Archive of Our Own ^beta

Rhiannon is crouched next to her when I reach Violet, and I skid to my knees to join them, heart thumping with adrenaline. “What happened?” I’m not sure who I’m asking. Neither responds, so I reach for the silver bond now tainted with black.
“Violet?” Nothing.

“I don’t know.” Rhiannon says finally, worry etched into the lines of her face. I can feel Sgaeyl’s fury somewhere across the bonds, but I’m too focused on Violet to know what it’s about. I’m not even sure if Violet knows who’s with her right now.
“She’s gone.” Violet finally says, and I see her collapse before she does, opening my arms to pull her against my chest. Who? Who’s gone? Mira? Is this a weird sibling thing? No, she wouldn’t have waited after Monserrat if she could feel Mira’s death. Who then? My mind is racing as our eyes meet.
“Andarna’s gone.” Her voice is barely above a whisper. My eyes snap up to Rhiannon’s.
“We need to-“ I start.
”I know.” She doesn’t need me to finish the sentence. Rhiannon and I may not be friends, but we share Violet’s wellbeing as a common goal. “No rider has ever survived-“

“I know.” I cut her off this time, not wanting the rest of the sentence to be said aloud. It takes me a few seconds to get my shit together and formulate a plan. “I’ll take her back to the house on Sygael, if she’s agreeable, Violet can’t ride Tairn in this state. You take Feirge and fly ahead, tell Brennan to meet me in my room. I don’t care what kind of meeting he’s in, you pull him out, tell him it’s Violet. Don’t speak to anyone before you reach Brennan.” Rhiannon nods at my orders and leaps on to Feirge’s back, flying towards Riorson House. I look towards Sgaeyl.

“I do not allow-“
“Please.” I’m still on my knees, practically begging her as I support Violet’s weight against me. Tairn lets out a low growl next to her, and I don’t need the bond to figure out what he’s saying. Sgaeyl extends her foreleg, somewhat reluctantly, in the same way I’ve seen Tairn do for Violet hundreds of times. I tuck Violet up against my chest and use it as a ramp, making sure we’re both secured before Sygael takes off into the sky.
“Stay with me, Vi.” I whisper. “I need you.”

When we land at Riorson House, I take her straight to our bedroom, where Brennan is already waiting outside. “What’s going on Xaden? Some of us are trying to…” his protests die in his throat as he sees the rider black clad figure in my arms. I had thrown my own flight jacket over her as soon as we landed, not trusting anyone to not stop us and ask questions. I’d never seen Violet as small, never. Short? Yes. Small? Never even crossed my mind, but as I hold her in my arms, unable to communicate in any way, she feels tiny. I take her into our bedroom and lay her on the bed, reminding me of the first time I brought her to Arretia.
“What happened?” Brennan asks.
”Andarna’s gone.” I repeat Violet’s own words. “Tairn told me that she severed her connection with Violet to go and be with her own kind.” Brennan’s annoyance morphs into shock.

“No rider has ever-“
“I know.” I say it a little too forcefully, unable to accept the reality of the situation. Violet has lasted longer than any other rider who has lost a dragon, and her bond to Tairn may be enough to sustain her, but Brennan’s right. No rider has ever survived losing a dragon. “What do we do?” I ask him
“I can’t fix this.” Brennan says quietly. “I can mend just about anything, but this… I think we just have to wait.” I nod slowly.
“Ok… ok. Gather her squad, meet me in the assembly hall in half an hour.” Brennan stiffens a little.
“Do you need any other help with her?” He asks
“I’ve given you your orders, Lieutenant Colonel Sorrengail.” I don’t look back at him, but I hear him turn and leave the room, closing the door on his way out. My focus is entirely on Violet, still in her sparring gear, eyes open but unseeing. I start unlacing her boots, pulling them off and tossing them to the floor, then start rummaging in the armoire. I dig through the nightgowns I know Violet favours, looking for something a bit more suitable if my plan is going to work, and come up empty. Instead I grab a set of my own clothes, sleeping pants and a sparring shirt, and change her into those. The pants are comically long on her, so I roll each leg to her ankle, freeing her feet. I brush the hair out of her eyes, wrapping my mind around hers as I look into her glazed over eyes. The usual hazel looks a muddy brown, and I have to fight the tears threatening to spill from my own. Once I have her tucked into bed, I hang both our flight jackets in the armoire. I can’t lose her. Our jackets, hers half the size of mine, look right hung next to each other, and I can’t imagine mine hanging on its own anymore. I take a moment to compose myself, before heading to the assembly hall.

