Merram didn’t flinch. “We are at war, and I am rarely here. Right now, you cannot juggle the Kyer in addition to your normal duties.”
“I’m fine,” Shamino said through clenched teeth.
“A concerned colleague of yours says that with the last batch of wounded, you barely slept an entire week. You need more help.”
Shamino crossed his arms and leaned back. “Very well. I get to pick my mage.”
“Adara, I’m sure, is eager to integrate into the Kyer,” Merram said, this time with a glance to me. “Her background suggests she’ll fit in best at the Quarters, surrounded by dragons.”
And away from humans who ask questions, Merram didn’t add.
Shamino pointed at me. “She almost fainted. She cast Fire on Raul’s furniture.”
Merram raised an eyebrow. “You said she handled Raul well.”
“For someone meeting her first dragon!” Shamino said. He threw up his hands. “She’s a trainee. She knows nothing about dragons, nothing about the hard work we do. If I have so little time, why are you giving me someone who needs hand-holding?”
Shamino’s words made my face prickle with embarrassed, slightly-angry heat. “I’m sorry about Raul. It won’t happen again.”
I hope. I still didn’t know what triggered the visions, but I’d meditate fifty times a day if I needed to.
Shamino jerked at my protest. By his brief flush, I guessed he’d forgotten I was in the room. He ran a hand through his hair, making it stick out in all directions. “I didn’t mean—”
“Yes, you did,” I said. Why did his reaction sting so much? “I’m not someone you want around you or your dragons.”
“I’m saying you have no training. And I, well…” Shamino closed his mouth.
Merram rapped on his desk. “Only a few minutes ago, you praised Adara’s meeting of Raul. Based on that single meeting, I ask you this: Do you believe she will love your dragons?”
Shamino pressed his lips together and he stared at his lap. He resembled a five-year-old boy, and if the tension weren’t making me near-sick, I would have laughed.
“I know your true reason for protesting,” Merram said quietly.
Shamino turned his head so I couldn’t see his face. “She’s just like the others.”
“The Quarters need help. You need help. I have confidence that Adara will make the Quarters a priority.”
Merram met my gaze and raised an eyebrow as if to ask, Do you understand?
I did. At the Dragon Quarters, there’d be few humans to notice my awkwardness or to ask difficult questions. I’d gain experience with dragons before the other trainees. I’d have a chance to become a needed part of the Kyer. A chance to belong.
All I had to do was convince the Seneschal who, I suspected, didn’t mind hand-holding, so long as the trainee adored dragons.
She’s just like the others, he had said.
The Seneschal was a man. A very, very handsome man. One that made my heart flutter, and I didn’t even know his house or whatever else that might send a noblewoman panting after him. How many women had worked beside him, and not for the dragons? Every blush, every lingering gaze, every tongue-tied moment… He doesn’t want another besotted cow trailing behind him. He wants someone he can rely on. And, maybe, he needs a friend.
I gave Merram a solemn nod.
“You will keep up with your studies,” Merram added, putting his hand on his chest.
Meaning, my Gift. Everything hinged on those blue fireballs. I nodded again, but my confidence had diminished.
“Good,” Merram said. “Shamino, you will have Adara every afternoon in the Quarters. If after a week you are unsatisfied with her, you may send me word via courier. Both of you are dismissed.”
I left first, and Shamino slammed the study’s door behind us.
“Let’s get this week over with.” Shamino pointed at my chest. “Change into clothes you don’t care about. Be at the Quarters before the next Sphere. Don’t be late.”
Rapid steps took him through the waiting room, and he didn’t look at me once. He slammed that door, too.
I took a long, slow breath. What a fun afternoon I had in front of me. Briefly I glanced at Merram’s door, but if I went in, he’d deny anything I asked. Better to impress Shamino, earn my place. Better to figure out my Gift.
Then, once I became a Dragon Mage, maybe Merram would tell me the truth.
Chapter Nine
Much earlier than the fated Sphere formed, I entered the Dragon Quarters wearing a boring, light blue shirt and some drab gray breeches. As farmer-Adara, I would have never dreamed of wearing such fine clothes to work in, but as noble-Adara they were the worst I owned. I’d pulled my hair into a severe braid, praying that no one ever told Tressa.
No one waited for me in the foyer. Shamino’s study door hung open; he clearly spent little time there, or he cleaned obsessively. The desk was bare. The shelves held neatly labeled journals and alphabetized books. No decorations, just the bookshelves and a small wardrobe. I stepped outside to the Summoning Globe.
The smooth glass fit in my palm, and the dark green sparkled through my fingers. I peered at the odd color. Is it because he’s a healer for dragons? I gave it a shake.
A tingle shot up my arm. After several minutes, a blur grew larger in the hallway, and Shamino appeared. One look at him, and my carefully coached indifference wavered.
That’s just not fair. Shamino had changed as well—into a shirt without sleeves. I’d seen bare-chested men before—farmers resting in the shade on the hottest days—but I’d never, you know, really looked. And I doubted nobles wore sleeveless shirts. Not even peasants did. It’s like Shamino’s begging me to offend him.
I focused on his face.
“You’re early,” he said without even a hello. Shamino flicked two fingers in a beckoning motion. I stayed close so the Transportation magic would catch me, as I didn’t know the Dragon Quarters’ waypoints. Yet.
With his back turned, I snuck a look. First One above, if his arms look like that… My gaze crept from his perfectly
