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When Zaryen finally saw the Academy gates on the horizon, he felt like he might cry.

He didn”t, of course, since he wasn”t a baby, but he still swallowed hard before straightening in the driver”s seat of his automobile.

This was it. The months of planning, and sleepless nights, and a few near-misses when his older brother or one of his parents almost found out—and now Zaryen had finally made it.

Almost made it, he corrected himself as his automobile bounced over a rock he didn”t notice in time to swerve around because he”d been too busy staring at the gates. Don”t crash now.

It was actually quite surprising that he managed not to crash or drive off the road this far, considering he”d been driving with no sleep since yesterday morning and the sun was already high in the sky today. Driving all night through the desert had been a stupid idea, but he”d known that from the start.

Then again, it got him here, in the end, so it couldn”t have been that stupid.

Zaryen hoped.

Because it wasn”t over yet.

Passing through the gates was a huge relief, though, and he couldn”t help it—tears sprung to his eyes and he had to blink them away quickly.

Wind”s curse, he needed to get it together.

He also needed to take a nap, as soon as possible. With some sleep, he”d be able to better control himself and, hopefully, better sell his story.

He”d come too far to lose it all now because of a slip-up.

As he drove up to the front of the main building, a simple castle that was towering over the rest of the school premises, he saw a group of about a dozen people gathered there.

A welcoming committee.

Zaryen quickly scanned the crowd for any familiar faces, but only recognized the headmaster, Master Raizen, and one other dragon he couldn”t quite place. He definitely didn”t know any of the humans, which was a relief, because that meant they were unlikely to know him as well. Older members of the Teranea”s noble families interacted several times a year at various events, but those events rarely included children under certain age. And with Zaryen”s family”s dislike of maintaining any close relationships with their neighbors, he hadn”t had many chances of meeting other nobles.

The headmaster extended his hand once Zaryen stepped out of the automobile.

”Welcome to the Academy.”

”Thank you.” He kept the handshake brief and not too tight. ”It”s good to be here.”

The small applause from the rest of the gathered group made him smile and he waved once Master Raizen stepped to the side and Zaryen could see everyone better.

He waved.

Kill him now.

”Should we expect another automobile with whoever is accompanying you for your Passage soon or was there a delay?” the headmaster asked with a slight frown, and Zaryen forgot about his stupid wave as his whole body tensed.

Turning to fully face Master Raizen, he tried to ignore there were so many people witnessing this.

”No, that won”t be necessary. I come alone.”

The sudden murmur of voices made Zaryen”s stomach tighten even more, but he didn”t look away from the headmaster, whose eyes widened briefly before he schooled his expression.

Then he lifted his hand, and everyone went quiet.

”I see,” was all he said, and Zaryen, who had been expecting a question or ten, started talking anyway.

”I recognize it”s unusual, but from what I understand, it”s not against the rules. As no one from my family wished to take part, I decided to do it on my own. Have I made a mistake?”

He had planned to lie as little as possible, so he”d practiced different ways of telling the story. ”No one wished to take part” wasn”t a lie, for example. It just wasn”t the complete truth.

”No rule was broken,” the headmaster assured him, and Zaryen relaxed his shoulders a fraction, only to wince at the ache in his back after all that time in the automobile. ”If we had been aware you”d be traveling alone, we”d have offered to send someone for you, though.”

Which would likely have destroyed Zaryen”s plan altogether.

”That”s very kind of you, thank you,” he said out loud. ”I figured I might as well use this time for myself, and I feel I met the core concept of the Passage, even if not in its entirety. Right now, I”m eager to start my new chapter at the Academy.”

”Of course.” The headmaster half-turned towards the group, which was still there, silent and watching them. ”We”re happy to have you and to be a part of your life journey. The first step is to get you to your temporary room and to show you around.”

”I can take him,” a long-haired guy at the back of the group spoke up, and several others turned towards him, which prompted him to flush. ”I have no classes at the moment and I”m available,” he added, his voice a bit quieter than before.

Master Raizen nodded. ”Perfect. Thank you, Feraan.”

”Thank you,” Zaryen echoed the headmaster, offering Feraan a smile that seemed to surprise him for some reason, but then he answered in kind.

