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“Today you’ll be testing your compatibility with the dragons. Some of you will find your mates. Others will not. Be prepared. Those who have dragons will advance through to the next lessons involving the riding lessons, while the others will remain on standby until they do find their dragons. You’ll still be part of the lessons, but as observers if you do not have a dragon.” Captain Corniz paused for a moment, and when no one said anything, he continued. “Pairing is a special moment between dragon and rider. You’ll become one, connecting on not just a physical level but also a mental one. Prepare yourselves, and when the bond happens, open yourself up to it. If you fight it, it can become painful. If you let it happen, it can become a special moment that you’ll remember for the rest of your life.”
Captain Corniz glanced at Tanja, who was smiling at him softly. For a moment, I swore his expression softened too, but then he turned back to us and was back to looking like he’d prefer to eat nails than talk to us.
“No one here gets to actively choose who their dragon is. If you are meant to be together, it will happen naturally. And like how you don’t get to choose your dragon, it is the same with the dragons. They don’t get to actively choose you either. Our dragon sides are picky, and they will ultimately make that decision.”
A hand shot up and someone bravely asked, “So their dragons are the ones to choose? Not them exactly? Are dragons separate?”
Captain Corniz visibly grew agitated at the interruption, his expression becoming hard as he glared at the student. His wings shifted behind him, and his tail whipped around agitatedly.
Tanja reached out and touched Captain Corniz’s arm, and he relaxed.
“Correct,” he growled out. Murmurs broke out briefly, but the captain’s glare had them all stopping before anyone could really say anything. “Dragons are us, and we are our dragons, but there is a part of them we don’t get to touch, just like there is a part of us they don’t get to touch, so while we are one and the same, we are also not. That is why our human selves do not get to choose our dragons. If this confuses your simple minds, then think of it like this, our instincts are at work here. And the same is for you as riders too. This moment is all instinctual, as the dragon and the rider inside of us searches for the most compatible partner. That is why you get one mate, and if you fuck it up, if you go against that bond between you and your mate, then you are as weak as a human. Never try to break your bond with your mate. Treasure what you have. Build up that bond. The stronger the bond, the stronger you will be.”
The more the captain talked, the more I realized how impossible my situation really must have sounded. If that were the case, then I should have had only one mate. After I’d bonded with Philit, it should have been over. Instead, that beautiful moment happened two more times with Zilon and then forcefully with Landers. I definitely didn’t ask for my bond with Landers. He took that choice out of my hands. But now, I wouldn’t want it any other way. They were mine.
Mine.
That felt so right on tongue and in my mind.
“We don’t have much time, so be prepared. For the remainder of class, we will focus on you finding your mates. We will split you all evenly among our dragons, and one by one, you’ll climb on their back and see if the connection occurs. Once you try to bond with a dragon, you’ll rotate to the next one.”
“How will we know?” a girl asked.
Tanja snickered as she stepped forward, playfully bumping into Captain Corniz's side. “Trust me, you’ll know.”
I thought about how I was impaled by the spine on their backs, and that had me snickering. Tanja’s gaze met with mine, and for a moment, we had that inside joke. We both knew exactly what was about to transpire, but apparently, they weren’t going to share that with the crowd. Everyone was in for a not-so-little surprise.
The dragons around us began moving. There had to be about thirty of them all around us in a massive circle. They began stripping down their clothes. Guys and girls all together. None of them looked at each other as they all became naked. My stomach clenched in anger at the idea of my guys being in this group and being naked for everyone to see.
Because that was exactly what was going on. The riders had no problem gaping at all the naked bodies around. I swore I heard a growl nearby, and it sounded familiar to me.
Then, the air became hot and charged, and it was like a massive popping of explosions as the dragons all became enormous, taking on their natural forms. Some of them roared. Wings flapped, kicking the air around and making our hair whip about our faces.
Riders were already on the move, ignoring the fact that we were supposed to get in groups. I watched a boy not much bigger than me approach a green dragon, reaching out slowly and petting the dragon. The dragon purred.
An instructor came out of nowhere and helped the boy up on the dragon’s butt, and then I watched as he let out a yelp, the air briefly growing hot, and he looked like he came right then and there. His dragon responded similarly, letting out a sound kind of like a yowl. I shivered watching the moment. It was definitely a private moment, yet it was so public for everyone to see.
There were looks of confusion, broken by a girl moaning on top of another dragon, her head back and eyes wide. as she practically squirmed underneath the shuddering dragon. A couple more pairings were created, leaving everyone else as spectators to the bonding.
Chapter Seventeen
Done being captivated with others finding their mates, I wanted my own. It didn’t take me long to find them. The bond between us was still blocked somehow, yet I could feel them. Following that feeling, I recognized their dragon forms right away.
This was my first time seeing all three together and able to get a good look at them without the threat of a Fae battle distracting me. Surprisingly, Landers was the biggest dragon but only just barely. He was red, his scales looked like they were on fire in the sunlight. He stood tall just ahead of the other two, clearly proud with his head held high as he looked down at the group gathering around them.
I bit back my anger seeing all the other riders getting closer to them. It was harder than I expected to fight back the urge to yank the riders all back by their hair and put more distance between them and my men.
Philit must have sensed me first. He was standing too, but he wasn’t basking in the show. In fact, he looked irritated with the way his tail moved behind him, threatening to swipe anyone who came too near. That was probably the only reason why no one had approached them yet. His scales were so dark that they could be mistaken as black at night, but during the day, the sun lit them up. As I stared at them, it was like I was swimming in a cool, comforting ocean.
Philit moved, slipping more in front of Zilon. My heart plummeted as I stared at the green dragon. He was lying down, curled into himself. My instincts told me he was exhausted. I moved closer, the urge to be at his side so profound, I almost choked on it. I needed to make him feel better, to take away what was causing his suffering.
That was when I realized how closely their wings were held to their bodies and my stomach dropped. Could they even fly? Didn’t the king restrain their wings? I worried at my lips, hating that they couldn’t do the one thing they were meant to do—fly through the skies proudly.
Was that why Philit seemed so miserable?
I quickly slipped through the crowd that was slowly breaking up as people grouped up by dragons. As I got closer, I was able to feel more. Their irritation. Their worry. Their anger and frustration. They didn’t want to be restrained, but they weren’t in a position to fight back. I got it. I was in the same boat. It was like the one place that was supposed to help us feel whole and free was instead keeping us captive.
“No, you don’t.” A heavy hand landed on my shoulder, stilling me. “Rayna, you don’t get to be with them.” His gruff voice sent a shiver of fear down my spine as I turned to face Captain Corniz, my neck aching as I looked up at him. Was he taller than before?
