sheer terror of the whole situation.
Tarden, of course, accepted the offer to join military training in Enpine as a future cavalryman. His parents were proud of him and seized every opportunity to remind everyone around them of their son’s abilities. The years passed, and unsurprisingly it turned out that the young parthir was not only excellent in the saddle, but also highly skilled with a sabre and the atavistic magic characteristic of his race. He completed his training with distinction and quickly began to climb the career ladder in the Bleist’s private units. He currently held the position of deputy commander of the Ed’heer cavalry, which meant he spent most of his time in the Japanese enclave overseeing the training of the next generation of bess riders.
Darius shook off the memory and focused on his apprentice.
‘Congratulations on finding your own mount,’ Earl said with a smile, praising his pupil. ‘I believe you have a bright future ahead of you.’
‘Thank you, Master!’ The dragon beamed with genuine joy. ‘Fenrir, you too.’ He nudged the bess with his elbow, whereupon the creature let out a somewhat reluctant guttural growl, which, in his view, was probably an expression of gratitude.
‘How’s the riding going?’ Darius tried to move a little closer, and this time the beast did not react so violently to him. It seemed he wasn’t as possessive as Tarden’s bess, and it was easier to win him over.
‘Slowly. . .’ Draco pulled a sour face, as if recalling something not particularly pleasant. ‘But I’m making progress!’ he added straight away.
‘I don’t doubt it. You managed on horseback in Enpine, so you’ll manage with bess.’ Darius stood beside the student and proudly placed a hand on his shoulder. Fen snorted warningly, marking the boundary he would tolerate in his presence.
‘The cavalrymen teach me something new every day,’ the dragon admitted with a smile. It seemed that, alongside combat and magic, riding had become another of the lad’s passions. ‘Yesterday I even managed to let go of the saddle pommel and not fall off whilst galloping.’
