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He placed an arm around my shoulders and smiled reassuringly. “It’s okay to ask all your questions, little sunshine.”
I didn’t know how he did it, but I was at ease again.
There was a pause, and I realized he was waiting for me to ask a new question. “Student?” I repeated.
“Ah, yes.” He urged me to walk with him again. “Well, under normal circumstances, a ryder would come into their powers and have the relevant education as they grew up. Then when the call came to their flyer, they and their flyer would relocate here to the palace to become students of the legion. Trainees, really, who will eventually join the ranks of the Flyers of the First Kingdom.”
I must have looked at him blankly because he made the face I was coming to know as a friendly form of exasperation.
“I’m sorry,” I offered. “It feels like I know nothing, and I can’t tell you how confusing that is.”
“I’m here, and I will help you learn. You can always ask me anything,” Kol promised sincerely.
I nodded, biting back emotion I didn’t want to allow in right now.
“Anyway,” Kol continued. “Your journey on that learning path took a diversion, but you are here now, and you have much to learn, so, yes, student. Welcome to the legion, trainee.”
I swallowed. “You want me to learn how to ride a…” My mouth went dry. Because it wasn’t any dragon they wanted me to ride. It was him. I couldn’t do it.
“Don’t look so worried. There’s more to it than flying lessons. Think of it more like a crash course into the world outside your village for now. Flying comes later.” He looked away, muttering words to himself that sounded very much like, “As long as we can keep my damned brother on the ground.”
My stomach churned, and breakfast threatened to reappear.
“How long does this education take?” I asked, trying to ascertain how long I would be expected to stay here.
“It depends.” Kol shrugged. “We all get the call at different times. Some are still young and will stay and learn until they fully mature. Others come later and only need to pass the standards for flying and magic wielding set by the legion to join.”
“Are you a student?” I knew the question was absurd as soon as it passed my lips. Of course he wasn’t. He was too…authoritative to still be training. “Sorry, that was a silly question. Neither you nor your brother can still be students.”
Kol laughed. “And why would you think that, sunshine?”
I studied him. He was the exact image of Nyx, and Nyx could not be considered anything more than the finished product of whatever he had studied to be. “I, uh…I mean that you’re both too…commanding, too self-assured…”
I realized too late that there was no way to explain my meaning without stroking the ego of a male…beast, who I was quickly realizing did not need such positive reinforcement to have a high view of himself. And his ego seemed small compared to his brother’s. I closed my mouth before I could betray my thoughts any further.
Kol grinned, and I wanted to die from embarrassment.
“I think the word you are looking for is arrogant,” he suggested.
I opened my mouth to assure him I didn’t mean that but knew it was futile, so I closed it again. He seemed to take everything in good humor, and I refused to dig myself a hole.
He laughed heartily and shook his head. “You are quite right, sunshine. I graduated into the legion a few years ago, but the enlisted flyers and ryders work closely with the trainees at all times.”
I didn’t miss that he was only speaking about himself, but I was loathed to seem interested his brother. Curiosity won over, though, and I asked, “And Nyx?”
Kol’s expression changed. Was it regret or guilt, maybe? “Nyx is a special case.”
I realized with sudden clarity why that would be. “He couldn’t attend without his ryder.”
Without me.
Kol sighed. “Ordinarily, no. A flyer without a ryder would not qualify to even come to the capital to train. But we are something of a legacy around here. Our father was the last general of the legion.”
I swallowed. “Was?”
Kol nodded. “He was killed in action two years ago, and Nyx…” He paused, looking away.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I offered.
