Whisper [Fourth Wing]

Chapter Four

"WELCOME TO YOUR FIRST Battle Brief," Professor Devera says from the recessed floor of the enormous lecture hall later in the morning, a bright purple Flame Section patch on her shoulder matching her short hair perfectly. This is the only class held in the circular, tiered room that curves the entire end of the academic hall and one of only two rooms in the citadel capable of fitting every cadet. Every creaky wooden seat is full, and the senior third-years are standing against the walls behind us, but we all fit.

It's a far cry from Carr's class last hour, where there were only the second-years, but at least our squads are all sat together this time. Now if I could only remember all their names.

Ridoc is easy to remember—he cracked wise-ass comments all through formation this morning. Hopefully he knows better than to try the same in here, though. Professor Devera isn't the joking kind. Then there was Rhiannon, the first-year currently sat next to Violet, who I could never forget after the way she'd spoken to me on conscription day. She had nerve and I admired that. Then there was Sawyer but there was no chance I was forgetting him given he was a repeat and had been my best friend last year.

After Sawyer had managed to survive the whole of last year, even without bonding a dragon, he'd been given the chance to resit. It was odd really. How someone like Sawyer didn't bond a dragon yet someone like Dain did. Then again, at least he'd survived Threshing unlike so many other cadets. Like Honey.

She'd been...she was like a sister to me. Honey was a walking ray of sunshine and no matter what this place did to her, she never let herself be changed like everyone else. At least, not in a bad way. She grew stronger. More resilient. Even facing cadets like me who'd been training for this their whole lives, Honey managed to keep a smile on her face. She pushed and she pushed. She worked and worked until she was the best of our year. Her future was written in the stars. Honey Kiplin was going to be the best rider of our generation.

Threshing had other ideas though. Four cadets decided that eliminating Honey and myself would give them a better chance at bonding dragons. So they came after us. I'd never fought so hard in my life but in the end, it wasn't enough. I watched as they drove a blade through my best friends heart. I watched her die when it should have been me. None of those cadets survived to bond a dragon. Not after what they'd done. They didn't deserve it. All that power.

They didn't deserve to live after taking away Honey. I'd killed them all.

Every.

Last.

One.

I couldn't save Honey but I'd be damned if I let Sawyer or Violet face the same fate this year.

"In the past, riders have seldom been called into service before graduation," Professor Devera continues, her mouth tensing as she paces slowly in front of a twenty-foot-high map of the Continent mounted to the back wall that's intricately labeled with our defensive outposts along our borders. Dozens of mage lights illuminate the space, more than making up for the lack of windows and reflecting off the longsword she keeps strapped to her back.

"And if they were, they were always third-years who'd spent time shadowing forward wings, but we expect you to graduate with the full knowledge of what we're up against."

Yeah right. If half the cadets, hell even the riders, saw what was waiting out there beyond our borders, they'd run screaming. They didn't want us to know. They wanted us to think we did so that when we did, it was too late. You were already a rider. Running then would cost you your life.

"It's not about just knowing where every wing is stationed, either." She takes her time, making eye contact with every first-year she sees. The rank on her shoulder says captain, but I know she'll be a major before she leaves her rotation teaching here, given the medals pinned on her chest. "You need to understand the politics of our enemies, the strategies of defending our outposts from constant attack, and have a thorough knowledge of both recent and current battles. If you cannot grasp these basic topics, then you have no business on the back of a dragon." She arches a black brow a few shades darker than her deep-brown skin.