Page 156 of The Keeper of the Kingdoms

“Why do you look like you’re walking to your death?” asked Jaxus as we walked over.

“Because that’s how it feels!”

“This isn’t a test we can fail, Firefly,” he reassured.

“No? If I make a fool of us and they never respect youbecause of it, that’s a death of sorts, isn’t it? The death of your career.”

Jaxus laughed.

“Are you laughing at me?”

“Yes! I’ve never seen you like this. You never doubt yourself. What makes you do it now?”

“Because I never have to doubt my abilities as a healer. This ryder thing is a whole other matter.”

“Well, the healer I escaped Kerani with is a damn good ryder, so can I have her to do this with, please?”

I glared at him

“What?”

“I’m freaking out, and your solution to that is to be an arse?”

He smirked.

“It’s not funny!”

He turned to me then and took my hands in his. “What is funny is you freaking out over an assessment of our melded powers. Do you not realize how valuable our magic is to the kingdoms?”

“I don’t doubt it. I’m just not comfortable with the entire legion watching.”

“Some are out on patrols. It’s not the whole legion,” he responded helpfully.

“I could punch you sometimes.” I scowled.

“Don’t do that, you don’t want to hurt your hand again”. He openly beamed at that.

“You think you’re so funny, don’t you?”

“I have my moments,” he chuckled. “The point is, no one here is watching. They all have their own training to get on with, so forget about them. It’s just you and me.”

I grimaced. I would swear that if I turned around, all eyes would be on me, waiting for me to fail. But I couldn’t even make myself check. So, instead, I listened while Rakan explained the course.

We had to hit certain markers, avoid obstacles, and use our magic to take on any threats we encountered.

Nyx and Zaria went first, and I watched in awe as they flew through tight curves, high and low, blasting several illusions that sprung up in front of them, cast by an instructor with illusion magic from the ground.

What impressed me most was how their magic came together and then separated as the need arose. Zaria blasted an impressive force out that threw one illusion away so forcefully, the caster fell down from the impact to his magic. They finished in a flourish with a blast of Nyx’s beautiful but deadly night fire. I was in awe, and their perfect synchronicity only made me more nervous.

As they came into land, a roar went up. The whole training ground erupted with applause and dragon cries of admiration.

“See,” I hissed. “They are all watching.”

“He’s their general,” he insisted. “No one cares about us. Now suck it up, it’s our turn.”

He quickly slipped out of his clothes and shifted while I followed him to the start position.

I took a deep breath and summoned the magic I had begun using for an easy and quick mount. It was an adaptation of what healers used to move patients. And it converted perfectly for launching onto Jaxus. In healing, we made a soft air cushion that carried the patient above the ground, then we could guide them. It was like a delicate version of the blast Zaria could wield and I used it to vault up onto Jaxus’ back in a way that I knew made it look like I flew. It sure beat climbing his scales.