Threshing Day (The Empyrean, #3.5) — Chapter no 2

627 AU Teine—Green Clubtail (Male) Descended from the Cruaidhuaine Line

Estimated Age: 41 Recorded Riders: 0

—THE COMPENDIUM OF DRAGONKIND, LAST UPDATED BY COLONEL VALIN KAORI

MIRA

I’ve been training for this day for years. It’s finally here, but as Zihnal would have it, the Green Clubtail I spotted at Presentation is nowhere to be found.

Teine. That’s what the Threshing cards show as his name. I think. It’s not like staring during Presentation is a good idea, but I took one look at

him and simply knew.

The forest is a sea of color as I drag my hand across my sweaty forehead, shoving back the strands of my short brown hair and staring out from the highest branch of the tallest tree I could find. Wandering for the last hour has gotten me nowhere, and since Brennan bonded in a tree, I figured it couldn’t hurt to climb one. The visibility would be incredible if not for the fact that the dragons fit under the smaller trees, their branches blocking the view, but I’ve caught sight of a few browns, a couple of oranges, and even glimpsed the one blue willing to bond this year, but not a single green.

“Where are you?” I mutter into the wind, refusing to give in to the frustration festering in my stomach.

Brennan made this part sound simple in the book he left me, but my perfect older brother and I have different definitions of “easy.” If I didn’t love him so much, the effortless grace with which he excels at everything would annoy the shit out of me. My heart clenches and my fingers flex on the coarse bark of the tree as I glance southward, toward Tyrrendor and the front lines of that province’s rebellion.

Dunne, watch over my brother.

There’s no price I wouldn’t pay to protect his back, but I have to trust that the goddess of war has him covered.

I hope Fen Riorson burns for attempting to fracture our kingdom. The duke’s frustration over mining mandates for Talladium—one of the minerals we need to power our wards—is understandable, but that resource is only found in Tyrrendor. I even sympathize with his anger over his province’s disproportionate conscription rates. But to risk the safety of all Navarrian citizens by seceding is unforgivable. Without the province of Tyrrendor, our enemies in Poromiel will overrun our borders and we’ll lose the war we’ve been fighting for centuries. Countless civilians will die if we don’t quell the rebellion.

Don’t think about it. That’s pretty much my mantra when it comes to the overwhelming fear that claws at my throat when I remember that Brennan is at the front, even though he only graduated a few months ago. He should be at a safer mid-guard post, but menders—especially ones as powerful as Brennan—are rare. Our wounded need all the help they can get. At least he’s under Mom’s command in Luceras. Violet and I might be dispensable to her, but she’d move the world to protect Brennan. No doubt Dad is

keeping Violet safe with the scribes at the outpost, which would explain why I didn’t get a pre-Threshing visit like Brennan did.

It definitely puts my place in the family into perspective.

“See anything?” Cowan Zana calls up from the base of the tree, jarring me from my thoughts.

I cringe and glance toward the treetops. His voice is too loud for comfort.

“Not since the blue,” I answer back to my favorite squadmate in a much lower, dragon-friendly tone. We’re already risking their anger by staying together for the past hour, but I wasn’t going to force Cowan out on his own when he’d asked me to stay by his side. We’ve already lost four first-years out of our squad, and I refuse to let Cowan be the fifth.

“No reds?” he asks, quieter this time.

“I promise I’ll tell you.” I hold on to the trunk with one hand and unbutton my collar with the other. October is usually pretty mild at Basgiath, but today is hot enough to make me wonder if Mom might be visiting from her post in Luceras and using her weather-wielding signet to fuck with me. It wouldn’t be the first time she’s made things harder to test me, as if wearing her last name on my uniform wasn’t a heavy enough challenge to carry.

Then again, at least her three years in command of the Riders Quadrant were during Brennan’s time and not mine. Things could always be worse.

She could be stationed here, breathing down my neck with the constant reminder that Sorrengails always rise to the rank of wingleader.

A scream punctures the quiet of the forest to the north, and I turn my head just in time to see a stream of fire engulfing a small clearing in that general direction. Yep. Things could definitely be worse.

A tugging sensation in my chest pulls my attention a hundred yards to the west, where one tree sways after another, as if a dragon comes this way.

“Is that you?” I whisper, hope sparking in my chest.

Move, my instincts scream, and hair rises on the back of my arm.

I obey the feeling immediately, scurrying down the tree and slipping more than once when my short sword catches on the branches.

