Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
“This isn’t a weeknight, Imogen.” I glance sideways at her. “I’m not stuck training with you in the gym so I can earn one of the letters my brother left for me. Letters you know are rightfully mine.” Anger simmers in my stomach. Doling them out once a week is a cruelty I can’t accept. Reading his letters are the only times I feel like he’s still here, like I could reach out and touch him if I tried hard enough. “I can’t believe you’re letting her use them as bait—”
“She’s using them as a bribe,” Imogen corrects me. “And Sorrengail—while an acquired taste—has your best interests at heart. Would you actually show up to train if she hadn’t dangled those letters above your pretty little blond head like a carrot?”
I grit my teeth.
“Exactly. But now you show up. You train. You might actually survive challenges thanks to Violet forcing you into the gym.”
“Don’t expect me to thank her.” Fuck that.
“Oh, definitely not.” Her voice drips with sarcasm as we step over a thick tree root. “After all, she only risked the anger of leadership and, oh, a god to save those letters for you. Did you ever think about that?”
My steps slow and my brows pucker because I really hadn’t.
“Thought not.” She sighs. “That girl nearly died, and the first thing she did when she got back to the quadrant wasn’t to tell her friends she was alive, it was to break into your brother’s room to save those letters we all know should be rightfully burned in sacrifice to Malek. Her first and foremost thought was for you.”
“Did you trek all the way out here to continue your valiant defense of Violet Sorrengail?” My tone loses a little of its acid.
“No.” Imogen shakes her head. “I came out to tell you that you’re looking for a female Red Daggertail named Thoirt.”
“What?” I trip over my own feet, and she grabs my elbow to keep me from face-planting in the dirt.
“Particular dragons who might be sympathetic to our cause tend to seek us out.” She lets go of my arm, the same one that bears the identical rebellion relic to my brother’s. “Thoirt is yours.”
Thoirt. Something in my chest starts to ache, but I push it away.
I’m not bonding today. I’m not bonding ever.
“Good to know. Thanks.” I try the nod and smile.
A cracking sound splits the air, and we both whip our attention to the east. Wood splits in the distance, followed by a shriek and a low thud. A second later, smoke rises above the canopy.
“Don’t be scared,” Imogen says. “That’s not going to happen to you. Not with Thoirt already searching for you.”
I blink and meet her gaze. “I’m not scared.”
Her mouth curves into a smile. “You really aren’t, are you?”
“No.’’ I shake my head.
“Good. That will serve you well with a red. Their tempers require a rider who isn’t as hotheaded as they are. Look, telling you about Thoirt isn’t the only reason I’m here.” She swallows, then reaches into the pocket of her uniform and draws out a tiny wooden figurine of a daggertail.
I take the offering and cradle it with both hands. It’s perfect, from the snarling snout to the knife marks on the tail. I don’t need to ask her who made it. My heart threatens to crack open and spill the messy contents I’ve worked so hard to keep locked away. “How do you have this?”
“He was carrying it when he died,” she says softly. “I kept it for you. For this moment. So you’d see how much he loved Deigh. So you’d realize how much you’re going to love Thoirt.” Her next breath shakes. “Guess Sorrengail isn’t the only cadet Malek might feel slighted by, but I couldn’t burn it.”
“Thank you.” My fingers close around the figurine.
“You’re welcome.” She squeezes my folded hands. “Would you like me to stay with you?”
“No.” I pull my hands from hers, then look her in the eye and lie with my whole heart. “I’ll see you on the flight field.”
“All right.” She smiles. “But in all seriousness, are you fucking Graycastle? I find myself oddly curious, and as I feel like an honorary big sister, I’ve determined it’s my right to ask.”
“No.” I scrunch my face in disgust. “He’s hot, but he’s like…another brother. All my squadmates are. Well, not to one another. Pretty sure I caught Baylor and Avalynn sneaking around last night.”
“The night before Threshing? Absolutely.” Her brow knits. “You did some sneaking around of your own, right? Everyone should get laid before Threshing. And after. Whenever possible around here, really. Never know when you’ll wind up on the death roll.”
I press my lips together because what the hell am I supposed to say to that?
“Oh gods.” Her face falls. “You haven’t been sneaking around? Enjoying all the freedom the first year gives you?”