My palms were sweating.

I resisted the urge to wipe them on the material I wore, for it could ruin it entirely. I decided to focus on something else; my shaking knees or pounding heart, for example. All of which were a direct result of Baylen's words. His voice repeated in my head over and over again, pounding against my skull and leaching into my brain.

They're here for you.

How could he be so sure of this? How could he possibly know what the Kellso wanted? They were mindless, as he said. But their leader, on the other hand, knew what he wanted, and he was determined to get it.

Would he?

As my lungs constricted within my tight dress, I was beginning to feel dizzier by the second. By this point, I was manually breathing to try and stay calm within the crowded room.

Was it me he wanted? But why?

I needed a distraction; from myself and my thoughts. I was consumed, engrossed, in these words spoken to me, and my body was reacting to their violent and repetitious assaults to the point where I felt like I could barely move without breaking.

Looking across the room, I saw my peer's carefree spirits dancing and laughing with their acquaintances. They seemed happy. This night seemed to crumble down barriers and open locked doors that hid the rider's concealed emotions. If I didn't feel so distraught, I would most likely be doing the same with my friends and family.

"Navidean," A feminine voice broke through my thoughts, "Is everything okay?" It was my mom.

I dared not to speak, for my voice may give away everything I was feeling. She knew me too well to tell a lie from the truth. My eyes never left my focal point as I responded with a nod. I wouldn't be able to look at her without her seeing the distress within my eyes. I was terrible at hiding my emotions. Anyone could read me like an open book, but my mom would be the one to push on the matter, and I knew I would break apart.

So, I mustered a smile as I watched the crowd, pretending to laugh at something I saw. From the corner of my eye, I saw her head turn back to the conversation she was included in. It seemed like the mothers had gathered together, meeting and greeting one another on one sole commonality; their children being dragon riders. My father and brothers went elsewhere, most likely doing the same thing as the females.

Although I would have liked to join in on the conversation on both ends, I was nowhere near in the mood to talk. How awful it was to feel so miserable on a night where I was to be having fun.

A ripple of laughter broke out amongst the women behind me. I turned my head slightly to watch them as their conversation continued. They were currently sharing stories of their children before they became dragon riders.

"Delilah, do share some stories of Navidean. I'm sure we're all dying to hear about her." As the lady spoke, the others around her nodded eagerly. My mom chuckled as she turned her head to gaze at me. I shook my head, silently pleading with her not to share anything embarrassing about my childhood. Gods know there were multiple stories of me making a fool of myself, and Mom knew just about all of them.

Acrine was a small village. Nothing went unnoticed around there. There were the town gossips, who knew everything and anything happening in that place. Stories spread like wildfire, and their tongues were the spark it needed to carry out onto its raging path.

"I'll save the more embarrassing stories for when you're not around." She smiled sweetly, but I could see the playful glint behind her eyes.

I groaned in dismay and slumped my shoulders as I thought of all the stories she could share. "You are cruel," I mumbled for only her to hear. She hummed with a smile as she looked at me. Her hand touched my shoulder, and instantly I straightened my posture. She nodded approvingly in my direction but paused as she caught sight of something.

I turned my head and saw that Baylen was only a few feet away from our chairs.

"Excuse me, ladies, but may I steal Navi away from you for a dance?" As Baylen spoke, the rest of the table looked at him as well. With more eyes on him, he straightened his posture and held his chin higher.

"Baylen, how is your father doing? Is he here?" A lady asked him as her eyes sunk into a pitying gaze. I crinkled my brow in confusion but did not press the matter as I saw how his body became rigid.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "Yes," He nodded his head, "Him and your husband have been sharing stories all night."

"Oh, good. I'm glad to see he's up on his feet. I've been praying for your family." She smiled softly.

"Thank you. You are kind." I noticed that now maybe he was the one who needed saving, even if that meant I would have to go out on the dance floor with him. Maybe after he realized how terrible of a dancer I was, he would need rescuing from me.

"A dance, you say?" I piped up. His fiery eyes took to mine.

"If you are willing," He said, extending his hand out for me to take.

