Author: Adrienne Woods
Date: 2016-03-28 04:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy; dragons; Romance; Young Adult; Magic; Paranormal; Paranormal Romance; Fiction; New Adult; Shapeshifters
Description: In the Fifth and final part of the Dragonian Series, eighteen-year-old Elena Watkins and her dragon, the Rubicon, need to find the missing ingredients in order to free her father from Etan. But what could the missing ingredient be? And will she be willing to sacrifice her life if they don't find it before time runs out?
Publisher: Fire Quill Publishing

STARLIGHT

THE DRAGONIAN SERIES 5

BY ADRIENNE WOODS

Starlight: The Dragonian Series #5

Copyright © 2016 Adrienne Woods

Illustration: Joemel Requeza

If you purchased this book from anyone other than Fire Quill Publishing or a licensed FQP reseller, you should be aware this e-book is stolen property.

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Fire Quill Publishing
www.firequillpublishing.com

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

All graphics and text associated with Fire Quill Publishing.

Formatting by www.firequillpublishing.com

Manufactured in South Africa.

First Fire Quill publishing edition September 2016

To all my fans….

What a wonderful journey and you all made it complete and so worth while. The time I spend with these characters are finally coming to an end but thank God that I still have a couple more stories to tell.

I can’t say thank you enough to all of you. I wouldn’t have been anywhere without all your love and support for my dragons and their riders.

xoxox

Adrienne

.

OTHER NOVELS IN THE SERIES

FIREBOLT

THUNDERLIGHT

FROSTBITE

MOONBREEZE

STARLIGHT

NOVELLAS

VENOM

POISON

SPINN OFF SERIES

BEAM SERIES

DARKBEAM

MOONBEAM

STARBEAM

OTHER NOVELS BY ADRIENNE WOODS

DREAM CASTERS: LIGHT

DREAM CASTERS SWADOW (2016)

DREAM CASTERS: MILLUE (2017)

www.authoradriennewoods.com

I have cried while writing this book as it is the end of a long emotional journey.

My first thanks, as always is to the Greatest King of all times, He is still alive and watches over all His children. Thank you for blessing me with this story, that I was chosen to tell it. It has given me such great pleasure and to know that it was something I could do with You at my side. The times that I didn’t know which way to take it, You guided me and showed me a solution. I would always believe in You till the end of time.

To my family, for giving up their precious time with me so that I could write this story, and keep writing all of the others that is still yet to come. I love and treasure you for ever and ever.

To my editors. I can’t believe this is the end of one tale, you have loved this world as much as I have, you have unraveled my sentences, made the descriptions and the characters stronger, each of you are so unique in their special way, Hillery, you are like my limp, as I can’t write any of my novels without you. Monique, you made Elena stronger, set her emotions straight when it wonders and didn’t sound like Elena. Thank you so much for always being honest. Zoe, my British girl, I know this has been a challenge for you as you cringed at every British English word that you had to change to American English. I laughed so many times at that, and treasure your input.

To Joemel. Joemel, Joemel, Joemel. You are a bright star, just like the Southern star in this book. Your talent is beyond words and you will get noticed real soon, that is a promise. Your compassion, not just to me but to the fans has really proof that I made the right decision choosing you as one of my life long working partners. You are above and beyond and always go the extra mile, you made the image in my head come to life and still found away to blow my sock off my feet. You are just so incredible talented and I’m so glad that I have found you. We will meet one day, that is a promise.

To Fire Quill Publishing, my home for all my novels. You will grow into a beautiful company as all the people at Fire Quill publishing go above and beyond with everything they do. Their passion for novels is what drives them and passion always conquers experience.

I couldn’t have done this without the love and support of any of the above people. It takes a team to make a book comes to life and if anyone out there think they can make a success without the help of others, seriously are mistaken. Thank you all for being in my life, I am one of the luckiest people alive.

A huge acknowledgement goes out to the winners of the Battle of the poets contest: Leandri, Ursula and Abby, your poems gave voice to Blake’s soul. Thank you so much for them. I would never be able to do what the three of you had done. It is a gift, a talent all by itself.

Last but definitely not the least. My Fans. Your kind words, your comments on my website, the overflow of interaction on the Facebook page, your love for these characters has put me where I am today. I couldn’t make this without you as word of mouth starts with you. Thank you for loving this story as much as I do, and I hope you will treasure it for years and years to come.

It’s a very sad moment in my life as it is the ending of one journey, a journey that is so close to my heart and now I have to find another to fulfill this space that was created by Elena and all of her friends.

Thank you so much for treasuring this, I can’t say enough thank you and it will never be enough, and hope that one day we could see this coming to live in any form of visual.

Lots of hugs and kisses

Adrienne

.

I learned that courage was not the absence for fear, but the triumph over it. The Brave man is not her who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers the fear.

Nelson Mandela

The mysterious Bermuda Triangle.

If you asked a normal person what the Bermuda Triangle is, they will tell you all sorts of things, like it’s the gateway to hell. Planes and ships, they disappear. Humans disappear too. What it actually is, well many people wonder about it, but none can really tell you. If they can, well then they are technically not human, they are dragons, and to be honest, you wouldn’t believe them either. For those of us whose curiosity is too great, we discover the truth. The Bermuda Triangle is far from a gateway to hell. Planes and ships don’t get lost, and humans, well, they are still alive in another realm.

Most of them live in an asylum on the other side since their minds can’t perceive the reality of that realm. It’s filled with magic, dragons and technology that one can only dream of.

The other side of the veil is home to a world called Paegeia, and I am one of its royals.

I was born with a special mark, the mark of the Dragonians, or what humans call dragon riders. It’s not a myth, they truly exist, and I do happen to have a dragon of my very own.

He is the Rubicon, one of a kind and also the meanest dragon who has ever lived. So if you mess with me, well, you will have to deal with him too.

My father is the king of Paegeia, the greatest king that ever ruled this part of the world. Paegeia used to be part of the human realm, but with a world full of magic and dragons, their greed grew too great and the people of this world had no choice but to protect it. So, over nine hundred years ago they wielded an invisible wall to protect Paegeia from the darkness of humanity. Humans that enter the wall, even by accident, can never return unless they are dragons.

However, Paegeia has its own demons to face. My father is trapped behind deadly Creepers—giant beanstalk leaches that tear people apart if they walk too near.

Everyone thinks my father is dead, that he died the night the Creepers consumed Paegeia’s capital, Etan, but he didn’t, and the only people who know this are myself, my dragon and the ten people we rescued from Etan a couple of days ago.

Through an act of pure luck, we discovered that my blood is the only way through the Creepers to Etan. And we were able to deliver some of those trapped from that hell they’d lived in for the past seventeen years.

The Council, the group of dragons and royals who ruled Paegeia, had wanted to put them in quarantine. Well, actually the Ancients did, which is a board ruled by five dragons and Dragonians, the oldest there are.

I wasn’t going to have that and told them they would never imprison them again while my body still drew breath.

That night something amazing happened. Most of the Council members stood by me, and we took a stand against the Ancients.

I became a princess that day, stepping into my father’s and mother’s shoes and showing everyone that if they messed with innocent people, they would answer to me.

It also brought me to my final decision.

The day I ascended, my father begged me not to free Etan.

It wasn’t going to be easy, and the need to find the missing ingredient to kill the Saadedine, a small revelation that Blake saw in a vision, was lying heavy over our shoulders. Without the ingredient, one of us was going to die saving Etan.

What the missing ingredient was, well, none of us had a clue. I guess time will tell and I hope when it does, it won’t be too late.

My decision was final.

My father was going to come home.

THE CAMERAS STILL flashed as we reached the carriages. Everyone was outside now. King Helmut bowed his head when he saw me and I shook my head slightly with a small smile.

I had to admit that it felt good, standing up to the Ancients. I couldn’t believe that they would do that to all of these people.

But I refused to let them get their wish this time. They hadn’t won and everyone was safe.

I saw Blake putting my bag into one of the carriages and giving his to his father. He wasn’t going to come with us to Dragonia Academy?

I didn’t like that, but a part of me didn’t want him to come because I knew he was Tabitha’s.

I felt so bad about kissing him not just once, but four times.

He still made me so confused and I let out a huge breath just trying to make sense of this sudden change in him.

“Hey.” Blake touched my arm. I hadn’t even seen him walking my way.

“I take it you are not coming with us?”

“All of them are safe, Elena. They have you.”

“Oh, shut up.” I smacked him hard on the chest, playfully and he laughed. Flashes reflected around us.

“Can’t they just go home?”

Blake laughed. “You’d better get used to this as it’s going to be our life from now on.”

I smiled. I liked the “our life” part. Still not knowing in what context he meant it, I assumed he was referring to the fact that he was my dragon—that wasn’t going to change. Yeah, it could only be that. Nothing more.

“I have to go with my father. He wants some information.” A huge grin spread over his face as he looked down. “I think he is going to start the Dragon League again.”

“What?”

“Just a small inkling, otherwise I have no idea why he wants this.”

I wielded my shield around us and couldn’t hear anything that was going on in the background.

“You promised you wouldn’t—”

“I’m not stupid. I know what he will do. He can’t know.”

“Okay, then I guess I’ll see you when I see you.”

“I won’t be gone that long, three days at the most. King Helmut wants to know a couple of things too.”

“Okay,” I said. He opened the door to one of the carriages and I got in.

He tapped twice on the carriage and I watched him leave.

This wasn’t good. I was falling for him head over heels and I didn’t know what to do anymore.

I’d promised Tabitha.

I’d broken so many promises already.

I had to give him up. He had never been mine, and if it wasn’t for the Dent, a procedure I still didn’t understand, he still wouldn’t have been mine.

When we reached Dragonia Academy, Master Longwei took the refugees to empty staff quarters. It was like a castle and I was sure they would be more than comfortable.

Annie stayed with Constance and we parted ways after I said goodbye and went up to my room.

The meeting had drained me, but I’d never felt so confident in my entire life.

I’d stood up to all of them. Including Caleb, who wasn’t a king in my eyes anymore. He didn’t deserve that title, no matter what King Helmut said.

I found both my friends in our room when I opened the door.

“You’re back!” Sammy yelled, getting up and running over for a hug. I folded my arms around her and I could tell that it surprised her when she froze for a few seconds.

“You are okay!” she said. “Just like he promised.”

I pushed her back. “What are you talking about?”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing. What matters is that you are okay.”

I laughed. “I was alone with your brother for like a month. We talked, Samantha.”

Her eyebrows rose. “You did?”

I looked at Becky, who just raised her one eyebrow with a knowing smile. “I hope you apologized to him.”

I laughed. “Well to be honest he’s the one who can’t stop apologizing.”

“So how many times did he make his dragon oath?”

We all laughed.

“Once.”

They gasped.

“I almost killed him. I hate that dragons do that.”

“So when did you guys have this talk?” Becky wanted to know.

“Well with his dragon form, plenty of times. With the human, the night I discovered I was in Etan all along and when I discovered all the times he’d tried to find me. The sonic device did come in handy.” I looked at Sammy.

“So you’re an item now?” Becky wanted to know. All three of us had ended up sitting on her bed.

“I wouldn’t say that, but he definitely wants to be my dragon.”

“Elena, he wants to be more than just your dragon, I can promise you that.”

“It’s complicated Becky.”

“No, it’s not.”

I sighed. She would just get upset if I told her the truth.

“And don’t you dare say it, Elena.” She sounded serious.

“Then explain it to me, please.”

“You didn’t ask him?”

“I did, but he couldn’t tell me.”

“He couldn’t or he wouldn’t?”

“Is there a difference? It’s not him, Becky. He hated my guts, treated me like shit. How can I be the only one who remembers that?”

“Don’t, please,” Sammy begged.

“There is a huge difference between wouldn’t and couldn’t. George wouldn’t tell me either, because of what is at stake, not because he doesn’t know.”

I shook my head. “It still doesn’t explain the change in them, and that I can’t trust. Not this time.” I got up and walked to the bathroom.

I was going to feel like this every time I wasn’t near him. The doubts would come and it would drive us apart eventually.

WE DIDN’T SPEAK about the Dent anymore. I knew it was hard for Becky too. She was head over heels for George and loved him with all her heart. Thinking that it could be what I said it was, was too hard for her to admit.

I couldn’t sleep that night either. I kept thinking about so many things.

Okay, not about many, about one: Blake. I hated this so much. I didn’t want my life to revolve around him. I was more than that. But I couldn’t get him off my mind.

I drifted away, and just like before I started to see the faint light of torches.

My heart started to beat frantically and the entire scene engulfed me.

I was on my back, my hands were being held down by Zac and Patrick, and Billy was starting to unbuckle his belt. Seymour had just finished, and was spent. Once again I felt so worthless, I hated it. Huge trees formed a canopy over the entire scene. I always wished right at this spot that Cara was still inside of me, so that I could scorch their asses before any of this happened.

Their laughter and what they were saying had started to die out. Their lips still moved and as they laughed, making jokes…no sound came.

This had never happened before in my dreams, and then the impossible happened.

An invisible hand grabbed Billy and threw him forcefully against a tree.

A pink flame engulfed the scene first, before he did.

Zac and Patrick were hit with the pink kiss first and I was free. The others actually tried to fight against Blake, but in a matter of seconds it was all over and…I bolted upright in my bed.

My heart raced, as if I had been in a sprint. But what I felt in my gut wasn’t fear, it was something else. Revenge. Even if that’d never happened, I felt it.

He did it. A small chuckle escaped my lips.

He couldn’t be here, but he’d found a way to change that dream, just like the others.

I gasped as I realized where he was. He was in Tith, I was in Elm.

Had he really seen that from that distance?

I knew he struggled with me close by him, he’d told me so himself. It was too fast, and yet, he’d changed it tonight all the way from Tith. Was he okay?

I wanted to cry again, not because of what had happened in that forest that night, but for being stupid enough to even try to negotiate with Tabitha.

“This isn’t real,” I kept saying over and over to myself. The Blake you truly want is gone, he is under a spell even if he thinks it isn’t.

I fell back into my pillow and sleep finally came after I made peace, sort of, with everything.

THE NEXT MORNING I found Tabitha in the cafeteria. She looked up at me, but the look she gave me wasn’t friendly at all. It was as if she knew what had happened. Had he told her the truth? My heart was pounding, not knowing what she knew.

I looked back down and walked to the buffet.

Chef smiled as he saw me. “Back from Etan?”

“Finally,” I said.

“What you did for Constance, Elena…”

“Please don’t. It was the best thing I could have done for both of them.”

“Still, the papers this morning were filled with pictures of that reunion.”

I smiled, but it disappeared as I remembered flashes going off while Blake and I talked. “Can I see it?” I asked and Chef smiled as he handed a copy to me.

I closed my eyes as I stared at a picture of Blake rubbing his chest and me just after I hit him. We looked like old friends, both smiling.

I knew Tabitha had seen this.

“Thanks,” I smiled and gave it back to Chef.

I dished up oatmeal and moved on as Chef spoke to a person next to me. I moved with the line, picking up some yogurt and honey and found Tabitha at the end of the buffet.

“Elena,” she said.

“Tabitha.”

The noise in the cafeteria disappeared immediately and I knew she wanted a private word, sealing us both inside her shield.

“Did you forget the promise you made?”

“No, I didn’t. Nothing happened. We simply saw things that were hard to deal with and it brought me closer to his dragon form,” I lied.

She gave me an eye roll. “You think I’m an idiot? I saw those pictures.”

“You think you saw something. It’s not there, Tabitha.”

“You know it’s not him, right?”

“Yes, I told you from the beginning, I know what the Dent is. I believe the same thing he did and nothing will change my mind, okay?” The lies just kept pouring out of my mouth. Just keep your mouth shut. “Are we done?”

“We are.” She smiled, lowered her shield and walked to her table.

The noise in the cafeteria came back instantly and I could feel my friends’ eyes on me as I sat down.

“What did Tabitha want, Elena?” Becky wanted to know

“Nothing. Matter of fact, I needed to talk to her in private.”

Both girls looked at me in surprise. “She’s not that bad. Quite nice if you just give her a chance, Sammy.”

“Why would I?”

“This isn’t easy for her, okay?”

“This princess crap doesn’t suit you at all. You care way too much about others, even people who don’t deserve it.”

I just smiled, which made them laugh.

George was missing from the table, which was weird. “Where is George?”

Becky just crunched up her nose.

“Becky, where is George?”

“Somewhere, Elena. It doesn’t matter, okay?”

I squinted as she got up and left. I looked at her retreating figure as she placed her tray at the drop off line. She hadn’t even touched her food.

“Sammy?” I had to know.

She just shook her head.

“What is going on?” I sounded a bit more adamant.

“She broke it off with George, Elena.” Sammy sounded upset.

“What!”

“Because of what you said to her last night. It finally sank in and she asked him this morning to explain it to her. When he wouldn’t, she told him it was over.” Sammy had tears lingering in her eyes. “She told him to stay away from her apart from class and dragon duties. They are not an item anymore.”

I closed my eyes. What have I done?

“Sometimes I just wish you could keep your theories to yourself.”

She got up too and I was alone at my table.

I tried to eat but I couldn’t. When I wanted to get up, George plunged down on the pillow opposite me. He looked completely out of it.

“I didn’t mean…”

“Don’t. She believes that I don’t love her. That this is a spell. It isn’t, Elena. And now…” He couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Then explain it to me, please.”

He chuckled sarcastically. “Blake didn’t tell you?”

“No,” I said.

“Then why do you think I will?”

“You are not making it any easier on us, you know? You hated Becky, George. Remember how you cornered her before the claim? Or did you forget that part?”

His lips pursed into a thin line. “No, I didn’t forget, okay? I’m disgusted with myself for how I treated her that day and after the claim was made. It’s not what you think, Elena, and now she wants nothing to do with me because of your insecurities. We will never tell anyone what the Dent is.” He wielded his shield, which made me jump slightly as all the noise disappeared. Tears welled up in his eyes. “Because if our enemies find out the truth, they will kill our Dents. That alone will destroy us, Elena. It’s not an enchantment and it’s not enslavement. We can make choices too, but we choose to follow your every wish because…” He didn’t finish his sentence, and from the expression on his face, he wasn’t going to either... “I never thought that I would ever say this, and Blake can kill me if he wants. Right now, I wish you never existed.” Noise came back and he got up and stormed out of the cafeteria.

Okay, that only made me feel crappier. It still didn’t make any sense. What triggered this love? I needed to know. Not just for my sake anymore, but for Becky’s too.

My Cammy rang and I saw Blake’s name flashing in neon letters. I didn’t pick it up and just pressed the disconnect button.

It rang again and I switched it over to silent.

In my first class, my heart wanted to break when I saw George and Becky sitting next to one another not even looking at each other. He was respecting her wishes, but he should fight for her, idiot.

I took my seat next to her as my Cammy kept vibrating non-stop.

Then it finally stopped and Sammy’s Cammy started to play his song.

The class started to laugh as she tried to sit on it to keep the ring tone quiet.

“Sorry about that, I forgot to switch it off,” she apologized to Sir Edward and just gave me the look.

Her Cammy finally stopped and she put it on silent.

Then Becky’s started to vibrate.

She looked at it and squinted as she gave me a look.

“Can someone please answer that?” Sir Edward interrupted his lecture and Becky opened her Cammy.

“We are in class, you idiot,” she whispered.

“STOP THIS, BECKY! ARE YOU INSANE?” Blake said and everyone just turned around and looked at her.

“No, I need to know.”

“You’ve never had to know before, why now?”

“Because you did a piss-poor job with Elena, asshole.” She switched off her Cammy. “Mind your own business!” she yelled at the class and put her Cammy back.

“Now I have to pay for it,” George whispered.

“Don’t George, please. I can’t do this.”

“Is there something going on here?” Sir Edward asked and just stared at all of us in the last row. Nobody said a word. Not even George.

“Becky?”

“Yes, I need to know if the Dent is real or just a stupid spell.”

“It’s not a fucking spell, okay!” George yelled.

“Becky, what is going on here?”

“I need to understand the change. He doesn’t want to tell me.”

“And he never will either,” Sir Edward said.

“Why not?” She was beside herself.

This was all my fault.

“Becky, please don’t,” I begged.

“No, Elena. Your version makes a shit load of sense, especially last night. Anybody ever wonder why Blake just changed like that after he woke up? It’s not real, and these idiots can’t even explain it to us.”

“It’s not that we can’t. We know what happened, why I love you, I just can’t tell you!” George yelled too.

“Why not?”

“Becky, please,” he begged again, and now I had tears in my own eyes too. “Don’t do this.”

“I just can’t George. I’m sorry.” She got up and walked out of the classroom.

My Cammy vibrated continuously again. I even got text messages that I was too scared to open. I didn’t even know when he’d paired phones.

I felt George’s pain, but I knew exactly what Becky was going through.

She didn’t return for class and George went missing too.

Sammy didn’t even speak to me. I never thought that Becky would finally admit this. I should’ve kept my mouth shut.

In Aviant, I sat alone in the coliseum when a dragon came in, landing hard.

I jumped slightly from the rumble that vibrated through the entire coliseum, as I hadn’t expected it, but flinched again when I saw who it was.

What was he doing here? He was huge and moved to one of the entrances that led to the seats. His human form wearing a robe came running out and he ran up the steps toward me. “Something wrong with your Cammy?” He sounded upset.

“Blake, please, just don’t, okay,” I said, got up and put away my sketchbook I was drawing in.

“No, Elena.” He grabbed my arm as I walked away.

“What do you want me to say? That I feel crap that Becky broke it off with George? I do, okay?”

“Elena,” he grunted. “This is so not my department.”

“I know, it’s my fault, but you cannot blame me for feeling like this.”

“Like what?”

“You’ve got to be shitting me, right?”

“Just speak to me.”

“I can’t, because this is not you.” I tapped him hard on his chest. “I don’t know who this is.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You are not making any sense.”

“No, you are not making any sense. You hated my guts, Blake. Despised me ever since I set foot in this place. You wanted nothing to do with me. And now…” I blew out a huge breath. “You want to blame someone for breaking them up, blame yourself, as it’s your change that made this Dent thing finally sink into her head. It’s not real.”

His entire face fell and everything went dead silent again. I didn’t even hear his shield. “What don’t you get?”

I flinched as the old Blake showed himself. “You want me to yell to the entire fucking world what it is we went through? I promise you, Elena, I have more enemies than you think and our lives will be the same as what you went through with Jako.”

What does he know about what I went through with Jako?

“Be patient. And stop filling Becky’s head with your theories. I will show you when the time comes.” His shield disappeared as I could now hear the zing of bugs baking in the sun’s rays. He turned around and walked away.

Now that I trusted. Even if he made me super mad. It was the old Blake. The one that wanted nothing to do with me.

“And answer your Cammy when I call,” he grunted one last time, and before I could yell anything back he was already in the air flying back to where he’d come from.

I found Becky that afternoon sleeping on her bed. She was starting to reflect what I’d felt on numerous occasions.

I sat on her bed and tapped her softly on her bum to wake up.

She stirred and finally opened her eyes. Tears lingered immediately. “Don’t try to make me feel otherwise, Elena.”

“This is all my fault. I’m sorry.”

“No, you just finally made sense. Blake hated your guts. For months after he woke up and you were gone, I struggled with this same thing, but we just accepted him like that. Forgot about all the nasty things he used to tell you because he was actually doing a hell of a lot of things trying to find you. He showed us what you meant to him so we forgot what he used to be like. You just reminded me of that last night.”

“Becky, George is a wreck without you. He wished me dead this morning.”

“It’s not the real George.”

“It might not be, or maybe it is. Maybe I have it wrong.”

“You are just saying this…”

“No, I’m not, okay? Blake got pissed off because I didn’t answer. We had a huge fight and he told me more or less the same thing George did.”

Her eyes rose slightly and she pushed herself up. “He told you what the Dent is?”

“No,” I said and wielded my shield. Why couldn’t they just do this and tell us what the fuck it was so we could believe them and just move on? “George told me this morning that if his enemies knew what we mean to them, they would kill us, and that alone would destroy them.”

“It doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know. Blake told me—the old Blake, not the giddy one—more or less the same thing. He got really angry at what I was thinking. Believe me, that Blake I know. And he still asked me afterwards to answer my Cammy when he calls.”

She sighed. “This is messed up, Elena.”

“He said if we can hear each other’s thoughts he will show me. I will know, Becky.”

“It might be a long time, Elena.”

“Then break up with him then, not now.”

“I don’t know if I can trust this.”

“You have no choice. You and George, to be honest, were the only two that gave me some hope with Blake. Don’t ruin this because of my insecurities, Becky.”

“What if it’s not real, Elena?”

“Then we release them and hopefully they will wake up and we can move on with our lives as they should be. We don’t need to cross that bridge today, Becky.”

She just looked at me. “I don’t know.”

“Becky, do you love him?”

“You know I do.”

“Then stop this, okay? This, this is not complicated, believe me.”

“So we wait till one of us finds out and we tell the other one?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

She took a deep breath.

“You want me to go get him? I really don’t want him to hate me.”

She smiled again and nodded.

“Go wash your face.” I tapped her on the bum and couldn’t believe I had to track down a Moon-Bolt, who could hide like a needle in a haystack.

I took a deep breath and took out my Cammy. I couldn’t believe I was going to phone him.

His Cammy rang twice. “See, not so difficult.” His holograph appeared. He still sounded upset.

“You know where George might be hiding?”

“Try the roof of the girls’ dorms, Elena,” he said and his holograph disappeared again. Rude bastard.

I walked up all the stairs and took the elevator from the seventh floor all the way to the top. There was a door and I opened it. More steps led to the ceiling and I opened the hatch that opened onto the roof.

I peeked outside and found his dragon form lying at the edge of the roof.

“When you are done sulking, Becky wants to see you,” I said and went back down.

I ran down all the stairs and went back into my room.

Sammy was sitting in the lounge with Dean and Becky came out of the bathroom. “You find him?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. “He’ll be—” a knock on the door interrupted my sentence. “Sorry again.” I hugged her and she smiled. She walked to the door and she left.

“Please tell me they are going to get back together.”

“Yeah, I told her this was stupid. She shouldn’t listen to me.”

“Elena,” Sammy started.

“No, you were right. I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

“Your theories, not your mouth.”

By around five, Becky was still not back. I started to worry about her but felt my Cammy vibrating. I really didn’t want to pick it up but I wanted the old Blake and it was as if I was getting him now. That scared me too, because he was unpredictable.

I picked up eventually and his holograph appeared.

“Did you find him?”

“Yes, he was on the roof,” I said.

“Did the two love birds make up?” He sounded like the new Blake.

“They are not back yet, so I guess it’s a good sign.”

“It is.” He had a knowing sort of evil grin on his face.

It was quiet for a few seconds and I looked at his holograph for the first time. He was looking down.

“Elena what do you want?”

“You phoned me,” I said.

“That’s not what I mean. Sometimes I just don’t know, something that is not supposed to be impossible. But it is.”

Make it easy and just tell him. You promised Tabitha. “I don’t know.”

He nodded his head. “Fine, I’ll wing it,” he said and I couldn’t help but laugh softly. Again, there was silence, and I heard Sammy and Dean leaving.

“Hey, what is going on in that mind of yours?” Blake asked.

I shook my head and wiped off a stray tear. Why was this so hard? It was Blake, for crying out loud. The boy that never knew what he wanted.

“Talk to me, Elena. I can’t read your mind, remember.”

I smiled.

“I’m breaking too many promises, Blake.” I looked at him.

“So, it’s Etan. You want to wait?”

“It’s not just Etan.” I sighed. “I made another promise to Tabitha.”

“Tabitha?”

“You gave me no choice, Blake. I really needed your help in classes and you never…” I couldn’t finish. That time of my life was hard and I was messed up with everything I had to learn, everything I had to deal with.

“What promise?” He wasn’t angry.

“That she could have you, I just need the dragon.”

He nodded. “And I have no say in this?”

“Blake, it’s not that easy. It wasn’t that easy. You might have easily forgotten that, but I can’t.”

“Oh, believe me I haven’t. I know what I was like, Elena. It’s why I’m trying to make it up to you. Being a bit nicer.”

“A bit nicer? It’s as if you are stuck in some Twilight Zone.”

He chuckled but his smile disappeared. “So what, you are going to make promises left, right and center without consulting me first?”

“Without consulting you? Blake you hated—”

“Yes, you said that already. Hated your guts. I still do from time to time, especially when you are so hard-headed that nobody can get through to you.”

“I just don’t know if I can break this promise, Blake.”

His lips curved downwards and he nodded his head. I couldn’t look at him, as this was exactly the same as rejecting him and whatever he felt towards me, whether it was real or not.

“So we’re back at square one,” he mumbled, sighed, and I could see how he pulled his hand through his hair.

“Okay, fine. Whatever, Elena,” he said and his holograph disappeared.

I closed my eyes. My heart wanted to break into a thousand pieces. I couldn’t believe we were back there, and the worst part was that it was all my doing this time. He’d been perfect the past few days—well, not counting today. Or maybe he’d been perfect today too, letting me off easy so that he could be with Tabitha without admitting it, or feeling guilty about it.

He made me so confused.

THE NEXT MORNING as I opened my door, voices rang inside my ears. Sometimes I really dislike my enhanced hearing.

“That is what they said, this morning.”

“So he is back for real?” another girl a few levels below me said.

“Tabitha is going to flip,” the girl said in an excited tone.

I froze. Blake was back.

“I’m sure she already knows,” the other girls said.

I carried on walking down the stairs and both girls cleared their throats as I reached them.

My eyes barely looked up. By the awkwardness streaming off their bodies, and staring at the ground, I could tell more or less that they spoke about Blake.

What was he doing back?

He said three days, it was only day two.

“You think she heard us?” the one whispered softly.

I didn’t care for the other one’s reply. It was times like these I just wanted to yell, “Yes, enhanced hearing here,” but I didn’t.

Everyone in the hallways spoke about Blake’s return.

I found Sammy with Becky and George at a table outside.

“What do you mean you don’t know? You are sharing a room with him.” She didn’t wait on a reply as she saw me. “Good, you’re here. My brother here?”

I shrugged. George was sharing a room with him now?

“Elena, he must have said something.”

“He didn’t, okay?” I spoke softly.

“You guys fight again? I thought at least that would be over now after your trip.”

I didn’t know what to say, as it was something I was really tired of too. “It’s complicated.”

Sammy just shook her head and went to the buffet line.

I looked over my shoulder at Tabitha’s table, the one she and Blake usually sat at, but she wasn’t there either.

Flashes of another reunion filled my head and my gut felt heavy, turning with a nauseated feeling.

What was it going to be like in the future? Blake being there whenever I needed the Rubicon and leaving at night to be with her?

I pushed the future to the back of my head. It seemed so dull now. Maybe not finding that missing ingredient wasn’t a bad thing.

I dished up and ate my breakfast while the others were talking about all sorts of things. I was glad that George and Becky had made up. It was weird not seeing the two of them together, even if it was for just a day.

When the bell rang we made our way to Art of War.

Becky put her arm on my shoulder as we walked. “So what did you guys fight about?”

“It’s stupid. It wasn’t really a fight. A fight is where both parties argue until the problem is resolved. Blake...” I took a huge breath and shook my head.

“Yeah, tell me about it. Fighting with them is not fun at all.”

I smiled at the way she said it and took another deep breath.

At least I would have all my subjects with him.

We passed through the huge doorway of the Parthenon Dome. Grimdoe was still, like all the statues should be. I remembered the heart attack he almost gave me the first day I set foot in this class.

It felt like eons ago.

Most of the students waited on the bleachers. Professor Mia made a couple of jokes with the first row and Amy, the Night Villain from my second year, well after I turned into a dragon, shared Art of War with us now that she had been claimed.

My eyes found Tabitha immediately. Her snow white hair wasn’t hard to miss. Peter was on her one side, but the other spot next to her was empty.

Where the hell was Blake?

“Etan, huh?” Professor Mia yelled and my gaze broke away from Tabitha and Peter.

I smiled and nodded just before I reached her. It was the first time I had Art of War since the return. “Who would’ve guessed?”

She stroked my arm. “What you did for Constance, bringing back Anouk, it was beautiful Elena.”

“It was nice to watch, that I can say.”

“Go sit,” she ordered, with soft eyes, and I took the spot in between Becky and Sammy on the second row.

All the students were there, except Blake.

Please, I begged, don’t do this. Not again. It was the only time I could truly be with him without feeling so guilty.

It was all my fault. I knew I should’ve kept my stupid mouth shut last night.

“Okay, Elena?” Professor Mia asked and my head snapped up at her. “Where is Blake?”

“I don’t know,” I said and sighed. “Is he really back?”

“Yes, he came early this morning.” Professor Mia squinted and looked at Tabitha. “You know where he is?”

Out of the corner of my eyes I saw her shaking her head slightly. He wasn’t with her this morning?

“Okay, well, the big guy is not coming so I guess we can start.”

She started to speak about a new contact sport—well, new for me, who’d missed classes for a month.

From the tone of her voice, I could tell she was really excited.

I easily caught a couple of things: that the sport originated from Portugal; that you had to use your mind and balance. What sport didn’t demand that from you?

After five minutes I lost interest as my mind swirled with thoughts of Blake, Tabitha and I. A trio of people fighting for each other’s affection. It was so draining.

A huge mechanical noise filled the dome. I looked up as every other student in class looked at the ceiling.

One of the panels started to shift open.

I hadn’t even known it could open.

Professor Mia stopped and stared at it too. She walked over to the cupboard and got a remote. She pressed the button and it shifted a couple of inches closed before it moved in the other direction again.

We all started to laugh as she hit the remote against her palm, trying to make it work, and after the umpteenth time she gave up and chucked the remote back into the cupboard.

“Okay, I’ll get someone out to look at that later.” She came back and carried on with her lecture as we all just stared at the big hole that was starting to appear in the ceiling.

“People, it’s just the sky.”

“I didn’t even know it could open.” Becky had the same thought as me.

“Well, we always struggle to get it closed, so now you know why we never open it. This is what happens.”

The class laughed.

She carried on with where she’d left off and this time I was even more lost than before.

A whooshing sound drowned Professor Mia’s lecture. A small smile tucked at the corners of my lips. I’d heard that sound once. It scared the living crap out of me then, but today, it did the opposite.

“What is that?” Becky asked.

Sammy gasped, followed by a couple of other gasps too. When I looked back up I saw Blake, in his dragon form, hovering over the gap in the ceiling.

“How the hell are you going to ride that?” Becky left her two-cent comment as he started to descend.

“What is this?” Professor Mia asked him in Latin. “It’s Art of War, not transformations Blake, and you’re late.”

“Sorry for my tardiness,” he answered in a deep voice as he landed. “Dragon is what I am from now on, so you better get used to it, Mia.”

I sucked my lips and closed my eyes. My stomach was fluttering as I kept repeating his words in my mind. Dragon is what I am…from now on. I’d promised Tabitha I just wanted the dragon, she could have the human. He was doing this for me.

“Elena?” Professor Mia asked.

I responded with a shrug.

Becky and Sammy both had that “need to know now” look on their faces as they saw how I desperately tried to hide a bigger smile.

“Care to tell Blake to transform back? He is as big as my class and there is not enough space for the big guy and all of us.”

“I’m not that kind of Dragonian. He can do whatever he wants.”

A gurgle came from Blake. “Yeah, right,” he said and fell onto his stomach. A slight rumble rippled up the bleachers.

Professor Mia just stared at him. “Fine, we work around him then.”

Professor Mia carried on but we were all distracted by Blake rolling on his back, playing with his talons, and grooming himself. We couldn’t stop snickering.

Professor Mia shot him glares every five to ten seconds and he would freeze every time she did that.

“Not cool, Blake,” she eventually said. “Change back, please.”

“Nope! Can’t do it.”

“Fine, then leave, as I need the space to lecture and you are a distraction.”

He got up and started to ascend back through the roof.

“And close my roof, I know it was you!” Professor Mia yelled behind him. A couple of seconds after he disappeared, the roof started to close.

We all just laughed.

I felt as if I was going to burst from happiness and didn’t even care to glance over at Tabitha.

The next half an hour wasn’t so easy though. I sparred against Mia as Blake was loafing like usual—well, this time he had done it to make a statement. How long it was going to go on like that, only he knew.

When the bell rang, we had a fifteen-minute break to go and take a shower for our next class. My heart started to flutter as I thought about next period.

It was Aviant, which meant I was going to fly on Blake like a normal Dragonian for the first time. That picture in my mind was overpowering. I was excited, something I hadn’t experienced in a long time, because it was flying, and it was Blake.

A couple of months ago he saw Aviant classes as sleeping time and would just sleep under a tree with Tabitha next to him. Peter and I, well we had to endure that, while all the other dragons and their Dragonians were having fun in the sky. I knew it was going to be different this time.

“What the hell was that about?” Becky was the first to ask.

“He doesn’t want me to break a promise.”

“What promise?”

I laughed. “A stupid one.” I looked at her and raised my eyebrows once. “Beat your ass?”

She laughed and we both raced up the steps. That shower was so mine.

AFTER TEN MINUTES, Becky and I found George, Sammy and Dean waiting for us at the staircase.

Samantha had hardly worked up a sweat. Dragons really had it so easy.

She wanted to know the same thing as Becky, and I gave her the exact same answer.

“So what, he’s going to be a dragon from now on?” George asked with a twinkle in his eyes and deep dimples in his cheeks as he walked with his arm across Becky’s shoulder.

“Something like that.”

“For how long?” Sammy sounded worried.

“Relax, it won’t be forever. Sammy.”

“Elena, he’s not one of the most beautiful dragons out there.”

I faked outrage. “I happen to like my dragon’s form, thank you very much.”

Sammy just smiled and put her arm around my shoulder.

We finally reached the coliseum where Professor Vladimir and Professor Alexandra were waiting for us.

My eyes immediately saw Blake baking in the sun, still in his dragon form.

Professor Vladimir was laughing at something he said.

Something I didn’t catch.

George was the first to take off his shirt and I looked away as he pulled off his trousers. After the plop and tear sound, a Moon-Bolt stood majestically in the place of George, and he was busy making his way over to Blake.

It always reminded me of giant puppies whenever a pack of dragons hadn’t seen one another in a long time. George leaped for Blake and Blake pushed him back with a lazy paw, which was hilarious.

Becky just shook her head.

“Guess we will be finally having you up in the sky too,” Sammy said and smiled as she took off her robe and transformed.

A beautiful brass dragon stood in her place and she ran over to her brother and George with a couple of other dragons.

Being naked in front of others was the most natural thing for dragons. They were so free. Something I envied.

When we finally reached them I couldn’t help chuckling. “Seriously,” I looked at Blake. Tabitha’s Snow dragon was on the total opposite side, with Peter putting a saddle on her back.

I still felt bad, as if I was now the reason he didn’t want to be with her.

He shook his head as if it was his way of shrugging and he lowered it inches from mine.

I couldn’t help but smile at his mug. I touched one of his tendrils and admired it softly in my hands. Everything seemed to disappear around us and for a short while, as I admired all the colors that sparkled off the tendril in my hand, we were alone.

I don’t know how anybody could say he was ugly. He was really such a beautiful dragon.

He closed his beady eyes and a loud fast clucking noise I heard once on our trip came from his torso. It stopped after a few seconds when his eyes opened.

“What the hell was that?” Becky asked and stopped for a second, putting her saddle on George’s back.

George laughed. “I’m so glad I’m not the only idiot doing that anymore.”

“Shut up.” His huge paw pushed George again, and he fell over, away from Becky.

“Okay,” Becky said and stepped away. “Let me know when you two are done.” She looked at Blake and George.

“Sorry, Becks. I’m done,” George said as he rolled back onto his stomach for her to put her saddle on his back.

Oh hell, I didn’t have a saddle for him at all. “How are we going to do this?”

“Easy, I’ll stay a dragon till it sinks in.”

I laughed. “Not that, Blake. Flying.”

“Oh,” he gurgled. “Just trust me.”

I HAD TO admit I was so scared because there was absolutely nothing to hold me in place on Blake’s back. No saddle, just bare back with plenty of horns and scales. I climbed on via his wing, the same way I had with Cheng, but it was not as easy because he was twice Cheng’s size and I kept sliding off.

“Elena, is it going to be today!” Becky yelled in a teasing tone and the entire class laughed.

“A little help, please.” I begged as I clung like a monkey on his wing and couldn’t find a way further up his back. Blake flipped his wing up gently, which made me fly into the air and come crashing down on his back.

“Thanks for that graceful landing.” I sounded sarcastic.

His entire body shook, a tremble of sorts as I pushed myself onto my feet and climbed to the first horn on his back, nearest his neck.

The feeling was overpowering. No one other than Lucian had ever taken a ride with Blake. And here I was, the girl that didn’t even know dragons existed, on the back of the most powerful dragon in the entire world.

I stationed myself in front of the huge horn, grabbed two of the long tendrils that covered his neck, and smiled as I remembered the way he’d held mine tight in his hand when I’d given him a dragon ride a couple of months back when Cara was still with me.

“Ouch,” he said. “That is actually attached to me.”

“See it as a bit of payback.”

“Payback? You really want to go there?”

“Okay, don’t see it as payback.” I loosened my grip. “How is this?”

“Much better, you ready?”

“No, but then again I might never be.”

“C’mon Elena, you are past the heights thing.”

“It’s not the heights that I’m afraid of this time, it’s the falling off.”

“What, no faith in me? That’s not a good way to start off your first riding lesson, Princess.”

Professor Vladimir, who was already stationed on Professor Alexandra, gave the class the order and one by one they ran a couple of steps and took off.

I took a deep breath and put my flying goggles over my eyes.

We were the last to leave and I laughed again as Becky and George lifted off after a short run. She whooped loudly and I could tell she was made for the sky. She should’ve been a dragon.

“Okay, let’s do this,” I said, and he didn’t run at all, he just flapped his wings gracefully and we reached the sky in four flaps.

The class was a couple of miles in front of us and I laughed as Blake went higher and higher.

“We are losing them.”

“See if I care. You don’t need these stupid classes, Elena.” And we carried on flapping through clouds. I looked back down and could hardly see the outline of the coliseum.

He stopped flapping and dove.

I shrieked from excitement as he darted forward fast, back down again. The coliseum and everything came back instantly as the clouds disappeared and adrenaline pumped through my veins as it came nearer and nearer. Then he changed his direction just as we were about to collide with the ground.

His paws took a short run and he darted back up.

It was like I was Cara. I was finally free, and it was something I hadn’t felt in a long, long time. I didn’t want this feeling to end.

The only thing I didn’t like much was not having a saddle under me, but the wind blowing through my hair and brushing against my skin made up for it.

We were disappearing into the clouds again. The class was gone and I couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear.

“Where the hell are you going?”

“You’ll see,” he said as we went higher and higher until we broke through the clouds and were on top of a bed of white fluff.

I gasped at its beauty. The fluff appeared solid, like one could actually stand on it and not fall through. The sky was the most beautiful blue with the sun sparkling slightly off Blake’s scales.

We flew past a flock of wild geese. I couldn’t stop staring at them, seeing how the wind beneath their wings kept them afloat.

My heart stammered from pure excitement.

“You missed this?” Blake asked.

“You have no idea.”

Silence followed for at least a minute.

“I’m sorry about Cara, Elena,” his voice was coarse, but different. I knew he meant it.

My heart clenched as I thought about her. I missed being with her, in the sky. “She was never supposed to wake up, Blake.”

“It’s not what I mean,” he said. “I’m sorry that you had to kill her in order to claim me.”

I thought about that night immediately. The night I had to say goodbye. I hated him so much back then. “It’s in the past,” I simply said and he left it there.

None of us spoke for a long time and for the first time ever I wished that I could hear what was going on in his mind. To know what he was thinking, what he was feeling, the way he used to connect to my emotions.

I closed my eyes, and tried to embrace this feeling. It was our very first flight and I really didn’t want it to be a sad one.

I opened them again when I felt a change in the direction and saw mountains.

I noticed they weren’t any that I remembered as he aimed for a landing. The treetops were right below his paws, and then he just disappeared, revealing an opening where he could land.

He stopped in midair, and his wings flapped once again, making a huge whooshing sound until we were safely on the ground. It was a graceful landing, even if he was a hulking giant of a dragon, and I slid off his wing, which was extremely fun and much easier than climbing on.

“That was fun!” I said and turned away from him to look around. It was a meadow and the sun shone brightly on all the boulders around us. The sound of a stream could be heard nearby and the scent of wet moss lingered in the air.

Trees covered the rest of the mountain. It was simply beautiful and I hated the fact that I didn’t know all of Paegeia’s beauty yet. “Where are we?”

He didn’t reply, and when I turned back to him the dragon was gone and I was in his arms.

His lips brushed mind softly, and then it broke into a kiss.

I wasn’t even afraid. I felt safe with him, like nothing on this earth could ever harm me again as long as he was alive. His kiss grew, not vigorously like that time in my room, but deeper. His kisses were AMAZING.

It made me feel all sorts of things at once. It made my stomach flip, it made me want more, and I forgot where and who I was. Nothing mattered anymore.

The strong smell of fire and acid mixed with sweet musky essence filled my nose. It was a real dragon smell, and so strong, but I couldn’t stop kissing him, and when our breathing became heavy, he stopped.

My back was against a tree, something I hadn’t even felt when he pushed me against it. My eyes were still closed and I knew he was buck-naked.

A chuckle escaped his lips. “Sorry about that.” He spoke softly, which made me smile, but I refused to open my eyes.

“You really need to get used to me being naked, Elena. It’s the most natural thing in the world,” he said close to my ear, which brought on a million goose bumps.

“You clearly haven’t been on the other side of that wall.”

He laughed. His lips brushed mine softly and he gave me a peck on the lips.

He inhaled deeply. “Fine, I’ll only be a minute.”

I opened my eyes when I heard his feet breaking twigs and leaves and I couldn’t help but watch his retreating figure.

I blushed scarlet as he was really buck-naked.

He disappeared behind another set of trees and I sat down and leaned against the one behind me.

It was really peaceful. The only sound was the sun baking on beetles.

Twigs snapped and I looked toward the direction Blake disappeared a few minutes ago. He was walking with a backpack in his hands, wearing a shirt and a pair of jeans.

“How did you…?”

“I told you before, I’m always prepared.”

“You planned this, didn’t you?”

“I’m a guy of many talents, and had free time in Art of War.”

I laughed as he came to sit next to me. “About that, everyone wants to know how long are you planning on staying a dragon?”

“I told you before, Elena, dragon is what I am.”

“So for a long time?”

He cocked his head and took a water bottle out of his pack, opened it and took a couple of gulps. “Until you break that stupid Tabitha promise.”

I smiled. “Blake, I feel really bad about that. She really loves you and I know you love her too. I’m not stupid.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Elena, I broke up with her about five months ago.”

“What?” Why did she ask me…? My jaw muscles jumped slightly as I thought about her interrogation. “But you are always with her.”

“To give you space. I couldn’t hang with you guys because of how you felt, so I hang with them.”

“No, I saw you guys.”

A huge grin broke over his face.

“Not what I meant, okay? But yes, I looked in your direction from time to time and you guys still looked like the happy couple you always were.”

“We were never a happy couple, Elena. Sure she has been one of my friends for a long time, but that was about it.”

“One of your friends?” I raised my eyebrow.

“Fine, friends with benefits, but it wasn’t real. She knows how I feel about her and how I feel about you.”

I took a huge breath and stretched out my arms in front of me. I told myself that I wasn’t going to fall for this and still felt that the Dent was a stupid spell. I buried my face on my knees. “Tell me how it works, please,” I mumbled.

“You need to be patient, Elena.”

Our eyes met again. “There is nobody here. Wield your shield or something.”

“Shields can be penetrated.” He looked with huge eyes and a slight smile at the trees.

“They don’t have ears.”

“We are inside Paegeia.”

“Then how do I trust this, Blake?”

He frowned slightly. “Trust what?”

“You can’t be mad at me. I can’t trust this.”

“You want me to become my old self again? I might just love the dark again and then you’ll have to spank me,” he joked.

I wanted to laugh, I really did, but this was a serious matter. “It’s not a joke. I’m serious.”

“I’m too, it’s real,” he simply said and touched my fingers. “And if you don’t believe that, then give it time.”

I just looked at him. “Time!” I pulled my fingers out of his hand and pushed myself from the ground, wanting to leave, but I couldn’t. I was here with him. I turned around. “For what, so that I can fall even harder for you and for you to just tell me again you don’t want me whenever this wears off?” My hands were everywhere in the air. I shook my head and pulled my hands through it, just to calm down.

I turned away from him because I couldn’t look at him. Pissed at myself again for telling him how I felt about him and about all of this. I was just opening myself up for more disappointment. I couldn’t trust this, I shouldn’t. I needed to know what the Dent was all about before I opened myself to him again. I needed to know how it made them change, where their love for their riders came from.

His arms wrapped around my waist from behind and his breath was in my ears. It really felt so good having him so near me. I grew so used to this, so quickly.

“I’m never going to change my mind, you hear? This is me. Or what I used to be like before the darkness set in. I’m yours Elena, forever and ever, if that is what you want. If not, I’ll be whatever you need.”

I turned my neck and looked at him. Whatever I need? Who was this guy?

“Give it time, I’m sure that the bond will mend, hopefully soon, and I’ll show you that the Dent isn’t some spell or enslavement. Okay?”

I nodded and took a deep breath. I turned around and rested my head against his chest. I could feel his lips brushing my head softly.

“Now, there are a couple of things I have to get off my chest,” he said and I looked up at him.

“Like what?”

He didn’t say anything. “Blake?”

“About who I used to be, Elena, the way I treated you ever since that night I woke up when Matt brought you here.”

I knew about that, it was the story he’d started to tell me a couple of months ago when he’d trained me to kill him. It sounded so stupid now thinking about it.

“You don’t need…”

He pressed his finger on my lips. “Shhh, just shhh,” he said and led me to the nearest boulder.

I sat down and he took the ground below me. His arms rested on his knees and for a few seconds he didn’t look at me.

“What I said on that mountain was the truth.” He looked to the ground. “I woke up that night, I went to investigate. I had no idea why I woke up and I couldn’t understand this feeling that was inside of me.” Our eyes met again. “Matt told me about you, how you looked like King Albert, all the professors were gossiping about that. Wondering, Constance was the worst. Many had their features, Elena, many and not one turned out to be some sort of a descendant. I told myself over and over, it wasn’t the reason I woke up.” He smiled and then he sighed.

“There were others that looked like them.”

“Not the way you do, but yes. They either shared one of your mother’s features or your father’s eyes. It was always his eyes, never anything else.” He rubbed the side of his mouth hard, as if he was thinking. “He told me about how he found you, that your father had phoned him. He didn’t even know how he had his number. He was about to meet the both of you at some sort of destination on the other side but you never made it, and then Herbert phoned saying that dragons were attacking and that you guys needed help.”

I nodded.

“He used to tell me about Fox way before your father found a way into the picture, and wondered if it wasn’t linked to you, but I told him it couldn’t. My father would’ve known. To be honest, it scared the living crap out of me, the way he spoke about you, the way it worried him.”

“Tanya told me about Fox, how many came and vowed to keep me safe.”

“Fox knew, Elena. He was older than Irene, at least three times her age.”

“He was a thousand years old.” I remember the guy of that night on Interstate 40. He looked in his mid-twenties.

“He wasn’t like Irene, he was dark. Didn’t want an alliance with the humans. We would never know what he did, but we can easily put two and two together. None of that mattered, though, as nobody born this side could leave—well, no human.”

He smiled softly. “That should’ve put some ease on my mind, but it didn’t. I lay in bed, wondering why the minute he brought you here, I woke up.”

This was intense. Was our bond really that strong?

“I wondered about that the entire night and the next day, I knew why.” A grin formed on his lips. “When you walked out of the cafeteria and stood next to Becky, in awe of everything around you, the feeling of what had taken place inside of me was so intense. It felt as if I was getting crushed, I couldn’t breathe, but I hid it from all the others, and I just knew. I didn’t even worry about how they’d gotten you to the other side. They were King Albert and Queen Catherine, the smartest people I ever knew. Everything that they’d done for me in the past, the warning glares, even the soft ones, it all made sense.”

“You saw me that day?” I remembered that day clearly. He’d stood out from all of them and I’d stared like an idiot.

He smiled as if he could read my mind. “Yes, and I have to say that little moment you had before Tabitha flipped you off, it was extremely hard not to look back, Elena.”

I felt so embarrassed. Of course he knew that I’d stared at him.

“Well the dick part of me knew about what had happened as Matt had told me everything. And I know I told you I didn’t know, but I did know that dragons attacked and that one was Fox. I wanted to scare you. I wanted you to lose your mind so that you wouldn’t gain confidence to do what it was you had to do. I wanted to break you.”

I swallowed hard as he said that, knowing that he’d lied, said that he didn’t know when I’d asked him back then.

“I was messed up back then, Elena. The dark had its claws inside of me already and I didn’t want you close to me.”

I stared at him with soft eyes. He was staring at the boulder again and then looked at me.

“Remember when I told you that Lucian made me sick whenever he was near? That light, that pure heart he carried, his good intentions.”

I nodded.

“It was worse with you, so I had to do everything in my power to make you keep your distance.”

“I made you sick?”

“It wasn’t like that. I don’t know how to explain it. It was pure hatred, because I knew who you were and I didn’t want to be claimed. I thought I didn’t need a rider and that the beatings would be so much better than you claiming me.”

I took a deep breath through my nostrils. I loved the honesty but I didn’t like that it was so direct, and coming from him, well it hurt knowing that I’d been right. He did hate my guts.

“When my mother told me that a Wyvern was attending Dragonia and claimed to be your dragon, I was out of my element. I knew that it would throw you off, but I also knew that Paul’s intentions were wrong. Still, I didn’t care.” He shook his head.

“Why are you…?”

“Just listen, you need to understand what it was you did for me, Elena.”

I nodded, but I really didn’t want to hear this.

“I watched how everyone started to trust him. It was like a game, one I loved so much. And then you just had to say THAT.”

“What?”

“That you were hearing a voice in your mind.” He shook his head. “I didn’t like that one bit and I had to know if it was mine, so I kept tabs on you, in class and in that one lecture about the Green-Vapor, well I knew the answer and I knew you didn’t, you couldn’t, so I sent it to you and of course you answered.” He smiled. “I can’t recall if I’ve ever felt so disgusted with everything we shared as I did that day.”

“Disgusted?”

He closed his eyes. “Elena, just listen.” He sounded slightly annoyed and I kept my mouth shut. He opened his eyes again. “I never wanted this. I am the Rubicon, for crying out loud.” He chuckled once. “They had to kill Quito because he couldn’t be tamed. And here they send me a girl that didn’t even know that dragons exist. You know how unworthy that felt?”

I could relate to that. Nicole had tried to claim me once, she wasn’t worthy either.

“But then out of the blue, Lucian told me the crazy mission you were planning after the King of Lion sword was stolen, and I had to go and see if you were serious about finding it. So I told him I would come with.”

He chuckled softly. “You pissed me off so much when you told me that no man could enter that cave, and I silently wished that you would fail, even if it meant that the sword would be lost, but then you came back out, seconds after you went in. I didn’t understand any of it. It was like you just couldn’t die, that fate was forcing this upon me.” He sounded frustrated, and spoke a lot using his hands. His voice fell octaves lower and he sounded calm again. “But it was also the first time I felt that you were worthy. Something I’d only felt with Lucian.” He sighed again.

“Still, I fought against this, as I didn’t want to become a pathetic lamb, to succumb and become someone’s property. I was the Rubicon, the baddest dragon out there.”

Yeah, so you’ve said a couple of times. A part of me was pissed off with him. So many people had died. “So you lied to everyone, even to me that night when I asked you if maybe there was someone out there?”

He chuckled. “Didn’t you hear what I just said? I had to say that so that you wouldn’t put two and two together, Elena.”

I nodded.

“Lying to everyone wasn’t my biggest sin, and I fear one day you would discover all the shit I’ve done, you won’t want anything to do with me.”

I felt bad again for him. I would never judge him like that, or turn my back on him because of what he had done in the past, I’d killed three people for crying out loud.

“My dark side didn’t want you. It didn’t want to go back to being good, but I still carried a bit of good. That night, I didn’t know how much. But when that Dragonian stabbed you, I wanted to scream like Lucian because he was killing my last chance of fulfilling my destiny. I knew your axes would kill him because they had your blood all over them.” He looked at me. “Yeah, I believed Cheng’s theory too. Even if everyone thought it was far-fetched, to me it wasn’t. I knew your parents well and they were magical, Elena. I hope that one day you will get a chance to see the man your father is.”

I didn’t want to hope. I wanted to meet him for real so badly, but what were the chances? One of us was going to die. I didn’t want it to be him, and if it was me, I would never get to meet my dad for real.

“It became evident when your axes hit his chest and turned him into a pile of dust who you were. Even though I knew, I always had that doubt. It was why I didn’t think twice when it was all over to get you the help you needed.”

“Master Longwei told me about that. He said that you almost died flying so hard to get me back to Dragonia, and then you refused to let me thank you.”

He flinched as I said that. “Elena,” he said, rubbing his face. “It was the time I really regretted it.”

I huffed. I always knew he never really wanted to save me, but hearing it out loud was different.

“But at that moment I didn’t care because you were my last chance. My good side overpowered my bad side for the first time in a long time.”

The corners of my lips curved slightly as I remembered something else. “So whenever you were drunk…”

“I told you the beast in me was jolly, so yeah, I tried so many times to tell you, but thanks to my sister and knowing my bad intentions, I didn’t get a chance, and believe me I was so happy about that when I sobered up.”

I remembered all the times he’d gotten drunk. At the revealing of the King of Lion mission, when I’d found him behind me, at the camp. Where he’d actually told me but he couldn’t control his compulsion yet. That night he’d thrown rocks at Becky’s window. All attempts to tell me the truth. I felt so stupid now.

“So the second time at the Warbel games, you just had to save me again.”

“Yeah, and believe me, I was seriously getting tired of it.”

I nodded and swallowed hard.

“When I discovered that you drank Fire Powder and nothing happened, I knew that you were close to ascending, finding out who you really were.” I took a deep breath but he kept going on. “That was why I loved Paul so much, but I kept him close, trying to find out what his game was.” He looked at me again. “I didn’t even feel bad about all the times I had to act, asking everyone to help Lucian find out what could claim me, it was just another game. To see who was the smartest. I have to say, Professor Pheizer was hard to fool.”

“Professor Pheizer?”

He smiled. “Yeah, she had that knowing look on her face every time I entered her stupid classroom. It was filled with disgust. She even told me once that she was on to me.” His eyebrows rose and he puffed out a breath. “Scary times. You do not want to know the thoughts that went through my head, and when Lucian barged through the door after his quest, I knew he knew the truth. He asked me where you were and I told him you took a stroll with Paul, told him that you felt nothing for him because you’d kissed him.”

“You knew?”

He tapped his temple. “I knew.”

I wanted to cry. I knew Lucian had known about that, but Blake just confirmed how much Lucian knew.

“He didn’t care Elena, he just wanted to find you because he knew why Paul was here. I told him that you were in the cave up north and he begged me to come with. I thought it was my last chance to get rid of you and if I didn’t witness it, my good wouldn’t overpower my dark again and I would finally be free.”

Shit, he was such a selfish prick.

“And then he said it. That I knew nothing, and I would never know anything. He told me that I’d just broken his promise. He was never going to try claim me again. It didn’t even matter then. But Tabitha was shocked about it because she thought that Lucian was the only one that could claim me, so she begged and begged until I felt like I was going out of my mind so I went.”

Tabitha?

“Closer to the Cavern, I smelled the hippogriff. It was so strong and I went in. I saw a purple dragon, one I’d never seen before, and I saw Lucian’s body just lying there. I thought you were finally dead and the hippogriff disappeared. You knew my name and I just stood there. I didn’t understand, and when you said that it was you…” He stopped and bit his lower lip. “I couldn’t tell you how that made me feel. Hope was gone and it was as if I’d lost something huge that day. I eventually followed the hippogriff, lost her again and came back. When you begged me to help Lucian, I’d never felt so stupid. He was my best friend, Elena, and I never wanted anything to hurt him. I never in a million years thought that he would die. He was so indestructible, but it was the poison of the hippogriff that killed him.”

A stray tear ran down his face and I wanted to cry too.

He wiped it away. “I hated you more after that because I blamed you. That’s how messed up I was. I blamed you because it was you he’d fallen in love with. If you were not in his life, he would’ve never been in that cave. That was why I didn’t want to help you find your dragon when Master Longwei asked me. I knew that I would turn, I always knew, but for a short time, that hope that came with you, caused me to forget the consequences of me turning, and it all came back the minute you turned into a dragon. I knew that Goran was going to claim me, and I would destroy this world and all the people I cared for, which wasn’t much, but it was enough for me to commit suicide.”

He huffed at that thought and the lines on his lips had gotten so thin. He was disgusted about that now, I could tell.

“Then you turned into a Rubicon.” He chuckled again. “I thought it was a sign, that there would be someone out there that would kill me. I thought it was why I’d woken up that night, because of another Rubicon that had entered through the wall. Everything about what I believed you were disappeared as it became evident, and I thought I’d been wrong.” He sighed again. “Never in a million years did I think it was because of me that you turned into a Rubicon, because of this bond we shared. That was why I helped you, but you know that part.”

I nodded as I thought about that day again. He’d broken my heart.

“That night when you told me that you couldn’t do it, that you loved me…I had to lie, Elena.”

“About what now?”

“About you making me feel normal when I’m with you. I didn’t want to trust it, so I can relate to how you don’t trust this. I loved spending time with you, that was real, and I wanted you to know that. And yes, those times I wanted to kiss you…I really did, but I knew that what you had to do would be hard, so I had to distance myself from you so that one day you could do that.”

“You broke my heart that night.” My voice broke.

He’s eyebrows furrowed as I tried to hide the tears that welled up in my eyes. “A part of me broke that day too, Elena. When I said those words. I had no choice as I was dark, I didn’t want you there with me and it’s hard to explain it.” He huffed again. “I know what you felt was real and I also know that you would never destroy me, so I had to tell you that it was my fault that Lucian died. I didn’t think that it would work, but when your pink fire lit up, I knew that I’d succeeded. You would kill me one day and you hated me. That drove me over the edge.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You got dark.”

He nodded. “They sedated me at the right moment and kept me like that until someone brave enough stepped forward.”

He smiled.

“When I woke up and they told me that someone had, I laughed in their faces as I knew nobody out there would be strong enough. It took all the professors and plenty of magic to get me into that ring. They used the magic to bind my abilities. Magic that was draining the living daylights out of them. When I saw it was Arianna with her blue flame, I thought it was a joke, but then Cheng flew in, distracting me, and I heard your voice. You sounded so different, so dark.”

“I was. Apparently I was sharing the darkness inside of you. I almost killed Cheng on our trip. It was so easy but he stuck with me for some reason, and he knew that it wasn’t really me.” I felt so ashamed of it.

“You almost killed Cheng?”

I nodded. “For your information, if I was the Rubicon, I wouldn’t have had the strength or the will power to hold onto my good side, Blake. I forgot about my good side so fast and I welcomed the darkness with open arms. So I lied too that day in the coliseum when I told you all you had to do was hold on to not become dark.”

“Don’t say that Elena.”

“It’s true. I’m not as strong as you think I am.”

“You don’t need to be that strong. I’m strong.”

Those words made my stomach flip again.

He smiled again. “I saw the betrayal on your face when Cheng closed the gate and you were stuck inside with me. I even laughed when you tried to pretend that you were a helpless victim. I knew then that something wasn’t right. I know pretend, and wondered why you would pretend like that. But it was a curiosity that died faster than it appeared, and the need to scorch you alive was boiling inside of me. I guess that saying is true, if you want something done, you better do it yourself, and in that moment, it revealed itself beautifully. When you walked out of my flame and spoke those words to me, in perfect Latin, a part of me knew that I’d failed at throwing you off. You, my dearest Princess, were a master.”

I laughed. “It was a shock to me too, believe me.”

He chuckled. “I knew who you were before you said it. I knew you weren’t a dragon after all, and that my moment was biting me in the ass as I’d just presented you with a chance to claim me. I hated that so much, but when you spoke of Brian and Lucian’s deaths, of how I’d always known and that I’d lied to you, a part of me wanted to show you that I wasn’t like that. I guess I still carried good deep inside of me. Hearing those words coming from your lips, that I didn’t deserve any of it, hit me harder than you think, and I knew that this was my very last chance, so I had to do that. I thought that you were going to kill me as I fought with everything I had. The girl that didn’t even know about dragons and magic, that girl was gone. And when I finally saw it, it broke me and everything inside of me just gave up. My mind didn’t, it was as if it was an entity of its own, but my body couldn’t fight, it didn’t want to fight anymore.” He took a deep breath, looked away and let the breath out. “It was why I gave you hell afterwards. I forgot everything, what I’d felt on that mountain, and I only had this hatred for you.” He ran his hand through his hair. “They say I was experiencing the impasse stage.”

He smiled. “I also knew if I stayed away, your presence would make my mind eventually agree with the rest of me and I would fall under your spell. I truly believed that it was a spell of enslavement, Elena, even though George told me so many times that it wasn’t.”

I hated not knowing what the Dent was.

“The breaking point for me was that night. I didn’t like the way that guy had his hands all over you. It wasn’t because I was jealous; it was because of my need for dominance. I saw you as the Rubicon’s property. Emanual got that, this fool didn’t know who he was dealing with, didn’t even care, and that pissed me off really badly.”

He sighed. “When I dropped you into that water, I actually wanted to drop you onto the ground, but my paw didn’t open, it refused. My body was already under your spell. I fought so hard, and when we flew over the manor’s swimming pool, it just opened. I hated that so much, that I didn’t have any control over my body anymore. You sobered up, but it did more than just sober you up. It made you give up completely. When you started saying those words, I was surprised, glad that you were finally going to say it. I was going to be free. But then I really saw you, saw your beauty, saw how your clothes clung to the shape of your body, it stirred other feelings up. Something I’d never experienced when I was sober and something that only happened in my dreams, or so I thought. Like I said, it was as if I’d forgotten about the mountain. Like it was wiped clean. I was already falling under your spell as I just stared at you, wanting you. I didn’t even hear the rest of what you said.”

I remembered that night: he’d just stared at me. So that was what had gone through his mind.

“Then you said it and I snapped out of everything. I tried to see what you were thinking and I couldn’t. It freaked me out as I could hear you from miles and miles away, feel your emotions every time I was near you, feel how you still had time, patience. Things I didn’t want you to feel, but it all disappeared the second you said those words and you just walked away, as if you’d just closed a door and didn’t care. I realized at that moment that I’d fought against the thing I wanted the most, and I never wanted to hear those words come from your mouth ever again. It’s my fault this bond is broken, Elena. Why I can’t hear your thoughts anymore. I pushed you to it. I was an idiot. So many people died for something I wanted but didn’t know. It doesn’t make any sense, but I knew that I couldn’t lose you. And that was why I kissed you.”

He took a deep breath as his eyes were filled with tears again. “That pain, not even the succumbing part when you broke me, was as painful as the pain that announced the beginning of the process. Constance said it was a bond that was supposed to be made a long time ago and that was the reason for all the blood works. I was out for two weeks. When I woke up I still couldn’t hear your thoughts and I felt like that time I took an elevator trip, just this time I didn’t get my balance back. I’d never searched that hard for anything and after a while I thought you were dead and I wanted to die too.”

I just looked at him. So the Creepers were both, a death wish and him tracking me.

“I fell for you before I even dented, so you can imagine how I felt after the Dent, and how frustrated I was when you were gone and I couldn’t find you. I felt broken. On numerous occasions I thought you were dead, but thanks to my sister and Becky, I kept my hope alive.”

“Becky?” I asked with raised eyebrows and he laughed.

“Your friends actually became mine in those four months you were gone. You are really blessed to have them in your life, Elena.”

“With her two-cent comments whenever you don’t want them.”

“Especially when you don’t want them.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“It wasn’t easy for me either, I felt useless because I couldn’t find you. For a month it’s all I did every minute of every day. I crashed in one of the nearby farms just outside Tith. They told me it was from exhaustion, and I slept for an entire week. When I woke up, I was in the hospital and Emanual searched with me after that. I always ended up near the Creepers and it didn’t make sense. I thought it was a death wish, knowing that you were dead, but Emanual didn’t give up on me. He told me so many times that you were still alive. I struggled to believe that and they did tests on me to find out why I couldn’t hear you. I took back those words you’d spoken by kissing you, and yet, it hadn’t come back. I even went to one of the Ancients. The one you meet with on a regular basis.”

I squinted. “You know about Pappi?”

He chuckled. “He told me that you are his great, great, great granddaughter from your mother’s side.”

I smiled.

“He didn’t have answers either, just filled me with wise crap. Not knowing if you were still alive drove me almost insane. Then Emanual told me what he could do with King Helmut—well, what they had done once, and it’d left him with a mother of a headache. But he shared it with me, and thought that just maybe I could do it too.”

I hung onto his lips again, wanting to know if it was something he could do. “He showed me how to feel for your heartbeat.”

My eyes rose slightly. Had I heard him right? “My what?”

He smiled. “If I concentrate real hard and listen past mine, I can feel yours.”

“Really?”

He nodded and raised his eyebrows. “Emanual wasn’t surprised that you didn’t need my essence though.” He sighed. “It wasn’t easy either as I could hardly hear my own, but I was adamant. I wanted proof of life. I thought it would never happen and then I got some of the Creepers’ poison. When one of the leeches stuck its fangs in me, the poison enhanced this process, it was so easy. After that, I’ve done it so many times a day that it’s not even that hard anymore.”

“Wait, you can feel the rhythm of my heartbeat when we are apart?”

“Yeah, it’s quite amazing, but I also knew when you were in danger, and that….” Pain reflected on his face. “Not knowing where you were or being able to go and save you, I can’t explain how that feels Elena. There are simply no words. I trashed many places during the times your heart would rise, and before you came back, I actually thought you were dead and that I couldn’t even tell you any of this, that you’d died without knowing what you mean to me. That night you needed the fire, I felt it. I’ve never felt you that strongly before. I’d never experience such pain and didn’t know what it was. Then Master Longwei told me to release your powers or shift into a dragon. That’s what I did and the pain went away. I tried to find you again, but I was so drained.” He shook his head. “If I’d known that part, I would’ve granted you them a long time ago, Elena. You would’ve never experienced any of it.”

A tear escaped and he hid his face. I wiped one away myself and didn’t know how to handle any of this.

He stroked his face as tears still lingered in his eyes. “I couldn’t even hear your heartbeat anymore and I wanted to die too. Believe me, I had all sorts of ways in my head, and was making plans the next day. Constance had to sedate me of course as I’d put voice to these thoughts, scaring the living crap out of everyone, and when I woke up in the morning, they just carried on. I tried again to feel for your heartbeat, but nothing. Then the knock came and it was Constance saying that they’d found you, that you were in the hospital in Tith. I didn’t wait to hear more, I just flew there as fast as I could.”

“You flew there, from the Academy?”

He smiled again. “Yes, Elena, from the Academy. The poor guy that found you, I had to know what he saw and I discovered the truth.”

I remembered those two. The one that was the dragon was so scared. I thought it was Emanual’s wrath, never in a million years did I imagine that it was Blake’s. I also just discovered that Emanual had lied to me that day. “So, it wasn’t Emanual that discovered the truth?”

He shook his head. “I told Emanual to say that it was him. I had to beg him to make an oath to you, and I made an oath to him that he wouldn’t feel anything if something bad happened to you again. Until you let me make an oath to you myself, one that will delete his. I never thought that my dragon form would be the first one that you would trust. But I used every opportunity I could. Sorry that I tricked you. It was Leo’s suggestion. He said that you could relate and maybe you would trust my dragon form because of Cara.”

“It’s fine. A part of me always knew that it was you. I guess that we are both good at pretending.”

His lips curved upwards. “What you did for me Elena… You erased the darkness completely and for that I can never repay you, but I can offer you my love, my devotion and a piece of my heart, if that’s what you want. I’m not going to force you in any way to be with me. To be honest, I’m the last guy that can, because of the way I treated you.”

I swallowed hard as I knew what he meant. He would give me his essence and I would age slowly. He came closer and was on his haunches right in front of me. He cupped my face gently. “And I would give it to you right now if that is what you wanted, because a life without you...” He shook his head and didn’t finish his sentence. “I’m sorry about that kiss. I didn’t know…” He didn’t finish his sentence.

Didn’t know what?

“I’ll be whatever you need me to be, whether it is a brother figure, a friend—whatever you need. I will never ever hurt you like that day on the mountain again. I would rather kill myself than betray your trust.”

A stray tear rolled over my cheek as his words finally hit me. This was his apology for treating me like crap all those years. He pulled me into his chest. “Don’t cry, please. You’ve cried enough.” A small grunt left his lips. “I would give anything to hear your thoughts again. I fucked up and I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know how to mend it.”

“I could never hear yours, except those times you wanted me to hear it.”

I could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke. “Yeah, I was a big fucking idiot. I’ll fix it, Elena. I promise. Somehow I’ll get it back.”

He hugged me tighter.

I wanted to trust this so much. He’d poured his heart out to me and a part of me still waited for him to wake up and tell me that he didn’t want me. But a part of me was wondering about the Viden’s first words in the Book of Shadows. Everyone thought it was ours, and if Blake really felt the way he did, then maybe they were not too crazy to think it. Just maybe it could be because Blake was the last person—dragon—on this earth that would say anything like that to any girl.

WE STAYED ON that mountain for a long time, just talking about everything.

He told me a lot about what had happened during the time I was stuck in Etan.

He gave the Council the slip so many times. They wanted to have meetings with him badly, but he refused to meet them because he was searching for me.

I now felt bad about the way I’d treated him when he’d found me in the hospital. He’d wanted to see me so badly and I didn’t want anything to do with him.

Still, he’d given me what I needed, space far away from him, even though it must’ve been hard for him.

How that made him feel, well I could just ask and he would tell me in detail.

Lucian came up again. It was a topic he really struggled with too, but he’d been dark back then. He’d wanted me dead, not Lucian.

I huffed. “Have you ever imagined how hard it would’ve been on him if he was still alive?” I asked as I laid my head on his stomach, soaking up the sun’s rays.

He pushed himself up and looked down at me through squinted eyes. “Hard on him?”

“Yeah,” I said and pushed myself up too. I’d never really thought about it. Lucian had said that he was glad to be dead because it would’ve been the hardest thing for him, knowing that I would choose Blake at the end.

Blake’s chin rested on the back of my shoulder. “You would’ve left Lucian to be with me?”

I sucked in lips. “I might, I don’t know.”

He smiled. “And here I was scared that I didn’t stand a chance if he was still alive.”

“Oh believe me, Lucian told me about this side of you and how he would never have stood a chance.”

He chuckled. “I really miss him, you know?”

“I do too.”

Our gaze locked and I felt lost again. But he broke it just as his watched beeped. My head cleared at once.

“Wait, what time is it?”

Blake laughed. “You worried about school? I seriously need to share my opinions about princess perks.”

“I’m not that kind of a princess, Blake.” I sighed. “In fact I really suck at being one.”

He kissed the tip of my nose softly, which made me feel all sorts of things I thought were lost. “You? Never.”

I blushed.

“But if you want to go back, I’m a bit hungry myself. We’ll get back just in time for dinner.”

“Dinner!” I yelled and got up. “We were here that long?”

“Calm down, they know you are with me.” He grinned, but it disappeared fast. “Shit, they know you are with me.”

“That’s bad.”

“To them, yes, as they can only assume what it is I wanted to do.”

I blushed scarlet as he walked back to the trees to change. He turned around and lifted up his hands in defense, walking backwards. “Which is far from it, but yes, they might have a slight problem.”

He disappeared behind the nearest tree.

“We going to be in trouble?” I asked, sounding worried again.

He laughed.

“Blake, this isn’t funny. The last time Master Longwei said, if I stepped out of line again, I would regret having ever found Paegeia.”

“You are its princess, Elena. He should be worried that you are going to chuck him out.”

“I would never.”

The trees rumbled as Blake changed and a tree fell over. I shook my head.

“You really need to make peace with my nakedness. I’m tired of destroying things, especially the trees,” his deep voice said. “And I’ll take the blame if it comes to that, which I’m most certainly sure it will.”

“You’re not alleviating any of my fears.”

He chuckled, crawled out again, and came to a standstill right next to me, so I could get back up.

I hated this. He was so freaking large and I really struggled to get on his back.

I tried a different route, the shoulder part of his wing, and laughed as he pushed me up with his snout. It was more graceful than the first, and when I got my feet secure on his back, I grabbed one of his horns. I stationed myself back against the big horn close to his neck. I grabbed two sprouts again, and after I put my goggles on, I felt ready to go. I was actually more than ready. I was anxious.

“You ready?”

“Yes, just go.”

He started to flap his wings again and we ascended.

Now that we were out of the meadow, the sun was busy setting. Shit. It was all I could think of the entire time and was glad when the coliseum came into view again.

He landed gracefully again outside the coliseum and I slid off his wing.

“So what, you going to fly to his office and explain or do I have to send him out here?”

Blake gurgled, which I knew was a laugh.

“Just go, have dinner, I’ll see you soon.”

“Oh, I almost destroyed the cafeteria once, so a table outside,” I teased again.

“Ha-ha, go before I change my mind.”

“Okay, fine. See you later.”

“You bet.”

A warm fuzzy feeling appeared in my gut with his last statement. The way he made me feel. No wonder Becky refused to believe what I believed—well, didn’t want to believe anymore. He made me feel as if I was the most important thing in his entire existence.

I ran up the stairs and couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot. This afternoon was amazing and overwhelming all at the same time. Blake had told me everything he’d gone through ever since I’d arrived. I had to admit, I hadn’t foreseen how it was going to end as it revealed the truth of how much he despised me, but then he’d told me what it was I’d done, that he’d fallen for me before the Dent actually happened, it made me feel as if I was a dragon again, as if I had the ability to fly myself.

I entered the cafeteria and a few pairs of eyes were on me. I found Tabitha’s at once and she gave me a scolding look with slightly flaring nostrils. Her eyes grew when she saw mine, which told her more or less that I knew the truth and that I was actually pissed off with her interrogation from yesterday. If he’d broken up with her a long time ago, then why had she done that? Making me feel crap for something she couldn’t have anymore was the answer.

I looked away and folded my arms as I walked over to Becky’s table.

“Where the hell have you been?” Becky asked. She had a huge grin on her face and George couldn’t stop laughing. Dean had a grin on his face too, and Sammy, well she just looked relieved.

“You gave us a heart attack, Elena,” Sammy said as I plunged down on the pillow next to her. “Where the hell were you?”

“You know what your brother is like, Sammy. He doesn’t feel the need for some of the classes and I think Aviant is one of those classes.”

“The professors were crazy with worry.”

“They should be,” George said.

“It wasn’t like that, okay?” I started to laugh. “Your brother finally became the saint.”

“I still struggle with that one from time to time, but he has changed, Elena. Thank you.” She hugged me softly and rested her head on my shoulder for a few seconds.

“So,” Becky said, “I’m still waiting to hear where you were.”

I smiled and just looked at her.

The school system beeped and Master Longwei’s voice filled the entire cafeteria. “Can Elena Watkins please come to the office?”

The entire cafeteria responded in one way or another to that.

I just shook my head and got up.

“Good luck,” Becky sang.

The walk to Master Longwei’s office was long. He was going to go ape, and all sorts of images flew through my mind. One was sending me away, as he had threatened the first time we stepped out of line. But then…I doubt Blake would let him.

My feet felt heavy with each step I took. When I finally reached his office, I tried to listen to what was going on inside. Nothing. It was silent.

I knocked on the door.

“Enter,” he said and I went in.

“You wanted to see me?” My voice broke slightly and I cleared it softly as I saw the scowling look on his face.

“Sit,” he said, showing the open chair next to Blake, who was lying on his back bone in his chair with a huge grin on his face.

I took a huge breath and sat down.

“Where were you Elena?”

“I told you it’s not her fault. It’s mine,” Blake answered.

“I heard your excuse. I need to hear hers.”

“We just talked.” I sounded angry. I was angry.

“Talked. It was during a class, Elena. There are afternoons for when you can just talk.” He sounded sarcastic with that last part.

I shook my head.

“Nothing happened,” Blake said again.

“I don’t get you. When we didn’t speak to one another, you literally forced me on him, but when it comes out of our own free will, we get in trouble.”

“It’s how you did it, Elena. During Aviant.”

“It’s a flying class. Teaching us how to stay on top of our dragons, seriously….”

“Enough!” Master Longwei roared.

I kept my mouth shut and just let him have his moment.

“If you weren’t the only one that could pass the Creepers and you weren’t her dragon, the punishment would’ve been more severe. I don’t even feel that detention will be enough for this. But for starters, you are going to spend two weeks in detention.”

Blake smiled.

“Away from one another.”

His smiled vanished. “Seriously?”

“You want to make that three weeks, Mr. Leaf?”

“Fine, whatever.”

“And your father is going to hear about this.”

Blake just stared at him and then shook his head.

“I’ll think hard on the other part of your punishment. You are free to go.”

I got up from my chair and walked out the office with huge strides.

I heard the door close as I started running down the steps. Blake was behind me. I could feel and smell his presence.

“You got this?” I mocked him in a serious tone.

“It’s just a scolding and detention Elena. Not a beating.”

“Still, I only once saw him that upset. We are walking on thin ice, Blake.”

He started to laugh. “Believe me, that was nothing.”

“It’s not funny,” I said over my shoulder.

He moved faster till he was next to me and pulled me in for a sideways hug.

“It’s just words, and that is where it will stay. That is my promise.”

I finally smiled. “Okay, so just words.”

“And plenty of threats.” He grinned.

That made me laugh.

We walked back to the cafeteria and stopped at the door.

“See you soon.”

“In which form?”

“You going to break that stupid promise?” he asked as he retreated.

I sighed.

“In my dragon form then.”

“So, outside.”

“Yeah, outside.”

I walked into the cafeteria and went straight to the buffet line.

“So the two lost souls have finally made it back?” Chef asked. “You had plenty of people worrying about you, Elena.”

“I’m so sorry. I…” I blew out a huge breath.

“Just as long as you didn’t do anything stupid.”

“No!” I said a bit loud. “Swear, it was just talking.”

“Good, it’s about time. You two needed a good chat. So where is he?”

“Outside.”

Chef laughed. “I heard something today. He’s seriously refusing to walk in his human form?”

“Something like that.”

“For how long? I’d hate to see my cafeteria in pieces again, Elena.”

“He promised he won’t tear it down.”

“Okay,” Chef grinned. “See the riddle?”

“Nope, I missed your food and just want this for a short while, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Enjoy.”

He turned around as I grabbed a tray—two trays, with two plates. I was positive a dragon wouldn’t be able to dish up for itself.

I dished something of everything up for him, and some stew with rice for myself. I didn’t even notice Tabitha standing at the end of the line.

My entire body inflated as I saw her. “What do you want, Tabitha?”

“What do I want? You made me a promise, Elena.”

“And he made it perfectly clear…”

“Blake doesn’t know what he wants. He is under your spell.”

I sighed. “He said it wasn’t one, okay?”

“So you’re just going to believe him? You know how many times he lied to me?”

“It’s not just my choice anymore. I can’t force him to be with you if he doesn’t want to. And if you think that I would, then you have no idea who I am, which you don’t.” I took both trays and made my way to the door that led outside.

“You made a promise.” She yelled so that the entire cafeteria heard us.

I walked back to her, wielded my shield and just stared at her.

“He broke up with you, Tabitha. If you really love him, then give him space to make up his mind about what he wants. If it’s a spell… well spells wear off eventually. I will keep my promise if he changes his mind. But I’m not going to tell him what he needs to do because of something he clearly doesn’t want. It’s not just my decision anymore. I’m done fighting with him. And I’m done feeling guilty about something he clearly doesn’t want anymore, Tabitha. To be honest, I have other shit on my mind to worry about, and you didn’t even keep you’re your side of the deal. If he changes his mind and he wants to be with you, I will step aside.”

She just stared at me with flared nostrils. I was done with her shallowness.

I turned around, let my shield disappear and left.

I found him lying underneath a tree close to one of the tables and plopped both trays on the table.

Blake had a smirk on his mug.

“You heard that.”

“Told you shields can be penetrable.”

I grunt softly.

“She is not going to let this go easily.”

“I’ll speak to her.”

“Don’t. Her issue is with me, Blake, not you.”

“Elena, I don’t…”

“I know, okay? Still doesn’t make me feel less shitty, but I hope she gets the message soon, otherwise I promise you, you are going to be a dragon for a very long time.”

“I’m only in my dragon form to make you feel less shitty, Elena. I don’t care about her.”

Becky, George and Sammy reached us with their coffee and desert bowls. “What the hell did Ice Queen want?”

“The stupid promise I made her.”

“So, he is in his dragon form.” She nudged her head toward Blake’s dragon figure.

“Yeah, I don’t think she is getting that message.”

Becky smiled. “So what is the punishment?”

I grunt. “Two weeks detention, and that is just half of it. He will think about the other half.”

Becky laughed.

“It’s so unfair.”

“It’s only detention, Elena. Not a beating.”

“That is what I said.” Blake suddenly developed a two-cent comment ability.

“Oh yeah? I wonder what he would say if I told him about our sleeping arrangements, Becky.”

George spit out some of his coffee and Blake gurgled. Becky’s eyes were huge. “You know about that?”

“What sleeping arrangements?” Sammy wanted to know.

“I know about that.” I narrowed my eyes at Becky.

“Okay, two weeks detention sucks,” she changed her mind.

It changed my mood instantly.

“What sleeping arrangements?”

Becky stared at me with a slightly skew jaw. “You see.”

“Becky will explain that one to you later.”

“You’re screwed,” Blake teased George.

“Shut up.”

“What sleeping arrangements?” Sammy demanded after George’s comment.

“Becky will explain later.” George got up. “I have to go.”

“Be a darling and take that tray of food with you to our room, please,” Blake asked as he rolled out from underneath the tree and got up.

Everyone outside was looking at him.

He lowered his head toward me and sniffed in the nape of my neck. “Sleep tight, Princess,” he whispered and disappeared.

“That fast?” Becky said and I looked at her again.

“Oh don’t even start. You and George hold the ultimate record.”

She laughed softly. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you guys finally made peace, Elena.”

Me too, but I didn’t say that out loud.

“Okay, so what sleeping arrangements?” Sammy still needed to know and I couldn’t help but laugh.

I HADN’T SEEN Constance and Anouk today and made a mental note that after dinner I would quickly go to the infirmary to say hi. Which was right next to Constance’s quarters.

I listened to Becky telling Sammy about George sneaking in every night. She wasn’t happy about it at all, but once Becky explained why George was sneaking in and everything, well, from a dragon’s perspective Sammy understood, sort of.

We walked back to the room and parted ways at the bottom of the stairs.

“I’m quickly going to say hi to Anouk.”

“We met her this afternoon. She is really something, Elena.”

“She is, isn’t she?”

“I’m glad my cousin had you,” Sammy said.

“Do you remember her?”

Sammy smiled. “Her dragon form. I was just a baby back then, but I do remember an eccentric Sun-Blast close to Blake.”

I smiled but it vanished the minute I thought that she wasn’t that eccentric anymore.

“See you later, go, say hi for us.” Becky and Sammy walked up the stairs.

“I will,” I said as I walked in the direction of the infirmary.

When I entered, Constance’s eyes grew.

“Where the heck have you been, young lady? Do you know how worried I was?”

“Calm down. I was with Blake, and no, nothing happened.”

“Still, Elena, you can’t just disappear like that in one of your classes.”

“I was with Blake, Constance. He is the Rubicon.”

“Not alleviating my fears here. I know my nephew extremely well.”

“Seriously? That is what everyone thinks.” I shook my head.

“No, okay yes. I know my nephew, and I know how charming he can be if it comes to the things he wants, Elena. I’m just worried, that’s all.”

A small smile curved at the corners of my lips.

“Give her a break, Mom.” Anouk wrapped her arms around me. “She said nothing happened, I believe her.”

“I have to admit,” Constance finally smiled, “It is good to see you finally speaking to him, Elena.”

Anouk squinted. “‘Finally speaking’? What is my mother talking about?”

“I told you before, I only recently started trusting him.”

“Seriously, it was that bad?”

“Oh believe me, your cousin hated my guts.”

“He didn’t,” Constance said. “He saved your life more than once.”

“Yeah, because the good in him couldn’t watch me die.”

Constance laughed the hardest.

“So how was your first day in Paegeia?” I rubbed Anouk’s arm.

“Free.” She smiled, and that turned into a sigh. “I’m still waiting for something bad to happen.”

“Nothing will ever hurt you again.” Constance kissed Anouk on her temple.

“We are going to leave tomorrow early to go back to David’s.”

I nodded and looked at Constance. “I take it you are going with?”

She nodded with a slight glint in her eyes. I can only imagine the guilt of what Anouk went through, haunting her.

“Well, enjoy it, both of you.”

Anouk’s eyes rose slightly. “Emanual said when he gets back from Etan he is going to help me try to find my dragon again. I’m so nervous.”

“You are going to be fine,” I said again—and would continue to tell her until it sunk in. “I’m glad he is helping you. He is a great guy, Annie.”

She just smiled.

“She is going to be fine,” Constance added too, and put a stray hair from Anouk’s face behind her ear.

“I guess this is me saying goodbye then. If I don’t see you tomorrow morning, have fun finding your dragon Annie.”

“I’m going to try my utmost,” she said and I gave her another hug. “I can’t remember if I’ve thanked you properly for bringing me back,” she whispered in my ear.

“Shhh, no need to say thanks every five seconds,” I smiled.

Her smile turned into worry lines. “I’m just worried about Charles and David.”

