Hames ripped me by my arm, so I was facing him. "How dare you say such a thing, girl. Do you realize the disgrace of tattooing that marking onto your arm?"

Naxan growled, sinking lower to the ground. People stared warily at the dragon as he crept closer. I felt the earth tremble and quake as the Valairex dragon moved with an elegance that was as ancient and fearsome as the darkness within him.

"That'll be enough, Hames." Headmaster Colin moved through the crowd of people. He held his own sword, and his clothing was mattered down with blood. "You can see that this dragon is bonded if you weren't so hot-headed."

Hames turned to Colin, releasing my arm from his tight grasp. I took a couple of steps back, my back hitting something hard. I didn't bother turning around to look, knowing it was Naxan there behind me.

"A Valairex dragon, Colin. Bonded to a female. That makes sense to you?" I was somewhat glad Hames was directing his anger to someone else. My body ached from the previous battle. The only sign it happened was the evidence of blood and tar littering the ground beneath our feet as silence met the air. It was peaceful. I could finally feel at ease with the lack of bustling voices penetrating the air.

Naxan breathed a hot gust of air around me. He glared at Hames, who was staring at us with a hard gaze. Behind that, I could see wonderment. Everyone had that look. They were standing in a quiet group, amazement clearly written on their faces.

Kayne's eyes were wide, openly looking over Naxan conspicuously. Baylen shook his head multiple times. When I met Colin's gaze, he smiled softly, his beard moving as he did so.

"We travelled for days with you," Baylen's narrowed eyes moved from the ground as he analyzed me with curiosity. "How is it that we never knew?"

He put me on the spot as everyone waited for an answer. Familiar faces dotted the crowd, mixing in with more unrecognizable ones. I held my breath, afraid my voice would sound weak.

"Other twolegs are weak, not mine." Naxan's voice was soft through the bond.

I cleared my throat, removing the building emotions that tried pushing into my words. "I wasn't ready to let you know who I was." Now that I thought of it, there was really no right time to announce to the world who I was. "It was easier for you to think I was just some girl who got lost on that island."

Even with the presence of Naxan behind me, I felt cornered with everyone's eyes staring into me. I knew they wanted answers, and they were staring at a spectacle they never knew could exist.

Thankfully, Colin came to my rescue. "Alright everyone, get this cleaned up. Those who are injured report to the medical building." The trance that settled over everyone seemed to be hard to break as their eyes hesitantly darted between one another. Soon, people broke off into groups and began going their separate ways. Baylen, Kayne, and Hames stuck around.

"Miss Withers, if you'll follow me." Colin beckoned me forward, awaiting his inquiry. I nodded, pushing myself off of Naxan. A low growl emitted from Nax as he watched Hames with calculating eyes.

"Hush," I said, patting his cheek affectionately. I followed Colin with Naxan hot on my heels. His long shadow walked beside mine, following us obeyingly.

We approached a building detached from the rest of the Academy. It was tucked away beside one of the sheer faces of the mountains, hidden from view from most angles.

Others limped ahead of us and pushed through the doors of the building. I caught glimpses of white clothing and people rushing around. Nurses wore white dresses, and some of them were stained with blood.

"I'll only be a moment," I said to Nax as he glared at the small doors.

"Be right outside," He said, pacing the side of the building.

Before I left him be, I sent one more smile in his direction, fueling our bond with comforting emotions.

"Marigold," Colin stopped one of the nurses in her path. "Navi needs some medical assistance. I trust her in your hands." Her deep wrinkles suggested her life had been more involved with worry than anything, which didn't surprise me with the job status she had.

"Of course," She said, leading me to one of the empty beds. I turned back, seeing Colin watching me as I left him behind.

The nurse, Marigold, set up a curtain and got to work on cutting my tattered shirt from my body. The wound on my shoulder was the worst, not healing fully due to my exhausted state. My powers overexerted themselves; even the shadows remained quiet almost as if they were sleeping it off.

"That was something out of the ordinary to see," Marigold said as she unravelled the last of my shirt. "You're quite the spectacle."

Staring straight ahead, my voice caught in my throat. I knew sooner or later I would have to make myself known. My only wish was that I was better prepared.

"Your shoulder looks like it needs more care than I can provide," She said. I could almost feel her eyes as they gazed upon my torn skin. "I'll fetch Doctor Erebus for you."

She left in a hurry, but not before giving me a blanket to cover myself up. My muscles strained, burning against the exertion of wrapping the blanket around my body. The adrenaline that once pumped through my veins was gone, and I was left to deal with my own personal battle raging inside of me.

The curtains swished open, and in walked a male doctor. "Hello, Navi. I'm doctor Erebus. Can I take a look at your shoulder?"

