But before the Treaty, before the Citadel outlawed bonding over three hundred years ago, it was different. Back then, if a dragon found a rider with compatible Threads, they could share the weight. Magic flowed between them. The dragon got a release, and the rider—well, they got the strength of a dragon in return.
Some lived for centuries if they continued to find new riders.
It figures the Citadel cast them out, too dangerous letting anyone walk around carrying that much power.
Yesterday was the usual working meditations, and now it’s Sunday morning—no sermon with Serrane today, so we’re heading to the Rec Hall. The boys said Ezzy’s made real progress, and I’m curious to see for myself.
Ezzy’s purple pencil flicks between my fingers as I walk. I’ve been twitchy all morning—skin too tight, thoughts slipping sideways.
Maybe I should skip the Rec Hall and find an empty room, lock the door, and take the edge off the way I actually need. But that would require privacy, and privacy in the Citadel is a fucking myth.
“How’s training with Beth?” Finn asks beside me, voice casual.
I jump, nearly drop the pencil. Right. Words. Talking. Not fantasising about sneaking away and getting myself off like a fucking teenager.
I swallow hard and shift the pencil in my hand.
“Well… I can knot my Threads better now, thanks to Talen,” I say, keeping my voice low.
Ezzy and Rowan are walking ahead, but I don’t need her overhearing us talking about Beth. She’s still wound tight after lunch—Rowan gave me an update on the dragon migration data, and Ezzy caught enough to know we’re still poking around where we shouldn’t. She didn’t say much, but the look was enough. So bringing up Beth? Yeah, not the smartest move. Ezzy doesn’t trust her, mostly because she’s still jealous that Finn thinks she’s hot. Things between them have thawed a little, but they haven’t actually talked about the kiss. And I’m not about to make it worse by throwing Beth’s name into the mix like a lit match.
“I haven’t needed the duck all week.” I continue talking as we walk, “But when I use my Threads, they’re still too mixed up with whatever I’m feeling, erratic, unstable. And unknotting’s a total mess, so I can’t reach my full power.” I shrug. “Beth says I’m making progress. I try and apply her advice, but... I don’t reallyfeelit yet.”
“Hmmm,” Finn raises a brow. “I mean, yeah, unknotting can take time, it’s a very personal thing, different for everyone. I like to visualise a corset.”
“A corset?” I ask, raising a brow.
"Yeah, you ever tried to open one with one hand?" He grins. "That’s how I picture it. You don’t rip, you ease the laces just right, and boom. Everything relaxes."
“Great. Now all I’m going to think about during your Demonstrations is you mentally undressing imaginary women in your head.”
“Who said imaginary?”He winks. “But if you’re not breaking any more windows, I’d call that progress.” He bumps my arm with his elbow, grinning. “And hey, look at you, finally ditching the duck.”
“Yeah. I guess...” I huff, giving him the kind of smile that doesn’t reach my eyes. “How does it even work?” I ask, still flicking the pencil between my fingers. “The duck? Lacing? Talen said something about frequencies, I didn’t really get it, but still... it's impressive. You’re good at it. Even Talen said so, and he’s not exactly generous with compliments.”
Finn’s grin stretches, clearly pleased I asked. “Took me years to figure out,” he says as he walks beside me, hands in his pockets, boots scuffing lightly against the stone floor. “Been training every break I got from here, even got an apprenticeship lined up after graduation... though my parents’ll probably kill that idea.” He glances over, then shrugs. “Anyway. I laced Threads into it,my Threads, but the trick is to set them vibrating at a specific frequency. Different frequencies trigger different effects. Like any emotion, stress spikes your Threads, but the duck carries the same pattern, so when you touch it, they cancel out.”
“Oh... So that’s why Talen kept calling it a delay tactic,” I say, the pieces clicking into place. “Eventually I’d just boil over and explode, because it wasn’t actually absorbing my magic.”
He nods. “Exactly. Nothing’s drained, nothing transferred. The vibrations just meet and level each other, and your Threads settle back down.”
Talen did explain it, sort of, but Finn’s version makes way more sense. Talen also said it’s the same way Merrin can mute Threads. He doesn’t absorb them or take them in, just neutralises, balances their vibrations out. Same with sound. Talen’s Threads can sync with the vibrations in your voice and the air, but instead of just cancelling them, he can redirect them. Focus them. Amplify them.
Ahead of us, Rowan pushes open the Rec Hall doors. Ezzy slips inside, Finn right behind her. But Rowan hesitates.
I slow as I reach him. “What’s wrong?”
“Umm... I forgot I have homework. You guys go ahead, I’ll catch up later.”
Before I can even answer, he turns and walks off. Fast. Too fast. I’ve never seen him that unsettled, then I step inside, and see why.
Daniel—the guy Rowan’s been hooking up with—is on the mat, sparring with another Cadet. Rowan told me last week that things had gotten tense between them. That awkward in-between stage:are we just fucking or is this something else?And of course, neither of them wants to be the first one to bring it up.
I’m kind of honoured he’s sharing this stuff with me, though I was surprised when he told Talen he preferred men. Being gay is not exactly something the Citadel encourages—procreation’s the priority, after all. They want loyal, obedient bloodlines bred like war-stock. But Rowan said he feels like he can trust Talen, saidhe knows he won’t say anything. I’m not sure how he can be so certain.
The Rec Hall’s packed, so we head up to a middle row to watch training and wait for things to quiet down. I slide in between Ezzy and Finn—who, surprise surprise, aren’t talking again.
Great. Just what I need. More awkward, smouldering tension between two people who should absolutely be sleeping together by now but aren’t.
