The Dragon Rider Academy came into view after a ten minute flight that would've taken an hour on pegasi-back. I'd known the Academy was located on a floating island, but I'd never imagined it would be quite like this. It hovered hundreds of feet over the Darkened Forest, looking to all the world as a massive stone dragon with its wings spread. The three older riders led us on an aerial tour of the island, but I couldn't make my frazzled brain focus on their commentary. It was a good thing Leera glided along behind them, because I wasn't in any state to lead her.

After the tour, we split up. Each of the three older riders took a species group. The black-haired elent led us talmes to a two-story building called the Talme House. He flew through a giant rectangular hole in the second story wall and landed in a high-ceilinged room. His golden dragon had to close his wings at the last second to make it through the hole, which looked like a kinda risky maneuver.

It occurred to me that this was the first time Leera had ever flown outside an exercise enclosure. Knowing how to fly was supposed to be instinctual, but what if she'd lost part of that instinct because of the mind-jinking collar?

I wanted to hold back until the other three talmes had flown in, but Leera had other ideas. She pulled her wings in halfway and dove straight for the hangar room door. I screamed and closed my eyes, clutching the saddle's handles. A split second later, she landed in the hangar room. I opened my eyes and was glad to see that we were both in one piece.

"Kneel," I said.

Leera looked back at me and promptly sat down.

I clung to the saddle as gravity threatened to send me sliding down her back and onto her tail spines. "That is not kneeling. I said kneel."

The elent gave me an odd look from across the hangar room, and I tried to look as if I knew what I was doing. "Kneel," I said with all the commanding force I could muster.

She growled and shook violently, detaching me from her saddle. I slid down past her wings but managed to push away from her back before I met her sharp tail spines. I hit the floor, and my wooden trunk crashed down beside me.

I hurried to stand with my trunk and move aside so the other riders could land. Leera stood and moved with me, blocking my view of the entrance. When I tried to go around her to look, she moved in front of me. That didn't make much sense, nor did her unwillingness to follow simple commands. From what I'd seen and read, most dragons were pretty obedient with their riders. And back at the stables, Leera had been relatively well-behaved with the stable hands. What if it was because I was a paltor? Maybe she hadn't known before we bonded but now she could sense it somehow. She might see me as a- a parasite or something. What if someone saw Leera acting strangely and figured out it was because I was a paltor?

"Is that you, Ella?" a voice that sounded surprisingly like Tawny's asked.

"Tawny?" I squatted to look through Leera's legs. It was indeed Tawny, which was a huge relief. She had the blue class 5 dragon she'd been working with at the stables—BlueIsle was the name.

"In the flesh. Why are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding." I wanted to say I was stuck because Leera was being a pain, but I needed to seem normal. "I'm getting my trunk. It fell back here." I grabbed my trunk and straightened. Pushing Leera's side, I silently begged for her to move.

She took a half step step away from the wall, just enough for me to dart around her and into the open.

Another rider flew inside on a maroon class 5, and I thought I was seeing double for a second. She looked identical to Tawny—same chestnut fur, oval face, and fluffy tail. The only difference I could spot was a jagged scar on the newcomer's throat where fur couldn't grow.

Tawny stepped forward to introduce us. "Ella, this is my twin, Raven. Raven, this is my very good friend, Ella."

Raven looked at me and raised an eyebrow before moving to the side of the room with her dragon. She never stopped watching me, though. "Your dragon was mind-jinked, wasn't she?"

I nodded as the last talme rider flew inside. It was another girl, someone I'd never seen before. She must've been from another part of the province. Her dragon was a violet class 6. I suddenly realized that Leera was the biggest dragon in the room and felt a small glow of pride in spite of what being chosen meant for me.