Dragon Flight Academy 2, page 1
Would you like to see chapters of my books before they come out? Do you want to see cover art sketches and vote on which poses should make it to final production? Would you like to see even sexier versions of my covers? Would you like to get my audiobooks at a deep discount?
Of course you would! Join my Patreon here to get all these awesome benefits (or search for my name on Patreon.com).
You can also join my Facebook group right here. Then you’ll know when my books come out before anyone else.
Chapter 1
The sun was glaring down at me, and despite the thermal-control flying gear that I always wore for our flights, my back was completely drenched in sweat. We were still on the ground, and I looked like I’d done a few laps in the pool. Even my hands, hidden beneath the grappling gloves I wore to hold Storm’s reins, were sticky wet. But I knew most of that liquid was from nerves and not the heat.
It wasn’t as if it was my first time flying Storm or even my first attempt at a dangerous maneuver, but my stomach was twisted in knots, and I was finding it hard to talk. We were about to attempt one of the most dangerous aerial routines in our arsenal, one that had already cost the life of one of our classmates.
My dragon huffed impatiently, no doubt because he could sense how tense I was. Storm might not be able to communicate in English, but he knew how to make his opinions heard, and right now, he was telling me I was overreacting. I could almost feel him rolling his eyes at me, and when his body shifted beneath me, I realized how tight my thighs were around his shoulders. So I inhaled deeply and forced myself to release my grip.
“You alright?” someone whispered to my right.
I glanced toward Brie, and I felt an easy smile cross my face. The beautiful redhead was looking at me with a smirk. She’d pushed her flying goggles on top of her headgear, so I could admire her tan face and ocean-blue eyes. There was something about her that could calm me better than any drug.
“Yeah,” I whispered back.
“And the real answer would be…” she trailed off and lifted an eyebrow at me in a way that clearly meant she didn’t believe me.
“I’m shitting myself,” I revealed.
“Why?” This time, her brows furrowed, and her gaze flicked toward Lieutenant Sunderland, who was currently assessing Anji and her dragon, JuJu. “It’s not as if you’re going to do something stupid… are you?”
“No, of course not.” I sighed and instinctively reached for Storm’s shoulder to give him a gentle pat. “But don’t you think it’s time one of us finally managed to perform the maneuver?”
“Maybe.” She shrugged and readjusted her position on Flame, her red dragon, who looked as fierce and strong as she did. “But I’m not worried, and you shouldn’t be, either. When it happens, it happens.”
“Oi, lovebirds,” someone else whispered. “If I can hear you, imagine who else can.”
Brie and I shared a look before I turned to my left, where Caleb, my roommate and best friend, was staring at us with a maniacal grin.
“Sure, because talking about flight maneuvers is so perverse,” Brie said dryly and rolled her eyes.
“Hey, I’m only saying the sexual tension between you two is suffocating,” Caleb insisted.
He winked at us, and I was suddenly very glad the other cadets were just as focused on Anji. Otherwise, my friend would’ve gotten Brie and I into serious trouble. Relationships between cadets were frowned upon since it could become a dangerous distraction, and while I didn’t think the academy would actually expel us, I really didn’t want to find out what they would do if they learned about my one-on-one time with Brie. Or my secret relationship with Gracie.
“You better shut him up, Jake, or I will,” Brie growled just as Anji and JuJu landed on the edge of the plateau.
“Now, that’s just mean,” Caleb retorted, though he didn’t sound offended in the slightest.
Sunderland called Brie’s name next, and the redhead threw me a long and meaningful look as she urged Flame forward.
“He’s your friend,” she said before she was out of earshot. “So deal with him.”
And then the redhead focused on her flight as Brie and Flame walked up to the edge of the plateau. I saw Brie take a deep breath, and then she nudged Flame gently with her knees. The dragon launched off the edge of the canyon as the pair began their run.
“Careful, I think you’re drooling,” Caleb teased.
