The room had grown very still. I didn’t dare look around. I knew what I’d find. Everyone’s eyes on me once again.

“We mortals accept our inferiority, Miss Pendragon,” Professor Hassan said softly. “Because there is no other choice. The truth is plain to see. The Pure of Blood are superior. We live only thanks to their benevolence. They have saved us time and time again. We owe them not just our allegiance, our loyalty, our blood–but everything.”

I said nothing. I refused to agree with her. In my heart, I believed she was wrong.

There were two sides to every story. And what she had just spewed was carefully written historical bullshit.

To the victors went the spoils. Wasn’t that the saying back in Aercanum? And the victors also wrote the histories, didn’t they? Obviously the vampires wanted to come off as the saviors of the world. It was all propaganda. Propaganda that most of Sangratha had accepted as the truth.

The fact that I would have to sit here for weeks on end and listen to this drivel being taught as fact was what really infuriated me. I looked over at Florence, wondering if she had grown up hearing lectures like this.

“Sadly, our time is up,” Professor Hassan announced. “My apologies to the class for the time we lost educating Miss Pendragon instead of moving onto new topics. Thank you all for your patience this morning.”

Around me, students rose to their feet, gathering satchels and supplies.

I started to pass back my unused parchment to Florence and thank her for the assistance but my words were cut short.

“Miss Pendragon.” Professor Hassan’s brusque voice cut across the room. “A moment, if you will.”

Florence brushed past me. “We’ll wait for you outside,” she whispered.

I nodded, seeing Naveen walking beside her. He smiled briefly at me, then quickly darted from the room. I supposed he was a First Year student in our dormitory, too. Or perhaps another warden.

Professor Hassan waited to speak until the room had almost emptied out.

“Tardiness is unacceptable at Bloodwing and in my class, Miss Pendragon,” she sternly informed me, glaring down from the lecture stage.

“I understand completely,” I said quickly. “Miss Pansera escorted me to class but we were both under the mistaken impression that it began...”

“Miss Pansera? Miss Regan Pansera was your guide this morning?” the professor asked sharply.

I nodded. “She’s Blake’s other consort.”

The teacher’s eyebrows rose. “I am fully aware of that. What an honor to have Miss Pansera as your escort. An honor I doubt you truly appreciate.”

“I can appreciate kindness whatever the source,” I said, trying to keep my temper.

She frowned. “Very well. I’ll be lenient with you this time, Miss Pendragon. Because of your esteemed guide. Miss Pansera had only your best interests in mind. But do not be late again. Should you be tardy a second time, there will be a penalty.”

“I understand.”

I hurried out of the lecture hall before she could change her mind.

Florence squeaked as she spotted me. “Medra! What happened this morning?”

“I guess there was an error on my timetable,” I explained with a frustrated sigh. “Regan and I thought the class didn’t begin until nine-thirty.”

“Oh, dear,” Florence said. “I hope she got to her own class all right.”

“So do I,” I replied.

“What’s next on your schedule, ladies?” Naveen Sharma sidled up beside us. He had flattened his hair down, but a few strands still stuck out on the sides. The boy was even shorter than I’d realized. He only came up to Florence’s shoulder. He was built differently, too.

He caught me staring at him and grinned as I blushed. “Never seen a dwarf before, have you?”

“A...what?”

“Naveen is blightborn but he’s also dwarven,” Florence explained. “His people live underground.”

My eyes widened. “That’s incredible.”

“The dwarves are amazing builders. They construct entire cities beneath the earth. They’re also notorious for their scouting skills,” Florence said.

“Bloodwing must be very different compared to where you’re from,” I said.

Naveen nodded. “It’s certainly brighter.” He pointed to my schedule and I remembered his original question.

“I have Restoration next,” I said, glancing at my schedule. “Then lunch, I hope.”

“There’s a lunch break after the next class,” Naveen assured me. “I have Restoration next, too.”

“So do I,” Florence said. “Although, Medra, I’m surprised...”

But whatever she’d been about to say was cut short when Naveen elbowed her in a friendly way.

“Of course, you’re in Restoration. Florence here is a brilliant student, you know. She has her pick of specialties,” Naveen explained to me. “She’s smart enough to be a strategist or a healer. Now she needs to pick between the two. Unless they approve her for both.”

“I didn’t know that,” I said, raising my eyebrows. “But I’m not surprised to hear it. So is that why she’s a warden? She made it sound like it was because her mother...”

“Was a librarian,” Naveen finished. “Ha! No, that had nothing to do with it. You’re too modest, Florence.”

“Well, I’m not about to go around bragging about myself, Naveen,” Florence said, blushing madly. “Or telling people I have two specialties.”

“That’s why I’m here to do it for you,” Naveen said, grinning at me.

“Are you two...?” I looked between the two of them, suddenly wondering if there was more to this playful banter.

“Oh, no,” Florence said, her eyes widening. “We’ve been friends since we were children. Naveen is like my brother. There’s a dwarven stairwell to his city near the town I grew up in and we would visit each other. I met him at a market day when his people came above ground to sell some dwarven wares. Mostly gold, of course.”

“I’m single,” Naveen said, putting his hands up. “I had a girlfriend back home but being accepted to Bloodwing... Well, that kind of put a damper on things. Long distance and all that.”

I nodded sympathetically, as if I understood, deciding not to say anything about my own limited experiences with the opposite sex.

“Goodness!” Florence exclaimed. “We have to get to Restoration. Now.”

I looked around and noticed the hallway around us had emptied out.

“We have five minutes to get to the south tower,” Florence sputtered, already almost sprinting away from us. “Hurry!”

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 6 - MEDRA

Of course, after the hell that History of Sangratha had been, my life wouldn’t have been complete without running into Blake Drakharrow on the way to Restoration.

As we half-walked, half-ran down the halls towards class, I nearly collided with a tall figure emerging around a corner from the shadows.

The breath was knocked out of me. As I gasped and tried to regain my footing, strong hands gripped me by the shoulders and yanked me upright.

I felt a jolt as my eyes connected with a pair of gray, steely ones, then Blake’s hands dropped away swiftly.

“Oh. Pendragon. It’s you.” Blake couldn’t manage to keep the disgust from his voice.

I stared up at him, letting myself get a better look than I had that morning in the refectory. He wore a black, tailored suit that fit him impeccably, accentuating his tall, lean frame, the jacket hugging his broad shoulders and chest, tapering in at the waist to hint at his muscular, subtly defined torso.

“See something you like?” Quinn neared, stepping out from behind Blake as he pushed a lock of sleek pale blond hair off his forehead.

Coregon Phiri had appeared behind the pair, too, along with some other students. He nodded to me briefly.

I rolled my eyes. “Hell no. Just trying to get to class on time.”

Quinn laughed nastily. “I hear you got off on the wrong foot with Professor Hassan.”