When I arrive, Violet’s squad, along with Garrick and Bodhi, are seated around the table already, in various states of dress. Rhiannon hasn’t even taken off her flight jacket, and I can see the tear tracks carving across her cheeks, meanwhile Ridoc is in a grey cotton shirt and sleeping pants with no shoes, clearly about to go to bed when Brennan caught him. There’s a low murmur of conversation as I walk in, that quietens further when I take my place at the head of the table.
“Iron squad.” I address them, and every pair of eyes is on me. “I know we’re all tired and wanting our beds, but I wouldn’t have pulled you here if it wasn’t important. Violet needs our help.” A stunned silence ripples it’s way down the table, and I watch Rhiannon as fresh tears spill down her face. “Andarna is gone. She severed her connection with Violet, and as we all know, no rider has ever survived losing their dragon.” I take a deep breath to steady myself, a wave of exhaustion washing over me. “However, no rider has ever bonded two dragons before Violet, so Tairn may be able to sustain her. We’re working with a lot of unknowns here. What I need is all of you. I need someone to be with Violet at all times. I will be with her at night, but as duke I have responsibilities to my province and my people. You can figure out a schedule between yourselves, and Cadets you are to continue with your classes. No skipping, you’ll need the knowledge as we continue with this war.” I give all the cadets a hard look.
“Group classes are usually in the morning.” Cat supplies. She’s the first of the group to speak. “We have individual classes in the afternoon, except for runes. We fliers are already adept at runes, so we can afford to be away from that class, as long as we take it in turns. Imogen and Bodhi too.” I nod, shooting a look of thanks at Cat for her organisation.
“I can take mornings.” Brennan offers. “The war council never meets in the morning, and I can be with Violet whilst I do my own work.”
“Great. Brennan will take mornings, Cadets, afternoon and evenings. Cat, if everyone gives you their class schedule, can you organise?” Cat nods at me. “Thank you. I want you all in no less than pairs, one person to stay with her, another person to come and get me if anything, and I mean anything, changes. You pull me out of any meeting, any situation, I don’t care, you come and get me. As most of you are aware, Violet and I’s bed chamber is warded, you’ll need to pull each other into the room as you swap, so no leaving before the next watch arrives.” Everyone nods at me, except Rhiannon. She’s Violet’s best friend and just watched her bond get severed. “Ok. Get your schedules to Cat and get some sleep. She’ll let you know when you’re needed.” I was as everyone files out, hopefully heading to their dormitories. Rhiannon remains unmoving in her seat. I slowly approach her. “Rhiannon?” I ask quietly
“I’m the squad leader. I should be organising things.” She says, not looking at me.
“That’s not-“
“It’s my squad. My responsibility.” She insists.
“You’re in shock. You just watched your best friend lose her damn dragon, and frankly you’re handling it pretty well. A good squad leader recognises when they need to take a step back and ask for help, that’s all you’ve done. Now go and get some sleep, you look like you need it.” Rhiannon nods and leaves, allowing me to go back to Violet. I head back to my room where Violet has finally fallen asleep, and climb into bed with her. I pull her close to my chest, pulling at our bond to try and get something, anything, out of her, but it’s terrifyingly quiet. I press a soft kiss to the top of her head, and for the first time since my mother left, I allow myself to cry.

I sleep fitfully, waking every few hours to make sure Violet is still breathing. I wake for the final time with light streaming through the window, and a knock on the door. I get up to open it.
“I figured you hadn’t slept much, and I was right. You look like shit.” Brennan says, handing me a cup of coffee.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence…” I take the coffee and sip, pulling Brennan through the wards at the same time. “I take it you’re here for morning watch?” Brennan nods, staring at Violet.
“She looks so young… almost as if I never left her.” I nod. Sleep is the only time Violet looks peaceful, as if she doesn’t carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. “Look, Xaden, I may not love the idea of you and my baby sister, but you make her happy, and I can’t ask for much more than that.” I nod again, wordlessly accepting his offer of approval.
“Can I ask you something?” I say quietly, unsure if I should even be asking. “About Violet?” Brennan turns to face me whilst I continue to stare at her.
“Sure,” he sounds uncertain. I clear my throat and take another sip of coffee.
“There’s a scar under her relic, right side next to her spine. I asked her how she got it and she said she didn’t know. Do you?” I see the colour drain out of the older Sorrengail’s face.
“Yeah. Yeah I do. I didn’t realise the scar would still be noticeable…” he sounds shaky, like he’s scared of what’s coming.
“It’s not. I didn’t see it, I felt it.”
“Not going there.” Brennan returns flatly.
”So how did she get it?” I push. I don’t know why this one bothers me so much. She has so many others but can usually come up with an answer for them. This one she’s clueless about.

