Page 37 of Veiled

“When she bonds,” Matt corrects teasingly. “Every one of those dragons we observed gravitated towards her.”

“They did that with you, too!” I protest.

“Well, I didn’t say bonding was out of the question for me.” He says with a wink.

“I wonder if dragons have best friends?” I question aloud.

Sasha laughs, “I can see it now. The four of you, taking on the world with dark humor and dragon fire.”

My smile doesn’t fade as we head back towards campus. The closer we get to the barracks, the more the real world starts to settle back in, and I remember I need to text Zeke about our school supplies.

After last night, I am sure the offer to hang out has been rescinded, though he seemed nice enough that he would probably hang out with me in uncomfortable silence just so he didn’t hurt my feelings by backing out. I bite the bullet and shoot him a message asking if he wants me to grab all of our supplies while I’m in town this weekend, and he can pay me back for his half. Not even a minute later, my phone vibrates, and he’s accepted. It looks like both of us were eager to avoid the awkwardness.

I put my phone away and turn to Matt and Sasha. “Hey guys, I am going to get my lab supplies on Sunday for Combat Med. You guys want to ride together? We can grab some lunch after?” Secretly hoping that at least one of them will save me from going to town alone.

“You know you don’t even need to ask, I’m in,” Matt assures me as he wraps his arm over my shoulders and kisses my head.

“Me too,” Sasha says, looking between us with a raised brow and her voice laced with amusement. “You guys know your friendship is like…really weird, right?”

“Yup,” we say in unison.

Chapter fifteen

Annalise

It doesn’t take long to learn that Arcane Healing is almost as painful a class to sit through as Combat Medicine. I’m not sure if it’s how monotone Healer Alric’s voice is or if it’s the monotonous task of listening to him drone on about medical journal findings, but either way, I’m ready for our labs to start in both classes.

I am sure that Healing will not be on my short-list for my track, but I’m also not dumb enough to ignore that the skills learned in these classes could save my life or someone in my squadrons—here or after graduation.

Beside me, Sasha is practically vibrating in her seat, nodding along to the information she already knows, and mentally cataloging each new concept as if it were a treasure. I need to ask Sasha for medical treatment book recommendations after class. I can’t afford to fall behind and end up with academic punishments.

“This,” Alric says with a slow, deliberate emphasis, “is a hemostatic elixir called ‘Redline’”.

We pass around a small glass vial sealed with a cork, taking notes on its physical properties after we’re given strict instructions not to open it.

The crimson liquid inside the glass vial pulses with an almost unnatural energy, swirling and shifting as if it has a life of its own. Even when the vial is perfectly still on the flat surface, the liquid inside seems to defy the laws of stillness—it's as though the liquid is alive, breathing.

“Redline rapidly seals open wounds by triggering localized transmutation, and the blood from the wound becomes a temporary mineral crust that will dissolve once the wound has healed.” Healer Alric continues. Ok, now this stuff has my attention!

I start to consider how I would go about stocking up before my inevitable injuries from track classes start rolling in, but then he announces that the intense pain it puts the patient through is said to rival or be worse than the original wound itself until it dissolves. I guess that explains why it’s only used in life-or-death situations.

A couple of hours later, we claim a table on the third floor, one of the few available tables in the entire library.

After class, Sasha had called her parents, and they were more than happy to put together a few “starter” books for “the girl who saved Sasha’s life on the first day.”

When my eyes went wide with confusion at hearing that, Sasha simply winked and waved me off.

Pulling out the long list of books she gave me, I walk down the winding iron staircase to the medical section. My fingers graze the spines of each of the books in this area as I search for the texts on my list.

Combat Medicine Books:

“The Soldier’s Surgeon: Intro to Combat Trauma Surgery.”

“Battlefield Blood: Managing Trauma in the Heat of Combat.”

“Mending the Wounded: A Practical Guide for Combat Medics.”

“Triage in Crisis: Fast-Paced Medical Solutions for Combat Situations.”