Page 162 of On Wings of Blood

I looked around in terror as the stone walls surrounding us began to crack and crumble, pieces of rock breaking off and tumbling to the ground.

“What is this? What’s happening?” I demanded.

Blake looked down at me, his gray eyes strong and steady. “The dragons are coming.”

My heart slammed against my chest as the walls collapsed, revealing a dark gaping space beyond.

A shape moved, massive and terrifying.

A dragon–huge and ancient and filled with unspeakable power–rose from the wreckage of the wall, its wings spreading wide, its glowing yellow eyes locked on me.

The beast let out a deafening roar.

I opened my mouth to scream and the sound of my own voice tore me from the dream with a jolt.

My eyes flew open.

I tossed my legs around, trying to untangle them from the wreckage of my blankets, my heart still racing from the nightmare.

Something was wrong.

The room was shaking. The First Year tower trembled as if it would crumble apart, just like in my dream.

I shot out of bed, my feet hitting the cold floor as I stumbled towards the door and ran down the hall towards Florence’s room.

Naveen was already there. He had a hand against the wall, bracing himself.

“What the fuck is happening?” I shouted.

The shaking stopped.

Florence’s door flew open. She stood there in a white nightdress, her black hair loose around her shoulders. Her eyes were wide and frightened.

Other students had come out into the hallway. The corridor filled with the sound of panicked voices.

I saw Vaughn Sabino come to stand near Naveen. His arm had been out of the sling for a week now.

“Quiet everyone,” Florence called, raising her voice to be heard over the din. “Quiet please.”

Slowly all the First Years turned towards her.

“I’m not sure where the other First Year Warden is,” Florence said. Her voice was calm. I glanced at Naveen, knowing only he and I could probably tell how nervous she still was. “But I need you all to be quiet and to listen to me.”

“Probably drunk or being sucked,” I heard Naveen mutter to Vaughn. The other warden, Thomas, didn’t take his duties as seriously as Florence. I wasn’t sure why he’d even been selected. Then I’d found out he was a thrall to one of the students in House Avari. That was probably why. Maybe he was busy with his highblood right now.

The First Years had all turned towards Florence.

“Thank you. Now, please listen. The tower is not going to fall,” Florence reassured them, her voice firm. “This castle was built centuries ago and was enchanted to withstand almost anything. Even dragon attacks.” Her lips twitched a little. “And I think we all know there’s no need to worry about one of those.”

There was a titter of nervous laughter.

“I’ve already spoken to Professor Wispwood about the last quake we experienced a few weeks ago,” she continued. This was news to me, but I knew Florence was spending a lot of time with Professor Wispwood after class. “She told me that it was nothing to worry about. Islands like the one Bloodwing is situated on often experience ocean tremors. Sometimes there will be nothing for decades, then there will be a span where you get a bunch all in a row over a few weeks or even days. It’s very common.”

Her words began to settle around the hall and I could almost feel the relief coming off my fellow First Years.

“Even if we did get hit by something like a tidal wave caused by one of the tremors,” Florence continued. “Bloodwing was built high enough above sea level that we would remain safe. Nothing can reach us here.”

Some of the students began talking again, but their voices were lower, less panicked. They seemed reassured.

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