Dragonrider Academy: Episode 2 Read online

  I got up and faced the gate again. This time I didn’t consider it as an obstacle. It wasn’t the gate that was keeping me from going home, it was my own reservations about my worthiness to face my mother empty-handed, to go back home a failure with no lead on how to seek justice for my father—but I couldn’t stay here. Killian deserved better than me and if I could fix one thing in my life, I was going to do it.

  Coiling my legs, I sprang and caught the top of the gate and hung there for a moment worried I was going to fall.

  Dangling, I glanced back at a gaping Jasmine.

  Smiling, I hauled myself over and landed on the other side.

  I hit the ground running and bolted for the ocean.

  “Seriously?” Jasmine growled as if this newfound sense of strength inconvenienced her. “What kind of human are you?”

  A thunder of wings told me that she’d mounted her wyvern and had launched into the air to follow me from above, but I didn’t have any qualms about who and what I really was now. I ran faster than I ever had as a human, burning the divine energy in my blood that would always help me match my innermost desires.

  I couldn’t just want for something to happen—I had to wish for it on a primal level with no hesitation. That’s why instinct worked best, why I’d won the duel and why I was able to jump the Academy’s gate when Jasmine had found me. Fear surged my fight or flight instincts—literally.

  When the ocean crested the horizon and I liked salt from the moisture in the air, I wondered how I was going to convince the Lady of the Lake to take me back home.

  As if summoned by my own desires, a massive black vortex formed over the waves. “New girl!” Jasmine shouted with fresh panic in her voice. “Don’t you dare go anywhere near the Tunnel!”

  “It’s Vivi,” I grumbled back even though she couldn’t hear me.

  If Jasmine didn’t want me to enter this “Tunnel,” then it had to be my ticket home.

  The second I reached the water I dove headfirst and swung my arms over my head, propelling myself forward with the strongest breaststroke I could manage.

  The temperature changed when I grew closer to my target. I snuck in gulps of air as I continued my broad strokes, catching glimpses of a multitude of other vortexes spotting the horizon. Dragons with riders atop them dove into the breaks in time and space.

  Perhaps this wasn’t taking me home… but somewhere else.

  Whether or not that was the case, I couldn’t stop now. This was clearly a transit between realms and I would figure it out. If Jasmine managed to get her hands on me, she’d drag me back kicking and screaming just so she could score some points with Killian and I’d never get the chance to run again.

  The stream of dragons the multitude of vortexes diminished the closer I reached my target. I realized that when someone entered a “Tunnel,” it would close after them, so that would be my one chance to get Jasmine off my tail. A strange rush filled my limbs and my birthmark burned as if it’d set on fire. It was the same feeling when I’d dueled with Jasmine, and when I’d found the resolve to jump over the gate. This… this was my goddess blood.

  My speed increased as I zoomed through the water. This was the last vortex now and Jasmine hurled herself from her dragon, determined to enter into it before I did.

  My heart thundered in my chest and the roar of the ocean engulfed me as I went under and propelled myself with one final kick.

  A rush of ice swept over my body and immediately all my weight came crashing down onto a hard surface. I coughed up salt water and pinched the sting in my nose.

  For better or for worse… I was through the portal.

  THIS NEW REALM didn’t feel like a solid place. The air shifted as if I was still underwater and the ringing in my ears wouldn’t go away. I strained to see something in the darkness, but I could only pick up screams, the clash of metal on stone, and the roar of dragons.

  No… not stone, scales.

  Biting my lip, I went toward the noise. Flashes of light caught my eye as knights slashed with their swords. Most zoomed in and out of my vision, flying atop their dragons, although some rushed on foot fighting… something dark.

  Wild dragons.

  The term came as a rush of emotion that reminded me of my short time with Killian. These were the creatures that had taken my home, that attacked Earth and brought destruction down onto the realms.

