Page 7 of Creatures of War

“It’d be easier to just sleep on the floor,” I said. “It’s almost like hiking through the Crotlyn Mountains all over again.”

The girl gasped. “Did you do that?”

I nodded. “Only way here from where I lived.”

She smiled. “That’s so amazing. I know it’s supposed to be a trek for riders to prove themselves, but not many actually do it.”

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it a rite of passage kind of thing? Like required?”

The girl pursed her lips before shaking her head. “Maybe in certain parts of the country, it’s thought like that?”

I fought hard to keep in the curses I wanted to release. We didn’t have to do that? We could have flown right over? It wasn’t a required rite of passage?

“At least no one can say anything about you,” she said. “You did it when they didn’t. You did what many hold off doing.”

Another girl with long, curly white hair spoke up, her voice louder than it needed to be, like she wanted to be heard. “So, someone came in already bonded with dragons, who was it?”

“Where did you hear about that?” Our guide sounded bored as he talked.

When I glanced at him though, I noticed his focus was on me. When our eyes met, he finally looked away to regard at the girl.

Coral smiled. “News like that is easy for me to find out. So? Who was it?” She looked around at the crowd.

No one moved to claim being bonded. I wasn’t going to either. No way did I want that kind of attention on me. That would be the exact opposite of keeping my head down.

Nope. No way.

“You’ll know in due time,” the guide said before turning and continuing to lead us toward the dorms.

“They must be something to already have found their dragon. It’d be nice to talk with them. Maybe get tips about the bonding experience,” Coral said.

“Coral, if they wish to bring it up, then they will. Otherwise, they have the right to keep that information to themselves,” our guide said.

Coral made a humming noise. “I don’t see why they would. It’s all going to come out anyways.” Somehow, her words sounded more like a threat than just musing. Coral turned to us like she was issuing a challenge. “So? Who is it?”

Still no one moved.

The girl with the bob cut moved closer to me. “I wonder who she’s talking about,” she whispered.

“Who knows,” I whispered back, not looking at her. Lying was hard, and she’d know the moment I looked at her. I just wasn’t that good of a liar.

“Here,” our guide said, stopping in front of stern-looking women. “These are your dorms. Follow the rules, don’t cause trouble, and don’t miss classes. Mrs. Ilden, they are all yours.”

“Thank you, Sorel. You may return to your duties.” She smiled at the man, though it didn’t reach her eyes.

Sorel mumbled something as he pushed through the crowd and left us there with Mrs. Ilden. She was a tall, lean woman with light brown hair and blue eyes. Her features were sharp and her nose a tad long as she took us all in.

“I have your roommate assignments here. Listen for your names and your room number. You will be your roommate for the remainder of your time here. I suggest you get used to living with roommates and sharing. We have no time to cater to your complaints.”

She went right into calling out names, sorting people out. The pairs would go forward, get their keys, and then disappear through the doors. Slowly, the group whittled down.

“Rayna Delian and Aylia Craig. Room two-thirteen.”

The girl with the bobbed hair made a small squeaking sound, beaming at me before pushing through the remaining people. I followed behind. She grabbed the keys and held one out to me.

“I’m glad it’s you,” she said softly as I grabbed my key.

“Same,” I said, not really sure what to say.

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