Page 22 of Kingdom of Shadows and Wings

Busted.Heat warms my face and I bolt upright, wincing as my temples start to throb. “What?”

His smirk tells me he’s aware that I heard him. “Easy. You blacked out for a bit. Does your head hurt?”

Surprisingly gentle fingers feather across my forehead and temples, searching for injuries. The skin he touches buzzes with a type of tingling awareness that doesn’t fit the situation, so I scoot out of reach. “A little, but I’m okay.” He doesn’t say anything, instead regarding me with silent appraisal while I do my best not to squirm. “I didn’t mean for…well…I didn’t mean to pass out.”

“Obviously.” With a heavy sigh, he breaks eye contact. “Ready to stand?”

I nod. “Yes…sir.”

Thorne rises, then offers me a hand, pulling me to my feet. He holds on for a moment before releasing me, and an emotion I can’t interpret flickers across his face. “What happened?”

My body sags with relief. If he couldn’t tell my little fainting spell was courtesy of an anxiety attack over alicorns, I’m not about to divulge that information. Nothing good could come out of everyone learning about my fear of flying. Such a huge obstacle to success might lead Commander Bigley to evict me from the program, and I can’t risk ejection yet. Not until I’ve had time to investigate Leesa’s disappearance.

Employing a tactic that works on my mother, I rub my temples and groan, adding a little stagger for good measure. “A dizzy spell. I get them from time to time.” Not a complete lie. I do struggle with dizzy spells. That’s just not what caused my alicorn fail today.

He turns to Zephyr, who’s waiting in the same spot I left him. “Go to the infirmary and get checked out. We’ll complete your assessment next class.” He mounts with fluid grace, and the alicorn starts to prance. “Don’t be late, Duchess.”

Before I can say anything, they’re gone.

Massive silvery gray wings unfurl, beating the air as Zephyr climbs the sky and heads for the rest of the class. Except for my flight unit, all the other students are arranged into groups of four. They form diamond shapes, with one flyer in front, one in the back, and two in the middle. My unit is the sole anomaly, since they’re down a member. At any other time, the formations would captivate me, but right now, I can’t tear my eyes away from Thorne.

I shouldn’t stand here mesmerized, but I can’t help myself. They’re incedible…both rider and alicorn. Especially from this distance, since Thorne’s too far away to tarnish the image by opening his obnoxious mouth.

Blowing air from my lungs, I dutifully trudge to the infirmary. Three of the cots lined up against the far wall are occupied. One by a woman with a bright red and blistered hand, another by a man with a bandage over one eye.

Davon rests in the third one, moaning and giggling softly. Someone cut the fabric off his injured leg, showing off a thick pressure bandage wrapped around his thigh.

A freckled medic greets me with a harried smile. He’s a young man in his twenties, wearing a navy uniform with red trim to indicate his position. “Fledgling Axton, what can I do for you? I’m Medic Keller.”

He sets down a jar and steps away from the cabinet, leaving the doors open to reveal medical supplies organized into neat stacks.

I blink. “You know who I am?”

He puffs his narrow chest. “I read everyone’s file before they arrive. That way, I’m prepared to treat whatever existing ailments they have.”

The mention of files captures my attention. “Flighthaven has files on all the students, even before they arrive?”

Keller scoffs. “Of course they do.”

“What all’s in there? Do you know?”

I worry my question will draw scrutiny, but my curiosity doesn’t faze him. “Just what you’d expect…medical history, schooling, the results of any previous magic testing. That sort of thing.”

Okay, that’s a little creepy. Does Flighthaven accumulate all that information about possible future attendees over the course of their lives, then? They must. Otherwise, how would they have gathered my health history? The missive didn’t request any, and only two days passed between the time the missive arrived and my arrival here. I suppose they could have sent a follow-up missive via alicorn or dragon, though that seems wildly inconvenient.

Files are good, though. Leesa’s files, in particular. There could be an overlooked clue in them.

I want to ask where the files are kept but decide not to press my luck. I’m sure it can’t be that difficult to figure out. “You probably want to know why I’m here.” At his encouraging nod, I fill in the medic about my little…episode. Minus the fear of alicorns bit.

He begins a gentle inspection, turning my head this way and that. “No bleeding?”

“Nope.”

“Great. We’re running low on bandages and the other medic is out sick, so I have no idea when I’ll be able to run to the storage building to restock.”

He gestures to the cabinet. After a little searching, I spot the bandages on the middle shelf. Sure enough, the stack is on the short side.

Filing that information away for later, I focus on the examination. After a friendly lecture on the importance of eating enough and getting adequate sleep, Keller declares me “the picture of health”—the first time in my life that’s ever happened—and sends me off with a smile.

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