As the fortress door closed, Nymeria walked fast as she can to meet up with Professor Valerius and Elian who was already at the front. She was certainly avoiding to meet her father.

"Nymeria."

Dammit! It was impossible to act like she did not hear. She stopped but did not turn immediately.

She swallowed and let out a sigh as she steady her worried expression before turning.

"Yes, Dad." She forced out a smile.

He walked closer to her.. "Do you have any idea what you have just done?"

"I voted," Nymeria said simply. "Just like everyone else, i exercised the right of a Council member, a right you taught me to respect."

"You humiliated me," her father said through gritted teeth while keeping his voice low to avoid any unnecessary attention. "You voted against the King. You voted against the stability of the kingdoms. And the worst of all, you voted against your own father."

"No dad, I voted against slavery. I voted against turning a human being into a weapon."

"He is a Two!" Her father hissed, stepping into her personal space. "The boy is dangerous. The motion was for the safety of everyone, including you."

"Is it?" Nymeria asked softly. Her eyes searched his face, looking for the man who used to tell her stories when she was a kid. "Or was it for the safety of your position at court? Tell me, Dad... if that boy was your son, would you have done it? Would you agreed to make him a puppet?"

Her father’s jaw tightened as he looked away. "I am not answering that."

"Why not dad? You have to answer it," she pressed.

He titled his head and then look back at her. "The boy is not my son."

Nymeria felt a cold laugh bubble up in her chest. She wanted to laugh it out.

"No. He is not. But what difference does it make?" She paused trying to suppressed her emotions. "You fought the King for years to keep me out of the Enclave. You threatened war when they wanted to take me because I am a mind wielder. You burned bridges just to save me."

She flew her hands opened in a dramatic way.

"But now? You are willing to destroy a boy just to get on the King’s good side. For what? To secure a trade route? Or perhaps just a pat on the head from Kaelen?"

"I did what is practical!" Her father frowned. "And you might want to control your tongue young lady, I am still you Dad.."

Nymeria let out a chuckle and then lifted her chin. She looked at him, really looked at him.

"I am disappointed in you, Dad just as I know you are disappointed in me."

Her father opened his mouth to speak, perhaps to defend himself, perhaps to scold her further. But the look in her eyes stopped him.

Nymeria quickly turned her back on him, the cape of her uniform swirling around her.

"Tell mother i say Hello," she threw over her shoulder then walked over to Professor Valerius, Elian and the dragon who was waiting for her

.....

Back at Wyrmwood Academy, Reynold was the only one in his dorm. Gwyn had already left but she left two book for him before she left.

Reynold sat cross-legged as he stared at one of the books Gwyn gave him which was on his lap; Storm Callers: Masters of the Tempest.

It was an old book.. The leather cover was bit dusty. Where did Gwyn get this kind of old book?

Reynold furrowed his eyebrow as he opened the first Chapter.

The page explained who Storm Callers are. They were ancient wielders who commanded the the skies. Their power also comes from a deep bond with elemental chaos.

"A Storm Caller does not merely manipulate the weather," the third paragraph reads.

"They are the weather. The rage in your heart is what feeds the thunder. The sorrow in your soul is what brings the rain. To be a Caller is to know and walk the razor’s edge between control and catastrophe."

Reynold slowly the next page.

"Storm Callers could summon lightning from clear air. They shatter barriers in a cascade of thunder and can wove gales into weapons. They can flood battlefields to drown their enemies. At higher levels, they can call hailstorms Or fog to blinded enemies while giving the caller clear sight.

Reynold swallowed hard as he continued reading.

But the power had a dark side. The book talked about the storm’s hunger. It fed on the caller emotions. A callers rage makes the thunder stronger. Their fear can unleashed wild whirlwinds. Without control, the magic could turn into disaster. Or the storm would eat the caller from inside.

Reynold looked at his hands. Tiny sparks of blue energy jumped between his fingertips without him commanding it. He clenched his fists to stop it quickly as he shifted his eyes to the book.

The book alsk described the horror of storm callers who lost control.

It mentioned the Great Rending. A century ago. The last Storm Caller lost control and split a mountain, buried a city under electrified rocks. Since then, no storm Caller had been heard.

Reynold let out a frustrated sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Great. Now I am a walking natural disaster."

He set the book aside and picked up the second one: The Dual Path: Chronicles of the Twos.

