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Chapters (49)
  1. Given
  2. CONTENTS
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. Acknowledgments
  44. About the Author
  45. Copyright
  46. About the Publisher
  47. Backad 1
  48. Backad 2
  49. Backad 3

Any moment Yenni expected the captain to call a halt to the sparring and declare her team the winners. Instead, the dragon twisted and rolled, sending Yenni tumbling to the sand. Yenni scrambled to her feet and backed away, lest she be crushed. The dragon’s screech rent the air and, like a snake shooting venom, she sent five precise jets of water at each of her assailants. Yenni had no time to think before she was hit square in the stomach and thrown back, the wind knocked out of her.

“Enough! Duval takes it,” she heard the captain yell. Duval? Zui Duval? As Yenni lay in the mud, unable to do anything but wheeze, she knew the dragon had been toying with them. What manner of test was this?

Yenni was livid. If she’d been allowed to use her runes—but she hadn’t, and now she had failed. Even after the pain in her middle had subsided, and she was able to fill her lungs with air, she lay in the mud. It wasn’t until Captain Augustin came over and offered her a hand up that she rose, but she couldn’t meet his eye. Zui Duval was back on the ground. To Yenni’s shame hot tears invaded her sight. Though she wanted nothing more than to run off and cry in private, she was a daughter of the Yirba, so she stood with the rest, muddy and miserable, and waited for the captain to officially dismiss them.

He came to stand beside Zui, clapping thickly. “Well done,” he cried, and pointed at Yenni. “Very well done. Give us more of the same at the magical aptitude test and I’ll see you all on the first day of lessons, en?”

“You mean we passed?” said a Creshen to her right.

“You certainly have, in my estimation.” He looked around at their shocked faces, not even trying to hide his glee. “What, you think I expected you newlings to subdue a dragon? With no magic? Especially one as accomplished as Madame Duval here?” He laughed with abandon. “I needed to see your ability to adapt, to handle the unexpected. And I dare say I’m delighted.”

Disconcertingly quickly, Zui changed back to a woman. “Congratulations, everyone!” she called, and “Hello, Yenni Ajani! Sorry about that.”

The Creshens whooped and Yenni grinned, waving back to her dragon friend without a hint of animosity in her heart. She’d passed! Her final obstacle was the magical exam, and that she would conquer with ease. She was top of her class in runelore, so what could possibly go wrong? A spot at the academy was as good as hers.

“Dismissed!” shouted Captain Augustin. “Go run through your spells. I want to see each one of you standing here bright and eager on the first day of classes.”

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