“This is a wonderful turn of events.” Ms. Ionadi squeezed Pepin and Ana’s shoulders. “I look forward to seeing all that you and Fyrenza accomplish together. Now. Lunch? And then class. You’ll need to go to the office to have your schedule sorted out.”

  “Okay.” Ana exhaled heavily. Was this what victory felt like? She wasn’t used to the sensation.

  Ms. Ionadi went to open the door, but she paused with her hand on the knob. “Ana?”

  “Mm-hmm?” Ana was a little distracted with making Fyrenza release a strand of her hair.

  I’m curious to see what it tastes like, the phoenix complained. Let me have a little nibble.

  “I believe in you,” Ms. Ionadi said. “One hundred percent...but just remember...in some ways, this will make you even more of an outsider.”

  Ms. Ionadi held Ana’s gaze, and Ana understood. Her whole life, she’d had to watch her back. This turn of events wouldn’t change that. In fact, it might intensify it.

  Chapter 22

  Ms. Ionadi had been correct. Fyrenza and Ana’s acceptance into Galfour’s point had put her front and center at the school.

  For the rest of the day, while Ana got her schedule and attended her first few classes, people followed her everywhere. Their questions were endless, and by supper, Fyrenza was fed up with students trying to touch her feathers.

  She took off to roost in the woods early, but not before Ana made her promise that she would stay close and meet her on the front lawn immediately after breakfast.

  It wasn’t only the questions that were different. People treated Ana differently as well. Before she was sure she was merely known as “the girl from the plains.” Now, students addressed her by name and asked to sit next to her in class. Even the older students, who’d had no interest in the newcomers before, paid her attention.

  It was a bit too much to handle. Ana had liked it better when it was just her and Pepin doing as they pleased.

  She didn’t even mind the glares from Dove and her friends so much anymore. Even though those had increased in intensity.

  “Are you excited?” Pepin asked the next morning, plopping down in the seat Ana had saved for him at breakfast.

  It was odd that she’d even had to save him a seat, but as soon as she and Fyrenza had picked a table, six other students had joined them. One of them had tried to pet Fyrenza, but the phoenix had promptly snapped at him. Since then, no one else had attempted to touch her.

  “Excited for what?” She took a bite of eggs and found they’d gone cold. She’d been a little busy making sure Fyrenza didn’t bite someone’s finger off to eat.

  “Didn’t you look at your syllabus?”

  “Er…” She had, but she also hadn’t memorized all her classes. Instead, she’d been keeping the paper folded up in her pocket so that she could check it as she went.

  “It’s dragon riding,” John Wildblood said from across the table.

  John was one of the nicer students, someone who Ana could see herself being friends with. He at least didn’t make unpredictable grabs for Fyrenza, and he didn’t treat Ana like she was an abnormality.

  “Exactly.” Pepin was practically glowing.

  “Are you serious?” Ana’s mouth dropped. Why hadn’t she noted that when she scanned her schedule? Was it even on there?

  Pulling the paper out of her pants pocket, she found that morning’s schedule. Yep. There it was.

  Dragon riding? Fyrenza let out a little squawk. Why would you need to learn to ride a dragon?

  “Because we’re training to be dragon riders,” Ana whispered to her. “That’s what we do.”

  Because Fyrenza had stopped projecting her thoughts to anyone other than Ana and Pepin, Ana didn’t like being seen carrying on what appeared to be a one-sided conversation with her phoenix.

  You’re not a dragon rider. You’re a phoenix rider. Remember? You won’t be assigned a dragon...right?

  Ana frowned at that. “No, I guess I won’t be.”

  “Right,” Pepin jumped in. “She won’t be.”

  There you have it. Pepin, will you be eating that bacon?

  “Here.” He held out a piece for her, and she snatched it from between his fingers.

  Instead of swallowing the bacon whole, though, she dropped it onto the table. Bleh! That thing is cooked to a second death. Who would eat it?

  Pepin laughed. “It just so happens that most humans love it.”

  Well, then most humans are insane.