The dragon next to Feraan, the one Zaryen had vaguely recognized before, looked between them with a raised eyebrow but didn”t say a word.

”Now, I know there are other people coming in, and I wouldn”t like to cause any problems, so if you could point me to the automobile depository, I can move it right away.”

The silence that fell at that seemed only slightly less oppressive than the stares right after Zaryen had revealed he came to the Academy alone.

For the love of sand and sea, what had he done now?

* * *

Zaryen sighed as he dropped both his backpacks at the foot of his bed.

”I didn”t know.”

Feraan, who had been kind enough to wheel his suitcase for him, put it by the wall and closed the door before turning towards him.

”Yes, I got that, since you said it already. Twice.”

”How could I know that?”

Zaryen sat on the bed next to his luggage and swallowed back the involuntary grunt of relief.

He”d never felt so tired, and yet he was also buzzing with too much frantic energy at the same time.

”It was an honest mistake and everyone seemed to understand that.” Feraan leaned against the door before Zaryen remembered his manners and pointed him to the armchair. ”It”s usually not an issue, since whoever drives the automobile also leaves in it after completing the Passage.”

Of course. The one part he hadn”t thought of.

”But, as you saw, there”s a space for the guests” vehicles, when people come to watch the ceremonies, so it”s not like they needed to create it just for you or anything.” Feraan pointed between his backpacks and the suitcase. ”Be glad they didn”t count your automobile as a piece of luggage, otherwise you”d have to repack or lose one of those.”

Zaryen half-groaned, half-laughed. One of the Academy”s rules for the candidates was to bring no more than three pieces of luggage with them, which was a challenge he hadn”t enjoyed, especially since he might not see the rest of his things ever again, if his parents cut him off completely.

”Oh, come on, it”s funny,” Feraan said. ”Or it will be, after you get some rest.”

”Yeah.” Zaryen rubbed his hands over his face. ”I feel like I could sleep for a week.”

”You”d sleep through your searching ceremony.”

”Ugh. Stop with your logic and everything.”

”Impossible. I can”t turn off my brain.” Feraan leaned forward. ”But I can leave you alone, if you want. I offered you a tour and I still mean it, but if you”d rather sleep first, and shower, we can do that sometime later.”

It was tempting. Really, really tempting. But Zaryen couldn”t wait to see more of the Academy. He”d dreamed of this place for years, hoping the rumors were true and he would not only get the extensive education, but also a chance to fall in love with his dragon companion—the one destined to be his.

Now the whole world knew it was possible, which was why he almost didn”t make it here.

And yet, here he was.

”How about I take a quick shower and then we”ll go? If you can wait a few minutes, I promise I”ll hurry.”

”I can wait. And a shower first is a great idea.”

Zaryen snorted. He wasn”t used to people being this frank, especially ones he barely knew, but he appreciated it. It made him feel more at home.

Or, in his case, better than home.

”Yeah, yeah, you should try spending so much time on the road and see how you smell.”

”No, thank you.” Feraan scrunched his nose. ”I”d rather not.”

With that, he pulled out a book from somewhere in his robe and settled back in the armchair.

Zaryen looked at him for a long moment, then shook his head with a smile and opened his backpack to take out his toiletries and some fresh clothes before entering the bathroom.

It was smaller than the one he had in his family home—had had, maybe, but he wasn”t going to think about it now—but the shower was similarly sized. The counter space would have to do until he moved to his permanent room after the searching ceremony.

If he found someone.

If he even lasted here until the ceremony.

If he didn”t slip up in the next two days, or if his family didn”t find out too soon, or if…

He put his head under too cold water to stop himself from going down that road. And it worked. He swore under his breath, gritting his teeth, but then the water got warmer and he closed his eyes in relief. For a minute, he just stood there as the remains of his journey slowly slid down the drain.

He”d made it. He hadn”t gotten caught, hadn”t crashed on the way, hadn”t been turned away at the gates. He could finally relax.

Not completely, of course, because that could mean jeopardizing the entire plan.

Still, he didn”t have to be so afraid anymore.

Only a little bit.