Slow-buildup Stories

Trust is a luxury the Quartz Winglet cannot afford. Sirocco is a Sky/Sand hybrid who knows how to survive. He doesn't have a SandWing's venomous tail barb or a SkyWing's roaring fire, but he has something far more dangerous: a mind that never stops calculating. Sent to Jade Mountain Academy under a false pretense, his real mission is to map the school's defenses and exploit the weaknesses of Pyrrhia's most influential dragonets for a mysterious benefactor. But the school isn't filled with the naive sheep he expected. Between an IceWing rival who reads his physical tells, a paranoid SeaWing roommate, and a silent NightWing who seems to look right through his skull, Sirocco's simple contract is turning into a lethal psychological chess match. If his notebook is found, he loses everything. Can you outsmart an academy built by heroes when your entire life is a lie?