Chapter Text
"Are you even aware of the consequences of half of what you are doing?"
-Recovered Unsent Correspondence of Lieutenant Xaden Riorson.
The door to my bedroom swings open, hitting the wall with a thud as Kaedan steps inside. I grin, jumping off my bed and walking over to him. He grins at me, slinging his pack over his shoulder and shutting it behind him. The sound of the lock clicking into place echoes throughout the room before he pulls me into a kiss. It ends as quickly as it starts, leaving me breathless. Kaedan merely grins, letting go of me and walking back to his pack, opening it and rummaging through it. I blink twice. “What’re you doing?” I ask down the bond.
“You’ll see, love.” He says down the bond. When he finally stands up, I glance down at his hands and see three envelopes. He walks back over to me, holding my palm up and placing the first envelope. “Your father.” He says, then places the second envelope. “Your brother.” He informs, and then finally placing the third envelope, he lifts my second hand and places it over the third envelope. “And this one is from me.” He smiles, leaning down and kissing my forehead. My brows furrow.
“How do you have an envelope from my father and brother?” My lips purse. He just shakes his head, pressing a kiss to my cheek as if he can’t quite go by without touching me. “And why do you seem so happy?” I frown. Surely, it can’t be something that fascinating.
“First, I was at Montserrat for the past two days before flying here. Your brother was restationed, and hence he is at Samara for the time being.” He begins. My eyes widen and a smile spreads across my face subconsciously. No way. Axl’s at Samara? “And as for the second,” he continues, taking a deep breath. His grin widens. “We’ve managed to smuggle in a few Poromish citizens into a nearby village, away from the venin.” He finishes. Screw the smile, my face blows into an even wider grin, so much so that my cheeks hurt.
“What?” I ask incredulously. “Really? And you guys didn’t get caught?”
Kaedan shakes his head. “It was difficult, but we did it.”
Over the next hour, Kaedan tells me exactly how they did it, down to the detail. It really was a meticulous plan, to be honest. Slowly smuggling the Poromish citizens during the infantry duty change was a perfect cover. With the other riders out on patrol, that left Kaedan, Xaden, and Garrick as the three riders in the outpost. Kaedan really does know how to work miracles. Finally, Kaedan sighs, moving to lay down on my bed. I chuckle, running my fingers through his hair. “Tired?” I murmur, affection lacing my voice. Kaedan turns onto his side, facing me.
“You have no idea,” he groans in response. I chuckle.
“Why don’t you take a shower and take a nap? I need to run an errand anyway.” I lean down, kissing his forehead. He sighs, nodding as I stand up, setting the envelops down on my desk before stepping out of my room. This is the first dagger drop in a while with Xaden, and so I’m looking forward to more stunts than ever. I run a hand over my sheaths to be sure that all my daggers are in place before sprinting towards the flightfield. “How far off are you?” I ask down the bond between me and Basaich.
“I am already in the flightfield. Be quick.” Basaich grumbles. I roll my eyes, but quicken my pace nonetheless. Stumbling into the flightfield, I spot Sgaeyl and Cuir already standing behind Basaich. Xaden is locked in seemingly a very tense discussion with Bodhi. I silently make my way over, and into view of both men. Xaden pivots, facing me, both hands on his hips. I raise an eyebrow in silent question.
“You’re an Oniroclast?” He asks, right eye twitching. I blink twice. Ah. That.
“Yeah. And?” I narrow my eyes on him, folding my arms over my chest. He shakes his head, running a hand down his face. He looks one inconvenience away from blasting himself with his shadows. A reluctant, quiet chuckle escapes me. He glowers at me.
“Why do you keep developing an unnatural signet?” He points to me. I draw back, frowning.
“‘Why do you keep developing an unnatural signet?’” I mock him in a baby voice, then turn to push his finger at me down. “I could ask you why you’re always brooding.” I shoot in his direction, he sighs, rubbing his temples. I stick my tongue out at him, and his right eye twitches. Frustration radiates off of him in waves, and I bask in the glory that I am his migraine. Bodhi rubs the back of his neck awkwardly before silently moving to mount Cuir. I pivot, walking over and mounting Basaich, who takes off as soon as I find my seat.
Several minutes later, we land on one of the farther mountains, the atmospheric pressure weighing me down. Catriona and Syrena stand in front of their own gryphons as we dismount. Xaden tugs me towards him, whispering in my ear. “Do not laugh at my expense or I will ask Sgaeyl to torch you.” He threatens. I roll my eyes.
“‘Ask Sgaeyl to torch you.’” I mock him in a baby voice again, the glare at him. “Your threat has been evaluated, and rejected. You know damn well you cannot afford to lose me or Kaedan.” I narrow my eyes on him.
He matches my glare. “I wasn’t asking.”
I cock my head to the side. “Good, because I wasn’t listening.” I pivot and walk over to stand beside Bodhi, leaving an exasperated Xaden behind me. Bodhi hands over the daggers to Syrena, while Cat eyes Xaden with longing. I snicker quietly, earning a menacing glare from Xaden. Completely ignoring it, I turn to Syrenna. “How are you? You look…” I trail off, running my eyes over the dark undercircles under her eyes. She looks like she’s been on edge since Amari knows how long. She shakes her head, sighing.
“The venin are relentless. Another village fell to a horde about a week ago.” She sighs, and my heart drops. She looks over all of us one by one. “Really, thank you for giving us a chance to fight; but I don’t think we’ll win.” She shakes her head slowly, the quiet resignation in her eyes breaking my heart. Is there really no way to defeat them completely? I reach for Kaedan. He’s awake, but the bond is far away. Nevertheless, it’s possible to communicate. “Have you ever tried to use your signet to wipe the venin..?” I send the question down the bond.
