𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 || 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 𝐈𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞

|| 1 ||

Delilah:

"Rena!" I holler, before whistling to Oceanith. His navy scales glint sea-blue in the morning sun, his Morningstar tail swaying side to side almost lazily next to me. "If you aren't out here right now-" I start, but she quickly answers.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she says mentally before she finally turns up, clad in her training gear and the new dagger Tairn was able to smuggle to her.

The training ring isn't massive, but big enough to house a couple of wooden targets, a few sacks of hay on a stick to account for humans, and an obstacle course, meant to echo the Gauntlet.

"Ready?" I ask her as I get into a fight position.

"Oh yes," She says sarcastically, "As if I get a choice-"

I attack, a clean right hook which pulls her down, but she comes right back at me - dagger in her hand, using the technique I taught her last week to land a few blows to my stomach, the knife just bouncing off of the dragon - scale corset.

We spar for a little longer, but like usual I have her cornered and yielding, but the time it's taking me to do that is getting longer. Which is a promising sign.

"Here," I get up and walks over the the edge to throw Rena a water skin. "You're getting better. Good."

"What, so you don't think I'll die before Threshing, now then?" She asks with a laugh, her ink-black hair slightly undone from her braid, gold-flecked eyes bright.

I smother a smile, "I'm proud of you. But I will be even more proud," I flick her ear which I know she hates, "When you graduate."

"Well, I still have until September-" She begins, but I cut her off. "No, we have until August to get you ready. And then we need to teach you to pretend that you're not already bonded, have a signet, and that you're just a normal girl from a border village wanting to be a rider."

"Do I have to be vain about it?" She jokes, but I just shrug. "You can be whoever you want to be."

"Well great. I want to be Lyra-"

"Preferably none of the original Six, Rena." I shake my head at her. "Now go throw shit at something, your left aim is still off." And I pick up my water skin and walk off, knowing she'll do better without me constantly watching what she's doing.

"That's because I'm right handed, Delilah!" Rena calls back up at me, but I just laugh to myself and shake my head. "And you know I have a better aim than you do!"

She may joke about it all the time, but...she can't die. I don't know what I'll do without her. I'll miss her in September.

"You'll just be stuck with arrogant, ancient asshole dragons for the rest of your days," Oceanith chuffs, but I don't laugh back. "If I didn't have Verena, Ocean, the I'll probably be dead."

My mere 25 years, gone. They already think I am dead, the college, the leadership, everyone. A fake ambush created by the Elders meant my facaded death would have happened at some point, but-

Your family already thought you were dead. Your brother still blames himself. And he fucking should. The Rules are what killed my twin and that's on him-

But what about him?

The one person I fell in love with, but he's dead too.

"Stop moping, Lilac. Looking back will only make you feel worse, not better." Ringali's voice in my mind brings me back to my senses.

"Thanks, Gail"

"No problem, Lilac. Queen of the Wildflower Meadow." Now that makes me chuckle. She hasn't used my childhood nickname in years.

I've been bonded to  dragons - Ringaili and Oceanith and Zelea for as long as I can remember. They are the family, my true family. The ones who are nothing but blood can rot in fucking hell.

"Too right." Ocean applaudes. "When are Tairn and Sgaeyl coming back? They owe me a race."

"Oceanith, you are barely 50 years old and you are trying to outrace the oldest and most powerful-" Ringaili begins, but he's interrupted by another landing, one of a more powerful dragon.

Or should I say, dragons?