Chapter 22

The first day, Evelyn woke up as early as she could. She was groggy and exhausted, but determined. Lumin grumbled and wouldn’t let Evelyn up initially, but eventually woke up. When they arrived, Riley was already in the cavern doing a dynamic workout. She waved them over without stopping.

“Tardiness will not be accepted if I am to help you, understand?”

There was no room for error given in that statement, so Evelyn agreed and joined the workout.

Over the next few days, they met in the morning and Riley put Evelyn through workouts that on the surface seemed easier, but left her sore in ways she never thought possible. However, after a while, the aching diminished. She even improved on Isak’s tests. It was still not where Isak wanted her, but he praised her improvement.

One day, with Lumin’s encouragement, Evelyn finally asked Riley, “why did you all leave the Dragon Corp?”

Riley took a sip from her water and mulled on the question. Evelyn feared she struck a nerve with the question and was ready to retract it, but finally Riley spoke. “I shouldn’t speak for the others, but it was not because it was the right thing to do. Not initially at least. We were all failures.”

“How do they fail someone as amazing as you?”

Riley just blinked and took another sip. “For one reason or another, no dragon bonded with us. You can’t be a cadet as an adult.”

“So they just kicked you out?” Lumin asked.

Riley pursed her lips. “The Dragon Corp doesn’t just kick people out. If you’re dragonless by your eighteenth birthday…” Her voice trailed off and she stared out into the ocean where a cargoship passed in the distance. Evelyn didn’t need to press further, she knew what Riley meant. “All five of us turned eighteen around the same time, so we all planned to escape. Luckily, we met Isak and he helped us escape.”

“Five? But there are only—”

“Lumin,” Evelyn interrupted. He was confused, but looked at Riley. Her brows furrowed and her gaze hardened. That’s when he understood.

Riley continued, “thanks to Isak, the empire thinks we’re all dead.”

“I’m sorry.” Evelyn said, unsure what else she could say.

“Don’t be. One way or another, we all have room for improvement.” Riley stood and extended her hand. Evelyn graciously accepted it and was lifted up. “We’re learning fighting forms, so we can do a little extra this morning.”

Evelyn would have bet all the segile in the world Riley would be the first of the trio to bond. Though, she was never good at betting.

The flamebreath egg hatched first. He was scrawny and weak, which had Norah and Evelyn worried, but grew quickly the more he was fed. It took a week for him to choose a rider, but in the end, he chose Landon.

Violet pouted when it was confirmed while Riley quietly congratulated Landon. If she was disappointed, she did well not to show it.

Not only did this mean Landon would join Evelyn in her individual sessions with Isak, but he would also occasionally join lessons with Norah. He was not there to learn, though. Norah had to perform periodic checkups on his dragon, whom he named Rjuka.

“We take a dragon's temperature like you would a normal animal,” the healer said as she held up a thermometer. It was different from the one she used on Lumin, marked with a ‘FB’. “However, not all dragons have the same core temperature.”

She prompted Rjuka to open his mouth and placed the thermometer under his tongue and waited. Evelyn watched in awe as the number on the screen rose higher and higher. It was triple, no, quadruple Lumin’s temperature.

“Unlike most reptiles, dragons are warm-blooded due to their magic. Obviously, flamebreaths have the highest temperature." Norah retrieved the thermometer and jotted down the number. “Shockwing, aquafins and minddrakes are around what you might expect, but can vary. Groundclaws have a cooler core. Perhaps you can observe when Camadh allows me to check on her.”

Evelyn hung her head. “I appreciate it, but I don’t think it would be in her best interest if I joined.”

“Yeah, she would probably snap. I’m surprised she didn’t when you were at Rjuka’s hatching,” Landon said.

Camadh did show up for Rjuka’s hatching as she said she would. It was the only time she left the pen. Then she went right back to her usual spot in the pen, curled up and facing the wall.

“Anyway, are we almost done? We’ve got things to do,” he said with a yawn. Rjuka chirped in agreement.

“Patience, dear. This is good knowledge to have as a rider. You never know when you’ll need it.”

