“How did it happen?”

  “Did he really choose you?”

  “What did it feel like, did you know right away?”

  Questions fly in from every direction, each first year student crowded around Kieran, who has nearly died from so much attention. I, myself, sink further into my seat, almost absorbing into Ryker as we try to eat.

  Dinner has been total chaos since Kieran returned, his new bonded familiar drawing the attention of all. Even some of the older students have come to look, most of their faces smothered with envy. The falcon does not seem to mind, despite the occasional ruffle of feathers when someone gets too close. But it is clear that he is only here because of Kieran, perched on his shoulder, safe under his protective eyes.

  After an ruthless hour of badgering questions, the students fall back to their seats, most seeming quite displeased. I even heard one mutter that it should have been him, stomping back to a table of third year Whites.

  Kieran hides his satisfaction well, but can never quite seem to leave the bird alone, who now lays tucked on his knees, still and quiet and perfectly at ease.

  “So,” I sit up straighter, now that all have left, “What’s it like? The bond.”

  Kieran looks up, thinking for a moment, “It’s strange.”

  “Oh, come on.” Ryker scoffs, biting into a slab of fish, “That's all we get?”

  Kieran makes a face, wholly unamused.

  “It’s like there's this new tether in my mind,” he says softly, brushing the falcon's head, “I can feel him, what he wants, and I know he can do the same. We just…”

  “Understand each other?” I look to the bird, who almost purrs at Kierans' light touch.

  Kieran nods, relieved.

  It’s rather sweet, to see them so connected. The birth of a new friendship, despite seeming like they’ve known each other since the dawn of time. It seems that the tear into Kieran’s shoulder was some sort of a tie, and when I look to the girl sitting at the Shields, playing with a small monkey in her hands, I find that she too carries an imprint, in the form of a healed puncture.

  “What’s his name?” I ask, picking apart what's left of my roll.

  Kieran looks up once more, his eyes flicking over the falcon, “I’m not sure. I’ve tried a few, but he hasn’t taken to any.”

  “What about Cyrus?” Ryker scrapes the morsels from his plate.

  Kieran shakes his head, pulling a face.

  “Xavi?” I try, passing the rest of my fish to an eager eyed Ryker.

  Kieran raises an eyebrow and the falcon flares his wings, apparently appalled by the suggestion. I smile and move on, watching as Ryker demolishes my plate.

  The Thornbern twins meet us at the table, filling themselves to bursting, having just come from the infirmary, now wrapped in blood soaked bandages.

  “I can’t believe you all made it to the peak,” Kaiya sighs disappointedly.

  “Neither can I,” I smile, resting my arms on the table.

  “We overheard Alec,” Xena grimaces, making all three of us freeze, “He’s er, not happy.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  My smile drops and I release a long sigh, avoiding Alec’s watchful eye.

  “Just Ambaby doing what he does best,” Ryker rolls his eyes.

  “What did he say?” Kieran asks, feeding the falcon a piece of fish.

  “Well,” Kaiya winces, glancing quickly at the fuming pack, “Something about tearing your spines from your bodies, and using your blood to bathe.”

  “Charming,” Ryker raises an eyebrow.

  “They’re just pissed because two of them didn’t make it up,” Xena says reassuringly.

  “Oh, and did you guys hear?” Kaiya says seriously, leaning forward, “The girl from Suncrest, the one who died, she fell because he pushed her.”

  “What?” I gasp, finally meeting Alec’s eye, who sneers more than ever, his teeth smothered with fish skin.

  “Yeah,” Xena shudders, “Tore her right off the mountain. Claimed she was in his way, but really she was about to pass him.”

  Four died on today's climb. Three from Moonridge and one from Suncrest. Most were by accident, apparently one by force. When I look around now, I find that our numbers are dwindling, no matter how slow. Every group has lost students by now, and I can only imagine how much worse it will grow. Moonridge started out small, with two unable to show, but now there are three more dead, leaving us with a mere 15. The coming weeks will bring more of this demise, and it will only be by luck that I survive.

  ???

  Tonight, the dormitories seem to be quiet, with three more of our group now gone. They cleared an entire bunk, having been friends, and I can’t suppress the nausea of the thought of my own, and how easily we could have met the same end.

  I’ve thought about it constantly, since we reached the peak, how I would have died had it not been for boys. But especially Kieran, who launched onto the ground, not hesitating a single moment, despite the danger it caused him.

  “Hey, Kieran,” I mutter, leaning over my bed.

  He looks up, smiling at the way my hair pools around my head, resting his pocket sized book on his stomach.

  “Do you know why he chose you?” I ask, “Was it because you saved me?”

  “That seems dramatic,” Kieran blushes, turning away, looking to the falcon, who perches on the ladder, “…but I suppose.”

  “Do you think it was the same one who was there that day, on the flats?”

  Kieran smiles and nods, “Yes. He has the same notch on his left wing.”

  I raise my eyebrows, not having realized. It seems that even if the boys did not bond until today, that they were always meant for each other, in some strange way.

  “Hey!” I exclaim, sliding off of my bed and onto his, sitting criss crossed at the end, “What about Ryn?”

  “What?” Kieran cocks his head, eyes flicking to Ryker, who has just stood to lean against the bed, his arms crossed on the mattress.

  “You know, for his name! Short for Rynevek, the fate of silence and stealth.”

  The falcon perks up, flitting elegantly from the ladder to my thigh, his talons so sharp they dig through the fabric. He chirps in my face and turns to Kieran, tucking his wings in tight, allowing me to run my fingers down his spine.

  “Ryn?” Kieran raises an eyebrow at the sayamine, who closes his eyes as I stroke his back, the warmth from his body soaking into mine, “He likes it.” Kieran says, a soft smile hugging his lips as he turns back to his book.

  “What’s that?” Ryker interrupts, gesturing to the tome.

  Kieran looks up, quickly checking around the room.

  “I found it in that library,” he glances at me, handing the book to Ryker.

  Ryker’s face turns twisted and he hands me the book. When I look, I realize why, as the tome is written in the ancient tongue, the letters so strange they almost look fuzzy.

  “You know Vernezian?” I ask, handing back the book.

  Kieran squeezes the back of his neck, seeming embarrassed, “My mother loved to read. Most of her books were in Vernezian.”

  “What’s it about?” Ryker presses, leaning in and lowering his voice.

  Kieran sits up so his arms rest on his thighs, his voice very quiet as he mutters, “It’s about Etari’s history. I thought…”

  Blinking away my surprise, I whisper, “The Mages?”

  Kieran nods, glancing at the book, “It’s hard to read. The dialect is strange. But still, nothing so far.”

  Ryker leans back, grasping the bed frame, “It’ll be hard to find anything solid.”

  We nod our agreement, and Kieran goes to say more when I nudge his knee, my eyes boring into a new presence. Greyson Panthera leans on Alec’s bed, the rest of the pack surrounding him, each keyed into Alec’s current gripe. But Panthera is not paying attention, instead focused on Kieran and his book. He catches our notice and looks away, playing it off as if he was gazing across the room.

  Without looking at each other, Kieran slides me the book, and I tuck it under my legs, all the while Ryker shields the turn over. We drop the conversation, instead moving onto next week, when in just ten days we will spar for the first time, against men who wish more than anything to turn me into a lump of shattered, blood splattered bones.