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direction. “Despite whatever Yllin may say.”
    The serious girl humphed in indignation.
    Mandee laughed with delight.
    “So, what do we study here?” Talia asked.
    “Well, to be honest,” Yllin confided, “so far it’s nothing all that exciting—history, politics, geography, mathematics—mundane stuff. Though you do get to learn a lot about guilds and the choices you can make. And some about dragons, all the different types of dragons.”
    Most of it seemed to be the same as what they were normally taught back home. It definitely didn’t tell her what it was she’d been apprenticed for. “Are there many types of dragons?”
    “Loads,” Yllin answered. “Red, green, blue, black, small, big, some talk, some use their thoughts to speak. It’s almost mind-numbing, really.”
    Talia caught Mandee looking at her excited friend, a small grin on her face.
    The path ended at another set of doors, which led back into the school. The watchers who’d come through the path with them didn’t follow much farther.
    “Yes! Freedom.” Mandee grabbed Talia’s hand and pulled her forward. “Come on, it’s time for your tour.”
    “Hey, wait up!” Yllin came running after them.
    First Mandee showed her where her room was on the far side of the second floor and then Yllin’s on the third. They both explained that as far as they could tell, room assignments were random. Teachers and watchers, however, were interspersed on each floor as well. At the moment, a number of rooms were empty, the school being at about half capacity. All offices were on the first floor except for the Administrator’s, the Treasurer’s, and the Taskmaster’s. Their offices and bedrooms were adjoining and located on the fourth floor.
    Though Talia came to learn both Mandee and Yllin had only been at the school for six months, they seemed to know a lot about the place. They took her outside to the grounds and showed her the planted fields she’d caught a glimpse of before. Since this time she wasn’t clinging onto a dragon for dear life, she was able to study them more critically. This was something she knew a little about. Each square field grew something different, giving Talia the impression the farmers rotated their crops. Corn, wheat, lettuce, and others she easily recognized, though some vegetables she didn’t. Each of the fields looked incredibly healthy and abundant—almost amazingly so. She wondered how they did it, and knew her father would give almost anything to find out.
    The forest bordering the fields was lush and thick. She saw patches where it appeared some of the trees had been cut down and later replaced with rows of saplings. Her curiosity was piqued as she spotted a couple of trees near the dragon’s landing area. These showed torn limbs, and some were cracked, one of them almost in half. Yet it didn’t look as if lightning was responsible. “What happened to those trees?”
    “Clarence, that’s what happened to them.” Yllin snorted. “He’s a menace. It’s a miracle nobody’s been killed riding him.”
    Talia stared at the two trees and could only too easily imagine the dragon careening into them. Was Kel riding him at the time? That was harder to imagine. How in the world could he have survived it? She still didn’t have any idea how he came out unharmed when the two of them landed at her home. “Why would they make him ride such a dangerous dragon?”
    “They don’t.”
    She stared at Mandee in surprise.
    For once, the red headed-girl looked serious. “From what I understand, he wants to do it. He wants to pass the test so he can become a full knight, and he wants to do it with Clarence. He practices on him constantly. You can see them flying around all day and half the night when he’s not off running errands.”
    “I bet he’s crazy,” Yllin added. “Half the older students say so. Clarence probably landed on him one too many times and snapped something loose in here.” She tapped the side of