Rakarthen Academy

by Clara Hartley

  Rakarthen Academy

  Dragon Fae Chronicles, Book 1

  Clara Hartley

  Contents

  Annex

  Prelude

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Preview of the Dragon Fae King

  Thank you for reading!

  About Clara Hartley

  Types of Dragon-Kind

  Hidrae

  Full-sized dragon shifters, known to be the most powerful of their kind. They can shift into dragons as large as those of ancient times. They are highly common, and so far the only known hidrae are a handful of nobles, and those of the royal family. They also bear the traits of drerkyn when they half shift.

  Draerin

  They can shift into dragons as well, albeit of a variety much smaller than hidrae. They also bear the traits of drerkyn when they half shift.

  Drerkyn

  Dragon-kind with half-dragon forms when they shift. They can sprout wings, horns, and talons.

  Darmar

  The weakest dragon-kind, only able to bear superficial traits when they shift, such as yellow eyes or patches of scales. They have slightly stronger constitutions than humans. They used to be rare, but have become numerous over the last thousand years, since they have higher birth rates.

  Types of Fae

  Dragon Fae

  The protectors of the fae realm. They shift by summoning magic from their body that wraps around their form as a dragon. They command fire and are highly attuned to magic. Their magic works the same way as the few dragon-kind that can command the art, but are fueled by a different god, Rakarth.

  Trolls

  Ugly fairies with an angry disposition. They are have pinched noses and are of large build with big bellies.

  Water Pixies

  Tiny fairies that gather in large groups around water bodies, mostly where magic is evident.

  Dryads

  Fairies that live in oak trees and have a strong connection to earth elemental magic. They need to return to their oak trees every night to survive. Most of them were taken out during the explosion that caused the Wall of Thorns to form. They now serve as teramarth.

  Leaf Fairies

  Tiny fairies shaped like leaves who live in deserted areas. They like to keep to themselves.

  Dark Fae

  Fairies that live in Darkhill. They have bluish skin and a strong inclination to dark magic, similar to the dark art that used to be practiced in ancient times. They use special accessories that are made of glass to channel the dark powers.

  Prelude

  When she comes and they turn

  Lands, lands they will burn!

  With the dead

  Down, down with their heads!

  Greats will fall and hope,

  Sweet hope shall die

  Thesnan, perish!

  For when she is here,

  The end is nigh

  Three they will show

  Born of the same

  Day, hour, second

  The triad

  Saviors of the fae land

  Prologue

  We had visitors.

  Pretty ones.

  I watched from atop of the palace walls, avoiding my lessons, keeping myself afloat with my black wings stretched from behind me. Our new visitors walked through the palace gates with glitter surrounding them. They exuded an aura that commanded fear and respect. Even while hovering above a giant wall, I sensed their power and the magic brewing beneath these visitors’ skins.

  Fancy clothes. Sleek hair. Shimmering skin.

  Three of them stood out to me. A man with long golden locks, another with ash-colored hair, and the last with locks the color of leaves on a warm autumn.

  I might have dreamt of them once, long ago, thinking of how the four of us were connected as one. The dream was accompanied by images of rotting undead and the lands burning.

  But that was just a dream.

  I stared at them as a speck in the sky, until they disappeared into the walls of the palace, guided into the maze of my home by one of my many servants.

  The visitors were the king’s problem, not mine.

  I flapped away, off to find Kael, my father.

  He owed me a duel today.

  And I was going to win.

  One

  “I will destroy you!” I shouted, leaping into the air. I raised my sword over my head as I jumped, aiming it at my father.

  Kael saw through my attack as soon as it came. “Focus, Lyra! You’re growing impatient again.” He dodged the swing of my sword, bending beneath my wing and grabbing its joint. I heaved, losing my balance. “Controlled movements are key.”

  I caught my balance and wound my hands around the hilt of my sword.

  As princess of Constanria, I had many enemies, my father being number one.

  My father enjoyed beating Aereala’s breath out of me. Not in the abusive way, of course—he fought me in duels. Every time we crossed swords, he refused to hold back, and because he was the most adept at sword-fighting amongst my four fathers—yes, four—I could never win.

  Kael taunted me, gesturing at me with two fingers. “You look mad, princess. Is it because this is the hundredth duel you’ve lost?”

  I gritted my teeth, willing my battle rage to calm as we both stood in the middle of the palace courtyard. This was the second time he’d used the same trick on me. I swore to always learn from my mistakes. It annoyed me that I allowed myself to make the same one twice.

  Victorious laughter shook from my father’s chest. “You mentioned something about destruction? You should try to at least swing a sword properly, first.” He lowered himself and lunged at me.

