"You'll be used for breeding." Anton's words echoed in my head as I tried to comprehend what he said. I tried to alter the meaning behind his words, and yet, I knew. I knew from his arrogant sneer and his cruel eyes what he meant, and yet, I still tried to construct a different interpretation.

My gut clenched into a thousand knots as I thought of what he was elucidating. He was telling me the truth when he said they did not kill the female dragon riders. Instead, they were used to bear children to produce more rider offspring. If I were in any other situation, I would say it's smart, only because it's a for sure on conceiving a rider child with two rider parents. On the other hand, their methods were barbaric. The women should be able to live their lives as a rider, connect with their bonded, and choose the person they wanted to have children with.

If I wasn't already disgusted by the world I lived in before, I was now. Things needed to change, especially for the females of these lands. If I had to be the one to change it, then so be it. This is what I will do. This is how I will make my legacy.

That night, I lay in my bed thinking of everything wrong with this world and how I could fix it.

"World is broken?" Naxan's voice rang inside my head. He was laying in a nest he had made separate from the other dragons that occupied the mountains.

"The world is extremely broken, Nax," I spoke heatedly. "I plan on fixing that."

"Big job for tiny twoleg," Naxan softly grumbled playfully.

I remained quiet. He was right. How am I supposed to do something as extensive as this? And on my own too.

"Twoleg not alone." I heard Naxan say. I smiled even though he couldn't see me. The amount of love I had for this dragon was indescribable. He was my friend, my partner, and my rock. I couldn't imagine not having him in my life now that I knew him. I was glad I had him in my corner, not because of his intimidation of others or because of his power, but because of how he cared for me as no other has. Yes, my parents loved and cared for me, but the bond Naxan and I shared was completely different from that.

A deep longing shot through my gut as I thought of the island we had previously occupied together. Naxan and I had shared the ground and the sky for almost a year. We slept by each other's side as well as flew in the sky together. We had freedom, more than we had here. Why had I thought returning here would be a good idea?

Getting up from the bed I had been lying in all night, I stood on the floor and stared at the uncomfortable softness of it. I hadn't been able to fall asleep because of my thoughts plaguing my mind. Ever since I came here, I was not able to have a good night's sleep.

I exited the room and descended the stairs of the Academy, making my way towards the bottom floor that stretched down into darkness.

My steps were soft but still seemed to echo throughout the Academy's walls. I hoped no one was a light sleeper, as I had no good reason to why I was up and about at such an hour except for the reason that I could not sleep.

I finally made my way to the side door that was near the kitchen. Opening it with a silent creak, the chilling night air made its way into the warmth of the Academy. Even though I wore a long-sleeved shirt and long pants, the cold still crept its way under my skin. Goosebumps trilled their way up my arms and over my body, but I kept walking forward and towards my dragon. I knew he could sense my approach, but I still walked with careful steps so as not to disturb the silence of the night.

"Twoleg," Naxan said quietly as I approached where he was resting. His one eye cracked open, and a glowing blue pool lit up the surrounding darkness.

Smily softly at the dragon, I sat beside him, and we watched the stars until we fell asleep.

"Navidean." A familiar voice spoke from the shadows.

"Alec," I replied.

His body melted away from the shadows as he spoke. "It took you some time to fall asleep. Again. Is something bothering you?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing in particular." Lies.

"You forget I can read your thoughts and emotions while in this dream state, Navidean." Alec walked further away from the shadows. "But I will not invade your thoughts tonight. We will focus on more of your training."

I smiled. A distraction like this was deeply needed.

"Your skills with a sword have developed quite well, but tonight we will be focusing on your skills if you are without a weapon. You can't always count on having a weapon with you in every situation." Alec circled me in a predatory-like way. "If I were to do this.." I deflected his blow as he came toward me. "Yes, good," He said.

I rolled my eyes as he circled behind me. It wasn't that hard of a maneuver. I just had to use his momentum to my advantage and redirect his hits.

"Is this too easy for you?" Alec asked in an irritated tone.

I glared, whipping my head around to face him.

"I said I wouldn't invade your thoughts about your issues. I said nothing about your other thoughts."

"Let's just focus here," I said as I turned towards him. Alec's face fell into the look I knew all too well. He did not look at me as his daughter anymore; he saw me only as a warrior he was training, and now he would treat me as such. I just had to be cocky tonight, didn't I?

