The eviction notice wasn't just a piece of paper. It was a loud, angry shout stuck to my door, screaming at me in bright red.
Three days.
That's all I had. Three days to come up with five hundred pounds I didn't have, or I'd be out on the cold street.
My stomach twisted hard. I lost my job at the tavern last week. Tips were getting smaller, and Mr. Henderson decided I wasn't worth even the tiny pay.
Panic grabbed at my throat. Five hundred pounds. It might as well be five million.
A loud, heavy knock shook my small apartment. Not Mrs. Gable from next door asking for sugar. This was different. Strong. Demanding.
I froze, my hand hovering over the weak lock. Another knock came, even louder, making the door shake.
With a shaky breath, I opened it.
Two guards stood there. Not the usual city watch. These men wore strange uniforms, dark grey leather with hard lines, marked with a crest I'd only seen in old books: a dragon curling around a sharp mountain peak.
Their faces were like stone. No emotion.
One held out a scroll, sealed with the same crest in black wax. "Violet Wynter?" His voice was rough, cold as ice.
I nodded, my voice stuck in my throat.
"By order of Commandant Thorne," he said, pushing the scroll at me. "You are now conscripted to serve at Drakoria Academy. Starting right now."
Drakoria Academy? The place people whispered about in fear? The harsh training ground for dragon riders? This was crazy.
"There has to be a mistake," I stuttered, holding the scroll. The paper felt too real. "I don't have magic. No noble blood. Nothing."
The second guard made a harsh, mocking sound. "The Commandant doesn't mess up. Pack what you can carry. Hurry."
"But my rent... I'm getting kicked out..." My voice faded. They didn't care about my rent. They didn't care about me.
"Your little problems don't matter," the first guard said. He stepped closer, forcing me back into the room. "You have five minutes."
Five minutes to leave behind the only life I knew, as small as it was. Five minutes before being dragged to a place where people like me didn't make it.
Numb, I shoved basics into a worn satchel: extra clothes, a half-eaten loaf of bread, the locket with my mother's picture. It felt so useless.
The guards didn't even wait the full five minutes. They stood on either side of me, their presence heavy, and marched me out, locking my cheap door behind us.
The trip was a blur. A bumpy carriage ride far from the city streets I knew, toward the scary peaks in the distance. Toward Drakoria.
The academy wasn't just on the mountain; it was cut right into it. A fortress of dark, brutal black stone that pierced the sky, its windows like angry eyes glaring down at the valley. It screamed cold power, not caring about the lives it broke.
We were pushed through huge gates, the metal slamming shut behind us with a chilling final sound. Inside was a giant, echoing hall for processing. Hundreds of other recruits wandered around, their faces showing fake confidence, confusion, and pure fear. The air felt tight, heavy, and freezing.
Huge banners with the dragon crest hung from the stone walls. Older cadets, marked by slightly different uniforms and obvious arrogance, moved through the crowd like hunters. I saw one purposely trip a smaller boy, making him fall hard. Cruel laughter rang out. No one helped him up.
My heart pounded in my chest. This place felt made to break you before training even started.
Suddenly, a quiet fell over part of the hall. The crowd split, making a path.
He walked through as if he owned the ground under his boots. Tall, broad-shouldered, giving off a vibe of total control and deadly skill. His black leather uniform fit him perfectly, his dark hair pushed back from a face of sharp edges and noble scorn. Power poured from him like a storm.
Kade Stormborn. Even I, far from noble circles, knew that name. Heir to one of the strongest dragon-riding families. A king in this academy.
He stopped near the recruit who had been tripped, the boy still struggling to pick up his dropped things. Kade looked down at him, a slow, mean smirk on his lips.
"Still down in the dirt, little pup?" Kade's voice sliced through the hall, smooth but full of poison. "Maybe the ground is your place. Some bugs never learn to soar."
The boy flinched, mumbling a sorry that Kade didn't even notice. Kade kicked the boy's small bundle with the tip of his shiny boot, scattering stuff even more.
Disgust fought with my fear inside me. How could someone be so mean without a care?
As if he felt my eyes on him, Kade's head turned fast. His gaze, the color of a wild, stormy sea, swept over the crowd and locked on mine.
For a heart-stopping moment, everything shrank to just his stare. It wasn't just scorn; it was total dismissal. Like I was nothing. Less than a speck in his huge world, ready to be swept away.
He held my eyes for one more second, his lip curling just a bit, before looking away, already bored.
My breath caught. That look, that quick, cutting glance, tore away any tiny hope I had left. It wasn't just the academy that could kill me. It was people like him.
Cold fear washed over me, colder than the stone walls. I wasn't just in over my head.
I was going to die here.