I grasped his hand as I stood to my feet. "I hope for your sake your shoes have steel caps to protect your toes." A ripple of laughter followed my poorly said joke, but I smiled nonetheless.

"Have fun, dear." My mom said as I walked off with Baylen, my arm grasped within his. "Now, there are a few stories I could share of Navi..." As Baylen and I maneuvered through the sea of people, Mother's voice faded behind us.

"I see you needed rescuing," Blayne laughed as he spun me onto the dance floor. I came back into his grasp as we slowly moved to the song.

"I could say the same for you." I refrained from looking down to watch my footing as we moved across the floor.

Baylen's smile faltered slightly, but it never left his face. His eyes watched the room behind me as he expertly moved to the rhythm of the music. I never pushed him about the topic the lady had brought up with him. I didn't feel it was my place to know. He would tell me when he was ready to talk about it.

"You're quite the dancer." As I said this, he twirled me around with his hand still latched onto my own.

"My mother taught me everything I know." His smile was genuine, but there was a trace of pain behind it.

I squeezed his hand in mine. "I'm glad she did." We passed a few other dancers who took to the floor. "I don't look like such a fool in the hands of someone who can dance."

Baylen laughed as the song came to an end. "You did just fine, Navi." He bowed lowly, producing a soft kiss on my knuckles. I rolled my eyes at the cheeky grin he produced as he rose to his full height.

As the music began to play again, Baylen still held my hand. Instead of leading me off the dance floor, he inclined his head toward the people dancing behind us. "Another dance?" I didn't have time to contemplate an answer before he had me zipping around trying to keep up with the faster-paced music. I didn't care that my dancing was reckless or not in beat. I was laughing along with Baylen and having fun. Finally.

"Finally indeed," Naxan grunted from the back of my mind. "Twoleg's thoughts were making Naxan sour."

For a moment, just a moment, while Baylen and I danced to the multiple songs that played around us, I forgot about everything that was on my mind. I forgot about my father's warning, the Kellso, Baylen's words that haunted me. I forgot about everything. And I was happy.

"Okay," I laughed while breathing heavily, "Okay. I need to take a break." My skin felt hot and sticky from the exertion.

"Let's get a drink." Baylen's hand fell in the crook of my back as he led us towards the refreshments table. The warmth from Baylen's hand was not uncomfortable, but I felt the need to go outside and cool off from the muggy air inside this room.

As Baylen handed me a glass, I sipped around the ice floating around in it. "I feel like my face is melting with all this makeup on." My eyes darted to Baylen as he gulped down one drink after another.

The glasses contained a sweet punch that made my tongue water from the tartness. There was no alcohol in these drinks, but the waiters walking around the crowd were handing out glasses full of a darker liquid that perked my curiosity. They would hand them out to the parents, but the riders were told those drinks were off-limits.

"You two looked like you were having fun," Tomi said as he came over to stand beside us. Fin was hot on his heels with a small napkin containing a variety of meats and cheese secured in his hand.

"It's the only thing to do right now to keep our minds at bay." Baylen set his empty glass down on the table behind him. He faced the others that gathered around us. Sige took to standing on my left as the group emerged into a conversation.

"How are you feeling?" I asked Sige as he remained quiet while watching the others.

Sige looked over at me before looking to the ground. "Can I admit something?" His eyes darted to mine quickly before returning to the ground.

"Of course," I said as I squeezed his elbow.

When Sige's eyes met mine, I could already tell what he was going to say. "I'm afraid. For us, for our families." He fiddled with his hands until his knuckles turned white. "I..." He began to say, but his voice failed him as he drifted into his worry.

"Can I admit something?" I leaned against the table behind me and waited for Sige to look at me. "I'm afraid too."

Sige scoffed sourly. "You don't look the part."

I smiled softly, pitying the young rider. "I'm a total mess," I said. "I don't know what to do or think right now. The more I think about it, the worse off I become." My eyes landed on Baylen, who was engaging in a topic about school. His eyes landed on mine, and he gave me a little wink before continuing on his previous bantering. "But you know what? I had someone to help distract me from it." I pushed myself off of the table I was leaning on and faced Sige. "Do you know how to dance?"