"The Rider provides the will; the Mage provides the fuel. A Two is the ultimate predator of the sky."

He flipped through the next next Chapters and stopped in the next Chapter that is titled: How to use the dragon bond to filter the storm.

He turned the page but quickly blinked and then he turn the next page. Nothing was there.

Reynold just stared down at the book in disbelief. The pages for Chapter 4 were gone. It was torn out.

Jagged strips of paper were left near the binding. Someone had ripped them out quickly.

"What the fu*k..." Reynold whispered.

He ran a finger over the torn edges. He checked the page numbers. It skipped from page 84 to page 102. The entire section on safety rituals, and the mental techniques to merge the two powers, was missing.

Why would someone torn out the page?

Dammit! His stomach gave a loud growl, breaking his thought. He hadn’t eaten since the roasted chicken earlier. He shifted his eyes to the wall clock. 5: 55 PM. Five more minutes before the last food of the day.

Reynold slammed the book shut. He could not understand anything on an empty stomach.

He walked out of the room. His three form mates were in the common area. Laughing and talking.

They saw him and stopped talking right away. Reynold walked past them like they did not exist. He didn’t even know their names.

He went straight to the cafeteria.

"That’s him..."

"The Two..."

Reynold ignored them, keeping his eyes on the serving counter. He piled his tray high: beef stew, bread, and an apple.

He turned to find a seat, spotting an empty table near the back.

"Hey! Reynold!"

The shout came from a table of second-year Riders. The boy was grinning at him, leaning back in his chair. "I heard you are a Two and a Storm Caller. Can you make the rain fall? Right here in the cafeteria, am i bit sweating.."

Laughter sounded.

Another voice snorted. Still a second year rider. He had a smirk on. "He can’t do shit. He ain’t know how to use the power yet."

More laughter sounded.

Reynold paused, gripping his tray. He did not respond to them.

Another cadet joined in. His uniform suggest he was a magic user. "How strange. He is the only one bonded to three dragons. Something that has never happened before. And now he is a Two and a Storm Caller. There hasn’t been a storm Caller in over a century. It means he is the Flame’s special human."

The table burst out laughing again.

Another rider joked. "Maybe he is the Flame’s pet or boyfriend."

"Yeah, Reynold!" Another voice sounded. "Is it true? The Flame is your girlfriend?"

They all laughed hard again.

"Tell us, Reynold," the first rider cadet that started it jeered. "Is she your pet? Or is she your girlfriend? Did you have to kiss her flames to get that bond?"

"Maybe he’s the Flame’s special concubine!" someone shouted.

Reynold felt his blood boil. The air around him started to change. The table close to him started to rattled.

He took a slow breath, remembering the book. Rage feeds the thunder.

He walked over to the cadet’s table and the laughter died down and was replaced by curiosity.

Reynold looked down at the rider cadet that started it.

"You have a lot to say about the flame you couldn’t even look in the eye without wetting your trousers," Reynold said calmly.

The cadet frown and stood up, trying to use his height to intimidate Reynold.

"Watch your mouth, freshman. You think because you have a fancy title you can talk to me like that? You are nothing but just a glitch of nature."

Reynold chuckle. "I am a glitch," He agreed softly. "I am a Storm Caller and if you ever speak about me like that again, I won’t need a duel." He stepped closer.

"I will call a storm down and bury you six feet underground before you can even get to your dragon for help."

The cadet didn’t say anything but waited for Reynold to turn his back before he shouted. "You are a fucking weirdo. You ain’t calling any shit."

Reynold did not bother to turn.. "Try me."

He grabbed his food on the table. Bread in pockets. Stew bowl and apple. in hand. Dropped the tray with a sound.

He walked out of the cafeteria ignoring the murmurs and looks.

He was ready to lose his temper and get someone killed.

Back to the dorm. He locked the door and ate in quiet.

He fell on his bed after eating.

.....

Minutes turned into hours. Hours into days.

The first monthly written exam came and went.

Reynold had decided to lay low for while. He didn’t care if he fail.

He is a Two and he has three dragons now. He definitely can find out what happened to his parents on his own without needing the academy to post him to any war zone.

He sighed as he turned on his bed.

Tomorrow, the rankings would be posted and every first-year cadet life at Wyrmwood Academy was about to change again.