  “Piss off,” I said as he aimed the butt of his sword at my left hand, attempting to steal my dagger. I shoved toward him as forcefully as I could. Since using honed techniques didn’t work, I relied on brute force. I was half the size of my father, and so that attempt, unsurprisingly, failed.

  Kael spun, his legs kicking upwards. After he positioned himself behind me, he grabbed both my wrists, trapping me in his death hold. How did he move so fast? It shouldn’t be fair that he was this quick. He hadn’t even summoned his wings yet.

  Kael positioned his dagger at my throat. “Concede,” he said. “You’re about a hundred years behind me, sweetheart. Try again next week.”

  “I’ll make you cry next time,” I said, my ego bruised.

  “That’s what you keep saying, but I’m not seeing results. Are you all talk and no action?”

  From the corner of my eye, I spotted my mother, Sera Everborne, queen of Constanria, walking down a small flight of stairs. She entered the palace courtyard holding a potted plant in her hand. She and her closest friend, Frederick, were trying to breed a new crop of plant without the use of soul magic.
Times were good in Constanria, and my mother, amongst many scholars, entertained herself through her quest for knowledge.

  My mother sighed, shaking her head. “Stop taunting her, Kael. And stop snatching her away from her lessons. You should have been with your sisters, Lyra. Both of them faithfully showed up.”

  I’d avoided my religious studies to challenge my father to another duel. Who wanted to sit in a dusty room going through the Blessed Three anyway?

  I’d been trying to beat Kael in a duel ever since I was a child. No luck. Today was going to be different. I had something else planned. My other father, Micah, had decided I was ready to learn spells. We’d spent the early morning going through a couple new ones.

  “I demand a rematch,” I said.

  Kael released my wrists, taking a step back. “You can have that next week. I’m allowing you a duel only once every seven days. You know why.”

  I rolled my eyes. Kael reasoned that I needed time to reflect on my mistakes, to slowly deliberate them, work on my skills, before trying again. That wasn’t my style. I was headstrong, preferring to ram myself into problems with all my resolve and hoping that approach worked.

  “Learn to be less stubborn,” Kael said, already pivoting his attention to my mother. I had four fathers. Yes, four, the oldest being the king of Constanria, Rylan Everborne. And they could never seem to keep their eyes off Mom. All of Constanria could tell they were completely enraptured by her. I couldn’t understand why. To me, Mom was just… well, Mom.

  My father flicked his gaze to me briefly, lifting a brow. “You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect the same result.”

  I sniffed. “Just one more fight? Please?”

  Mom gave my father a pinched expression. “You’re one to talk about stubbornness. I can’t even convince you to stop imposing stupid dress codes on the officials. Do you know how many complaints Rylan has received about your silly rules?”

  Kael scowled. “Hey, don’t reprimand me when I’m trying to reprimand my daughter.”

  “They do say that living by example is the best way to parent.”

  “My parenting style is best. Not like those other three.”

  “Uh huh. It’s not a competition.”

  “Everything is.”

  Mom released a weary breath. “Lyra, dear, there’s another thirty minutes of class. If you go now, you can still attend it with your sister.”

  “Not until I beat Father,” I said, pointing my dagger at Kael.

  Kael snorted, flicking a thumb my way. “She’s not going to attend religious studies for another hundred years.”

  Mom rolled her eyes. “See what your brilliant parenting style has led to? Rebellion.”

  Kael looked at me proudly. “She understands what’s important. That the sword is far mightier than useless ramblings from scholars and whatnot. That violence can be the answer at times.”

  Mom palmed her face.

  “One more match, please?” I asked.

  “See here, sweetheart,” Kael said. “I’m a man of rules—”

  “That is an utter lie,” my mother cut in.

  “—and what is the point of setting them when you don’t abide them? Once a week. That was the limit I decided upon.”

  “Just give her what she wants, Kael,” Mom said, snipping off the top of her plant. I remembered her telling me that it was better to cut the saplings sooner rather than later. It made them strong early on. “Then she’ll attend her lessons.”

  Kael scrunched his nose. “Didn’t you talk to me about spoiling her just yesterday?”

  My grip on my dagger had tightened. I could smell the fight coming, and the dragon inside me grew excited. “How is kicking my butt spoiling me?”

  Kael tilted his head. “You’re the one asking for it.”

  Mom kneaded the bridge of her nose. “Just finish it so she can stop whining and attend the classes she’s supposed to.”

  Kael started, “I’m not going to go—”

  Mom pinned him with a hard stare.

  “Fine. All right.” My father huffed, then spun toward me. “Just this one time. I don’t want this to become a habit because my reasons are still— Whoa!”

