Aliya woke up with a start. She was lying against Kilnik's side, the book for her report was at her side but it was lying with the pages open to the ground. She groaned already able to tell that the pages had become bent. It must have fallen from her hands as she fell asleep.
She didn't remember much, just that she had ended up staying with Kilnik for the rest of the afternoon. She hadn't wanted to talk to anyone and had especially not wanted to run into Cade. She must have been sleepy because she'd ended up falling asleep for the whole night.
She carefully extracted herself from Kilnik's tail, which had been wrapped around her, and tip-toed to the edge of the cave. She looked down and was relieved to see that it must be very early. The sun was just coming up and she didn't see another soul moving around. If one of the staff caught her up here when it was obvious she'd slept here she'd get in trouble.
She stepped over the side and lowered herself down until she found good foot and hand holds, then she carefully made her way down the rock face. She had to go extra slowly because some of the rocks were damp with dew. She hoped Kilnik wouldn't sulk because she didn't wake him, but he looked so peaceful.
She snuck back to the dorms and into her room. She quickly took off her clothes from the day before and put on new pants and a white undershirt that would go under her uniform for today. In this half-dressed state, she lay down for a few more minutes.
She fell asleep again and this time when she woke up it was to the sound of footsteps and doors opening and closing. She heard the now familiar chatter of girls coming from every corner of the building.
She moaned softly and hoisted herself upright. She'd slept for most of the night but falling back asleep made her feel like she needed hours more of sleep to feel normal.
She joined the morning hustle by going down to the shared washroom. Many of the girls were still in their night clothes and only a few were halfway dressed like Aliya. She got a few glances from the other girls but at this point, most of them just ignored her by now.
After washing her hands, face, and neck, she painstakingly combed through her dark hair before braiding it into a plait down her back. Once she looked presentable and hopefully didn't smell, she left the washroom. After grabbing her uniform coat she made her way to the dining hall which was two buildings down from her dormitory and found herself to be one of the first students. This suited her well since it meant she got a table to herself and was able to eat quickly.
As she was finishing young men and women started to trickle in, usually in groups of three or four. The groups laughed and talked together, harmonious little units that she was oddly jealous of this morning.
She stood and cleared her place for the next person and left the hall. She was just in time too, because she saw Cade enter as she was walking to the exit. Luckily, he didn't see her and she was able to avoid him for now.
Today all she had was independent study which consisted of flying exercise and then personal exercise. She met Kilnik right on time at the large field. She checked in with Instructor Millin and then greeted her grumpy partner.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" He grumbled while lowering himself to let her on.
"I just thought you were sleeping well and I didn't want to wake you. Why didn't you wake me last night? You know that if I get caught sleeping with you I'll get into trouble."
He made an annoyed sound in his throat. "I don't understand why the other humans are like that. What's wrong with you sleeping with me? Where else is safer for you but by my side?"
"I don't think it's an issue of safety."
Their conversation momentarily paused as she sat deeply back against his wing joints and hooked her knees over the bones protruding above his shoulders that made up the first third of his wingspan. The muscles in all four of his legs bunched underneath them and he pushed off hard hurtling them upwards. Her legs hooked on his wings were the only thing that prevented her from toppling off backward from the force of the acceleration. Once they reached the height of his jump he flapped his wings hard four times, each downward stroke of his wings pushed them higher. She had flattened her body along the base of his neck and was gripping the sides of his neck with an iron hand.
Once they were at a certain altitude the wind picked up and she felt the air filling his wings without him having to force it. At that moment he fully extended his wings and allowed them to drift on the current.
"What could possibly be more important than your life?" Kilnik asked picking up the conversation.
"The lives of everyone else." She deadpanned. She wasn't sure why there was a rule that a rider couldn't sleep in the caves with their dragons. She'd almost asked once but had never actually gotten around to it.
Kilnik made a dismissive snort. "I don't care about 'everyone else.'"
"I know."
"Why don't you just move to my cave, if any of those humans give you problems I'll burn them."
She laughed at her absurdly cute dragon. "I'll freeze."
"I'll keep you warm, I'm a dragon, fire is what I do."
"Where will I keep my clothes?"
