I was sure that Ryse must have gone straight to the Head Master to report on my deception. The look in his eyes and the way he’d said, “I knew it!” made me think he’d been suspecting me for some time.
Possibly the dragon blood in his heritage had made him less susceptible to the glamour of my Dragon Glass pendant. I remembered now how my father had said it would only fool humans—not dragons.
Maybe that was why he’d become so distant and stand-offish lately, I thought miserably. Because he was suspecting me of being a liar and a cheat—someone who got into the Academy under false pretenses. Someone who had been making a fool of him for months.
He must hate me now, I thought, being careful to hide my thoughts from L’eesha, who had finally settled down. I also hid my certainty that I would be kicked out of the Academy, and they would separate the two of us. I didn’t know how they would manage that—L’eesha would definitely put up a fuss—but I was sure the Head Master wouldn’t tolerate a female dragon rider.
My thoughts were interrupted as the door opened, and Ryse came back into the room.
My hand flew instinctively to the hollow of my throat…and I realized I hadn’t put the Dragon Glass pendant back on. Well, it was too late for deception now, anyway. Everyone who saw me would know I was a girl.
I watched anxiously to see who would come in after him. Would it be the Head Master? The Healer? Maybe just some burly men to drag me out of bed and throw me out of the Academy at once.
But it seemed that Ryse was alone, because he closed the door behind him and came to put a tray he was carrying on the table at the side of the bed.
“Here,” he said, handing me a mug with bitter-smelling steam rising from it.
“What’s this?” I stared at him in confusion.
“Willow-bark tea,” he said shortly. “I sweetened it with honey to help mask the bitterness. Told the kitchen ladies I needed it for a headache,” he added.
“You brought me tea?” I asked, still trying to understand.
“To help with your pain,” he said patiently. “Doesn’t it help?” he asked, frowning. “It’s what my sister always asks for when she’s having her monthly.”
“You…you have a sister?” I got out at last, still staring at him.
He frowned.
“Of course. Have I never told you about her before? She’s married off to some stupid Duke, but we still write to each other from time to time.” He nodded at the tea. “Drink that, will you? Not just for you—for me. So L’eesha will stop giving me and M’alex your pain.”
“Oh, is she still doing that?” I exclaimed, my face flushing with embarrassment. “L’eesha—stop giving people my pain!” I exclaimed aloud and sent at the same time.
“i will if Ryse is helping you,” she sent back. There was silence for a moment, then she said, “all right—M’alex says he is.”
At once, Ryse straightened up and breathed a sigh of relief.
“I can’t believe you go through that every month,” he said, shaking his head. “Such pain would bring the bravest warrior to his knees!”
“Actually, I don’t go through it every month. That is, I haven’t for the past half year,” I said. “It just, er, started again this morning.”
“Ah…” He nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense. I was wondering how you hid it before.”
The willow bark tea was beginning to help by then—it works fast—and I was able to breathe a little easier myself. Ryse hadn’t told on me—at least, not yet. Maybe I had at least a little reprieve before I was kicked out of the Academy.
“You, er, don’t seem very surprised to find out I’m a woman,” I said cautiously, as I took another sip of the bitter-sweet tea.
He frowned.
“Well, I’ve been suspecting for a while. From the very first I knew that something wasn’t quite right. Sometimes you looked like an ordinary male cadet to me…but other times you were so pretty…” He cleared his throat. “Beautiful, actually.”
I felt my cheeks getting hot again with a blush.
“I wondered why you were staring at me so much. But is that all that, er, gave me away?”
“No, not really. Though it did surprise me that I was suddenly attracted to what I thought was another male,” he said, his brows drawing low. “Do you know how much you messed with my head, Auri? If that really is your name.”
“It is,” I said quickly. “Or actually, my real name is Aurora and my brother’s name was Auren. Auri could be short for either one—don’t you think?”
