In a blur of movement, Reese was leaping over the railing, jumping for her. Kaden ran to look as the two of them fell from the incredible height. Their bodies twisting through the sky, quickly shrinking in size. Evonne joined him and clung to his arm as they watched.

He heard a vibrating boom and a green streak burst through the air. A dragon swooped in like lightning, moving in a brilliant speed. Kaden couldn’t make out what happened, but their fading specs were gone and the dragon was flying back toward them.

As it got closer, he saw it had them both in its grasp. Reese was standing in the claw, using it to perch his feet as he held on to a strap around its leg. Sayori looked spooked. Her hair was windswept as they set down. She fell to the platform with a huff and hugged it. Reese stepped off the dragon, patted it softly before the dragon took off again.

Kaden was on his knees, crawling toward her. “I’m so sorry, Sayori!”

“You pushed me over the damn edge!”

“I didn’t mean to! I was trying to find Zuma, and something else hit me!”

She growled and pounded her fist into the stone platform, leaving a small crater. “Damn it, Kaden. If this is another one of your damn vision nonsense, I’m going to lose it!”

“Vision?” He heard Evonne ask. He did not want to start their relationship with this. He had felt something strange, something that made him shake from its power. Something darker was here at the citadel, lurking beneath the priceless white stone.

Reese was standing there crossing his arms, watching them. “You’re lucky Bee was nearby.”

Sayori lifted her head and let out a laugh. “You named your dragon Bee?”

“Of course not. That’s their nickname. Everyone knows not to name your dragon yet.”

Evonne’s head tilted. “So what’s their name, then?”

His eyes darted away. “Beelin.”

She smiled politely at him. “Mine’s named Jerri.”

Kaden couldn’t help but laugh at such a simple name for such a majestic creature. “Is that a nickname?”

“No, they’re just Jerri.”

The rest of them shared an awkward glance before Sayori shook her head and walked back toward the balcony, her hair incredibly windswept. Evonne was quick to follow behind her. Reese stood there with his arms cross and leaning while giving Kaden a look of contempt. Motioning with his head to follow them, Kaden reluctantly followed the girls back into the loft.

“I need to know what you’re talking about when you said vision, and I need to know now,” Reese chided as he closed the balcony door behind them.

Sayori was lying on the couch with her hands over her eyes. “A wild matriarch blessed him.”

She wasn’t even keeping his secrets to herself. Now he would have to explain everything to them, and he wasn’t even sure if he could trust them. Evonne had found the bag of snacks and was sitting politely, waiting for him to spin a tale. Pushing him forward toward the furniture, Reese barked for him to sit down and share.

“There are no wild matriarchs. Not in the water nation, not in the air nation. They have been gone for generations.”

Kaden swallowed hard. His hands felt clammy. They weren’t supposed to talk to about what was happening in the water realm, but it was tied to his blessing. He had to reveal some of the details, at least.

“I found a trapped dragon, saved it, and as a reward, it took me to its matriarch.” He saw Sayori’s eyes look over at him under his hands, waiting to see what he revealed next. “When she did so, I started getting some visions. An expert in the water nation said they are of possibilities for the future. That the wild matriarch blessed me with such a concentrated wild burst of magic that I was given visions. Sometimes it immobilizes me when it happens.”

Reese threw himself down on the couch, covering his own eyes. “This is some bullshit.”

“I promise, it happened.”

He groaned. “I know, I know. I can tell you’re not lying. It’s bullshit that an idiot like you got blessed that way.”

Sayori sat up. “Right? He’s a rural farm boy and only had magic for like a month.”

Evonne’s eyes opened wide as she said, “wow!”

“A month?!” Reese said as he flung his hands out. “You have to be kidding me!”

“Seriously. I’ve had to explain pretty much everything to him about how the pilgrimage even works. He didn’t even know we couldn’t fly into the White City!”

Kaden shrunk into himself as they openly talked about him in such a way. It wasn’t his fault he was thrust into everything. If he had a choice, he and Zuma would just be living on the farm, chasing sheep. It was hard enough trying to navigate this new world alone. If they were going to constantly make fun of him, it would be far worse.

“That’s okay, Kaden.” Evonne said in a soft voice. “I’ve only been a magic user for nine months. So I’m pretty new at it too.”

Reese threw his hands up into the air. “Another baby user! We’re gonna fail this pilgrimage.”

