Free Fledgling (The Dragonrider Chronicles) by Nicole Conway

eyeball.
                “Geez.”
He made a sympathetic whistling noise. “You really are just a kid.”
                “My
name is Jaevid,” I told him with a frown. I was getting tired of being referred
to as just a halfbreed or a kid. I was both, yes, but I had a name.
                Felix
smirked. “Jaevid, huh?”
                “Or
just Jae,” I added.
                He
laughed as he stood back, eying the belt like he was trying to make sure it
looked good. “You’ve got boots, right?”
                “Yeah.”
I nodded, and sat down on the edge of my bed to start putting them on.
    “Good, cause I don’t think my spares
would fit you anyway.” Felix started talking while he cleaned up his side of
the room, advising me to do the same once I was dressed. “They do random room
inspections, so you better have all your stuff put away. Uniforms have to be
folded neatly, boots by the bedside if you aren’t wearing them. Your bed has to
be made, books stacked up, and no trash on the floor. Pretty standard stuff.”
    I started cleaning my side while he
talked, not that there was much to clean. I put my clothes and books away, and
followed him down toward the dining hall on the first floor. He grabbed a large
piece of bread, breaking it in half and shoving some in my direction. He ate
while he rushed me out into the cold morning air, talking around the food in
his mouth.
    Felix explained that official training
wouldn’t start for a few more days, when everyone finally had all the gear that
was being made for us. But this was our chance to get a leg up on the others
and start getting some preliminary training from our sponsor.
    Lieutenant Derrick was outside the
Roost, fitting a saddle to his own dragon. I recognized it was the saddle my
father had made for him. The gleaming white creature flared the fins on the
side of her head when she saw us coming close, hissing and snapping her jaws.
It made Sile look back, arching a brow questioningly
at us as we approached. For once, I wasn’t the one he narrowed his eyes at,
like he was expecting some kind of explanation.
    “Felix Farrow, sir.” My new roommate
introduced himself, clasping a fist over his chest and bowing at the waist.
“There was some trouble with room arrangements, and I volunteered to switch . .
. with your permission, of course.”
    Sile did look at me then. It made me
flinch. I didn’t know what to say.
    “I suppose,” Lieutenant Derrick
answered hesitantly. “If that’s what you want.”
    Felix nodded. “Yes sir, I’m sure. With
all due respect, I’m probably the only one who isn’t going to try to snap his
skinny neck during the night.” He laughed tensely.
    Sile gave a snort, but didn’t answer. He
went back to fixing the saddle onto his dragon. The beautiful, sleek female had
scales like polished pearl. Her eyes were a pale, glacier blue and she looked
at us like we were something to eat. She wasn’t as big as Mavrik, and her build
was more lithe. She hissed at me again, her wild eyes turning away when Sile gave her neck a slap.
    “Well, I’m glad you’ve both come,” he
announced, turning back to face us. “Every morning, I expect you to meet me
here before sunup. You’ll be doing drill rides, once you get your saddles.
You’ll be running in full armor, four laps around the outer wall. There is a
reason dragonriders are the preferred soldier of his majesty, the king. We are an elite breed . We are held
to a higher standard of performance—one you have only just begun to
appreciate. I expect the very best from you at all times. It
isn’t lineage or bloodlines that make men good soldiers , it is sweat and blood . I can assure you, you’ll be drenched
in both before your time at this academy is over.”
    Felix wasn’t smiling or laughing
anymore. I was horrified.
    “For today, I’ll be taking you up one
at a time for a demonstrational ride, then you can get to