Dragonrider Academy: Episode 1

could use her superior skill to jump in and hit me with a well-aimed strike that I wasn’t trained for.
I needed to make the first move.
Jasmine kept her eye on the blade, just as the strange guiding force had predicted, all while I moved in close. I didn’t need to stab her. I just needed to make a point, and I had a feeling that this was my first test, one of many at Dragonrider Academy. I needed to prove that I wasn’t going to be scared off by the first challenge that came along.
As predicted, she blocked my blade with hers, keeping it a safe distance from her vital organs.
That was exactly what the energy inside of me wanted and a small surge of warm approval spread throughout my body.
The world went still for a moment as a gentle hum filtered through my ears and the mark on my shoulder grew hot. I’d traveled worlds, and perhaps that was a trigger for the goddess lineage in my blood to come out.
Whatever the cause, I was able to work my fingers into a solid fist and I crouched, putting all my weight into my legs as I launched my punch upward, catching her chin while she kept her focus on my blade.
She grunted as her head snapped back and she fell to the ground in an undignified heap as time resumed its regular pace. Her dragon shot up and flared its wings, but Killian hissed at it, making the creature shrink back.
Huh, so Killian had some authority over another rider’s dragon; that was good to know.
Both of our daggers had fallen to the ground and Killian bent down to pick them up. “Well, I think that was the shortest duel I’ve ever seen in my life.” He grinned at me, the wicked gleam in his eyes irritating me, because I had pleased him—and I liked that I had pleased him. A part of me already sought his approval as my mentor and my partner at Dragonrider Academy. Something unspoken sealed between us in that moment as he gathered both daggers into one hand so that his fingers could brush mine, leaving an unspoken message that this was the first of many moments to come where I would be tested and he would be by my side to witness my victory.
“You lose, Jas,” he said smugly, “which means you owe Vivienne here servitude for the rest of the day.” He put away his dagger and then handed Jasmine hers. “I’m going to guide her to the dorm and you can wait outside like a good little girl and show her around while I attend to my errands, sound good?”
She groaned as she adjusted her jaw, a click sounding as if she had to snap it back in place.
How hard had I hit her?
She stumbled to her feet and brushed the sand off of her uniform. “Yes, fine,” she growled, not looking me in the eye this time as she turned and mounted her dragon again. “Meet you there.”
Her dragon spread its wings and she sailed off into the distance like a flying emerald gem that glittered with retribution. She glanced back just once. She should have been too far away for me to read her expression, but something in my eyes burned for just a moment as my vision shifted and brought her face into focus. I spotted a glimmer of a smile that said I’d impressed her before she turned around and crouched into her dragon as they flew higher.
I had a feeling that I’d made my first enemy—and maybe my first friend.

Topaz—Killian’s dragon—swept off his neck the moment we entered the dorm room. He flapped his thin, translucent wings that were still developing until he reached a rounded nest next to Killian’s bed. He squawked at me, then snapped his jaw at Killian.
“Yeah, yeah,” my mentor said as he popped open a fridge and brought out some chilled slices of raw meat. He tossed one at the wyvern who caught it in midair, throwing it back to gulp it down his gullet like I’d seen birds do. “There’s your snack,” Killian said, his tone stern, “now take a nap before you get cranky on me and chew up my pillow again.”
The wyvern chirped at him before turning in a circle and wrapping his long tail over his nose to cover his eyes. Soon the creature drew in deep, steady breaths and Killian draped a blanket over him.
He winked at me when he caught me staring, making me blush. “They’re kind of like birds. They like to be covered up when they sleep.”
“Mmhmm,” I said, trying to keep the human part of me from totally freaking out right now. It was odd, as if I had two versions of myself that took all of this in with completely different reactions. One side of me felt like I had come home, that this was an inevitable conclusion to my life that I was meant to endure all along.
I guessed that was the goddess part of me, and that blew my mind.
I have goddess blood… what does that even mean?
“Are you feeling okay?” Killian asked, his touch gentle as he reached out and ran his fingers up my arm. He roamed the birthmark on my shoulder, sending tingling jolts of electricity to surge through my body. “Your mark is reacting pretty strongly. It could be disorienting.”
He was right. I wavered on my feet and clutched my arms around my chest, feeling suddenly cold. Killian reacted instantly, taking off his uniform blazer to wrap around my body.
His warmth and scent overwhelmed me, making me feel even dizzier than a moment before and I backed up to the secondary bed to sit down. I pulled the fabric around me anyway, feeling desperate for something to hold onto.
“It’s the rider bond sealing into place,” he explained as he sat next to me and draped his arm protectively around my shoulders. He leaned