. He balled his hands into fists, giving him the reaction he wanted. At least as a bonded rider he was stronger, strong enough to cause some serious damage to Kael.
Harrison, Vivienne, and Serene all jumped in front of Aeden and pushed against him.
“No you don’t, brother!” Harrison said.
“He’s not worth it,” Serene followed up, her attention on Aeden as the three of them stopped him from reaching Kael.
Kael just stood there, grinning like the cat that got the cream, knowing he had gotten the reaction he wanted.
“Listen to your friends. While you still have some.” He looked around the courtyard as the rest of the students went about their days, likely gossiping about the Sable twins.
“Everyone is saying it, Harrington, I’m only repeating what they’ve said.
The crippled rider has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it?
Lets everyone know just how useless your Aer-Kin is. ”
Aeden pushed against the planted hands of his friends, who desperately kept him back.
If he could get his hands around Kael’s neck, he would kill him, there was no denying that.
After all, it was because of him that he had his newly discovered fear of water, seeing that it was him that nearly drowned him as well as branded him with the coward’s mark.
“I’ll kill you!” he growled.
“Such a temper on you, Harrington. Most unbecoming of a Support rider. Although I imagine there won’t be much riding with an Aer-Kin that can’t fly.
Do tell me, what is the point of even being at the academy?
If I was you, I would have stayed hidden away and not shown my face with the shame of it all.
” Kael chuckled to himself, unfazed by Aeden’s advances.
“Perhaps our time will come when we’re not under the eyes of the academy, and we can settle our differences. ”
“I look forward to the day,” Aeden said, staring into Kael’s eyes. How he hated this man, how he would get his revenge on him one day. And when he did, he would savour every last moment.
“Obviously it won’t be long until I am bonded with my own Aer-Kin, and I get to pick from the brood.
So, rest assured, you and your pathetic little Aer-Kin won’t stand a chance against us.
” Kael thought for a moment before another wide grin appeared, this one even more infuriating.
“In fact, I don’t even know how she can be called an Aer-Kin when she can’t even fly.
She’s a . . .” He thought again sarcastically for a moment.
“I know what she is. Ground-Kin. That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
Let’s hope none of your friends end up with the runt of the hatchlings like you.
It would be a dreadful shame if you weren’t able to defend yourself. ”
“Fuck off, Kael,” Harrison said, spinning around and throwing a punch at him.
Aeden admired the fight in him, but he was built for Support, and Kael was built for Offence, and this was only highlighted with the two contrasting frames.
Kael caught Harrison’s fist, gripping it tightly in his hand. “Careful, Harrison, we don’t want a repeat of last time. It would be a shame for the academy if you were killed before the bonding ceremony.” He cocked his head to one side. “Or would it?”
Harrison’s arm shook as he tried to free it from Kael’s grip, but he held on for a few more seconds before pushing it back with force. Harrison flew back into Aeden, who wrapped his arm around Harrison to stop him from diving into Kael once more.
“Honestly, the moment you Supports realise what it is that you’re here to do, the better.
Perhaps it was your class the Sable twins were referencing when they said standards had dropped at the academy.
” He looked down his nose at all of them.
“I’d happen to agree with them. It would seem it’s not just the Ground-Kin that’s a runt, looking at all of you. ”
“Like Harrison said, fuck off, Kael,” Aeden said.
“I’m done here anyway,” Kael said as he turned to leave. “I need to head to the hatchery to pick my Aer-Kin. Perhaps I will say hi to yours while I’m there.”
Aeden went to move again, but the others just about managed to hold him in place.
“Leave it, Aeden, he isn’t worth it,” Vivienne said, patting his chest.
Aeden gestured that he was okay and took one large deep breath to gather himself. “Gods, he is such an arsehole. ”
“Unfortunately he comes from money, and a lot of it. He walks around like he is untouchable because, well, he is,” Serene said.
“And as long as he has that money, you need to keep out of his way, because I wouldn’t put it past him or his family to orchestrate something happening to Nyra whilst you’re not with her. ”
“Serene has a point,” Harrison said. “Sorry I lost my head, but I hate the way he looks down on us all, and I hate the way he talks about Nyra.”