“Don’t, King Helmut is on it as we speak. He will let me know when the time is right and then I’ll take them to Etan.”

“You are going to be one busy gal.”

“It’s for a good cause Anouk.”

“I know.”

I gave Constance a hug and said goodbye.

I felt bad for both of them and couldn’t stop feeling sorry for Constance, given what she had to make peace with, as I walked back to the entrance of the castle.

I found the golden statue in the corner, right before you turned into the lobby. A pair of hands grabbed me as I took that first step into the lobby.

I yelped in fright, but the smell of the hand covering my mouth and the chuckle told me I was safe.

He pulled me behind the dragon.

“What, this afternoon didn’t get you in enough trouble?” I whispered.

“No, it didn’t,” he simply said.

“He is going to ground us forever if he finds us behind this dragon, Blake.”

“I should really teach you how to have fun, Elena.”

“You are such a bad influence.”

He smiled. “Whatever. So, where were you?”

“I went to check on Annie. Do I have to tell you my every move now?”

“No, a detailed plan every morning will be enough,” he joked.

“Ha-ha.”

“Meet me tonight?”

“Are you shitting me?”

“No, just meet me. See that as your first lesson in fun.”

“Fine, where?”

“The girl’s roof.” He winked and started to retreat into the lobby.

“What time?” I whispered after him as loud as I could.

“About an hour,” he said and disappeared.

I sighed. He was really going to get us in more trouble. But I had to admit, I was really looking forward to it.

SIXTY MINUTES SEEM like a long time when you can’t wait for something, or let’s say spending more time with a certain someone who has a thing for trouble.

I was excited yet nervous when he’d asked me to meet him. It reminded me of…no. I pushed it away to the back of my mind. Lucian wanted me to be happy and that was what I was going to try and do.

I couldn’t get the conversation from this afternoon out of my head either.

A part of me didn’t want to care about finding out what the Dent procedure was anymore. I wanted to trust it because I wanted this to be real.

So I made a mental note to forget all about the Dent things for now and just enjoy getting to know Blake better. Well, whoever he was now.

The fact that he’d wanted me before he even dented, now that was surprising. Even if his hormones had made that choice for him.

I’d never thought that being with another guy ever again was going to be possible, not with what had happened.

Around fifteen minutes before the hour was up, I got up and pulled on a jacket over my shirt and stepped into my sneakers.

Sammy was still in the bathroom.

“Where are you going?” Becky asked from the top of her bed.

“Out?”

“Is the dragon going with?”

“You would like to know.”

“Elena, I do. At least I know you’ll be safe.”

“Yes, he’s coming with, and no, he just wants to talk.”

“Part of a Dent here, you don’t need to explain.”

I laughed. “Explain.”

“They can’t get enough of their riders. It’s something I learnt very fast in my relationship with George. You are going to beg for alone time, Elena.”

My entire body shook. All of this felt like a dream. A happy dream I didn’t want to wake up from. I looked back at her after I tied my shoelaces. “I promise I won’t be stupid.”

“Didn’t think you were, not even this afternoon.”

“Thanks Becky, I wish everyone else would have that faith in me. But all they see is two hormonal teenagers that can’t get enough of one another.”

“They are just being grown-ups, Elena.”

I said goodbye.

“Enjoy,” she sang softly as I slipped out the door.

I climbed the stairs to the top and opened the latch.

Blake wasn’t there yet, which was a bit disappointing. He was late. A smile broke on my face and I climbed through the hatch and closed it softly.

“What took you so long?” he said behind me and I jumped.

He started to laugh, and I joined in after a while. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I just didn’t see you.”

“My middle name should’ve been stealth.”

“Oh, I would love to know what you are going to spin when Master Longwei appears through the hatch.”

He laughed. “Still no faith in me? You’ve forgotten what I can do. I showed you in Etan, Elena. How I became one with the trees.”

I looked around. “Hate to break it to you, but there are no trees up here, Blake.”

“It doesn’t just work with trees. It’s a blending technique, so it works basically with everything.” He raised his eyebrows once, playfully.

“Okay that is just scary. Something I will always think about now whenever I take a bath.”

He laughed, pulled me closer by my hand and wrapped his arms around me.

I felt so safe with him, but for some reason my heart went up a notch.

He looked down at me. “I’m not like that…anymore.” He chuckled.

“Uh-huh,” I teased him.

“You can actually see the shimmer if you just pay attention, Elena.”

“You can?”

“Yip, I’ll show it to you again, if that would put your wildly beating heart at ease.”

I hated the fact that he could not just hear it, but feel it too. It was beautiful, but it was also extremely dangerous for me if this wasn’t…. I closed my eyes. Just stop it, Elena.

“What is going on in that mind of yours?” Blake asked and I opened my eyes.

“Nothing,” I said.

He gave me that knowing raised eyebrow of his; he wasn’t buying the nothing part.

“Fine, it’s something I really don’t want to think about anymore, but it’s going to take some time. So bear with me.”

The corners of his lips curved and a soft smile appeared on his face. Damn, he was seriously so vereautiful or deautiful. I laughed at that last word: ‘damn’ and ‘beautiful’.

He led me to a small wooden shed that was on the girl’s roof and when we went around it, I saw the blankets with the pillows.

He seriously was the prepared kind of guy.

I sat down on the blanket and put the pillow on my lap as he lay on the blanket with his torso supported by his elbow.

“Didn’t take you for the romantic type.”

“Then you should stay away from me when I’m reciting my poems.”

I laughed.

“So, why did you come back? I thought you said three days.”

“Missed you too much.” He was so full of confidence, which made me blush again.

“Bet you tell all the girls that.”

“No, I really don’t. It’s not easy for dragons to be away from our riders. You really have it so easy, Elena.” His answer was extremely cheesy and I didn’t buy it for one minute.

“Fine, whatever. Don’t tell me.”

“I’m serious.” He chuckled. “It’s who we are, Elena. When dragons care, they don’t just care with their entire heart, they care with their entire being. Mind,” he tapped on his temple, “soul,” he tapped on his stomach, “and heart.” His chest.

“Oh man.” I flinched when I realized it was out loud and it made him laugh. He really didn’t make it easy at all to not fall for him.

He cupped my face. “I told you before, it’s not a spell, Elena, and I’ll say it over and over again until it sinks into that beautiful, yet over-active mind of yours.”

I melted. If I was made of Jell-O I would’ve been a puddle of goo right now. I cleared my throat and broke my gaze away from him. “I thought you can’t read my mind anymore.”

He lay back flat on his back with his head on the pillow, just looking up at the sky. “I don’t have to read your mind to know what you are thinking. It’s evident on your face.”

“Lucky me.” I said and his body shook with laughter.

Hours and hours of conversation followed, things about each other that would make you think we were going to participate in a “Know your dragon rider” contest.

I discovered that his birthday was two days after New Year, something I thought was the first of April. Guess he fooled everyone. I should’ve known as Sammy never gave him a present on the first of April. And he was also searching for me with Emanual on his last birthday, which must have sucked big time.

His favorite color, green, emerald green, like my eyes—but I doubt that it was his favorite color before the Dent.

His favorite book, Wuthering Heights, as he always felt a connection with one of the characters, and he loved Romeo and Juliet, even if it was cliché. He had a thing for tragicomedies. He was seriously not the type of guy I thought he was.

He was also addicted to the extreme. Now that was the Blake I did know. Jet ski, slopes, surf, sky diving, you name it, he did it—called it his “Rubicon perks.” The only thing he had never been able to do was Warbel games, something I think he would excel in.

We were so much the opposite of one another.

The only extreme in my life was moving every three months and having a knack for escaping death, but he was more interested in the stuff he already knew about me, the things that happened after I came to Paegeia. Weird.

We spoke plenty about how Brian’s death made me feel. I told him about the dreams I used to have, of me becoming the other Sun-Blast, tearing his wings apart, how deranged and angry I was when they killed the Dragonian that Goran took hostage.

I woke up before George killed me.

I didn’t know if it was because of Cara stirring inside of me, or if it was really just me being messed up from Brian’s death.

I even told him about dreaming of my mother the minute I came to Paegeia. How at first I had no clue who she was and then realized that it was the queen after Cheng took me to the museum.

He seemed really interested in my dreams, and gave me the impression that he didn’t think they were just dreams after all. That somehow I’d experienced some elements of a vision. It sounded a bit nuts, but we were in a world where the impossible and nuts were a reality.

He changed the subject when it got too awkward, and we spoke about Emanual, what a good friend he had become to Blake, and about their trips searching for me. He would’ve been dead on so many occasions if it hadn’t been for Emanual. I’ve seen a couple of them myself, especially the one where they crashed into the park of Tith, taking the entire playground down with them. It fell silent for a few seconds.

“My father is starting the Dragon League again.”

“So you were right that night when you told me that was what you think he wanted to do.” I was excited for him, still not knowing what the Dragon League was all about but I knew Sammy had told me once that it was something that Sir Robert used to run. He was their leader as he was seen as the lead dragon for a time because of who his rider had been—or still was.

Blake nodded, looking really excited about that too.

“If I may ask, what is it the Dragon League does?”

He started to laugh. “Serve and protect. They were your father’s personal league. Nothing like the Council.”

He told me how they used to go on all sorts of missions, especially ones on the other side. My father would have special meetings via these dragons representing him with all the leaders of the world, very top secret of course, and if Sir Robert or one of the other highly seen dragons needed to find someone on the other side, they would do it. There were still plenty of dragons living on the other side, mostly Metallic, as they could go the longest without their true form, like my father, Herbert, used to.. Sir Robert had sent word that Paegeia needed their help, with the war that would come in a few months, and he was waiting in patience for them to reply.

I was hanging on every word that exited his mouth.

He told me about a vacation they once took when he had just received his human form. Samantha had to stay with Constance.

His parents had taken him to China where they sort of blessed him, because they knew who he was. It was why the Chinese showed their love for dragons through time through their art. They were still so connected with this world.

I could only imagine how they made him feel.

The conversation turned serious again when Blake wanted to speak about a matter that was extremely hard to talk about: Etan.

Still, I answered his questions as best I could. Some of them were actually easy to be honest, and I wondered if he had used some persuasion to get it out of me. Things I never thought that I would tell him, just like I had with Leo.

“And that was when I ran again. I don’t even remember the Creepers, it’s all a big blur in my mind.”

He was lying on his back and looked at the stars. They shone brightly with the full moon in the background. There were no clouds tonight.

Silence lingered in the air for a few minutes, awkward silence, and I lay down next to him just staring at the sky, wondering if I had said too much.

“I knew something was wrong,” Blake finally said. “We were all having dinner and then your heart beat so fast that I didn’t even need to tune in. When I did, my own was beating, because hearing yours like that scared the living shit out of me.”

“Sorry,” I said. It couldn’t have been easy.

“It wasn’t your fault, Elena.”

“I should’ve stayed.”

“How?” He gave me a broken smile. “All you’ve ever been taught is that in times of real trouble, you run. It’s the only thing Herbert showed you, Elena.”

I nodded. How the fuck did he know that? Matt. He’d put two and two together. Blake was smart.

“Then I felt how you needed your abilities. I was going insane at that time.”

I wondered what it would be like to see him insane. I’ve seen crazy and psycho, but not insane. I remembered it then. A scream, an agonizing scream.

I sat back up and folded my arms around my knees.

Had I heard him that night? It happened before my abilities appeared. Blake still spoke, but I didn’t hear a single word he said, because I kept hearing that scream. It wasn’t one of the three I’d killed. I’d looked. They hadn’t heard it.

He brought me back to the conversations when he stroked my back and was sitting right next to me. “I destroyed the cafeteria. Master Longwei put it back together real fast. Said the last time you had done it, they’d taken precautions.”

I smiled softly and felt like crap for not listening to what had happened that led up to the destruction of the cafeteria.

The subject changed to a lighter note again and we spoke again about the things we loved the most. Me, it was easy: flying and drawing.

Blake had a huge list. It all fell into the deranged adrenaline junky category again. We were so different to one another and I feared that after tonight he was going to discover that I was just plain and boring because I didn’t have an exciting life like he did, and that we had absolutely nothing in common.

We called it a night as he glanced at his watch and an awkward silence fell between us as we walked back down.

“I’ve said way too much, haven’t I?”

“Shhh, Elena. If anybody finds us here, there are going to be months of detention.”

I burst out in laughter and cupped my mouth.

“Shhh,” he said again and smiled the smile that made my knees wobble.

I sucked in my lips and continued walking down the stairs.

We finally reached my floor.

“Sorry about tonight,” he spoke.

“Sorry?” I whispered back.

“It’s like four, Elena. You didn’t get much sleep.”

I smiled. “Well, at least I won’t be the only useless one in class tomorrow.”

His laugh sounded so guilty. “Believe me, a day without sleep does absolutely nothing to me. I’m still filled with energy.”

I grunted. “So unfair. You better discover how you can transfer that to me,” I joked.

“Maybe I should. Who knows what else we can do?”

“It was a joke, Blake.”

“It’s not impossible, Elena,” he said and pulled me in for a hug. “Sweet dreams, Princess.” He kissed me on top of my head. His lips lingered a few seconds and I breathed in his musky scent mixed with some roasted oak that reminded me of fire. Then he let me go and skipped down the stairs without making a sound. “I need to go practice,” he said over his shoulder and winked.

I shook my head and went into my room.

I rested with my back against the door after I closed it, grinning. Grinning like an idiot. The doubt was clawing the pit of my stomach again but I forced it away this time just by going through the long conversation we’d had up on the roof. It had to be real.

“ELENA!” BECKY YELLED,” and I found myself inside the cafeteria. I had a slight headache from the lack of sleep and felt drained.

“Becky,” Blake’s voice was right next to me. When did he get here? And in his human form?

“How long was I out?”

“Not that long. Here is your coffee, it’s still warm.”

“You’ve had to heat it back up twice with your fire, don’t lie.” Becky gave her two cents worth.

“Seriously, why didn’t you wake me?” I looked at Blake.

“You looked so peaceful.”

“I need food,” I scolded him and pushed myself up.

“Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.”

I grunted inwardly because it wasn’t just his fault. I could’ve easily told him that I needed my sleep and I hadn’t.

I went to the buffet area, got a bowl with muesli and yogurt, and went back to the table.

Everyone seemed to be done eating. Why on earth hadn’t they woken me up? It was so embarrassing.

I gulped down my breakfast.

“So what time did you come in last night?” Becky still wanted to know.

“Got absolutely nothing to do with you.”

“Ouch, you are grouchy,” she sang.

“I’m tired and I’ve got a slight headache and really don’t have the strength to answer you at the moment, so deal with my grouchiness.”

“You have a headache?” Blake spoke softly.

“Slight headache,” I said again. Oh my word, I was grouchy.

“Here,” Blake said and turned me on my pillow to face him. He put his hands on my temples and the singing sensation started again. The headache disappeared slightly, but the tiredness was still there.

“I need energy,” I sulked.

“Haven’t figured that one out yet, sorry.”

“I hate you so much right now.”

“Elena was with you last night?” Sammy wanted to know and I looked at Becky. She didn’t tell her a thing last night.

“Stay out of it, Samantha, you’re not Mom,” Blake snapped softly.

“But Dad will love that, Blake,” she teased him.

“Oh yeah, you really going to go that way?” he said in a blackmailing manner. “I’m sure he will love that Dean secret more.”

She gasped and blushed scarlet.

Becky snorted in her cup and looked at her. “What Dean secret?”

Sammy turned even redder.

“Whatever,” she said to her brother and got up. “I need to quickly go somewhere.”

Blake laughed.

“Sis,” I slapped him.

“Ouch.” He laughed and rubbed his arm.

“What secret?” Becky asked him.

I grunted again. She was so nosy. Sure she was my best friend, but I could not recall me or Sammy ever being this nosy when she and George started dating.

MY REFLEXES WERE slow in Art of War and I almost fell on my ass a couple of times. Blake caught me every time with a huge grin on his face as he pulled me back up fast.

“Elena, what is up with you today?” a dozen teachers asked me.

“Nothing,” I would say, pretending to be wide-awake. I hated this because the day was completely wasted.

After school, Blake walked with me to my room.

“I need to sleep,” I almost shouted at him as I pounded him softly on his chest. It was so unfair that he was still filled with so much energy.

“Okay, Miss grouchy. Sleep it is.” He opened my room.

I fell on my bed and drifted away the second my head connected with my pillow.

When I opened my eyes, a patch of my linen was slightly wet.

I had drooled.

The numbers on my digital clock read 18:15.

The sound of bikes was playing in the background and I lifted up my head.

“Seriously,” George said. “You are a fucking cheat, Blake.”

“Am not,” he said, chuckling. “I’m just a better driver than you, Georgie.”

A motorcycle racing game played on our TV screen.

“You have a real bike,” I chirped tiredly from my bed and George laughed. “Remember the one you chucked back in my face?” I joked. I closed my eyes again. A few seconds later my bed shifted.

His scent clouded my mind, as it always did, and when I opened my eyes, he was lying next to me. His warmth radiated from him and I curled myself up into a ball closer to him.

“I was dark then, and that bike is still mine. No givebacks.”

I smiled and closed my eyes again.

“You feeling any better?”

“Much, but that is never going to happen again. I really need all the Art of War sessions they give, because I’m not as good as I think I am.”

I could feel his eyes staring at me and I looked at him. I was still so tired.

“Then I guess it’s time I give you some private lessons.”

“I’m not joking, Blake.”

“Me neither. I take combat slightly serious.”

“Urgh, you are going to be a demon slaver too.”

He laughed softly. “If it’s going to turn you into a fighting machine, then yes.” His lips brushed against my head.

“You need to wake up, I want to go and have dinner.” He slapped me on my bum and got up.

“Then go.” I rubbed the place his hand had connected hard with my ass. “You don’t need me to eat supper, Blake.”

“No, but I want you to join me. It’s extremely boring if you are not there.”

What? I gave a tired laugh. He was driving me insane.

I got up and put on my shoes. Sammy and Becky were gone, which was also extremely weird because George and Becky were like each other’s shadows.

Blake and I left as George carried on playing the game.

We ran into Becky and Sammy on the stairs.

“Finally. Welcome to the living, Elena,” Becky joked as she passed me.

“Shut up,” I growled and felt Blake’s arm pulling me in for a side hug as we skipped down the steps.

He opened the big oak door with ease and let me step through first.

He was such a gentleman and walked with me into the cafeteria.

“What, no dragon anymore?”

“I told you before, I only did that to make you feel less guilty. Besides, I think this form will send the message to her faster.”

I found everyone’s eyes on the two of us as we walked to the buffet line. This was never going to stop.

“Good evening, Elena,” Chef said. “Blake.”

“Evening Chef,” Blake said and grunted with delight when he saw the food. I grabbed a tray as the two of them started to make jokes and we walked to the nearest table and just dug in.

Everyone was still staring at us.

“Is this ever going to stop?”

“Let them stare, I really don’t care.”

“Rhyming again,” I joked and he chuckled.

“There is something I have to speak to you about.”

“What could that be?”

“The Dragon League.”

I smiled as I picked at my food. “What about it?”

“I really want to go and train for a bit with them, if that is okay with you.”

I looked at him and my lips started to curve into a smile. “You can do whatever you want, Blake. Told you that a million times before.”

He grin. “It’s that easy for you.”

“What? You want me to tell you no, because I’ll miss you too much?”

“Ouch,” he joked, which made me laugh.

“You haven’t told your dad about you know what, right?”

“Elena, I promised you I wouldn’t,” he said quietly.

“Sorry, I’m just worried about that.”

“Believe it or not, but I do care about my dad too.”

I swallowed my food. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Still, I agreed that I wouldn’t say anything, and I haven’t,” he said seriously.

“Sorry, I really didn’t mean it like that. So, the Dragon League. What does this training entail?”

“Plenty of camping and plenty of learning.”

“When do you want to go?”

“Well, by your previous reply, not anytime soon.”

I laughed again.

“But I have to get back to Etan, Elena. And my father wants to put a couple of dragons on the other side.”

“When?” I didn’t like this at all. But I understood why they wanted to set up in Etan: For intel.

“This weekend.”

My face fell at once and I sighed. “That soon?”

“Elena, I have to help Tom and August, remember?”

“Blake?” I hated that and wiped my mouth with the napkin.

“I have to help them find Max and Nicky, and hopefully Leana too.”

“And let me guess, I am just going to take you back in and have to come back without you.”

“No, you will be busy taking in some of King Helmut’s men too, and bringing back more farmers. The scientists are ready with the first one hundred buyos,” He smiled.

“They are?” That was fast.

“They’ve worked non-stop, Elena. When a shift went home to sleep, another took their place. They’re ready.”

I nodded.

“You take me in first, and then when you’re done, I’ll be back. It will take you more or less the entire weekend, so let’s say three days.”

I sighed. I still didn’t like it, even if I was going to be busy myself.

“C’mon, it’s not that long.”

I blew out a big gush of air. “You know what they do to dragons, Blake. If Goran finds you...”

“He won’t. I’m not stupid. King Helmut needs Emanual back anyway. At least you will be too busy to worry about stupid things.” He gave me a lopsided grin.

I squinted at him. “Losing you is not stupid. It’s quite serious and I won’t go through that again.”

“So she does care?”

I narrowed my eyes quickly at him, which made him smile.

He touched my hand gently. His was warm and a current, not the electric kind, ran through my entire body from his touch. It was addictive. “I’ll be fine. Nothing will happen.”

I sighed. “Okay, so this weekend it is, and three days only, Blake. Not negotiable.”

He smiled again. “I thought I could do whatever the hell I wanted.”

“Anything except playing on Etan’s front porch.”

He laughed. “Everything is going to work out just fine. I promise.”

My smile reflected how I felt about all of this. Unsure of the entire finding Max and Nicky thing, but he had promised, and I didn’t want him to break a promise. It sucked big time. It just better work out.

THE NEXT DAY I felt refreshed, and excited again to start the day.

Aviant was fun, again, but this time, Professor Vladimir and Alex kept a hawk eye on us.

It was exciting to finally fly with my friends. To dive into the air and the fear of slipping off, happened so many times, but I found a way to stay on his back. It was a bit uncomfortable too as he was just so big, and I wondered many times how on earth we were going to get a saddle on his back.

Still, Aviant became one of my favorite subjects.

Art of War was so much different from yesterday, and I didn’t see my ass as much this time.

Blake had to really duck and dive, but he was really fast and would always find the upper hand. I found myself in so many death grips, that the only thing needed was a twitch of his arm or a flick of his wrist and I would have a broken neck or back.

Still, he was gentle.

The class actually stopped to watch us spar against each other. I’d really started to get fed up with falling into his grip every single time, and grunted slightly as he hit me on the butt, real hard.

Professor Mia just scowled at him, which he laughed off.

It was a really good workout. One day I would get the upper hand on him, and that day was the day that I knew I would be ready.

When the bell rang, it was lunchtime and we went our separate ways on the stairs because I needed a shower.

We met for lunch and then it was the last two classes of the day. Magic Variances.

Professor Gregory and Sir Edward were waiting for us as we entered the coliseum.

Class was held in the coliseum whenever we had to learn what Dragonians could use when their dragons were in true form and away from us, or not around.

It used to be such a boring class as I had no partner, or dragon, to help me with, but not this time.

“Elena,” Professor Gregory said as we walked in.

I smiled.

“Blake, don’t transform,” Sir Edward spoke fast as Blake went to take off his shirt. “You too, George.”

Blake and George stared at one another for a few short seconds.

“The rest of you can take a seat.”

The class left and a few minutes later they started to fill the stone steps closest to us.

“What is this about?” Becky wanted to know.

“This lecture is only for Dents today. The other bonds, well, they don’t have a problem with this, as their dragons are not the true keepers of their abilities. So it’s easier for them to wield their frost, fire, or acid. Dents, you need to learn how to activate consent,” Professor Gregory spoke.

“So you are going to lecture a class on something you two can’t even do?” Blake squinted.

“Not us, Blake. Our guest.”

A figure walked into the coliseum and I smiled when I saw my Pappi walking with Pedro and one of the Ancient guards.

Everyone took a bow, and my Pappi waved it away as he wanted none of it.

“Thank you for having me today, Sir Edward,” my Pappi said as he took Sir Edwards hands in his own.

“Believe me, the pleasure is ours.”

He greeted Professor Gregory and they too went to sit with the class.

“Elena, Blake.” Pappi smiled. “Hope you two are not still fighting.”

The class laughed.

“We came to a truce,” I spoke softly and Pappi smiled.

“George, Becky. Now the reason I am here is simple. You need to learn how to use your dragon’s abilities.””

Blake shook his head and looked at Pappi. “You know that isn’t possible.”

“It is, with lots and lots of practice,” Pappi said.

“Pappi, what does this entail?” I remembered Blake telling me that it was extremely painful.

“Elena, you need to learn how to wield your abilities without Blake having to transform.”

“That has never been my strongest skill. I could hardly do it when I was a dragon.”

“She was never supposed to wake up, so technically you weren’t a dragon.”

“Okay,” I spoke and looked at Blake again.

“I will take you through each step Blake, until it becomes like breathing.”

Blake nodded.

“How do you do this, George?” I looked at him. I knew Becky had used her abilities many times while George was in his human form.

“No, Elena. George can’t, that is why I’m here,” Pappi said.

“No, they have. I’ve seen it,” I said and my Pappi looked at both Becky and George, who had a look of confusion on their faces.

“You do it all the time Becky.”

“Not while he is in human form.”

“No, he was. That time in the cafeteria you helped George subdue Blake and, when Lucian died, Nichole tried to hurt me, you wielded your lightning. George held me tight, he wasn’t a dragon.”

“You two can do this already?”

George just looked at the ground. “Elena is right, Becks, we have done this before.”

“I can’t remember that George.” She sounded a bit hysterical, which I didn’t like.

“I do.” He looked at me. “I thought it was your purple lightning that hurt me, it wasn’t. It was Becky.”

“Still, you didn’t feel like you were going to explode?” Blake sounded annoyed.

Explode?

“He has one ability to give, Blake. You have many. You will take more time.”

“I won’t know what Elena needs.”

“It hasn’t come back yet?”

We both shook our heads.

“Give it time, in the meantime practice with the most dangerous of them all.”

“The pink kiss it is then,” Blake said. “So, how did you do this, George?”

“Blake,” he looked surprised. “I don’t know.”

Becky looked at us too. “Me neither.”

“So how do I do this?” He looked at Pappi.

“I’m not going to do that, if it hurts him,” I spoke to my Pappi.

“Elena,” Blake interfered. “You need to learn how to wield at least one of them. There might come a day when I can’t transform. I need to know that you can wield it then without hurting me.”

“Without hurting you?” Idiot. “And how do you think we are going to get to that stage Blake? I am going to hurt you.”

“It’s okay. I’m the Rubicon.” He gave me a soft smile and looked at Pappi. I didn’t like this at all.

“I’m with Blake,” George said and Becky just stared at him with furrowed eyebrows. “We’ve done this before Becky, we just need to learn how.”

“I’m not going to do that. I’ve seen what happens to them. I can’t watch George…” she couldn’t finish her sentence. I looked at Blake again. I’d heard his scream. I was sure it was his now. I couldn’t imagine what sort of pain he was experiencing.

“I understand how both of you feel, but it will become easier with practice, child. Blake had no idea what he had to do then. With my help both your dragons will be fine.”

He spoke to the entire class about how dragon keepers need to ease their minds, slow down their heartbeats and just focus on revealing their abilities, guiding their Dragonians to see them. It sounded so insane, impossible, and I gave Blake a slight look of worry—worry that my Pappi might actually be speaking the biggest load of dust.

Blake smiled.

When Pappi was done, he turned to Blake. “You ready?”

“I’ll give it a shot.” He sounded eager. I wasn’t.

“Close your eyes,” Pappi spoke and Blake did it. “Elena, you too.”

“I really don’t like this.”

“Just do it,” Blake sounded frustrated again. Irritated.

I closed my eyes and saw nothing.

“Blake, clear your mind of worry, of what you felt the first time this happened, think of absolutely nothing.”

Blake must have done it. “Elena, you too.”

I opened my eyes. “How can I think of nothing…?”

“Elena.” Blake opened his eyes. “I’ll be fine. Just do as he says, otherwise you are seriously going to put me through a lot of pain.”

My head shot back at him. “Not helping.”

He smiled and closed his eyes again.

I had no choice. Do as Pappi says or put Blake through hell. I closed my eyes and tried my very best to clear my mind, to think of nothing. Just the color black and hoping that it would not hurt Blake.

Everything became super quiet, I closed off everything, then I heard Pappi’s voice.

“Call on your fire.” His tone was so calm and I imagined my fire was playing on my palm the way Blake had told me. I could feel it on my palms and everything. I felt a jolt, something was wrong and my eyes flew open.

I saw Blake flat on the floor, the expression on his face was one of agonizing pain but no sound came from him. Then I realized what Pappi had done: he’d wielded his shield around me so that I wouldn’t hear Blake’s pain. I snapped out of everything and ran out of Pappi’s shield. Noises came back, all at once and I fell on my knees next to Blake, who was breathing really loudly.

“How could you do that?” I yelled at Pappi.

“Child, you need….”

“I don’t need to do anything. If it’s going to hurt him. I don’t…”

“Elena,” Blake said and got up slowly. “You need to learn how to do that without hurting me. Again.” He took a huge breath and got up.

I stared at him with a gaping mouth. “Are you insane? I’m not going to do that again. I would never be able to clear my mind knowing that you go through that.” I stared up at his figure from my position on the ground.

He was insane.

“You need…”

“No, I don’t,” I interrupted him. “If you can’t shift releasing my abilities, then I don’t need it.” I got up.

“No,” he sounded harsh. “Again. I’m not going to give up until you get it right.”

“Blake, please, don’t ask….”

“Elena, I need to know that you can protect yourself if I’m not around.” I didn’t like how he said “if I’m not around.”

“Fine, but just remember: Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s going to take time.”

He just nodded and took his stand next to Pappi again.

I looked at Pappi. “No shield this time, please.”

He nodded.

I went to stand on the other side of him and tried to clear my mind again. The minute I wished for my fire, the same thing happened: an agonizing grunt left Blake’s mouth and I stopped.

I didn’t go to him this time. This was the stupid idiot’s own fault. “Why did you stop? You need to push, Elena.” Blake sounded furious.

“Not if it’s hurting you.”

“There will be a time when you have to do this, with or without thinking that it is going to hurt me. Now try harder.”

He was so adamant and parts of the old Blake had started to come out again. The one that made me so furious.

“Maybe you two should take a rest.” Pappi said, “And let’s give George and Becky a chance.”

George had a look of utter fear on his face, while Becky…I couldn’t decipher it, but I knew she didn’t like this as much as I did.

“I’m with Blake, Becks and I have the upper hand here. We’ve done this before.”

“Without knowing how. It was by some sort of accident, George.”

“It’s in me, somewhere.” He sounded so calm.

“I don’t know if I can see you like that.”

“You are not going to. We can do this.”

He stood next to Becky and she looked like she was about to throw up.

Nevertheless, she closed her eyes and did what Pappi told her to do. Then I could see the hurt pulling on George’s face, but he refused to give up. What was it with them?

I looked furiously at Blake and he shook his head, indicating I shouldn’t say a word.

She would stop if she knew that she was hurting him.

George calmed his face and small sparks danced on Becky’s palms.

All of us just stared at it.

George opened his eyes and smiled softly.

Becky did too and saw George just standing there, without a hint of pain.

“Told you, we can do this.”

She laughed, ran to him and jumped in his arms.

“What did you do?” Blake asked again.

“I knew, Blake. I don’t know how to give the consent as it happened without me knowing I did it. Yes, it was a bit painful in the beginning. But I kept focusing on the part that we’d done this before, and it was knowing that we could. The pain disappeared.”

Blake’s face fell. He didn’t like that he couldn’t do this without experiencing pain. “So you want to tell me it’s a doubt thing?”

“Something like that.”

“You need to let everything go, Blake,” Pappi spoke. “Total surrender.”

Blake chuckled. It wasn’t a happy one. “That is going to be a slight problem because I’m not built that way.”

“I know.” Pappi didn’t smile.

I looked at the ground with my hands on my hips. I shook my head. “I don’t know if I can do this.” I looked at Pappi. “He’s not built to surrender, and I don’t want him to know what it tastes like either.”

“Elena, we have no choice,” Blake spoke again.

“I do have a choice, Blake. And I’m telling you, I can’t. I won’t,” I said, turning around and walking away.

“Elena!” Blake called after me but I didn’t stop. I had to go think about this and just needed some freakin’ distance from him. He was always there, and although I loved his company, there were some times that it still freaked me out. Just a bit. I needed to think by myself and try to make sense of how this was going to be of any help.

BECKY FOUND ME in the room later that afternoon. I didn’t hear her come in because I was listening to my music.

I only saw her as she walked into my line of sight.

“Sorry,” she smiled and I took out my earplugs. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” I said and lay with my head propped up on my hand.

“It really does get better.”

“Becky,” I smiled. “You and George, even though it was by accident, found a way to do this. He completely surrendered to you.” I broke my gaze with her. “I know what Blake is capable of, but I know what he isn’t too. I’m not going to force him to surrender. It’s not who he is.”

“It’s not that he doesn’t want to Elena, he doesn’t know how to and that fact scares him more than surrendering everything. Not trying would do more harm than not wanting surrender for him.” She sighed. “I just wish George could get a glimpse of the future. It sucks not knowing what’s going to happen.”

“He hasn’t even seen a glimpse yet?”

She shook her head.

“Blake saw something.”

“What do you mean he saw something? Something of the future?”

I nodded. “It came out as gibberish though. We have no idea what is going to happen.”

“What did he see?”

“Us fighting the Saadedine.”

She just gaped at me.

“He looks like a fire-breathing crow next to him, Becky.”

“How do you know that?”

I took a huge breath. “I saw the picture before he got the foretelling.”

“What?”

“I think it’s his Moon-Bolt part that was finally being activated. The only problem is, we have no idea what it is that can kill the Saadedine.”

“Your blood?”

I shook my head. “The way Blake said it, well, they said it didn’t sound like my blood. It’s called the missing ingredient, something stronger than my blood.”

“That cannot be good.”

“Oh, that is not all of it. If we don’t find it”—tears welled up in my eyes—“one of us is going to die.”

BECKY STARED AT my bed for a long time.

She didn’t say anything after I told her about this huge omen of death hanging over the two of us.

Paegeia could not live without the Rubicon.

“Well,” she finally opened her mouth. “Blake was right. You have no choice Elena.”

“Becky.”

“You need to learn how to wield his abilities in his human form. If they can protect you, you must. It’s not a choice anymore.”

I knew she was afraid. I was scared too, but to see Blake in that sort of pain was something I couldn’t do. It should feel like it was payback, but this Blake didn’t deserve that kind of pain. He wasn’t dark anymore.

“We will help you. I can tell you what I think of and George can help him find a way to let everything go.”

I nodded. Guess she was right after all.

We found Blake and George at dinner sitting with Sammy and Dean at one of the tables outside. It was a beautiful night. They were both making jokes and Sammy gave her hyena laughter, which made all of them laugh.

“I would so love to know what this Dent is. For them to not fucking hate our guts after that torture.”

We walked up to their table. None of them mentioned today; in fact their faces lit up when they saw us and Becky just gave me that raised eyebrow of hers, which made me laugh.

“Are we missing something here?” George asked as he pulled Becky in for a hug.

“Nothing at all,” Becky joked.

I got up to go and grab something to eat. In all the time that I’d known Pappi, I’d never been this angry at him. Why did he even have to go and mention this today? It made me wonder about the night my fire showed. How much pain had Blake experienced before Master Longwei told him to shift?

Back at the table, Becky and I ate our food while the others were making jokes with Dean. I felt sorry for him because he was now the outsider. George and Blake had always been friends, even if George had turned to the light. A part of him had stayed good friends with Blake.

“It’s fine, whatever.” Dean spoke. “I’ll find a way to get into the good graces of that Night Villain. Really thought you would help me dude.”

Blake laughed. “Sorry, but when it comes to Sammy, my dad’s seriously not going to listen to anything I tell him.”

We all laughed. Sir Robert didn’t treat Dean like that. He was just very protective of his baby girl, or dragon, the way he’d spoken it on that day that had ended with a horrible beating.

“So,” George started and looked at me. “What is it going to be Elena?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

He smiled and moved his eyes towards Blake.

“Urgh. I knew that you were going to mention it, but I decided that you guys are right.”

“Sorry,” Blake said, which made me laugh. “Didn’t hear you properly. Where is my Cammy? I have to record this.”

“HA, HA,” Becky mocked him again. “I know how Elena feels about this, but we spoke about everything, and it’s in Elena’s best interest to know how to wield her fire, at least.”

“What I said.”

“Blake, shush,” Becky scolded him. “She’s not looking forward to it.”

“Still here, I can speak for myself, Becky.”

“I’m just saying. It is not going to be fun, but it’s something you will try.”

I smiled. “Who says it won’t be fun. Guess it’s payback time.” I popped a grape in my mouth and smiled.

Blake started to laugh. “I so deserve that.”

“But there is one condition. We need a detailed report from Pappi on how it’s done. I need to read those words over and over until they are stuck in my head. Otherwise, I’m not even going to try it.”

“You wouldn’t need it if you had just stayed in class today.”

“Well,” I didn’t know what to say. “Whatever.”

He laughed again and put his arm around my neck. He pulled me into the side of his chest and kissed me on the head. “I will get a crow to him.”

“They seriously don’t use email?” Sammy wanted to know.

“Guess they love traditional posts,” I said.

We left around seven and Blake said he needed a word with me. “So, I spoke to Master Longwei earlier on and he was really so friendly to give me this.” He handed me a piece of paper. I opened it and saw my detention schedule.

“Repacking the library.”

“You want mine.”

“What’s yours?”

“Cleaning the coliseum.”

“Repacking the library it is.”

“Thought so,” Blake smiled. “Besides, repacking the library isn’t a bad thing. It means you will clean the restriction section too. You can try to find the missing ingredient.”

“Good thinking,” I said.

“I am actually one of the smartest dragons out there, Elena,” he joked. “But picking up on our wonderful time away from one another”—he sounded sarcastic—“it wasn’t the reason I went to see Master Longwei. I actually went to talk to him about training you, and he thinks it’s a good idea. Your first class starts at eight tonight. Don’t be late.” He turned around before I could protest.

“What?” I yelled after him.

“Parthenon Dome at eight, Elena.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” I spoke to myself.

“Nope, just be there,” I heard his voice coming from the stairs. He disappeared on and I smiled, shaking my head.

I ROCKED UP at eight with a pair of slacks, sneakers and a shirt, ready for the workout from hell.

I found him sitting on the bleachers, checking his watch.

“It’s eight.”

“Just,” he said, and I hated that smirk on his face. It was as if he knew I was really not looking forward to this at all.

“Just promise me that we are not going to try that tonight.”

He smiled. “Depends on what trying part you are referring to.” He had that evil grin on his face and it made me blush

“The abilities one.” Idiot.

“Oh,” he smiled. “Okay. Promise.”

He put down his water bottle and walked toward me.

I couldn’t look at him and tried to hide my blushing face, thinking of what other “try” was going on in his mind.

He just laughed. “You have a dirty mind, Elena Watkins.”

“Whatever. The way you said it makes me think your mind is dirty.”

“I’m not like that.”

I laughed with raised eyebrows. “Sure you’re not. Now let’s get started.”

I had to suppress my laughter again as Blake mocked me one more time with his.

“I didn’t mean that, I meant the lesson. The fighting lesson,” I retraced my words. Guess it’s true what they say: boys and their hormones get twenty times crazier at night.

“Whatever you say, Princess.”

“I’m serious.”

“Okay. So I’ve seen how you fight. Not bad, I see Lucian has trained you well as you fight more or less the same style he used to fight.”

I smiled as he mentioned Lucian. It wasn’t that tearful feeling anymore. It was peaceful, grateful that I’d known him.

“He taught you to fight good, clean. I’m going to teach you how to fight dirty.”

“That is not good.”

“Nope, it is. Dirty fighters always win.”

“Fine, then bring it on. Teach me how to fight dirty. Am I going to be able to head-butt people?”

He laughed. “I can teach you that if you like.”

“I thought it was as easy as hitting someone with your head.”

“Nope, you do it wrong, you end up with one mother of a headache.”

“Oh, so there are rules in fighting dirty too?”

“There are. But only a few,” he said. “Now pick up your axes. No more jokes. I take fighting quite seriously.”

I did as he said and we started to fight again.

He was really good and so fast, I could hardly pinpoint his next move. He had me again in so many death grips.

He then broke them down, telling me how to get out of each and every one.

“I thought that the thing about these grips was that there isn’t a way to get out of them?”

“There is always a way to get out of one.”

I tried the first one, it was easy. The second one was easy too. Starting from the fourth it got hard, because Blake was really strong.

“Use my strength, Elena,” he started to grunt.

I tried, but it didn’t work and he showed me again.

I didn’t know how long we’d been fighting, practicing, but it was interesting in a very annoying way.

He let go of me hard and was taking huge breaths. The old Blake, with not a lot of patience, was starting to seep through again.

“Again,” I said and we would start all over again, just so we could end up in the same stupid grip I couldn’t get out of.

“What do you do, Elena?” He was totally different than in Art of War: very serious, and I could tell he was very close to losing it again. This Blake was making me scared, just a tiny bit, and he always knew what buttons to push.

“I don’t know.”

“C’mon, even Tabitha could get out of this one.”

He made me furious just mentioning her name. I wasn’t a fucking Snow dragon, far from it.

“I’m not Tabitha,” I said and tried again to get out of his grip with no success. It was harder than the previous one.

He let me go. “I told you many times how to get out of it.”

“I can’t. Your way doesn’t work.” We were both seriously getting fed up with this.

“So you want to tell me that Tabitha is better than you? Never thought that could be possible Elena.” His look of pure disappointment and anger fueled me more.

Why was he mentioning her so many times?

“Again,” he said.

I went for him again, ducked and dove the first two grips he tried to catch me in. The third time, he did it again.

“I have to say, it wasn’t the only thing Tabitha was good at. She is a much better kisser than you too.”

What!?

I stomped on his toe for that, and hit him with my elbow. His grip faltered and I attacked him again. But one shove from his body and I fell flat on my ass for real. He didn’t even help try to stop the landing like he had in Art of War.

What was this? I knew he took fighting seriously, but this seriously was ridiculous. My elbow hurt and I saw a big scrape on my arm. Shake it off, Elena.

“Get up and fight like you are supposed to.”

“You are seriously pissing me off here. I’m not in the mood to fight anymore.” I got up, ready to walk away. I wasn’t a dirty fighter.

His hand pulled me back. “Not so fast. You think your enemy is just going to let you walk away? Tabitha would never walk away.”

I laughed sarcastically. “For your information, she is a fucking Snow dragon. She wouldn’t walk away because she wouldn’t give anyone the chance to walk away from to start with. She would’ve fled a long time ago.”

“Not Tabitha. Now again.”

I attacked him again. I hated the way he kept speaking about her. I wasn’t the jealous type—or was I? I knew I was probably a lousy kisser, but I know Tabitha, she would’ve fled.

He grabbed me into a death grip he should’ve never gotten the chance to get me in.

“This is pathetic, Elena. You are better than this—or are you?” he roared as he got me in between his legs on the ground. He squeezed a tiny bit harder, and I bit him on his leg as hard as I could.

I pushed myself up as he pulled his leg back. I hated this Blake. It was…

The Dent was wearing off. I didn’t know why I thought about it, but it had to be that.

He was going to hate my guts again.

“You bit me.” He trampled on his one leg. “Only dogs bite, Elena.”

“I thought you wanted to teach me to fight dirty. Make up your mind, Blake.”

He shook his head. “To think I wasted a Dent on you.” He had so much hatred in his voice and I was having no more of it. I went for him again and in two seconds I was in his death grip for the umpteenth time. I grunted. I was so furious. I knew this was going to happen. It was a fucking spell, one that didn’t work on the Rubicon because he was too strong.

“Calm down, Elena.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down.” I tried to get out of his grip but he just held me tighter.

“Calm down.” He’s voice was gentle and right at my ear.

It felt as if I could breathe fire. “Let me go.”

“Calm down.” He spoke once more. “I didn’t mean any of those things. But I had to teach you the first rule of this class.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Anger. If you fight with anger, you will lose.” He still had me in his grip. His body was behind mine, with one of his arms around my neck and the other one holding my arm behind my back. His one leg was blocking mine and I had no idea how he kept his balance. “I wanted to use your father’s promise, breaking it, but that would’ve been cruel. I really didn’t think this one was going to work as well as it did.”

“You made that up?” I was furious.

“Of course I made that up. Now calm down.”

“Urgh.” I let out a frustrated grunt, hating that I’d just showed him what he’d become to me.

“Deep breaths,” he spoke.

“I still don’t understand.”

“If you must use anger to win, then make sure you are where I am. Be the one that makes the other one angry, Elena. Crawl under their skin and push buttons. Make them raving mad. Because if you attack in anger, you will lose.”

I sighed and took another deep breath.

“Sorry about the things I said. I really didn’t mean them.”

“Okay, fine. You proved your point,” I said. “Don’t attack in anger.” I was still in his death grip.

“That’s my girl.” He gave me a soft kiss below my ear and let me go.

I felt like an idiot.

“I think that’s all for tonight. You’ve done good.” He grinned.

I gave him a sarcastic look. “Good. You serious? You had me in so many grips.”

“The beginning you got out of them almost as fast as I thought I got you in them. You messed up when I started pushing some buttons.” He opened his water bottle and took a few gulps.

Okay, so don’t attack in anger. He handed me his bottle and I took a few gulps. I still didn’t like how he’d used Tabitha’s name, and to think it’d had the effect he wanted. That was so stupid, Elena.

He walked over to me and smiled as he wrapped his arms around me.

“I don’t know if I should thank you or kick you.”

“Is the thank you a violent gesture too?”

I couldn’t help but laugh and gave him a hug back. “You really scared me there for a minute. I saw the old Blake.”

“I can still become him, Elena. Whenever I need to.”

“Still, I wasn’t so fond of him.”

He just smiled. “I was an idiot, I know. I said sorry already for that.”

“You did,” I said, remembering that day he’d told me everything I’d made him feel when I came to Paegeia.

We walked back to the Academy.

“When I get back, we can practice that head-butt.”

“Who am I going to practice it on?”

“I heal fast,” he said and flinched. “Show me your arm.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine, Elena. I almost gave myself away there.”

“You what?”

“When I saw the scrape, and that you’d gotten hurt. Well, I almost stopped, and then my lesson would’ve been wasted.”

I pulled up my sleeve and showed him the scrape.

He touched it gently and the warm zing sensation spread all over the burn. When he took his hand away, it was gone.

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. One thing I would say is that I’m never going to forget that lesson.”

“Good, as you should never forget it.”

He opened the main door. It was like ten o’clock and I was dead tired.

He hugged me on the podium again. “Sweet dreams, Princess.” His lips brushed my head.

A throat cleared, which made us both jump. “Tomorrow, Elena,” Blake said in a serious tone as he let me go.

I had to suppress my laughter. “Good night, Master Longwei.”

“Yes, I hope it is a good night, Elena,” he said while watching Blake’s retreating figure run up the boys’ stairs two steps at a time.

I couldn’t help but smile.

Still, earlier tonight, when he’d said that he’d wasted that Dent on me, whatever that meant, brought another feeling of doubt in the pit of my stomach. He really sounded like the old Blake, ready to tear my guts out. It was cruel, but he’d made his point. Don’t attack in anger.

FRIDAY CAME FASTER than I wanted it to. Classes went super-fast.

Blake was in his element and it was evident that he was built for war and all that crap. He thrived on it.

We were so different from one another.

At two o’clock Becky, Sammy and I were waiting in the main lobby. I’d asked Master Longwei this morning if Becky and Sammy could go with, but he’d declined, because he knew that I had to take a hundred people through to the other side this weekend. If that fell over to Monday or Tuesday, well, it was his reason and he didn’t want me to be distracted at all. It was so stupid.

Blake came running down the stairs real fast with a huge bag over his shoulder.

He took mine, opened his bag, put mine inside, then zipped it up.

“Please, be careful.” Sammy was the first to speak.

“Samantha,” Blake got back up and put the bag over his shoulder again. “I’m the Rubicon. Don’t forget that.”

“You are still my brother, idiot. And even if you are the Rubicon, you are not indestructible. Be careful.”

“Fine,” he said, giving her a one arm hug and a quick kiss on the head.

“You too, Elena,” Becky said.

“I’m just taking them in and out. Nothing hard,” I spoke.

“Still, you never know what could happen. Be safe and come back. Both of you.”

I didn’t like how they acted. Like they knew something bad was going to happen.

I gave both girls a hug and walked with Blake to the gate where Master Longwei was waiting for us.

He had a few words with Blake and then I turned around as Blake started to strip down. He was going to transform.

When the hulking beast of a dragon stood in his place, it was our cue to leave.

I grabbed hold of his paw this time and he flew with me to the Port of Elm.

Traveling to Areeth, back to David, was faster this time as the scientists had connected an elevator that went to that destination in two ticks.

I had to say goodbye to him and take the elevator alone, as Blake still didn’t trust that mode of transportation. He’d tried it once a long time ago and didn’t like the effect it had on him. I remembered it like yesterday. It was a horrible feeling, but mine went away the minute we stopped. Blake struggled days later with getting himself balanced again.

He was really different than any of us.

He stayed with me and answered a couple of their questions about getting the first hundred out of Etan. He was just like Lucian when it came to speaking in public—a natural. I had to learn the hard way.

Blake left immediately as I was safe from the cockroaches. He didn’t want me to fly with him because he still didn’t have a saddle that could keep me safe and secure on his back. And he also wanted to see how fast he could get there.

The first time took us more than two weeks to get to David, but then again, we were on a different mission too. Finding his orbs. I still had no idea what it was they could do, and by the sound of it, neither did he.

He just said that part hadn’t come to him yet.

King Helmut picked me up himself at the port. They’d set up camp after that night I’d told the Ancients that nobody was going to be put into quarantine and had been camping out, waiting for Emanual to come back with that special something King Helmut wanted.

I wondered what it could be. Did he have family that side too, and asked his dragon to make sure that they still existed? A sister, perhaps?

It was really sad to think how many people had lost loved ones. People they had no idea if they would ever see again.

“Elena, am I glad to see you.” He smiled and gave me a fatherly hug. “Where on earth is Blake?”

I smiled at him. “He doesn’t like the elevators so he is going to meet us there.” I knew he wasn’t that fast yet, as King Helmut wouldn’t have asked where he was.

We took an SUV and drove the last couple of miles back to the lodge.

The campsite was set up yards from the lodge.

It was good to see everyone again. Luke and Daisy, the little ones. I couldn’t wait to get more of their family and friends away from Etan, away from that danger. My stomach turned into knots knowing that Blake was going to go in for three days.

He was adamant about finding Maxine, Nicky and Leana, and although I wanted them safe too, especially for Tom and August, the two of them had no idea what they were asking from me.

If anything happened to Blake…I couldn’t even think about it.

Connie gave me the room I had the first time we came here. She was worried sick about David: although she hadn’t said anything, it was evident on her face.

Not having contact with David for the past week, knowing that he was in Etan, would do that to someone.

Annie and Constance kept me company during dinner and I really was so happy that at least I saved one of Constance’s family members.

I went to bed around ten. Blake still wasn’t anywhere to be seen and I had tried to phone him a couple of times, but his voicemail was the only thing that came up.

I struggled to fall asleep, and dreamed again about the foretelling Blake had seen about the Saadedine and the missing ingredient.

I wished I could dream about what the missing ingredient was, then I would welcome this sort of torture, but it never was revealed to me.

Blake’s dragon form was so tiny against the Saadedine. Was Blake really telling me the truth that it wasn’t going to be that ratio when we found him, or did he only say that to make my own fear less?

The Saadedine opened his mouth and released a ball of yellow with green flames. Paul’s flame.

It connected with the pink kiss and then something crazy happened.

It consumed the pink kiss. The green flame spread like a virus through the pink kiss and connected hard with Blake’s dragon form. I watched as Blake burned from the inside out and I couldn’t do anything. I just stood there frozen, staring in horror at how my dragon started to disintegrate.

He roared, a roar I had never heard before. It was painful, and I just watched in shock.

Then he exploded.

I jumped up and found myself still in bed. I took huge breaths as sweat ran down my temples. My hands trembled. My entire body trembled.

Was that going to happen?

I saw a stir in the couch and jumped. The night light went on and Blake’s figure appeared sitting inside the chair.

He didn’t say anything, he didn’t have to. I knew he’d seen that too.

He just looked at me with a worried expression on his face.

“I hate my fucking dreams.”

He smiled softly as if my voice brought him back out of whatever was going on in his mind, and got up, then came over, sat next to me and kissed me softly on the shoulder. It felt so good to have him here, safe.

“I don’t.” He rested his chin on my shoulder. “They tell me so much, especially of the things we don’t know yet.”

“Blake, you don’t know if that is the truth.”

“Still, it gives me plenty of hints, Elena. Like that one told me to watch out for his fire.” He pushed himself off the bed and took off his shirt.

I looked away from his perfectly sculpted body and found the time on the digital clock. It showed three in the morning.

“Not so bad.” I smiled.

“I could’ve been faster.”

I shook my head. It was as if he was never satisfied with any of his abilities. My abilities. And he had to give it all up for me to be able to wield my fire while he was in human form. How was he going to do that?

I lay back down and pulled the covers over me. The bed shifted again and I felt Blake’s warm body next to me. I didn’t even need a blanket to keep me warm when he was near.

I turned around and shifted closer to his body.

It felt good. He snaked his arm underneath my head and held me slightly.

I tried to listen for a heartbeat, but there was nothing. It felt so weird. No sound was coming from him whatsoever. It was as if he wasn’t really there at all.

We drifted away faster than I thought we would, and I hated that tomorrow was going to be the day that our paths were going to part again, but he’d made a promise and felt sort of the way I did about breaking them. So I had no choice but to let him do what it was he did best and believe that I would see him again. After all, he was the Rubicon.

THE NEXT MORNING I found Blake’s spot empty. I got up and went down to the dining area where I found him sitting at a table digging into a huge plate of bacon, eggs, sausages—you name it. All the food groups that made a breakfast were there.

Constance was keeping him company with a cup of coffee in her hands sitting in the opposite chair.

She was such a beautiful person and her dragon form was even more beautiful.

“Good morning sleepy head,” Constance smiled.

“Morning. I really don’t think it’s a good one,” I sulked.

“Stop sulking, it doesn’t suit you Elena,” Blake said between bites.

“Your food is not going to run away.” I looked at him.

“I’m hungry. I didn’t have dinner last night.”

“What, you didn’t devour a deer on the way?”

“No, I couldn’t find any. And even if I did, it wouldn’t fill me.”

Constance laughed at him.

“Morning, Elena.” Connie came out of the kitchen wearing an apron.

“Morning,” I smiled.

“Can I whip you up some eggs and bacon?”

“Eggs and toast will be fine.”

King Helmut entered and came to sit at our table too.

It was followed by small groups of troops. Women and men alike. The breakfast was festive and they spoke about plenty of things, about the people that we were going to get out today.

Half of them were going to stay in the lodge but the other half had to stay in the tents. They were going to have to stay like that for the rest of the month until the first sector of the new houses was finished. They weren’t farms, but at least they would have a home for now.

When Etan was free, they could then decide what they wanted to do. Go back with the deeds to their farm and start farming again the way the used to, or sell their land to whomever wanted it.

A part of me didn’t know how any of them would want to take their farming duties again, but then again it was all they knew, so maybe some would keep their land. Especially if it had been in their families for generations.

If that was the case, I would make sure—no, my father would make sure that they were all safe. He was going to come home. He just had to come home. I still didn’t even know if he was alive or not and had to keep my father’s existence a secret for now. Nobody on the other side could know the truth until the right time came. If that time was going to come, I didn’t know.

Blake finally finished his breakfast and stood up when Connie came to take away his plate. “Thank you, Connie. That was, like always, so satisfying.”

She smiled at him. “It is my pleasure, Blake. I know how to cook for dragons. Just promise me that you are going to bring him out soon.”

“Today, it’s a promise.” He winked and she took my plate too.

“That was amazing, thanks Connie.”

“You are welcome, Princess.”

I didn’t correct her this time: princess was what I was and I needed to get used to it.

“So,” Blake sat back down again and took the napkin to wipe his mouth. “The way I see it, Elena and I will go in first. Make sure that all of them are ready to leave and then we can start bringing them out, taking new troops in.”

“Ninety of them come out,” King Helmut says. “The first group needs to come with. No negotiation, Blake.”

“Got it.”

WE STOOD IN front of the Creepers again. This time King Helmut was with us, and many of his troops, all hundred of them to be exact, behind him.

The Creepers were still intimidating and I hoped that after this weekend, they would lose at least that.

“You ready?” Blake asked.

“No,” I sighed. “But I guess I have no choice.”

He stared at me and lifted me up into his arms.

The Creepers stirred again, and then their mouths lingered around us, making the most awful hissing noises.

Blake flinched again as he stared at one. “I have no idea how Emanual couldn’t be scared of them.”

“Guess he trusts me more.” I made a joke and he grunted.

“Not possible.” We entered and I could see his body posture relax. I wielded my shield around us.

Blake stared at the sparkles that were vibrating off my shield with a slight frown and he put me down. “Why the shield?”

“We need to find a way to tell everyone not to mention my father’s existence Blake, without letting the other ten troops find out.”

He smiled. “I’m not as stupid as you think I am, Elena.”

“What does that mean?”

“I already told them before Emanual and everyone came in. It was only Luke and the ones that didn’t know.”

“When?” I asked.

“When we worked that day on the farm.”

“You did?”

He nodded.

“Guess you do have your strong points,” I teased and he chuckled and lowered his head to kiss me.

Please don’t get killed now, I prayed.

A part of me wished that we could hear each other’s minds again, but it was still silent.

“I promise you, I will find a way to get back. Nothing is going to keep me from you, Elena.”

“You sure you can’t read my mind?”

He grinned. “Wish I could.”

We walked out of the Creepers. It was dark and their hissing was going to be hard to keep at bay for the next few days.

I could only bring them out at night, because day time was too dangerous. People would see that there was non-stop activity taking place close to the Creepers.

Still, Alkadeen was the safest way to get into Etan. It was far from the other cities.

Blake let me go when we were a good distance from the Creepers’ reach, and we walked all the way to Charles’ house.

We found Charles, David and Tom on the porch drinking coffee, as we neared.

“Elle, Blake.” Tom got up and ran down the steps to meet us. “How are my sister and the others?”

“They are perfectly fine, Tom,” Blake said. “Elena made sure of that.”

Tom stared at me with soft eyes and a grateful smile. “Thank you, Elle.”

“You are welcome.”

“Mom,” Tom rushed back up the stairs as we both reached David and Charles. “Look who is here.” Tom’s voice came from the inside of the house.

“I take it everything went well. Are they comfortable on the other side?” Charles wanted to know.

“It’s still very new to Cassy, but she is loving it. Just wants to know when Grandpa and Grandma are coming.”

“Soon,” Charles smiled. “I hope you told her soon.”

“I did,” I said, and gave him a hug.

“David,” I spoke and Charles let me go. “Your wife is getting antsy on the other side.”

He laughed.

“When is the Council coming?”

“In four days, Elena.”

“Okay, then I have three days to get ninety out.”

Charles eyes grew bigger. “Ninety?”

“There are one hundred troops ready to take your place, Charles,” Blake said.

“Where are we all going to stay?”

“At the lodge. I don’t care how we are going to do it, but I will make sure that everyone is comfortable, Charles,” David spoke.

“I don’t want to intrude, David.”

“None of this. I’ve made up my mind.”

Charles smiled. “It sure is nice to have him at my side again, Elle.”

“Well, then we can’t break that up. We are going to start taking you through around midnight.”

“Okay,” he spoke.

“Elle,” Gertrude came out of the house and gave me a motherly hug. “How is Daisy?”

“Daisy is fine, and Cassy too. They are safe.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I was so worried.”

“Don’t be. I told you I’d take care of them.”

“So you did,” she squeezed my cheek.

“We need to get a meeting organized as soon as possible,” Charles spoke. “To decide which ninety are leaving.”

THE MEETING WAS held in the barn. I stood at the back with Blake.

All the families were there.

Charles spoke, David made sure that all of them knew that they were going to stay at the lodge, then Blake told them about the housing that they were building at this very moment. A home for each and every family here. In the next four months, many things were going to happen in their lives, but it would be for the better.

In four months we were going to enter Etan with an army, kill the Saadedine, free my father and hopefully kill Goran in the process too. This world didn’t need evil like him. This world needed to heal, all of it. Not just Etan, and we were not going to be able to do that with Goran trapped somewhere. No, it was time for him to not exist anymore.

I would be nineteen, just when that time came.

Charles ended by explaining to pack light, only clothes they needed, and that was it.

The families dispersed and Blake had to shake so many hands again.

I saw him taking Tom and August to one side and then he wielded his shield around them.

I hated not being included in this mission of theirs, but he said that I only had one thing to concentrate on and that was to get the ninety people out.

We all went home and found the first nine of the troops that had stayed sitting in the lounge. Emanual wasn’t with them.

Many of them greeted Blake. He started speaking to one of them—I think Emanual had introduced him as Jerry. The guy sounded nice and he had so much life in his veins that it was contagious. They spoke about everything that had happened the past week, all the intelligence they’d gathered, and I knew Blake was trusting these men just like Emanual had.

The door to Charles’s study opened. “That is final, Taylor.”

“But…”

“I said it’s final. Everyone leaves tonight. When the time comes you can come back inside. You did what you set out to do. We need you on the other side.”

I didn’t like the tone Emanual used with her, and the girl with the black hair, looking like a Goth, walked out. I remembered how she’d hissed when I brought her in at one of the Creepers. She wanted to stay.

She walked with huge strides past Emanual, glared up at Jerry and bumped me out of the way as she stormed out of the house.

“Taylor!” Emanual and Blake yelled.

Jerry rubbed his face. “I’ll go speak to her.”

“You sure you want to do that?” Emanual yelled.

“Yes, she doesn’t scare me.”

“It’s your funeral pal.” The others chuckled.

“What is that about?” I look at Emanual.

“Don’t worry, I’ll deal with her, Elena.”

“Still, she doesn’t have to be so rude.”

“She is harmless, I promise you. She just feels she’s more of use this side.

“Then let her stay.”

“No, King Helmut said everyone, Elena,” Blake spoke. He looked at Emanual again. “You found what you were looking for?”

“Yes, I did,” Emanual spoke and looked back at me. “You are ready to take everyone back, Elena?”

“I don’t know. It’s going to be a long night.”

“That is why you need to get some rest.”

“I just woke up a few hours ago.”

Emanual chuckled. “I forgot, it’s day time that side. Still. Off to bed, Missy. Try.”

BLAKE CAME WITH me and we both lay awake on the bed. I didn’t have to turn around to know he was awake. I could hear it in his breathing.

I grew quiet, but I was used to him sleeping so close to me.

We both had so many things at stake tomorrow. For him, there was me and not to get caught. I couldn’t use my abilities while he was in his human form. It would give everything away, which led to mine: my dragon, him. If Goran discovered he was here, he would put two and two together and know that it was that time. He could kill everyone.

I’d never been this scared in my entire life and I just wanted to forget about it. Really forget about it and get some sleep.

I turned around to face Blake and lay as close as possible to him. I could feel his eyes on me again but I didn’t dare look up. I felt his arm moving and he wrapped it around me.

“I promise I won’t disappoint you, Elena.” His lips brushed my hair softly. “I won’t get caught.”

“I know, I just…” I couldn’t say it.

“You just what?”

“What if they find me taking the others through, Blake, and you are not here?”

“Then you use my abilities.”

I lifted up my head and looked at him. “You know I can’t. It will hurt you wherever you are.”

“I can take care of myself, Elena. You need to feel safe. Just wield them.” He smiled down at me.

“How, Blake? How are you going to hide…?” I took a deep breath and rolled onto my back and closed my eyes. I didn’t want to think about it.

“I’ll disappear, Elena. Blend in.”

I looked at him again. “How do you even do that?”

“It’s a Rubicon thing.”

I smiled. “Can I do it too?”

“It’s a Rubicon thing only.”

I laughed softly.

“I think whoever created this dragon rider thing knew that I was going to get a rider that would make me feel useless and had to give me some extra cool features.”

I didn’t like that, even though he was joking. “I really make you feel useless?”

“Elena, the abilities are yours. They were never mine.”

“You use them more than I do.”

“Yes, because I trust them. It feels as if you don’t really need me. These people here look up to you, they care about you and you did that within that month you stayed with them.”

“They look up to you too.”

“Because of my name. It’s different.”

“No it isn’t. They would’ve feared you if you were still dark.”

His one lip curved slightly upwards.

“I never apologized to you before,” I said.

“About what?” He squinted.

“That my father is alive and that you have to keep it from your dad.”

He just looked at me, not saying anything.

“What was it like, when you ascended?” He asked that same question everyone asked. “Seeing him?”

I smiled. “It was scary and good all in one. He looked like a king, the wax museum has him completely wrong.”

He chuckled. “Then you don’t want to know what you look like.”

“What?” I asked.

“It was a huge thing. When you were gone, they wanted to give the people hope. I wasn’t even there that night when they revealed it, but Emanual took me there one day, said that I needed to see it too. He was right. I had to see it, and only ended up missing your face more.”

“Whatever.”

“I did.” He sighed. “They got you way wrong. It pissed me off.”

“What did they get wrong?”

“Everything.”

I made a mental note to go and have a look. “What does my brass plate read?”

“You really want to know?”

“Yes,” I looked up at him again.

“The rider and prodigal son.”

“What?” I said. “They put you and me together?”

“Yip, my dragon form, not my human form.”

“Which somehow they messed up too,” I added.

He chuckled again. “They should really fire that artist.”

I laughed again.

“Maybe you can give it a shot. You are really good with copying and drawing.” He smiled. “I saw that sketch in Art of War. Just to make sure, that was Will and not me, right?”

“Yes, it was him.”

He sighed again.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot,” he said.

“Why did you destroy the city hall that night?”

“You really want me to answer that?”

I nodded.

“Because they tried to keep me from my duties, Elena, and you were thinking so little of me, which I probably deserved. I asked Master Longwei about the meeting, and he promised me it was just one that would find out if you were ready to pick up your duties again. He got that from Caleb and…” He sighed. “I shouldn’t have believed him, but after I woke up, well I thought that everyone was trustable. I learned the hard way with trusting Caleb’s word.”

“Why is he like that? I mean, he wouldn’t have been the ruler of Areeth if my father knew this.”

“He wasn’t always like that. Many people have lost their way after the loss of your father and mother, Elena. They were amazing humans, and if I recall, think he lost his dragon that night too.”

“He had a dragon?”

“All of them had dragons, Elena.” He sighed. “I wish the Crown-Tail in me didn’t suck. I could show you so many things of them.”

I guessed we still had a lot of growing to do together.

“One day,” he said and it fell silent again.

I didn’t care about this stupid Dent thing anymore. I understood why Becky trusted it so easily. They were these amazing creatures/humans that, whether through a trick or real, made us fall hard and madly in love with them.

I just wanted to be with him, always, like this, not worrying about tomorrow.

My head was resting on his shoulder and my nose gently touched his chin. For the first time in a long time, I was looking forward to kissing someone again, but still, he only kissed me a few times on the lips. Lately it was on my head, but it always came from him, never me.

I’d never done this on my own. I wasn’t supposed to feel this toward any man, ever again. I was supposed to hate them for what they did to me.

Then my lips brushed his chin and it was like a sign he’d been waiting for. He lowered his chin and his lips found mine.

His kiss was gentle, so gentle it made me forget once more where I was; the danger of tomorrow was far away. It was just the two of us.

I felt safe with him, I really did. I felt as if I’d finally found a place where I belonged. I knew it sounded stupid, but I’d felt so lost, even if I’d found the truth of who I was, I’d never felt like a princess. I sucked at that. But being here with him, kissing him like this. Now that was really easy.

He broke the kiss and pulled me in for a tight hug, laying his head on mine. “We should really try to get some sleep, Elena.”

“If you say that Tabitha is seriously a better kisser than me, I’m going to scorch your ass.”

He chuckled. “No, hell no. It’s just the opposite. You wake things up that shouldn’t be awake yet.”

I blushed as I got what he was saying.

“Now sleep,” he ordered.

“Okay,” I smiled again and looked at him. “Goodnight.” I turned around and it felt good when he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I became like his pillow he slept with, and I knew I could sleep like this forever.

AT MIDNIGHT THE alarm in the house screeched. It was time to move the first group through to the other side.

Blake stepped into his jeans and I grabbed some of my clothes and went to the bathroom behind the divider.

We met everyone in the living room. All of them had a bag of clothes with them.

Emanual and all of his men, including Taylor, who looked as if she’d just swallowed a lemon, waited to go back to the other side.

We all went together to the Creepers. At least Blake was going to be here and then tomorrow he was going to leave with August and Tom on this crazy mission.

I kept my eye out on tonight’s task.

Blake came in with me.

Emanual looked at Taylor. “You’re up.”

She just glared at him, and picked up her bag and walked over to me.

She stood behind me and wrapped her one hand around my waist.

The Creepers woke up again, started to slightly vibrate as they moved together. They hissed slightly as I took Taylor inside.

She was quiet, really quiet, and I didn’t like that at all.

“Sorry about tonight,” she finally said.

“It’s fine. I get why you are angry.”

“You do?”

“Yes, you wanted to stay. I get that. You feel more needed here.”

“Fucking finally.”

I laughed softly.

When she was safely on the other side, one of the other troops took her place and I could hear King Helmut starting to speak to her as we made our way inside.

He was big, like Emanual and he gasped just like everyone did when we reached the core.

“Breathtaking, I know,” I said.

He just stared at him, mesmerized.

He exchanged a quick download of info with Emanual and then they shook hands.

Emanual was coming out next.

“I’m watching you,” Blake joked and Emanual had this grin on his face as he picked me up.

He ran with me inside and once safely past the mouths of the Creepers, he started to walk.

“So what was it you had to get for King Helmut?”

“It’s private, Elena.”

“Does he have family this side?”

He nodded, but the look on his face said it wasn’t good. “That is why he wanted you to enter, didn’t he?”

“I told you before, it’s private. Now stop being nosey as it’s really hard not telling you this. But I gave my dragon oath that I wouldn’t.”

“Wow, that important?”

“Yes, so if you want to see me shrivel in pain, ask me one more time.”

I smiled. “Okay, sorry.”

King Helmut was really happy to see Emanual exit the Creepers with me. At a safe distance her put me down and I took another of the troops in.

When all the troops and Emanual were out, and new ones had taken their place, it was Charles’ turn.

At first he wanted to stay as he was one of the main speakers when the Council came, but Emanual put him at ease. That the guy that was going to take his place would sit with him on the other side and just study him, and everyone he needs to know from the Council.

Right now, well he was the opposite. He was like a giddy young boy of ten. Kept talking about breathing in fresh air, seeing the stars.

“Not yet, it’s daytime on the other side.”

“Still, stars will shine tonight,” he smiled.

Inside he gasped. “It shouldn’t surprise me that something so dangerous had something so beautiful and serene in the inside.”

I smiled. “Just like the Yin Yang.”

“You mean the Dent sign.”

“It’s a bit different though isn’t it?”

“Not really. To be honest, I think they had the Yin Yang wrong.”

“They copied it and sort of made it their own?”

“Something like that.”

We exited and I could see a slight fear lingering on his face as he saw all the troops that were going to take their place.

King Helmut stepped forward as we got behind the yellow line they had put up.

He reached out his hand to Charles and Charles just stared at it. A smile finally broke over his face and King Helmut returned it.

Then Charles bowed.

King Helmut pulled him back out and shook his head. “Welcome home.”

I smiled as Charles saw Connie and they embraced one another. It was a really good feeling to watch lost ones find the people they hadn’t seen for such a long time.

It was time to take in another troop.

David came back and the rest of the night it was all I did. The times that I did rest, Blake handed me water, and a sandwich. Then I went back in.

It carried on until the sun’s first rays started to light up around us.

“That is it for tonight. We got through quite a lot,” Blake spoke. “Elena, take Gertrude back and come back tomorrow afternoon at two. The new group will be waiting.”

I didn’t like this, because he wasn’t going to be there tomorrow. I grabbed him around his waist. “Just be safe, please.”

He stroked the back of my head. “I promised you before: I will come back.” He touched my chin and pulled my face up to look at him. “I promise, Elena,” he said and kissed me. It was a soft compassionate kiss and then it turned into something else. Wanting more. My heart rose, not from evil memories, from really wanting him to stay. He broke the kiss, turned around and walked away fast without saying goodbye.

I closed my eyes, said a soft prayer to just keep him safe, and a soft hand stroked my arm.

“He will come back to you, Elle.” Gertrude looked at me with soft eyes.

I nodded.

“It wasn’t easy saying goodbye, that we all saw.”

I hugged Tom. “Keep him safe, please.”

“I promise,” he said.

August was next. “I really hope you guys are going to find Max.”

“I do too,” he said, with a lot of doubt lingering on his face.

We said goodbye with a hug.

“I’ll make sure he blends in, Elena.”

I laughed. “It’s the blending in part I’m worried about the most, August.”

“He’s going to be fine. I promise.” Raymond stayed, surprised that King Helmut said it was okay. Taylor was not going to like that.

I nodded.

“Hey, he’s the Rubicon. You worry for nothing.” Raymond had that confidence I wished I owned right now.

I nodded again and took Gertrude back. She was just as scared as the others when we neared the Creepers.

“Close your eyes,” I whispered softly as I took my position behind her and wrapped my arms around her arms.

The sun that Goran created, an illusion, started to rise. My stomach grumbled and I only then realized how hungry I was.

Blake was right, I was going to be too busy to worry about their mission, as my own was going to exhaust me the next few days.

The Creepers hissed close to our faces: their teeth still scared the living crap out of me. They were so vicious, and it was hard to explain how I felt being the only one that could walk through them.

When we passed their mouths, and were safe inside the core, I told Gertrude to open her eyes.

She gasped at the small golden light floating in the air.

I still had no idea what they were. They didn’t look like bugs and they definitely weren’t fairies.

The pink and purple flowers growing on the roots, the long silver leaves hanging from the top, it made the core look like a fairy tale.

She looked around her, exactly like every single one of them did.

“Who could’ve imagined…?”

I laughed. “You and everyone else keeps saying that, Gertrude. It sure is beautiful.”

“It’s heavenly, Elena.”

I smiled.

“Not so evil as we all thought they were.”

“Oh, no they are vile, Gertrude. They can still rip you to pieces.”

She tapped the back of my hand and laughed. “Not what I meant. They do belong in Paegeia. In everything ugly, evil, dark, there is something beautiful, good, and light in the middle.”

I just stared at her. Didn’t even want to think about it.

“It’s a pity that we have to destroy this to free Etan.”

She nodded her head. “It is.”

We finally reached the other side and her entire body trembled again, as she closed her eyes tight, walking past the thousand teeth and hissing.

The reunion, even though it was just a week being apart, was nice to watch. Cassy was all over her grandma and acted as if she hadn’t seen her in years.

Connie cooked up a storm. I ate while all the other’s sounded cheerful. I wondered how they felt, finally being free. By the look on their faces, they still had a small fear. Especially Marcus and Gertrude. Both her boys were on this dangerous mission. At least Raymond and Blake were with them.

“Go to bed.” Emanual ordered as I finished my coffee.

“Yes, Dad,” I said and his lips curved into a huge grin.

Charles came up to me.

“Elle, we can never thank you enough.” He took both my hands in his. “I know it was hard for you to let Blake go today. Thank you for doing that.”

I gave him a smile. “All of you deserve to be free, Charles.”

“I just hope fooling the Council is going to work.”

“I trust King Helmut. If he says that these men are the best observers he has, then I believe him. It’s going to work.”

He gave me that grandfather smile of his. “Sleep tight, Elle.”

Everyone said in unison, “Good night.” Some even thanked me, grateful for finally being safe and free. But at what cost? They lost their farms.

I went to my room and took a bath, just replaying that major goodbye between me and Blake. Why did he turn around and walk away like that?

This was going to be the longest three days of my life.

THE SECOND DAY I went in with a troop at two.

King Helmut held a huge meeting. The guy that was going to take Charles’ place was busy interrogating him, to get all the info he needed.

They looked at the camera that was installed in one of the buyos that the first ten went in with. They scouted Eikenborough, and the nearby cities.

I hated seeing Eikenborough again. It brought back memories that I still struggled with whenever I was alone.

My throat closed as I saw Seymour and Billy’s faces through the crowd. They were busy having a discussion.

One of the scouts that gained all the information told the others who they were, the clothes they wear, all of it.

A part of me didn’t fear them anymore. It was only hatred and pity for what Blake would do to them when he found them.

I felt an arm stroking my back. It was Annie. “What are you doing in here? Come, let’s go.”

She took me out, and led me to my room.

We both sat on my bed, none of us said a word.

“What did they do to you, Elena?”

“You know what they did, Annie.”

Tears welled up in her eyes again. “I hope that my cousin finds them and show them hell.”

“I don’t. It will mean that Goran will find him and…”

She touched my arm. “I didn’t mean right now.”

I nodded; the fear of that turning into a reality was evident on my face, but I manage to give her a smile. “I never thought being with another guy would feel like this.”

She laughed softly. “Yes, Plucky always had a gentle side to him.”

“He wasn’t always like that, Annie.”

“Then tell me, what was he like?”

I squinted. “You really want to know?”

“I do.”

I start telling her the story, how he truly hated my guts since the night Matt brought me through. She listened, even gasped at some times. Pure shock was written over her face a few times and right before I stopped, she even had tears glistening in her eyes.

“The dark really had its claws deep inside of him, didn’t it?”

“It did. I just came to know this Plucky you are telling me about.”

She smiled.

“It’s hard to take it all in. I mean, I only knew this side of him. I can’t imagine what he was like being dark.”

“It’s in the past now. He just needs to come back.”

“He will. I know he will,” she reassured me.

“Elena, you ready?” King Helmut asked and I jumped back to the present.

I nodded and saw the first troop that was going to replace one of the farmers.

The first was always the hardest as a fear of the Creepers waking up, making that horrible hissing sound, and finally devouring us, still lingers with me strongly.

When we reached the other side, the next group with lanterns was waiting for us.

I looked up at the sky and saw the starless night. The faces around me were familiar, but not the one I really wanted to see. He was gone. Please, just be safe.

I brought out another and the entire ritual started all over.

Emanual and a couple of yesterday’s troops, with Jerry and Semeon, were waiting for the new group to exit from Etan.

Emanual looked after me, brought me water and sandwiches as the time went by.

When the sun started to come up once more in Etan, the second day came to an end.

I’d brought out fifty in two days. Master Longwei was so right that I was going to need to use Monday and Tuesday to complete this. At least Tuesday Blake would be back.

I slept in the next day. I missed my friends. At least with them here, I could’ve had some sort of a distraction.

They would’ve loved the lake. The one where Blake taught me how to fish. The one where he gave me that kiss that made me run away like a mouse.

After I ate lunch, I spent a couple of minutes in the library, just looking again for that missing ingredient.

Two o’clock crept nearer, real fast, and once at the Creepers, the third day started. It was the same thing.

The day ended with a total of seventy-five of King Helmut’s army in Tith, pretending to be the farmers. Tomorrow the last twenty-five were going in and then Blake was coming home. The mission would be over.

On Tuesday I took the last twenty-five troops through and brought out the rest.

The last five troops were the most important as they studied the heads the past three days. Learning everything they could to fool the Council.

They were either going to make or break this mission.

I hoped it was the first.

Charles walked with Remi, the troop that was going to take his place. I could hear him going over the list of things Remi needs to remember, which was of the utmost importance.

When they reached me, Remi laughed, turned around and cupped Charles’ face. “You worry too much. I learned plenty from you the past few days, Charles. I won’t fail you.”

Charles smiled. “Okay son. I trust you. Just watch out for Seymour, please.”

“He will never know the difference sir.”

They said goodbye, and I took Remi inside.

“Princess,” Remi greeted me. I hadn’t spoken to him before, just seen him with the troops and speaking to King Helmut from time to time.

“Elena, please.” I smiled.

He laughed. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

I squinted, trying to think where I should know him from.

“It was my brother you saved that night when we ran into the hippogriff.”

“He was your brother?” I sounded like an idiot and Remi smiled.

“How is he?”

That made him roar with laughter. “You took him in on the second day.”

I felt like an idiot. “Sorry, the past few days were a blur to me, honestly.”

“I can only imagine.”

“So they gave you the big task of becoming Charles. You have some serious big shoes to fill.”

Remi squinted. “I got that much.”

“I have faith in you.”

“Thank you so much, Your Highness.”

“Elena, please.” I laughed.

He gasped too as we reached the core. Everyone did.

When he was safely through, he hit the button of his buyo and became Charles.

“Good luck Remi,” I said as he walked to the farm with one of the other men that had taken one of the farmhand’s places.

I feel sorry for Seymour if they are going to find something out of place. He wasn’t dealing with farmers anymore, he was dealing with an army of dragon riders who all owned abilities and knew how to use them.

The last guy to go back to Etan was a farmhand.

Emanual and everyone waited for us as we exited.

The farmhand had tears in his eyes as he looked at everything around him.

“I’m free,” he said with his arms open wide.

It always closed up my throat thinking about the fear they lived in the past seventeen odd years.

“It’s over,” Emanual whispered next to me.

“One more night, then Blake comes back.”

Emanual smiled and looked at the ground. “I told you he will realize what an idiot he was, Elena. I’m glad you gave him another chance.”

“Didn’t think that I would.”

“I’m sorry that I lied to you.”

“About?” I asked.

“That time in the SUV, when I told you that it was me that sensed them.”

“It’s okay. He told me that he made all of you promise to not tell me a thing.”

“Yeah, told him it was silly, but he said you had to trust him on your own terms. Guess he has a little bit of wisdom.”

I laughed at the way he said it. He opened the door of the SUV for me and we went back to the lodge.

SOMEONE KNOCKED ON my door and I opened. I found Emanual with a cup of coffee.

I stepped out of the doorway and he entered.

“So whom do I owe for the pleasure of your company tonight?”

He chuckled. “Nobody, get dressed.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the other side. I know you want to be there when Blake comes back.”

“You serious?” My stomach flipped just thinking about seeing Blake again, safe in Areeth and not on some crazy mission.

Emanual laughed and nodded.

I jumped up and down and into Emanual’s arms and gave him a hug. “Thanks Emanual.”

“He’d probably have my head, but I promised that I’d protect you with my life. So hurry, before I change my mind.” He let go of me and walked out the door.

I put on my jeans and a warm top and we entered around nine.

The sun was already up and we had to be extra careful exiting the Creepers.

When Emanual felt it was safe, he ran out of the Creepers with me, hit his device and changed back into Charles.

“Isn’t there another Charles already?”

“Yes, but whoever is going to find us, wouldn’t know that. Here, put this over your clothes.” He gave me an old cloak.

I did as he said and we walked into the Benson’s house half an hour later.

Emanual pushed the button on his device and turned back into him once safely inside.

I couldn’t wait for later when Blake was finally going to come back.

Tomorrow it was that time again. The Council was going to come. Blake just had to be back by then.

At two o’clock I started to get antsy. They weren’t back yet.

Then around four we saw the outline of a group of people. They were all wearing cloaks over their heads.

My heart fluttered and I blew out air, as I knew Blake was one of them.

I ran into the house. “They are here!”

Emanual came out.

I start to frown when I only saw five figures, and two of them were Nicky and Max. Something must have happened to Leana, or one of the girls. My throat closed up again. Two of them weren’t alive. Tom? What kind of state wasn’t he going to be in?

They came closer and I could tell two of them were sort of supporting one.

Emanual and Remi, dressed as Charles, ran toward them and assisted.

“Something happened,” the woman or guy that took Gertrude’s place said.

No kidding. “It’s this place,” I said. “It’s dark and evil.”

They finally reached us and Emanual put the one dressed as a lord on the couch. When he hit the device, I found Tom’s figure. He looked like a ghost. Didn’t say a word. His eyes were dull, and he was crying.

Leana. She didn’t make it.

August appeared next and went to sit next to Tom, wrapping his arms around him. Tom started to cry.

Nicky and Max took off their cloaks.

“Elena,” Emanual had that tone in his voice.

A cold shiver ran up my spine. As the last one took off its hoody and hit the device, Raymond appeared.

“No, no, no!” I looked at Raymond. Where the hell was Blake?

I ran down the steps and looked on the horizon. There wasn’t another person coming.

I walked up to Raymond and pushed him.

“I told you not to lose him. Where the hell is my dragon?” I sounded deranged. I couldn’t go through this again. I couldn’t lose him again.

“Elena, we don’t know.” Raymond spoke with his hands slightly on my shoulder.

“Don’t touch me. What do you mean you don’t know?”

“What happened?” Emanual had a gentle tone in his voice.

“There were complications.” Raymond looked at him.

“Raymond just tell us what happened. Does Goran have him?” Emanual asked.

“It was simple, Raymond. Find the women and make sure Blake got back. I can’t do this without him.” I didn’t even want to think if Goran had him.

“I know, but he saw Billy, Elena.”

“What?” I spoke softly with closed eyes as my hands disappeared in my hair. I knew he was going to go mental if he saw one of them. I started to pace up and down just thinking about the consequences.

“He didn’t go after him. But Billy saw him and then chaos broke out.”

“Does Goran have him?” Emanual sounded more demanding.

“No,” August answered Emanual and it felt as if I could breathe just a little bit. “He just vanished.”

“What?”

Raymond nodded. “He’s gone, Elena.”

EVERYONE STARED AT me with huge eyes as my entire body froze. I couldn’t breath as I listened to Raymond tell all of us what happened.

“What do you mean he just vanished?” Emanual asked the question I couldn’t get out.

“One minute he was there, people started to surround him. He told us to get the hell out of there, he could take care of himself.”

Raymond stroked his face.

“I didn’t want to leave, but I don’t know, Emanual. He is stronger than he let on. He somehow forced me away from him, with the others.”

Emanual shook his head. “He is powerful, Raymond.”

“He is only twenty-one, how powerful can he be to force a dragon my age away from him?”

“The last few months, we all forget who Blake is. He is the Rubicon, Raymond. The alpha of all the dragons. Never forget that.”

Raymond nodded.

“So what happened after he forced you away?”

“When I reached the others, I looked back. He wasn’t there.”

“Because they took him.” I kept on yelling at Raymond.

“No, Elena. Everyone was still gathering around them. I could hear their confusion. He was gone.”

He wouldn’t have flown. The Creepers that were hiding behind the illusion of daylight would’ve grabbed him. “He blended in,” I told Emanual.

“No,” August shook his head with guilt over his face. “There was no shimmer, Elle. Blake showed us what the shimmer looks like. We all searched for it. He wasn’t there, he vanished.”

I didn’t care anymore. I found my legs again and just ran down the porch’s steps. I would find him myself if I had to.

“Elena,” Emanual called after me. I had to find him, wherever he was. What if they’d captured him, what if he was dead? What did they mean he just vanished?

I was beyond myself. Nobody just vanished. I mean, where the hell did he go to? I knew this was a mistake to begin with. This was so stupid. I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, and now. I had no idea where he was.

“ELENA, STOP!” Emanual yelled but I didn’t listen.

Then he grabbed me.

“Stay here, we’ll be back when she is calm.”

“Let me go!”

“Elena, don’t make me use a spell on you. Now keep your mouth shut,” he said as he flung me over his shoulder.

“I need to find him, Emanual. Put me down.”

“You are going to get yourself killed. He is the Rubicon. Not one of us knows where he is, Elena.”

“No, I can find him. I know I can.”

“You are delusional. You cannot find him.” He was already in the corn fields.

“Please I’m begging you don’t take me to the other side, please.” I started to cry.

He didn’t answer and just took me through.

Safe on the other side, he put me down.

I pushed him hard away from me, trying to run past him and back into the Creepers, but he was too fast. He blocked my way.

“Let me go,” I yelled at the top of my lungs, but he didn’t.

He took me back to the lodge as I fought with Emanual like I never fought with anyone before.

“You are my main responsibility, Elena. Keeping you safe. It’s an oath, I’m not going to break it and neither is he. He will die wherever he is if anything happens to you. Don’t forget that. He is safe.”

“I don’t care what you say. He is alone somewhere in Etan. He can’t come back when he appears again, Emanual. The Council is going to the farm tomorrow. If they find him, Goran will kill him.”

“He won’t kill him. He wants him.”

“That is not alleviating anything, Emanual. Let me go. Please.”

“I can’t.”

I was a deranged lunatic. I tried every spell I could think of, but I wasn’t the Rubicon, and Emanual was a three hundred and something-year-old Sun-Blast who was faster than I ever dreamed of.

He blocked all my spells, and even used one on me that numbed everything.

I couldn’t say a word. I couldn’t move. I was like a sack of potatoes hanging over his shoulder.

Everyone gasped as Emanual walked in the doors with me.

Deranged noises came from my lips.

“Emanual,” Constance yelled first. “What happened?”

“I had no choice,” he said. “I’m sorry Elena. I can’t let you go.”

Everyone stared at him. Constance looked at me as he put me on a chair. My eyes were wild looking at him. Noises came from me.

“What the hell did you do?” Constance yelled.

“Blake didn’t come back,” he said.

“What do you mean Blake didn’t come back?”

He started telling them the story while I still sat on the chair with no motion. It was as if I was strapped up with invisible cords and the more I fought it the more it hurt.

“She is deranged. She wants to go after him. I had no choice,” Emanual ended his explanation.

Constance just stared at me with soft eyes.

