A captured Ryn cannot control their fate. They are at the mercy of the whims of those who would purchase them. Let this be proof of a Ryn's strength. If they were weak to fall in battle, they may regain their glory by suffering and enduring.

This is Our Law.

~ From the Dragonling Grimoire

"I don't want to go," I said as I stubbornly clung to a rock. My heart was still racing from the whirlwind of emotions this day had brought and I didn't feel like facing imminent doom at the moment.

Dmitri was trying to pull me off by my wings. "Ignoring orders from the queen is treason. And treason is punishable by death."

"Too many people have promised to kill me anyway," I grumbled. "I don't wanna go."

Professor- no, Aleksandr approached me from the side warily, but he didn't say anything. I watched him with careful eyes, my heart twinging uncomfortably every time he moved closer. He wasn't who I ever expected to be my mate and I still wasn't sure I was comfortable with it. But it wasn't like I had a choice in the matter - fyns choose the mate, not wyks.

"Anita." Dmitri tugged on my wings again. "We have to go."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Anita!"

"Dmitri."

Before we could continue bickering, Aleksandr approached me and used a single claw to slip between the scales on my neck and press on a nerve. Immediately, my entire body went lax and I collapsed. For a few moments, I was too stunned to speak or move. Dmitri took the opportunity to gently bite my neck and drag me out of claws' reach of the stone.

"I'm sorry," Aleksandr said quietly, "but Dominika really doesn't like waiting. Prolonging this will probably make it even worse."

"Fine," I grumbled, feeling my ice begin to run cold as the realization that this problem wasn't going away finally settled in. Wriggling out of Dmitri's grasp, I stretched out my wings carefully as I prepared to fly. My entire body was sore from fighting the wyverns - they didn't pose any serious challenge, but the sheer number of them had caught me off-guard. Stupid. I chided myself as I took off into the air. You should have known there was more than just four of them. When I'd seen the wyverns fighting over the carcass of the deer, a streak of meanness overtook me and I'd swooped in and stole it.

I could hear Dmitri take off after me, then Aleksandr. Their wingbeats were distinctly different - Aleksandr's movements were light and graceful while Dmitri had more practical maneuvers.

Circling back around, I flew beside Dmitri and let Aleksandr take the lead. We flew in silence for a candlemark, the peace becoming more crushing every moment before I finally broke.

"Right. Uh, Aleksandr," I called, "can we talk? At least while we fly?" I turned to Dmitri, who grunted and banked downwards so he was now flying below us.

Aleksandr himself twisted his neck so he could look at me before slowing his wings long enough to fall back alongside me. "You can call me Alek." He said quietly.

"Oh." I turned the nickname over in my mind. "Uh, do you think I'm really in trouble?"

"I- Anita." Alek's voice became chastising. "You attacked a fellow student. Did you think you weren't in trouble?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Well, I expected it, yes. Obviously. You could have at least tried to alleviate my fears a bit."

"No point in lying," Alek replied. "You'll figure it out soon enough. Dominika isn't forgiving." He hesitated for half a heartbeat before continuing. "I'm not sure what she's plotting, but I can assure you it won't be good."

My stomach dropped. "Oh." It was all I could manage to say, my mind still whirling with a storm of thoughts. Alek slowly drifted away from me, clearly as uncomfortable with silence as I was, and for a moment I was relieved.

Wait. I shook my head. Alek is your mate now. You need to treat him as you would Dmitri. But my heart just wasn't in it right now. Everything was confusing and strange at the moment.

Dmitri suddenly dove in front of us and I instinctually followed him. It wasn't until we had landed in the courtyard that I realized Alek hadn't followed us. Circling above us, he observing us with sharp eyes for a long moment before finally descending. He didn't say anything, just stayed a few steps away.

Almost immediately, a swarm of guards appeared and began to herd us - or rather, me, with my mates trailing behind - towards a pair of massive doors with Queen Dominika's symbol engraved into them. My blood ran cold and I swallowed, trying not to quail in fear.

In every colony, there is a Queen - or King - who rules over the Lords and Ladies of their Court. In my colony, Thundercrash, we had seven dragonlings in our Court. I knew approximately two - Queen Dominika and Lord Edik. I met the Queen briefly before my Trial - as all dragonlings do - and Edik because, well, that's obvious.

Queen Dominika was just as I remembered her - tall and lean, with angular features and black hair pulled back in an attempt to hide the streaks of gray racing through it. Her eyes were a sharp yellow, like a lynx, and followed everything in the room at once. She had always put my nerves on end and this time was no exception.

The room made everything even more daunting. High vaulted ceilings, stuffed manticores and wyverns, and walls carved and inlaid with gold that glittered under the firelight. The dull eyes of the stuffed creatures followed every movement in the Council Chamber, like eternal sentries waiting for the moment to strike. It truly was something made for royalty, opulent and terrifying at the same time.

