~~I hope you all are enjoying the story so far. If you have any feedback or notice any issues, let me know in the comments. I read them all as soon as I see the notification. 

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Stalking the edge of the lake was a small dark teal dragon. The dragon hide stretched as it walked. Small whiffs of smoke bellowed out its nostrils. The dragon had not noticed us yet, which allowed Ryker and I to crouch behind a boulder. The dragon was unique as it had a line of white scales from its tail, along its spine, till it reached its head. The dragon’s head was completely white and its eyes were vibrant and reminded me of sunrises with its mix of orange and red hues.

“That’s a Chymhai, a water dragon who breathes the hottest flames known to man.” Ryker’s voice was taut as his eyes stared at the dragon. In a second, the nervousness was gone and replaced with anger and braveness - though, I could still sense fear in him through our bond.

I remember learning about Chymhais. The dragon is called that due to its skin and unique features. Chymhai dragons are quick in speed due to their small stature. They attack mostly with their fiery breath, but Chymhais benefit from their thin long tails and large wingspan. The Chymhai does not live long, as it is always hunted for its matte finished scales due to the rich teal color and unique bright white scales.

“We shouldn’t attack head-”

“Shut up.” Ryker hissed out before running out into the open, catching the dragon’s eye.

The dragon’s eyes narrowed as it focused on Ryker. Giving up, I walked out from behind the boulder and stood close enough to Ryker to allow the bond to work well, but definitely as far away from the dragon as possible. I could sense something bad was going to happen. We were still unqualified to fight against a dragon, even if it was a small one like the Chymhai. Their only weakness is earth. There were stories about wielders and holders killing Chymhais by crushing it within the earth, as if burying it alive only to kill it and bring its body to the surface to harvest for its hide. I knew that was what would have to be done, but I hated the idea of killing a dragon that likely was captured and torn away from its home and family, only to die in a training field.

“Ryker, we shouldn’t kill it.” I tried to get the brute male’s attention.

“Shut up and just give me your magic.” Ryker growled out before rushing the dragon. “Ferro gladio.” A steel sword grew in his hands as he neared the dragon.

Ryker slid to a stop as he swung the sword with all his might. The dragon reacted quickly by springing backwards and turning, allowing its tail to swipe at Ryker. The sword’s path was disrupted and Ryker landed a few feet away, trying to regain control of his airway. The dragon’s head turned towards me, blue flames flowing on the side of its mouth.

Am I going to die here?

I glanced at Ryker who was dusting his clothes off before picking up his sword. He saw the dragon stalking its way closer to me and he just smirked. His eyes met mine before he decided to move around the dragon.

I could feel my magic levels depleting a little bit, meaning Ryker was using spells, but I cannot tell what he was doing.

Soon the dragon stopped as ropes spun around its legs and wings, tying down to the ground. The Chymhai started thrash about before setting its eyes on me and blowing a hot stream of blue fire.

Time seemed to slow as the blue flames came closer to my body, frozen in fear hiding behind a rock. Soon, I felt the embrace of another person’s arms and in a flash I was back on the observation floor. The bond between Ryker and myself was disconnected as my body relaxed and I began to have mild tremors from the fear of almost burning alive. Chymhais have insanely high temperature fire breath, I would have been roasted alive and all Ryker did was agitate the dragon more.

Once my brain decided to function normally again, I could register two golden orbs in front of my face. A look of worry etched into the wrinkles around Blaze’s eyes and mouth. He was speaking to me, but my brain was yet ready to decipher human words. Coach Zinke came up from behind Blaze, seemingly angry as she threw her arms about and yelled at Blaze. Blaze’s face contorted into anger as he stood up and shouted back at her.

My hearing slowly returned, so I finally knew what they were saying.

“...could have died! That murderer down there would have let Nova die! Why are you getting mad at me for saving an innocent boy!” Blaze’s voice was hoarse as he yelled at Coach Zinke.

“I understand that, but you had no right to interfere with the Testing process. Nova would not have died. Myself or Coach Wright would’ve stepped in and took control of the situation.” Coach Zinke seemed agitated, but I focused on her words. She wasn’t down there when Ryker inconvenienced the dragon to where it would breathe fire in the only direction it could. No one but Blaze was there to save me, at the last possible second.

“Yeah, right. If you had gotten there to save him a second after me, there would be two murders that idiot’s hands. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, learn how your students interact with each other, because you knew Ryker hated Nova. Why would you put them in a position where Ryker is higher than Nova? Revise the fucking Test. I’m taking Nova home. It was already determined he was a Class A holder.” Blaze was tense as he scoffed before bending down and picking me in his arms.

At this moment, I realized my body was so numb and felt like limp noodles. I was thankful Blaze picked me up.

~~

After a quiet walk back to our dorm, Blaze had me open the door before he sat me down on the couch. I could tell he cleaned the common area a bit as all of his half empty cans of soda were all gone.

“Nova? Would you like some water or I can put on a movie? Or a hot bath and you can relax… Or, I am not sure what you would like to do. I know what happened was very traumatizing and I am so sorry you had to experience that.” Blaze’s face was so wrinkled with worry, I thought he would have wrinkles before he even turned 20.

“Hot bath would be nice.” My voice left my throat itchy. I hated speaking.

“Of course. Do you want me to get you some normal clothes from your room?” Blaze asked politely as he stood up.

I shook my head before standing up beside him. “I … I will get them.”

Blaze nodded with a soft smile before entering the bathroom. The sound of the water being turned on made me remember to walk.

I entered my room and closed my door enough but not all the way. Blaze has never seen my room and I was a bit nervous for him to see it. I had my bed against one wall and all my stuffed animals arranged in a perfect order were splayed across most of my bed space. I did have my laptop and a few books on my desk, but my nervousness came from Blaze seeing all my stuffed animals.

Sighing, I went into my closet and grabbed a pair of gray shorts and a baby blue crop top sweater - though it fit me much like a normal sweater would fit a normal sized human being. Blaze called out that the bath was full so I went to go take a hot bath.

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