Wild and Out of Control

|chapter thirty two|

|danica|

Consistent knocking at my door interrupts me from my much-needed nap after a week of horrible nights and even worse days. 

      I stay in bed hoping whoever's on the other side of that door will take the hint of go the fuck away. But they don't. If anything, the knocking becomes longer and louder. I roll off my bed, groaning as my muscles ache from sparring and signet-manifestation training. No one said it would be this hard, and I haven't even started training with Carr yet. He's not here at Basgiath. Apparently, he's needed somewhere else.

     I shuffle to the door, promising to bring hell to whoever's on the other side of that door. When I throw open the door, the person on the other side is not who I'm expecting.

     "Professor Carr?" I pull my robe as tight around me as possible. "I thought you were...not here." 

      "Yes, apparently," he deadpans. He looks me over with an unamused expression. "It's six in the morning. I expected you to be up and ready by now. But never mind that. Get ready. We have a long morning ahead of us."

      Apprehension creeps up in my mind. "What do you mean?"

     "Why, we're going training, of course." He narrows his eyes. "Do you think we wouldn't? Your signet is one we haven't seen in hundreds of years. A powerful one indeed, but hard to control, and if control is lost, then..." he trails on like he's trying to find the right words. "Well, let's just say it's not good. So getting started on training right away is imperative."

     I wonder what not good means. Broken bones? Shattering skulls? Exploding from the inside out? "Okay..."

     "Great! I expect you down in the flight field in ten minutes. We are already behind schedule." He goes to leave but stops. "And do mind yourself. I hear of your rebelliousness and recklessness, and while other professors either are not bothered by it or too scared to speak up, I will not tolerate it."

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I stomp onto the flight field, not exactly thrilled about spending the morning being trained by Carr for many reasons, and I wonder if they're enough to walk away.

     1) It's a weekend and I was planning to sleep.

     2) It's kinda windy and it's blowing my hair in my face

     3) I don't want to.

     It's very tempting to just walk away, the consequences be damned, but I know this is for my benefit. If I don't get my signet under control, then it'd not only doom me but also disappoint my father—not that I need his approval or anything. I tried using my signet once after the Squad games and it did not go well. The shattered windows and the broken door of an unused storage closet would agree.

     When Professor Carr spots me, he immediately straightens. "Ah, Ms. Hawthorne. You're earlier than I expected."

     I narrow my eyes slightly. "You said to be ready in ten minutes. It's been ten minutes."

    "Oh, has it? Never mind that." He turns to his brown clubtail. "Let's get going, shall we?" He climbs up his dragon's leg.

     Azare looks gigantic compared to Carr's medium-sized dragon and even more menacing than ever. "What's wrong?" I ask as I climb up his leg and find my position in the seat.

     "Just annoyed," he answers with a grumble and lets out a stream of smoke. "I woke up early on a Sunday morning and was interrupted during my second breakfast. Make what you will of that information."