Between each of the stuffed creatures was an ornate chair. The queen's consortium - a collection of twelve Liras who advised the queen - were spread across the room in a half-circle, all watching me with leery eyes. I got the distinct impression they knew something that I didn't.

The queen was sitting on a throne of pure marble, looking down at us with guarded emotion. As a group, we all shifted forms so that we could kneel in front of her. After a long moment of strained silence, one of the guards told us we could rise.

"Aleksandr," Queen Dominik said in a sharp, clipped voice. "You found her. Well done. You may leave now." Alek didn't budge from my side, something that made my heart flutter slightly. A frown twisted the queen's lips, but she didn't comment on it further. Instead, her yellow eyes fixed on me.

"You," Queen Dominika's voice dripped with sarcasm, "have taken quite a few liberties since you've been here. I allowed you to come as a favor to Lord Edik, even let you attend the school. I gave your mate a job and agreed to house you. And now you have attacked my own protégé."

Protégé? I searched my brain for the term, vaguely remembering that it was some outdated term for an apprentice. Huh. The more you know. It would have been useful for Lyosha to warn me. I thought ruefully, but a part of me knew that I shouldn't have attacked her either way.

"I understand that I was in the wrong." I began, picking my words out carefully. "I-"

"It doesn't matter." Queen Dominika cut in loftily. She regarded me with the look of a spoiled young draggy who's new toy had broken - disgusted and annoyed. "You simply were acting on the instinct of your caste." I bit my tongue as several of the consortium laughed.

"Are you going to forgive her?" One of them called, his voice filled with a mocking laugh aimed directly at me. "Surely a dragonling that stupid can't be any benefit to our colony."

Queen Dominika waved her hand dismissively. "Liras are the intelligent ones. We all know this." I saw Dmitri's jaw clench as she continued on. I felt my own irritation grow, but, from the resigned looks on the guards' faces around the room, everyone else seemed used to it. "Ryns aren't exactly renowned for their brains. That's why I allowed Anita to attend my school, you know." She sounded rather pleased with herself.

The consortium broke into laughter again, prompting Alek to step forward. "Domka." He said coolly. "Are you going to explain how Anita is going to atone for her mistake, or do you plan to sit there and insult her all day?"

The queen scowled but turned her icy gaze back on me. The malice I saw in her eyes made goosebumps race across my skin. "Right." She cleared her throat. "I plan on going to war with the Kestreldive colony soon. They have land that we need."

Smug remarks and laughter yet again erupted from the consortium. I was really starting to hate them now, especially because of their self-indulgent pride in announcing an attack on a colony that, as far as I knew, had been nothing but good to us.

The others in the room didn't look surprised, but every emotion from glee to distaste to resignation was displayed on their faces. Alek, in particular, didn't look too happy about it. "What does it have to do with Anita, Dominika?"

With a sour glare at Alek, Queen Dominika stood up from her throne and began to pace beside it. "I have decided to make you an offer, Anita. One that you can't refuse. Clearly, I can't have you returning to my school when you're a threat to my students. However, you are just a Ryn. I can't fault you for fighting."

Once again, the consortium began snickering. Gritting my teeth, I felt like I was about to attack one of them as well. Might as well go out in a blaze of glory.

The queen continued on in a brisk voice. "You are a troublesome girl, but your fighting abilities are distinctively good. So, I took the initiative to buy your contract from Lord Edik."

A sinking feeling started growing in my chest. As much as I wanted to believe the queen was a generous wyk with every intent to free me, no strings attached, I knew that wasn't the case. Her next words confirmed it for me.

"So, Anita. You will either win this war as my soldier in battle and I free you, or you can pay three million iyres for your contract."

Needless to say, I was absolutely furious for the rest of the day. Of course, I had to take the option to become a soldier. Three million iyres? Even if Dmitri and Alek both worked to help me pay it off, it would take several centuries to do.

"How dare she pull something so... so... I don't know!" I shouted, pacing my living room. My mates had hurriedly dragged me out of the Council Chambers before I managed to do something rash for the second time that day.

Dmitri was sitting on a sofa, eyes closed in thought, while Alek was busy making arrangements to move in. No one had even blinked when we informed the school's board of directors that Alek was my mate. Most wyks my age had several mates and the whole teacher thing is more common than you'd believe. Why the school didn't have a procedure to prevent that, I have no clue. It certainly would have been useful for me.

Would it have been? Would I have been okay never knowing Alek could have been my mate? I remember the way my heart twisted in pain when he glared down at me, like he didn't want to be my mate either. Was that just because of the hormones, or was it something more? It hadn't been this way with Dmitri. I knew I wanted him as a mate, and I knew he wanted me too, no strings attached.

