Page 62 of The Bond That Burns

He was hot-headed, unjust, a bully. He was unpredictable, volatile, like a fire that couldn’t decide whether to warm you up or burn you alive.

And yet, I’d still felt a strange disloyalty sitting at Kage’s table, asking him to be my safe harbor in the storm of Blake’s fury.

CHAPTER 14 - BLAKE

The courtyard was already filling up when I arrived. The sounds of weapons clashing in warm-up routines sounded as I stepped into the open-roofed training yard.

It hadn’t taken much to get transferred into this section of Defensive Arts. Just a bit of sucking up to Professor Sankara. Perks of being a House Leader.

As a Fourth Year, I had some empty spots on my timetable. So, I’d very kindly volunteered to help Sankara out with supervising the Defensive Arts class. Out of nothing but the goodness of my tender heart, of course. I’d earn some extra credit and I’d get to keep an eye on Pendragon.

After that morning, I wasn’t about to let her out of my sight for long. I needed to remind her where she really belonged.

Leaning casually against the stone wall, off to one side, I watched as she finally entered, flanked by Visha and Theo. I scowled. What were they? Her personal bodyguards?

Pendragon didn’t even notice me at first. She was too busy laughing and chattering with them.

The sight of her sent a twinge of irritation through me. Her red curls caught the sunlight streaming in from overhead in a way that made my heart quicken. Even her stupid freckles had somehow become attractive to me, scattered across the pale skin of her cheeks like perfect little embers.

She was dressed in simple black training gear, the form-fitting fabric outlining her athletic frame.

I narrowed my eyes as I noticed that nothing she wore bore the Drakharrow insignia. She’d removed every patch, every bit of embroidery. She’d purposely damaged house property.

I saw more than one pair of male eyes following her and at least one girl stopped what she was doing to gawk. But Pendragon didn’t even notice the attention. She was oblivious. In her own little world apart from the rest of us.

It set my teeth on edge. Evidently she’d rather spend more time with Kage Tanaka than with her own House.

But no matter how much she fought it, she was mine. My consort. My source. If I let her, she’d continue humiliating me. Her dangerous streak of disloyalty would have consequences for us both. My uncle was still a threat to us. It went against everything my father had taught me, but I had to do this. Pendragon had to learn her place, just like everyone else. It was for her own good. So I’d toughen her up a little. Eventually, she’d break and toe the line. Maybe it would even help her with her dragon. They both seemed to have issues with being overly willful. Pendragon couldn’t bring that dragon to heel unless she was following the rules herself, now could she?

I stepped into the center of the courtyard and called out, “All right, everyone, listen up.”

Pendragon’s head snapped toward me. I almost laughed at the look of shock on her face.

“Professor Sankara has a board meeting so he’s running late,” I said, addressing the class. “He may show up towards the end of class, but until then I’ll be leading today’s session.” I met Pendragon’s eyes. “As a Fourth Year, I’ve also volunteered to help out this term.” I grinned. “So get used to seeing me around.”

A few students laughed. Most of them had seen me step in for Sankara last year and knew what to expect. Theo cast a wary glance in my direction. I thought Pendragon might try to protest, but she just scowled, crossing her eyes and staring me down as if she was daring me to start something.

Which I absolutely planned on doing, of course.

“We’ll start with hand-to-hand sparring today,” I continued, pacing slowly around the circle. I’d already decided supervising sharp weapons this first class was too dangerous. I wasn’t going to risk Pendragon bleeding again and being mobbed by the younger less-controlled students, especially while Sankara wasn’t there to back me up. “But first, why don’t we all acknowledge our guest of honor?”

I started clapping my hands slowly as I turned towards Pendragon, watching in delight as a slow flush crept up her cheeks.

“Miss Pendragon. How incredibly generous of you to grace us with your presence here today. I’m sure we’re all eager to witness your prowess as Sangratha’s newest dragon rider, aren’t we, class?”

There was some scattered laughter and mocking applause.

I paused. “That is, if you’re ready to show us what you’ve got. I mean, you did bring your dragon with you, didn’t you, Pendragon?” I looked around the courtyard. “Damn, I don’t see him anywhere. He seems to have disappeared. It’s almost as if he doesn’t like you very much.”

Her cheeks turned redder, but she didn’t rise to the bait.

“Took you for one ride and got bored and flew off, did he? Well, I think we all know howthatgoes. I mean, I certainly can’t blame him,” I said with a sly grin, loading my words with double-meaning and giving the rest of the class a knowing look. “Anyhow, no dragons today. Sorry, everyone. But I’m sure we’re still very eager to see what you can do, Pendragon.”

I shrugged my shoulders, trying to loosen the tension that was building there just from being in her presence. “Let’s have some volunteers. We’ll watch our first pair spar. I’ll observe and give some pointers. Who wants to go first?”

Hands immediately shot up. All good Drakharrow students. I was proud to see their enthusiasm.

Unsurprisingly, Pendragon’s hands stayed right where they were.

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