“He just vanished?” King Helmut had a confused look on his face.

Constance said a couple of words, real fast, and the spell Emanual put me under vanished.

She hugged me tight. “He will come back, but I’m with Emanual, Elena. You can’t go looking for him.”

I wanted to yell at Emanual again. But I was too tired.

Constance’s arms hugged me tight as I started to break down.

“We need to get word to his family and to Chong. Elena needs support.”

“I’m on it.” Connie ran behind the receptionist desk and I could hear her dialing the number.

Constance and Annie took me up to my room.

I didn’t want to think anymore. Blake was gone, he was missing. Wherever he was, I couldn’t reach him. Nobody could reach him.

And I had to wait for him to come back. What if he was never going to come back?

I couldn’t think about anything but that and somehow fell asleep when my body was drenched from all the crying.

I would sleep until he got back.

SOMEHOW I DIDN’T stick to my side of the plan. I didn’t sleep as I thought I would. Instead I sort of became numb. A mechanism that Constance said happens to some people.

My body always seemed to act differently than what I wanted it to. When I thought I’d killed Blake, my body just ran. Now that I wanted to run, my body didn’t move.

Through my daze, I’d managed to bring August and all the others back before the Wyvern Council showed up the next day.

I didn’t even stay to watch how Olive hugged Nicky, and Luke embraced Maxine. I heard their ‘Thank you’s’ and expressions of gratitude, but didn’t want to be there. I wanted to find Blake. Why weren’t any of them letting me?

“Elle,” August called and I turned around. He looked so guilty. He had the right to be. “I’m sorry about Blake.”

Gertrude put her arm around her son and I turned around and walked up the stairs.

I’d lost my dragon, again. The worst part was that I didn’t even know where he was. He was stuck in Etan and nobody wanted me to go search for him. Not even Emanual.

Becky, George and Sammy came to the lodge the next day with Isabel and Sir Robert.

I heard Sammy’s cries, Isabel’s concern and Sir Robert’s temper, before it all went quiet. A knock came from my door.

I didn’t say anything but it opened and I felt my bed shift.

A warm hand touched my hair and by the smell of her vanilla fragrance, I knew it was Blake’s mom. Our eyes finally met, they reflected each other as both our eyes were red rimmed from all the crying.

Isabel had a worried look on her face but she gave me a soft smile. “He is the Rubicon, Elena, he will come back.”

I was so sick and tired of hearing that phrase. He was a dragon too. My dragon.

Sammy sniffed and wiped her tears as she pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

I opened my arms and she came over, hugging me tightly.

“I shouldn’t cry, he is the Rubicon,” she sniffed into my neck.

Becky gave me a plate with a piece of pie in the center. “It’s from Connie, she said you haven’t eaten anything today.”

I smiled at her.

They stayed with me as the days flew by. We all waited for Blake to return from wherever he was.

He’d just vanished. What is this? How can someone just vanish? There was no trace of him, none.

Sir Robert’s temper died out after a few days when he’d finally realized that everyone was trying to find the same answers. Something told me that this was another Rubicon thing.

It’d been five days since Maxine and Nicky came back. I heard via Isabel that Leana hadn’t made it. I’d known she hadn’t from Tom’s behavior at the farm house.

Tom told her that Blake had tracked her down easily because she was in a grave. Tom struggled with it, but at least he knew now what his wife’s fate was.

Getting Max and Nicky out was an entirely different story but this was where Raymond and the device came in handy. They just needed the DNA of their new master.

That was the hardest part.

Blake’s tracking ability was really good. I didn’t want to listen to the stories, but I needed to know where it had all gone wrong.

When they’d finally retrieved them they needed to get out of Eikenborough fast, and that was when everything turned into chaos.

Blake had sensed Billy.

He’d wanted to go after him but he’d decided not to as it would blow the entire mission if he was caught. Raymond wanted to stay too so Blake had to force him to leave, and Billy saw everything.

August told Sir Robert he’d watched how Blake fell to the ground as Billy and a group of troops almost reached him, writhing in pain, and then he disappeared. There was no shimmer, like that day he’d showed us his power in the woods when he’d blended in with the trees. The crowd confirmed that as they moved in on the empty space. He wasn’t there and there was no way for him to move past the crowd without being detected.

Where the hell was he?

Not even Sir Robert could answer that.

I started to wonder if this really was a Rubicon thing at all. Blake had made an oath that if he found them he would…I couldn’t even think about it.

Blake told me he could blend in, that was it, not vanish for days.

“Robert is still interrogating those poor men as we speak.” Isabel had a sad tone lingering in her voice. “It’s as if he doesn’t believe a single word they are saying.”

“He should, they all promised me that he would be safe.” I sounded so harsh.

“Elena, it’s not their fault.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s mine.” I wiped off a tear. “I should’ve never let him make that oath.”

Isabel stared at me.

“What oath?”

“The one where he said that if he found them, he would kill them.”

As the words left my lips she gasped and kissed me on the temple. “You genius!”

“Wait, what?”

“I think it’s connected to the oath he made,” she said as she ran out of my room.

I looked at Becky and Sammy and as one we jumped up and ran to the door.

We followed Isabel as she reached the library where Sir Robert was speaking to August, Raymond and Tom. Emanual, King Helmut, Charles and Marcus were there too, trying to make sense of Blake’s situation and where he might be. In the corner a huge white board with at least five maps of Etan stood majestically, facing all of us. A rescue mission jumped immediately into my mind.

“He broke his oath, that is why he vanished,” Isabel interrupted them all, slightly out of breath.

Sir Robert stared at her with knitted eyebrows as he contemplated everything. Even Charles and Marcus end up staring at nothing, just the space in front of them.

None of them said a thing. It was utter silence.

Sir Robert’s gaze looked up, at me. “What oath, Elena?”

I told them about the oath I’d never wanted him to make. From the look on their faces as I told them how he would have ripped Billy and Seymour to pieces if he found them, made more and more sense now. They were all starting to believe that whatever had happened was linked to breaking an oath. It was evident on their faces.

“It still doesn’t tell us where he is, not one bit,” I said after a while, and shook my head. I had a headache in between my eyes that didn’t want to go away. It was because of the past few days. I was stressing.

I turned around and walked back to my room.

Annie, Isabel, Sammy and Becky entered my room and found me once again lying on my bed. It was quiet and then Becky broke the silence.

“I don’t understand this, Elena.” Becky sighed. “Someone can’t just vanish like that from breaking an oath.”

“I can’t reach him. I never could to be honest. It was as if his level of thinking was on a different level than mine. I understand now how all this is making him feel. It’s driving me insane.” I sounded tired and so defeated.

“He went through worse during the four months you were missing.”

“This is different.”

“How?” she asked. “You vanished just like him, without a trace. None of us could find you. We didn’t know if you were okay, let alone alive. It was ten times worse than this.”

“I can’t handle this.” My voice went a few octaves higher. The last thing I wanted to do was to fight with Becky. I didn’t want to think about that time. It was in the past, this was the present.

They left it there, and I spent the entire night wondering what it must have been like for Blake after he woke up and found me missing. I saw the clips of him trying to find me. That alone was a wake-up call. Even if he’d told me what it was like, now that I was experiencing the same thing, I could relate.

The minutes ticked by, then came the hours. It all lay heavy on my chest because nobody seemed to rest without knowing where Blake was.

I skipped dinner and stayed in my room for the rest of the night.

That night a scream came from a room down the hall. It sounded like Becky.

I ran out of my room as others emerged from theirs and found her staring with horror at George hulking on the floor.

George was crouched in a crawling position on the carpet. Constance and Isabel hunched over him as Sir Robert and Emanual ran in after me.

Becky was frozen in one place, staring at him, visibly shocked by something she’d just experienced.

Isabel got up and I saw steam evaporate from George’s body, as he seemed to be recovering. We all stared at the steam rolling off his body like he was a hot rock that had just been cooled down with ice cold water.

I grabbed Becky and held her tight as I couldn’t stop staring at George’s body trembling as soft whimpering sounds left his mouth.

Constance crouched next to him on the floor and she rested her hand slightly on his body as if he was a hot potato.

“He’s ice cold.” Constance got up and pulled a blanket off the bed and wrapped it over him. She looked up at Becky. “What happened?”

She still seemed to be in shock.

“Becky?” I shook her slightly and her gaze broke from George and looked at me.

“What happened?” I asked.

She shook her head back and forth fast.

“We need to know what happened. Was it something he saw?” I asked but it didn’t explain the steam emanating off his body.

“Darkness,” George spoke and we all looked at him.

“Darkness?” Isabel asked and then he started to cry. I’d never seen George cry. He shook his head and looked up at Becky. Then he moved quickly onto his knees and came to Becky, hugging her around her waist.

Constance put the blanket around him again.

“It felt as if I was dark again. It was suffocating me. But the lightning, the lightning was all around me and I knew if I went to it I would find you again.”

He wasn’t making any sense.

“Babe, you didn’t leave, you were here the whole time.” Becky hunched awkwardly over him and rubbed his body to get the warmth back into him.

“No, I was there. I know I was, Becks.” He looked up at her sounding deranged. “It was so cold.” He broke down again. “So alone.”

She held him tight and he shook in her arms. Her own tears flowed over her cheeks. Isabel and Constance stared at them. I did too.

What had George seen?

“George, are you okay?” Constance asked him and he lifted his head from Becky’s embrace. He looked at her and then he shook his head. He sure didn’t look okay.

“Babe.” Becky stroked the side of his face and she fell on her knees too. “What was that?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know, but I’ve got this strange feeling…”

We all stared at him, what feeling?

“I was so powerful, Becks. And I couldn’t do anything. I think it’s connected to Blake.”

I COULDN’T SLEEP that night, not after what George told us. If Blake was in a dark, cold place, then how was I ever going to sleep? How were we going to reach him?

I threw up as nausea crept into my stomach, created by fear and worry. I had listened to Isabel’s crying the entire night, Sir Robert freaking out and Constance pleading, because not knowing anything was driving her semi-insane too. She was worried, we were all worried…to death. Where the hell are you, Blake?

The morning light shone through my curtains and I got up to take a shower. The chaos from last night had died out, but the worry was still hovering over all of us.

I couldn’t deal with Sammy today. I couldn’t deal with any of this today. I just wanted to go back to the other side and find Blake.

And that was when my body started to act normal again, like it should.

A plan of me escaping to the Creepers flashed through my mind. I’d been a good girl these past few days. I hadn’t tried to escape, and everyone was worried about what George had seen. It was going to work. I just knew it.

I packed my backpack after I put on my jeans and a sweatshirt. Going out the front door would alert Emanual, so the only way out was through my balcony.

I looked over the railing after I put the backpack over my shoulders and took a huge breath as the drop was a few stories high. There was a pipe, and I closed my eyes just thinking about it. Blake would’ve done it for me. He’d almost flown through the Creepers for me.

I threw one leg over the railing then the other and shook the pipe to see if it was firmly attached to the wall, still holding on to the safety of the balcony. It seemed strong and solid.

I placed one leg on one side of the pipe and then my other and clung to it with all my strength.

It’d seemed so easy inside my head, it’d looked so easy on the big screen, but now actually doing it, it felt as if my heart was going to explode.

I took a huge breath and let it out slowly.

You can do this.

I let my grip go slowly and started to slide down the pipe.

When I finally reached the bottom, I smiled because I couldn’t believe I’d just done it.

I peeked around the corner. It was clear and I started to make a run for the hill.

Once I was over the hill, I didn’t think. I just ran toward the Creepers.

They were getting nearer and nearer and I just knew that my plan had worked. I was going to find…

I yelped as talons grabbed me and my feet suddenly left the ground.

“Let me go!” I tried to get free from the talons but I couldn’t. The more I squirmed the tighter the grip became. I looked up and saw red scales.

“Dammit, Emanual! Let me go! He needs my help!”

“Elena, it is too dangerous,” he said using a deep scruffy voice. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“He would’ve done the same for me, you know it! You were there, why can’t I…”

“Because we need you, Paegeia and Etan need you to get through this war.”

He descended close to a group of people and then he let me go.

“Elena,” Isabel was the first to reach me.

“Leave me alone!” I yelled, pissed off that I’d failed at sneaking out and trying to go back to Blake. I stormed into the lodge and up the stairs.

“Elena, we need to speak about this.” Emanual’s voice was right behind me.

“I said leave me alone. If you don’t want to help me find him, then I don’t need anything from you,” I said and shut my bedroom door in his face.

Failure and loneliness overwhelmed me as I slid down to the floor and just cried like I’d never cried before.

I was never going to find Blake, and the worst part was that I had nobody to help me.

The day moved by slowly. Connie entered a few times with plates of food, drinks and snacks. But I couldn’t eat. I needed to find Blake. Becky and Sammy tried to cheer me up too. Even Annie and Constance tried. They all came and went. Around five a soft knock came on the door.

They didn’t let themselves in like the others and I got up.

When I opened it, Sir Robert and Isabel stared down at me. When I saw Emanual’s face I wanted to slam the door in all three of their faces.

“Elena, wait. We have a plan.” Sir Robert put his foot in front of my door just as I went to shut it.

“A plan to go and find him?”

He nodded and I stepped back from the threshold. The door closed behind Emanual as I went to sit at the edge of my bed.

Sir Robert took one seat and Emanual just stood in front of my door.

“Elena, just to get one thing clear. Blake vanished, which means he could be anywhere.”

“What if you are wrong? What if he is in Etan right now and he can’t get back?”

Isabel came to sit next to me, rubbing my shoulder.

“Think about it.” Emanual sounded frustrated and crouched down in front of me. “If George had a connection with Blake, he is far from Etan, nobody can reach him, not even you. Only he can find his way back.”

I was close to tears again. I felt so helpless.

“So what you are saying is I just have to wait? Is that it?”

Emanual sighed. “I don’t know. All I know is that the last time you ran, Elena, you were gone for four months. I do not want to tell him that you went looking for him if he comes back. I won’t relive that time again, so please, I’m begging you, just wait.”

I looked at him for a short while, closed my eyes and shook my head. When I opened them I stared at Sir Robert.

“He will come back, Elena. I know he will.”

“What if it’s in Etan? What if he’s already there? He wouldn’t be able to come back.”

Sir Robert stared at me. “We will go in once a day, just to make sure. If Goran has him, there will be rumors of it.” He shook his head. “It will be too late then, but we will do something to get him out of there. If not, we come straight back, Elena.”

“We’re going in tonight?”

Emanual closed his eyes. “Tomorrow, Elena. It’s day time that side. I’m not going to risk it.”

I nodded.

“I don’t like this, not one bit, but if it’s the only way to stop you from sneaking off where nobody can reach you, then okay, but we do this my way or you can forget going back.”

“I promise.” I would say anything if it would allow me to go and find Blake.

They all left after that and I struggled to fall asleep again. I was really anxious and excited about tomorrow. Blake just had to be there.

When I finally dozed off, I dreamed about the Saadedine again. Blake was still the size of a crow. His black armor, wherever the hell he’d gotten it from, didn’t seem to protect him from the Saadedine’s wrath.

I saw him crashing into a cave-like wall, and woke up to the sound of a thud.

A cold finger traced a path up my spine as I realized it wasn’t the dream’s thud that had woken me; it was a real thud. I could smell a strong scent of sulfur and feel the presence of something dark in my room. Someone dark, someone that didn’t belong in this world was staring at me.

I TURNED ON the light next to my bed.

There on the floor in front of me was a figure lying flat on its stomach.

The body was soaked in black ooze and then I saw the steam rolling off his body. I immediately put together the images of George from the other night in his room, and what I was seeing right in front of me.

Life sparked through me, and I found my way to the figure’s side as fast as I could, realizing it was Blake lying limply on my carpet.

My hand touched a pile of ooze that had coagulated on the carpet. It was cold, the burning kind of cold, and sticky.

I started to cough as the strong smell burned my nose and lungs.

I covered my nose with my sleeve, trying to catch my breath.

Steam was rolling off his body in waves. It was ten times worse than the night George had experienced it.

“Help!” my voice eventually yelled. I sounded deranged, like a crazy lunatic and coughed again at the strong smell of sulfur coming from him.

“Help!” I yelled again and touched Blake’s back. He was ice cold.

Blake gasped hard as if he’d only just now found his breath after a long time under water, and lifted up his torso from the ground, resting on his arms. He coughed like mad as he pulled in his legs and ducked his head down toward the carpet. He sounded so sick, like someone that had pneumonia, and then he threw up. Pools of black goo spattered onto the carpet as more came from his mouth.

“Blake, where the hell…?” I couldn’t finish my sentence as my voice broke.

Then he just grabbed me tightly and squeezed. I struggled to breathe but I held him just as tight. The goo was all over me. I started to shake with him, shivering from the cold emanating off his body.

He still coughed, short coughs that sounded really bad as I held him.

My door finally opened.

“Son,” Sir Robert spoke as Blake trembled, his teeth chattering.

“The blanket,” I ordered and Sir Robert yanked it off my bed with one pull and wrapped it over Blake.

“Son, where the hell were you?”

“Blake,” Isabel’s voice filled the room.

I couldn’t stop thinking about George’s experience. How on earth had he seen where Blake was?

I could feel him shaking his head in the nape of my neck. The sulfur smelled so strongly that it made everyone start to cough.

Where the hell had he been?

He started to sob and let go of me. Then he got up and ran out of my room.

“Blake!” I yelled after him.

“Stay with Elena. I’ll go,” Sir Robert spoke quickly.

Isabel nodded.

Her face looked like she’d just witnessed a horrible play.

My body felt drained, cold, and the sticky black goo, which I knew was sulfur, clung onto my hands and face. Isabel wrapped her arms around me. “Shhh,” she said through a shaky voice. “He’s back. He will be okay, Elena.”

BLAKE WAS DOWN for another five days. I stayed with him almost all of the time. Isabel also kept a vigil by his bedside. Sir Robert and the rest came regularly too, checking up on his status and bringing things to eat. He would speak in his sleep, gibberish that didn’t make any sense, just like George had that night, but he never woke up. The only thing I knew was that he was in a dark, dark place. It must have been darker than what he was used to.

A knock on the door woke me from a slumber. My body felt stiff from sitting in the chair with only a blanket around me.

Emanual came in and looked at me and then at Blake’s sleeping body.

“Are you okay?” he asked and I nodded. Blake was here, safe.

He pulled a chair closer to mine and sat down.

“How is he doing?”

“I don’t know, Emanual. He keeps talking about the darkness, cold and lightning, the same stuff that George did that night.” I wiped away a tear. “It doesn’t make any sense. Where was he?”

“Elena, he is one of the strongest dragons I know. He will be fine, he’s the…”

“Don’t say it. I don’t care if he is the Rubicon. You were not there that night he came back, Emanual. I’ve never seen him that scared before and he is one of the few dragons that almost never shows his fear.” I spoke softly but with a stern tone.

“I heard. Sir Robert told me that he was dripping with sulfur.”

“He wasn’t just dripping with it; it was in his entire body. He threw it up. Connie even replaced that spot on the carpet. Nothing could get it out. The smell. It’s still there.”

Emanual just stared at Blake’s figure on the bed. He was out completely, hadn’t said one word in almost a day, even in his sleep.

“He must have experienced some hell wherever he was.” Emanual finally opened his mouth.

“I don’t think he experienced hell, I think he was in hell.”

“You can’t say that.”

“It’s the only thing that explains the sulfur, Emanual.”

He shook his head. Of course he wouldn’t want that for Blake. I wouldn’t want that either. But there was no other way to explain how he’d ended up where he did when he disappeared.

“You should get some rest Elena. I’ll stay with him.”

“I struggle to sleep,” I whispered again.

“Try. That is an order.” I looked at him and he smiled softly. “I’ll wake you if he wakes up, promise.”

I nodded, got up, went over to Blake and kissed him on his cheek. Please, just wake up.

I know he couldn’t hear my thoughts anymore, but it was a private moment and one I wasn’t going to share with Emanual in the room.

“Good night,” I spoke softly.

“Sleep tight, Princess.”

I opened his door and the hall light streamed in. It blinded my sight for a few seconds and then I found my own room. I welcomed sleep but it wasn’t the release I needed. Nightmares seeped through and I know it was because of my dragon not keeping tabs on my dreams anymore.

I felt so lost without him. It just made it so real again, what it would be like if he wasn’t in this world anymore.

I would be changed forever, scarred for life. I wasn’t that strong, well, not anymore, and his words on the mountain entered my mind again.

“You don’t have to be strong, I’m strong.”

I cried. Cried because I had no idea what state Blake was going to wake up in. If he was going to fear everything, how the hell was I going to pull him out of this, like he’d pulled me out of my darkness? He was the strongest dragon that I knew.

If he was broken…don’t think like that Elena. Emanual is right. He was the Rubicon and he would find a way to get through this. I would help him where I could, like he’d helped me. Even if it meant giving him his space, like he’d given me mine. I’d give anything for him to get through this.

Blake

RUMBLE.

It vibrated through my entire body. Then another rumble came, followed by a dull cracking sound.

My eyes focused in and I could see the blur of a long line of lightning breaking into a thousand directions. Then it disappeared again. It was so dark.

My sight, disorientated at first, started to focus in.

Nothing, just darkness again, and then the flashes of the lightning lit everything up once more. The deafening sound of a rumble of thunder came a few seconds later. It was so bright.

It finally woke me from my slumber.

Elena.

I flew straight for the lightning. I knew it made no sense but I just wanted to get out of the suffocating darkness.

I closed my eyes and ground hard on my teeth, as I knew this was going to fucking hurt, and flew straight into the lightning.

It was so bright I had to close my eyes and when the brightness faded, I found myself in a different type of darkness. One where I could hear thoughts again, but they weren’t Elena’s. This time it was everyone else’s, and from what it sounded like, it was everyone that owned a tainted soul.

Their murderous, cunning, and evil thoughts about hurting, plotting, and executing the worst acts anyone could think of assaulted me. It was all seeping through me like a tidal wave.

Murder, rape, and abuse of the worst kind. Animals getting slaughtered slowly, kids crying as they were beaten, woman screaming for help and the agonizing cries of men being tortured. My mind felt as if it wanted to explode. War, many war thoughts. Personal wars waging inside of them. I knew that type of war as I’d lived with it for so long.

A scream left my mouth and a strong force pulled me out of this misery, back to the darkness I knew.

Another strike of lightning hit and I flew as fast as I could into another swath of light.

“Please wake up.” I heard a voice, an angelic voice and then it was quiet. Like I didn’t exist anymore. I didn’t breathe. I struggled and it was as if I was suffocating again, like my lungs had just stopped working. Strong lungs that refused to take another breath. Then everything was gone.

Fire sprang up in front of me, engulfing me from within. It was green, burning my flesh, and turning my insides to messy black goo; it tasted like sulfur.

I jolted up in bed, coughed again. The smell was gone, but nausea stuck in my gut. I was never going to get rid of this feeling.

I felt a strong hand on my shoulder before I heard his voice as he pushed a bucket in my hands.

I threw up. Black shit, gooey black shit.

“You are going to be fine,” Emanual spoke. “Dammit Blake. Where the hell were you?”

I coughed a couple more times. It sounded better than it had that night.

I realized I was safe. I reached for Elena; her warmth had woken me up.

“Where is Elena?” I croaked.

“She is safe.” He sighed. “We were so worried about you. What happened?”

I lay back into my pillow and closed my eyes. I took a few deep breaths trying to get the images of that lightning out of my head. I’d flown so many times into it, it hurt like hell every single time, and yet I didn’t even know if it was real or not.

The flame was the worst. It was green, it belonged to the Saadedine.

“I don’t know where the hell I was.” I opened my eyes and looked at Emanual. His entire body stiffened. I knew that look. Something was wrong. My eyes, they stung like hell.

“How bad is it?”

“It doesn’t matter, you are safe.”

I sighed and closed them as I rested against the bed’s headboard. “All I can tell you is: never ever break an oath.”

Elena.

A KNOCK CAME from my door. I woke up immediately from the sound. Not that I’d been actually sleeping.

I found Isabel in front of my door. She smiled. “He’s awake.”

“He woke up!” I knew it! The minute I left, he would wake up and then it would seem like I didn’t care at all, which was so the opposite.

I grabbed my robe and pulled my arms through, stepping into my slippers. It was still early, like six, maybe seven o’clock.

“Elena,” she said as I closed my door. “There is something you need to know.”

“It can wait.”

“No, it can’t.” She had a concerned look on her face.

“What is it, it’s bad, isn’t it?” I asked and this horrible feeling crept in the gut of my stomach as I realized what it was. It was payback time for the time I didn’t want to do anything with him. “He doesn’t want to see me, does he?”

She shook her head.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I knew it. Wherever he was had changed him for the worst. “I told him not to go, but he was so stubborn.”

“Shhh.” She wrapped her arms around me. “He will snap out of it. I don’t think it’s really the reason he doesn’t want to see you though. He doesn’t want to see me either for that matter, or Sammy. None of the women in his life.”

“He doesn’t want to see any of us?”

“He yelled at me when I entered his room. Told me to get out. I hate seeing the old Blake.”

“Let me guess, he cussed a lot?”

She nodded.

It was the old Blake. Wherever he was, that place had suppressed the new Blake, the one that had made me fall in love with him hard, and now he was gone, leaving us with the old Blake, the one nobody could help.

I went back to my room. He hadn’t pushed when I’d wanted to be left alone, wanted nothing to do with him, and that was exactly what I would do, give him space until he was ready to see me.

I needed to speak to Emanual. He would know more; he could tell me what state Blake was in when he woke up. He’d broken his promise; he’d told me that he would wake me up. Not Isabel. I should’ve never left his side, never. And now, it was biting me in the ass.

I FOUND BECKY and Sammy at the table early the next day. Sammy hadn’t been herself either, always walking around with red-rimmed eyes, crying for her brother. Her tears sort of suffocated me. I couldn’t stand it.

Dean phoned twice a day to find out if she was okay. I didn’t understand why he hadn’t come with; I could only imagine that Master Longwei had something to do with it.

I grabbed a cup of coffee and tried to shake off this irritating feeling that came with the news of Blake not wanting to see any of the women in his life.

I went to their table. “Let me guess, he didn’t want to see any of you either?”

Sammy shook her head with a hanky in her hand. She brought it to her nose and wiped.

“Why am I always crying about stupid shit? He is the Rubicon for crying out loud.”

None of us answered her.

“Have any of you seen Emanual?”

“He came down earlier and took a plate of food to him,” Becky answered.

“Where is George?”

Becky gave me a sarcastic look.

“Seriously?” I asked. It annoyed me even more. George was with him too. I should be there, not some stupid Moon-Bolt.

“Elena,” Becky cleared her throat.

I looked at her.

“You know why George is there, he shared that experience with Blake.”

“Not helping Becky, unless you can tell me where the hell my dragon was, none of this is helping. I know he was someplace dark, but I don’t know where. You know how that makes me feel.”

“I know. I felt it that night.”

“George wasn’t really there, Becky. It was something he saw.”

“Still, he experienced it the same way. Kept talking about the darkness the entire next day.”

I knew she was right. I was just so freakin’ annoyed. “I told him not to do this.” I felt that I should’ve ordered him, even if it was against my beliefs, then he would’ve been mad, but he would’ve forgiven me eventually. It would’ve been better than this.

“Plenty told him it was a bad idea and that he shouldn’t go.”

Emanual walked into the hall and his eyes found mine immediately. I got up. “How is he? Why doesn’t he want to see me? You told him that I stayed with him, right?”

“Elena, calm down okay. He knows. It’s not the reason he doesn’t want to see you.”

“Then why does he blame me? Because I will march up there now and tell him I told him this was a bad idea from the start.”

“It’s not that either. His first words when he woke up were about you, he wanted to know if you were okay.”

I looked away. It didn’t make any sense. “Then why doesn’t he want to see me?”

“He is scared, Elena.”

“Of what?”

“That he is going to scare you.”

“What? It doesn’t make sense.”

“He…” Emanual looked down.

“He what? Spit it out.”

He looked at me again. “He has blood eyes, Elena.”

Becky gasped.

“What the hell is blood eyes?”

Emanual sighed. “It’s when the part of your eyes that is usually white turns red and the iris is almost black. We don’t know when it’s going to go away. It scared the living crap out of me when I saw it and I guess it was my reaction that led to him to not wanting any of you to see him that way.”

“What?” I was furious. “He was gone for almost a week, out for another five and that is his stupid reason?!” I yelled.

“Calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down.” I was already marching in the direction of the stairs. He is so fucking stupid. Really. I don’t care what his eyes look like. I saw his face when he took Annie’s burn away, how bad can fucking red eyes be?

“Elena, please, don’t do this.” Emanual reached me as I took the first step.

“Don’t tell me what to do, Emanual!” I yelled at him, running up the stairs.

He was faster and grabbed my arm lightly.

“Just give him a few days.”

“No.” I sounded deranged again. Some of the doors opened in the hallway. I knew they were staring as Emanual showed them with a hand gesture that all was good.

“He was gone, Emanual. Gone. I don’t care what he looks like.” I spoke out loud and turned back around.

If that is the only reason he doesn’t want to see me, well then he doesn’t know me that well.

Sir Robert came out of Blake’s room. “Elena, please I beg of you.”

“Step out of my way.” My voice broke again, I was so angry with him for doing this.

“No, please,” Sir Robert begged.

“Step out or I promise you, your son is going to experience a hell of a lot more pain.”

“It’s okay, Dad. Let her in,” Blake’s spoke from inside the room. He sounded so tired.

Sir Robert stepped out of the way, not happy that I’d disobeyed his son’s wishes.

George sat with Blake and Blake was lying with his back to me.

“You know how stupid this is, right? You have no idea what the hell you put me through.” I started to fight with him. “What you put your family through. You were missing for five days Blake, asleep for another five. Ten days. Ten fucking days and this is the reason why you don’t want to see me? I told you this was a fucking stupid idea but you never listen.”

“Elena, enough!” Sir Robert intervened.

“Don’t you dare tell me enough. He has to know how I felt, how his mother felt, his sister, and now he doesn’t want to see us because of blood eyes!” I yelled at Sir Robert.

Blake turned around and stared at me.

I gasped softly at the sight. He looked half demonic.

“Not so beautiful anymore, am I?” He spoke in a sarcastic snarl and looked away.

My nostrils flared at his words. “You are a fucking idiot,” I spoke. “I never cared about your looks. I cared about you.” My voice broke as I climbed onto his bed and just flung my arms around him. He flinched at my touch; he felt so cold and my heart wanted to break because of the flinch. So I let him go.

“I’m sorry,” I spoke softly, not really sure what exactly I was apologizing for.

He looked at me with squinted eyes and then he pulled me back into his chest.

“Don’t be. I’ll be fine.” He sounded so relieved. “I’m the one that should be sorry.”

I felt like crying again as my emotions took me on a rollercoaster ride from hell. “Where were you?” I whispered in his ear.

I felt his hand at the back of my head, stroking my hair. “It doesn’t matter. I’m back now.”

I took a huge breath and lifted up my head from his shoulder to look at him.

His beautiful peacock blue eyes were gone; they’d been replaced with black obsidian. The whites of his eyes were red, like all the veins in his eyes had burst.

“I don’t know if this is going to go away.” A frustrated curve tugged at the corners of his lips.

“I don’t care,” I said way too fast.

I found his lips and kissed him. I didn’t care if his father was there or George. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.” I hugged him, never wanting to let him go.

“Okay. I’m sorry I was an idiot. I should’ve known better.”

I smiled softly “Yes, you should. Now where were you?”

“You sure you want to know?” he asked with a croaky voice.

“Believe me, my mind is coming up with scenarios that are probably worse than it actually was.”

He shook his head.

“Were you in…hell?”

He squinted and then he sighed. “No.”

“See, not as bad. Now tell me please.”

He pulled his fingers through his hair.

“What happened, Blake? They said that you saw Billy and what...”

He nodded. “I wanted to kill him so badly Elena.”

“I told you…”

“I know. I would’ve blown this entire mission if I had. But nothing at that moment was going to stop me. Knowing that he was one of the bastards that did that to you.” He touched my hand and our fingers entwined with one another. “But I remembered my promise. It would blow the cover immediately and the minute I didn’t act on it…I broke an oath.”

I nodded. “We figured that much.” I wiped off a stray tear.

“I had no idea what the hell that place was.”

“You spoke about darkness and lightning. What does the lightning have to do with it?”

“I don’t know. All I knew was it was better than the darkness, so I flew straight into it only to find myself in a worse kind of darkness. Please, I don’t want to talk about this, okay?”

“Okay,” I said. Realizing that none was symbolic, it was a real place. He would tell me when he was ready. I rested my head on his chest.

“The next time you disappear, just take me with you, please,” I whispered again.

He smiled and his lips brushed the top of my head.

“Then how in the world do you think we are going to come back, because it was you that brought me back?”

My face pulled again. “Don’t say that. I didn’t do shit, Blake.”

“That is not what Emanual told me.”

“Okay fine, but I wasn’t myself. I thought you were never going to come back.”

He smiled. “You had it for ten days. I had it for four months.”

I just stared at him. “Well, I’m the princess, we don’t do well with waiting.”

He chuckled. “Finally.”

I STAYED WITH Blake the entire day. He finally let his mom and sister see him too. Sammy was just as mad as me, and started to cry again.

His mother just cupped his face in her hands and ordered him to open his eyes. He did and she didn’t even flinch or gasp. She just stared at him. “I don’t care what you look like, you could even be deformed. You are my son, my love for you will never die. And if you speak to me like that again, Blake Samuel Leaf, I will give you a beating like you’ve never experienced before. You hear?”

“Samuel?” I said and everyone laughed.

“Sorry. It was stupid.” He hugged her and then he told us about the mission to get Max, and Nicky.

He trusted his tracking ability again, which was really good, and had found Leana first.

It was the easiest one. Still he’d felt sorry for Tom. I did too.

Next was Nicky and then through Nicky they located Maxine.

Getting DNA from their masters wasn’t as easy as they had anticipated, and getting them to safety had been even harder, but it all somehow worked out to plan. It was everything Tom and August told us.

At lunch time I went down to grab him some food. He needed his strength. I just wanted him out of that bed as fast as possible.

I knew he had a thing about his looks, but still, he’d taken Annie’s burn away without thinking twice about it.

I really didn’t care what he looked like. Not one bit. I would deal with any of the forms he ended up with, just like Isabel. With that realization I knew, I wasn’t just in love with his dragon anymore. A part of me already loved Blake.

Maybe it was deeper. Like a part of me had always loved him, even the time I didn’t know it, ever since that first day I saw him sitting at that table, before I even knew his name. I remembered the rabbit hole feeling that I’d felt back then. Could it have been the Dent, letting me know he was my dragon? Like he knew…it made me wonder.

I STAYED UNTIL Sir Robert begged us all to have a private word with Blake. I gave him a smile as I left with Isabel, Sammy and George.

Becky didn’t want to see him, she said there would be plenty of time to see him and that now was the time for close family members, and of course George as he’d seen something that was linked to where Blake had been.

I guess George would be seeing more and more of the future now, but what was strange was that he’d picked up Blake, when not even Irene could. What did that mean? His first glimpse of the future and it’d been my dragon’s?

Sir Robert was busy with him for a long time and around ten I went to my room.

I couldn’t sleep and heard when Sir Robert said goodbye to Blake and closed his door.

His footsteps were soft but not as soft as his son’s and I could hear him pass my room.

I listened to the night sounds, how people were whispering softly in the darkness. How everyone started to fall asleep.

Then I got up. I don’t know why, but I needed Blake more than I think he needed me right now and I tiptoed back to his room. I knocked on his door as softly as I could, and heard him get out of bed.

He wasn’t as quiet anymore, and I knew it was because he was still weak.

The door finally opened and he smiled. He didn’t say anything as he stepped out of the way for me to enter.

I suddenly felt embarrassed as I crawled onto his bed. His father would kill him if he knew that I was here and he would probably take extra measures and let Master Longwei know that things between us were the opposite of what they used to be. But I was pretty sure Master Longwei had figured that out already.

He fell on top of his bed and my stomach flipped a million times as he wrapped his arms around me. I never thought that in a million years I would feel safe with anyone of the opposite sex ever again, or want to be with anyone ever again as much as I wanted to be with Blake.

His chin touched my forehead softly. He still smelled slightly of sulfur, but his own dragon scent was starting to seep through.

“Are you okay?” I had to know. He more or less told us what he went through, even if none of it was making any sense.

“I’m still a bit jittery, but I will be fine, Elena.”

I looked up at him. “You gave me the biggest scare of my entire life. When I only saw Tom and August with Nicky and Max, I knew immediately something had happened. It felt as if I couldn’t breathe.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered softly and then sighed. “Who would’ve thought that you’d actually give me another chance?”

I laughed softly. “I don’t think that I was actually given that choice.”

He chuckled.

“Everyone sort of pushed you on top of me, in a non-sexual way.”

“Sorry about that too. I actually tried for the opposite, to give you space and time. I needed you to trust me on your own turf and not through any of what the others said or wanted.”

“Why, why didn’t you show me that you had changed back then?” I pushed myself onto my elbow and looked down at him.

“Because you didn’t know this Blake and I didn’t want to scare you.”

I just smiled, and thought about what he’d said. It was actually extremely sweet and so selfless. “Well, I’ve got news for you. I actually like this Blake, a lot.”

He gave me a huge grin, one that showed his canine and I lowered my head closer to his and our lips touched slightly.

At first it was soft, gentle, as if I was scared that I was going to hurt him, but after a minute or two, the kiss grew stronger.

His lips caressed the skin on my neck, which flushed my entire body. Goosebumps rippled over every inch of my skin. It felt nice.

His hand slid over the side of my body and over my thigh. My leg shifted over his hip and our lips met again. The kiss was hard, greedy, as if he wanted to make me feel how much he needed me right at this moment, how much he had missed me when he was stuck in his pool of misery. His hand rubbed hard over my thigh again and he pulled me closer to his body until I was snug against him. His temperature still felt wrong. He wasn’t as cold as he used to be, a bit warmer, but it wasn’t his normal temperature. I missed that. Still, he was showing some progress.

My mind was going insane with need. How could this ever be happening?

A small grunt left his mouth and he stopped.

We were both out of breath. “Sorry, I got carried away.” He smiled and just looked at me with the softest stare.

He kissed me once more, softly on the lips. “You want something to drink?” he said and got up, making his way to his fridge.

“Let me,” I said.

“I can do this, Elena.”

I smiled. He was always pushing his limits. “Sure,” I said and sucked in my lip. What the heck was that?

I blew out a breath softly. He was driving me insane. Literally.

He handed me a glass filled with brandy and ice again and I took a sip.

“Okay, so why are you here?” he asked, with a slightly raised eyebrow and a huge grin on his lips. He sat down on the chair where I’d spent the past five days, watching over him as he slept.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

He smiled.

“That’s it.”

“No, I have been sleeping here the past five days. The minute Emanual forced me out of the room to get some proper sleep, well that was when you decided to wake up.”

He smiled. “I know the feeling Elena. When they found you, I stayed with you, but Matt wanted my statement and I had no choice but to leave your side. You woke up and found Sammy and Becky. I guess it was a good thing too, as I would’ve just scared you if you’d found me next to your bed.”

“Matt took your statement, why?”

“Because of what I saw through the two that found you, well actually through the dragon.”

I remember those two. Well, I don’t know what they looked like but in my mind they were the strangest couple I’d ever met. I chuckled as I remembered that the dragon was the softy that didn’t like being a dragon at all.

“What’s so funny?”

“The dragon.”

Blake chuckled too. “I left him with a mother of a headache and I’m still in his debt so I hope they don’t ask me to kill someone.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it.

“So you saw Billy?” I tried to change the subject.

“I actually smelled him first. And when I found him, he looked straight at me. I wanted to kill him so badly then but I made a promise to wait, but the oath doesn’t work like that. When I chose not to, I disappeared.”

I nodded slowly. “It’s my fault. You should’ve never made that oath.”

He came over and sat on his haunches in front of the bed. “It’s not your fault, okay? I made that oath all by myself, Elena. You didn’t put a gun to my head, and you didn’t force those words out of me either. It’s my fault. I didn’t know you were in Etan, and I should’ve known better that it wasn’t some sort of a death wish, but that my tracking ability was one of the strongest in Paegeia.”

“It’s the strongest,” I corrected him.

He grinned. “Okay the strongest.” He looked at me. It was so intense. “It wasn’t your fault, and I will make them pay. When the right time comes. I actually can’t wait to meet this Seymour.”

I flinched as he said his name just remembering all the bad things he’d put me through. “They got him on the buyo.”

“Wait, what?”

“One of the guys that went in with Emanual, when they gathered intel, the caught both Seymour and Billy on one of the buyos.”

Blake hugged me. “He will never harm you ever again. He won’t even see you again.”

“Still, Billy is your family. You must’ve seen it.”

“I told you before, Elena.” He let me go and looked at me again. “He’s no family of mine. Sure we have the same blood running through our veins, but he’s not family. And yes, I have seen his face.” He shook his head. “I thought you turned me into one of them the first time I started experiencing your dreams. It’s why I used my true form in all your dreams and not this one. It was his fault.”

My lips curved slightly and I nodded. He took my glass from me and put his own down, climbing back onto the bed.

We spoke about plenty of things that night, especially about the time I wanted nothing to do with him. How it’d made him feel, and what he’d gone through and done to make me feel safe and secure.

He told me about how they’d staged my release. I saw that on my Sonic and laughed at how badly he’d wanted to rip Kevin’s throat out when he didn’t want to help with the other reporters. Emanual had to hold him back and then when Emanual offered him an exclusive when I was ready, he’d wanted to beat Emanual.

I couldn’t believe he’d done that for me. Me. And it was a stage that I didn’t want anything to do with him.

I also desperately wanted to know how the hell he’d gotten Becky and Sammy not to tell me the truth.

“I’m a nice guy, people like doing things for me.”

I laughed.

When his watched beeped for the third time, I knew it was three o’clock in the morning and finally started to feel sleepy.

Then both of us became quiet, just like that and fell asleep. It was so easy now with him.

I dreamt of nothing but the soft purring noise of a cat that woke me.

I opened my eyes but found no cat. It was faint and I lifted up my head to see where it was coming from.

I turned around and looked at Blake’s sleeping figure as the cat was close to him.

I bent over his body, and stopped. I looked down at his chest. The noise wasn’t coming from a cat; it was coming from him.

I rested my head on his chest and started to smile.

It sounded so amazing and I was amazed by how little I really still knew about dragons even if I’d been one for a couple of months. I knew for a fact that I’d never done this.

My lips curled and a small giggle escaped, but it didn’t wake Blake one bit.

I just kept staring at him, at his beauty, and wished I knew what it would be like if I’d grown up this side, if both of us knew that I was his rider and he’d my dragon. Would he have been the same, or could it have been like this from the beginning? Acquaintances turning into friends, and later friends turning into something so much deeper…

For what it was worth, I knew I had just found my favorite sound in the world, as I could listen to him for hours.

THE SPOT NEXT to me was empty the next morning, but I heard soft voices coming from the table by the fridge.

He was speaking to someone. It sounded like Master Longwei, but I couldn’t see because his back was blocking the holograph.

“I’m glad you’re awake, Blake.”

“I think it’s time to start with the campaign, war is coming and we need all the people we can find to help.”

“We will, don’t you worry. I will set up a meeting with the Council and get you the publicity you’ll need to get all this started. Just rest, get your strength back.”

I lay my head back on the pillow. There was no resting with him. I wished that sometimes he could be like a normal person and just wait until he was one hundred percent ready before trying once again to save his world. Well, our world.

I heard Master Longwei say his goodbyes and closed my eyes again.

I could feel the bed shifting as Blake climbed back in and could feel his breath close to my face.

“Please don’t tell me you are one of those creepy stalkers who watch people sleep,” I said and he chuckled.

His lips brushed my cheek. “I knew you were awake.”

My eyes opened and I found his dark eyes on me.

I remembered the purring noise and smiled at him.

“Why are you smiling like that? You look like you just discovered my deepest secret.”

“Maybe I have.” I raised my eyes and he chuckled.

“Okay spit it out, what did I say?” he asked.

“Nothing, it is more like something you did.”

He squinted. “Did?” he asked.

“Something I only thought cats could do and now I know dragons do as well.”

He stared at the wall a couple of seconds and then looked back at me with a hint of a smile. “I purred!” He sounded surprised but excited.

I smiled. “You purred.”

He laughed.

“You didn’t know you could do that?”

He laughed. “No, I did, and it’s not the first time that you’ve heard it either.”

“It’s not?”

“You heard it in Aviant the very first time you flew with me.”

I tried to remember that day.

“When Becky asked me what the hell that was?”

I remembered the clucking noise and laughed as I remembered the very first time I’d heard it.

“No, that’s not the first time I’ve heard that sound.”

He looked at me with a broken smile. “It’s not?”

I shook my head. “I heard it on the mountain, scared the living crap out of me too,” I lied. “That is why George laughed.”

He nodded. “I used to tease him about it, that he was weak.”

My body shook.

“That was my dragon purr. The human one sounds similar to a cat.”

“You purred when I touched you,” I teased him and rolled with my body slightly on his. “You are so weak,” I goaded him.

He smiled with closed eyes as he played with my hair again.

“Yes, your touch makes me weak.”

I laughed and kissed his lips softly.

TOO SOON WE crawled out of bed. Blake got ready and came down with me to breakfast. Everyone was surprised to see him.

He was wearing his shades as the black in his eyes still made him self-conscious.

Whatever he wants, I kept telling myself over and over, knowing it was probably the best thing because if any of them recoiled, I would’ve incinerated their ass on the spot.

Connie made us breakfast. It was amazing, like always, with flavors I had to write down, because I had to find a way to recreate her recipes one day.

Not that I think they would ever let me near a kitchen because of the history that flowed through my veins, but I wanted to know the ingredients.

The worry and darkness surrounding Blake’s state and disappearance were starting to fade as George and Emanual made everyone laugh.

I could see a twinkle in Annie’s eyes every time Emanual opened his mouth to say something.

He’d promised her that he would help her getting in touch with her true from again.

When that was actually going to happen I didn’t know, and I silently wished that it would evolve into something more than just friendship, but it had to come from the heart.

Emanual had made it pretty clear he had given up on it.

I hoped it wasn’t the truth because Emanual and Annie were perfect for one another in so many ways.

After breakfast we helped Connie with the cleaning. She started to protest as I grabbed a towel, but Constance, Isabel, Becky, Sammy, and I helping make her work so much lighter.

Blake’s figure appeared in the doorway, as we were finishing up.

“I don’t need more help, go rest,” Connie scolded him and he smiled.

“I actually wanted to know if Elena would like to take a walk with me.”

“Please, take her,” Connie joked and I hopped off a tall chair at the long serving table.

I followed him outside the lodge and he took my hand in his. His temperature was slightly warmer than yesterday, which brought a smile to my face. It meant that he was finding himself again.

“So, why do I get the pleasure of your company on this walk?” I asked as I rested my head on his arm.

“I just needed to get out. Everyone keeps staring at the shades, wondering how bad it really is.”

“Is that your assumption or do you know it for a fact?”

His lips curled. “I’m good at reading people, Elena.”

“Assumption then.”

He chuckled softly and it turned into a sigh.

“Blake, it will heal. Your temperature is coming back too, I can feel it. And if it doesn’t heal, then we’ll deal with it. I’m with your mother on this. I’m not going anywhere.”

He smiled again and I brought my hand to his shades and took off his stupid glasses.

He didn’t like that at first, flinching as his body tensed up.

“I meant what I said. I’m not going anywhere. It seems to me that you are the one struggling with this and not the others around you.”

“Yes, I’m starting to feel like an idiot again.”

“Well, you are.”

He laughed and pulled his hands through his hair as he looked around.

We entered the trees, walking towards the lake.

“Please tell me we are not going to fish again. My back and muscles ached for days.”

“No,” he grinned, “no fishing yet.”

“Good. So what is on your mind?”

“How do you know something’s on my mind?”

“I can sense there is more to this than just taking a stroll, wanting to get away.”

“There is something on my mind, you are right.”

“Then spit it out.”

He stopped beneath a huge tree not far from the lake and sat down.

I took the spot in front of him.

“You’re not going to like it.”

“Try me,” I said, but a part of me knew what he was going to say. If it was that, he was right. I wasn’t going to like this one bit and would order him this time not to do it.

“I have to get back into Etan, Elena.”

“No,” I said without thinking.

“Not now, but in a few weeks.”

“I don’t care Blake. The next time we go back is the day we free Etan, not a day sooner. I’m not going to lose you like that again.”

“Then come with me.”

I froze as he said that. I never thought that he would actually give me that opportunity. “It will be in and out.”

“Why?”

“We need to see what the reaping is all about, Elena. See who is alive still. Those were your father’s men. Maybe, just maybe we can see your father.” He spoke that last part softly. “It will only be you and me, nobody else.”

“And if you see them again?”

“We won’t go to Eikenborough, we will go to one of the other cities nearby that the parade travels through.”

“Blake, they know what I look like, we are going to stick out like a couple of sore thumbs.”

“Not if we use magic, Elena. I can transform our appearance.”

“And what if someone finds us? Magic is forbidden in Etan, Blake.”

“Then I’ll blend in.”

“What if you disappear again?”

“Then you go home. I will find my way back to wherever you are.”

I didn’t like this. Not one bit.

“We need to know as much as we can. We need to know who is still alive, Elena. Get word to them that hope is coming, so they have something to hold onto.”

“You forget one thing, Blake. I promised my father…”

“Then you blame me. It wasn’t just your promise to make, Elena. Tell him I was stronger, heck tell him whatever you think he will believe.”

I just looked at him with a sad expression lingering in my eyes.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I know you don’t know much about him, Elena. But I promise you that I will do whatever it takes to get you a chance to know him. Just give me this one, please.”

“How do you do this?” I sounded annoyed. “You were in such a dark place because of Etan and a mission that had nothing to do with you. And now you want to take on another, just to find out who is still alive. Aren’t you scared just a tiny bit?”

“I refuse to let fear cloud my judgment, Elena. I am…”

“Stop saying that. I know what you are. Stop trying to prove to people what type of dragon you are and just be scared with me for once.”

He leaned closer to me. “How can I? You are scared enough for the both of us.”

“Now it’s my fault!”

“I didn’t say that. I told you before, greatness comes with fear, Elena. If you think I wasn’t scared the first time knowing that I had to go back in there after I found my way out of that dark place, then you still have plenty to learn about me, Elena. I am shit scared of ending up there again, but…” He stopped for a few seconds. “I’m more scared of disappointing you. I have to try and get word to your father, to his men that help is coming.”

“Why not let Emanual go and do it, or one of his men? You have done enough.”

A curve tugged around the corners of his lips. “You sound just like my father.”

“Well he has a point.”

“They wanted to send him, Elena. Can you imagine what it would be like if he found out?”

I closed my eyes just thinking about what he said.

“That’s the reason why you want to do this?”

“We are the only ones who can. Nobody would keep that a secret if they saw him.”

I nodded and took a huge breath. He had a point. If they saw my father, this whole mission would be a complete failure. Sir Robert would do anything to get my father out of his jail, his torture. If he knew that he was still alive, he would blow this entire mission.

“Okay,” I finally spoke. “When do you want to go back?”

“In two weeks, it will be during the next feast.”

“Two weeks.” I blew out air. It was way too soon. “Okay.”

“I’m sorry, I know it wasn’t what you expected.”

“It’s not that. It’s just we are so different from one another Blake. It scares me sometimes.”

“Opposites attract, it’s a good thing,” he said with a lopsided smile.

It made me laugh slightly. “Yeah, I hope that is true.”

He pulled me closer and I rested my head on his chest. He still smelled of sulfur, but his dragon smell was seeping through.

I wished I could hear his heartbeat, the way he heard mine, and then maybe I would know when he was truly afraid and when he wasn’t.

“Nobody is going to see us coming, Elena. I promise, in and out.”

“Please just tell me that we are not going to the pits, Blake.”

He smiled. “No, that is actually another group’s responsibility, promise.”

“Thank the heavens! You do know what the word delegation means.”

WE STAYED BY the tree for a while longer, talking about our next trip into Etan. He was thinking of going to a nearby city in Tith called Sovereign.

These cities had such difficult names, and it was hard to believe that Etan was so big. It was half the size of Paegeia.

Then we went to the lake. We played in the water a bit, it was refreshing, and even caught a fish or two, even though he said no fishing. He made a fire near the lakeside and we ate the fish we’d just caught.

It tasted wonderful and we seasoned the fish with some of the herbs that grew close by.

He was seriously a great cook.

We went back around ten and heard a couple of voices coming from the library.

They were talking about war, about someone that side, but I couldn’t make out who it was. Blake cleared his throat and they stopped.

He gave me a broken smile and shrugged. What was everyone hiding?

We walked inside.

“Princess,” Charles greeted me with a smile. “I’m glad you two found your way back.”

Sir Robert just stared at Blake, who closed his eyes and shook his head slightly.

“Nothing happened,” I scolded my father’s dragons and he smiled at me.

“How do you feel, Blake?” David asked.

“Much better, thanks for asking.”

“He is organizing another trip into Etan,” I blurted out.

“He’s what?” Charles asked. Sir Robert didn’t look at me. I knew for a fact that was what the private conversation was about. It was that very conversation that had made Blake want to take his father’s place.

“He wants to go to the fest,” I told Charles.

“Son, have you lost your marbles?!” Charles looked at Blake and then at Sir Robert. “Tell me that you are not okay with this.”

“It’s who he is. I can’t tell my son what he can and cannot do.”

“None of you know what the reaping is. It is the perfect place to blow this entire mission.” Charles sounded stern.

“Finally, someone that feels exactly as I do,” I said and went to sit on one of the open chairs. Blake grabbed another and sat on it after spinning it around.

“It’s only going to be me and Elena, in and out.”

“Over my dead body,” Sir Robert said.

“I agree,” King Helmut said. “I will send a handful of troops in with you.”

“A group! The chances of us getting caught would be astronomical.”

“Just for the night. Blake, we need to know that the two of you are safe.”

I knew the conversation was over the minute King Helmut spoke. I still envied him for that. They really listened to him.

A new conversation started. They were fantasizing about what they would do if they could go back and change the past. All of them agreed they would kill Goran.

Soon King Helmut excused himself, the conversation died out and the men started talking about the Dragon League. Sir Robert answered all of their questions and the conversation wandered to the past again, and what an honor it had been for a dragon to become part of the Dragon League.

After a few minutes, Blake got up without saying a word and walked over, grabbing a book from the shelf.

I grabbed the one next to his and we just paged through them, looking for anything that could be the missing ingredient. I knew deep down he couldn’t die, and neither could I.

That night Blake sneaked into my room and we fell asleep without saying a word. I felt so safe with him, and couldn’t imagine what it would be like back at the Academy, not being able to be this close to him at night.

I understood now why George sneaked in at night to be with Becky.

The next morning we woke up to the ringing of Blake’s Cammy. It was a song I’d never heard before and feared that it was Tabitha, but he picked it up and I saw a guy more or less his age on the holograph.

“Isaak, do you know how early it is?”

He chuckled. “Good, you are up and running. I heard what happened, why didn’t you phone Blake? You know how worried we were.”

Blake grinned. “A weed doesn’t die that easily.”

“You are far from a weed dude.”

“You phoning just to find out how I’m doing?”

“Nope, I’m phoning because of a special request. An upcoming gig, I’m so sorry dude; the girl requested us and is willing to pay more than our normal fee. You up for it? If not I can…”

“No, a gig would be a good distraction, just as long as it’s not two weeks from now.”

“Nope, it’s Friday.”

“Where?” he asked.

“The Crevice.”

Blake looked at him. “What kind of function is this?”

“A huge one. One of the non’s eighteenth birthdays, they have rented out the entire stadium.”

“It must suck to have so much money.”

“Hear, hear! But remember your new girlfriend is loaded too.”

I laughed softly when he said that.

“Shit, she’s there?”

“Yes, asshole, she’s here. Now she knows why I dig her so much.”

Isaak laughed. “So, are we going to get to meet her this time?”

Blake looked at me. “I don’t know. You guys are a bit rough around the edges,” he teased.

“I promise we will be on our best behavior.”

“I’ll have to see it before I believe it. See you Thursday night, rehearsal, and tell Ty to be sober.”

“Got it.”

They said goodbye and the connection broke.

“So you only like me for my money?” I asked.

He smiled. “You know my affection can’t be bought, Elena.”

“Yet you kept the bike.”

“Yeah,” he raised his eyes. “You know how difficult it was to chuck those keys back at you. I was such an asshole back then.”

“Yeah you were, but you were my asshole.”

He laughed. “Even if I didn’t deserve it.”

“Especially because you didn’t deserve it.”

“So what is The Crevice?” I had to know.

“You might not even want to go because the last time you were there, plenty of dragons tried to kill you.”

“That Crevice?” I asked.

“Yip,” he answered with closed eyes.

“No, I would love to go there again, and face my fears of the place.”

He laughed. “See? Not so different after all.”

WE ARRIVED BACK at the Academy around ten that morning. It was Wednesday and I couldn’t believe that the next night I was going to hear Blake sing because I was so going to his rehearsal.

We immediately jumped back into classes. Blake still wore his shades and none of the professors asked him to take them off.

I guessed news spread fast.

Classes were blissful with him again.

We even trained that night. He really had no idea what the term ‘take it easy’ meant.

Training was just as hard as the previous time, but I kept my cool when Blake tried to make me angry again. I laughed in his face, each and every time, until he gave up being mean to me.

I got out of most of his grips, except the last one where I had to use his strength; it was hard, because he was really heavy and huge.

When we were done, we walked back to the dorms together.

I hated saying goodbye to him, especially tonight.

I’d gotten so used to his presence outside the Academy that it was seriously becoming difficult to just be alone, and away from him.

I was really falling in over my head.

I’d broken my own promise. Becky had been right: being with him was addictive and you wanted to believe with all your heart that the Dent wasn’t some sort of spell.

I struggled to fall asleep and even heard when our window opened and George came in.

I pretended to be asleep.

I missed Blake. Missed him being so close to me, but I knew why he didn’t sneak into my room like George did at night. It was thanks to those idiots who would soon meet their worst fears.

I closed my eyes and forced myself to sleep.

I froze again as a purring sound erupted. I’d never heard it coming from George before, in all his time sleeping next to Becky this was the first time he’d purred.

I didn’t care how Blake felt about it; it was one of the most amazing sounds in the entire world. A sound of contentment. A sound of peace.

And with that, I closed my eyes and drifted away.

George was gone when my alarm clock went off.

Becky just had a guilty smile on her face when her eyes caught mine.

We found George and Blake at breakfast. From what I could tell, they were speaking about Blake’s blood eyes.

I hated this topic and the way their conversation turned once we joined them, Blake was really scared that his eyes weren’t going to heal a hundred percent.

When the first bell rang, we went to Enchantments, and from there the day flew by fast. At six, Blake came to fetch me for his rehearsal.

He took me to the elevator and he flew back to Tith.

I had to take a cab to The Crevice and when it stopped in the parking lot, Blake landed.

He shifted back and I still turned around to give him privacy. His laughter came first. “Seriously, you need to get used to that.” He pulled me by the arm and I was glad that he had a pair of jeans and a shirt pulled over his body.

“I don’t know.”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with it when you were a dragon.”

“I was angry that night and forgot that I was actually naked.”

He chuckled again. “I’m not going to say it out loud but whatever you are imagining, it doesn’t even come close to reality.”

I blush scarlet red guessing what was going through his mind, and followed him into the mountain.

It was still dark with only a few lights lit overhead.

We took the elevator up to the top and walked out onto the bleachers. My body shivered as images from the last time I was here flashed through my mind. It was the night Blake saved my life the second time.

“You okay?” he asked and I smiled, giving him a slight nod.

They were busy transforming the entire stadium. The floor was closed and most of the bleachers on the opposite side were covered.

The floor was going to be tomorrow night’s dance floor and the stage, well it reminded me of a huge concert stage back home.

“How many people are invited to this party?”

“I don’t know, but my guess is a shit lot.”

“Thank you, Freud, for that lovely analysis.”

He smiled at me. “I have to apologize in advance, Elena. I don’t know what they are going to do tonight. So if they make you feel uncomfortable, just tell me.”

“Don’t, I’m sure they are not that bad.”

“Okay, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I followed him down toward the stage where I could see a couple of his band members already.

“Testing, testing,” a guy with long, dark blond hair said over the speaker. He was tall and real skinny but his voice sounded like honey.

“It’s good!” Blake yelled and the guy turned to us.

“Finally, what took you so long?” he spoke over the mike and I smiled again.

Blake flipped him off.

They started to tune their instruments as we walked toward the stage, and the workers that were setting everything up laughed at a remark that was said about what Blake could do with that finger.

“Ty,” Blake yelled. His tone was laced with disgust.

The one with the dark blond hair laughed and then sucked in a breath as I walked out from behind Blake and stood next to him. “Shit, sorry, Elena, didn’t see you there,” he said to me apologetically.

“Please forgive them, I told you they are a bit rough around the edges.” Blake just shook his head.

“No, I like them, really. He called me Elena.”

“You need me to take him out?”

I laughed. “That jealous?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard? Rubicon’s are all about territory and dominance. What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours, well, it’s mine too.”

I laughed again.

“Then I should probably call Xavier and ask him to stop texting me,” I joked.

His entire face fell. “That ass from the bar that night? He’s texting you?”

“Now I know how to make you angry.”

“Not funny, Elena. I almost killed him that night just for looking at you, not to mention having his fucking grabby hands all over you.”

“Relax, I only have eyes for you now.”

“You’d better,” he said and gave me a quick kiss as we reached the stage.

He shook hands with the guy who was testing the microphones and I only just realized it was Isaak.

He looked at Blake’s eyes. “Suits you,” he said, which made me smile again.

“Elena, ass number one, two, three, four and five.” He pointed at all his band members.

“I’m Isaak.”

“Elena,” I said.

“Ty,” the extremely buff guy with short, army cut hair, sitting behind the drums answered as Blake went over to greet him too.

“Jamie,” another one yelled. He had blonde scruffy hair that covered his ears, was of a slender build as well, and was busy tuning in a keyboard.

“Maximus,” another one with red hair and a red goatee that suited him said from behind a guitar as he started playing something.

Blake pulled his face. I couldn’t tell why until he took the guitar and start turning some of the knobs, while strumming it, and I realized it was out of tune.

“Matheo,” the last one walked up to me. He had brown hair and dimples that could give George a run for his money with the most beautiful brown eyes. They were all cute, just like a boy band should be.

“Elena.” I smiled back.

“Good to know you gave the poor soul another chance. I don’t know how he could be such an ass to you,” he spoke softly but his tone was serious.

“Still hear you,” Blake said.

“I should really learn how to wield a shield.”

Blake smiled as he continued to tune the guitar.

“So you guys are really from the normal crowd? I miss that.”

All of them looked at me and then at Blake.

“What? I haven’t had time to tell her yet.”

“Tell me what?” I looked at him.

“Oh this is going to be fun.”

“Easy Ty, I don’t want to give her a heart attack.”

“I’ll be as gentle as a kitten.”

I remembered when Sammy said those words more or less the first time I’d met her, and déjà vu washed over me. “What is going…?”

Ty dove out from behind his set of drums and transformed into a huge black panther, walking slowly toward me.

A deep purring noise came from him as I stared.

“Ty!” Blake yelled.

“See?” Ty said. “Kitten.” He let out an animated meow as he reached me and they laughed.

I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. He was as black as night with the shiniest fur I had ever seen.

“You are all shifters?”

“Why did you think our band’s name is The Shifters?”

“Because of Blake.”

They laughed again.

“Assumption, Princess!” Isaak yelled.

“Just as I was beginning to like you. You had to go and say the ‘P’ word.”

Blake laughed.

“She knows that is what she is, right?”

“Oh, she knows alright. She just doesn’t like it very much.” They both mocked me.

“Still here,” I said.

Ty walked back to his drums and shifted back into his human form, buck-naked. He didn’t even pretend to be modest.

“Seriously dude,” Blake looked at him.

“What, she’s not used to that either?”

“See, this is why I didn’t want to bring her to meet you guys. I can’t take you anywhere.”

“Fine, give me a pair of pants,” Ty spoke and Matheo threw him a pair of jeans. I had to turn around again as he stood up and climbed into them. Blake laughed at my expense.

“You really need to get used to naked, Elena,” Isaak said. “It’s the most natural thing in the world.”

“So I’ve heard. But so not what I’m used to. You actually get locked up for it where I come from.”

“They lock you up for being naked?”

I raised my eyes. “So be careful, I might still change that here.”

“Ooooh, someone that actually has authority. That is a first for you, Blake,” Isaac teased.

“Not the first,” Jamie said. “Remember Arianna? When he wanted to get on the Warbel team?”

Blake glared at him and they all laughed.

“Shut up and play.”

Isaak took his guitar and played an intro to a heavy metal song.

Then Ty started hitting the drums, the keyboard came in and then the second guitar that Blake had just tuned in.

Blake gave me a thumbs up as I walked over to the side of the stage where all their bags were.

I sat down as Blake took the mic.

I knew his voice was going to ripple through my body again, stirring up my soul. I loved his voice.

He spoke a name and the entire tune changed. It was one of the songs that was on my iPod, an upbeat tune, and I couldn’t take my eyes off Blake as he got ready to start singing.

I closed my eyes a couple of times as the music just took me away, and every time I opened them, I found Blake staring at me as he sang. So creepy, and yes, I blushed scarlet every single time.

The night flew by fast with the band cracking jokes in between songs.

Each of them had their own personality. Matheo was the sweet one, but he could play a guitar and the violin like they were the same instrument; there weren’t any words for it.

Ty was easy to sum up: bad boy. He was carefree with no shame, a real troublemaker, and for some reason I envisioned him in the VIP room making out with more than one girl at a time.

Jamie was quiet, he didn’t say much, but laughed a lot.

Isaak was like second in command and was insane with a guitar in his hands. I knew a he had broken a couple after a show, trying to rile up the crowd for more.

I really wanted to know what they all could shift into. I thought shifters were hiding in the Ackerwoods, but here they were, all of them and I knew there were many more. Were they all panthers?

The night flew by way too fast and when they had played through at least fifteen to twenty songs, Blake called it a night.

He came over to me and took one of the water bottles that was next to me in a crate and downed one in a few gulps.

Sweat was dripping off his temple as he took a towel out of his bag.

“That was stunning,” I said. “Then again, you always sing beautifully.”

“I do?” He asked. “I didn’t even think you noticed.”

“Excuse me. I own like all of your songs. Your voice has always done something to me. I was just really good at hiding it.”

He smiled softly but looked down as if he was hiding something. “What do you mean by speaking to you?”

“I don’t know. It sometimes felt like the songs were just for me.” His voice sounded so familiar but I didn’t tell him that, as if I’d always known it, but it sounded so far-fetched and he would just think that I was pathetically in love with him or something.

“They are,” he mocked me again.

“They weren’t always.”

He chuckled and kissed me softly.

“See you tomorrow,” Blake said to his band, pulling me up by the hand.

“Nice meeting you, Elena,” Isaak said with a song in his voice.

“Nice meeting all of you too.” I smiled back as we walked back to the entrance.

“You should really think about writing a song for her dude,” Isaak teased.

“Who says I haven’t?”

“‘Never Breathe’ doesn’t count.”

Blake shook his head.

“‘Never Breathe’ is about me?” I asked, remembering the song that Lucian had played for me on our first date to the Gallery. It was about a girl he hadn’t met, but he envisioned what life could have been like if he had.

“In a way.”

“With her golden hair, she’s a fresh breath of air. A place to call home from this cold night, a place to hide from all the monsters inside.”

I laughed at Isaac’s words booming over the microphone.

Blake just shook his head. “That’s why you don’t write the songs, Isaak.”

“Not so bad!” I yelled back and they cheered. “Number one seller in the making.”

“That was pathetic!” Blake yelled, and this time Isaak flipped him off.

“She liked my song, bro,” he spoke over the microphone again, which made me laugh.

“Because she is nice.”

“Nice!” Ty yelled. “You know what they say about nice people, Blake?”

“Shut up!” Blake yelled back. “See you tomorrow, and Ty, don’t show up drunk.”

“Yes, mom,” Ty spoke over his mic.

The rest of the workers laughed along with me.

“No, seriously, sorry,” Blake apologized again.

“They are not so bad. What was that nice comment about?”

Blake chuckled. “Nope, that is way too disgusting.”

I laughed again.

We flew back to the Academy together.

It was fast but it wasn’t the speed I knew he could fly. I always felt so free in the sky. I knew nobody could hurt me while I was on Blake’s back. The fresh air flowing through my hair, the cold burning my skin, and the adrenaline pumping through my veins was intoxicating. This was where I belonged. I’d been a dragon rider from the minute I took my first breath.

It was everything I needed to top this amazing night off.

We reached the Academy past twelve and I slid off his back to see if the door was open.

It wasn’t, and Blake told me to get back on. He flew over the castle and took me to my window, the one that we kept open for George at night.

He put the tip of his wing on my window and I slid down his wing again, climbing through.

“Thanks for coming with tonight,” he whispered softly.

“Oh, thank you for taking me. I really enjoyed it.”

“See? Just as I thought. It was a good distraction.”

“So needed,” I spoke in a sleepy tone and yawned.

“Sleep tight, Princess,” he whispered once I was safely inside as he flew in the direction of the boys’ dormitories.

I quickly went to take a shower and pulled on my pj’s. As I crawled into bed, George’s figure appeared at my window, almost giving me a heart attack.

“Oh shit,” George cussed softly.

“Not the one with the problem, just be quiet,” I spoke as George entered and went over to Becky’s bed.

How he’d gotten into the room in his human form, I really didn’t want to know.

THE NEXT DAY, Blake left at two.

I didn’t go with as he had to work tonight. Besides, I wasn’t as pathetic as Tabitha, who just had to be around him every minute of her life. He needed some time away from me, and I needed some time away from him.

This was getting so intense so fast, and it scared me a lot.

I needed to be able to function normally without him.

Becky and Sammy decided to have a girl’s night in.

We did our toes, put facemasks on and just talked like we hadn’t spoken in a long time.

I even decided to tell Sammy about the missing ingredient. She didn’t take it so well.

“So either you or my brother is going to die if you don’t find it?” she asked and I nodded. “You knew about this?” She looked at Becky.

“Sammy, please don’t take this the wrong way.”

“He is my brother, you are my best friend.”

I got up and wrapped my arms around her. “This is why I didn’t want Becky to tell you. You are such a gentle dragon, Sammy. I’m sorry.”

“Elena, how does one choose?”

“You don’t have to, okay? We will find it, I promise.”

She nodded. “Please tell me you at least have an idea.”

“Sort of, but we need to find a way to make it work,” I lied through my teeth; telling her we didn’t would only put more fear in her.

The vibe really got thick after that. Sammy just wanted to go to bed, but Becky and I didn’t let her.

We watched a funny movie and just laughed, and around twelve, my Cammy rang.

It was Blake.

“Hey,” I answered.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Girl stuff, which is so not your department.”

He laughed.

“So how is tonight, are you enjoying it?”

“Is that really even a question? No, you are not here.”

“You have to say that.” I squinted playfully at him.

“No, I don’t. Pathetic, isn’t it?”

I laughed. And here I thought I was the pathetic one. “Till what time do you guys have to play?”

“Hi, Elena.” Isaak’s holograph popped in and Blake pushed him away. It made me laugh again.

“Till freakin’ two, can you believe that?”

“Yes, I can. They paid a lot of money for you guys to play. What, did you think it was only going to be till twelve? Why did you think I didn’t come? I need my beauty sleep,” I joked.

“Just sleep, you are beautiful enough.”

I smiled again. The old Blake would never have said that one.

“I’ve got to go. We only got a small break. I’m going to crash at Isaak’s place tonight, but I will see you tomorrow early, promise.”

“Okay, have fun.”

“You know I won’t.”

“Stop complaining, it’s supposed to be fun.”

“Okay, I’ll try.” He gave me a sarcastic smile and the connection was broken.

I received a text message from him. I opened it:

You Dragonians have it so easy. You have no idea how intense it is for us dragons to be this far away from you. Okay, I will stop with my whining and rock this roof off.

I smiled and texted him back. That’s my guy.

He didn’t send me anything after that.

I struggled to fall asleep that night and tried to decipher what it was like for him. How he really felt. It was the second time he’d told me now how easy it was for us, that the riders had no idea how difficult any of this was for dragons.

They were such complicated creatures, and on top of that he just had to be of the opposite sex too.

Was it like this for brother and sisterhoods? Like, what was it like for my mom and Tanya? I wished I could’ve known her, to ask her how she’d felt when she didn’t just lose her dragon but her daughter all in one night. It couldn’t have been easy. I knew it wasn’t, as I knew my mom blamed my father and had become very depressed after that. She was a mess till the day she died.

That alone told me a lot: that time was too short to worry about stupid spells and whatnots. Enjoy every minute you have, because you never know what tomorrow could bring.

SUNDAY WAS A lazy day and we all went to the lake to wait for Blake to come back.

I was reading my mother’s journal again. I’d missed her journals while I was in Etan. It was the last one and I really didn’t want it to end.

She was such a remarkable woman.

“What are you doing?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin and my heart beat like crazy. I clutched my chest and Blake laughed.

“It’s not funny. Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“I wasn’t sneaking up.”

“Yeah whatever, you don’t make a sound when you walk and I can’t even hear your heartbeat. To me that is sneaking up.”

He came to sit next to me on my blanket while all the others were splashing in the water and having fun on this beautiful day.

“What are you reading?” He grabbed my book and I just stared at him.

“‘Please’ is not a forbidden word.”

“Your mom wrote this?”

I nodded once as he turned the pages.

His eyebrows rose slightly. “This is about the time they fought the second dragon war.”

“Actually still the first, because the first war wasn’t really a war. They just signed a treaty when my grandfather took over with all the Metallic dragons. My grandfather fought the first war against the Chromatic dragons and the outlaws, my mom fought for his army because she thought a Chromatic, your dad actually, killed the crown prince and when she was captured by the enemy, she realized that my father was still alive and switched sides. So technically she fought on both sides. So one war, different sides.”

“My dad is in here?”

“Of course your dad is in there. He reminds me a lot of a hard-headed dragon I know,” I joked.

“Ha-ha.” He put the book down and crawled almost on top of me. “I guess that old saying ‘Like father like son’ is accurate.” He smiled down at me. “Is my dad’s claiming in there too?”

I shook my head and remembered the letter that had been left for him in the bag. “Did you get her letter?” I asked, and by the look on his face he knew exactly what letter I was speaking of.

“I did, but what is written in there is only meant for me.”

“Seriously?” I sounded disappointed and he rolled from on top of me and lay on his back with his arms tucked underneath his head.

“My name was on there, not Elena and Blake, just Blake.”

“Fine, be that way,” I mumbled and he laughed.

“It’s nothing special, Elena, she just asked me in her own way to look after you. It’s quite a sweet letter.”

“Then why can’t I read it?”

“I’ll see how you behave then one day I will let you read it, if you treat me better.”

“Treat you better?” I squinted. “I’m nobody’s slave, Blake. I’m the Princess of Paegeia. And I’m not a Snow dragon either, so I am not going to do your homework for you. You are smart enough.”

He roared with laughter. “I don’t even want to know how you know about all those things.”

“I’m a good observer.”

“Ah-huh,” he said, pushing himself up to sit. He took off his shirt. “I’m going to swim, you coming?”

“Go, I’ll be there in a minute,” I said and watched him leave.

I looked back at my mom’s journal and finished the page.

I sighed. This was seriously a beautiful fairy tale, a love made in heaven, about how King Albert had met his fierce and brave queen. I really didn’t want to part with them but the museum asked me so nicely if they could have them when I was done.

I put my mother’s journal in my bag and pulled off my summer dress and revealed a gorgeous two-piece swimsuit.

I went to the lake and watched all my friends taking turns on the swinging rope.

“C’mon, the water is just perfect!” Becky yelled as George held the rope for her. She ran, jumped onto the rope and swung over the water. Just as the rope began to swing back, she let go and fell into the water. “C’mon, Elena, it’s fun!” she yelled as she came up and George nodded for me to be next.

“Make sure you are around the middle of the lake before you let go, Princess,” George said and I smacked him hard in his gut.

“I told you not to call me that.”

He grunted and laughed. “Sorry,” he spoke. “Your damsel isn’t a damsel like I thought!” He yelled to who I assumed was Blake.

I just heard his laughter.

I jumped onto the rope and George pushed hard.

The wind rushed through my hair and I let go toward the middle.

I was like a cat in water and gasped as I came up. “This water isn’t perfect. It’s freezing,” I stuttered as it started to become warmer. I knew Blake was near, it could only be him creating the heat. His hand grabbed me first and I hugged him tight.

“This is freezing cold.”

“It’s perfect.”

I shook my head.

“Swim around, it will get warmer.”

“I don’t want to swim around, it’s freezing.”

He laughed. “Is this your way of not wanting to let go?” he whispered.

“I can climb out and get my towel.”

“Nope, this is fine.” He hugged me tighter and I laughed.

We swam a little while longer and eventually climbed out. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the blanket.

I told him about my mother’s journals and he actually wanted to read them. He told me everything he could about her, that she was always so kind but had become sad and alone in the last year of her life. He knew it was because she’d had to give me up.

We went back to the Academy around four and found Master Longwei in the lobby rushing down from the girls’ dormitories.

“Elena, Blake, can I please see you in my office, a.s.a.p.?”

We said goodbye to the others and followed Master Longwei into his office.

“Everything okay?” Blake asked.

Master Longwei didn’t answer him and Blake gave me raised eyebrows, as if we were in trouble again.

Blake closed the door behind him and I went to sit in one of the seats in front of Master Longwei’s desk.

“So, what is with the urgency?” I asked as Blake sat down in the chair next to me.

“You will both be leaving soon for Areeth,” he spoke without looking up. “You need to consult with King Helmut and his men. Elena, you need to take in more troops. Something about a Feast that is happening earlier than expected.”

Blake sighed. I could see the fear in his eyes, but it vanished just as fast as it appeared. “When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow. Ten o’clock. He wants you in Areeth in the afternoon.”

“Fine, I’ll leave tomorrow, early,” he said and looked at Master Longwei. “Will that be all?”

“That will be all.”

We both got up and left.

“Why did they move up the feast? You think they know something?”

“I don’t know Elena, I’ll phone Emanual to find out.”

I really didn’t like that part; he wasn’t ready to go back into Etan. We weren’t nearly ready for a war.

My Cammy rang an hour later. It was Blake.

“And?”

“Emanual said that the ninety we got out all confirmed they moved the fest up this month. It’s in a couple of days, Elena.”

“Can’t we wait for next month’s then?”

“No, we have to do this.”

“Blake,” I sighed. “You hardly…”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll have a chick who is tough as nails with me.”

The corner of my lips curved slightly.

“That was meant to make you smile, Elena.”

“I don’t like this.”

“We have no choice. Sleep tight.”

The connection broke.

Sammy and Becky’s eyes were on me.

“You guys really going in so soon?” Sammy shared my look, my worries, and my confidence about this trip.

“We have no choice.”

“Can we come with?” Becky asked.

“No, under no circumstance….”

“Elena, we want to help.”

“And when the right time comes you will. Please just stay put, okay?”

She nodded. I went into the bathroom and took a long shower, hoping that the water would calm my negative thoughts about everything that could go wrong with going to the feast.

I crawled into bed around ten, and struggled to sleep. My Cammy buzzed and a text appeared on my phone.

It will be okay, promise. His text read.

I know. It’s not that. I just hate Etan at the moment.

Don’t, it’s your home, Elena. Both our homes.

I know.

I’m going to leave tomorrow early. So won’t be seeing you.

Okay.

Sleep tight, Princess.

You too.

I put my Cammy on the nightstand. I really hated this trip, but at least if he was going to disappear, I’d be there.

Around ten, Master Longwei took me to the Port of Elm. There weren’t reporters waiting but a couple of the travelers wanted to pose with me for pictures.

I finally got into a private elevator after listening to so many people talk about my eyes being the same as my father’s, and how much I reminded them of my mother. When the elevator stopped, I found King Helmut waiting for me.

The trip to the lodge was fast. To be honest, I wasn’t happy about being back there. It held a couple of bad memories now. Especially after the last time.

When I reached the lodge, I wasn’t surprised to find that Blake wasn’t there yet.

But I found something better: Emanual teaching Annie to shift into her form. It was strange to see her wearing a robe, but dragon was what she was and I was dying to know what sort of progress she was making.

A couple of bystanders watched this process. Constance was one of them along with Charles, Gertrude and Marcus.

Annie shook her head. She was breathing hard, and I could see that she was struggling.

“This is hopeless,” she said to Emanual.

“You are pushing yourself too hard. Just relax, clear your mind and try to imagine your dragon form!” I yelled.

Her head turned my way and the furrows between her eyebrows softened. “Elle,” she said and smiled.

Emanual looked in my direction too. His lips curved into a huge grin. Why was I the one that had to put that smile on his face every time I was near? It made me feel guilty and the worst part was that nothing had happened between us. He was such a gentleman, but I was scared that he would never find anyone.

“Hey,” I hugged Annie. I pulled away to look at her.

“I can’t do this. I can’t seem to get her to wake up.”

“She is you, Annie, not some entity,” I spoke.

“I know.” She gave me an awkward smile. “So where is Plucky?”

I laughed. “Please tell me how the hell you came up with that name?”

She laughed too and hooked her arm into mine. “A small recess.” Annie looked at Emanual.

He nodded.

“Thanks. See you later.”

“Later Annie,” he said as he went over to Constance.

“He’s not too hard on you, is he?”

“Nope, he is actually very patient which doesn’t suit Sun-Blasts.”

“You are a Sun-Blast.”

“A suppressed Sun-Blast, huge difference.”

“You try too hard. It will come.”

She nodded but didn’t share my confidence.

“So Plucky?”

“Oh,” she smiled. “Yes, he got that name ‘cause he always had this pout that reminded me of a duck when he used to sulk as a baby dragon.” She laughed. “We used to watch this kiddies program about a duck and dragon, and you can just guess the duck’s name.”

“Plucky?”

She laughed and nodded her head. “So where is he? I refuse to believe that he’s going to let you go alone into Etan.”

“He doesn’t like the elevators.”

“I can relate. Mom and I took them here when all the others flew back on the private jet. I felt weird afterward, slightly out of proportion.”

“Yes, my first time was like that too.”

“I still struggle to grasp how that even works.”

“It’s magic.”

“Magic…”

I laughed. She sounded much like I had that first time Master Longwei told me that magic was responsible for many things.

I walked into the lodge with her and was greeted by Connie and David.

“Elena,” she greeted me.

“Blake flying here again?” She looked around.

“Yes, always looking for ways to improve something.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Emanual said, grabbing a piece of fruit from one of the bowls on the reception counter.

Annie stared at me.

“Any progress?” Connie asked Emanual.

“He’s pushing her way too hard.” Constance had just entered the reception area with Charles and the others.

“No, I’m not,” he said to Constance and looked at Connie as he started walking backwards to the staircase.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Connie said.

Constance smiled at Annie. “Just be patient, it will come.”

Connie took me up to a room. “I really hope that you guys will at least get some kind of break. I feel like this is not the right thing to say, but welcome back, Princess. Dinner will be served at six. Please make yourself comfortable.

“Thanks Connie, I will.”

ANNIE SPENT THE rest of the day with me until dinner was announced. Blake hadn’t arrived yet

I saw the same old crew that consisted of Emanual, Dicky, Raymond, all the women, Jerry and even Simeon. That guy gave me the creeps. I didn’t know if it was the way he looked with all the scars or because of his silent nature. He didn’t make a peep.

“Princess,” Jerry spoke and his eyes twinkled. I was glad that Blake wasn’t here to see it.

Emanual laughed. “Better get rid of that twinkle, Jerry. The Rubicon is a very jealous dragon.”

Everyone laughed and then Dicky teased him more. I liked Dicky, he reminded me of a mouse with his pure white hair and his delicate build. He wasn’t very tall, more toward the smaller size when it came to men, but if he was one of Emanual’s squad then I could only imagine what the guy could do with weapons.

Taylor gave me the eye. I knew she had a thing for Jerry even though she refused to let him in on that.

She obviously looked away when her gaze met mine, but I saw it.

We all sat at one long, oblong table. It’s what I loved about Connie and David’s. They made everyone feel like a part of their lives.

The food was delicious, and afterwards, I asked Connie to keep a plate for Blake.

“I’ll make that three,” she said with a smile.

“Please let me help clear up,” I begged.

“Elena, no. Go sit in the library,” she said as she shooed me out of the kitchen.

Sometimes I really disliked being a princess, but like Blake said, I had to get used to it.

Still the library was always a good place to be sent to. I picked up where Blake and I’d left off, searching for the missing ingredient.

I hadn’t had time to help with repacking the library, and to be honest, now that I knew the answer could be in there, I looked forward to that task.

Annie obviously helped in silence when she was finished helping Connie and the other women in the kitchen. She was the only other person here besides me and Blake that knew about the missing ingredient.

David even spoke to me about it. Since he and Connie was there the day Blake actually said those words, the helped us to figure out what the missing ingredient wasn’t.

He’d done some research himself. It was mostly about plants and extracts of plants, but none of it felt like it had the properties to kill the Saadedine, but still I kept it. I told him I would speak to Blake about it. Maybe there was something in there that could at least tranquilize the Saadedine long enough for us to kill it. We had to try everything we could.

I even tried to search on the Internet. I mean, Elementals must have gone dark at least once, otherwise how had they gotten the information that Master Longwei had given me the day they’d been stolen from us?

The only thing that I did find was how many times it had happened—twice—and the only thing that was penned down on how to kill it was not very reassuring. Brave humans that died in the process, was one error we didn’t want to repeat.

The fact that I hadn’t found it yet, or we hadn’t found it yet, threatened to bring tears to my eyes again. I really didn’t want to die anymore, and I definitely didn’t want Blake to die either. With that in my mind I thought about those five days he’d been missing. I’d thought I was going to lose my mind.

Breaking an oath was something I didn’t wish on any dragon, especially my own. He really needed to stop making those.

I took a long bath and went to bed around eleven. Blake was still not here and I was starting to worry. He is the Rubicon, Elena. He can take care of himself.

I drifted off and dreamt about the Saadedine again. He was huge, and had a green flame just like Paul, and Blake’s dragon form was dodging each and every single bolt the Saadedine breathed his way. I could see Blake clearly now. He was wearing the same black armor.

The Saadedine grabbed Blake and tore him apart.

I screamed in the dream and jolted up in bed, realizing I’d screamed in reality too. My heart was bouncing inside my chest, the sounds Blake’s dragon form had made still ringing inside my ears. He couldn’t die.

A light went on and I jumped slightly as my door closed. Blake’s figure stood against the closed door.

“Sorry,” he smiled softly. “Didn’t mean to scare you. Another bad dream?” He walked over to my bed and lay down.

I nodded and buried my face in the palm of my hand, resting my arm on my knee. Blake just stared at me.

“We need to find that ingredient, Blake.”

“We will.” He stroked my back.

“That dream, I—”

“Shhh, Elena. I saw it when I came rushing up the stairs.”

I looked at him. “David gave me a list of plants.”

“It’s not a plant, Elena.”

“You don’t know that. Besides, some of them have really good tranquilizing ingredients.”

“So what, try to tranquilize it and then kill it?”

“It’s not a bad idea, Blake.”

“Something tells me it’s not going to work, but it won’t hurt to take some with us, Elena.”

“Thank you.” I sighed.

He smiled. “Why the thanks?”

“Because we need a safety net, Blake.”

He wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me to his chest.

“I am your safety net, Elena, but if it will make you feel better, I will look at David’s list. We will find it. I know we will.”

I nodded. “I hate my dreams.”

“I told you before, I don’t. It gives me plenty of intel on what I’m going to be up against.”

“We, Blake. We. You are not going to face it alone.”

He just smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes this time.

“We should try to sleep,” Blake said. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

“Do we really have to go in?”

“Elena. We need to get word to your father’s men. They need to know that help is coming soon. And the best place is at the feast. This parade, I really need to see it for myself.”

“Just promise me we are not going to the feast.”

“I promise. No feast.”

“Have you at least eaten?”

“I’m stuffed. I ate on the way and those three plates.” He looked at me and gave me his super smile. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome. Wait, what you mean you ate on the way?” I frowned.

“I’m a dragon, Elena. We have our delicacies.”

“I so don’t want to know what you devoured. Probably some helpless deer.”

He laughed. “I don’t play with my food. It died really fast.”

I laughed as I lay back down.

It was great having him here again. We’d grown really close the last couple of weeks and I didn’t want to think about not having him around. The dreams of the Saadedine always showed him as the one dying, being ripped apart. Never me.

We had to find that missing ingredient.

I WOKE UP around eight and found the room empty. I dressed in a pair of jeans, a shirt and my flip flops.

I didn’t want to go back to Etan, or that feast, as my experience last time had been dreadful. What if he saw one of them again?

I pushed that to the back of my mind and went downstairs.

Breakfast was served and everyone was making jokes again.

Raymond was going to come in with us, with Emanual and a couple of his op-guys that were going to set up a base. Where that was going to be, I had no idea.

“Good morning, Princess,” Jerry spoke and we all laughed as Blake glared at him. Jerry just ate his food, not looking at Blake, with a grin on his face.

“He just said good morning,” I said looking at Blake.

“It’s not the good morning I’m worried about. It’s the way his eyes lit up.” Everyone laughed again.

“Do I have to go in today?” Jerry joked as he looked past Blake at Emanual. Blake just stared at him with a broken smile.

“Don’t worry, I will protect you,” I said and I could feel Blake’s gaze on me.