“If I could have, would you be this far off dropping daggers?” He responds. I fall silent for a moment, contemplating his question. The truthful answer would be no. But people turn venin every day. There is no telling if we would still be dropping daggers or not. When my response doesn’t come, he continues. “I tried. Once. And I nearly burned out. I may be powerful, love, but I can’t wipe an entire species from existence.” His voice is a quiet murmur in my mind. I sigh, shifting my weight as Xaden and Bodhi finish talking to Syrenna. I’m the first to mount my dragon. Basaich shakes his head, flaring his wings.
Both Cuir and Sgaeyl give him a wide berth as he launches from the ground, wind hitting my face as we fly through the sky. Suddenly, however, Basaich pivots, turning sharply and flying at full speed in the opposite direction. My brows furrow. “What’s wrong?” I ask, dread making itself comfortable in my stomach. I turn my head to see Sgaeyl and Cuir have changed course as well, flying behind Basaich as he soars through the afternoon sky. “A horde approaches. Thee wyvern, but no venin.” He growls. My eyes widen. Have the wards faltered again?
The shape of a dragon comes into sight, only this one has two legs. I stumble up, standing on Basaich’s back as I raise my hand. Navy smoke and black tendrils shoot out towards the wyvern, wrapping around it and ripping it apart. I glance towards the sides to see Sgaeyl crash into the second wyvern while Cuir locks his jaw around the third’s neck. Within moments, we’re en route back to Basgiath, blood dripping from Sgaeyl’s mouth.
Basaich hits the ground of the flightfield, creating a harsh wave, sending cadets staggering and stumbling towards the ground. I raise an eyebrow as I look down at him. “I thought you weren’t one for dramatics?” I question. His head swivels towards me, eyes narrowing.
“Did I imply as such?” He grumbles. I shrug, not bother
“It is not valid—nor can it be done.” Basaich chuffs, finality in his tone. I grumble as I mount him, gripping his talons and using silver wisps of my power to propel myself upwards. I throw my arms out, walking over his back to find my seat between his shoulderblades. My dragon expands his wings to their full length, stretching, and knocking over several boulders from across the bordering walls of the flightfield. I look down at him, raising an eyebrow.
“Are you really stretching, or is that all for show?” I ask down the bond. Basaich shakes his head. I sigh, shaking my own as a quiet chuckle escapes me. The rest of my squad walk into the flightfield just as Basaich launches with a mighty gust of his wings, yet again uprooting several trees. “Show-off.” I tease, grinning as the wind hits my face. I pull my flight goggles down as Basaich swerves towards the right, tilting his body in a full ninety degree angle as my stomach plummets. Why is he being so theatrical right now?
“The first-years are watching below us from the academic wing.” Basaich huffs. I grin.
“I never took you one for parlor tricks.” I say down the bond as Basaich decides to spin. I fight back a scream of terrified surprise as my head spins, butterflies taking flight in my stomach. I bite down on my tongue as Basaich finally smoothens his flight before shooting straight up towards the sky. Though, this stunt of his I have experienced countless times. After the initial drop of my stomach, the flight finally smoothens out. I shake my head.
“You are definitely a show-off.” I shoot down the bond. His only response is a small huff. I say nothing during the rest of the short flight as Basaich rounds the edges of the war college, completing the short patrol of the edges. Basaich banks towards the flightfield and descends once more, trees blowing back and dust kicking up from the ground. My squadmates cough, waving their hands in front of their faces. Basaich lands beside Tairn, the both of them the star of the entire show. I sigh, shaking my head as I dismount, walking over to my squad. Though, I can’t help but notice they all seem shaken. My brows furrow.
“What’s wrong?” I direct the question at Violet, the palest of them all. When she doesn’t answer, I walk towards her, and pull her into a hug. I have a couple inches on her, and so I hold her tight. “What’s wrong, Vi?” I ask, lowering my voice. She stays silent for a few moments, but responds finally when I pull back and hold her at arm’s length.
“Varrish tried to drag me for punishment. Tairn…well, he made Varrish apologise. On his knees.” She says, rubbing the back of her neck. I know she isn’t telling me the full story, but if she doesn’t want to, then I won’t prod any further. I sigh, looking up at the rest of my squad as I let go of Violet.
“Well, who’s ready for the flight maneuvers?” I ask, pivoting towards my squad.
“Aurelia!” I stop at the sound of my name, turning my head and spotting Liam approaching after me, his blue eyes shimmering in the mage lights as they flicker. My brows furrow.
“What’re you doing here?” I hiss, grabbing him by his belt and yanking him into an alcove, away from obvious sight. The night works as the perfect cloak. Nobody would spot us unless they looked too closely. But gods, Liam looks like he’s been running for gods know how long. I raise an eyebrow, taking a deep breath as I wait for him to explain himself. I glance down at his hands, and see that he’s holding a folded envelope in his hands. He takes a deep breath.
“I would have given you this after today’s classes ended, but you’re damn near impossible to get alone time with—” He starts, and I smirk.
“That is a rather suggestive sentence.” I snicker as his face reddens, shaking my head. He sighs. “Are you close by?” I ask Basaich. “I shall be in the flightfield in two minutes.” He responds. Liam sighs, handing me the missive.
“This is for Riorson. Take this to him when you reach Samara. Other than that, I received another missive from Emery. He says that the venin are advancing at an alarming rate.” Liam’s voice drops, along with my stomach. My eyes widen and snap towards Liam’s face, searching for any signs or hints that he may be messing with me. Upon finding none, my heart picks up, beating erratically. There’s no way the venin are advancing that quick. I swallow, giving him a quick nod and rushing to the flightfield, leaving Basgiath behind once more.