XADEN RIORSON

"It is your life," I say softly. "If he makes you happy then you should be content." My anger has faded into sadness. I have no right to snarl or glare at Garrick, just because I didn't dare to do what Garrick did dare to do.
"I don't know if he does," she mutters softly. She places her elbows on the table and lets her head rest on her hands. "I just don't know lately." My eyes were fixed on her, watching her fall asleep. I take a sigh before stowing our books away. I then questioned what I was to do with Aelin. I sure as hell wasn't gonna bring her to Garrick.
Fuck no.
     I scoop her in my arms and start to walk to the barracks. I am left without a choice and she will kill me the next morning. My bed is big enough to fit both of us, so I lie her down and lie next to her. I hadn't expected her to snuggle up to me. It warms my heart for a moment before I realize she might think that I am Garrick. Instead of warming my heart, my blood runs cold.
"Don't kill me, Aelin," I whisper, closing my eyes.

I open my eyes, stirring awake. My muscles tense the moment I detect a warm presence next to me. I look down to see familiar silver hairs, causing my body to relax. Last night's memories invaded my mind about carrying her to bed. I close my eyes while a warm feeling spreads across my body.
I lost track of time before I felt Aelin stirring awake. She tries to stretch but soon after probably realizes that she is not alone. I keep my eyes shut, pretending to be asleep. However, I feel her eyes on me.
"Hasn't anyone told you that it is rude to stare?" I question, opening my eyes. My eyes meet hers and I try my best to suppress a smile. She is caught red-handed and averted her gaze for only a brief moment.
     "What am I doing here, Riorson?" she questions. A heat creeps up my neck.
     "You fell asleep during our study sessions and as a male, I cannot enter the women's barrack without any warning or something. I hold high respect for female species, you know that and I didn't know which bed was yours. So ... I brought you to my bed. I can guarantee you that nothing happened," I explain. I notice her eyes soften, which I interpret as she will not kill me, today.
     "I know you meant to do good," she says which brings me relief. "You thought I'd kill you, didn't you," she adds, chuckling. A chuckle ripples from my throat, admitting to it.
     "You are certainly capable of it."

⸻

"We commend their souls to Malek," Captain Fitzgibbons speaks from the dais. Formation breaks after his final words. It is Presentation Day, and in order to reach the flight field, we will need to climb the Gauntlet first.
     "Second- and third-years, head to class. Unless you are on Gauntlet duty," Eloise, our section leader, calls. "First-years now has the time come to show us what you've got." Several second- and third-years wish us luck. My gaze locks with Garrick, who happens to be on Gauntlet duty ... Of course.
     "Fourth Wing!" Mira calls. Her voice booms over the crowd, meaning she is somewhere in the distance. "Move out!" We start moving, Flame Section, then Claw, and then Tail. I silently walk with Dorian and Chaol while Aelin is walking in front of me.
We walk through a tunnel in order to reach the Gauntlet. The view is breathtaking, to say the least. I imagine a sunrise from this point of view. My imagination takes it a step further by adding Aelin by my side. I try and shake off that thought by turning to the Gauntlet carved into the face of the cliff. My eyes follow every obstacle, reaching higher and higher until it leads into a boy canyon. The flight field.
"Riorson!" I avert my gaze from the Gauntlet to Nymeria Sheffield. I nod, silently questioning what she needs. My eyes flicker to Aelin, who is desperately trying her friend to stop.
"Aelin wants to talk to you," she giggles. I watch Aelin hit Nymeria on her shoulder.
"Nymeria, shut up!" I hear her hiss. Before I can react, Nymeria pulls me by my arm and pushes me toward Aelin. I am confused. I silently walk next to Aelin, who doesn't dare to look at me. I look down at her, seeing a blush gracing her cheeks.
"You wished to speak with me?" I question. She finally shifts her eyes to me.
"Nymeria told you that, huh?" she questions awkwardly. "I just wanted to ask how you are doing." She wants to know how I'm doing. I flash a small smile.
"If you are worrying about the Gauntlet, you don't need to be," I ease. "You and I are both well prepared for this." I feel bold and wrap an arm around her shoulder. I pull her closer and press a kiss on her hair.
     "You shouldn't doubt yourself," I continue. It will be best for her if she enters the Gauntlet.
"Are you guys ready?" Garrick appears from thin air, causing me to drop my arm from her shoulder.
     "You would say that we are ready," Aelin answers. "However, I speak for myself but I feel nervous." She turns her head towards me as I simply look her in the eyes. I remain silent as she averts her gaze to Garrick.
     "Your first time on the Gauntlet was impressive," Garrick mentions and to that, I agree. "And during these nine practice sessions, you only improved to be better. Trust your instincts." I flinch at his words because those are my words.
"You sound just like Riorson," she chuckles, casting me a swift look. I arch an eyebrow at her.
"Is it not true then?" I question. She giggles, pushing me away from her. I stumble over my feet as I fail to suppress a chuckle.
     "It is and I repeat it in my head, believe me," she says. My chuckle fades into a smile as we reach the Gauntlet.