“Shut up.” I chuckled and reached across the gap between our dragons to knock a fist on his shoulder. “If I get in trouble, it’ll be your big mouth that puts me there.”
“You still haven’t told Gracie?” My friend asked as he arched an eyebrow. “And I assume Brie doesn’t know either, or she probably would’ve cut off your balls and fed them to your dragon.”
“Ouch.” I winced and placed a protective hand over my crotch. “Your imagination is too vivid for your own good, man. And no, I haven’t told Gracie, but Brie knows. I’m waiting for the right time.”
“Dude, there’s no right time,” Caleb laughed, which earned him a glare from Sunderland. “You gotta talk to her.”
“I will,” I assured him once I was certain that Sunderland’s attention was back on Brie and Flame. “There just hasn’t been time.”
My mind wandered back to the events of a couple of weeks ago, when my squadron along with two other older squadrons from the Academy had faced off against a flight of Russian dragons that had breached the US airspace. The Russians had left without exchanging dragonfire, but tensions had escalated since that Russian show of force.
Our days at the Academy had always been spent either on the back of our dragons, where we mastered maneuvers and flight position, or in a classroom, where we learned about combat strategies and dragon care, but now our few minutes of free time were usually spent watching the news on the TV in the canteen. Personally, I was expecting a breaking news story about a Soviet invasion of Europe, but so far, the Russians seemed content to test our strength with these fly-by maneuvers.
I just wasn’t convinced that would last much longer. A third World War felt closer every day.
“Better make time, my friend.” Caleb’s voice jostled me from my thoughts. “The way things are going, we might run out of time soon. There’s no guarantee we’ll end up in the same wing if war breaks out.”
“I know,” I sighed.
Thankfully, my friend dropped the topic, and we both fell silent as Brie and Flame neared the Dead Man’s Turn. I held my breath as I sent up a silent prayer that Brie and Flame would be the first to succeed, but Brie pulled up at the very last second. Despite the distance and the goggles that covered half of her face, I could still tell she wasn’t happy with another failure.
I knew better than to offer any sympathy, so when she joined the rest of us on the plateau and Sunderland called out my name next, I merely offered her a quick nod. Brie grimaced in return, but I knew it was her way of acknowledging me despite her inner turmoil.
“Come on, Storm,” I told my dragon. “Today’s the day we make the magic happen.”
Storm let out a growl, and he turned his head to the right to give me a sidelong look. I was sure he had a few choice words he’d like to lob my way, but since he couldn’t, I grinned at him and urged him forward.
“Go on, Cadet Randall,” Sunderland barked. “What are you waiting for?”
“Nothing, Sir,” I replied and hid a grimace.
I slid the goggles over my eyes, inhaled sharply, and tightened my legs around Storm’s flanks. The bottom of my feet now grazed Storm’s shoulders, and soon, his saddle would become too small. He was still growing, and I wondered how tall he’d be once he reached full maturity.
But it was a thought for another day, so I shoved it to the back of my mind just as Storm spread his wings and used his talons to push off the edge of the plateau. Once we were airborne, we gained altitude and speed as we flew twice above the canyon.
Even though I was focused on the task ahead, I could still feel the pressure of being the first to complete the Turn, and the anticipation of the moment made my blood boil under my skin. Nearly a dozen dragons were gathered on the rocky plateau, and their presence was closing in on me like a death trap. Of course, I knew that all that pressure was coming from me, but I also knew that all eyes were on me as I moved into position. As squadron leader, I had to prove I deserved my title every day.
“Let’s show them what we can do,” I said to Storm.
My dragon’s response was to let out an earth-shattering roar right before he ferociously flapped his wings and gained even more altitude. We passed the plateau where Sunderland and the cadets were watching us, but they were merely a blur in the distance. We were now so high up in the sky that all I could see was the red soil that looked almost orange under the sunlight.
“Now, Storm!” I yelled so my dragon would hear me over the roaring wind.
