I dragged my feet as I headed to my last class of the day, feeling defeated that I hadn’t learned anything new. Solstice followed my path from the windows, her muted chirps coming in to remind me that I still wasn’t alone.
Sighing, I glanced up and waved at her. “Yeah, thanks girl.”
She was ready for me to be done for the day, and so was I, but I had hoped to find at least something useful. We were on the clock as it was.
Biting my lip, I realized maybe I had learned something interesting. None of the students seemed to respond to information about my disappearance, which I suspected went beyond Lily’s glamour.
Their memories had been altered.
If that was the case… who could have had the power to alter memories? A dragon, surely. Maybe Evie? I made a mental note to ask her about it later.
The day dragged on, resuming an academic monotony I’d forgotten how much I’d hated.
Mostly because I didn’t need classes. I never had, which was why I had retreated to Oakland High’s library every chance I got—begging Miss Jenny to order new dragon fantasy fiction novels as often as possible.
Solstice pecked at the window, reminding me that I didn’t need any of those novels anymore. All those adventures I loved reading about? Yeah, I was living it.
Except now my mother’s life was in danger.
And my mate wasn’t in the majority of my classes, making me desperately worry how he was fitting in.
Lily had managed to get me two classes with Killian, first our homeroom and then he was on his own until the last hour in algebra. The latter of which I decidedly did not miss. She’d probably done it on purpose to help us “split up,” but I still felt she underestimated Killian’s ability to act… normal.
He demonstrated his inhuman nature by solving an entire worksheet in ten seconds flat, earning gaping looks from the students and the teacher as he eased back in his seat.
Lily sighed from across the room and her scales briefly glowed. A warm shockwave swept through the air, then the attention melted away from us, allowing me to glare at my mate.
While academics didn’t challenge me, my worksheet remained half-finished. I couldn’t complete such complex problems that fast.
“How did you do that?” I asked, curious where a Nephilim Dragonrider would have learned Algebra.
He rolled his eyes to regard me, as if the answer to my question should be obvious. “I already learned this sort of “basic” math when I was a child.”
I crossed my arms. “This is advanced math. We’re in an advanced placement course for college prep.”
He swatted at the air, likely at Topaz nipping at his ear again, bored with staying in one place for too long. “Maybe for a human,” Killian said as he lowered his voice. “But if you’d grown in Paradiso like I had, you would have been actually challenged instead of bored out of your skull.” He glanced down at my worksheet. “You’ve managed to learn the basics even with such rudimentary training, but had you been able to grow up in Avalon, you would have been with others of your kind. Understood. Respected.”
That sounded…. well, amazing. I tried to keep my expression flat. I didn’t want Killian to know how much it pained me that I would never have the picture he’d just painted. My upbringing had been isolating and lonely, painful and dull with only a few bright moments of excitement.
Even now, my adventures came with the weight of lives in the palm of my hands. If I messed this up, my mother could die, just like my father.
“Tell me about Paradiso,” I said, instead wishing to keep the conversation on my mate. He fascinated me and I still felt like I knew so little about him.
He smirked and waited, making me wonder if he wasn’t going to tell me. His white-washed gaze met mine, as if searching for something. “You could see it for yourself, you know.”
“Perhaps,” I agreed, “but that won’t be for a while. I’d like to hear about it from you, first.”
He nodded, acquiescing to my request. “It’s another realm, one made for Nephilim like me. Angels aren’t supposed to procreate, but for those who have free will, sometimes they bend to temptation. I never knew my parents. They were forced to send me to Paradiso for my protection. I was raised by the community of Nephilim like myself, those who understood exactly what I was and what I needed to thrive—and they provided the necessary training to protect myself.”
“From what?” I asked, my eyes going wide.
He waved a hand in dismissal. “There are many threats throughout the realms. Nephilim have natural enemies, but the Wild Dragons have become a growing concern that needed to be deal with. When I came of age, I had a choice. Join the Holy Army, or join Dragonrider Academy.” He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “It seemed like an easy choice at the time.”
