“Get down on one knee,” Avek whispered to us.
We bent, bowing our heads too.
The men lowered the palanquin, a hand emerging to part the drapes.
“At ease, my friends!” A voice sing-songed.
A short man stood in front of us, dressed head-to-toe in embroidery of gold, cobalt and sapphire. He wore a turban with a train attached. Some of it was still inside the palanquin.
“Welcome to our grand city!” The short man took a step forward with open arms. “I am Beryk, Anahita’s envoy.”
At his words, more men appeared, each bearing gifts of a different kind. They were dressed in peacock colored robes. When had Avek mentioned that the Hydralians were big on hospitality, I hadn’t imagined this. In Pyralis, hospitality meant offering visitors a meal and some supplies to take with them on their journey.
Here, it meant a welcoming party.
I did my best to seem gracious, but the attention was off-putting.
UNLIKE OUR HOST AT Star Fire Island, the Hydralians had prepared separate rooms for us. They all shared a foyer so technically it was a single suite, but it was much better than sharing a small bed with Avek. I woke up feeling like I had slept on a cloud.
The pillows and blankets were softer than fine wool. With the sunlight streaming through the grand louvered windows—they took up an entire wall of the space—I was better able to appreciate my luxurious surroundings.
The walls were shiny, reflecting a cool blue tone. Huge textured tiles that felt like seashells spanned the entire room. A hand painted seascape hung above the bed, framed with gold. The bed was as big as Betheka’s, with a similar four-poster frame that touched the double-height ceiling. A mirror took up nearly an entire wall, while the opposite one had a door that led to the bathroom and a bookshelf.
This envoy’s home was overwhelmingly luxurious. He was the most powerful man in this city, outranked only by the Water Drakken. But if his home was this extravagant, I couldn’t even imagine how the Water Drakken lived.
Strangely, all this luxury brought back memories. I remembered little of my childhood home, but maybe it was a bit like this? Deftero villages in Pyralis were high-class. Perhaps this was normal. Avek’s house was more extravagant than Betheka’s, whose home was more extravagant than my room. It was all a matter of social standing.
I was busy examining the texture of the rug in front of the mirror, when I heard a knock on the door. Scrambling to my feet, I pulled on a robe.
When I opened the door, a young girl smiled back at me.
She looked only a few years younger than me, with a head of blue hair so dark it almost looked black. It spooled down her shoulder in a loose braid.
“Miss Kaos, His Highness has sent you this dress,” she handed a bag nearly taller than her to me. “It is for the breakfast banquet, to welcome you.”
I took the bag from her, but couldn’t hide my confusion.
“Breakfast banquet?” I asked in disbelief.
She giggled, but didn’t reply. In a blink she was gone.
I took the bag over to the bed. It was a shoal colored off-the-shoulder dress.
Heat rushed to my cheeks. Why had no-one mentioned this banquet? I knew Hydralians loved a celebration, but we were on a mission. Was all this necessary? I hadn’t worn a dress in years.
In a dress like this, I’d lose seconds hiking it up to reach my knife. There was no place to strap a sword to my back. Wearing this would mean opening up myself for an attack.
Although...it would be an insult not to accept their hospitality.
If word got back to the Headmaster that I had insulted the people of Hydralia, there would be no hope for Ignimitra and I. Begrudgingly, I went to take a shower.
I WAS THE LAST PERSON to make it to the foyer.
Solra’s dress was similar to mine, only it was the color of buttermilk and fell from her body in tiers of fabric. Her hair was tied back from her face, and fell about her shoulders in thick kinks. Irikai was dressed in an ink-colored suit that matched his eyes. But when my eyes met Avek’s, my breath caught.
He wore a similar suit to Irikai’s, the color of a misty ocean. His hair was slicked back away from his face. If it weren’t for the sword strapped to his back, I would’ve thought he was a prince from a faraway land.
Avek surveyed us—I swore his eyes lingered on me—then frowned.
“Bring your swords with you,” He said. “This is still a mission.”
Solra blushed and hurried back to her room, Irikai slinking after her.
“I have a knife,” I said, hiking up my dress to reveal the shining blade strapped to my thigh. “Isn’t that enough?”
Avek held my gaze while walking over to me. It was a tense few seconds. His finger traced the outline of the bruise on my forehead.
He leaned down to my ear, his breath hot on my cheek. “If it was enough, you wouldn’t have a sword in the first place.”
A chill ran down my spine. My legs wouldn’t cooperate, frozen in place by something I couldn’t understand. He walked away from me, and it was only then that I regained control of my limbs.
I had broken out in a sweat. Under my breath, I reminded myself of all the things he had done to me. Of all the reasons why this feeling was impractical. Why no matter what happened, it could never work between us.
My resolve withered the moment I laid eyes on him again.
I needed this mission to be over soon.
THE HUGE GOLDEN DOORS of the room had been pulled back, letting in a crisp sea breeze.
The walls and ceilings glimmered with gold and pearl and shining blue jewels. Our host was seated at the head of the room, with four empty seats at his table.
A live band played eclectic Hydralian music—it reminded me of waves crashing against a reef—while servants scurried around making the final preparations. There were tables and tables of people in the room—it almost seemed as if the whole city was present.
