AERYN'S POV

I could not surmise a place I would rather be in less than my father's office, but when the emperor requested your presence, you abided with no arguments or questions – not that I hadn't gone there the next morning without any gripes.

"That ambush was planned by King Kristos to determine if you had acquired an Insignia yet. It was a clear warning. The prince will not agree to marry a powerless Draconian and the war will continue until the Phoenixians are no longer the only species to suffer a max extinction in Traeveria."

He spat each word at me like it was an accusation – as if the ongoing war was my fault. It was also the first time I'd heard him mention the extinction.

I bunched my hands together behind my back and loosened my rigid posture in the stiff leather seat facing my father's gargantuan mahogany desk as I failed to appear nonchalant.

The obsidian crown encrusted with the four colorful crystals of his beloved Elemental Forces gleamed on top of his head as his icy blue eyes assessed me.

"We are losing Champions faster than we can replace them. At this rate, I may have to rush graduation early to replenish our Forces with the recent graduates. Only the top fifteen percent of your class will be assigned to the Force because I need to ensure only the best candidates fight in this war. I cannot send unskilled, unprepared, powerless Draconians to the Voltant Isles to die on the front lines."

I heard him loud and clear. The Chief Commander's own daughter was not suitable to join his Elemental Forces. His shame and disgust were potent as he adjusted his crown and placed his elbows atop the desk, leaning forward as he rested his chin on his tented fingers.

"I think it's time for you to make a visit to the Wielder."

I couldn't help the groan that accompanied my look of revulsion. "The ancient, crazy man who lives between the empire and Ravos territory outside our walls?"

My father apprehended me with a stern glare. "He has the knowledge of all the Draconians before us. If anyone knows why you're defective, it is the Draconian in possession of every Insignia."

I tucked my dark hair behind an ear and my father's eyes narrowed on the fingerless glove negating the use of the power I didn't have.

"You just can't wait to get rid of me, can you?" I snapped, immediate regret flittering through me, but I held my ground and matched his even stare. "Once I acquire my power, I will get sent away to the Ravos Kingdom and never see you again. I'm sure you must be looking forward to it."

"Go to the Wielder and tell him I sent you," he ordered, disregarding my outburst. "If you can't make it there and back on your own, then you aren't cut out for the Force."

Enraged, I stood up and snatched my small crown off his desk. Placing it on my head, I bowed deep and kept my eyes on him as I said, "Yes, Your Highness."

I straightened, removed the crown, and tossed it on his desk. "And when I return," I negotiated, "I'd like the Fire Force's red gem placed on my crown."

The muscle in his jaw ticked with the strength he used to clench it.

"Go," was all he said.

The dismissal was cold, but I tilted my chin up and pulled my shoulders back as I nodded once and exited.

Despite the ambush the previous day, Instructor Bayer was still holding class this afternoon. The tournament was not over even though Racquel's life was. I'd have to make the expedition to the Wielder over the weekend and rush back for the last challenge before midterm evaluations at the beginning of the next week.

With a shuddering breath, I navigated through the suffocating, excessive, grandiose castle and rubbed Serene's dragon scale in my pocket once I made it outside.

A plume of swirling yellow and green gas flowed over the snow-covered ground.

"Shit!" I swore, clapping a hand over my nose and mouth as Rays erupted from the gas with a mighty roar. Icicles dangling from the castle's spires plunged around us and drafts of snow wafted from the roof as his thunderous feet hit the ground. He craned his neck back, opening his mouth to the sky as he released a thick stream of gas into the air.

I shoved my hand in my pocket to recall his essence when he twisted his neck down toward me and curled his lip back, displaying a row of sharp teeth and lethal fangs as he growled in warning. Still covering the lower half of my face, I used my other hand to lay my palm over his snout and cooed, "Shh, I'll ride with you."

Rays dipped his head to the ground for me to climb on his neck. I swung my legs over his wide neck and had to lift my arms above my head to reach his gold horns. It felt awkward and much different than riding on Serene's smaller stature.

