She bent down, scooped my pants off the floor, handed them to me, and then turned around to afford me a modicum of privacy.
The hint wasn't subtle, and I had a sense that something was wrong.
The sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains indicated that it was well past five in the morning, yet there had been no wake-up alarm. That had never happened before. The academy's routine was unwavering—wake up at 0500, followed by conditioning every day regardless of weather, holidays, or anything else.
I shouldn't have drunk from Kailin's tea last night. It had only been a few sips to wet my throat, but since I wasn't accustomed to it, the effect must have been much stronger on me than it was on her. Still, she'd never been groggy in the mornings, not even after the first night she'd drunk it.
I turned to check on her, but she was facing away from me, so I couldn't see her expression. Her breathing was deep and steady, though, and it seemed important to Shovia not to wake her up.
I slipped out from under the covers and pulled on my pants, moving with care to avoid disturbing Kailin. I grabbed my uniform shirt from where I'd draped it over Shovia's desk chair the night before and pushed my feet into my boots without bothering to lace them.
Shovia handed me my bathroom kit with exaggerated stealth, then opened the door silently and motioned for me to follow her. I complied, still trying to piece together what could possibly warrant her odd behavior.
When the door closed behind us with a barely audible click, I finally broke the silence. "What's going on? Did we oversleep the alarm?"
"Classes are canceled," Shovia said, her expression unusually serious, but then her eyes flicked downward, and a smirk lifted one corner of her mouth. "I'll tell you more after you are done in the bathroom. This is distracting."
It wasn't hard to guess that she was referring to my morning mast, and the truth was that the need to empty my bladder was pressing.
I lifted a finger. "Don't move from here. I'll be back in a minute."
It took me a little longer than that, but not by much. "Tell me what's happening," I demanded as I returned.
"There was a massive Shedun attack on Podana during the night." Shovia started walking toward the mess hall, and I fell in step with her, stuffing my bathroom kit into one of the large pockets of my uniform pants.
"Isn't Podana supposed to be the safest city in Elucia?"
"It is, but the Shedun mounted a massive, coordinated attack, and the Dragon Force was mobilized to assist the ground forces."
"How bad is it?"
"We don't know the details yet," Shovia admitted. "But it was bad enough that they've canceled all classes. I assume that many of our instructors flew out to join the battle."
If the Shedun had managed to strike at Elucia's heart, it would send shockwaves through the continent. Eluria would finally have to acknowledge the threat was escalating, and my father and brothers could no longer dismiss my warnings as paranoid fantasies.
I hated seeing any benefit in what must have been a catastrophe, and I wanted to talk it out with Kailin, who Shovia, for some reason, wanted me to leave alone in the room, sleeping.
"Why didn't you want Kailin to wake up?" I asked.
"Saphir sent his assistant with explicit instructions that Kailin was not to be disturbed. That's why I came to get you—to make sure you didn't wake her."
Alarm shot through me. "Why? Did he give you a reason?"
She shook her head. "He didn't, but I have my suspicions."
We had reached the entrance to the mess hall, and through the doorway, I could see our fellow cadets gathered in clusters, their conversations more animated and urgent than usual.
I stopped before entering. "Care to share those suspicions with me?"
Shovia pulled me aside, so we were not visible from inside the dining area. "Think about the special training Kailin has been getting from Commander Ravel. It must be somehow connected to that."
As I immediately tensed, Shovia raised her hands placatingly. "It's not romantic, Alar, so stop acting like a possessive jerk who wants to kill his competition. The training is just one piece of the puzzle. The others are the special medallion she got from Saphir, and then the tea he gave her with instructions to drink it every night and record her dreams in a journal each morning."
The pieces started clicking into place for me as well. "Are you suggesting that Kailin's dreams have some military significance? That she can somehow share them with Ravel or maybe his dragon?"
"It makes sense, doesn't it?" Shovia said. "Why else would Saphir be so interested in her dreams? Why else would a commander spend so much time personally training a new cadet?"
It did make a disturbing amount of sense.
