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“I’m not sure I’m quite as paranoid as Alden, but I don’t let any of the merits near Lomyn,” Vella said. “The eyries are as much psychological as physical advantages for dragons. Remaining remote and untouchable helps to reinforce the idea that they’re out of reach, both physically and aspirationally.”
I frowned at this. While we were doing pretty well now as a family due to Mum’s successes, we spent plenty of time as kids listening to our parents stress about how to make ends meet. I looked around me, at students who were here because they had worked hard and got the grades required. It didn’t sit well with me to dislike them just for wanting what I had, largely because until Damorica, I had been one of them.
Where Ash pretty much sailed through school, getting her Year 12 essays done in the lunchtime before they were due, yet still managing to get high enough grades, I had worked bloody hard for my successes. It had been a good thing while I was at school because it kept Mum’s laser-like focus off me. And a chance to bond with a dragon? I looked around as we sat down at a table for breakfast. While I wouldn’t have pulled a play from Lucrezia Borgia’s playbook, I would’ve done damn near anything legitimate to get that opportunity.
“So, I went to the Celestial Record and translated my notes for the subject so far,” Vella said, pushing a big stack of paper towards me.
“Wow, and that’s for one subject?”
She nodded.
“We’ll get you the rest for your others, we just have to find them,” Grey said. “Most of us are in the Intermediate or Advanced classes now.”
“We need to meet at lunch and go over your textbooks, show you what’s already been covered,” Alden said.
“Here,” Rylan said, placing several plates of food in front of the group. We all picked at it as we worked out my schedule for the day. It seemed all too quickly that we were off, heading towards the main building for class.
“Hi Tess!” We glanced up to see Scalla standing by the entrance. Her apparently customary perkiness seemed to wilt in the face of such an inspection but she visibly straightened her spine, making an effort to keep it up. “I thought I’d make sure you knew where to go.”
“We’ve got it covered, merit,” Alden said.
“Well, if we’re all going the same way, there’s no harm in t
agging along, is there?” I said. I know what everyone had said, but I couldn’t turn down a friendly overture right now. I would no doubt regret it, though I felt pretty sure Miazydar could defend himself against anything anyone here could throw at him.
Of course I can. It’s you I worry for, though that boy appears to be amenable to making himself useful.
Alden?
No, the one who wants to mate with you.
Flea?
He chuckled at that. So, you’re accepting that now?
Wasn’t me who had the issue, he freaked when he saw Merlin.
It’s a common thing, moving away from fertile females when ground is taken by superior males.
That’s not… I need to stop talking about my love life, or lack thereof, and focus if we’re to get out of here.
I shut him down, something I wasn’t aware I could do until now. It was kind of the mental equivalent of clapping your hands over your ears; I was still conscious of him talking, but it was distant and muffled. We filed into the room, set up much like a high school classroom with desks in neat lines. Obviously, there weren’t enough students to necessitate a lecture theatre. “Over here,” Vella said, pointing to a table in the back corner. Scalla followed; though she looked in two minds about it. I smiled at her which seemed to increase her confidence, taking a seat just across the aisle from me. Our lecturer entered not long afterwards, carrying several books under his arm. He had longish, wispy, brown hair and gold-rimmed spectacles which he peered through as he noted who was in class. He searched the room, not stopping until his eyes found me. He stopped, his lips thinning and he gestured for me to come forward.
I got to my feet and approached, feeling my hands get sweaty as I did so. The lecturer was quite a bit taller than me, so I was forced to look up at him. He frowned, then crossed his arms. “So, you are Tess?”
“Yes.
“Professor Rend. This is quite irregular, a student being enrolled in a subject so late in the term. You’ll need to catch up.”
“Yeah, Vella gave me her notes and they’re going to show me which parts of the textbook have been covered.”
He sniffed at that. “Yes, well, I expect you to be up to date by the end of the week. Paper topics will be issued soon, so you’ll need to be.”
My heart sank. I wasn’t a ‘study like mad after drinking a case of Red Bull’ girl. I always kept on top of my readings, chipped away at assignments as soon as they were issued and made sure everything was completed well before the deadline, and every class was going to be just like this, I realised. How in God’s name was I going to get it all done and pass?
“Of course, Professor Rend. I’ll be spending all my spare time catching up on what I’ve missed,” I said, swallowing down the sudden spike of hysteria I felt stabbing into my chest. He didn’t get to reply. A buzzing sound, kind of like a really big blowfly, came from up the hall, getting louder and louder until my dragon came flying through the doorway in a form that would have been about the length of my forearm.
The professor let out a little yip, arms flailing wildly around. “Whatever are you doing?” M said, his voice a lot squeakier as he came to settle on my shoulder, his tail wrapping around my neck. Well, that got everyone talking. The professor was in the shitty position of having all the class’s attention on him and my dragon, for all the wrong reasons. He smoothed his clothes unnecessarily and pushed his glasses further up his nose before saying, “That will be all, Tess. I’ve delayed beginning the class for long enough.” As I took my seat, all eyes were on me, or rather Miazydar, sitting on my shoulder.