I awoke in the morning with a sore body that was covered in scrapes and bruises. Alec did not go easy on me after I deemed the training lesson too easy.

The sun was still behind the mountains, signifying that dawn had barely started. The world was quiet, still asleep as first light had not yet touched the lands to awaken its slumber.

Naxan stirred beside me. His eyes cracked open to look at where I was. "Awake," Naxan's cool voice whispered through the bond. He wasn't the only one who didn't want to disturb the silence of this place.

I rolled my shoulders as I stood from the ground. My neck was kinked, and my bones ached from the uncomfortable ground I had used as a bed. I refrained from smiling. This feeling was familiar to me and the one that I loved. Sleeping in a bed had caused me to become soft, my body clearing showing that as a result of my sleep last night. Instead of healing my wounds and my aching body, I let myself feel this forgotten memory my body had long since gone through. This was not a punishment for myself, but the desire to remember what my life was like living on Aeberuthey.

My sleeping attire was covered in dirt and grass. I'm sure the housekeepers in this place will be furious as to how these clothes got dirty when they're meant only for sleeping in. Another thing I disliked about this place. There was a multitude of people who cleaned up after the occupants living here.

I could taste that a storm was brewing in the heavy air around us. Thick clouds were forming over the peaks of the mountains. Soon, rain would come.

Noticing Naxan's eyes swivel over towards the Academy, my muscles stiffened. Through the shadows, I could feel someone walking toward us.

"Navi, you're up early." Kayne's familiar voice broke the stillness of the air.

I turned to Kayne, gauging him with narrowed eyes. "As are you."

His eyes wandered over my appearance. I'm sure I looked dishevelled as I supported a full set of bed hair.

"Did you sleep out here?" He looked from me to Naxan. "It got cold last night."

I cocked my head, shrugging my shoulders. "What do you think I was doing on that island for a year?"

"Good point," He nodded. "Well, since you're up, would you like to accompany Rypht and me on a morning flight?"

I didn't have to respond as Naxan stretched out his body, rising to his feet. His frame had increased in size and weight over the past few weeks. His growth spurt was pushing through just like a young boy was going through puberty. As he grew, more scales developed on his body. His horns that poked out along his head and jaw became longer. How much more growth would he go through?

"Ancestors are big," Naxan said as he shared a memory. Although it was not a memory he enjoyed looking at, he still let me in to see it. It showed the time Naxan was being attacked by a much larger dragon when he was only a couple of weeks old. The dragon Naxan showed was monstrous to look at. Looking at her eyes, all I could see was bloodthirst trapped within the glowing red colour. The dragon's mind had been taken over by darkness.

"Ready?" Kayne came over with Rypht behind him. She growled in a low tone at Naxan, which he ignored. I could sense that he enjoyed her disliking of him.

"Be nice," I told Naxan.

"Tell storm dragon," Naxan huffed.

I looked over at Kayne, who was carrying an extra saddle in his hands. He looked at me expectantly. Like I was going to take that. "No thanks," I said as I climbed onto Naxan's back. Kayne studied me with a scrutinizing gaze. "You should try flying without one."

"Riding with a saddle is easier," Kayne spoke as he moved to adjust the one on Rypht.

"Try it."

Kayne stopped his movements as he stared at the saddle. His gaze was focused as his hard eyes seemed to burn a hole through the thick leather wrapped around his dragon. He mumbled something under his breath that I couldn't hear.

"Or don't," I said.

Kayne turned toward me, breathing in deeply. Another second passed before he went to untie the straps around his dragon. The saddle fell to the ground as he undid the last tie. His dragon shook out her body and extended her wings. The sun was peaking through the mountains, which hued the same colour as Rypht's scales.

The sun hitting the clouds made them appear bluer, meaner looking. I noticed that Rypht seemed to be bouncing from foot to foot, almost excited looking to take flight.

Kayne mounted his dragon, and with one final look in my direction, the pair of storm souls lifted into the air. Naxan and I followed suit, taking off from the ground and flying around Kayne and Rypht.

Rypht flew lower, lining up beside Naxan's wings. Although Rypht showed her dislike toward the shadow dragon, she seemed content. Their wings were close together, looking like they would almost touch with one small shift in their movements. But the two of them flew comfortably beside each other.

