fourth wing xadens pov

chapter 4

Chapter 4: Bonds

I’ve been laying on my bed for what feels like hours, when there’s finally a soft knock on my door in a familiar repetitive pattern that I haven’t heard in years. I yank it open and see Liam standing there, a huge grin on his face.

Shadows whip out down the corridor, checking he’s not been followed, and I motion him inside, leaning back against the door as he walks past me. 

He clocks the room and whistles, low and impressed. “Well, if there was ever a reason to gun for Wingleader.” He turns back to look at me and I can’t help but return his grin, the joy of finally seeing him again filling me up.

“Not too impressed sharing yours with one hundred and fifty other cadets?” I say, arching a brow.

He shrugs and says, “Beats sharing with your snoring ass.”

I walk over to him then and pull him into my chest, holding him tight. He’s here. He’s alive.

He thumps my back, and says muffled against my shoulder, “I’ve missed you too, brother.”

I release him, keeping my hands on his shoulders as I look him up and down. He’s put on more muscle since I last saw him. “You look good,” I say, nodding. “Strong.”

He pulls away from me and returns the look, his eyes sweeping over my arms and chest. “You look fucking ridiculous.”

I throw my head back and laugh. Gods, it feels good to laugh again.

“Yeah, well… once you’re spending all morning on a dragon and all afternoon on the sparring mat, you’ll look just as ridiculous too.”

He shakes his head, but he’s smiling and pulls out a chair at the small round table in the corner of the room, leaning back on it so it’s balancing on two feet. It’s such a Liam thing to do, my chest feels tight. I can’t believe he’s here.

He reaches out and pats the table, inviting me to sit down too. “So, tell me everything I need to know.”

So I do. I tell him about Battle Brief and how to read between the lies the professors prattle, the kind of questions to ask. I tell him about the Challenges, to trust no one on the mat, not even his own squadmates. I tell him about the Gauntlet, that the time and penalties don’t mean shit, it’s getting up alive that counts.

He looks at me grimly throughout, all laughter and joy slowly draining from his face.

“It really is a death college, huh?” he says, finally.

“Not for us.” I am quick to dispel that fear. “We make it through this.”

He nods, but I can tell he doesn’t really believe me, thinking of the four others who we lost the previous two years, the two that died crossing the parapet earlier today.

“What about the weapon runs?”

I shake my head. “You don’t worry about that yet. The rest of us will handle it. You focus on bonding a dragon.”

“Yes, sir,” he says, with a tight smile and sarcastic thumbs up. He glances at the clock on my desk and stands suddenly, his chair screeching back across the floor. “Shit. I need to get back.”

I pull him into me one more time and repeat myself like it’s an order, “We. Make. It.”

His eyes meet mine and I can tell he’s searching for something. I pour the strength of my conviction into my gaze. I am not afraid. Finally, he nods once and heads to the door, before suddenly turning back, a question on his face.