Storm instantly obeyed my command and stopped midair. We began falling down toward the canyon like a boulder, but I tightened my thighs on Storm’s flanks and yanked the reins to the side.
“Backward roll!” I ordered him.
Storm managed to shift his weight so that his flank was facing the sky, but we were still rapidly falling. We’d pulled this off before, but the hardest part was still ahead. Storm had to use his tail to shift his entire body to recover from the maneuver and position himself behind our invisible enemy.
I didn’t once glance down at the chasm and the sharp jagged rocks that awaited us if we failed. The only thing that mattered was the maneuver.
“Use your tail, Storm,” I instructed my dragon. “Do it now!”
Smoke curled around his nostrils with the effort it was taking him to shift his whole body around. His tail, which was strong, spiky, and almost as long as his body, flapped against the air a couple of times. At first, nothing happened, and we continued falling, but it didn’t deter me.
“We can do it, Storm!” I yelled.
I tightened my grip on both the reins and his flanks, and when Storm flapped his tail for the third time, I used my body to help him flip upside down. I let myself edge to the right and almost off the saddle, but the shift was the one thing that my dragon needed from me. With our combined efforts, Storm managed to turn us around, and his wings shot out on either side of me to stabilize us.
“Fire!” I shouted.
A quick succession of fireballs left Storm’s mouth and hit the canyon floor. Rocks crumbled under the attack and exploded in a thunderous way, and I had to use my instincts to pull us away from the falling pieces of rocks. Storm and I dodged them and performed a large arc above the chasm before we slowed down and headed back toward the plateau.
“We did it, big guy!” I cheered and patted Storm’s flank.
I knew he didn’t like it when I touched him so affectionately, but his answering roar sounded as excited as I felt. After all, we’d just performed the Dead Man’s Turn, and we were the first ones in our class to pull it off.
Even before we landed on the plateau, I heard my peers’ cheers and applause. I glanced at Sunderland when we were close enough for me to gauge his expression, and I was relieved to see an appreciative look on his face.
“Congrats, Cadet Randall,” Sunderland announced as I landed. “You’re the first cadet in this year’s class to successfully perform the Dead Man’s Turn. Clearly, choosing you as the squadron leader was the right choice.”
“Thank you, Sir.” I grinned and dipped my head slightly. “As much as I’d like to take all the credit, it was a team effort. Storm and I practiced a lot.”
“Yes, I can see that,” he said before he turned to the others. “Can anyone tell me why Cadet Randall and his dragon were the first to perform the maneuver?”
For a moment, we all looked at each other in confusion. I wasn’t sure that I understood what our flying instructor was trying to tell us, and by the look on my peers’ faces, they hadn’t a clue, either. Not even Pierce, the guy who always had an answer for everything, even when he was wrong. Brie, who always had an opinion as well, remained silent.
“No one?” Sunderland insisted and glanced at all of us. “How disappointing.”
“Jake and Storm are one of the best pairs among us?” Caleb guessed, though he didn’t sound sure of himself.
“Wrong.” Sunderland shook his head and shifted on top of his dark red beast of a dragon. “Anyone else want to take a guess?”
Once again, we all glanced at each other with the same expression of confusion. I racked my brain as I tried to figure out what we’d done differently, but I couldn’t come up with anything that made sense and was important enough to share during a flying lesson.
“No?” He arched both eyebrows in a clearly disappointed manner. “Hasn’t anyone been paying attention in your morning lessons? What happens when an adolescent dragon grows in size?”
“They get stronger,” Anji replied.
“Correct.” Sunderland nodded. “With size comes strength, and with strength, dragons develop new abilities and skills needed to perform certain maneuvers.”
“So the reason Storm and I were able to do the Dead Man’s Turn is because of Storm’s growth?” I asked to make sure I understood correctly.
“Indeed,” Sunderland confirmed. “Storm is, by far, the tallest dragon in the squad. Give it a few more days, or weeks for the smallest dragons, and the rest of you will also be able to do more maneuvers as well.”