Violet would laugh if she could see me now, fumbling at one of the things she excels at. She’d kick my ass at academics, too, but the physicality of the Riders Quadrant would end her sweet smile in five seconds. Thank gods my little sister is studying to be a scribe like Dad and

won’t ever know the fear that’s taken up residence in my veins since the moment I stepped onto the parapet.

“There’s something coming.” I jump the last six feet and land on the leaf-covered ground near where Cowan waits, bending my knees to absorb the impact, then brush my hands off on my pants.

“A red?” he asks, hope shining in his dark-brown eyes.

“I couldn’t see the scale color.” Definitely not saying I think it’s Teine, because there are few things I hate more than being wrong.

“Ugh.” He throws back his head and groans, speckled sunlight catching the dots of sweat on the warm brown skin of his cheeks.

“You’re welcome to climb yourself, if you think you can do a better job,” I offer, gesturing toward the trunk as I scour the tree line, hoping for a glimpse of whatever has my instincts on alert.

“I can’t help my height.” He jumps, reaching for the closest limb, but comes up short, his fingertips just brushing the bottom of the branch before he lands. “Trust me, if I could spontaneously sprout another couple of inches and catch up to you, I would.” He flashes a quick grin. “Then maybe I’d be the best in our year. Or at least I’d give you some competition.”

“I’m not the—”

Branches break nearby, and we both swing our heads to the left.

Please be Teine.

A ruby-red snout appears through the trees, low to the ground in combat position as the scorpiontail passes by about forty feet away, paying us no heed. I drop my gaze to the forest floor just in case the red looks our way, and every muscle in my body locks.

Fear drums on my heart with an increasing tempo and skitters down my spine. It is one thing to see the enormous dragons with their rippling scales, intimidating spikes, and fatal talons, even as close as they were after Parapet and Presentation. It’s quite another to have one stalk by and know today is the day it either bonds you or kills you. Given that the only connection I’ve felt has been to Teine, this red is likely to incinerate me if I

give the slightest offense.

Cowan, on the other hand… “There’s your red,” I whisper, glancing his way.

“Yeah it is.” He nods, and his shoulders rise and fall rapidly as he stares directly at the Red Scorpiontail. “Gods, this is really it.”

“Be careful—”

“I’ve got this,” he promises with a quick burst of a smile. “Even you can’t protect me from fate.” His bow bounces against his spine as he takes off into the woods, chasing after the dragon. “Good luck, Sorrengail!”

“See you on the flight field.”

Leaves rustle and I turn westward, gazing toward the branches swaying in the distance. That same arm-prickling sensation comes back twice as strong as the movement in the canopy draws closer.

Move.

My heart races, but I honor the intuition again, walking forward into the wide space between trees and stepping into full sunlight. The move exposes my back, and I can’t help but wonder if this dragon wants to see if I’ll make myself vulnerable for its favor.

I do, instantly questioning if the decision will put me on tomorrow’s death roll.

The treetops directly in front of me part, and my stomach lurches into my throat as the giant green appears twenty feet away, his wings folded in

to fit through the forest.

It’s him. Teine.

The dragon lowers his massive head, swiveling it side to side like a hunter-green snake. A snake with legs. And claws. And teeth. Saliva drips from his fangs as he bares said teeth and stalks forward.

It takes every ounce of self-discipline I have not to retreat.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. Is this happening? Or am I about to die because my instincts aren’t as stellar as I think they are and this isn’t my dragon? Kind of wish I had General Melgren’s signet—the ability to see the outcome of any battle—but I’m going to have to go on instinct here.

His low rumble rattles my sword in its scabbard, and I remind myself to breathe. Dying of hypoxia would be ridiculously embarrassing given all the other respectable forms of demise going around out here today.

Wait. I’m not supposed to look him in the eyes, right?

No. That’s reds. No…greens, too. I drop my gaze to his claws. Shit. It’s something about supplication and waiting for approval.

Godsdamn it. Violet would know the answer. No amount of stress would ever diminish the billions of facts that girl keeps in her head. She has an endearingly weird habit of spouting off information to keep herself calm in situations where she’d be better off backing down for her own safety.

Backing down. I inhale sharply. That’s it.

Never back down from a green. That’s what Kaori lectured.

