The Firedragon Read Online Free

not
helping.”
    She suddenly realized how horrible she must
have sounded, and regretted her words. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to be a
jerk.”
    “ No worries.” He smiled.
“I’m used to it by now.”
    She twisted her mouth, still feeling bad.
“Why’re you so nice to me?”
    “ Well, we’ve been friends
for so long, I guess I’m stuck with you,” he replied
jokingly.
    His words made her pause, the question she’d
been asking herself since she met him popping into her head again.
“Why’d you act all friendly back when I was a Secondstringer in the
first place?”
    “ Because you’re the only
person I’ve ever met who doesn’t care that I’m the Gold Triumvir’s
son,” he replied casually, avoiding her gaze.
    The same answer, every
time . It made sense, but she’d always felt
like there was something he wasn’t telling her. She just hadn’t
figured out how to get it out of him yet.
    “ Anyway,” he said, seeming
eager to change the subject, “what do you think your chances are of
actually winning the Challenge?”
    The idea of him facing
those tests – especially since one of them was about fangbeasts –
still bothered her, but what could she do? Between him getting hurt
and both of them going to jail … at least the former wouldn’t ruin
their lives. I’ll make sure those healers
stay on their toes , she thought firmly.
Her gaze fell on the complicated magic book he’d been reading,
which, upon closer inspection, appeared to detail a powerful
explosion spell. If he can pull off stuff
like that, he’ll be all right. I should give him more
credit.
    So she went with his change in topic, and
replied, “Better than yours, for sure.” The thrill she’d felt when
she’d stood before the judges crept back into her mind, and she
started bouncing on her toes, bubbling about how all her training
would finally amount to something more than just ganking the odd
monster that wandered too close to the Capital, and how she’d get
to become a Defender years ahead of time. “I’ll finally be free,”
she continued breathlessly. “All my life, I’ve been told where to
go and what to do, but once I’m a Defender, I’ll get to make my own
choices.” Excitement churned in her chest at the thought, and she
jumped up, unable to keep still. “When I win, it’ll … it’ll be the
best day of my life. And beating all those Enchanters, I’ll show
the whole world that you don’t need magic to –”
    “ I wouldn’t talk like
that, if I were you,” Connor interrupted, looking around with a
nervous expression.
    She abruptly realized that she’d been so
caught up in her dreams of victory, she hadn’t been paying any
attention to his reactions. What had she missed? Why was he so
nervous? “Why not?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
    “ At the Academy, someone’s
always listening.”
    “ So?” She cocked her head,
wondering what the big deal was. She wasn’t talking about cheating
anymore. Sure, the Academy’s teachers and administrators used magic
to watch the students, and saying the wrong thing – like claiming
the government was corrupt – could land you in jail for life. But
she hadn’t said anything bad; it was true – she didn’t need magic to be better than
Enchanters at fighting monsters, and she couldn’t see how saying so
could get her in trouble.
    But from the uneasy look in Connor’s eyes,
she might as well have just claimed that the great Triumvirs used
dark magic, or something similarly treasonous.
    Without answering, he
raised his wand over his head and gave it a flick. The words of the
spell he whispered were lost in the whoosh of the shimmering silver
enchantment swirling around the classroom, but Aurelia recognized
that particular bit of hocus pocus as a silencer spell – something
Connor conjured whenever he wanted to say something in confidence.
Any words spoken within the enchanted perimeter would be swallowed
by the magic before they could reach the ears of