Page 55 of Under Restless Skies

“It’s still raining,” I say.

He gives me a lazy shrug, looking dashingly handsome in a linen shirt and leather pants. “And we can leave when it stops.”

“Did you put something in my bedroom earlier?” I’m wondering if he was the one who brought Ava.

He blinks and tilts his head. “What something?”

I can’t tell if he’s pretending, trying to mess with my head, or if he really doesn’t know about the little dragon, so I try a different question.

“Have you seen the dragon eggs? Since they were brought in?”

“No. But you did. Is there something you want to tell me?”

I take a deep breath, debating if I should try to catch him in a lie or just tell him the truth, and then I pick the second option.

“The eggs hatched.”

“That was quick.” He raises his eyebrows, seeming genuinely surprised.

“And when I came to my bedroom today, I found one of the hatchlings. Did you put her here?”

He frowns, confused. “A little dragon? Here? Are you sure?”

“How can I not be sure? You think I’d confuse them with a rat or something?”

“It’s bizarre. Is their room nearby?” He looks up at the wall, as if to check if there’s an opening, something.

“It’s a few floors down. Who else could have a key to this room?”

He pauses. “Some servants. Rosalia. Maybe some academy officers.”

“That’s a lot of people.”

His confused expression turns into a grimace. “But why would they bring a dragon here?”

“I don’t know. They’d need the key to the room where he was, too. I don’t think a lot of people have it, unless they have a master key.”

Alayel shakes his head. “Nobody else has it.”

“Then who did you copy it from?”

He scratches his chin and smirks. “I… replaced the original with a replica.”

I don’t even know how to react to that, but then I think back to the little dragons. “Katrine, the Dragon Knowledge instructor, was checking the eggs. She also moved the hatchlings to another room, near the dungeons. Maybe she brought the little dragon here.”

“Technically, she might have been able to do it, but it makes absolutely no sense. Either way, if someone wants to blackmail you, they’ll eventually ask for something, and that’s when you figure out the culprit. Keep your ears alert, your eyes wide. Hang on. Can’t you smell if someone came into your room? You had all those smelling powers, right?”

I shake my head. “I feel very little. It’s been numbed since I got into the academy.”

Alayel presses his lips together. “Oh. Anyway, I’ll try to help you figure out what’s happening.”

I hope so. But then, thinking about the little dragons brings a smile to my face. “The hatchlings are absolutely adorable.”

“I bet they are. But why aren’t they with Auranius?”

“I overheard Katrine. They’re afraid the riders will come for the hatchlings and kill them. Auranius’ lair is safe most of the time, but if he flies away or sleeps…”

“That makes sense.” He gets up. “Are you ready?”