Page 3 of Tempest Rising

"There you are," he said, his deep voice steady and calm, though I caught an edge of concern in his tone. "I’ve been looking for you. Are you okay?"

I swallowed hard and forced a smile, still shaken by what had just transpired. "Yeah," I murmured. "I'm fine. Just... lost in thought, I guess."

"More like crashing emotional waves," came Thalon's sudden mental chime, his voice carrying that teasing lilt.

I bristled internally at the dragon’s commentary but tried to keep a straight face. Mason didn’t need to be caught up in this too. “Shush,” I shot back through our bond, hoping he’d take the hint to stay quiet.

"Well," Mason said, "if you need to talk, you know I'm here, right? I know this is a lot. You don’t have to carry any of thisby yourself." His gaze was warm, steady, full of something solid and reassuring. A stark contrast to the storm that had surged between me and Ciaran only moments ago.

Thalon hummed, “Of course you aren't alone. You have me.”

It was going to take a while to get used to Thalon’s commentary in my head. Trying to ignore him, I nodded to Mason. "I know," I whispered.

He tilted his head, the soft light catching in his hazel eyes, making them shimmer in shades of forest green and amber. Despite the easy calm he radiated, I knew Mason could sense something stirring restlessly beneath my surface. He'd always been uncannily perceptive.

“Anyway,” Mason said. “Class is about to start. We don’t want to be late.”

Class. Right.

It was hard to believe that just a few days ago, I had become the first person ever bonded to a dragon.Me, out of all people. And now, here I was, on my first day as part of the Dragon Rider Applicants' training. Not that it was going smoothly, of course. This morning, I’d already been pushed around during physical training by some of the other recruits who clearly didn't think I belonged here.

Then there was the meeting with the headmaster and Silvius. That meeting had been a nightmare in itself—Silvius's icy glare boring into me like I was some kind of stain on the Guild's legacy. Then, this whole thing with Ciaran. It was a lot.

And somehow, I still had one more class to get through today.

I blinked, forcing myself to refocus. "Alright. Lead the way."

Chapter 2

Mason

The tension in the air was thick as we trudged into the outdoor training area for our next class, Crisis Management Strategies. I could feel my skin prickling, the stone within me humming with some primal instinct that always flared when Tess was near.

My gargoyle side was on edge, heightened senses buzzing, and the gravel of my thoughts kept turning over one thing… her scent. I'd caught it earlier, that unmistakable sweetness of arousal clinging to her skin like dew. Tess had been alone when I found her, but there was something she wasn’t saying, and it gnawed at me.

I positioned myself next to her, standing just close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating from her body. She glanced up at me, her lips twitching into a small, tentative smile, one I returned with a steady nod.

Tess might not have known it, but there was no way I was leaving her side today. Not when I could sense how overwhelmed she was, her heartbeat still a little fast, her breathing a little shallow.

What had happened back there?

I clenched my jaw, keeping my face blank as other trainees filed in around us.

Selena and Valen stood off to the side, watching her with expressions I couldn't decipher. I didn’t think they should be able to participate in the classes after what they had done to Tess, but I’d heard their punishment was that they couldn't attend the next two Compatibility Challenges, giving them much less time with the dragons they were hoping to bond with.

Kane had taken his spot nearby, already scanning the area like it was a battleground—strategic as ever, cold eyes flickering with judgment. Draven leaned against a tree nearby, arms crossed over his chest like he was bored.

Something didn't sit right. This wasn’t the usual Monday afternoon class, and it wasn’t just Aelar, the hard-ass Crisis Management instructor, stalking the perimeter. There were too many unfamiliar faces, too many sets of eyes here that didn’t normally bother to show up for these lessons.

My instincts prickled. Something was off.

“Dante,” Kane muttered under his breath. The vampire instructor watched from beneath a wide-brimmed hat, his sharp features shadowed by an eerie sort of calm.

“He’s not alone,” I added, following his line of sight. Standing next to him was someone I’d never seen before. Tall, pale, his tailored dark suit fitting his lithe frame perfectly. The man exuded an air of quiet, confident authority. Not just another pretty vampire face. There was something... official about him.

Kane answered before I even had the chance to tilt my head in question. “Lucien Voss,” he said in that clipped, no-nonsense voice of his. “The vampire representative of the Omnium.”

“The Omnium?” Tess asked, her gaze bouncing between Lucien and Kane. Her brow furrowed slightly, the curiosity in her eyes pulling at the corner of my mouth, though I did my best tokeep my face stoic. She was always hungry for knowledge—to understand everything that was happening around her. It was one of the things I admired most about her.

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