“And now?” I asked, my eyes wide. “Do you regret not joining the Holy Army?”
He shook his head. “No. They are busy dealing with other threats—one potentially worse than the Wild Dragons, if you can believe it, but that isn’t your concern for now. My kind underestimates what the Wild Dragons are capable of. If the Avalon Queen succeeds in getting what she wants, she’ll be more powerful than anyone could have imagined possible.” His jaw flexed, his gaze going distant. “I made the right choice. The Wild Queen has to be stopped, or else all of the realms will be in danger of falling.”
The Wild Queen.
That made our mysterious enemy sound terrifying, and I imagined she was. I wouldn’t underestimate the threat, not like Killian’s family. I would do everything in my power to make sure no one else suffered like I had.
He studied my worksheet. “Do you want help solving your algebra problems?”
I sighed, “I don’t see the point. It’s not like I need this to kick Wild Dragon butt.”
Killian grinned. “You’d be surprised. It’s good for the mind.”
I snorted. “It’s good for a headache.”
A scratching sounded from Killian’s desk and a portion of his worksheet disappeared as an invisible Topaz chomped at it. Killian cursed and pulled him away.
I couldn’t but laugh. “I stand corrected. Apparently, it’s also good for a wyvern’s snack.”
Solstice chirped from outside the window, the noise a clear complaint that he couldn’t be inside with us, especially now that Topaz found something to eat.
Despite Lily’s glamour working its heat through the room to keep us undercover, I felt eyes on me and looked up, catching Julie Emmerson glaring at me, a suspicious look in her eyes.
I leaned over to Killian, whispering. “I think we have a problem.”
Killian just smiled at me, “She’s probably just pushing against the glamour. When emotions run high, it makes it more difficult for dragon magic to hold. It doesn’t matter if she remembers you actually left though. Who would believe her? One person doesn’t matter so much. It’s when the breeches happen in mass quantities that the Silver Order steps in.”
“The Silver Order is where James is from, right? Is he important to them?”
Killian barked a laugh. “You don’t know who he is? That explains a few things.”
I rolled a pencil back and forth on my desk. “You know I’m not from your world, Killian. Stop teasing and enlighten me.”
He bent his head in apology. “James is royalty. He abdicated the throne when he mated a dragon. Now, his brother Ivar is the king of the Knights of the Silver Order. Their mission is to keep humanity safe from dragons—and there are conflicting views on how to accomplish that.”
I hummed in thought. “So, James was sent to kill Lily, but he didn’t?”
“Oh, he did,” Killian retorted, blowing my mind. “She’s a powerful Dragon Queen. It’ll take more than a Knight like James to truly end her life. She’ll most definitely be one of the queens that the Wild Dragons will be after, so we have to remain vigilant.”
“That’s nuts,” I said.
Killian grinned. “If you think James is bad, his
brother is much worse.”
“How could he be worse?” I asked, bringing the eraser to my mouth.
“He’s a traditionalist,” he said, snatching up my pencil before I could chew on it. “Ivar believes that all dragons and their allies much be eliminated. James, however, is a Loyalist, a Knight who bases his decision on the code of Excalibur and the Lady of the Lake. James doesn’t talk about the code, but from what I’ve gathered it is a vague set of values, ones that can be interpreted differently. He views dragons like Lily as reformed and evolved creatures, ones worth protecting. Lily doesn’t want to kill the Wild Dragons—she wants to save them.”
I grunted at that. “They can’t be saved.”
“I agree.”
We went silent, the conversation giving me a lot of food for thought. I couldn’t say I agreed with Ivar. Lily was my friend. I would never harm her, but the Wild Dragons were soulless, evil things. They had taken my father away from me and they would pay the price for that.
If my mother died too… I would show them no mercy.