"Come on, Xaden!" Her voice echoes from somewhere or I'm hearing her in my head. That doesn't matter at this moment as I jump to safety. Two more ascents to go without touching a single rope.
     I pass the iron rails without fault before charging up the stairs. Once I step to safety, I notice my rapid heartbeat. I hear several cheering and one person runs towards me. Due to the adrenaline, I don't see yet who it is.
"We've made it, Xaden," she shrieks, swinging her arms around my neck. Before she threw her arms around my neck, I saw who it was. Only one person would do this, Aelin Vervain. I let out a sigh of relief, wrapping my arms around her body.
"Of course, we made it," I whisper in her ear. Even though, every day is a risk at the Riders Quadrant. I promised myself not to doubt myself or Aelin. I press a swift kiss on her hair before putting her to her feet. The rest of our squad walked up to me to tell me how fast I was. I could only humbly smile, not knowing what my time was.

It turns out we have placed third out of the thirty-six squad for Presentation. I was second fastest up the Gauntlet, which is fine. Aelin herself was pretty quick as well, which I'm silently proud of. My eyes turn to Aelin, who is watching the color-changing sky. As if she felt me watching her, she glanced over her shoulder. It was an enchanting view, the orange sky behind Aelin was simply majestic. The corner of my mouth twitches into a smile as I admire her.
"Let's go, Second Squad," Eloise calls. "You're up next." Garrick and the other squad leaders stand their ground. I watch Aelin look at Garrick with a tilted head before looking at me.
"He has bonded already," I explain. "Plus, he is not allowed to Presentation." Aelin forms an O with her mouth, probably realizing what I've just said. I feel something brush my hand, causing me to look down. I look up to see Aelin smiling at me.
"Into formation," Eloise orders. Aelin glances away as I flex my hand. Her touch is soft yet I have felt her punches. Let me tell you, those aren't soft at all. Her touch does something to me, these accidentally touching me moments. We comply, Nymeria and Aelin stand before me as Chaol and I end up near the back.
''It's a straight walk down the meadow, which I hope you know,'' Eloise mentions. ''I'd recommend staying a feet of six apart in case—" "In case one of us gets torched,'' Chaol mutters.
''Correct. Cluster if you wish but a dragon will scorch you if he dislikes any of them.''
''And remember that you are here to present, not approach,'' Garrick adds. My attention is on my cousin as I notice a pair of eyes on me. I shift my eyes and lock my gaze with Aelin for a brief moment before she looks away.
''They are yours,'' Eloise says to the senior wingleader of the quadrant. We shuffle into a line. Chaol stands behind me and before me stands ... Aelin, of course.
