Page 68 of The Bond That Burns

He snorted with laughter and dodged. “I’ve decided to go celibate. I’m going to focus on my grades this year.”

I nearly choked. “You? Celibate?” I tilted my head. “Well, I guess it would be even more of a shock if Visha had said that.”

Theo laughed. “Visha doesn’t give a shit about her grades, believe me. She’s just here for the fun of it. But she gets decent marks somehow, despite all the partying she does.”

“Visha.” I shook my head. “She’s a smart girl. Tough, too.”

“I wonder how she’s feeling about this morning,” Theo said, a little reluctantly. “It has to sting. She told me Blake was considering her as his Second.”

“What does that even mean?” I asked curiously.

Theo shrugged. “You know, just someone to back up the House Leader. Blake was Marcus’s Second. You do what your House Leader says, help him hold things together. Fill in when needed. It has to be someone strong, supportive. Loyal above all.”

“I would have thought you’d be Blake’s Second,” I remarked.

“He wanted me to. But I don’t think I’d be a very good one,” Theo said. “Besides, I doubt he wants me to do it now.”

I slung my arm through his. “Blake is an idiot. I know you love him, but please try not to let him get to you. You’re a good person and a good friend. Just look at what you did for Vaughn. You could have been, well, more selfish. Any other highblood wouldhave chosen to keep him close. They wouldn’t have even thought about what Vaughn wanted.”

Theo laughed a little bitterly and I wondered if he was serious about being celibate this year. If so, had he made that choice because he wanted to or because he couldn’t get Vaughn off his mind? “Yeah, I’m not a great highblood.”

“That’s right. Guess you’re more blightborn than you think,” I said jokingly

But instead of laughing, Theo paled slightly.

I wanted to ask him about it, but we’d reached the room where Historical Strategy was being held. We’d walked so slowly and talked for so long that the lecture hall was already half-full. I recognized most of the students—basically all of the ones who had just been in our Defensive Arts class with Blake were in this section, too.

“Let me guess,” I muttered to Theo. “History with Hassan?”

He shuddered. “Probably. This is her specialty.”

I sighed and found an empty spot for us in the middle of the room. “Well, there’s nowhere to hide. Maybe she’ll ignore me.” I’d already given my friends an abbreviated version of what had happened in my private session with Hassan.

But when the door opened a few minutes later, it wasn’t Professor Hassan who entered. Instead, Professor Rodriguez strode to the lectern. He set down a familiar-looking worn leather satchel and looked up at us.

I realized Blake had come in at some point. He sat in the first row. To my surprise, Visha was beside him.

“Good afternoon,” Rodriguez said, breezily. “Most of you know me already. If you don’t, you should.” There was some laughter. “I’ll be taking over Historical Strategy this term. Professor Hassan has been assigned to other duties.”

The relief in the room was obvious. I saw some students let out sighs of relief. Evidently, I wasn’t the only student Hassan was hard on.

As for me, I was thrilled. This meant I’d be seeing Rodriguez at least three times a week, but that was fine by me. More opportunities to try to get information for Nyxaris from the one person in the school who might actually know something about dragons–and be willing to share that knowledge, once persuaded.

Professor Rodriguez laughed at the class’s reaction. “Make no mistake, I won’t go easy on you. But hopefully you’ll enjoy the material we’ll be covering. Strategy can be fascinating. So can the history of warfare.” His eyes swept over the tiers of seats and landed on me. He gave me a brief nod. “This class will focus on the historical applications of strategy in highblood warfare. We’ll examine the tactical use of dragons in battle, as well as the role of blightborn infantry, scouts, and other auxiliary forces. Why? Because by understanding the past, we can better prepare for the future.”

It was something all history teachers liked to say. But this time Rodriguez’s eyes were hard as he looked at me, as if I should take more meaning than usual from the tired old phrase.

“We’ll start the term by analyzing key battles from Sangratha’s history, including the Siege of Skyreach and the Fall of Lutharion. Two moments which helped to define our realm’smilitary legacy. Your assignments will require both individual research as well as group collaboration.”

Rodriguez started his lecture on the Siege of Skyreach and I began to busily write notes, firmly keeping my thoughts off both Blake and Nyxaris.

CHAPTER 16 - BLAKE

By the time I got to Historical Strategy, I’d decided the dragon’s proximity was what must have caused the bizarre appearance of the scales. Definitely once-in-a-lifetime. Definitely nothing permanent.

I was so relieved that it took me longer than it should have to realize Visha had sat down beside me.

“Thought I’d grace you with the honor of my presence since you didn’t seem to be able to get enough at breakfast, House Leader.” Her broad grin told me she hadn’t been put off in the slightest by my attempt at intimidation that morning.

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