“Now, I want the trainees on one side of the arena opposite their dragon on the other side.”
Kerrigan winked at Tieran. “Partner.”
He blinked at her. You’re in high spirits.
“We’re doing it,” she whispered.
It’s the first day. You’re incredibly optimistic.
“And you’re a pessimist. Now, get over there.”
Tieran blew hot breath into her face. She rolled her eyes at him and jogged to the other side of the arena, lining up between Fordham and Roake.
“Nice job out there,” Fordham said.
She grinned. “Getting over your fear of heights?”
“It’s a fear of falling,” he corrected her. “And, yeah. Falling this much in one day is making it go away.”
“Didn’t I tell you that facing your fears makes you master them?”
He bowed slightly in her direction. “Forgive me for ever doubting you.”
It was the most they’d said to each other in days. Color heated her cheeks at the way the words flowed over her. They’d been avoiding each other with good reason. Fordham had made it clear this wouldn’t happen, and now, she was betrothed… always had been apparently. Not that she’d let that stand if she had anything to say about it. But she didn’t want it to change their friendship. If it was all she could have, it was what she would take.
Alura came to a stop before them. “Dragon bonding is the core to the entire Society. It is the foundation of our government and the establishment of Fae and dragon relations. However, the bond is a fragile thing. When you’re first bonded, the tether between you and your dragon is a little light within yourself. Something that flickers on, and if you’re not careful, it can go out.”
Kerrigan chilled at those words. She’d never heard of that before. Bonds could be severed and not kill the dragon and human rider? No wonder this was only spoken of to initiates.
“What we’re going to spend the next eleven months on is working that bond like a muscle until it’s big and strong. It generally takes about a year to get a bond strong enough to be fully functional. You should be able to feel where the other is even if you were on a different continent. On a different world entirely,” Alura said with an arched eyebrow. “It would be your beacon home.”
Kerrigan shivered. Her eyes found Tieran’s across the arena. The bond that they never had… and had to fake for the next eleven months. Scales.
“Today, we’re going to work on very basic bond strengthening. I want you to look at your dragon and then reach deep within your chest.” Alura tapped the center of her torso. “Try to find the flickering light and then touch it. Don’t pull on it yet. I simply want you to acknowledge its presence. Once you’ve found it, don’t say anything, just raise your hand.”
Kerrigan looked deep in her magic, dived around down there uselessly. Of course, she wasn’t going to find a bond. But she had to pretend to be concentrating on it at least.
Fordham’s hand shot up first. Within seconds. Even Alura’s eyebrows rose. Apparently, it was much faster than she had expected.
Noda rose her hand next. Then Roake.
Kerrigan wondered how long she could fake this. She didn’t want to raise her hand too early, but all she found down in there was her magic. Just the well of space where she could dive and pull up whatever she needed… just not a bond.
Audria’s hand finally went up, reluctantly. No one looked at Kerrigan, but she could sense that they were all still waiting. Twenty minutes had gone by, and really, there was nothing to do but put her hand up.
“Good,” Alura said. She pointed to Fordham. “You found your bond quickly. Explain.”
“I found it before this. I called my dragon to me before we started training.”
Alura managed to smother her approval.
Kerrigan, however, remembered that very moment. Her eyes flicked to Fordham’s, and he nodded once. When they’d been in the House of Shadows and she’d been dying from trying to take the walls down, Netta had flown to them, as if called. She had been called. From who knew how long of a distance.
“Were you in danger?” Alura asked intuitively.
“Yes,” he said flatly.
She nodded. “Bonds strengthen faster when they have to. In war, bonded dragons and riders snap together like magnets. Without that immediacy, we have to build it up ourselves. Ollivier, call your dragon.”
Fordham looked to Netta, and something seemed to ripple between them. Then, Netta flew across the arena distance and landed before them.
“That’s what we want, people,” Alura said. “We want to find the bond within ourselves and tug on it. Light at first. It can be disorienting to be bonded. Now, give it a try.”
One after another, the dragons flew across the arena toward their rider. It wasn’t instantaneous, but it left Kerrigan standing there without Tieran.