"Ani," Dmitri began, turning my attention to him, "I told you already. Liras are spoiled children who will manipulate you to fit their needs." He opened his eyes to watch me in mild amusement.

With Alek on my mind, I bristled at Dmitri's disdainful tone. "Enough of that." I snapped. "I don't know why you hate Liras so much, but if your intent is to make Alek out to be a bad guy, it's not going to get you far."

Dmitri looked stunned, and then a little hurt. "Ani, that wasn't- I didn't mean..." he trailed off and glanced away. I sighed, guilt pricking my skin as I sat down beside him.

"I don't know what to do, Dmitri," I mumbled, putting my head in my hands. "Everything is weird and confusing and... I just don't know. I don't know anything right now. I can't do this. She's sending me off to war to kill me. I guarantee it. I-I don't-" My stumbling replies turned into sobs halfway through, tears stinging my eyes.

"Anita," Dmitri's soft voice made me raise my head. He smiled and gently cupped my cheek in his hands, using his thumb to wipe away a stray tear. "It'll be okay. I promise you. I'll do whatever it takes to help you, okay?"

"Okay," I whispered quietly. Dmitri pulled me into a hug, his strong arms practically holding me together. Closing my eyes, I sighed heavily and just let him hold me.

I had nearly drifted to sleep when there was a sharp creak that made both of us jump. Alek was standing by the door, gripping the knob so tight his knuckles were white. His eyes focused on us for a moment before he finally spoke up, voice soft. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I can leave."

Now that I had a moment of peace, I took a moment to study Alek closely. While he physically hadn't changed at all, there was a new softness to his features that wasn't there before. A subtle shift towards being friendlier. His cherry-colored eyes were sharp and analytical as ever, but I could see the faintest flickers of emotions.

Dmitri was silent for a moment, staring Alek down as I finished my assessment of him, but then stood. "No. It's fine. You need bonding time with Ani." He gave Alek a sharp glare. "I'll sleep in my room tonight. But tonight only. My place is with Anita."

Alek was silent for a brief moment, walking over to us, before meeting Dmitri's eyes defiantly. "My place is with her now too." The tension between the two crackled in the air for a long moment. Without another word, he took my arm and led me into my room. I pulled away and sat on the bed, trying to get comfortable with Alek's eyes on me. He sat on the other side and watched me quietly.

I didn't know what to say so I simply said nothing. The silence between us stretched out until it was awkward. After a few moments, Alek gave me a small smile. He seemed to be grappling with the situation as much as I was. I could see that he was trying to let down his guard, which was almost endearing. I idly wondered why he had one in the first place.

I was so lost in thinking that I nearly missed what Alek said. "I promise not to throw any more books at you."

The sheer absurdity of Alek's words caught me off guard and I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. With the tension broken between us, I scooted closer to him and began fiddling with his coat. I noticed that it, like the rest of his clothes, was totally immaculate. "I- um, how should we...?"

Alek just gave me a shy smile as he scooted off the bed. "I'm not entirely sure." He murmured as he began to undress, visibly growing more and more flustered by the second. His skin was flushed, his normally ivory-colored skin tinted pink. He looked damned good- and then I looked down when I realized I was ogling him.

I hurriedly began fumbling with my own clothes, feeling inadequate beside Alek. Like most Ryns, scars littered most of my skin and calluses marred the rest of it. Faded bruises littered my arms from where I'd been hit during the training sessions with Dmitri. Alek's skin in comparison was flawless like it was carved out of marble. Where Dmitri was strong and muscular, Alek was slender and beautiful.

Beautiful indeed. I found myself glancing over my shoulder to watch Alek's body move.

Alek looked up and caught my gaze and I felt my face heat up. He smiled at me again and I was struck by how beautiful he was, like the angels painted into cathedrals. "You don't have to be coy, you know. I'm yours now."

"I can't help it," I muttered as I played with the soft blankets, his words causing my heart to stutter. Alek crawled over to me and put his arms around my waist. They were warm against my bare skin and I couldn't help but lean into him, resting my cheek against his chest.

Alek held me against his chest, his heartbeat steady and strong against my cheek. The silence between us was suddenly comfortable rather than awkward. It was strange. Dmitri had been so passionate our first night, so controlling. His actions had been purposeful and powerful, not bothering to give me time to react, yet Alek seemed unsure and gentle as if he was handling something fragile. His hands

I decided that, yes, Alek wasn't Dmitri, but I could still love him. My heart felt abruptly lighter - it was like a weight had been lifted off of me. I closed my eyes and relaxed in Alek's arms. He smelled faintly like cinnamon and ink. Not the best combination, but I liked it. It was his scent, and that's all that mattered.

After a short while, Alek broke the silence once more with a soft whisper. "I... have no idea what to do now."

Giggling, I sat up and put my arms around Alek's shoulders. "It's alright. I'll show you."