Headmaster Kim’s brows rose. “It’s a second year class.”

“It is. And you know how selective I am in admitting only the finest students. Highbloods only and only ones with the real potential to be warriors at that.” Sankara glanced at me. I realized I hadn’t seen Regan there yesterday. Did that mean she wasn’t warrior material? Or was she simply in a different section? “But she’s got something. Lord Drakharrow was right to send her here. I’ve never seen a finer blightborn fighter. With a spear or with her fists.”

I gaped at him. A warm feeling spread in my stomach. I hadn’t heard praise like that in a long time. Damn, it felt good.

“But she is blightborn,” the headmaster insisted. “Not a highblood. Rules are rules.”

“As I told Miss Pendragon yesterday, dragon riders used to train alongside highblood warriors. They had to. They’d be fighting side by side. Well, if we want this young woman to have a chance in hell of doing the same someday then we should help her excel in every way we can.”

“Perhaps it escaped your notice, Sebastian,” said the headmaster mildly. “But Miss Pendragon has no dragon. How could she possibly fight alongside highbloods?”

Sankara shrugged. “I didn’t send her here. That was a decision far above my paygrade. But I doubt Miss Pendragon wishes to be useless. Dragonless or not, give her something to do. Something to aspire to.” He looked at me. “You want to be able to fight alongside highbloods one day, don’t you Medra?”

I stared back at him.

Fight alongside highbloods? No. Fight against highbloods? Absolutely fucking yes. And to do that, I needed to know what they knew. I needed to get as strong as I could.

I’d take any combat training they’d allow me to.

“Of course, I do,” I lied. “Absolutely. Yes.” I looked at the headmaster and tried to appear as doe-eyed and eager as I could. “Please, sir. I might not have a dragon. But I have a rider’s blood. And my blood is yearning to fight. Make me an asset. Let me be a student Bloodwing can be proud of. After all, Lord Drakharrow himself sent me here. He obviously wants me to learn everything I can, right?”

If Headmaster Kim had been preparing to refuse, my mention of Lord Drakharrow seemed to do the trick.

He frowned. “Fine. Miss Pendragon may officially remain in Advanced Weaponry. But she’ll need to complete the basic combat training with the other blightborn students as well. She’s not excused from that.”

“That’s fine,” Professor Sankara said quickly. “That class is light weapons and hand-to-hand combat. It’ll be a good contrast. She should get all the practice she can.” To me, he added, “You might be tired some days. You’ll be getting a good workout. Two hours of combat class a day most days as the term goes on. Sometimes more when I keep you late. But you don’t mind that, do you?”

I shook my head. “Not at all. I like going to bed exhausted. It means I’ve worked as hard as I could.”

It was sort of true. The more exhausted I was, the less time I also had to feel sorry for myself. To miss the world I’d left behind. To think about the people I’d never see. I’d rather go to sleep bloody-nosed and dirty and worn out than lie there, sleepless and anxious, thinking about things I had no way of changing.

Or worse, conversing with my mother.

I’m still here, you know, she reminded me.

I ignored her.

Loud voices suddenly came from outside the room.

The door behind us banged open for a second time, this time with more force as it slammed against the wall. Professor Sankara and I both turned to see who had come in.

Professor Rodriguez stood in the doorframe, breathing hard, his worn leather satchel swinging haphazardly by his side. His dark hair was even messier than yesterday. It looked as if it hadn’t seen a comb in a week. His trousers had, if anything, even more patches than the ones he had been wearing the day before. Rodriguez, I decided, needed to ask for a raise. Perhaps blightborn teachers weren’t paid as well as highblood ones. Could that be it?

“Good morning, Gabriel. Was there something you urgently needed?” The headmaster’s voice was cool. It was clear he was not impressed by the interruption.

“As I tried to tell your secretary, Headmaster, I have some input to give at this meeting as well,” Professor Rodriguez snapped, apparently not put off by Headmaster Kim's lukewarm reception.

Rodriguez seemed to notice Professor Sankara seated beside me for the first time.

The two men’s eyes met, just for a heartbeat, but something passed between them. Professor Rodriguez’s fierce expression faltered for the briefest moment, a hint of color rising to his cheeks.

He cleared his throat. “Sorry, I didn’t realize Sebastian was already here.” Then he frowned. “But actually, no, if Sankara was invited then I’m not sure why I wasn’t.”

“Professor Sankara had relevant input to give regarding one of Miss Pendragon’s classes,” the headmaster replied, clearly trying to keep his temper. “As you can see, not all of Miss Pendragon’s professors are present. Professor Hassan is notably absent. We are sorting out Miss Pendragon’s curriculum this morning and I did not think every teacher at Bloodwing needed to be in attendance.”

“As you should be,” Rodriguez said. “Sorting it out, I mean. And that’s where I come in. We all witnessed Pendragon’s little debacle yesterday afternoon, didn’t we? Or else heard of it.”

I flushed. I had no doubt the whole school would be talking about it today and laughing in my face.

“Many students have thrallweave used on them inappropriately from time to time, Rodriguez.” Headmaster Kim waved a hand dismissively. “A childish prank. If that’s all this is about...”

“It’s not,” Rodriguez interrupted. “Though, from what I saw, it’s a wonder Miss Pendragon didn’t die. You got into her head, too, didn’t you, Kim? Tried to stop whoever was using her? Told her to get down immediately? And then she jumped off the top of the dragon’s head?”

Headmaster Kim said nothing.

“Just as I thought,” Rodriguez said, sounding satisfied. “She’s ridiculously susceptible. She’s a danger to herself and to others. Do you really want your only dragon rider pupil killing herself because some jealous highblood student tells her to? I’m sure Viktor Drakharrow would love to hear that his nephew’s consort died in her very first week of class.”

I could see the headmaster beginning to bristle.

“And don’t tell me there are no dragons so it doesn’t matter,” Rodriguez added before the headmaster could speak. “We all know Viktor...”

“Lord Drakharrow,” the headmaster interrupted.

“Yes, yes. Lord Drakharrow. We all know Lord Drakharrow has a bee in his bonnet about getting the dragons back. He won’t accept that they’re gone forever. And now that this girl has appeared, he certainly won’t take keenly to her being lost as soon as she’s found.” Rodriguez paused his tirade, still breathing hard. “Does he even know? Lord Drakharrow, I mean. That Miss Pendragon was gravely injured multiple times on her very first day?”

“She was not gravely injured in my class, Gabriel,” Professor Sankara said, with a frown. “Some small injuries are typical for Advanced Weaponry.” I thought of my broken ribs and nose but said nothing. “She held her own.”

“Really, Sebastian?” Rodriguez raised a dark eyebrow. “I wasn’t expecting denial from your quarter. From what I hear, Miss Pendragon’s nose was broken and she had to be escorted through the halls by Blake Drakharrow lest the highblood first years swarm her and make her their feast.”

“Blake Drakharrow is her betrothed. Who else would you have had escort her?” Sankara said, looking baffled.

Rodriguez glanced at me. He was the last person I’d expected to find as an ally. And yet... here he was. It was strange.

“How would you help me, Professor?” I asked, speaking up for the first time since his arrival. “I didn’t think there was anything to do about the thrallweave.”