Landon opened his mouth, but then slumped back into his chair with a grumble.

‘Why is Rjuka not able to speak yet?’ Lumin asked.

‘He is only a week and a half old, sweetie. Remember how shocked everyone was when you could speak like that?’

Lumin hummed lowly, but submitted. Evelyn was grateful he was humble in his intelligence, but she worried that made him think it was normal for dragons to be that intelligent. Reality might disappoint him if she’s not careful.

After a few more routine checks, Norah was ready to dismiss them when Riley and Violet greeted them from the front. Norah waved them in.

“Just in time, young ones. The aquafin egg is about ready to go back to the nursery.”

Violet nodded. “Riley wouldn’t stop reminding me of the time.”

“Oh, by the way, Lumin should be big enough to fly now, correct?”

“Acccording to Safir, yes. At least by himself.”

“Do his practical flying lessons start tomorrow?” Riley asked.

“And he won’t stop talking about it either. He’s very excited.” Evelyn felt a playful nudge in her mind.

“That would also mean he should be too big for the nursery now. He can sleep in the pen and you can finally have a room to yourself,” Norah said.

“Oh, so she’ll finally be out of our hair?” Violet cheered.

“Though she gets her own room… lucky,” Landon moaned.

A lump formed in her throat. Not only would Lumin have to move closer to Foto, a dragon he was still terrified of, but also Camadh. Evelyn was confident she would not be vengeful, but it would be awkward and uncomfortable at the very least.

Then selfishly, she thought of herself. Despite his growing size, Evelyn grew fond of sleeping with her dragon. Once his head was too big to lay in her lap, Lumin let Evelyn rest on his side. At first, it was uncomfortable; scales did not make for a comfortable mattress. Once she fluffed her pillow and found a comfortable position, though, she fell asleep to the rhythm of his beating heart. She didn’t want to be stripped of that. Based on Luin’s reaction, neither did he.

“Have you been shown your own room, Evelyn?” Norah asked.

“They’ve offered to take me there, but I’ve declined. Maybe it’s dumb, but… I think I would rather stay with Lumin.”

Violet and Landon burst into laughter.

“You wanna sleep in the pen? Oh gods, that is hilarious!” Violet said whipping a tear of laughter away.

“You think you’re lil’ dragon is going to miss you that much?”

Lumin wanted to growl, but Evelyn reminded him they shouldn’t use magic in that manner. Not yet at least. Before Evelyn could respond, though, Riley spoke up.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s only something the empire told us was taboo. Seems to me they just love each other.” Landon stammered for a response in vain. “Maybe focus on your own dragon and you’ll be better off.”

Landon muttered something under his breath, but Riley just rolled her eyes. Then he said aloud, “Well, I call her nursery pillow.”

As Riley and Violet retrieved the aquafin egg, Landon and Rjuka left without another word. Evelyn appreciated Riley standing up for her, but she felt guilty.

That night, they did not return to the nursery as they usually did. After conferring with Isak, they retreated to the main dragon pen. Even with Lumin’s larger size —now being about the size of a larger pony, Evelyn guessed— the pen felt as cavernous as before, save for the extra room Camadh took up.

Again she had her back to the world. Evelyn could not tell if she was sleeping or not and refused to find out. Fortunately, the corner she and Lumin slept in their first night was far away and put Foto between them and Camadh. Though that did little to comfort Lumin.

Even if Evelyn would not use the room reserved for her, she was allowed to keep the pillow and blanket from it. With that, she was able to sleep comfortably against Lumin’s side.

The next morning was more of the same, a workout with Riley before training with Isak and the others while Lumin and Rjuka stayed with Safir. From what he told her, their lessons were dialed back due to Rjuka’s young age, which frustrated Lumin. Today, however, his spirits were lifted due to his first flying practice.

Halfway through their normal lessons, Isak called Safir. “Love, it is time we start!” Safir nodded and her students bounded to the humans. Evelyn was ready to yell to Lumin to be careful of trampling the smaller flamebreath per usual, but the words caught in her throat.

Rjuka ran like normal, but above him was Lumin, wings spread and claws dangling beneath him. He had the widest smile. Evelyn couldn’t help but return the smile and stepped forward with extended arms.

