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“Douse the flames and break up camp.” Kyronos's orders ring out over the clearing and are taken up by other voices. The camp erupts into a flurry of activity, and despite some people grumbling under their breath, I don’t hear any open objections. But then, Kyronos is not a man you openly deny.

Faster than I would have thought possible, we line up and are ready to go. Ropes tether us together to prevent us from falling to our deaths, and we march.

The darkness seems to stretch on forever, and time loses all meaning. Even though the moon provides some light, the ground stays treacherous, and I stumble along, fighting to keep my balance and thankful for the quiet support of my flight around me.

By the time the sky lightens, all of us are more stumbling than walking, and I sigh in relief when I spot the giant silhouettes of the birds circling above Telos. Strange how something so fierce can be so comforting, so homey.

Soon, I make out the pale towers of the academy, and when we finally arrive, the academy lies silent around us in the early morning hours.

“Leave the ropes and tents and use the day to get some rest,” Kyronos orders once we are in the atrium. “Well done, everyone.”

The riders walk over to their birds, and we do as we are told.

We are quiet while we stumble to our room and fall into our beds, ready to sleep the day away.

Three days have passed since the grueling walk back home, and I can still feel it in my bones, or maybe it’s the lightning attack still bothering me.

But currently, I don’t have to move. I sit in class and listen to Professor Myrsky, who teaches Magical Creatures, as he tells us everything we need to know about our future bonding partners.

The classroom slopes downward, and I’m sitting next to Calix about halfway up, which brings us on eye level with the elaborate drawing that occupies nearly all of the wall above the blackboard. Five birds are captured mid-flight, all of them majestic and beautiful in their unique way.

“Night Ravens are stubborn and vicious creatures but extremely loyal and fearless. Any of you lucky enough to be a match for one of them can rest assured that they will be with you no matter the threat.” Professor Myrsky paces along the front of the class.

The Night Raven on the painting is black, the darkness only interrupted by streaks of azure and indigo to show the colors sunlight can bring out in their feathers.

“If they inspire fear in you—run.” Myrsky’s gaze wanders over us, his expression serious. “Can someone tell me what their strength in battle is?”

A guy two rows in front of me raises his hand before anyone else. “Next to their fearlessness, they have exceptionally good night vision, the feathers on the tip of their wings are poisonous, and they are very tenacious. They will keep coming until they either win or die trying.”

“Excellent.” Myrsky nods. “Can anyone tell me more about their poison?”

“It isn’t a poisonous substance, but more like a poisonous magic. A strong one. Only magic wielders with strong shielding can withstand it,” a dark-haired girl from the western division answers.

“Yes, and that is the reason you should keep a healthy distance. Only their bonded riders are immune to it.” He wanders over to the other side of the room.

“Let’s talk about the Phoenix. Most of you will probably never see one in your lifetime, but that doesn’t mean I won’t test you on this, so listen closely.

” He taps the wall behind him, and my gaze wanders to the image of the fiery bird.

He’s depicted in gold, yellow, and hues of red and orange.

Is a Phoenix actually burning, or do its feathers just match the color of fire?

“Like Lightning Birds, they are rare, and since the treatise of the guardians, only four bonds to a Phoenix have been recorded.” He holds up four fingers. “Before that, it’s said they were more common, but since those records were destroyed …” He shrugs.

“I heard there were sightings of a Phoenix during the last summer solstice,” the dark-haired girl from earlier throws in, and Myrsky nods.

“There have been, but we can only speculate about the meaning of that,” the professor replies.

The Phoenix has always fascinated me, not just because of its striking colors or magic abilities but also because of the thought of going up in flames and being reborn.

Do they feel invincible? They still can be killed for good by beheading or submerging them in water long enough to kill their inner flame, but who would manage to get close enough for that?

“Phoenixes are very secretive. We would love to know more about them, but even their riders were unwilling to divulge much information.” Myrsky looks longingly at the image.

“They select the most powerful riders, which makes sense since their rider needs a vast amount of magic to hold a shield against their flames and wield their gift at the same time without getting burned.”

Charming. Maybe I’m not too eager to meet a Phoenix after all.

“Riding a Phoenix has to be great in winter. I bet you would never get cold,” Calix murmurs next to me.

“As if you even know what winter looks like,” I tease. “But I think riding a Phoenix has to be great no matter the season or temperature,” I whispered.

“True.” He smiles. “I would take any of them.” He gestures at the painting. “I would ride anything with wings if it meant I got to see the world from up there.”

“Gross, man, with your reputation, that sounds all wrong.” I make a gagging motion, surprising a laugh out of him. He smothers it when we receive a warning look from our professor.

“Not my fault if you have such a filthy mind.” He grins at me, and I look away. His words remind me of my thoughts about a certain centurion, who my gaze finds far too often whenever he is around.

Kyronos, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have a problem keeping his eyes off me.

That is a good thing , I remind myself, I don’t want eyes on me .

The low rumble of the drum marks the end of class and pulls me out of my musings. We grab our books and notes.

“Seriously, I can’t wait for flight practice to start next week,” Calix says with a longing look at the images on the wall.

“Me, too.” I agree, and we make our way to the refectory for lunch. Maybe the new challenge posed by flying will help to keep my mind from wandering.