A wave of giddy anticipation ruffled through our ranks, and it didn’t die down, not even when Sunderland called Michael’s name. I took my place between Caleb and Brie, and both were congratulating me for my performance. The other cadets even raised their voices to do the same, and Sunderland didn’t chastise us.
“Man, I can’t believe you did it,” Caleb said in awe. “I mean, I believed in you and Storm, but maaaan…”
He whistled appreciatively and held his hand up. I was tempted to leave him hanging, but I knew by now that he would pester me until he got what he wanted, so I leaned over and high-fived him.
“He’s right,” Brie said from my other side. “Watching you and Storm do the maneuver was like a scene straight out of a movie. It was truly impressive.”
“Yeah, well done, Jake,” Nick congratulated me from a few places down our ranks. “First one to do it is our squadron leader. Couldn’t be prouder, man.”
“Thanks, guys.” I grinned.
I was trying not to show how pleased I was, but it was hard to do. My cheeks hurt from smiling so hard, and try as I might, I couldn’t seem to come up with a more sober expression. Damn, it felt good to finish at the top.
After Michael’s turn, it was up to Pierce and then Caleb to attempt the maneuver. Caleb and Greenie pulled up at the last moment when they realized that Greenie wasn’t tall and strong enough to flip his tail. As for Pierce, he managed to get Bravo to flip his tail, but the indigo dragon visibly struggled with their combined weight, and the pair fell down like a stone.
Just two weeks ago, Pierce would’ve had a nasty comment on the tip of his tongue about my performance versus his, but today, he merely accepted Sunderland’s encouraging words and advice. If I’d known it’d only take a near-death experience for him to turn a new leaf and become a better person, I would’ve tried to kill him myself on the first day.
As it was, the old tensions between Pierce and the rest of us had finally dissolved once and for all. Even Nick, whom Pierce had often accused of being a Russian spy, had learned to coexist with him. The pair could be in the same room without jumping at each other’s throats, so that was a major improvement. I doubted the two would ever become best buds, but at least they no longer spent their time throwing insults at each other.
Once we all had a turn at the Dead Man’s Turn, Sunderland called it a successful day, and our squadron left the Grand Canyon and flew back to the academy grounds. Sunderland didn’t need to remind us that we had to look after our dragons ourselves, though he did, and when we landed on the flying field, I noticed that squires no longer rushed from the stables to help us out.
It was crazy to think that we’d joined the academy just two months ago in the blazing heat of summer. It was now the end of October, and it was just as hot as it was before. The major difference between then and now was how confident we were all becoming with our dragons. We knew how to look after them and how to read their behavior and facial expressions.
Well, most of us did anyway.
With Storm, it was always fifty-fifty for me, but our bond was growing stronger every day.
“Alright, big guy,” I told my dragon as I led him to the stables and his stall. “Let’s take everything off you.”
As I worked, I noticed how small his stall seemed now. Soon, he’d have to remain out in the paddock on the other side of the stables along with the older cadets’ dragons. I was confident that Storm was docile enough not to make a run for it and never return, but then again, Storm could be very independent, so he’d probably make a few side-trips on his own.
“There,” I said and patted Storm’s shoulder once I was done and had put his gear away. “You have water and food, so you should be good.”
Storm’s nostrils flared in what I knew was his way of thanking me and sending me on my way, so I gently tapped him on the neck before I closed his stall door and left the stables. I hated the thought of leaving him cooped up in a stall that was definitely too cramped for him, but there was nothing I could do about it for the time being. So I joined the other cadets, and we began the walk back to the academy’s campus.
Our conversation still revolved around my performance out in the canyon, and I could feel myself getting hyped up again as the others heaped more praises on me.
“Careful or he’ll grow such a big head he won’t fit through doors anymore,” Caleb joked after a few minutes and nudged me with his elbow.
