Page 107 of Black Wing and Shadows
But I saw enough. I saw the way her breathing hitched as if she were holding something inside. I saw the way Esme curled protectively around her, silver head dipping low, eyes fixed sharply on anyone who looked too long. I saw the way Auri’s shoulders stiffened, as if she were fighting something she couldn’t control.
The crowd didn’t notice—they were too busy with their own friends, lovers, or siblings. But I saw everything. Every flicker of strain that crossed her face. And I knew, even if I couldn’t see what shimmered beneath her skin, that whatever had awakened in her was powerful. Dangerous.
I leaned forward, every muscle tight, every instinct screaming. She needed me. Not right now—not during this ceremony, not in front of the Generals. But soon. Because whatever bond had been formed, it had changed her. And I’d be damned if I let her face it alone.
The magic still hung in the air long after the brands cooled. It clung like smoke, buzzing over the skin, settling deep into the marrow. From the stands, I felt it. But it wasn’t mine to claim, not like it was for them. The Riders shifted, murmurs rising across the field as they studied one another. I could see the way they looked—some with awe, some with envy, some with fear. And all of them… all of them seeing something I couldn’t.
I hated it. I hated the way their eyes went wide, the way their postures stiffened or softened, the way Auri’s chest rose like she held fire beneath her skin. Whatever shimmer had been carved into her, whatever mark now burned across her heart, I couldn’t see it. I was blind.
I used to not care about this, nor was it ever relevant to me. When Alex and Lili went through bonding day, we were all first-years, and precisely like today, I watched as the magical ceremony took place. It didn’t bother me that I couldn’t see the Riders’ glimmer, nor did I really care. It was a Rider’s thing, and we Drusearons had our own thing.
I saw her clearly. Pink flush spread across her cheeks. Her hand instinctively brushed against her tunic, over the spot where the brand had touched. Esme shifted closer, curling protectively, silver scales catching the faint light of the torches. That dragon watched her Rider intently and challenged anyone else to approach.
My fists clenched in my lap. If I’d been down there, I would’ve stood the same way.
The bell tolled once more, drawing every gaze to the dais. My stomach tightened as my eyes locked on him. Her Father. Cold, unflinching, asthough the ceremony hadn’t merely torn through flesh and spirit alike. His voice cut through the stadium like steel.
“You have been chosen. You have been judged. Now you're bound—not only to your fliers, but to the future of this realm.”
He paused, eyes sweeping over them, over her. I swore he lingered, just a breath too long, on Auri.
“You carry the weight of our survival in your bonds. Do not falter. Do not fail.”
Major General Kamban stepped up beside him, less polished, rawer, his words grinding like stone. “Your scars are proof. Your bonds, your strength. But strength without discipline is nothing. Take this gift, take this power, and remember it is not for you. It is for all of us.”
The crowd erupted as the ceremony came to a close. Elders lifted their wings, their voices shaking the night sky before taking off to the Vale, vanishing in the dark like shadows of gods. All the fliers left the field and followed behind.
And me? I sat in the stands, the roar of the crowd crashing around me, feeling more like an outsider than I ever had because I couldn’t see it. Because I wasn’t one of them. And because every heartbeat told me Auri’s world was pulling her further into a place I couldn’t follow.
***
The firelight danced against stone, spilling over mugs of ale and flushed faces. Music wound its way through the air, laughter loud enough to echo against the towers. Riders clumped in circles, their fliers nowhere in sight, the bonds fresh but already pulsing between them.
I stuck close to her. Always.
But even here, I felt it—the distance. The way they looked at her was different now, not only because she was the General’s daughter but because of whatever shimmer now lived beneath her skin. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel the weight of it pressing on the edges of the night.
The courtyard was alive with firelight and noise, but beneath it all, I felt the crackle—tension threading its way between the laughter and ale. I kept Auri close, one hand brushing against hers when I could, a silent reassurance that I was here. Always here.
Then I saw it. The shift. The cadet’s stare—hard, bitter, venomous—as he shoved his way through the crowd toward her. His words dripped with poison, not at her, but at her blood.
The cadet came in calling her a daddy’s little girl, throwing insults around like she was her father.
My blood turned molten.
Auri lifted her chin, calm, steady, the way only she could. She tried to plead and reason with him, letting him know she wasn’t her dad, nor did she know what he was talking about.
But he wasn’t hearing her. His eyes burned too deep, too dark. His hand twitched toward his belt. And the courtyard shifted. Riders leaned in. The air thickened. Someone laughed—too sharp. Another shouted something I didn’t catch. The cadet lunged, and the whole thing snapped.
My wings tore free.
They ripped out with a force that silenced the courtyard, something shifted with Auri, I couldn’t quite see it, but oh fuck I felt it. Gasps filled the air, but my focus was only on him.
He never even saw her move. The flash of steel. Auri’s dagger in her hand, a blur of silver in the torchlight as she ducked low. Two sharp strikes, clean and brutal. His scream cut through the night as his legs buckled, tendons sliced, blood spilling onto the stone.
He hit the ground hard. And the world went silent.
Every Rider froze, mugs half-raised, eyes locked on us. Then it happened—like a crack splitting the night—Auri’s arms were shimmering with silver scales, and a sense of shadows was all around her. I didn’t know how I could see it. I shouldn’t be able to, but with our mating bond, maybe I could? I couldn’t see anyone else’s, though.
