Page 122 of Grave Situation

“Leicht has given permission,” I say, which is technically the truth. The fact that we’re bonded is a little detail they don’t need to know just yet.

Even as I think that, it makes me feel guilty. Coryn has been nothing but loyal and steadfast since the moment I met him. He’s put his life on the line for me and taken on every task that’s come up, even the ones that don’t necessarily fall within his remit as our protector—like looking out for Arimen. He’s earned my trust, and yet… This isn’t the kind of thing that even the most trustworthy friend needs to know. This could endanger me, Leicht, Master, Jaimin… even my parents. This could cause problems with the dragons. Until we knowwhyor evenhowit happened, it’s best for everyone, including Coryn, if he doesn’t know.

“I suppose if he’s given permission,” Coryn says, but both his expression and tone are full of doubt.

“If the stone says you need to, then you need to,” Arimen insists, then bites his lip and asks, “But do we know why? It seems dangerous to me.”

“It seems dangerous to me too,” I say dryly. “Trust me, it’s not high on my list of things I want to do. I’ve delayed it as much as I can.”

His eyes widen in shock. “You’re defying thestone?”

A sigh escapes me. I should have known that would be his reaction.

“I’m sure Talon’s not intentionally defying the stone,” Jaimin placates, coming to my rescue as usual. “He’s probably just been trying to understand why this is necessary—and discussing it with Leicht.”

I seize on that. It sounds much better than “had a temper tantrum because I didn’t want to do it.” “Yes,” I agree. “I also needed to consider the logistics—as Arimen said, this isn’t the safest activity in the world, and I’d be learning in a very different environment to other riders. Plus, we wouldn’t want anyone to see and wonder why someone was learning to ride a dragon here instead of at the academy.” I try to look like this is something I’ve put careful planning into and not just been avoiding for weeks and then decided to throw myself into headfirst.

Although, I really hope there will be no throwing or headfirst anything going on.

“That makes sense,” Arimen ventures, though he’s sounding just as unsure as Coryn did. “But… do we know why? You didn’t say.”

Damn, I’d hoped he hadn’t noticed. “The stone didn’t say.” It’s not an outright lie—the stone didn’t say—but itisa lie of omission, and the guilt comes rushing back. “This is one of those situations where we just have to do what we’re told.” There’s a bitter edge to the words. I still hate that my life is apparently a plaything for fate. Not to mention, the stone hasn’t yet seenfit to tell us why we’re trudging across muddy fields instead of taking a nice road that goes through civilized villages. It’s been days since we’ve even seen a farmer, much less anyone else. I’m feeling very antsy about Master being our only contact with the outside world, especially since he can’t give us local Camblish information. The only positive is the reprieve from attacks.

“Okay,” Coryn says. “We’ll trust in the stone and the mission. At least Jaimin’s here for when you get hurt.”

“Let’s not say ‘when,’ as though it’s a foregone conclusion,” Jaimin suggests, but I pull a face.

“I’ve already thought of that,” I tell Coryn. “It’s a great comfort for me.”

The impatient sound Jaimin makes prompts me to grin at him. He should know by now that I’m not the kind to think positive. I’m in the “how many things can go wrong and how do I prepare for them” camp.

We reach the trees Leicht saw sooner than I would have liked, and I spend a ridiculous amount of time helping to set up camp. At one point, I even consider offering to hunt for food—which, even though we’ve been on the road for a while, I’m still terrible at.

Eventually, Jaimin raises both brows at me, and Leicht grumbles about immature mages, so I huff a sigh and walk out into the nearest field, where the mammoth dragon awaits me.

Seriously… was he always this big? I knew dragons were oversized, but I’m sure he’s grown since I saw him this morning. He’s gigantic.

“Or are you merely puny?”

“Let’s not snipe at each other,”I placate. If I have to climb onto him and let him carry me hundreds of feet into the air, I don’t want to get on his bad side. Or at least, not any more than I already am after years of calling him an overgrown lizard andother things that I’m now truly regretting.“You wouldn’t drop me over past grudges, would you?”

Maybe it’s a bad idea to remind him of that, but on the other hand, I’d hate to find out the hard way because I didn’t check.

“Not now. Perhaps before, I would have, but I won’t lose another bonded.”

Well, that’s… good.

“Great. Thank you. Um. Okay… how do we do this? I feel like I should have a month of theory and other training before my feet leave the ground.”

He snorts, tiny flames licking around his nostrils.“We have no time for that. Don’t be a coward.”

Now probably isn’t the best time to tell him Tia was the brave one. I’m the conflict avoider.

Leicht shifts his weight suddenly, making me jump, and extends his foreleg.“Climb up.”

I stare at the scaly expanse before me. Guess it’s time to learn to fly.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

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