A LAND OF FIRE AND SCALES: Keeper of the Stars (1)

Chapter 4

After three more sessions of school, it was time for dinner in the Mess Hall. I was starving after hours of hard physical work, and I had a feeling that Dracona Academy's food would be delicious.

'I'm so hungry,' Killian complained as we made our way over to the dining area. 'Today was exhausting.'

I nodded in agreement. 'But it was also pretty awesome.'

After dragonbonding class, we'd had riding class – where we'd learnt to muck out a dragon stall – and then we'd had the rest of the day to unpack.

'Hey, look, we're here,' Killian exclaimed, pointing to the enormous room before us.

The Mess Hall was anything but messy. Its walls were laced in gold and silver, with marble floors and crystalline pillars. A huge oak table covered in a satin tablecloth sat in the middle of it all, occupied by a number of students.

We selected our seats at the end of the table and sat down.

'So,' I said, 'what did you think of today?'

'It's going to take some getting used to. I mean, I'm really not in shape for all of this exercise.' he admitted. 'But overall, I think the classes are amazing.' He smirked at me. 'I mean, dragon-riding? Where can you go wrong with that?'

I nodded in agreement.

'This place is pretty damn cool,' I laughed, before my smile faded. 'Although some people are...'

Killian tensed. 'Has someone hurt you?'

'No, it's just that Harley and Sarah are rather aloof,' I admitted.

His shoulders dropped in relief. 'Okay. Well, that's relatable.'

He shot a meaningful glance at Connor and Ahmed, who were sitting at the far end of the table, yelling and being boofheads. Suddenly I felt grateful that I wasn't in Killian's cabin.

'Students, listen up!' A sharp voice distracted me and I looked to the front of the table, where a tall, slender woman was addressing us along with what looked to be an African spade-nose dragon. 'I am Aartinah, your Head of Year, and I hope that you have all had a good first day at Dracona Academy.'

Aartinah? I found myself wondering where her unique name had come from. 

'I trust that you have all made some new friends, whether they be of the scale or skin kind.' Her gaze swept over the table, observing her students. 'But remember that your ultimate goal here is to work as hard as you possibly can, and use this wonderful opportunity to your advantage.' Her metallic grey eyes glittered. 'We need Riders here in our city more than ever with the Scalefighters threatening us,' she added softly.

A hush swept over my classmates at the mention of the Scalefighters. We were all determined to do whatever it took to fight back against the outside world. For our city. For our dragons.

Aartinah abruptly folded her arms and dipped her head towards the cohort. 'We may now begin the banquet.'

Cooks began to file through the kitchen at the end of the Hall, lifting the solemn mood from the hall. Each carried two or three plates of food.

A waiter trundled up behind us and placed a large plate in front of Killian. I peeked over his shoulder eagerly.

'Holy cow,' he said.

On his plate was a great slab of lasagne with sheets of stringy cheese and sauce so hot it would scald your tongue. Its aroma filled the room and my mouth watered.

'They sure don't disappoint,' I grinned.

Killian didn't reply; he was too busy stuffing his mouth. And when my lasagne finally arrived, I followed suit.