“Just say the word, Elena. Do I need to take Jerry out?”

I smiled again.

“Everyone knows not to mess around in your territory, Blake,” Connie said as she put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me. “This is a no killing or fighting zone.”

“I promise to behave, Connie.” Blake put a heap of eggs onto his fork and into his mouth, smiling at Jerry.

“Not mingling in your affairs, dude.”

“You’d better not.”

I just shook my head.

Was he really that jealous?

After breakfast we started to get ready to take troops in again.

It was only six this time. King Helmut had had a long, private briefing with them this morning.

Five huge SUVs waited for us.

“Where do I meet you?” Blake asked and I knew they were going to take the elevator again to wherever they had to be.

“We go back to Tith, close to one of the Wyvern cities,” King Helmut said. “That is the entry point to Sovereign.”

“Seriously,” I looked at him. “Why don’t you like the elevators?”

“Cause I don’t like the way they make me feel afterwards.”

“Blake...”

“Please Elena. Don’t ask me to use them.” He was serious and his words upset me.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Fine, whatever.” I couldn’t believe he would think that I would order him to use the elevators.

“Someone’s in the dog house,” Jerry joked but this time nobody laughed.

I climbed into the SUV as Blake transformed and lifted off at a crazy speed.

“For all we know, he is going to wait for us, Elena,” Emanual said from the front seat.

“Tith is on the other side of Areeth.”

“It’s closer than Elm, Princess.”

I kicked Emanual’s chair and he only grinned. He knew how I felt about him calling me that. He was one of my closest friends, one of the few men that I really trusted with my life.

King Helmut was driving, which was so not kingly at all, but I guessed with his men, it was a completely different scenario. I wondered again what my father was like with all his men. They’d refused to betray him, even though they were being tortured. What was my father like?

I feared that I would never get a chance to find out. Is he even still alive?

The drive to the port they’d set up close to the lodge was quick.

The elevator was even faster and when we got out, there were plenty of reporters again.

“How did they know we were going to be here?”

“News spreads fast,” Emanual said and handed me his jacket to hide beneath.

Questions were being asked again. King Helmut answered all of them as Emanual and the others led me outside to where more SUVs waited for us.

The drive to the Creepers took a few hours. I had the privilege of sitting next to Jerry and his jokes were a good distraction.

He was easy to talk to, and I wondered if he knew how Taylor felt about him.

We spoke about that too and everyone in the SUV teased him about that.

“C’mon, she is like my sister.”

“Have you known Taylor long?”

“Well, we grew up together, but that was about it. We weren’t really friends. Her dad and mine are sort of close.” He started to babble. “Besides, she is a dragon.”

“She’s a dragon? Which breed?”

“Night Villain. I so don’t like to be on her bad side.”

Everyone laughed. I hadn’t known she was a Night Villain.

“You seriously didn’t know?”

“Know what?”

“C’mon, Jerry. The looks she gave me.”

“I’ll speak to her.”

“I can handle it. I just don’t think she likes me very much because of that twinkle in your eyes when you look at me.”

“I am a healthy guy. I have that twinkle with everyone. Maybe she has a thing for Blake. Ever wonder about that?”

“Could be. Blake is known for his looks.”

“Yes, pretty boy seems to have it all.”

The SUV grew silent again and after half an hour we stopped a few yards from the Creepers.

The ops guys took out their bags and some old looking robes as a disguise. They all transformed using natural ingredients and not magic to make them appear dirty and to fit in with Etan.

Blake was still nowhere to be seen.

King Helmut addressed them again. They all knew what they had to do. They were not going to come out until the day Etan was free. But they were going to scout everything for the next few months. Getting intel and getting the base ready for us.

It was exciting and terrifying all at the same time. Still, they all looked and acted as if they lived for missions like this.

I took in the first guy. I didn’t want to know his name in case he wasn’t going to make it. He gasped as we reached the core of the Creepers. It took everyone’s breath away.

After we made it to the other side, it was dark again.

I went back, took the second one in and it carried on like that, until all six of them were together.

When I took Emanual through, they were gone. There was no sign of them anywhere.

“They were just here…”

“They have a mission, Elena. Go.”

“Blake isn’t here yet.”

“He will be here soon.”

I went back, took in Jerry, Dicky and Raymond.

There was still no sign of Blake.

“Just go. He will be here soon,” Emanual said.

When I got back I already felt disorientated. Transitioning between the dark and then day was really taking its toll on my sight.

Finally I spotted a huge figure flying on the horizon. He landed gracefully and transformed as I turned around.

When I looked over my shoulder he already had his jeans on.

“See?” He was breathing fast. “I’m here.”

“You need to take a breath. How fast were you flying anyway?”

He just grinned. “Let’s just say you wouldn’t have stayed on my back, and I’m fine. Let’s go.”

I took him in and Emanual’s eyes grew wide. “How fast?”

“Not fast enough.”

“Blake, you need to take it easy.”

“Whatever old man.”

He shook his head. “Still a lot to learn.”

“I can still kick your ass.”

“Want to bet? I have three hundred more years of experience, cub.”

Blake laughed.

“So, where are we going?” I asked.

“We are going to camp out in the forest,” Emanual said and we walked the direction of the nearby forest.

I grabbed Blake’s hand. I knew I wasn’t close to the forest of Eikenborough, but I didn’t like the forests in Etan. What if someone found us?

We slept in the trees, not tents, and I shared a branch with Blake.

None of us said a word. We couldn’t even stargaze, as there were no stars, just an abnormal big moon that shone really brightly.

I wished that I could hear Blake’s thoughts. We could’ve spoken to one another and this silence wouldn’t have tortured me so much.

“Calm down, Elena,” Blake whispered. “You are safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

I smiled. “How did you know?”

“Your heart is beating like crazy.”

“I just hate forests here.”

“I know. But I’m here now.”

I smiled and leaned backwards into his chest. He wrapped his huge arms around me tighter and I started to calm down. He was like my shield. He could make us vanish if anything happened. I was with the safest creature on this earth. Nothing was going to harm me. Nothing.

THE NEXT MORNING Emanual made fish for breakfast. He roasted them in his hands so that there was no sign we’d been here at all.

“So, what is the plan?” I asked while eating my fish.

They both stared at me.

“We do have a plan, right?”

“Yes,” Blake smiled. “We do, and I told Emanual you were not going to like it.” He gave Emanual a playful, raised eyebrow look. “He’s just scared to tell you.”

Just then, a raw fish came sailing through the air, right at Blake’s face. “I’m not scared. You need to stay put, Elena, let us do our job, and…”

“No, I’m not going to sit here and wait for everyone to come back.”

“You won’t be alone, Raymond…”

“I said no, Emanual.”

“See?” Blake interrupted.

“So what is the plan?” I looked at Blake this time.

“We are going to the parade in disguise. We won’t go near the reaping. I promise. We need to let all of them know that help is coming so that when it happens, they will be prepared, Elena.”

“Okay,” I said, but horrible things started jumping through my mind. There was one in particular where Blake vanished to who knows where again.

“So where is the disguise?” I asked as none of them had come in with bags.

“We are going to use a transformation spell, one that will help us to blend in, and we are going to a complete differently city, not Eikenborough like last time.”

“We are going to Sovereign. It’s a couple of miles to the north,” Dicky said.

“Sovereign it is.”

“From what we gathered the last time,” Jerry spoke, “Sovereign is where all of it is starting, so the minute they bring the prisoners out…”

All eyes were on Jerry.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” He quickly retraced his words. “I…you guys know what I mean. One of us will get word to them.”

“I will,” Blake said as he took a bite of his fish.

“You are?” I asked.

“Elena, I know how to do this. I have a plan, got it all figured out, and you will be right there with me. I won’t leave you,” he spoke softly. “We are going to be unrecognizable.”

“Okay. How are you going to get word to them?”

His lips widened.

“Oh please, do tell her Blake,” Emanual teased.

“I’m scared she won’t kiss me again.”

All of them laughed while I squinted, wondering why on earth I wouldn’t kiss him again.

“Dung balls, okay. My father said that they used to leave secret messages inside the dung balls of deer and smaller animals and packed it in a certain shape so that they know it’s a message. I won’t be able to leave it somewhere, so I have to spit it at them.”

“You’re going to put dung balls in your mouth?”

All of them laughed.

“For the greater good, one needs to be prepared to do the worst.”

“It’s not the worst thing he’s had in his mouth,” Emanual said.

“Oh shut up,” Blake said and everyone laughed.

After the fish, the transformation spells started. Emanual changed all the dragons to elder men, but he turned Jerry into a woman. It was a great joke.

Blake turned himself into a fifty-year-old dude with a scruffy, red beard and scruffy red hair. I became his ten-year-old mute daughter.

All of them seemed so huge standing around me.

“Just don’t kiss your daughter, Blake.”

“I’m sure in a place as evil as this…forgive me. I shouldn’t have said that.” He sounded serious.

I knew it was a huge possibility.

“Remember, you are mute, so not a word, okay? And don’t pay attention to what I will be saying, Elena. I know dark, I know evil and we need to fit in.”

“It’s okay. I’ll cringe from the inside.”

He smiled and looked at Dicky, who had a bag full of dung balls.

“All the messages inside?” he asked and Dicky nodded.

“Raymond and Emanual helped me.”

“Seriously, a girl?” Jerry tried to pull his dress over his knees.

“Woman have plenty of power my friend. Don’t underestimate that disguise,” Emanual said again.

We all started to walk in the direction of Sovereign.

Half a mile from Sovereign we all parted ways.

“Meet again at the tree. Be safe, Blake.”

“You too.”

“Good luck, Elena.”

I ran over to him and give him a hug around his waist. “Just don’t get yourself killed, please.”

“Be careful what you say, it might not be from the evil this side but from your father next to you, young lady.” He sounded so wise, just like his disguise. It made me laugh. “And you’re mute.”

I made a couple of signs up with my hands and all of them laughed as I reached Blake again.

We walked in silence to Sovereign’s market where they sold whatever they could.

I saw a girl around my height with shackles around her neck and feet.

She stayed close to a tent that sold some sort of drinks.

Blake’s hand grasped mine tighter and I looked up at him as he stared at the little girl too.

He walked faster, past the tent toward the front.

The parade hadn’t started yet, and I flinched as one of the men standing in the crowd, as drunk as a skunk, bumped into Blake.

He kept him upright with his one arm.

“A bi’ to’ mu’ to drink, hey,” Blake spoke in the most awful accent.

The other guy spoke so fast, using the same accent. A few of his teeth were missing and he smelled horrible.

He then took out money and handed it to Blake.

I could see from his demeanor that he didn’t like it one bit, but when he opened his mouth, he sounded the opposite.

He roared with laughter and just shook his head. Said something about a mute, which must be me, and I got it. That guy wanted to buy me. Disgusting.

I squeezed Blake’s hand tighter.

The guy then said something about the Reaping, and I knew he was asking us if we were going to go. More men came and Blake made disgusting jokes again about my “so called mother” who’d died not making enough money lying on her back and how I was going to take her place in a couple of years.

I didn’t want to hear their conversation any more, I knew he had to play the part and that these men were beyond evil based on what they made their women do.

We finally moved on and Blake squeezed my hand again but I didn’t look at him.

We stayed in the front until the hooves of horses echoed on the other side of the wall. The gate opened and the horses appeared, pulling steel carriages and my heart cringed now that I knew whom those carriages were for.

Another steel door opened and men that were barely men walked out, shackled on a long chain.

All of them were so skinny, and their clothes were torn. Their hair was cut short, making them look like slaves. They had thick metal bracelets on their neck, feet and wrists as they were pushed and shoved into the carriages.

They were my father’s devoted men, those that had refused to break. They were barely alive, had bruises, cuts and sores all over their bodies.

I tried to see if my father was among them, but they were so dirty. I wouldn’t even recognize him if he was right in front of me.

They were all divided into the carriages as people started to pelt them with rotten fruit and whatever they could find. Yelling curse words, blaming them for whatever it was they were going through.

I felt like crying but knew that I couldn’t. It would give everything away.

Blake squeezed my hand tighter.

“Just stay here,” he whispered softly and let go of my hand as he rushed up to the carriages.

The movement was so fast as he spit the dung balls into the first carriage, and whispered a command in Latin.

My heart pounded as the one guard started to push Blake back but he spoke again in his broken-English accent and the guard laughed and gave him free access again to the second carriage.

He told the other guards what Blake was doing, and they all just roared as he spit more dung balls into the second carriage. He still found a way to say the command without the guards hearing them. From what I could tell the men in the carriages all heard. They even looked back at Blake.

I hoped that it was going to work.

Blake carried on making jokes with the men. He was really good at blending in.

The third carriage came and the same thing happened. Finally, the fourth.

Just then the guards lost their cool as Blake pushed for money for their entertainment and they literally pushed him off the stairs back to me.

When he reached me we made our way out of the crowds, back to the forest.

“You there,” one of the soldiers in the crowd yelled as we reached the shops. My heart pounded again as he was pointing at Blake.

“Walk faster, Elena.”

“Blake, they are going to use force, draw more attention to us.”

“Walk faster.”

I did as he said with my hand clutched so tightly in his.

He found an empty store, opened it with his telekinesis and we entered.

We sat against the door as one of the guards walked past.

Another few followed him and they spoke about the red bearded man. He looked familiar to the other one, said he owed him money.

The door knob turned but it didn’t open. My heart was stammering in my chest.

We waited for half an hour as the guards didn’t want to leave. They walked past all the empty stores.

Just then, Blake’s watch beeped just as a guard walked past and he tried to muffle it.

The guard heard it and was pounding on the door.

“Trust me,” Blake whispered and he crawled into a corner and held me tight.

The door finally smashed over and Blake covered my face. I closed my eyes too as I didn’t want any attention drawn toward us.

“You are hearing things. Now you have to explain to Lord Hopper why we need a new door on this store. You idiot!” the man slapped him hard on the head.

“Something beeped.”

“Beeped, like what?”

“I don’t know. The noise came from in here.”

“Well you see anybody?” he asked and the guy said nothing.

“Let’s go,” he said. “A fucking beep.” The guy sounded irritated.

I knew Blake had blended in. Why they didn’t see the shimmer was beyond me.

“Let’s go, Elena.”

“They are still outside.”

“We will move past them, they won’t even know.”

“I’m not as quiet as you,” I said as we got up.

He then picked me up as I was still in disguise and carried me on his arm, like a father would his small daughter, and walked out. He slipped past the two men, not making a sound, and walked in the opposite direction back toward the forest.

He blended in until we found the group.

“They should’ve been here,” Raymond sounded worried.

“Give them time. Blake isn’t stupid,” Emanual said.

Blake let down his shield and we appeared. “Good to know you have faith in me, Emanual.”

All of them jumped.

“How did you do that?” Jerry asked.

“I’m a dragon of many talents, my friend.” He raised his eyes once.

“What happened, Blake?”

“Guards followed us, said I look like a guy who owed them money. We need to get out of here.”

“Did you do as planned?”

“Yes,” Blake sounded irritated. “I saw all of them.”

I looked at him. My father too? I wanted to say it out loud but remembered that no one here knew about that.

“Who are they?”

“The other side,” Blake ordered.

WE REACHED THE Creepers again.

“Take everyone out first. It’s daylight. If guards come, I can shield off the others.”

I nodded and took Jerry out first. He changed back into his old self once he was safely in Tith and went to King Helmut, who was waiting for us.

I took out Emanual next and went back for all of them.

Blake was last.

We both shifted back as we reached the core of the Creepers.

“I’ve never been so scared my entire life. When your watch beeped…”

“I know, calm down. It’s okay, it’s over, we are safe, Elena.”

He hugged me tight and I wished that this heavy feeling on my gut would disappear.

“I know who those men are, all of them.”

“Did you see…?”

He shook his head.

“You think he’s dead?”

“No, Elena. I don’t.”

“Okay, who are they?”

“You need to keep this from my sister and Becky, okay? Tell them you don’t know, I didn’t tell you a thing.”

“You didn’t?”

“Becky’s father is one of them.”

“What?” I looked at him.

“Her father is one of the men. I barely recognized him, but it’s Etienne Johnson.”

WE STAYED AT the palace for a few hours longer so Blake could tell King Helmut about everyone he’d seen.

I sat with Cat and Queen Marguerite on the patio. How on earth was I going to keep this news from Becky? From Lucille? They had all the right in the world to know that he was alive. Still, Blake asked me, and I was sure he had his reasons for me to not tell my friends about this.

“Elena,” Queen Marguerite said. “You haven’t taken one sip of your drink. You okay?”

I nodded. “Just a bit shaken up. It almost went horribly wrong. If Blake didn’t have that blending in thing…” I shook my head.

She smiled. “He sure is a spectacular dragon.” She stroked my knee. “He will never let anything harm you, Elena.”

“I learned that the hard way.”

A horrible scream came from inside the castle and Queen Marguerite pulled me up with her to investigate.

We found one of the ladies screaming in one of the hallways. Jeeves came and comforted her just as we reached the commotion.

Blake, Emanual, King Helmut, and Jerry came running out of King Helmut’s office, and then I saw what the screaming was about.

A cold shudder ran up my spine and I froze as  déjà vu washed over me. A pool of blood and a dead body.

Blake grabbed me immediately as I stared at a figure lying in the hallway. I couldn’t see who he was, except that that he was one of King Helmut’s men.

Blood was spattered on the wall. A message was written.

No one is safe.

That was all it said, but it wasn’t the blood that scared the living daylights out of me.

It was the fact that the message was written in Wyvic.

King Helmut barked off orders to Raymond.

Emanual grabbed Queen Marguerite and tore me out of Blake’s grasp as he started dragging us toward the entrance we’d came from a few minutes ago.

Blake stayed behind.

“Blake, please!” I yelled.

“Just go, Elena. You will be safe. I’ll meet you soon,” he yelled back and ran after King Helmut.

“Emanual, please.”

“The castle is not safe,” he said and once outside he morphed into his dragon and flew with Queen Marguerite and me in his paws.

It was an uncomfortable flight as he wasn’t nearly as big as Blake and I didn’t feel that secure in his paw the way I felt in Blake’s.

When we finally stopped I found myself right in front of the Academy.

Master Longwei was waiting for us and without a word, Emanual left.

“Someone was killed right under our noses in the castle,” Queen Marguerite started to tell Master Longwei.

“Shhh, Maggie. I already know. Dickerson right?”

“What?” both of us yelled. This was news to both of us.

“Dicky is…dead?” My voice was barely audible. “How can that be, he was just with us in Elm?” I started to panic, speaking extremely fast with strands of hair tangled in between my fingers.

“Elena, calm down. It’s going to be alright. You are safe.” Queen Marguerite wrapped her arms around me.

“I’ll never be safe,” I spoke into her shoulder. “That message said no one is safe. It was written in Wyvic. Paul is back.”

QUEEN MARGERITE STAYED with Master Longwei while I was sent up to my room. Sir Edward and Professor Gregory were escorting me and then they stood guard outside the room.

If Paul had come back, Dragonia Academy was the safest place I could be.

When Sammy and Becky saw the shock on my face as I opened the door, they knew immediately that something was wrong.

Becky was the first to reach me and she just held me tight.

“Is it Blake?” she finally asked and I shook my head.

“Dicky is dead.”

“Dicky, one of King Helmut’s guys?”

I nodded.

“How?”

“We don’t know. Someone attacked him at the castle.”

“Where is my brother?”

“He stayed behind. Emanual brought Queen Marguerite and I back here. I hate when he does this, stays behind to help.”

She hugged me next. “Shhh, I don’t like it myself, but he is one of the fiercest dragons, Elena. He has accomplished so much and he does put a certain fear into all evil. He will be okay.”

“I know he’ll be fine, but why does he always have to go looking for danger?”

“It’s how he’s built.” She put a stray hair back behind my ear. I didn’t tell them about Paul and the Wyvic writing on the wall. I had to find out what they’d discovered first before putting everyone in panic-mode once again.

Becky made us coffee as I told them about the mission.

I hated keeping secrets from them, but I’d promised I wouldn’t mention anything about her father.

They listened eagerly and just as I finished a knock came at our door.

I ran and opened it.

“Not negotiable,” Blake’s voice said.

“Blake, this is the girls’ dormitory, we have protocols...” Master Longwei spoke.

“Whoever killed Dickerson was right under our noses Chong. So whatever fear you have about me being alone with Elena, get rid of it real fast, because I know they will come after her next. I’m not leaving her side.”

He didn’t let Master Longwei say anything back as he walked into our room and closed the door.

“They are after me?”

Blake walked over and pulled me in for a hug. “Calm down, Elena. We don’t know yet. All we know is that whoever did this is really good. There are no traces of the suspect, no DNA, nothing. Murder weapon is gone. Just like…” He stopped and shook his head.

I knew what he was speaking about. “Just like Darius.”

He looked at me and nodded his head.

“Darius?” Sammy and Becky voiced.

“You want to tell me that the scumbag is here, among us?” Becky was the first to ask what was playing on loop in my mind.

“He might be back,” Blake said looking at Becky. “We don’t know for sure.”

Paul being back was bad, but it wasn’t the worst part. “We have no idea what he looks like Blake.”

“I know,” he pulled me into his chest again. “It’s going to be okay. I won’t leave your side.”

I nodded.

BLAKE STAYED THAT night. Master Longwei didn’t even try to get him out of our room. I guess me being in danger again, the story of my life, let him break a few rules and regulations.

The fact that Paul was back, or could be back, lay heavy on all our minds.

We had no idea what Paul looked like, no clue.

He could be anywhere, anyone.

Breakfast was quiet again. Blake spent plenty of time on his Cammy, probably speaking to Emanual.

Plenty of names I knew were mentioned. They were seriously talking protocol, scared that it was someone we all knew already. To think that someone who had crawled into our lives was Paul in reality, scared the living crap out of me.

I’d never seen Blake like this, on guard, on edge. I hated that, it made me nervous for no reason.

We trained that entire afternoon. Sammy, Becky, Dean and George were with us.

My entire group of friends had turned into a group of guards now.

“It’s time, Elena.”

“Blake, don’t please.”

“You need to learn how to wield your abilities while I’m in this form.” He looked at George. “You brought the note.”

George shook his head and took out a piece of paper Pappi had sent with a crow out of his pocket.

George started speaking to him in Latin, as if I couldn’t understand it. He spoke about clarity, releasing his abilities to only me. Trusting me with it, trusting me with everything, becoming nothing.

I didn’t like any of the things that came out of his mouth.

“You need to want it, Elena. Clear your mind,” Becky said.

I nodded and closed my eyes.

IT WAS mess. Nothing we tried, no matter how hard I tried to want my abilities from him without hurting him, and how hard he tried to give them to me, worked.

He would fall down every single time in pain, grunting and screaming.

I stopped. He got angry. I told him what an idiot he was, and we would try again.

It went on like that for three hours before I had had enough.

“Elena, you have to do this, again.”

“Rome wasn’t built in a day. I’m not going to succeed today and neither are you. Just let it go, please.”

He took a deep breath while the muscles on his jaw jumped slightly.

“Please, we can try another day. It’s been three hours, Blake.”

“Fine.” He grunted and went to the bleachers to pick up his jacket. We went back to the room.

Blake just dropped his jacket on the couch and walked over to me, kissing me on my head. “I need to go see Master Longwei. See you later,” he spoke softly. He sounded angry, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if it was related to our total failure today.

The door closed after him.

“Just be patient with him, Elena,” George said.

“I’m not the one that is impatient, George.”

He smiled. “That’s not what I meant. It’s not easy for him to fail at something.”

“He isn’t failing, he’s just not there yet. He needs to give it more time.”

I went to take a long bath and afterwards I crawled into bed. Blake wasn’t back yet, and I really looked forward to having him sleeping so close to me.

Sammy put a pillow and a blanket out for him on the couch.

“Thank you for doing that.”

She looked up from the couch, interrupting her own task of making a bed. “He is my brother, Elena. And I do love you both.”

I smiled and pulled the covers over my head.

I had no idea where he was right at this moment. I doubted that he was still speaking to Master Longwei.

I drifted away faster than I thought I would. Tonight’s training must’ve drained me, but when I opened my eyes the next morning, the couch was empty.

I fell back onto my pillow and a smile tugged at the corners of my lips. I could smell his scent lingering on my pillow. Blake had been here, but I didn’t remember him being here at all last night.

I found him sitting at a table in the cafeteria, speaking to George and Dean. He seemed to be in a better mood.

“Good morning,” I smiled at him as I sat down on the pillow.

“Morning,” he spoke softly. “Sorry for my behavior last night.”

“It’s okay. I know how you feel when you don’t get it right on the first try. We will get there Blake, just give it time.”

He nodded softly with a broken smile.

The conversation at breakfast revolved around the campaign he’d discussed when he went to go see Master Longwei.

“So when do we start?”

“In the next couple of weeks. Two to be exact, right after we complete our detention.”

I laughed at the way he said the word detention. Who knows, maybe it would be good for us to slow down whatever was busy happening between us a bit.

At times I felt we moved way too fast. Not that I minded. He was the only guy I really didn’t mind spending time with.

When the first bell rang, we went to Magical Variances. Sir Edward had started with a new subject—spells. Ancient spells like the one on my bracelet that I didn’t need anymore.

He spent plenty of time on a spell that was some sort of a guarding and illusion spell.

None of us could tear our ears away from him as he told us how stairs would appear to be upside down, but there was no sign of gravity when one walked on the upper level that was turned upside. It was like the floor, walls and staircases were going on and on. I thought I’d seen pictures of what he was referring to back in my old world.

In real life, it would be just a hallway or a room and you would see what the creator wanted you to see.

The guarding side of it, well, your magic wouldn’t work and nothing you did would help you get out of there, so you would either starve to death, or be freed once the creator of the spell died.

It was one of the most dangerous spells out there, and one that could barely be broken.

“There has to be a way,” Blake said.

“There simply isn’t Blake,” Sir Edward responded.

“Hopefully when someone does find a way,” Professor Gregory said, “they will share it with the rest of us. It’s what makes this spell one of the most dangerous out there.”

“Then why mention it at all?”

Professor Gregory smiled. “Because there are ways to avoid it. Smell and sound.”

I squinted at Becky.

“You will smell your favorite thing in the world. To mesmerize you so you pick up the pace, and you will hear a soft humming. Magic like that always comes with a default. The hum. The stronger the hum, the weaker the spell. But once inside, you are a goner,” Sir Edward said. “When cast by a very powerful magic wielder, you will not even see it coming. Only once you are inside will you know what has happened. So make a list of your favorite things in this world and listen for a hum if you want to avoid this specific spell.”

“Could this favorite thing be a person?” George asked and everyone laughed.

“Who knows? It could be Becky’s scent, George.”

She shook her head with a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she looked at him. “So embarrassing.”

“You love me,” he spoke softly in her ear.

When the bell rang it was time for Art of War, and after that the day flew fast.

I only had time for a fifteen-minute lunch before it was time for detention. We talked quietly as Blake walked me to the library.

“I was reading the list that David made. Maybe he has a point, Elena. There is no harm in finding things that can sedate this fucker. It could buy us some time, and if you see anything that could be the missing ingredient, just take it with you. Better, snatch some books from the restricted section.”

I laughed. “Steal books?”

“It’s for a good cause.”

“If I get caught, you going to take the blame too?”

“Yes, I’ll take the blame.” He had a huge grin as he walked backwards and said goodbye.

The librarian who I’d become quite acquainted with a couple of months back was grateful to see me. The library was due for a clean-up, lucky me.

I started with the maps that I needed to rearrange and pack according to their numbers.

It took me the entire afternoon and around six, every single shelf where the maps were stored was cleaned and repacked.

“Thank you so much for your help, Elena. So sorry that you got detention. I know this job sucks.”

I smiled. “It’s better than cleaning up the coliseum.”

“He got that?”

I nodded.

“Poor guy.”

I laughed and said goodbye.

I found Blake at a table outside speaking to Tabitha and turned around as I could hear their conversation was getting really tense.

Curiosity was a bitch and I couldn’t help but tune in.

“Don’t say that, okay?” Tabitha had a sad tone in her voice. “We both know what this is, Blake you just have to fight it.”

“I’ve told you plenty times Tabitha, it’s not what you think.”

“Then explain it to me.”

His shield went up and I hated that he’d done that. If he was going to explain it to her and not me, I would kill him tonight.

I dished up and walked back to his table.

His shield vanished as I reached the door.

“It’s not good enough. I’ll never stop fighting for you.”

“Whatever, Tabitha. Please go,” he said and I saw her staring at him.

“You are a jerk sometimes. I stuck with you…”

“Yes, you said it before, how you stuck it out with me. How many times do you want me to apologize?”

“Fine,” she said and got up when she saw me, walking to another table.

I sat down and he sighed. “Sorry about that.”

“She is not giving up, is she?”

He wielded his shield again. “No, she still thinks I’m under your spell,” he said in a mysterious tone. He chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t know what to do with her. I really thought she would get it by now.”

“How many times has she tried to speak to you like this?”

“Elena, don’t. It’s only going to make you worry about unnecessary crap. You have other important things on your mind. I’ll figure out a way to make her see.”

“Glad I’m not you.”

He laughed. “She will eventually get it.”

“The only way that girl is going to get it is if you pour it down her throat.”

“I treated her like shit plenty of times, Elena. The last thing I want to do is be nastier to her. I know you don’t like her very much, but let me deal with this. She will come around. I promise.”

“It’s not that I don’t like her. She’s just very stubborn and very smart. Two very dangerous qualities, Blake.”

“How is that dangerous?”

I laughed. “Just be careful, okay? And no, I’m not the jealous type either.”

He smiled. “That’s not what I heard. Rumor has it that you flipped when you discovered that Lucian and Arianna were sort of meant for one another.”

“That was different.” I looked around and realized that Arianna wasn’t even around anymore. “Where the hell is she anyway?”

“Who, Arianna?”

I nodded.

“King Caleb lost his trust in the school. She has tutors now at the castle. I actually feel sorry for her. She misses this place.”

“And how do you know that?”

“I thought you weren’t the jealous type.”

I smiled and shook my head. “Fine, don’t tell me.”

He laughed. “She texts me now and then asking what is new, how you are doing and so on.”

I raised my eyebrows. “How I’m doing?”

“She’s not that bad, Elena.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

“For all we know you two could’ve been really good friends if you’d grown up this side.”

I laughed. “I really doubt that.”

“You do. You would’ve been completely different Elena. Your mom and dad are royalty, and they would only have had one daughter, who they had wanted for a long, long time. So you would’ve actually been a spoiled brat.”

I laughed. “Still, I wouldn’t have been friends with her.”

“Never say never, Elena.”

“What if doesn’t exist, Blake?”

“Ah-huh,” he said and drank his soda as he stared at me with friendly eyes. “So you find anything?”

“It was rearranging maps today, and I can promise you they don’t have any missing ingredients hiding between their coordinates.”

“We’ll find something, I’m sure of it.”

“We better find something.”

“Just stay positive. It will come to us.”

I smiled and ate my supper. I really didn’t want to talk about this anymore. It was too depressing to think about the consequences if we didn’t find the missing ingredient.

We trained again that night until half past nine and he called it a night when I started struggling to keep my eyes open.

Blake walked with me to the stairs with his arm around my neck.

“So when are you going to teach me how to head-butt?”

He laughed. “We can try it tomorrow night, if you want.”

“There is really a technique?”

“Oh, yes. Like I said, if you do it wrong, you can end up with a mother of a headache. So, I’d better teach you how to walk away from the fight with no damage.”

I laughed as we reached the stairs. He pulled me in for a hug. “I’ll see you later.”

“I doubt I’ll be awake, but okay,” I said.

“Then if I don’t see you, sleep tight.” He kissed me softly on my lips before we parted ways.

I watched him run up the stairs to the boys’ dormitory and slowly climbed ours.

I understood why it was so hard for Tabitha to let him go, especially now, and it scared me that she was not giving up on him. I meant every word when I told him that smart and stubborn was a dangerous quality. I’d forgotten to mention the third: beautiful.

I just hoped that the Dent was as strong as everyone said it was, otherwise I might end up being the one that had to let him go at the end.

THE NEXT TWO weeks flew by.

By the end of week one, I’d found a couple of exotic plants and seeds that could be used for a tranquilizing potion.

The restricted section had really scary potions but none of them helped with destroying something as evil as the Saadedine, or could slow down something that was conjured.

That really scared me as I doubted now that any of the plants and seeds we found would do anything.

I struggled with the fact that it was the Elemental babies we’d helped enter this world that had become this evil I had to kill now.

It wasn’t fair.

They had names. How do you kill something that was once held so dearly?

Goran was behind all the evil and disappointment in my life.

He was to blame for everything that I’d lost.

I mean, if it hadn’t been for him, Cara would’ve never had to give up her existence to save me, but then I would’ve died, so maybe she didn’t have a chance from the beginning.

Still, Brian would’ve been here, and Lucian would’ve never gone on that quest to find a way to save Blake and discovered the truth.

I would’ve grown up a princess with a mom and a dad—my real mom and dad.

Blake would’ve never been this dark, he would’ve always had hope. Annie would’ve never lost her dragon form.

Constance would still have her husband.

And Herbert and Tanya would still be alive.

Everything dark in my life was because of one man. Goran.

I agreed with the conversation at the lodge the other night. If we could do one thing over, I would kill Goran myself and spare this world so much pain, so much loss.

Blake was right; I would’ve been a completely different person.

Another change in plans came around the end of week one.

Master Longwei called Blake in alone and when he came back, I could see the anger on his face.

“Okay, what happened?” I asked and rubbed his back as he plunged onto the pillow next to me.

“You are getting a guard,” he simply said.

“What?”

“He doesn’t like me sleeping in your room, and…”

George’s face fell. “You’re shitting me, right?”

“Nope, so I guess your sneaking days are over, Georgie boy.”

Becky laughed the hardest as we all saw the disappointment on George’s face.

“Okay, that is just…”

“Bullshit. That’s what I said too and he made it clear to me that my arrangement was only temporary. His exact words were that he was the principal and no Dent was going to break the rules.”

“He said that?”

“Yeah. He’s seriously pissing me off because he has no idea what danger he is putting you in.”

“Who is the guard?”

“It’s Raymond.”

“Raymond.” I smiled but it disappeared fast.

“What is it?”

“Paul,” I said with a sigh. “He could be in any form, Blake.”

“I’ve known Raymond a long time, Elena. I can promise you that it’s not Paul. Emanual trusts him with his life, so do I.”

“Still, Dicky was killed at the palace.”

“I know.”

“It could be one of them.”

“I know.”

“And we all know what Paul can do.”

“I know, Elena. Emanual checked all of them out. Dicky must have found something, and that was what got him killed.”

“You think he knew who Paul’s new figure was?”

“Yeah, no doubt. He just didn’t know how good Paul was.”

His face still held a pissed off look.

“Then why do you still look pissed off?”

Becky laughed.

“Because now he has no excuse for sleeping in our room,” Sammy said. “Good riddance anyway.”

I still smiled as I thought about that one. I was glad that it was Raymond that they’d signed on as my guard, as he followed me everywhere I went. He even helped me research after I told him what it was I looked for.

Another good thing that happened was that a couple of dragons from the other side came back. I was really surprised to know that a couple of them were born on that side, had never set foot in Paegeia, and that they were actually Chromatic.

Guess my father was right that dragon was dragon, no matter what breed. It was the way they were brought up, the influence that surrounded them that made the difference.

King Helmut and King Caleb were going to house them until the war, and we were going to meet them soon when we started our campaign.

I was getting better at fighting dirty too.

The head-butting lessons weren’t so great, and my head ached for a couple of minutes until Blake healed it.

He, on the other hand, had to heal from the inside, which wasn’t as fast a process as he thought it would be. But I could say with confidence that it was something I’d mastered real fast.

The second week was slightly harder.

He refused to give up on me wielding my abilities. And it got so tough on him that he started resenting me for it.

Something I never thought would happen.

We used to train every night until half past nine, now we would start at seven and finish at eight.

He never said that he blamed me, but I could tell he did by his short temper that kept on making its appearance.

He really made me feel as if I was the one to blame, that I didn’t want my abilities badly enough, but he never said so.

I sighed as I put the last book back on the shelf.

Our detention was finally over and Thea, the librarian, actually had a small gift for me when I walked over to the desk.

“What is this?” I asked as Raymond was busy taking out a book, one that he wanted to read later on during his watch.

I saw a curled up plant inside a pot in her hand. It was in a cute flower pot and looked really sweet.

“I call him Louie, and Louie needs plenty of sunlight, and water once every few days, not too much though. Just a small thank you for helping me these past two weeks.”

“Thea, a plant?”

“It’s not just any plant, Elena. It’s a hibicurus. Something really special this side.”

“Wait,” Raymond said. “I know this plant. Where did you get it?”

Thea smiled. “I have my sources,” she flirted.

“Okay, what is so special about Louie?”

“Watch and see.”

She put the pot down on the counter and picked up a feather. She stroked it softly and the plant opened like a human stretching. It was the sweetest thing I’d ever seen.

“This isn’t it. What is special about Louie is he carries small fruit, an extremely rare berry-like fruit, called Luke berries, which is deadly poisonous, so don’t eat it, please.”

“Poisonous, as in how?”

“Oh they used Luke berries for all sorts of things.” Raymond couldn’t stop looking at him. “Your father actually used to dip some of his archers’ arrow tips into the sap. You go into a deep sleep and then you die.”

“How long does it take to go into this deep sleep?”

“They say on the spot?” A huge grin formed on his face. “It can take anything down.”

“You think…”

“Oh, Elena I don’t think. I know.”

I grabbed Thea around her neck as she’d just presented me with the missing ingredient that was going to help killing this bastard.

She obviously had no idea what the two of us were talking about, and Raymond put the book back on the shelf.

Blake was going to be over the moon.

“Thank you Thea,” I said with tears in my eyes. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

“Really,” she smiled. “Elena,” she hugged me too. “Please just be careful of the fruit. Ask Blake to burn it, okay?”

I nodded.

“When does it bear fruit?”

“About six to eight weeks.”

I smiled again. “It’s perfect. Thanks.”

I grabbed Louie and ran to the cafeteria as Raymond went to go to speak to Master Longwei.

I paused when I found Tabitha sitting with Blake again, laughing this time.

I wasn’t the jealous type, I didn’t think, but with all the stuff that had happened lately, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

It was exactly what I’d warned him about and he’d laughed it off.

I sighed and went up to my room to put Louie on the windowsill where he would get plenty of sunlight.

I stoked him softly and he opened up. It was really the most amazing thing anybody had ever given me.

I’d tell Blake about him later.

I went back to the cafeteria to grab something to eat and was relieved when Tabitha’s place was occupied with my friends.

I went outside and sat next to Becky as Sammy and Dean took the seats next to Blake.

“Our two weeks are finally over,” Blake sang and I smiled.

“It is,” I said and wanted to tell him so badly about Louie but decided to leave it for later as George and Dean still didn’t know about the omen hanging over us.

“So, you guys ready for this fundraiser?” Becky asked as I dug in.

I raised my lip. I’d forgotten all about our big night at the museum to raise money for those we had saved from Etan.

“Please tell me that you at least sorted out your dress.”

“I’ll buy one. No big deal.”

“You seriously are not using your princess perks.”

“I can’t wait to meet all the new dragons,” Sammy said. “At least you are excited about that right?”

“That I am.”

“Excellent. How many?” She looked at her brother.

“Emanual told me there are about fifteen of them now.”

“Fifteen, that’s it?” I sounded concerned. We are going to need more if we are going to beat Goran and all his Wyverns.”

“More will come, Elena. Just be patient.”

“Oh, I know.”

I finished and at seven Blake and I left for the Parthenon Dome.

“Why are you so quiet?”

“I’m just tired, and to be honest, I’m not looking forward to tonight.”

“You don’t want to spend more time with me?”

“No, I don’t want to spend time with you losing your temper, Blake.”

“Elena, I’m not mad at you.”

“It feels like you are.”

“I’m sorry.” He pulled me back. “It’s just hard that we haven’t mastered this.”

“Not everything can be mastered in two days Blake.”

“I know. I’m not good when it comes to waiting, Elena.”

“I know.”

“Sorry if I made you feel like it’s your fault. I know I’m a jerk at times.”

“Tiny bit.” I showed him with my fingers and he smiled.

“You are too kind. I don’t deserve that.”

I smiled.

He opened the Parthenon Dome for me and I entered first.

“Do we really have to do this, tonight?”

“Yes, Elena. We have to do this tonight.” He had a smile in his tone. “Just think how awesome it will be if we can do it and no harm comes to any of us.”

“Any of us meaning you?” I asked and he chuckled.

“Busted.”

“Okay, now clear your mind.”

I knew the drill and did it. One thing I had to admit: the more we actually did this, the easier the steps became, but the results always ended up the same.

Blake fell on his knees the minute I actually felt it, but there was nothing on my palm. He grunted and I stopped the second I saw the pain reflecting off his face.

“Why did you stop?” he spoke through heaves.

“For the millionth time, I’m not going…”

“Elena, you have no choice. Again, and push through this time. Don’t stop,” he said through clenched teeth.

I took a huge breath.

It carried on like that for the next hour and then, when his watch beeped, I knew it was time to say goodnight.

“I’m not going to apologize for pushing you. We need to get this right, Elena.”

I nodded.

“See you tomorrow,” he said, kissing me quickly on my head as we parted ways.

I couldn’t help but feel like something was off and Tabitha jumped into my mind again.

I sat on the second set of stairs that reached to the upper level.

They had been laughing today. He wasn’t fighting with her anymore.

She was reeling him in and he was too stupid to notice that.

Stop it, Elena. Blake is smarter than that. Maybe it’s another tactic he is trying on her. To make her see that he isn’t under a spell.

I heard the main door creaking and I got up softly.

“We need to hurry,” Blake said and then it was quiet.

I ran down the steps as the main door closed behind him and opened the door, but whomever he’d spoken to was long gone.

What was he up to and why hadn’t he mentioned any of this?

This was the reason he left every night at eight. An entire week, this had been going on for an entire week! I didn’t like this.

I walked back to the room and found Raymond watching TV with George and Becky.

My face said it all and Becky just stared at me.

I shook my head and gave her an awkward smile. I was dying to ask George if he knew about Blake’s nightly strolls and what was so important it was cutting our practicing short. But I didn’t.

Around nine Raymond and George left.

I had to admit, now that George couldn’t sneak in it made their departure so much more difficult to watch.

Whatever it was that made it so difficulty for George to leave Becky at night, well, it was something Blake still had to develop.

I lay in bed that night, just thinking about many things. I’d ask him tomorrow straight, or try and see what it was he had to say.

Maybe it was nothing. He had said they had to be fast, so maybe he was helping a friend in need, for all I knew, and then I would sound like a jealous girlfriend. But if it was that innocent, why wasn’t he telling me about it?

Sammy finally entered around ten.

She tiptoed to our bathroom and closed the door. Where the hell she and Dean had been, well, I just hoped and prayed that Master Longwei wouldn’t catch them.

I still hadn’t even told Blake about Louie.

I would tell him tomorrow.

THE NEXT MORNING I found Blake with George and Dean at a table.

“Please, Dean,” Blake begged.

“I told you I won’t.”

He nodded.

Won’t what?

Becky and I reached them and I had to admit, something was really not right at all.

Sammy was in a bad mood this morning, and wasn’t even speaking to us, and now hearing Dean say that after Blake begged him, I started to wonder again if it was something that had to do with last night.

Did Sammy and Dean know something?

“Morning sunshine,” Blake said and I smiled.

Becky squinted at him.

“What, I can’t greet Elena now?”

“No, what are you hiding?”

He started to chuckle. “I’m not hiding anything.”

“You’ve been acting strange lately, Blake.”

Dean got up.

“Where are you going?” I asked him.

“I’m done eating and I’m going to find my girlfriend if you must know, Miss Want-To-Know-It-All.”

I laughed. Urgh, it was seriously becoming so frustrating. They were like a pack of wolves, covering for each other.

“Sure,” Becky looked at Dean as he left and then at George who was gulping down his breakfast.

He stopped and looked at her. “Why you looking at me like that?”

“What is going on here?”

“I have no idea, but I’m with you on that one Becks, something is going on.”

Blake laughed again. “Nothing is going on. See, this is why we don’t share anything with you.”

“You hiding something from me?” I asked Blake and he smiled again.

“No, I’m not. But George is a bit weak when it comes to Becky.”

“So not being able to keep a secret from Becky makes him weak?”

“That’s not what I said. You crawl out on the wrong side of the bed this morning?” He asked.

“No, but something is up, Blake.”

“Nothing is up, Elena.”

“Fine, then where the hell were you last night?” I asked a little too loudly and with an angry voice. Not what I’d been aiming for at all.

He just looked at me. “You don’t trust me now, Elena?”

“I don’t know. If it’s so important to cut our training short, Blake, then I think I have the right to question it just a little.”

I got up and left.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m not hungry,” I said and stormed out.

I found the stairs and just waited on them until the first bell rang.

I could hear students talking as they made their way from the cafeteria.

“You had to tell her?” Blake asked.

“Tell her what?” I heard Samantha.

“Sammy, just tell me the truth. How does she know?”

“I didn’t tell her. To be honest, I don’t want to tell her that. Why are you helping her, Blake?”

“It’s her brother, okay? He used to be my friend too, Samantha. I asked you last night really nicely not to say anything.”

“I didn’t. You are playing with fire Blake. You should tell her yourself.”

“I don’t want to make her worry for nothing.”

“Oh, is that what you are calling it now?”

“Dammit, Samantha, why don’t you just say what you think this is about? Elena is my Dent. I would never do that to her.”

“And you are one of a kind too, Blake.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing works the same way with you.”

He sighed a little. “You really think I would do that? Huh?” He yelled at her softly.

What the hell did he do?

“No, I don’t. She knows something is wrong Blake, you should tell her the truth, ‘cause if she finds out the way Dean and I did last night, this trust you’ve built, you are going to lose it all.”

He blew out a gush of air.

“And I’m saying that because I love you. Not because I want to see you burn.”

She walked away and a few seconds later he left too.

I went up to my room when the second bell rang. I didn’t give a shit about class.

She’d mentioned a “she”. Helping her?

Please don’t let it be Tabitha, please!

WHEN SECOND PERIOD I went to class. I opened my door and heard a girl crying.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” one of her friends said.

“No it’s not,” Tabitha sniffed and I wanted to leave thinking about how shallow she was. “Blake can’t even find him, and he is the best tracker inside Paegeia.”

I stopped as she said that.

So he was looking for someone.

“Are you sure your brother didn’t go to the other side?”

“Phil is Chromatic. He would never set foot outside of Paegeia.”

“Tabitha.”

“Something happened to him, I know it.”

“Shhh,” the girls said and I felt like an idiot for doubting him.

Everything was making sense now.

Why was he so secretive? Yes, I didn’t like this one bit, but if this Phil was his friend, and I was sure he was, Blake would help find him. That was all it was. He promised he would never betray my trust like that and I had to trust him if we were going to make this work. Him not telling me, well, he had his reasons why he hadn’t.

I wasn’t mad anymore. They all walked down the steps while I hid behind my closed door once again. When the coast was clear I left.

I found Blake in front of our Arithmetic class leaning against a pillar.

When he saw me, he walked over. “Where have you been?”

“In my room.” I gave him a broken smile, feeling like an idiot. “Come let’s go.” I walked toward the class and he pulled me back by my arm.

“Elena, we should talk.” He started pulling me in the opposite direction.

“If Master Longwei catches us, we will get detention again, please. Let’s just go to class.”

“No, it’ll be fine. I need to tell you something.”

“Is it about helping Tabitha?”

He stopped and his entire body deflated before he turned around and faced me. “You know about that?”

I smiled. “I told you before, you can do what you want. I would’ve just loved it if you could’ve mentioned it to me.”

“I’m sorry. I know how you feel about her.”

“I feel bad for her, Blake. I don’t hate her. So what is the deal anyway?”

“Her brother went missing and I can’t pick him up anywhere.”

“I take it that her brother is a friend?”

“Yeah, he is, or was. I owe him a lot.”

“Then I know you’ll find him soon.” I smiled and he just stared at me with soft eyes that quickly turned into guilty ones. He pulled me closer to him.

“I’m an idiot. Sorry that I didn’t tell you, and she’s not more important than training you. I promise.”

“It’s okay, I know.”

“Do we really have to go to Arithmetic?” He pulled his face and made me laugh.

“Yes, we do. Now stop sulking.” I turned around and walked with Blake into the classroom.

My eyes caught Tabitha’s and although her eyes were a bit red and blotchy, the look she had in her eyes made me doubt her intentions.

She looked down at her table as Blake and I sat down.

I closed my eyes. Her brother is missing, Elena. She just needs his help, that is all.

FOR THE NEXT few days’ life went back to normal. I didn’t worry about where Blake snuck off to at night, as I knew.

The only thing that still bothered me was how frustrated he was becoming because he couldn’t find Phil.

He still couldn’t pick him up anywhere.

He even told me the story about Tabitha’s brother. He was as bad as they came, a Night Villain with a taste for danger and darkness. Tabitha’s parents lived in one of the other dragon cities near Areeth. They were one of the few that didn’t love the human-dragon type of contact and strictly stuck to their dragon forms. Phil and Tabitha were the only dragons that shifted in the family and had come to Dragonia Academy to try to learn more.

She was trying, and I had to give it to the girl, it wasn’t your typical Snow dragon behavior to fight against your entire family for a change she desperately wanted. It made me see her from a different perspective.

At eight we said goodbye and he would leave with Tabitha to search for Phil. I really hoped that he was going to find him soon, because I didn’t know how much longer I could handle the disappointment and frustration clinging to him.

On Friday we had our first fundraiser and a part of me was looking forward to it, while another part was dreading the entire thing. Asking people to give donations toward a great cause like helping the hundred we’d brought through was one thing, but asking people to fight for the cause to save my father was another.

I dreaded that I would let it slip out that my father was still alive, and that we wouldn’t get to Blake’s father in time to stop him from going into the Creepers.

I decided I would just let Blake do all the talking.

“Why are you so quiet?” Becky asked me during dinner. Blake had just left.

“I’m really not looking forward to tomorrow night,” I said, scraping my food on my plate with my fork.

“You are dreading a function, but you are okay with Blake helping the Ice Queen?” Becky had that tone in her voice, the one that told me she would never have approved in the first place.

I gave her my one raised eyebrow look, the one where she knew she should be dropping it and to stop trying me make feel insecure about him spending time with his ex-girlfriend. She didn’t get that he was searching for a friend, a good friend.

“I told you before, I trust him, Becky.”

“Oh, it’s not that I question that, Elena. I wouldn’t trust her.”

“Her brother is missing. What if it was your brother?”

She huffed as if she didn’t buy that story for one minute.

“So what, you say that she’s making this up?” I sounded a bit defensive. “Why, just to spend time with Blake? I refuse to believe that.”

“I am just getting a really bad feeling about this, Elena. You don’t know her like I do.”

“You met her like seven months before I did. Seriously?” I’d gotten fed up with what she was insinuating. “Besides, if he wants her back, I will let him go.”

“Just like that?”

“If that is what he wants, then yes.”

She raised her eyes.

“I’m going to leave.”

“Elena?” Becky called after me as I made my way to the entrance.

“Why can’t you just leave what you think to yourself? She is clearly struggling to trust my brother a hundred percent. You are not making it any easier, Becky,” I heard Sammy speak up.

“I’ve really got a bad feeling about this, Sammy.”

The two of them were still speaking and I decided to tune them out. Their insecurities were worse than mine.

I took a bath and focused again on tomorrow night.

Still, what Becky said found a way back into my head, no matter how hard I tried to push it to the back of my mind.

It wouldn’t be easy to let him go if he did want to go back to her, but I’d promised Tabitha, if that is what he wanted, I wouldn’t stand in their way.

Was Phil really missing? I remembered the day she was crying on the stairs, while I was listening in. She sounded sincere, sad that she didn’t know the whereabouts of her brother. Becky hadn’t heard that, and Blake did say he would rather die than ever betray me like that, but then Sammy’s conversation with him that day jumped into my mind too. He was so different from all the other dragons. What if the Dent was nothing compared to what the other dragons felt?

Stop it, Elena. Just stop it. I refused to feel insecure about this. I refuse.

THE LOOK ON Blake’s face the next morning told me more or less that he was still nowhere close to tracking Phil down.

Shit, what if the guy was dead?

George put my thoughts into words as I tuned into their conversation.

“I didn’t want to say that out loud, but a part of me was starting to think that too. I feel sorry for Tabitha if that is the truth,” Blake said.

“You sure he isn’t on the other side?”

“He has no reason to be, George. I mean, he is Chromatic, the Council would never have granted him that pass.”

“You did try and find out, right?”

“C’mon, you really think…?”

“Blake, I’m just saying. She believes you are under a fucking spell, she might do whatever…”

“She wouldn’t use her brother like that, but to make sure, I will make a few phone calls.” He grunted, then all of a sudden as I almost reached them, “I expect this from Elena, not you.”

“What about me?” I plopped down on the pillow, pretending that I had no idea what they were talking about.

He smiled. “Nothing for you to worry about,” he said and rested his head against his hands with his elbows resting on the table. The way he looked at me made me want to blush, and I gave an awkward smile.

“What is it?” I looked past him and he laughed.

“Can’t I just look at you?”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Stop it.”

He chuckled. “You slept?”

“Not as well as I wanted too, but yes, I slept.”

“Worrying…”

“About tonight.” I interrupted him and sighed.

He laughed and looked at George.

I started to laugh as I saw the guilty look on George’s face.

“Still no faith in you, well at least you are not his dragon.”

“I’m just looking out for my best friend, Elena.”

“Whatever,” I said and got up from the pillow and went to the buffet line.

THE DAY WENT really fast and at two the girls and I left to go to our hair appointments and to pick up our dresses for tonight’s function. It would be the first time in a very long time that I would visit the Museum of Etan.

The function was being held in a private function hall tonight, because it was not a revealing, and it would be the very first one Blake and I would be attending together.

I was in a string of thoughts through the entire hair appointment.

Just don’t say the words, ‘my father is alive’.

In my mind I kept seeing a million ways that they could slip out.

Our hair was done in only a few hours. No magic was used, just plain and simple techniques.

A manicure and pedicure were desperately needed, and the color fit with my outfit for tonight beautifully.

We reached the Academy around four and took our cocktail dresses that had been safely packed in their protective black bags that zipped all the way to the top.

Becky unzipped hers first and took out a beautiful lavender dress. She had a thing for purple, and this one was long with a huge slit that ran up her thigh. Sammy’s dress was emerald green with golden brown trimmings that went beautifully with her hazel eyes. I just went for a plain black number. It was a halter neck, the back was bare and the fabric fell over my waist like a beautiful draping.

It was longer at the back than the front and with the shoes that I’d found, the outfit was stunning.

We met the boys and Master Longwei at six in the lobby.

Blake was speaking to George and Dean with his back facing the stairs. All of them wore black tuxes and when we finally came down the staircase Blake turned around.

His eyes rose slightly and then a huge grin appeared. He looked so handsome. He was not wearing a tie of course, just had his white shirt with the top button opened.

He walked toward me and held out his hand.

He didn’t say anything, just took my hand, hooked it into his arm and walked toward the main door.

“What, you don’t have any remarks?” I said.

He huffed with a huge smile. “There are simply no words to describe how beautiful you look tonight, Princess.”

I laughed as he led me to a carriage that waited for us right behind the main gate.

I climbed in first with Blake behind me. The rest followed and then Master Longwei entered wearing his traditional Chinese formal attire.

He had worn something similar when we had had to go to the revealing of the King of Lion mission too. It had been a display of Brian in both his forms carrying my axes. That night felt like such a long time ago.

So many things had happened since then.

“You still worried about tonight?” Blake asked as the carriage went up in the air.

“A little.” I took a soft deep breath.

“It’s going to be fine, Elena.” He squeezed my hand softly in his and winked once.

I smiled and stared out of the window again.

Our carriage landed on top of the museum and Raymond, with a couple of other guards sent by King Helmut I presumed, waited for us on the roof as the cockroaches crawled below taking pictures and interviews.

We took the elevator down to the function hall that was right above the floor that housed all the exhibits.

I was glad that I wasn’t being welcomed by flashing cameras for once in my life.

We were met by the organizer, one of Queen Marguerite’s event coordinators who’d done this a million times, and she kept babbling about the outcome of tonight, how many people had rsvp’d, etc.

She led us through two huge doors. It was bright and everything was white.

I was so happy to find Charles, Marcus, Gertrude, Luke and Olive with David and Connie around one of the corners.

We walked directly to them and greeted them with two kisses on the cheek.

A waiter with champagne glasses walked by and Blake took two flutes off his tray.

“For the nerves,” he said as he handed me the glass and Charles and Connie smiled at his remark.

“You are going to be perfect tonight, Elena, and may I say, you look gorgeous, Princess.”

“Thank you Connie, you look beautiful yourself.”

“Oh, this old thing?!”

David laughed. “My dear, you have been waiting for years to parade in that gown,” he spoke lovingly to his wife

THE BAR AREA had started to fill with woman and men wearing their finest attire.

I nodded at plenty even though I had no idea who they were. Smiled at many, said thank you to the compliments people gave me.

Sir Robert and Isabel finally showed up with Lucille at their side. I kept on thinking about the secret of her husband still being alive, and felt like a dog not being able to tell her about it.

Blake squeezed my hand as if he could sense the burden of that secret weighing on me.

“Son,” Sir Robert said. “Elena.” He bowed his head slightly. I caught the smile on Isabel’s face.

“Nice to see you again,” Isabel said, touching my hands softly, and planted two kisses on both my cheeks.

“Elena,” Lucille smiled as she hugged me softly. “You look stunning,” she whispered in my ear.

“You too,” I whispered back and she let me go.

She raised her one eyebrow at Blake. “Nice seeing you in a tux,” she flirted and Blake just smiled.

“You look beautiful, like always, Mrs. Johnson.”

She squinted. “So formal.”

Everyone laughed.

“Are you ready for this speech?” Sir Robert asked, and I nodded in return.

“We miss you at the manor,” Isabel said.

“Sorry, I’ve been meaning to come around, but it’s been so hectic lately.”

“Blake told me.” She stroked my back.

A group of men dressed in tuxedos drew near. They didn’t look familiar, but they screamed richness beyond richness.

One was in his fifties and had golden blonde hair, the other one hiding behind him was in his twenties and another one in his mid-thirties.

The one with the blond hair reached out his hand to Sir Robert.

They shook hands.

“Elena, I would like you to meet Hans Streighner, a noble dragon, and one of your father’s good friends.”

I turned to the man and he bowed.

“Princess, at last.”

“This is Hans’s son, Heico,” the twenty-odd-year-old with black hair took my hand in his and kissed it.

I could see Blake’s eye twitching slightly as he stared at this greeting.

“You are wooing the wrong princess, Heico,” Arianna said, coming out of nowhere. “Good evening, Elena,” she greeted me, looking spectacular as always. “Besides, this one has a watch dog you don’t want to mess with,” she carried on flirting.

Heico and the other men laughed.

“Blake,” Arianna greeted him with a super smile and two kisses on each check.

“Princess.” Blake had a grin on his mouth.

“I mean no disrespect, Your Highness. My father taught me manners and how to greet royalty this side.”

“This side?” I squinted.

“Heico was born and raised on the other side,” Arianna said.

“You are all from the other side?” I looked at Hans and he nodded once.

“This is my younger brother, Reginald. We left a very long time ago, Princess, and I’m so sorry that we only returned now. But we are at your service.”

“Thank you so much, I really appreciate that.”

“Good evening, ladies and gentleman,” the speaker of the function came out of two huge doors. Inside were tables, many tables that cost a fortune to dine at tonight.

“If you would all take your seats so that we can start.”

“Better go find out where they put us,” Heico said to Arianna and held his arm for her.

“Later,” she curtsied and walked away with Heico.

I looked at Blake with raised eyebrows and he smiled.

We went over to one of the front tables where they seated all of us with King Helmut and Queen Marguerite, who made sure that everything was ready for my first function.

When she reached our table, she greeted each of us with a kiss on the cheek before she went to take her own seat.

The speaker started welcoming everyone and explained what this function was about. I hated asking for money, but it wasn’t for me.

“I would love to know how Arianna knows Heico.”

“Caleb has housed them the past few weeks. He knows Hans very well,” Blake whispered.

“She fell for him?”

“She does share his fire, Elena.”

“Heico is a Sun-Blast?”

He nodded.

“How did he?”

“He hatched that side. From what she’s told me it’s his first time in Paegeia, so he doesn’t know any better.”

“Wow,” I said.

“Hans is a Fin-Tail like Master Longwei, and like my father said, one of your father’s greatest friends. He served him in the war, and is as smart as they come when it comes to strategizing war tactics.”

Sir Robert grunted.

“Apart from my father that is.”

Isabel cleared her throat at Blake.

“Sorry,” he mouthed and we turned our attention back to the night’s events.

My heartbeat started to rise slightly and my palms were getting sweaty as the time for my speech came closer.

When the speaker called my name, I felt as if I’d spent the last twenty minutes inside a sauna.

Blake stood up with me and walked with me to the podium.

“I’ll be fine,” I whispered before I took the podium and walked to the mic.

You can do this, don’t mention your father’s status, and concentrate on tonight.

“Good evening everyone, and thank you so much for joining us tonight on this festive evening.” I swallowed hard and cleared my throat, which made everyone laugh softly.

I took a deep breath. Just be yourself, Elena.

“I usually don’t do this, address a huge gathering of important people, unless you are the Council…”

Everyone laughed again.

“So I’m going to speak from the heart. You all are Paegeia’s wealthiest benefactors, some of you, and I’m so grateful that you came all the way from the other side for this event. As you all know, Etan isn’t what it used to be anymore. It’s unrecognizable.”

A screen of pictures of what the first group had collected was projected behind me. I’d seen this before at David’s lodge.

Many gasped as the slide show continued.

“Everything’s changed. The people on the other side are ruled with an iron fist. Kids have to fend for themselves, darkness rules. Everything my father and his men fought for so long ago needs to be freed. That will be my responsibility, not yours. But we do need your help with the hundred we freed from that side. Children need to catch up on their education and housing needs to be built. I financed most of this, but I can’t do it alone. We need your help in order for them to heal. So please be generous, show your kindness and help us to help them. Thank you.”

Everyone applauded. Whether they felt the need to or whether it came from their hearts, I would never know.

The speaker came back and King Helmut spoke next.

It was about war, things I didn’t really want to think about, but it was necessary. We needed more troops and we were not going to force anyone to fight. It had to come from their hearts.

After the speeches, dinner was served.

It was a five-course meal.

I spent the rest of the evening meeting more people. A couple of them I’d met before on the night of Brian’s revealing.

“Beautiful speech, Princess,” a round man with a curly mustache and cognac in his hand said.

“Thank you so much.” I smiled at him.

The night crept by slowly, but one thing that was great was that Blake was always close by.

Then the dance floor opened and Blake came and rescued me from a boring male conversation that was all about the war they’d fought with my father years and years ago.

“Care to dance, Princess?” He had a sly grin on his face.

“You didn’t learn from the last time I danced with you?” I asked, remembering that night at the ball.

He grinned as he held my waist and pulled my other arm into his chest.

“You can stand on my feet for as long as you want.”

I laughed as we slow danced.

My eye caught on Arianna again. “She’s really changed, hasn’t she?”

“Yes, I think she’s grown up.”

“I will always see her as a spoiled little brat.”

“She’s not like that, Elena. You haven’t grown up with her. To be honest, she does own a good heart. She is not very happy with her father and how he’s treated you lately.”

“She said that, or are you making that up so I will like her more?”

He smiled. “It’s the truth. Pappi’s note didn’t reach me in time. It was Arianna that told me about that night.”

“Wait, what?”

“Is it so hard to imagine that? She went with him that night, but when she saw the Ancients, well, she slipped out the back and phoned me.”

“She did?”

“I promise you. Halfway to Tith, I flew into one of your Pappi’s guards and he confirmed it. She’s changed Elena, and she really feels crappy about that time she was supposed to teach you how to use magic.”

“I guess later is better than never, right?”

“Oh it is.”

Arianna’s laughter made both of us look and we saw Heico dip her.

“I bet King Caleb is not very happy about that.”

“He’ll come around.”

It didn’t surprise me that he wasn’t here tonight. Still, I would’ve loved to meet the Caleb my father once knew and treasured.

We danced one more song and then Blake took my hand and led me to one of the back doors.

“Where are we going?” I had a worried look about what he was planning now on my face. “Your father…”

“My father is having the time of his life.” He showed me a group of men having a hefty conversation and laughter burst out.

“I want to show you something.”

He opened another door and ran down the staircase to the lower level.

We were surrounded by exhibits. The dragons were on our left and he took me to the opposite side toward the Viden’s Book of Shadows.

“You want to show me my foretelling?”

“No, I’m taking you to see your mom.”

My heart fluttered as he said that. The first time I’d seen her, I was too shocked to actually look at her, and now, now I would know that she was the woman who had given birth to me, and that wanted me more than anything in this entire world.

We reached the candles and Blake took off his shoes. I bent my leg backward and took off my shoes one at a time as gracefully as I could, leaning against the wall.

When both were off, Blake lit two of the candles and then we walked into their chambers.

I sucked in breath as I saw them sitting on their thrones but it wasn’t just the two of them anymore.

Tears welled up my eyes as I looked at the third chair with a statue sitting next to Queen Catherine. She had blonde hair with a beautiful crown on her head.

A chuckle escaped my lips as I wiped my tears away as delicately as possible. “Is that supposed to be me?”

Blake laughed too. “Supposed to be, yes.” He wrapped his one arm around me and pulled me in for a sideways hug as we just stared at it. They must have done this while I was in Etan the first time. “I wish that this was the truth.”

“Elena, it still can be.”

“You know it can never be. She’s dead Blake.” I stared at my mother’s statue.

“I know.”

I took a deep breath and went over to their statues and sat down on the stairs right between my mother and father’s chairs.

“I really thought that I would mess up tonight.”

“I know you did, I could hear your heartbeat fluttering like a trapped bird in a cage.”

I looked at him and he walked over and hunched in front of me. “But I had faith that you wouldn’t mess anything up. You showed them who you are, and not what they want you to be. That was one of your mother’s traits.” He scrunched up his nose once, making me laugh again.

He touched my face softly and just stared at me for a few seconds.

“Close your eyes, Elena.” His voice was soft and I did it. I didn’t even ask what it was he wanted to do.

After a minute or so, images filled my mind. The point of view was as if I was lying on the floor. Everything around me was gigantic.

There was a red dragon’s tail close to me and at first I thought it was my own but when it moved and lifted up its head sleepily, I knew the tail didn’t belong to me.

The door opened and voices entered the room first.

It was Sir Robert followed by King Helmut and my father. He looked so handsome in a long sleeved shirt, rolled up underneath his elbow with a pair of cargo pants on.

My father looked down at us, and I froze as I saw the look on my father’s face. It was sad, yet kind and friendly with a dash of warning.

The image disappeared and the next image was in a garden. I was running around, playing with a Sun-Blast again. I growled and yelped when it plunged on top of me and pinned me to the floor. Then I would get the upper hand and run as fast as I could away.

I could feel a strong sense of annoyance inside of me and then a ghost of a figure appeared on a chair close to the lake.

I stopped as I realized it was my mother. She looked sick, so different from the interview I’d once seen of her through the Sonic. The light in her eyes was gone and then she finally looked at me.

I wanted to turn around and run away, but a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Come,” she said in Latin and I walked up to her.

She touched my face and it felt so good. The look in her eyes was soft, and then tears welled up as she just stared at me and then the light disappeared again.

“Go,” she said softly and I ran away.

Blake’s hand left my temple and I found myself back sitting in between my mother and father’s thrones.

“How did you do that?”

“A tenth Crown-Tail, remember? I just had to find how much power I need to put behind each ability.” He smiled.

“She was really that sad?” I asked as I remembered the look on my mother’s face. She was pale, even looked sick.

He nodded. “Everyone thought it was about Tanya leaving her, but knowing the truth now, it’s because of you. I know for a fact that if she knew that Goran was going to be the one that was going to betray them, she would’ve skinned him alive.”

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips.

“I’m so sorry that you will never meet your mom, Elena. She was a queen of so many hearts.”

“I gathered that much,” I said.

I gasped as I realized what it was he could do.

“What is it?”

“You can show me now what the Dent is.”

He started to laugh. “Sorry to burst your bubble Princess, but it doesn’t work that way. The Dent is like a binding contract. I can’t show you memories of what really happened with the Dent. I tried.”

“On who?”

“George.”

I laughed. “Seriously, then how on earth are you going to show me what the Dent is after our bond is fixed?”

“I can think about it, relive it, that is about it. The minute I tried to use it through one of my abilities, it comes out blank, or so George tells me.”

“Nothing?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“That sucks.”

Blake laughed. “You need to be patient, Elena.”

“I hate that word, patient.”

Blake got up and reached out his hand for mine. “There is something else I wanted to show you before my father comes and hunts us down.”

I laughed. “You think that he is ever going to trust you alone with me?”

“Not easily, but it’s a work in progress.”

I laughed again.

I touched his hand and he pulled me up softly.

When I reached the door I looked back at my mother and father’s figures sitting on the throne.

Till later.

We quickly put our shoes back on and walked down the hall we’d come in.

The hallways were darker than normal. We passed so many figures and portraits that were probably some of my ancestors.

We walked past Brian’s glass box. I really missed him. The way he always spoke in the third person. He was the first exhibit announcing the new era. Our time.

Blake led the way and we turned another corner into another room.

I gasped at the hulking statue of a dragon, his dragon form welcoming us, and looked down toward his leg. It was me.

“Told you they did a crappy job.”

I smiled as I touched the wing of the statue.

“Is this how they really see us?”

“I guess it’s how they want to see us.”

I looked at both figures again and so many things rushed through my mind. Things I didn’t want to think of as they belonged in the past.

My family or what my life could’ve been like, what it should’ve been like. Blake…this could’ve been something real, it could’ve been us if it wasn’t for Goran.

“He took so much away from me.” It hardly came out as my eyes welled up with tears.

Blake wrapped his arms around me. “Shhh, don’t think about it, Elena, it’s in the past and there is nothing any of us can do about it.”

I don’t know why, but his words made me upset.

“It’s so easy for you.” I raised my voice. “I lost everything Blake, because of him. And for some reason I feel that I’m the only one that is really upset about this. Can you even imagine what our lives would’ve been like?”

He took a deep breath.

“You can’t, can you? Well I can. None of this would’ve happened if they’d just killed him.”

“How, Elena? Nobody knew it was him.”

“They must have had some inkling.” I wiped away an angry tear. “Something that told them that he was up to no good. I mean if they were looking for someone that was going to betray them, they would’ve looked. Didn’t they want me?”

“Elena, stop!” Blake roared. “It’s in the past. Your mother was in a whole lot of misery during that time. She tried her best just to cope with her sadness. Your father tried everything to find who could betray them. He never told my dad about you, as even my father was a suspect. You can imagine how hard it was for both of them. They loved you. They just didn’t see the signs as much as we wanted them to see them.”

He hugged me again as I just cried. “Your mother and father wanted nothing more in this world than they wanted you.” He sighed. “And yes, I can imagine what it would’ve been like if you were always here, Elena. But I don’t want to as nobody wins a war with anger.”

I looked up at him.

He kissed me softly on the tip of my nose. “I wish one of those elevators could take us back to the past, I would take one with you even if they make me feel broken. But elevators like that don’t exist, not even in Paegeia. So you need to stop worrying about what if’s, Elena. They don’t exist.”

I nodded and wiped away my tears.

“We should concentrate on the task ahead and find a way to stay alive.”

I nodded again as he pulled me into his chest.

“I know how to surrender everything, Elena.”

I looked up and into his eyes, which still carried some black.

“Concentrate and want your fire.”

“Now?”

He put his finger over my lips. “Trust me. Do it.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

“Don’t concentrate on my pain, or what it would do, just concentrate on the fire, Elena.”

I cleared my mind. Thought back to the time when I was with him on that mountain, when he’d trained me to be Cara. Why hadn’t this hurt him back then? But I knew it was because we’d shared everything equally. That was it. We’d done this before, but only differently.

His words from that time spoke softly in my head. I imagined the fire dancing on my palm, toward my fingertips. It was hot at first and then it cooled down.

“Open your eyes, Elena,” Blake said and I did.

Our hands were in one another’s and it was engulfed in the pink flame. Both our hands.

I couldn’t stop staring at it.

A bright grin spread over his face, reaching his eyes. The smile I loved.

“How did you know?”

The fire disappeared.

“Pressure doesn’t help, I pressured you too much. Emotion is the key. I realized that when I practice with my gifts, in order to show you glimpses of your mother and father. And realized that a certain emotion that needs to come from me is the key.”

“What emotion?” I spoke softly.

He just stared at me with soft eyes, which made my insides crumble. “Love.” He smiled. “My love for you. It wants to protect you, see you smile.” He smiled as if he was hiding something. “And then there is the fact that we have already done this before.”

“We have? When?”

“The night when you told Duclin that you would do whatever was in your power to stop him from putting the others in quarantine.” He smiled. “The minute I realized that, was the minute I knew. We can do this already. No doubt, nothing. But the first was what unlocked all the others.”

I laughed and then I kissed him.

We’d done it already. Just like Becky and George. I wouldn’t hurt him anymore.

The kiss broke and he smiled at me. “We should really get going,” he said as he took my hand in his, leading us to the stairs and back to the function.

Everyone was about to leave and we miraculously found Master Longwei without him noticing that we were gone.

The ride back to the Academy was fast. I was feeling all sorts of emotions, as I couldn’t believe how easy it was to weld my fire while he was in his human form.

We’d done it!

But it also made me think again about what ifs. If I’d grown up here, things would’ve been so different. So different.

When we got out, Master Longwei greeted us.

“It was a beautiful function, well done.”

“Thank you, Master Longwei.”

He nodded and walked toward his office.

“You want to try it again?” Blake asked.

I nodded with a smile sprawled over my face and closed my eyes. This time it was easier and Blake only let out a chuckle.

I opened my eyes and my fire was dancing on my palm.

Soft snowflakes appeared in Blake’s palm and he then brought it over the fire in my hand and I watched as it miraculously started freezing the pink kiss in the most beautiful, abstract ice and fire figurine.

We both laughed as it just melted and vaporized into thin air. Leaving both our hands soaking wet and cold.

“Still need to work on that.” He chuckled.

“You’ll get there,” I said and he kissed me goodnight.

“Sweet dreams, Princess.” He spoke softly. “I hate saying goodbye to you.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling. See you tomorrow.”

He nodded and we parted ways.

Becky and Sammy were already getting undressed as I reached our room.

Raymond wasn’t outside our door and I knew George would come tonight again.

I smiled at both girls as I walked in and over to my closet. I took out my earrings and kicked off my shoes.

“So, where were you tonight?” Becky asked. “I noticed there were a few minutes without the two of you.”

I smiled. “He wanted to show me that wonderful statue of us together.”

I didn’t mention the other one.

Becky smiled. “They did a crappy job.”

I laughed as Sammy walked to the bathroom.

“So Raymond is gone?”

“You noticed that?”

“Yes, will George be joining us soon?”

“He’s coming as soon as that one is out.” She pointed to Sammy who was in the bathroom.

Getting to bed was easy. All of us were tired, but for some reason I couldn’t fall asleep.

I heard our window open and George climbing in. He was so soft.

I looked at the watch on my clock and saw the outline of Louie. Then it suddenly hit me. I hadn’t even mentioned him to Blake yet.

I SMILED LIKE an idiot. I had no clue how I was going to sneak out to tell him about my wonderful plant wearing deadly fruit, or about what I would say if Master Longwei caught me sneaking out. But for some reason nothing mattered anymore. I wanted to see him tonight, share the news with him as soon as I could.

I wasn’t even scared of being alone with him anymore.

He’d truly turned into a saint, back into the Blake Lucian had told me about so many times, the Blake Lucian had promised to save.

I got up and looked at my watch, it was after twelve and I smiled as I heard George’s soft snores coming from Becky’s bed.

I got up and put on my jeans and a long sleeved sweater. I wasn’t really good at sneaking around either, but I’d witnessed it from two great masters and thought I should be okay.

I’d just pretend to be sleepwalking or something if I get caught. Blake had told me once he’d used that excuse, although I didn’t have to ask when, I knew it was a long time ago, and he’d gotten away with it.

I walked on my toes and opened my bedroom door. Raymond was still missing. I walked fast down the steps. The lobby was deserted and I ran up the boys’ stairs, all the way past the elevator on the seventh floor and three more staircases to where Blake’s room was.

My heart was lodged inside my throat. It sounded silly now using the plant as an excuse, but I wanted to see him. I hated saying goodbye to him, just as much as he hated it.

I took a deep breath, held out my hand and knocked softly.

Blake

A KNOCK CAME from the door and a smile appeared on my face. I put the book about herbs down. I was still searching for that missing ingredient.

It felt like I was never going to find it, I thought as I went to the door.

I wonder who this could be?

I opened the door and my face fell. “Tabitha?”

She had a bottle of vodka in her hand and was wearing a long coat. She didn’t even say anything as she pushed her way into my room.

I sighed and closed the door. “What are you doing here?”

“You know what I’m doing here,” she slurred slightly.

Drunk.

“I told you this afternoon, I never want to see you again. I still can’t believe you used your brother like that. You lied to me, to get what?”

“What did you expect me to do? You are always with her, Blake. You hated Elena. You must know…” She walked over to me and wanted to touch my face. I slapped her hand away.

“I don’t hate her, but I’m starting to dislike you more and more.”

“I’m trying to help you, break this curse. It’s not love, Blake.”

“It’s not a curse. You lied to me, and don’t try to pin this on Elena.”

“I love you and I don’t give a shit about that freak.”

She’d angered me even more. “Do not call her that. Get out of my room.”

“I know you love me, and if I had more time…”

“I said get out, and I never loved you. There is a huge fucking difference between love and lust, Tabitha.”

She laughed. “That is what you are going with, lust?” She shook her head. “She’s clouded your mind. It’s not real, and you are too fucking stupid to see that.”

“Tabitha, leave, please.” I closed my eyes. That was my first mistake, and when I sensed her close to me, she was standing in her underwear. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“What? You used to want this so badly, Blake. Am I not beautiful anymore?”

“Yes, you are still beautiful, but I love Elena now, so please, just go.”

She sucked her lower lip and stared at me with those ice blue eyes of hers. “She couldn’t possibly give you what I can, remember how we used to…”

“Stop it, it’s over.”

Another knock came at the door and it felt as if my heart fell to my stomach. This cannot be happening.

I stared at the door.

“Expecting someone?”

“Just shush,” I whispered and went to open the door. My heart cringed as I found her with a small plant in her hands. I smiled softly. “What are you doing here?”

She gave me a smile. “Just let me in before someone catches me.”

“Elena, I can’t. Sorry.” I grinned like an idiot. What the hell was she doing here?

“Blake, it’s not funny,” she begged. “Just let me in, I don’t care what your room looks like.”

“I do. Go back to your room. I’ll see you in ten minutes.”

She squinted. “Okay,” she smiled and I could breathe again but then the fucking bitch cleared her throat.

Elena turned around as I closed my eyes. Why, is this always happening to me?

“Am I interrupting something, Blake?” she asked, the hurt in her voice was clear.

“It’s not what you think,” I spoke softly and Elena pushed herself into my room too.

She found Tabitha still standing in her underwear. “Hey,” Tabitha smiled.

Elena looked to the ground and huffed. She stared at me and I could see tears welling up in her eyes.

“It’s not what you think. Nothing happened. I swear.”

“Yeah, nothing happened, Blake, because I knocked on your fucking door.” She looked at Tabitha again. “Finding her brother?” she huffed.

“Elena please.”

“You two really deserve one another.” She turned around.

“No, Elena, wait.”

I rushed after her and pulled her back by the arm. “Don’t do this, please. I’m telling you the truth.”

She pulled her arm out of my grip. “Just, don’t Blake. Please.” She wiped away her tears and ran fast down the steps. I was ready to follow when she turned around. “And stay away from me. That is an order.”

Immediately an invisible force stopped me from going after her.

“Elena,” I whispered hard. I could still hear her feet running down the steps fast. She was crying softly and it pained me that I was responsible for putting her through this heartache, even though I hadn’t done anything. Thanks to my fucking past she will never believe me.

I hit the railing of the steps hard. It vibrated slightly as I tried to stifle a grunt. I tried to follow again, but the force pushed me back. It didn’t do this when I’d gone after her through the Creepers, why now?

Because her life wasn’t in danger. I knew it and the stupid order knew it.

I looked back at my door and walked with huge strides.

Tabitha still leaned against my couch. “She clearly doesn’t trust you that much if she doesn’t believe you.” A smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

I walked over to her and her smile grew. “Not what you think.”

I grabbed her arm and pulled her toward my window. “It’s over. What don’t you fucking get? I don’t fucking love you. Never ever come into my room again or I swear, I will kill you, Tabitha.”

I opened my window and chucked her out. She transformed the minute she went over the ledge and I closed my window again.

I picked up my Cammy.

“Elena Watkins.”

It didn’t even ring. The connection didn’t go through and I tried again.

Elena

THAT WAS SO fucking stupid. My heart felt as if someone had torn it into shreds. I struggled to breathe. I’d never felt this kind of pain before, not even on that mountain when he’d…I couldn’t even say it. It had never been over between them. I was the fucking stupid idiot who believed him. Seeing Tabitha in her Victoria’s Secret underwear looking like some sort of dessert made it worse. Nothing happened. Whatever, Blake. Fucking asshole. I’d given him my heart again but that was on me. I’d known I shouldn’t. I’d known this was going to happen sooner or later. How long had he been seeing her? How fucking long?

I barged through my door and ran into the bathroom. Once inside I burst out in tears. This hurt so much.

Lucian had had no choice when he left me. Blake had and he didn’t even care about the consequences.

A couple of minutes later, Becky walked into the bathroom.

“Elena,” she spoke in a sleepy voice. “What the hell happened?” She came over to me where I sat in the corner with Louie still in my hands, and just wrapped her arms around me. “Shhh, what happened?”

“Blake and Tabitha.” It was all I could say.

“No, Elena, he broke up with her.”

“She was in his room parading in her underwear, Becky. I’m not stupid.”

Her face fell. “What?”

“I was there, okay? He didn’t want me to go in, said he would see me in ten minutes and I thought, okay, maybe his room is a mess and I turned around to leave when she cleared her throat.” More tears flew over my cheek.

“Fucking bitch. I told you...”

“Don’t say it, please.”

She hugged me again while I cried. This dragon rider thing wasn’t going to work. It was doomed from the beginning. Why had he even bothered to make me fall for him? Just because he could? It was who he was, the Blake in my mind, who I’d gotten to know. Just like that, the Blake from tonight disappeared, and it hurt like hell.

He was still the same fucking Blake Leaf from a year ago.

Becky stayed until I told her I was fine. She needed her rest.

I struggled to sleep, but I promised myself that the idiot was never going to see me in tears over him again.

He didn’t deserve them. I felt disgusted by the lies he’d told me on that mountain too. He’d promised that he would rather die than betray my trust ever again, and he was lying right to my face. I knew for a fact he would be in that cafeteria the next day breathing.

I got dressed in a pair of jeans and T-shirt with sneakers and went down to breakfast, as if nothing had happened last night.

Blake didn’t exist anymore. He was a fucking asshole. How long had they been secretly seeing each other? I’d told Tabitha she could have him, and now she could. I didn’t even want his stupid dragon anymore.

I would save my father. Somehow I would find a way to work with him one more time and then I would let him go. I’d made up my mind. The Blake I’d come to love wasn’t real. He never was.

We walked into the cafeteria and found Dean and Sammy at one of the tables.

I held my head up high.

“Are you okay?” Sammy asked me and looked worried.

“Just perfect, why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“Elena,” she started.

“Don’t, Sammy. It was never going to work anyway.”

“Stop saying that. My brother is a mess this morning.”

“I really don’t care, Samantha,” I barked at her. I didn’t want to care. He felt guilty that he got caught. That was it.

“Just like that? You’re giving her what she wants.”

“No, I’m giving them what they want. Your brother isn’t an innocent victim in this, Sammy.”

“He said nothing happened. He was trying…”

“Just don’t. I really don’t want to know what he was trying to do, okay?”

“It’s not what you think.”

“Sammy, let it go,” Becky sounded pissed off too.

I walked to the buffet line and greeted Chef like I always did. There was no sign of the idiot or his slut.

I was beyond mad but pretended that it didn’t bother me.

“Elena,” George stood right next to me.

“I’m not interested in any explanation, George. It happened and that is that.”

“Nothing happened.”

“I’m not going to speak to you about this, so just let it go.”

“Elena, please. You can’t do this.”

“I can’t? I didn’t do anything. That was all his doing. Let it go, George,” I said, taking my tray and going to the table. I ate in silence and was surprised when George came over and had his breakfast too.

“Nothing happened,” he finally said and I looked at him with a scowl.

“She was in his room wearing underwear,” Becky said. “What was she doing there?”

“Becky, he would never do that to Elena. Why doesn’t anyone believe him?”

I started to laugh. “You are joking, right? I can give you a dozen reasons why.”

“It’s in his past, Elena. He is not that Blake anymore.”

I laughed again. Yeah, then where the hell is he? I didn’t say that, but I thought it. “Just let it go,” I said as I got up and put my tray and plate at the drop off zone.

THE ENTIRE DAY Blake and Tabitha were missing. All the professors asked about them, and Peter and I were the idiots left shrugging.

Seriously, the professors could’ve put two and two together.

In Aviant Blake showed up; he was in his dragon form.

He looked at me and I shook my head and walked away.

“Elena, please,” he said in his deep dragon voice. Not going to work this time, asshole, I know the Rubicon is you. I didn’t trust him either.

Still he didn’t follow, which was a surprise. It shouldn’t have been, though.

I wished that Constance was still here, but she was with Annie at David’s place. We had done so much together in the past couple of months. I didn’t want to think about all the good Blake and I had accomplished with the people of Etan that had come safely through to this side. It was all a lie, for what? I don’t know.

It broke my heart that it hadn’t been the real Blake.

The image of Blake and Tabitha on his bed, that time he hadn’t cared what he was doing back at their old house, kept finding its way into my mind.

He was a fucking asshole.

I spent the rest of the day in my room.

Becky entered before Sammy did and she was livid, yelling at George, and he didn’t follow with her.

“Fucking asshole!” she said.

“It’s not George’s fault, Becky.” I immediately realized why they were fighting this time.

“Yes, but he keeps standing up for the idiot. Saying that there is no way he would do that to you.”

“Just stop fighting with him about it. Stop talking about it. It’s not going to change how I feel, Becky.”

“I know. But he refuses to let it go, Elena.” She shook her head and fell onto her bed. “He keeps saying that he didn’t do it.”

“She was in his room. I don’t give a shit about the rest.”

“I know, she shouldn’t have been in his room to begin with.” She was on my side again. It felt great. “What were you doing there anyway?”

“Becky? If I hadn’t gone I would still be the idiot.”

“I know, Elena. But I was wondering about that a lot today. It’s not like you…”

“I found the missing ingredient and wanted to tell him about it.”

“You what?”

I nodded. “It’s that plant. He will bear berries soon and those berries are poisonous. .”

“I’m so sorry, Elena.” She came over to me and hugged me again.

“Why does this hurt so much?” I started crying again.

“Because you trusted him, and you loved the fucking bastard. I wish there was a spell to make us forget about all the good that they lure us into loving them with. An easy breakup potion or something.”

“Yeah, it would be a bestseller.”

She giggled. “I’m not even going to ask if you are okay. I know that answer.”

“I will be. I’ve been through worse.” I wiped away another stray tear. “It was really never going to work, anyway.”

“I don’t know, Elena. He really acted like he cared about you.”

“ I was fooled by that too. It’s not really him, Becky.”

“So what are you going to do? You still need him to free Etan, Elena.”

“I do, and after we’ve done it, I will let him go for real this time.”

She stroked my arm. “I’m so sorry that this happened to you. You of all people.”

“It’s okay. Just another mountain to climb.”

“This time, you have me. Sammy will come to her senses too, sooner or later. She fought with him in Aviant after you left. Professor Vladimir and Alex really struggled to calm her down.”

Blake stayed away from every class after that day in Aviant. After Samantha had spoken to him, she was like a vault of secrets and didn’t speak to me or try to tell me how nothing had happened between Blake and Tabitha.

A week had passed. I saw him a couple of times in the hallways, but to my surprise the idiot turned around and walked the other way.

Serves him right.

Still, it hurt that he didn’t really fight for me.

I truly had given him what he wanted.

Becky was upset too. At first I thought it was because of what Blake did, but the way she and George spoke to one another, it deserved an eye roll moment, not this again.

“Why are the two of you fighting again.”

“Because…” she shook her head.

“Because of what?”

She hovered. I could tell she didn’t really wanted to tell me, and with all the shit I withheld from her, I wasn’t going to push. “You know what, it’s fine. As long as it’s not because of what Blake had done, Becky.”

“What, no, and yes. It is something Blake wants to do, and George wants to be there for his friend.” She finger quote the last five words.

“Okay,” I laughed, still not having an idea what she was speaking off, but loved the finger quotes.

As we talked my eye caught a figure standing really close to our table.

“Just get away from our table, skank,” Becky chirped.

“No, I have to speak to Elena,” she barked back at Becky and I looked at Tabitha.

“There is nothing you possibly have to say to me, Tabitha. You got what you wanted, now leave me the hell alone,” I said getting up and walking to the entrance.

“You are wrong!” She yelled after me and I turned around. There were tears in her eyes. “I didn’t get what I wanted. He doesn’t even look at me anymore.”

