Dragonrider Academy: Episode 1

or delusional. Either was a distinct possibility right now. Maybe I was passed out on the shore somewhere, baking in the sun after I’d washed up from the night’s events. I was lucky to be alive, if that was the case, and I had probably worried my mother sick. I shook my head and pinched my arm, trying to get myself to wake up.
A strange squeak caught my attention, making me look up again only to spot a lizard-like creature poking its head through the male’s hair. What I had thought was a strange collar was actually a small animal that had itself wrapped around his neck, its tail drifting down his chest while it poked its snout through his hair just under the male’s ear, as if attempting to get a better look at me.
“What… is that?” I asked, stumbling back a step.
Before I could fall again, the male grabbed me and yanked against something on his wrist. I looked down to see the impossible, a vivid blue line of… what was that? A cord? But how was it coming from his skin. Brilliant, elaborate tattoos that were patterned over his muscular forearms began to glow and the cord came out of his wrist, growing brighter as he tugged at it and wrapped it around mine. A cold snap of energy jolted my spine straight and a sense of restraint made my knees lock.
“You’ll get all your questions answered at orientation,” he explained casually as if he hadn’t just performed actual magic in front of me, all while a strange creature hung around his neck. The beautiful male glanced at me, taking in my shock to which he offered a smile in return. It wasn’t a kind smile, or even a patient one. Just a grin with a mischievous edge that said this wasn’t going to end well for me. “I can’t have you running off, not after I’ve finally found you. Getting you here in the first place took a lot of favors, and you’re going to get me enough extra credit that I can coast right on to graduation.” He tested the magical cord that bound us together, one end wrapping securely around my wrist while the other disappeared under the layer of tattoos still glowing on his left arm. “That should hold for a little while.”
I pulled against the restraint as instinct came over me with the urge to run. When I couldn’t break free, my vision wavered and adrenaline shot through my body, but I forced down the panic and went over the options in my mind.
No need to complicate this. Ignore the magic. Ignore the snake thing with legs on the hot guy’s neck. You have been restrained against your will and you want to go home. Vocalize your demands and gauge your attacker’s response before making the next step.
The thought process was a gift from my mother. She seemed overly paranoid when it came to strangers, but I didn’t blame her based on the articles I read online. Far too many weirdos would pull something like this, and maybe the fantastical side of what I was seeing was just a response to nearly drowning. Hallucinations could be due to a lack of oxygen.
At least, that’s what I told myself.
“You’re going to release me right now,” I demanded, refocusing on my mission as I snapped my gaze up at my oppressor while I worked my jaw into a determined edge. “If this is some sort of sick joke, it’s not funny. I’m going to sue you so fast your children’s children are going to be owing my family money.”
He burst out laughing—which was not the reaction I was going for. “Oh, gorgeous, this is no joke, and while I am flattered you’re already talking about children, let’s take it one step at a time, shall we?” He waved to the expanse behind him and the air shimmered until a massive series of gothic towers came into view. My stomach dropped when I spotted more of the serpent things winding lazy circles around the spires.
The word came to me now, a word that I had only seen repeated in my favorite fantasy novels that I read in my corner of the library back at Oakland High.
Dragons.
“You are at Dragonrider Academy, and I am your mentor and partner.” He grinned when I blinked at him, again with that cocky smile that said he knew how ridiculous he sounded yet he was going to go on with it anyway. “What you see behind me is the campus, as well as some of your fellow students and their wyverns, or dragons, if you prefer, although the breed of dragons we bond with are technically wyverns.” He tapped his chin, sending the blue cord between us to go taut as my arm yanked up with him. “I guess Wyvernrider Academy just didn’t have the same ring to it, you know? ‘Dragon’ sounds so much cooler.” The creature wrapped around his neck gave another screech. This time the male patted his head and then ran his finger along the ridge between the creature’s nostrils and eyes. “You’re right, Topaz. I haven’t introduced myself yet.” I flinched when he knelt down to meet me at eye-level. “My name is Killian.” He tapped my nose as if I was just another pet for him to play with. “And you’re Vivienne, right?”
“Vivi,” I corrected him, then frowned. “How do you know my name?”
He chuckled as he casually wrapped an arm around my neck and forced me toward the campus. “I know a lot about you, Vivienne. I know that you’re from the goddess tribe of lost enchantresses of Avalon.” He tapped the birthmark at my shoulder and I winced as if he’d touched a bruise. “It’s probably reacting to the realm shift you just went through. How are you feeling? Nauseous? Hungry?”
I felt both of those things, but I wasn’t going to voice them to this jerkwad. “I’m fine,” I snapped. “I just