"Bring a trunk."
"What about my books."
"I can fly up a bookcase."
"What about a door?"
"Why do you need a door?"
"Um, privacy, it's not like I can change clothes or bathe in the open. Which, by the way, that's another one, what about a washroom?"
Kilnik was not happy with her she could feel it. He was perfectly serious about his plan and she could not be less serious. "I've never understood why humans are so shy. As for a washroom...I don't know I'll think about it, but I will come up with something." His tone left no room for argument.
She sighed and leaned back against his spine. For a moment she just enjoyed watching his pale wings flutter and shift to stay in the current and to balance their weight. "Kilnik, I'm not moving into your cave."
"Yes, you are."
"No. I am not."
He growled and she felt his anger spark higher. "Do you so prefer the company of that boy that you don't want to be with me anymore?" Each word was viciously growled in her mind and it startled her. She'd meant to gently but firmly admonish him but he was really angry.
"What are you talking about?" She sat up.
She felt him seethe. "Forget it." He said darkly. "Dive." The warning came coldly and abruptly and had she not responded instinctively she would have been thrown from his back, something that hadn't happened since they were both just learning to fly together. She screeched as he snapped his body almost in half to point his head towards the ground far below. Tucking his wings she dove.
She held on for dear life, screaming involuntarily all the while. She loved thrills and loved doing daring things in the air with him, but she did not appreciate a ninety-degree dive with no warning.
When he pulled up the force of their stop was so strong that she jolted and then smacked her chin against the top of his neck causing her to bite her lip.
Tears stung her eyes and she cursed at him in her mind. A drop of blood splattered against the pale scales of his neck. She instantly felt his anger turn to worry and regret. He tried to ask her what happened while also apologizing but she didn't want to hear it. She blocked him from her mind as best she could and then said one thing out loud.
"Put me on the ground now or so help me..." She shouted.
She felt his chagrin but she was over it. She was not going to keep indulging him if this was the result. She was never going back to that cave.
As soon as he touched down she briefly saw Instructor Millin's eyes widen in surprise at their short session. She didn't care. She threw herself off his back and began stalking away as soon as her feet hit the ground. She didn't glance back.
She felt and actually heard, a more surprising thing since he hardly ever made noise when he moved, him following her. She was blocking him so hard that it was only because he was now in extreme distress that she could even hear a hint of his thoughts.
"Don't follow me." She again said it out loud refusing to use their bond. She knew her words had their intended effect. She may as well have struck him. She didn't have to look to know that he'd shrunk back from her in a way that was uncharacteristic and unbecoming of the powerful dragon that he was.
She felt the same way even saying the words. They physically hurt her, but she wanted to hurt. How dare he play with her life like that? It was one thing to coordinate a bit of daring or something dangerous in flight, but they always talked about it first. Each of them knew what the other was intending to do. It was why they were so good at what they did because their minds were so in sync they appeared to others as one being. What he'd just done in his anger was the opposite of who they were as a pair.
She took a deep breath and walked away again, when she couldn't stand it anymore she sprinted, all the way back to her dorms. She didn't even realize that she was skipping her personal exercise as well. When she got to her room she paced up and down. Her feelings were a mess and far away in a corner of her mind, she had to deal with Kilnik's messy feelings too.
Something caught her eye just in time to keep her from going insane. A letter must have been delivered with the morning's mail. No one ever wrote to her so it was a noticeable addition to her room. She picked up the envelope and read it. Then she read it again. Her mouth hung open.
It was addressed to her no doubt about it, but that wasn't the part that caught her the most off guard. In the sender's lines were these words.
Lady Kira Delmont of House Delmont
She opened the letter and found a single sheet of paper inside and on that sheet was an invitation to tea the next day.
She turned the page over and over inspecting it from every angle. At one time she'd actually expected to be invited by Lady Delmont to a tea or a dinner. Tate had hinted at it in passing that his mother wanted to meet her. However, time had passed and she'd never heard a single word. The only time she'd even seen the woman was at that horrible dinner of the Emperor's and she'd been in no fit state to speak to Aliya. Now after Tate's was gone she was at least receiving an invitation?