Page 62 of Under Restless Skies

Sunlight. Right.

I don’t even know why I’m surprised I fell asleep. But what an amazing sleep. I should spend more nights on plain loose straw, considering I’m feeling more rested than ever.

I pat each of the dragons.“I’ll be back. I promise.”

It feels wrong to leave, but I don’t want to miss breakfast or be late for class. I dash up the stairs, change, grab my satchel with my school materials, then hurry to the refectory. Everyone’s already leaving, and I grab a plate with bread and fruit and eat it as fast as I can.

A bell rings, soft and melodious, perhaps so we never confuse it with the harsh bells warning us about attacks. I look at my paper with my schedule and see room 731, on the same floor as where I had the class about dragons, and rush up the stairs. Today is Kingdom of the Riders, and I’m looking forward to it, hoping it will answer some of the questions I’ve had since that rider attacked me.

A large map of the Dracolius Kingdom decorates the front wall, with no board for the instructor to write on, just an imposing mahogany desk and some empty bookcases.

The tables for recruits are not circular like in Dragon Knowledge, but long and thin, so that everyone faces the instructor. Celine’s at the front table, waving at me, and I sit beside her and Nelly. I’m surprised that the second-year recruit is in this class too, but happy at the same time.

The instructor stands in the front, arms crossed, with black hair cropped short and a well-trimmed beard, his posture serious as his eyes scan the recruits coming in.

People are still arriving, and the mood is joyful, with recruits excited about something coming up. A ball, maybe. I’ll need to find out what it is.

“You didn’t come to dinner,” Nelly says.

“I had to do something.”

Celine grins and cranes her neck. “Are you coming⁠—”

Bam, bam, bam. The instructor slams a paper weight on his table, and the sound reverberates throughout the room.

“Silence,” he says. “Absolute silence. Anyone caught talking will be sent to Commander Mallor.”

I don’t think the commander has a reputation among the first-years, considering nobody flinches.

The instructor sits on his desk. “Do you know why you’re here?”

After a second of silence, a girl’s voice comes from the back. “To learn⁠—”

“I said silence.” The instructor glares at her. “But I’ll be merciful, and all you’ll get is a short detention. Stay behind when the class ends.”

I wish I could look back and see the girl’s expression, but I don’t want to risk upsetting this instructor. Beside me, Nelly straightens in her seat.

“My name is Instructor Corin, and if you pay attention to this class, you’ll come out with a better understanding of our neighbors, our enemies, our invaders. That understanding will guide your actions, will guide your thoughts, will guide your reflexes. You need to know who you’re fighting against, if you want to hope for a chance to defeat them.”

He gets off the desk and walks to us. “Do you know what the riders value most of all?”

Silence stretches in the room, and I wonder if the instructor is testing us to see if any dimwit is going to answer his question. Nobody does, and Corin clears his throat.

“Strength. Strength is everything to them. And we may hear that and think they have a point. It makes sense, right? Except that it doesn’t. A society that doesn’t value the weak won’t protect its most vulnerable members: the elderly, the children, the women.”

He clicks his tongue. “I see your faces. Every time I teach this class, the female recruits hear me and think I’m saying nonsense. Women are not weaker, right? I’d say no. You can fly like any man. You can operate ballistas just as well. You can bear children! How weak is that?” He chuckles. “I’d say women are pretty strong. And yet, you’re not as physically strong as most men. Place a woman in a fight against a man, and ninety-nine times out of a hundred, they’ll lose. And that’s the kind of strength the riders value: physical strength.”

The instructor pauses, as if giving us time to absorb his words, then says, “Too much focus on strength leads to cruelty. Brutality. How do women in Dracolius select their partner?”

Beside me, Nelly looks at her nails, as if embarrassed. I let the question linger. Do women select their partners? My thought has always been that it’s the other way around, but I’m not going to open my mouth and argue.

Corin continues, “They pick someone they like, someone who’s nice to them, right? Maybe they choose a man with means to support a family, or a man who’s handsome. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that women get their say. They can say sure. They can also say: go away, creep.”

Some laughter sounds in the room, but I remain silent, not willing to face Commander Mallor again, but the instructor smiles, apparently pleased that his joke was appreciated. “And you’re all thinking: well, that’s obvious. It is, right? It’s so deeply ingrained in our society that it’s obvious. Now, let’s think back to the Kingdom of the Riders. What if the creep is stronger than the woman? What’s going to happen? Something…” He sighs. “Unpleasant. Unless, of course, she’s protected by someone even stronger, but it might not be the case. It can turn into savagery, murder. A society in decay. Sad state, sad.”

Corin goes on, explaining how children are mistreated, sometimes even killed if they are weaker than the others. My heart feels tight thinking about Ava and Vos, even if they’re dragons, and right as the thought crosses my mind, the instructor explains that indeed the dragons are subjected to cruel treatment in order to cull the weak.

His account is horrific, and yet his pleasant voice keeps me focused, paying attention. Horrified, but still paying attention. I wonder why I never heard much about the Kingdom of the Riders, but I never studied much at home other than learning how to read. When we considered the neighboring kingdom, our only worry was their dragons and when they’d attack us next, with little thought to how the people there lived.