“Me.” My head whips round as Brennan takes a deep breath. “Calm down, man, it was like 15 years ago. Violet, Mira and I were kids, and we didn’t fully understand Violet’s issues back then either. Violet was being stubborn and annoying, Aetos had just become Mom’s aide and she was fighting with Dain over Gods know what, whatever five year olds fight about, and she wanted to climb trees with Mira and I. We both told her she was too little, but you and I both know that little Violet takes no as a challenge, not an answer. So the three of us were climbing this tree and Violet just wants to go higher and higher, I keep telling her to stick to the lower branches but of course she doesn’t listen, and then she’s on a branch above me and it snaps. I managed to grab her by the arm and the momentum pulled her entire shoulder out, but my hands were all sweaty and she was screaming and wiggling and…” I see a tear form in his eye “and I dropped her. Her shoulder was already out and tore right through her skin. Healers did what they could, but the closest mender was a 12 hour flight away. She’ll always have that scar because of me, and that shoulder hasn’t worked properly since either. I’ll never forgive myself for that.” I see the pain in his eyes, and look back at Violet.
”She doesn’t remember it.” I say, unsure if it’s a comfort. “She always said that it must have come from the surgery, but the surgical scars are on her front.”

”Surgery?” Brennan asks quietly. I forget how much he doesn’t know about her sometimes.“She had reconstructive surgery on her shoulder before she went to Basgiath. Not sure exactly when, I’ve never asked.” Violet starts to stir and I sit back on the bed, stroking her hair until she calms again. I look up at Brennan.

”You good if I go take a shower?”

“Yeah, you go.” He says, taking a seat in the armchair next to our bed. I grab some clothes and head into the bathing chamber.

I’m walking to my father’s old office when I nearly walk straight into Bodhi.
“Shit, Xaden.” He says, looking up at me “You look awful…”
“Good morning to you too.” I grumble. He opens his mouth to talk and I immediately cut him off. “I’m going to Dad’s office. If you wanna talk, we can do it there. It’s warded.” Bodhi closes his mouth and follows me quietly. Once the door is closed behind us, he speaks.“How is she?” He asks, I don’t need to ask which she he’s referring to.
“It’s bad, Bodhi.” I scratch my chest, right where her scar sits over my heart.
“What, like, crying? I never know what to do when girls cry.” His candour almost makes me smile.
“I’d prefer if she did cry. It’s like… it’s like she’s not even there… I can barely reach her even through the bond.”
“Fuck, man… I’m starting to be grateful she cried after Resson…”
”She did?” I’m not sure why I’m surprised, of course she cried, I had just never thought about it before.

“Yeah, I mean, nobody heard her thanks to your wards, but Immy said that she would often turn up for a run looking like she’d been crying.” I nod slowly
“What did you want to talk to me about, anyway?” I ask him, taking a seat behind the desk.
“It’s Rhiannon. Ridoc says she was crying all night. Riders don’t-“ I give him a withering look, cutting him off.
“First of all, riders don’t cry is the bullshit we were told at Basgiath to make us seem tough. Every rider has cried at least once after they entered the quadrant.”
“You haven’t.” Bodhi says quietly. I just press my lips together. “Oh, shit… when?”
“Last night.” I answer. “First time since my mother…” I have to clench my fist to stop myself from being set off again. “Anyway, going back to Rhiannon, she just saw her best friend lose her dragon, she’s allowed to cry.”
“But what do we do? I told you, I’ve never been good with crying girls.”
“You don’t do anything. If Rhiannon wants to talk she has people she can talk to.” I sigh. “Don’t give her shit if she doesn’t turn up for class. I certainly wish I could be with Violet all day, but we have a war to win.” Bodhi nods and leaves me alone with paperwork and my thoughts.

