Bloodlines: Dragon Rider Book 2

Chapter 11: Mean Girls

From my spot at the window, I watch the tree branches below tumble across the ground. The guards in their silver and grey armor patrol the grounds with swords strapped at the hip. Their strides fall in line with the other's, strong and certain, even with the wind trying to knock them down.

    With a silent sigh, I turn back to the lesson at hand. Professor Mikel babbles on about the great Gods. For once, I pay attention, trying to connect anything to The Darkening. My eyes grow heavy from my late-night reading. Catching up on school lessons are not easy, especially with the school's new curfew and Clarika breathing down my neck.

    When class is dismissed, I follow the flow of students and head to the cafeteria to grab a salad for lunch and sit by the window to eat. Black clouds swirl in the sky, like an artist drawing strokes in a painting. Students boom with laughter and gossip about the lockdown, some talk about writing to their home and getting no response.

    Vakeya and the thousands of dead within the city come to mind. A hole burns inside my chest as my ears hone in on multiple students agreeing. So many people have lost their loved ones and they don't even know it.

    To keep myself distracted, I watch Rima trying to struggle through Khalier's raging winds. Even Abraxis and Easton are having trouble keeping balance. Unlike in Belonia, the winds seem to be even worse on the Floating Islands. Trash cans fly across the road and trees lay sideways.

    She notices me after a few seconds. "Well, hello. How did you get here?"

    "I don't know," I say nonchalantly. "I just kinda appeared and went with it. What are you doing?"

    A wall builds between us suddenly and I blink. "Nothing," she says.

    I raise a brow through the bond, unable to keep myself from grinning. "You're not doing anything bad, are you?"

    "No."

    "Really? Because..." I poke the string between us like a persistent toddler. Rima huffs and nudges me back into my own mind but I creep back in with a taunting grin. I know my dragon and I know when she's doing something she's not supposed to.

    "If you must know, human," she sighs dramatically, lowering her walls to let me sniff around like a dog on the hunt. "Easton and Abraxis and I are going to talk with some of the older dragons on Island Five."

    I snort to myself, then glance around at the mages to see if anyone saw. No one did to my relief. "Did Easton forget humans are prohibited from going to the fifth Island?"

    "I'm going to tell him you said that," she says, angling her wings forward and digging her talons into the grass of the exact island Easton will get himself killed on. Through my dragon's eyes, I watch as Easton grimaces and then turn to Rima with a sneering smile.

    "Tell Norah that I'm a pureblood dragon rider," he says. "We have special privileges. This is one of them. And tell her to pay attention before she gets in trouble, again."

    "He's not a very good pureblood if he doesn't know how our bond works," I tell Rima and she nods in agreement. As the three start their journey into the forest where dragons eye Easton with a sense of respect, I ask Rima why they're on the Island.

    "Some of these dragons are thousands of years old," she begins, holding herself proudly as the other dragons back away from her with a bowed head. Her satisfaction creeps through until I swat it back. "One of them is bound to know something about The Darkening."