her egg. “Whatever is going on, it must be something really bad.”
“Boys,” Catria called over her shoulder. “Why don’t you come look at this?”
Roric and Tauran exchanged a glance, then Roric stood and gestured for Tauran to follow.
Tauran approached the fledglings with more caution than Roric. It had been a long time since he’d seen a baby dragon. His thoughts drifted to the titan egg. He’d never seen a baby titan. No one in Valreus had. And Tauran wouldn’t ever see one, he reminded himself. He wanted nothing to do with it.
The recruits stood in a line, trying hard and somewhat failing to keep their unruly dragons at their heels.
These recruits were the lucky few. Classes of nearly two dozen recruits studied hard, sometimes for years at a time, waiting for a new dragon to join the guard. The exam to be matched with a dragon was tough and only the best were chosen. After that, fourteen months of practical training followed before the recruit and their dragon would face the ultimate test. Those unlucky enough to never receive a dragon would often become flight specialists or weather analysts instead, joining the ranks of several hundred others working in the Sunrise Tower.
Tauran had been luckier than most. He’d aced his physical training, flopped most of his theory classes, but he’d never had to take his first exam, and he’d only been a recruit for six months before she appeared. Not all of his contemporaries had been happy to see him skip the queue.
He raked his gaze over the fledglings. They were all stateras, their well-muscled bodies still retaining some baby fat, horns short and stubby, their colors ranging from pale gray to golden brown and almost black. No swiftwings, this time. It was only now that Tauran noticed they were all on leashes, attached to intricate harness straps wrapping their chests and running along their wings.
“What are those for?” Tauran asked, leaning toward Catria.
A faint line formed between Catria’s brows. “It’s a new training style. Falka came up with it. The straps make the dragons easier to control in the air. We’re trying to get them used to it early.”
Tauran kneeled and inspected the nearest fledgling. It wiggled its wings, rubbing its chest against the ground. “That has never been necessary before.”
Catria looked troubled. “Not when we were recruits, no,” she said. “But we have to rush everything, now. Falka wants these teams in the air in eight months.”
Tauran frowned and stood. “That’s way too early.”
“I know.” Catria stroked Sorcha’s face when Sorcha rested her large head on her shoulder. “But we have little choice. We’re stretched so thin, Tau.”
Roric strolled along the line of recruits and dragons. “It doesn’t hurt them. They’re only acting up because they’re so young.” He bent down to pat a pure black fledgling on the head. The young dragon closed its eyes and leaned into the touch, momentarily forgetting about the harness.
Roric paused at the next recruit, pursing his lips at the young man’s dragon. “Those straps look a little loose, Jasper.”
Jasper flushed, rubbing the back of his head. He looked not a day over seventeen, all limbs, with reddish brown hair and eyes the same shade of hazel as his dragon’s scales. “Flora really doesn’t like the straps. She keeps wiggling out of them.”
“That’s ‘cause you keep them so loose,” Roric said, patience in his voice as he kneeled and reached for the fledgling. Gently, he tightened each wing strap. “If they dangle, they’ll annoy her. And if she tries to get them off, they’ll twist and pinch.”
Roric gave the boy a smile and patted his shoulder. “Lighten up, kid. It’s a small mistake.”
“Excuse me?” A girl stepped forward, watching Tauran with curious interest. “Are you Tauran Darrica, the titan rider?”
Tauran felt Catria’s sidelong glance and ignored her. He took a deep breath. Would he have to deal with this every single day for as long as he stayed in Valreus? “I was,” he said, in as final a tone as he could muster. “I train the ground recruits, now.”
“You know there’s an open spot for you on this crew,” Roric said, leaving Jasper and his dragon. “I doubt Falka’s offer expires.”
“Neither does my decision,” Tauran said. He turned away from the recruits before more of them could get the idea to get nosy. “I’ll head back and talk to Falka.”
“I’ll see you soon,” Roric said. It sounded more like a hopeful question