Page 138 of Black Wing and Shadows
A collective groan rippled across the field.
“Remember there are cadets who fly themselves, as well as professors who can or have a flier. They will catch you if needed. You can catch each other if it’s needed, but for the love of fucking gods, do not put yourself in danger to catch another cadet when we have capable fliers that can do it better.”
I felt Esme’s dark amusement curl through the bond.“At least it will be entertaining.”
Micah went sheet white. Sadie elbowed him. “Relax. If Korra doesn’t catch you, maybe Esme will. Just don’t flail like last time. You looked like a cat dropped in a barrel.”
Micah groaned. “I am going to die.”
Lorenzo, still pale and wiping his mouth, raised a hand weakly. “Sir, permission to sit out on account of imminent organ failure?”
Hildegard’s expression didn’t shift. “Denied.”
He whistled loudly, sounding us off. Esme vaulted skyward under me, her wings snapping open with a rush of air. Around us, twenty-one other fliers launched, the sky filling with beating wings, screeches, and shouts of Riders trying not to panic.
“All at once!” Hildegard bellowed from the ground.
The signal came, and twenty-two bodies dropped like stones.
The screaming was immediate. Micah’s voice cracked into something between a shriek and a laugh. Sadie actually whooped on her way down, Korra diving neatly after her. Lorenzo shouted, “gods help me,” before Syth snatched him up mid-fall, only for him to promptly vomit over the side.
“Ugh, disgusting!” Akira yelled as Orix banked to avoid the spray.
Halfway down, one cadet from the Fire Platoon second squad started tumbling sideways instead of straight, arms flailing. Their dragon missedthe first grab, and for a horrifying heartbeat it looked like they were done for—until Professor Quillet’s dragon darted in, claws hooking them out of the air with terrifying precision.
“See?” Hildegard’s voice roared from the ground. “You are only as strong as your trust. Fail, and someone else must clean up your mess!”
By the time Esme scooped me back into place, my stomach was somewhere near my boots. Micah was laughing hysterically, Akira was still swearing at Lorenzo, Sadie was grinning like a lunatic, and three cadets were retching over the sides of their fliers.
Hildegard surveyed the chaos like a warlord surveying his battlefield. “Fly up and drop again!”
And we did, for over forty minutes. My stomach was so turned, I was surprised I hadn’t puked like the others. I watched so many cadets not make it back on their fliers, with Drusearons or Riders dipping in to grab them before they hit the ground. I knew I’d seen Zane at least twice grab a cadet. Thankfully, I didn’t need saving, nor did anyone in my flight. In the last ten minutes, we all landed on our fliers in the saddles successfully.
Hildegard ordered each wing to swap maneuvers. We ended up flying around, doing quick drops and rises in the sky next. Nothing too extreme, which allowed my stomach to settle some. This was the flying I missed on the rare times Kim flew me. For once, I was the one who looked graceful in the sky.
This part was more about flying with our dragons, feeling comfortable on them, and flying for periods of time without breaks. When we all flew home, if everything went well, it would be a straightforward flight without any maneuvers. However, if something arose or we found ourselves in hostile territory, we needed to know how to handle the flights our fliers would need to make to get us somewhere safely.
Finally, after what felt like hours, we heard the long whistle beckoning us back. We all turned and flew back to the field, landing and making the ground shudder once more. When I slid down her leg, I felt the consequence of flying for hours, especially on a poor-quality saddle. Bothof my glutes screamed in pain, my legs wobbly from the position and vibrations of Esme.
Hildegard stalked the line like a general surveying a battlefield, his boots crunching on the frosted ground. His eyes raked over us—sixty-five of us first-year Riders all sweat-soaked, standing with wobbling legs but still standing.
“I may be hard on you,” he said at last, voice booming, “but you all have made me proud. You’ve completed a week’s worth of training in four days. We have never had to push training this hard, and you all did it.”
There were collective sighs, like a room finally letting go of a held breath.
“I am confident in every single one of you to fly home tomorrow. Professor Yan has informed me she and her leather workers have finished every one of your saddles.” A sharp grin twitched at his mouth. “Though, knowing Yan, I suspect she had some witchy help.”
That even drew a few tired laughs.
He continued, pacing slowly. “Now, your fliers will hunt for their meals. You will go eat yours. After lunch, you will report back here for saddle fitting and adjustment. Depending on how quickly we finish, you may have some downtime before dinner. Don’t waste it.”
Micah leaned toward me and muttered under his breath, “If downtime doesn’t involve lying face-down on a mattress, I’m revolting.”
I snorted, but Hildegard’s gaze snapped to us instantly, sharp as a blade. We both straightened like guilty children caught stealing sweets.
Unimpressed, he went on. “After dinner, you will gather in Professor Vindex’s lecture hall. It is the largest available, and we’ll need it. We will review flight plans home. The twelve remaining Drusearon cadets will also be present, as they will be flying home as well, some of them on the same flight plan, and I expect cooperation.”
His gaze swept over us one last time, and despite the pain in my legs and the ache in my spine, I felt something stir in my chest. We weren’t perfect. Gods, half of us were still green-faced from vomiting out of the sky. But we’d survived. We’d flown. And tomorrow, we’d fly home. Well, I would be flying to Zane’s… my stomach churned atthat sudden reminder.