All eyes were on us when we entered. On display for all to see, my throat tasted of gravel. With shaky knees, I took a seat, sandwiched between Solra and Irikai.
“Our esteemed guests have arrived!” The envoy bellowed, raising his glass.
Clinks erupted as everyone hit their glasses with their silverware. I followed despite the strangeness of the din—it drowned out even the music from the band.
“Let us eat and drink to our sojourners from the motherland!”
Hurrahs erupted, and they began knocking back their drinks. I took a sip of mine, glancing around at the rest of Team Sigma. Irikai seemed to share my reservations—hopefully he was wondering about the motherland bit, so I could ask him about it later—but Solra seemed truly taken. Her glass was finished in a single gulp. Beside me, Irikai stiffened.
“Be sure to tell Headmaster Major Archer about how wonderful your welcome was!” Beryk boomed, looking at us with urgency in his eyes. The hint of something was on his face, but I couldn’t make out what it was.
Solra nodded vigorously, “We will!”
Satisfied, he beckoned for her glass to be refilled.
I exchanged glances with Irikai. This was strange.
The meal meandered after that. We were brought plate after plate of food, each in small portions and accompanied by a monologue from the envoy. They were delicacies, most of them rare sea creatures. Our last meal was pudding made from some kind of squid ink—disgusting to look at, but deceptively delicious.
I barely had time to savor the aftertaste, before the head server commanded everyone’s attention. He stood in a corner of the room, holding what looked like a tambourine.
He hit it twice, and as if on cue, the tables and chairs were pushed aside by other servers and the people attending alike. Another hit of the tambourine, and the band’s song changed into a more subdued sound, like a meandering river.
A knot was in my stomach as I watched pairs of attendees make their way to the dance floor. Dancing at breakfast seemed strange, but clearly the Hydralians
had their own way of doing things. Who was I to think differently?
Even Irikai took Solra’s hand. The knot was tighter than ever.
“Care to dance?” Avek’s voice filled my head, and my heart.
Steeling my face, I chanced a glance at him. Hoping I would find something, anything that would make saying no easier.
“Sure,” my voice was lost in the strains of the harp.
He took my hand, helping me down the stairs then leading me to a spot on the dance floor. A firm hand around my waist pulled me towards him, while the other held my hand loosely above my shoulder. His eyes burned a hole through me, so I settled on looking over his shoulder.
Thud, thud, thud.
My heartbeat was louder than the drums as we slowly danced across the floor. Avek’s steps were as light as a fighter’s should have been, but it was still surprising that he could actually dance. We whirled through the pairs of people, swaying to the lilting beat. The electricity in my veins dulled with each step, replaced with something that made me feel as if I was floating away.
“I don’t hate you,” His voice pulled me back to the bundle of feelings in my throat.
You sure act like it. I held my tongue, focusing even harder at what I could see over his shoulder.
This moment was a few shades from perfect. Anything I said would have made it worse, and the last thing we needed was an uproar in the middle of a Hydralian party. The Headmaster would have my head.
Just when I thought he had taken my hint, he spoke again.
“When you came to see me in the field, I was being followed,” his breath was hot on my neck. “They discovered that Nurik and I had made an unauthorized visit to the records hall. I was able to convince them that I needed something so urgently that I couldn’t get authorization. But they were still suspicious,” he said. “I was afraid you would say something to me about it.”
The wave of guilt that washed over me rivaled the heat that slinked up my spine. Avek was only trying to protect me, like he had been from the very first time we met.
“I figured...” How would I say this without sounding like a crazy teenager? “I figured it was because of...” I couldn’t bring myself to finish. How could I have been so stupid?
He chuckled, sending more chills through me.
“I liked it too.”
His words were deceptively simple, but I couldn’t hold back my smile. His black orbs were pools of something my heart understood more than my brain did. And that understanding warmed me in a way I had never felt before.
As we whirled between two dancing couples, I reached up to plant a quick kiss on his cheek. My lips were aflame.
AFTER THE PARTY, WE retired to our rooms—I went after sneaking Ignimitra some of the squid ink pudding I had saved. Later that evening, we would fly back to Pyralis and complete our mission. We would have officially passed our Mid-year Test.
I fell asleep dreaming of coal eyes and the feeling of cold night’s air on my skin.
Chapter 21
We took to the air before sundown, intending to make the most of the gale.
The cargo we had flown here to collect—three conspicuous canvas bags—was strapped neatly to Nurik’s underbelly. Since he was the carrier, we flew a slightly different formation. Titan took the lead and Nurik took our spot. Ignimitra and Zelkor brought up the rear.
I understood why the formation needed to change, but it made me nervous nonetheless. But I refused to let it sway my resolve. Ignimitra and I would be fine.
We had to be.
THE LONGER WE FLEW, the harsher the gale got. Our dragons were struggling against the wind, trying to keep formation. Why hadn’t this storm shown up on our checks?
A few hours into the flight, I knew something was wrong.
The gale had turned into something more vicious. The wind screamed, flying around us in all directions. Ignimitra was flapping her wings wildly, trying to compensate for the haphazard direction of the wind.
