Page 1 of The Bond That Burns

BOOK 1

PROLOGUE - MEDRA

Bloodwing Academy

Last Days of Summerfell

I’d spent my summer break in jail.

No, that wasn’t fair to those who truly were imprisoned. My room in Drakharrow Tower wasn’t a jail cell. But Iwasa prisoner.

Still, at least my cell was padded. I had small luxuries. I had books. Food. Hot baths.

And I had not–yet–been beaten. Though I knew Viktor Drakharrow would have liked to hit me very much.

But I was getting ahead of myself. Days spent alone could do that to one. Sure, I had visitors sometimes. But not the ones I wanted.

The dragon. Nyxaris.

The moment he’d burst from the stone was one I’d never be able to forget.

And the sight of him flying over Bloodwing?

Everything had changed from that moment.

I’d been playing a game of deception ever since. And I didn’t see that changing anytime soon.

Yet the sorrow I’d felt these last two months over what I’d lost had little to do with dragons. And everything to do with Blake Drakharrow.

CHAPTER 1 - MEDRA

Two Months Earlier

The brief moments of silence after Nyxaris’s departure felt like the calm before the storm.

I could still hear his roar echoing in my ears.

My heart was pounding. My body was still trembling.

And yet, Nyxaris was secondary on my mind.

First and foremost was Blake.

He stood there, a few feet away from me, frozen like I was. Speechless, like I was.

But the look on his face...

Shock, yes. But nothing else. He stared at me, unapologetic. Remorseless. No word of apology on his lips.

He should have fallen to his knees and begged for forgiveness. But instead he just stood there.

Seeing him like that did something to me. Pushed all thoughts of the dragon from my mind. I opened my mouth, ready to erupt with fury a second time that evening. Nyxaris’s roar would seem like nothing compared to mine when I was through with Blake-fucking-Drakharrow.

The stillness of the courtyard shattered.

People flooded into the Dragon Court from every entrance. Students crowded in, filling the cloistered passages, peering atBlake and I where we stood amidst the rubble. I could see the excitement on their faces. In some cases, the fear. Was Florence there, somewhere in the crowd? What was she thinking? Had she been afraid when she saw Nyxaris's flight? I wanted to reassure her, to go to her.

But before I could move, Headmaster Kim's voice rang out.

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