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Nyra looks at him. "Name one kingdom."

He thinks. "Fuck."

A board displays our assignments. I find my name.

VAELITH, EIREA. Evaluator: PROFESSOR KAELIS

Oh. Dragon instructor. Senior combat assessor. Absolutely no patience. Perfect. Beside his name:

SUPERVISING CHIEF: DAX THORNE. I look across the field. Dax is standing with a clipboard. He sees me. Smiles. No. I walk toward him. "You look happy."

"I am."

"Why."

"I'm grading you."

"I hate this already."

"Excellent."

Professor Kaelis looks up from his papers. "Vaelith."

"Professor."

"You have four hours."

"For what?"

"Everything." Helpful. He hands me a band. Red. I look at it.

"Injury designation."

"Already?"

"You haven't started."

"Exactly."

"Put it on." I tie it around my right wrist. Kaelis shakes his head. "Upper arm."

I move it. "What does it mean?"

"You'll find out." I hate him.

"Rules?" I ask.

"Adapt." Dax answers.

"That's not a rule."

"Today it is."

A bell rings. Every first-year moves. The examination begins.

The first is dragons. My first station looks easy. That's suspicious. Three dragons stand across the eastern field. No Riders beside them. No obvious distress. No commands. I am given sixty seconds. Professor Kaelis stands behind me. "Identify the dragon requiring intervention."

I study them. Bronze. Grey. Black. The bronze shifts her wings. Normal. Heat. The grey keeps lowering his head toward the grass. Sniffing. Nothing. The black dragon stands perfectly still. Too still? Maybe. His tail rests loose. Wings neutral. Breathing is slow. Eyes not on us. Western ridge. He looks once. Away. Again. Away. Again. "Black." I answer.