He tilted his wings to land just in front of her, but as his claws touched the ground he lost his footing and stumbled. Evelyn had no time to react as her dragon slammed into her with a yelp. They tumbled together and came to rest with Lumin laying on top of her.

Evelyn let out a groan as Lumin quickly leapt back and shook off the dirt. “Sorrysorrysorry!” He said, bowing his head.

Everything hurt, but nothing felt broken. She sat up and let out a rough chuckle and waved off his apology. “Lumin, you were flying!”

His smile returned to its full glory. “I was flying!” He bellowed with pride.

The ground shook as Safir stomped her paw, a low growl rumbling deep in her throat. “You little twit. I told you not to fly outside of training until you’ve learned to land.”

“Well… technically, we’re still in the middle of training.” Lumin chuckled nervously. He yelped when Safir narrowed her eyes and snarled. “S-sorry, it won’t happen again.”

Safir snorted and shifted her claw to Isak, who placed his hand on it. As they fused, Landon said, “Looked more like gliding and crashing to me.”

“Yeah!” Rjuka squeaked, holding his head high with his wing pressed into Landon’s thigh.

“Flight is flight, lad. But enough of that. You alright, lass?” Isak asked. With a nod, Evelyn stood and wiped the gravel from her clothes. “Then please fuse, both of ye,” He said, gesturing to Rjuka.

As they fused, Evelyn watched Landon and Rjuka. She hadn’t thought about their fusion time since their first week. Though she’d gotten quicker, she felt inadequate seeing Landon take to it so naturally.

Be better… I can be better, she thought to herself.

In her mind, Lumin felt her stress and poked at her mind.

‘Are you alright? I didn’t actually hurt you, did I?’

‘No, sweetie, I’m fine. Don't worry about it.’

She knew Lumin wanted to probe for more, but by then, Isak had started the lesson.

“Today, we continue our magic lesson. But like Lumin’s flying…” Isak lifted his arm and fired a jet of water at a stalagmite, shattering its sharp point. “It’s time to practice.”

Everyone eagerly shifted in their seats. “Does this mean we finally get to wreak some havoc in here?” Violet asked.

Isak shook his head. “No, we must still keep this cavern in its natural state the best we can. New targets will be made for us, more specifically, for Evelyn since she is the only one with enough magic to perform these safely.”

“I thought Lumin was still too young for abilities,” Evelyn said.

“Aye, but not for his breath weapon. When dragons come of age to fly, they have enough magic built to safely use their breath weapon.”

”Sparingly,” Safir added.

“He can also start sharing his body like his eyes, but that is a lesson for another day. Today, I will show you how to properly use his breath weapon while you are fused, then you will try. Tomorrow, Lumin will practice in his physical form with Safir. The rest of ye will watch and listen, especially Landon and Rjuka.”

“Sir, who is going to make these new targets?” Riley asked.

“Our special guests, who are right on time.” Isak waved to the base entrance.

Commander Majadon, along with her partner, Jalibamawt, led a group of Faiyans in full uniform, all accompanied by an ichneumon. Heba and Xire were also among the group.

Evelyn raised her hand excitedly to wave, but quickly retracted it to a subtle gesture. She felt a churning in her stomach. She hadn’t seen Jalibamawt since he and Camadh returned. Did he think less of her for losing Camadh’s brother? Did he hate her?

On top of that, she had no clue what Heba thought of her. Benjamin mentioned they were training together, but he never went into detail. Evelyn imagined they still weren’t fond of each other, so what did that mean for Evelyn?

A bit of relief came when Jalibamawt noticed her and gave her a faint smile and nod. “You lot know of Commander Majadon, yes? Well today, she and her squadron will aid in and observe your training. Reason bein’ when yer bonded and ready, you’ll be assigned a squadron. Lumin and Evelyn will be assigned to them.”

The commander nodded and stepped forward. “Isak and General Fukayna came up with the idea for us to observe your training as a way for you to meet the people and ichneumon of your squadron before you officially join us.”

