Bloodwing Academy, #2
The Bond That Burns
by Briar Boleyn
Contents
CHAPTER 4 - MEDRA
Overview
Two months into confinement, Medra endures Blake’s mandated feedings and their escalating power struggle. Blake threatens to expose her lack of control over Nyxaris, leveraging tomorrow’s tribunal and House Drakharrow’s claim. Medra rejects being owned, tests the bond’s limits, and steels herself to fight back.
Summary
On a late-summer night of her continued imprisonment in Drakharrow Tower, Medra prepares for Blake’s weekly visit to feed. She steels herself, resenting the highblood markings on her clothing and the loss of autonomy that frames every detail of her confinement.
Blake arrives uninvited, projecting authority and indifference. Medra sets boundaries with two chairs separated by space, but the ritual proceeds. Their exchange is barbed: Medra refuses to concede any pleasure or trust, while Blake counters that she cannot risk denying him because he could tell Viktor she lacks control over Nyxaris.
As Blake feeds, Medra endures the pain and intimacy in silence, recalling victims like the girl at the Drained Rose. When it’s over, she demands future feedings via vials per Professor Rodriguez’s suggestion. Blake refuses, insisting he won’t be treated like an animal and that if he must endure the bond, so must she.
The argument escalates into accusations about power, possession, and past toxicity. Blake claims House Drakharrow—and he himself—effectively own Medra ahead of tomorrow’s tribunal, daring her to drop the bluff about Nyxaris. Medra rejects belonging to anyone and challenges Blake’s worldview, but he doubles down, saying at least she belongs.
Blake departs with a cold reassurance she will survive the tribunal because of House ties. Left alone, Medra confronts the imagined path not taken and reaffirms her resolve: whatever the tribunal brings, Blake and House Drakharrow will not be the victors.
Who Appears
- Medra PendragonImprisoned in Drakharrow Tower; endures Blake’s feedings, maintains a bluff about Nyxaris, rejects ownership, and resolves to resist.
- Blake DrakharrowEnforces weekly blood-feeding; wields leverage by threatening to expose Medra’s lack of control and asserts House claim before the tribunal.
- Viktor DrakharrowOffstage power; his potential judgment and the tribunal are used by Blake to pressure and control Medra.
- NyxarisAwakened dragon; Medra’s claimed control is questioned and used as leverage in Blake’s threats.