“I’m sure if you unbutton your shirt and show some cleavage, you will change his mind. Oh, try that sexy underwear you wore the other night.” Everyone in the cafeteria was staring at us. “Stay away from me, really, and don’t speak to me ever again.”

I walked away and she didn’t follow. Was he really not speaking to her? Don’t even go there, Elena. She was in his room. It wasn’t just her fault, he’d let her in, and his reason behind that was what led to all of this.

The next day, George plunged down on a pillow next to us.

Becky didn’t even looked at him, pretend to read the monthly Teenz.

I kicked her softly from underneath the table and she looked up at me from underneath her thick eyelashes. Some girls were just blessed with everything.

I showed with my eyes that George was here, she should at least acknowledge him.

She just buried her nose inside her magazine again.

“Becky stop this?” George took her magazine away from her and she gaped at him. She folded her arms.

“I’m leaving soon.”

She huffed with a skew lower jaw. “You still going?”“”

“It’s a great opportunity Becks, so yes. I would love your consent, please.”

“My consent?”

“Where are you going?” I asked George.

“To the Dragon League.” He gave me a soft smile, well if one could call it a smile.”

“Go, see if I care. Hope you enjoy it.”

“Becky,” I said.

“No, Elena, it’s fine.” He dropped a letter in front of me. “It’s from Blake. We are leaving this afternoon.”

He got up and walked away with huge strides.

“This is why the two of you are not speaking to one another.” I sounded upset with her. She was seriously getting pathetic when it comes to her dragon.”

She shrugged.

“Becky, it’s stupid.”

“I don’t care. Maybe some distance between us is just what we need, Elena. To put some things back in perspective.”

“What perspective?”

She shrugged again.

“You guys don’t have shit. You have no idea how much I envy the two of you, always had it so easy the day you became his everything.”

She laughed at that.

“Just tell him you are happy for him and let him go to Dragon League. It’s a great honor for them, Becky.”

“Oh, it’s not the reason he wants to go, Elena. He actually feels that Blake needs him more in this time of need than what I do.”

I sighed. “Be the bigger girl, and let him go.”

BECKY WENT TO the main entrance to say goodbye at two. She was probably rubbing it in too, telling him how much he should enjoy it and whatnot..

I still hadn’t read Blake’s letter. I didn’t know if I should because I was sure that it had all the explanations in the world about what I’d walked into, and I knew they would be all lies.

I went to the roof and a part of me wanted to break when I saw George and Blake exiting the main building and walking toward the huge gate. Both were carrying a huge bag that looked unnatural.

Blake didn’t make a peep, but Becky and George spoke.

“You know this is stupid, right? What is it you are trying to prove anyway?” Becky asked.

“I’m not trying to prove anything. I love you Becks, but he really needs me.”

“Needs you, it’s his own fault, Love.”

“He didn’t do it, Becky. I just need you to believe me.”

“You were with me that night. How on earth do you know that he is innocent, George?”

“Because he Dented with Elena. He would rather die than betray her like that.”

“Well, he is still breathing, isn’t he?” She started sounding like herself again.

“Yes,” he chuckled. “Because he is innocent, Becky. You really have no idea what it is you girls have over us, do you?”

“George, just stay, you really don’t have to come with.”

Becky grunted as Blake spoke.

“No, I’m coming with,” George said, and give Becky a long kiss. “I promise, I’ll be as miserable as I can be” He joked.”

“Whatever.” She smiled at his retreating figure. “Enjoy boot camp,” she sang, and  both dragons disappeared.

When I looked into the distance I could see the outline of two dragons flying. They didn’t even look back.

Why didn’t he fight? If he was so innocent in all of this, why wasn’t he fighting harder? Or trying harder to make me see things.

I should probably be glad for that.

I opened his stupid letter and grunted at his terrible hand writing. But I could make out his e’s and a’s and o’s, and I assumed the rest would probably become easier with time.

My Dearest Elena, I wanted to puke.

Believe me, was the only thing I could make out and the question mark. It was probably why don’t you believe me and I stared at the first three words. It doesn’t look anything like Why don’t you… it was a waste of time. I couldn’t decipher anything and trying was only going to leave me with a slight headache.

I went back down to my room and chucked it into a drawer.

The next couple of weeks were not easy. We took our end of year exams and I couldn’t believe that another year had passed.

I tried to decipher a part of his letter each night.

It really was no use.

The only parts we could get was Why don’t you believe me,

Tabitha was drunk and she let herself in. How? Did she have a key? And if so, why hadn’t he asked her to give it back? Nothing made sense anymore.

The rest was still a work in process.

I left it there and couldn’t stop thinking about those first few sentences. He had ended it with a huge heart and forever yours, Blake, which didn’t sound anything like him.

A WEEK BEFORE summer vacation started, we were all called to the Coliseum. My eyes caught on Peter and Tabitha. He was still angry with her too. I knew how he felt.

“Is there a claiming today?” I asked Becky as we sat down.

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Then what are we doing here, and why is the press here?”

She shrugged. She missed George and had told me so many times, but she refused to be the first one to call him.

Master Longwei walked out into the arena with Professor Vladimir and Alex behind him. They were both wearing funny looking suits and they looked like they had just come from the feature. It reminded me of a special ops uniform, and was beautiful in a lethal sort of way.  Another guy that I didn’t know, wearing a pair of cargo trousers and a rolled up, long-sleeve button down shirt, exited last.

He looked familiar though, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen him before…I closed my eyes and tried to think.

An image of the lab where they had developed the Sonic jumped into my head. He’d been there too.

“Good day everyone,” Master Longwei greeted us all. “And no, Professor Vladimir isn’t going to claim Professor Alex,” everyone laughed. “We simply called everyone here for the press release of the SAS device.”

I looked at Becky and she shook her head.

“Mr. Dalton had been working on this project for a long time and is extremely happy with the release of the project. What better way to demonstrate this new device than at a place that teaches dragons and riders how to co-exist?”

I sucked in my lips as I thought about how ironic that part was and Becky giggled.

“So, I’m handing over the microphone to Mr. Dalton, the financier of this project to show us why all of us must buy the SAS device.”

He handed the microphone over and gave everyone a huge smile.

“Thank you, Master Longwei, for letting us demonstrate this amazing device at the place where the idea originally emerged. Pity he isn’t here today.”

“Who is he talking about?” I asked Becky.

“Don’t know,” Becky she replied.

“Now, I’ve asked Professors Vladimir and Alex to be my demonstrators, and they are wearing both the SAS device which is this beautiful uniform that can be custom made in any color you want.” Professor Alex and Vladimir turned around with their arms up in the air to show everyone what the suit looked like. It made a couple of us laugh again.

“This,” Mr. Dalton said again, and held up a piece of the fabric in his hand that the suits were made of, “was specially made from the dragon’s and rider’s own DNA.”

“Huh,” Both Becky and I said at the same time.

Dalton laughed. “You heard me correctly. Each suit has to be generated for each rider and dragon, so that they can match.” He started talking about the scientific processes they’d used to make the material which was extremely boring and way too advanced for me to grasp. I really wasn’t that smart with science, but we all listened. The geeks that understood each word cheered after he finished, in awe of what the man had just told them.

“So, in plain English, look what happens if I do this.” He wrapped the parchment around his hand and walked over to Alex. He touched the front of her suit and the material of Alex suit turned into silver goo. We all stared mesmerized at how the suit rippled on Alex’s body.

Mr. Dalton’s hand with the parchment disappeared into Alex suit.

“Be careful now, Mr. Dalton.” Professor Vladimir warned and the entire Coliseum started to laugh. He took his hand slowly away and the suit and parchment struggled to part. He had to yank it off and quickly the goo slapped back and transformed into Alex’s silver suit again.

“That is frawsome!” Becky applauded the loudest.

“That is super frawsome,” I said.

“Sufrawsome!” Sammy yelled and we laughed.

“That is only the first part of the demonstration. Professor Vladimir, if you please.”

Professor Vladimir walked closer to Alex, and Mr. Dalton nodded his head at Alex.

She transformed with the suit still on and the entire gel type liquid clung to her scaly body. It protected her torso, her legs, even ran up her neck and over her head, covering her entire face. Her tail was partially covered too. Everyone applauded and cheered again and camera flashes went off.

Professor Vladimir stepped closer and turned around to face us. He walked back until his suit connected with Alex’s liquid armor and half his torso up to his chest transformed into the gel too.

“Where do you want him, Alex?” Mr. Dalton asked and we all laughed as Professor Vladimir started to move toward her tail and then to the other side of her body.

“Alex,” Professor Vladimir scowled playfully and he appeared at once on her back but not facing her.

We all doubled over from laughter and then he slowly got turned around into the right position.

Another round applause engulfed the coliseum and when it quieted down Mr. Dalton cleared his throat.

“It’s time to press that second button,” he said to Professor Vladimir.

“This button?” he asked and Mr. Dalton nodded.

He must have pressed it because at once, the armor on Alex’s dragon body, and on Professor Vladimir’s as well, changed back into a solid special ops suit and Alex’s turned into a silver metal. She had a shield covering more than half of her body and was completely protected. Even her head had a beautiful shield covering her snout. It was simply the most amazing thing I’d ever seen.

Professor’s Vladimir’s legs were molded into Alex’s armor as if he was one with his dragon.

Mr. Dalton nodded at Alex again and she pretended to be a bull, trying to shake him off of her, but no matter how hard she tried Professor Vladimir didn’t move an inch. He even made cowboy sounds, which brought on more laughter, and then when everything was over, he pressed the button again and the process reversed back into the silver liquid and she safely moved him off to the ground. He struggled to get unattached from her and had to use force, but it finally happened and his suit transformed back to the special ops suit that he’d been wearing when we arrived. Professor Alex transformed back into her human form and her suit transformed back too.

We all got up and cheered. The applause didn’t die out for a long time.

“No more saddles to carry around. And what is amazing is they came in all sorts of colors. We even have a special design team that can make custom suits.” He told us where we could purchase it, took a bow and we all applauded again

We all started to make our way out of the Coliseum as Mr. Dalton answered some of the reporter’s questions with joy plastered on his face.

We had a free period after the demonstration, and none of us could stop talking about the SAS device. It was simply amazing.

It was something I really thought Blake and I needed for the last mission we would take on as Rider and Dragon.

He was really too huge to even consider making a saddle for and I was glad that there was someone like Mr. Dalton who had created something that would work for us.

“Elena Watkins, can you please come to the office?” Master Longwei’s voice said over the school system, knocking me out of my daydream and I grunted.

What does he want now?

I got up and went to his office. I knocked twice because I could hear voices coming from inside and waited for him to tell me to enter.

“Come in, Elena.” Master Longwei knew it was me and I opened the door. I found Mr. Dalton sitting in one of the seats in front of his desk and realized that he was much younger than what he’d looked from a distance.

“Princess,” he got up and took my hand softly in his and kissed it.

“Elena is fine.” I smiled back. “Those suits sure are something special,” I said and Mr. Dalton started to laugh and looked at Master Longwei.

Did I have something on my face?

“Funny you say that, I really thought Blake would’ve told you about that, because it was his idea.”

“Blake?”

They laughed again.

“He really has a brilliant head on those shoulders of his, Elena.”

“Well if he was the man behind that idea, I guess you’re right.” They laughed again.

“Here,” He picked up two parcels and put them on the table. The first suits we made. Yours is obviously adjustable, just use the Velcro. I hope you love it, Princess.”

“I’m sure I will,” I said again.

This sure was a surprise because Blake hadn’t mentioned anything.

“There is something else. He left this at the lab a few months back. I found it a couple of weeks ago, meant to give it to him when I saw him, but then he went and joined the Dragon League.”

I smiled. “He wanted to get in some last minute practice,” I lied.

“Can you make sure he gets it?” He handed me something, a book that was wrapped up in a soft, suede cloth.

“I will, promise,” I said and he nodded with a smile. “May I ask how old you are?”

He started to laugh again.

“I’m no dragon nor rider, not that special, and graduated a few years back from the University of Tith.”

“Wow, impressive.”

“I’m just the person that helped bring all the ingredients together.”

“If I may ask, what does SAS, stand for?”

He laughed again. “Safe and secure.”

I smiled. Now that sounded like Blake. It still hurt as I thought back to that time, which wasn’t so long ago. “Well, it’s going to be a bestseller. That I can promise.”

“Thank you so much, Princess. You need some help with the parcels? I hope you don’t mind me giving you Blake’s suit too. He was really looking forward to today but the guy is unreachable as usual.”

“Dragon League is good for him,” I joked again, pretending that it didn’t bother me that he was running away. “And no, I’m sure I can handle it.”

“Okay, well nice meeting you, princess.”

“Likewise. And good luck with all the orders. I’m sure they are streaming in as we speak.”

He handed me the parcels and I said goodbye.

They weren’t that heavy as I made my way back to the room. This was Blake’s idea? It was hard to imagine it and a part of me did miss him, but it wasn’t big enough to make me change my mind about how I felt about his betrayal. That Blake wasn’t real anyway.

The boxes were light, which told me that the suits weren’t heavy at all.

How did he even come up with this idea? I knew he’d told me once that he used to get A+, but to be smart and have great looks was just too good to be true. It was too good to be true, as he’d broken my heart for a second time.

I opened the door to my room and both pairs of eyes were on the parcels I carried in my arms. Becky took the top one and put it on my bed. I put Blake’s book, or whatever was in the suede parchment, and put it in my drawer.

“What is it?”

“It’s a suit, custom made for Blake and myself.”

“You got a suit?” Sammy asked with a huge grin on her face.

“Yes, and apparently this was your brother’s invention.”

“What?” both girls asked, shock lacing their tone.

“That’s what Mr. Dalton said, who by the way, graduated from the University of Tith a few years ago, so he isn’t that old at all.”

“My brother invented that?”

“Something like that.” I kept staring at the box.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Open it!” Becky practically shouted.

I opened the box and my smile disappeared immediately as the picture of Blake the size of a crow flapping next to the Saadedine entered my mind. I’d always wondered where he’d gotten the armor from the vision.

Now I knew.

Blake was wearing this suit.

BECKY AND SAMMY stared at me as I told them about the black armor Blake was wearing in the visions.

We all sat in silence as we stared at the suit.

Sammy picked up the lid and put it back on the box. There were tears in her eyes.

“Change the suit’s color.” Becky broke the silence.

“That is your answer?”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“I’m with Becky. Change the suit’s color. Make it the opposite and maybe, just maybe that foretelling won’t come true.”

“Sammy, please, don’t worry about that.”

She jumped up. “Don’t worry about that?! Elena, what is wrong with you? He is my brother, and you are one of my best friends.”

I got up too. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I wrapped my arms around her.”

I didn’t tell them about Louie and the poisonous berries he would hopefully carry soon, but I did phone Mr. Dalton. His card was on the box, and I made up some stupid excuse Becky told me to get the suit’s color changed to a pure white.

“Give me about four weeks. I’m sure something can be done.”

“Thank you, Mr. Dalton.”

“Call me Ralph, everyone else does.”

“Okay, have a great day, Ralph.”

The call was disconnected and I was glad that it had been sorted out. It didn’t sound like such a stupid idea. Maybe that prophecy wouldn’t come true. Maybe both of us could survive this.

I was really pissed off with Blake and did not want to see him, but I wasn’t so angry that I wanted him to die or me for that matter.

Sammy walked around with a dark cloud hanging over her head the entire day. She tried to phone her brother, but had no success. Her calls didn’t go through once.

He didn’t want to speak to anybody.

The days ticked by slowly and before we knew it, it was summer break again. In a couple of weeks I’d be turning nineteen.

I sighed at that thought. Just two more years and I’ll graduate and run an entire world, hopefully at my father’s side if all goes well.

I was looking forward meeting him—really meeting him and not just some hallucination like I’d experienced during my Ascending.

I also thought about Etienne a lot, and really didn’t know how I was going to keep hiding the truth from Lucille and Becky.

But I had promised I wouldn’t say a thing to them, and I wasn’t going to break any more promises. No matter how pissed off I was with Blake.

This summer wasn’t going to be a break for me either. I had a tight schedule that had been emailed to me from the Council about the campaign.

I had to do so many interviews, and was scared because once again, I had to do it all by myself.

Kevin had been emailing me once a week to find out when I was going to do an exclusive with him about my experience in Etan. I told him I’d schedule an interview with him on Just Kev on the last day of the campaign.

This entire campaign hung over me like a dark cloud. How does someone get people to give up their lives and fight? Getting people on board was one of Blake’s strengths.

I on the other hand, had no clue. Sir Robert was so busy with the Dragon League, I wasn’t going to bother him for pointers and the only person that I could think of who could help me out was Emanual.

I had no choice but to do this, to be strong, keep my head up high and speak without telling everyone that my father was alive.

We needed Areeth and I felt helpless without Blake’s advice. I knew more or less how my father had felt without Herbert, or Jako, who’d constantly given him his input.

I wasn’t going to spend time at the manor, I knew I should, but I still couldn’t sleep in my room. It was the place I’d thought I’d killed Blake. So for the first part of my summer, I would be staying with Lucille and Becky.

Gazing at my computer screen, I read through the schedule one last time before I printed it out.

Five radio interviews and six TV interviews. I was going to make an appearance three times in Elm, two times in Tith and two times in Areeth. The last day it was my exclusive on Just Kev. I dreaded that one.

Blake popped into my mind again. I still hadn’t deciphered his letter and my only option was to ask Sammy, who I assumed must know her own brother’s handwriting.

I didn’t want anyone to know what he’d put in there, but I wanted to read it.

A part of me also felt stupid now that I hadn’t heard him out. He was unreachable, but then again she had been semi-naked inside his room and there was absolutely no way he could justify that.

It was simple; I couldn’t give him what she did.

I did miss him terribly at times, but I was glad that it worked out the way it had, even though my trust and heart were both completely broken.

I would always end up being the one who got hurt in this relationship because Blake was just that kind of guy.

“You ready?” Becky asked me and I nodded.

I logged out of my account and picked up the printout of my schedule.

I picked up the bag I’d packed for vacation, and Louie who I’d been nurturing with everything I had to ensure he carried the berries I desperately needed, and followed her out of the library.

Sammy was still speaking to Dean in the lobby when we walked up. They were saying their goodbyes.

Once we reached her, Dean walked with us to the nearest empty carriage.

She was going to travel with us to Tith where Isabel would meet her at the port.

“Heard anything from Blake?” Becky asked as the carriage lifted off. She was looking at Sammy.

“Nope,” she simply said and kept on reading her magazine.

I sighed as the guilt crept up on me again. Why the heck hadn’t he fought more, made me see his side of things? He’d once again just given me what he thought I needed. This time, however, space away from him wasn’t what I needed. We needed to fight.

This was another nail in his guilty coffin. I mean what could you say to a girl who’d walked in on you and your girlfriend?

It didn’t mean anything.

His words from the Museum that night popped into my head. The way he’d spoken of his love, loving me, and wanting me to be happy. It hadn’t meant a thing to him.

Nope, this wasn’t my fault. It was his. He’d gotten caught. I wondered now if Phil hadn’t just been an excuse to be with her.

I didn’t trust anything anymore. Story of my life… The one creature I should trust completely was a constant seesaw ride of ups and downs.

Our bond was never going to be fixed, and I thought Blake had known it long before I had.

Becky bumped me slightly as we stopped and we climbed out of the carriage.

Lucille waited for us in a cab because this time we were going to take the elevator to Tith.

Reporters bombarded the three of us as we climbed out,  shouting out questions about the campaign.

I was thankful they hadn’t gotten wind of our breakup, but they did ask a lot of questions about why Blake was spending so much time with the Dragon League.

They kept asking me when he was going to come back and I smiled at them and answered it as best as I could without giving anything away.

He could rot at the Dragon League for all I cared.

Lucille and a couple of the other students’ fathers came to our rescue and we got into the cab that was waiting for us.

I hated all this attention and I knew now how Lucian had felt about being a royal. He’d hated it just as much as me.

Still he would’ve made a great ruler.

“Oh my, is it always like this?” Lucille had a surprised and overwhelmed look on her face.

“It gets worse every year.” Becky left her two-cent comment.

“How are you holding up, Elena?” Lucille turned in the front seat to look at me.

“I’m just peaches.”

She tapped my leg and I was sure that Becky had told her what had happened between Blake and me.

At the Port it was ten times worse. More reporters waited for us and this time there were no fathers to come to our rescue.

“What should we do?” Lucille had a worried tone in her voice, as she sat straight up, scanning the crowds.

“It’s fine. I will meet you at the private elevators.” I opened the door and gave them one of my biggest smiles.

“Princess!” they all yelled, and questions from everyone flew in the air.

I couldn’t make out one of them. I heard the campaign in a few questions, Blake’s name in another couple of questions. It was a mess.

The crowds were drowning me as I tried to get to the private elevator and so many cameras went off at once that I was temporarily blinded and I had no idea where I was going.

Just then, I heard a whoosh of wings and everyone looked up. My heart stammered slightly. I knew whom that flap belonged to.

I looked up and saw red scales. My heart literally felt as if it had fallen into my gut. Disappointment once again.

Emanual shifted into his human form, pulled a robe over his body and pushed through the crowd of reporters who were still trying to get my attention.

His hand finally reached my arm, and his body sort of shielded me away from the reporters as he led me through the crowd toward the private elevators. Once inside the port, the staff kept the reporters out and we walked as fast as we could to the private section.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, they’ve never acted like this before.”

“The freeing of Etan is like a new war, Elena. It’s all the tabloids have been talking about the past few months.”

“I don’t know if I can do this, Emanual.” I sounded petrified as we reached the doors of the private section.

The doorman opened the doors after welcoming me.

I still managed to give him a friendly smile, and say thank you as I entered.

I found Lucille, Becky and Sammy waiting by the bar.

“Are you okay?” Lucille ran up to me.

“I’m fine, it was a bit overpowering, but I’m fine.” I smiled. My heart was still pounding inside my chest.

“Can I steal Elena for a few minutes?” Emanual asked Lucille.

“Sure, we will just wait by the bar.” Lucille rubbed my arm and gave me a warm smile.

I followed him to one of the sofas.

“Elena, you can’t do this alone. You know you can always ask Blake to come back.”

“I can’t,” I said and closed my eyes. “I can’t pretend that everything is fine between us, Emanual. They will know and who will follow us then? This whole campaign will be wasted.” I sighed. “I just have to learn how to do this. I have no choice.” I pulled my hands through my hair and gave him a lopsided smile. “I mean, I’ve got to learn sometime, right?”

He nodded.

“Can you please do me a favor?”

“Sure, anything.” He had that ‘I would do anything for you smirk’ on his face.

“I just need a few pointers on what to say. I’ve never done anything like this. Can you help me with that?”

He smiled. “Give me a few days, okay?”

I smiled. “Thanks, Emanual. You are the best.”

We said goodbye and he stayed with us until my elevator door closed.

The ride to Tith was super fast, and once outside more reporters were waiting for us, but some of the staff helped Lucille get to her car.

Isabel was waiting too and greeted me with open arms. I could tell by the look on her face that she also knew what had happened. I hated that. Still, she didn’t mention Blake’s name or tell me that he would never betray me like that.

Once Lucille parked in front of the revolving doors of the port in Tith, the staff blocked off the reporters so we could get safely into the car.

We all let out a huge breath as she drove off.

“Elena, please tell me you will at least have someone with you when you go to all these places.”

“I’ll be with her mom.”

“Babe, I love you to bits and you are one hell of a Dragonian, but you are not elevating my fears here.”

Both of us laughed.

“I’ll phone Raymond and find out if he can chaperone me some more.”

“Good idea, sweetheart.”

THAT NIGHT, ROSA made us a lovely homecoming meal which Isabel and Sammy joined us for. Since Sir Robert started with the Dragon League, Isabel was all alone at home.

We said goodnight and I went up to my room to phone Raymond.

“Princess, what can I do for you?” He said with a huge smile.

“I need your assistance please. You think you can be my body guard for the next couple of weeks?”

He smiled. “Where is Blake, Elena?”

“Dragon League.”

He kept quiet for a few short minutes. “Send me your schedule and I’ll make sure that all the arrangements are made.”

“Thank you, Raymond. I just need a bodyguard. I have an entire campaign that is going to assist me.”

He smiled. “Got you.”

The connection broke and I went to my computer to email Raymond my schedule.

Becky and Sammy entered with a few knocks on the door and they both plunged down on my bed.

We started speaking about the campaign and I was happy that both of them were going to be there with me, every step of the way.

When it fell silent again the letter jumped into my mind.

“Sammy, can I ask you something?” I went over to my suitcase and took out Blake’s letter and handed it to her.

“What is this?”

“Just tell me what it says, please.”

She opened it and started reading. Her eyebrows knitted. “What are you doing with a letter from Tabitha?”

“Tabitha?” I grabbed the letter out of her hands.

“Yes, that’s her handwriting.”

“It’s not your brothers?”

She started to laugh. “Heck no, my brother actually has beautiful handwriting.”

I huffed as I looked down at the page where I saw the heart and Blake’s name. I shook my head. “She tried to make me believe it was from him.”

Sammy grabbed the letter back. “She what?”

“I’m such an idiot.” I shook my head. Why would Blake write me a letter? Another disappointment.

“You really thought it was from him?”

“Yes, I did, because it was the same handwriting that used to tell me where to meet him last year.”

“Yeah, my brother made her do all sorts of things for him back then.”

I gave her a broken smile. Disappointment was clearly evident on my face.

“I’m so sorry Elena. I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s not your fault, Sammy. I’ll find out why she did this.”

“All I know is my brother really doesn’t want anything to do with her anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter, the damage is already done and I really don’t think that we are going to get through this one.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I mean it Sammy. I don’t want to talk about this, okay. Thanks for clearing it up.”

She nodded.

Isabel’s voice yelled Sammy’s name from downstairs and she got up.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said and Becky walked out with her.

I went to take a shower and crawled immediately into bed.

I wished that sleep would just come, but it didn’t. I was really bummed out that Blake hadn’t written the letter. None of the words had come from him.

Did he seriously not care at all?

I GOT TABITHA’S number from Isabel the next day and asked her to meet me so we could talk.

To my surprise she accepted and we met in the coffee shop at the mall in Tith.

I was obviously in disguise, wearing my hoody over my head in such warm weather.

I waited for her for like fifteen minutes and really thought she wasn’t going to show when she finally plopped onto the chair opposite mine.

“Didn’t think you would phone me.” She had that bitchiness in her tone again.

“Then why did you come?”

“Because I know what this is about. It’s the letter, right?”

“Why did you make me believe that it was from him, Tabitha?”

She just looked at me, her eyes shifted to the table as they started to glisten.

“Don’t cry, please. You got what you want.”

“No, I didn’t okay. He didn’t do anything.”

“It doesn’t matter what you say to me, it’s over.”

“Then you are an idiot.”

“Excuse me?”

“Elena, I would do anything just to get him back.”

“And you did.”

“No, I don’t. He wants nothing to do with me. Told me if I ever did anything like that again he would kill me.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way.”

“No, he did. It was my Blake saying those words to me. I know you think the Dent is something wonderful Elena. I know it’s not. You used to believe that too, but none of that matters anymore ‘cause he is miserable without you.”

“Just don’t.” I started to get upset.

“Fine, you don’t want to believe me, then why the hell did you phone me.”

“I want to know why you did this.” I waved the letter in my hands.

“I was trying to make it up to him. Trying to right a wrong. My mistake. Not his. I wrote everything I did in that letter.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but your handwriting is terrible.”

“Yeah, well I guess I can’t be perfect at everything.”

I just looked at her, confused was an understatement.

If she was telling the truth then why had he left? Was it really to give me time away from him?

“Please just give him another chance. I’m really trying to make it work with Peter because I really hurt his feelings in the process.”

“Sorry?”

“I know it sounds stupid. I mean, Peter and me. But I am trying, Elena.”

I nodded. “I don’t think I can.”

She sighed. “You once told me that if it was a spell he would shake it off and come back to me. He’s not going to shake this spell, Elena, and he is never going to come back to me. He made that very clear. He honestly deserves another chance. I want him to be happy. And it’s clear that that happiness lies with you, not me.”

I wanted to say something again and she put her finger over my lips. “I don’t want to hear it. I made a huge mistake that night, and I’m sorry.”

She got up and left.

I sat for another twenty minutes just thinking about what she’d said.

It could be one of two things. That she really was the one who’d tried something, meaning Blake was telling me the truth. Or he’d got so upset about me catching them that he’d taken it out on her and she’d gone out of her way and had taken the blame.

I would never know which one it was and I would always have her in the back of my mind, wondering if he still saw her from time to time.

That was the thing with trust. Once it is broken, you can never get it back, ever.

BLAKE

MY FATHER WAS seriously a killing machine when it came to training these dragons.

For the past few weeks all we did were drills upon drills, day in and day out. Boot camp from hell.

It was good, a great distraction from what a mess my life was at the moment.

I never thought in a million years that I would hate Tabitha the way I did at this moment.

Elena would never believe me. Searching for her brother, which had been a complete scam too, just made it worse. She probably thought that I’d screwed her around every fucking bush.

But coming here helped.

I started with a team. George, Taylor, Megan, Rikus, and Emile. We were going to be each other’s team buddies for the next eight weeks.

We all started at the bottom. Shaping up, getting fit, something I didn’t really need, but my father pushed me the hardest. He pushed my team members the hardest.

Taylor was one of Emanual’s ops girls. She was a Night Villain, but there was something familiar about her that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. She was always flirting with me, always wanted to be near me.

She gave me the creeps.

Megan and Rikus sort of became best buds, which I thought would probably turn into buds with benefits later on, and I was right in only a few short days. Emile was more or less the same as George and I. Crying over a Sun-Blast he couldn’t have.

We were a group of dragons that would learn what it takes to protect and serve our riders. To become whatever they needed.

George and I were the only Dents in the entire league and we really didn’t need to learn that much.

We were going to get our flag soon and then the hunting was going to start. Now that was the part we were actually looking forward to.

At night, which was the hardest, we would both sulk like pups. He was thinking about Becky, missing her like crazy. While I was praying that Elena would forgive me, even if I hadn’t done anything. Well, I wasn’t that innocent. Tabitha should’ve never been in my room, and for that I was sorry.

“Blake, can you please come to the office?” My father’s voice filled the system.

I finished my meal and took the tray to the drop off.

My father was seriously seen as a god when it came to the Dragon League. I really had no idea how he was going to act once he found out that his rider was still alive.

I knocked on the door and waited until he told me to enter.

The command came and I went in. I found Emanual sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“Blake.”

I smiled softly and sat on the other one.

“You were right. They bombarded her at the port.”

“You got there in time?”

He nodded.

“You say anything about me to her?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Let me guess, she didn’t ask about me.”

“Sorry, Blake.”

I shook my head. “It’s okay.”

“Look, she is scared about this campaign but we all know she has the same stubborn streak as her mother, so she asked me to give her pointers. You think you can help out with that?”

“Of course.”

“Just tell her how to win over crowds and what to say, Blake.”

I smiled.

“Give me a day.”

“Okay.”

I got up, turned around and just before I opened the door I said, “Thanks, Emanual.”

“You are welcome.”

I exited. He hadn’t been happy with me when I told him what had happened but he believed that I wasn’t at fault after I told him everything. He hated that I’d given her space again. He didn’t think that it was the right move, said I should’ve stayed and fought this time and made her see my side of the story, but I knew her. Or I hoped I did.

I went to my room; the one I shared with all the guys from my team and grabbed a piece of paper.

I hoped that she wouldn’t know that it was from me. She would not do a thing on the list if she did.

I took a huge breath.

Bullet point number one. Never back down. Keep your chin up. You are the Princess of Paegeia.

Elena

EMANUAL CAME OVER around six with a file in his hands.

Oh my freak’n word. How many speeches was I going to have to learn?

Lucille allowed us to use her office.

“That was fast.” I sat down in front of Lucille’s desk.

He flashed me his perfect smile. “I’m a dragon of many talents, Elena. I could do this with my eyes closed.”

I laughed as he handed me the speeches for the radio.

“Radio is easy. Nobody can see you except the DJ who is going to basically give you free hand to speak. Now I based the questions and answers on all these guys’ personalities. Knowing more or less what they will ask you, and this is how you should answer them.”

He took me through all of the radio interviews. These terms made no sense to me at all. It all had to do with war and my head felt as if it was going to explode just by reading through them.

I smiled as I looked at the handwriting.

“What is it?” Emanual asked.

“You have a beautiful handwriting, Emanual. Very feminine. You sure you did this and not Queen Margerite?”

He laughed. “The queen knows a lot Elena, but I can promise you, war is not her department. And stop making fun of my hand writing. At least it’s readable.”

I wanted to laugh thinking immediately about Blake’s but realized it hadn’t been his.

Lucille entered with two cups of coffee and a plate of cookies, exiting immediately after she dropped them off.

We carried on with the TV interviews, which was my biggest fear. I was terrified of making a fool of myself, as all of them were streaming live. Meaning when you messed up, the entire nation saw it.

Blake would’ve been so much better at this than me.

Next were the briefings I would have in front of actual crowds.

This was nerve-wracking too, but the best part was that Emanual would be right behind me. That was a huge comfort.

The night flew by and around ten, we were finally done with all of the speeches and things I had to say.

“One more thing, and this is very important, Elena.”

I nodded.

“Never lose yourself. Work your own personality in through all of this.”

I smiled.

“That is the most important.”

“I see how people react to what is inside of you, just like at the fundraiser. Maggie said that she was going to get you involved in all of hers from now on.”

I laughed and shook my head.

“I’m serious. You reach people’s hearts. It was a trait of both your parents. They were amazing people, Elena.”

I remembered my mother’s words when she’d written about Emanual.

“She really liked you, my mother.”

“She did?”

I nodded with a smile. “She wrote about how you came to her rescue when one of the other dragons tried to pin her down.”

He flinched. “I forgot about that. She was so feisty. Beautiful too.”

I laughed.

“But your father owned her heart from the minute they met.”

“Yeah, a real fairy tale, one that didn’t work out so well for them.”

He cupped my cheek softly. “Don’t lose yourself in the past Elena. What if’s drive many people over the edge. We can’t change the past.”

I smiled and nodded.

“I’ve got to go, still plenty of things I have to take care of.”

We got up and I walked with him to the door. “Just go over them again, and you will do great with tomorrow’s interview.”

“Thank heavens it’s radio and not TV.”

He chuckled. “You know you can always call him if you need his help, Elena.”

“I told you before, I’m not that great of a pretender.”

“Okay. Good luck, Princess.”

“HA-HA.” I sounded sarcastic and he laughed as he ran down Lucille’s steps.

I watched him walking away.

“Creepy,” he turned around as he reached Lucille’s can-can fish lady. “But so Lucille.”

I laughed. “Goodnight, Emanual.”

“Good night.”

I closed the door and went back to my room. It was going to take a miracle for me to pull this campaign off!

THE FIRST TWO weeks flew by.

I had an entire team of people who organized the entire campaign.

Jenna was the main chick behind all of this.

She had a body any girl would kill for, with frizzy hair and the most beautiful chocolate brown skin that almost glowed in the sunlight. She was smart as hell too and one heck of a confidence booster.

She gave me so many tips on how to sit and where to place my hands if I wasn’t confident enough to speak with them.

It didn’t make much sense until I picked up on the way she talked. Her hands were everywhere. Confidence.

The first few days were nerve-wracking, but I read the words from the cards like a parrot every night and always remembered the first point on all of them. That I was the princess, I needed to never back down and keep my chin high.

Then we finally went to Areeth, which was a mess. I knew now that none of them were going to fight and I guessed that I had one man to thank for that: King Caleb.

Why was he so against me? He used to love my father and it was so hard not to blurt out that he was alive, but I couldn’t. For my father’s dragon’s sake, I couldn’t.

Thank heavens Emanual was right behind me. Although none of his words on the cards helped at all. These people wanted to see Blake with me. It was as if they could see what really was happening, knew the truth that we were so far beyond repair and my worst fears were coming true.

Once they started to shout out questions asking where Blake really was, it went downhill from there.

Then they started throwing rocks, and the first one hit me on my head. Emanual got me out of there as fast as he could and the second Areeth appearance was cancelled immediately.

Still it was everywhere in the papers. All of them were asking where the hell Blake was, like I said my worst fear. And the newspapers were plastered with pictures of me when the rock had hit me. I looked like a mess. A head wound was always a messy thing.

Areeth was an instant confidence breaker too. But I had to push forward, no matter how scared I was of all the other appearances. We needed all the people and dragons we could get.

Elm was this week.

Becky, Dean and Sammy were a great help when Emanual wasn’t there.

A part of me wanted Blake with me, especially after Areeth, but I wasn’t going to give King Caleb what he wanted. I told them the truth: My dragon was at Dragon League, and that is where he would stay. If he showed up now, they would know I was scared and couldn’t do anything without him. I knew a little about how the people were thinking, but I was still so upset with him. I was so confused whenever I thought about Blake now, and the worst part was that I would never know the truth.

As I was pondering this in my room, a knock came on the door and Lucille entered.

I’d been going through the notes for tomorrow’s interview, which was the first after the incident in Areeth. I was so nervous that the DJ, who would’ve been easy going before, was now going to bombard me with questions about Blake and our bond.

Lucille was carrying a peace offering, a cup of hot chocolate.

She put it on my night stand. “May I?” She gestured to the edge of my bed and I nodded.

I put the paper with Emanual’s notes next to me.

“Elena, you can’t do this alone.”

“I have no choice, Lucille.”

“You always have a choice.”

“Please I don’t want to talk about Blake.”

“Baby, you need to deal with this. He is your dragon. How are you going to free Etan if you can’t even be near him?”

Angry tears filled my eyes again. She was speaking the truth, but how did I just forgive and forget? Especially when I had no idea what the truth was.

“Areeth scared the living crap out of me, when that rock hit you and you fell, all sorts of things were going through my mind. It would never have happened if he was by your side.”

“They would’ve seen that something was wrong.”

“Elena, you could’ve sorted your differences out. Talk about what happened that night. What you walked in on. He is your Dent.”

“He is also the Rubicon. Which means that just maybe the Dent is different for him.”

She nodded. “I think it’s more powerful, sweetheart. Not weaker.”

“Then why did he run? Why didn’t he fight?”

“It’s not how they are built, Elena.”

“I don’t believe that. He fought with me when he was training me so hard to get me ready.”

“To protect you, yes, it’s a completely different thing.” She sighed. “I had this talk with Becky too when George frustrated her so much in the beginning. We will never know what it is they feel, Elena. All I know is that he would die for you, and anyone that is willing to die for another, deserves a chance to tell their side of the story, and for the other one to hear and listen with an open mind.”

She touched my face softly, winked and got up from the bed, and just like that she walked out of my room.

She made it sound so easy, but to forgive and forget for the greater good was not as easy as that. But she was right; I needed that arrogant ass at my side if I wanted to win this war.

How we could without Areeth’s help was a mystery.

I was secretly hoping for thousandths of dragons from the other side to return, but there weren’t many.

I remembered then Blake’s book that Mr. Dalton had given me to give to him. I’d brought it with me and opened the drawer.

It was just lying there, securely inside the suede parchment.

I took it out and opened it.

It wasn’t a book, it was a leather journal with his name burned into the leather. It had a beautiful silver dragon on top and I stroked the front.

I immediately opened it, only to realize it didn’t want to open.

No matter how hard I tried, the thing stayed shut.

There was no lock on it that I could tell, and there was no buckle keeping it shut. Then why the hell didn’t it want to open?

Magic jumped into my head, and I smiled as I realized it belonged to Blake. Of course he would take measures.

I put the parchment over it again and chucked it back into my drawer.

He didn’t want anyone to find out what was written on the pages and I knew I shouldn’t pry either.

I tried to fall asleep, which was hard because of that stupid journal. It was as if I’d found Pandora’s box, and it didn’t matter how many warning labels were written on there, I had to know what was inside of it.

I hated this so much, but I knew it was no use.

The next day, I was exhausted and I had my last radio interview.

Breakfast was served early since we had to leave for the morning show.

Lucille didn’t say a word and around five, Jenna and her team arrived.

We took the SUV to the radio station and met with DJ Blackwell who ran one of Paegeia’s biggest radio stations.

It started off great. He greeted me and we went through all the questions he would ask and then we were on air.

Everything was perfect until the first caller dialed in.

“I want to know where the hell is Blake? Why isn’t he doing this with you Princess? And why I would ask any of my sons to help and fight to free Etan when the Rubicon and his rider don’t even know how to lead?”

She sounded pissed off and to be honest I had nothing to tell her.

“I’m sorry you feel that way. I am telling the truth that Blake is…”

“I don’t want to hear it. He is one of the fiercest dragons and he doesn’t need Dragon League training. You have no idea who your father or mother was, and it’s a pity you will never. Now for them, I would fight myself. Give us a reason to follow you and we will.” She put down the phone.

“Okay that was a bit hefty, but all good questions, Princess,” DJ Blackwell said.

“Yes, just a pity that my dragon doesn’t have her confidence in himself.” I tried to make a joke and he laughed.

“Seriously, where is the big guy?”

“He is really at the Dragon League.”

“But if you need him, he will drop the Dragon League and come flying back?”

Lie Elena, just lie. “In a heartbeat,” I said.

He answered a few more calls, some were gentle, making up for all the nasty things that the tabloids said and speaking about who I was, whose blood flowed through my veins and that I was King Albert and Queen Catherine’s daughter and that alone should be enough reason for them to fight.

A couple of other callers were just as mad as the first caller though.

Finally the interview ended and I shook DJ Blackwell’s hand and thanked him for the opportunity once he announced where to go if anybody wanted to join this fight.

“Brilliant darling, brilliant,” Jenna said as I exited the cubical of the recording station.

“That woman was horrible.”

“Of course she was, but you handled it with poise and with your chin held high.”

I laughed at her accent, but she was really trying her best to rebuild my confidence that had been broken in Areeth.

“Tonight is the event for all the dragons that have come back from the other side. The number we hoped for is not there yet, but the authorities have told us that they are still trying to locate more dragons. So we need to be a little bit more patient, okay?”

“Did any of the people of Areeth signed on?”

“Let’s not worry about Areeth. That one we will leave for Blake to deal with. I doubt they will throw a stone at him.”

I sucked in my lips at the way she’d said it. When we exited, Raymond and his team were waiting for us to get safely back into the SUV. He looked so different wearing a black suit with one of those earpieces he used to communicate with all his team members.

Jenna dropped us off at the house.

“Get some rest. I will come back later with all your dresses. Tonight I want you on your best behavior. Refreshed and glowing. So I suggest go get some sleep.”

I nodded my head and the SUV drove off fast.

“I want you refreshed and glowing,” Becky mimicked Jenna and we all laughed.

“She’s not that bad. C’mon. She has been doing a brilliant job.”

“They pay her a lot of money to be brilliant, Elena.”

“Well, I like her, bad accent and all.”

“Let’s go and get some rest.” Becky did another impression of Jenna and we followed her laughing into her mom’s house.

TRUE TO HER word, Jenna came with beautiful cocktail dresses at four.

An entire makeup and hair team came with her and bombarded me.

Two hours of hair pulling and tucking, eyebrow tweaking and make up brushes in my face, turned me into a beautiful swan again wearing the whitest dress I’d ever seen.

I did not think it was a good idea, as I hated white. I never knew how to keep it clean which meant I wouldn’t be eating or drinking anything tonight.

We left at six and arrived at one of the most beautiful event halls in Tith.

The place was stunning and it looked as if guests should be witnessing a wedding instead of partying.

Arianna was there with Heico and his father.

I was introduced to so many dragons that had come from the other side, and even though the numbers didn’t wow Jenna, I was impressed.

The night went by slowly and if it hadn’t been for Becky and Sammy’s company I would’ve actually spoken to Arianna tonight.

I had to make another speech too, on behalf of Blake. It was hard but I tried to make it as sincere as possible. The funny part was that what Emanual had written would’ve been something I was sure Blake would’ve said. It sounded just like him, the jokes, everything.

Then the party started.

I begged Jenna to let me leave, but she was as stubborn as an ox and didn’t want to hear anything about it.

So Becky, Sammy and I hid in the corner, until Jenna found me and dragged me to another important dragon she needed me to get acquainted with.

I caught Emanual’s bald head and begged him with my eyes, which only made him smile as he carried on speaking to another dragon.

She pushed me right in front of a dragon with red hair, who reminded me so much of Brian. He wanted to know everything about Paegeia, what had changed, etc. I tried to fill him in on everything I knew, but eventually that dried up and once he discovered that I also came from the other side, the conversation changed to where I’d lived.

More dragons joined and Emanual’s voice was close by. He was speaking to a couple of gentlemen in the group next to me.

“Emanual, you came from the Dragon League right?”

He what?

“Yes, I go there from time to time.”

“Is it true that the Rubicon is there? We really wanted to meet him tonight. See what kind of man he grew into.”

Oh I can tell you in what kind of scumbag he grew into.

“Yes, he is actually doing extremely well, giving his father a run at his record.”

What record?

All of them laughed and it was hard to keep tabs on the conversation I was part of and the one that Emanual was having.

“Nobody’s ever broken Sir Robert’s record yet?”

“Nobody, but Blake’s team is extremely close to it.”

“Well, it’s not a fair fight with all those abilities of his.”

They laughed again as one of the men in my conversation was waiting for my answer.

“Excuse me,” I cleared my throat. “I must have missed what you asked, sorry.”

They all laughed.

“You look dead on your feet, Princess.”

I laughed. “How can you blame me with these killer heels?”

The men laughed again as I excused myself and went to the bar. I was thirsty as hell and didn’t care if I was wearing white. Maybe Jenna would freak out if I spilled on the dress and send us home. One could hope.

“Nice comeback, Elena.” Emanual’s made me jump.

“I don’t have the slightest idea what you are talking about.”

“If you want to know how he is doing, you can just ask me and I will tell you that he is seriously cut out for the Dragon League. His team is first in his class and with the way he plans his every move, he is going to be a great dragon one day. Definitely giving me a run for the title.”

I laughed. “So you are Paegeia’s best dragon?”

“Of course I am.”

“So he is doing well, I’m happy for him.”

“Only when he is busy, he is miserable as hell at night when he thinks no one is watching.”

“Whatever.”

“Elena, when is this going to stop?”

“Emanual, I like you, so please don’t try to change that. And I really didn’t need an update.”

I grabbed my drink and went back to the corner where Sammy and Becky were waiting.

“Just like that?”

“Conversation is over. Goodnight, Emanual.”

He laughed and went over to another group of dragons to join their conversation.

“What was that about?”

“Nothing,” I answered Becky.

I had to admit, I felt bad that George felt the need to prove a point as Becky was missing him like crazy. She didn’t even want to party without him, and had declined so many hands that wanted to dance with her.

It was sad to watch my friend not enjoy herself.

I knew she’d tried to phone him a couple of times but his phone was completely off. Her insecurities had even started again, which was seriously frustrating me because I just didn’t relate anymore.

Besides I knew George loved her, he would never ever leave her. It was different for them.

Finally, Jenna gave us the famous head nod that meant we were free to leave, after we said goodbye to a couple of important dragons. All of them were important in my eyes.

We just crashed in my room when Jenna dropped us off. I was so glad that this campaign was almost at its end.

I still had one more TV interview and Just Kev to do, and then I was free.

We fell asleep in our dresses and I slept like I hadn’t slept in a long time.

THE NEXT DAY the only thing I could think about was ways to open that stupid journal of Blake’s. All because of that stupid conversation I’d kept tabs on.

Why had I even been listening to it? And then Emanual just had to say that he was miserable. Whatever.

I was finally having a couple of Jenna free days, so we spent them beside the pool.

My mind was going crazy as I pretended to tan on one of the long deck chairs that were stationed next to Lucille’s pool.

I knew I should’ve never investigated what the book was about after Lucille talked to me about forgiving and forgetting.

The worst part was that I couldn’t even bring it with me to the pool as Sammy would know that it was her brothers.

Why do I even want to read it?

The day crept past slowly and after dinner I told everyone goodnight, that I was tired and needed my sleep.

“Elena, we need to speak about your birthday.”

“Later,” I grunted at Becky.

“Queen Margerite’s event coordinator needs to know.”

“Just as long as it’s not on the actual day. That day I want to spend with my loved ones.”

I slouched up the stairs. I hated my birthday. I couldn’t believe that I was almost nineteen.

I opened my door and locked it behind me.

I rushed over to my side stand and took out Blake’s journal again.

This was so wrong, but I couldn’t live like this anymore. I would just never tell him the truth. I’d lie and say that I had no idea what was written inside it when I returned it to him.

I tried all the spells I could think of.

None of them worked.

What would work? My mind was crazy with wanting to know what he’d written in it and then sealed it off with something that nobody could open but him.

And then I got it. The man had told me last night, his abilities.

What ability does Blake own that no other dragon has?

His pink fire.

I hesitated a little, knowing we could do it, and praying that he was in his dragon form. After all, it was called the Dragon League.

Still, a bit of pain might just make me feel better, and the best part was, I wouldn’t be there if he was withering in pain.

It could make him end up on my balcony, but then I could lie and tell him he was dreaming.

Screw it, I would only tell him that I was practicing. I closed my eyes and wished for the pink kiss.

My palm lit up faster than I thought.

Blake must be in his dragon form, and I stroked it gently over the book.

It jumped open and my heart was beating like crazy when I saw the first page.

The journal of Blake Leaf. The Rubicon.

I stared dumbly at the handwriting and grabbed my notes.

I read the first page of my notes and looked at the first page of Blake’s journal.

It was the same handwriting. Emanual had never written any of these notes. It had been Blake.

Anger rushed through me.

Emanual would always choose his side no matter what an ass Blake was.

I took a deep breath and pushed the thought that it was Blake who had helped me with this campaign to the back of my head.

I read his name again and I rolled my eyes at that last statement. Everyone knew that he was the Rubicon, he didn’t need to write it down. He was so egotistic.

I turned the page and realized immediately what this was.

It wasn’t a journal; it was filled with his poems. I kept turning the pages without reading them, came to the last one and then it stopped. It was just pages and pages of nothing. Pages that still needed to be filled with poems.

I went back to the beginning and start reading it.

Darkness coiled up deep inside

The monster inside no longer under the bed

He's always lived inside my head

Screaming and aching to be set free

The temptation so strong won’t let me be

A hope so light appear to shine

A bond so promising but yet not mine

Good and evil both I know

Which is friend and which is foe?

He must have been really fighting with his evil side. I read another.

Daylight descend into night,

The beast inside always fight.

Raging hate appear to shine,

Untold anger always mine.

Helpless stranger at wits’ end

Blood on my hands I couldn’t prevent.

Unexpected thrill stained by red

Soulless eyes, dark dirt bed.

Inside laughter fills my core.

My darkest demons consuming roar.

The hair on my skin crawled. Did he kill someone? And love it?

The next poem was even worse.

He spoke about killing again, another innocent and how the beast inside him rejoiced, he wanted more. The good inside him tried to reason and I knew it was his human form battling with his Dragon form.

He wrote there below, never again. No matter how hard it was to resist, he couldn’t take another life again.

Still it didn’t stop, he had poems after poems of how dark he was. How insane and deranged he was. He even wrote a poem about Tabitha, calling her his snow queen.

It angered me again.

I came upon a poem that was so dark, speaking about loins and fresh kills. It was another human, how old I didn’t know, and I closed the book and chucked it into the drawer again.

He was so evil. So dark. A psychopath and I had to be the one he Dented with.

I used to feel safe with Blake, but now, I was really scared and just wanted to stay as far as possible away from him.

I struggled to sleep, and couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d read.

I prayed that I wouldn’t dream about it, otherwise the idiot was going to know what I’d been reading

The next day I tried to get his poems out of my head, but I couldn’t.

Those poor people.

This was what he’d meant, that day on the mountain when he’d told me that he was scared about me discovering all the shit that he’d done and wanting nothing to do with him. It was this shit, him having a ball by killing people.

How on earth had I fallen for him? It was because of the package he came in.

He was really good at showing me kindness, but it wasn’t real. He was evil, and I should’ve never claimed him.

“Earth to Elena,” Becky finally said and I stopped thinking about everything.

I smiled at her as I put a fork of cold scrambled eggs into my mouth. Everyone was finished eating except me.

“What’s your answer?”

“Sorry,” I asked, not even hearing her question.

“Okay spit it out, what is up? First you went to bed like super early, locking your room. Now you are somewhere on cloud nine.”

“How do you know I locked my room?”

“Mom wanted to take you a cup of cocoa and the door was locked.”

“I just wanted some privacy,” I shook my head. “Can I please be excused?” I asked Lucille and she just looked at my plate with worry lines around her eyes. “You’ve hardly touched your food.”

“I’m not hungry. Sorry about last night.”

“It’s okay, go.” She smiled as I got up and left.

The entire morning the journal was haunting me again. I tried to draw, tried to not think about it. I even paced up and down in my room and when I couldn’t do it anymore I took his journal out again and used my pink kiss to open it.

I paged to the last poem I’d read and didn’t even finish it.

The next one, well it was a bit different. Really different.

Darkest days, dreary night

Seems all I do is fight

Endless days, against the world

Only darkness inside can behold

A feeling strong awakens me

The descendant's here, it cannot be

Hopes light ignites inside me

The rider is here to set me free

Soon to be a powerful dent

All my deeds would make amend

Dreary nights would no longer be

Until I saw the he is a she...

This was from the night I came to Dragonia Academy, or he’d written it the next day when he’d realized who I was and why my presence had woken him up. I read a couple after, they were poems about confusion and he’d lied to me about not wondering how they’d gotten me out. He’d asked that question so many times, over and over and it frustrated him as I could see the ink dented hard into the paper.

There were other notes written in-between. A number of a red head, and Phil. He kept writing in codes. Like what the hell is F.C. He needed it a lot too, and Phil was connected to it and another guy. Shit, what if F.C is it some type of drug? Did he do drugs?

Gosh, he was so messed up. How didn’t I know this?

I gasped at the next page. He used Irene and love in one sentence. My skin crawled. Did he and Irene? My mind went back to my first year in Dragonia Academy. He always went to see her, so many times. The night the dragons attacked us, he left with her that night. Never in a million years did I thought they were actually seeing each other. What about Tabitha? Did he even loved her at all, was she just a cover up or something.

That information hit me harder then I thought and I was disgusted with the both of them. Irene and Blake, she’s like three-hundred-years old. Ewe. Then again, Emanual was three-hundred-years old two and I almost…I couldn’t think about it.

I felt sick and needed to put the journal down again.

Blake was right. I so didn’t want anything to do with whoever the hell he was.

I knew absolutely nothing about this fucking asshole.

In the afternoon, I picked up his journal again after I went through all the things I’d gotten from him.

He really didn’t love Tabitha as much as I’d thought if he’d had an affair with the Viden.

She could lose her job over this.

I didn’t even want to think about it.

The next was another poem.

I am power and

I am might

I am flame and fury

I have no need for man nor beast

I am judge and jury

Dark winged thoughts

Spurn her allure

My malaise resisting cure

I strive against her summoning light

Seeking the comforting cloak
of night

Black velvet cognition
shrouds the call of her flame

Repels that in her

Which sings my name

The tides of my essence

Feel her pull

A fight between ocean
and shore

Alone I am unconquerable

But could there be
something more?

I am power and

I am might

An instrument of pain

I shall bow to no one

And none shall call me tame

But
oh! that light
and oh! that warmth
and oh! that silent song

Could there be

Between our worlds

A place where
we belong?

Something totally unexpected happened as I read this one. Tears actually filled my eyes. He’d tried to resist me, made it seem so easy too, but it wasn’t. He’d doubted it on a daily basis. Fought against it constantly. His words were so addictive and although his dark side scared the living crap out of me, I couldn’t stop reading his stupid journal.

I closed the book after I read two more poems and thought about them for a long, long time.

I’d thought keeping him from his darkness was hard, it wasn’t, he’d succumbed to it on numerous times. It was giving in to the light that was difficult.

THE NEXT DAY I promised myself I would appear normal again and went to Longbottoms with Becky and Sammy.

We stayed there the entire day, and talked about my upcoming birthday. Still, Blake’s journal and what he’d done haunted the back of my mind.

How could I have fallen for him? Even if that one poem was stuck in my head.

I knew my dragon was a poet, Professor Pheizer had told me that, and she was even on to him at that stage. Had she read his journal like she had with mine too, or had he given her another journal? A pretend one that didn’t have all the secrets this one did?

“So, Queen Margerite says that they are going to throw you a party before your big day and bring out the cake at twelve,” Becky explained

“At night?”

“It is your birthday, Elena. It’s her conditions if you don’t want a huge extravaganza on your day.”

“Fine,” I conceded.

“It will be held at the same place we held the Dragons’ function. I like that place. It will be perfect.”

“It’s going to be boring.”

“Why boring? I’m there.”

“You’ve not been yourself lately.”

“Well, I have my reasons.”

“Have you gotten through to him yet?”

“Nope.” She sulked again.

“I’m sure they are somewhere where there is no signal.”

I remembered what Emanual told me. If Blake was miserable, George would be too.

“Okay, what else?”

“She said no fancy dresses.”

“Finally!” I yelled manically.

Becky and Sammy laughed then Sammy got up. “Need to meet Dean at the coffee shop. See you girls later.”

“Bye,” I said while Becky sulked some more.

I smiled. I wanted to tell her so badly about his journal, but didn’t. I knew she would just want to read it too and then all his secrets would come out.

I still couldn’t believe that he’d had a thing for Irene. It explained a lot, like why he’d always talked so highly of her.

“So what do you want to do on your birthday?”

“I don’t know. Maybe just spend it at Longbottoms.”

“Fine.”

“What? I like Longbottoms.”

“I know you do, you own half the place.”

I laughed. It wasn’t half, but it was pretty close.

WE LEFT AROUND four and I couldn’t wait to read the journal again. I had to sit through a spa day with the girls, and when nine o’clock finally came, I said goodnight and went to my room.

I closed my door and locked it again.

I opened Blake’s journal and carried on where I’d stopped yesterday.

I could more or less make sense of where he was in his life now.

Most of them were about me, about him resisting me as his rider. He’d mentioned it so many times and he’d put voice to the feelings he’d had after a while. He’d even written a poem about saving me that time. He’d thought his one chance was gone, how it made him feel, and then when he’d realized I would live, he’d kicked himself in the butt again.

Why had he saved me?

Then there was this one. It was when he came back from that beating, it was about Paul.

Betrayal and Consequences was what he’d called it.

A dark pleasure so grand
comes when they fall into my plan.

I wickedly lie, smile, and deceive
not a word of truth from me leaves.

I see a stranger roam the halls
gain their trust and more they fall.

Evil laughter echoes within
my Dark Side is pleased with the chaos and din.

My one true friend that remains,
as clouds of disaster starts to rain,

Leaves on a dangerous quest…

and until he wins, will not rest.

He wants to find a way to ‘save the world’,
tame the dark, and have the light unfurl.

I know the truth, I know ‘the way’.

I keep quiet. I don’t want to be saved.

I revel in the knowledge that I’m succeeding,
then the stranger makes his move and I’m reeling.

At first I feel glee, no one will catch on to my plan,
but she’s in danger…no, I won’t save the woman.

From within a spark bursts forth, I must go.

She might die, I really don’t know.

Silence.  The world is still.

My friend is dead…the greatest man I knew.

I’m at the funeral, my girlfriend’s bruised.

If I were good I wouldn’t hurt those I claim to love,

If I’d been honest life right now wouldn’t be so tough.

If I had been honest, if I’d been good,
my friend would be alive…I know he would.

‘She’ would’ve conquered me…the one true heir.

I’m not good, but is this fate fair?

With her new form, fire and wings,
is she really the future queen?

No matter what, I betrayed my greatest friend.

I’m confused, I need his advice, but because I exist, he’s dead

Tears rolled over my cheeks and I chucked his book away from me. He’d really known all of this, even though he’d told me he hadn’t. It still hurt knowing that Lucian died because he was so dishonest. He was right to fear what would happen when I found out about all the shit he had done.

He’d tried harder after that, I knew he had, even though he didn’t want to help me, not before I changed into Cara, but he was selfish and only thought about himself.

I didn’t care anymore if it was a Rubicon thing, he was a fucking idiot.

Lucian and Brian were dead, while he knew the truth. He wanted to kill me too. How can anyone love someone if they wanted him or her dead at a stage?

I didn’t read any more of his poems after that one. I told myself I wouldn’t.

I would free him after we freed Etan, and then I hoped he would just disappear and I would never see him again.

He was really scaring me so much.

My birthday party was in a few days and I had another interview with some host who tried her best to talk about what had happened to me, but I just shook my head.

Jenna didn’t like it that much as she really liked this host and she said that I might have just killed this campaign by not co-operating. She has the numbers in views and blah, blah, blah.

Then she and Becky quarreled.

I was so over it.

Besides, I’d told Kevin he could get the exclusive and really didn’t care about this one. She was so fake. Just wanted the numbers and whatnot.

That night I had the urge to read more of Blake’s poems. Why I couldn’t just leave his journal alone was beyond me.

I opened his book again and paged past until I found the last poem I’d read.

Hope is gone
she’s not the heir.

So why is it
that I care?

She’s a Rubicon
ah, I see.

She’s meant to kill
and defeat me.

I train her
and peace calms my soul

She’s kind and incredible

I come to know.

She wins my heart,
but I won’t tell.

The darkness whispers
we can’t be together, though I fell.

I tell her the mission
she’s to kill me and save the land.

She’s mad and angry
she says…she loves me.  Am I in quicksand?

We’re not for each other,

I must let her see.

I say hateful words
that I don’t mean.

I’ve damaged her spirit, the one I’ve come to adore,
darkness swallows me whole, I know no more

And then he’d written this….

His words were speaking to my soul. No wonder his music was so good. He was truly a poet, described things in ways I would never understand, but this, this made sense. All of them did. I knew he’d lied but reading the words of what had truly happened while he’d trained me that time, made me furious again. He’d fallen for me then, but because of me turning into Cara, throwing everyone and himself off, he didn’t trust it. And because of the darkness he’d slipped into, he didn’t feel anything when he woke after that.

So what if I was a Rubicon? I kept him from turning dark. Even though it wouldn’t have lasted but it should’ve given him hope and he still ran away from it like usual.

I huffed as I realized that he was one of the most complicated creatures I’d ever met. He was like layers of good and evil all mixed into one, just like an onion that was starting to rot.

How can someone trust that, really trust all of it?

It scared me still that he was like this, but I’d found my new addiction—his poems.

Whether they were dark or not, it was addictive.

Never Breath was a poem too, and so was Forever Last. Both great hits in Paegeia. They’d reached number one on the charts. It was a pity that the rest of the world wouldn’t hear The Shifters. Stupid band name.

I read a couple more, it changed drastically as the last one was one he’d written after he’d stepped over the edge and they had to sedate him. They were all dark again.

They weren’t kind either. It was before he came back, why he was so mean.

Darkness roams, controlling me

There's a love that cannot be

Truth has come, opening all

It won’t last, I’ve lost my soul

Freedom be mine, rider no more

Human girl, pathetic door

Veil of darkness covers me

I don’t want to can’t you see?

Evil, darkness, I’ve embraced

Forever mine, loneliness laced

He’d truly hated me. He’d never wanted this. I closed the book and put it back into the drawer. Wondering again why he had kissed me then.

I grunted. I was staring to rhyme myself from reading poems upon poems, and I wasn’t even a poet. Yet, he’d told me why he’d kissed me. It was so Blake. He hadn’t fallen for me; he just couldn’t hear my thoughts anymore. Had he even been speaking the truth up on that mountain that day?

I don’t know. All I knew was that I should’ve never trusted anything he said, this, this was who he was. These were the words of his soul, his dragon’s soul. It came from his heart. His dragon’s heart. This, I should trust this.

I should’ve never read his journal again and hoped and prayed that it would stay that way. I grunted again and made myself fall asleep.

I FORCED MYSELF not to read his journal for two days and it was working. I was weaning myself from his words.

It was the day of Queen Margerite’s function for my birthday.

A part of me was actually looking forward to it, as Becky said we should just get snotters, aka horribly drunk. Sammy of course didn’t like this one bit, as there would be many cameras.

I didn’t care anymore. The campaign was a huge failure. The numbers were not near where they should be and I don’t have what it would take to get people to fight for this cause.

We were going to party straight through, celebrate, get drunk and blow out candles at the stroke of midnight, and then party more until we passed out.

Becky really missed George, she was depressed, but today she was excited. A part of me even wondered if she hadn’t gotten a hold of George. She was really looking forward to tonight.

We took ages to get ready, but we all looked the part in our designer jeans and leather jackets.

I wore boots without heels. My feet needed a break from all Jenna’s wardrobe choices.

The function started at seven, I didn’t do many interviews. I was just happy that it was my function and thanked everyone that had thrown this party for me.

We posed for many pictures—ones that were worthy of the front page.

I’m sure after tonight they would get just what they were looking for.

Everyone was there.

Even Arianna and Heico. They looked over the moon in love and I wished I were a fly on King Caleb’s wall at night just to hear him bitch and moan about how Heico wasn’t good enough for his princess. I had to admit, I was starting to like her more and more, giving her old man all the hell he deserved.

Emanual and Raymond came too.

I didn’t want to speak to him tonight. He was on Team Blake through and through. I hated that so much.

Queen Margerite gave the nicest speech and I received so many birthday presents I thought it must be Christmas.

It wasn’t so bad.

Becky kept bringing the shooters.

I kept drinking them.

Then Cheng showed up. I’d really missed him so much.

We all partied the night through.

At twelve it was a miracle that I was still aware of what was going on around me.

I blew out the candles and danced.

Everyone danced with me.

Emanual, Raymond, Cheng, Dean, Raymond, Cheng, Cheng and Emanual.

When the song was over I went to the bar.

Emanual followed me like a puppy.

“You enjoying your birthday?”

“Yes, I am. Thank you.”

“I’m glad that you are letting yourself have fun, Elena.”

I shrugged.

“Sir Robert is getting antsy.”

“About what?”

“Blake is about to break his record, he’s trying all sorts of tactics. He was begging me to speak to you tonight.”

“To do what?”

“To help him so Blake doesn’t break his record.”

“Wrong girl, Emanual.” I hated where this conversation was heading.

“Elena, you need to forgive him. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Oh and how do you know? Were you there?”

“No, I believe Blake. He said you did walk in on something awkward that he was trying to deal with, get out of his room actually ‘cause she was extremely drunk, but you didn’t give him the time to explain.”

“No, because he ran away, like always.”

“He didn’t run away, Elena.”

“Then why didn’t he fight with me?”

He smiled. “I told him that he should’ve stayed and fought, but how could he when you ordered him to leave you alone?”

“I never ordered him…wait, what?”

Emanual laughed. “Maybe not what you meant at that precise moment Elena, but your words bound him to stay away from you. It hurt every time he tried to get close to you. He didn’t run. He couldn’t come near you.”

“I hate you. Why did you tell me this?” I yelled at him. “You are ruining everything!”

“Elena!” Emanual yelled after me as I ran out of the function without Becky and Sammy. She could get drunk without me.

I had said those words. I’d ordered him to stay away from me. I remembered that now so clearly.

It’s why he left, because of what I said. Something I said I would never do.

I took a cab back to Lucille’s and thanked the heavens I had a key. I opened the door without waking Rosa and stumbled to my room.

I wanted to cry.

I was so stupid. Not because I wanted to believe him, but because of Emanual. He always found ways to make me feel so small, so stupid.

I picked up Blake’s journal again and paged to the last poem I read.

The next poem was dedicated to Lucian.

Tears already welled up. I knew he’d struggled with his death, he still did.

Lucian my dear friend

This is by no means the end

I will see you again one day

I still feel you here in a way

You never gave up on me

Even when I told you to let me be

A lot has happened since you've been gone

I'm sorry I couldn't save you, I was wrong.

Selfish, ignorant, aggressive sure

But you were not like that, you're so pure

So today I promise you, making a vow

I'll do what’s right, some way, somehow

I'll try to make everything again all right

I won't give into darkness, I'm keeping the fight

I'm making you proud until I see you again

With your guiding spirit that will always remain

I cried like an idiot as his words were just so sad. Even though this poem felt totally in the wrong place, I had an idea where he was in space. Stop rhyming Elena.

I blew out some air. It explained why he was so deranged that day when he told me that he was going to fight, but he hadn’t written this with the other poems he’d written from that time. Why was it here, in this stage? It didn’t make any sense and I turned the page around. I read a couple of other poems.

Searching, seeking, sacred soul,

She has gone, leaving a hole

Fire burns within my heart.

I need you now, I’ve come apart.

You are now the best of me.

Please come back and you will see.

Lovers’ quarrel never last.

I’ll bring you back

It’s my forecast.

Searching, seeking, until I’m done.

Never resting until I’ve won.

I read a couple more. It was all melting my heart. He was so different here, and it must’ve been after he woke up and I was gone. I should’ve stopped reading these poems, as I knew what they were going to do. But I couldn’t. I kept reading them.

All of them were about how my leaving made him feel. How he never gave up that there was another dark one. How he would tear souls apart for ever doing that to me.

It scared me again, but this time it wasn’t directed at me, it was at Billy and Seymour. I really felt so sorry for them when he finally found those assholes.

The poems that followed were all sad. About how I ignored him and they made me cry again.

He wasn’t showing this to me, he was always somewhere in the background though, spying on me, making sure I was okay, that I was safe and secure. No wonder he called his creation that.

Even though I didn’t want him near me, he didn’t care, in a small creepy kind of way. It was all here, his words, coming from his heart.

Then I found the two last poems. One of them was dedicated to me, directly.

Love, come be still

Within my arms of lovers will

I need you more than you'll ever know

The light in me is sure to grow

I need you now,

I'll make things right

For your presence I’m sure to fight

You keep my dark demons at bay

Your purity, your innocence makes me stay

Oh my love, come be still

I'll keep you safe, always have, always will.

I couldn’t read anymore. I shouldn’t, I took a deep breath. It was already way too late. I knew nothing happened that night Tabitha was there, and I was doing this to him all over again. He was going to grow tired of this shit soon and then what? I would lose my poet with words that made not just old ladies cry, but young ones too. I should apologize to him, but how? I hadn’t spoken to him in almost eight weeks.

Not once.

I sniffed and read the last poem. I kept reading the words over and over. My entire body just succumbed with this poem.

Was this about what I thought it was? The Denting process….

What did his words meant? I knew what he was saying, but it must be symbolic, as none of this was making any sense whatsoever and he confirmed it still in the next line.

I closed his book as it was the last poem and just thought about those two lines for a long time.

It took me back to that day he couldn’t get a hold of me. It was after we freed the first ten from Etan.

He said that if he told me what the Dent means, I would have the same life I had with Jako. I didn’t know what he meant then, but now thinking about it, it made sense.

He knew. But how?

And then something inside of me just happened. It was hard to explain. There was no more doubt. Nothing.

It’s not a spell, he’d told me this over and over again.

I took a huge breath and let it out fast…tears still welled up in my eyes.

It didn’t matter anymore. I knew what I was going to do. I’d always known it the minute I carried on reading all his poems.

I missed him so much now.

I didn’t care anymore and I fell asleep with the book cradled in my arms.

Emanual and Tabitha were right. I was a stupid, stupid idiot. No more.

WHEN I WORK up I couldn’t stop thinking about his poems and I didn’t want to part with them, but I knew I had to. I had no choice.

I could always ask him to write more poems, just for me.

It sounded like a Shakespeare story in the making, although Shakespeare did love his tragedies. Ours could still end in a tragedy.

I sighed. Who could’ve known that a poetry book could do that to someone?

I had breakfast and then I tried to phone Blake. My heart cringed, as there wasn’t even a ring tone.

So I phoned Sir Robert.

“Happy Birthday, Princess,” he spoke as his holograph appeared. He was sitting in some sort of an office.

“Thank you, Sir Robert. Is Blake there?”

He smiled. “No, but he is going to break my record in the next twenty four hours.”

I laughed. “I heard. I still don’t know what record you are talking about.”

“The one that I’ve held for more than a hundred years.”

“Let me guess, that is not good?”

“Not at all. I’m the leader of the Dragon League, what would it look like if my own son broke my record on his first try?”

“He is the Rubicon.”

“Still, not a good thing for me, Elena.”

“I’m sure you will find a way.”

“I won’t. Emanual knows exactly where he is but wouldn’t tell me. He says it’s payback time.”

I laughed. “What do you mean, knows where he is?” He wasn’t with his father at all.

“It’s called the hunt. You should come and have a look, Elena. Maybe today, then he will not break my record.”

“You sure about that?”

“Oh, Blake only has one weakness. And if that weakness was near, he would give everything up.”

My face glowed as he said that. “That is bad form.”

“I’m a desperate man, Princess.” He grinned. “So what do you say? Are you up for some fun?”

Seeing Blake tonight, telling him sorry face to face and….I smiled as I realized Sir Robert was still waiting for my answer.

“Okay, what do you want me to do?”

I PHONED EMANUAL.

“Elena,” he sighed. “I’m sorry about…”

“Can you take us to the Dragon League please?”

He squinted and then grinned like an idiot.  “Let me guess, Sir Robert phoned to wish you a happy birthday and now it’s payback time.”

I laughed. “No, I called him ‘cause I couldn’t get a hold of Blake.”

He frowned. “Don’t tell me I got through to you last night?”

“Something like that,” I lied. “Besides he is still my dragon.”

“True.”

“So, are you going to take me or not?”

“Why do you want to go?” Emanual asked.

“It has nothing to do with you whatsoever,” I said and smiled at him.

“Oh, it does if it means you are going to fight with him more.”

“I’m done fighting, okay? I know he didn’t do it. I was an idiot. So please, I’m begging you. I really want to see him, preferably today.”

He pulled his mouth and just stared at me.

I tried to ignore it. “Are you going to take us or do I need to get directions from Sir Robert?”

“Nope, I’ll meet you at the palace in half an hour. I was just about to go there myself. I’m errand boy.” I laughed and the connection was broken.

I went downstairs. I knew Becky was dying to see George and she would definitely come with.

“Hey,” I popped me head around the corner of the living room and found her on the couch reading a magazine.

She looked up. “So what are we going to do today on your birthday?”

“How about we go to the Dragon League?” He eyes rose and she jumped up.

“Are you serious?”

I nodded. “But it means that tonight is not going to happen at Longbottoms.”

“I don’t give a shit. I’ve waited for this for like forever.” She ran up the stairs while yelling at her mom that we were not going to be here tonight, but will be back in time for that stupid interview with Just Kev tomorrow.

I went to my room and phoned Sammy. She was just as excited because she’d wanted to check out what the Dragon League was all about. She said that she and Dean would meet us at the palace in twenty minutes.

Becky was giddy, she’d gotten her spark back and wanted to phone George but he was also disconnected completely.

“Why can’t I get through to him?” She sulked.

“It’s called the hunt. I have no idea what it’s all about,” I explained as we said goodbye to Lucille and climbed into my car.

The drive to the palace wasn’t a long one.

“The hunt. What are they actually hunting something?”

“I don’t know Becky, I’m sure Emanual will be able to tell us more.”

“I missed his ass so much. You think he is still upset with me? Wait, I know I shouldn’t be asking this, but yesterday you were still so upset with Blake.”

I smiled. “I’m not anymore, okay.”

“He cheated on you, Elena.”

“He didn’t Becky,” I spoke softly.

“How do you know?”

“Because…” I took a deep sigh and grunted. “You are going to think badly of me.”

She just gave me her raised eyebrow.

“Don’t tell Sammy, please.”

“Spit it out.”

“Mr. Dalton didn’t just give me my suit that day, he also gave me Blake’s journal that he’d left there.”

“What?” Becky sat up straight and stared at me. “His journal, the one he’s always writing in?”

I nodded.

“Do you know how he searched for that? He panicked like crazy.”

“Why? Nobody can open it.”

“They can’t?”

I pulled my face, “Well, almost nobody.”

“You opened it?”

“I know, I shouldn’t have, but yes, I found a way and no I’m not telling you what is inside. Well I’ll tell you about one thing.”

She just stared at me.

“He wrote something that I think is about the Dent. It still doesn’t make sense, but it’s not a spell, I think.”

“What is it, did he say what happens?”

“Shield can be penetrated, Becks.”

“Okay, fine. Told you it wasn’t a stupid spell.”

She lay back in her chair, contentment on her face. “It’s real.”

WE FOUND EMANUAL with Sammy and Dean already waiting for us.

We climbed into the famous Range Rover and Emanual took us to the Dragon League. It was about a three-hour drive from the palace, and stationed in front of a huge forest. What was new?

The Creepers had destroyed half of the forest so these dragons were really playing on Death’s doorstep.

“So what is this hunt about?” Becky asked and Emanual laughed from behind the steering wheel.

“Elena, if you want to see Blake tonight, there is only one way to do it.”

“How?”

“By going after his team’s flag.”

“His flag, what flag?”

“Oh, the Dragon League training is all about strategy and teamwork. One team gets a flag. They have to guard that flag with everything they’ve got. If one of the other teams claims your team’s flag, you have to retreat to home base, wait two days and try again.”

“So what, they like camp out while protecting a flag?” It sounded so stupid.

“Yes, they are supposed to hunt and find fresh water, all of those things.”

I laughed as I realized what he meant by errand boy. “You take them supplies, don’t you?”

“Only Blake’s team. It’s about time someone broke his father’s record, but now that you are here, I doubt that is going to happen.”

I smiled as I looked out the window.

“Sounds like fun,” Becky said.

“Blake’s team has been in the woods for the past six weeks.”

“What?” both Becky and I said.

“Oh, they are on a mean streak.”

I laughed. “How is he doing?”

“Really good. Loves every minute of the Dragon League, George and him, they are naturals. Found the other teams flags in record time too. It helps if you have a Moon-Bolt on your team.”

Becky glowed with pride as he said that. “But they are like two sulking pups when they don’t do anything,” Emanual said and we both smiled at each other.

“Well, he’s my sulking pup,” Becky said and I laughed softly.

“So, is he forgiven?”

“Yes, he is forgiven. Are you going to help me find his flag?”

He gasped. “What kind of a dragon you think I am?”

“The kind that is true to his word. What were they again? Oh you will always be my princess, Elena.”

Everyone in the SUV laughed, even Dean. Emanual grinned at me in the rearview mirror.

“You really said that?” Dean asked, from the passenger seat.

Emanual’s smile disappeared. “Shut up.”

All of us couldn’t help but crack up. It was a really good trip. “Fine, I’ll tell you were it is, but you are going to have to work for it.” He looked at me though his rearview mirror again. “You are just like your father. He got Sir Robert’s flag the day he set the record.”

“That is why he knows this will work?”

“Yip.”

We finally reached the base. It was a farmhouse and had an entire boot camp obstacle course a couple of yards away from it. Teams were busy training.

“See, I told you it was sort of a boot camp.” Becky left her two-cent comment.

“This is how everyone starts out. Two weeks of drilling and then you get your team, and off you go.”

“I’m not doing that.” I said flatly and the entire SUV was engulfed in laughter again.

“Princesses have their perks.”

“And friends of princesses have their perks too.” Becky left her two scent comments.

Emanual parked the SUV.

Sir Robert smiled as we all climbed out, and gave me a tight hug. “I’m so glad that you are here.” He sounded happy.

“That is not fair, Sir Robert.”

“Sir Bower, I am a strategist, one that will not surrender easy.”

He laughed.

“Sir Bower?” I teased Emanual.

“You didn’t know my surname, Elena?” He teased and I laughed again.

“You are Emanual to me. Why doesn’t anybody address you as Sir Bower?”

“Because I asked them not to.”

Another guy in an army uniform rushed to Sir Robert while troops were being drilled through each obstacle of the boot camp. It was crazy to think that George and Blake had to do this too.

I put my baseball cap on, feeling the vibe coming through. The guy shook Emanual’s hand and smiled.

“Recruiting more deputies, I see.”

“Not at all,” Emanual answered.

“This is the team that is going to bring back the Rubicon.” Sir Robert had a lot of confidence in me, which was scary.

The guy squinted as he looked at us and found his eyes on me. He laughed as I looked back.

“Sir Robert, bad form.”

“I don’t care. That boy is not going to break my record.”

They all laughed.

“Welcome to the Dragon League, Princess.”

I bowed my head and followed Sir Robert into the house and to the first door on the left, which he had turned into a huge office, with a 3-D map of the forest in a glass case.

Sir Robert spoke first, explaining that this entire case was the key to where everything was. Blake and his team were stationed somewhere. He sent Emanual an evil glare, and looked back at the map. Our duty was to find them and retrieve the flag before oh-six-hundred hour tomorrow morning. That was our mission.

As for where the flag was, well, Blake kept it with him at all times, but Emanual grinned which told me it wasn’t the truth.

“Why a flag?” I asked. “I mean, it’s just a flag.”

Sir Robert and Emanual looked at me the same time.

“It’s not just a flag, and the only two dragons that will guard it with their lives are the two that are part of a Dent.”

Emanual laughed.

“Why?” Becky asked too.

“Because that flag represents something really important to them.”

“Like what?” Becky asked again.

“Well, in George’s case it’s a little lightning wielder that scares me to death sometimes,” He looked at Becky and we started to laugh. “And in Blake’s case, a certain stubborn royal.”

“So the flag represents us?” She asked and he nodded.

“And now you are sending us after it?” I asked and Sir Robert smiled. “You are brilliant,” I said as I kept staring at the fine detail of the forest that was inside the case.

“So now the number one question is,” I said. “How the hell do we get Elena out of his hands?”

I WASN’T WRONG when I said Emanual was hiding something and it turned out that the flag in Blake’s hand was nothing but a stick. He’d used persuasion on all of the other teams to make them think it was the flag, and had hid the one in a cave nearby, filled with booby traps. The reason Emanual knew all of this was because he’d helped Blake and his team to build the traps.

He’d been interfering so much without even Sir Robert knowing about it.

He’d also take them food, booze and snacks on a weekly basis. He made sure they had a royal life so that Blake could break his father’s team’s record. And here I was, helping Sir Robert. I felt so bad, but so good at the same time.

“No, you have to take Oliver with.”

“Why, Elena?”

“To take Blake’s teams’ place. I heard what you said. My team is not going to hunt. We are not dragons, well, Sammy is but not for tonight.”

“Thanks Elena. Makes me feel super special betraying my kind.”

I scrunched up my nose at her.

“A strategist already.” Emanual stared at me.

“I’m not. I’m just saying it is not the game I’m playing.”

“It’s not a game.”

“Oh camping out, drinking and what, screwing with people’s minds making them see a stick as a flag, is not a game?”

Emanual laughed.

“The cave is dangerous Elena.”

“So? I need a bit of danger in my life, the kind that doesn’t kill me.”

He raised his eyes.

“That dangerous?”

“Well you can get seriously hurt.”

“Well then I know how serious Blake is about his flag.”

“So it’s like a test.” He huffed. “Damn, Robert is smart.”

We all laughed again.

“Okay,” he said and started telling us about all the traps. We had to memorize it. It sounded dangerous as he spoke about swinging logs that were hoisted high into the cave. We wouldn’t die if we fell off, but we would break at least half of the bones in our bodies. There were hidden obstacles as well, which reminded me of the Sacred Cavern.

I was going to relive that again?

Last was a podium. There was nothing major guarding it and access to the flag was easy, but the leap was a tough one, not impossible though. Something I just had to do.

“Oh, my word this is so exciting!” Becky shrieked. I hadn’t seen her this excited the past two months.

“Still I don’t see why Oliver’s team has to come with.” Emanual voiced. “Blake might not let you catch the flag and then they’d have to stay.”

“Because precisely that.” I said. “He doesn’t know we are coming and if you are going to spill it, Oliver will tell me and then Blake and his team will have to forfeit.”

“Forfeit?”

“I’m the princess. I’m sure I have a say in this too, as it turns out that the Dragon League is actually mine.”

Emanual laughed again. “Actually your family’s, but since you are the only one alive, you are so right again, Elena.”

I felt guilty again. My father was still alive too. “Don’t you just hate that?”

“Very much.”

WE TOLD SIR Robert the plan and he loved every second of it. We had to get Oliver and his team in too, but they were ready to go back in tonight.

They loved it just as much as Sir Robert and couldn’t say thanks enough that they are actually going to witness The Big Guy—as everyone called him—and “that Tracker”, see their asses. Payback was such a sweet thing.

Then Sir Robert had to say that. “On one condition.”

“What?” I sounded surprised. He needed me.

“I know Blake, Elena. He will not give you the flag without a fight.”

I’d fought enough with him.

“If, by any chance he is going to win…”

“He won’t,” I said.

“If,” he said. “You have to come back with Oliver’s team. You and Becky.”

Emanual laughed again. “You are really good.”

I didn’t get it.

WE LEFT AROUND ten and walked for nearly an hour through tall grass.

“Remember, when I show you the sign, you all wield your shields, otherwise you can all forget about it.”

The four of us nodded, even Dean. They were going to stand guard at the entrance in case Blake’s team caught onto our brilliant plan

We walked in silence and I couldn’t stop smiling. I was going to see Blake again. I missed him more than I could put into words, so I recited some of his poems. I couldn’t believe I was going to part with his journal tonight. I loved that journal and the poems in it—even the dark ones. It was who he was, every inch of him and I didn’t care that he’d killed people. He had been dark then and hadn’t had a choice.

He’d had to do what he had to do, to hang on.

I always knew there was something about Irene and why I didn’t like her. She’d lured him in with her blue eyes and beautiful black hair.

None of that mattered anymore.

I was going to see him tonight.

Then Emanual showed us the sign.

BLAKE

WE SAT AROUND the fire. I hated this feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was Elena’s nineteenth birthday and I was here. I didn’t spend any of the important days with her, because I couldn’t find her, and now, I was not with her on her birthday as she’d refused to believe that I had nothing to do with that night.

Every time I closed my eyes I saw the hurt, the shock, and the betrayal.

How could she even think that?

I would never do that to her, and yet she did. Because of who I used to be.

Sleeping with girls just to soothe my needs, or because Tabitha was too far was so stupid back then. I’d been a mess then.

I knew that one day it was going to bite me in the ass.

Now, George was paying for it too. Sort of.

At least it was his choice, to make a point that I hadn’t done that to Elena. To get Becky on our side would help but I knew it was hopeless to begin with. Still, he refused to give up.

We sulked like two pups today, missing home—missing our girls. Even if she didn’t want to be my girl anymore, she would always be my girl. I would never love another, ever again.

We drank a bit today. Emanual was going to bring new stock tomorrow for next week. My father still didn’t know about him bringing us supplies. It was good to have an old dragon on our side that knew war, how to blend in and how to sneak around.

It was sort of a payback to my father for finding him two hours before he could break my father’s team record so many years ago.

The girls were planning something big today. We’d both tuned in. Elena was happy, or that was what her emotions told me. She was excited about something and it was about tonight, her party.

George stayed in tune a bit longer. It wasn’t as strong as my connection with Elena, but he could sense Becky’s excitement too, which only made him sulk more. So we drank.

George was a good friend, almost a second Lucian.

He’d come with me to the Dragon League.

We were on a roll and in less than ten hours I was going to break my father’s record.

Nobody knew were our flag was. I was showing them a stick and making them believe it was the flag. Persuasion was really one of the coolest abilities I owned. The real one was in a cave. Far away from dangerous claws or hands.

George sighed as he stared at the embers too; the rest of the group was talking softly to one another. I found Taylor’s eyes on me. She smiled as I looked at her. There was seriously something up with that chick. I just couldn’t pinpoint what it was. It made my skin/scales crawl.

I shook it off, I would find out what it was eventually. I lay back into my chair.

I gazed at the sky, it was beautiful. The moon was bright, no clouds, nothing but a million stars in the sky.

I wished that I could just fly to wherever she was having her party and beg her for her forgiveness, even if it was for something I hadn’t done. But yes, she’d said those words and nothing could break them. It had to come from her. She needed to forgive me.

“Urgh,” George grunted and I chuckled.

“Dude, let it go.”

“I don’t like this giddy feeling. I miss her.”

“Then go back home. You don’t need to punish yourself like this man.”

“No, I said I’ll be here, and I’m no quitter.” He took another sip of his beer.

He was one of the best damn trackers our era had ever seen. He’d found the other groups in record time and found a way to hide ours. He’d found me in the darkness. He was going to be one hell of a Moon-Bolt.

Both George and I jumped when we heard twigs and leaves crush under footsteps. Someone had just walked into our shield. The smell of strong fire and roasted oak filled my mind. It was a Sun-Blast.

“Emanual is here,” Emile sang.

It was still a couple of miles away, but we heard and smelled him.

“Someone is close. Another group?” Taylor got up.

“Relax, they are far from the flag,” I spoke back and smiled as I heard a steady, confident heartbeat. Why was he already here? He was only supposed to come later, after her party.

“It’s just Emanual.”

“What is he doing here with other people, Blake?”

I only got what she said as more heartbeats closed in on us. I got their scents. It was Oliver’s team. Their two days were up.

“Taylor, relax please. The flag isn’t close by.” I mouthed that last part of my sentence and George took a sip of his beer next to me. He was like an injured deer without Becky. Still, I knew how he felt. It wasn’t easy for dragons to be so far from our riders. But he was adamant to make his point.

A couple of minutes later Emanual made it out of the forest and into our small camp. Without supplies. The entire team’s faces fell.

“What are you doing here, I thought by now you would’ve been drunk?” I didn’t look at him.

Emanual chuckled. “Drunk?”

“Elena’s party, I’m sure she’s having one.”

“Oh, no that was last night.” He came to sit down and Oliver’s team followed him a few seconds later.

“How did Oliver find us Emanual?” I teased him.

“They bumped into me along the way. I looked suspicious with the cooler.” They dropped the cooler bag as one my group members went to see what was inside.

