A dragon shifter novel Chapter 25

Thornhill Academy

Fighting For Life

I throw myself sideways, boots skidding in the mud, slaws ripping the air where my chest had been a heartbeat ago. My back slams into a tree, and panic

clings to me, white–hot and choking. Move, Allison. Don’t freeze. The siphon in me stirs, alive and restless. Not just Hill’s sharp, storm–bright thread of

power that I still hold. No, underneath that, the other voices. The bits I stole through the vents the night before. I reach for them. Fire, bright and hot, licks

through my veins, setting every nerve alight. A spark catches in my palm, and when the beast lunges again, I fling it forward. Flames roar, licking up its

chest, burning patches of rotten fur to cinder. It screeches, staggering back. Another source answers, this colder, slicker. Water surges at my feet, pulling from the damp earth, coiling into a whip that snaps across its face. Its antlers crack against a tree with a bone–shattering thud. The beast stumbles, but it

doesn’t fall. It shakes itself like a dog, crimson eyes blazing brighter, drool hissing as it hits the ground. I grit my teeth and pull harder. There’s a third

source. Wind bursts free this time, sharp and wild, whipping my wet hair into my face as it circles me like a shield. The beast leaps, and the gale shoves it

sideways midair, slamming it into the dirt. I stagger, the rush of magic burning hot, too much, too fast. Too many flavours at once. Fire. Water. Wind. My

veins scream with the strain, but I can’t stop. Not with its eyes still glowing in the dark. One last source sits under my skin. It’s heavy, solid, it feels like stone itself. I seize it, muscles locking tight, and slam my fist into the ground. The earth bucks beneath us, roots ripping free te coil around its legs,

dragging it down. The beast thrashes, snarls, snaps its rotten jaws, but the fire still burns its chest, the water soaks its fur, the wind shoves it down, and the

earth holds it fast. I stand trembling, teeth gritted, every nerve raw. My arms shake with the effort of carrying and expelling four stolen powers at once. “Stay down,” I growl. Then I pull all the threads together into one brutal surge. Using every last drop of power I have in me–light cracks across the forest

floor like lightning. The beast convulses once, twice, then shatters into a pile of smouldering ash and bone. Silence falls, thick and sudden around me. My knees nearly give out. I press a hand to the tree beside me, chest heaving, sweat mixing with the river water still plastering my clothes to my skin. My body

feels hollow, carved out, like the magic gutted me from the inside.

I shove off the tree, every muscle screaming. My boots squelch, heavy with water and muck, and I force myself to take one step, then another. I don’t dare

look back. My clothes cling like ice, plastered to my skin, every movement chafing. Mud streaks my legs and my arms. My fingers tremble with every twitch,

the memory of fire and wind and stone still sparking through my veins. My back… Gods, my back. Something warm slides down beneath the soaked fabric. I

don’t want to think about it too hard, but deep down I know. That’s blood, my blood. “Fucking great,” I mutter hoarsely, voice shredded raw. Branches tear

at my arms and snag my hair. Roots catch at my boots like they want me to stay down, but I keep pushing forward, teeth gritting, eyes searching desperately for the faint glow of another rune or sign of life. The forest is trying to kill me. Cage wanted to kill me, and yet here I am. Alive. Barely. Every step hurts.

Every breath rattles. My head spins like I’m balancing on the beam again, but I’m not about to let this place win.

Evander

The course isn’t built for me, not really. Woods, runes, and obstacles meant to trip and test are on the ground, making it a challenge. In the sky, it’s child’s play. My dragon tears through the trees like wind through smoke, wings skimming branches, claws digging into earth only when the path demands it. By the time the others are halfway in, I’m already out the other side. Coach barely looks surprised when my boots hit the finish line. He clicks his stopwatch, scrawls something on his clipboard, and gives a curt nod. “Drayke. Fastest time so far. As expected.” I give him the barest incline of my head, then move off the field, dropping into the grass near the edge. The earth is warm under me, the air alive with the pulse of magic from the course. I don’t care about praise.

What matters is what comes after this. One by one, the others trickle out. Kael, naturally, bounds through with that damn grin plastered across his face,

sweat gleaming on his temples. He soaks in the coach’s scolding and half–compliment like ‘s wine. Then more arrive. Wolves shaking mud from their coats. A bear shifter lumbering across the line. A girl with sparks still dancing on her fingertips. Elementals, bruised and panting, but proud. I lean back on my hands, scanning each face as they come through. Not hers. Not Rivers. I tell myself I shouldn’t care. She’s new and untested, half–feral from the scrub lands. She isn’t my responsibility. She doesn’t even want to be here. Yet my chest tightens every time someone else emerges, and it isn’t her.

Something about her sticks in my thoughts. The way she stood tall in my ridiculous oversized shirt. That fire in her eyes when the others laughed at her scars. She’s got this defiance that makes her chin lift higher when she should bow her head. I’m intrigued. That’s all it is. At least, that’s what I tell myself as I keep watching the treeline, waiting for a girl who hasn’t yet stepped out. The bell rings, sharp and final, echoing across the grounds. Students groan, dragging their feet toward their bags and the showers. That’s when Cage appears. He strolls out of the treeline like he’s returning from a leisurely walk instead of a trial meant to wring us dry. Mud spatters his boots, his eyes glint with amusement, and that smug grin stretches wide across his face. Kael, stretched out on the grass beside me, sits up with a frown. “What the hell took you so long? You should’ve been the first one out.” His tone is casual, but there’s a note in it. Something sharp. That note strikes something deep in me. My dragon stirs, restless, a low growl vibrating in my chest that no one else can hear. The hairs along my arms prickle as my instincts whisper. Something isn’t right. Cage flicks a glance at Kael, then at me, like he knows exactly what he’s doing. “Just having some fun,” he says easily, brushing dirt from his sleeve. Kael snorts, unimpressed. “Fun? What, did you stop to braid flowers?”

I don’t laugh. My gaze stays locked on Cage. He’s done something.

1/2

1:00 pm

Thornhill Academy