The teacher clapped her hands, calling for the worksheets and we passed them up the rows. The class quieted, making it impossible to hold a conversation about the supernatural without being overheard even with Lily’s glamour.
Killian flinched when the teacher flipped on the TV, the next task an educational video explaining the problems we had just attempted.
Killian’s eyes remained glued to the moving images, his frown deepening when a cartoon letter “X” sauntered across the scene. “What in all the realms is that creature?” he asked, making me laugh.
Halfway through the video, the door opened and all eyes went to the newcomer. We all stared at the tall, gorgeous boy with ice-blue eyes and blonde hair as he walked in. He was unmistakable, with glowing silver tattoos along his arms as a Knight of the Silver Order.
Killian sighed, shoulders slumping in annoyance. “Great. Ivar is here.”
Ivar sure knew how to make an appearance. He hadn’t solicited any sort of glamour protection and now Lily swiped her face in frustration as James dragged us all to the courtyard, our classes finally done for the day.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he snapped at his brother.
Ivar jerked his arm away, defiance radiating in his gaze. “You don’t get to boss me around any longer, James, not after the stunt you pulled.” He glared at Lily for good measure, who maturely stuck her tongue out at him.
The students gave us a wide berth as we gathered under the shade of one of my favorite oak trees, a place where I would have read for hours losing myself on a fantastical adventure between the pages of a good book.
Now, I growled with frustration as obstacles continued to prevent me from getting anywhere with our mission. We hadn’t been able to learn anything useful and supernaturals kept getting in the way.
Dragons. Knights. Kings. What else could go wrong?
I noted that Evie her Hovakim stood some distance away as they watched the exchange. Meanwhile Max and his buddies sat at a table across the courtyard, their attention drawn to us despite Lily’s efforts.
“You guys need to figure this out,” she hissed. “You’re drawing way too much attention.”
Solstice keened with agreement in my ear, her finch form struggling with how much Lily was having to cover for us right now. My wyvern shifted on my shoulder and I switched her to the other one. She was getting too heavy to sit on my shoulders for much longer at the rate she was growing. No wonder she and Topaz were always starving.
Ivar handed Killian a letter, pointedly ignoring his brother. “The solution is simple. You all need to leave.”
“Why?” James growled.
Ivar pretended his brother didn’t exist, instead directing his response to the rest of us. “You’re all in violation of Article Eight, Section Five of the Realms Agreement between Dragonrider Academy and the Knights of the Silver Order. Every one of you must return to your own realm immediately.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Including you. This isn’t your world anymore, Dragonrider.”
Killian glared back, balled the paper up, and lifted it to his shoulder where Topaz’s form shimmered. The notice disappeared a second later, likely eaten by the starving wyvern. Ivan’s expression darkened.
James crossed his arms. “We have business to attend to and we will leave when we are ready to leave. I speak for the Order just as much as you do, and Article Eight does not apply in this instance. We are not in your jurisdiction, therefore you can’t tell us to back off.”
“This entire realm is our jurisdiction,” Ivar growled, finally facing his brother. “You’re not even allowed to be here. You and I will settle this with a duel and your betrayal to our kind will be dealt with once and for all.”
I threw my hands up in exacerbation, stalking over and plopping into the swing hanging from the tall oak tree. “Great, more duels. Don’t you people settle disputes with anything more modern? What about a game of darts or something?”
Killian gave me a perplexed look. “What are darts?”
I sighed and shook my head. Ivan glanced at us and then turned his attention to Evie who wiggled her fingers at him.
“I’ve ordered the death of your rogue dragon friend and her allies in this realm—I didn’t expect those allies to be you.”
That was interesting information, and likely the reason we’d gotten a personal visit from the new leader of the Knights of the Silver Order. Maybe he cared more about his brother than he would openly admit.
“She has amnesty,” I clarified, remembering one of her Hovakim bragging about that fact.