My thighs burned with the effort to keep myself atop the enormous dragon as he lifted his head, and my arms threatened to drop to my sides from having to keep them elevated.

I opened my mouth to ask if he was ready to go, but he never gave me the chance.

Rays bent all four of his legs at the knees and rocketed straight into the sky. The sudden motion tossed my stomach in a flip, and I tightened my grip on his horns as he beat his enormous wings, steepening the vertical climb. I squeezed my legs and released his horns to wrap my arms around his neck as I fought to stay on the dragon.

Serene always had to take a running start before she was able to have enough strength to fly, and even then, she did not fly at such high altitudes or incredible speeds. Rays was a full-fledged beast, and the adult dragon would have had at least two to three summoners already. I couldn't imagine the difficulty he had controlling the gaseous outbursts when he'd been Serene's age. 

Serene was still a young dragon and I was her first summoner. We were both learning together, but Rays' impatience was showing. I had to get him a new summoner before he started to rely on me.

Rays leveled out and drifted above the top of the mountain's highest point in Garrenth. The town was located at the highest, coldest tip on the mountain that was known for breeding the toughest and most fierce Draconians in the extreme climate. It was no wonder Zoran grew up in that very town. He took the frigid cold with him even to Insignia Academy in Latovia where it rested on the edge of one of the mountain's cliffs, the sun's rays hitting it year-round. Not to mention his raw strength and expert skill of wielding ice.

Rays interrupted my thoughts when he banked to the left and initiated a sharp decline. I slid up his neck, nausea churning my stomach as he furled his wings and performed a sudden nosedive. I slammed my eyes shut and clutched the dragon as if my life depended on it – because it did.

I peeled an eye open just as the academy's obsidian roof came up to meet us. A scream crawled up my throat, compelling my eyes to close again as we neared our deaths.

The fear and panic seizing my limbs was for naught. Rays abruptly opened his wings and gave them one mighty flap as he lowered himself onto one of beams. I released the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and slid off his neck as he placed his chin on the steps. My legs wobbled as my feet met the stone stairs and I combed my fingers through the knots entangling my hair as I fought to get the wind-blown strands under control.

Jabbing a finger at Rays, I said, "That was so not necessary. I'm walking next time."

Rays quivered his lips and tilted his head as if he was laughing at me. I threw a hand over my shoulder as I took my time going up the stairs to give my heart time to calm down. "And I'm finding you a summoner whether you want me to or not," I assured him – and myself.

As I breached the top step, I heard the sounds of other summoners' dragons and the flapping of shifters' wings as they descended. At least I was on time today.

Steadying my shaking legs, I breathed deep and opened the door, holding it for the group of pupils behind me. Not one of them even muttered a word of appreciation as they shoved by and ignored me. Misty rolled her eyes at them as she approached me and tucked a purple scale into her pocket. She gave me a smile that didn't reach her eyes, and her dark complexion was waxy. She wore a jacket buttoned all the way up her neck and the roots of her teal braids appeared gray as she entered the academy ahead of me.

Placing a hand in the crook of her elbow, I gave it a slight tug and inquired, "How're you holding up?"

Misty paused and bit her lip. "I'm fine," she answered, "Really. Racquel killed the demon before it could get much venom into me. I can feel myself fighting it off already."

The waver to her voice broke my heart and I nodded to convince the both of us that I believed her as we turned down the hall and entered the training room.

I scooped my cloak off the ground and scanned the carnage left over from the day before. Everything came rushing back to me at once and my chest constricted as I saw dried splotches of blood spatter, holes burnt in the mats, broken weapons, and shards of glass across the wooden floorboards.

"We'll be meeting in the amphitheater today," Instructor Bayer said as he came into the room.

My classmates and I followed in somber silence and took our seats in the stands above the stage where Instructor Bayer stood behind his podium.

Misty sat beside me and the seats on either side of us remained empty without Racquel or Penn to occupy them.

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