"Gods, why does this keep happening to me?" I said under my breath as I put on the clothing Kayne had given me. The shirt and pants were a little large for me, but I would eventually get clothing of my own that was mine. Right now, these would do.

The guy on the ground started to stir. I shouted for Kayne, and he came barreling into the room. I crouched down, examining his eyes. Their colour was brown, and he looked confused.

"What happened?" He looked at the blood on the floor. His eyes went wide.

"You were possessed by something," I said, helping him to his feet.

He scratched his head. "I don't remember a thing."

Kayne stepped forward, turning the male to face him. "What was the last thing you said to me, Wex."

He looked sheepish, turning his gaze to me and then back to Kayne. "I said that the female rider was hot."

I nearly had to slap a hand over my mouth as a smile crept up from his expression. He was turning redder by the second.

"Get out of here," Kayne pushed him to the door. Wex happily left the room, leaving Kayne and me alone.

Kayne's eyes wandered over my attire and gave an approving nod. "Those should work for now."

"Thanks for that," I smiled. Pushing open the door and exiting the chambers. Kayne followed after me but stopped me from continuing forward by grabbing my hand. I looked down at our conjoined hands.

"How are you doing?" Kayne asked with a serious expression.

I gave him a soft smile. "I'm fine." And I was. Things could have gone a lot worse, but they didn't.

We stared at each other for a while. I took in every part of his face. His dark hair had fallen in front of his eyes, covering them slightly. His eyes were dark, but they still glowed from within. His lips were slightly parted, and they looked so good right now. I felt myself leaning closer to him, wanting to feel his lips against mine.

"Navi!" Someone shouted as they climbed up the stairs. Kayne and I broke our gaze from each other. I stepped back as Tomi stood before us. "Your dragon is going berserk! You need to go and calm him down before he eats one of us."

I cursed as I followed after Tomi "Nax?" I called through the bond. I could barely feel him there. It was like he had disconnected himself again. "Nax!"

"Twoleg?" I heard him say. All of his raging emotions came racing into the bond at once. I had to stop and gasp for air at the assault on my lungs. I felt rage and fear the most. It was like a plague on my mind. Kayne placed a hand on my shoulder as my breathing began to settle.

"Navi, come on!" Tomi said from below me. I nodded my head, continuing my way down the stairs.

"I'm coming, Nax. You can stop worrying."

As we reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw a crowd of people inside. They were speaking in a loud volume, and the walls made their voices echo even louder. Tomi and Kayne pushed past them with me trailing behind. Some of them gave me nasty looks as I walked by. We made our way to the front of the group where Hames and Colin were.

Hames turned to me with a scowl. "Get that thing under control." His voice came out in a growl.

"Don't call him a thing," I spit back, walking into the open field. I looked up and saw that Naxan was flying circles around the Academy. He came lower to the ground and landed with a shuddering quack in front of me. His nostrils flared as he took in my scent. His eyes were darting over my body with a hard intensity. Smoke billowed from his open maw as he panted from his emotions.

I heard the others behind me pause and quiet their voices. To them, he looked fearful. Like the monster, they thought him to be. He looked rabid. Wild even. His eyes held such an intensity that would have any sane creature turn in the opposite direction and flee for its life.

But I just looked at him with concern. "I'm not hurt, Nax. I'm okay," I said in a soothing tone, placing my hand on his nose. His eyes closed, and the bond hummed, flaring with his emotions. Every time he breathed out, I felt the intensity of his emotions dissipate. I could feel that he was still rattled by what happened to me, but he was calmer now than before.

"You need to control that thing," Hames grumbled from behind me. Naxan's eyes shot open in a blaze of fury. The blues in them seemed to move like an angry ocean as his mind's rage consumed him.

I whipped around and glared at Hames. "You are not helping." My voice was fuelled by Naxan's rage toward him.

"It's not his fault," Kayne said. "Navi was attacked again. Any dragon would react like that if their bonded was in danger."

Naxan's hot breath fanned my wet hair around me. I smelt hot smoke and turned around to see he had glowing flames rising in his maw. I grabbed onto his jaw and held him in place, giving him a stern look. "Don't even think about it." He could have easily pulled away from my grasp, but I was his rider, and he would never do such a thing. The flames were put out as he closed his teeth with a snap. I placed a hand on his nose again and kept it there until he was fully calmed down.

"Hunt," Naxan said. I nodded my head, backing up. The power from his wings surged down, and the air was whisked around me. My wet hair clung to my face as I watched him fly off. Turning around, I fixed my hair.

"You." I glared at Hames. "Don't ever call him a thing again. He's a dragon." The shadows inside the Academy jumped and pulsed with my emotions. Some looked to watch the shadows with curiosity. I was surprised to see some people looking at me in fear. I glared at all of them before I pushed past the people crowding the open doors of the Academy and walked away from their prying gazes.