“Indeed. Everyone's squadron will observe a session at some point. Obviously, Landon and Rjuka are next, though your squadron has yet to be decided.”

Jalibamawt stepped forward next to his companion. “Evelyn, it is wonderful to see you again. It is a pleasure to meet everyone else as well. Allow me to introduce our team. You already know Heba and Xire. Back there we have Sakhar and his companion, Roi, and Tala, with her companion, Isesu. I believe I mentioned them in passing.”

‘I thought in passing meant briefly. Didn’t we get their whole life story?’ Lumin asked. Evelyn had to stifle a laugh.

“The rest of our squadron consists of soldiers who are ghayr jadir, incapable of companionship. However, they are training on their own so as to not crowd your training. You will meet them later, dear Evelyn.”

Evelyn lowered her head in greeting and the new faces returned the gesture.

Isak clapped his hands. “Now that introductions are done, let’s get down to business. Commander, if ye may.”

Majadon slid her foot forward and a pillar of stone erected from the ground several yards away. At the same time, she restored the stalagmite Isak had destroyed.

“Can anyone tell me the difference between a dragon’s breath weapon and abilities?”

Everyone hesitated, but Riley gradually raised her hand. “It has something to do with the amount of magic used and how.”

“Breath weapons use far less magic than abilities do. How much is dependent on the intensity of the breath, or what abilities are being used. Take this for example,” Isak said as he lifted his hand and an incoming wave split into two. With the flick of his wrist, the two sides crashed together. “Water manipulation: one of Safir’s abilities. That used about ten percent of her magic. While this,” he then shot a jet of water —identical to what he did during their escape— into the ocean, creating a smaller, but still impressive splash. “Uses about one percent. The percentage we use will be different from what you use initially. Lumin and Rjuka’s magic reserves pale in comparison at their young age. A breath weapon for Lumin as of now would use… twenty to thirty percent of his magic. Which is why you will only perform this two or three times. Yer turn, Evelyn.”

Evelyn stood and raised her arm, aiming her palm at the rectangular pillar.

“Does Lumin remember what he did to blast away the empire rider that day?” Isak asked.

Evelyn felt his mind wonder back to that day. He tried, but nothing came to him. Evelyn answered for him, “Everything after the chase started is a hazy fog. But he does remember what he did when he shared his eyes.”

“That’s a start. Do that, but instead, envision you are going to expel that magic through your breath.”

Like plasma rushing through her arm, she felt the magic flowing through her arm, culminating in her palm. It was similar to when it entered her eyes, but instead of taking over, it was trying to burst out. The magic manifested in the form of a cluster of bolts in her palm just like their escape, and just like in the chase, her arm burned like it was being stung from the inside out. She winced and struggled to contain the magic.

“Too much. Ease yourself, Lumin.”

The searing pain started to dull and the intensity dropped. Lumin muttered an apology. The pain wasn’t completely gone, but it was manageable. Along with a small hum from her palm, she noticed the standing hair on her arm. Looking at Isak, the hair from his beard was doing the same.

As if he read her mind, Isak said, “when manifesting magic, it creates a field around ye. Static from shockwings, heat from flamebreaths, and so on. It can be a warning to a foe, so the quicker you manifest, the better. For now, take it slow. Now that the energy is sufficient, release it.”

With a deep breath, Evelyn aimed and flexed her palm. The bundle of lightning unraveled into three bolts that zapped outward and instantly reduced the pillar to rubble.

There was briefly a stinging pain in her palm afterwards. Ignoring it, she poked at Lumin’s consciousness as memories flashed in her mind of his near death.

‘That didn’t tire me at all.’

She sighed in relief. However, he was lying. She could feel his energy waver, but she refrained from beating on his pride.

It was a short-lived victory. She heard multiple people and ichneumon cringe. Following their gazes, she realized the pillar wasn’t the only thing destroyed. A stalagmite several feet away from the pillar was shattered, along with a fist sized hole in the ground on the opposite side.

Seeing the damage worried Evelyn. Not for the inaccuracy, but for the amount of damage she did. Is that what I did to the rider and guard?

