Dragon Trials (Return of the Darkening Book 1) Read Free Page A

that was the top of a thick wall. Looking around, I could see about a dozen trainees that had already been selected. They stood out because they didn’t have armor or helmets and tunics of all colors fluttered in the breeze. The Dragon Riders in their glinting armor of metal and leather were climbing to the platforms on stone stairs and were welcoming friends or family to the Academy, clapping the trainees on the back or hoisting them into the air. The crowd around me seemed particularly large, and I thought it might be because of my ruddy-golden hair, freckles and my slighter frame which gave away that I was a girl.
    I heard a familiar laugh and looked over to see my brother Ryan. He came up to me and grabbed my shoulder. “You’d better get off the platform before your dragon comes back with your fellow rider!”
    “Ryan, I did it!” I threw my arms around my older brother. He patted me awkwardly on the back.
    “Well done, Sis, well done, but easy. I’ve got a reputation to keep.” He pulled my arms away, and led the way to the stone palisade wall where I could watch for the return of the red.
    “Your dragon is the last to come back in,” Ryan said. “It’ll be the talk of the Academy, your red picking a girl of all things.”
    “It’ll be the talk of the city,” said another boy. He was with the stocky kid who had helped me up. With his slicked-back, black hair and his blue shirt and breeches, I knew him at once. He was from House Veer, a family with a history of riders almost as good as House Flamma.
    “Beris.” I gave him a nod. His family was mostly chosen by blues, so that was why he’d dressed the way he had. I’d known him since childhood for all the noble Houses of Torvald studied together and met up regularly at the king’s banquets and balls. We had all trained together.
    “I shouldn’t be surprised that we’ve got another Flamma up here,” he drawled the words with a twist to his mouth. He was trying to sound joking, but I caught the edge of something else in his tone. He had never liked sparring with me and I knew he thought it was beneath him to have to fight with a girl.
    I punched him in the arm for the jibe and put some muscle behind my fist. “Just shows my red has taste, that’s all.” I couldn’t help grinning. I’d been chosen and I didn’t care who knew it.
    Since the dragons only choose every five years, the Academy only took in new trainees every five years, too. At twenty-four, Ryan was five years older than I, and Reynalt five years older than him. With ten years in the saddle, Reynalt was considered an experienced Dragon Rider. He had graduated faster than any other trainee, and both he and Ryan had become full Dragon Riders by coming out of the Academy with honors. But while Reynalt was one of the best Dragon Riders in Torvald, it was Ryan to whom most people deferred—he just had an air of a leader about him. Beris and two other trainees that I knew—Shakasta and Syl—did that now, tipping their heads and stepping back. Ryan had been chosen along with Prince Justin, the only son of King Durance Torvald by the same dragon, and so my brother was the navigator to the prince’s protector position on a green drake.
    “Shakasta, Syl.” I nodded to the others, the guys I’d be training with. For once, I felt as though I had a right to be here. My chest lifted with pride and I pulled in a deep breath.
    I just hope that Father sees it the same way that I do. The crowd around me started to whistle and point to the sky. I turned to see my red making its way back to the Academy from the city, its broad wings forcing it up the thermals in easy, strong strokes. I thought the red might grow into a strong, handsome beast, if treated right and fed well.
    “Who’s it got? Where is he?” Beris was saying, shading his eyes and trying to look at the dragon’s clasped claws.
    “I bet it’s Fabian from House Trulo,” said Shakasta. “He’s excellent at horse-riding.”
    Syl