I shrugged. "Don't look at me. I've never heard their names before. I could probably ask Onyx, or better, ask Commander Ravel. He has his own suspicions about dragons and riders that are connected to the sabotage on the trail and the bombing of the square."
Alar leaned his elbows on his knees. "I'm surprised that Ravel didn't mention the accidents."
"Maybe he didn't notice the pattern," Codric said.
"Maybe we can flush out the traitor?" Shovia suggested.
I arched a brow. "How?"
"Set a trap," Alar said. "Feed different pieces of false information to different people. See which piece gets back to the Shedun. Commander Ravel can help with that, and since he's your flight instructor, you can discuss it with him without anyone being any the wiser."
"So, we have two missions," Shovia said. "First, identify the riders of the suspect dragons. Second, find a way to identify the Citadel traitor without getting ourselves or the handsome commander killed in the process."
"Three," Codric corrected. "We also need to figure out what these dragons want. Why kill riders? What's their endgame?"
"Dragon politics," I said. "They have their own power structures that they don't share with us," I remembered the talk with Commander Ravel at the Lodge. "Some dragons mightresent the pact. They might be trying to undermine Nyxath's authority."
"Or maybe they're looking for something," Shovia suggested. "You said they might be searching for specific traits in their riders. What if they're trying to find someone who can help them with whatever they're planning?"
"Like what?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Break the pact? Overthrow Nyxath? Take control of Elucia? Change the way we fight?"
"Have you told anyone your suspicions?" Alar asked his cousin.
Codric shook his head. "Who would we tell? Odinah? Someone higher up who might also be part of whatever this is? We don't know who to trust."
"Ravel is trustworthy," I said. "And my brother is as well, but since Ravel is already investigating this, he's the best one to approach. And I have free, daily access to him."
Realizing how that had sounded, I glanced at Alar, expecting to see a tightening of his jaw, but his expression remained neutral.
He glanced at his watch. "We should get in the showers before curfew is in effect."
"Yeah." Morek rose to his feet and stretched, showcasing his impressive muscles. "I'll see you all tomorrow at breakfast."
Codric unfolded himself from Shovia's bed and cast her a suggestive smile. "See you later, beautiful."
As she sent him an air kiss full of promise, I couldn't help but think of finally having privacy with Alar and imagined all the things I planned to do with him.
When the door closed behind the guys, Shovia immediately rounded on me. "Okay, spill."
Was she referring to the blush that no doubt decorated my cheeks?
I'd hoped that getting rid of my virginity would help rid me of this most annoying affliction, but evidently, it had not.
"What?" I asked.
"Don't 'what' me." She dropped onto her bed and fixed me with her penetrating stare. "Something's different about you. You look like you aged five years in three days. What happened during your leave?"
I hadn't been expecting that.
"Thanks for the compliment." I rubbed a hand over my face. "Someone tried to kill me."
"Not that." She waved a hand in dismissal. "What happened besides that? I know you are hiding something."
As impossible as it was, Shovia had guessed that I had gone through another seismic shift. She'd always had an uncanny ability to read me.
I leaned against the wall, feeling exhausted. How could I explain the dream without sounding like a megalomaniac?