Sayori leaned over and grabbed another handful of baked goods. “I mean, I’ve only been a magic user for two and a half years.”

His hands fell to his chest. “So you’re all saying I’m the most experienced, then?”

Kaden was relieved to hear that Evonne was a newer user, too. He looked at Reese, whose hands were now covering his face. “How long have you had magic?”

“Since I was seven.”

Evonne choked on the snacks and had to compose herself before saying. “But you're nineteen! You’ve had magic for twelve years?”

Sayori sighed a long and dramatic sigh. “That’s princes for you.”

He jumped up and said, “Obviously, I know a lot more about my magic than any of you will ever know.”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Wait,” Evonne said before clearing her throat one more time, “why did it take you so long to get a dragon then?”

His eyes cut away. “Uh, in our culture, you’re not allowed around them until of a certain age.”

Kaden watched as he shifted uneasily before walking off toward some doors at the end of the open room. He knew there was more to that story, but he didn’t want to pry so soon. The guy just punched him for making their team look bad. He wasn’t about to make him angrier.

“It’s why I was able to call Bee so quick and get Sayori. You’ve got to prove you’re an expert with the wind before you’re even allowed to try to fly with a dragon.”

Opening up a door, he said, “I’ll have to teach you all how to not get caught by silver drakes again so you lot won’t make us look so bad in public.”

Sayori slid off the couch and followed him around the loft. “Oh, like you could have outran the Lord Commander?”

“Could have and would have. We’re going to have to have a few races on our pilgrimage. I can’t have you three leaving this, making me look bad.”

“If you promise to keep catching me out of the air, then I will happily let you teach me your windy ways,” Sayori laughed.

Kaden heard Reese’s tone change as he said, “I will always be there to catch you when you fall, Sayori.”

He swore he heard a giggle come out of her. Rolling his eyes, he wasn’t about to start a fight over a girl who could rightfully put both of them in the dirt if she wanted. A little bit of anger crept up into him at Reese flirting with Sayori. That was his girl who he just met and thought was beautiful. He shook his head at the ridiculousness of his thoughts.

Evonne set the bag of snacks down and went to join them. Shrugging, Kaden decided to follow along. They hadn’t taken the time to look around the lofted apartment. They found two bedrooms, each with two beds, and a washroom. There wasn’t much more than that. After a quick decision, Sayori claimed that she didn’t trust the two teenage boys and would room with Evonne.

Reese grumbled but reluctantly agreed. As they had come back out into the loft, there were several bags and boxes labeled for them all at the door. Evonne had found cooking supplies among them and had started smothering something on the stove that smelled like heaven. If she could cook, their travels were going to be far more bearable.

The boxes contained clothing and other goods they made need. Kaden was relieved to have some clothes to replace his that had been destroyed on the train. He took what he had to his new room and put it away as best he could.

Evonne told them how she loved to cook, and it was a passion in her life. Because of her magic, she could manipulate the heat to cook things to just the right perfection. She learned to concentrate and be successful with her powers by baking bread.

“So you just sat there, baking bread, for hours?” Sayori said with a piece of something in her mouth that she popped out of the pan.

“Yes!” She was stirring a pot of popping noodles. “You can’t rush bread. You’ve got to let it slowly bake.”

Reese was flipping through some book they had left there. “I mean, that’s one way to practice your focus.”

Leaning over the edge of the counter, Kaden tried to look into the pot to see what she was making. “I didn’t think about using magic for everyday things like cooking. I’m sure my water magic would come in handy for a lot.”

“You should try it!” She said excitedly while backing away from the pot. “Try stirring the pasta! The sauce is a liquid! I did use water!”

He wasn’t expecting to show off his abilities right then. Moving liquid like that wasn’t something he had ever practiced. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Reese perk up and look over the edge of the couch he was lying on to see what they were doing.

Focusing on the bubbling liquid, he tried his best to push his will out and command it to slosh. It remained inert, merely boiling away in from the heat. He tried again, pushing his will out to swirl it around. The liquid burst out, flew into the air, before falling back down with a splash. They all jumped back to avoid getting hit by the boiling liquid.

Reese’s laugh echoed across the room. “Let’s leave the cooking to Evonne.”

The three of them around the pot burst out in laughter at the mess. It wasn’t hard to clean up and soon they were finished and eating a hot meal. Sayori was recanting the story of her father’s pies to Evonne and they were sharing a good laugh about it. After taking a few bites of the delicious meal, Kaden looked up to see Reese watching him.