I can barely concentrate all day, my thoughts bouncing back to Violet whenever they start to wander. It’s all I can do not to sprint up the stairs to our bedroom once the assembly deigns us finished for the day, but I force myself to walk slowly so as not to alert anyone that there’s a problem. I know Violet is awake, and I send a gentle caress down the silver pathway. When I finally reach the door, Sawyer is teaching Garrick and Imogen a card game, presumably from Luceras, on the floor. Cat is lounging next to him, also watching intently as he explains each turn, and loudly complaining when she thinks someone is cheating, even though it’s clear she has no idea of the rules herself. She looks up at me in the doorway and jumps to her feet, coming over.
“Xaden! I’m sorry. I know you said pairs, and you must be upset at this many people in here, but I can explain. Ridoc and Aaric took over from Brennan after lunch, then I took over from Aaric when he had wielding practice, and Sawyer took over from Ridoc a little later. Garrick was supposed to relieve me but Sawyer was teaching me this card game from his home and I stayed to carry on, then Imogen came looking for Garrick and we all just started playing cards. I didn’t want to kick anyone out and I thought if Violet was awake and could hear us then maybe a game would entice her? It sounds stupid now I say it but-“
“Cat.” I cut her off. “It’s fine. I said no less than pairs, and you’re all her friends, I think. It’s understandable that you want to be near Violet. She is awake and she can hear you, you were right to stay.” I quickly glance around the room and see flight jackets strewn across the floor, then my eyes snap to the figure in the corner.
“How long has Matthias been here?” I ask her quietly. Cat glances around.
“I’m not sure. She was here when I took over from Aaric, it’s possible she came in with Ridoc? She was supposed to be in class all afternoon, should I…?”
“No. Leave her with me.” I look at Violet, hidden away under the blanket as her friends continue to play around her. “Has she moved at all?”
“Matthias?” She raises an eyebrow, confused.
“Violet.” Cat shakes her head.
“No, nothing. I had to check to make sure she was still breathing she’s been so still.” I nod, not taking my eyes off the figure in the bed.
“Thank you, Cat. For sorting this on such short notice.” She waves it off with a small smile, a smile that makes me think that one day, we could be friends. “And you know you don’t have a shot with Sawyer, right? From what I hear, he’s only interested in Jesinia.” Cat flushes bright red.
“Oh. I’m, um… it’s not Sawyer I’m interested in.”
“So there’s someone?” I raise an eyebrow, unused to teasing her like this, but also unused to her being so playful. I think for a second about who could have convinced Catriona Cordella to loosen up, and my eyes widen slightly. “Is it Gamlyn?” I see panic momentarily cross her face.
“That’s none of your business, Riorson.” She retorts. That’s a yes then. I just smirk at her and turn my attention to everyone else in my bedroom.
“Tavis, Cardulo, Henrick.” I give them the wingleader voice and all three of them immediately straighten up, making me chuckle when they look up at me. “Food’s up in the great hall.” Imogen rolls her eyes as the three of them stand up from my bedroom floor.
“You’re an asshole, Riorson.” She smirks as the four of them file out to dinner, taking their flight jackets with them.

I look over at Rhiannon and sigh, heading to her.
“Rhiannon, you need to go to dinner.” I tell her shortly. She doesn’t respond. Stubborn, I can see why she gets on so well with Violet. I start to think, a gentle approach doesn’t work on her, which means I need to be tough and appeal to her instincts. “Matthias.” I’m more forceful this time. She looks up at me with tired, spent eyes, and I’m suddenly grateful for Basgiath’s no nonsense approach. “Have you eaten today, squad leader?” I ask her. She shakes her head. “Did you sleep when I instructed you to?” She shakes her head again. “Verbal answers, squad leader.” I give her a hard look.
“No, sir. I haven’t eaten today, nor did I sleep when instructed.” Her voice sounds like it’s be dragged across gravel.
“And what is the duty of a squad leader?” I ask her.
“To ensure the safety and effectiveness of the squad.”
“And in your current state, can you ensure the safety and effectiveness of your squad?” She looks down at the floor.
“No, sir.”
“Go eat, Matthias.” I sigh. “Everyone is already in the great hall, and you’re of no use to Violet or your squad if you’re not taking care of yourself.”
“Yes, sir.” She stands up and leaves to go to dinner. She turns back to me when she reaches the door. “Violet will be ok, won’t she?” She asks me.
“Honestly, Rhiannon? I have no idea.” I answer her question in earnest. She nods and leaves me with Violet. I sit on the bed next to her, and pull an apple out of the pocket of my tunic, using one of my daggers to slice it into pieces.
“Y’know I’ve always preferred Tyrrish apples. The ones that grow in Navarre are just tasteless in comparison.” I say as I pop a slice in my mouth. “You want some?” Violet doesn’t respond. I carry on talking nonsense to her until we both fall asleep.

