“Yes, I imagine it is all rather distressing,” he said, misreading my reaction. “As the headmaster of the country’s premier academy, I keep it my aim to defend knowledge, to uphold inquiry, and to celebrate new discoveries. If there is concrete evidence that people from non-noble families can bond with dragons, well, then we have much to atone for.”
Hope flickered inside me. I knew I liked this man.
“How…how exactly will they test our bond?” I ventured.
The headmaster drummed his fingers on the dragon-shaped armrests of his chair. “Ah, the tests for dragon bonds are not pleasant. I apologize in advance if you must endure them.”
I wasn’table to concentrate in classes the rest of the day. No one called on me, and no one spoke to me, save Vanya, but her words were little comfort. As we packed up from chemistry class, Rush threw me a look that said he was sorry, but otherwise he remained as aloof as ever. After class, I trudged, numb, down to the lair, desperate to see Myth before they came for him.
“There she is,” announced Bryce, coming out of the school. A touch of accusation in the statement.
A jolt shot through me as I spotted Duke Covington and Professor Bryce storming up the gravel path. Behind them walked Rush and Headmaster Vaughan.
The duke moved like a freight train, acknowledging my presence with a cut of his blue eyes, nothing more, as he barged past me toward the lair. His hands were gloved in black leather, his overcoat peeling away to reveal a fine wool suit. Rush offered me nothing more than the faintest nod.
Bryce, at least, paused and stared at me. “Miss Miro,” he said, “the duke has come to take your dragon until we can prove he is safe to remain here.” His tone was businesslike, unapologetic, but at least he’d saiduntil. I knew what the duke would do to Myth: he would try to provoke him to flame. Even if he wasn’t certain my dragon was the one he’d been hunting all these months, the second he had Myth in his possession, he’d test himfor his flame. There was no reason for him not to, especially now that Myth’s heritage was in question, as was my own.
If the duke took Myth, I might never see him again.
A small moan slipped from my lips. In the vaulted lair, the duke’s shined shoes clacked on the stone like gunfire. I wanted to yank them all back, prevent them from taking Myth, but acting like that would likely get me expelled and might suggest to the duke that I knew about Myth’s flame. If I thought Myth was perfectly safe, I wouldn’t fight this. Vaughan had hinted that he was open to the concept of bottomsiders bonding—which was more than I could have hoped for when I started here in the fall. If I stayed calm, and Myth passed whatever tests the duke had in store, we still had a chance.
“Sir, how long will he be gone? Will I be able to visit him where you’re taking him?” I asked, fighting to keep my voice even.
The duke turned to me, an icy scowl on his otherwise handsome face. He was Rush, only older. “This animal should never have been allowed a place here. It is an appalling oversight that reveals much greater issues regarding this school’s governance.” He directed these words at the headmaster. “You have put every other dragon and student in harm’s way. This creature will be executed, Miss Mireaux.”
I choked on my breath. “But sir, he…”
The duke knew.
He knew what Myth could do.
“Only if he fails the test,” Bryce assured me, his eyes on the duke.
“This girl is a liar, Thurgood. I’ll have a word with you and Vaughan after we establish the safety of this campus once more.”
Bryce harumphed but didn’t object. “In all my years, we’ve never had a student attempt to bring an unbonded dragon into this lair. I doubt that is the case now, Duke.”
A presence over my shoulder startled me. Shep had followed us and hung back near the lair’s entrance. Several other students had gathered there, as well.
Great, an audience.
“If you would, son,” said the duke to Rush, indicating the heavy door to Myth’s den.
“No, please.” The words were as automatic as the beat of my heart in my chest. I pressed my knuckle to my mouth as the duke turned satisfied, cat-like eyes on me, confirming my fears. He knew without a doubt that my dragon was wild. Maybe he’d heard about what had happened last night. He likely had eyes and ears all over the city.
Rush leaned back, pulling the heavy door open with a grating sound as it slid on its steel tracks.
No, no, no!
“Get him,” ordered the duke, clearly not wanting to put himself in the line of Myth’s fire. “And put this on him.” He held out his hand, a jangling metal apparatus dangling from his grip.
A muzzle.
“Take it, girl,” he barked.
I accepted the weight of the muzzle in my hands and turned toward the open door. Myth waited inside, the flecks of gold on his scales catching the pale light streaming in from the window above him.
This was it.