''Feel free to look at the dragons, however I would avoid their eyes if you value your life. If you come across a scorch mark, just make sure nothing is on fire but continuing.'' The wingleader steps aside, revealing the path that leads to the valley. The path to the dragons. I tend to cluster with Aelin and Nymeria, feeling some sort of need to protect them. How I would protect them against a fire-breathing dragon? I would not know.
We pass by a set of red, a single brown, and a pair of green dragons. I look in admiration at the dragons, everywhere but their eyes. We pass more dragons. They are close enough to scorch us. We are near the end and I notice the squad is ahead of us and facing our direction. Their attention isn't on us. No, it is focused to the right. I glance to the left and fuck, you can't miss that dragon by any possibility.
''What the hell?''
''Keep walking,'' I order but I cannot keep my eyes off the dragon. At the end of the line stands the biggest dragon in history. A Morningstartail, the only other black dragon besides General Melgren's. My jaw drops as a slight fear strikes my heart. A black dragon is willing to bond?
''Isn't it beautiful,'' I hear Aelin whisper.
''I agree,'' answer. Aelin turns to me as I look at her but then I see her eyes widen. A warm huff of steam blows against the side of my face. My body tenses and freezes. My heartbeat accelerates as I slowly turn toward the dragon.
''Sgaeyl,'' Aelin whispers. I dare to avert my eyes from the Morningstartail to see the navy blue dragon next to him. Her gaze is fixed on Aelin as I feel the intense gaze of the Morningstartail on me. Oh, fuck.
''Bow,'' I hiss to Aelin. She and I bow slowly, breaking eye contact with the dragon. I feel Aelin getting a hold of my hand. I refuse to believe that this will be our end. I. Refuse. My pulse pounds in my ears as my heart is about to jump out of my chest.
Another warm huff of steam prickles the scalp of my head. It is a good thing that it is steam, right? I feel Aelin squeezing my hand, shifting my eyes to her without tilting my head. I then notice that she is looking ahead. I copy her movement and look the black dragon straight in the eyes. It blinks at me and seems to bow his head in return.
I gently push Aelin to the rest of the squad who are watching with open mouths. As we walk to our squad I feel its eyes burning in the back of my neck. Nymeria embraces Aelin as Dorian gently slaps my shoulder. I exhale, comprehending what just happened. I walk up to Aelin and before I can say a word, Nymeria flies me around my neck.
     "I'm okay, Sheffield," I say, patting her back. My eyes meet Aelin's and I notice the distress. She lets go of me and distances herself from me.
     "I'm sorry. For a moment I thought they were going to torch you to ash," Nymeria speaks, rubbing her hands against each other. Aelin huffs a sigh.
     "For a moment, I thought so too," she admits. I flash her a faint smile. "I refused to believe that this would have been our end," I say. She walks up to me and she wraps her arms around my waist. I wrap my arms around her shoulders and press a short kiss on her hair.
     "But we are alright," I whisper. I feel her head tilt up and down. A soft chuckle ripples from my throat.