Isak gave Majadon an apologetic grin. The commander waved him off. “They have been bonded for a month. This is to be expected, no?” She signaled Roi and the companion made a hand gesture and stomped his foot. Another pillar took form from the rubble and the damage to the natural formations was fixed.

Isak hummed and turned to Evelyn. “Yes, room for improvement is to be expected, and it was a better effort than before. Similar to before, your control over the magic was lacking. Guiding multiple bolts is possible, but you should always be in control. This goes for all types. For instance,” He raised his palm and shot a jet of water at the water, then another. However, the second one was more of a cone of water than a jet. “The more control you have, the more creative you can be. For now, try to keep it to one bolt.

“When you gather the magic in your palm, focus it into as small an area as possible. It be easier to control then.”

With Lumin’s aid, focused the magic into a small point on her palm. This time, he held back some magic to make it easier. The ball of bolts was much smaller than before and radiated less energy.

Once it was sufficient, she shot a single bolt toward the pillar and her arm recoiled from the pain. She stumbled back, barely staying on her feet.

Despite the power she felt, the pillar remained. Only a small chunk of its corner was taken out. She realized she missed. Landon and Violet chuckled and Evelyn’s shoulders slumped as she muttered a curse.

“Unfortunate,” Isak said. “But an improvement nonetheless… magically. Timing, power and accuracy come with time and practice.”

”How are we supposed to do that when we’re so limited by their young magic pool?” Landon asked.

For once, Evelyn was on the same page as Landon. It sent a shiver down her spine. “On top of that, how do we know how much magic they have left?”

“Each dragon be different, so it is hard to gauge. That is something you and your dragon will have to figure out together, and it will change as you grow. Safir and I will guide you the best we can. How do you feel right now, Lumin?”

Lumin’s concious twisted and turned, as if he were stretching his limbs.

“He feels like he did a decent exercise, but not too tired,” Evelyn relayed to Isak.

Isak hummed. “I would say you can try two more shots, but check in after each one.”

Like the first, each just grazed the target and damaging more stalagmites, forcing the companions to fix each one. Evelyn’s frustration grew. Violet and Landon’s snickering did not help, either.

After that, Isak went over some fundamentals with everyone until the sun started to set. He dismissed the riders but pulled Evelyn to the side along with Majadon, who left Jalibamawt to address their squadron.

“I assume we must wait a little longer for her to join us?” It was more of a matter of fact than a question.

“Aye, at minimum, none of them should see the field until their dragon is at least three months of age,” Isak responded.

‘Then… Why did he insist on bringing us on the egg mission?’ Lumin asked. Evelyn thought of his initial reasoning: the need for a second pair of hands. But if it risked their lives so much, it made no sense to bring her over one of the soldiers. As much as she wanted the answer, she refrained from repeating the question aloud.

“And it is possible she needs more time. I will know more in the coming weeks.”

“If possible, I would like her to at least attend some of our formations to better understand us and our role. She must also become acquainted with everyone, not just Xire and Heba. We can plan that later, however,” Majadon insisted. Isak nodded in agreement. As the commander turned to her squadron, she glanced back at Evelyn. “Keep working, I look forward to seeing your progress.”

As Majadon rejoined her squadron, Isak dismissed Evelyn and rode Safir into the ocean beyond her vision. She sighed and walked back to the base.

“Chin up.” Evelyn yelped and nearly fell into a jagged stone. Leaning against the stone wall with a grin on her face.

“By the gods, you scared me to death.”

“You’re doing just fine. No more of that pouting,” Riley said, ignoring Evelyn’s comment.

“I wasn’t—” Evelyn stopped when RIley raised her eyebrow. “I just feel like I should be doing better than I am. And before you start, it has nothing to do with you, Lumin,” she said, not bothering to keep that comment mental.

Riley snorted. “I’d put segile on Landon struggling like you are when his time comes. Same with either me or Violet.”

“Don’t lie, you’d ace your first attempt.”

Riley rolled her eyes. “Focus on yourself and Lumin. Just remember, we’re all still learning.” Evelyn felt unsure, but she didn’t dare argue with Riley. She was the best of them after all.