  My stomach sank when I realized I’d been spotted. A massive dragon, much larger than anything I’d seen on campus, locked onto me with pitch-black eyes. Dark, slimy scales covered in seaweed and rot twisted as it took a step closer to me, using his tail to swipe away a group of knights. Another dragonrider came at the creature from above. The wild dragon reared its head and released a plume of blue fire that engulfed the attacker.

  I froze, unable to assist or to do anything but stare at the death and destruction all around me.

  The dragon took another step closer, only to pause and shift his stare to the darkness behind me.

  I didn’t even want to know what would frighten a wild dragon, but some sick curiosity made me turn anyway.

  Black humanoid shadows twisted, warping the darkness around them as tiny glimmers of light flickered from their dead eyes. One whooshed past me, sending a wave of frost to cover my body as I chocked on a scream.

  A hand grabbed around my mouth and pulled me down as another dark shadow flashed by, streaking the air with red embers as it drew a dark sword.

  Instead of terror, instant relief flooded my senses as I recognized the energy that sparked in my body, reacting to the skin that touched mine.

  Killian.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” he spat as he released me, flashing his sword to attack one of the shadows that turned on us. Water dripped from his white-blonde hair and his eyes glittered with a determined gleam.

  He fought with all the fury and pride of a nephilim, the human-angel hybrid race that my goddess blood saw only as a source of power to be used. His entire body surged with the divine magic that far rivaled my own, arcing with white light as he took down the shadow, splintering its dark bits into the abyss.

  The sounds of battle seemed distant now as the knights herded the wild dragons down the Tunnel. I took a hesitant step forward, wondering if Killian needed my help, or if I’d caused enough trouble already.

  This definitely wasn’t my ride home. I’d made a terrible mistake.

  Killian’s roar brought me out of my stupor as the wild dragon that had been approaching me unleashed a wave of blue fire, catching Killian on his arm before he had a chance to bring up his shield.

  “Killian!” I shouted, running toward him as fast as my feet would carry me. The wild dragon whirled, readying another attack as his massive tail swiped sideways, sending Killian launching into the air.

  Relying on instinct that fueled my goddess blood, I didn’t stop to think about how stupid it was to face-off against the powerful creature. Instead I barreled ahead without any weapons, without a shield, without even a dragon of my own.

  It didn’t matter. Killian was my mate and in this situation because of me. If I died protecting him, then at least I wouldn’t have failed him completely.

  The massive creature flared his wings and opened his maw as a low rumble built in his throat. He reared back, readying another wave of fire.

  As if it could protect me, I threw my hands up. “Stop!”

  It didn’t listen to me, instead a wave of roaring heat came crashing down on me. The once black Tunnel lit up like a beacon as the air all around me burned.

  I kept my hands up, reaching deep within myself to fuel my desires. I wanted to live. I wanted Killian to live. I had to fix this.

  The heat deflected, rearing back and launching straight into the dragon’s face. It roared as it struggled to turn from the attack. Its massive wings beat as it swung itself sideways and tumbled into the darkness.

  I fell to my knees and stared in utter disbelief. It felt too silent now, but I couldn’t see t
he knights anymore. I decided that they must have herded the other dragons down into the deeper part of the Tunnel.

  The dark shadows were gone, too, as if burned up by the brilliant fire that had consumed everything. My eyes went wide when I realized Killian had been behind me and I whirled to find a streak of blacked lines arching out from where I’d somehow deflected the worst of the blast. In the cradle of devastation rested Killian, limp with half of his silver armor burned and black. Blood trickled down the arm cuff where the dragon’s tail must have cut through him.

  “No,” I bit off the word as I rushed to his side. I might have lied to him, manipulated him, but he’d gotten into this fight because of me. I’d made him emotional and angry. This was my fault.“Don’t you dare die,” I said as I hovered my hands over him before pushing him onto his side.

  He groaned and I sucked in a breath. The damage was much worse than I’d thought and the dragon must have released a talon into his shoulder when he’d struck. Blood tinged Killian’s mouth as he coughed. His eyes opened, only to narrow again. “Get away from me.”