Aelin and I agreed on a sparring session in the gym because we both felt the need to release any kind of emotion of today. It was a sweaty session and I was hot. Aelin was trying to ventilate herself by tugging at her shirt real quick.
     "Do you mind if I take it off, it's so hot in here," Aelin pants. I stare at her for a moment before I shake my head. She murmurs a great before pulling her shirt over her head. My eyes shift to her sports bra before her defined muscles come into sight. I catch myself staring before quickly turning around. I run both of my hands through my wet hair.
     "If you can take off your shirt, so can I," I say before pulling the shirt over my head. A relief to say the least. I reenter the mat as I catch Aelin staring at me.
     "Don't get too distracted," I wink. She rolls her eyes at me but remains silent. We stand ready but then we hear a door opening. Before I glanced over my shoulder, I saw Aelin's eyes shift to that person.
"There you are," Garrick says. I stand upright, trying not to roll my eyes.
"Nymeria told you, didn't she?" Aelin says, wiping off the sweat with the back of her hand. From the corners of my eyes, I watch her walk toward me. Garrick laughs as I notice that his eyes aren't fixed on her face.
"I heard what happened during Presentation," he says, taking a step closer to me. His eyes are fixed on me and his expression doesn't show any amusement. "Did you really encounter a black dragon?" I simply nod.
"And did you hold hands?" he continues. Here we go.
"Well, I—" I hold up my hand to prevent Aelin from talking. I flash her a swift glance before looking at Garrick.
"She and I encountered two powerful dragons who had their eyes on us," I explain coolly. "We were on the edge of being torched to ash. If we were to spend those last moments together, yes we were holding hands." I watch his jaw lock, meaning that he is pissed.
"Garrick, it's no big deal," Aelin says, laying her hand on his bicep. He averts his gaze and looks at her with the same expression. It is something I will not tolerate. He has a problem with me, not with her.
"He clearly does find it a big deal," I say. "He has a problem with me, so why not make it a spar session, cousin? To release any type of emotions." Garrick sharply exhales before pulling his shirt over his head.
     "Wow, wow," Aelin steps in between us. "Why do you need to fight?"
     "We aren't fighting fighting, princess," Garrick says. "My cousin and I just want to spar around." Aelin's muscles are tensed as she probably doesn't believe a word he said.
     "Aelin," I call. She turns her head in my direction and I notice a concerned look in her eyes. "I will be alright." She nods, lowering her arms. I watch her jaw tick, telling me she is pissed.
"Well, don't come to me," she huffs before she walks away. I cock my head in Garrick's direction, meaning to tell him: 'Look what you have done.' Garrick narrows his eyes at me before rolling his eyes.
     I wait for Garrick to come for me and he does. I dodge his punch and resist throwing a punch. "Come on, cousin," Garrick snarls. "Spar with me, don't hold back." I roll my eyes as I wait for him to come at me. He throws several punches, and I fail to dodge the last one. His fist lands just above my eye and on my jaw, causing me to stammer backward. A sharp pain erupts as my eye starts twitching.
"You have had your time," Garrick grits through his teeth. I glare at him, hoping Aelin doesn't hear him. "It is my time to win Aelin's hand." Anger boils in my veins.
"And how did it work out 'till so far?" I mock. I taste a disgusting taste of metal. Garrick grunts as he launches for me once again. His fists land on several parts of my body and I let him.
"Garrick. Stop!" I hear. "Stop!" a voice bellows through the gym. The punching stops and I particularly feel sore in my face. From the corner of my eye, I see Aelin approaching.
"Garrick, out," she grits through her teeth, pointing at the door.
"Princess, I—"
"Out!" she demands. Garrick's shoulders slump as his jaw clenches.
"You choose him then?"
"Do you hear yourself, Garrick?" Aelin discusses. "He is my best friend, I grew up with him. How do you think I feel if my friend is beaten up, especially by my boyfriend?" Garrick opens his mouth but he closes it again. "I don't want to see you now. I want you to think of what you have done."
"But—"
"No buts, Garrick," she speaks, pointing at the door. He exhales before turning to me. He casts one more glance at me before he leaves the gym.

"I thought you said that I didn't need to come to you," I grimace. Aelin rolls her eyes as she kneels next to me. She examines my wounds and gently touches them. I flinch and hiss at the touch.
"You didn't come to me, I came to you otherwise Garrick would have beaten you to death," she says. "Stay, I will get the first aid kit."
"Yes, ma'am," I reply and lie still. It somewhere warms my heart that Aelin stays here with me, even though it is because I'm her closest friend. Moments later Aelin returns with a first aid kit.
     "You men and fighting," she grits through her teeth. I shift my eyes to see her face, watching her prepare to disinfect my wounds.
     "In my offense, just because he had a problem with me didn't mean he had to transfer that anger to you," I say and hiss as she dabs the disinfection cotton above my eye. She meets my eyes for a brief moment.
"Whatever it is you are fighting about, you need to solve it," Aelin continues. My eyes are fixed on her, contemplating whether she really doesn't know why we are fighting or she is just pretending.
"You don't know what we are fighting about?" I question, feeling my heartbeat elevate. I push myself upright, meaning I'm at the same eye level as her.
     "No?" she questions and the look in her eyes tells me that she really doesn't know. She doesn't know that we are fighting over her. I slowly nod, remaining silent. "Well?"
     "You'll find out eventually," I say. Because it is about you. It has always been you.