Five

Kahlan 

It didn't rear it's head back to rain fire me…I guess 

So I looked away …there's no way I'm entering a starring contest with a dragon 

Professor Carl’s laughter rang out, sharp and startling. “Well,” she said cheerfully, “we just lost thirty students, give or take. Roll call will be done by the end of class.”

What the actual hell.

Silence fell over what was left of us. My knees threatened to give but somehow, I stayed upright.

The black dragon’s gaze never wavered. Those molten pits weren’t just looking at me…they were reading me. Like I’d just volunteered as lunch.

Nope. No way. Absolutely not.

My lungs forgot how to work. My boots betrayed me, rooting me to the dirt. And yet, maybe that saved me.

Because where others had burned or cowered, the dragon tilted its massive head. Just slightly. 

Curious.

“Survivors!” Professor Carl clapped her hands, delighted. “Welcome to the riders’ program. Those who didn’t survive…well, they won’t need the gear anymore.”

A nervous laugh broke from the crowd.

I found my voice…barely. “This is insane,” I muttered.

“Not insane,” someone whispered back. “Necessary. The dragons don’t want cowards.”

“Oh, well, good thing my bravery is just hiding under all this abject terror,” I shot back under my breath.

Soren finally spoke, his voice cutting through the smoke like steel. “Lesson one. A dragon will test you. Fail, and you’re ash on the wind. Pass, and maybe you’ll live long enough to learn something worth knowing."

A murmur rippled through what was left of us…fear, awe, maybe both.

Vivian was smiling like she was born for this. Kai was petting one of the dragons like it hadn’t just cooked half our class.

And me? I was trying not to faint while pretending I wasn’t about to faint.

The black dragon shifted again, wings folding in tight, tail sweeping the dirt. My heart pounded so hard it hurt.

Why couldn’t that thing leave me alone?

And Soren… he was still watching me like he could see every flicker of panic in me. Like he knew something I didn’t.

“Why is he even here?” I muttered. “I thought he was some kind of wolf prince.”

“He's a Hybrid,” someone whispered back.

~~~~~~

Hybrid.

That word hadn’t left my head since this afternoon. Soren was a hybrid—born of both wolf and dragon rider. Stronger. Sharper. And one day, he’d take his father’s seat. No wonder everyone treated him like he was carved from stone and dipped in gold. He wasn’t just popular; he was everyone’s favorite.

My fork scraped against the plate.

“You’re stabbing your food,” Freya said, pulling me back to the present.

“I know,” I muttered.

“The carrots aren’t that bad.” She popped one into her mouth with a grin.

“It’s not the food,” I sighed, but my eyes drifted right back across the hall. To his table.

Soren sat there like the world belonged to him. Beside him, the boy from yesterday who was apparently not bulling Freya —Dylan.

Freya said his was Soren beta, His shadow.

“Then…” Freya leaned closer, curiosity written all over her face. “Do you like Soren?”

I choked. “Ew. No. I don’t. He’s an—”

My words died in my throat.

A girl just walked straight up to his table. She didn’t hesitate, didn’t blink. She slid onto the bench right next to him and looped her hand through his like it belonged there.

My stomach tightened.

What the hell is wrong with me …. that is none of my business….. I don't care

His jaw tightened, but he didn’t say a word. His face stayed perfectly neutral. My eyes though they betrayed me—it went straight back to where the girl’s hand was looped through his.

I cleared my throat. “Are they… like, together or something?” I tried to sound casual, like I didn’t give a damn.

Which …I don't 

Freya giggled, which meant I’d failed miserably.

“That’s Sasha,” she said. “They’ve been like that since last year. She kind of claimed him. Mostly just to keep the other girls away.”

Freya went back to her food as if it wasn’t a big deal, but I couldn’t look away. 

By every standard,she was beautiful, perfect bouncy hair, tanned skin .. From here I could tell she was putting on Louis Vuitton and a channel bag and evidently half the boys in this hall were staring at her or at her ass .

Sasha rested her head against his shoulder, and something sharp twisted in my chest. I shifted in my seat.

“I’m going to get more cream for my salad,” I said a little too forcefully.

I pushed back my chair and turned around but then I came face first right into something solid. Someone solid.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you,” I blurted, looking up.

The boy in front of me had a crooked, mocking smile tugging at his lips.

“Technically, I bumped into you,” he said slowly. “But I’ll accept your apology.”

He was speaking to me, but his eyes weren’t fixed on my face. His attention kept flicking over my shoulder.

Confused, I turned—and froze.

Soren was glaring. Not just looking. Glaring daggers so sharp they pinned me to the spot.

Suddenly, I felt too aware of myself, of everything—my hair, my hands, my breath.

The boy in front of me finally dragged his gaze back to mine. “My name’s Ryan,” he said. “And you must be Khalan.”

I must have looked confused, because Ryan added, “Vampire. If I want to, I can hear pretty much everyone in this hall.”

“That should be—”

A loud thud cut through the air, followed by a sharp shriek. I whipped my head toward the sound just in time to see a student collapse to the floor.

Another crash rang out, louder than the first. Someone else fell….this time from the first floor balcony of the dining hall. The chaos that followed was instant. Screams. Chairs scraping. People rushing for the doors.

“Ryan—” I started, but the doors slammed open before I could say anything.

Professor Carl stormed in with several others at her side. “Dammit, we’re late,” she spat, weaving through the panic.

Derek appeared at her heels, but he stopped cold the second his eyes landed on me. In two strides he was in front of me, his hands suddenly cupping my face.

“Tell me you weren’t in your dorm this afternoon,” he demanded. His voice wasn’t steady, it was raw, laced with something I’d never heard in him before. Fear.

“No, I wasn’t,” I said quickly. “Freya was showing me around. I wasn’t there.”

Relief flickered in his eyes, but only for a second. He looked past me, straight at Ryan. “Get her out of here.”

Ryan frowned. “What’s going on?”

Derek’s gaze snapped back to me, still searching my face like he was making sure I was real, alive. His jaw clenched.

“Poison.”