Page 230 - Fourth Wing

“You are.” He rips his hand over his hair, and his composure slips. “You

have to trust me. You do trust me, right?”
“Of course I do—”

“Then you have to choose Andarna.” He nods as if his decree equals a

decision made. “The gold one is the safest choice of the two.”
Why, because Tairn is…Tairn? Does Dain think I’m too weak for a

dragon as strong as Tairn?

My mouth opens, then shuts like a fish out of water as I search for any
reply that isn’t fuck off. There’s no way in hell I’m rejecting Tairn. But my

heart won’t let me reject Andarna, either.

“Are they going to make me choose?” I think in their direction.
There’s no response, and where I’ve felt an…extension in my mind, of

who I am, stretching my mental boundaries since Tairn first spoke to me in
that field, there’s nothing now.

I’m cut off. Don’t panic.

“I’m not choosing,” I repeat, softer this time. What if I can’t have either
of them? What if they’ve broken some sacred rule and now we’ll all be

punished?
“You are. And it has to be Andarna.” He grips my shoulders and leans in,

an edge of urgency in his tone. “I know she’s too small to bear a rider—”

“That hasn’t been tested,” I say defensively even though I know it’s true.
The physics just don’t match up.

“And it doesn’t matter. It will mean that you won’t be able to ride with a

wing, but they’ll probably make you a permanent instructor here like
Kaori.”

“That’s because his signet power makes him indispensable as a teacher,

not because his dragon can’t fly,” I argue. “And even he had the requisite
four years with a combat wing before he was put behind a desk.”

Dain looks away, and I can almost see the gears in his mind turning as he
calculates…what? My risk? My choice? My freedom? “Even if you take