Child of Ardor

viii

"Keep the temperaments of each specific breed in mind when you decide which dragons to approach and which to run from at Threshing," Professor Kaori says, his serious, dark eyes slashing toward his nose as he studies the new recruits for a beat, then he changes the projection he's conjured from a Green Daggertail to a Red Scorpiontail.

He's an illusionist and the only professor in the quadrant with the signet ability to project what he sees in his mind. I knew that from overhearing a couple people that loved his class.

The Red Scorpiontail in the center of our circled tables is a fraction of its actual size, six feet tall at most, but it's an exact replica of the actual firebreather waiting in the Vale for Threshing.

"Red Scorpiontails, like Ghrian here, are the quickest to temper," Professor Kaori continues, his perfectly trimmed mustache curving as he smiles at the illusion like he's the dragon himself. Everyone around me is taking notes and I'm scribbling whatever words that seem to stay in my head, which aren't a lot. "So if you offend him, you're—"

"Lunch," Ridoc says from my left, and the class laughs.

"Precisely," Professor Kaori responds. "So what's the best way to approach a Red Scorpiontail?" He glances around the room.

"They prefer that you approach from the left and from the front, if possible," a woman from one of the other squads answers.

"Excellent." Professor Kaori nods. "For this Threshing, there are three Red Scorpiontails willing to bond." The image changes in front of us to a different dragon.

"How many dragons are there in total?" Rhiannon asks.

"A hundred for this year," Professor Kaori answers, changing the image again. "But some might change their minds during Presentation in about two months, depending on what they see."

"That's thirty-seven fewer than last year." Violet suddenly blurts out.

She's been bothering me a lot today. She just keeps watching me with everything that I do and it's starting to piss me off.

What made her so suddenly interested in me when she wasn't before?

Professor Kaori's dark eyebrows rise. "Yes, Cadet Sorrengail, it is, and twenty-six fewer than the year before that."

Fewer dragons are choosing to bond, but the number of riders entering the quadrant has remained steady.

"Will they tell you why they won't bond?" another first-year asks.

"No, jackass," Jack scoffs, his icy-blue gaze narrowing on the cadet.

"Dragons only talk to their bonded riders, just like they only give their full name to their bonded rider. You should know that by now." Professor Kaori sends Jack a look that shuts the first-year's mouth but doesn't stop him from sneering at the other cadet. "They don't share their reasons," our instructor says. "And anyone who respects their life won't ask a question they're not willing to answer."

"Do the numbers affect the wards?" Aurelie asks from where she sits behind me, tapping her quill against the edge of her desk.

Professor Kaori's jaw ticks twice. "We're not sure. The number of bonded dragons has never affected the integrity of Navarre's wards before, but I'm not about to lie to you and say that we're not seeing increased breaches when you know from Battle Brief that we are."

The image changes to Sgaeyl, the navy-blue dragon bonded to Xaden. I only saw her the day all of the dragons came down once we had crossed the parapet.