Page 79 of Under Restless Skies

“Are you sure?” My voice is oddly mild, even if I’m trembling.

He nods. “I’ll deal with it. Don’t mention it to anyone. And you’re not in trouble. Yet.” He sits back behind the desk. “Let’s continue. Why were you downstairs earlier today?”

My mind is spinning, so confused about his request, but then I remember I have to answer his questions. I don’t even bother trying to pretend I was looking for Silvia. Instead, I confess, “I wanted to see the hatchlings.”

“During a ball?”

“I had… a hunch. Maybe because of the rain. Somehow, I thought they’d be scared.” Fearing he’s going to ring the bell, I add, “I know it doesn’t make sense.”

“No. It makes sense.” He glances at Ava on my chest. “Be careful, though. Get too attached, and you’ll break your heart.”

I shrug. “What’s the point of not breaking something if you can’t use it?” I realize that might have come out harsh. “No offense, I just mean…”

He shakes his head, now looking more like a weary grandfather than an almost fifty-year-old man. “The point is sparing you the pain. But perhaps there’s no escape. Now, how did you know about these two little dragons? I think I know most of the answer, but I’d like to hear it from you.”

I inhale a shaky breath and run a hand on Ava’s back, her new scales pricking my palm. “It’s a long story.”

“And I’d like to hear it.”

At this point, I’m assuming he already knows most of what happened, or at least that Alayel brought the eggs, and, either way, his bell spooks me enough not to want to risk it.

I tell him everything. The Trial, how I trained for it, learning to distinguish the smell of the ball. My failure. Prison. Alayel’s offer.

He frowns, his eyes narrowed in clear displeasure. “You decided to risk going to the enemy’s land just to get into this wretched academy?”

“And out of prison.”

His sigh is shaky, annoyed.

I continue, telling him about the smugglers and my journey to the island with Alayel. I omit small details, like spending the night in the bastard prince’s arms, but other than that, I stick to the truth. I even mention the rider and his magic.

“Wait a minute,” Mallor interrupts me. “You’re telling me that the bratty fake prince let you go alone to retrieve the eggs?”

I fidget in my chair, suddenly uncomfortable, and Ava climbs to my shoulder. “I have a better sense of smell than him,” I explain.

“And he couldn’t at least cover for you? Watch your back?”

His indignation makes some sense, and yet, at least at the time, I didn’t feel like Alayel was letting me fend for myself. “I volunteered to do it. He was calling the boat. We had to escape before the rain stopped.”

“Right. And then?”

Ava nuzzles my head with her little snout, and I close my eyes, wishing I didn’t have to tell him this next part, but I don’t see any way out of it, so I tell him about the dragon saving me. I say that the dragon flew me to the beach, but omit the healing. Mallor’s expression is attentive but neutral, not at all surprised. I continue, telling him about the smugglers betraying us, and that we killed them.

Mallor raises an eyebrow. “So the prince has experience with murder.”

“He saved my life.”

“The life that was only in danger because of him, you mean?”

“I suppose.” Nothing I say will make him dislike Alayel any less, and at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.

I tell him about our journey back and Auranius saving us. Finally, I mention joining the academy, but as part of the cleaning crew.

As innocently as I can, I add, “Your orders, I believe?”

The corners of his mouth tighten. “Yes. And trust me that it’s far from the worst place you can be sent to. Go on.”

Why is at the tip of my tongue.