Painted Reality | Xaden Riorson x FEM!OC

Bonded

Xaden's eyes find mine, and I'm to stuck in my head to react before he looks away. "And I bet you feel pretty badass right now, don't you, first-years?"

More people around us cheer except for Imogen and I.

"You feel invincible after the parapet, don't you?" Xaden shouts. "You think you're untouchable! You're on the way to becoming the elite! The few! The chosen!"

Another round of cheers goes up with each declaration and I am starting to feel faint with the ach in my head. I try to meet Xadens eyes to get him to stop but he doesn't look my way. The cheering got louder and louder and I started to feel nauseas, I tried to stay upright but the side eye from Imogen says I am not hiding it very well.

No. That's not just cheering, it's the sound of wings beating the air, holy fuck. The wind eased some of the pain but also knocked me off balance, I grabbed into Imogen's arm and she grabbed both of my forearms. I felt blood trickling down my arm, I groaned "Fuck"

I saw her eyes flick up to Xaden and the pain in my head ceased but the nausea didn't. I stood back up and gave Imogen a nod when she gave me a questioning look. I looked back up to the Wingleader and- holy shit.

"Holy fucking Malek, they're beautiful," I muttered to myself and by the way Imogen chuckled she heard. It was a whole riot of the commanders dragons. I've spent my life around dragons, all at a distance - except for Tiene who Mira took me on night rides with - but they are beautiful. From were I'm standing Xaden is the only person in front of all of the dragons, the picture it creates is beautiful, all his sketches are going to be powerful.

Just when I think they're about to fly overhead, they pitch vertically, and stop, the gusts of wing -made wind so powerful that I nearly every first year staggered backward as they land on the outer semicircular wall. 

"How did you not fall just then?" Imogen asked surprised

"I think you forget that I grew up with two dragons all day and ones that come and go daily," I smile at her and look to Vi behind her in the other Wing and she smiled at me and so did I "It's a talent"

Imogen gave me an almost laughing almost choking laugh and we look back to the beautiful creatures. Their chest scales ripple with movement, and their razor-sharp talons dig into the edge of the wall on either side. All the colours - you would think that would clash don't - from brown to red to orange to green to black to blue? 

Obviously the hottest man here rides the hottest dragon here. You need to stop calling him hot. I do, don't I? Yes and soon, he will start taking you as someone who will fall on her face for him. Yeah but I'm not that kind of person. Really? Yes, now shut up.

My mouth drops open. In my five years of living here, I've never seen this, but then again, I've never been allowed to watch what happens on Conscription Day

A few cadets scream. Guess everyone wants to be a dragon rider until they're actually 100m away from one. I was caught in my head until I realised everyone had stepping away from me - even Imogen. Steam blasts my face, knocking me out of my conversation with myself, as the navy-blue one directly in front of me exhales through her nostrils. Her shining blue horns rise above her head in an elegant, lethal sweep, and her wings flare momentarily before tucking in, the tip of her top joint crowned by a single fierce talon. Her tail are just as fatal, but I can't see them at this angle or even tell which breed of dragon each is without that clue

I knew by the way she held herself that she and Xaden created one hell of a fucking signet. Her tucked in wings filled the space where people once stood around me, locking me in a capsule with just her head and I. I tucked still bleeding arm and the other behind my back 

"Hello?" I tilted my head and she mirrored it, it was probably very stupid to start talking to an already bonded dragon, but oh well where here for a good time not a long time right? I could hear people outside screaming and I could picture Violets face - complete horror and shock. "If you could not eat me that would be awesome"

"You are very stupid to be talking to a dragon that is not yours," Her eyes narrowed and her wing moved slightly letting in a flash of light before moving back into place. Her speaking through my head feels slightly weird "You need to fix your arm or it will get infected"

"Noted" She huffs out a breath and pulls her wings back to her side moving back to stand behind her bonded