  After breakfast, they walked to the back lawn among some other chattering first-year students. About a quarter of the class was there, bringing the group to around a dozen.

  “Will we each get our own dragon to ride?” Ana asked Pepin.

  “I don’t know.” He was nearly bouncing as he walked. “What if we even meet our personal dragons today? How amazing would that be?”

  Ana smiled at that. Having a dragon partner would be incredible, but she was happy with Fyrenza. Attitude and all.

  Evidently, Mr. Gonderson was the expert on dragons at Galfour’s Point, because he was teaching the class. Today, he had Tracker with him again, but she wasn’t the only dragon sitting in the grass.

  There were three other dragons as well, one with scales of every shade of green imaginable, one with pale blue and violet scales, and one that was black and gray and with red eyes. They were all beautiful in their own way, and the sight of them stole Ana’s breath.

  They each had saddles on, exactly like the kind horses would wear with stirrups and reins. The only difference was that these saddles had buckled straps to keep the rider secured.

  The other students were just as mesmerized. Whereas everyone had been talking and laughing on the way out to the lawn, once they arrived at the dragons and Mr. Gonderson, a hushed silence fell over the group.

  “Right then!” Mr. Gonderson’s voice boomed across the lawn. “Good morning, and I hope no one is afraid of heights!”

  Behind Ana, someone actually whimpered.

  “Don’t worry.” Mr. Gonderson chuckled. “If you faint up there, the straps should keep you in the saddle. And we won’t be going high, anyway. For your first lesson, we’ll start small, doing some coasting along the lawn, nothing higher than twenty feet.”

  Ana caught Pepin’s eye, and they exchanged an excited look.

  “They’re beautiful,” Ana said.

  Fyrenza pushed off Ana’s shoulder and flew a circle around her. If you like scales...which, in my opinion, are kind of weird-looking. Phoenixes shed theirs millennia ago.

  Apparently, Fyrenza wasn’t being quiet with her thoughts, because the blue dragon turned its yellow eyes their way and huffed. A puff of smoke left its nostrils, leaving an acrid smell in the air.

  Are you threatening me? Fyrenza landed on the grass in front of the dragon and extended her wings to their full span-- which wasn’t much at all.

  “Fyrenza,” Ana hissed. Running forward, she scooped Fyrenza up.

  There were some laughs, but Mr. Gonderson scowled. “You’ll be riding, too, by the way, Ana. Your phoenix won’t be big enough to ride for months, and you need to start practicing now.”

  Ana kept Fyrenza in her arms as she returned to her spot next to Pepin. “I still look forward to riding you.”

  Whatever. I’m not threatened.

  Right.

  “Let’s get this show on the road.” Mr. Gonderson walked up to Tracker and put a hand on her saddle. “Ann Marie, come on up.”

  The girl walked up with hands shaking, and Ana felt bad for her. Heights didn’t bother Ana at all; she’d been scaling rooftops with her friends since she was a small child.

  “There you go. Put your foot in the stirrup. You ever ride a horse?” While Mr. Gonderson helped the first student, Fyrenza hopped up to the black and gray dragon.

  Ana’s breath hitched in her throat. “Fyrenza,” she hissed. “Get back here.”

  Why? I’m not doing anything. Only saying hello.

  The dragon blinked its red eyes at the little phoenix. As Fyrenza drew nearer, its eyes narrowed into slits. That didn’t seem a good sign.

  You smell like deer. You found it already dead, didn’t you? Interesting choice for a meal…

  The dragon shifted on its haunches.

  “Fyrenza!” Ana snapped.

  Mr. Gonderson looked over in irritation. “Ana, get that phoenix under control.”

  Ana’s teeth ground and she directed her thoughts at Fyrenza. Now look what you’ve done. You’re getting me into trouble.

  Fyrenza stomped. Fine. If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave.

  Before Ana could respond, Fyrenza had taken to the sky and flown off. With a heavy exhale, Ana caught Pepin’s eye.

  “It’s probably best she’s not here anyway,” he whispered.

  “I know,” she whispered back. “I don’t know what I’ll do about that attitude.”