“Thanks for having my back,” Aeden said, appreciating the gesture and willingness to fight for him.
“If I’m honest, I’m getting used to the whispers from the rest of the cohort.
I pretend that I don’t hear the things they say, but that’s more a reflection of them and not of me or Nyra. She’s incredible.”
“We told you, we’ve got you,” Harrison said. “I hope he ends up with the weakest Aer-Kin imaginable. That would teach him a lesson.”
“Somehow I don’t think that would stop him being the way he is.
That guy has serious issues. I mean, how can you walk around like he does, saying the things he does?
He must realise that even his friends don’t like him.
They only tolerate him because he comes from money,” Serene said.
She sat down on a bench and returned to studying her schedule.
“I genuinely think he doesn’t care,” Harrison said.
“In the meantime, if you see him coming, just walk the other way,” Vivienne said. “You need to start acting like a Support and stop being so confrontational all the time. That temper of yours has already got you in plenty of trouble. Are you sure you shouldn’t be in the Offence class?”
Aeden understood where Vivienne was coming from, but he had trained himself this way.
Pretty much all his learning, athleticism, and fighting skills were self-taught.
The books his grandparents owned and the empty barn they had on their land had offered him a space to exercise and practice fighting for years.
There was a lot of pent-up anger inside him and he knew it, but who could blame him after the life he’d had?
He wasn’t the only student here who had lost loved ones through battles, but that didn’t make it any easier growing up an orphan, raised by his grandparents on a farm in the middle of nowhere.
“What do you want to do now?” Harrison asked. “We still have a bit of time to kill before our next class.”
“Actually, I might take the opportunity to head to the archives,” Aeden said. With the free time thanks to class cancellations that morning, it was an opportunity to look into the records of the battle where his parents lost their lives.
“The archives?” Harrison asked. “Not being funny, but I didn’t have you down as a reader.”
“Is everything okay?” Serene said. “Do you have a research assignment? There’s not really any other reason to be there.”
Aeden paused, contemplating his options.
Should he be honest with them? They had proven themselves to be good friends, and he trusted them, but knowledge of his true motives potentially put them at risk.
After what happened to them last time, that wasn’t a risk he was willing to take, so he settled on somewhere in between truth and a lie.
“I went to visit my parents’ grave in the Memorial Garden, and I promised my grandparents I would read up on the battle when I joined the academy.
So far I haven’t, so now is as good a time as any.
Besides, Nyra’s still sleeping, and it sounds like Lyric has more than enough work cut out for him with those Aer-Kin eggs hatching.
” Even though he didn’t tell them the complete truth, it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, allowing him to breathe. It felt good.
“Oh,” Serene said, “you haven’t mentioned them before.”
“I don’t really talk about them. They died when I was a child, and my grandparents raised me.”
“The Battle of Weir?” Vivienne asked.
Aeden nodded.
“I lost my uncles in that same battle,” Serene said, saddened just at the mention of them.
“I lost my father, uncle, and aunty,” Harrison said.
“My mother fell in that battle, too,” added Vivienne. “This is why our numbers are so scarce. We lost a lot of Support riders in that battle.”
“My mother says it will take another decade before the Support rider numbers rise,” Harrison said. “Well, I’m free too, if you want some company.”
“I’ve got some reading I’m going to do at the bunkhouse,” Vivienne said.
“And while the sun is out, I want to just sit and relax,” Serene added. “There’s been way too much drama today. That is, unless you want me to come to the archives with you?”
“That’s okay, you guys do what you already have planned. It’ll probably be boring,” Aeden said, “Harrison, if you’re happy to help, I’m sure two sets of eyes will speed up the process of finding what it is I’m looking for.”
Aeden realised that finding out what had happened to his parents might not just affect him; if they had all lost family members in the Battle of Weir, then it would affect them, too .
The thought struck him like a flash of lighting.
What if this was bigger than him? What if it wasn’t just his parents that had died under suspicious circumstances?
All he had to go off was the mysterious letter that had turned up at the farm.
Because of the letter, he was sure something wasn’t right about the battle report.
He just hoped he could find evidence to prove it.