Page 49 of Under Restless Skies

And yet this is a different voice. I just hope I don’t become reduced to a puddle of tears.

The guards push Silvia and me into an office. I barely register the fine paintings or the mountain view from a wide window; my eyes focused on the heavy mahogany desk. A sign on it chills my blood.

Commander Mallor.

So this is the man who’ll expel you if you breathe wrong.

I might become a devout worshiper of Foros after all. I’ll even put some flowers by his statue, if by some chance I manage to stay in the academy after this encounter.

My heart is a frantic ta-tum, ta-tum making me tremble as the commander sits behind the desk.

He’s in his late forties, with a deeply wrinkled forehead, black hair, and brown eyes rimmed with shadows. As normal as he looks, something in his countenance makes him as scary as an attacking dragon.

“Leave us,” he tells the guards.

“Silvia, Mayara,” he says. “Do you know the penalty for misbehavior in our academy?”

Silvia bows. “My apologies. I was leaving the refectory when I knocked her tray by accident. I did not mean it, and would have picked it up and cleaned it, but the guards removed us from the room.”

Her story makes sense and it’s better than whatever happened. “Yes,” I mutter. “I was getting up and didn’t look. We crashed.”

Commander Mallor crosses his arms. “Lies also have consequences. Worse, usually, than telling the truth. So what will you choose?”

“I’m truly sorry.” Silvia looks down.

“The tray fell,” I insist. “It’s inexcusable, and both of us are to blame.”

I don’t think telling him that she started it will grant me any favors. It never worked when my brother annoyed me, and I doubt it’s going to magically start working now.

“Guards,” he roars in his thunderous voice.

I stifle a yelp as my heart leaps into my throat.

The door opens, and four guards step in.

The commander points at Silvia. “Take her to the lower-level prison. She’ll stay there for seven nights.”

She kneels. “Kindness appreciated.”

Kindness? I swallow, dread constricting my throat.

“Now leave,” he roars.

Silvia wastes no time and gets out of the room as fast as she can. From her behavior, I suppose that complaining or asking for a lighter penalty is pointless and might just make things worse. But he can’t expel me, can he? If all Silvia got was seven days in prison? Not that I want to go back there.

The door clicks shut, sealing me in, and a chill runs through my body.

The man looks at me and narrows his eyes, his voice quiet. “You don’t know who I am.” Not a question.

What a bizarre comment. I glance at the sign with his name. “Commander Mallor?”

“True. Now tell me, why? Why do you want this so much?”

At first, I’m surprised that he’s not mentioning the incident in the refectory, but then something else catches my attention.

It’s as if he knows how many times I tried. Maybe he does. Maybe he’s the one who doesn’t want me in, or he knows the person who’s been sabotaging me for all these years.

“I’m not a coward, Commander Mallor,” I say, my voice firm. “That is why I want to be part of the Sky Guard. I want to fly. I want to defend Dracolius, and I’ll do everything to honor my position as a sky sentinel.”