He dropped off papers that featured Elena’s interviews from the past couple of days. I would read them later tonight when the pain grew unbearable. I hated what had happened to her in Areeth and wanted to skin Caleb alive.

“You getting old?” I joked.

“Easy,” he joked and laughed.

“So what, they got her birthday wrong again?” I didn’t like how they kept getting it wrong.

“Nope, they had a huge cake around twelve.” He chuckled and I smiled. “She will forgive you, Blake.”

“I don’t know, Emanual. She doesn’t even want me to explain that I had nothing to do with it.”

“She will, eventually.” He had that knowing smile on his face and I squinted at him again. Had he spoken to her last night?

“What the hell did you say?”

“Nothing, just that she is being stubborn, which is the truth.”

I huffed. “I hope that is all you said to her last night.”

He laughed again and rested back into the camp chair he’d stolen from Rikus when he’d gotten up to get a new drink.

I stared at Oliver again. “Oliver, what are you guys doing here?”

“Getting your flag.” He kept staring at my hand.

Emanual and I both laughed.

“Not going to happen, dude,” I said and threw him the stick, which he caught but then I switch off my persuasion and loved the way his face changed.

“A stick, seriously?”

Emanual and I laughed again as Rikus handed me a new beer, and Emanual one too.

“Your father is really getting nervous, Blake.” Emanual desperately tried to hide his grin as he opened the beer and took a big gulp that almost finished half of it.

“Oh, I really don’t care,” I said and took a gulp too.

“We’ll see, he has pretty amazing tactics,” Oliver said. He’d tried to find our flag for the past month, and instead we’d taken his, time and time again, forcing them to go home, rest two days and try again. He seriously hated my guts.

“Tactics. None of them will make me part with that flag.”

“It represents too much.” Emanual simply stated.

“You Dents take everything way too seriously,” Oliver said.

“As it should be,” George chirped.

I chuckled.

It fell silent again. Oliver was really sure of himself, but his entire team was here, after I’d showed him that our flag was nothing but a stick. He hadn’t gotten up and told his team to look for it. It couldn’t be the beer. They had beer and could drink as much as they wanted.

I looked at Emanual. They weren’t acting like a team who was desperately trying to find our flag. They were making themselves comfortable around our fire, not searching like a team would.

Emanual didn’t even look at me.

“What are you not telling me?”

Emanual raised his eyebrow slightly. “Nothing.”

There was something, otherwise he would’ve said I don’t know what you mean, or talking about.

Suddenly, George gasped and I looked at him. He was tuned in again.

“What?”

He smiled. Like someone who’d just found their favorite toy again. Becky. “You were right about the planning Blake, but wrong about what they were planning.” He looked at Oliver. “Sir Robert’s tactic,” he looked at Emanual. “Bringing them here.”

“Ah, man.” One of his other team members sang.

Emanual just laughed. “Dents, what can I say?”

It felt as if life poured back into my soul. That was why he was so sure about Elena forgiving me. “She’s after my flag?” I asked him, and couldn’t help the huge grin. “And you told her were it was, didn’t you.”

He roared with laughter. “I serve the Princess, Blake until the day my King is ready.”

“Idiot.”

At once all of us got up and went straight for the cave we’d fixed with booby traps. Now I was worried that she might get hurt.

The run was hard. George and I were a couple of paces in front, with Taylor right behind us. She sure was one fast girl.

We found Dean and Sammy at the cave’s entrance and Sammy let out a huge shrilling sound and then she laughed her hyena laugh. I changed direction and ran past them through the trees. I could hear Becky and Elena already inside, working as a team.

George had gotten new life back in his bones, and leaped for the upper wall of the entrance. He pushed himself up, but I chose one down the path while Rikus and Meg stayed to distract Sammy and Dean. If I knew Taylor, she was already inside with George.

I entered the cave, nearest to the flag. I could hear Becky screaming with laughter. George had reached her.

“Elena, go for it!” She yelled, and I moved swiftly through the small cave sideways.

I was finally inside and found Taylor close to Elena. She was wearing all black, tight pants that clung to her legs and a grey long sleeve shirt, with a matching vest.

She ran hard and then Taylor swung the log with Elena on it. What the hell was she doing?

Elena kept her balance and to my surprise kept running forward even though it was spinning.

She leaped for the next log and I was glad when she caught the railing, hoisted herself over and carried on running.

Move you idiot. I said and ran forward to the front, through another passage that blocked my view of Elena.

The chains rattled again. Taylor was on Elena’s log once more. She was going to do the same thing she’d done the last time. I didn’t like it. Taylor really took winning extremely seriously. To such an extent that she didn’t care whom she had to hurt to win. Well, I did.

I exited the sideways passage.

One of the logs Taylor was on, swung around and around, and Elena had just leapt for the podium.

She caught it just in time, almost giving me a heart attack and pulled herself up. Then she sprinted towards the flag.

“Blake!” Taylor yelled.

A grin appeared on my face. Not this time, Dad, I don’t care who you send.

I ran as fast as I could and just as Elena reached for the flag, I collided with her and she fell on top of me as we slid off the clearing. A yelp left her mouth.

I grabbed with one hand and held onto the ledge, while the other one had her hand securely in mine.

I could hear her body colliding with rock.

“YES!” Taylor yelled. She chanted our victory and it echoed through the entire cave.

“Are you okay?” I asked and could hear her laughter below me. She was fine.

George laughed as Becky grunted, but she laughed with him after a few short seconds. “You tried, Elena!”

“Not good enough!” She yelled back.

She still dangled from my hand, but her heart was beating from pure adrenaline. At least she trusted me enough to know that I would’ve caught her. She looked up and then that disappointing laugh escaped her lips. “Seriously, you couldn’t just part with it once? Just once.” She spoke up, clinging on to my hand for dear life. The drop was far; she would break at least both her legs and a couple of ribs if she fell.

“You have no idea what that flag represents.” I pulled her hand once and she came flying upward to me. I caught her around her waist.

Her face was inches from mine and she took a deep breath as she stared at me. “Very disappointed, Blake.”

She didn’t look upset.

“Sorry, seems to be my field of expertise.”

She giggled and shook her head. I pushed her up onto the ledge and watched how she climbed onto the clearing again. My other hand reached the ledge too and I pushed myself up.

Taylor was still cheering. She was such a bad winner. It irritated the living crap out of me.

“You guys take this Dragon League business seriously.” She kept staring at Taylor and her Cammy buzzed. She smiled as she opened it.

My father’s face appeared. “Did you get it?”

“Nope, he is way too fast, picked up on it as we entered the cave.”

My father grunted and his holograph disappeared.

I laughed softly as she smiled. We started to move out of the cave. The flag was securely inside my hand.

I helped Elena onto the upper platform that led to the sideways passage, and we moved out of the cave.

Once outside I could hear Taylor teasing Sammy and Dean.

What is it with this chick? It was just a game. When we reached them, she grabbed the flag from me, and waved it around, making more cheering noises.

My sister just stared at her, which made me laugh. George and Becky were gone, no surprise there.

Sammy caught my eye. “I really thought you would let Elena just take it, Blake. Just this once.”

“Not that flag, sorry.”

“Urgh, you are such an idiot,” she said and Elena laughed.

“Well if you were on my team, you would’ve tried everything in your ability not to lose that flag too. Dad is just sour because I’m close to breaking his team’s record,” I said. “It’s very bad form using Elena like this.”

Samantha cackled again and so did Elena.

We walked back to the campsite.

“So what gives me the pleasure of your company on this beautiful night? Shouldn’t you be celebrating somewhere?”

“We partied last night. I didn’t think you would even know what day this was, wow, I’m impressed.”

I chuckled. If only she knew.

“Happy Birthday, Elena.”

“Thank you, Blake.”

“Nineteen, wow.”

“Yeah, if only people would treat me like a nineteen-year-old and not a ten-year-old, that would be awesome.”

I smiled. Not knowing what she meant by it. “You still haven’t answered my question. Gracing us with your presence. Wait let me guess, my father put you up to this?”

“No,” she sounded a bit uncomfortable. “Ralph dropped this off.” She handed me my journal, the one with all my poems that had been missing for the past five months. “The day he demonstrated the super suits. That was your idea?” she asked.

I nodded. “I knew nobody was going to be able to make a saddle that was going to fit my fat ass, so I had to think of a better plan to make you feel safe and secure.”

She laughed again.

“You opened it.” I looked down at my journal. She shared the ability. The one that was the key. Shit. Now I know why she’d used it so many times.

“The pink kiss was a brilliant idea but I figured it out really fast, sorry.”

“So I take it you read them.” I didn’t like that one bit. My voice said it. Some of the stuff was dark, very dark. Things I didn’t want her to ever find out. Irene…

“Please don’t be mad,” she touched my arm softly, it send a million volts up my arm. “They were the most beautiful words I’ve ever read. Who would’ve thought? You, a poet.”

I just stared at her.

“You should actually be grateful that this journal ended up with me. It was those words that made me realize what a stupid idiot I’ve been,” she babbled.

What?  I was totally not expected that. She was really so different from all the other humans I knew. A lot like her father in some ways. “You are not an idiot, Elena, you figured out how to open my journal.” I was still disappointed. But the journal was private.

She laughed softly. “Yes, because I had to know what was in there. Such bad character.”

I chuckled. “Well if it’s my words that changed your mind, then I’m grateful for this book. I actually thought it would do the opposite.”

“You mean the beginning of the journal?” She smiled.

“I did plenty of shit, Elena.”

“We are all capable of bad things Blake. It’s in the past. Yours was dark. You had to act and couldn’t help it.”

I stared at her. “As easy as that?”

She laughed. “Oh no, I was quite shocked about all the nasty stuff you did. I couldn’t really imagine how dark you really were, but that last three quarters… it just shows you how powerful those poems were.”

I smiled, put my arm around her and pulled her into my side. This felt normal, I felt normal again. I didn’t worry about her like I had the past two months.  I’d really never expected this in a million years.

We reached the campsite and Emanual laughed at Taylor who was now pushing the flag in Oliver’s face.

“I’m disappointed, Princess,” Emanual teased her.

“Not as disappointed as me,” she said back.

She couldn’t be that disappointed. She must know that the flag represented her, and I just showed her that I would do anything to protect the flag.

I sat down and she took George’s seat.

More rustles came from behind and George was walking with Becky in his arms, whispering sweet words in her ears.

They had it so easy.

“I really am sorry for the disappointment.”

“It’s fine.” She smiled at me, and Taylor handed her a cooler.

“No hard feelings?”

“None,” Elena smiled and took the cooler from Taylor. I would love to know what had happened on those logs.

“Happy Birthday,” she sang and everyone on my team wished her a happy birthday. Elena went scarlet, but thanked them all.

“You must know what the flag represents?” I asked as everyone gave her space to breathe and she took a sip.

“Emanual told me, but still. I went for it.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I smiled.

“But it is good to know that in a real war you would be there.”

“I will always be there. War or no war.” I took a sip of my beer and stared at her.

I got up, and gestured with my hands for her to wait. Where else was she going to go?

I walked into my tent and picked up the present I’d made. I went back and she was making jokes with Emanual. She was really that disappointed? I should’ve let her grab the stupid flag.

“Here,” I hunched in front of her chair and she just looked at the badly wrapped present in my hand.

“What is this?” She looked at me.

“It’s your birthday, I was going to give it to you when I returned, or saw you again.”

“Blake,” she whined.

“Just take it, it’s not much, but it’s from me.” She didn’t get what I was saying and she took it.

She opened it and slightly gasped as she saw the dragon leather bracelet. It was a deep red purple and then realization dawned on her face. “When you say it’s from you…”

“I heal fast.”

Her eyes grew. “Are you insane? Why do you do this?”

“It’s nothing, it’s just a piece of skin.” I chuckled and tried to explain quickly while George chirped softly in the background. Everyone laughed except Elena.

“You are crazy,” she sounded upset.

“Just take it, please.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know if I should smack you or thank you.”

“Is the thank you a violent gesture too?”

She laughed. “No, it’s not. Come here.” She cupped my face and gave me a soft kiss. My stomach did all sorts of things. She broke the kiss and stared at me. “It’s seriously beautiful, but really stupid. I don’t care if your skin grows back, don’t do this again.”

“Okay,” I spoke softly and helped her put on the leather bracelet.

The color of my skin looked so beautiful on her wrist. It was a gorgeous bracelet too. I’d written a small love note with my fire, burned it in there and hoped that she would find it and decipher it.

Images of her sharing a sleeping bag with me tonight flooded my brain. It quickly changed into something else, and I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind.

I tied up the last string and I could feel Elena’s eyes on me.

“What is going through that mind of yours?” she asked and I smiled.

“Nothing,” I said, sounding guilty. Was it that evident on my face?

“Well,” Emanual smacked both his hands together and I looked at him. “It’s ten, and we still have to get back.”

“Go back?”

“Yes, Blake. The other team lost. I have to take them back.”

“Oh, okay.”

Taylor waved at Oliver. “Bye,” she said and he laughed, got up with his team and started to leave.

“Where are you going?” George asked behind me and I glanced over my shoulder. I saw Becky had just kissed him, and was getting up as if she was ready to leave too.

“I have a really busy day tomorrow,” she answered. “Win this thing, baby.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” he whined again.

My face fell as I realized why I’d felt disappointment earlier. I opened my eyes and looked at Elena. “You have to go too, don’t you?”

“Your father’s rules.” She had a soft smile on her face.

I laughed when I actually wanted to cuss. “He is seriously a strategist.”

“Very disappointed, Blake,” she said again and kissed me softly once more, as she got up and walked over to Emanual.

“Really?” I looked at Emanual.

“Sorry. I’ve got my orders.”

“Screw your orders.” There was begging in my tone and Elena turned around slightly, waved at me and walked away.

Did she just have to do that?

I watched her retreating figure. She looked so gorgeous tonight.

This was not happening. Dad! You fucking asshole.

George grunted and just stared at me. “Dude,” he spoke softly.

They disappeared into the woods.

Taylor wielded a shield around us. “Blake, don’t.” Taylor seemed angry, as if she knew what I was going to do.

I sighed, looked at George who looked as if they’d just taken his favorite toy away from him again, and back at Taylor. “It’s just a flag, Taylor,” I said and lowered her shield.. “Emanual, wait.”

ELENA.

I WAS SO CLOSE, so freak’n close. Sir Robert hadn’t been joking when he said he really didn’t want Blake to break his record and had made it so hard—or thought he had made it hard. It was really so easy for Blake.

Still, I really was disappointed. I’d wanted to spend the last of my birthday with him, and now I had to go back without him.

Blake’s face fell right after Becky told George about our busy day tomorrow. “You have to go too, don’t you?” He sounded disappointed. Finally. I sighed.

“Your father’s rules.”

He laughed, the one that just made me want to grab him and kiss the living crap out of him. He bit his lower lip. My insides clenched. I wondered if he even knew he was doing that. “He is seriously a strategist.”

“Very disappointed, Blake,” I said again, and bent my head closer to his for one last kiss.

His lips tasted perfect. I hated this feeling. I really want him to come with me tonight, so badly that it hurt, and now, it made me feel sick knowing that he was staying.

I got up and went over to Emanual.

“Really?” Blake asked Emanual.

“Sorry. I’ve got my orders.”

“Screw your orders,” he begged and my stomach clenched. This was what Sir Robert’s one condition meant. He still wasn’t going to give up that flag.

I turned around and waved one last time at him. He didn’t even wave back.

I didn’t care how I looked around him anymore—which right now was a pathetic loser—I wanted him so bad and I knew he wanted me too. The words in that journal had said it over and over again.

I reached Becky and just stared at her. I took another deep breath and she pulled her face at me. She wanted George to come home too.

George seemed quite disappointed as well. He was whiny and grunted a lot.

Becky smiled but didn’t say anything.

Emanual chuckled as we took the path back to the farm.

“You know how hard that is for him, right?”

“He makes it look so freak’n’ easy.”

“Believe me Elena, it’s not.”

I shook my head.

“Sorry, Princess.”

“It’s fine. It’s my own fault. I should’ve tried harder.”

Emanual smile and raised his eyes knowingly as he put his hand up in defense and started counting off. Five, four, three.

I frowned. Two, one.

“Emanual wait!” Blake yelled and my stomach fluttered.

Becky jumped up and down excitedly on one spot.

“Thank you,” George grunted.

Emanual turned around, and walked back. “You called?” He asked.

“My father is a fucking idiot.”

“Your father is brilliant.” Emanual joked.

“I seriously can’t believe you are doing this!” Taylor yelled.

“For the umpteenth time, it’s just a flag. It’s not the real deal. I caught it, so relax, Drama Queen.” Blake sounded like his old self again, the way he used to sound when speaking to me a long, long time ago.

She kept grunting.

“Oliver,” Emanual said. “Here,” he threw him Blake’s team’s flag.

“Never thought the big guy would falter this way.” Oliver laughed and I grinned like an idiot, “Thanks, Elena.”

I didn’t say anything. I felt quite bad now for Blake’s team.

“Dents,” Emanual said and smiled at me.

I shook my head and waited. We heard them starting to pack up.

“I want to stay,” Taylor said.

“Do what you like, I don’t care,” Blake said back and she grunted. What the hell….stop it Elena, he would never. I looked at the bracelet again. How the hell had he even done this? I pushed the image of George holding a knife, while Blake was in his dragon form, to the back of my mind.

Stupid idiot, but the bracelet was gorgeous. Really, really gorgeous.

The other girl and guy walked out first with huge backpacks on their shoulders.

“I want a long freak’n bath,” she said and giggled as she passed us. She didn’t even sound upset.

“Make mine a long shower,” the guy said.

Then they started talking about steaks, how it should be done with mashed potatoes and whatnot. Emanual chuckled.

George passed Emanual and ran straight to Becky. He wrapped his arm around her and they walked on.

Blake followed a minute after him with a bag over his one arm. “Don’t,” he warned Emanual, sounding slightly upset but winked with a smile when he saw me. “I hate it that my father knows my weakness.”

He pulled me closer to him and I was crushed against the side of his torso.

“Everyone knows you Dents have weak points,” Emanual chirped from the back and Blake shook with laughter.

It was that obvious, even if I almost hadn’t seen it. But he’d made that clear by giving up the flag.

My stomach fluttered like crazy, knowing now that he was coming home with me tonight. I could finally tell him how sorry I was for not believing him.

WE SPOKE ABOUT all the things that I’d done the past couple of months, about Areeth and how my interviews and begging hadn’t helped at all. He was upset about the rock. I frowned, wanting to know how the hell he knew about that.

“Emanual brought me all the newspapers.”

“I see,” I said. “Thank you for the tips.”

“You figured that out? Of course you would.”

I laughed, feeling so shitty that I’d read his journal.

“You know they will fight, Elena.”

“I know, but I’m scared, Blake.” I knew what he meant by that. If I told them that my father was still alive, Areeth would fight.

“You still have that exclusive with Just Kev tomorrow.”

I looked at Blake and smiled. It felt good knowing that he did care, even if I didn’t know about it.

“I don’t know how that interview is going to go.”

“Just tell the truth,” he said. His shield was popping slightly around us.

“Your father?” I sounded worried.

“We need Areeth, otherwise we can forget about this.”

I nodded. “So, you stay while I go to Just Kev.” I looked at him and he looked down.

“It feels as if I’m never going to become just your dragon.”

I sighed and he looked up. “He is going to need you more than me, Blake. He can’t go after him.”

“I know.”

I squeezed him tightly. “There will be other times where you can be just my dragon. But this time, I need you to be Sir Robert’s son.”

“Okay, whatever you say, Princess.”

I smacked him hard on the stomach and he just laughed. It didn’t even hurt. His lips brushed the top of my head softly.

“I missed you,” he said.

“I did too. Well, probably not as much as you missed me. I was so freak’n upset and then after I realized that George was right, I really, really started to miss you.”

“How long did it take for you to come?”

“Few hours.”

He laughed. “You only missed me for a few hours.”

“I’m the Princess, we don’t do long or wait.”

He laughed again. “That is just so unfair,” he said and looked at me again. “You still practiced?”

“I was really upset, Blake,” I said again.

“I didn’t do…”

“I know.” I interrupted him again. “But every time I wielded a sword or my axes, I kept hearing your instructions, which made me even more upset. I have you back in my head now.”

He smiled. “Not the way I want to be.”

“I know. It sucks.”

“We will get it back somehow.”

When? I didn’t put voice to it, but it just seemed like we were never going to get that back. It was funny how a small poem that was hardly telling me what the Dent was really about, put everything at ease.

We finally reached the farmhouse. I really didn’t know they were so close by. It must be his tactic—stay close to home base. I would like to know his reason behind that. His shield vanished and background noises filled the air.

George and Becky said goodbye to us, and started walking arm in arm in another direction.

I saw Sir Robert standing in the doorway. His eyes were on the both of us and he started to applaud. Blake didn’t think it was funny.

I wielded my shield this time and turned to face Blake. “Meet me tonight,” I said and his body slightly froze. A smile tugged on his lips.

“Elena, my father is watching me like a hawk around you, and I can promise you this shield just set off more alarms in him.”

I laughed softly. “You’re good at sneaking around. Just phone me, I will wield my shield. And I’m nineteen, not ten, Blake.”

He chuckled again and I lowered my shield.

He nodded and sucked in the part of his lower lip again as he walked toward his dad.

My heart beat like crazy. How far would tonight go?

Blake

WHAT THE Hell was that? I would’ve just given her the stupid book if I knew it was going to make all her doubts disappear.

“Dad,” I said. My voice broke. Why was I so nervous? It was me for crying out loud, then again, it was her. Something I’d wanted for the past eight months.

“Blake,” my father didn’t smile. Shit, he was so not going to let me out of his sight tonight.

“Really, Elena?”

He finally grinned. “I’m a strategist, Blake, and it’s the Dragon League. What kind of a leader would I be if my son overthrew me on his first try?”

I laughed and gave him a slap on his shoulder. “Let’s talk.”

“Yeah, we should, especially about that shield she just wielded. What did she say?”

“It’s private, dad. I’m almost twenty-three.”

“Blake, she’s not.”

“Dad, she’s nineteen, not some twelve-year-old.” Just shut the fuck up, stupid idiot. “You know that will never happen. Not after what she went through. She just finally feels safe with me.”

“Oh, is that what you kids are calling it nowadays?”

I chuckled and he started to laugh too.

“Seriously, Pop.”

“She’s my rider’s daughter, Blake. I just want you to be careful.”

“And now she’s my rider. Just like it always should’ve been, Dad. I’ve waited a long time for her to trust me enough just to be alone with me. Nothing will happen tonight, okay? I’m not stupid.”

“Okay,” he said.

Okay, so that was not entirely true, I thought, but he did seem to back off a bit. Whether he was going to stop being a hawk, I had no idea. He was a strategist after all, and this could be just giving me some rope—not a lot—to see what I was going to do with it. Probably hang myself.

I wielded my shield again and started speaking about Taylor. There was seriously something familiar about that chick but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was and my doubts didn’t vanish either.

It made me nervous not remembering where the hell I knew her from.

“Emanual has worked with her more than a year, Blake.”

“I know, Dad. I’m just telling you what I’ve gotten from her the past two months. It’s like she is always scouting, wanting information. She makes me nervous and not in a good way.”

“We should get Emanual.”

I lowered my shield and my father asked Fred to call Emanual.

Elena

MY HEART WAS still beating like mad and I sucked my lips as what might happen later tonight played through my mind. He just had to find a way to meet me. I sat around a fire with everyone else. Plenty of people were speaking about Sir Robert and Blake and the way he’d used me to make Blake forfeit.

I felt bad about it and looked away as they laughed.

My eyes caught Jerry.

I squinted as I looked at his retreating back. He was making his way into the woods,  a different part of the woods. What was he up to?

I looked back at the house and saw Emanual walking inside with Fred, one of Sir Robert’s other league members.

Becky and George were nowhere to be seen and I decided to follow him.

I got and left the group. Nobody was even paying attention to me. That was why I loved this place so much. They treated me like a normal girl.

I kept my distance and almost lost him a few times but a rustle up ahead in a slightly different direction helped me find him.

I knew I’d gotten Blake’s enhanced hearing after claiming him. It was a handy tool.

There was something very familiar about Jerry. At first I didn’t pick it up, but he would always say things, things that would make me remember something. It always brought up a horrible memory, but I would just shake it off.

He was one of Emanual’s trusted scouts and had gone into Etan the first time with so many others. But tonight, he looked guilty of something and I had to go and find out what he was doing.

A huge opening in the middle of the forest appeared. It had huge boulders and I hid behind a tree as a manmade torch was engulfed in flames. Jerry looked around him before he placed the torch against one of the boulders and grabbed a bowl.

He started to speak. It was Latin. He was reciting a very old spell; one that gave me the creeps a long time ago when I’d read through it, and I’d never gone to that page again.

He was conjuring someone.

I walked closer as his voice grew softer and softer.

He was wielding a shield but not a very good one.

What was he up to?

I could hear a faint voice speaking to him, and I froze, as it wasn’t Latin anymore, it was Wyvic.

Get the hell away from here, Elena.

I turned around ready to leave when I bumped into Taylor—the girl who’d stayed behind tonight when Blake handed in his flag.

“Taylor.” I spoke and she pushed me hard onto the floor. She was really strong but I was stronger.

I wielded my fire, but nothing came.

She started to laugh. “Remember this,” she held up a pendant with a familiar stone, but the pendant looked different.

My eyes rose slightly as I realized what it was. It was Becky’s necklace that had been stolen the night someone broke into our room.

“Where did you get that?”

“Elena, Elena, Elena,” she said and then a rope behind her sprang to life.

“It’s the easiest thing in this world to change ones appearance, you know.”

“Nora,” my voice broke as I just stared at her tail. It was the same tail that had killed Lucian.

“What have we here?” Jerry’s voice was fully back now.

“Stupid idiot, she was following you,” Taylor or Nora spoke to Jerry.

I looked at him. “How could you?”

He smiled. “How could I?” he looked at Nora. “Guess this new body is really that good at tricking people, Princess.”

My insides crawled with the way he said Princess. “Paul?”

“Ta da.” He laughed and looked around. “No Rubicon?” He grinned wider. “Oh, he is going to be so pissed off when he discovers your lifeless body in pieces, Elena.”

Blake

FRED HAD JUST left and my father started to speak to me about the intelligence they’d gotten from the other day Elena had to go back in. She'd brought in a couple of new people and brought out scouts.

“They saw Goran.” My heart clenched as I heard the news. He showed me a photo. He looked so much like his twin. It made me want to throw up.

“Have you showed anyone else this?”

My father nodded.

“He still looks the same way I remember him, Dad.”

“He’s not that guy anymore, Blake.”

“I know. It’s just so hard to think that it was him that betrayed them.”

“I know. But at least we have the advantage here. We have his twin and if there is anyone that can become him,” he tapped on the photo, “It’s….” the door opened and Emanual entered before my father could finish his sentence.

“You called?” Emanual sit down and I wielded my shield around the three of us again.

“It’s about Taylor.”

Emanual squinted and looked at me. “Something happened?”

“She makes me nervous, Emanual, and I don’t know why.”

“In what way, Blake?” He started to smile.

“Not like that. There is something seriously fishy about this girl.” The more I put voice to my concerns, the more it made sense.

He told me about Taylor, how she’d made him nervous the first few months too but she was on their side. He’d done a thorough check on her. She was a Night Villain (that much I knew), and smart as hell. Sure she doesn’t like to lose, but that wasn’t just her, it was a Night Villain thing. He looked at my father as he said it and I chuckled.

It wasn’t that though.

He’d recruited her with Simon, and Jerry.

Simon also gave me the creeps and he was huge. He and Jerry were human. Emanual broke down all of their abilities. Simon was a lightning wielder who’d lost his dragon a long, long time ago, and Jerry was a blue fire wielder. I looked at my watch. Time flew when one was speaking about things like that. Emanual had almost been there for more than an hour.

Emanual smiled at something.

“What is it?”

“It’s funny how you mentioned her and not Jerry. Jerry was actually the one that started all my doubts about the three. Not really Simon, as he reached the palace in Tith the same time they did.”

“Jerry made you doubt?” Jerry was far from dangerous; sure he was really good with weapons, any sort of weapon.

He nodded.

“Why?” I squinted, thinking that if there is smoke there has to be a freaking large fire somewhere.

“When I asked Jerry to wield his fire the first time, I could have sworn I saw a different kind of flame, one I’d never seen before.”

My insides clenched.

“It was as if it was green, I closed my eyes and opened them again and it was blue.”

My heart beat crazy fast and Emanual saw the horror on my face.

“Blake, what is it?”

“Jerry, has a green flame?”

“No, his flame is blue, Blake. I made sure of it time and time again. It must have been my imagination or something.”

I closed my eyes and got up. “It’s not your imagination, you fucking idiot,” I grunted.

“Blake,” my father said.

“Paul had a green flame. He can put thoughts in your head. You must have seen his true flame the first time he wielded it, and put that thought in your head that it was blue.”

Emanual’s eyes rose. “No, Blake. I’m not that easily persuaded.”

“Emanual, Paul is really strong. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. He used it on me so many times. But my own doubts always came back after a while, breaking whatever that idiot put in my head. It was as if I would lose information each and every time he put something in my mind and had to start all over again, finding the clues. We don’t know what Paul looks like now. He’s been under our noses the entire time.” I froze.

“No,” Emanual sounded worried again. “No, I know Jerry. Blake?”

“What, you mean Paul is not dead?” My father voiced. None of us answered him.

“Elena.” I jumped up and so did my father.

I opened the door and walked straight into Sammy and Dean. They both looked petrified. “Elena is missing. George and Becky are tracking her right now.”

Elena

PAUL LOOKED DOWN at me on the ground. He’d just told me that he was going to brutally murder me. And Blake was going to hunt him like it was just a game.

“That will never happen,” I grunted and jumped up, going for Paul.

Nora’s tail wrapped around me and she threw me away from him. I collided hard with one of the other huge boulders.

Paul was immediately against me, pressing me harder against the boulder. “Does this make you uncomfortable?” he asked in a slight whisper.

Asshole.

“I heard what happened, how those men ravished you time and time again.” He smiled.

Angry tears filled my eyes.

“Oh, don’t worry Elena, I’m not like that, I like my women…” He took a huge sniff that made me close my eyes. Don’t show him any fear.

“Fresh.” he finished his sentence. He did not just say that! I brought my knee to his groin and swung my arm into his face.

I only managed to get three steps away, when Nora’s tail caught me around the legs. She let go immediately and her stinger went for my body. I rolled out of the way a few times.

“Enough!” Paul yelled as her stringer hovered above me. “Enough, Nora. Her blood needs to be clear. Otherwise, the Wyvern King will never be free.”

Nora grunted. She stared at me with so much hatred.

“Patience my bird, patience.”

The way he said Bird made my skin crawl.

He grabbed me around the arm and pulled me up. I tried to kick him again, but this time he was faster, and I was hit with a rock in the head. I started to lose consciousness but refused to go down. He pressed me hard against the wall as blood dripped down my face.

“I see the Rubicon’s trained you a bit.”

I grunted at him but nothing I was going to say would make the plan in his head vanish.

“He is never going to get here in time, you know that, right? He doesn’t even know about me and Taylor.”

“He’s not that stupid, idiot.” Blake please, I need you! I yelled in my head. I hoped it worked. “You forgot whose voice I heard, Paul. It wasn’t yours and I hate to break it to you, he is on his way, and I really feel so sorry for you.” I tried a different tactic.

Paul chuckled. “I know it’s broken, Elena.”

Shit, I swallowed hard.

“I love that he is going to hate me. One can never get enough of hide and seek. Don’t you agree, Nora?”

She didn’t say anything. Just smiled.

“He will kill you! You and your precious, psychotic bitch for what you did to Lucian.”

“We got him out of the way. How else would the two lovebirds get together?”

A tear rolled down my cheek.

“You should actually thank us.”

“He didn’t deserve to die!” I yelled and tried to wield my fire again.

“Your powers are not going to work, sweetheart.”

Taylor threw something huge at our feet. I look down at it. It seemed like a block of skin. It had scales, but it was glistening. It didn’t belong to a dragon. Then I gasped as I realized what it was. It was a mermaid’s tail. She’d killed Xaline for her powers.

“Mermaids abilities stay in their tails even after death. When we discovered what this one could do, killing her was our number one priority.”

How the hell did they manage to do that? He was really strong and smart, evil, but smart. I thought back as my encounter with her flashed through my mind. “Her father will get his revenge; that I can promise you.”

“Don’t promise things you won’t witness, Elena,” he said in a very loud tone. He seemed quite upset again, but his smile appeared as I flinched. “You are still the same pathetic little princess you were the last time I saw you.”

“You know nothing about me.”

“How did you claim the Rubicon, Elena?” A grin appeared on his face.

“Get that tail away from me and I’ll show you.”

He looked at Nora and both started to laugh.

“Get on with it Paul, please. You’ve toyed with her enough.”

“This really wasn’t part of the plan, you know. And it’s going to be a slow painful death because we need that precious blood of yours.”

“You are and will always be a fucking asshole.”

He laughed again and winked.

He lifted his hand and I saw a silver knife in his grip. The point was sharp, and when he swung his arm back down, I closed my eyes, and just saw Blake in my mind. If I died, it would be with him as the last person on my mind. I waited for the entry, but the only thing I heard was the grunt that left his mouth and I opened my eyes.

He was struggling and his entire body was shaking with all the strength he’d used trying to push the knife into my neck, but he couldn’t.

What was this?

The earth tremble as something collided with it.

Paul grabbed me and placed me in front of his body. The knife was still close to my neck.

My eyes caught Blake he pulled a robe over his head and it fell over his body like silk. “Nice job, Taylor.”

Paul’s hand went over my mouth just as I wanted to yell that it was Nora. I grunted and Blake looked at us again. He started to laugh. “What are you trying to do, Jerry? Or should I say Paul?”

My eyes were on Nora as she moved out of Blake’s eyesight. I squirmed again. He can’t die like Lucian.

“She’s a feisty one, isn’t she? I bet she tastes just as sweet,” he said with his mouth close to my neck, I could feel his lips turning into a smile as they lingered softly on my skin. He loved every moment knowing that Blake was going to die the same death as Lucian. It’s Nora, Blake! It Nora, Taylor is Nora. I kept thinking it as loud as I could, but nothing happened.

“Are you trying to piss me off?” Blake sounded calm. “Believe me you don’t want me more pissed off than what I already am. I’m dangerous when I’m pissed off.”

Paul laughed and I saw Nora striking with her tail toward Blake. I let out another agonizing grunt and squirmed like hell, but nothing was working. Paul was too strong, and I couldn’t even use his strength to get out of this one.

Just then, Blake turned around, grabbing her tail just before it struck him.

Neither of them expected that. I hadn’t expected that. It felt as if I could breathe again.

“You think I didn’t know? You reeked!” He yelled at her.

She ran toward him, trying to get her tail out of his grip.

“And you are not my problem.” He pulled her tail harder and she stumbled. She was off her feet, in the air, and collided hard against a boulder behind him. She fell on the ground, stone cold.

Paul grunted, “You will pay for that.”

Another dragon landed hard.

Emanual changed and picked Nora up as he threw something in Blake’s direction, which he caught and put it into the sleeve of his robe.

“Blake!” Paul yelled and tried again to stab me with the knife. I squirmed again as tears welled up in my eyes.

“I swear to you, I will kill her. Let Nora go.”

“No, you won’t because you can’t even push that knife into her neck.”

Paul breathed heavily and I knew that Blake was doing this; he was keeping him from hurting me. Paul seemed to only realize that now too.

“You killed my best friend.”

“I did you a favor,” Paul spat.

“Fuck you,” Blake said harshly and moved fast towards us. The movement was so quick. In a flash, one of his hands was subduing Paul in some death grip, another was around my arm, and then with a shove I was flying through the air without Blake. The shriek came first and then a claw grabbed me and was taking me away, away from the danger, away from Blake.

“Elena!” Becky’s voice yelled from above. “Are you okay?”

“We have to go back, Becky.”

“To the farm,” Becky ordered George and he did.

“No, we have to go back!” I yelled but she ignored me.

The clearing disappeared fast and I only saw treetops as if the clearing had never existed.

I had to get back to Blake.

George landed and he opened his claw. I rolled on the grass, got up to my feet and started running toward the forest again.

A pair of arms grabbed me, Raymond’s. “Calm down Princess, you are safe.”

“Blake is alone.”

“He is the Rubicon, just calm down. He will come back. You are safe.”

Blake

THE SCUM GRUNTED as his nostrils flared at me. My arm under his chin kept him against the boulder.

If he could breathe fire, he would have. Then he started to laugh. If I didn’t know darkness, this laugh would have made me back the fuck away. He was as sadistic as they came.

“I know what you are trying to do. Mocking me with your laughter isn’t going to help, Paul. How did you do it? How did you manage to fool Emanual the way you have?”

“Didn’t your mother tell you not to play with your food, Blake?”

“I never listen to my mother, Paul. Something we surely have in common. Now answer my question.”

He laughed. “You don’t scare me,” he had a huge grin plastered on his face.

I took out the iron dagger Emanual had thrown at me when he landed, and sliced his torso. The movement was so fast and I barely felt the blade tearing his flesh.

Paul grunted. His grin instantly disappeared.

“Don’t let me get creative. Now tell me.”

He breathed hard through his nostrils.

He stared at me with shallow, dark, angry eyes. “There is nothing about darkness I can’t teach you, Blake. Fine,” he grunted. “I became one of Emanual’s best soldiers. Proved myself in Etan, and saved his life,” his smirk appeared again and he chuckled. “Reminds you of a recipe, doesn’t it?”

It was how he’d won all of us over, me in particular, when he came to the academy. “Yes, you are seriously good at brewing trust, Paul.”

He cocked his head. “I am one of the best.” He smiled. “What I don’t get is how the hell you are going to kill me with that mermaid’s tail at our feet? Surely not by using an iron dagger? You are more than that, Blake.”

I smiled. “You know me so well, Paul. Always had this curiosity for things you would never understand.” I looked at Xaline’s tail and smiled. “I knew Xaline well. I know what she was capable of, what her tail can do. She took my powers easily through Elena, but she struggled slightly in that department with me.”

Paul’s face froze. “You’re bluffing.”

“Nope, and I promised Elena that when I found you, I will make you pay for all the heartache you brought on her.”

“I didn’t kill Lucian, Blake. Nora did.” He was a weasel too.

“I’m not speaking about Lucian’s death. Nora will be dealt with, just not by my doing.”

“Don’t do this. You’ll have a Wyvern war on your hands. I’m seen as a prince in the Wyvern colonies.”

“Elena is a princess with the dragons, and Lucian was a prince, so I say tit for tat.”

“Don’t be stupid Blake. You can’t win this without our alliances.”

I laughed. “You’re seriously going to play that card? In what life do you think I will ever trust a Wyvern? Definitely not in this one. You made sure of that. Besides, I know what is going on in Etan. He rules the Wyverns. You call him the Wyvern King.”

Paul’s nostrils and jaw muscles pumped. “Goran will find a way to tame you.”

“I’m already tamed and claimed. I won’t break,” I yelled. “I can’t break to anyone’s will anymore.” I looked slightly away as I realized something. “You always knew, didn’t you?”

“About what?”

“Who Elena was?”

He laughed. “You know so much, you figure it out.”

I sliced him again on the other side of his torso.

“Fuck!” He spat out the words, cried out of the pain and grunted at the same time.

“I can do this all night. Don’t tempt me. Answer my damn question.”

“Yes, okay, yes. I knew.” His demeanor finally changed. “I knew. Just like you did. Yet you still let her believe that I was her dragon.”

“It was a different time for me. I didn’t want a rider. I’m not that Blake anymore. How did you know?”

A faint smiled tugged on the corner of his lips. I sliced him again causing him bite down hard on his tongue to try to hide the pain.

“My father told me that iron blades are like…” I searched for the right word. “Kryptonite, for you wyverns. Tell me, how does it feel for something so small to have so much power over you?”

“Fuck you.”

“Oh, really,” I lift up the blade again.

“Okay,” he lifted his hand, begging me to stop.

“How did you know?” My voice grew slightly stronger and my arm pushed tighter into his throat.

“Fox.”

“Fox, who killed her father? He worked with you?”

“He was one of Goran’s most loyal followers. Goran promised him Elm when he rules. When the Creepers consumed Etan, he still did what Goran asked him to do: find alliances past the wall, so when the right time comes, we will have an army. But he found more than just an alliance. He saw Elena a few months after they left.”

“How?” No Moonbolt could see the true royals’ future.

“He was nine hundred fucking years old, Blake. I’m sure I don’t have to explain that to you.”

“He told Goran.”

“No, he told Cain who withheld it from Goran. Said that he should bring him the girl. Cain hadn’t bargained on so many dragons protecting her.”

“And let me guess, Cain never mentioned this after Fox’s death.”

“No, he knew Goran would never trust him again, so he kept it to himself. Goran revealed her existence after you guys found that Dragonian in the forest.”

“You Wyverns have no back bones. You are so weak. In what way did you ever think I would let you rule Paegeia? Or the world?”

“Oh, aren’t we courageous all of a sudden. The light doesn’t suit you, Blake.”

“Neither does the dark,” I sliced him again and he backed away slightly. He started to laugh again.

“If you want to kill me, do it,” he said. “It won’t matter. Goran already knows that you are coming, Blake.”

I froze. “Bullshit.”

“You don’t believe me? Fine, it’s your funeral. Or maybe it’ll be Elena’s.”

I hated what came out of his mouth and sliced him one more time. His shirt was already drenched in blood from all the cuts.

He laughed again. “You seriously lost plenty when Elena claimed you—even your sadistic mind. You no longer scare me, pup.”

I hated being called Pup, but I needed to find out more about Goran.

“How does he know? Emanual would’ve suspected something.”

He laughed again, mocking me and stirring up my blood.

“I’m not telling you shit.” He spat into my face.

I closed my eyes and opened them again.

My hand ripped off his shirt and I stuck my fingers into one of his cuts, tearing into it and ripping some of his muscle. He doubled over, heaving and breathing heavily from the pain, but no sound came from his mouth.

“You are wrong about that pup comment. Now tell me what I want to know. How did you get past Emanual?”

I pulled my hand out from inside of him. He breathed heavily, not even a match for me to fight against.

“The first group. We went in with the first group. Taylor went to see Goran. I let everyone else believe that she was still there.” He begged me with his eyes. “Please, Blake.”

I could feel something brewing in my mind. Friends, he showed me my friendship with him, the secrets of mine he kept.

“Stop that, it’s not going to work this time.” I pushed his thoughts out of my head and they disappeared.

“You are truly one of a kind, Blake.”

“I’ve learned the hard way to keep my thoughts to myself.”

“And now it’s biting you in the ass, or so I’ve heard. The way you threw your little tantrums when you couldn’t hear Elena’s anymore.” He still mocked me. What would I have to do to instill fear in this fucker’s head?

“Don’t push me. Making me angry is just going to stretch this out longer. My heart and head is always in the same place. To think, you won’t even be there when Nora screams out for you.”

His nostrils flared again.

“You killed Dickers.”

He didn’t speak.

“You want me to squeeze some of your organs next?” I yelled. “Tell me, did you kill Dickers?”

“Yes, okay. He was supposed to be in that fucking meeting we were all at. The only problem was that I wasn’t there. I just made them believe I was. He found me in Helmut’s office searching for things.”

“And he realized what you were.”

“Yes, I had no choice but to kill him.”

“No, you love every single thing you do, Paul. You are sadistic little fucking asshole, who won’t be there when Nora is going to scream out for you.”

“Fuck you, I will find Elena and I swear, Blake. You will regret every…”

I snapped his neck. He didn’t deserve a quick death, but I was done with him. I couldn’t look at his face anymore. The weasel threatened Elena. Over my fucking dead body.

I had promised Elena and made a vow that I would avenge Lucian’s death. That was repaid.

I bent down next to his lifeless body. “Don’t make promises you will never keep, Paul.” I got up and went over to Xaline’s tail and picked it up, dropping it a good few meters from me. I’d meant what I said about her not being able to take my abilities, but it was only a blocking technique. My abilities did disappear for the short time she was near me.

I went back to him and tore off his head with both my hands. Blood spilled but it wasn’t much since he was already dead. I took the dagger and cut out the tattoo on his arm and gathered all his jewelry. A nice gift for Cain. They might think I’m tamed but I’m still as dangerous as ever.

My pink kiss appeared in the palm of my hand. “Try to fucking escape that, asshole.” I said and threw the flame on his body, watching it burn.

I then took his head and walked with it back to the tail, picked up the tail, and left. If anyone had to give Sibian the news that his beloved daughter was dead, even if she was two steps away from psycho, it would be me.

ELENA

IT FELT LIKE forever, and Blake wasn’t back yet. King Helmut entered the farmhouse’s office. “Is it true, Wyverns are here?”

“Calm down, it’s taken care of,” Sir Robert said and looked back down at his paperwork.

Calm down! I felt like screaming.

King Helmut saw me. “Are you okay?” he asked and I nodded.

“Where is Blake?” he asked looking at Sir Robert who was busy with some sort of report.

“Busy taking care of a problem.” He didn’t even sound worried.

“Somebody has to go and help him!” I yelled and Sir Robert looked up.

“He doesn’t need help, Princess. Nobody wants to witness what he does to Paul.”

King Helmut froze. “Paul, as in Paul Sutton? He’s dead.”

I flinched as tears were still in my eyes.

“Elena, Paul is dead right?” he asked.

“He will be after tonight,” Sir Robert answered.

“He was alive all this time and you didn’t say anything?!” King Helmut sounded angry as he looked at both of us.

“It wasn’t Paul that killed your son, it was the Hippogriff. Just wait for Blake.”

“Where is Emanual?”

“Busy, he will be back soon.” Sir Robert did all of the talking.

King Helmut was furious that we’d lied to him and started pacing around.

He didn’t even want to look at me. The times he did it was with a glare.

“I didn’t know he was still alive. I didn’t know what I saw in that cave,” I spoke to King Helmut.

He shook his head and stopped pacing. “Sir Robert is right, it wasn’t him that killed Lucian, but he could’ve led me to her, Elena. You knew how long I’ve searched for Nora.”

“It was Taylor.”

“What was Taylor?” King Helmut looked at Sir Robert.

“Nora transformed herself into Taylor.”

“How long?”

“I don’t know, Helmut. I don’t think there was a soldier out there that used to be a Taylor.”

He closed his eyes and when they opened they were hard. “You want to tell me that she has been under my nose this entire fucking time?!” he roared.

I flinched and looked at King Helmut.

“They were really good at hiding. They fooled all of us, not just Emanual. Wait for Blake, Helmut.” Sir Robert still sounded calm.

Ten minutes later the door opened and Emanual entered with Blake behind him. I got up on my feet and ran over to him.

I smacked into his body. “Shhh,” he kissed me on the head. “You are safe.” He blew out a gush of air. He gently pushed me away and held me at arm’s-length. “Why did you follow him, Elena?”

“I didn’t know. I thought I would be able to wield my abilities. He killed…”

“I know. Sibian already knows.”

I stared at him. Where the hell is Paul “Is he…”

“He is dead, Elena.”

I buried my face in his chest.

“We have another problem, Dad,” Blake spoke and I looked up at him.

“What problem?” All of us spoke at the same time.

“Paul told me that Goran knows we are coming.”

“No,” King Helmut spoke. “He would’ve been here if he knew. It’s just a tactic, Blake.”

He sounded so sure of himself.

“If he knows…”

“He doesn’t, son. Helmut is right,” Sir Robert spoke.

Blake nodded and threw a key at King Helmut. He caught it and just stared at it.

“The hippogriff is in the basement.”

King Helmut stared at the keys in his hands for a few seconds more before he looked at Blake. His face had no expression and then it became hard. His gaze fell on Emanual who nodded once. King Helmut stormed out of the room with Emanual behind him.

I did not want to know the horror he was going to bestow on her for killing Lucian.

He’d been looking forward to this day for a long time.

“I’m taking Elena back to the Academy,” Blake said. “She’s not safe here.”

I just stared at Blake. Stupid Paul.

“Blake,” his father spoke.

“Dad, she almost died. She’s not staying,” He spoke over his shoulder and we left.

Outside I started to breathe faster as I followed Blake with huge strides. If Goran was here…

“Blake.” I stopped and he did too and turned to face me. “Nora said it’s the easiest thing this side to take someone else’s form. What if Goran…”

“Shhhh,” he spoke softly and put his finger gently on my lips. “Goran isn’t the pretend type, Elena. He wouldn’t hide as someone else, trying to trick us. My father was right. He isn’t here. All of us would’ve known if he was. He doesn’t fear anyone.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded and smile. “Now let’s get you to the Academy.”

“I’m fine. I don’t need to go to the Academy.”

“Elena, you almost died tonight.”

“I know, and believe me, not knowing if I was going to see you again was ten times worse. I’m safer here.”

He grunted, didn’t agree with me and pulled his hand through his hair.

Our eyes met and he pulled me close to him. He felt so warm and I did feel safe with him.

“I really hate my birthday.”

Blake chuckled. “Technically, it isn’t your birthday anymore. It stopped an hour ago.”

I looked at my watch, it was ten past one.

He lifted up my chin and I looked into his face. “Then the manor?”

I wanted to say, the manor wasn’t my choice either. He just smiled as if he could read my mind again. Why didn’t he get that I just wanted to stay here, where I was safe with him? We’d both almost died.

“So what is the plan?” George asked and my entire face fell. I could still feel Blake’s eyes on me.

“We are going to stay over at the manor tonight. You are more than welcome to come with if you want.”

“Well we have that interview tomorrow with Just Kev,” Becky said, “I want to stay close to Elena.” She was adamant. She had all the right to want to stay close, none of them wanted to relive the four months I was missing. We all stayed quiet.

“What?” Blake asked Becky, like she wasn’t finished with her sentence.

“Why do I get the feeling you are not coming with?”

He chuckled. “I have to stay here, but I will make sure that she is safe. My parents’ house is the safest, after the Academy.” He looked down at me again and I smiled. It was filled with disappointment. This was so not how I wanted this reunion to end.

He grabbed my wrist softly and turned around so that his back faced me. He bent his knees slightly and held my hand around his neck as if he was going to give me a piggyback ride. Then he jumped high and transformed. I found the horn on his back while his talons were in my hand.

Excitement followed and laughter escaped my lips. This was so frawsome.

George and Becky were behind us. Far behind us.

“Just fly slower, they can’t keep up!” I yelled at him and he decreased his speed, waiting for them to catch up.

The manor was an hour away from the Dragon League campsite. Sir Robert’s dragons went in via the other farms that weren’t being farmed anymore. There were plenty of hiding places where the scouts had set up camp.

The ones in Alkadeen were mostly of King Helmut’s squad. They had a good plan

We all went through my room’s landing and Blake changed inside my room. I threw one of my towels at him and he wrapped it around his lower waist and walked to his room.

“Mom!” he yelled.

“Down here!” Isabel yelled back and Becky, Dean and I walked down the stairs as Blake and George disappeared into his room and Sammy went into hers to change.

“Elena,” Isabel smiled and grabbed both my hands gently in hers. “Robert told me what happened. Is Paul…?”

We all nodded.

“Becky,” she kissed Becky on both cheeks and gave Dean a hug.

“The manor has been so quiet lately. I can’t wait for Constance and Annie to visit.”

“She can have my room,” I said and Isabel smiled.

“That is so kind of you, Elena, but we do have guest rooms. Come sit. You must be so tired.” She looked at all of us and we sat down on the couches.

A couple of minutes later, Sammy, George and Blake entered. She looked horrified when she saw Blake, got up and went over to him. “Are you okay?”

“Mom, I’m fine.” He sounded annoyed.

“It’s different now, Blake. Killing…” she didn’t finish. I stared at them as I knew about Blake killing people. Had he told Isabel too?

“I know. I’m okay.”

She nodded with a slightly worried smile and stroked the side of his face. “You want something to eat, drink? I can put on the kettle.”

“I’m not staying,” Blake said and my entire body deflated.

“You think that is wise?” Isabel asked.

“Mom, I have to get back. Elena is safe here. Besides I have to be with Dad tomorrow.”

All of them looked at Blake through furrowed eyebrows.

“Why? He’s not going in, is he?”

“No, Mom. He’s not going in.” He pulled Isabel in for a hug. “Just watch Elena’s interview tomorrow.” He spoke softly but all of us heard it.

“What is happening tomorrow at Just Kev, Elena?” Becky asked.

“Wait and see, Becky,” Blake snapped back and she backed off.

“What are you not telling me, Blake? What is this about?”

“Mom, just watch tomorrow.” He kissed her on her head and came over to me.

He crouched down in front of my seat and I wrapped my arms around his neck. I really didn’t want him to go.

“I’m sorry you had a crappy birthday. But at least you are safe.”

I nodded and forced a smile. “See you later today.” He smiled and I smiled back. He got up and walked out of the lounge. “George!” Blake yelled and George got up too.

Blake must’ve wielded a shield since I couldn’t hear a word they said, and after a while I heard the door close and George was the only one that came back.

He looked worried. I didn’t know if Blake had told him about my father or not. Whatever it was, he didn’t say.

I didn’t like this at all.

WE EACH HAD a cup of Isabel’s famous cocoa before we went to bed. “We’re just in the guest room if you need anything, Elena.” George said.

“I’ll be fine, George.” I smiled and said goodnight to Becky. Thank heavens she’d left the Just Kev interview alone.

I took a shower and crawled into bed. I hadn’t slept in this bed for a long time.

I kept looking at the spot where Blake had fallen to the floor that night. That had been the last time I’d been in this room.

They must’ve changed the carpet. There wasn’t a stain of blood, and that night there’d been a lot of it.

The hours ticked by and I had no idea how I was going to tell everyone that my father was alive on national TV. What would Sir Robert do?

My Cammy rang, and I saw Blake’s name.

I wielded my shield and picked it up.

His holograph appeared and I couldn’t tell where the hell he was.

“Can you just open your bedroom door? I do not want my mom to find me outside her room, Elena.”

My heart fluttered, as I know he was standing right outside my room. I dropped the Cammy and got out of bed. He did want to be with me, and had just thrown everyone off, thinking that he wasn’t going to come. Sneaky bastard.

I opened the door and his shield vibrated off him.

I sucked in my lips and stepped out of his way.

He took a leap to miss the creaking floorboards that his father had put in front of my door and I closed the door after he was inside my room.

He pulled me into his shield and our lips touched. The kiss was soft and I had to stand on my toes in order to reach him.

His hands were blazing warm, cupping my face softly.

He walked backward and fell with me on top of my bed.

I laughed as I found myself on him and couldn’t believe how strong his shield was as it sparkled around us.

“Sneaky bastard,” I said and he smiled.

“You really thought I would not be here tonight?”

I nodded with a smile.

“Elena, I told you my father is watching me like a hawk. I had to go back to ease his mind.”

“So I take it that his mind has been eased.”

“He was sleeping like a baby when I left.”

“You not scared that he is going to check up on you?”

“Nope.” He smiled and kissed me again.

His hands were gentle and stroked the side of my torso softly. It gave me a million goosebumps. They disappeared underneath my pajama shirt but I didn’t even flinch—not a single bit.

He wasn’t Billy. He was far from being anything like Billy, and tonight there was no Billy. It was only him and me. I felt safe.

He stopped again and I could feel him taking a huge breath.

“So why the urgency in wanting to see me?”

I stared at him and smiled. “Let’s just say that I’m no longer going to mistreat you.”

We kissed for a long time. Blake’s shirt was missing and his body was blazing hot, temperature wise and physically.

He was like my own personal furnace.

My one foot trailed up his leg and he stopped kissing me. I opened my eyes and found him staring at me.

“What?” I asked.

“Elena, we need to stop.” He spoke softly placing a few strands of hair back behind my ear.

“Why?” I said and he didn’t answer, he just looked at me. I wanted to kiss him again but he pulled away.

“I don’t want you to not speak to me tomorrow because you weren’t ready for this, Elena.”

I just looked at him. This was Blake for crying out loud! I sighed. “You might beg me to shut up.”

He chuckled. “So not going to happen.” He brushed my cheek softly and kissed me once on the lips. “I’m just scared.”

“Scared?” I asked. “Blake Leaf, the mighty Rubicon, scared?” I teased and he smiled.

“You know what I mean.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “There is going to be plenty of time to do this. It’s not the right time, not yet. Just trust me, okay.”

He rested on his one arm and looked at the foot of my bed. He wasn’t even looking at me.

I hated this. Tabitha had no problem getting him riled up. Me, I seriously sucked at this. “Look I know I’m not Tabitha…”

“Elena,” he scolded at me. “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it Blake? I actually remember the two of you at the old place.”

He closed his eyes at that memory and looked disgusted. “I’m not that Blake anymore.”

He made me furious when he said that, really he did, but if he didn’t want to, I wasn’t going to beg him.

“Fine.” I said and closed my eyes. This was so stupid. I should’ve never asked him to come tonight.

He kissed the top of my nose and I opened my eyes. I just stared at him, not really wanting too. I felt so embarrassed now.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” I said.

“Like I just disappointed you again. I hate that look.”

“Sorry, I don’t mean it.”

“Elena, I just want what is best for you. Believe me when you are ready, it will be special. I promise.” He cupped my face and kissed me softly on the lips.

How could I be angry with him? I felt like an idiot but I wasn’t going to push if he wasn’t ready. I knew I was. I just had to be patient now.

I closed my eyes again and moved closer to him. Just being this close should be enough. It would be enough for now.

I forgot about that night I actually went to his room to tell him about the plant.

It wasn’t a surprised that he knew the berries well.

“Tia actually gave it to you.”

“Yes, and then Raymond told me about the berries, it was a huge discussion. She named him Louie, so know we just have to wait for Louie’s berries.”

“You think it’s the missing ingredient?”

“It has to be, it’s powerful enough, or so Raymond said.”

“Okay,” he sighed. “That was the plant you had that night in your arms, wasn’t it?”

“The same one.”

An awkward silence hung in the air. The berries just had to be the missing plant’s ingredients. It just had to be.

The subject changed and we spoke about the past month, about his training with the Dragon League. I couldn’t stop listening to him. It sounded like something that belonged in a King Arthur story, but with dragons. I kept wondering what his father was going to do tomorrow and when the clock read five, we finally called it a night and went to sleep.

WHEN I OPENED my eyes, light streamed into my room. I looked next to me where Blake had fallen asleep and the spot was empty.

I grabbed his pillow and pulled it against my face, breathing in the scent that lingered on his pillow. I loved everything about him, even if I hadn’t said it out loud.

I remembered he had hummed me a song right before I fell asleep. He was driving me insane, and I could finally understand why Tabitha didn’t want to let him go. I found my Cammy on my bed stand and I picked it up.

“Blake Leaf,” I spoke and wielded my shield.

It rang a couple of times and his face appeared. He was in bed and still sleeping.

“What do you want woman? I’m tired.”

I smiled. “Good morning to you too, sunshine. I thought dragons could go without sleep for a long time.”

He chuckled.

“Why did you leave?” I sounded upset.

He wielded his shield too. I could see the faint sparkles in the back ground. “I told you my dad …”

“Keeps an eye on you, yes I got that part.” And forgot all about it.

It was silent for a while and he opened his eyes. “What is it Elena?”

“I’m scared of today.” I looked at him. “What if I can’t do it?”

“Elena, you have to. It’s time.”

“I know. Are you sure you will contain your father?”

“Elena,” he spoke softly in a tone mixed with authority and dislike.

“That’s not what I meant. He was your father’s rider, Blake.”

“Is, he still is. I will speak to Emanual before the interview, just in case. Does that put your mind at ease?”

“I don’t care how many of you there are, I’ll still be worried about him.”

“He knows what the plan is. I just need five minutes to remind him.”

“Okay,” I said as Becky and Sammy barged into my room. It was so weird not hearing any sound. “I’ve got to go, see you later.”

“Counting off the hours.”

I laughed softly, and his holograph disappeared. I lowered my shield and Becky just gave me the eye as she kept looking at the pillow next to me.

“It’s not what you think,” I said quickly as I got up from my bed and went to the bathroom.

I could hear her laughter as I opened the tap of my shower.

“Am I missing something here?” Sammy sounded left out as she struggled to put two and two together. I tuned out their conversation as the warm water fell over my head.

I hated waking up and finding his spot empty. It was as if he really didn’t….stop that Elena, you read his poems. Then why didn’t he want me like that? Could he be thinking like Paul?

I got out with the towel wrapped around my body and both girls were sitting on my bed.

“So when did…”

“Shhhh, my walls aren’t soundproof, okay,” I warned Becky.

“How on earth did he manage last night then?” Becky asked as she wielded her shield around all three of us.

“My brother came back?” Sammy finally got it and blushed.

“Nothing happened,” I spoke fast and Becky squinted slightly. She must have seen the disappointment on my face.

“What do you mean nothing happened?”

“He doesn’t want me like that.”

“Elena,” she spoke.

“Then why, Becky? I don’t get it. Tabitha never had this problem.”

“Tabitha is nothing, Elena,” Samantha said. “My brother didn’t even care about her. Now you, I know he cares about you.”

I smiled. “I love you so much, Samantha,” I said.

“I have to admit, he really had to be extremely good if my mother didn’t hear him.”

I started to laugh and Becky did too.

It fell silent.

“I’m glad you are finally trusting him,” Sammy said.

“Well, he showed me what I needed to see. It wasn’t that hard after all,” I lied as she didn’t know that I’d read his journal. I’d only shared it with Becky.

Becky looked at me. “Now you know how I felt.”

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. I closed my eyes as doubt crawled back into my gut, and recited his words. As entity I lived your years. I’ve seen your hope and your fears. It wasn’t a spell. The Dent was real. It just had to be.

WE SAT AROUND the table eating our breakfast. Afterwards we would leave for Just Kev Studio, which was also in Tith. We needed Areeth to fight. I was done begging them and Just Kev was the last interview where I could get through to Areeth.

I just couldn’t imagine how today was going to turn out. Would I be able to deliver? What if Kev only asked me about my time in Etan? What I’d gone through? Would it make me angry and would I storm out and leave without saying anything about my father? I feared it. It was evident in my plate that was still stacked with eggs and toast that Isabel had been eyeing for the past five minutes.

My Cammy beeped and it was a message from Blake.

The corners of my lips curved slightly. ‘U can do this. I have faith in you.’

That’s all it said.

I can do this. I had no choice and still felt like crap that I’d be breaking my father’s promise.

Becky, George, Dean and Sammy came with me. The boys acted like my bodyguards, pushing through the crowds that were stationed right in front of the studio.

A woman welcomed us inside and took us to the dressing room. My hair and my make-up were done while Sammy and Becky kept me company.

“What did Blake mean when he told Isabel to watch today’s show?” Becky asked.

“Just wait, Becky,” I said without looking at her. I felt bad since Blake had said her father was one of the men that was still alive. I was going to give all the names we’d spoken about last night. Etienne Johnson was among them.

“Five minutes,” another guy with a device around his head spoke to the make-up artist and she nodded.

She finished and smiled at me. “You are ready to go.”

“Thank you,” I got off the chair and walked to the door. I stopped in front of Becky. “Just know that I am so sorry, Becky.”

Her face fell and then it grew into worry lines. “You are scaring me.”

“I know.” I sighed. “I had no choice.”

She nodded her head, and I grabbed her tight. I was sorry. I should’ve told her, but there would always be things that I wouldn’t be able to share with them.

I touched Sammy’s shoulder as the stage manager came to get me. He led me on to the stage where Kev and I were going to have our delayed chat.

Just get through to Areeth, Elena.

I had to push Sir Robert to the back of my mind, and I could still feel Becky and Sammy’s eyes on me.

“Good luck,” Becky mouthed as my eyes found hers again.

Kevin got up from his chair as I reached him and took my hand softly in his. “I’m surprised that you kept your end of Blake’s deal, Elena.”

“I’m a person of my word, or in this case, his.” I smiled and he showed me the open chair where I would sit with his hand.

Another guy clipped a small microphone onto my shirt while the make-up artist applied another layer of powder on Kevin’s face. When both of them left, and the stage was cleared, Kevin’s stupid melody started.

“Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another Just Kev Interview.”

He was finishing his introduction as I took a couple of deep breaths. I’d done this so many times now.

Keep your answers simple, say what is in your heard and don’t forget to tell everyone that your father is still alive.

I blew out the air softly.

You can do this, and smiled.

Blake.

THE CAFETERIA WAS packed. Every dragon that attended training was here, watching Elena’s interview.

I stood next to my father, leaning on one of the tables in the back row. Emanual’s face was as pale as a ghost’s. He looked like he’d seen one too, as he stared at the table without blinking an eyelid. Still, he took his post right on the other side of my father.

Emanual was struggling with the truth. I shouldn’t have sprung it on him like that. But he’d kept pushing so hard when I’d asked him to just be there when Elena revealed something, something that might let my father act irrationally.

Kevin’s show started and I watched as Elena walked on stage. I hated this show. She can do it, I know she can. He asked her something and she replied with a faint smile tugging on the corners of her lips. When the introduction melody stopped, he welcomed everyone to his ‘brilliant show’ and put the main focus on Elena.

Many people were watching today, they couldn’t wait for today’s episode.

He immediately bombarded her with questions about Etan and she answered them like a professional, as if we’d rehearsed this a million times.

“She brings up so many memories,” My father voiced.

“I know,” I whispered and put my one hand on his shoulder. She did. She might not look like Queen Catherine but she sure was her daughter.

“You brought about how many people back now?” Kevin asked.

“About a hundred and fifty,” she said and smiled. “We still need plenty of support from anybody that would like to assist. There are plenty of children that need to be educated, to get them emotionally ready for attending school. It’s like they have to go through some sort of rehabilitation process, just getting them ready and helping them learn that they are safe this side, that no more bad people will take them away from their family.” Kevin just nodded as she kept talking to him about everything. She really knew just what to say to make people relate to what it was these people had lived through the past seventeen years.

“And we also know that really bad things happened to you that side.”

“Kevin,” Both my father and I scolded as if he could hear us. I stared at the fan and prayed that she had strength just to tell him something to make him shut up about this.

I looked back down to the screen. Elena took a deep breath. I felt sorry for her. I should’ve been there, but I had no choice. She wanted me here.

“Those people are surrounded by darkness, Kevin,” she spoke again. “What happened to me wasn’t easy and I don’t wish it upon my worst enemy either, but I’ve had plenty of amazing people supporting me this side, making sure that I know I am safe and that somehow pulled me through all the darkness in my life.” She smiled and a warm, fuzzy feeling heated up my core. It was good knowing that she knew that.

“So, in less than two months you are going to free Etan. We all know what the plans are, but you truly need Areeth to stand with you on this.”

My body froze and Elena nodded.

C’mon you can do this. I know you can.

She looked at Kevin. “We do need them, we can’t win without them but they made it perfectly clear that they don’t want to be a part of this.”

No, don’t do this. Please.

Both Emanual and I just stared at her.

A deep breath Elena, you can do this.

Just then, she took a deep breath as if she could hear me.

“So I’m begging them one last time, please stand with us.”

My body was on alert and I felt Emanual getting ready too. My father just stared at the screen.

“We can’t overrun Goran on our own. We can’t kill the Saadedine on our own, and we can’t bring peace to Paegeia on our own. If you don’t want to fight for me, then do it for my father.” She stopped. It didn’t have the impact she needed.

She knew it too as she looked around her and it was as if her entire body deflated. I could see her taking another breath. Her body straightened. She was going to give this another try. “I don’t mean by what he stood for, who he was, I mean for the man… he still is.”

The entire audience gasped. So did a few of the dragons in this room.

“Wait, what?” Kevin was caught off guard. “You want to tell me that King Albert is still alive?”

She nodded. “I figured it out the day I ascended. He didn’t want me to say anything…” She kept talking about it.

I froze as she said it.

“… I promise you he is still alive trapped behind those Creepers.” She started to name a few of his men that were barely hanging on too, saying Etienne Johnson’s name as well. I told George to be there for Becky when she heard her father’s name. He would make it better.

The entire audience was in utter shock, everyone in this room too.

Everyone in the audience on his show started voicing their concerns. Kevin tried to hush everyone. My only concern was my father standing next to me. He was frozen solid as he just stared at the TV screen.

“Dad,” I spoke softly.

He didn’t answer and I closed my eyes.

In one second my father leapt over the table and ran for the door.

“Emanual!” I yelled and we both ran after my father. He wasn’t thinking straight. Elena had been scared of this, she feared this and I wasn’t prepared at all.

He took flight and I followed. He was heading straight for the Creepers. I flew faster and gained on him in no time.

I pushed him back with my body.

He grunted but didn’t say anything. He fought like he’d never fought before as I pushed him down toward the ground.

“You can’t do this, you know the Creepers will kill you and Elena is not going to take you inside. We have a plan and you will ruin this.”

“Don’t, I beg you, don’t. Just let me go to him.”

We were almost on the ground now.

“Dad, please,” I begged as we touched ground. Both my front paws held him down. His one wing was secure under my paw. “You know the plan. Your actions will let Goran know that we have found a way in, please, there are so many people that are counting on you.”

“He is my rider.”

“I know what he means to you, but if you go in now, you will kill him. Don’t be stupid. Think, please. I know you can do this,  you are his dragon. He’s still alive. I promise you, we will get him out that way, but you have to stick to the plan.”

I didn’t know if my begging was getting through to him He had so much fight left, fight that I hadn’t seen for a very long time.

“Calm down, please, Dad. Remember the plan. It’s your plan and it’s good and solid.”

Emanual landed, with a couple of other dragons, and my father finally succumbed. He wailed and I knew he was crying.

“A small part of me knows how you feel. I promise I will get him out. Just stick to the plan.”

“Okay,” he finally said after a soft wailing song.

Reporters were going to bombard him again and I had no clue how that was going to end.

“Is he okay?” Emanual asked.

I turned my head and looked down on his dragon figure.

“He’s fine.”

I let one of my paws off my father and watched him turn.

I did the same and both of us were handed robes.

“You get him out of there, alive.”

I nodded. “You know I will.”

“I will stick to the plan, on one condition, Blake. We speed this up.”

ELENA

I FOUND BECKY sitting against the wall with her head between her legs. George crouched next to her, rubbing her arm.

“Becky,” I spoke and went down on my haunches in front of her.

She looked up at me. “This was your big secret, Elena. That our fathers are still alive.”

I nodded and silence lingered around us as she stared past me. Then something in her mind went off. She looked at George with concern. “My mother. George, we have to go to my mother.”

“Will you guys…”

“Go,” I said to George and they both left. I felt even worse now as I imagined what Lucille was going through with only Rosa at her side.

I should’ve prepared them for this. They were my friends.

I clutched my hair.

“Elena,” Sammy’s hand was on my shoulder.

“I suck at this. I’m probably the worst friend out there.”

“You are not, okay? You are the princess and we made peace with the fact that sometimes there will be things you won’t be able to share with us immediately. It was just a lot to take in.”

I hated it when Sammy did that.

“He’s really alive.”

“It’s why your brother isn’t here. He stayed with your father, to who we have to go to now.”

“So he knows.”

“Yes, he found out when we were in Etan the first time.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

We left on Sammy’s back and she flew as fast as she could back to the Dragon League.

I slid off her wing when she landed and had to endure all the stares that most of them gave me.

I didn’t care if any of them understood why we kept this a secret. I know the media was going to make it sound as if it was a tactic I’d used to make Areeth fight with us, but there were many that could confirm this, A hundred and fifty people to be exact.

I entered the door and found Emanual leaning against the wall right in front of Sir Robert’s office.

I touched his arm softly and he looked at me.

“I’m so sorry.” It hardly came out and he gave me a faint smile.

I opened the door and could hear the sobs coming from Sir Robert. He was sitting in his chair. Blake sat on top of his desk in front of him, with his hands on his shoulder, speaking Latin to him.

He looked at me and back at his father.

“I’m so sorry about this,” I said to Sir Robert.

He looked at me for a few seconds, closed his eyes and shook his head.

He inhaled deeply and exhaled before he spoke. “A part of me always knew that he was alive. The worst part of it now is that for some reason,” his voice rose, “I can’t get the last time I saw him out of my head.” He got up and started to pace.

“Dad,” Blake said.

“No, son. I should’ve been there, but he forced me away from him. He used the binding spell against me!” He yelled and then he stopped as he remembered something else and started to smile, but it was one of those smiles you get when you just realized how stupid you were. “I taught him that, and he used it to order me away, because of you, because of what we all promised. To keep you safe no matter how hard it was going to be.” He looked at Blake.

“What?” Blake said.

“I thought about that night a million times. He knew that you would be claimed one day, and all we had to do was to keep you safe until that time.” His face hardened. He walked over to his book shelf and threw the contents to the floor. Books scattered everywhere.

I flinched. Blake was at his side at once trying to calm him, but he slipped past him and threw the contents from his desk too. I flinched again, wanting to leave as Blake closed his eyes.

“What pissed me off the most was that he’d told nobody about her. I’ve lived eighteen years thinking he thought that I was behind his betrayal. That was why he forced me away from him that night. For fifteen years.”

“He didn’t…” I started.

“I know, you told me that. But it doesn’t change the fact that I left him when he needed me the most.”

“Dad, he used the binding spell. You just said that.”

“I could’ve fought harder Blake. When I saw the Creepers jumping out of the ground, I knew it was something out of this world. I could’ve found a way to control the spell, use it against my rider. I gave him my oath that I would keep him safe…”

“And he broke it when he bound you, Dad. He is alive, you will see him again. I promise. When the right time comes…”

“One month, Blake.”

“Dad, we told them two moons from now.”

“One month. They are men of King Albert. Men I fought wars with for a long time. They know the signs of war. They will be ready no matter what you told them. Four weeks. Whether you are ready or not. In four weeks she will take me in.”

WELL THAT WAS unexpected. To hear Sir Robert giving us an ultimatum of one month to get everything ready for war, was hard to swallow.

Eight weeks was doable. Four weeks, was a suicide mission.

But Blake nodded and I knew we had no choice.

I went back to the Academy without Blake, who wanted to make sure that his father was really okay with all of this and wasn’t going to do something stupid the minute we left. He would never reach my father in time. He would die in the Creepers.

Media crews were already waiting for us in the courtyard. I could see Constance and Master Longwei trying to get rid of them but the minute we got near, flashing lights bounced off Sammy’s scales.

They bombarded me with questions.

“Princess, you said that you promised your father is still alive. Is that a tactic to get Areeth to fight?”

“No comment,” I said. No matter what I was going to say, they would turn my words around and use them against me. I had nothing to prove to them that I was telling the truth. They either believed me or they didn’t.

Sammy and Dean followed after me as more reporters’ yelled questions.

Professor Pheizer was waiting inside for all of us.

“We will get more guards here in the next few weeks, Elena,” she said. “I’m so sorry that you had to keep that all to yourself for so long.”

I smiled. She was kind, had always been kind and it was hard to imagine what Blake  had gone through when he’d discovered that she was on to him a few years back.

“I’m sorry. I know I still have a lot to learn, and it feels like I’m doing everything wrong.”

“That is what will make you a brilliant queen one day. It’s knowing you are not ready, when you are.” She winked and left as we climbed up the stairs to our rooms.

The rest of the night I watched reporters questioning the families whose names I’d mentioned today. I even saw them bombarding Becky as George landed with her close to her home.

“Rebecca Johnson, how does it feel knowing that your father is alive?”

“Show some respect!” she yelled. “You just don’t know when to stop, you scum.”

George, who was buck naked, was pushing her through the door that Rosa was keeping open.

I lowered my head into my palm and just shook my head. She was never going to forgive me.

Then I listened to the interviews they had with random people, how many of them questioned Just Kev’s interview today. They were completely pulling me to shreds because I said no comment.

A knock on the door came and Sammy switched off the TV. I got up and opened the door.

It was Master Longwei.

“The Council wants to see you, Elena.”

“Now? It’s almost ten o’clock.”

“I’m sorry but as you can imagine, today’s revelation…” he didn’t finished. He didn’t have to finish.

I nodded and left with him.

THE RIDE TO Town Hall in Elm was silent. Master Longwei didn’t say a word. He didn’t ask any questions. He just stared out of his window.

We landed at the palace in Tith. Everyone was waiting for us in King Helmut’s meeting room. I was glad that it was just the Council and not the Ancients too.

I walked in and found the long, oblong table. Master Longwei and I sat down on the only two chairs left way at the end.

“Thank you for joining us on such short notice, Princess,” King Helmut started the meeting.

I nodded.

“So this morning with Just Kev,” he asked. “Elena, is that the truth?”

I stared at him and shook my head. “You’re seriously asking me this?”

“We need to know the tactic behind this revelation you spewed all over us today,” King Caleb started.

“I’m not lying. I didn’t make any of that up. If you don’t believe me, ask the hundred and fifty people I brought out.”

“Easy to…”

“Stop interrupting me. I’m so tired of your constant belief that I’m trying to fool you or trying to trap you into fighting a war you absolutely do not believe in. I didn’t lie in order to get Areeth to fight. I never wanted to tell anyone the truth about my father, but it wasn’t just my destiny. Blake was the one that said I had to tell the truth. He’s carried this knowledge, along with me, for a couple of months now, and if you think that it was easy keeping it from everyone, you are making a huge mistake. Fight if you want to fight, don’t fight, but know that I will free my father and then all of you will have to look him in the eye. And I hope you’ll have a really good reason of why you didn’t want to help him. I’m really not doing this for me. I’m doing this for my father. Because he deserves to be free.”

I got up.

“I’m done begging. Those of you who want to fight for my father, fight. Those of you who feel that I’m lying, don’t fight. Nobody is forcing you.”

I turned around and left.

Master Longwei was still sitting in his chair when I opened the door. Flashes went off in my face again as I stormed into the castle. They hadn’t been there a few minutes ago. How did they know about all these private meetings?

The guards kept them at bay, but the palace was sort of a free for all. It served as a sort of sanctuary so the gates were open until midnight.

“What do you want from me?” I yelled at them and as one by one they all stopped and lowered their cameras.

“You want me to tell you that I made all of that up so that Areeth could fight? That’s clearly what you keep on reporting.” I stared at all of them. None of them had expected this, and I was done being this proper princess.

“Well, I can’t tell you that, because it would be a lie. I never wanted anybody to know the truth, because my father loves his people more than his own freedom. That is the kind of man he was, and I respected that. But then I started thinking. Why do you get to have that man give his life for you? What makes you so special and not me? So I told the truth because my father is a great man. Is, not was. He is alive. I swear on my mother’s grave that he is alive. How much longer he’ll stay that way, well that is up to you. Fight if you want to fight, don’t. To be honest, I don’t care anymore, but my father will come home. That is a promise.”

Queen Margerite put her hands on my shoulders.

I didn’t want to go back inside and I nodded. “I’m fine. I just want to go back to the Academy.”

She nodded toward one of her men and they pulled up in a royal carriage with a dragon at the front.

I got in as cameras flashed once more. They still yelled questions. Questions that sounded more directed at what my father said during my ascending, how I’d discovered he was still alive, yada, yada, yada.

The minute I closed the door, the dragon started to run and lifted off as fast as he could.

It felt as if I could breathe again. Regret over what I’d just done filled my gut. Queen Margerite told me that it was okay to lose your patience with one or two at the most, like she had with Stanley that time. But a crowd? They would never let me forget it as long as I lived.

I FELT THE carriage land and I opened the door. I thanked the dragon and watched him lift off again as another one pulled in.

I didn’t want to listen to Master Longwei’s advice about how I should never handle the council like that. He would see tonight as a learning experience, so I walked as fast as I could to the front door of the Academy.

“Elena,” Master Longwei called me back. “Hold up.”

I stopped. I felt so drained. Today hadn’t been as easy as everyone thought it was. I wanted my bed, I wanted to go and sleep.

He reached me in no time and just stared at me.

“I’m telling the truth. My father is alive, and nobody believes me. It’s like they forgot what he was to all of them.”

I wiped an angry tear away.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Elena. Believe it or not, I don’t doubt your word. I just struggle to imagine what it must have been like for him all these years.”

“I…” I wanted to argue my actions from tonight and only just then realized what he’d said. “What?”

He smiled. “Congratulations, I’m proud that you finally stood up to all of them questioning you.”

I just looked at him with a slightly gaped mouth. He smiled and closed my mouth.

I sighed. “If nobody wants to fight…”

“Don’t, Elena. Let it sink in first. Let them make up their own mind about what is true and what isn’t. You may be surprised at how much your father was loved and respected. I’ll get word out to the other side, gather all the other Metallics. It might take a month or so…

“We only have four weeks,” I interrupted.

“What?”

“Sir Robert is pushing us. He wants my father to come home.”

“So he believes you?”

I nodded.

Master Longwei smiled. “If his dragon believes his rider is still alive, then he’s alive. People will believe, Elena. Just give them time.

THE NEXT FEW days we watched and listened to so many TV shows and radio stations talking about my father and whether or not he was really alive. Then, finally, Just Kev did an interview with Sir Robert. It was held at the Dragon League, in his office.

“So, what did you feel when Elena told everyone that her father was still alive?”

“The same as you, Kevin. I was shocked for a few seconds, but a part of me always knew that he was too magical to die by the hands of a lowly piece of scum like Goran. I know he is fighting every day for his life, and Elena might not plead anymore, but I will. Remember the Great War, the one where all the dragons won their freedom? It was the crown prince, fighting against his own father. Many crown princes, and their dragons, fighting their parents. That is the man that none of you want to free. We need all your help, but if you are not willing to stand with us, we will do this by ourselves, and we will succeed.” He looked down. “I just don’t want to be the one that has to tell him that this person and that person didn’t want to fight because they didn’t accept the princess’s word. That would be devastating for him, especially if it’s someone he used to see as one of his greatest friends.”

“Was that aimed at the King of Areeth?”

Sir Robert smiled. “You might have forgotten about him, Kevin, but I haven’t. Albert treated everyone as his friend.”

Sir Robert got up. “Now if you will excuse me, I have a war to get ready for and I only have three weeks.”

“Three weeks?” Kevin asked.

“My rider is coming home in three weeks.”

I closed my eyes and when I opened them, Kevin had nothing to say, he was speechless.

“Guess there is a time for everything,” Sammy said. Now that Becky wasn’t here, she was the one leaving her two-cent comments in Becky’s place. I laughed. I missed Becky. I’d tried to phone her so many times but she hadn’t accepted my calls or called me back.

Sammy’s hyena laughter filled the room as Kevin finally showed the cut sign and the show went to a commercial. I couldn’t help but to join her.

When our laughter quieted down she looked at me. “You think they will fight?”

“I don’t know. Master Longwei said that he will try to get word over to the dragons on the other side. So let’s hope.”

“I know this sounds strange, but I’m ready for this, Elena. It’s exciting, it’s new.” She looked ready and I just grabbed her around the neck and hugged her tight.

“I wish I had your confidence.”

“You do, you just don’t know it yet.”

I shook my head. “Becky,” I said and couldn’t finish my sentence.

“Give her time, Elena. She has to digest a lot.”

“None of them are returning my calls. How am I supposed to say sorry for everything if they don’t return or pick up when I call them?”

“Some people need time, especially the Johnsons. You know she always wants to know everything. Just give her time.”

Just Kev started again and he carried on with his interview but this time Blake was sitting in his father’s spot.

My stomach fluttered. I missed him too.

“So, Blake. You’ve obviously known about this for a long time?”

“Yes, Kevin. I have.”

“And what were your thoughts about it the first time?”

He smiled. “To be honest, it wasn’t Elena that told me the truth. It was the people of Etan. Goran is guarding King Albert with his life, so if you want to know if I have seen him.” He shook his head as an answer. “But I’ve seen all the others. They are alive and they are only alive because of their king. If he was dead, they would’ve died too. So yes, I believe with all my heart that he is still alive.”

“Is it true that Elena didn’t want the people to know about her father still being alive?”

“Yes, because he made her promise not to tell anyone. He loved his people, something a lot of people seem to have forgotten. He loved them so much that he would give up meeting his daughter, so that they could live in peace for as long as they lived. But I say fuck that. I want her to meet the man her father is, the man who all of us had a chance to know and she has only read about in history books. And I will find a way to free him. I will bet my life on it.”

Kevin had nothing to say as Blake had just cussed on live TV.

Tears welled up in my eyes when he said it. One of us was going to die if Louie’s berries wasn’t the missing ingredient was.

He ended it with a plea again. “Everyone should fight, not because they are scared, but because of the person that is behind those Creepers, for all of the families still trapped behind Etan. It is time to stand together again, like we did a long time ago when the other side wanted everything for themselves. Nothing will be able to touch us ever again if we can just learn how to stand together.”

“Thank you, Blake, for giving us the time and for those words of encouragement.” He cleared his throat. “And I really wish you all the best on pushing this forward.”

“Thank you, Kevin.”

“Only he can cuss on live TV and get away with it,” Sammy said.

“Yeah, just imagine what type of king he will be,” Dean peeped next to Sammy.

“King?” Sammy and I both said.

“Well,” Dean said. “If you think about it, he will eventually marry you one day Elena, and your father is not going to live forever. Blake and you will take over this world, together.”

I looked at Sammy who had a blank look on her face.

“My brother is going to be a freak’n king one day!”

“And not just any king, a dragon king,” Dean smiled.

We all laughed at his comment. I would give anything for that to become true, anything

INTERVIEWS WITH SOME of the people that had come back from Etan followed over the next couple of days. I smiled as Charles spoke to a reporter while helping out in David’s garden.

He spoke so easily about the times he’d seen my father, how Goran was trying to break his spirit, but that gleam in his eyes never faded.

It made me want to fight, even though I was shit scared.

Dean, Sammy and I were watching in our room when a knock came from the door and Sammy got up to open it. I would have given anything to have Becky and George walk through the door.

Even better, Blake entered and his face lit up when he saw me.

I got up and jumped into his arms.

Our lips touched.

“When did you come back?”

“A few minutes ago,” he said with a lopsided smile.

He looked at the TV.

“Why are you watching this, Elena?”

He let me go and walked to the coffee table, picked up the remote and switched it off.

“Seriously?” Sammy grunted.

“I’ve been listening to all sorts of plans about how we are going to pull this off over the past two weeks. I don’t want to listen to non-believers for the next two weeks. Thank you very much,” he teased.

Sammy rolled her eyes. “It’s still my room.”

He ignored her comment.

“So what is the plan, Blake?” I had to know.

“Well, for now, I need to eat.”

I laughed.

“And then, I need you to come with me so we can convince more people to fight with us.”

I grunted. “I thought you said that you don’t care about the non-believers.”

“I don’t. They are not non-believers, they are just cut off from the press and media.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Not to Etan. I promise.” He kissed me softly on the lips, “But you really need them, Elena.”

“Not me, we. We really need them.”

“Okay, we really need them.”

I left with him to get something to eat. Many students greeted him as we walked over to the buffet area and when we finally got something dished up, we went to sit at a table for two.

“So there is something I need to tell you,” I said.

“What is it?”

“I got the suit. And I asked to get it changed.” I put a heap of food into my mouth.

“You what?”

“The vision showed you wearing black. I changed it to white.”

“Elena,” he said and started to laugh. “That’s not how it works.”

“I don’t care.”

He touched my hand softly. “Thank you, it’s really sweet.”

“You are welcome.” I smiled and carried on eating.

“So where are George and Becky? I haven’t seen him at all.”

I shook my head.

“Elena?” he asked.

“I haven’t seen her since the interview. She said that she needed to go to her mom and that was it. She’s refused to speak to me, and she doesn’t even pick up when I call. Neither does Lucille.”

“I’ll speak to George tonight, find out if everything is okay.”

“Thank you.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Does Samantha know about the vision?”

“She found out when the suit arrived.”

“It explains the looks. I just wanted to know.”

“What looks?”

“The kind she gives when she has no idea what the future will hold.”

“Well she doesn’t, it’s not her ability.”

He smiled. “I just can’t deal with her worrying about this too.”

“Blake, she is your sister. I’m her best friend. It’s not easy and she is going to worry whether you like it or not. It’s what people do when they love someone.”

“Okay Freud, whatever you say.”

I laughed as I carried on eating.

“So what did you think about the suit?” Blake wanted to know.

“It’s something else, I have to say.”

“Something else?” He squinted.

“Okay, it’s freak’n brilliant. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“What can I say? I’m a master of many things.”

“That you are.” I laughed. “So where are we going?”

He pulled his face.

“Please tell me. I’m not good with surprises.”

“I’m scared you won’t come with if I tell you, and to be honest, two weeks away from you was really hard, Elena.”

“Stop whining, where?”

“To Isaac’s family.”

I burst out laughing. “You are taking me to your band member’s house? That is so terrible, Blake.” I teased him.

“What can I say?” He teased back.

“Should I take my axes?”

He laughed. “I would love to see the look on his face, but no, they are not a threat.”

“You said that they are secluded.”

“Not really secluded, more like… you’ll see when we get there.”

“Okay, whatever.”

WE FLEW TO the not secluded, yet secluded spot where the shifters lived and to be honest, I felt free riding on Blake’s back.

Riding him wasn’t as difficult as I had thought he would be. Sure he was big, but I found a way to feel secure and safe on his back.

The evening was beautiful. The stars shone brightly and I couldn’t stop thinking that in less than two weeks, I might lose it all.

If anything happened to Blake, I knew I would never be able to fly like this with another dragon.

He started to descend and in the distance I could see faint lights flickering on the horizon.

It was a village with gates and walls taller than Blake standing in his dragon form.

I slid off his wing as one of the guards came out of the gatehouse and Blake shifted back, pulling his robe over his body.

“Tim,” Blake greeted him.

“Blake,” Tim greeted him back.

“This is Elena.”

Tim stared at me as if he’d never seen me before and quickly shook my hand. “So nice to finally meet you, Princess.”

“Elena is fine, and it’s nice meeting you too.”