I nodded, turning my head away as his hands took hold of my arm. "You're a rider, so you have the ability to heal faster than most people. It looks like this one needs some help, however." He gently set my arm down, and I clasped my hands in my lap. "I'll need to put you under to perform this sort of procedure."

My heart rate spiked in fear. "I'm sure I can manage without that."

He shook his head. "It will be safer for both of us if you're not awake. You won't feel a thing, and you'll wake up to just the memory of the injury."

"Nax?" I called out.

"Here, Twoleg."

"I'm going to sleep," I said, making it easy for him to understand.

Nodding my head to the doctor, I allowed him to continue. In moments, I fell asleep.

There were voices around me, whispering in hushed tones. One reeked of fire and smoke; it consumed this person from within, burning with a fire trapped in their chest. The other felt like a raging storm, whipping around with thunder and lightning. The shadows writhing inside me extended out towards the infinities, wanting to consume their power.

A voice I grew to know as Kayne spoke from beside me. The shadows snapped at his voice, pausing to listen to him. They whispered sweet nothingness in my senses. I couldn't make out what he was saying. The sounds gurgled in my ears.

My body shot up, looking around. Kayne and Baylen were standing in the room with me. They were talking amongst themselves, occasionally glancing in my direction. I waved a hand in the air, but they didn't see me.

"It looks like you're making friends." I heard Alec say. I turned to look at him. His silver eyes were as bright as the moon in the night sky.

"I would hardly call them my friends," I grumbled, swinging my legs over the bed. I felt rejuvenated as I stood on my legs. There was no strain or shakes that went through my muscles.

"You'll learn to trust them," Alec said. "These people will be your family, and you'll keep each other alive."

I looked over to the two dragon riders who were exiting the room as an unfamiliar nurse went to shoo them away. The curtains swished closed behind them, and she followed closely behind. My vision was obscured by the drapes, but I could hear them talking as they walked away.

"Trust is hard to feel when I barely know these people," I muttered, wiping a hand over my face. "And I'm sure they feel the same way about me."

The nurse returned, and I looked at her with curiosity as she pulled something from her apron. A murky grey liquid that was trapped in a syringe was in her hands.

"Is that...?" I trailed off.

"Raven's Nettle. Time for you to get up."

And with that, my eyes shot open. I grabbed the woman's wrist just as she was about to put the syringe in my arm. "This is why I don't trust anyone." I gripped onto her wrist tight as I rose to my feet.

Her eyes held terror as I stood before her. My hand gripped onto her wrist tighter causing multiple cracks to shoot through her bones. I was enraged. I didn't care that she pleaded. I thought it was pitiful. Shadows danced in my vision with a blind rage as I took the needle from her hands and jabbed it into her throat. Her eyes turned black, and her skin faded to a muted grey.

The shadows hissed and nipped at my skin, enjoying seeing the life fade from her body. Or so it was made to be thought. Her body would decay if not given the antidote, and her spirit would forever be stuck, trapped within the cage of her own body. She would stay like this until the antidote took effect, or she wouldn't be given it at all.

My cloudy eyes snapped back to clarity when the curtains swished open and in walked Headmaster Colin. He stared in shock at the nurse on the ground, reaching out her arm as if she were asking for help.

"I think you need a new nurse."

His owl eyes became wide at seeing the woman's distorted body lying by my feet. Before he could say anything else, I wiggled the syringe in my fingers. "She tried injecting me with Raven's Nettle."

His fingers held onto the syringe lightly as he examined it. There was a small trace of the liquid left in the glass tube as he held it up to the sunlight. A small crease lined his forehead. "This will be dealt with." He handed the tube to one of the nurses watching from the sidelines and gave her a few instructions.

Once Colin's attention was back on me, he beckoned me forward. We left the infirmary, and I welcomed the warmth of the sun on my skin.

"Awake." I heard Naxan say. He had been laying in the sun over by the stables.

I smiled over in his direction. Turning away from him, I walked behind the headmaster and followed him until we made it to his office. A new map was in place of the other one I had taken off of the wall. He gestured for me to sit in the chair opposite the one he had taken. Slowly, I sat.

"The last time you were here, you were a frightened, wide-eyed girl. I'm pleased to see you grew into a confident, young woman." His long beard bounced as he talked. "I'm sure that has to do with finding your other half." With a barely noticeable gleam in his eyes, his small smile wavered. "As you know, you'll have to face the council again. This time I'm sure they won't be able to do much."

"As I recall, you didn't do much either." I was feeling bold.

He gave me a long look before nodding. "Circumstances such as these, well, it is difficult to know what to do."

"I disagree." I leaned forward in my seat. "Me being bonded to a dragon is no different than all of these men being bonded to their dragons. Would you consider separating them from their bonded?" The headmaster was silent. "I thought not. What makes me so different? And I swear to the Gods if you say because I'm a female I'm going to-"

He holds up his hand. I quieted down, realizing the shadows in the room were dancing like fire.