  Mr. Gonderson had finished getting Ann Marie situated in the saddle. Unfortunately, whatever instructions he’d given her had been lost for Ana-- she’d been distracted by Fyrenza.

  As Ana watched, Tracker stood to her full height, coiled back on her hind legs, and took off with a big flap of the wings. Ann Marie yelped, but Tracker stayed low to the ground, flying in a big circle around the lawn.

  There were claps and laughter. Shouts to go next.

  As Tracker did another loop, Ann Marie’s death hold on the reins relaxed and she started looking like she was actually enjoying herself.

  The dragon came to a landing next to the other ones, and the class pushed forward. Now that Ann Marie had survived the experience, everyone wanted to be the next person to ride.

  “Ana!”

  “Hm?” She turned and saw Brax striding across the lawn, a folded piece of paper in hand.

  He gestured for her to meet him halfway, and as she got closer, she noticed his serious expression.

  “A telegram for you,” he said. “It was marked urgent. An errand boy just ran it up here.”

  Ana’s heart dropped. “Who is it from?”

  “I don’t know.” He handed it over.

  Was it from her father? Had the debt collector returned? With shaking hands, she took the paper, already imagining Mortimer saying he was in the hospital after being beaten black and blue. It wouldn’t be the first time debt collectors had used violence to send a message.

  “What’s that?” It was Pepin, looking over her shoulder.

  “I’m not sure. An urgent telegram.”

  Brax had already turned and gone back into the castle, leaving Ana and Pepin alone. With the rest of the class clamoring around the dragons, no one seemed to notice the two of them had broken off.

  Ana flipped the paper open and scanned the short telegram.

  “Well?” Pepin demanded.

  Ana struggled to answer. She read the telegram again, praying she’d read wrong the first time.

  “Ana. What’s wrong?”

  “It’s from Aelred and Ginger.” She lowered the telegram and stared at Pepin, horrified. “They say that they discovered Eleph rents a room in Mandragoria and they’re going there to bring him to justice.”

  Pepin’s jaw dropped. “That’s insane. With his magic, they won’t stand a chance.”

  Ana felt lightheaded. “They don’t know that he has magic. I never told them. When he-- After what happened to Cien-- I thought maybe I was imagining it. And then I was going to tell them what happened on the mountain, but I wasn’t home long enough the other day to see them.”

  She clutched at the roots of her hair. How could she have been so careless and stupid? Why was she always keeping things to herself and rationing what information she shared?

  These were her best friends, and because she’d chosen to keep the truth about Eleph to herself, they could soon be dead. If they weren’t already.

  “I have to go there. To stop them. They said they’re looking for Eleph at a boarding house called Crow’s Alley.”

  “To Mandragoria?” Pepin looked as if he might be sick. “That’s a big place. How will you find them, even knowing the name of the boarding house?”

  “I don’t know, but I have to try.”

  Mandragoria was one of the largest cities in the plains, and though Ana’s first home had been near it, she had no memories of that time. Her father had moved her to Aershire not long after the fire.

  Searching for two people in Mandragoria would be akin to hunting for a needle in a haystack, but Ana wasn’t about to sit around Galfour’s Point while her friends were destroyed.

  Her gaze slid to the dragon riding class. Headmaster Whitlock had given her a warning upon accepting her into school. She knew very well that if she disappeared like this she could be expelled.

  It used to be she thought becoming a dragon rider was the most important thing. Faced with losing two of her best friends, she knew now that she’d been wrong.

  “I have to go.” Had she already said that? She didn’t know. All she knew was that time was running out.

  “I’ll come with you.” Pepin bounced on his heels, looking as if he were ready to take off that very moment.

  “No. You can’t.” She seized his wrist. “Thank you, but going means…” She could hardly say it. “It means that I might not be allowed back here. You heard Headmaster Whitlock. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want me here anyway, and taking off like this is definitely against school policy. I can’t risk having you expelled as well.”

  Pepin looked pained. “Damn.” He chewed on his bottom lip. “Okay, here’s what we can do. I’ll tell everyone that you’re sick and in bed.”

