They say that a dragon without its rider is a tragedy. But, a rider without their dragon is dead.
Excerpt of recovered correspondence of Lieutenant Xaden Riorson; beneficiary unknown.
~
Thana placed the last of the plates in their spot on the counter, her fingers brushing the cool metal. The kitchen was quiet, save for the soft murmur of voices from the dining hall. Kitchen duty was a simple task, but it kept her busyâand at this hour, it was better than sitting alone in her room and letting her thoughts spiral.
Liam was sitting on the bench nearby, eating an apple, looking too relaxed for someone who had been up at the crack of dawn for sparring. He raised an eyebrow at Thana, casually tossing the core of his apple into the nearby bin.
Across from her, Evander fumbled with a tray of crockery, his hands trembling just slightly as he tried to arrange them. His brows furrowed in concentration, but when a plate slipped from his tray and crashed to the floor, the panic flashed in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... I just..."
Thana's gaze softened. "Hey, take a breath. It's okay," she said, her voice calm, a stark contrast to the tension in Evander's posture. She grabbed a glass of water and set it in front of him. "Here," she said, "you drink, I'll clean this."
Evander hesitated, then took the glass, his hands still slightly shaking as he sipped.
She grabbed a broom and swept the broken plate shards into the dustpan. Liam glanced over at them, a lazy smile tugging at his lips. "You're something else, Thana," he said, his tone teasing.
Thana rolled her eyes and then glanced back at Evander her voice low but reassuring. "You'll find your rhythm. Just don't be so hard on yourself."
They finished setting up the breakfast buffet before joining their peers in the dining hall.
Thana sat at the far end of the long table in the dining hall, her head propped up on one hand as she absently stirred her porridge with the other. The early morning sun streamed in through the tall windows, casting golden light over the breakfast crowd. Across from her, Liam was already devouring his food, as if the day's lessons had already started and he needed every ounce of strength. Next to him, Bodhi was lazily picking apart a roll, making casual conversation with Imogen about the upcoming challenges.
"You look like you're plotting someone's demise," Liam teased through a mouthful of food, his eyes glinting with humor as he glanced up at Thana.
Thana smirked, leaning back in her chair. "Maybe I am. Plenty of candidates around here."
Liam chuckled, shaking his head. "Don't start your day by decapitating anyone, please. At least not before lunch."
"Fine," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "I'll wait."
As they finished breakfast, the bell chimed, signalling their next lesson. Thana pushed her tray away and stood, pulling her satchel over her shoulder. The group headed toward Professor Kaori's lecture hall, their footsteps echoing in the corridors. The energy was tenseâPresentation and Threshing were drawing nearer, and everyone's mind was on the dragons that could either bond them or burn them to ashes.
In class, Thana's attention drifted as Professor Kaori began speaking. She found herself sketching again, her fingers dancing over the page as she drew the scarred dragon that had been haunting her thoughts lately. She captured the jagged line across his eye, the powerful frame of his body as he perched on the ledge, and the fearsome image of him flying overhead, wings darkening the sky.
"Keep the temperaments of each specific breed in mind when you decide which dragons to approach and which to avoid at Threshing," Professor Kaori's voice pulled her back to reality. She glanced up, her eyes narrowing slightly as the professor's signet projected images onto the large screen behind him. The latest was a bright red dragon with a whip-like tail, tipped with a venomous barb.
"The red scorpiontails," Kaori continued, "are the quickest to anger. And if you piss them off..."
"You're dead," Ridoc finished the sentence from across the room, earning a few chuckles.
The professor didn't seem amused. "That's right. Does anyone know how to properly approach a red scorpiontail?"
Silence hung in the room, and Thana's eyes flicked to the others around her. No one raised a hand. After a beat, Kaori sighed. "Approach them from the left, and make sure it's from the front. They hate being surprised."
Next to her, Liam scribbled down every word in his notebook, his handwriting neat and precise. Thana, however, was only half-listening, her thoughts flitting between Kaori's lesson and the strength she felt growing in her limbs thanks to Garrick's training. Her sparring victories gave her confidence, but they also made her aware of just how much more there was to learn.