  I cast my spell as soon as Father agreed to the duel. It was an ice spell, mixed with the electricity magic my siblings and I had been born with. Micah Daddy had been impressed with how powerful my magic was. It was the strongest amongst my brothers and sisters.

  Kael leapt out of the way of my spell. “You’re cheating,” he said, landing on his feet. “We didn’t say we were going to use magic.”

  I smirked. “It’s not in the rules.”

  “I’m setting a new rule—”

  I pushed out more magic, this time using more essence from my soul beads. My power tunneled toward my father in an icy column, too huge for him to avoid. Kael was tossed backward. He landed on the ground. My father knew how to fall gracefully, and he still looked like an adept fighter, landing at a controlled angle. I’d readied my feet with a speed spell. I pounced at him, using my extra speed, put my boot on his chest, and pointed my dagger at his neck. My blade scraped his skin.

  “Concede,” I said. I panted hard. I didn’t realize just how tiring magic could be.

  Kael narrowed his eyes. “You’re not playing cleanly.”

  “You told me to never play clean. When your opponent’s out there trying to kill you, it won’t matter who played fair.”

  My father grinned. “Spoken well.”

  I smiled, too, my expression mimicking my father’s. I thought I’d won, but a sudden force snapped me downward. Kael tripped me and pushed to his feet. I yelped, falling to my back. My father held a boot over my torso, then subdued me with another dagger at my throat. “But you should also remember to not let your guard down. Overconfidence is a death sentence when it comes to battle.”

  I hissed at my father. I thought I’d gotten him. I was so close. I tried to copy my father’s move, tripping him, too, but Kael shifted, avoiding my attack. It was difficult to catch him by surprise.

  “Aereala’s teats,” I cursed.

  “Language,” Mom said. “You need to stop spending so much time with Gaius. He’s been teaching the three of you lots of vulgarities, hasn’t he?” My mom tended to her plant like she might a child. She should be tending to my bruised confidence instead. Kael never failed to make me feel shitty about myself.

  Gaius did impart to my siblings and I plenty of profanities. Many from different regions of the Drae Lands. He also told us not to mention it to Mom. He’d prefer that she didn’t get mad at him.

  I pouted. “I’m going to find Kaji,” I said, changing the subject. Kael offered a hand to help me up. I declined it, pride getting the better of me, and pushed to a standing position in one fluid motion.

  Why should I let Kael help me when all I wanted to do was defeat him? Win—I based my life around that word. I loved to win. Nothing felt better.

  “No, you’re not.” Mom gave me her stern look. That look worked on her husbands well. Her kids? Not so much. “You’re going to attend lessons. This is the third one you’ve skipped this week. What have you been spending most of your time doing?”

  “Nothing important,” I said.

  Watching the evaradraes and learning their fighting techniques, mostly, I thought. The evaradraes—dragon warriors trained to serve the royal family as their protectors—didn’t like me bothering them, and I often visited their training grounds. Only Kaji let me befriend him. A few of them were watching me from the sidelines as my guard. They followed me around to ensure my safety. They really didn’t have to. I could protect myself. The guards kept our relationship strictly professional, even though I always tried befriending them.

  Mom tutted. “Well, your tutors are impressed with your grades, nevertheless. It’s a miracle how you even score as well as you do.”

  “You shouldn’t be surprised about miracles,” Kael said to Mom, his lips twitching.

  Mom nodded. “N
othing really surprises me these days.”

  I’d heard the stories about my mom and fathers. Those tales were grand and larger than life. I found it difficult to wrap my head around them sometimes. The five of them had saved the realm from the Great Ash, a phenomenon that had caused many deaths and much suffering. I wasn’t there to witness those events, so I couldn’t picture them. The stories others told of my parents sounded so far-fetched sometimes that I had difficulty believing them. Countless times, I’d been reassured that they were true.

  Mom set her jaw. “So, are you going to listen to me or not?”

  I gave in. My morale had been beaten down enough today. My shoulders slumped, and I gave Mom a resigned look. “All right,” I said, sheathing my dagger and sword. “I’ll go. Have my fathers been telling you that you can be a nag?”

  Kael opened his mouth to say something, but Mom cut in before he had the opportunity. “They wouldn’t dare.”

  I shook my head, turned away, and called to my wings, preparing to lift off.

  Perhaps if I flapped my wings slow enough, the lesson would be over by the time I arrived.

  Two

  I should be at the orphanage. The kids there played with me, and I could cheer them up, telling them stories of the heroes I looked up to. It felt nice to put smiles on those children’s faces. Toddlers and teenagers alike would gather around me to listen, and after hearing all those uplifting stories, they’d wear smiles.