Onyx's mental equivalent of a chuckle rippled through my mind."They are quite cute when very small. But they grow quickly and get into a lot of mischief. Once they reach adolescence and begin spewing fire, they are kept away from humans to prevent accidents."
"They sound like human teenagers,"I observed.
"Similar in their volatility, certainly,"Onyx agreed."Young dragons can be quite aggressive and have poor control over their fire."
"Who whips them into shape?"I asked.
"Young dragons, like young humans, attend school and have teachers, but it's a very different form of schooling."
Well, obviously. It wasn't as if they could be told to read a book and write an essay about it.
"I can imagine,"I said."Can you tell me a little about it?"
"That's not something we share with humans. In fact, forget what I told you about hatchlings and don't share any of it with your human companions. It could be dangerous for dragons if our enemies knew how vulnerable our offspring are in their early years."
I groaned."Another secret that I can't share with my friends? I'm starting to lose track of what I can and can't talk about."
"The burden of knowledge," Ravel said sympathetically. "But those secrets are not forever. Gradually, most will be revealed."
65
ALAR
"A battle is often decided before the first shot is fired. Intelligence, preparation, and flawless execution pave the path to victory."
—Commander Darius Hawke, Elite Forces' Vedona Academy
Ilanded with Lieutenant Shorban's gray-scaled dragon, managing to dismount gracefully. My muscles had memorized the proper sequence of movements from my previous flight, even though this one was very different.
At first, I'd attributed the differences to the genders of the dragons, but according to Lieutenant Shorban, each dragon had their own style and personality, and that was why cadets trainedwith a variety of dragons and riders instead of having the same instructor each lesson.
Every cadet, except Kailin.
Commander Ravel had once again taken on the role of her instructor, and I resigned myself to the fact that she would be riding with him exclusively.
Not many cadets remained on the roof of the Citadel after their flight practice ended, but as I scanned the remaining cadets in the hope of recognizing Kailin's familiar figure, I found the rest of our quintet but not her.
She'd been the first one to depart with Commander Ravel today, so I expected her to be back by now, and since the others in our group were still there, it wasn't likely that she'd gone to the mess hall without them.
Shovia walked over to me. "She's not back yet."
"I can see that." I tried to keep the edge from my voice.
"Maybe they are taking longer because Kailin is getting special training. Commander Tall, Dark, and Brooding seems particularly interested in her progress, and given her mysterious summons to the shaman earlier today, he's not the only one."
I didn't mind Kailin having conferences with Saphir Fatewever, but as much as I tried, I couldn't just calmly accept the attention Commander Ravel was lavishing on her.
I trusted Kailin completely, and even if Ravel had some inappropriate ideas, I was certain that she wouldn't reciprocate. But my uneasiness about the situation couldn't be rationalized away. It was instinctive, primal, and it didn't make me feel too good about myself.
I wasn't supposed to be the type of guy who got territorial over a woman he cared about. That was the domain of uneducated, boorish males.
I was better than that.
"Let's head to the mess hall," Codric suggested as he sidled up to Shovia. "I'm starving, and Kailin can meet us there when she gets back."
"Let's give her five more minutes," Shovia said. "I don't want her to have to go down eleven floors by herself."
"What's going to happen to her?" Codric protested.
