The Dragon Queen's Heir [book one]

17

A SOFT TAPPING AT MY SHOULDER wakes me from a dreamless sleep. I groan and roll over, but the tapping doesn't cease. "Ciana, dinner's about to start. I figured you wouldn't want to miss it," Nikolai says softly.

"Okay," I mumble, sliding out of the bed and stretching. "I'm up. How long was I asleep?"

"A few hours since the last time you woke up. I figured I'd let you sleep," Nikolai says, running a hand through his hair. "Oliver came by to see how you were doing, but he didn't stay long."

Oliver. My vision comes rushing back, the exchange between him and the girl he fell in love with. How hard must it be, knowing the person you gave your heart to is now evil and bent on destroying the school? I can't imagine. "Did he say anything?" I ask, smoothing out my shirt.

Nikolai shakes his head, opening his door and gesturing me through. "He just stood there, staring at you for the longest time. Then he left without saying a word." He pauses as we walk towards the front doors of the dorm chamber, Nikolai's dorm having been on the first floor. "I don't know what was up with him."

"Interesting," I say, fingering the edge of my shirt. "Thank you, by the way. For letting me crash in your room."

Nikolai gives me a sideways glance and a boyish grin. My heart flips again, and I fight to keep myself from blushing. Stupid teenage hormones. We walk together through the halls of the school, ignoring the stares of the boys around us. Eventually we reach the dining hall, where the usual loud chatter of students awaits.

This time, though, it all stops. I stop walking, interrupting my conversation with Nikolai, and stare into the sea of boys. Nikolai stops a beat later, copying my movements. Dread pools in my stomach, my heart hammering in my ears. What's going on? Everyone stays like that for a few moments until one boy yells out, "There's the witch! She's the one that sent Milay to destroy the village!"

At the boy's words, the dining hall fills with yelling and jeering, and I flinch, grabbing Nikolai's arm and taking a few steps back. "What are they talking about?" I breathe, my breaths coming short and fast. "Why are they yelling at me?" The unspoken question: why do they all hate me?

Nikolai takes my hand, glaring at a boy near us that got a little too close, and tugs me out of the dining hall, sitting me down on the bench outside. "Hey, Ciana, it's okay. Don't let them get to your head."

I lean my head against the wall behind me and take deep breaths. "Why do they hate me? What have I done to warrant them thinking I'll turn out just like Milay?" Tears build at the corners of my eyes, but I blink them back quickly, fighting the sob building in my throat.

"Ciana, stop it. None of this is your fault," Nikolai says, sitting down next to me. "Those boys in there are the ones that should be questioning why they're doing this to you. They're the ones that should feel bad. Not you."

Thinking back to my two incidents with Derrick, I shake my head. "But they're just scared. Milay affected them in such a deep way they're scared to have another girl at the school. Me being here isn't helping them." I sniff and wipe my nose. "I shouldn't have even come here."

Nikolai's eyes flash, and after a moment of hesitation, he scoots forward and pulls me into a hug. Something tightens in my chest as I blush, but I don't have the heart to pull back as Nikolai rubs soothing circles in my back. "Ciana, don't let them get to you. Yes, they're scared, but that's no reason for them to treat you like crap."

I sniff and nod, pulling back. "Thank you." Nikolai nods, an emotion I can't quite read displayed on his face.

"Do you want to go back in there? I can get my servant Thomas to deliver food to my dorm if you're not up to it," Nikolai says. I wrap my arms around my torso, pressing my lips together. If I avoid going in there now, it will only make things worse for me. I can't be a coward; I have to face the school eventually and show them I'm not scared.

I take a deep breath, my heart rate finally returning to normal. "No. I want to go in. I can't let them win."

Nikolai grins, and we walk together through the doors of the dining hall. Yet again, the hall silences as Nikolai and I hurry to the long tables of food. Glancing out at the sea of boys, I glare, then turn my back on them and grab a steaming pile of lasagna. Finally, as we find a nearly-empty table in the back of the dining hall, people begin their usual chatter, and soon the room is just as loud as it was before we arrived.

A moment later, Colin walks up to us, his eyes lowered to the rough wood of the table. "Hey, Ciana, mind if I sit here?" My gaze immediately hardens as Colin gives me a nervous smile and slides his plate of food to his other hand. "Look, I'm really sorry about being a jerk earlier. I've just been trained to be wary of strangers, but that's not an excuse. I shouldn't have treated Nikolai the way I did."

A sigh escapes my lips, and before I realize it, I say, "It's fine. You can sit down."

Colin visibly relaxes and sits down in front of Nikolai and me, immediately digging into his food. I watch him with mild curiosity, no one at the table saying a word.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a disgruntled Professor Singh making his way from the entrance of the dining hall to the middle of the sea of boys. The entire school seems to wait with bated breath as the headmaster walks, including me. He's never made an appearance in front of the whole school before--as far as I know--but considering the recent events, I'm not entirely surprised.

Finally, Professor Singh clears his throat, silencing any murmurs still in existence from his solemn walk to the center of our attention. "Hello, students," he says, a small smile on his face. From my many conversations with him, the fakeness of it jumps out at me, but I keep quiet as he continues. "In light of recent events, I have decided to enact the Trials a week earlier than usual."

At his words, everyone in the dining hall seems to explode at once, excluding what appear to be first years. My brows lowered, I turn to Nikolai. "Do you know what the Trials are?" Nikolai simply shakes his head, his head tilted and his eyes focused on Professor Singh.

"I know this is drastic, but as the saying goes, drastic times call for drastic measures," Professor Singh says. "With the reappearance of Milay, we have to make sure each and every one of our students is prepared in case the worse happens--again." He pauses, pressing his lips together and lowering his eyes to the ground before bringing them back up.

"First years, your mentors will be waiting in your dorms to discuss with you what the Trials are and how to best prepare for them. everyone else, please remain calm and under no circumstance scare or frighten the first years. Nightshorne Dragon Academy has a strict no bullying policy, and we will not hesitate to use expulsion as a way to adhere to that rule," Professor Singh says, his eyes narrowed.

Did he hear about Derrick? There's no other reason for him to be mentioning bullying--unless, of course, someone other than me is being tormented. Way to think of others, Ashlyn, I say to myself, not noticing Nikolai frowning at me. "What is it?" I ask.

"The headmaster just dismissed us to our dorms," Colin says, standing with his trash. "We'd better get back. I've heard about what happens at the Trials, and you're going to want every ounce of rest you can get."

Ominous! We'll see what happens in the next chapter :3 What do you think happens at the Trials? Let me know in the comments, and please vote if you enjoyed this chapter! <3

I'm so so sorry I was only able to update one chapter! I'm going to try my best to make it up to you next week :3

~ Amber