"Yes, but-"

"Well, I don't," I said, interrupting him. "Let's go!" I laughed as his eyes went wide as I grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor. At first, Sige was hesitant and did not seem to be in the spirit, but he became an excellent dance partner once he relaxed. He was smiling and jumping around like everyone else was doing in the crowd.

By the time the song ended, his spirits were high, and he was laughing along with me. "You truly are a terrible dancer."

I shrugged my shoulders as we made our way back to our small group. "I did warn you." As my eyes scanned over my group of friends, I realized something wasn't right. "Has anyone seen Kayne?" Their voices quieted down as they looked at each other, all giving shrugs or shaking their heads.

"Don't worry, Navi. Loverboy is around here somewhere," Tomi laughed as I glared at him.

"That's not what I meant," I said as I turned to look around the room. "Did anyone else notice how odd he was acting?"

Fin's brow scrunched in confusion as he stared at me. "You dropped a pretty big load onto us. He's freaking out just like the rest of us."

I shook my head, not agreeing with his words. "He just seemed off. I don't know. Something didn't seem right."

"I think you're overanalyzing things here," Baylen said as he looked around us. "We're all a little off because of what you told us." He lowered his voice as he spoke. "If you're right, everyone here is in danger."

I don't know... "I'm going to look for him," I said as I made my way out of the group. I felt a hand grab onto my arm, holding me in place. Turning, I saw Baylen with concern in his eyes.

"You're really that worried?" Nodding my head, he let go of my arm. "Fine. Then I'm going with you."

I began to protest, but Baylen gave me a stern look that read, don't mess with me. Breathing out a heavy sigh, I allowed Baylen to follow where I would look first. Outside. That was the last place I had seen Kayne. He had gone to talk to his dragon after I unloaded the news, and I hadn't seen him since then. But he wasn't there. Baylen and I found his dragon asleep in one of the caves, but he was not with her.

"Where is here?" I mumbled half to myself, but Baylen heard me.

He looked back toward the Academy in confusion. "I didn't see him inside, but maybe we missed him?" Baylen sounded like he was questioning his words, which made me think my concerns were true, and my imagination wasn't acting up. "You know what? He could be getting some weapons together." What Baylen said made sense if I wasn't already paranoid. "Let's go check the armoury."

I followed after him as he quickly walked over to what this Academy called an armoury. It was a little shack near the training grounds full of weapons we used to spar with. I don't know what I was hoping for, but when I saw Kayne wasn't there, I wasn't surprised.

The pit in my stomach became heavier as I watched Baylen run a hand through his hair. It looked like he was beginning to doubt himself. His forehead creased with lines from the worry now creeping to the surface. It was too dark to see his exact emotions, but I could tell my words were starting to get to him. Kayne seemed off.

"We should be getting back to the others," Baylen said as he finally looked at me. "We can't be babysitting tonight when the Kellso could be lurking around here somewhere." I nodded my head in agreement, and we walked back to the Academy.

As Baylen and I neared the Academy, I couldn't help but feel the air around me become thicker, like I was walking through a pool of thick mud. My thoughts were a swirling mess, and it seemed to be affecting my body, turning me into a sluggish drunk. Where had Kayne gone, and why did he disappear when we needed him in the fight? He was one of our more experienced fighters. I would feel better if he was by my side in battle, knowing he would be able to hold his own or help others if they needed it.

At first, I didn't realize the shadows around me were pulsing along with my emotions. Their hissing started off soft but became louder with every passing second.

Baylen was giving me confused looks as he stared between me and the shadows around us. "Navi, it's okay. He'll show up eventually."

His words did little to settle my nerves, but I nodded my head and followed him inside. The light seemed to dim as I walked past the lanterns, almost as if it were shying away from my presence.

"Twoleg," Naxan called through the bond as I felt the shadows around me claw at my organs. My breathing was heavy as the shadows moved around inside me, taking up space wherever they could. "Twoleg!" Nax's voice overpowered the shadows hissing. He seemed to knock me out of the trance I was placed under. Something felt terribly wrong as I stared into Baylen's black eyes. When he saw the look on my face, the fire seemed to dance in his eyes, making them appear like a bonfire in the darkness.

"They're here."