Page 16 of Phixmery

This group is pitiful. Well, there are some decent cadets in this group, but I think we are really going to have our work cut out for us this year. I don’t even understand why we are forced to do this mentoring shit—it would be better left to the third and second years, but unfortunately those years are more focused on the learning aspect of this damned academy, while our days are spent between here and helping where we can on the war front.

The next pairing meets on the sands—two females—and I hear Killian scoff. The female facing Evera is a tiny thing. Pixies and faeries are taller than she is. But something rings familiarly about the young female. Her slight frame is evened out with her curves, curves that most fae females don’t have unless they’re some sort of mix bred with a lesser fae, but even then they always take after one parent magick-wise. Her brown and red hair is tied back into a long, single braid. She’s reeking with nerves and it’s making my nose twitch, but I don’t recognize her scent, though she seems familiar to me.

My magick tingles up my spine with the urge to drive into her mind and discover her fears, bringing them to life, making my back almost burn with anticipation. She wouldn’t even know I was there unless I wanted her to. It would be so easy to give into the chaos of my power. The only way she would sense me if she was a Szellemi fae as well.

My brothers—well not by blood—are drenched with disgust at how weak this female is. Sure, Evera knows what she’s doing, having been raised with Talyn in his fathers’ home. The lord of Allondë. In fact, we all grew up together, being the sons of the Lords of Damorleia.

The female hits the ground and I barely hold back my wince. She practically tripped over her own fates-damned feet.

“Dibs on not having to train that one,” Killian growls.

Talyn ignores him, his focus completely on the match, and that alone intrigues me. Maybe just a small taste—she’s probably terrified of something ridiculous like mice.

My magick reaches out for her, and as I gently try to pry into the pathetic one’s head, I come across something I’ve never experienced before: a block as hard as dragon stone. Most blocks are easy to bypass with enough practice—something I’ve been brutally trained to obliterate—but I know without a doubt that nothing except the fates themselves would let me through and into this female’s head. Curious. Maybe the Little Mouse isn’t as weak as she appears.

She hits the ground again, this time completely unconscious.Or maybe not. An annoyed sigh escapes me and Talyn snaps at someone to remove her from the sands.

I nudge our wing leader with my shoulder. “What was the tiny one’s name again?”

He peers over at me with his signature scowl and brows furrowed. “Why?”

My shoulders raise, practically touching my ears before they drop. “I wasn’t paying attention to the introductions.”

“Ravina Solace, Fire Elemi,” he grunts. “Now tell me why you’re interested.”

“After the lesson,” I state quietly, to which he stares at me then relents with a quick nod.

He continues on with the lesson and my eyes drag to where the fae—Ravina—is laying next to who I’m assuming are her friends. I make a mental note of them just in case.Who is this little fae to evade my magick?

MY BROTHERS AND I are on our way to the dragon keep, sending the other two in our wing ahead. I don’t trust them, no matter how many early mornings we have endured together and how many times we’ve essentially all saved each others’ lives. But we make sure to keep up appearances to not become suspicious, as most wings are tight-knit groups, closer than families. Once they’re out of hearing range Talyn pops the question I knew was coming.

“Why are you interested in that female, Jesper?” he all but growls, sounding even more beast-like than normal. We all know the plan: no distractions, and females are definitely distractions. We need to focus on our plan or the whole realm could fall apart.

A grin spreads across my face. “My magick wanted to play, and with that I realized I can’t get in the Little Mouse’s head. She has a block stronger than I’ve seen before. I’m curious.”

Killian scoffs. “Fucking great, now he’s not going to be able to leave it alone. Remember the last time he was curious?” he snarls, staring down Talyn but gesturing wildly at me.

I have no idea what he is talking about.

“Tisur almost ate Hemmings and Featherington because Jesp swore they were spies sent from…” he trails off not wanting to mention where out loud, but Talyn understands, and I now remember this incident he speaks of.

“To be fair, they were really suspicious when they got assigned to our wing. I still don’t trust them,” I mumble. “And Tisur wouldn’t have eaten them. He was just trying to scare them a bit,” I grin.

Talyn pinches the bridge of his nose and blows out a deep breath. “Jesp, just stay away from her. She’s weak, and I guarantee she’s not a spy. They’d be stupid to send someone like her here. Plus they aren’t even aware of what we’re doing, and I want to keep it that way.”

“Fine,” I state, trying to hide my growing smile. “I’ll stay away, outside of lessons,ifI get to train her. You both will be there, so you know I won’t pull anything.”

“Fine,” he relents, obviously wanting to be done with this conversation. “Now, I want to go see Zaddro. My bond with him is getting restless; he wants to fly.”

I rub my chest where Tisur’s bond sits and I feel the same anxiousness. Bonding with a dragon is indescribable—it feels like a piece of a puzzle clicks into place the moment it happens, but we’re very dependent on each other. At least for the first couple years while the bond strengthens. We don’t mind because this is what my brothers and I were born to do. We were raised and told that this would happen, and we’ve been preparing for it ever since.

As we approach the keep I feel his relief. “About time you showed up, rider. I was about to take off without you,” his young but ancient voice rumbles in my head.

My laugh echoes through my mind. “No you wouldn’t have. You would have missed me too much.” The warmth of our bond spreads through me but all I get in response is a snort.

We stride into the Dreki mountains, deep into a cavern until it opens up into a large cave that reeks of dragon. The stench of old carcasses and waste lingers in my nostrils causing my eyes to water. This is the area where our beasts come to meet us—it’s also where the rider trials take place.

The home of the dragons spreads far and wide throughout the mountains that surround Phixmery. This place is full of ancient secrets lost to fae and kept safe by dragons. No one comes here without their express welcome, or you’re dragon food.

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