  “No,” I said without missing a beat. “You’re not going to die just because you’re too stubborn to accept my help,” I snapped as I wrapped my fingers around the spike embedded into his shoulder. “Bite down onto something,” I warned him and he growled at me. “Fine, have it your way,” I said as I yanked hard.

  Killian roared with pain and I rushed to cover the wound, but blood ran through my fingers, making me dizzy.

  That ringing burned in my ears again and this time I embraced the rush that came next. Golden power ran through my veins and gathered at my fingertips, sending a glow of energy into Killian’s body to knit his muscles and skin back together again.

  He released a sharp breath as the burns receded and the shine in his hair came back. “What…” The word drifted off as he stared at me, no longer angry with me, but mesmerized.

  Instinct nudged me to push onto Killian’s chest. The superficial work had been done but he was still internally bleeding. I pressed onto him and he groaned.

  We sat there for a long time until I was satisfied and I sat back onto my heels. We stared at each other until Killian struggled to his feet. He wobbled, but I caught him, earning the glare again. He shook me off and stumbled back into the darkness.

  “Killian,” I said, his name a desperate whisper on my tongue.

  “You don’t deserve the gift,” he snapped, his words harsh. “You’re channeling power that doesn’t belong to you.”

  What did that even mean?

  “Uh, you’re welcome?” I said as anger fluttered in my chest. “I’m pretty sure that I just saved your life.”

  He whirled on me, those white-blue eyes of his burning as hot as a wild dragon’s fire. Energy sizzled between us, kindled by the immature riderbond that I didn’t fully understand. “You don’t even know what you are, do you?” he asked, as if irritated he had to explain something so basic to me.

  “Human,” I said, “with a side of goddess, apparently.”

  He shook his head. “You’re a conduit, Vivienne. It’s not just the blood. You’re channeling the goddess herself, taking more of the power than you’re supposed to.” He sniffed. “You’re good at that, aren’t you? Taking what doesn’t belong to you.”

  That stung, but I sensed the untamed rage in him. He didn’t like being manipulated, much less saved by the very person who’d messed up his life.

  “I didn’t ask for this, okay?” I snapped.

  “Neither did I,” he said dismissively as he turned, leaving me with nowhere to go but to follow him. I certainly didn’t want to venture further into the blackness to see where the knights had herded the wild dragons.

  Sighing, I trailed after him. If I’d had a tail, it would have been between my legs.

  No matter what I said, he wasn’t going to listen to me. I’d just saved his life. Who cares how I’d done it? Wasn’t it the deed that mattered?

  Maybe Killian would never forgive me and that was just something I was going to have to live with. Still, as I watched him walk, I remembered our kiss and my tongue flashed out to capture the warmth of the memory. I wanted to feel that strange energy that awakened something inside of me, something powerful and new.

  I had a feeling that I’d never get to experience the sensation ever again.

  J asmine glowered at us from shore as we waded our way onto the sand. She gave Killian a raised brow.

  “Don’t ask,” he growled as she shoved past her, ignoring when Jasmine’s dragon hissed.

  “Relax, Jade,” she said, soothing the beast as she rubbed two fingers down the long snout. It startled me to discover a sensitive side to her, but I had a feeling only her wyvern got to see it.

  “I can babysit Vivienne. You’re off the hook, Jas,” Killian said, rubbing the torn armor at his shoulder. He wouldn’t meet my gaze even though I frowned at him.

  Jasmine sighed. “I’d love that, but the Dean is not happy with your antics.” She glanced at me. “She wants to see both of you in her office, now.”

  “The Dean?” I asked as Killian scowled and began the long trek back to the Academy. Jasmine kept pace with us as her wyvern lifted off and headed back home through the sky. “How does he even know where we are?” I wondered. We couldn’t have been gone that long.

  “She,” Jasmine corrected me. “Dean Brynhilde doesn’t miss a thing, so don’t think you can get away with the crap you pulled back there.” She flicked a lock of hair over her shoulder. “Plus, time works differently in the Tunnels,” Jasmine explained while Killian ignored us. “I’ve been staking the place out for days for you guys to return.”

