Chapter 2 Arrival at Kastros Academy

Brielle

I couldn’t breath, if I tried water rushed into my lungs. I flapped my legs and arms, until I broke through the surface with a gasp. I dragged in air that burned my throat. My nails scraped against the riverbank stone as I tried to pull myself out of the water. Water clung to my lashes, blurring everything as I pushed my hair back with trembling hands. I collapsed on the cold ground coughing hard. The events from a few minutes ago flooded my head. The shadows. Knife. Blood. Fire.

“They’re fine,” I whispered hoarsely. “They’re fine. They said they would come get me.”

The lie tasted bitter. I squeezed my eye but it didn’t help. I still saw them, I saw the blade piercing into Ria’s chest, the knife slitting Geraldine’s throat.

“Mother…” I called desperately, but nobody answered. Slowly the truth settled in.

My fingers curled into the sand, gripping it tightly like it could hold me together. “They are gone… it’s all my fault.” The whisper came out of me broken. Unbelievable. Heart wrenching.

The words repeated in my mind, over and over again, each time it cut deeper than the last.

If I hadn’t used magic… If I wasn’t adamant on going to that funfair… If I had just listened.

“I killed them.”

Tears slipped down my face, warm against the cold that clung to my skin. I pressed my palm against my mouth, trying to hold the sound in, but it broke through anyway raw. The compass? I turned searching for the last piece they left me.

I found it, the chain was gone. The glass covering it was broken, distorting the needle inside. I picked it up carefully, turning it in my hand but it wouldn’t stick to a particular direction. “No, no… you’re not supposed to be broken.”

How was I supposed to find the way now?

The sound of a stick breaking snapped through the air. I forced myself up, stumbled back as two figures wearing silver armor stepped into my view.

“Don’t come any closer.” My voice came out rough, shaking but my hand lifted anyway. The survival spells my mother’s had made me memorize stayed at the tip of my tongue ready to be casted if they made a funny move.

“Easy,” one of them said, raising a hand slowly. “You are safe.”

Safe?

I saw my mothers get killed by creatures who wanted me and I’m here in an unknown place.

“W-where is this place?” I asked.

“Kastros Academy.” His armor creaked as he moved.

Kastros Academy? This was exactly where my mothers wanted me to come to. My grip on the compass tightened.

“Do you have an identification?” The second guard asked.

I frowned. “Identification?”

They exchanged a glance.

“We should report this,” the first one muttered under his breath.

Then, louder, “Come with us.”

“Who are you?” I demanded. “Where are you taking me?”

“To the principal,” he replied. “Aren’t you here to enroll?”

Yes I was indeed here on my mothers instruction. It was their last wish. They said it was the safest place for me. I needed to honor it.

“Lead the way.” I was still careful about them.

The massive gates swung open, revealing a vast, asymmetrical fortress unlike anything I had ever seen. Kastros Academy rose from the mountain like it had been carved straight from the stone. Its towers stood at different heights and angles, some narrow and sharp, others wide enough to hold entire halls. The tallest tower disappeared into the clouds, its peak hidden behind a thick layer of mist.

Before I could feed my eyes more, a loud deafening screech pierced through the sky. I flinched then a huge shadow swept over us. Then I saw a massive creature drop from the sky, its wing slammed against the air with a force that shook the earth when it landed, sending dust, sand and stone splintering in the air stinging my face and arm.

I stumbled back, unable to breath. It was enormous. The wings stretched wide while the body was covered in layers of thick, sky-blue scales that shimmered beneath the sunlight, along his spine ran a row of jagged horns that started at the base of his neck and continued all the way down his back. His nostrils flared a cold mist curled from it, spreading through the air like smoke. He lowered his head. It’s sea green eyes locked on me. His pupils narrowed into thin black slits.

A low growl rolled from his chest. Everything in me screamed, run. My feet began to retreat.

“Stand still.” One of the guards warned.

The dragon’s gaze didn’t leave me. It studied me like it knew something.

“First time seeing one?” the second guard asked.

I didn’t answer. My entire body had gone cold.

I shouldn’t be here. Dragons and witches have a bad history. They were arch enemies and they were the reason the witch hunters were hunting us. Or did I miss something? No I didn’t, that was what my mothers had told me all my life. Why would they want me here? Why would this be the safest place for me?

Something else that shocked my entire being happened. The dragon’s body began to fold in on itself. The bones cracked. Wings collapsed inward like burning paper. The massive form shrank, twisted until where a beast had stood, a figure remained.

So dreamily breathtaking. He stood tall, bare-chested, dark shredded trousers clung to him like they had formed out of the same magic. His skin was pale, damnly pale with blue scales that moved when he breathed, his blue hair was tied back into a ponytail. But it was his sea green eyes that froze me in place.

A second loud sound screeched in the sky followed by a massive gush of fire. He tore his eyes away from me and turned immediately, blue flames burst out of his hand blocking the red flame from consuming him.

“The princes are at it again.” The guards muttered, like it was casual.

Soon the courtyard erupted into chaos. More dragons appeared in the sky.

Different people. Young like me rushed out like swarms of bees from different exits of the buildings.

The winds became stronger, it moved like waves, this second scorching hot and the next ice cold.

Some part of the blue flames tore out and hardened into large ice spikes, they shot forward, piercing deeply into the red dragon’s left wing. The creature shrieked.

A ball of fire went through the air and headed straight in my direction.

My body moved before I could think I lifted my hand, “Fiat Scutum, mater terra” the words barely formed before a transparent barrier formed instantly in front of me. The ball of fire hit it then bounced back sending both the boy, the dragon and every single thing that stood it the way crashing back against the wall.

My hands shook. Not from fear, but from letting out everything I had bottled up inside.

Everywhere went eerily still. All eyes stayed glued on me. Shock. Awe. Fear.

My body locked tight. I had let out my magic in front of dragons.