I’d have to thank Fairfax when I saw him.
The lowest strap was dangling near my knee. I grabbed the leather strap and slipped my foot in. I missed the next foothold and wobbled, spinning until my back whopped into Myth’s scales.
Laughter ricocheted around the lair.
Heat erupted in my face.Please work, I commanded my foot as I tried again to slide my toes into the small loop.
When my foot caught the loop, I tried to step up. Wrong move. I half collapsed, so hot now that sweat was rivering down my back as raucous laughter filled my ears. Myth’s emotions flowing through me shifted from elated to irritated, his anger directed outward, toward the laughing crowd. He was growing nervous, and I feared he’d shoot sparks again if he grew too agitated.
“Get. In. There.” I scolded my foot for being so useless as I botched another attempt to get my foot in the second loop. My arms were shaking now as I held my weight. I was cursing Fairfax for not making me try this before coming here.
Myth lowered himself to his stomach and turned his snout toward me. With a little nudge, he held me steady as I heaved upward on the saddle, finally able to throw my leg over and sit.
Cheeks blazing, I held on tight as Myth stood and proceeded through the rotunda toward one of the five wide aisles bordered by the empty dens that would be our dragons’ temporary homes.I wanted to bury my face in my hands and vanish, but my stomach dropped as I spotted Covington up ahead.
This was it. If he shouted, if he revealed the truth about Myth, I was done here.
House Ruby had gone first, so we would have the longest to wait back here with our dragons. Scarlett, Prescott, and Covington had already dismounted and were chatting idly as their dragons sniffed at their new surroundings and each other. Bryce was still announcing more first-year names back in the rotunda. It was time to dismount, time to join my house. Covington’s eyes rose as Myth entered the space. Mid-sentence, he froze.
I couldn’t tear my eyes from him as Myth ambled toward the other dragons. Covington jerked, as if to step forward, then tossed a nervous glance back toward Azeron, who still bore the scar from where Myth had attacked.
Myth’s scars were harder to see, hidden at the joint of his wing, but if he remembered Azeron, things could get sticky.
I whispered to Myth, “You are safe here.”I hope.I had no idea how much of my mind he could read, if anything other than my surging emotions. The fear inside me might not be helping matters.
“Coming down?” asked Covington, the faintest touch of impatience in his voice. He was staring up at me with his usual scowl, Scarlett eyeing him with a disappointed pout from a few steps away.
“She can’t get down,” jeered Scarlett, covering her red lips as she moved closer to Covington.
So much for trying to save your life, I grumbled to myself. Of course, Scarlett didn’t know I’d run after her to warn her of the wild dragon.
Pinching my lips into a tight smile, I swung my leg over the saddle, hunting for the lowest loop with my toes. When laughterstarted again, I just let go, landing on the stones with a jolt that partially crushed my ankles. Covering my pain with a smile, I turned to them.
Scarlett’s brows were reaching for her hairline, shocked or offended by my unladylike dismount. Covington stormed forward.
“I need to talk to you,” he said through gritted teeth, bearing down on me.
I bumped into Myth’s side, trapped. “Fine. Are they invited?” I tilted my head toward Scarlett and the others, who could clearly hear anything we said in here.
Covington whirled around, his eyes traveling now to Clarence, who was arriving on his dark green dragon. We were trapped by dragons, and I doubted he wanted to say what was on his mind while the others were here. He ran a hand down his face.
“I’ll find you later,” he hissed and paced over to Azeron, edging him farther from Myth in the wide aisle now filling up with dragons.
It wasn’t until Vanya bounded toward me that I snapped out of my daze. Bryce strode in after her, his arms spread wide.
“Riders!” he shouted, his voice booming down the aisle.
It took a minute for the excited chatter to settle, then we were all facing the lairmaster. Indigo stood at his side, her arms crossed, a smile on her face.
“That concludes our ceremony. You all have been assigned a den. Your assignment for the day is to properly acquaint your dragon with his or her new home and to put away all your tack in the appropriate places in your assigned den. We will be checking this, as well as the hygiene of the den, in the morning for a grade. We will check before breakfast. You’ve been warned.” Several moans issued from the first years. “Your dens are in alphabetical order, regardless of your house. Find your nameson the plaques. And, hatchlings…your lifelong bond with your dragon depends largely on how well you connect these next few months. Early experiences during a bonded dragon’s life leave lasting impressions. Keep that in mind. When you are finished, join us in the Great Hall for your official welcome reception.” He nodded and turned back toward the rotunda, which was still humming with the voices of the upperclassmen.
The lair buzzed with energy as the first years found their name plaques and led their dragons through the huge sliding doors and into their temporary homes.
My pulse was so loud in my ears as I weaved around the others, moving toward the middle of the alphabet. Myth waited patiently where I’d left him.
There it was. Miro, etched on a bronze plaque.
Even though I’d felt excitement when I’d seen it on the dormitory door, seeing it here brought a wave of panic. Covington would tell someone the truth about Myth, and everyone here would learn that my name was a fake, that I was a fraud. My time here was limited. I felt it in my bones. I needed to find answers for Fairfax, and fast.
