Fire Breather

14.

   FOR two months I had been sleeping in the crowded barracks and I thought that when I got my own dorm, that I would be able to have some peace and privacy—

"Honestly, I don't agree with Garrick's idea, but it's our best chance at keeping you alive."

But apparently that wasn't the case with my brother being Xaden Riorson.

With a groan, I threw myself back on my bed, wishing he would just leave me alone. For the last two hours, I had been listening to him drill me with a bunch of advice and a few rules now that I had a dragon and was bonded to Garrick.

"Blaine, are you even listening to me?" he asked, leaning back against my door with a sharp look in his eyes.

"Yes, father," I muttered in clear annoyance, throwing a pillow at his head. But no. Of course he caught it. "Oh, come on!" I groaned, sitting up on my elbows and returning his annoyed look as he dropped my pillow beside his feet. "Two months. For two months, I have listened to girls cry, complain, and fucking moan in those small ass barracks, okay? And since the moment I stepped into my dorm, you haven't left! Can I just have a moment of peace and quiet?"

His eyes narrowed to slits on me before he quickly pushed off the door, diverting his eyes away as if he could hear something. I raised a brow at his behavior, sitting up. What could he hear that I couldn't?

"Well, looks like someone else has come to take my place annoying you," he simply said.

I furrowed my brows at him. "Who—"

A knock sounded, surprising me with how the hell my brother knew someone was coming. But I didn't get the chance to ask him when he opened the door slightly, sending me a curt nod before leaving.

And then Garrick walked in with a small smile, making me smile myself. I hadn't had the chance to see him due to Xaden following me around since the flight fields after I was given the dragon relic on my chest.

"You missed dinner," Garrick informed me, closing my door behind him.

"Thanks to my brother," I sighed, kicking my legs over the side of my bed. "He hasn't stopped reminding me that the unbounded cadets will want me dead for Nim and he's obviously stressed because, well, Oren and Jack are still alive after they tried to ki—" My lips sealed shut the second my brain realized where my words were heading.

And it was somewhere they shouldn't.

Garrick pinched his brows together, walking towards me. "What do you mean Barlowe and Seifert tried to kill you?"

Oh, fuck.

Yep. I just fucked up.

Quickly, my mind scrambled to find an excuse. "Kill me? What? Why would you think that?"

And obviously, my mind had decided to work horribly under pressure.

"Blaine, what are you hiding from me?" he questioned, leaning back against my desk across from me, bracing his hands behind him. "You have a high pitch to your voice when you're hiding something."

"What?" I lightly scoffed, sending him an offended look. "No, I don't."

"So you are hiding something!" he called me out and my face utterly fell.

What? This was Garrick, okay? I couldn't even hide my damn love stories from him for god's sake!

With a sigh, I stood up, crossing my arms over my chest. "Look, if I knew you wouldn't go on a rampage over what happened, then I would tell you," I assured him gently as his face slightly fell.

"You should trust he won't lose it as I do. Chradh is planning on telling him, Vicious Thing. You might as well tell him now."

My whole body jumped, a shocked gasp leaving my lips when Nim's voice filled my head. I still wasn't used to that.