Yet every time she tried to right herself, the wind threw us in another direction.
I’d never been caught in a storm before, but something about this one made my stomach queasy. It didn’t feel natural.
We began to lose altitude—Zelkor beside me was the first to dip. On Avek’s signal, we flew lower. But the wind didn’t ease up. If anything, things got worse. A torrent of rain appeared out of nowhere.
My insides were dry and hot despite the coolness on my skin. Was this normal? When did the cloud cover get so thick? I couldn’t see anything beyond the formation. Avek’s next signal made my mind race.
He wanted us to land.
Our dragons dived, battling against the winds that were pulling us into the heart of the storm. Ignimitra’s wings were a blur of white, she flapped them so furiously. I clutched the reins, holding on as tight as I could.
It felt like it took us hours to break free from the storm’s clutches. When the air calmed, I dared to open my eyes. We were low enough to see the outline of land below us despite the darkness of the night. It looked arid—no trees, no houses. Just an expanse of earth that seemed to fall off into the darkness.
A bumpy landing shook an exclamation out of me, which was met by Avek’s harsh gaze. I looked down at Ignimitra—she was staring at me too.
Solra got my attention.
She mouthed something to me that shook me to my core.
Be quiet. We’re in Lightning Country.
EVERY BONE IN MY BODY screamed to retreat, to get back on our dragons and fly away. Instead, we set up camp. Silently.
I was standing on land that belonged to the Astraphotians. The same people who had killed my father. Nausea was raw in my throat. And I had nobody to talk to about how I felt.
Everyone else was probably having lively, silent conversations. I could only use non-verbal cues with Ignimitra, and how could I say I feel like I’m going to die that way?
In the distance was the storm that had nearly flung us out of the sky. A funnel of black clouds and slivers of lightning. We were lucky to have escaped when we did, any later and we might have been overpowered by it.
But escaping to this place didn’t seem any better.
We set up our tents in a semi-circle, with our dragons curled up in a similar fashion behind each one. There was no campfire, only glow sticks that we were to use sparingly. The smoke from a fire would’ve given away our position.
On Avek’s signal, we crouched down together.
“This place is called the Wastelands,” His words were welcome in my lonely mind. “We’re lucky that the storm caught us here and not any later. This place isn’t heavily patrolled. We’re off course, but not by much.”
He took out a compass, showing us the reading.
“Fighting that storm has tired us out, and if we get caught it in it again, we might not be able to make a landing as safe as this.” He paused, gaging each of our faces. “That storm wasn’t there when we took off, else I wouldn’t have had us leave Hydralia so soon. It could be just a freak storm, or it could be—”
Solra interjected, “Made by a lightning dragon.”
“Yes, it could be a dragon storm,” He said grimly. “In that case, they will know soon that we’ve been grounded.”
This wasn’t just a casual courier mission anymore. We weren’t just sneaking through enemy airspace anymore. We had set foot on enemy soil, making this an A-Class mission. It was more dangerous than I wanted to internalize right now.
“Remember everything you’ve been taught, and rely on your bond with your dragon,” He was staring at me as he said those words. “I’ll take first and last watch, Rushing second, Wilder third, and Kaos fourth.”
We dispersed with those words.
Now, the only thing that mattered was staying alive. Ignimitra had already fallen into a deep sleep. I wasn’t sure how I would be able to. The air tasted of tension. Though I reclined in my tent, I had my sword drawn.
Whatever happened tonight would decide our lives.
<
br /> IT WAS THE LONGEST night of my life.
Even longer than my first night after my father’s death and my mother’s disappearance.
Back then, I was scared of the unknowns—not knowing where I would live, what I would eat, and how I’d be able to survive without my parents.
Now, I was scared of everything I knew.
The dragons of Astraphotis could create storms and summon lightning. They were vessels of nature’s fury, imbued with power more fearsome than our fire dragons. Our party of four consisted of three dragonlings. Fire dragons didn’t gain their special abilities until they stopped growing around the six-month mark. Fire creation and manipulation was something our dragons developed with age and experience, and they lacked both.
Nurik could only create heat waves, not balls of fire like the Firesabres. I would’ve loved to have a Firesabre on our side right now. It felt like we were sitting ducks, fat for the slaughter.
What use were our weapons if our enemy was so powerful?
We had been taught little of the relations between Pyralis and Astraphotis, save for the fact that they had refused to sign the Treaty of the Nations which put them at odds with the allied nations.Our heads would be worth much in their country.
I gripped my sword tighter, trying to dispel the harrowing thoughts.
We would survive. We had to.
THE FIRST LIGHT OF dawn painted the sky a muted pink.
I had never been so happy about a sunrise. I scrambled out of my tent.
Avek’s tent was already disassembled. We followed suit quickly, stowing them away on our dragons. Ignimitra was different when I found her that morning, looking at me with a tinge of urgency in her eyes.
Anxiety. I knew what it looked like because I felt it so often. I rested my head on her snout, stroking the thick skin gently, humming a soft tune. A relaxed snort assured me that she was calmer.
Dragon Academy Page 21