The Dragon Queen's Heir [book one]

19

TONIGHT IS MY FIRST NIGHT at the Academy where I get a good night's sleep. I don't know if whatever is plaguing me with visions knows how horrible the Trials are and wants me to be prepared, or if maybe, for once in my life, something is going right, and the visions are gone.

The peace of sleep doesn't last. What feels like only minutes after I finally calm down enough to sleep, someone charges down the halls shouting indiscernible words and dragging me from my slumber. To make matters worse, someone knocks loudly on my door, drawing out a disgruntled, "Stars, leave me alone!" from my lips.

Despite my knowledge that this may be the most comfortable bed I'll sleep in for a while, I throw off my sheets and force my legs to carry me to the door of my dorm. As soon as I open it, Mikki bursts in, a scowl digging into her features.

"I was knocking at that door for five freaking minutes!" she says, throwing down two bags on my bed. She turns and wags a finger at me. "That is five minutes we could have been using to get you ready for the Trials!"

Unable to resist the laugh that bubbles to the surface, I double over, releasing all the tension that had been building up the past few days. Mikki's brows furrow in confusion for a moment before she smiles, too. She guides me over to my bed and sits me down. "You're something else, Ashlyn," she says, opening one of her bags and peering intently inside.

My giggles finally having died down, I lean over to look into the bag, but Mikki pushes me back. "Uh-uh, this isn't for you," she says jokingly, pulling out a small dagger. Instinctively, I jump, but Mikki puts a gentle hand on my shoulder and holds out the dagger. "This is for you. All the first years' servants are supposed to give their assigned Riders a weapon for the Trials, and this is mine for you."

Breathlessly, I take the dagger, taking in the simple yet elegant hilt and the sharpened silver blade. "Thank you," I breathe, glancing back up at Mikki, my fingers already running over the grooves in the hilt and committing them to memory.

Mikki nods and goes back to her bag, next pulling out a folded dark green cloak. "The forest gets dark at night," she says, setting it down on my lap, "and you may need camouflage to hide from . . . well, whatever's out there." She glances up at me and gives me a small smile. My heart warms at the gesture, and I set the dagger down, reaching forward and wrapping my arms around one of the only people in my life who has shown me nothing but unwavering loyalty.

"Thank you so much," I say again, letting go of a grinning Mikki.

"It's nothing," she says, shrugging and closing the bag. "The other bag is yours for whatever you may need it for out there." I nod and take it, setting it next to me on the bed. A simple black backpack, I expect it to be empty, but when I open it, I find--to my complete surprise--my dragon Eira curled up inside.

I gasp, meeting the eyes of my dragon. Reaching out, I brush my index finger along her tiny snout, a tingle running up my arm at the contact. "Stars, Mikki," I breathe, letting the small wonder jump onto my arm. "She's beautiful."

"I've been taking care of her since she hatched," she explains, but with each word, it becomes harder and harder to hear her. Making eye contact with my dragon, the world around me becomes muffled until I can focus on is her: electric blue eyes, a snow-white body, the way the scales on her leg dissolve into purple.

Ashlyn.

One word lights up a sixth sense I didn't even know existed. Something foreign brushes up against my consciousness; I sense it reaching out, trying to make a connection. Letting my eyes flutter shut, I open up, revealing my mind, my soul, my entire being to the foreign mind, and in a split second, we touch--

"Over here!"

Whirling around, a little girl with curly red hair squeals, running towards another, older, girl. "You can't escape now!" the little girl says, grinning from ear to ear as she chases her sister around a large courtyard. Her front two teeth are  missing, and one of her mother's tiaras is stuck in her hair, much to the amusement of the guards lining the walls of the royal palace.

"I doubt that!" the older girl calls, laughing as she quickly scales the large oak tree providing shade to the middle of the courtyard. Glancing down from the tree to her helpless younger sister, she laughs again and says, "Come on! Come up here!" At her sister's dismayed face, she scoffs and says, "Are you scared? C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"What if I fall?" The little girl pouts. "You know what happened last time I tried to climb the tree." Sticking out her palm, the little girl displays a thick white scar running from the center of her palm down to her elbow. "Mamma was so mad at you."

The older girl sighs and rubs her face. "Fine. Okay, be a little scardy-cat. I'll practice my powers with someone else."

Eyes wide, the little girl says, "No! No! I'll do it!" Rushing towards the tree, she almost trips over her own dress, but she makes it, bracing her hands against the rough bark of the tree as she tries to find a foothold. As she does, a mist begins to form around the girl. She doesn't notice until it hoists her, squealing, into the open air.

"Stop it! Stop!" the girl says, wriggling. The tiara slips off her head and smashes into pieces on the ground below. "Let me go!" she sobs, tears running down her face.

In the tree, her sister stares at her hands, her eyes wide with fear. "Come on!" she mutters to herself. "Stop it!" Her sister's whimpers and cries spike her heart rate and exacerbate her anxiety until it reaches an all-consuming level. Frustration bursts in her chest, pulling at her gut--and her magic.

The mist holding her younger sister in the air suddenly dissipates, and the little girl crashes to the ground in a heap. "No!" the elder one says, scampering down from the tree and hurrying to her sister. "No, no, no, no." The little girl was unconscious at best, and it was all her sisters' magic's fault.

Regret crushes the older girl's chest, her mind filling with every other instance of magic hurting someone she loves. Her other brother, pushed off his horse by a gust of wind formed when the girl saw her crush. Her mother, stabbed with a sewing needle during one of their many arguments. Her sister, now, almost dead because she was stupid enough to let go of her tenacious hold on her magic.

Slowly, a solution forms in the girl's mind. No on would get hurt if she wasn't there. Everything would be better off if she were to disappear.

She can't stay. Not if she wants to keep her family safe.

My eyes fly open, a gasp of desperate air filling my lungs. Mikki's concerned face sits before me, but I barely notice her, my mind still processing the impossible vision.

No.

A memory.

"Ashlyn, are you okay?" Mikki asks, placing a concerned hand on my shoulder. "You blanked out for a second there."

I close my mouth and shake my head, standing. Eira sits on the bed next to where I was, her head tilted. Through our new connection, emotions stream through, overloading my mind with feelings of confusion and concern. A thought, not mine, flickers through my consciousness. What did you see?

Clenching my fists, I shake my head and take a few steps back. This is too much. Way too much. "Mikki, I--" I start, but the words don't come. How am I supposed to communicate everything I'm feeling right now? "When Eira and I connected, I saw . . ." What did I see? "I saw myself as a little girl. Except I had an older sister."

Meeting the eyes of my dragon sends another tingle through my body, finally forcing the words out of my mouth. "Mikki, I don't have an older sister."

Uh-oh. What did Ash see? Was it really a memory, and if so, how did it surface? Leave your predictions in the comments, and please consider dropping a vote if you enjoyed reading this chapter! <3

~ Amber