“So, did you have a vision today, then?”

“Hmm?”

He motioned to Sayori. “When you pushed her over the edge. What did you see?”

Kaden’s eyes fell to the ground. “I didn’t see anything.”

“So you just blanked out for a moment?”

Swallowing hard, he said, “I felt something.”

Raising his eyebrow at him, Reese motioned for him to continue.

“I, uh, sometimes can feel… magic.”

“You can feel magic? We can all feel magic. What do you mean?”

Looking around the room to see if the others were listening, but they were lost in their own chatter. “Uh, a darker magic.”

“Oh,” he waved his hand, “yeah, the darkness. That happens.”

Kaden’s eyes popped open. He tried to shake away his surprise. “Wait, you know about the darkness?”

“Thirteen years under my belt here. Of course I know of the darkness. It was a pain when I was about eleven. That was a weird time in my life.”

“So you can feel the darkness and its power too, then?”

“Whoa. No. I had my own darkness to fight, but feeling its power? Is that what happened? You felt some darkness around here?”

He looked around again, as if he was afraid of the words he was sharing were going to be stolen. “I felt a deep well of it here. I was just trying to connect with Zuma and instead I got punched with that.”

He pursed his lips to the side in thought. “That’s strange. I called Bee to save Sayori and didn’t hit any darkness. Maybe your connection to your dragon is weaker?”

Kaden rolled his eyes at him. “No, it was something else.”

He wasn’t sure if he could trust any of them, but they were the only people he had. Looking around again, he said quietly, “I think there are serpents in the house of dragons.”

The Lord Commander’s words came tumbling out of his mouth. He waited for Reese to react to it, but he just took another bite and chewed slowly, as if he was mulling over the words.

“Wasn’t that obvious already?”

He felt like he had been gut punched. Here he thought he needed to be secretive, but Reese wasn’t even bothered by the notion. He had felt some type of darkness here and Reese was acting like it was nothing new.

He sighed, took a final bite of their meal before standing up. “We’re in a den of vipers, Kaden. You best learn that quickly before they eat you alive. You probably did feel one if you’re more in tuned with their magic thanks to your strange blessing. I’d keep that knowledge between us, though. We don’t know anyone else here.”

Kaden nodded, and Reese tossed his bowl in the sink. Sayori nagged him over her shoulder about washing his dishes, but he simply shrugged and made his way toward their shared room. He claimed he had a long day and needed his beauty rest. It wasn’t a bad idea, and they all agreed it had been an eventful day and it was getting late.

By the time Kaden helped clean up and get himself ready for bed, Reese was already snoring away in his bed. Laying down, he tried to focus on the softness of the bed. It wasn’t like the beds at the water temple. It swallowed him in comfort. His mind was refusing to shut off as it mulled around the thought that someone here in the white city had such an overbearing power that it caused him to stumble and fall from its power.

Tossing and turning, he wasn’t able to fall asleep. With a huff, he threw off his blankets and decided to get up and grab something to drink. Creaking open the door, he thought about Zuma and wondered if they were okay up there. He didn’t dare try to call them again if that force was still going to press on him when everyone else was asleep. He learned his lesson on messing with the darkness when no one was around.

Opening the door, he saw something move across the glass balcony, a shadowed silhouette in the night. Maybe it was one of the girls out there? It dashed across the balcony. He quickly dove back into the room, only cracking the door open to get a look. The figure was trying to pry the balcony door open. It was not one of the girls.

“Reese,” he whispered and his companion was still dead asleep. In a hiss louder he said his name louder.

He tossed and turned and Kaden said it louder as he kicked out toward the bed. His foot connected with the bedpost, shaking Reese awake. He sat up with a startle. Whirling around to find Kaden shushing him, he was wiping away the sleep from his eyes. He tried to ask why he was woken up, but Kaden motioned for him to be quiet.

Sneaking toward the crack himself, he peered out of it just as the figure was breaking the balcony door open.

“Well fuck, we’ve either got a burglar or an assassin.” He whispered to Kaden. “This loft has been fully furnished for weeks with no one in it. I highly doubt they’re here to steal something they couldn’t have already got weeks ago.”

“So it’s an assassin, then?” Kaden asked in a panicked squeak.

Reese winked at him. “Ready for a fight?”

“No, I’m in my pajamas!”

Reese whipped open the door and said, “Too bad!”