Page 22 of The Bond That Burns (Bloodwing Academy #2)

After my last class with Professor Hassan, I was on pins and needles waiting for my thrallguard session a few days later.

I arrived outside Professor Rodriguez’s office early. I shifted from one foot to another, my nerves coiling tighter with each passing minute as I waited for him to make an appearance. I was shaken. Desperate for answers or some semblance of reassurance from the only person who might be able to provide them.

By the time I finally spotted the dark-haired blightborn instructor coming down the hall, I was a mess of anxiety.

Rodriguez raised an eyebrow as he saw me. “You’re early.”

“I really need to talk to you,” I blurted, following him inside his office.

He set his leather bag down on his desk and gestured for me to sit. “That much is obvious. But after the skill you showed with thrallguard earlier this summer, I didn’t think you’d have as much interest in continuing our lessons.”

“I don’t... I mean, I do. I definitely want to continue them. I’m not that much of an expert with thrallguard yet.” I was a little surprised by his compliment. “We’re talking about Viktor Drakharrow here. Part of me is convinced my ability to block him out was simply a fluke.”

“A fluke you were able to repeat,” he reminded me. “I know he came to see you.”

I didn’t want to think about Viktor in my room and his awful threats. I still wasn’t sure what had made him leave and not return.

“Still. I’m not going to turn down any help I can get,” I said with determination.

Rodriguez frowned. “Is that why you’re so on edge? Has Viktor been threatening you again?”

I took a deep breath. “You could say that. But I don’t know if it’s him or not.”

Rodriguez cocked his head.

“I don’t know who the real threat is. I mean, obviously Viktor is a jackass as usual, yes. But...” The words poured out of me and I told him everything I’d seen in the dossier.

When I was finished, Rodriguez looked stunned. His face, normally so composed, had paled.

The silence in the room was deafening.

“Well?” I prompted finally, gripping the arms of my chair. “Aren’t you going to say something?”

Rodriguez ran a hand over his handsome brown face. “Soul binding,” he repeated, almost as if to himself. His voice was grave. “I didn’t think... I hadn’t considered they’d go that far.”

His reaction only served to deepen the knot of fear in my chest. “But you thought something like this might happen?”

His gaze shot to me and there was suddenly fire in his eyes. “Dragons are dangerous,” he practically snarled. “I knew that already, Miss Pendragon. I had hoped you had gleaned that from the many books I gave you last year. But instead of being cautious, you woke one up.”

I gulped. “But I thought...” I tried to steady myself. “You said there was a time when riders and dragons may have ruled. Maybe this is a good thing.”

“After what you’ve just informed me about Nyxaris’s brutality? And the fact that at least one highblood, if not more, wants to attempt a soul binding on you as soon as you’ve brought the dragon under your control and bonded with him?” Rodriguez shook his head. “If you were going to bring back a dragon, that Duskdrake is not the one I’d have hoped for.”

“At least it wasn’t the Inferni,” I snapped.

He looked at me in surprise. “Vorago? No, that’s true. That would have been even more disastrous.” He ran his hands through his hair.

“Did you know this would happen?” I demanded. “That book...”

“That book was full of a great deal of knowledge, Miss Pendragon. Knowledge which you stole, I might add. And evidently, you read the wrong parts,” Rodriguez barked at me.

I flinched. “Fine. I screwed up. As usual.” I was curious though. “Which dragon would you have wanted me to bring back? Not that I had any choice.”

“Molindra,” he said immediately. “The Luminthar.”

“A House Orphos dragon?” I said, surprised. “Why?”

“She was renowned for her wisdom and courage,” Rodriguez said. “Anyhow, it doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. What matters is what happens next. This problem... It has to be contained.”

He glanced at me in a way that suddenly made my blood run cold. “Do you mean me?”

“No,” he said hastily. He shook his head. “No,” he said more firmly. “Although I won’t deny that thought didn’t occur to me just now.”

“Your face was an open book,” I said hotly. “I suppose killing me here in your office would be inconvenient for you as a teacher, but it might save you a lot of trouble in the long run. Is that it, Rodriguez?”

His eyes flashed. “It would save the world a great deal of trouble, Miss Pendragon. The blightborn world which you, might I add, are a part of. In the wrong hands, a dragon is a source of pure destruction. Countless blightborn will suffer and die if the highbloods get hold of Nyxaris. Especially since the coercive forces highbloods depend upon to maintain order are slipping.”

