Page 38 of On Wings of Blood

I yanked my schedule out of my bag and showed it to her.

Her face fell as she scanned it. “Oh. You’re in a combat class after lunch. Advanced Weaponry. Strategists and healers don’t usually require combat training. Naveen will, as a scout, but his combat class is a completely different one.” She perked up.“But we’ll see you in the library at two o’clock. I’ll bring you something then.”

I tried not to groan, thinking of how I’d have to trek through the school on my own and get through a combat class on a stomach that was starting to feel very, very empty.

I forced a smile. “That’s really nice of you, Florence. Thank you.”

“Of course! We First Years have to stick together.” She beamed.

I was just grateful she hadn’t decided to shun me after the taboo questions I’d asked in our first two classes. Florence was most definitely the kind of student Quinn Riley had in mind when she said most students worshiped the highbloods.

Despite this, I found myself genuinely liking the studious dark-haired girl. Just because she admired vampires didn’t mean she wasn’t also a good person.

The sound of Professor Rodriguez clearing his throat loudly brought me back to reality.

“Miss Pendragon, if you’d wrap up the chatter, I have some tasks for you.”

Florence and Naveen quickly left the classroom while I remained.

“You’ll be spending your lunch hour here, Miss Pendragon,” Professor Rodriguez said with deceptive pleasantness. “Your entire lunch hour.”

I stared back at him, taking in his features. His richly warm complexion paired well with his large, hazel eyes. His dark hair had a natural wave to it and was slightly ruffled, giving him a rugged appearance. The lines of his face were strong. Well-defined jaw. High cheekbones. There was pride and resilience there. A demeanor that brooked no argument.

If I hadn’t just accidentally made him my enemy, I’d probably have liked Professor Rodriguez.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot, Professor,” I said, trying to keep my tone as respectful as possible. “I wasn’t trying to bring up a painful subject.”

“Unless you’re going to tell me who told you to raise that painful subject, Miss Pendragon, you can keep your apologies to yourself.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I don’t think you need to tell me.”

I looked at him in surprise. “Oh, no?”

He shook his head. “You’re betrothed to arguably the most powerful young man in this school. Not to mention one of the most entitled. It seems Blake Drakharrow’s demeanor has already rubbed off on you.”

My jaw fell open. “I only got to Sangratha yesterday. I only met Blake yesterday. And believe me, I don’t want to be his betrothed. I hate him as much as you seem to.”

“I don’t hate any of my students, Miss Pendragon,” Rodriguez corrected me. “And of course, I respect the Drakharrows. They’re an ancient and respected house.” But there was a blaze in his eyes that told me otherwise. “But pardon me if I fail to see how being intimately connected to such a powerful house is somehow to your detriment.”

“Because I don’t even want to be here,” I sputtered. “You think Iwantto be here? At this school? In your class? Mixing with blood-sucking vampires?”

Professor Rodriguez stared at me. “I don’t know what you and your chum Viktor Drakharrow are up to, Miss Pendragon. But there’s clearly something at play. Some dark scheme. You arrived only yesterday, or so you say, and yet you’ve been given a position most girls at this school would murder for. You seem determined to pretend you’re just another student. But you’re not. If the signs are being read right, and looking at your physique, I think they are–” He ran his eyes up and down my body and I felt my cheeks redden. Would I ever get used to that kind of scrutiny? “Then you certainly do have rider blood. A great deal of it. If Viktor Drakharrow found you and put you in Bloodwing...”

“I had the vast misfortune to be found by Blake Drakharrow not his uncle, thank you very much,” I spat.

“Viktor has always refused to believe the dragons were really gone. That the highbloods had truly lost so much power. Now it seems he has an ace up his sleeve. You.” Rodriguez’s green eyes stared at me intensely.

“But there are no dragons,” I protested. “That’s what you and everyone else has already said.”

“How do I know that’s the truth? How do any of us know?” Rodriguez’s voice was soft, but he shocked me to the core. “I just believe what I’m told. Like all of the other blightborn sheep.”

I stared at him. “You think Viktor Drakharrow has a dragon?”

“I didn’t say that, did I? But I do know he has a rider. That’s half of a very powerful, very deadly equation. You’re playing with fire, Miss Pendragon. And I think you’re likely to get burned. If you don’t wind up burning up this entire school and all of us with you.”

He slammed a stack of books down on the desk. “That’s what I aim to prevent.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, still feeling stunned.

“After you’ve spent the first half of the lunch hour cleaning up the storage room, you can spend the second half reading up on the history of dragons. At the end of this term, you’ll be turning in a fifty-page essay on the subject.” He smirked. “Oh, and I expect the subject of healing dragons and their riders to comprise a significant portion.”

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