Page 20 of On Wings of Blood

Then I squared my shoulders and lifted my hand, pushing the door open.

A blast of sound erupted from the room as the door squeaked on its hinges.

I flinched but forced myself to keep going, entering the noisy space and looking about.

While the stone hallway had been shadowy and dark, lit only by a few candles every few paces, this room was large, with cavernous high ceilings. The space burst with warmth and light. Countless candles glowed in iron sconces on the walls and hungfrom elaborate candelabras. The flickering light played off the deep sapphire blue hangings that were draped from the walls and which framed the tall arched windows that lined two broad walls. Diamond-shaped panes revealed a view of the sea and the setting sun outside.

Comfy plush armchairs, upholstered in midnight blue and silver tones, were arranged in cozy-looking clusters around the room. Thick, luxurious rugs covered the stone floors, their patterns a swirl of pale grays and blues.

A huge fire crackled in an enormous hearth, its mantle covered with stacks of books and dusty candlesticks dripping with melted wax. Another wall of the room was lined with bookshelves, where expensive-looking tomes stood alongside dusty scrolls.

In the center of the space stood a large, round table covered with parchment, quills, and inkpots.

Everywhere there were students.

Sitting in the cozy chairs reading, hunched around the table with their quills frantically scribbling, or lounging on couches around the fire chattering.

As I stepped fully inside the room, the conversations began to halt.

For the second time that day, every head in the room seemed to turn towards me.

My heart was pounding. I kept moving forward, my footsteps echoing on the stone in the sudden stillness.

I cursed silently. Just where the hell was I supposed to go from here?

“Medra! Medra Pendragon! Up here!”

My head jerked up as my name was called. A dark-haired girl stood high above on a stone staircase. As I looked up, she leaned over the balustrade and waved down at me.

She was petite and slender, with long silky black hair that had been meticulously woven into a perfect braid which hung down her back and was tied with a blue ribbon. She wore black-rimmed spectacles that made her dark brown eyes look slightly owlish. Her expression was calm and serene, as if she were unaware of the stir my appearance was causing below.

“Come on up,” she called. “I’ll show you around.”

The girl wore a black cloak around her shoulders like Blake had, and beneath it a blue pullover sweater over a knee-length gray skirt There was something scholarly about her. I wondered which of the classes that Blake had mentioned she fit into.

I mounted the stairs towards her slowly, taking in the crest on the lapel of her cloak. Four intertwined dragons, stitched in gold, forced a circular sigil. There were words written around the edges.

“Sanguis et Flamma Floreant,” I read aloud.

“It’s the Bloodwing crest and motto,” the girl explained. There was an intensity to her that suggested a thoughtful and determined mind. “It means ‘Let blood and flame flourish.’ It’s written in Classical Sangrathan. I suppose you’re not familiar with it.”

I was, but I let her continue. What she called Classical Sangrathan was simply the Old Tongue in Aercanum.

She touched a finger to the crest gently. “All of your clothes will be emblazoned with it. It’s to mark all of the First Years. We don’t have a house motto or crest yet, you see.”

“I thought I was House Drakharrow,” I said, flushing slightly.

The girl gave me a reassuring smile. “Not yet. You’re not an official consort yet, though you are betrothed and for all intents and purposes, that’s what you’ll be considered. I know, it’s complicated. None of us have been selected by houses, though we may have allegiances and ties to a certain house. That would be an honor though. House Drakharrow is a very powerful house with a very strong leader.”

I managed to suppress the comment that rose to my lips as I thought of Viktor Drakharrow and his nephew.

“It must be very overwhelming,” she said sympathetically, misinterpreting my expression. “Come, I’ll try to explain more. Let me show you to your room.”

She started walking along the stone balcony and for the first time I noticed it almost encircled the room below. There were four passages leading off it. I followed the girl down one and then watched as she pushed another door open and gestured.

“This will be your room.” She stood back so I could step past her and I peered inside.

To my relief, the room was small but cozy... and there was only one bed. No bunking up with any of my fellow Bloodwing students. Thank the gods for that.

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