Ivar shook his head. “Not anymore. Not after she allied herself with the Avalon violators who’ve been rampaging the realms. While that might fly in other kingdoms, Earth is off-limits and swift action will be taken against offenders.”
Lily snorted. When Killian raised his eyebrow at her, she added, “He said fly. Get it?” He stared at her. “Dragons… fly? Never mind.”
James scoffed. “The rogue dragon is working for us, you dimwit.”
Ivar clenched his fists. “Say that to me again when we’re in a proper duel and I can knock you off your feet. I’m not a child anymore.”
James pushed into his brother’s face until their noses brushed. “Try me in a duel, little brother. See what happens.”
I rolled my eyes. “It sounds like we all should just work together. The Wild Dragon queen is holding my mother hostage and wants a student from Oakland High in return. We need to understand what she wants to do with him before we go through with it.” Ivar seemed to mull over my words, his blue eyes calculating.
Killian added his explanation, detailing the invasion at the academy and my mother’s abduction and ending with Max. He emphasized that we couldn’t leave until we at least had more information.
Ivar nodded in understanding as Killian finished, then he turned to me. “Your mother,” he repeated, his eyes growing dark. “And they want this human in exchange? That’s odd.”
“Yeah, we can’t figure out why they would want him,” I said, glancing over at the human in question.
Ivar’s face scrunched in confusion and I was disappointed that he seemed just as clueless as we were. I had been hoping that the Order would prove useful.
“I don’t know the significance of this human or why they would want him,” he said, “but something does seem off about him…” He squinted at the table full of teenage males.
Frustration filled me as another person agreed on Max being off. Why couldn’t I see it too?
As if he could sense us talking about him, Max looked over, catching my gaze for the first time. Recognition seemed to roll over him and Lily cursed from my side.
He got up from the table and jogged over to us. Panic made my stomach flip as I reached out to Killian for support.
Max slowed to a stop in front of me, giving me a sleazy smile and ignoring Killian and Ivan. “Hey, babe. I haven’t seen you around in a while. How was your
vacation?”
His voice and proximity were enough to make me start shaking. I hadn’t been this close to him since he violated and then tried to kill me. I glanced at Lily, wondering why her glamour wasn’t working anymore. She gave me a helpless shrug and mouthed an apology.
Killian slipped his arm around my waist and glared at the human with murder in his gaze. “She’s not your babe.”
Topaz hissed, but Max didn’t seem to be able to hear him.
Max smiled and lifted his hands up in surrender, “Oh, sorry! I didn’t realize she found a new boyfriend.” He playfully punched me in the shoulder. “Good for you, Viv.” He scratched his head. “Although, now that I think of it, I don’t remember where you went on vacation. Was it a beach…” He snapped his fingers. “That reminds me, you didn’t get to come to my last resort party. That’s really too bad, it was fun, although I don’t remember most of it. I must have blacked out from drinking.”
Right, more like Dragonrider magic.
“Too bad,” I mumbled. “I’m sure it was a good time.”
He hummed in agreement. Killian looked ready to punch him in the throat, but the idiot was talking. Maybe the only way we’d learn anything about him was directly from the source, so I squeezed Killian’s fingers around my waist and listened.
“Like I said,” Max continued, “we all had a really good time. I’m having another party at my place this weekend, you’re welcome to come. You know where it is, right?” He glanced at Killian, then Ivar and James who all looked sorely out of place amongst the students. “Uh, your friends are welcome, too.”
My heart thundered in my chest as I forced myself to meet his gaze. He pointedly waited until I replied, “Oh, um. Yeah, sure. I know the place.” The Green mansion was hard to miss, a jewel that sat atop the horizon at the end of Silver Lake.
He grinned, giving me one of his charming smiles that I once would have melted for. “Awesome! I’ll see you there.”
Killian stared after him as he walked away, probably imagining all the ways he could torture him, before he looked back at me. “We aren’t seriously going, are we?”
Dragonrider Academy: Episode 5 Page 4