  “Oh,” I said, wilting as I fell into step behind Killian. Did that mean my mother already knew I was gone? She must be totally freaking out.

  Then it hit me the absurdity of my situation. The last thing I expected when we returned to Dragonrider Academy was that I’d get called into the Dean’s office. I mean, seriously, I’d never gotten in trouble before back at Oakland High. Not even detention.

  I guess there was a first for everything.

  Jasmine and Killian bickered about what I could only guess was dragonrider stuff while my head spun. The walk back to campus seemed to draw on forever, probably because the adrenaline had worn off by now—or maybe I’d just run out of goddess ju-ju to keep me going. Killian walked with a slight limp, revealing that I hadn’t completely healed him, and Jasmine pretended like everything was fine, but the way she flexed her jaw betrayed that she didn’t like this one bit.

  When we got to the gates, they were wide open, of course. No trouble getting into this place, just forget about getting out.

  When we stepped onto the campus grounds, the gate swung shut behind me with a sharp clang, making me jump.

  “It’s enchanted,” Jasmine explained with a cruel smile. “Any student bonded to a wyvern can enter and leave at will.”

  “I see,” I said, not missing the smug note that Jasmine was letting me know I didn’t have a wyvern of my own.

  Students murmured as we walked past. Killian went straight for the massive dark cathedral tower at the center of the smaller spires, seemingly immune to the shrieks and groans of dragons that flapped above us. I would never get used to this place.

  Jasmine and Killian took a sharp left into the building, then head up a set of stairs. I followed as best I could, but found myself wheezing for breath after only a few twisting flights of the tortuously long climb. Jasmine gave me a smirk, sending my face flushing. It seemed like no matter what I did, I couldn’t hide that I didn’t belong here. It wasn’t like Oakland High trained me for massive spire-of-doom hiking.

  When we finally reached the top, I was pretty sure I was going to pass out as I clung to the wall for support. Killian rolled his eyes while Jasmine knocked on the door.

  “Enter,” came a low feminine voice.

  I wasn’t sure what I expected from someone named “Brynhilde,” but I wasn’t disappo
inted. A woman leaned on a wide desk, her long legs framed by an attractive pantsuit that would have been classy aside from the spread of tribal tattoos over her face and arms. I made out a sea serpent, a constellation of a dragon, and possibly a cat. She ran her fingers down one long braid as she appraised me with amber eyes.

  Finding myself unable to meet her scrutiny while my chest heaved to catch my breath after the ridiculous staircase, I looked away and appreciated the leather-bound books along the wall, as well as the paintings above the bookcase that featured various dragons of all shapes, sizes, and colors. The room felt relatively cozy, minus the golden sword that hung above her leather chair. I tried not to wonder if the stains on it were real.

  “So, you’re Vivienne,” she said with a slight accent to her tone I couldn’t quite place. She gave me a raised brow and motioned for me to sit. Her lips pursed when I didn’t respond.

  “Want me to take her back?” Killian asked as if bored with this conversation. I envied that he wasn’t winded at all.

  The Dean glowered at him. “Excuse me?”

  “Take her back,” he repeated as if the Dean hadn’t heard him. He glanced at the golden sword above her desk. “You can undo the bond. It’s still immature.”

  My stomach dropped when the Dean shifted her weight as if considering the idea. Then she slapped the desk, making Jasmine and I flinch. “The riderbond is sacred, Killian. I don’t need to remind you of that. If you didn’t like your mate you should have come to me sooner. You know the rules. I break the bond only in dire cases, of which yours is not.” She cocked her head. “Where is this behavior coming from, Killian? And why in all the realms would you go on a Tunnel Raid?”

  Killian straightened, then glanced at Jasmine.

  Jasmine sighed. “I told him that freshmen and sophomores were allowed.”

  The Dean frowned. “And you didn’t care to inform me of that earlier? He could have died. That was a Class 5 Tunnel disturbance.” Killian stiffened, but didn’t look at me. He had almost died, but he clearly didn’t want the Dean to know that.