Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 126358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 505(@250wpm)___ 421(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 505(@250wpm)___ 421(@300wpm)
Ryse moved over without comment, and I curled on my side beside him. I was careful not to touch him, but I could feel the warmth of his big, muscular body radiating against my back.
“Will they expect us to go to classes today?” I asked and yawned.
“No, not after that.” Ryse sighed. “We should get at least half a day off. They’ll probably expect us for lunch.”
“Good. Then I’m going to sleep until then.”
And I closed my eyes and let myself drift off, grateful that I had survived the Mating Flight.
I dreamed of flying on a dragon with pure golden wings and didn’t wake up until the Great Bell rang for lunch.
43
AURORA
Lunch was a silent affair. Ryse had been right—nobody could look anyone else in the eye.
There were a few exceptions. I saw Jorn-o and Greer casting longing looks at each other across the Mess Hall and was glad that my friend seemed to have made some kind of real connection. But most of the cadets around me kept their eyes down on their trays and almost everyone ate in silence.
About halfway through the meal, the Healer, Professor Zephyr, came to the middle of the room and asked for silence to make an announcement. Since almost no one had been talking anyway, her calm, clear voice was easy to hear.
“I have been searching through my records and last night’s Mating Flight was the most violent and intense that has been felt in this Academy for over a century,” she said. “I want you to know that the way you reacted was not your fault—we all know that dragons have strong emotions. Last night those emotions overcame many of you—there is no shame in that.”
I saw many of the cadets looking around surreptitiously, as though they were wondering if they could really believe her.
“Now, having said that, I’m quite certain that some of you probably sustained some injuries,” she went on. “Some of you probably engaged in acts you’d never done before and weren’t prepared to do either physically or emotionally. Listen to me—if you are injured, come see me.” She looked across the sea of faces, her own face earnest and intense. “Don’t try to go on without treatment. Injuries—especially internal ones—can become very serious if left untreated.”
I saw several cadets wince and shift in their seats and I understood what the Healer meant.
“That’s all I have to say,” Professor Zephyr told us. “I’ll be in the Infirmary all day today. Please, if you’re hurt, come see me.”
As she left the Mess Hall, I saw several cadets get up and push their half-full trays through the rectangular window on the side of the wall. Many of them were walking with a kind of limp, as though they were in pain, but no one laughed at them, which surprised me.
Not that I thought it was funny myself, but by now I knew how the boys around me behaved. They liked to joke about everything—especially if the joke was at the expense of one of their friends. Everything was funny and the more personal and private, the funnier it was.
But not today.
I had the feeling that the whole Academy was shaken to its core by the events of last night. And worse, no one really knew why it had happened. What had caused the Mating Flight to be ten times worse than it usually was?
No one knew. Which meant no one knew how to prevent it from happening again. Now that was a sobering thought—especially since a Mating Flight could occur at any time.
At last, lunch was over and everyone moved to get back to their classes. It had been announced that—for today only—we only had to go to classes if we wanted to. The Head Master had made a fumbling announcement about how he understood if we were “too fatigued to function properly” but that tomorrow everything would be business as usual.
I left a silent Toady, Bugs, and Leaper—Jorn-o had already left awhile ago with Greer—and moved to take my try to the window.
“Here, I’ve got that.”
Ryse suddenly appeared beside me. He took my barely-touched tray in his hand and pushed both our trays through the side window together.
“Are you going to class?” I asked, as we left the Mess Hall.
He shook his head.
“I want to spend some time in the library to see if I can find an explanation for what happened last night.”
“Don’t you think the professors are already doing that?” I asked.
He frowned.
“Maybe, but I’m not sure they’re looking in the right places. Most of them are talking to their dragons—or asking riders whose dragons rose for mating last night to question them. But I don’t think the explanation for what happened lies in the present—we need to look to the past.”
I gave him a surprised look.
“You think this kind of thing has happened before?”