I have to stand my ground, no matter what. It sounded infinitely easier while sitting in a classroom, pondering the more reasonable nature of greens. Nothing about the sharp teeth of the creature in front of me feels reasonable because he’s still a fucking dragon. Maybe he considers it reasonable to snack on me for calories instead of simply setting me on fire and wandering away. What exactly defines “reasonable” anyway?

My hands curl into fists at my sides to keep from flinching as the green huffs a sulfur-scented breath, surrounding me with steam. At least it isn’t fire. That has to be a good sign. Was Brennan this scared when he found Marbh? Did Mom’s knees tremble when Aimsir appeared?

I highly doubt it.

Teine opens his jaws wider than I am tall, and my breath stutters. Then he lets out an ear-piercing roar that blows back my hair and shakes my very bones.

Don’t move. Don’t you dare fucking move. My nails dig into my palms, but I keep my feet planted, even as my heart tries its best to beat out of my chest like it can escape.

His head lunges forward and teeth snap shut a few feet away, as if I need the reminder that he could decapitate me for fun, but I hold my ground.

He withdraws his head just far enough to tilt it downward. Golden eyes narrow on me in flagrant assessment. I raise my gaze to his, which is either the best or worst decision I could make. Guess time will tell. If he’s going to kill me, then at least I’ll see it coming.

“You hide your fear well.” His voice is deep, commanding, and my heart stutters.

Oh gods. Dragons only speak to the riders they choose.

“If that were true, you wouldn’t know I’m afraid,” I counter, letting my mouth overrun my common sense. Kaori would definitely mark me down a few points if he could see me directly disobeying the most fundamental rule that riders should never speak to dragons they aren’t bonded to.

“Don’t be absurd. I know everything about you, Mira Sorrengail.” His body sways, and he swings his massive clubtail to the left. His tail collides with the trunk of a thick tree, and wood splinters, then cracks, the sound splitting the thick air.

Snap. The tree groans as it plummets through the foliage, stripping

branches along the way as it crashes toward the ground. I spare a single glance to be sure the tree’s trajectory is clear of my current position, but the rest of me keeps completely still. If my heart beats any faster, it’s going to take flight long before I do.

“Everything except the point at which you fracture,” Teine says a breath before the tree smashes into the ground, the nearest branch making impact close enough that I feel a breeze along my cheek.

“There is no such point.” I fight to regulate my breathing. Dad would scoff at me if I praise Hedeon for granting me the wisdom not to move, so I send a quick prayer of thanks up to Zihnal that the tree didn’t bury me where I stand.

“We shall see about that.” Teine reaches forward with a claw, one of his talons scraping away the top layer of dead leaves inches from my boot without disturbing the soil beneath. The precision is far more frightening than his teeth. “I have not bonded previously because I refuse to bear a rider who breaks under pressure.”

He reaches forward with a single talon, then lowers it to the center of my left thigh. Leather gives way, and I cease breathing and hold his narrowed gaze as the first rush of pain floods my bloodstream. Fire charges up my leg, and I feel my skin split, but I refuse to look away from Teine’s eyes.

This bond only works if we trust each other.

Guess dragons think trust begins with pain.

“I was raised in a crucible,” I force out between my clenched teeth.

“Pressure is my playground. I may not be a Sorrengail firstborn, but I’m the eldest daughter. There is no such thing as breaking.”

“Ah yes, a legendary Sorrengail.”

The pain quickly shifts into agony as his talon slices down my thigh. I grit my teeth to avoid crying out and somehow manage to stay on my feet even as my knees threaten to buckle.

“I’m curious. Your brother is your mother’s son, and your sister is your father’s daughter, so to whom do you belong?”

The words strike deeper than bone and hurt far more than the line he’s cut into my thigh. He hasn’t just found my one insecurity; he’s held it up to the light and poked it to watch me bleed. He’s right. Brennan is Mom’s.

Violet is Dad’s. I am…no one’s. But they are all mine, and that’s enough.

“I belong to myself.” I breathe into every form of pain he’s inflicting on

me. “And maybe to you, but only if you take your fingernail out of my leg.

You don’t scare me.”

Teine’s eyes flare for the faintest of seconds, and he lifts the talon, dangling it in front of my face. My blood drips from the sharp point, and my thigh begins to throb.

Fine. That amount of blood is a bit…scary.

“True, I am no one’s favorite.” I look beyond the talon to his eyes to keep from focusing on the crimson substance that used to be in my veins.

“But it’s only taught me to work harder at the things I can control.”

