Page 102 of Wings of Destruction

So, they’re either up to no good, or they are meeting as lovers.

Since one of those things is clearly not happening unless Kieran likes to screw with an audience, then it’s definitely the first one. My brows narrow down until a slight pinching pain extends across my forehead.

What’s he doing? And where are they going?

The four of them bend their heads together, turning into a single black mass, before Astrid breaks away and strides to the stone border marking the patio’s end. Kieran maneuvers to the end of their merry band with the two young men between them.

Turn around and go to bed.

It’s the prudent thing. Isn’t it? To just leave them to do whatever they want to do and stay far away from any more trouble. Surely that’s what Kieran is getting into. Trouble.

Prudence leaves the room entirely when I hear Kieran growl. The sound urges the others to get into line. Before they disappear off the stone patio, I stumble out the door and leave the glass swinging open behind me.

Crouching, I trot after them, staying far enough behind to keep them in view without getting too close.

This is the worst idea of my life.

Why am I determined to damn myself?

Because I have to know what he’s doing. The desire blots out even the loudest logic. I need to know where they’re going and what they’ll say to each other when they get there. It might be my only chance to get one over on Kieran and his friends.

It’s not necessarily a blackmail situation but it can be.

Creeping comes naturally.

My legs move on instinct and bent low, I trail them along the slender gravel path off the patio. Kieran flashes a concerned look over his shoulder to make sure they aren’t being followed but his gaze skips right over my hunched back.

I hold my breath to the count of five. When I look up again, the group is gone, trailing into the darkness.

I dart forward as quick as a wish and slip along the trail.

DragonSpear Academy is set on a lone mountain. It perches at the precipice like some beast squatting in place in the rocky terrain. Cave systems below are often used by mounts. The basilisks have a den in one of them.

The same den I’d been forced to clean the other day. Not that I’d know how to get there from here. I’ve never been outside before.

The last breath of fresh air I’d gotten came when Tristan delivered me to the open doors of this place like a snack for a gaping mouth and a hungry belly.

A slight gust ruffles the leaves of several scrawny trees too stubborn to die in the face of the strong winds plaguing this area in the rainy season. The vantage point gives me the perfect view of the sleeping valley below and the wide swath of road cut through the forest.

There’s no better way to travel for clandestine activities than moon and starlight.

Night creeps over the land and despite the humidity dampening the air, I shiver. Creatures who live their lives in darkness screech their noises out to the valley below and I cross my arms, hurrying forward.

The group heads unerringly to a side vein off from the main path.

I have no hope of following them in the dark. Unless I somehow develop fantastic night vision in the next three seconds, I’m bound to flounder and get lost.

A deep breath of air clears my head.

Right now, it’s just me and the open sky. It should feel unnerving but after so long spent trapped in the stony cage of the castle, it’s freeing.

What waits in the soft curls of mist, on the other hand…

There are beasts everywhere. Surely some of them are ready to pounce, to catch me, to drag me into the darkness until their teeth smother my screams?

The openness after weeks trapped inside the skeleton of the castle is too much to handle. Dragons cut through those open skies. They unleash their fire and they destroy.

And those are the kind of thoughts that force a smart person to turn back.