Blake chuckled and we followed Tim into the compound—or whatever this place was.

There was a van waiting for us and Tim spoke to one of the other guards that greeted Blake.

We climbed in and drove through another gate.

I gasped when I saw how plain everything looked. It was as if we’d jumped back in time. There was no electricity, except the gate. Every house had a lantern that shone from the porch, and no sound came from inside the houses.

Blake smiled as he saw me staring at every wooden house we passed.

“It’s a bit of a fruity community, but I respect their beliefs.”

“So they really are cut off from the world?”

“People leave them alone here, Elena. Paegeia is scared to be sucked into their world.”

Into their world? “There is nothing wrong with living like this.”

A huge smile sprawled over Blake’s face.

“True, but you have to agree, Elena, this is a bit Amish-like, don’t you think?”

“There is nothing wrong with being Amish either?” I scolded him and he laughed at me.

“Of course there isn’t. It’s just boring.”

“How does Isaac handle this lifestyle?”

He didn’t say anything, just suppressed his laughter which told me that the poor guy was bored to death.

“All the shape shifters live like this?”

“All the band members are part of this community, yes, and they have some freaky traditions when one comes to speak to them about something. Whatever they give you to drink, just swallow,” he spoke that last part so fast that I hoped I’d heard it right.

The truck stopped in front of a wooden house. A lantern hung in the doorway.

Blake took my hand and led me toward the house after he said goodbye to Tim.

The Jeep’s door closed as we walked toward the light that shone from the lantern.

“They really don’t have electricity here?”

“They do, but they don’t believe in it. Some people just love nature, and like to stay in an area where they feel safe.”

I smiled and followed him up the steps.

Blake knocked on the door and waited. Nobody came to open it and a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

“Nobody home?” I asked.

“No, they are here,” he spoke softly and turned the knob. The door opened and it was pitch black on the other side of the door.

“What are you doing?” I whispered.

“Calm down, Elena. It’s not what it looks like. Just stay here.”

“The hell I am,” I said and I smacked his back as we entered the house.

I could make out a staircase that went up to the upper level of the wooden house.

There was a long hallway and in the one rooms a faint light shone.

For some reason my heart was bouncing inside my chest.

Why the heck was I so scared of the dark?

The floor creaked softly below my feet. Blake’s didn’t even make a peep. It was as if he was gliding on air.

A huge figure smacked him down and pinned him on the floor. I only saw a tale and a long beak, as it pushed him to the ground.

The tale pushed me too and I fell backwards.

Immediately, I got back up. I knew I should’ve brought my axes, but Blake had said it wasn’t dangerous.

Laughter erupted and Isaac walked out of the room where the faint light was shining.

What the hell was this?

“You got him, Missy. Change back before you give the Princess of Paegeia a heart attack. The lantern in Isaac’s hand lit up the room slightly.

Missy, or whatever this thing was, turned her eagle head around. She had a lion’s body with two eagle claws at the front and lion paws in the back.

She climbed off Blake.

“Sorry about the scare,” she said and I was completely taken aback.

Isaac gave Blake a hand and he helped him up.

She changed back into a girl with long golden hair who ran stark naked into another room. I stared after her like an idiot, which made Blake and Isaac laugh.

“Missy is my younger sister,” Isaac said as he lured my attention back to him.

“What is she?”

“Never heard of a Chimera before?”

I shook my head.

“Well they are quite rare, died out some time in the 1600’s if not earlier. My sister and father are some of the few Chimera’s we still have.”

“So I take it you are not a Chimera?”

“Nope, I’m way cooler.”

Blake laughed.

“What, I am? I’m much faster than you.”

I gasped. “You are a dragon too?”

“He wishes,” Blake chipped and let out a squawking sound.

“Nope, I’m an eagle.” Isaac smiled. “Mom was the other eagle in the family, but she died a long time ago. Now it’s only me, Missy and my Dad.”

I felt sorry for him. At least we had something in common about the Mom-thing.

“Speaking of your Dad, is he here?”

“He’s right through here. All of them are, so I hope you informed the princess about the rituals, Blake.”

“I did, don’t worry.”

I was starting to worry now about that last statement he’d spoken way too fast. He did say drink… Oh crap.

“I have no idea how tonight is going to go, my father still keeps me in the dark,” Isaac spoke in Latin. “But they were shocked when the news of the King came. Whatever the verdict, you know we are with you.”

“I know,” Blake smacked him on the back.

Blake smiled and walked backwards a few paces before he turned his body forward and walked toward the room where the light shone.

It was a very old kitchen, and reminded me a lot about the kitchen in Isabel’s old home. It had old furniture, and a huge black coal oven.

In the middle was an oak table with many men sitting around it.

There were three more chairs open and Blake took one of them.

He gestured for me to sit down in the one next to him and Isaac took the one on his other side.

One of the men lit three lanterns. He wore clothes that made me think of an Indian chief.

“I heard she’s got you good this time.”

“I knew she was somewhere lurking in the dark,” Blake said.

Everyone laughed.

They were all huge, broad-shouldered men with long hair.

The guy turned around as the kitchen lit up with the other lanterns he’d just lit, and took the chair at the end.

I only now noticed the small shot glasses in front of all of us, and wished that I could read Blake’s mind.

I was nervous as hell to know what these glasses contained.

The man at the end of the seat closed his eyes and all of them started to pray.

I looked at Blake who winked at me and lowered his head, but he didn’t close his eyes.

Then everyone picked up the shot glasses and drank.

I did the same and saw Blake swallowing telling me that it was safe to drink it.

It was strong, but I was used to strong.

When it was over, Isaac got up and put a beer in front of us. Blake immediately took a sip of his, I did too.

The man on the end lit up a pipe.

He was smoking something that looked like a peace pipe that Native Americans always smoked in the movies.

He smiled and then introductions took place.

I tried to remember all of them, but my head started to spin a little.

“Yuri, I would like you to meet the Princess of Paegeia,” Blake finally said and I took a huge breath, hoping it would calm the turmoil that was going on in my head. It worked and I shook his hand. “Just, Elena.”

“Yuri,” he said with a broad grin, and took a few more drags from his pipe before he killed it and put it on the table.

“Please sit.”

I sat down again and in two seconds the vibe turned from friendly to not-so-friendly.

“When Isaac said you wanted to come and see us, we knew immediately why you wanted to speak to us. We got word a few hours earlier and were waiting for your request for an invitation.”

Request for an invitation?

“We are sorry to disappoint, Blake, but the shifters are not going to fight in this war.”

Blake was taken aback. He hadn’t expected it at all. To be honest, neither had I.

“What?” Isaac didn’t feel like his father did, or like any of these men.

“I’ve made up my mind, Isaac.”

“All of you have decided this?” He looked at all of them. “Uncle Jedi, Pete?” Isaac asked. “Did you forget who gave us this land, who honored our beliefs when nobody else did?”

“It’s in the past, son. We fought our wars. We’ve fought plenty of wars. The king will understand.” Yuri’s expression was unreadable as he looked at Isaac.

“Father, we need to fight.”

I jumped slightly as Yuri’s fist connected with the table. “This isn’t our war, son. It’s a war between Dragons and Wyverns.”

“What about King Albert?”

“I knew the king well, and I can promise you one thing. He doesn’t want this. He doesn’t want to fight either. He would never have wanted those Creepers destroyed. His biggest concern was always for his people. And that is something I do share with the King, Isaac.”

He had known my father, and well too. My father had made me promise not to free Etan.

“They need our help,” Isaac still tried to get through to Yuri.

“I’m sorry Isaac. I can’t.”

“Well,” Isaac’s lips thinned out. “If you won’t, I will.”

“Isaac,” both Blake and I said at the same time.

“I forbid you.”

“I’m next in line for Chief,” Isaac said. “I’m not going to be a coward.”

“We are not cowards,” One of the other men said, his lips were thin. “Have you even considered if Blake and Elena, if all of them, don’t succeed? What will become of Paegeia? You don’t know of that time, Isaac, when the war broke out in Etan, when the Creepers consumed Etan. I lost many shifter friends and family that night. Goran is just too powerful, and rumor has it that he has conjured the Saadedine. Do you know what the Saadedine is like when he is evil?”

“I don’t care, we should fight!” Isaac yelled at whoever the guy was.

“You will die!” Yuri said. “You are the last of the Soverheight Eagles, Isaac.”

“Then they will sing songs about my bravery, Father. But I am no coward. I will fight. The band will fight too.” He looked at Blake. “We will never abandon you Blake. Never.”

“Isaac, so help…”

“Stop!” I yelled and all of them looked at me. “We are not going to win this war fighting each other. We can only win by forming an alliance.” I took a deep breath. “Isaac, I get why your father doesn’t want to fight, and he is right. He knows the king pretty well, and believe me there isn’t a person in this room that wants to free him more than I do. But it can’t come from forcing people to fight. I agree with your father.” The words flowed freely from my mouth. They were words straight from my heart. I loved this. “You are the last of your kind and hopefully one day you can show me what is so magical about the Soverheight Eagles. I, for one refuse to learn what they used to be through songs. Killing the Saadedine will be a miracle in itself. And your father is right, if by any chance we don’t make it, or kill it, someone strong needs to be on this side to fight for the others…”

“Elena, this is not what my father meant.”

“You don’t know what your father means. I won’t force anyone to fight for my cause.”

“Our cause,” Blake interrupted.

“Sorry,” I smiled. “Our course.”

Blake squinted at me.

I looked at Yuri and although I felt pretty disappointed that tonight was a huge failure, I smiled. “Thank you for your time,” I looked at all of them. “For all of your time. It was really nice meeting you.”

They were all quiet, just staring at me, nobody saying a word. “You are a lot like your mother,” The guy opposite me said. “Just know it was extremely difficult to make this decision.”

“Not so difficult. I was once where you are, and then someone finally got through to me about why we had to do this, or die trying.”

“Elena,” Isaac said again.

“Don’t, Isaac. It’s my decision and it’s Blake’s too. You can fight another day.”

I looked at Blake and he got up.

“Thank you for seeing us. It was a pleasure, like always. Sorry we can’t stay longer, maybe next time.” He looked at all of them.

Yuri just nodded with a broken smile.

We walked toward the door and down the hallway we’d just came. Isaac didn’t say anything, just goodbye as he led us out.

I walked with huge strides to the truck that still waited for us outside and opened the door.

“Everything okay?” Tim sounded surprised, probably that it had happened so quickly.

“Yeah,” Blake sounded confused and looked at me. “What the hell was that about?” He stared at me. “I could’ve changed his mind, Elena.”

I took a huge breath and smiled at him. “I know you could’ve, but …” I shook my head. “I might not be the right kind of princess, or excel at this job description, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Queen Margerite, it is never force your people to do something they don’t want. It’s not Monarchy code. The loyal will prove themselves loyal in the time of need, Blake. We just need to have faith.” I didn’t even sound like me. I didn’t feel like me either. I touched my face.

Blake just stared at me and then he burst out laughing.

“Please don’t tell me you swallowed that shot, Elena.”

“Of course I did?”

“Why do you think Isaac gave you the beer? You were supposed to spit it into the beer.”

“What?” I sounded squeaky and started to laugh hysterically. “What is going on?” I sounded even more funny, like I’d swallowed a canister of helium and laughed once more.

“Sorry about this Tim. This one is about to go on the trip of a lifetime.

Everything swirled and I just laughed more. My head felt heavy and I honestly have no idea how what followed happened.

For some bizarre reason I felt like a dragon again, soaring through the sky, feeling the wind beneath my wings. The world looked weird—like a huge puzzle, or perhaps I was just small, tiny like a fly.

It was freaky.

I couldn’t make out what the puzzle was about, but I swore it belonged to giants.

Nothing made sense. Giants were building a puzzle and for some odd reason one of them sounded like Herbert.

Then everything twirled again and when I opened my eyes I saw a unicorn. I closed them fast and opened them again. The unicorn spoke, but what it said didn’t make any sense. Oh man, this was definitely a trip I was never going to forget.

Blake

ELENA WAS ALL over the place. She wasn’t able to stay on my back, because she was laughing hysterically. I flew with her to the Manor. My mom was the nearest Swallow Annex and would know what to do. I phoned Master Longwei and told him what happened.

I had to carry her in my paw and she kept laughing hysterically, screaming how good it felt to be a dragon again.

Giants and puzzles made me laugh. What the hell was she experiencing?

I felt bad because in some way this was all my fault.

I landed on my clearing and put her over my shoulder just as she started speaking about unicorns.

“Mom!” I yelled. “Come quick.”

She was still mumbling something about a horsey and I don’t know what else when my mom ran into my room.

She looked concerned and when she saw Elena laughing hysterically, her concern became a terrifying glare.

“Please don’t tell me that she drank…”

“She swallowed it by mistake,” I spoke and watched her lying on my bed. Her body was limp but words kept pouring out of her mouth. She was having a hefty conversation with someone or something. “Please tell me she will be okay?”

Elena looked at my mom and started to laugh hysterically calling her the Frog Queen.

We both started to laugh. “Well,” Mom said looking at her. “At least it’s fairytale creatures and not demons. I’ll go make the anti-dote.”

“YURI IS JUTS scared, Blake.”

“We are all scared Mom.”

“I know, but he’s forgotten what bravery meant, just like your father had for many years.”

“I don’t know. I feel as if I betrayed Isaac tonight.”

“Ow, my head, what the hell happened?” Elena finally came into the kitchen.

I looked at my mother and we both started to laugh. She got up from the table and touched Elena’s face. “I bet you have one hell of a headache.”

Elena sulked and nodded as my mother touched her temples softly and I could see Elena melting in the palm of her hands.

“That feels so good,” she croaked.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes. “How is that, better?”

“Much.” Elena smiled. “So glad to know I am never going to have to take another Advil again.”

My mother laughed as I smiled, sipping on my coffee. She came to sit at the table. “So what the hell happened last night? I don’t even remember getting here.”

“How was fairyland?”

“Urgh, what did I do?”

I laughed.

My mom hit me with her cloth. “It’s not nice to laugh, Blake.”

“Unicorns and Frog Queens.”

“Don’t,” Elena touched her face and rubbed it. “What was that? And you said whatever they offer me I should drink.”

“No, I said you shouldn’t drink. Tim was in the van last night. I couldn’t spell it out for you.”

“Oh and you couldn’t tell me before we got there?”

I smiled. “Sorry, I forgot about that to be honest. I had to make Tim forget that I told you that you should’ve spit it out. If he told Yuri that I don’t drink it anymore, he would never sit with me again.”

“Next time just make sure I know what it is you are saying, please. That was horrible in a very nice way.” She started to laugh.

I pulled her closer to me and kissed her on the head. “Sorry about that, I felt awful afterwards and had to get you to my mom as soon as I could.”

ELENA

I STILL STRUGGLED to get over the fact that I was drugged out of my mind last night. The things I’d experienced were out of this world. Blake wasn’t far from it when he said that I took a stroll through fairy land. I saw all sorts of creatures that didn’t belong to this world, at least the parts I had seen.

Isabel put a plate of food in front of me, and although I didn’t felt like eating, I was starving.

They spoke about last night. How it went from introductions to horribly wrong in a few minutes.

“Missy’s gotten really big.”

“She has?” Isabel loved the change in topic. She smiled at a memory, must be of Missy. “I remember when she first transformed. Yuri wanted it to be another Soverheight Eagle and was so disappointed when he discovered another Chimera.” She laughed. “He got horribly drunk and your father had to get him out of a tree he’d somehow gotten himself stuck in.”

We all laughed as she tried to explain how the Chimera’s wing had gotten caught in a hook of two branches and his body just hung like a rag doll, cussing the night away—or rather slurring the night away. I knew it hadn’t been that funny at that precise moment. It couldn’t have been fun, but the way Isabel laughed out of her stomach when she told us the story was addictive and we couldn’t help but laugh with her.

Isabel spoke about all the shifters she used to know. They sounded like an amazing breed and I wondered how Nora had gotten mixed up with Wyverns.

King Helmut had gotten his revenge and it was a story I hoped I would never hear. It would haunt me forever.

“What time is your meeting with King Caleb?”

“We need to get ready soon,” Blake downed his entire cup of coffee. “I just hope that it would be enough for him to fight.”

“Of course it would be enough. King Caleb turned out to be many things, but he was always loyal to the king, Blake.” Isabel sounded so sure of herself, and of King Caleb.

“Yeah, I will believe that when I see it, Mother.”

“You’ll see. It’s going to be much more satisfying than last night.”

The two of them laughed again and I just shook my head with a hint of a smile.

“I’m never going to forget about this, am I?”

“Not for a long time,” Blake peeped.

I got up and went to my room to take a shower and get ready for a meeting I didn’t even know we had today.

When it was time to leave, I had to admit it was hard to say goodbye to Isabel.

I should’ve come and visited her more.

Blake decided that we should fly to Areeth together, to show the people that we were finally together, just like the statue inside the Museum of Etan showcased the both of us. That we were strong and would do everything in our power to make sure that the Saadedine would die.

“So, what if this doesn’t work?”

“It has to work, Elena. It just has to. We need Areeth.”

I didn’t question that, or doubt his ability of getting Areeth to finally stand with our cause.

There was a crowd of protestors standing in front of the Castle where Blake was going to try and talk some sense into King Caleb for the final time.

If this didn’t work, then nothing would.

The minute we landed, a woman spit in front of us.

“You don’t fool any of us,” she spoke in Latin. “We know the two of you will never stand together, will never be brave enough to lead this world to victory. Making up your father being alive is the lowest low you could ever go, Elena.”

“Just ignore her,” Blake said as I slid off his other wing away from the crowd.

The big doors of King Caleb’s castle opened up. I’d never been inside King Caleb’s dwelling place, and to be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. A few torture rooms, gargoyles guarding the roof tops, but nothing like what was hiding behind those two gates was what I’d thought.

It was the most beautiful courtyard I’d ever seen, covered with many statues, at least ten standing in at least fifteen patches of gardens.

Lamp posts stood tall in between these gardens and intersections with cobblestone paths leading all the way to a majestic castle, as big as the one in Tith.

Blake changed back into his human form and reached me in no time wearing his robe.

Two men stood guard in front of the castle’s doors and opened them for us to walk into a lobby.

It was nothing fancy. The McKenzie’s had taken the fancy-shock away from me, but it sure was filled with light, tall windows and drapes hanging from the walls. More pictures than anyone could ever imagine hung tall against the walls. There was even one of Arianna, or one of her ancestors that was the spitting image of her.

Talk about the devil and you step on her tail, I thought as she waltzed into the room.

“I thought I saw you landing,” she said as she reached us and kissed Blake on both his cheeks.

“Elena, welcome to mi casa.”

I squinted and just laughed.

Blake stared at me with squinted eyes and looked at Arianna.

“Sorry,” I said. “I just never imagined those words leaving your mouth, ever.”

She stared at me and Blake laughed. “You have to forgive her. She drank some of the Shifter’s juice last night so there is no filter for the next twelve hours.”

“What?” both of us asked. I was sure Arianna meant another type of what.

“You drank it?” she asked me.

“Yes, cause Plucky forgot to tell me to spit it out.”

Arianna laughed. “Was your trip at least a good one?”

“You could say that.”

Blake didn’t say anything, he just suppressed his laughter.

“Still welcome, and you don’t have to tell me what a bitch I was, I know I was mean to you.”

“Is that love talking?” Blake teased.

“Ha-ha, Heico sure puts some light into this place.”

“C’mon, I’m sure that’s not all he lights up.”

She smacked him with the back of her hand. “I’m still a princess. Not The Princess, but a princess.” She winked at me.

“So how is home-schooling?” He asked.

She looked back at him with a raised eyebrow-type of thing. “I’m suffocating inside these walls.”

“You are still a spoiled brat.”

She laughed and shook her head as she led us into a room where her father was having a conversation with a man wearing the emblem of Areeth on his uniform.

They both looked up as we entered.

“That will be all, Rupert.” King Caleb waved his hand and the man stood straight, rolled up something that both of them had been staring at and walked out with huge strides.

King Caleb walked out from behind his desk and came to stand still in front of it.

He then gracefully planted his butt on the table and started to chuckle.

I didn’t like it, and by the way Blake’s posture changed, neither did he.

“You really believe that Elena’s little stunt with Just Kev is going to change my mind?”

“It’s not a stunt. You can ask any of the people we brought out—” I started to speak and Blake covered my mouth gently with his hand. King Caleb just stared at me.

“Like Elena said you can verify with the one hundred and fifty, or just watch their interviews. We weren’t lying.”

“I’ve seen all the footage Blake, especially the one where they said they haven’t seen proof of life for the past six months.”

“Goran would never kill him, he is…”

“You don’t know Goran as well as I do. He would do anything to humiliate Albert.”

“Yes, humiliate. He won’t be able to do that if he’s dead. He’s still alive. I know it.”

“You know nothing. Never fought a war in your entire life.”

“Yes, I’m very lucky,” Blake sounded sarcastic.

“I won’t fight.” King Caleb had that final tone in his voice. “Neither will anyone that lives in Are—”

“Speak for yourself, Father,” Arianna interrupted him. “What will you do if they are telling the truth? If King Albert is still alive? Will you be able to bow in front of him, be able to look into his eyes and what? What reason will you give your best friend for not being a part of this?”

“Arianna, stay out of this, it’s a tactic.”

“I don’t believe that. Elena wouldn’t say something like that just to get people to fight with her. She might be a pain in my ass, and a thorn in your boot, as you’ve said so many times.”

Both Blake and my heads shifted back to King Caleb as Arianna said those words. Blake’s hand pressed my mouth a little more as I really wanted to tell him what I thought about him.

“But she is not capable of lying like that.” She walked slowly over to her father. “I’ve humored you for the past nine months. You took me out of the Academy, the only place that didn’t treat me like a princess, you took me away from my friends, you shoved so many negative things down my throat, and you never approve of my decisions. If you are not proud of me the way I am, well, I guess it’s time to stop trying to make you proud of me because you will never be. I will fight, with Heico, whether you like him or not. He is my choice, and you can go to hell for all I care. I’ve never been more disappointed in my father than I am today. I don’t know who you are anymore.”

She snarled at him, turned around and walked out of his office.

Blake was speechless and so was I to be honest. I always thought that she was a Daddy’s Girl, his princess, but I’d just gotten a rude awakening that their relationship was the exact opposite.

“Well, I guess that is it then,” Blake spoke first. “Thank you for seeing us, Your Majesty.” The way he said your majesty made it sound like it wasn’t a good word at all.

King Caleb didn’t say anything. It seemed he was still shocked by Arianna’s words.

We both turned around and left.

“I am a thorn in his boot!” I said the minute he lifted he’s hand from my mouth.

“Elena, don’t let his words fester inside of you. My mother was so wrong about him. I was a fool to think she might be right. It’s very disappointing.”

“It is, but Arianna’s got one thing right.”

“And what is that?”

“I can’t wait to see the day he has to give my father an explanation.”

WE ALL STOOD in the Dragon League’s cafeteria watching a huge press release being given by King Caleb on the TV.

This was it. King Caleb was going to address Areeth about his decision.

I had to admit, I never thought Arianna would stay true to her decision but she and Heico had arrived at the Dragon League yesterday to learn more.

The two of them couldn’t keep their hands off each other when he was done with his training.

I was glad that she’d found someone. It meant that she too was moving on.

My nerves were on end. Areeth had to fight, but by Blake’s reply from earlier this afternoon, he had no hope. Even his father had said that he had changed for the worst. King Helmut and Emanual had arrived earlier this morning too as I had to take in a few more of his army and bring out the previous group who was gathering more intelligence.

I hoped King Helmut was right about this and that for some reason he’d changed his mind. I knew if Areeth’s King entered the fight, so would his men.

The speaker introduced King Caleb and the crowd cheered. The camera shifted to him as he walked up the steps to the podium outside his castle’s gates.

I took a huge breath and Blake’s hand stroked my back softly.

I glanced up at him for a few short seconds, but he was staring at the screen with no expression on his face.

King Caleb just had to change his mind.

He took the mic and addressed his people.

He smiled.

I couldn’t recall that I’d ever seen a genuine smile on him. He’d always given me that sarcastic smirk of his whenever I was near.

“The papers are filled with news that King Albert is still alive, trapped behind Etan, being tortured by Goran.” He started to speak and I closed my eyes.

Blake was so right. He was never going to change his mind.

“Do I believe it’s the truth?” The question came.

Silence lingered in the air for a few seconds, and it felt like minutes.

“No,” he said.

“You fucking idiot!” Arianna cussed at the TV.

“Hey, don’t upset yourself like that,” Heico whispered softly in her ear. He was standing behind her, rubbing her shoulders.

“I don’t, and I will tell you why. I witnessed King Albert being blown up, the night the Creepers consumed Etan. I was there with King Helmut, and a few of his men. He gave his life to save us all.”

I stared at the screen as he said this.

“My father was blown up?” I asked King Helmut who was standing a few paces away from us.

“Later, Princess,” He spoke softly.

My breathing picked up.

He couldn’t be dead. I knew what I’d seen, what I’d heard while I ascended. My father wouldn’t have lied to me.

“Shhhh,” Blake tried to sooth me too as I pushed back the tears of this disappointment. We shouldn’t free Etan if my father wasn’t alive.

I didn’t have to die. Neither would Blake.

We could live this side. King Caleb still spoke about that night when my father sacrificed himself and his words just sank deeper and deeper into my soul.

Why would all the other people say that they saw him then? Why? Was it a trick Goran had used, to give them some sort of hope? Was it a sick and twisted game he played with them?

“So that is what I believe,” King Caleb said and I knew they weren’t going to fight.

“But,” he carried on and and the entire cafeteria fell quiet again. “Believing and knowing aren’t the same. Yes, there was an explosion, and yes, the chances of him being alive aren’t much, but I am not one hundred percent sure whether he is alive or dead anymore.”

He looked down and took a huge breath.

What was he saying? What did any of this mean?

“If there is a chance, even one percent, that my friend, my brother, and my King is still alive, then I will pick up my sword and I will fight. I don’t expect any of you to follow me. I won’t force any of you to follow me. That is not what kings do, but you need to ask yourself: If what Elena says is the truth, if what the hundred and fifty that lived on the other side say is truth, what will you tell your King the day he asks you why you didn’t help? Do you have a good reason? A good enough reason to live with for the rest of your life? Remember who he was, who he might still be. Make your decision on that. I will leave tomorrow at nine a.m. to go to the Dragon League in Tith. Whoever wants to join me in this battle, meet me at eight. If there are some of you that would like to give their services in any other ways, to protect this city, to protect the women and children, please meet me there too. Remember what King Albert did for us all, remember the King he was, and make your decision on that and only that.”

He said thank you and left.

The crowd wasn’t cheering anymore; their faces were numb, like mine, like Blake’s. Like all the other’s standing in the cafeteria—even Arianna hadn’t expected that at all.

The only one that didn’t look surprised was King Helmut. He looked relieved.

“He’s only doing this because he’s afraid to lose everything.”

“It’s a good thing, Robert. It means he is starting to believe that Al is alive.” King Helmut slapped him on the shoulder.

“We should make preparations for Areeth to come,” he said to everyone in the cafeteria.

I looked at how King Helmut turned around and walked toward the entrance.

I followed with huge strides.

Blake was behind me. Even though I couldn’t hear him, I knew he was a few steps away from me.

“King Helmut!” I yelled just as Emanual changed into his dragon form.

“Elena?” He sighed.

“Just tell me. Is it the truth what he said? Was there an explosion?”

“There was, but you saw your father, you heard what he told you. Your father was many things, but a coward and a liar wasn’t one of them.” He cupped my cheek. “And he would never lie, especially to you.”

I nodded, and he smiled. He climbed onto Emanual’s wing with his boot and made it all look so easy. “He is alive, Elena. We all just have to play our part and keep him that way.”

Emanual lifted off and I watched both of them ascend into the sky.

He is alive, my father is alive. I just had to believe that too, but all I could see now was an explosion happening in a place that I never knew, a place that should’ve been my home.

Blake pulled me into his chest.

“I believe he is alive too, Elena. Don’t lose hope now.”

I looked at him with so many questions in my eyes.

“You didn’t know him. He was special. If anyone could survive an explosion, it’s him.”

I nodded. “King Caleb changed his mind just like that?”

The corners of Blake’s lips tucked slightly. “It was one of your father’s strongest traits. He somehow always found a way through to people, even the pig-headed ones.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

But my laughter disappeared faster than I wanted it to.

It didn’t matter how all of this was going to go down. There was always the omen.

Blake cupped my face and turned my head to look at him. “You will meet him, I promise.”

“At what cost, Blake?”

“It’s going to work out, Elena. We just need to trust and have faith. Areeth is fighting with us.”

AROUND TWO I went with Blake, King Helmut and a couple of his men to the Creepers.

They were still intimidating. Their heads hissed as their root-like bodies twined into one another as they started to wake up.

I took in the first man, and brought out another that waited for us on the other side. Three more went in after him and three more came out.

This group had more intel, maps outlined with the perimeters they had to scout.

I had to get involved. We didn’t have much longer. A week and a half max. and I didn’t feel nearly prepared enough for the task we were going to face.

I followed them into a room with Blake at my heels, wanting to know where I was going.

When I opened the door where King Helmut had entered a couple of seconds ago, all of their faces just stared at me.

“Princess?” King Helmut asked.

“I need to know what intel they got.”

King Helmut smiled and I knew he was going to reassure me that it was for his men, for King Caleb’s men that would join us tomorrow, but I was not going to have any of that.

“No, Blake and I have to kill the Saadedine. Does any of that information tell us where he is? What he looks like?” What could kill him? That would be a huge bonus—even though I was ninety-nine percent sure that I knew what would help us. But I needed to be a hundred percent.

“Fine, just let me have today, okay? You and Blake can sit in tomorrow when King Caleb and all his men are briefed about all the intel we have, Elena.”

“You promise?”

“You have my word.”

I nodded and Blake took me by the arm softly and led me out.

I couldn’t help but feel there was something King Helmut didn’t want me to know.

The rest of the day I was deep in thought.

Blake’s Cammy rang as we sat in the lounge watching TV. He got up and went outside.

It felt as all of them where hiding something from me.

When Blake came back he had a smile on his face and sat back down on his spot next to me.

“Good news,” he said. “George and Becky are coming tonight.”

I looked at him. “For real?”

He nodded. “Just phoned me.”

I hadn’t seen her since the day I revealed that her father was alive too.

Around six Blake and I went outside to wait for Becky and George.

It was so quiet. I hadn’t said one word as so many thoughts—negative thoughts about everything—swirled inside my head. Especially about Becky coming here. Saying sorry sounded overdone. A person could only say sorry so much. I was her friend, I should’ve prepared her better, prepared her mother at least.

George’s outline appeared in the distance.

“It’s going to be okay, Elena. She’s here which means that she’s ready to talk.”

“Yeah,” I sighed.

I watched with Blake as George landed with her on his back, and she slid off his wing. I stood up and didn’t know if I could go to her or not.

She walked toward me with a really unreadable expression on her face, but at that moment, I realized how much I’d missed her, and I didn’t care anymore.

I ran to her. “I’m so sorry about everything.” My arms wrapped around her tightly.

To my surprise she hugged me back and we just stood there, not saying a word to each other, holding on tightly.

“That was your big secret? The one you couldn’t share, wasn’t it?” She whispered in my ear.

I nodded.

The hug broke and I stared at her for a short few seconds. Then she shifted her gaze to the sky, hurt all over her face. “It’s been so many months Elena, how did you carry that secret of your father being alive all this time?”

I looked at her confused. She hadn’t heard that her father was still alive too?

“I had no choice,” I sighed. “He technically didn’t want us to do any of this. He didn’t want us to free Etan. Made me promise and I sort of did.”

She huffed. “I was so little when all of this happened but,” she sighed, “it sounds a lot like him. I mean the way everyone talked about him all these years. It is actually dangerous pursuing this and I understand why he didn’t want us to free Etan.”

“Becky,” I looked at her slightly confused. “You did hear what I said, who was alive with him, right?”

“Yes, I did. I hardly remember him, Elena.”

“Your father is as brave as they come, never faltered to Goran’s will, Becky.”

“And what if we are going to be too late, Elena? You didn’t see my mom when we reached her. She was beside herself. She just wanted us to go get him, like he was waiting for us at the wall or something.”

“I know, it’s scary. Sir Robert was on his way to the Creepers. If it hadn’t been for Blake…”

“That was why he wasn’t there with us?”

I nodded.

She nodded too.

“We will free them, all of them and we will finally know the brave men we should’ve always known. Maybe George will have to up his game now, once your dad is back in town.”

She started to laugh and George immediately smiled. It was as if he mimicked her actions. When she was sad, he was sad. It was so cute and so pathetic at the same time.

“It would be nice to see that,” she joked too.

“You guys ate?” I asked and they both shook their heads. “Well, there is plenty of food. Many preparations had been made for Areeth.”

“I heard, congrats on that.”

“Well, I wish it was my doing, but it wasn’t.” I had just been thinking that it was actually my father’s doing in a way. “I would really like to know my father a bit better, for real this time.”

She wrapped her arm around me for a one-sided hug as we walked to the cafeteria. “Something tells me that this is going to be a happy ending, Elena. It just has to be.”

I really wished with all my heart that she was right.

DINNER CHANGED MY mood from sullen to peaceful. I just had to trust and have faith. Even though those were the two hardest things at the moment.

I still struggled to shake the information that Paul had told us. That Goran knew we were coming, and that the berries on Louie weren’t going to work.

I didn’t want to think about that anymore.

It was also the fact that Blake had a bit more hope too. He was extremely talkative and every time his hand touched a part of me, my stomach would flip.

Becky and I shared a room in the house, while Blake and George shared a tent.

It was already late when we finally went to bed.

Many of the ops guys and dragons were still shocked that Areeth was going to join the Dragon League.

I struggled to sleep. I kept wondering about my father. Did he know that we were coming to rescue him? And if so, how did he feel about me breaking my promise? Was he disappointed?

I had no choice. He was the only family that I had left, and it was wrong of him to make me promise something so big, a promise that wasn’t just mine to make.

Then it hit me. He had no idea who I was either, just as much as I didn’t really know him.

It was a hard pill to swallow as that started to sink in.

I forced my thoughts to more positive things, like what life would be like once we freed him.

I would finally see the real Sir Robert, the man he used to be even though glimpses of him were seeping through now and again. That was a reunion I really didn’t want to miss.

I doubted that my father would want to stay in Etan, so we would stay somewhere in Elm, or Tith, wherever he would feel safe.

King Helmut could run the country for a while, until things got better, if that is even what my father wanted.

Then another horrible possibility entered my mind. What if my father was someone completely different? What if he was so broken that he would never heal, never find his way ever again?

What if, even after we freed him, I would never really get to know him?

I didn’t want to think about that. It had to be a happy ending. It just had to be. He had to be stronger than that.

Sleep started to came, and my eyelids felt heavy.

Happy thoughts, Elena, happy thoughts, and with that I had the most pleasant dream, not just about my father being happy, but about my mother being there with us. The way she always was, laughing, the beautiful Catherine everyone captured with their cameras, not the sad one that looked sick.

I never wanted this dream to end..

SOMEONE SHOOK ME I felt the rocking motion and my eyes opened.

The dream vanished and the effects washed away as soon as I opened my eyes. It was such an amazing feeling and I just looked up at Blake sitting on my bed with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“You should get going. King Caleb will be here soon.”

I nodded but covered my eyes with my hand.

“What is it, Elena?”

I shook my head. “Just a stupid dream, that’s all.”

“Dreams are scary and they are amazing, but never stupid.”

I smiled at the way he said it and looked at him.

“Promise me we are going to free him, please?” I felt like crying for some reason.

“Elena,” he hugged me tight.

“Even if it’s the last thing I do, I promise.”

I hit him hard. “Don’t say that. We both have to make it. We have the missing ingredient.”

Blake raised his eyebrows slightly. A movement he didn’t really want me to see and replaced it with a smile.

“Okay, whatever you say…”

“What was that?” I interrupted him.

“What was what?”

“I saw that. You don’t think it’s the missing ingredient, do you?”

He looked at the ground.

“Tell me?” I sounded slightly deranged.

“Elena.” He sighed.

“Tell me, Blake.”

“I don’t, okay.”

“Why can’t it be?”

“I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel like the missing ingredient.” He got up and paced slowly with his hand resting in his raven black hair. He turned around and looked at me. “I don’t know. I might never feel like it will ever be the missing ingredient. It’s just so hard sometimes to take my own advice, okay.”

“Then we still need to find it.”

“No,” he said softly and came to sit on the edge of my bed again. “Not at all. It could be. I just want to be as sure as you are, and I doubt that I’ll ever be, that’s all. Wired differently, remember.”

I frowned as I got the feeling that he didn’t trust me one bit about Louie and his berries, which I was taking to Ralph the minute the berries started to show.

“You sure you can’t read my thoughts?”

He grunted. “I wish.”

It made me laugh again and I sighed.

“Okay, we can look some more.”

“No, it has to be it, Elena. I just need to have faith too and trust that Louie’s berries are that poisonous.”

“Everyone says they’re the best.”

“Then who am I to argue?” He got up. “Get ready,” he said as he walked to the door. “King Helmut made it perfectly clear he wasn’t going to wait for anyone when Areeth came.”

I rolled my eyes and got up. I took sips of my coffee as I changed into my clothes for the day.

The days were going by so fast now, and I didn’t know if it was Fate that wanted this reunion between me and my father to take place or if it was Death that had gotten tired of me slipping through his clutches time and time again.

I had another cup of coffee at breakfast. I wasn’t hungry and the coffee was enough.

At ten, the announcement came that Areeth was coming in fast on dragons and others in SUV’s.

Everyone jumped up, Heico and Arianna included, and ran to see how they landed and pulled in.

I stayed in my seat.

I was the last one King Caleb wanted to see.

“He’s here, Elena. He’s going to fight.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t change how he feels about me, Blake.”

“Give him some time. He will change his mind eventually.”

I threw the napkin that was next to my plate at him and sipped on my coffee again.

Becky and George came back to the table. “Elena, Blake, you have to come and see,” she said and ran out again.

Blake got up and held out his hand for me. I took it and we both walked to the entrance, down the hallway, and toward the main door.

When we reached the outside it was just dragons upon dragons everywhere and riders sliding off their wings. At least fifty SUV’s had pulled in carrying a lot of men.

A smile broke over my face.

“See why we needed Areeth?” Blake spoke softly.

I was speechless and just stared at this ocean of men and their dragons that were going to fight with us.

I finally laughed and looked at Blake who was staring at the forest, which one could barely see with normal sight. You could tell it was a forest because of the dark cloud of trees tops. But I could only see it clearly with my enhanced sight.

I turned around to look at what he was looking at and heard something coming. Something big.

My heart started to pound as all sorts of things went through my mind.

Whoever it was, really must have been stupid if they’d decided to ambush us this day.

I jumped as a giant dragon, almost Blake’s size, flew out of the forest, making a screeching sound.

I looked at Blake and saw the smile on his face, instead of reflecting the same worry I felt.

As the dragon neared, I saw feathers on his wings and a giant beak. It wasn’t a dragon, it was a gigantic bird, with gigantic wings and claws that could grab many people at once and rip them apart.

Everyone gasped as they stared at the giant eagle.

Then another giant creature followed after them, also airborne and I gasped as I realized what that was—a Chimera. Another one followed, a bit smaller, and more birds of all sorts flew out.

Then the animals finally ran out of the forest, panthers, lions, wolves, tigers, you name it.

It was the shifters! They’d changed their mind. How?

The Chimera and eagle landed, with the other Chimera and birds landing after them.

The eagle was the first to change and I saw it was Isaac. A robe was chucked at him and he pulled it on quickly.

He went over to Blake and shook his hand but it quickly led into a hug.

“You changed his mind?”

“I didn’t. King Caleb’s speech did,” he said.

Yuri changed and one of the Chimera’s disappeared. He had his own clothes inside a bag he carried in his claws and took out a pair of jeans.

I’d never seen so many naked people in my entire life and it was difficult to give them some sort of privacy. When Yuri was done, he walked straight over to me. Many scars ran over his torso, they were fighting scars. He reached me with a few strides and bowed down. “Sorry I was so blind, Princess. We are ready to follow you. To get your father.”

Everyone else changed and they took Yuri’s stance. All bowing.

“Please, get up,” I said to Yuri and as soon as he did, I swung my arms around his neck. “Thank you.”

“I hope you have space for us too.”

I laughed as he said it and the hug broke. “We will make a plan.”

King Helmut and Sir Robert were next in line, and shook Yuri’s hand, and after a while all the people were shaking hands with everyone.

Blake stood with Isaac and I went over to them.

“So what do you think?” Isaac asked.

“Thought you were bigger to be honest,” I joked and Blake laughed.

Isaac just glared at me playfully as the rest of the band members finally reached Blake.

“You didn’t think you were going to have all the fun, now did you?” Ty said, slapping Blake on the arm.

I sighed, smiling like an idiot as I just stared at all these brave people that were going to fight.

Goran and his Wyverns had no idea what was coming.

The shifters had come, and everything just seemed a little brighter.

THE BRIEFING FINALLY started. The cafeteria filled up with many of King Caleb’s troops and all of the heads of the shifters.

Emanual stopped me as Blake and I went to enter.

“King Helmut said I could.”

“And he gave me my orders, Elena.” Hiss tone was serious.

My face fell. When were we going to know what the plans were? What sort of intel had they brought from Etan, and why didn’t they want me to know?

“He is going to give you and Blake a private update.” A smile broke over his face. “Besides, you don’t want to sit next to a shifter. They smell like wet dogs.”

Blake chuckled and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Follow me,” Emanual said, leading the way to Sir Robert’s office.

We both entered and sat on the chairs right in front of Sir Robert’s desk, while Emanual took his stand in front of the glass table that carried the forest layout in smaller scale. I remembered I’d seen it when Sir Robert had wanted me to help him stop Blake from beating the record.

He took off the top and I got up from my chair. I hadn’t realized it was hiding a compartment.

I reached the table and saw small scale cities and big open land. It was a completely different kind of map. Another three-dimensional, small scale map of Etan.

All the cities were here, or that what was left of them. Even the border line of what was supposed to be the Creepers. I found Eikenborough and Sovereign real fast. Evan the farms of Alkadeen. There were other cities on there too that I’d never seen before.

I stared at the markets, the forest and watched how it connected with so many of the other forests. To be honest, it was one huge forest that grew in the form of something that reminded me of some kind of star fruit.

“This is all of Etan?” I asked without taking my gaze from the small scale models.

“It’s all of Etan. We’ve been building it as we’ve received new intel,” Emanual spoke softly.

He tapped on the glass at a building way at the top of the table, closer to him. “This used to be the Castle of Etan, your home, Elena.”

I stared at what was left of my home. It had seven wings, another was completely black. A cold finger ran up my spine as I realized that was the wing where my mother had died.

“We didn’t get much intel of the inside, but what we got was more than enough.” He told us. “Goran is still roaming this side, most of the time. He’s refused to enter the wing next to the west wing.”

“Why?” I asked. “What is so special about the west wing?”

He tapped on the glass right above the black burned down tower. “Your mother died in that wing.”

It didn’t make any sense. From what I gathered about Goran over the years, he didn’t sound like the superstitious kind of guy.

“And you want to make that the point of entry?” Blake didn’t sound so happy about that.

“The one closest to it is your safest chance, Blake.”

“I don’t like this, Emanual.”

“You just need to kill the Saadedine, Blake. Goran will be left to King Helmut and Caleb. It has to be that way.”

“You sure they will be able to handle it, won’t he be…” Blake stopped and I looked for the first time away from the map at him.

“They will do it.” Emanual said in a tone that made it sound so definite. “The two of them insisted on it.”

Blake just stared at Emanual, as if the two of them could read each other’s mind.

I looked at both of them. “What are you hiding?”

Blake looked down at the box, and Emanual looked at me. “You don’t need to know all the details, princess. It’s best that way. You need to concentrate on finding the Saadedine.”

I didn’t like this one bit. “Do you at least know where he is roaming?”

“No, but many of the townsmen said that they’ve heard his weeping sometimes from the Castle.”

“His weeping?” I asked.

“The dungeons,” Blake interrupted me.

“Elementals are like wolves, at night they like to howl at the moon, well, in this case, weep. They call it a dragon’s cry. You don’t want to hear it. It will make any grown man cry with it.”

“And we have to kill it?”

“It’s evil, Elena.” Emanual didn’t like my tone. Like they were my pets that I had to destroy. He wasn’t far off though.

“Which I helped to hatch, Emanual. Have all of you forgotten that? To me it’s not some monster, I will see Tornado, Dusty, Herby and Kirby, not what you guys know it as.”

“You gave it names?” Blake asked.

“They were only babies, beautiful innocent creatures that were betrayed to become this monster. So of course we did.”

“Elena,” Emanual closed his eyes. “They aren’t the same babies anymore. You saw the visions. You know what the Saadedine looks like. If you don’t kill it, or hesitate, you will die.”

I looked at Emanual. It didn’t sound like he knew about the foretelling Blake had. Not many knew. We wanted to keep it that way.

Silence lingered in the air for a few seconds.

“Do you understand what it is I’m saying?”

“Yes, I do. It’s them or us.”

“It, it’s not a ‘them’ anymore. It is a powerful and dangerous monster.”

I nodded and looked at the castle again. “Have any of them seen my dad? Is he still alive?”

“We haven’t gotten proof of life. It is why Helmut sent in the last troops just to find out if your father is still alive. We will know what they find out the day we go in.”

“So we are going in on this tower?” I tapped on the tower next to the one that had been burned almost to the ground. “How many do you have stationed inside, Emanual?”

“A couple. And we can trust them. A distraction will be created to lead as many of Goran’s other men away from the castle. The rest will be given a sleeping drug around tea time,” he said, looking directly at me. I wasn’t stupid, this was war and someone always died in war.

“Is that what you guys call it nowadays?” I referred to death and his lips curved upwards.

“Everyone came through, Blake. The inside men gave us some of Goran’s DNA, and the scientist did the rest. They will give you one of the devices that can track Goran. But we don’t know if it will work inside. The last time we spoke to him, he was saying something big was going on with Goran. Like he was working on something private and was very secretive about it.”

“The last time. You haven’t gotten in touch with him since?”

“He is still alive. He’s just being watched like a hawk. This is Goran we are talking about, so we’ll take precautions. But we have a middle man and he gave us some info, not a lot though.”

Blake and I looked at one another and back to Emanual.

“He told us that your father’s men were stationed in Sovereign about eighteen months ago.”

“Eighteen months ago? It was the last time anyone saw my father?”

“They don’t bring him out at the fests either.”

“Then he could very well be…”

“I know what it looks like, Elena. We need to have faith that your father is still alive.”

They are stationed permanently at Sovereign.

“So my father isn’t with his men?”

“One of the others that came with from the other side said that it happened about eighteen months ago. They were moved from the Castle’s dungeons to the Summer Castle in Sovereign.”

“Summer Castle?”

“It was your mother’s favorite home. She loved Sovereign.”

I always felt so stupid about the little things I didn’t know about my parents. These people were strangers to me. I had to save my father, I just had to.

“Goran won’t split your father and his men. He is trying to break the men through your father. Your father will be in Sovereign.”

“He wouldn’t move King Albert.” Blake had a confused look on his face.

“He would if the Saadedine is getting too strong for him to control.”

“Too strong?” I asked.

“It’s why we think he is in the Dungeons. I told you that I had been in that dungeon a long, long time ago. There are strong enchantments built into those walls. It would take a huge war to break down those walls. Maybe not even. What?”

“Okay, that doesn’t make any sense. If he moved my father away from the Saadedine’s harm…”

Emanual nodded. “A part of him is protecting your father and his men, Elena.”

I shook my head. “You didn’t see them, Emanual. He is torturing them.”

“As harsh as it sounds, it’s just torture. He keeps them alive because eighteen years ago they were the same men he walked around with too. He knows these men, Elena. He knows their families. Deep down inside a part of him still cares.”

“Yeah, now that is something I can relate too.”

“Don’t say that,” I glared at Blake.

“All I’m saying is what Emanual says make perfect sense to me, Elena. He will not kill your father. He will keep him alive to get the ultimate power that comes with finally breaking his men. He can’t do that if your father is dead.”

“Could Paul be right?”

“Goran isn’t here.”

“That’s not what I meant. Could he be right about Goran knowing that we are coming?”

“I don’t know. I kept a hawk’s eye on the first group that came in with me, Elena. But if he is, he has no idea what is coming his way.”

“No,” Blake said. “He doesn’t know. Goran hates that place.” Blake sounded so sure about this. “You didn’t hear the hatred he has for Etan now. He feels like a prisoner. If he knew we were coming, he would find a way to get through with the men, he would’ve been here already and we would’ve known by now.”

Emanual sighed. “You sound like Helmut now.”

“Then you should believe it.”

“Okay, so we are back to square one, but it’s not a bad thing, Elena. Your father will be out of harm’s way when you two go in to kill the Saadedine.”

“Okay, so who is going to free his men?”

“Sir Robert asked for Samantha and Becky to go with him along with a small group of men.”

“Okay,” I said without thinking. They would be out of the danger zone, far from the castle. I knew why he wanted Becky, she was a kickass lightning wielder and George one of the best damn trackers Paegeia had ever seen. Sammy, was an easier choice, he wanted her close to his side. Out of harm’s way.

“We are going to take a different route. By we, I mean Caleb, Helmut and myself with Simon and two of King Caleb’s men.”

“You really trust Simon?”

“He was never with Paul and Nora, said they stopped to give him a lift to the Castle when they went to sign up.

“When?”

“It was two months after Lucian died, Elena.”

“So she was right under our noses the entire time?”

He nodded.

“She was a Night Villain, how did she do that?” Blake wanted to know.

“You saw her too Blake, as a Night Villain.”

“I know, I just want to know how that was possible?”

“The stone she stole from Becky. It’s a very rare stone, Blake. It has many properties. One of them, well Chong said that it helped with guiding the Elementals essence through the Creepers, and it could also be used as a shimmer, a shield, so we would see a Night Villain whenever she transformed into a Hippogriff.”

“She could’ve killed us so many times.”

“She didn’t, because getting caught wasn’t the plan,” Emanual said.

Blake blew out a gush of air.

Emanual carried on. “Everyone has their part to play in freeing Etan. You should only care about the Saadedine.”

We nodded again.

“Have you guys found a way to break through the Creepers?”

“We have, but it needs something.”

“What?”

“Something that is immune to them.”

“Elena’s blood,” Blake answered.

“Not a lot, Blake, but her blood is the key to destroying all of them at once.”

“How?” I wanted to know.

He started telling us about the formula the scientists had been experimenting with for years. It was some sort of enhanced plant killer, but it had never had any luck with the Creepers. They believe if they mixed in my blood, the formula would work.

They would keep it contained in a form and attach it to small bombs, which I had to place in the middle of their core, stationed on either side of the Creepers. The bombs would explode releasing my blood on all the Creepers and they would die. We only needed one part open for the others to get through. They would continue to experiment on how to kill it completely.

I didn’t look forward planting the bombs, but at least I knew Blake would be there with me.

The detonator would be kept in a safe place and it would be set off around midnight. Eighteen years ago it started at midnight, it would end at midnight as well.

It was also a brilliant tactic, throwing Etan completely off from mid-day to immediate darkness.

“All the scientists need is my blood, and they still have a live sample from that time we destroyed the park.” Emanual looked at Blake.

“Okay so how are we getting into the Castle?” Blake asked.

“Trevor and Forest will be waiting for you and I am sending Fred and Raymond with you guys. They will take you to a safe compound to spend the night and early in the morning they will go with you to the Castle. They will stay at your side as long as they can, Blake.”

Blake nodded.

“As long as they can?” I asked. “Meaning till death do us part?”

“See you’ve got something of your father’s too, Elena. He was really good at piecing everything together,” Emanual said.

“They will die for us?”

“Many people will die, Princess. This is no ordinary rescue mission. It’s war all over again. And one that was pre-destined in our stars. Many Moon-Bolts have seen this war with different outcomes. We don’t know for sure what is going to happen and I guess it’s up to the two of you. So many are counting on you to kill this son of a bitch, Elena.”

“Sure, why don’t you add more pressure, Emanual?” I sniped and looked down at the layout of Etan. I could see through the corner of my eyes the smile tugging at Blake’s lips.

“You will get your orders about how to blend in and how to get into the Castle as soon as you enter Etan, Blake.”

“That is it?” I asked as Emanual didn’t say anything after that.

“All you need to know, Princess,” Emanual said. “Besides, one of the scientists are waiting for that precious ingredient, Elena.”

If only it was precious enough to kill that son of a bitch too.

“Need me to hold your hand?”

“I can handle needles, never had a fear of them.” I smiled.

Blake stayed behind as I had to almost run-walk to keep up with Emanual.

“My blood is really the ingredient that will make their formula work?”

“They are positive. They will only take a small tube of blood now, test it and then they will let us know.”

“What if it doesn’t work, Emanual?”

He didn’t answer.

“Answer me.”

“Then you have to let Blake go in alone after the Saadedine and take everyone else safely inside, Princess.”

I just stared at him. “Over my dead body will I leave Blake to fight that thing alone. They better make it work.”

“And they will.”

WE WAITED FOR three hours after the scientist came to draw my blood. The man who did it was short, had glasses on and to my surprise wasn’t a rider or a dragon either. He was as human as they came, just a very smart human in his mid-fifties.

He left on a dragons’ back with my blood clenched safely in his hand.

I hated waiting. I’d never been this nervous in my entire life or this anxious.

It just had to work. It needed to work. It must work. I wasn’t going to leave Blake to face that creature alone.

It wasn’t a creature it was…I’d seen how each of them hatched.

It, Elena, it wasn’t them anymore. You need to kill it or it will kill you.

I needed to find a way to separate this monster from those Elemental babies.

“Hey,” Blake got up and stopped me as I paced up and down in his father’s office for the thousandth time.

We were all waiting. Sir Robert was doing some last minute paperwork. Becky and George were looking over his shoulder as he spoke to them.

King Helmut and King Caleb were playing a chess game. Nobody said a word.

Blake rubbed my arms. “It will work, Elena. Besides, you might not need to kill the Saadedine.”

“You are not going after it alone. We had a deal.”

He smiled. “That’s not what I meant, but okay. Got that,” He joked and I smiled. “King Helmut thinks that if or when they kill Goran, his hold might vanish over the Saadedine and it might turn back to being good again.”

I squinted. “Really?”

“There hasn’t been that many Saadedines, so it has never been proven before, but it sounds realistic, don’t you think?”

I pulled my face, it did sort of sound realistic.

“You’re just saying this to make me feel better, aren’t you?”

“I hate it when you are so nervous. Just relax okay. I’m not planning on dying yet. Not when life has turned out to be so sweet.”

I grabbed him around his torso and laid my head on his chest. It still felt weird, not being able to hear his heartbeat.

But I knew it was there, beating inside his chest.

“We will find a way to kill it. We both will be fine. That is a promise.”

“What no more oaths?”

He chuckled.

“My promises are not so weak anymore, Elena. Almost just as strong as my oaths.”

“Okay,” I sighed.

I hated that he wasn’t so sure about this outcome.

He could not be the one that died. He just can’t. I wouldn’t let it happen.

My mouth opened to ask him what King Helmut was hiding from me, but just then the door opened and the dragon that had left with the scientist entered wearing a robe, with the scientist behind him.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and just stared at him.

“Spit it out!” Sir Robert said.

He smiled. “It worked.”

Everyone cheered. I didn’t have to leave Blake to face the Saadedine alone.

My blood had worked.

“Princess, if you will follow me, please.”

“I’ll come with,” Blake said softly and we entered the next room.

He gestured to the chair and I sat down.

I didn’t like the IV much, but it was more about seeing my blood travel through the IV then the needle itself.

I looked at Blake who stationed himself on a small stool and moved it so close to my chair that he was almost sitting on top of me.

I flinched as the needle was stuck inside my arm and closed my eyes for a few seconds.

“It will take about a couple of minutes, Elena. We don’t need that much. Just enough.”

I nodded and give him a small smile and rested my head on the back of the chair.

Blake rested his chin on his hand. His face was inches from mine.

“To think, we finally have something in common.”

“We do?”

“Yes,” he smiled. “Well sort of. They don’t want yours for deadly potions or ones that can fake a death, but yours is a life saver.”

I laughed and sighed.

“That is not nearly enough things we have in common.”

“Opposites attract. Just think how boring it would’ve been if we were alike.”

I couldn’t help but to smile. “Is this your way of trying to keep me distracted?”

“Is it working?”

“A little.” I scrunched up my nose.

“Then good.”

I smiled.

“So I was thinking.”

“About what now?”

He chuckled. “About maybe we should try to get away, just for two days, preferably those two days before all this rescuing and war craft crap.”

“Sounds like a brilliant idea.”

“I would love to spend some time with you, and our friends. Just us.”

I had to admit, the friends part was a bit of a disappointment but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted them there too. It could be the last time we would ever be together. “Yes, it sounds like the best plan you’ve had all week.”

He laughed.

“Do you have any place in mind?”

“I do. There is a beautiful lake cottage not far from here. I can finally take you on a very long overdue bike ride.”

“Me on a bike?”

“You will be safe. I will never let anything happen to you.”

“Fine,” I said. “A long overdue bike ride it is. Are the shifters going to be there too?”

“Oh, a getaway isn’t a getaway without the shifters, but I promise they will be on their best behavior.”

The door opened again and the scientist walked back in.

“That will be enough, thank you, Princess.”

He gently pulled out the needle and dabbed it with a piece of cotton wool.

“Give it here,” Blake said and took my arm. He healed my puncture wound while the scientist just stared at us.

“Handy to have someone like that,” he said. “Us normal folks can only rely on them when we are extremely sick.”

We both laughed.

“Yes, he is extremely handy,” I joked back.

“Thank you again, Princess.”

“You are welcome.”

“Blake,” he said and turned around, walking to the door.

“Oh, don’t go too far, the packages will be ready to be placed real soon. We are going to need your help again.”

“You know where to find me.”

He disappeared and I sighed.

“Sometimes I doubt if we are ever going to be able to just get away.”

“Oh, I am going to demand that,” Blake reassured me. “That is a promise.”

“You’re started to sound like George now with his oaths.”

“Ha-ha,” he said and grabbed my shirt, pulling me closer to his chest.

He kissed me softly. It was a beautiful kiss. I didn’t wanted to end, but like always there was another matter that needed our attention and our special moment was cut short again.

The door opened after a knock and Blake’s grunt, which made me laugh again.

Another face I hadn’t seen in a while entered.

“Ralph,” Blake got up. “What are you doing here?”

They shook hands and Ralph looked at me. “Orders from the Princess,” he said and I saw the packages in his hands.

“It’s ready.”

“Yes,” he smiled. “I hope you will be happy with them.”

“Thank you, Ralph,” I said.

“Just go with it. I know you liked the black, but she didn’t.” He shook his head at Blake and said goodbye.

I put the box on the chair. “Okay, let’s see it,” Blake said, he knew about me changing the suits color.

I opened the lid.

The suit was pure white. “Don’t say it. To me it matters.”

“If it’s white you want, and white that will make you feel more confident, then I will wear whatever the hell you want me to.”

“Thank you,” I said and he grabbed his suit.

It was a real special operation kind of look and the material felt like a wet kind of leather. It was cold and white. Blake wouldn’t be the dark crow he was in my visions anymore. This could be the different outcome Emanual had been referring too. Changing things in the vision to make it different. Throw Destiny off, cheating Death just once more.

I felt his lips kissing my temple.

“We will make it, Elena. I can feel it. I don’t want to die, and you won’t either.”

“That sounds better than that stupid promise.”

He laughed.

“My promises aren’t stupid. I mean every single one of them.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and just hugged me tight.

I never wanted him to let go.

THE NEXT FEW days we were on planting bomb duty. The packages arrived the next day after the scientist came to draw my blood. At first it didn’t look anything like a bomb. The red formula was carried in small round orbs, and there was a very small square block attached to it. It sort of reminded me of a futuristic Christmas ornament.

“This is the bomb. It will be operated from the lab. At oh-one hundred hours it will start counting down, leaving you with one hour to get as far away from the Creepers as possible. At oh-one hundred and fifteen hours the red light will beep twice and one by one they will explode, releasing the formula with Elena’s blood and the shifters and others will be able to get through, bringing an end to everything.”

It sounded so easy.

“So you are sure that it’s safe?”

“Yes.”

“How do we attach these to the roots?”

“With this,” he opens a box with a million clamps inside. He took out one and the orb automatically connected, like a magnet, to the clasp. The entire thing looked like a spider with plenty of legs. “They will feel something, Blake. They have nerve sensors that will feel the prick which will release a numbing drug and then they will go back to sleep.”

He showed us that we should just press lightly into a root and the clasp mechanism would do the rest, worming itself into the root deeper.

They were definitely going to feel it.

Once they detonated the bombs, which would be controlled from the lab, the bombs will explode and it would release the formula on the Creepers’ roots. They will die.

The rest of the army, with the shifters, will then be able to get into Etan, and there was no way Goran and his Wyverns will stand a chance. Not against all of these men and brave creatures.

“Just do me a favor please,” the scientist asked.

“Shoot.”

“I’ve heard rumors that in the core that pink and purple flowers grow there, you think you can get me as much as you can?”

Blake nodded without asking any questions.

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you.” Blake held out his hand and the scientist shook it.

It was the last time we saw him.

Today was the day. Blake entered with me with the bag of small bombs we had to attach.

“There is something we need to talk about, Elena,” he said as we walked deeper into the core of the Creepers.

I had no idea where we were—if we were close to Tith or to Areeth.

“What is it?” I asked as we attached the next bomb in the tree-like substrate of the root. They would shake at the pinch, as if it was irritating their skin, but that was about it.

I felt sorry for them, I really did.

Blake plucked a small pink flower. He had been doing it every day as the scientists wanted to experiment on them to see what they could be used for.

Maybe they were the missing ingredient?

“If I am not going to make it…”

My head turned to his. “You can’t think like that, Blake.” I shook my head. I didn’t want to think about it.

“Elena, death is the most natural…”

“No, you are too young and you are not going to die, you hear me?” I walked with huge strides past him. We recently discovered that once inside, the Creepers couldn’t do anything to you. It was only the ends that went raving mad at whatever passed them and would snap and claw your skin off if it got the chance.

I couldn’t live, or even imagine carrying on with life, knowing that he’d sacrificed himself in my place.

“Fine, you are not ready to hear this. Maybe another time.”

He passed me and plucked another string of purple flowers and moved on.

“I’ll never be ready to hear it, because you are not going to die!” I yelled after him.

He stopped. “Think, realistically Elena. We don’t know what the missing ingredient is yet.”

“So I have been right?!” I yelled. “You don’t believe that it is Louie, not at all.”

“No,” he said. “It’s not. I know that venom is powerful, but every single thing I’ve read on conjuring things…” He took a huge breath. “When someone conjures something, they use precautions, Elena. Goran would use everything he knew that could kill the Saadedine and make him immune to it.”

“What do you mean, make him immune to it?”

“It’s just another spell. Poison, if he used that one word, it won’t harm him. It’s like baking a cake with ingredients. Each ingredient does something. He just added the list of ingredients that would not be able to kill him. Louie’s berries, I can promise you were the first on his list. My father said that he was an alchemist. He used to make all of King Albert’s potions, whatever they needed, he was the one putting it together and Louie’s berries were almost always in all of them.”

“Killing potions?” I asked. “You’re trying to tell me that my father brewed killing potions, Blake?”

“No, they’re not just for killing, Elena. If you mix the berries with something else, it can actually become something not poisonous, something that can heal things, feed things, it can become something beautiful.”

I let that sink in. It was no use. We were never going to find the missing ingredient. One of us was going to die.

Tears welled up in my eyes as that piece of information sank in.

Blake walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me. I felt his lips brushing my head.

“I know it’s not easy to imagine that life can be good again after I’m gone.”

“You are not…”

“Elena, you have to listen to what I am going to tell you. You need to try and listen, please.”

I shook my head. “Listening to what you have to say, it’s like saying goodbye, Blake. And I’m not going to give you that chance. You are not going to die!”

“Okay,” he hugged me tighter. He didn’t say anything. I didn’t want him to either. He was already giving up and we hadn’t even faced the Saadedine yet.

We planted the last of the bombs and walked the long walk home.

When we finally got out, Blake went to the scientists and I went back to my room at the Dragon League.

In less than four days we were going into Etan. One of us was going to die.

I closed my door because I couldn’t deal with all of this anymore. I couldn’t imagine my life without Blake. Even if he’d only changed for me over the last few months. He was my everything now, the only constant thing in a world spinning out of control.

I was addicted to him. He made me feel whole. My father was right when I’d told him I had nobody the day of my ascension and he’d told me it wasn’t true. I’d had him, Blake. But now that might be taken away from me too. My father knew that something great was going to tear us apart, that it would hurt me so much and that was why he’d asked me not to come and free him. That and the fact that he didn’t want me to get hurt, didn’t want me to end up being the one dying. It wasn’t for his people, it was because of me that he made me swear, made me promise not to free the people of Etan because I would lose everything. Everything I loved.

A heavy feeling pressed hard on my chest. It felt as if I couldn’t breathe and the tears started to roll down my cheek. I couldn’t live without Blake.

I fell asleep after my breakdown and had the weirdest dream. I dreamt that I was walking inside the Castle’s walls, a castle I’d only seen once, inside another dream that I’d had with Lucian after I claimed Blake. He’d taken me through these walls but this time I was alone.

Suddenly I was pulled fast by an invisible force. I could hardly make out what was what. I passed so many steps, and flashed through the lobby with its many intersections of staircases and up another staircase hidden behind a wall.

It felt as if I was a ghost, but the turmoil in my head and gut were the only real feelings that told me I wasn’t one.

I came to a sudden stop and took a few breaths so that I don’t barf.

It was behind a pillar. Cold wind streamed in from somewhere and it helped with the nauseated feeling.

Men started speaking and I stood up straight, keeping myself hidden behind the pillar.

They were further down another path. I could tell by the moon and birds flying by that we were high up in a tower, and it was my enhanced hearing that helped me hear every word they spoke.

“It’s what she said?” a man spoke. It sounded like my father.

“You sure she said Goran?” Another spoke. King Helmut.

“She told me that they could see into our future. That they saw it.”

“Goran?” King Helmut said again.

My father must have nodded as he didn’t reply.

What was this? Someone warned my father? Why didn’t he listen.

“He would never…” Helmut said.

“I know he would never. I don’t doubt it for a minute, Helmut.”

“Do you really believe them?”

Who were they referring to?

“I don’t know, we can’t ignore what Cooper is. And Marica, she seems really certain of herself and about this.”

Who the hell were Cooper and Marica?

“We need to make a decision,” Sir Robert said and none of this made any sense. He’d always told me that he felt as if my father thought it would be him.

“There is no decision to be made. He would never do that,” Helmut said again. Oh they were so wrong.

Someone touch me softly and I turned around. Everything went blank and the shaking didn’t stop.

I opened my eyes and found Blake.

“What time is it?” I ask as the wacky dream disappeared.

“It’s almost six a.m.”

“You woke me up at six in the morning?” I asked.

He smiled.

“Why didn’t you wake me up last night?”

“You look so peaceful and I didn’t want to wake you. You need your rest, Elena.”

“I had the weirdest dream about my father, yours and King Helmut.”

“Yeah, what happened in this dream?”

I told him the story, or what I could remember which was almost everything. That was the weird part. Dreams didn’t feel that real, and you hardly remembered anything afterwards. It was like that time I’d dreamt about my mother trying to tell me who I was.

He just looked at me. “My father would’ve said something if someone like Marica and Cooper had warned them. But I’ll investigate once all of this is over and see if they are somewhere in the records, Elena.”

“Investigate?” I smiled.

“Yeah, it’s what people do to find something.”

I grabbed him around his neck and just held him tight. “I don’t care about the investigation. You said, after all this is over. You are not planning on dying then?”

“No,” he chuckled. “I will fight, Elena. I’m not planning on dying.”

I let go of him and stared at him. “I really thought that when you wanted to talk about if you were going to die, that you’d already given up.”

He touched my chin and redirected my face to look at him. “I’m the Rubicon, Elena. What sort of a dragon would I be if I went in thinking something like that?”

I smiled and kissed him softly on the lips. “A good question,” I said as our kiss broke. “So why did you wake me up so early?”

“The van is packed, and the road is long.”

I squinted. What the hell was he talking about?

“Our getaway.”

I closed my eyes. I’d forgotten about the getaway. Our break before everything changed forever.

I nodded and got up. He waited for me outside as I quickly took a shower and put on fresh pair of clothes.

When I walked through the main doors I found Lucian’s black SUV and another Jeep that was filled with Isaac, Ty and all the other guys.

The roar of a bike filled the early morning and found Blake on his Ducati, waiting with a helmet in his hands just for me.

THE DRIVE TO wherever Blake had booked us for the next two days was a few hours outside of Tith. It was somewhere on the border of Elm and Tith.

My heart felt as if it was beating a thousand beats per minute as adrenaline flowed through my veins. Adrenaline that was caused by the speed he was going.

Still, I got the feeling that this was what he lived for. Bike rides, sky diving, snowboarding. It was who he was and I had no choice but to try it at least once with him.

The helmet he’d gotten was a bit on the smaller size, making it feel as if my head was going to explode, but he said it fit perfect and the jacket was snug around my body. It kept the cold out, and it helped a lot that I was snuggling the hottest dragon in this world tightly on a bike.

At the two hour mark, Blake finally slowed down and took the turnoff that said, Lake Tenikwa.

A couple of miles down I finally started to see part of a huge lake on the horizon, glistening in the sun.

The houses on the lake were each trying to be more beautiful than the last, and he parked right beside a picnic area with benches and tables.

He switched off the bike and I got off.

I took off my helmet and watched him take off his.

“Why are we stopping?”

“It’s a rocky path leading up toward the cabin, that’s why Dean drove with the trailer.”

“How long are we going to wait?” Was my next question, as he had been speeding like a bat out of hell to get here.

“An hour at the most, but I heard that they have a mean diner just up the road. Care to join me?”

“Let me guess, you are starving?”

“My stomach growling that much?”

I laughed as he took my helmet from me and put it with his on top of the bike’s handles.

He reached out his hand toward mine and I took it. His hand was big and mine disappeared in it. I felt so safe with him.

We walked past a few docks that had yachts and jet skis lined up. It was definitely only the rich that could afford something like this.

Something told me that this getaway was going to be one of the best days of my life.

I put my hoody over my head. I was so used to it now, and didn’t want to be bothered by the public, especially on this getaway.

I just want to spend it with Blake and my friends. That was it.

He did the same after he kissed the back of my hand, as we walked toward the diner that had a deck overlooking the lake.

A few steps led up to the opening of the diner and a friendly hostess greeted us.

Blake didn’t look like Blake behind his sun glasses and hoody pulled over his head. It was the best disguise, well best non-magical disguise, we had.

“Table for two?” she asked with a beautiful smile.

“We are expecting eight more. They will be here in an hour. We are a bit early.”

“Sure,” she sounded even friendlier, knowing that it was going to be a good day if their first table was for ten.

“Somewhere on the deck if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

We followed her toward the deck and sat on the corner of a table as the waiters pushed two more tables against the one we occupied to make it bigger.

When they were done, we ordered two coffees.

We both just watched the lake, staring at the water sparkling in the sun.

It sure was beautiful and peaceful here.

As we sat, I struggled to get Etan out of my head, to get the mission out of my head.

For all I know this could be the first and only getaway we would ever take.

“Ralph spoke to you about the serum he made from Louie’s berries?”

“This is not that type of getaway, Elena. No war talk.”

“I need to know.”

He picked up both my hands in his and kissed the knuckles of my fingers. “Yes, he did and everything they thought will help will be waiting for us as soon as we get back to the League. Promise.”

I smiled.

It fell silent again.

“What is King Helmut hiding from me? Do you know?”

He looked away as he nodded and I huffed softly. I knew it! There were something but I had a feeling that Blake wasn’t going to share it with me either.

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“Elena, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you. I think his reasons for keeping some things from you are valid. Just know this: he is protecting you, Elena, and me for that matter. He doesn’t want us to worry about what the others have to do. The Saadedine is our main priority and that is what he wanted us to focus on, nothing else.”

I sighed. “You trust it?”

“King Helmut keeping things from the two of us?” he asked. “Yes, I do, Elena as I know how your mind works. You will worry too much about the others and that leads to slip-ups. I don’t want any slip-ups on this mission. So please, just trust his reasons,” he begged.

“What do you mean by, ‘you know how my mind works’?” I smiled.

“I saw how you reacted to what King Caleb told everyone about the explosion. You were quiet. It made me worry seeing all that doubt in your eyes Elena. I know you worry about whether your father is still alive or not, but I agree with Emanual’s reasons. Like I said, it reminded me of the time I asked you to kill me if I turned evil. I was holding on then, but could understand that once I turned, I would kill my own father, even Sammy, and it wouldn’t bother me. So I do believe that your father is still alive.”

“You really do?”

“I do, and not just for my father’s sake, Elena. I really want you to meet him, for real this time.”

I smiled. “I do too.”

Silence filled the air around us again. I could live here. It was so serene and peaceful. The lake stretched for days and days and it looked like there was no end to it. In the distance way on the other side, I could make out a shoreline and what looked like a couple of houses.

I took in a deep breath and smelled the air. I was trying to form a memory that would last me a lifetime. No matter what happened, I wanted to remember this exact moment.

The smell of nature disappeared when I couldn’t breathe in more, and I let it out. “Well if you trust him, I will trust that.”

He gave me a soft squeeze and winked at me as the waiter brought us our two coffees and put the menus in front of us.

“So can I ask you a couple of things?” I said as I really wanted to know him a bit better.

“Oh, crap.” He sounded serious, but there was a hint of a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. “I was wondering when you were going to want to know about a couple of things.”

I laughed the way he put the emphasis on a couple of things. “I just wanted to know a few things. Apparently you already know everything about me.”

He laughed and shook his head as he drew in a huge breath. “Okay, shoot.”

“What does F.C. mean? I saw it plenty of times in your journal and it looks like something you really needed.”

He bit his lip and I could see how his posture grew slightly inflated. “You really want to know?”

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t Blake.”

“Okay,” he sighed. “It was a drug I needed to keep the Rubicon suppressed.”

“So it was a hang-on technique.”

“You could say that.”

“Was it a bad drug, like were you addicted to it?”

“Yes, I was, but I’m not anymore.” He smiled.

I brought the cup to my lips and took a small sip. “What did it do? Did you see things?” I put the cup back down on the table.

He laughed. “You mean did it put me on a trip? Um, no, it made me carefree. Like there was no dark omen hanging over me, but it also made me extremely aggressive and we all know who suffered for it.”

I know he was talking about Tabitha.

“What does the F.C. stand for?” I looked from the surface of the table to his eyes hidden behind his glasses.

“Fire Cain.”

I squinted. “So it’s like cocaine?”

“I don’t know what cocaine is.”

“Something bad on the other side of the wall.”

“Then yes, it’s probably like cocaine.”

“And you used to take your aggression out on Tabitha?”

He sighed and nodded. “One of the things I know I will never be able to make up to her. Well I can, but I don’t want to do that.” He said in a mysterious tone and we all knew what she wanted.

“Did you love her?” I had to know.

“I told you before it wasn’t love, it was more of a lust …thing.” He struggled to find the right words. “I was used to her, it’s the easiest category to put it in.”

“Used to her?”

He laughed, scratched his hoody and lingered with his hand on his head for a while.

“What happened that night she was in your room, I mean why was she there?”

“You really need to know this?”

“Yes, I would like to know this.”

He lowered his arm and rested both of them on the table. “Well you know about Phil, how I searched for him with her. She forgot to tell me that he was in on the other side on actual business. Something she knew. I never knew she was that good at acting, and her excuse of why she’d lied to me like that, laying it on thick was that she was trying to break the spell you had over me.”

“She what?”

“Yeah,” he smiled. “She believed it was a spell more than you did, and thought if I spent more time with her that it would vanish or something.”

“And now?”

“I realized that we can’t be friends after that, it’s just too complicated with her. She will always want more, and I will never be able to give her that, so I told her I never wanted to see her again.”

“Is that what you truly wanted?”

“I won’t lie to you, I really thought that we could all be friends, but…” he scrunched up his nose. “Not going to be possible.”

I played with one of the sugar packets. “One last question?”

“Just one more.”

I laughed the way he said it. “Irene? You really had a relationship with her?”

The smile tugging on his lips disappeared instantly. He didn’t look at me and the vibe got so thick that I almost told him to drop it. “This conversation is really starting to become awkward.”

“No, it’s not. I’m open-minded and I knew all of this already, I just want to know a bit more.”

He sighed. “It’s difficult. Yes, I think a part of me did love her. But it didn’t start out like that. She was a no-zone and I don’t listen to those. Her seeing me regularly didn’t help with my demeanor either. She was just something I had to put on my list. I was very shallow back then.” He smiled softly. “But I realized after a while that her feelings for me were real and I did feel something for her too. But again it wasn’t love. I thought it was, but it wasn’t.”

“How do you know it wasn’t love?”

He smiled. “Because I know what love actually feels like now, Elena.”

I blushed scarlet as he said it. “So you love me?”

“More than I can tell you.”

“Just like that?”

“It’s not hard to love you. Quite easy.” He took my hand in his and I stared at our fingers intertwined with each other.

“You love me?” He asked.

“I loved Lucian, or I think I did. This feeling is ten times worse.”

He squinted. “Worse?”

“Yes, worse, as I want to give in to it, but I don’t want to either. Every time I feel like this, the person ends up dying.” Tears lingered in my eyes behind my glasses, thank heavens for that, and I plastered a smile on my face to make it sound like a joke, which was far from how I felt.

“I see, so it’s not a bad feeling. You are just scared.”

“I’m terrified.”

He bent over the table and brought his mouth close to my ear. “I’m terrified too, Elena.” He moved back and smiled.

“Seriously?”

“Of course, but I’m the Rubicon.”

“I hate that so much.”

He laughed. “I don’t.”

“Finally!” I heard Becky’s voice first before I saw her figure. She put her sunglasses on top of her head and her bag down next to my seat, throwing the keys from the SUV on the table.

“How did you know we were here?” I asked.

“George tracked you easily.”

He walked onto the deck too with Dean, Sammy, and the rest of Blake’s band, laughing at something. They all took a seat.

“I am starving,” Isaac said and looked immediately at the menu.

“So, how long did it take you?” Ty slapped Blake on his shoulder. “How fast does she fly?”

“Not nearly fast enough.”

“Man,” he grinned like an idiot and looked at me. “If you’d like to know, my birthday is in a few months.”

We both laughed.

“Did you get the keys?” George asked.

“Picked them up last night already,” Blake answered. “Top main bedroom is mine.”

Everyone laughed as George grunted.

The waitress came back and Ty immediately turned his entire attention toward her.

“My name is Emily and welcome to the Ceadar Inn. What can I get you to drink?”

Isaac said a Denoldi beer, and so did most of the others, Sammy and Becky went with coffee. Ty on the other hand had a huge list of things this poor girl could get him.

“Ty,” all Blake’s band members sang.

Blake just shook his head. Poor Emily blushed and looked at him. Then her smile disappeared as a light bulb went on. “Aren’t you the drummer from The Shifters?”

Oh crap.

“Busted,” Ty smiled and raised his eyebrow at Blake.

Idiot.

“Ty,” Blake said and Isaac threw a sugar packet at him.

“Seriously, it’s called a getaway, Ty.” Isaac and Jamie sounded furious.

“So what, no girls?” Ty asked. “Dude,” he looked at Blake. “I might die in two days, let me have some fun.”

Blake laughed. “I’m so sorry.” He looked at me.

“It’s fine.”

Blake looked at Emily, and took off his glasses. I thought she was going to have heart attack as she realized who he was. “Please, I’m begging you, don’t tell anybody that we are here. We really just want to get away for a few days.”

“Of course,” she finally said. “I won’t tell a soul.”

“No please, you can tell a couple of your friends. Most of us are still single,” Ty said and I just laughed softly.

“Whatever you say, Tiger,” Emily chirped.

“Actually a panther, but I get where you are going with that.” He winked at her.

She took his order and left.

“Really,” Isaac said. “You can’t just be normal for two days?”

“It’s fine,” I answered. “We all know Ty and we have no choice but to accept the guy the way he is.”

Blake laughed.

“It’s fine, Ty. I just hope that the walls are soundproof,” I looked at the menu.

The rest of the breakfast/lunch was extremely fun. I felt sorry for Emily but she kept true to her word and didn’t tell a soul, she did, however, take a few selfies with the band.

When it was time to go, I knew that I was going to see Emily again by the way Ty flirted with her.

Once the bike was on the trailer, Dean drove up the rocky road to our cabin that was built near a patch of trees. It was the most beautiful, eight bedroom and five bathroom cabin, with the hugest living room I had ever seen. It had a massive porch that looked out on the lake and a beautiful granite countertop kitchen with cherry wood cabinets.

Everyone ran to find rooms as Blake brought our bags in to take it to our room.

While the guys were busy finding their way, Sammy, Becky and I went into town to buy some groceries.

It was the most beautiful little community by the lake, with a couple of stores in town and the diner.

Sammy was really quiet and I had no idea how to get her out of her mood.

I knew she was just as scared as all of us were on this getaway, but we had to find a way for her to just forget about what was going to happen two days from now.

We split up inside the store to find all the things we needed.

I ended up at one of the aisles that carried toys and found a couple of water guns.

There weren’t a lot people in here, and I decided that maybe it would be the fun Sammy needed.

Becky found me and smiled when she saw the smile on my face.

“What is going on in that mind of yours?”

“Sammy!” Is all I said.

She looked at the guns. “Let’s do it,” she laughed and opened the water bottle  that was in her hand, filling up both our guns.

Sammy was pushing a cart stacked with all the junk food she could find as she came around the corner.

Becky and I crouched low and I watched Becky counting off with her fingers.

We jumped out and just sprayed her with water. She shrieked at first, cussed a few times and then she just let her hyena laughter fill the entire place. “No fair!” She yelled, but we emptied the entire water bottle on her.

Sammy quickly searched the toy guns and found one too.

For the next few minutes that was all we did. We sprayed each other with so much water that it made the floor slippery wet.

“What is going on here?” The clerk finally came to investigate and wanted to yell more when he found all the water on the floor and the three of us soaking wet. But the minute he saw my face he bowed down. “Sorry, Princess, I didn’t see you there.”

“It’s okay, sorry about the mess. I’ll pay for all of this. I just wanted one of my friends to have a bit of fun.”

“No need to explain. With what you are doing for all of us, you can have as much fun as you like.”

“Thank you.”

“You staying in one of the cabins?”

“Yes, a small getaway and if you don’t mind, can we please keep it that way?”

“Won’t say a word if anybody comes looking for you.”

“Thank you.”

The fun was ruined after the clerk came and we quickly found the rest of the groceries we needed and paid.

We walked into the next store, drenched.

“I can’t tell you when the last time I laughed like that was,” Sammy said.

“I really missed that laugh, Sammy.” Becky hugged her and kissed her on the temple.

We bought plenty of booze for the guys and then we left and went back to the cabin.

The inside was empty with no trace of anyone and we had to unload all the grocery bags by ourselves. We unpacked each item out of their plastic, and laughed at the memory of the clerk’s face when he saw me and not some troublemaker.

When we were done, we went to look for the guys and found them on the lake with the jet skis.

The rest of the day flew by, enjoying swims and jet skis. Around five Isaac lit the barbecue with Sammy’s fire and after dinner we played one of those booze games which got me completely messed up.

It was good fun though and when I passed out, I assumed Blake took care of me as I was woken up by the smell of strong coffee close by and two Advil’s for my headache.

Blake laughed as I opened my eyes.

“What happened last night?”

“Apart from the few minutes you puked your guts out?”

I grunted and buried my head under the pillow. “I was that drunk?”

“You had fun, Elena. You let loose.”

“Is it normal to have this headache?”

“Yes, it is. Here let me help.” He took the Advil’s off the side stand and chucked them over his shoulder. His hands were warm as he rubbed my temples softly.

I could feel the zing of his ability moving toward the pain and it slowly disappeared.

It felt so good.

“How is that?”

“Much better, now I’m just tired.”

“That I haven’t figured out yet, that’s what the coffee is for.”

I laughed and took the coffee from him.

“Get ready. We have a day filled with fun, Elena.”

“Awesome, I can’t wait.”

THE DAY WITH friends was amazing. It felt good pretending to be normal.

I was glad that I’d bought Blake that bike. We took it for a spin today and even Ty got a turn.

We went for a hike, and I got a chance to fly on Blake’s back for an hour or two. It was both of our favorite thing in the world to do. We loved just flying through the clouds and not having a care in the world.

We swam in the lake, and had more fun on the jet-skis, and at night we lit the barbecue again.

Tonight we told stories. Many of them were shifter stories told from one generation to the next about the first shifters and about why they were so secluded.

Then Emily and a few of her friends showed up around eleven and they joined in on our conversation.

Ty and Isaac were really funny too. They each pretended to sound like Blake and I had to say when Isaac pulled out the guitar and started to woo the girls, he did sort of sound like Blake when he sang one of their songs.

Nobody was thinking about tomorrow, even Sammy. She was cuddling next to Dean and laughed at Ty and Isaac’s jokes.

Ever since the day we blurted out that Blake’s suit had to change, she’d worried constantly about losing one of us.

I didn’t worry about that anymore. We hadn’t found the missing ingredient and I’d promised myself that she was not going to lose her brother. If there was someone that was going to die, it was going to be me.

The stars shone so brightly tonight. I was sharing a deck chair with Blake.

When Sammy yawned we realized that it was quite late and although I wished that I could just stay here and watch the sun come up, I knew it wasn’t a possibility.

Tomorrow I had to be fresh, had to be prepared for what we were going to face.

Sammy got up. “I think it’s time we call it a night,” she said and held out her hand for Dean.

“Dude, you still have your balls?” Ty asked and everyone laughed.

“Hahaha,” Dean mocked him back. “At least I have a warm girl to cuddle up to at night.”

“Too much info, Dean!” Blake joked.

“Then close your ears,” Dean peeped and everyone laughed.

Sammy kissed me on top of the head as she walked past and ruffled up her brother’s hair.

“Good night,” she sang to everyone, and we all bade her goodnight.

“Tomorrow is a big day, and whether I have balls or not, I’m calling it a night too,” George said. He got up and reached out his hand for Becky to hold.

“Don’t stay out too late, Elena. You guys need your rest too.”

“Yes, Mom,” I chirped and she laughed as she entered the house.

I didn’t want this night to end, and saw Blake starting to quiz me on our hand signals.

“It’s not safe,” I said.

“This one.” He showed another sign and it carried on like that until all of them were done and I answered all of them correctly.

“You are a fast learner.” He pulled me backward and wrapped his huge arms around me, kissing me softly in my neck.

I squirmed in his arms as it started to become too ticklish and he laughed. Ty was having a hefty conversation with Emily while Isaac was speaking to two of her friends. Jamie and the others had gone for an early morning swim.

Tomorrow lay heavy on my shoulders again. I couldn’t lose him and I didn’t know if he knew how I truly felt about him. That I would give up my life to save his.

I really wanted to be with him so badly tonight, but what if he still wasn’t ready. I couldn’t go through another rejection like the last time on my birthday when he’d said I wasn’t ready.

I was, he wasn’t and I wasn’t going to push that on him.

It hurt loving someone like this without knowing how many days you have left. I just wanted to make mine count now, try to tell him and show him how much he really meant to me.

“I think we should try to get some sleep, Elena. Today was a busy day and tomorrow is even going to be even busier.”

“Okay,” I said and brought our hands that were entwined with one another up to my mouth, kissing him softly on his hand.

I got up first, wrapped the soft blanket around me tighter and walked into the house.

“Goodnight everyone.”

“Faders,” Ty sang.

Blake flipped him off again and they all just laughed as Ty started with his disgusting remarks.

I pretended not to hear it this time.

I found Becky alone on the couch. Where was George?

“Hey,” I spoke and she jumped from her thoughts.

“Elena?” Blake spoke softly.

“You don’t need my permission to sleep. I’ll be a minute,” I snapped playfully, which made Becky laugh as Blake just walked up the steps.

“What is up, where is George?”

“He’s speaking to his mom, saying goodbye.” Her voice broke but she pulled herself back together.

“Becky.” I went over to her and sat next to her on the couch.

“Let him, Elena. We don’t share the same beliefs, so he is just taking precautions. I know he will fight to protect me tomorrow.” She had fear lingering in her eyes smudged together with tears. “This is so stupid,” she said as she dabbed them away.

“It’s not stupid, Becky. We are going on a dangerous mission tomorrow. Just promise me you will be fierce, that you will make it out of there alive. Sammy cannot lose you too.”

She looked at me. “Don’t you dare, Elena.”

“I’m not going to survive in a world without him. The first time was hard enough,” I was referring to the time that I thought I’d killed him after one stupid kiss that should’ve never happened. “And we didn’t even like one another then.” My own tears welled up in my eyes and I wiped away a stray one that fell over my cheek. I swallowed hard and smiled at her. “I don’t even know what the missing ingredient is, Becky.”

“You said it was Louie’s berries.”

I shook my head. “Blake doesn’t believe that it is, and after he explained it to me, neither do I.”

“So none of you know what it is?”

I shook my head. “One of us is not going to make it.”

She just stared at me and then she closed her eyes. I could see her body deflating, and then Becky pulled herself together. She opened her eyes again. “You listen to me, I know you. We have been in situations like this before, Elena. You never know what anything is until the right time. I know you will discover the missing ingredient, you always discover what you must overcome, or the connection, and it will be in your reach as fate and trust have never let you down before. They wouldn’t bring you this close just to watch you die. Just don’t die. Keep on breathing, it’s all you have to do.”

