Page 14 of A Court of Thralls and Thorns

When his feet hit the sand, he gave the dragon a fond pat along its neck before sliding down, unfastening the rope as if he had done it a hundred times before.

He turned toward us, his face practically glowing with excitement.

Then I noticed the pendant on his chest. The once featureless golden charm now bore a single brown scale, fully embedded into the metal. The symbol of an immediate bond.

The major stared at the pendant, his brow raising slightly. “Your dragon has bonded to you,” he observed, his tone less rigid than before.

Cordelle beamed. “His name is Kasstovian, but he said I can call him Kass. He’s a Swift, and he assures me he is the fastest of his breed.”

Major Kaler nodded. “He is a brown Swift. They are the most common dragon.”

Cordelle shrugged. “He’s special to me.”

“Pretty sure Snowtop will end up with a Swift too,” a voice sneered from the back of the group.

I rolled my eyes before even looking.

Perin. Of course. The smug noble stood among the Iron Fang recruits, watching me like a vulture waiting for a carcass.

“Let’s find out,” Major Kaler announced, his attention shifting back to me. “Ashlyn, you are up.”

I took a breath and swallowed hard.

Time to see what fate had in store for me.

I stepped toward the table, my palm hovering over the bowl. A pulse of power, almost electric, sparked against my skin, sending a strange warmth through my veins. I hesitated before plunging my hand into the pile of gleaming pendants. My fingers brushed several before one seemed to pull toward me, like an unseen force guiding me to it.

As soon as I grasped the pendant, a roar split the sky.

Not like the others.

This was different.

This was furious.

My blood ran cold as I turned toward the island, my stomach dropping.

“No,” I whispered.

The dragon that rose from the green oasis was no ordinary beast. It was massive, a storm given form, its deep-purple scales glinting like polished amethyst in the morning sun. The sheer size of it dwarfed every other dragon that had flown before it, its powerful wings carving through the air like the slicing edge of a blade. It didn’t glide toward the beach with the calculated control of the others—it tore through the sky, a force of nature that couldn’t be tamed.

Its tail whipped behind it, long and sinewy, lined with jagged ridges that caught the sunlight like shards of obsidian. The end curled slightly, controlled and poised, as if it were ready to strike at anything that dared get too close. The air around it crackled, charged with something unnatural, something ancient.

The Sentinel.

A roar tore from its throat, not just a sound but a warning, a challenge that rattled through my bones. The ground trembled beneath my feet as it descended in a blur of furious movement. When it landed, the sheer force of impact sent a shockwave rolling across the beach, a gust of wind so strong that sand whipped into my skin like tiny knives.

Then came the fire.

It wasn’t a mere exhale of heat, it was a violent burst of raw energy, flames licking at the air as the dragon’s massive chest expanded with its deep, rumbling breaths. The golden eyes locked onto me, pinning me to the spot like a predator sizing up its prey.

Everyone stepped back, except Zander.

His expression remained unreadable, but I could feel the tension in him, the way his stance remained unflinching while everyone else gave the beast a wide berth.

The Sentinel’s rage was unlike anything I had seen. Its claws dug into the sand, carving deep trenches with every flex of itsmassive talons. Its nostrils flared, and it let out another guttural snarl, its wings snapping open as if daring someone—anyone—to get closer.

Then, it did something the others hadn’t.