The next morning is more of the same. Brennan knocks early with a coffee, I take a shower and leave Violet with him whilst I attend to provincial business. I get accosted by Tairn around lunchtime.
“The Silver One has not eaten since Andarna departed.” He chides me.
“I know. I’m working on it.” I growl back at him.
“She needs appropriate hydration and nutrition. I can feel her weakening.”
“I said I’m working on it.” I start grabbing food, shoving fresh fruit, bread and cheese into the large pockets of my tunic.
“If you cannot take care of my human, I will be forced to find her myself, Shadow Wielder.” He warns.
“I would prefer you didn’t destroy my house, so I get the message.” I don’t have time to deal with moody dragons. I walk into the kitchen and start looking around, knowing exactly what I need to do.
“Xaden, can I help you?” I spin around, only to be greeted by a cook that has worked for my family since I was a baby.
“Oh, Calliope.” I give her a small smile. “Yes, you can actually. Do you have the recipe for the vegetable soup I was given as a child?” “Of course I do,” she laughs lightly. “It was my grandmother’s recipe. Would you like me to make it for you?”
“Please. How quickly can you make it?” She smiles at me, warm and almost motherly. She watched me grow up here, she’s known me longer than my own mother.
“Wait there, I’ll have it ready in half an hour.” I nod my thanks and wait.

Half an hour later I’m carrying a steaming bowl of soup up to Violet. Cat and Ridoc are sat eating their lunch leaning against the bookshelves when I arrive. Cat looks relaxed, and if I’m not mistaken, is laughing at whatever Ridoc is saying. I didn’t know that girl could relax or laugh. Ridoc spots me first and starts packing up the picnic between them.
”I’ve only got an hour.” I tell them. They both nod and leave, taking their things with them. I place the bowl on the nightstand, smiling a little that Violet is both awake and sat up, even if she looks a million miles away.

“Violet?” I ask. “Love?” Yet again there’s no response. I don’t push her, and start pulling various foodstuffs out of my pockets. I lay out the food on the bed and sit with her, taking the soup and a spoon.
“Vi, I know you don’t want to, but do you think you could try eating some food? Tairn might fry me if you don’t.” Again, there’s no response, so I lift a spoonful of the soup to her lips. She keeps them firmly closed. “Violet, please.” Fear leeches into my words, I can’t see her waste away. “Please eat something. For me. For Tairn. For Andarna. Hell, for Brennan and Mira and your friends. I know you’re hurting but please, Vi, we can’t lose you.” She opens her mouth and takes the spoonful of soup. A weight lifts off my chest as I keep feeding her the soup. “Good, well done Love.” I croon at her as she finishes the bowl.

Brennan approaches me after an assembly meeting.
“We need to tell Mira.” He says as soon as we’re alone. “Violet has barely moved for two days. She hasn’t spoken, eaten-“
“I got her to eat earlier.” I say quietly. “She ate soup at lunch, I’ll try and feed her more for dinner.” Brennan nodded his approval.
“I still think we need to tell Mira. She’s much closer to Violet than I am.” I nod at him.
“Tomorrow. If nothing has changed tomorrow, send a missive to Mira.” Brennan nods, rubbing his eyes under the half moon spectacles he seems to be wearing more often lately.
“Tomorrow.” He agrees.

All of second squad, plus Bodhi and Garrick, are waiting outside my bedroom when I approach at the end of the day. Oh good, more accosting.
“What’s the plan, Riorson?” Sawyer asks, folding his arms across his chest.
“Plan?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
”Violet hasn’t moved in two days.” Imogen answers. “What’s your plan? We can’t just keep watching her indefinitely. We may have wards, but we’re still at war.” I do a quick headcount.

