“Right, ah, first year,” he said with a nod. “It was grueling. Teachers here show no mercy to first years.”
“Do they to third years?” I asked.
He blew out a short breath. “No, you just get used to it, I guess. Well, if you finish your homework and want to come with a few of us for a hunt, you’re welcome to.”
My brows popped up. “Oh. I didn’t think we were allowed to ride outside of lessons. Bryce was pretty clear about that.”
Shep suppressed a grin. “Ari, no one only rides in lessons. Surely you know that.”
My lips pinched together as a wave of annoyance washed over me. Of course they evaded the rules. “Vanya doesn’t,” I said, lifting my shoulders.
“And she’s been holding back in lessons. She’s won races already in her country.” At my look of surprise, he added, “I research my competition. Anyway, going out with your dragon to hunt is not expressly forbidden.” He shrugged. “It’s the easiest way around the ‘rules.’” He winked at the last word. “After dinner. If you want to come.”
After a beat, I said, “Thanks for walking with us.”
He offered another small bow, which sent a tiny shiver of delight through me. “It was my pleasure, Arivelle.” He smiled as I slipped inside.
The evening airwas damp but not freezing, and wearing my riding uniform was enough to make me burn with excitement. Vanya had squealed with delight when I’d told her about Shep’s invitation, but she’d refused to come with me, citing that the invite had only gone tome.
Now I walked into the lair, trying to look casual as I strolled by the third years saddling their dragons for the hunt.
“Ari!” Shep called out, jogging over from where Petra was already saddled in the rotunda. Overcast skies kept any moonlight from shining through the oculus above, but a few students had kerosene lamps burning beside them on the ground. Long, curved shadows moved across the walls. “Glad you made it.”
I grinned, then glanced around at the other third years, who moved with practiced ease around their dragons, cinching saddle straps without even looking. I would never be able to keep up with them. This had been a terrible idea.
“We’re going to hunt on the west side of the mountain, start out over the lake, head north from there.”
Nodding absently, I pictured myself plummeting from my saddle into the ice-cold water. “Do you just…ride while they hunt?” I shrugged.
Shep laughed and scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed for me, perhaps? Or just embarrassed he’d asked me. “So riding while hunting is definitely harder, but that’s why Iasked you. You’re not going to get this kind of practice in lessons. Don’t worry; I’ll make sure you won’t fall off.”
He followed me to Myth’s den and helped me saddle him. While we worked, he asked about my classes and how lair lessons were going.
It was so different being here with Shep instead of Covington. I didn’t have to jump at every sound, worried someone would discover us. And my shoulders weren’t so tight from holding my arms crossed the whole time. But I kept glancing around, as if certain Rushland Covington would prance into the lair.
Once I’d climbed into the saddle, Shep stood beside Myth until I was appropriately strapped in.
“Now, Myth might want to hunt alone, but you can direct him to stay with the group. Once a dragon finds a family of deer, the rest will follow. Then it gets…interesting.” He grinned. “You’ll let him do the work. Your only job is to hang on.”
“That sounds ominous.”
His smile widened. “Consider it good practice.”
“For what? The circus?”
He chuckled, but the sound was lost beneath the whoosh of wingbeats as the other third years took off, some flying up through the oculus, others darting out the wide aisles of the lair. “For the night races, Ari. I assume you want to try it?”
“Oh!” I rocked backward in the saddle. “There’s no way I’d be…” But I cut myself off. If I could fly in a night race, that might just be the kind of practice I needed to beat Covington in the year-end race. I nodded firmly, swallowing the nerves rising in my throat. “Of course I want to try it.”
Shep slapped Myth’s side. “That’s what I thought. We’ve got to prove our place here, you and me. Show them they’re wrong about you, Ari.” He winked at me and hurried to Petra, who waited across the rotunda. In seconds, he was crouched over her back as she launched into the air.
His words still playing in my mind, I curled my fingers around the saddle’s handles and whispered to Myth, “Let’s fly.”
Rather than bolt out through the aisle, like Petra, Myth shot straight upward, flapping his wings as he aimed straight for the window to the night sky. We burst out into the chilly air, and Myth twisted into a partial dive to gain speed.
I screamed and hung on for dear life.
Petra swooped past us, and Shep called out, “That’s it! Just let him fly.”
