The Dragon Queen's Heir [book one]

13

MIKKI'S EYES WIDEN, BUT SHE SAYS NOTHING as she quickly helps me change into new clothes and brush through my hair before pulling me out of my dorm. "I can get there by myself," I quickly say, yanking my arm out of her grip. "I've been there twice already, and it's only my third day here."

Mikki's brows furrow as we come to a stop on the ground floor of the dorm chambers. "Are you sure? I just thought—"

"I'm fine," I say, a fake smile stretching across my face. Part of me hurts when Mikki's face falls, but the rest of me is just being cautious. What if she was the one that went through my things, and I tell her about my dream-vision thing? What if she's working with April? One can never be too careful, I tell myself. "Thank you, though," I say to Mikki's retreating back.

Pushing down feelings of remorse, I force myself to keep walking, exiting the dorm chamber and hurrying down the halls of the Academy to the now-familiar headmaster's study. Now face-to-face with the worn white wood, I have my first doubts. April's voice trickles through my mind again, reminding me that I can't trust anyone.

But I shove the thoughts down. If I can trust anyone, it's Professor Singh. I gently knock on the door before pushing it open, relieved to find Professor Singh reclined back in his chair with a book in his hands, his feet perched on the rough wood of his desk. "Oh, um, can I come in?" I ask cautiously, opening the door a little bit wider.

Professor Singh jumps and kicks his feet off the desk. "Oh! I'm sorry, I must not have heard you knock." He pauses and sets down his book, gesturing for me to come inside. I gently close the door before taking a few steps forward and lowering myself into the chair in front of his desk. "Now, what was it you came here for, Miss Rehlia?"

I clear my throat, grasping a hand tightly with the other. "Well," I start, "the day of the Selecting, when I touched the Abernathy Stone, I passed out." Professor Singh nods, his wide eyes beckoning me to continue. "Before I went unconscious, I had a vision." Then everything spills out, from the Selecting to my first dream to the vision I had during my search for Eira, ending with my talk with April the previous night.

"That's quite a story," Professor Singh says, letting out a sigh. "But not one I wasn't expecting. I hoped it wouldn't happen this soon, but . . ." He takes out a sheet of parchment and scribbles furiously onto it, blocking my view when I try to read what he's writing. Finally, he folds it up and hands it to me, saying, "Do not read this letter. Give it to Oliver as soon as you see him."

"Okay," I breathe, taking the letter and grasping it tightly with one hand. "What about April? She said not to trust anyone—"

"That was her just trying to get into your head," Professor Singh says. "Don't trust anything she says. And please, don't call her April. Her name is Milay now, and though she had other aliases, I do not want you to use them. Milay is very talented at getting into people's heads and distorting their view of reality, and we can't have that happening to you."

I frown. "Why?"

The headmaster sighs, suddenly looking very tired. "You're important, Miss Rehlia. More important than you know." Then he pauses. "Go to breakfast, and don't worry about anything. We'll protect you, and we will make sure anyone that comes into contact with you is as trustworthy as possible. Okay?"

I nod slowly, trying to find a spot in my brain to fit this new information, on top of the information dump I got yesterday and the day before. "Okay." I rub my temples, the beginnings of a headache forming as I stand. "I'd better get to breakfast. Thank you, Professor." Giving a weak smile, I turn and leave the headmaster's study, walking down the halls until I reach the dining hall.

"Ciana!"

Turning around, I come face-to-face with a breathless Nikolai. "Hey," he says. "I saw you and figured I would walk with you to breakfast."

"Okay," I say slowly, fingering the letter. We walk together the rest of the way to long tables set at the front of the dining hall, where I carefully slip the letter into the pocket of my trousers, then grab a plate and side some pancakes onto it. "Do you know what we're going to do today?" I ask, grabbing some coffee from the drinks table.

Nikolai shrugs as he finishes getting his food. We walk together towards our usual spot as he says, "I don't know. Sara said something about spending time with our dragons, so I guess it'll be a pretty slow day."

"I hope so," I say. "I don't know if I can handle any more excitement. First, I become a Rider, then I bond with a dragon. Thank goodness they're giving us a day to relax." We sit, and I immediately stuff a bite of pancakes into my mouth, groaning at their fluffy goodness. "Gosh, I didn't have pancakes this good, even at my old home."

Nikolai turns to me and raises his eyebrows. "At an orphanage?"

I freeze. "Uh, yeah. They would occasionally bring in some chefs from the royal palace just to make us feel better, you know?" I grin, cursing myself for my stupidity. "It was a really nice orphanage," I add dumbly. Nikolai shrugs and returns to his food, biting into his eggs with wide eyes.

"I see what you mean," he says slowly, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "This breakfast can rival even the nicest orphanage."

Slapping his arm, I stick out my tongue. "Oh, stop it! We had really good food, okay?"

Nikolai brings his arms up in mock surrender, and we both go back to our food with a few chuckles. A few moments later, I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around, meeting the eyes of Oliver. "Oh, hey, Oliver!" I say, glancing over at Nikolai before returning my gaze to Oliver. "I really need to talk to you about something. Can we go somewhere private for a moment?"

Oliver frowns. "Okay." I stand and follow him to benches lining the hall outside, confused when Oliver sits on one of them. Students pour past us, making it easily possible for someone to overhear a highly private conversation. "Don't worry," Oliver says. He mutters something under his breath, and suddenly the world is muffled; students still walk by us, but all I hear is the low hum of voices, impossible to make out.

"What did you do?" I ask.

"I cast a spell that will render us invisible." Oliver winks. "I'll have to teach it to you after you get your powers. It's quite useful for sneaking around the castle looking for midnight snacks."

I giggle. "That would be great." Then I remember why we're here, and the happy moment quickly dies as I pull out the letter from my pocket. "I've been having visions lately," I say. "The first one was after my Selecting when I touched the Abernathy Stone. Then that night after dinner, I had a dream, and I had another vision when I was searching for my dragon." I pause. "A-And last night, I had a vision where I talked with Milay—the girl that almost destroyed the school."

Oliver freezes, his eyes wide and locked onto mine. "What did she say?"

"She mostly just interrogated me about my relationship with the headmaster. She told me not to trust anyone, so I went to Professor Singh to ask what I should do," I say, holding up the letter. "He gave me this."

Oliver begins to take the letter, then stops. "May I?" At my nod, he takes it and rips it open, his eyes skimming across the parchment so fast I wonder if speed-reading is one of his powers. Finally he sets it down, rubbing a hand over his face. "This is bad. So, so bad."

I furrow my eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

Shaking his head, Oliver stands. "I'll be back later, Ashlyn. Go eat breakfast. Enjoy yourself. These next few days are going to be hard." 

What do you think Oliver is talking about? Let me know in the comments! My update day is going to be Thursdays, so tune in next week for another three chapters (:

~ Amber