“And what will you do with all the power I could give to you?” he asks as he sets his claw on the ground and peers closer at me. “Will you mend the broken things like your brother? Raise the storms like your mother? Control fire like your grandmother? Wield the tides like your great-grandfather—”

“I’m more than familiar with my family’s legacy. I don’t need it recited.” If he insists on continuing, we’ll be here until nightfall, and the throbbing in my leg has escalated to a body-wide pounding that’s making it increasingly difficult to remain on my feet. “I have no way of knowing what signet I will manifest, but I will use it in every way possible to protect those I love. To protect the ones you love. No amount of pain inflicted on me will ever change that.”

Teine draws his head back slowly and blinks. “I will accept you as my first rider, but should you fall on our way to the flight field, I will not mourn before choosing a second.”

“Harsh. I can respect that.” My pulse gallops for an entirely different reason as fear is quickly overtaken by exhilaration. He’s choosing me. Or at least allowing this interview to pass into the flight phase, about which I have no worries. “I suppose if you’ll accept me as your first rider, then I’ll accept you as my first dragon.”

“Riders do not survive the deaths of their dragons.” Teine stands to his full height and digs his claws into the ground, mixing my blood into the dirt.

“No sense of humor. Got it.” I rise up on my toes to test the pain but don’t bother looking down at my leg. I can still bear weight on it, so I’ll handle whatever damage is there when we get to the flight field. Besides, if it were arterial, I’d be dead by now.

“As if I would be so careless as to mortally wound you?” Teine huffs in annoyance. “I am the epitome of control, and I expect the same of you.”

“Excellent. Good to know I’m walking into another relationship founded on unrealistic expectations.” I pull a deep breath into my lungs, then run for Teine, despite the pain encompassing the lower left half of my body. When it’s time to jump, I launch off my right foot and make it up a good portion of his leg before I need to grab hold of his scales and hoist myself the rest of the way.

Once I reach his seat, I position myself as Kaori taught us, keeping my hands on the pommel scales and using my thighs to hold tight in preparation for launch. Only then do I glance to the left, where I see a trail of blood on his green scales. He may have marked me, but I’ve done the same to him in my own way.

“Now let’s see if you can hold on long enough to report my full name to your roll-keeper,” he says as he crouches under me.

“You’ll never shake me.” A smile spreads across my face. “And I can promise you this, Teine. I may not be your last rider, but I’ll be your favorite.”

He snorts, but there’s a surge of approval down the thin whisper of a bond forming on the edge of my mind as he springs forward and launches through the hole in the canopy that he created when felling the tree.

We fly, and the pain in my leg fades under an onslaught of adrenaline as we soar into the wind. Every beat of Teine’s wings propels us faster, makes my smile wider. No wonder Mom pushed Brennan and me to be riders.

Nothing on the ground could ever compare to this, the freedom, the speed, the exhilaration. This is worth every ounce of pain the quadrant puts us through.

My leg protests vehemently through a series of spirals, but I mold my body to Teine’s back and hold my seat like any good Sorrengail.

By the time we land, I’m lightheaded from the thrill, the thinner air, and probably a substantial amount of blood loss, and I’ve never been happier.

I breathe a hefty sigh of relief when I spot Cowan standing proudly in front of his Red Scorpiontail, a bandage wrapped around his upper arm.

We’ll celebrate later, as soon as the whole world knows that Teine chose me.

Every step across the flight field is excruciating after I dismount, but I keep from the indignity of limping by sheer force of will. My gaze scours the riders who have gathered on the hillside and the dais in front of me as I walk toward the third-year keeping roll. Panchek is here, of course, and

even the commanding general of all Navarre’s forces—General Melgren— has taken the time to make an appearance, along with the generals of the eastern and western wings. There’s no trace of my mother.

I swallow the bitter taste of disappointment and remind myself that there’s a war going on and she’s needed elsewhere. Honestly, I’d rather she be at the front with Brennan or at her station at the Torseney outpost, keeping Dad and Violet safe. But still, it would have been nice to see a shred of validation in her eyes.

“My validation is all you shall seek from now on,” Teine lectures.

I roll my eyes, but there’s a grin on my face as I give Teine’s full name to the roll-keeper, officially becoming his chosen.

Tyrrendor had better watch itself. Two Sorrengail siblings now bear the title of rider.

OceanofPDF.com

OceanofPDF.com