"Here you go!" I chirped, handing my indigo-colored dragon a slab of slimy red meat. As much as it made me queasy, Avyn slurped it from my hand, his tailing waving like a dog's. I giggled at his bright amber gaze as he sniffed and licked at my hand.

It was Dragon Bonding class, probably my favorite subject so far. The class was relaxed and easy-going, perfect for someone like me who tended to be not so violent (yet I still ended up on the guard). Avyn curled up on a mound of smoothly trimmed hay, expectantly begging me for more food in our telepathic link.

Be patient! I chided him, and the dragon rolled his eyes.

When class was done, Avyn flew us over the Academy, towards the cafeteria, his wings molding the air to do his bidding. I had my hair tied up so that it wouldn't choke me a thousand different ways during the flight.

"Shana!" I shouted, glad to see my familiar frizzy-haired friend. She was on Alya, her small green dragoness, and swerved so that Alya and Avyn could fly together. The dragons communicated mentally, and I saw Alya grin toothily.

"These attacks seem scary," Shana sighed as our dragons flew next to each other. I nodded solemnly in agreement.

"I mean, really scary. Who's causing them? Why? I don't... We don't know anything about them." Her voice seemed a bit weak. I understood how she was feeling completely.

"Come on," I changed the subject onto a lighter topic. I patted her shoulder and then commanded Avyn to descent, "Let's just eat lunch."

"Hm... Salad, please. No onions. Yep, tomatoes are fine. Cucumbers, too. Shredded carrots? Well, sure. And ranch dressing. Thank you!" I nodded repeatedly at each food item as the lunch lady dished it out. She handed me a fresh, juicy-looking salad, and a few packets of dressing. I thanked her again and then turned to sit outside with my friends.

The sun was bright and warm as it beat down, warm and illuminating, on me, Shana, and Amber. We all ate our lunch in a relatively quiet atmosphere, as did all the other kids. Everyone was still stunned by the damage the attack had caused.

"How's Rainsong?" I asked to break the silence. Amber looked up.

"Well, she's actually doing very well. She's flying around right now, regaining some muscle control, with the nurse." She answered, looking pleased.

"That's wonderful news," I congratulated my friend. Amber nodded, her long brown hair glowing in the sunlight.

"I swear, I'll kill those shadows when I can." Amber spat.

I sighed, "You know what doesn't make sense? The shadows are shapeless, right? Well, how come Rainsong got an arrow lodged in her flank, then? A shapeless shadow couldn't pierce a dragon with an arrow."

"I've thought about that too," Amber confessed, "And honestly, I don't know. All that matters to me now is that everyone stays safe." Her eyes hardened. "And I will fight to maintain that."

Shana looked scared as Amber said this.

"What's wrong?" I turned to her, puzzled.

"W-well, you see," Shana flinched, as if she wasn't expecting to be noticed, "I'm just worried for you guys, is all." She cracked her knuckles, which I noticed was one of her stress habits. "What if you get hurt? Like... like, you said, you want to maintain the peace and you would fight for it. Well, what if you got hurt?"

"I don't care if I get hurt," Amber retorted, "As long as I can keep my friends and my dragon safe."

"That's right," Shana agreed quietly, "There's nothing more important than keeping your dragon safe."

We had just finished up lunch, standing and stretching, absorbing the sun's warmth, when I nearly went deaf.

A loud boom echoed throughout the area. It was like an explosion scene in a movie, where silence ensues for a moment as everyone's ears are ringing.

"An attack!" Somebody screamed, and then panic and delusion started.

Impossible!

I turned, seeing Avyn's maroon gaze of fear, and tried to radiate comfort to him. But it didn't help that I was shaking as well, my ears ringing, and my skin was already clammy and cold. What was going on? We had a 24-7 Youth Guard, as well as army reinforcements that the dean had sent for... Surely nothing could get past those? But I had not any time to worry about that.

Suddenly I saw the writhing, snaking shadows again. I screamed, reaching for my double daggers, as the shadows swarmed the crowd, biting, tearing, pinching, solidifying and melting right back again into nothingness.

"Dragons! Dragonfire!" I tried to scream, but my voice was drowned out by the chaos.

And then I felt it - a cold, empty but solid, void-like presence, under my arms, around my legs, even snaking through my hair, lifting me up.

The shadows had got me.

I tried to shout for Avyn but my voice was instantly covered by the shadows that were whirling around me, dancing, pushing against the air, lifting me up in what I could only assume looked like a ball of darkness from outside.

I squeezed my eyes shut, frantically messaging for Avyn. I struggled against the shadow's power, feeling them rising, lifting me up - where were we going?!

I felt claws hook around my chest. At first I thought it was another Shadow monster, but then the shadows dissipated, fluttering away like a swarm of hornets, and I was pressed against the belly of my dragon, feeling the scorching heat of his flames right above my head. Avyn had rescued me, and was now attacking any daring shadows.

I gasped for breath, clutching onto Avyn for dear life, feeling my eyes swim with tears, though they were closed, and finally I regained sense and my eyes shot open, my head twisting away from his plated chest to look around.

The plaza was in chaos - there were four more floating dark masses, which I could only assume held either students or dragons.

And then, like a wave rushing back into the ocean, the shadows all stopped their madness and turned, slithering through the air and away from the school. I was shaking all over, still pressed right against Avyn, who was roaring and beathing fire, his wings beating.

The four captured entities went with the sea of shadows, their captors wriggling against them. I screamed, reaching out a hand, commanding Avyn to try and save them, but we were too late. Within the calamity, there had been a kidnapping.

"Two riders and three dragons, Aiden." I spat, my fists clenched.

Yesterday had been the day of the attack. Now, Amber and I watched the black-haired boy with newfound distrust. His eyes looked helpless and he struggled to speak.

"N-No, no..." He mumbled as I glared at him.

"Speak up!" I hissed.

"It wasn't me!" He defended himself, his voice raised. His breathing was shaky. "I didn't do anything! I swear on my life!"

"Rainsong?" I whipped around. The sapphire dragon had to concentrate deeply in order to tell lies from truth. She closed her golden eyes and breathed slowly, before opening them again.

"He's not lying," Amber's voice was suspicious.

"See? See?" Aiden groaned.

I controlled my breathing. "I'm sorry," I apologized slowly, "But at least... do you know how they got past the guard?"

"There... There's possibly a five minute gap between guard patrols. But the intruders must have known that, and the exact time of the exact day, to take advantage of that." Aiden speculated.

"Does that mean?" My voice hitched as Aiden spoke my thoughts.

"There's another mole in the school."