“Headmaster?” I said, throat tight. Trying to school my expression into curious interest was like trying to swallow a pinecone.
“Walk with me, Miss Miro.”
The headmaster fidgeted with a clock in his waist pocket as I strode up the gravel path, feet crunching loudly on the stones. My heart hammered in my chest. If he already knew who I was, that I was a bottomsider bonded to an illegal wild dragon, I was out. Just like that.
He looked up at me twice before finally speaking. “You are settling in well?”
I barely registered it as a question. “Oh, yes, sir.” I shook away thoughts of Scarlett’s insults and the rumors circulating about my birth. Rumors, I remembered, started by Rush. I’d need to get him back for that later. If there was a later.
“Good. Good,” he said, muttering as he walked with his hands clasped behind his waist. “I didn’t know Merlon had any family from Avencia.”
Reeking ash. He knew. He was about to kick me out. Right now.
I smiled, but it likely looked as forced as it felt. “We live in Treston now.”
“Right.” He nodded a bit too deeply. “I have known Merlon for a long time. He has never mentioned a niece.”
My gaze fell to my feet. Would it be better to stop lying now or try to keep this charade going? For Myth, I had to at least try. For everyone like me, who wanted to ride but was denied the right to try.
“But Merlon has told me how very skilled you are with your dragon,” he continued. “I am not one to question a dragon’s choice.”
None of you are, I said to myself.Let Myth show you, show all of you, that you’re wrong about the bonds. That you're wrong about everything.But this was bigger than bottomsiders now, bigger than the canyon-sized gap between the godspawn and the rest of us. This was about magic and the biggest secret ever kept. Somehow, I knew the exclusion of bottomsiders from the ranks of dragon riders was tied to the secret of magic.
Headmaster Vaughan cleared his throat. “I am only concerned with maintaining this school’s reputation for being the best training program on the continent.”
He was telling me, to my face, that he didn’t believe our story.
I needed to warn Merlon. At least the only piece of the puzzle he’d figured out was my heritage, not Myth’s. The nobility’s beliefs about bonding were protecting my dragon, for now.
“However,” he said, leaning forward slightly. “There are many people here who consider dragon bonds to be the reason for our society’s success and continued peace. No longer are dragons used for warfare, thanks to the way our people can uniquely bond with them. It is because of our riders, born of ancient gods’ blood, that the bonds are possible, and that we won every battle against those unable to bond with dragons.”
I nodded. This semester, they’d drilled that history into us.
“But Merlon has long had unusual ideas,” he drawled, as if this were dinner table conversation.
Saints, where is he going?
After too long of a pause, he said, “I wish for you to be careful, Miss Miro. I am not going to question your presence here, given you have a bonded dragon. I will, however, caution you that this school is largely funded by the families whose children have come through these halls.”
Got it. Don’t anger the donors.I nodded again.
“I, for one, am thrilled that someone less known among the noble families of Treston is here. I find it refreshing to be surprised, every once in a while. But, I fear I am alone in that regard among my peers.” The headmaster bobbed a small bow, and I, feeling like an idiot, bobbed one right back, only to remember that women didn’t do that. He smiled and lifted a hand toward the school. “Well, it was pleasant speaking to you. See you at dinner tonight, which I’m pleased to say should be well attended.”
My eyes remained wide as I marched back to the school as Headmaster Vaughan continued on toward the lair. His final words were a subtle reminder that the families he spoke of would be watching me tonight.
Rush had said that to win, I’d need to hold all the cards. I wondered if, somehow, Vaughan knew what was at stake here. But how could he? He might know the truth about my heritage, but the long-held beliefs about dragon bonds would prevent him from seeing the truth about Myth—as long as I could keep his flame a secret. Either way, his words were a warning. One of my secrets was in danger of exposure.
CHAPTER 25
The Great Hall had been reinvented. Layers of greenery and pinecones surrounded tall silver candelabra on each table and silver and white banners depicting dragons in flight had replaced the usual banners displaying the school’s crest. The staff had outdone themselves in preparing for tonight’s dinner, but I reminded myself it wasn’t for us. This was another opportunity to impress the donors. I scoffed as I walked into the vaulted room, scented with evergreen and the enticing smell of cinnamon. Rending Night had sneaked up on me this year, with the busyness of school and attempting to bottle magic with Rush.
The room had even been decorated with a silver path along the floor, a carpet made to mimic the sweeping tale of the first Ancient, sent by the Almighty Ender to the mortal lands, leaving her footsteps as paths of magic. She’d arrived in winter, went the tale, and the night she’d arrived, the first star appeared, rending the unbroken blackness of the night sky. There were many legends surrounding the event, most of which were mere children’s fables, but the magic of the holiday was no less real.
Vanya at my side, I found my way to the table where Fairfax already sat sipping wine from a silver goblet. He rose to greet me, kissing my cheeks like a loving uncle should.
No one else had joined our table yet, which I chose to consider a good thing. Vanya answered all his questions with a smile, keeping him occupied for a few minutes while other families drifted into the room, filling the tables. When Duke Covington arrived, I stiffened.
Rush was at his side, along with his older brother, Reggie, whom I’d seen at the race earlier this year. They all wore immaculate suits and walked like royalty entering their court. I only realized I was staring when Vanya knocked my shoe with hers and flashed me a quizzical look.