My walking led me to the library. Its walls were full of books that looked enticing to read. So, that's exactly what I did. I plucked a book off of the shelf sat in a plush chair, and burrowed my head down in the words someone else wrote long ago. Ironically enough, it was about the last Valairex rider who turned the world into havoc. What stood out the most to me was the dragon rider's name; Raeder Salic. This must be the last name Baylen was speaking of. I read further into the book. There was nothing good written down in this book about him. All it highlighted was how he was a tyrant and how he murdered and killed innocent people and rallied dragons together to create his army.

I had already learned this before, but this book described him in the darkest points that it could. The author held nothing back. He wrote the words with such deep hatred that it left nothing to the imagination. But for me, I still wondered why he had turned into this person. There must've been a reason for him to do the things that he did. Someone just doesn't turn evil just like that. There's always a reason.

Headmaster Colin stepped around a bookshelf to stand in front of me. He looked serious as he pulled up a chair beside me, examining me with his owl-like eyes before he spoke. "I fear that these attacks are only going to get worse. I'm hoping to get answers by interrogating Wex, but..." He paused for a while, thinking. "The council may use this as an excuse to get rid of you again."

I slammed the book shut, placing it on a table beside me. "I'd like to see you try." My glare was intense towards Colin, but his gaze never faltered.

"I am on your side, Navi. Remember that. I have a voice on the council, and I will use it to defend you. The rest is all up to you." His eyes wandered to the book I had set down, his expression becoming dark. "I see you're reading about our history."

I nodded my head silently. I was debating on telling the headmaster about the demons referring to me with the rider's last name. But I thought better of it. Maybe I would talk to Baylen about it first and figure out exactly what it means.

"Do not read too much into what these books have to say about the last Valairex rider." He takes the book and puts it back into its place on the shelf. "They're full of their own opinions and anger." He twiddles his fingers in the air and turns to me. "There is also a ball coming up soon where parents of the riders are invited."

A ball? Why in the world would I want to go to one of those?

Before I could question him further about this upcoming event, he produced a large stack of letters from his pocket and placed them beside the book I was reading. "From your family," He said patting the papers before leaning back. "I'm sure your family is eager to hear from you."

Headmaster Colin left the library with one final wave of his hand. I was left contemplating my thoughts, debating on whether I should leave the school to visit my family. I hadn't seen them in ages, and they were probably worried sick with no word back when they had sent multiple letters to me, expecting a reply. I opened the first one; it was in Mom's writing. As I read the letter, I learned that not shortly after I left, Chay and Keaton went to Wintercrest to train as soldiers. I stopped reading the letter, placing it close to my heart. There was a lot of catching up I needed to do, and I should start as soon as possible.

Instead, Baylen and Kayne walked into the library, and as soon as they saw me, they came rushing over.

Baylen's eyes darted over the closed book beside me. We shared a knowing gaze as he saw what I had been reading.

"I just heard about this ball thing. What is it?" I asked as they sat down in a couple of chairs beside me.

Baylen snorted. He looked like I had just said something ridiculous. "It's something for the rich people to do. We're paraded around like animals to show off to others, and it somehow raises money for the school."

"It's not something we enjoy," Kayne admitted. "But there's usually good food."

"I can get behind that," I said, shifting in my seat. I tucked my knees under my chin as I watched the two of them. "Do we have to dress up?"

"It's pretty ridiculous," Baylen said as he twirled a throwing knife in his hand. "Tight suits. Uncomfortable shoes." Baylen trails off as he looks at me. His mouth turns into a smirk. "But at least you're here this time. There's something nice to look at."

I shook my head, glaring at him. "I am not dressing up. I do not do dresses."

Baylen shrugged his shoulders, looking at his hand as he continued to twirl his knife. "Doesn't matter. You'll have to whether you like it or not. Believe me, we've tried to get out of it, but it never works."

I scowled, thinking about the terrible time I'd have at such an event. I prefer trousers over dresses and skirts any day. "Fantastic."

"It's only for one night, then everyone leaves, and everything is back to normal," Kayne says. "I would like to see what you look like in a dress though." His voice was low and his eyes turned darker.

"You're not the only one," Baylen smirks.

"Leave me alone." I buried my face in my knees, not enjoying the attention. I peeked out from hiding as I heard Baylen laughing. I glared at him, and he only laughed harder.

"Is that the best intimidating look you can give?" His laughter died, but his face was still humorous. "I'm so scared."

Kayne nodded while smiling at Baylen, clearly amused by my facial expression.

I groaned into my knees as they continued to laugh and make fun of me. Throwing out insult after insult, but really, it didn't hurt at all. In fact, I wanted to join in and laugh, but I stopped myself. I didn't want to give them the satisfaction that I was enjoying their company. I wasn't sure who I could trust, but something in my gut made me think I could trust these two. Somewhere, through all the darkness that resided in me, there was a small light trapped in my heart that pushed me to trust them. Maybe I could, but maybe I couldn't.

The headmaster's words replayed in my head time and time again; his warning to tread carefully. Who could I really trust, and could I trust the headmaster?