“You’ve noticed that, too?” I remembered the blightborn students I’d encountered.

He nodded grimly. “Rebellions will soon rise. How do you think the highbloods will expect them to be put down?”

“With an enforcer,” I whispered.

His lips thinned. “Precisely. And if they could do it themselves, using your bond, your body, then so much the better.”

“Everyone wants to use me,” I said bitterly.

“Not everyone,” he said softly. “It may come as a surprise, but I’ve come to admire and respect your spirit, Miss Pendragon. I do not wish for you to have to make the ultimate sacrifice unless it is the only way forward. Nor do I wish for you to suffer being possessed by a highblood. Not if we can find another way.”

“What other way?” I demanded.

He frowned down at his desk. “You must leave that with me. In the meantime...”

He paused for so long I thought he’d forgotten about me. But I suppose I’d given him a lot to think about.

“Yes?” I finally prodded.

His head snapped up. “In the meantime, have you told anyone else about what you’ve discovered?”

I shook my head. “No. Not even Florence. Just you.”

“Good. That’s probably for the best. Miss Shen is a brilliant student. But telling her...” He gave me a sympathetic look.

“It could put her in danger,” I finished. “Yes. I know.”

“Good. Not to mention if Hassan finds out you’re aware of their intentions, it’ll put an even bigger target on your back.”

I nodded, then added, “But Nyxaris... What do I do about him in the meantime? What I read scared me. In the dossier, they call what he did ‘punishment.’ But...” I trailed off, my throat tightening. “It sounded more like slaughter.”

Rodriguez leaned back in his chair, his expression dark. “I knew Nyxaris was one of the more powerful dragons. But I hadn’t realized the full extent of his crimes.”

“Crimes?” My voice rose in shock. “You’re calling him a criminal? He’s a dragon .”

Rodriguez’s gaze hardened. “What would you call it? Dragons are fiercely intelligent creatures. They’re capable of choices, of knowing right from wrong. Nyxaris chose to carry out those orders. Whatever loyalty he felt towards his riders, it doesn’t excuse the blood on his claws. Does it?”

My stomach churned. I knew Rodriguez was right. “He was a soldier in a highblood house. Are soldiers allowed to say ‘no’ when they’re given an order?”

“Always.” Rodriguez narrowed his eyes. “Sometimes our choices are all we have, Miss Pendragon. They define us, for better or for worse. Obedience doesn’t absolve anyone of guilt. Not dragons. Not riders. Not you or me.”

My breath hitched at the bluntness of his words. But I couldn’t deny they made sense. “So what am I supposed to do? Try to control a dragon who has a history of widespread murder, show the Tribunal I can control him? But it’s a contradiction, isn’t it? I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. If I can get Nyxaris to help me or even bond with me, I’m just making myself more valuable to whoever is planning to kill me.”

Rodriguez studied me for a long moment, his face unreadable. I knew the wheels in his mind were churning. “You need to talk to him.”

“To Nyxaris? I’ve tried. But I’m not sure how telling him what I’ve learned will help.”

“You won’t survive unless you understand him. Right now, you need his cooperation. But do not bond with him, Medra.” He used my first name, startling me.

I nodded. “I know. He doesn’t want me to anyhow.”

“Good. It would be too dangerous. For both of you. Once a bond is formed, Nyxaris will be as vulnerable to highblood control as you.”

I clenched my hands into fists. “This is impossible,” I muttered. “I feel so trapped.”

Rodriguez leaned forward over the desk, his expression fierce. “Stop thinking like a victim. We always have more power than we think. Now use yours.”

He stood up. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my reading about dragons, it’s that they respect strength. Show Nyxaris you aren’t just a rider in name, but in spirit.”

I nodded.

“Now, enough of this. We have work to do.”

I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic. “Thrallguard.”

“Right,” Rodriguez said firmly. “Like you said, you don’t want your mind cracked open like an egg the next time Viktor or anyone else tries to delve inside.”

I winced. That wasn’t exactly the expression I’d used. But he was right in theory.

As I prepared for his thrallweave attack, my mind was still a whirlwind of doubts and questions.

Then Rodriguez’s voice snapped through all the clutter. “Focus, Miss Pendragon. Or you’re already lost.”

Our lesson began.