"It's a beautiful morning," Kayne called from beside me. Thunder roared overhead as they moved deeper underneath the storm. He seemed to be in a far better mood than he normally was. My guess was that he truly believed this was a beautiful morning with the storm brewing around them. "We can turn back soon. The storm is going to break any second." As he said this, lightning crackled through the air, splitting the quiet air in half.

"It's fine," I shouted above the wind whirling at a high speed.

I was looking at Kayne as he turned toward me—A smile produced on my face as I saw the look of exhilaration in his eyes. I have seen Rypht's kind in this type of weather but I have never seen their flame-bounds reactions. It was truly interesting to see how much alike their souls truly were.

"Can I show you something?" Kayne's words were followed by thunder tumbling out from the clouds.

"I'm watching."

Rypht flew higher into the clouds, chasing the energy of the storm. Naxan followed behind them, and I watched as Rypht absorbed a lightning bolt that split through the clouds. As I expected, she shot the lightning bolt through her open maw, redirecting the lightning's energy. I watched as the two storm souls moved through the clouds with ease.

Rypht was an elegant dancer moving through the chaotic energy surrounding her. She moved to catch the lightning that came from the clouds with ease, as if she knew exactly where the bolts would come from. And she most likely did.

At one point, Kayne stuck his hand out in the air, catching a lightning bolt that ran through him and into his dragon, where she threw it back out into the air with a loud cracking noise that split my eardrums.

"Showing off," Naxan growled. I felt his need to compete with the pair. I brought my hand down to pat Naxan's neck while I watched the golden dragon disappear into the thick, black mesh of the cloud cover.

The Niarvat pair appeared beside us as Rypht's wings broke through the clouds. "Pretty cool, hey?" Kayne's eyes seemed to glow with the energy surging through him.

Although I had seen this display of power before, I was not about to ruin Kayne's moment. So, I nodded my head and smiled.

"Nothing new to see," Naxan shook out his body, jostling me around. I laughed at my dragon, who couldn't seem to take the idea of having someone else displaying their powers. Thunder rippled through the air as the clouds tumbled over each other.

I looked over to see Kayne staring at me with a familiar look in his eyes. Despite the cold water pouring around us, my cheeks flared with heat.

"We should get inside," Kayne yelled over the noise around them. I nodded my head, and Naxan flew to the ground, landing heavily onto the soft ground. His claws dug deep grooves into the rain-soaked earth, caking them with mud. I jumped down beside Naxan, scratching his jaw before bidding him a farewell.

Kayne followed beside me as we made our way to the Academy's walls. I looked behind us, but could barely see Naxana and Rypht as we left them behind. Before entering, Kayne grabbed my hand in his, stopping me from pushing open the wooden door.

"What?" I asked over the sound of the rain hitting the ground, which formed puddles underfoot.

Looking into his eyes, I could see the storm trapped within them. Bright lightning bolts danced within his eyes causing me to look even deeper into them. His skin prickled with the electrical current as he held my hand tightly with his own. The cool rain washing along my face was no match for the heat that seared through me.

I didn't notice Kayne had leant his head in ever so slowly until his face was directly in front of mine, his lips barely skimming my own. I could feel the tiny sparks prickling between us, almost seeming as if we were to touch, the lightning he had trapped within him would erupt as our energies merged together.

All too soon, the doors to the Academy burst open. I jumped back in surprise, watching as Baylen stood in the doorway. "What the hell are you two doing out in this weather?" His voice was frantic as he watched the rain pouring down on us. I had to laugh at the hysteria laced in Baylen's voice as he clearly showed his displeasure with the weather. "Let's go. We have to get ready for tonight."

Tonight? What's tonight?

"Right," Kayne mumbled as he moved inside. I stood out in the rain for a moment longer before Baylen grabbed my arm and brought me inside. He wiped his hands on his trousers, clearly displeased with the water that was dripping off of me.

The inside of the Academy was bustling with life as I moved around the fast-paced environment. The cooks were making a ruckus in the kitchen, and the housekeepers were cleaning around every nook and cranny. I stared in confusion at the bustling rooms, not understanding why there were new decorations plastered to every untouched surface of the Acadamy's walls.

What's tonight?