“I won’t hurt you.” I shrugged. “Not that I truly think I could. I saw you with that dark mage.”
A low grumble erupted from the dragon as if the mention of his foe upset him. He shook, his scales lifting as he did. Once he finished, he trotted over to me slowly and began sniffing my shoes, then my hands, hanging at my sides. His hot black nose brushed my palm, causing my finger to twitch. He jumped backward, poofing up like a cat before calming down.
“You’re alright.” I chuckled.
Those orange eyes regarded me a moment longer until the dragon trotted past me and into the forest on my other side. When I didn’t trail him, he merely cocked his head over his shoulder at me.
“You want me to follow you?” I asked. A huff left the dragon’s mouth, and I swore if dragons could roll their eyes, this one just had.
I followed the dragon through the forest until we reached a stream. The water was plenty high and shadows of fish below the surface zipped by. Despite it still being a frozen tundra on the outside of the dome, the nice weather in here allowed life tothrive. It had been this way for a century, the animals becoming accustomed to the magically controlled atmosphere.
The dragon dove in, water splashing, and emerged on the other side, landing on the bank. It looked over at me, fish in mouth. His nose lifted toward the sky and he swallowed the fish whole. With a giant leap, he took off, flying over the stream and landing next to me, standing on his hind feet so his large catlike eyes were level with mine.
I held my breath and waited. The dragon’s pupils dilated and I relaxed. As I did, he cocked his head, more like a curious animal than one that was going to attack. I followed his movements, unsure of what he was trying to communicate. He settled back on all four feet. He curiously watched me before leaping into the water again.
I didn’t think fire-breathing dragons would like water.
Chapter Forty
Selene
Myheadlolledbackagainst the chair, giving me a glimpse of the beautiful, domed ceiling in the library, torchlight flickering across the shadows.
“Why did we have to get a packet of homework for Algebra on the first day?” Vivian’s angry scrawling screeched against the papers as she wrote.
“You’re already on the last two questions. I’m still on the first page!” April waved at her papers.
That didn’t surprise me. Just like me, Vivian’s studies with Mom had been advanced for the grade level we were in at Fives Academy.
“I could help you.” Viv leaned closer to April. I couldn’t see Vivian’s face as she looked at April, but I could see the small tug on April’s lip—until it vanished. They both jolted upright.
“Yeah.” April cleared her throat. “Thanks, but I think I should try this on my own first.”
Huh.What was that about?It had been clear to everyone here that they had feelings for each other. I’d have to talk to Viv later.
“Yeah.” Sydney said. “I remember Professor Eaten. Good luck”
“Didn’t I hear she eats sophomores alive?” David laughed.
“Yes.” Sydney nodded, grinning. “Hence her name.”
“She’s not that bad so far.” Denise swatted at an invisible fly. “If you don’t mind watching others suffer.”
“Just wait,” Joseph said. “You haven’t even had her for an entire week yet.”
I tuned out the conversation, glancing at my last text to Ender. After training with Viv, I realized I had a missed call and a message that said everything was okay and that he would meet up with me. I sent him a message asking if he was meeting us at dinner, but he hadn’t replied and never showed. After messing around in the halls and an hour in the library, I messaged him again. It had only been fifteen minutes since I’d told him where we were, yet I kept finding myself checking for a response. Sighing, I went to put my phone back in my pocket, but it buzzed before it got there.
SOS in the Kitchen. Just you … please.–Ender
My internal alarm went off. Ender said please? It sounded like a trick he would pull, but the mild panic I felt argued otherwise.
“Hey, I’m going to go.” I stood, putting my phone away as casually as possible. “I’ll catch you all later.”
“Mm-hmm,” Sydney hummed. “Off to see your boyfriend?”
I raised a sole eyebrow at Sydney, and the others laughed.
“Goodbye.” I waved, turning my back.