"For this Threshing," Kaori added, "there are three red scorpiontails willing to bond."
"Three?" Rhiannon asked, her voice rising slightly in surprise. "How many dragons total?"
The room fell silent again, and Thana felt a sense of tension creeping in as she looked around her. Kaori's expression was unreadable as he replied, "There are one hundred dragons. But remember, some may change their mind at Presentation."
A hundred dragons didn't sound like a lot. Not when there were so many first-years vying for a chance to bond.
A first-year in the front row raised his hand. "Do they ever explain why they don't want to bond?"
Jack Barlowe's scoff cut through the air before Kaori could answer. "No, jackass."
Kaori shot Jack a look, then turned back to the class. "If you respect their life, you won't question their decisions."
The projector shifted to another image, this time of a sleek blue dragon with shining scales. Kaori's expression hardened as he turned to the class. "Now, you won't have to worry about blue dragons this Threshing. None of them are left to bond."
Thana's heart sank. She had been hopingâfoolishly, maybeâthat the scarred dragon she'd been sketching might be one of them. But Kaori's words dashed that hope.
Kaori's gaze swept the room, landing briefly on Thana. It felt like he could see through her thoughts, straight to the disappointment she was trying to hide. He continued, "The most powerful of the blues, Sgayel, is bonded. If you see her without her rider, find somewhere else to be. She's dangerous."
There was a murmur of unease that rippled through the room. "What about the other blue daggertail?" someone asked.
Kaori paused. "The other blue is none of your concern. We hadn't seen him near Basgiath in over a decade. He is even more unpredictable than Sgayel and he's been known to kill on a whim. I can't say whether or not he'd keep his own rider alive." Thana shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Now," Jack Barlowe spoke up again, his voice filled with bravado, "what about the black dragon?"
Kaori's face darkened. "He's a morningstartail. I haven't seen him in five years. He doesn't bond, and if you see him, run. He's a killing machine."
The rest of the class passed in a blur of dragon breeds and bonding odds, but Thana's mind was elsewhere. Her fingers drummed lightly on the edge of her desk as she thought about the moves Garrick had taught her that morning. He had warned her she could decapitate someone if she wasn't careful and they flirted with the idea of trying it on Violet Sorrentail. Or Jack.
As the bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson, Thana and Liam gathered their things. Thana ripped the pages of her dragon sketches from her notebook and stuffed them into her bag before they left the classroom. The crisp air outside hit her as they stepped into the courtyard, and Liam walked beside her in companionable silence for a moment.
"You're overthinking again," he finally said, nudging her shoulder gently with his own.
Thana sighed. "I can't help it."
Liam stopped walking, turning to face her with an intensity she wasn't expecting. He looked into her eyes and she felt exposed. She thought he was going to praise her for training so hard with Garrick but, he caught her off guard. "You'll bond a dragon, Thana. You're more worthy than any of us. And, I know you want it to be but, I hope it's not him," he said with a nod toward her sketch sticking out of her bag.
She shrugged. "Kaori said none of the blues are left to bond."
Liam offered her a tight-lipped smile and places a kiss on her forehead. Thana watched as he strolled toward the sparring gym. There was some girl he had promised to train but, Thana knew Liam better than that.
As she walked through the halls back to her bunk in the first-year dorms she kept thinking about the dragons from Kaori's class. What was it like to bond a dragon? Can a dragon change their mind? What if she's not worthy? What if no dragon even wants to bond with her?
As she unpacked her bag and stuffed her sketches under her mattress she saw a small sculpture on her nightstand. She picked it up to examine it and in her hand sat the blue daggertail with the scars etched perfectly across its wooden frame.
Alongside the sculpture sat a note written in Liam's handwriting;
Thana,
I hope this reminds you of all that you're capable of. If this scarred dragon is yours, I won't lie; the thought scares the hell out of me. But I know you'll handle it. You always do.
All my love, xx