“Who’s with her now?” Her whole squad, including fliers, is accounted for.
“Aetos.” Imogen supplies. “You might not like him but you can’t deny he’s known Sorrengail the longest, we figured he might be able to get something out of her. Stop avoiding the question. What’s. Your. Plan.” She glares at me. I hold her gaze for a moment before looking back at the rest of them.
“Mira.” I sigh. “Brennan and I talked and if there’s no change tomorrow, we tell Mira. She’s known Violet the longest, and might actually have some idea of what to do here.”
“You haven’t told Mira?” Ridoc asks. The hand brushing Cat’s arm doesn’t escape my notice.“No. Captain Sorrengail is on the front lines near Pavis, we thought we would tell her when we needed to rather than give a commanding officer something to worry about unnecessarily. Now, are we done here?” Everyone looks at me, then files past towards the common areas. Only Garrick is left standing, a worried look on his face.
“Xaden…”
“Don’t, Garrick.” I warn him.
“Xaden.” His tone is firmer this time. “Bodhi told me.”
“Told you what?” I can feel my shadows rising around us.
“About… the first night.” Garrick softens slightly. “I can even imagine how you must be-“
“Don’t finish that sentence.” I growl. “Bodhi is an asshole for telling you that. I’m fine. I just need to take care of Violet.”
“Dude, you haven’t cried since-“
“Since Thalia left on my tenth birthday. Well the fuck aware, Garrick.” I don’t even bother calling that woman my mother. “I had a momentary lapse in my emotional control, and yes, I cried, but I didn’t wield, didn’t channel, I just cried. Is that what you wanted to hear?” Garrick stiffens at my confession.
“No, Xaden. We’ve been best friends since we were two. The only woman you have ever loved could be dying in front of all of our eyes,” I wince slightly at his words “and none of us are any the wiser. You are not talking to anyone about what’s going on in your head. I just wanted to check that you’re ok.”
“I’m fine. I need to take care of Violet, she’s my priority here.” I open my bedroom door and walk in, leaving Garrick on the other side. Dain is sat next to Violet, talking to her quietly in what sounds like Old Lucerish. He looks up at me as the door slams shut.
“Fuck, Aetos. I forgot you were in here.” I groan, leaning against the bookshelves.
“It’s fine. I’m just leaving anyway.” He says quickly, reverting back to Navarrian. “Cath needs me on the flight field.” I don’t need to read his intentions to know that he’s lying, but whatever excuse he wants to make I’ll go for. I nod at him and he grabs his jacket and leaves, finally giving me some alone time with Violet. I take a breath, attempting to soothe my sour mood into calm before I approach her, and scan the shelves. I find the tome I’m searching for, a collection of Tyrrish poetry that Bodhi’s mother gifted for my fifteenth birthday, and take it from the shelf. Book in hand, I sit next to Violet on the bed and start reading aloud. She leans her head on my arm, and I notice her hair is neatly braided, much neater than it had been when I left her with Brennan. One of the girls must have redone it this afternoon. I continue to read to her all evening, stopping only to collect the soup Calliope brings at my request, and feed it to Violet. Fear grips my heart at the idea that she’s too weak to even hold the spoon, and I refuse to watch her struggle further than she is already. It’s not until Violet falls asleep in my arms that I allow myself to stop reading to her. We had already got through the book of poetry, so I started reading her non-venin fables, the same ones my father read to me as a child. I put the book on the nightstand, marking my place with one of the leather ties Violet usually uses on her hair, before turning the mage light off and curling myself around her.

Brennan is at my door bright and early the next morning, coffee in hand once again. Fuck, it’s pretty much our routine after two days. Deep lines of worry cut across his brow as he hands me the cup.
“Mira?” He asks.
“Mira.” I agree, taking the cup from him. I drink my coffee, shower, dress, and then head down to the great hall, where I spot Imogen sat with the rest of second squad, probably planning their schedules for the afternoon, judging by the notebook Cat is scrawling hurriedly into. I wait until most of them have left before approaching Imogen.
“Imogen.” I greet as I drop into the seat next to her.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got it all covered. Cat only made a schedule for two days so we had to figure out the plan for today over breakfast. The second years have class just now.” She says irritability, pulling the pink strands of hair away from her face as she takes a sip of apple juice. “Gods, I always forget how good Tyrrish apples are. I avoid the ones in Navarre as much as I can.”

