Page 92 of Black Wing and Shadows
The entire outdoor arena was filled with cadets from other branches who gathered to watch newly bonded Riders flying in on their fliers. Zane would watch as I soared in on my bonded dragon, hopefully. My squad moved as a cohesive unit across the frosted grass. Lili led our platoon toward the edge of the courtyard where stern instructors waited, their dark silhouettes stark against the faint glow of the sunrise.
Beyond them, the dark line of Flugblatt Forest loomed. The trees looked ancient and unmoving, holding their own secrets. Somewhere inside, dragons, griffins, and phoenixes would be waiting—some to bond, others to kill.
The instructors began calling out squads in order, each group stepping forward, saluting, and disappearing into the tree line. When the third squad vanished, we were up next.
“Electric’s First Squad, to the line!”
My pulse was a drumbeat in my ears as we took our places. Ten minutes. Ten minutes until the forest decides who among us walks out. The whistle was a shrill, cutting sound that made the forest ahead seem definitely quieter.
Our squad stood at the edge of Flugblatt’s shadow, the cold air already tinged with the earthy, metallic scent that clung to that place every Bonding Day. Sadie flexed her hands like she was itching for a fight, Lorenzo rolled his shoulders loose, Akira’s eyes scanned the tree line, and Jackson adjusted the grip on his spear. Further back, Lili stood with the Rider’s Leadership, her posture sharp, hands clasped behind her back, watching our every move.
“Electric’s First Squad!” Instructor Quillet barked. “Your window starts now. You have ten minutes before the next squad follows you in. Make it count.”
I drew in a slow breath, the weight of the day settling like armor over my skin. Somewhere inside those ancient trees was my flier—a dragon—that was what I wanted. What mattered was finding them before someone else did… or before something killed me.
“Go!”
We surged forward as one, boots hitting the frozen ground in unison before breaking into the scattered, instinctive patterns of a hunt. The forest swallowed us in seconds, the daylight fading under the canopy. The moment we crossed deeper into Flugblatt, our formation began to unravel. The forest demanded it. Paths broke away in jagged directions, narrowing to barely a footpath in some places and vanishing entirely in others.
Akira darted left through a cluster of frost-hung ferns. Jackson vaulted over a downed tree to the right. Sadie slid between two mossy boulders without hesitation, and Lorenzo disappeared into the shadows ahead. In less than thirty seconds, I was alone.
In the back of my mind, Zane’s presence pressed faintly at the edges, a steady thrum like the pull of a tide. I knew he wouldn’t mean to distract me, but if he felt any flicker of danger, he’d try to interfere—and that was the last thing I needed. I closed my eyes briefly and shoved my mental shields into place. The tether between us snapped silent. The air felt colder without him there, but it was necessary.
The forest breathed around me—distant wingbeats, the low rumble of something significant moving through underbrush, the occasional high, eerie cry that made the hairs on my neck stand up. A gust of wind carried the faint scent of ash and cold metal. My steps quickened.
I slipped between the roots of an ancient pine, my senses straining, as the forest swallowed me whole. Something shifted in the branches above—soft, deliberate.
My breath caught before my eyes when I found her.
Esme.
Silver glinted through the lattice of frost-tipped limbs, her movements fluid but cautious. She stepped from the shadows of an overhanging ledge, and the sight of her hit me like the first breath after being underwater too long. Smaller than the others, her frame was lean and not yet filled out, but every inch of her shimmered with quiet power. Her eyes—icy blue and sharp as cut glass—locked on mine.
Remember me.
The words from Judgment Day echoed in my skull, precisely as she had spoken them to me months earlier, before melting back into the dense forest. I thought of her every single day since. I took a slow step forward, keeping my hands at my sides. The tense air between us felt charged, her gaze sharp and deliberate, measuring and weighing.
A sharp crunch of frost snapped the moment in half.
A tall, dark-haired cadet emerged from the tree line to my left, blade already drawn. “Looks like I’m barely in time,” he said, voice laced with smugness.
I shifted to block his path. “Turn around.”
“She’s unclaimed,” he shot back. “You know the rules—first to bond wins. Or are you afraid I’ll beat you to her?”
“You try,” I said, “and you’ll regret it.”
His grin widened, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You don’t scare me, Blackcreek. And I’ve waited for this.”
We clashed before another word could be said—steel ringing, boots sliding on the frozen ground. He fought dirty, going for joints and aiming to disable rather than test his skill. My dagger bit into his arm. He slammed an elbow into my ribs. I used the momentum to shove him back, keeping myself between him and Esme.
Her wings flexed slightly, feathers of frost scattering to the ground, but she didn’t move. She watched. Judging. He lunged again. I caught his wrist, twisted, and slammed him into a tree. My blade was at his throat before he could blink. “This is your only chance. Walk away, or you leave here carried.”
He stared at me, breathing hard, then spat to the side. “She’s not worth dying for.”
I kept my gaze on him until he disappeared, then turned to Esme. She remained on her perch, her head tilting with eyes that seemed to perceive something in me no one else could. She tilted her head once more, her tail flicking faintly through the snow. Suddenly, she spread her wings without warning.
The sound resembled thunder crashing through the forest—intense, sharp, yet quick. She leapt from the ledge in a burst of frost, surpassing the initial row of trees before I fully registered her departure.