  Ana scrunched her nose. “They’ll figure that out. Once the other girls go up to the dormitory tonight, they’ll see I’m not there.”

  “Tonight we have Foraging at Night, remember?”

  “No. I don’t.”

  Again, she really ought to have studied the syllabus.

  “That’s not over till almost midnight, so no one will be in the dormitories till then. That’s almost sixteen hours. Can you make it to Mandragoria and back by then?”

  “That gives me hardly any time to look for them.”

  Mandragoria was about an hour past Aershire.

  “You won’t be by yourself. You’ll have help.”

  “Fyrenza!” Ana nearly clapped for joy. “She can look from the sky.”

  “Exactly.” Pepin glanced over his shoulder, at the class. “Go now, while they’re busy. I’ll tell Mr. Gonderson that it seems you ate something bad and you had to leave before you vomited all over Tracker’s saddle.”

  “Good idea.” She squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Pepin.”

  His eyes caught hers, and she saw they were glazed over. “Ana...be careful. Really, really careful.”

  A lump formed in her throat. “I will, I promise.”

  With that, she turned and skirted around the edge of the castle, not even bothering with going inside. Thanks to her life-long habit of keeping anything precious on her, she had all her money buttoned up in an inside pocket in her blouse.

  Taking respite under a tree on the front lawn -- that she was pretty sure no one could see her under -- she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing.

  In and out. In and out.

  Fyrenza, where are you? My friends are in trouble and I need your help. Come to the oak tree by the front drive.

  Exhaling slowly, she opened her eyes. The dappled shade danced over the grass and her arms. If Fyrenza didn’t show within the next few minutes, Ana would have no choice but to leave without her.

  A blur of movement caught her eye, and then Fyrenza swooped under the oak’s branches and landed on the ground in front of Ana.

  Finally, she said. We’re going to do something fun.

  Chapter 23

  “It’s called Crow’s Alley.” Realizing that she’d spoken out loud, Ana projected the sentence to Fyrenza instead.

  Crow’s Alley, hm? Interesting. What about Phoenix Alley? Personally, I’m offended.

  Ana shook her head. Let’s get serious, Fyrenza. We’re dealing with the man who tried to kill you, remember? He’s dangerous.

  Oh, I remember all too well, Fyrenza said. And I’m looking forward to meeting him again.

  Ana paused at the corner of the sidewalk. She’d arrived at a busy intersection of Mandragoria, where carts and automobiles choked the streets. She’d never seen so many people, never heard so many noises at one time. It was nearly overwhelming.

  Where are you? she asked Fyrenza as she crossed the street.

  Close enough to see you.

  Ana turned her gaze upward, but all she found was a thick layer of gray clouds.

  I have good vision, Fyrenza added. Even for a phoenix.

  And, Ana said, how fortunate that you also have great humility.

  There was no response.

  Fyrenza? Ana tried to stay calm.

  That wasn’t funny.

  Ana shook her head. Whatever.

  I found Crow’s Alley, Fyrenza said. Two blocks down, take a right, then it’s a half-block more on the left.

  Really? Ana broke into a run, dodging pedestrians and carts selling food and knick-knacks.

  The boarding house was a decrepit one with its shingles barely hanging on and more than one window pane broken. Why Eleph had come to Mandragoria after having recently been in Rocheport Ana didn’t know. Perhaps he felt he needed to be on the move after killing Cien or The Knowing was sending him on missions.

  Whatever the reason, knowing they were this close yet again made Ana’s heart race. She wanted to catch Eleph just as much as Ginger and Aelred, but they needed to be smart about this.

  A woman with stringy gray hair stood outside of the boarding house smoking. She eyed Ana as she approached.

  “Yes?”

  Ana hesitated, unsure how much she would reveal.

  “I don’t have all day, honey.” The woman dropped the cigarette to the ground and put it out with the heel of her boot. “You lookin’ to rent a room?”

  “No.” Ana licked her lips. “I’m searching for someone, actually. A man with dark hair, about shoulder length. He’s thin. I heard that he’s staying here.”

 

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