“Not why I’m here, and the apples are good.”

”Then why are you here?” She eyes me suspiciously, putting the pewter mug back on her tray.
“Violets hair-“
“Nothing to do with me.” She cuts me off a little too defensively.
“Never said it was…” I allow a hint of amusement to slip through my words. “Whose idea was it?” Imogen shifts uncomfortably in her chair.
“Nobody’s. I mean, kinda everybody’s. I was on watch with Cat and Rhiannon, I’m pretty sure Rhiannon has been with Sorrengail whenever she could, and Maren came to see Cat because she was on her own otherwise. We could all see her braid was coming undone.” I raise an eyebrow at her to continue. “Fine. Her braid was coming undone and we all knew that if we allowed it to get too tangled then she would have to cut it off. Rhiannon braided it, but she has curls so taking care of straight hair isn’t her forte, and I remembered how Katrina used to brush my hair when we were kids, so I brushed it. Happy now?” She shoves a forkful of eggs in her mouth, scowling. I give her a smirk.“Thank you, Imogen. I have no idea how to braid.”
“It’s easier than the fabric knotting you do, and given how Sorrengail refuses to cut her hair, you should probably learn.”

“Right. Thanks for the advice.” She scoffs at me as I get up and walk away, heading towards yet more problems to solve.

The day passes without incident, except for the tension within second squad. I manage to grab Brennan after our first meeting together.“The missive?” I ask him.
”Sent.” He confirms. “It should reach the front by this evening.” I nod, knowing that it’s the right thing to do. I spend the rest of my day stuck in more meetings, every second dragging as I watch the clock, knowing that I just have to get through a few more hours. Nobody bothers asking me anything, but Brennan keeps shooting worried glances towards me. As soon as Ulices says that we’re done with our last meeting, I tear back up the stairs to Violet.

The next morning I’m awoken by Sgaeyl and light pouring through the window. I must have forgotten to draw the curtains last night.

“Teine approaches.” She tells me. I leap out of bed, grabbing my uniform and tugging it on. Brennan is poised to knock when I open the door, already dressed.
“Violet?” He asks. I shake my head.
“Mira’s here. Sgaeyl just told me Teine is approaching. I’m going to meet them on the flight field.” Brennan nods.
“I’m coming too.” He hands me his files and my coffee to place on top of a dresser. We both head for the flight field, where Teine is just landing as we arrive. Gods, Mira looks pissed, but she seems to be aiming it at Brennan and not me, thank fuck.
“Three days?!” She yells as she dismounts and stalks towards Brennan, pulling her flight goggles over her head. “You waited three fucking days to tell me that our baby sister lost her dragon?!” I choose not to argue with what is obviously a very angry and heavily armed Mira about Violet not being a baby anything. I will truly never understand siblings.
“We thought she would snap out of it.” Brennan argues defensively. “And you were needed on the front.”
“Oh, I was needed, was I? No rider has ever survived losing a dragon and I had to wait three days to hear that our sister was trying to?! That you thought she’d just be fine, despite the huge deficit of power she’s facing?!”
“Captain Sorrengail!” I shout at her. She turns to me and I see the fire behind her eyes. Oh shit, I shouldn’t have done that.
“You, I understand, Riorson. You never ask for help, Gods, you and Vi are as stubborn as each other. But him!” She points to Brennan. “He had every opportunity and chose not to send a missive until last night! Teine and I flew as soon as we could.”
“I thought-“ Brennan protests
“You don’t get to think, Lieutenant Colonel Aisereigh.” She practically spits out the Tyrrish name Brennan chose. “I’m her sister! I spent 6 years protecting her when you were gone! You should have told me!” Mira turns to me once again.
“Where is she?” She demands.
“Our bedroom. I’ll take you.” She nods and follows as I lead her back to Riorson House.
“I have to warn you, it’s not good.” I warn her as we climb the stairs.
“No shit, I couldn’t imagine losing Teine, even if we didn’t die with our dragons.” We reach the door that leads to Violet and I’s bedroom.“You ready?” I ask her.
”Ready as I’ll ever be.” She smooths her flight mussed hair off her face and nods once. I open the door and push her through the wards.