Page 25 of Wild Bond

“I-I didn’t know you could do that,” I stammered, not sure what my face was doing. I could tell this fact was distressing to him, but I didn’t have the faintest clue why. I didn’t even know what the trials were, other than that Nesenya had mentioned them once.

He glanced at me, and he must have seen the confusion on my face, because his expression instantly lightened. “You don’t even know what I’m talking about, do you?”

I sighed and shook my head. “In my defense, it’s not like you dragon riders are exactly forthcoming with your secrets.”

Con smiled and stretched out his legs. “The trials are the two challenges, or I suppose you could call them tests, that trainees have to pass to become full-fledged dragon riders. The trials themselves and what they are exactly are kept secret, even from trainees. Riders are forbidden to speak of them afterward to anyone outside of other riders.”

I raised my brows. I hadn’t known any of that. My stomach clenched at the thought of having to pass some secret test. I stared back at him. “So, then you know what they are?”

“I failed the First Trial,” he said. “So, I only know what that one entails.”

“When are they?” I asked.

“The trials are held every three years, and the next ones are during midsummer. They are held at Three Points, a place you can only get to on dragonback, and only riders know how to find.”

“That’s less than four months away,” I observed.

He nodded, and there was an excited gleam in his eyes. No doubt he was eager for another chance to prove himself and pass the trials, especially if the other trainees and riders had been treating him like this ever since he failed them nearly three years ago.

“So, what did Warran mean when he said you were all prospects for the trials?”

“He means that everyone in this group make up the oldest and most experienced trainees in Baldor. We’re prospects to become riders and will represent Baldor in the trials.”

“Represent Baldor?”

“It’s not only Baldorians who participate in the trials,” he explained. “Prospective riders from Halmar and Zehvi come to the trials as well.”

I was willing to bet that was interesting, especially with the tensions between Zehvi and Baldor.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about that, though. I doubted I would be ready to compete in the trials for several years yet.

Atlunchthenextday, I got a missive to meet Commander Rakim at the aviary for my first flying lesson with Skye. Skye was ecstatic to finally get to fly with me. Her excitement matched my own, thrumming in the bond between us and filling my blood with nervous energy. Part of me still couldn’t believe that I was a dragon rider, let alone that I would literally get to do what that name entailed and actually ride a dragon. The little girl in me wanted to crow with happiness.

And then there was a smaller part of me, a part I had been trying to ignore, that was even excited aboutwhowould be teaching me to do said flying—though I still couldn’t comprehend why he had volunteered in the first place.

Forcing those perfect blue eyes and that penetrating stare from my mind, I tried to pay attention to where I was going as I made my way past the training fields.

The aviary wasn’t quite what the name suggested. It was no bird cage, far from it. At the back of the rider compound sat a giant stone cliff face that jutted right out of the mountain itself. Several dozen cave-like holes of all different sizes had been painstakingly carved into the stone at different heights. The intention being to accommodate dragons in their natural forms. It gave them a place of refuge where they could sleep or spend time undisturbed while their riders were busy in the city or at the compound.

Dragons preferred staying close to their riders most of the time, so the aviary was never crowded. At least, not so far as I had seen since being here. A stairway had been carved into the stone to one side of the caves where the rock stuck out. It was to this stairway that I now headed. It took me nearly fifteen minutes to reach the top, and by then I was so winded that I had to stop and catch my breath. I couldn’t wait until I learned to fly, just so I never had to take those stairs again. I could feel Skye’s amusement in the bond, and it was then that I stood up straight and looked around.

We now stood at the top of the section of rock that housed the caves. The space, which had been worn flat over the centuries, was wide and open, and large enough to accommodate a dozen dragons in their natural forms, with no issue of crowding. The afternoon sun was warm on my skin, and I inhaled the soft breeze that whipped up over the cliff’s edge. I glanced up to take in the impressive sight of Dragon Spear looming overhead; it seemed to be piercing the heavens.

There was no one else up here. Commander Rakim must be running late, so I made my way over to the edge as Skye shifted to her natural form. I swear I felt a sigh pass through the bond as she did so.

As I gazed down at the several hundred-foot drop below me, I felt Skye’s presence behind me. The heat from her skin radiated at my back as her head arched over my shoulder, peering down as well. I could tell she was wondering what I found so fascinating about it. I supposed being up so high was commonplace for her, but the sight of The Tower compound and the city spread out below me was a little unsettling.

Skye’s head raised suddenly, and I felt her excitement and a small amount of wariness as Rakim and Naasir came flying into view. The black dragon slowly grew larger as they approached. It was only a minute before we turned to watch them land further back from the edge of the cliff, a buffet of wind brushing over my face as they did.

Rakim dismounted with the ease of long practice, and his presence was just as devastating as the last time I had seen him. He wore the black leathers that were customary for dragon riders, but no sword hung from his waist this time.

“Good. You’re on time,” was all he said by way of greeting.

Unfortunately, that was when my nerves got the better of me and I opened my mouth. “Which is a miracle after climbing all those stairs. Was that why you wanted to meet all the way up here for my first lesson? To torture me?”

He just looked at me.

I bit my lip, forcing my nerves and mouth under control. “Sorry, Commander.” Internally I berated myself. I had to remember who this man was. He didn’t know me, nor I him. Bantering back and forth with Dembe, and even Zade, the past several days, and hearing them talk about him, had loosened my tongue too much . . . and had also made me curious. More curious than I had any right to be about the man before me.

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