The tale of Aurelia Hawthorne is anything but simple. Faced with the horrors and reality of living in a nation that hides secrets and punishes children for the sins of their parents, she is forced to make difficult choices.
Especially ones that str...
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A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.
—Article One, Section One The Dragon Rider's Codex
Conscription Day is always the deadliest. Conscription day for the Riders Quadrant? That's only for the clinically insane. Hundreds of caravans pull up to the entrance of the parapet—hundreds of people hungry for the chance to bond with a dragon.
"And hundreds of them will die," Ladon rumbles in Aurelia's head.
Aurelia rolls her eyes, focusing on taking down the names of the new Cadets. She's lucky enough to be on the other side of the parapet rather than the entrance. At least that way she doesn't find herself growing too attached to the possible riders before they fall to their deaths.
She pulls her cloak up, covering her shoulders in an attempt to gain more warmth. Aurelia has never seen the parapet this bad before, the rainstorm bellowing across the narrow surface, threatening to take any unfortunate 20 year old down with it. It's slippery and dangerous, clouds making the death surface even more sinister.
"Name?" She asks, sheltered in the small hut at the end of the parapet as yet another Cadet stumbles through.
"Ridoc Gamlyn," He pants, leaning against the railing and heaving up large breaths.
Aurelia nods, writing his name down on the paper and pointing to the direction of the citadel. "Go right ahead, Cadet Gamlyn. Best get that leg checked out too. Healers are dressed in white cloaks today."
He hobbles away, trying not to fall over as he makes his way to the official opening ceremony.
Aurelia leans back against the wall, closing her eyes to drown out the screams of the fallen. This is something she would never get used to. Death and carnage are everywhere at the Riders Quadrant, and it never gets easier, no matter how long you spend there. The current statistics of people making it across the parapet are low enough, but this storm brimming in makes those odds even lower.
"Hey!" Sawyer shouts over the rainstorm, coming to stand beside Aurelia. "How many so far?"
Sawyer Henrick had been done dirty by the universe. Aurelia still doesn't know how King Tauri's second son bonded with a dragon over him. Still, Aurelia admired the fact that Sawyer stood his ground, even if he had to repeat Thresing all over again.
He was one of the only people Aurelia could say she wholeheartedly trusted with her life, which he defended many times last year.
Even against people she didn't think would come after her.
Even against Xaden Riorson.
"Seventeen," Aurelia says now that Sawyer has moved closer to her.
"That's like...sixty percent less than last year, and half the recruits have already made their way through," Sawyer sighs, taking the list of names from her. "This year is going to be a shitstorm."
