I paste on a smile despite that I’d like nothing better than to lie down, in the middle of the road if need be. Saengo is my best friend, and I value her as I value no one else save Kendara. The guilt will bother her all day if I don’t alleviate it.

“I know, and we’d have gotten away with it if not for Jonyah, curse him.” Besides, I could have avoided all this if I’d been on time.

She looks away, a line between her brows. Even despondent, she walks like reiwyn: chin up, shoulders back, impeccable posture. Her long braid, with its sleek black feathers, swings between her shoulder blades. We have the same midnight-black hair, but where my eyes are gray, hers are light brown, and where I was born to nothing, she was born to all the privilege and self-assurance of a reiwyn house, members of court. We are opposites in nearly every way, and yet I can’t imagine a life without her in it.

“You know, you’re actually a very good liar,” I tease.

Saengo rolls her eyes. “A skill that’s sure to come in handy in the Royal Army.”

“Every talent has its uses.”

“Unlike you, I don’t need such talents.”

“Right,” I say, “because your winning personality is enough to get you by?”

She angles me a haughty look through catlike brown eyes. “I am delightful company.”

I choke down my laughter, but it’s enough to soften the stern set of her mouth.

Aside from the occasional stray puddle, there’s little evidence of last night’s rain on the open road. Farms and orchards stretch eastward, broken up by patches of woodland. To the west, the Coral Mountains, named for the plum trees that thrive in the higher altitudes, are a vibrant, blushing procession. The serpentine segments of rice patties, with the fields prepared for the start of the rainy season, transform the mountainsides into a sinuous painting.

Something sharp strikes my cheek. I flinch, instinctively ducking as another small projectile soars over my head. I quickly find the culprit. One of the other wyverns carries a handful of small pebbles. She launches them at me when the officit’s back is turned.

Saengo’s cheeks flush. “Ill-mannered boar—”

“She’s just angry.” I swat down a pebble before it can connect with my temple. Most of the Company students are content to ignore me and I them, but those like Jonyah certainly make up for that.

Around noon, we’re at last allowed a break to eat and relieve ourselves. The girls head into the trees first. When Saengo and I return to our drakes, I find the contents of my satchel spilled across the dirt road. Yandor is eating what’s left of my dried mango.