Page 90 of Kingdom of Shadows and Wings

“Fledglings.” Standing confident and tall, Bigley makes for a commanding presence, reminding me of a mature lion with that silver mane of his. “We have a critical situation.”

A Tirenese attack? No, that makes no sense. I didn’t spot any of their famed winged warriors in the sky.

At last, the alarm dies down, though the ringing in my ears still lingers. After regarding each fledgling in turn, including me, Bigley frowns, the act deepening the lines in his craggy face.

“We’ve captured an enemy intruder in the fledgling dorms…and one of our dragons is gone.”

Chapter Thirty

An enemy in our dorms? And a missing dragon? How is that possible?

Shock ripples through the gathered fledglings. Most of them. I notice that Olive’s not very surprised. Nor Helene, who’s watching me like a hawk.

“At this time, we’re not sure if those two events are linked or not. Thanks to some quick thinking by two of your peers, we’ve taken the intruder into custody. Our job now is to ensure there are no remaining threats on campus and to find the escaped dragon. Fledglings will take to the sky. You’ll cover the entire encampment, the shore, and the Cyne mountain range. If you find anything out of the ordinary, report back to us immediately. Vice Commander Torno will give each unit further instructions.”

After Bigley leaves, Torno gives the closest unit their assignments. As they head straight to the stable, she moves to the next group.

When she comes to our unit, she addresses me directly. “When you were near the dragon aerie earlier today, did you notice anything unusual?”

An icy chill crawls down my spine. Whatwasn’tunusual about my encounter with the dragon? Not that I can admit to any of that without sounding like a loon.

“No, Vice Commander Torno.” I will my racing heart to calm and feign nonchalance. “I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.”

Torno regards me for a long moment—the glint in her amber eyes reminding me of a cat’s—and nods. Does she believe me, or is she pretending to because she doesn’t have enough evidence to prove otherwise? Does she know I was actuallyinsidethe dragon aerie?

Her face is a mask. Flickering flames in the surrounding metal barrels turn her auburn hair a fiery red and sharpen her features, lending them an unearthly quality.

My mouth’s so dry, I can’t swallow. The intensity of her scrutiny makes me half afraid she’s reading my thoughts.

Stay calm. Don’t fidget. Try to look innocent.

Easier said than done, even though Iaminnocent. I may have fudged my way into the aerie, but that’s all. It’s not like I kidnapped the dragon myself.

Shouts and commotion surround us, but she doesn’t bother glancing at the others. I’m her sole focus. “Are you all right, Axton?”

“I’m fine. Just antsy to help with the search.” The question circling my mind spills from my lips. “I was just wondering, which dragon is missing?”

“The black one.”

Tiny hairs on the back of my neck prickle. The only black dragon at Flighthaven Academy—the one I had a weird…connectionwith earlier—has gone missing. How can that be a coincidence?

I give myself a mental shake. What am I thinking? Of course it’s a coincidence. How could getting overrun by strong emotions while in the aerie and a dragon disappearing possibly be related?

Fighting to hide my unease from Torno, I only half listen as she assigns my unit the area directly east of the eyril field.

Without another word, she turns to address the next group.

Olive and the others break for the stable to saddle their alicorns. Since Zephyr’s already at my side, I remain in place.

I pat his neck, leaning close to whisper. His big ear twitches in my direction. “I know it’s been a long night already. I’m sorry about this.”

The alicorn fixes a dark chocolate eye on me. He nudges me with his nose, as if to tell me he’s okay, and a trickle of calm ripples through me. As I wait for the rest of my unit to ready their mounts, my mind drifts to the night’s events, and then to my sister. Gods, how I wish Leesa were here with me.

Before I can dwell on my problems any longer, Olive, Nick, and Abel lead their alicorns from the stable and mount. I put my left foot in the stirrup and swing my right leg over the saddle. After establishing a quick game plan, we take to the sky to search the location Torno assigned. We coast above the treetops for a good minute before reality punches me.

I’m flying an alicorn. By myself. Unattended. Just me and Zephyr, racing with the wind, without any of the old panic rushing in to suffocate me. I conquered my fear, and I owe it all to Thorne.

Once the initial burst of elation disperses, I settle in for the hunt. Even with the silvery moonlight illuminating the grounds, there isn’t much to see. Stands of trees, grassland, and a few ponds inhabit the area…nothing the black dragon could hide in. The creature’s too immense.

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