The dragons were beautiful, I'd give them that. They always were, and they stole my breath anytime, anywhere. The first we passed by were some reds, and they stared hard at my back long enough that I thought I'd get burned. But I didn't. I had my hood still up so they wouldn't see me, because if they saw my face, all hell would break loose for sure.

Their fiery glares bored into me as we walked by, daring me to meet their piercing yellow eyes. The reds were always the most combustible, their scorching rage simmering just beneath thick, ruddy scales. I could feel the heat rolling off them in waves, but refused to so much as flinch.

Instead, I pulled my white cloak tighter, letting it engulf me like a beacon amid the shadowy path. The fabric's magic dampened the dragons' combustible auras, cloaking me in an icy chill they could only seethe at. My defiance seemed to rile them more - tails lashed, wings flared. But I was the White Ghost now, intertwined with the most sacred of protections. Their fire had no hold over me.

We pressed on, the furious snorts and growls fading behind us. The others didn't hide their edges so well - I caught a few of them trembling out of the corners of my eyes. But I led them onward, a pillar of unshakable calm against the storm waiting ahead. The dragons would be shown their place soon enough. By me.

Soon enough, a large green dragon stopped and lowered its head toward me, sniffing cautiously. Its eyes widened a bit before it buried its nose into my chest. I grunted and patted the scaly snout. "Not now, dear," I murmured.

The green snorted loudly but drew back, trying to play it off like nothing had happened. But I caught the longing look it threw my way as I walked past, nearly plowing straight into Violet. She was getting fawned over by two smaller greens.

The dragons always reacted stronger to my presence, their instincts heightened by the aura of power and protection cloaking me in white. Where the others triggered curiosity or sometimes aggression, I awoke a bone-deep reverence in the sacred beasts.

It was a burden as much as a gift. The weight of such respect from the most powerful creatures in our world. An obligation to uphold the sanctity of the old ways, to honor the ancient bonds.

Violet shot me a quizzical look as the greens parted for me like the Rider Moses himself. I gave her a subtle nod - reassurance that despite their velvet overtures, I was no mere dragon charmer, but something owed deeper deference.

My path was diverging from the others. Higher callings awaited me on the flight field today. Callings that would test my strength like never before.

The White Ghost had to be ready to face the coming fire.

◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

We had used the presentation day well, most of us anyhow. I was one of them, of course. I stood straight behind Violet and Rhiannon who were talking as Preceptor Mitroe checked us over. "All well done. You may return to the barracks if you so please," he said and gave us all a nod, even me, but with a more deferential tone than I'd seen him use with the other cadets.

I melted back into the trees then and walked around. It wasn't the vale for sure, and I missed riding atop a dragon. I sighed and leaned against a bare pine that had lost all its needles - strange really, but it was burned so I guess that would explain it. A rumbling erupted from the sky and I looked up past the treetops to see a familiar navy blue dragon pass overhead. Sgaeyl. I stiffened. If she noticed me, then so would Tairn, one of the most powerful dragons in the vale this year in fact. And that would be such a disaster I don't even want to talk about it.

I shrank back against the charred tree trunk, pulling my white cloak tighter in hopes the colors would camouflage me against the mottled bark. Sgaeyl's massive wings beat the air, each downdraft ruffling the branches around me. I held my breath as her enormous shadow swept over the clearing, blotting out the sun.

For an agonizing moment, her great horned head turned, golden eyes scanning the treeline where I hid. Could she sense me? My uniqueness always set dragons' instincts stirring, no matter how I tried to mask it. I willed myself invisible, forging an iron mental wall to conceal my aura's bright beacon.

Then, finally, Sgaeyl snorted and banked hard to fly back to the Vale, her powerful wingbeats fading in the distance. I sagged against the tree, relieved to have avoided such an encounter - at least for today. One did not simply stumble into the presence of an alpha dragon unbidden and expect to walk away unscathed.

"What are you doing out here, cadet?" said a voice, and I stiffened. That novice, Xaden. I sighed and looked up, knowing the tawny kid could only see the darkness of my white hood.

"I just need some air," I said to him in my deep voice, making sure he could not hear the siren's call that would be my woman side. Xaden blinked and rubbed the signal that ran up his arm to his jaw, his onyx eyes flickering gold in the sunlight.

"You should be back with your squad. The dragons may be in the flight field but they will not hesitate to kill any human that is unbound," he warned. I snorted. "I'm not human, my dear." I straightened easily, overpowering him with my presence, and walked toward him, circling slowly.

"Though I'd like to see why you think that is. Is it my curves? My scent?" I leaned closer, letting his heady, masculine scent wash over me. Damn, he did smell good. Too bad I can't have him in my bed right now.

He stiffened. "What are you doing?" he rasped. I chuckled, a low rumble that bounded straight from the depths of my core.

"Just establishing the natural order of things," I purred, stopping with my face mere inches from his. Up close, I could see his pupils dilate, the muscle in his throat bobbing with a thick swallow. "You feel it, don't you? The power I exude..."

My fingers trailed almost casually down the front of his tunic as I drank in his reaction. Arousal, uncertainty, awe - they flitted across his features in a delicious blend. This was what it meant to be the White Ghost - to inspired primal devotion and desire in equal measure. He may think himself bound for the ranks of the elite flyers. But I already commanded a more intoxicating obedience.

"I... yes, everyone does. How could we not?" he finally choked out, and I giggled, the first female sound I'd let anyone hear in my voice. His eyes darkened with heated desire, and I cursed myself under my breath - that was not what I wanted.

I drew back, folding my arms into the folds of my cloak. "Well, I will be off then. Good that you know where you stand, Xaden." I slipped off into the darkness of the trees as the sky began to turn dusky. Tomorrow was yet another day of grueling training, but somehow I knew it would go just as swiftly as these last few weeks.

Xaden watched me go, stunned into stillness by the paradox of my aura - enticing yet forbidding, hypnotic but threatening to scorch with sacred fire. I was an intoxicating risk, one that even elite trainees like him could not resist having their senses tempted by.

In the thickening shadows, I allowed myself a small, satisfied smile. Such was the power and burden of being the White Ghost. To be both coveted and revered, inspiring tantalized devotion no matter where I tread. The dragons, the cadets - they all felt that gravitational pull toward the light I embodied, even if they didn't fully comprehend it.

As I melted into the night, I knew tomorrow would hold only more chances to let my true nature blaze forth, unmistakable and undeniable. They would all see the truth of what I was soon enough - a force of both illumination and immolation. No matter how bright they burned, I would outshine them all.