Page 93 of Wild Bond

I couldn’t help but wonder why Rake hadn’t made a point of coming to speak to me before now, or why he hadn’t come to escort me to the banquet himself. Was he embarrassed to be seen with me? He had told me before that he didn’t care what other people thought, but maybe that was just in Baldor and didn’t extend to these people. Not wanting to dwell on the upsetting thoughts, I tried to push them from my mind as we walked forward.

All of the trainees were definitely staring at me as I approached the high table. Zade had coached me on what to do on our way down to the banquet hall and he gave me a reassuring smile before stepping back.

I curtsied to Prince Pierce, since he was my future sovereign, and nodded to Rake, Zadeth, and the other royalty out of respect.

When I finally had the courage to meet Rake’s gaze, it was smoldering. His eyes literally reminded me of two pits of dragon flame as they dragged slowly up my body from the floor, taking in the extravagant dress and making me feel like someone had just dripped warm oil all across my skin wherever his eyes touched.

Princess Helene flipped her long golden hair behind her shoulder and spoke, surprising me. “Congratulations on completing the First Trial trainee,” she said, her voice strong and confident. I noticed a faint lilting accent to her words.

I nodded to her. “Thank you, Your Highness. I’m grateful Skye and I made it in time.”

Her gaze assessed me, and I thought I saw a hint of approval in it as she replied, “It is a strong and rare bond that could withstand the First Trial after so short a time together. And for your dragon to break the spell of the Golden Oculus to come to your aid,” she leaned forward slightly, “it has never been done.” She turned to Rake with a small smile playing on her lips, enhancing her striking face. “You must be very proud of your protégé, Councilor Rakim. You trained her yourself, did you not? No wonder she and her dragon were able to survive The Rift and come out unscathed.”

Rake took his eyes from me for the first time and responded, “You are well informed, princess. Though I was not her only trainer. And yes,” he said, looking back at me once more, “I’m very proud.”

I refused to blush.

Then the princess’s attention turned back to me. “Are you sure you are not Halmarish?” she asked, an almost teasing light in her eye. “Surely with hair like that and such a strong will, we must be in your ancestry somewhere, no?”

I smiled at her. “Not to my knowledge, Your Highness.”

“Let us hope she has the same luck with the Second Trial,” Prince Amir commented suddenly. Everyone at the high table looked his way as he raised a glass to his lips. There was something about that unwavering stare that unnerved me as he continued, “It would be a shame for Baldor to lose such a promising rider.”

I tried to keep my expression neutral at what he was implying, though my stomach swirled with nerves at the thought of the Second Trial.

“I, for one, agree with Princess Helene,” Prince Malik said, his voice slightly accented like his brother’s. “Most impressive for a rider with so little formal training to pass the First Trial. Some would say impossible.” The Crown Prince of Zehvi was larger in stature than his younger brother, though they both sported the same dark hair and eyes and looked to be close to Rake’s age. Both men were handsome, but Prince Malik radiated a quiet, dangerous confidence that reminded me of Rake in some ways; like a flame that you couldn’t help but be drawn to but could burn you if you got too close. His dark eyes regarded me almost as closely as Rake did. And I couldn’t tell with that stare if he was accusing me of something or not.

I gave the prince a tight smile. “Obviously not impossible, because here I am.”

A spark lit the prince’s eyes, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it when he simply nodded and replied, “As you say.”

When no one else said anything, I took that as my cue to leave and bobbed a curtsy—that I was sure wasn’t any better than my previous one—and stepped away. Zade had moved off somewhere while I was speaking to the royals, and I didn’t see him anywhere.

Turning to the long tables, I wasn’t sure where to sit until I spotted Con and the other prospects sitting not too far down the far-right table. Making my way over to them, I wasn’t quite sure how I would be received, seeing as how I wasn’t really supposed to be here, but Con saw me coming and made room beside him.

As I sat down, I could feel the stares on me from my fellow trainees and hear the murmurs from the other tables, but I tried to ignore them. A plate of food was placed before me almost immediately, and I thanked the older priestess before she walked away with a small nod.

I turned to Con and congratulated him. He brushed it off as I knew he would, but I could see the pride and satisfaction in his eyes at what he had accomplished. I knew it probably meant more to him than anyone else at this table. The other prospects were already treating him as one of them after all.

“Congratulations to you as well,” he returned. “I can’t believe you did it, but I’m happy for you.”

I opened my mouth to thank him for that glowing vote of confidence and tell him that I couldn’t have done it without his help, when I noticed Daisha staring at me like she had seen a ghost.

I couldn’t tell if she felt guilty for what she had done or if she was just stunned to see me alive. Before I could decide whether to say anything or not, Daisha stood abruptly, her silver gown shimmering as she did so.

“What’s wrong, Dai?” Con asked, eyes darting between me and his sister. Warran and Nesenya looked at her as well, brows furrowed. Daisha’s mouth opened as if she meant to respond, then it firmed into a thin line, and she spun and stormed off. Daisha’s two friends, Morina and Silva, gawked after her, then stood and hurriedly followed.

I knew I couldn’t report Daisha for what she had done in the trials, since it technically wasn’t against the rules, and I didn’t want to have to explain how I had survived to the council, but it still rankled that she could attempt to kill me—and by extension, Skye—and not face any kind of repercussions for it.

Once she was gone, the others asked me what her reaction had been about, but I just told them I didn’t know. They asked about how I had gotten here, and I saw no reason not to be honest with them. Everyone was puzzled, but after throwing out a few theories no one could come up with anything plausible and conversation turned to the trial itself. Since we were now free to talk about it, everyone started comparing their experiences. I listened as I tucked into my food, trying to be careful not to spill on the dress.

Apparently, Nesenya had a run in with a poisonous chimera in The Rift that had stung her before her dragon killed it, and she had to be rushed to a healer once they made it through. Another prospect, Tark, had his phoenix feather stolen by a couple of pixies and had to chase them down to get it back. Warran’s dragon had badly injured his wing while in the caves, and as a result they’d barely made it out before sunrise, only scraping through a few minutes ahead of me.

I missed the rest of the story though because my attention was drawn to Con. He had moved over to a trainee sitting alone further down the table from us. He sat down across from the young man who looked to be Zehvitian. The young man’s shoulder’s tensed as Con sat down, and I recognized the grayish-black dragon curled in his lap as it growled at Con. But then my friend began to speak, and after a few moments they seemed to relax a little.

“He didn’t pass the trial,” Warran spoke up, noticing where my attention was. “He was the only one.”

My heart went out to the trainee. If anyone could bring even a hint of solace to the dejected rider, Con could. I considered joining them, but then dismissed the idea. They were better off talking alone.

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