Page 26 of The Last Dragon (The Great Burn Chronicles #1)

“The hell he is!” Eryca yells. “I ain’t letting this piece of shit into our unit.”

“I lead this unit. I say who comes and goes.”

Eryca glares at me. “You left this unit years ago and suddenly you lead it just because the general placed you in it? You didn’t even want to be in this unit. Why should we listen to you?”

“I didn’t ask to be placed back here. And that’s exactly the type of attitude that’s going to get us killed.” I lower my voice, careful not to draw more attention from the growing crowd.

“Killed?” She scoffs, crossing her arms. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m still alive and you’re pretty much dead to me.”

“Sheesh, if I knew it would have caused this much of a hassle, I wouldn’t have joined,” Alex says.

“You shut up,” I snap, grabbing him by the crew neck again.

Just a twist. A small crack of the neck and it all would be gone.

“Easy,” he mutters.

“I told you what would happen if you came near my unit again,” I say to Alex, tightening my grip. He grins.

“Then do it ,” he says. “Get your five minutes of fame.”

“Zel,” Ilian cuts in, pressing his hand on my shoulder, making me face him. “You aren’t serious about having him in our unit, are you?” His voice is tinged with concern, his brow furrowed in worry.

I don’t say anything, my fingers still curved on Alex’s crewneck as Eryca spits curses at me. I’m losing control.

I catch a glimpse of Lieutenant Wain making her way through the gathering crowd, pushing and shoving away the cadets.

“Ladies, please!” she yells, silencing Eryca’s and Ilian’s voices. “If you need something sorted, take it up on the mat.”

The crowd begins to calm and scatter. I let go of Alex’s collar, the tension still lingering in the air. I take a deep breath, hoping to calm my nerves.

Raumen darts his eyes between me and Alex before speaking. “Do you really think this is best for our unit?”

It’s not. But I know this is the only way I can keep Nida and myself safe. I nod, and moments later, Raumen purses his lips with a slight nod.

“Alright,” he says. “I trust you.”

Everyone calms and returns to their meals. Alex gives a wicked smile, fixing his jacket and approaching one of our benches. I extend my arm, pushing him out of the way.

“Not you,” I say. “You don’t get to sit with us.”

He scoffs, the same attitude he had during Division Day creeping in. “You forget what I know,” he says, twisting a smile.

“And you forget you’re not in a unit unless it’s reported directly to the general.”

He glares, his smile disappearing.

“He shouldn’t even be in a unit,” Ilian belittled, shoving pieces of bread in his mouth.

“Shut it.” Eryca on cue as always.

Ilian glances at Raumen, casually wiggling the bread in his hands—completely ignoring everything that just happened. I catch Alex’s glare aimed straight at Ilian, like he’s plotting how to take him down without anyone noticing. Yeah, these two are going to get along about as well as fire and resin.

“If you want to sit with us,” I say, my hand still extended. “You have to earn it. You can be in our unit, but you can’t be with us .”

His eyes bore into me. “A unit needs to know one another enough to work well,” he says, his smile twisting into another victorious leer.

“Good luck making us care to know you .”

His body tenses, eyes locking with Nida seated beside Eryca. His jaw flexes.

“You’re telling me she gets to be part of the unit just like that, without having to earn her place?

” He points his finger at Nida. “That’s some bullshit.

Or are your balls as deep in her as your ego?

” Alex sneers, his tone laced with venom, calling for a challenge.

“I guess that’s one way to climb the ladder, ain’t that right—” he comes closer. “— Commander ?”

The room falls silent. My eardrums feel punctured—but there’s no pain.

It’s as if torches get snuffed out and bitter coldness rushes in.

I grab Alex by the collar again, ready to snap his neck.

Nida jumps between us, pushing us apart.

Everything about him makes my blood boil. If the dragon doesn’t kill him, I will.

“You want to keep that head of yours?” she says, a threat lingering in the air as she glares at him. “Then walk .”

Raumen is already on his feet, ready to interfere in case something happens. Alex scoffs, his eyes shifting between me and the rest of the unit, but he doesn’t walk away. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Lieutenant Rylan prowling toward us.

“Looks like we got ourselves a little cat-fight. ” He flashes a grin, mocking, eyes shifting between Alex and me.

“There’s no fight here,” Ilian butts in with a nervous laugh. “Just some good ol’ unit play.”

“Nah, I think there’s a fight here,” Rylan says, his eyes stopping at me. “Maybe you should’ve shown him more during sparring.” His smile fades, gaze gleaming with mockery. “As I said, you’re getting soft, Aaran.” His attention returns to Alex. “You could prove me wrong. Now’s your chance.”

“I don’t have to prove anything to you,” I hiss. I face Alex, glaring at him, making sure he starts walking. He gets the hint and then backs away, finally realizing that earning his place won’t be that easy.

Rylan scrunches his nose. “Soft.”

We hold each other’s gaze, neither willing to look away first.

“Shows over!” he yells out to other cadets, forcing them to return to their seats. “If you could call that a show.”

I return to my seat, watching how Rylan stalks away. My knuckles turn white. I completely lost my appetite, so I push the tray aside.

“Take the rest if you want,” I say to my unit, before shooting up from my bench.

“Where you going?” Ilian asks, but I’m already three steps away.

“To get some air.”

The air here feels too thick. Too heavy. And I need to get out of here. Now. I need to clear my head. Rooftop.

Cold seeps into my skin. I lift my hands and unfurl them, fingertips warm with blood from where my nails dig too deep. I didn’t even feel it. I watch as the blood slowly runs down the wrist from my palm, before I stride out of the cafeteria.