Page 21 of Wild Bond

There was a chorus of loudhellosfrom the students and a few welcoming growls—at least I thought they were welcoming—from their dragons.

I quickly made my way to the back of the room where an empty desk and cushion waited. As I sat, one little girl with pig tails, sitting toward the front, asked, “Is she supposed to be here?”

“Yeah,” another boy added. “Isn’t she too old?”

I looked around. None of the children appeared older than seven or eight. I noticed Declan looking back at me from his seat in front of mine.

Gemma gave the children a stern look. “Rin and Skye are newly bonded, just like many of you. They have a lot to learn, and so I expect all of you to be kind and help them when they need it. You all remember your first day, don’t you?”

“Yes, Councilor Gemma,” the class intoned.

“Now everyone, settle down and let us resume our discussion on the dragon bond. Remember we talked about how every bond manifests differently for each dragon and rider?”

Several hands went up.

Gemma called on the little girl in the front. “Yes, Stella?”

“My dragon talks to me in my head. No one else can hear her but me.”

A boy who was hopping on the balls of his feet next to her called out, “My dragon talks to me with pictures.”

Then all the children began shouting at once.

“Mine shows me pictures, too.”

“Sometimes I hear music and—”

“I just know how my dragon is feeling all the time.”

“Why don’t dragons talk out loud like we do?”

“Why am I a rider but my sister isn’t?”

All the little dragons were fluttering around the room as well, twittering as excitedly as their young riders.

I watched the madness unfolding around me with the biggest grin on my face. A happy sense of peace overcame me amid the chaos.

Skye had retreated under the table with her wings over her head as if hiding from the noise.

The cacophony was just starting to reach an unholy pitch when Gemma rang a tiny bell at the front of the room, and everyone immediately quieted. Gemma’s dragon, a beautiful creature of pale blue, huffed in annoyance into the silence from where she sat at the councilor’s feet.

“Now children, remember, we ask questions one at a time.”

As the lesson continued, I found myself completely engrossed, and in no time at all, Gemma was calling an end to the class. My mind was swirling with information about bondings and the etiquette associated with what was and was not appropriate to say and do in regard to another rider’s dragon or bond.

“Rin? I’d like a word with you before you go,” Gemma called.

I walked to the front of the room as the rest of my little classmates filed out. Skye stood at my feet and ignored the younger dragons that chirped or tried to get her attention as they passed by with their riders. I fought my sense of amusement at Skye’s obvious irritation at the eager hatchlings.

Be nice, I thought to her.

Her emerald eyes just narrowed.

“I hope you aren’t insulted, Rin,” Gemma said in her gentle tone, returning my attention to her.

My brow furrowed in confusion.

“That I placed you in this class,” she explained. “I just felt that, at least to start out, it might be good for you to begin with the fundamentals when it comes to learning about our world. And though you and Skye are adults, it might be good for you to learn with the youngest among us.” She smiled warmly as the last little rider and his dragon bounded out the door. “After all, in many ways you are just as much a beginner as they are.”

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