"You're living in a world in which you do not understand. Heed my warning now when I say this to you, tread carefully. You're going to make a lot of enemies, Navi, but I am not one of them." He leans closer to me. "As you found out, there are spies in this Academy. They know who you are, and they will try to get close to you. Let me know of anyone suspicious. They will be dealt with accordingly." He got up to walk over to his desk, moving a few pieces of paper. "Now, I called you in here to discuss your schedule with you."

"Schedule?" I got up from the seat and walked over to the desk.

He plucked a piece of paper from the desk, holding it up so he could read it. "Yes. Technically, you would be a second-year student already, but since you haven't been here, you'll be with the first-year students. If I'm not mistaken, you're already well acquainted with them."

After that, I was giddy with excitement. I left the office with a new bounce to my step as I made my way down the hallways. I wanted to see Naxan. He could feel my excitement through the bond, and he got up to meet me.

"Twoleg is happy." Naxan pointed out the obvious as he saw the smile on my face. Naxan and I were being observed by curious bystanders, but he didn't mind the attention on him. I could feel it boosting his ego, which was the last thing he needed.

His tail lightly hit my back in a teasing manner. Laughing, I scratched under his jaw where the sweet spot was. His eye closed in bliss.

"You're going to make him soft." I heard Kayne say, cautiously walking up to me. His eyes were slightly wary as he took in the sight of my dragon.

Naxan growled at Kayne. "I think he proved before that he's anything but soft."

"Naxan is tough as mountains." His pupils slit into tiny, black lines.

Kayne's dragon was standing protectively behind Kayne. Her tail swung dangerously behind her, the spikes barely skimming the ground. The golden scales reflected like a chandelier in the candlelight. She was dazzling.

"He's a dominant species." Kayne's eyes wandered over Naxan. "Rypht has been the top dog around here until you two showed up. She doesn't like your dragon too much." Kayne gave one of his famous, maddening half-smiles.

Naxan snorted at Rypht, who was growling behind Kayne. He gave her a bored expression, turning to watch something else. He was watching Nypae, who was in the sky with Baylen. It looked like a group of riders playing some kind of game with each other. One rider was throwing a ball to a teammate, but Baylen intercepted it and started flying away. It was hard to keep up. I lost the ball in an array of multiple coloured dragons more than once.

"What games are they playing?" I asked.

Kayne looked to where my gaze was. "We call it 'dragon ball.' Kind of a lame name, but it's a fun game."

"Why are you not up there playing with them?"

"Why aren't you?"

I contorted my face into confusion. "Look at how your dragon is reacting to Naxan. I'm sure the others wouldn't want me to even come near them."

Kayne took a step closer to me. "We'll learn to become comfortable with each other." By the look in his eyes, it almost seemed like his words held an underlying meaning.

My insides tingled at his heated stare. I could feel myself leaning my body closer to his. The shadows whispered in a delightful tone. Soft and delicate, they left trails of a tingling electricity along my skin. I almost wished it to be Kayne's energy travelling along my skin.

I felt Kayne's gaze on me. I held myself back from looking into his eyes, scared of what the shadows would say to me next. I felt their coolness dragging inside of me, wrapping around my bones and tingling my nerves. I wondered if I was even attracted to Kayne or if the shadows were behind every feeling I experienced. If that was true, I wasn't my own person anymore. I was being controlled by something I had no control over.

"So, you talked with Colin," Kayne said from beside me. I kept my gaze focused on the dragon riders in the sky. It looked like their game was ending.

"I did," I replied.

I felt Kayne's voice beside my ear. "So?"

"Looks like I'm staying here, for now anyway." Nypae landed, and Baylen hopped from her back. His gaze scanned the area, and it landed on Kayne and me. He started walking over towards us, his eyes staying focused on Naxan.

"Good," Kayne said.

I nodded my head, slightly smiling. I chanced a look at him. His eyes were still on me. I felt the shadows inside me stir when looking at him, but I shoved them away before they could say anything else.

"Navi." Baylen smiled.

"Baylen." I nodded my head.

"You put on quite the show earlier."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I was just trying to stay alive."

Baylen laughed. "Looks like you did a good job at that." His expression turned serious after, his eyes glowing slightly orange. "She's probably not the only one around here who would try something. You'll need some personal protection." Baylen stood taller and squared his shoulders.

As I shook my head, my mouth turned into a small smile. "I think I'm capable of taking care of myself. I've proved that multiple times."

Baylen slung an arm over my shoulder. "Yes, I think we're all aware that you're quite the fighter. But it's always nice to have people in your corner fighting with you." He maneuvered me to turn around and walk toward the Academy.

I sighed, pushing away the hair from my face that his arm caused to fall. "Okay, guard boy, where are we going next?"

He cheekily smiled at me. "Somewhere dangerous."