—Commander Darius Hawke, Elite Forces' Vedona Academy
As Codric and I made our way toward the back of the line, I took stock of the scene around us. The central depot was a hive of activity, with Elucians from all walks of life waiting to board the cable car that would take us over the steep mountains to the nerve center of Elucia, Podana, the capital city.
My gaze shifted to the looming mountains above. The slopes were steep, ragged, untamed by time, and their peaks were so tall that they disappeared in the clouds. There was a menacing quality to the entire mountain range, but also a primal beauty.
Somewhere up there, dragons soared through aurora-painted skies.
"We are almost there," Codric murmured, his voice low enough so only I could hear him. "But I'll only start celebrating when we are seated in the cable car."
"I don't know if that's reason enough to celebrate," I said. "We managed to get here, but no amount of trickery and manipulation will help us become riders. We either have the gift or we don't."
Codric clapped a hand on my shoulder. "We have Elucian blood in our veins, cousin, even if it is heavily diluted."
I nodded. That part of the story hadn't been fabricated, but it was one of the reasons we had to hide our true identities. Our line was supposed to be purely Elurian, and discovering that we had an ancient Elucian foremother had been a pleasant surprise for me, but not for my father.
Stumbling upon that story must have been the hand of fate.
"Look what we've got here," someone drawled behind us. "Spoiled rich Elurian whelps who think they can be dragon riders."
A chorus of laughter and jeers followed.
I kept my face carefully neutral as I turned, though my muscles tensed instinctively. Four young men in grease-covered coveralls stood behind us in line, their stances threatening.
They looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties, so I knew that they weren't potential candidates for the Dragon Force, but they might still harbor resentment over not getting selected when it had been their turn on the summit of Mount Hope.
"We want to honor our Elucian ancestry by joining the pilgrimage," I said with as much calm as I could muster, pretending that nothing they had said offended me. "Of course,hearing our fates spoken by the famous Saphir Fatewever is the main attraction."
The largest of the four, a burly man with a shock of red hair, spat on the ground. "You hear that, men? These fancy lordlings think they have the same rights as us when their people abandoned the true ways of Elu."
Ah, so he was one of those. A religious purist who refused to accept the validity of the division of the Two-Faced God into two separate deities.
Codric shifted slightly beside me, moving into a better defensive position while maintaining his casual demeanor. "We're all children of Elu," he said, flashing his diplomatic smile. "Surely there's no need for?—"
That had been the wrong thing to say, and the small crowd that had gathered around us seemed to second my assessment. There were far too many angry faces staring at us.
"Don't you dare invoke Elu," the short guy on the redhead's left snarled, stepping forward. "You Elurians wouldn't know true faith if it bit you in the?—"
"Let's all calm down," I said, noting the two security guards who were watching from the sidelines but made no move to intervene. "We don't want any trouble."
Red-hair laughed harshly. "Too bad trouble wants you." He lunged forward, swinging a meaty fist at my head.
I'd been expecting it—his weight distribution telegraphing the move a split second before the attack. I stepped inside his reach, redirecting his momentum while sweeping out his legs. He hit the ground with a satisfying thud.
His friends didn't take kindly to that.
Two rushed Codric while the third came at me with a wild haymaker. My cousin handled his attackers with his usual grace, ducking under one punch while using his attacker's own force to send him stumbling into his companion.
My opponent was poorly trained but strong, his strikes fueled by anger and prejudice. I blocked his swing and countered with a quick jab to his solar plexus, driving the air from his lungs. As he doubled over, I hooked my foot behind his ankle and sent him tumbling down beside his red-haired friend.
"Stay down," I advised quietly. "This doesn't need to escalate any further."
Red-hair tried to surge up, but I placed my boot firmly on his chest. Not pressing, just reminding him of his position. Meanwhile, Codric had his two opponents effectively pinned, one in an arm lock and the other face down with a knee to his back.
Only then did the security guards finally move in.
"That's enough entertainment for one morning," the taller guard said, his tone almost amused. He gestured to his partner, who began hauling the workers to their feet. "You four are charged with disturbing the peace. You know the penalty for that."
"They shouldn't be allowed in here!" Red-hair protested, wincing as he was handed a ticket.
