terrified of being caught out here alone, where no one would hear me
scream for help, but I couldn’t stay in the armory all night. So I waited a few
more minutes, until I was absolutely sure they weren’t coming back, and started
for the student dormitory in a sprint.
I didn’t stop or look back until I’d
slammed the bedroom door shut behind me. There wasn’t a lock on it, so I just
stood with my back against it, gasping for breath. My heart was pumping like
mad, and I was numb from head to toe.
Felix bolted upright as soon as the
door slammed, and he glared at me sleepily with his hair ruffled up like a
messy haystack. “What’s the big idea? You scared me to death!” He growled as he
grabbed his blanket and rolled back over.
“F-Felix!” I could barely get the
words out because of how hard I was breathing. “Outside, I heard someone
talking to Lyon! Tomorrow morning, when we fly, Sile is—!”
“— probably gonna kick your butt for staying up too late,” he interrupted angrily. “Would
you go to sleep already? And quit slamming the door. You scared me to death.”
“But I heard—!” I tried to spit
the words out before I ran out of breath.
“Right now all I can hear is you
keeping me awake!” Felix growled again, grabbing his pillow and covering his
head with it. That was the end of the conversation.
I sat down on the edge of my bed and
tried to think. There had to be some logical explanation for what I’d heard;
something that wasn’t as bad as how it had sounded. But no matter what I came
up with, I was still left with a swirling sense of doom in the pit of my
stomach.
Something bad was going to happen, and
I was the only one who knew.
nine
It
was hard to get excited about my first day of training when I had a big black
cloud of worry hanging over my head. I got up before Felix did, got dressed,
and waited on him to catch up so we could meet Sile before the call to arms. We had patterns to learn and laps to run before our
day officially began.
“What’s
with you?” Felix asked me on the way to the Roost. “You look like you’ve seen a
ghost.”
I
shot him a glare. “I tried to tell you last night. I heard Lyon talking to
someone. He’s plotting against Sile .”
“ Pfft !” Felix slapped my shoulder teasingly. “You’re just
paranoid. Sile is one of the most decorated
instructors here. Why would anyone want to plot against him?”
I
didn’t know. All I knew is what I’d heard, and it hadn’t sounded like they were
planning a surprise party for him.
Sile was waiting for us. He was already
saddled up and ready to fly, standing in his full armor like he had been the
first day I saw him at Ulric’s house. He coached us
hurriedly through putting on our own saddles again, and then we were off.
The sun was just beginning to rise
over the eastern mountains, making the sky a deep purplish red. The air was cold,
and my teeth chattered under my helmet as I watched Sile and Felix surge forward into the sky on either side of me. We gained speed and
altitude, leaving the dark ground behind and charging toward the sunrise.
Mavrik seemed to be able to sense my
apprehension. He kept flicking his big yellow eyes back at me, making curious chittering noises as he chased Valla and Nova through the
air. I kept my eyes on Sile , watching as he took the
lead and began to give us signals to follow him in a V-shaped pattern.
I could see him clearly off my left
wing, and he started to guide us through a long sweeping pattern that took us
around the outermost perimeter of the valley. We did steep climbs, steeper
dives, and sharp banking turns.
I was beginning to think Felix was right.
Maybe I was just being paranoid, and I’d just misunderstood what I’d heard last
night. There really was nothing to be worried about at all.
Then Sile gave the signal to do a barrel roll.
I watched him veer
scream for help, but I couldn’t stay in the armory all night. So I waited a few
more minutes, until I was absolutely sure they weren’t coming back, and started
for the student dormitory in a sprint.
I didn’t stop or look back until I’d
slammed the bedroom door shut behind me. There wasn’t a lock on it, so I just
stood with my back against it, gasping for breath. My heart was pumping like
mad, and I was numb from head to toe.
Felix bolted upright as soon as the
door slammed, and he glared at me sleepily with his hair ruffled up like a
messy haystack. “What’s the big idea? You scared me to death!” He growled as he
grabbed his blanket and rolled back over.
“F-Felix!” I could barely get the
words out because of how hard I was breathing. “Outside, I heard someone
talking to Lyon! Tomorrow morning, when we fly, Sile is—!”
“— probably gonna kick your butt for staying up too late,” he interrupted angrily. “Would
you go to sleep already? And quit slamming the door. You scared me to death.”
“But I heard—!” I tried to spit
the words out before I ran out of breath.
“Right now all I can hear is you
keeping me awake!” Felix growled again, grabbing his pillow and covering his
head with it. That was the end of the conversation.
I sat down on the edge of my bed and
tried to think. There had to be some logical explanation for what I’d heard;
something that wasn’t as bad as how it had sounded. But no matter what I came
up with, I was still left with a swirling sense of doom in the pit of my
stomach.
Something bad was going to happen, and
I was the only one who knew.
nine
It
was hard to get excited about my first day of training when I had a big black
cloud of worry hanging over my head. I got up before Felix did, got dressed,
and waited on him to catch up so we could meet Sile before the call to arms. We had patterns to learn and laps to run before our
day officially began.
“What’s
with you?” Felix asked me on the way to the Roost. “You look like you’ve seen a
ghost.”
I
shot him a glare. “I tried to tell you last night. I heard Lyon talking to
someone. He’s plotting against Sile .”
“ Pfft !” Felix slapped my shoulder teasingly. “You’re just
paranoid. Sile is one of the most decorated
instructors here. Why would anyone want to plot against him?”
I
didn’t know. All I knew is what I’d heard, and it hadn’t sounded like they were
planning a surprise party for him.
Sile was waiting for us. He was already
saddled up and ready to fly, standing in his full armor like he had been the
first day I saw him at Ulric’s house. He coached us
hurriedly through putting on our own saddles again, and then we were off.
The sun was just beginning to rise
over the eastern mountains, making the sky a deep purplish red. The air was cold,
and my teeth chattered under my helmet as I watched Sile and Felix surge forward into the sky on either side of me. We gained speed and
altitude, leaving the dark ground behind and charging toward the sunrise.
Mavrik seemed to be able to sense my
apprehension. He kept flicking his big yellow eyes back at me, making curious chittering noises as he chased Valla and Nova through the
air. I kept my eyes on Sile , watching as he took the
lead and began to give us signals to follow him in a V-shaped pattern.
I could see him clearly off my left
wing, and he started to guide us through a long sweeping pattern that took us
around the outermost perimeter of the valley. We did steep climbs, steeper
dives, and sharp banking turns.
I was beginning to think Felix was right.
Maybe I was just being paranoid, and I’d just misunderstood what I’d heard last
night. There really was nothing to be worried about at all.
Then Sile gave the signal to do a barrel roll.
I watched him veer
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