Chapter 4

EMERSON

"Did you hear? Armani found his rider."

I paused when I heard those words from a group of girls leaning on the lockers opposite mine. I pretended I was still swapping out my book to hear more without seeming obvious.

"Who told you?"

"Cheryl has been bragging about it all morning. Didn't you hear?"

"No."

"She's over the moon. We all know the DeVilles tend to marry their riders, so she's hitched for life."

"That's so strange. Why did they just come out with the truth now?"

"I've always been suspicious of them. Did you know they spent summer break together? Plus, they've been extra clingy to each other lately."

"Don't you mean Cheryl has been extra clingy?"

"Same difference. He's been entertaining her, so yeah. I just hope she tames him on time. I don't know about you girls, but I'm literally too hot to die."

The girls giggled. Their conversation abruptly stopped, but it wasn't just them. The entire hallway was quiet.

I realized why when I looked down the hallway to find Armani approaching with a gorgeous girl on his arm. I assumed that was Cheryl.

He was easily distinguishable in the crowd with his white hair coupled with his flawless face. He styled his long hair away from his face to give it a wet look that was absolutely working for him. He looked like he just stepped out of a shower.

His piercing green eyes met mine for a brief second before he turned his head forward once more. The students parted for him to pass, and I couldn't tell if that was out of respect, or if they were scared of him being a blood dragon.

"She is so lucky. I'd die to have him for one day. Is that too much to ask for?" The girls resumed talking, but I was over the conversation. I'd heard everything I wanted to.

Armani had a rider. That meant I wasn't his rider like my parents thought. I let out a sigh of relief as the weight left my shoulders. He looked compatible with the girl, so maybe he listened to her. This was good news. I could deal with any other dragon but him. 

Over the moon with excitement myself, it was with an extra spring in my steps that I headed to my first class of the day.

***

Communication and relatability. 

That was my first class of the day. The name was self-explanatory. This class was meant for communication between a dragon and its rider. Communication was a key element in understanding your dragon.

"Why is she taking senior classes with us? Shouldn't she be with the other newbies?"A girl huffed as I walked past her.

"The same thing happened with Toby, but I didn't hear you complain," her friend said.

"Toby is hot, and she's… her."

Her tone was laced with pride, like she was better than me, so to spite her, I took the seat directly behind her.

She could go to hell for all I cared.

She said nothing because of the teacher's entrance into the classroom, but I could feel the anger rolling off of her in waves.

"Hello, everyone. We're taking a test today. It's a basic test. Something the first years are doing, and something you've done in the past. If you've been doing the exercises I instructed you to, then this should be easy for you."

The woman passed the paper around the class, and when she stopped at my table, she smiled. "Oh, we have a new student. That skipped my mind. Emerson, right?"

I nodded.

"Emerson, why don't you stand up and introduce yourself to the class."

"Do I really have to?" I ask, keeping my voice lowered.

The teacher waved me off. "Don't be silly. It's just a simple introduction."

Grudgingly, I rose to my feet for the introduction. "Hi, everyone! I'm Emerson, and I'm eighteen. Thank you." I took my seat. "Was that good enough of an introduction for you?"

"You're sitting the test out. On second thought, why don't you and Armani have a little chat? Get to know each other."

"I have a rider."

I didn't know what I was expecting his voice to sound like, but I definitely didn't expect it to sound this sexy. His voice was smoke and sex mixed.

The woman looked genuinely surprised. "Since when?"

"Does it matter?" Armani asked. I couldn't bring myself to turn around and look at him.

"You're right. It doesn't. She isn't here." The teacher addressed me. "Go sit next to Armani. Quietly get to know each other." She raised a brow at me when I didn't budge. "Emerson?"

With a sigh, I picked up my bag, walking over to Armani who looked like he wanted to murder me. Great. I already made an enemy out of the crown prince of Draconix. 

"Hi," I said because that was the only thing I could think of in this situation.

Just as expected, Armani didn't reply. I tried to get his attention again, but one glare from him had me quieting down. If he wanted to talk, he could initiate the conversation next time.

I huffed, pretending like he didn't exist for the rest of the class which was harder than I expected. I couldn't tune him out. Not when I could feel the heat his body emitted. Not when his cologne was all I could smell.

When the bell rang, I jumped out of my seat, eager to put some distance between myself and Armani.

"Not so fast, you two. You have to take your test," the teacher said.

"A test?"

"Yes. It should be pretty easy if you two carried out your assignment." The look she gave us said she knew we pretended the other didn't exist for the whole of the class.

I took the paper from her, skimming over the questions. They were ridiculously easy, but there was no way I was getting them right because I didn't know anything about Armani.

What was his favorite color?

I looked at him from the corner of my eyes, taking in the dark clothes he wore. He was broody, so maybe black? I scribbled that down, going to do the next question.

The happiest day of his life.

How was I supposed to answer these questions? At this point, I was just going to write anything. His birthday had to count for something in his life, right? I wrote that down, moving on to question three. 

The saddest day of his life. The day he found out he was a blood dragon.

His biggest fear in life. Killing the whole of Draconix.

Biggest flaw. Cocky

Strength(s). A gold-scaled dragon.

Dragons with gold scales were the strongest on the pyramid followed by the pink scales, the red scales, the gray scales, orcs, and finally humans.

From my homeschool lesson, I learned that orcs were extinct, so they were usually placed at the bottom of the pyramid after humans. I didn't know how true that was, but I knew there was never a time I encountered an orc.

Back to my test, I stared at the last question. His weaknesses. I looked at him once more. Last time I checked, blood dragons didn't have weaknesses. If they did, it was unknown. 

"You have a few seconds left," the teacher said, so I wrote down the first thing that came to mind. Unquenchable bloodlust. 

The teacher handed us another paper. "Write down the answers for yourself. I'll mark your partner's test using your answers."

My favorite color; purple. 

The happiest day of my life; when my parents allowed me to follow Belinda to her friend's house.

The saddest day of my life; when my parents said I couldn't go to school with Belinda.

My biggest fear in life; failing the people who have high expectations of me.

My biggest flaw; lying to protect the feelings of those I loved.

Strength(s); Loyalty.

My father had once told me that was my biggest strength, and over time, I got to know he was right. I stayed with an injured cat in the woods until its owner could come get it. That forced me to face my fear of the dark.

Weakness(es); Too proud to ask for help.

I handed the paper to the teacher who stood above us. She carried our answers to her table to score our tests. She returned shortly after with our tests in her hand.

"It seems like you did all the talking, huh? No listening?" She asked me with a raised brow. "Communication goes both ways."

I frowned. Did that mean Armani got all the answers right? That was impossible. He knew nothing about me. We just met for the first time this morning.

"Here Armani. I knew you'd ace this class the moment you got a partner. Chop chop, you two."

I grabbed my bag, still in shock from what happened. How did he get the answers right?

"Armani!" I called out to him. The hallway was deserted, so I knew he could hear me. He just didn't want to stop.

I ran after him, grabbing his hand when I was within arm's reach. He froze like I'd burned him just by touching him.

"Armani?" I wasn't so sure of him right now. He looked like he genuinely wanted to kill me. 

He grabbed my waist tightly in his hand, pushing me against the lockers. "Who said you could touch me?" He hissed.

"I… "

"Answer me," he snarled, tugging my hair back with his other hand.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

His irises had turned red. "You've ruined everything." He shook his head before pulling away. When he turned to walk away from me this time around, I didn't stop him. 

I just watched him go with my heart bleeding out. What was happening to me?