She wasn’t listening to me. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye either, it’s not how she was built. I was really scared that this was going to hit her harder than I’d feared.

“Okay,” I smiled instead and gave her a hug.

“I love you, Elena Watkins.”

“I love you more, Becky Johnson.” I sniffed and swallowed my tears again.

“Just keep on breathing, it’s all you have to do.” She smiled as I got up.

“You too.”

I walked up the steps and went into the room. Blake had sounded tired this evening and I was sure that he was already fast asleep.

I opened the door softly and saw his figure on the bed. He was sleeping on his stomach.

I closed the doors and I couldn’t hold it together anymore. I loved all the people that were here with me on this getaway, even his stupid band members that weren’t stupid at all. They were brave and fiercely talented.

What scared me the most was that they would never know how much I loved them.

Tears ran over my cheeks, but I wiped them away fast and took a huge breath.

I pulled myself together and was ready to go to bed and just sleep next to Blake, not knowing if this was the last night we were going to share a bed or not.

I turned around, let out a yelp and jumped slightly as I saw a hulking figure standing right in front of me. Blake laughed as he pulled me into his arms. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I hate it when you sneak up on me. I thought you were asleep,” I spoke into his chest. His body was warm and I just soaked up his heat.

“Why the tears, Elena?” he spoke softly.

Shit, he knew. Of course he knew. I shook my head. I didn’t want to speak about this on our last night. I didn’t want it to be sullen.

He moved away from me and lifted up my chin to look at him. I closed my eyes and took a huge breath before I opened them. The tears were still there. “We haven’t found the missing ingredient, Blake. We both know what is going to happen without it.”

He smiled. “I know what the missing ingredient is, Elena.”

“You do?” My heartbeat increased slightly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I basically just figured it out.”

“What is it?” I had to know.

He smiled softly and stroked the side of my face with his thumb. His touch was the most amazing thing I’d ever felt and I didn’t want to lose it.

“It’s something you can’t see, or touch. It’s something much more.” He touched my chest. “Much deeper.”

“My heart?” I asked.

He chuckled.

“My heart is the missing ingredient?” It didn’t make much sense.

“Not literally. Mine too, this bond, Elena. The love we share. I truly believe it… no,” he stopped. “I know it’s us. Together, like you said, who we are, what we are, we will kill the Saadedine. Elena, we are the missing ingredient.”

“What about my blood?” I spoke again because I didn’t feel it this time. It had to be something I could see.

“It’s not your blood, your blood won’t affect him at all.”

“He is evil, Blake.”

“He was conjured, Elena. It wasn’t a natural process. The host.”

I remembered what Master Longwei had said that last time. “His host is not. It’s why my blood won’t work.”

“It’s why your blood won’t work.”

I sighed. “Okay, then it’s us.” I smiled and looked at him. “Just promise me that you will keep breathing, please,” I said and stood on my toes and kissed him. He had to breathe, he just had to.

Blake

“JUST PROMISE ME that you will keep breathing, please,” she said and came in for a kiss.

Our lips touched. I could kiss her forever, but a part of me feared really kissing her. I’d almost lost it that night, and I knew she wasn’t ready. What she’d gone through still lay heavy on me, and then there was the other part that I feared. What her kisses did to me. She was like my own personal fix. It hadn’t disappeared since that first time I kissed her and I feared that if I let go, I would not be able to stop.

She was like Fire Cain, the healthy kind, but also the dangerous kind. I loved this girl so much and I doubted that she would ever grasp that, but if someone was going to die tomorrow, it would be me.

This world needed her and I wouldn’t be able to survive without her anyway.

I’d made up my mind.

I had no idea what the missing ingredient was, I was just glad that she’d bought it.

The kiss deepened and I was lingering on the edge of no return. Her heart started to beat faster and I stopped. It was so hard, and getting harder each and every time.

I didn’t open my eyes, just moved my lips to her head. She wasn’t ready for this. She wasn’t there yet.

Still her heartbeat and then a different emotion filled my core. It was coming from her.

I struggled to pinpoint this one. It was as if she was disappointed, but it was mixed with something else. Something similar to what I felt. A different kind of fear, that she wasn’t ready either. That she would never be ready.

It didn’t matter.

I looked down at her. She was still breathing fast and then she rested with her head on my chest.

I closed my eyes and tried to connect with her mind. I remembered how easy it had been when I hadn’t given a shit, and now it was one of the hardest things in the world. Nothing worked, I’d tried everything, even the surrendering part. Nothing.

“I can’t read your mind.” My voice was soft. “But I can feel your emotions Elena. Why are you scared?”

She looked up at me and smiled. “You really feel that?” she asked and I nodded. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry.” She let go and walked over to the bed.

“Don’t do that, please. Just talk to me.”

She sat on the bed and moved underneath the covers. I sat down in front of her and just looked at her.

“Fine, I’m scared that you are never going to want to be with me, okay,” she spoke quickly. “I know it’s stupid but you always pull away.”

What? “Elena,” I stroked my face. How do I explain this to her? She wasn’t ready.

“You wanted to know, Blake. I’m not going to force you.” She touched my arm softly and smiled. “So let’s not fight about stupid things, okay.”

“Force me?” I chuckled. If she only knew what she was doing to me.

“I don’t want to fight,” she said again with a slight whine.

I looked at her again. “I don’t want to fight either. Believe me that’s the last thing I want to do with you.” I touched her face and my core became warm as she leaned into my hand and just closed her eyes. I knew that if she was a cat, she would purr.

Did I got this wrong?

I didn’t think, just moved in and kissed her again. I could tell she hadn’t expected that at all and I felt like I was playing on the edge again. Of just losing everything.

She took control and moved toward me. Her body slammed into mine as she moved her legs over mine and sat on my lap. This felt so perfect, like we fit.

I held her tight as the kiss became deeper, never wanting to let go.

Stop, Blake, just stop. I couldn’t. The feeling inside of me didn’t want to stop this time.

Her hands were tangled up in my hair and she moved closer toward me. She connected deeper with my body and a million ripples danced through my being as a small grunt escaped my lips.

Her legs were on either side of my waist and I couldn’t stop kissing her. My fingers pulled at the material of her track suit pants. Don’t Blake, just stop.

She kissed me faster, her heart was rising but the feeling was not fear of what this could lead to, it was the same I was experiencing. Fear of what would happen if it didn’t. She wanted more.

I pulled up her shirt, and her arms went above her head as our lips left each other for a few short seconds.

When they found one another again, I pulled her tighter against me and her skin was so soft as her chest connected with mine.

She kissed me hard, just like that first time when she didn’t want me kissing her. I couldn’t stop then either. It was the first time I’d tasted her, and discovered what she was to me. It was like that, but this time she wanted it too.

My lips left her and I bit onto my lower lip, trying not to kiss her. I needed to know. “Elena, are you sure about this?” I asked in a whisper. My breathing was heavy.

“Just shut up,” she sounded stern, which made me chuckle as she forced her lips on mine again.

She pushed me backward onto the bed. She’d never been this adamant before. I felt as if I could burst and then her hands moved to my track pants and I knew. I’d had it all wrong.

Elena.

I rolled onto Blake’s chest and just gave out a tired laugh. We were both breathing fast. Well, his had calmed almost immediately, mine took a few seconds longer. His lips kissed the top of my head. My body still vibrated softly. I’d never felt anything like this in my entire life. “What the hell was that?” I had to know.

“Now you know why our species loves this so much.”

“What, dragons or men?” I asked through a tired smile. I didn’t want it to end, but I was so tired.

“Dragons, men, all of the above.”

I hadn’t felt this with Lucian. It was slightly painful, both times, and not to…. I didn’t want to think about that anymore. It was like it’d never happened. I was so happy, and tired. “Will it always feel like this?”

Blake chuckled. “I hope so.”

I looked up at him. We were both naked with just the linen sheet covering our bodies. “I love you Blake Leaf.” There, I’d said it. I’d owned up to it, and a huge breath left my mouth. Why did this feeling hurt so much?

I lay with my head on his chest and closed my eyes. If love could be painful, I was experiencing it.

His hand touched my face softly and I touched his hand.

I should’ve never done this. If this was going to be the first and only time… I would not survive in a world without him.

He shifted from underneath me and I moved down so that he could see me. I kept my eyes closed.

“Elena,” he spoke softly with a sad tone and kissed me again.

I didn’t want to stop kissing him and just wanted him here with me. I wished I could use my frost to freeze time and just be with him like this forever. Feel this forever and not worry about the consequences of later.

I would give anything for that. He broke the kiss.

“I love you more, even if it doesn’t feel that way, I promise you. The feeling inside of me is much stronger than yours. And I’m okay with it, as we love differently.” He smiled and kissed me on my nose. I used to hate that he could feel my emotions, but right now I loved it. “You can’t die.”

“Neither can you. It’s either we both die or we both live, Blake.”

He nodded. “Then let’s go with the last one, please?”

I nodded too and kissed him one last time.

I WOKE UP around five and found Blake still sleeping in the same position he’d fallen asleep in last night.

The fairy tales had it wrong. Sleeping Beauty wasn’t a girl, she was a guy, as he was sleeping right next to me.

I couldn’t stop staring at him. He looked so peaceful, as if we didn’t have this heavy omen of death lingering over us.

His lips started to curve. “Why are you staring at me like some creepy stalker?” he asked.

“How did you know?”

“I can feel those beautiful green eyes of yours on me.”

I laughed softly and kissed him on the lips. His hand brushed my back, over my arm and shoulder and came to rest on my neck, touching the side of my face gently.

He broke the kiss. “We can’t start this now, Elena. We need to get packing.”

“Fine, party pooper,” I said as I got up, pulled off the blanket that covered me and walked into the bathroom. As I left I could hear a small chuckle escape his lips.

I switched on the taps and found myself sitting for a long time with the blanket still wrapped around me on the toilet seat.

I couldn’t get last night out of my head and I refused to sully this feeling with what lay ahead of us today. I kept seeing him, the way he’d treated me last night, it was as if I was one of his orbs. Delicate, and gentle. He’d kept his word from that night: he said when it was going to happen it would be perfect, and it was.

It was going to be a long trip back to Areeth where the rest of us were going to enter Etan.

Tonight would be their day again. It wasn’t even time for the feast, they would be completely taken off guard. At least Goran wouldn’t be prepared if he knew we were coming. He would be totally taken by surprised as we’d decided to attack a month earlier. I just hoped Emanual was right and that my father was with his men.

I still had to take in King Helmut, and Emanual. King Caleb and one of his guards, Becky and George, Sammy and Dean and finally Sir Robert and Blake.

We all knew what to do. We had our mission. Our paths were going to part the minute all of us set foot in Etan. That was the most difficult part, not knowing who I was going to see afterward or whether they would see me again.

I forced the sadness away and I concentrated on last night again.

His kisses on my body were everlasting. It was as if I could still feel them if I closed my eyes.

I sighed and climbed into the shower. I tilted my head back and let my hair wet as I got lost in my string of thoughts again. It had been the most amazing night of my life. Being able to share something so deep in me, with Blake.

I hadn’t even felt this way with Lucian. Sure, I’d loved Lucian too but it wasn’t like this.

It wasn’t that can’t eat, can’t sleep feeling, it was the jump in front of the bullet kind without thinking twice. My connection to Blake was much stronger and when I was with him, which was almost every minute of the day, I didn’t want it to end.

It was so intense. He felt like a part of me, but it wasn’t just that. He felt like my heart, the breath in my lungs, the blood in my veins. I wouldn’t live without him.

Was this what the Dent was like for our dragons?

Did they become like this for us? Our life support?

I knew it sounded pathetic, but it wasn’t. It was actually beautiful, to know that there were two beings that just couldn’t function without the other. Soul mates.

I truly believe that the Dent was something like that, and the words that he’d used in that poem weren’t literally what happened, it was just the metaphors he’d used to describe this feeling.

I closed the taps and get out of the shower. I draped the soft towel over my body and went into our room again.

Blake had left.

I quickly got dressed. We would change later when we get to Areeth.

At least the suit wasn’t black anymore like in our vision, and the good part was that I hadn’t received a new one with him looking like a dove.

I laughed at that and remembered how Alex had transformed with the suit turning into armor that protected her face, her torso, everything.

Blake would look majestic wearing it.

I braided my hair and went down to where all my friends were hopefully enjoying breakfast.

I found Dean by the coffee pot, deep in thought.

“Hey,” I said and he jumped slightly. We both laughed.

“Elena, would you like a cup of coffee?”

“I would love one, thanks Dean.”

He smiled as he took out an extra cup. “They are all on the porch.”

“How is she holding up?”

“Scared, but strong.” He smiled. “She will be fine, Elena.”

“You better be too, mister.”

He laughed and I went to the porch.

I heard Sammy’s hyena laughter, and the rest all laughing with her.

I opened the sliding door and walked out.

“Good morning, Princess,” Becky smiled.

“You are chirpy this morning.”

“It’s going to be a good day, Elena. I can feel it.”

It better be, I didn’t say that out loud but I just smiled at her, bent down and kissed her on top of her head giving her a slight squeeze of my arm around her neck.

I sat down on the deck chair that Sammy was sitting on and leaned with my head onto her knees that she’d brought up to her chest.

“Don’t you dare look at me like that,” she said through a huge grin.

“What, how am I looking at you?”

“You are going to be fine, and you are too.” She stared at her brother.

“Of course we will,” Blake said and took a sip of his coffee as he lay with his head on the chair. “I figured out the missing ingredient.”

They all gasped. Still, as beautiful as it was, I didn’t buy it. I knew he was lying. How, it was hard to tell, but I just knew. He did it to ease all of our worries.

I just hoped Becky was right. That I would find the missing ingredient before it was too late.

Becky, Sammy and I made breakfast and we weren’t surprised that Emily and two of her friends had stayed over.

They finally emerged from their rooms and joined us around the table.

Blake piped all sort of things to make Ty uncomfortable, who was such a douche when it came to the morning after.

He was pretending a lot with Emily and I hated him for that. But I guessed that some boys would never grow up.

They left as we washed the dishes. Sammy went to look for more dirty cups around the house and we laughed as her laughter filled the hallway from above us.

“You don’t agree with Blake, do you?” Becky asked as her hands lingered in the sink.

“Blake and I don’t agree on many things, you need to be more specific Becky.” I put the dry plate into the cupboard.

She smiled. “The missing ingredient.”

“It’s sweet, but no. I don’t. I think he is just saying that to alleviate fears.”

“Why can’t it be what he says it is?”

“Because it’s not something you can touch, it’s something you need to believe in Becky.” I took a huge breath. “And I just know it’s not. Like he knew it wasn’t Louie’s berries. Like you said, I will know when the time comes.”

“You will.” She sounded confident even though she didn’t smile this time.

Afterward we went to our rooms to pack our suitcases.

I found Blake just throwing his clothes in.

“You are such a slob,” I said and picked up his jersey and folded it nicely before putting it in the suitcase.

“I’m not,” he said, wrapping his arms around me and falling with me onto the bed.

“We need to get going,” I said as he kissed me.

“Can’t we just stay here, hide?”

I gasped. “Coming from the mighty Rubicon! Now that is a first.”

He laughed. “I hate being the Rubicon. Seriously.”

“Stop whining.” I looked down at him, kissed him quickly and got up. “We need to pack.”

In less than ten minutes our suitcases were in the trunk and we were ready to lock up.

We made sure that everything was more or less tidied up and jumped into the SUV.

When we reached the diner, Dean stopped and Blake took the bike from the trailer.

“See you on site,” Sammy said from the front.

“Bye,” I said and got out.

Blake made sure he had everything as Dean said goodbye and climbed into the front seat.

I pulled on my jacket as I watched my friends drive off and then Blake turned around and grabbed me again.

He kissed me like there was no tomorrow. Well there might not be one. My ears and everything started to vibrate. I’d felt it last night too and grunted as his hands slide fast and hard down my body to my thighs, he lifted me up and my legs curled around his waist.

His lips moved to my neck giving me a million goosebumps and I started to laugh.

“What are you doing?” I asked. “We don’t have…”

“Shush, just shush,” he said and his lips found mine again.

We both started to laugh just thinking what this must look like to everyone driving past.

“Okay, let’s go,” Blake finally said as my feet touched the ground. I really wanted time to just stand still. I wanted this omen over our heads to disappear and I wanted to know that everything was going to be okay. Everything. But time wasn’t our friend anymore. It was going by so fast and nothing I did would make it just slow down for a few more hours.

I waited while Blake got onto his bike. He zipped up his jacket and was ready to put on his helmet when he caught me staring at him.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said as put on his helmet and started the bike.

I put on my helmet too and climbed on. My hands went into his jacket’s pockets, and could feel how he’d zipped them up so that my hands were warm and secure.

“You ready?” his voice came over the radio that was in both our helmets.

“Go for it!”

He revved the bike and I laughed as he sped off.

Excitement left my mouth. I used to be so scared about flying, heights and bike rides, but I wasn’t anymore.

I felt safe with him and knew that he would do something super cool if we were going to fall, because he was just that type of guy. In less than ten minutes we zoomed past the SUV, past the Jeep and hit the open road like there was really no tomorrow. I didn’t care about tomorrow anymore. This was it. The time to live and live it like I’d never lived before.

WE REACHED THE Dragon League before the others and found Sir Robert with the two royals and Emanual in his office.

“I wanted to say that was you,” Sir Robert spoke to Blake as we walked in. “How fast did he drive, Elena?”

“Not that fast. I’m here, in one piece.”

They all laughed.

“You ready for this, Dad?” Blake asked.

Sir Robert looked at him. “I’ve been ready for the past eighteen years, son.”

He was going to be reunited with my father again. I hoped I would get a chance to see it.

“Okay, so you know the plan, Dad,” Blake started again.

“Son,” Sir Robert looked at him. “I’ve been in two wars already, this will be my third. You on the other hand…”

“I’ve lived with war, father. Told you that many times, the worst kind there is. I’m not afraid.”

“I know,” he spoke. “Neither am I.”

They both smiled at one another.

At least he would be with Becky, George, Sammy and Dean. Helmet and Emanual were going a different route. Their mission was to kill Goran, together with King Caleb and his guards. I couldn’t help but think that their mission had some secret lingering around it. It was just a feeling I got each and every time Blake and I walked into a room. I guessed that they didn’t want to overpower us with information, since killing the Saadedine was our job.

But then again, King Helmut had sent Emanual in with ten troops trying to find something secretive for him. I wondered if it was linked to that.

Emanual and Blake started to tease one another as we took off our jackets.

“So, everyone ready?” I asked Sir Robert and King Helmut. King Caleb was not in the office anymore. I didn’t even see him leave.

Ever since he’d decided to fight with us, he didn’t stay in the same room as me or speak a single word to me. I was actually starting to miss his nasty comments.

I assumed he was scared that my father was still alive. I guessed he had plenty more to lose than just his life this time.

His title was at stake too, as my father could take it from him. It had been given to them, they weren’t royals by birth.

“They are all gathered, stationed and ready at the campsite in Areeth. We still need to send word to the lab that everything is on time.”

“How will that work? I mean, won’t the explosion just destroy everything.”

He smiled. “It’s way too technical, Princess. There are two actions that will take place. An action that will shoot the orbs from the bombs, which will drenched the roots with your blood formula. A few seconds later, the actual bombs go off, which will destroy the Creepers.”

“You sure it will work?”

“The scientists say it will, they have the proof, and the rest is left up to faith. You need to have that, Elena. Trust Blake like you’ve never trusted him before.”

I smiled. “I do.”

I could feel Blake’s eyes on me, but he didn’t look at me long.

When the SUV finally parked, it was almost time to take the rest of the mission’s members to the site stationed in Areeth. The ones that would play important roles. Sir Robert, George, Becky and a special ops team were going to free my father and his men, while Blake and I were going with another ops team, trying to find the Saadedine. Finally, Emanual’s group with the two royals would go another way.

I still wondered how on earth King Helmut and King Caleb were going to kill Goran. They were just as magical as him, but he was one of their men. I’d dreamt that, if it really had happened the way my dream had played it off, they were seriously hiding a lot, lying to all of us, and I still wondered who this Cooper and Marica were.

Did they really warn my father? None of them wanted to believe them the first time, so how on earth were they going to have the strength to kill him now. He was one of them and for all I knew they still saw him as one of them, just someone that had gotten lost.

They had a much bigger responsibility than Blake and I.

In a way I was so glad that I wasn’t going to meet him. To be face to face with the man that had destroyed my entire childhood, my parents, what they stood for… I knew I wouldn’t be able to control my anger, the way Blake had drilled it into me every time we would train. I wouldn’t make it.

Blake handed me my suit. I just looked at it. It was the most beautiful white I had ever seen, much better than the black.

He gave me a quick kiss on the temple as he passed and left the room.

“You coming?” Becky asked with her suit in her hand.

I nodded.

Inside the bathroom, I really didn’t want to put it on. It was going to make everything real. My hand trembled slightly. I could die in this suit if I didn’t find the missing ingredient in time. The way Becky believed I would.

“Elena,” Becky found me sitting on the bench in the woman’s locker room. I looked at her.

“You need to put on the suit. It isn’t black. It’s white. It’s light, the color of life, not death.”

I smiled at her and started to strip down.

When I was finally done, I saw my figure in the mirror. I looked like one of the ops guys. Brave, fierce, bold. Then why was I so fucking scared…

I took a deep breath to calm my beating heart and went to the door.

This is it. Just stay alive, Elena.

BLAKE LOOKED LIKE someone who was going to fight a war in space and he was ready for it.

His suit looked slightly different than mine. He was wearing special kind of shoes, with white pants and a white vest that showed off his mark.

I didn’t like that, as it was also his giveaway.

He tugged at the pants. “I feel like I just joined a boy band.”

I laughed. “You are in a boy band.”

“Not what I meant,” he said. He looked at me and it was as if he could read my mind again. “We’ve been through this before,” he touched my face. “Nothing is going to go wrong.”

I nodded.

“Did you get everything we need?”

He lifted up some of the flaps in his vest. Each pocket carried some sort of gun or some sort of bullet with different colored serums. “We are prepared Elena. He will go down and we are going to kill this son of a bitch.”

I nodded.

“Now give me your hand.” I did as he asked and he took out my glove from his left pocket. They were my gloves for my axes.

He put them on and kissed the jewel on top. He repeated this action with the other one.

I wanted to cry and for some reason I felt like the tears were close by for him too. Silence lingered for a few seconds. Blake didn’t even look at me.

“You need to breathe, Elena.” He finally spoke and I looked up. “It’s all you have to do today, okay?”

I nodded. “You too.” I sighed and grabbed him around his waist. Don’t cry, he is not going to die, and you aren’t either. You will find the missing ingredient. The Saadedine was going to die, not us.

“It’s time,” Emanual’s voice said and I opened my eyes and let go of Blake.

He grabbed my hand tightly in his and led the way.

This was it, we were going to meet the others that were stationed close to Areeth.

I climbed into the SUV that carried Emanual and King Helmut.

Sir Robert was going with Becky and the other SUV would bring King Caleb and a couple more guards.

We drove to the elevator at a small port. Many people waited for us, some cried, plenty prayed and we all took it in as we entered the elevators.

You can do this Elena. You are trained well, trust your reflexes, trust your instincts.

We found a small gathering at Areeth too. We took the elevator that went to David’s place as they’d made camp close by.

Constance and Annie were among them with Connie, Gertrude, David and Charles.

I ran over to Constance and Annie and just hugged them.

“You are going to be fine. Trust Blake, Elena. He will never let anything happen to you.”

“Becky!” I heard Lucille’s voice and couldn’t even look at her.

Constance saw it and pulled my chin back to meet her gaze. “She is fine, just a bit overwhelmed. She isn’t angry, Elena. It’s a big day for her.”

I nodded.

“I love you Constance.” I hugged her again. “You were like the mother I never had.”

“And you, the daughter I missed so much.” She kissed me on my head and sniffed. “Trust Blake.”

I nodded again and saw Blake hugging his mom. Sir Robert was also there.

It only hit me now that her entire family was going to fight this war and she had to sit on the sidelines and watch.

Sammy was crushed in between Blake and Isabel. They just had to make it. They had no choice.

Annie was next. “You make sure that thing is dead, Elena, you hear? You can do it. I know you can. You and Plucky.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. My eyes were thick with tears, but I laughed.

“Come here.” I hugged her even tighter. “I am going to see you again. I know I will.”

“Of course you will.” She sounded so sure of herself. “I know you will.”

I hugged both of them again, and when we broke, Queen Marguerite was there too. She gave me a kiss on my temple and hugged me too.

“I’ve buried too many young children, Elena. Promise me I won’t have to attend your funeral too.”

“I promise,” I said, even though I knew that I couldn’t really make such a promise.

She found King Helmut and he put his arms around her. He wielded his shield immediately and I could see her laughing but couldn’t hear a word he was saying.

Isabel came over and hugged me too. “Just don’t you dare die, please,” she begged.

“I am not planning to,” I said and hugged her tighter.

I found Lucille’s eyes on me as she just held Becky tight, and to my surprise she let one of her arms open up and Isabel nodded for me to go.

I ran to her and hugged her tightly. “I’m so sorry that I withheld that from you.”

“Don’t be. It’s all good. You two must just breathe, okay.”

We both nodded.

“Love you, Mom.”

“Love you more,” both of them said with tears in their eyes.

“We have to go,” Becky said and she hugged Lucille one more time. “You are the best mom ever.”

“Don’t you dare say your goodbyes Rebecca Johnson. You get to your father and you come straight home, you hear?”

She nodded.

“Promise me.”

“I promise, Mom.”

She wiped Becky’s tear, something she almost never did and wiped her own.

“See you soon.”

“You bet.” Becky gave her a beautiful smile.

She walked over to George.

“And remember what we spoke about George!” Lucille yelled.

“With my dying breath!” George yelled back.

“It’s not funny,” Becky slapped him real hard and he laughed, rubbing the spot on his arm that connected with her fist.

We said goodbye to so many people. Connie, Gertrude, David, all of them. Even Charles. Some of those we brought back were going to fight too. Fight to end their fear, for revenge and to get their farms back.

Four SUVs were waiting for us and we filled them up one by one quickly.

Blake and I grabbed one with Sammy, Dean, Sir Robert, King Helmut and Emanual.

He took the driver’s seat and one by one we pulled off.

I stared at all the people who had come here today to bid us farewell and good wishes.

They all waved their flags and when they finally disappeared it felt as if I could breathe again.

I really wanted to see them all again but I wanted it at no cost. I wanted Blake next to me, alive and not in some stupid coffin that was going to disappear into the water.

If not, then there would have to be two of those coffins.

When Emanual reached the top, both Blake and my eyes grew.

Goosebumps flushed my skin. Before us was a sea of warriors, ready. Dragons, and their riders, shifters, already in their true form, foot soldiers, and many Metallic dragons. Fin-Tails to be precise. “They came back,” I spoke softly.

“Most of them came back, Elena. We got the call from the port that the Wall was creating some sort of glitch as they flew in colonies to get here.” King Helmut turned around and I could see the emotion in his eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“So that we could see the looks on both your faces.”

“Close your mouth, Blake. The dragon war had many more dragons than this,” Emanual chirped from the front and Sir Robert laughed.

“Those were the days.”

King Helmut slapped him on the arm. “Will be again, Sir Robert.”

He laughed at that and watched out his window. Sighing. He was going to see my father real soon.

The SUV stopped and someone was already addressing them over a mic. It was someone I’d never seen before.

Then Blake got out and the entire crowd started to cheer.

I couldn’t see what he did as I was still inside the SUV.

I took a deep breath and climbed out the same time King Helmut did.

He was wearing a completely different outfit and had shaved his mustache. Why, well, I didn’t ask. Probably war reasons.

He looked so different.

Everyone bowed when they saw him and we walked up the podium.

King Helmut addressed them first. He spoke about my dad, spoke about the gratitude he was feeling that they had all come to fight, to free Etan. He promised that Goran would die and everyone cheered again.

The side of my lips curled, knowing that Goran had no idea what was coming for him. I looked at Blake; he didn’t share my emotion. What was going through his mind? Had a part of him looked forward to having Goran as his rider?

I swallowed hard.

Blake spoke next.

“Today all of us come together. Human, dragon, shifter, to face the greatest threat to our peace we have ever known. Today is the day we say NO MORE!” At this a cheer rippled over the crowd.

“We stand here not divided by our differences but bound by our desire to free those who have been enslaved, fix those who have been broken and take our revenge on those who are guilty.”

As he spoke his voice began to change, sending a sea of goosebumps rushing over my skin.

“I won’t lie to you, many of us won’t make it back, but I swear to you your sacrifice will not be in vain. Standing together as one we will free our fallen brothers and sisters. We will free Etan!”

As he said those words he let out a shout that echoed in the soul of every person listening.

Then the entire crowd went crazy as he exploded into his dragon form. He was a mixture of purple, red and white. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

Becky and George cheered the loudest, even Sammy joined in as he flew into the air.

It riled them up.

Dragons growled like I never heard them growl before. It wasn’t scary, it was fierce.

The other animals all made their sounds, and the riders screamed for war.

They were ready.

Blake prepared to land and I couldn’t help but stare at him.

The suit covered his face and his entire body, paws, everything. It looked stunning.

He looked majestic, and I’d never felt so proud to know he was my dragon. The dragon that would give me the moon and stars, the dragon that would love me forever no matter what today’s outcome was.

To me, that was enough.

I didn’t need to know what the stupid Dent was all about, he’d showed it to me the past few months through all the little things he did. A spell couldn’t do that, it just wasn’t that powerful.

It has to be real, it was real.

He moved toward me and transformed back into his human form as he reached the steps.

The white suit ran like a gel over his perfectly sculpted body and then grew back to the ops suit that was made just for him. He kissed me fiercely and smiled as everyone cheered again.

“You like my display?” he asked and I laughed.

“It was totally frawsome.”

He laughed. “Let me guess, fucking awesome.”

“Whatever you say.”

I kissed him one more time. Remember this kiss Elena, in case it is the last one.

We went in at five that afternoon. It was night time, early morning hours in Etan.

I took King Helmut and Emanual through and they waited for King Caleb and his guards.

All of them sucked in a breath as this was the first time they’d seen Etan after so many years.

Their entire group was here, and I knew the minute I went back for the others they would be gone. This was it as I said my farewell to them.

I grabbed King Helmut around his chest. “Thank you for everything,” I said.

“This isn’t goodbye, Elena. You will see your father alive. That is my promise.”

I nodded.

Emanual hugged me next. “Take care of Blake, Elena, and please just make sure your heart is beating at the end of this.”

I nodded. “You too.”

King Caleb just nodded once and they waited for me to go back into the Creepers before they left.

Blake was next. Then it was Becky, George, Sammy and Dean.

I had to say goodbye to them as the minute Sir Robert came through the Creepers, our paths were going to change.

I grabbed George first. “Promise me you will make sure she gets through this.”

“Elena, I won’t give up without a fight. She will be fine.”

I wasn’t talking about their operation. I was talking about afterward.

I smiled and remembered the first time I’d seen George. His dragon form had scared the shit out of me. “Such a long road we’ve traveled down. You are a cool Moon-Bolt, George.”

He hugged me again. “This isn’t goodbye, Elena. Don’t you dare. Think of the consequences. I’m not going to lose my Princess and my best friend. We’ve lost way too many friends already.”

I nodded. “Same to you.”

Becky was next. “I know you are fierce, you’ve scared the living crap out of me a couple of times. You will be fine.”

“Remember our promise, Elena.”

I nodded. “Say hi to your dad, and mine.”

“I will.”

Sammy was last. She shook her head as tears sat heavy in her eyes. “I won’t choose, Elena. I refuse. So you both better get through this, you hear?” She looked at Blake too. “Don’t split up. Stay with one another.”

“Sammy,” Blake said.

“I don’t care if you are the fucking Rubicon. You are my brother, and you are like my sister, so don’t you dare die on me. None of you better die on me or I will burn your asses,” she spoke as a tear rolled over her face.

“We won’t.” Blake hugged her.

“Take care of her Dean,” Blake said.

“With my life,” he slapped Blake’s hand into a firm shake.

“Elena, you should go get my father.”

I nodded and went back into the Creepers.

Sir Robert was just like Emanual, he didn’t even flinch as I took him through. He gasped at the inside, like all of them had, and made sure that the orbs were securely in place.

“They will come down, Sir Robert.”

He smiled and we walked on. I pulled him back. “I need to speak to you about something.”

“Elena, don’t.”

“No, I do. I’m sorry for that beating.”

He shook his head and smiled. “You are a lot like your father, and mother.”

“I wasn’t finished yet. Sorry about not telling you sooner.”

He sighed. “Like I told you before Princess, a part of me always knew that your father was alive.”

I nodded and smiled. “One more thing,” I said. “Make sure Blake will be okay, if…”

“Don’t you dare, Elena. I am not going to do that. So you’d better make sure that you stay alive. Dents can’t live without their riders. It’s almost impossible for a normal dragon bond, but somehow we pull through. It’s not going to be the same for my son. So you fight because I won’t promise you that.”

He sounded angry.

I took a huge breath. “Okay.”

“Just tell my father then that I’m sorry, he will be disappointed that I disobeyed him.”

“Tell him yourself.”

He turned around and waited for me. I took his hand and we walked out the other side.

They went in the opposite direction after Blake and his father shared a hug. “Be safe,” Blake said.

“You too.”

I watched Sir Robert leave with all of my friends.

“What was that about?”

“What?” I asked.

“In there, Elena. I heard everything you said. You are not going to die, and neither am I. You get that.” He sounded pissed off.

“I know, I’m just…”

“There is no just, Elena. You are not going to die. We made that decision last night together.”

I nodded.

I went back and brought in Raymond who was going to come with us. He knew where we had to go.

When we came out, Raymond took the path that led to the farms, but quickly changed direction and went to total opposite direction.

Blake didn’t say a word. I didn’t even wield my shield. Why was I so stupid? I should’ve wielded my shield.

I can’t die, and neither can he, I thought as I started wondering what the missing ingredient was all over again.

WE MET UP with troops about three hours after leaving the Creepers. Blake gave me a robe from his bag and pulled one over his shoulders for himself.

He didn’t use a spell again to make us look like the ten-year-old and her father.

It wasn’t pretend time anymore, this was go time.

The group took us into an underground facility and we spoke about the plan again.

They had a bit more intel on the Saadedine. The pictures were blurry, someone had actually died taking one of them.

It was all so real now. But still, we couldn’t capture what he was really like. It was too dark.

“So he is in the dungeons?” Blake asked.

“Yeah, that’s what we’ve got, Blake.”

I started to feel tired. I should’ve gone to bed earlier last night. I should’ve slept more.

We were waiting for eleven in the morning to strike. There were still six more hours or so to go.

I didn’t want to listen to any of this anymore and went to sit on the floor in one of the corners. I leaned my head against the wall and just closed my eyes.

Sleep didn’t want to come and I felt Blake’s warm body sitting close to me.

He pulled me closer to him and rested his chin on my head as I pulled my legs over his.

“You are not going to die. We will stay together, fight together, and we will make it together. You can help with the Saadedine.”

“You bet your ass I’m going to help.” I was always going to help, and then I realized that he had been planning to ditch my ass in some safe place and let me sit this one out.

He chuckled.

“Just promise me one thing, Elena. Breathe.”

“I’ve promised plenty of people that one, Blake.”

“I’m not plenty of people, I’m Blake Leaf.”

“Fine, I promise I will breathe, Blake Leaf.”

“Already rubbing off on you, huh?”

I laughed softly. “It was bound to happen, we spend like every minute of the day together.”

“Not long enough,” he said as he rubbed my arm and kissed me on the top of my head.

I smiled. It was silent for a while and my mind went back to what ifs. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but how would you picture us if we had grown up together?” I had to know.

“It would’ve been completely the opposite. Knowing that I had a rider out there, even if she has a scrawny ass.”

“I thought my ass was sexy.”

He chuckled. “It is to me, but others might think it’s a bit scrawny.” He smiled and then he huffed as if a memory just flashed through he’s mind. “It would’ve been different. That I know. I would’ve been claimed a long time ago. Lucian would still be alive, maybe even Brian too, as this, this would’ve never happened.”

“Did you speak to your dad, and find out if there was a Cooper and Marica warning them?”

“I asked if he was sure nobody had warned them. There wasn’t, Elena. My father would’ve killed Goran himself if there had been someone like that.”

I nodded.

“It was just a silly dream.”

“You think we would’ve been friends?” I went back to my previous topic.

“The best,” he spoke. “Turning into something much deeper later on.” I watched how his fingers entwined with mine.

He smelled so good; even on his way to kill a beast, he smelled good. “I cannot help but think what sort of a mother she would’ve been.”

“You would’ve been different, that is for sure.”

“I don’t think so. I mean, I wouldn’t be like Arianna.”

“You could’ve been best friends, Elena.”

“No, I would still be best friends with your sister, as she would’ve been at the palace too, just like you.”

“So you really have wondered about this a lot?”

I smiled. “More than you know.”

He kissed me on my temple. “We will never know, Elena. It is no use wondering about things that never were.”

“I know.”

It was silent for a while and I looked at our hands, fingers, entwined together.

“I love you Elena Watkins,” Blake said.

I looked at him and smiled. “I love you more.”

“IT’S TIME,” BLAKE told our group.

I was worried about Becky, George, Dean and Sammy. They had gone with the group that was going to attack at the parade an hour from here. She wanted to be the one who was going to free her father.

He was telling them about the plan for the thousandth time. The key was to not get separated and to stick with your partner.

“Elena,” he touched my leg softly.

“Huh?” I asked and looked at him.

“Now I know how the professors felt.”

“I know, stick close, it’s going to be fine. I can feel it, it’s going to be a good day.”

He nodded. “Just don’t stop breathing.”

I looked at him. Stay alive, it’s all he wants. I nodded and he gave me a kiss.

He couldn’t transform as Etan had almost no dragons left, they only had Wyverns and the two species did not mix well together.

He pulled the ragged cloak’s hood over my head.

I was worried about Sir Robert but Blake knew he was with George and Becky. He knew the plan well, had even come up with it and promised that he would stick to it no matter what. It was the only way he could free his Dragonian.

I’d never seen him this excited about anything.

We went to Boliva, apparently it was where our castle was. Boliva. Blake had told me about that last night. I struggle to say the name how he and the others pronounced it and he laughed every time I tried.

As the people of Boliva went on setting up their market, we stayed in the forest. The trees hid our bodies well as we watched from afar.

Blake could see all the way from where we stood that men guarded two huge, closed doors that we assumed led to the courtyard.

The plan was simple, the two kings were going to kill Goran and hope that his hold over the Saadedine might disappear or disorientate him, which would lead to an easier victory. It just had to work, as I couldn’t think of how else we were going to do this. The missing ingredient, we still had no clue.

Blake got up, pulling his robe’s hood over his face. We walked through the market. It was more or less the same kind of set-up as in Eikenborough, the only different was the palace at the back. I’d never seen Boliva before.

“Welcome home, Princess,” Blake whispered.

I smiled. This was my home. Or it would’ve been if Goran hadn’t betrayed my family that day. And look what was left of it now.

“What am I called again, a Bolivan?”

He chuckled. “And then I saw her face, now I’m a Boliva,” he sang and I laughed. “Yes, you are a Bolivian, Elena. I know it’s not much now, but it used to be so big and beautiful.”

“No, Blake. You were just small.” Raymond came up from behind and slapped him hard on the back. “Everything looks big when you are small.”

“You can be glad I saw the light old man, otherwise that slap would’ve cost you your life.”

Raymond laughed and took a deep breath. “I am a Bolivian too, so we can finally say we’re home.” He looked at me and winked which made Blake grunt playfully as Raymond led us down another path, through the forest again, toward the castle. My home. It only hit me then. I was home. I felt like Blake had the day he saw Alkadeen, when he’d fallen to his knees and kissed the ground. But I didn’t.

Goran had stripped so much from me.

“Don’t let Goran and what he’s done get to you, Elena. Remember what I said. He is the two kings’ responsibility now. The hold will fade over the Saadedine, and together will we defeat him. I need you to keep your emotions at bay for only a little while longer.”

“The bond came back?”

He smiled and looked at me. “I wish.”

“Then how did you know that I was thinking that?”

He touched his stomach. “I felt it the day you brought me here.”

“You mean the day you tricked me and snuck in with me?”

He smiled. “That, and the look on your face.”

I nodded. “Got it.” I answered his previous request about keeping my emotions at bay.

We found two guards on the road toward the castle. My heart jolted in my throat as I had no idea if they were with us, or from Goran’s army.

“Don’t fret, Princess,” Raymond said. “It’s two of ours.”

Fred, the other ops guy that had come with us, greeted them and Blake took my hand and walked toward Fred and the two men.

Both of them bowed their heads as we neared.

Blake nodded and so did I.

They were speaking in Latin, and a couple of gadgets were passed from Raymond to the other guys.

Then they led us further down the path. My stomach turned as the structure of a big wall came into view.

Blake sighed deeply.

“You okay?” I asked.

“I haven’t seen this place in eighteen years,” he spoke softly.

I could see three towers rising high into the sky. It didn’t look anything like the pictures I’d once seen with Cheng in the Museum of Etan.

“What happened here?” Blake asked one of the guys we’d just met.

“From what we’ve gathered, this is what was left after the night the Creepers consumed Etan. A fire broke loose in the west wing.”

I knew it was where my mother had stayed as she was burned alive that night.

“It destroyed the entire west wing and part of the south wing as well.”

They handed Blake another gadget. “This is what we could gather of what’s inside now, Shioni got really close to Goran, Blake. We couldn’t have done this without her.”

I couldn’t remember her, but Blake had told me a little about her last night. She was one of the women I’d taken in on our second trip. When we’d gotten Emanual out. Raymond had said she had beautiful dark hair with gray eyes.

The way they spoke about her made me think of my mom.

She’d made Goran fall in love with her, and with the intel she’d gotten these past few months, this guy was right, we couldn’t have done it without her.

“Frank will see you inside.”

“Okay, let’s do this,” I said and we walked toward the wall that was closest to the west wing that was almost burned to the ground.

It was completely deserted and Blake whistled like a dove.

It was so beautiful and I didn’t even know what to say.

Two long ropes appeared and I sighed when I saw them. I was seriously not good at climbing ropes either. Still I did what Blake showed me, pulling the rope around me once and making the loop around my hand with part of the other rope. I kicked the tip of my boots hard against the wall and spikes came out.

“After you, Elena,” Blake said next to me and I nodded.

I pushed the spikes into the wall and started walking up slowly.

Blake wasn’t following yet, probably for safety reasons.

When I’d almost reached the top his rope pulled tight and he started running up the wall.

The guard that waited for us helped me get safely over and as my feet reached the ground of the tower, Blake had already hoisted himself over the tower’s wall and was landing on the ground.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

“Dragons do things quite differently.”

“Show off,” I teased and we followed the guard to the door of the tower.

“Be safe,” he said and Blake nodded.

We walked down the steps fast and reached the first door. Blake ran further down until we reached a second door. I saw a three dimensional map of the castle’s layout on his devices and saw a red dot on the level lower.

“Is that…”

“Yes, it’s him,” he said and we walked one level lower. “It’s not our mission, Elena.”

I nodded as we walked through the door.

Just then the red dot disappeared.

“Fuck,” Blake grunted.

“What?’ I had to know where the hell the red dot disappeared to.

“This can’t be good, there is some sort of enchantment inside the castle.”

“Enchantment?”

He nodded and fear crept over his face again as he looked around and back down at his device. He closed his eyes, swallowed hard and then the fear disappeared. How does he do that? “Still, we know where that red dot was, we should get word to the two kings. They must be inside already. Come.”

I didn’t like it that much, as we were straying from our mission, but I knew we had no choice.

He put the device back in the pocket of his silver vest and grabbed my hand. We ran down the hall on the left. It didn’t look anything like that time I’d been here with Lucian. Too many stone walls and not enough pictures. The carpet was dull and dirty and I remembered it had been so beautiful.

My steps were the only steps we could hear. Blake was silent. If he hadn’t been walking slightly in front of me, then I wouldn’t even know he was here.

He suddenly stopped and pushed me against the wall.

My heart stammered fast as a couple of guards walked past us. He was doing his blending in thing again. I could see the shimmer around us, or at least what it looked like from the inside. I so loved it at this very moment.

They chatted, making disgusting jokes about one of the poor maids that worked in the castle. It reminded me of Seymour.

None of them noticed us standing right there against the wall.

When they turned into a corridor further down, Blake moved in the opposite direction quickly, my hand still lodged in his.

My heart started to beat faster as we turned down into the opposite corridor. We were getting closer and closer to where the red dot had been. We were getting close to Goran.

Another couple of steps and Blake opened the door closest to us and we slipped through.

We were once again in some sort of tower with steps.

I couldn’t handle this at all. I’d thought was ready for it, but I wasn’t.

Steps from above made both of us look up and then we rushed down the steps to a lower level.

Blake showed me the sign, the one we’d come up with the previous night for when he had to kill someone.

I knew it was going to happen, but I didn’t want it to be right this instant.

I took a deep breath, and nodded as I retreated further down, as a backup in case the traitor escaped Blake’s clutches.

Not likely, but just in case.

I took a couple more deep breaths as if the air was disappearing and I couldn’t fill my lungs properly.

The beams of the steps creaked softly and I heard the gasp as swords were drawn, but it stopped just as quickly as it had started.

They were from our group.

“Shit,” Fred said with a couple of other swear words thrown in too for good measure. “Did you find him?” he finally said after taking a deep breath too.

“No, but we know he was around here.”

“I think we found the Saadedine, his growl came from the dungeons.”

“So it’s confirmed. It’s in the dungeon?” Blake asked.

Just then a group of men ran up the stairs and Blake, along with Fred and Raymond, pushed me out of the way, behind them into the wall.

They were again ready to attack.

Fred and Raymond blew out some air as I saw King Helmut running up with the two of the men we’d found earlier in the woods.

Emanual wasn’t with him.

“Where is Emanual?” Raymond asked and drew his sword.

King Helmut rested on his knees, stared at the sword in Raymond’s hands and up at Raymond. What was Raymond doing?

“Careful, Raymond. This castle is filled with enchantments. I discovered it the minute I walked in here. It drained me of all my abilities.”

“Very convenient wouldn’t you say?” Fred said.

What the hell was wrong with these two? Blake stared at all of this, still pushing me against the wall.

“Where is Emanual?” I asked again.

“We got ambushed as we found our team. Caleb and Emanual stayed behind. I had to do what I had to do Blake.”

“Your abilities?” Raymond asked.

“We can’t use them,” Blake answered. “I’ve already tried. He’s speaking the truth.” He told Raymond to lower his sword. “You can’t go after him alone.” He still had a look I couldn’t decipher on his face. It was as if he didn’t believe…

“Yes, I can,” King Helmut said. “It’s my duty.” He spoke softly and the contemplating look on Blake’s face disappeared. He stroked his face hard. “You know what this means, right?”

King Helmut nodded. “Paul was right.”

“Fuck,” Blake cussed and looked at me. “Whatever you do, don’t leave my sight.”

I nodded. What did they mean Paul was right? He knew we were coming. He’d prepared for this for months.

“We’ll come with you, help until Emanual and Caleb show up. You can’t do this alone.”

“Do you have any idea where he is?”

“Yes, well, the castle is filled with enchantments. The red dot was close by, I think the study or his tower. But it’s on the upper level.”

“Remember what I said, Elena.” Blake looked down at me and I nodded.

King Helmut looked at both at us for a short while and then he led the way.

Don’t let Goran rile you up.

WHY KING HELMUT had to leave Emanual and Caleb behind was so not part of this deal. He’d told everyone to not split up in that speech of his, still, he was going to face Goran alone.

I hoped Sir Robert and my friends were fine. I took a couple of breaths again. And I hoped he found my dad and was getting him to safety with all his other men.

Blake pushed me slightly in front of him so I could be between him and King Helmut.

Fred and Raymond were right behind us, the others looked like guards. The other two men that had met us in the woods came to assist King Helmut.

Blake gestured with hand signals to where he’d seen the dot last and King Helmut started to run in that direction into another corridor.

“Fuck,” I heard Blake say softly as I followed King Helmut, picking up my pace. “Elena, wait,” Blake said with alarm in his tone. I stopped immediately, thinking that he’d found Goran and when I’d turned around to look at him, he was gone.

My heart raced as I stared at the empty spot where Blake had been a second ago. I ran back down the hall, but not one of them was there.

What the hell was this? He’d been here just here a few seconds ago.

My heart stammered into my throat.

“Blake,” I whispered hard, more than once.

“Please, don’t be dead, please, please, please.” I started to panic, my hands were tangled in my hair. I breathed deeply, that thought was driving me to insanity.

It was all I could think about at the moment. Why the hell was he just gone, vanished into thin air? I ran, it was corridor on top of corridor. I couldn’t find the door that we’d just come through a few minutes ago, it had all just vanished. The windows, everything was gone. Just walls and corridors going around and around in circles.

What was this, and why did Blake keep on vanishing whenever he set foot in Etan? Then again, the last time it had been him alone, this time it was an entire group. At least he wasn’t alone. He was safe in some way, from all of this. Goran’s name was written all over this. He’d wanted me away from Blake, he saw me as weak and it angered me more. I wasn’t that pathetic girl he’d last seen on that mountain. It’s now up to me. How the hell I was going to kill the Saadedine or find a door, I had no idea. But I would find a way to kill the beast. He wasn’t the Elementals we’d hatched so long ago, he was going to kill us, I wouldn’t let him.

I ran to the opposite side of the room and turned into the other corridor, smacking straight into King Helmut, which almost gave me a heart attack.

“Where are the rest?” he asked me as I clutched my chest.

“I don’t know, they were just behind me and then Blake called my name and he was gone.”

King Helmut took a deep breath. His nostrils flared and he looked around, bewildered.

“It’s just like before?”

“Before?”

“He is safe. I don’t care if he is in that dark place, he is safe.”

“No, Elena. I don’t think it is that.” He put new fear into me as he just stared at the ceiling, his head moving from one side to the other.

“What do you mean?” I followed his gaze as he looked up to the ceiling too and back down the corridor where Blake and the rest had been just a couple of seconds ago.

“I should’ve known.”

“Known what?”

“Goran,” was all he said.

“What about him?”

“Blake is still there, Elena.”

I turned around but couldn’t see anything.

“Where?” I asked again.

“You can’t see him. All of them are. This entire corridor is enchanted. We are the idiots that walked into it, they’ve been blocked, that’s why you can’t see them.”

Blake had caught on but was too late as I’d already walked through it. That was why he’d cussed. “So they are still here?” I looked back but couldn’t see anything.

“Hopefully, unless Goran had already found them.”

“No, he can’t use his abilities.”

“Don’t worry, I know this spell. He will, Elena.”

“What spell?”

“The minute I entered my abilities disappeared. Everyone’s abilities disappeared. He conjured the spell like that, from this corridor.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The minute we walked in here, all that magic, this spell, this corridor sucked all that power in, trapping the two of us.”

“So Blake will have his abilities now?”

“Yes, we still don’t, but he does.”

I stared down the corridor. Screw this, he can’t fight that thing alone. I would somehow find a way to get to him. I started to run as fast as I could and turned into another corridor. I ran down that one too and as I turned again, I found King Helmut standing there. How the hell had he gotten here so fast?

I ran back down the corridor and turned the corner into the other one where I’d last seen King Helmut. He was still there, looking at me.

I ran again down the corridor and turned into the other corridor. King Helmut was in the opposite direction of me again.

I knew what it was. It was like a loop of corridor and it didn’t matter how many times I ran down this corridor, or the other one. They would all be the same corridor with King Helmut standing in the middle.

I’d never experienced this kind of magic before and to be honest, it scared the living shit out of me.

I didn’t understand or see where Blake was and I didn’t like our separation at all.

I was trapped inside a stupid magic spell while he was out there, in the real world, having to find Goran now to break this too.

King Helmut sat down and rested with his head against the wall.

“There has to be a way,” I said.

“There isn’t.”

“How long will this last?” I asked.

“Until they kill Goran.”

“What?”

“Elena, sit down. It’s not a bad thing. It means you’ll be safe.”

“While Blake is fighting against Goran and the Saadedine? This wasn’t the plan.”

“There is nothing you can do.”

“I don’t believe that.” I started to pace up and down.

There were no windows, not one.

I couldn’t stop thinking about how messed up this had gotten. Blake was going to die. I couldn’t live in a world without him.

Goran knew we were coming, but why hadn’t he escaped from Etan? Why wait for this day?

I sat down opposite King Helmut and rested my head against the wall.

“There has to be a way, c’mon. You know magic, we need to get out of here.” I got up again and tried to summon my own, but nothing happened. Blake had given me consent, whether he was in human form or not. We’d practiced long and hard to succeed with it, and…

I shook my hands once again. Nothing.

“What don’t you understand? You are wasting your time, Elena,” Helmut said. “It’s useless. This zone is magic free.”

I looked at him and started to get angry with his don’t care, don’t fight attitude. It wasn’t like him to give up. We needed to get out of here. “No!” I wasn’t ready to give up. I needed to get to Blake. This felt so wrong.

I closed my eyes hoping my heartbeat would calm down. It was silent for a long time as I thought about ways to get out of here. I kept staring at where I’d seen Blake the last time. Was he still there?

“It was you,” King Helmut said.

My head turned to King Helmut who no longer had any expression on his face. He was just sitting there, giving up.

“What was me?” I asked.

“I just realized it now,” he huffed.

“What?”

“You’re the reason my son is dead.”

“WHAT ARE YOU talking about?” I looked at King Helmut. This must have been part of the spell that this maze of a hall cast on some people. They turned your sadness into something vengeful. “I didn’t kill, him. Nora did and she’s dead. You made sure of that.”

“Yes, but it still was you. If my son hadn’t loved you, he would still be here today!” I flinched as he yelled that last part at me. “We should’ve never have come here today. We should never have freed Etan or your father.” He chuckled. It sounded so broken and I just stared at him. “You think your father was so saintly? Many people have no idea what he and his dragon did, he deserved to be cast out. The things he did. The things they did.”

“Stop it, this isn’t you. You loved my father. You told me so many times.”

“It wasn’t love, it was years of years brainwashing and enslavement.” He chuckled again. “Ironic, isn’t it. He gave voice to all the Chromatic dragons and yet us, the ones who were always so close to him, never had one.”

“I don’t believe you. Stop this. It’s this place, we need to get out of here, so stop your whining and help me get out of here.”

“I LOST MY SON!” he roared again.

“I didn’t kill Lucian and it took me a long time to finally get that.”

“You did kill him. It was his love for you that put him in that cave. And how do you repay him? You fall for the Rubicon that used to be his best friend. You would’ve killed him if that Hippogriff hadn’t.”

I didn’t say anything as I knew that was the truth.

“Now I have no one to take over Tith, Elena. No one.”

I felt his sadness, hell I’d been there myself, but it was not the same. He’d lost a child, two in fact, in a span of ten years.

“Nora wasn’t enough, was she?”

He shook his head. “At first she was, but then I thought about it again.”

“Killing me isn’t going to bring him back either, Helmut.”

“It will make me feel better.”

“Like killing Nora made you feel better? You need help. Not killing people because nobody will bring him back.”

“No one can help me, not even Marguerite.” I stared at him. He’d never said his wife’s name using that tone. It was as if he blamed her in some way.

Fear crept into my gut and thickened inside my chest. This was all so wrong. It shouldn’t have been like this.

I shook my head. Blake wasn’t here, he wasn’t going to reach me in time. The mission was to kill the Saadedine, not fight Helmut. Blake thinks I’m safe with Helmut.

The wall slightly rumbled and we both stared at it.

“They need our help, Helmut.”

“They don’t. Etan is lost, we should’ve never tried to free it.”

I took a deep breath. Blake was right about our foretelling. I’d done my part, now he had to do his. But never in a million years did I think I wasn’t going to make it. One was going to die, and it was clear that I was that one.

And then something happened.

I didn’t know if I was me finally giving up too, as I really didn’t want to die, but something just happened. It was some sort of courage and my mind conjured up a plan without me really thinking about it.

I let out a breath. “Then fine, if you want to kill me, do it. If that is going to bring you peace, do it. But just remember this, you have to kill Blake too, because he was supposed to be there and he refused. He came later, so if he’d been there on time, your son would still be alive. So if you want to kill everyone for disappointing Lucian, then you have to go after Blake too,” I said, hoping that knowing he would have to go and kill Blake would put everything back into perspective for him.

I didn’t blame Blake anymore. He was dark then and he thought that I would die instead of Lucian.

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there,” Helmut said without any expression on his face. He looked so different without the mustache.

“Just make it quick please.” I couldn’t believe that this was going to be the way everything ended.

I closed my eyes and could hear King Helmut stepping forward, drawing his sword.

I love you Blake…

Blake.

Earlier.

MAGIC ENGULFED ME and Elena and Helmut were trapped inside the spell. I smelled her scent it was so strong, and when I finally realized what it was, it was too late. I’d only heard about this spell, never experienced it myself.

This was the one Sir Edward had told us about back at the Academy. That nothing could break it.

I knew immediately that she was right in front of us, inches in front of me. I could’ve just pulled her back, but I was too late.

At least she would be safe while I went after the Saadedine.

My heart bled for her as she kept running toward me, thinking that I’d died. She couldn’t find a way to me, confusion all over her face as she would just find Helmut standing in the middle again.

“It’s no use,” I spoke to Raymond as he kept throwing acid balls at the shield. Our abilities had come back the minute they stepped through the barrier. I could feel the magic of this spell getting stronger, drawing all power, separating us so we couldn’t fight the Saadedine together. And King Helmut was trapped inside of her because he knew they would send him to kill him. “It won’t break. It’s one of the strongest spells there is. She is at least safe.”

“Blake you can’t kill the Saadedine by yourself.”

“I have no choice, it was always my job. Hers was to get all of us in. Paul was right, Goran knew all along.”

“If that is true, we walked into a death trap!” Raymond yelled.

“No, he knew this day was going to come. He doesn’t have enough forces. Listen,” I spoke and cocked my head toward the wall, “they are fighting outside. He doesn’t have enough men and the Wyverns don’t stand a chance against the dragons. Once the Creepers are down, they will lose.”

Footsteps ran toward us just as I made the decision to leave, to go find the Saadedine.

It was Emanual. It felt as if I could breathe again. He was alive. King Caleb was right behind him, with his guard. He wasn’t going to like this one bit, and then my heart stopped as I looked at the fourth person running toward us. It was Helmut.

Jeff, Virgil and Raymond wielded their abilities as I stayed standing on one spot.

Emanual blocked his company from us.

“This castle is filled with enchantments, it is me,” Emanual spoke. “It is me, Emanual, your friend, not your enemy.”

“We know it’s you Emanual,” Raymond snapped at him. “What are you doing with him?”

Emanual turned around and stared back at the king, then turned back to me.

“Where is Elena?” he asked as he stared at my frozen body. “Blake, I haven’t left Helmut’s side since the minute Elena brought us in. Where is the princess?”

I turned my head and looked at Elena. I’d finally found myself again and wielded my pink kiss, as an angry grunt left my mouth. I attacked the wall with everything I had.

Virgil and Raymond put two and two together real fast.

We were the idiots who had been fooled. I knew I should’ve trusted my instincts when I saw him on those stairs.

“Blake!” Emanual’s voice yelled and came closer.

“We need to destroy this wall or she is going to die.” I grunted and put my hands, engulfed in the pink kiss, on the wall. It lit up, fire ran to the corners, turning the spell into a door of fire, but it never budged. The spell was strong, even stronger than my pink kiss.

“Blake!” Emanual yelled this time and the fire on the wall disappeared. Then they all saw my worst fear.

King Helmut and Caleb just stared at Elena and Helmut’s twins speaking to one another about how they were trapped, that she was safe.

Helmut wielded his fire and as one all four of us turned our abilities on the wall.

I couldn’t believe I’d been such an idiot. How could I have gotten fooled like that? I was the Rubicon and I’d put my princess’s life in danger. She was trapped with the one guy we were trying to surprise. He didn’t just know we were coming, he’d participated, planned everything. I should’ve fucking used more precautions.

Emanual, Helmut and Caleb didn’t say a word as they helped try to break the spell. We even did one together, a spell King Helmut knew well, one of the spells he’d used many times through his twin, but it was no use.

The wall was waning, but it didn’t break.

“Again!” I roared.

“Blake it’s not working. He gotten too strong,” Helmut spoke. “Even for me.”

“He is your twin, you must have some sort of a connection with him still.”

“I don’t.” He sounded defeated.

Still Emanual, Caleb and I didn’t stop trying to break through the enchantment.

Elena and Goran were both just sitting there, and then Goran started speaking about Lucian’s death, and how it was all her fault.

A cold finger traced down my spine as I looked back at Elena. “No!” It barely left my mouth. He was going to kill her, and she would think that it was by the hands of King Helmut.

“You fucking bastard!” Helmut yelled, sounding deranged. “You killed my son, you and that filth you love so much!”

“We need to break this spell!” Emanual roared and threw his fire. I helped with everything I had. I screamed and tried so hard to connect with her mind as she’d started buying his words. Believing that it was Helmut.

“It’s not going to work, Emanual.”

“Well, then you just became her murderer as she believes with all her heart that it’s you.” Emanual gave Helmut a glare I’d never seen him give to his rider before.

“Elena, fight. This is not the way you are going to die!” I screamed. I felt so helpless. I yelled out spells, Helmut even tried but they took time to work. We didn’t have much time.

I tried to break down the wall again, but nothing. Not even a crack.

One of us was going to die… No, no, it’s not supposed to be her. I hit on the wall again.

She’d given up and tears streamed down my cheeks.

“Fight, Elena, fight.” She bowed her head and he drew his sword. “Elena!” I screamed. “It’s not Helmut, it’s Goran, fight!”

“Blake, calm down, she is not going to hear you,” Helmut said with tears glistening in his eyes too.

“You should’ve told her!” I screamed at him.

He drew the sword.

“Noooo!” I yelled as Goran raised his sword. I could’ve sworn it had been Helmut on the stairs. He’d truly known about everything we were planning.

Elena.

I BOWED MY head, and just waited for his blow. “Elena!” Blake’s screamed filled my head. “It’s not Helmut, it’s Goran, fight!”

“Blake, calm down, she is not going to hear you,” Helmut said. Images of them watching from behind some glass wall appeared in my mind.

“You should’ve told her!” I heard Blake’s voice screaming that it wasn’t Helmut, it was Goran, his twin. That was what he’d been hiding.

I saw the image in his head, how I’d just given up, and knew when he was going to strike. Just then, I ducked and rolled out of the way.

He hadn’t expected it at all. He came for me again and hit the wall as I ducked that blow too.

“You’re not Helmut, are you?” I yelled. It all made sense. Why Blake was contemplating on the steps, why none of them had lowered their swords. They all knew what Goran looked like, and they’d tried to hide it from me. That was why all the secrecy when it came to the king’s missions.

The way he’d said Maggie’s name, she wasn’t his love.

I had my hand on my one ax, which was safely in its sheath on my back, without taking my eyes off the man, whoever he was.

“What are you tattering about? Of course I’m Helmut.”

“No,” I shook my head. “Helmut’s never said Marguerite’s name with so much hatred. Who are you?” I yelled.

Blake’s voice was gone.

“Answer me.”

He started to laugh and bounce on one spot. “Answer me,” he mocked me in an animated voice.

I knew immediately that the voice in my head was Blake’s. The connection had come back, even if it was just for a second. The man changed drastically, the way he spoke, the way he moved, it was the Dragonian from that day in the woods, when Brian had died, who was being controlled by Goran.

“Goran,” I whispered.

“Ta-dah,” he joked again and laughed. He took a bow without breaking his gaze on me. “Elena,” he smiled. “So nice to finally meet you.”

He looked so much like Helmut, the spitting image. Now I knew why Helmut had shaved his mustache to pretend to be his brother so we could get closer, yet this idiot had used it against us, making it harder to tell who was who. Even for Blake. “You knew we were coming today, didn’t you.”

“You should’ve listened to Jerry, or was it Malik? No, it was Paul.” He had a smile on his face.

“He’s dead and I don’t listen to dead cowards. Now answer me,” I spat at him.

“Yes, I knew you were coming, I had my informants and I’ve been waiting for this fight for a long time.”

That brought on a new fear. If he knew how we’d gotten in why…. “Why didn’t you just use my father’s blood to get out?”

He gnawed on his lips and smiled.

“No,” I had tears in my eyes. He couldn’t be dead.

“Sorry,” he mocked me again.

I screamed and went for him, and he pushed me away.

Calm down Elena. I heard Blake’s voice again, but it wasn’t like before. It was from the time I’d trained with him. He’d found ways to make me angry and I would attack in anger, seeing my ass each and every time. I pushed my father’s death to the back of my mind.

“So you would jeopardize millions of innocent people’s live just so you can have your stupid war?” I huffed, because I knew he would.

“I guess being locked up in Etan for… how old are you now… nineteen, twenty? Doesn’t matter. A long fucking time does that to you!” he yelled that last part as if it was my fault the Creepers had trapped them.

“No, that was your dragon’s fault for giving you too much of her Essence.”

“She didn’t give me shit!” he roared.

I squinted. “How did you manage to grow this old then? Without a trace of aging?”

“I took it from her, and then I killed her.”

Bile struck my throat.

“Oh, they all believed that it was her dying wish, oh Sarafina,” he acted, mocked his dragon. “If only they knew what a coward she was.”

“Swallow Annexes are many gracious and wonderful things but never cowards.”

“She was, when she didn’t want to give me her Essence.”

“Yeah, and now I know why she didn’t want to. I wouldn’t either. She knew what was truly in your heart. You were evil even before you took her Essence.”

He mocked me by pulling his face and shaking his head. “It looks like we have a real know-it-all.”

“It’s your fault everyone is locked up, Goran. You betrayed my father. He was your best friend, how could you?”

“You know, my brother asked me that same question, that night.” He looked at me, leaning on his sword, and started to laugh like a mad-man again. “It was easy, your father wanted to control me, like he did everyone else.”

“Bullshit.”

“Ohhh, Katie wouldn’t have liked that mouth of yours.” He was mocking me again, pointing his sword at me as we circled one another.

“My mother. My mother would’ve skinned you alive if she knew you were the one that was going to betray them.”

He moved. It was so fast, and then his hand was over my throat and he slammed me against the wall, hard. “Don’t talk about things you don’t know anything about, little girl. Like your mother and I.”

I spat in his face. He struck my face hard and threw me down onto the floor. I loathed everything about him. It angered me more that Helmut hadn’t mentioned the resemblance. They were twins, but I’d found his weak spot. My mom. That was why he’d fallen for the lookalike.

What was it with villains and people spitting in their faces?

He bent down close to me. “Just so you know, I will get my dragon, Elena. You think claiming him has kept him safe? There are ways to break that good, and bring back the evil darkness that he should’ve been left in.”

I brought up my elbow and struck him as hard as I could on his chin. He flew up onto his feet and staggered a bit.

“Oh, you will pay for that.” He raised his palms but nothing happened. He did it again and then I remembered what he’d said a couple of moments ago when I couldn’t wield my abilities. Then it was my turn to laugh.

“It sucks when your little plan backfires on you, doesn’t it?”

He growled and went for me again. I jumped up and kicked him away with both my legs, and he staggered back giving me time to get on my feet and draw my axes.

He just looked at them and started to laugh as he spit on the floor. “Axes, isn’t that just beautiful.”

“Keep your mouth shut about my mother,” I grunted at him.

Calm yourself, don’t strike when you are angry. Make the other angry instead, and you will always have the upper hand as they will attack with their heart and not their mind. Blake’s words from that day, more or less, entered my thoughts.

Calm down, Elena, I spoke to myself as Goran and I walked in circles again.

“It was clever of you trying to trick me by being your brother. It’s just so sad that you don’t really know him.”

He shrugged. “Guess I can’t play pathetic and helpless, even if I try.”

“Twins don’t really talk about each other like that, unless…” I looked at him. “He betrayed you.” I smiled.

“He was an idiot, chose that wretched father of yours, over me, his twin.”

“I would too if I had been in his shoes.”

He pointed his sword at me again. “I told you to keep your mouth shut about things you don’t know.”

The wall shuddered behind me. It was a sign of war. Goran looked at it for a few seconds and then he grimaced.

“What, am I’m getting hotter about the things that seriously make you tick, Goran?” I carried on as the wall vibrated. “I’ve got a couple more theories. You loathed my father, that we both know, but not because he was so evil as you claimed. I think it was the opposite. He had everything. Got the kingdom, and from what I’m getting from you whenever my mom’s name gets mentioned…” I gasped. Why was I doing this? “He got the girl too. You were jealous of him, weren’t you?” I smiled. He was so pathetic.

“I told you to shut up about Katie.” He spat again as the wall behind us shuddered. Still it didn’t break.

“You don’t have the right to call her that. You burned her in her bed. You are a monster, my mother could never have loved you, and that was why you killed her!” I yelled and stared at him. I huffed. “That was it,” I laughed again. “You told her how you felt, and what, she broke your little bitty heart so you thought she deserved to be burned alive?”

“Shut up,” he growled again. “You Malones just know how to get under one’s skin and… you are just like your father.”

“Well, his blood does flow through my veins.”

He laughed. “Special blood.” He spat on the ground.

Just then he struck. I blocked his sword with my ax and threw it off me, while the other one sliced his chin. He was really fast and had good reflexes. If he hadn’t moved backward, it would’ve hit an artery and maybe, just maybe, it would’ve killed him.

He came for me again, and this time he got a kick in as I went for his throat again. He connected hard with my leg and it felt as if he’d broken it. I fell to the floor, and was surprised that he hadn’t killed me yet.

He bent low again. “I knew what you were that day I saw you in that forest. I knew somehow the idiot had gotten you out of Paegeia. I will find a way out of this stinking world soon enough and then everyone in Paegeia will regret ever crossing me.”

“You know what your problem is?” I replied, and he just looked at me stupidly. “You talk too much.” I head butted him and blood flowed from down his lips as he cupped his nose and bent over.

I kicked him again and carried on using all of his pain to my advantage. The signs of war were still going on outside, making the castle rumble slightly.

Goran was going to die, real soon for everything he had bestowed on my family.

I raised my ax to strike him as hard as I could, when he pulled out a flag mounted in the wall and struck it with force into my thigh.

I sucked in a breath as I just stared at it. No voice, just utter shock grew evident on my face. Then the pain seared up from the wound straight through my body. I grunted and tried to keep my scream at bay.

Blood started to seep out and then a loud buzzing noise started to sing in my ears. It was deafening, just awful and ground into my mind, together with the pain.

I covered my ears trying to drown it out, but it only slightly dampened the sound.

The hallway started to shake, and not the one that I’d thought would shatter, the opposite. It started to disintegrate. It fell away, disappearing into darkness. My heart beat as I looked at it. What type of magic was this?

The other one was still standing. Rumbling again, but it didn’t shatter.

He gave me one kick and I couldn’t keep my balance with the mother of a pole sticking from my leg. I slipped and went over, but my fingers caught onto a rocky ledge a couple of feet down. It wasn’t big enough to hold my entire weight.

Goran appeared on the ledge and saw me hanging on for dear life.

“What is it with you Malones, why can’t you just die like the rest of us?”

I looked up at him. “I guess that is what makes us royalty and you scum.”

His hand sparkled slightly again. It was a purple lightning, similar to Cara’s.

He looked at it too and smiled. “Guess it’s time to say night, night, Elena. Nice to have met you.”

He zapped my one finger. It hurt like hell as I wasn’t immune to Cara’s lighting anymore, but I still held on with everything I had.

More zapping came and it was faster this time. It scorched all of my fingers.

I couldn’t hold on anymore and the flag-pole inside my leg didn’t help at all. In fact the pain started overpowering my entire body.

I didn’t want to look down. It was so dark and I knew whatever was down there, I wouldn’t survive the fall.

A final zap make me lose my grip completely and I fell into the pit of darkness below.

ISAAC

WE ALL WAITED for a long time. The stars were starting to shine through the thick heavy clouds. It’s funny how war was always fought when the sky was filled with grey clouds, as if the universe knew destruction was near, and didn’t want to sun or moon to witness it.

We watched the Creepers from afar.

One of the lords in King Helmut’s militia was checking them through binoculars. The shifters and dragons sight didn’t need to use binoculars. Every creeper, every shiver it made, we saw and heard every movement.

My heart was bouncing of excitement now. It wasn’t just life sustaining me, it was adrenaline too.

Then the first explosion went off. It was the sachets carrying all of Elena’s blood formula. They shivered, but that was about it. The second explosion never came.

“What happened? Why didn’t the bombs go off?” Someone yelled and more people started to voice their concerns.

“They won’t be able to win this war without us.”

He was right. They wouldn’t. There weren’t enough troops stationed on the other side to win this war all by itself, and Blake had given me specific instructions, to make sure that Samantha would come out of this alive. That was all he wanted from me, and now I couldn’t even get through those creepers.

“Just wait, it will go off.” The lord answered. I could never remember their names.

My father’s Chimera figure stepped forward.

“That bomb would’ve gone off by now. Sir Robert made sure of it. Something is wrong.”

“They won’t win this war without us,” Panic struck through again. More people started screaming and shouting at the same time.

Tabitha stepped toward me. She was a bit smaller than my Eagle figure. “Is it real?”

“What?” I asked, not knowing what this crazy chick was yapping on about now.

“The Dent. Is it real?”

I got what she was saying. “He didn’t explain what it was, but he told me that it wasn’t a spell, that it was real. It’s solid, Tabitha. He is happy.”

“Please, make sure he stays that way.”

“Why are you telling me—” She didn’t let me finish my question and she stepped through the ocean of warriors with Peter lodged on her back. Whatever their plan was, Peter was already in on this and he tapped her softly on her white neck. “Do it,” he said softly.

Do what?

She turned her head around and stared at me one last time. “Never let him stop playing, Isaac. Tell him I will always love him.”

Wait, what?

She lifted off with the speed of light, flew toward the Creepers and picked up one of the nearby barrels with bombs attached. They were the ones that would go off last. Peter wielded his frost.

They disappeared into the Creepers. They were still as deadly as ever, a bit delayed in their actions because of the formula, but from Tabitha’s shriek, we all knew they didn’t make it.

We all stared at them in utter shock. What was she thinking? I bowed my head.

Then the tremble came. It shuddered the earth slightly, a mere vibration, and then the explosion ripped through all of us.

Some of the troops lost their balance and fell over. Some of the smaller shifters fell over too, but the big ones, like me and my father, and the dragons, stood their ground.

I watched in shock as parts of the Creepers fell to the ground, but their sacrifice wasn’t enough. I wanted to go next, but my father and a few of his men stopped me.

“You are the last of your kind. Please, son.” He begged and through the corners of my eyes, eight more dragons lifted off with their riders, charging the Creepers. They all picked up a barrel and flew into different parts. They vanished into the Creepers that were on alert. Then more screams filled the air, and after a few seconds, more explosions came. This time it was louder, stronger, and it felt as if it was going to break my bones, but we were far away from harm.

When the dust settled, we all looked up and heard the loud cracking of Creepers breaking, dying and they came crashing down to earth.

“It worked!” One of the men screamed nearby, sounding extremely happy. This wasn’t a happy moment. Nine dragons and their riders sacrificed their lives, because of one brave dragon and her rider’s actions. They were way too young.

She was a Snow Dragon—a coward—that died as a brave hero today because she loved another she would never have. And she couldn’t live with that. I would make sure her sacrifice was always remembered.

I lifted off with all the speed I owned, and Charged to the Creepers. The rest was following. Shrieks, growls, animal hoots and sounds filled the air as we passed the Creepers.

The other side of the Creepers moved into forests. We all looked around as they destroyed so many parts of Etan. An entire shifter village was lost.

We ducked and dived as creepers still fell to the earth, like a thousand giant beanstalks falling on one heap.

The night sky started to kill Etan’s day that Goran wielded and true light shone through, stars filled the night sky. More chaos erupted as people ran around, screaming, killing and plundering.

Night time started this war, and night was going to finish it.

My father gave orders right behind me and a couple of airborne dragons stayed behind to help calm the chaos below us.

Our orders were Sovereign, to find the King and make sure that Sammy was safe.

Wyverns appeared out of nowhere. It was time to do what I was made to do—kill the enemy.

ELENA

MY SCREAM ECHOED through the dark pit. My heart had never beat this fast in my entire life and I knew that this was it. Goran had a huge smile on his face as he watched my body descended. He was growing smaller as my arms flapped in the air.

The walls of the castle still shuddered and then it was as if a bomb went off.

Goran was no longer watching.

Boulders came rolling down into the pit and my eyes caught on a humungous one that was definitely going to be the end of me. I saw a white flash and realized it wasn’t a boulder at all.

I connected hard with his leathery torso.

“Hold on!” Blake’s deep voice growled and although I couldn’t feel anything besides my leg that was aching with the spear had Goran struck me with. I could tell by the shaking and tumbling motions that we’d just collided with something big. It carried on like that for a few more minutes and my heart was still beating like crazy as I tried to get out of this alive.

His paw suddenly opened and I fell about five feet down onto something hard. I rolled and hurt my injured leg even more.

My scream from the pain echoed off the walls. My head collided with rock and finally connected hard with cold cement.

It all finally stopped. I was still breathing but I’d never experienced so much pain in my entire life. I tried to look up but the dizzy pain in my head rushed through my body, telling me that I was in rough shape. I was stuck in complete darkness, whether my eyes were open or closed. It didn’t matter.

When memories start playing through my mind, I knew that I had passed out.

I DIDN’T KNOW how long I laid there, but I had some sweet thoughts before reality came crashing back to me.

I thought about my perfect life, well how perfect it had become in only a couple of months.

The nightmares were finally gone, the awful memories from that night, well they’d been replaced with a wicked ass dragon that incinerated every one of them on the spot. I wasn’t scared anymore.

My friends were happy, I was happy, Blake was happy.

My father was going to come home. My father is dead.

At once everything came back. I jolted up and took a raspy gasp. I grunted at the pain and coughed  hard at the same time until I spit out bile. It had a strong taste of iron in my mouth. Blood.

I knew that wasn’t a good sign but I will heal. I had to heal.

My head ached but not as badly as my leg. None of it mattered anyway as I had to find Blake. The picture in my head wasn’t good. It was of a heap of dragon lying somewhere in the darkness, unconscious.

I pushed myself up and took a couple of breathes as the pain was seriously starting to overpower everything. My breathing felt painful and heavy.

I lit up my finger with a soft pink flame and held it close to my wound.

The spear’s one end had broken off and it barely stuck out of my thigh, but I had to get it out before I could let it heal. I grabbed one part and let my fire die as I rested with my hand against a huge boulder.

I retreated my thoughts, and took off my belt first. I held it up and placed it inside of my mouth. This is going to hurt like hell.

I took a deep breath, got ahold of the side sticking out the back of my thigh where the spear had gone straight through and tightened my grip.

I took a couple of breathes, and then I held it in and yanked as hard as I could.

I grunted into the belt, which echoed through the pit again, and fell down against the wall.

Mother…, I grunted and tried to control my breathing.

I coughed again and spit up more blood.

Heal, Elena, Heal. I thought but the tingling sensation didn’t come.

I wanted to pass out but I knew I had to stop the blood seeping from my wound. I lifted up my head again even thought it was spinning and aching like mad. I opened my belt again and tied it right above the wound.

Please just heal, I begged softly.

Blake, I have to find Blake.

I struggled to open my eyes but I knew I had to find him. We had gotten split up once and it had been the biggest mistake of this entire mission.

My hand lit up again and it outlined the scene in front of me.

I struggled to move but I forced each step. I’d never felt this heavy my entire life. Movement didn’t come easily at all.

I had to stop every five seconds to find more strength.

“C’mon, Elena you can do this!”

I stabilized myself against the wall again and pushed forward.

I’d reached a dead end. The light flickering off the flame in my hand reflected on boulders upon boulders with no way out on the right. I turned to the left.  It was the same thing.

There was no sign of a way that could lead out.

My heart started to beat heavy as my mind raged with madness.

Please, he cant have been crushed by boulders… He is the Rubicon for crying out loud. “Blake!” I yelled and started to cough again. I sounded like someone who was really sick. It was raspy and it hurt like hell every time I coughed.

I heard a grunt from above. I looked up at once, and lifted up my hand as I could only see more boulders. I remember falling. I fell as I looked back to where I’d woken up minutes before.

I looked up again. “Blake!” I grunted. “Wake up,” I begged. I couldn’t get to him.

He grunted again and it felt as if I could finally breath.

I slid down one boulder and rested my head against it.

Please be fine, just be fine, I begged again and he stirred. More rocks came tumbling down and I cried out. I missed all of the big ones, which was a miracle all in itself.

“Elena!” he growled.

“Down here, but be careful please. This entire place is going to cave in. You need to transform back,” I said.

I could hear the shift from dragon to human.

“Mother fucker!” He screamed. It was his human voice again and he was in pain.

“What is it?” It barely came out.

He took a couple of deep breathes.

Please be fine, please be fine, I prayed softly.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’ll live, you?”

“Just give me a couple of minutes.” He grunted again and then I heard him suppressed a scream as something loud clanged to the floor.

“What was that?” I yelled back.

He didn’t answer.

“Blake!”

“I’ll live.” He finally answered through heavy breathes.

He started to move. I didn’t like it as Blake hardly made a sound when he moved. He was badly hurt, of course he is hurt you idiot. He dove down into a fucking dark pit trying to save your ass.

This was all my fault.

“You okay?” His voice was right above me and I looked up.

I couldn’t see him, until a flame in his hands lit up his outline looking down on me. I nodded, and at that moment I started coughing uncontrollably. I rolled over and pushed myself up with my palms as I spit up some more blood.

He was at my side at once. How he’d got down, I didn’t know. “Elena.” He sounded worried.

I lifted up my head. “It’s going to be a miracle if we get out of this one alive.”

He hugged me gently and stroked my back. He then shook something and a neon light lit up the space where we were.

His white suit had crimson blotches on the side of his torso.

“What is this?” He was bleeding.

“It’s nothing. We need to get out of here. And soon.”

“Lead the way.”

“I can’t. If I transform, everything will cave in.”

“It could be our only way out, Blake.” My voice sounded tired and my eyes closed again. I felt so hot and so cold all at the same time.

“No, no, no. You stay with me!” He touched my face hard. “Stay with me,” he growled.  I opened my eyes and his eyes closed as he laid his hand on my chest. He pulled me into his warm body which made me just want to sleep even more.

His lips lingered on my head. I could feel his breath. “Just don’t close your eyes. It’s all you have to do and keep breathing. I’ll get us out of this.”

The warm tingly sensation where his hand touched my chest started to spread through my heart and down my lungs.

“Just stay with me,” he kept whispering.

The wheezing in my breath started to grow silent. It started to disappear and I couldn’t help but chuckle softly. He was busy healing me as my own abilities still sucked.

The cold disappeared slowly with the warmth and I started to feel a bit more like myself.

Then a soft clucking noise from something big rippled through both of us. We became like statues as we just stared at the darkness up ahead.

“What is…”

“Shhh,” Blake said.

I tried to reach into his mind again to see what his speculations were but it was closed again. I’d heard him. I knew I had. He’d warned me that it wasn’t Helmut, that it was Goran. The voice was beyond himself inside my head then, now it was silent.

The clucking noise continued and Blake got up slowly.

He grabbed my arm gently, but firmly, and pulled me up. I grunted slightly as my leg still ached.

“Okay, I was wrong. You need to do a bit more than just keep your eyes open. We need to get away from here.” He looked around at the dead end. Up was too high and he couldn’t transform, he couldn’t even try in his human form to get us there, as he was hurt as well.

I looked at him and nodded fast. “What…”

I didn’t have to ask what that was. I knew what it was. It was the Saadedine.

O shit, shit, shit. We can’t die. We are supposed to be the hero’s and save everyone. What sort of heroes were we going to be if we couldn’t even defeat the Saadedine. What was the missing ingredient? Nothing was coming to my mind, nothing.

Breaking my father’s promise was seriously biting me in the ass. I didn’t want to die, and I didn’t want to sacrifice anybody that I cared for anymore. I couldn’t even think about it. I wouldn’t make it.

Blake pressed hard against his torso again, grunted softly and took another deep breath. He then placed his arm around my waist and carried half my weight. We started to move without the neon light because it would give us away.

I knew Blake could see in this dark. His night vision was one of the best, and the only direction we could go was toward the clucking sound. He spoke the words, and I could see a bit of green light, my eye sight became sharper.

“No,” I put my fingers over his mouth as he was still speaking the spell. “You need all of it. I trust you, just get us out of here.”

My sight turned normal again, everything became pitch dark as we moved at a rapid pace, even with all our injuries.

I suddenly was pushed into a very tight opening in the boulders with him right in front of me. Our bodies faced one another and he was pressed tight against me. His breathing was warm, soft but fast.

My heart was the only sound I could hear. It was going to give us both away.

I closed my eyes as the clucking came nearer and a sneeze-sort of breath lingered right outside our hiding spot.

Blake held me tighter and wielded his shield. The clucking was right next to us, and then it disappeared as I buried my face in his shoulder. He smelled like boulder dust and blood. His dragon smell lingered beneath but it wasn’t as strong as it usually was when he shifted back. I felt as if I was going to throw up from all the adrenaline.

We both stood tight against one another in silence, which felt like forever, and then the noise came back. Blake lowered his shield. The Saadedine moved away. Rocks fell again and I could tell he was where both of us had been a couple of minutes ago.

Blake moved first, slowly and I hated that I couldn’t see what he did. All I saw was darkness.

However, it made my other senses more enhanced.

More boulders fell and the image in my head told me that he was walking up to where Blake had landed.

When the boulders stopped, Blake grabbed my hand tightly again and we started to move out of our hiding spot and further down into the dark pit.

I trusted him one hundred percent. He was my eyes now and I knew his was going to get us out of here, he just had to.

Don’t think about it Elena. You will make it, and he, he’d better make it.

We turned left, walked more and then turned right. My head was showing me a maze, but how to get out of here was still the riddle we needed to obtain.

My leg pounded like crazy and I started to move slower.

Blake finally stopped and he pulled me down to sit on the ground.

Something shook in the night again and another neon light lit up the darkness.

We were in some sort of cave. He looked tired and crawled over to me.

“Let me see your leg.”

He touched it softly and then tore the part covering my leg. I flinched as pain rippled through me.

“I can make this better but I don’t know if I can heal it completely.”

“Just wait, take a couple of breath’s please. Sit with me,” I begged and he obliged.

He came crashing with his back against the cave hard and let out a huge breath.

He opened his arms and pulled me into him again.

“Was that what I thought it was?”

“Yes, your father was right. We should’ve never come, Elena.”

“Well, it’s too late now. We have to get out of here.”

“We will,” he said and kissed me softly on my lips. “I promise, we’ll get out of here.”

I smiled and looked at him again. I couldn’t stop thinking about the missing ingredient, without it…

“What is it Elena?”

“It isn’t us, is it.…”

“Elena, don’t.”

“It was stupid to make all of us believe that Blake. We could’ve searched more.”

He chuckled quietly. “Then what? Spend what could possibly be our last night on earth going through more books? No, Elena. We searched. It wasn’t in any book.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I searched and searched, Elena. I didn’t found it. You will not die, I promise you.”

“You can’t fight him in the condition you are in, Blake. I can hardly stand on my own.”

I felt like crying.

“You are not going to die.”

“Don’t you dare. Neither are you!” I shouted back. “I’m not going to live in this world without you.”

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“It’s not funny.”

“I know, it’s just that I never thought any of this would actually come true.”

“What are you talking about now?”

“Now you know how I feel, Elena.”

“You can’t die. I mean it.”

“And neither can you. So we just have to make it, both of us.”

Easier said than done.

I looked at his wound again. That part of his suit was soaked with blood.”

“Can’t you heal yourself?”

“It doesn’t work like that. It has to come from the inside, and right now, nothing is happening.”

That was not what I wanted to hear.

“Hey, stop worrying. I’ll be fine,” He said. “Now, let’s take a look at that leg of yours before he comes back.”

“What makes you think it’s a he?”

“The testosterone his is releasing. It’s something like don’t piss on my spots or you’ll die.”

A tired laugh escaped my lips.

He put his hand on my leg and my entire body pulled from the pain.

“I know it hurts but it will get better,” he spoke softly.

The tingling sensation started. It was weaker than before. He was weaker. I couldn’t do this to him as it would only drain him more.

“Blake, stop.”

“No, Elena.”

“Stop. It’s not that. You will grow weaker and we don’t know what is ahead. Please. I’ll be fine.”

He just looked at me. “You’d better stay alive,” he finally said and untied the belt, retying it tighter than before.

He fell next to me again and I laid with my head on his lap.

I closed my eyes.

“Don’t close your eyes,” he ordered and I opened them again. I looked straight at him. “We will make it. I will…”

The clucking noise was close to us again. I jolted up as Blake crawled past me at the speed of light to kill the neon light.

It happened so fast.

One minute he was at the neon globe and the next a huge snake like talon reached him and snatched him out of our hiding place. Leaving me and the globe behind.

I was in shock, I couldn’t scream, I couldn’t cry.

I heard his screams in the distance.

The Saadedine was moving at the speed of light and I had to save him.

I just had to save him or he was going to die.

I GRABBED THE neon light and crawled out of the cave.

Walls with passages were in front of me and I didn’t know which way to go.

Blake’s fighting grunt turned into a growl and I knew he was transforming. The sound was right up ahead but there wasn’t a passage leading to it.

“Trust your gut,” Lucian’s voice suddenly popped into my head and I didn’t think. I just ran down the passage on my left and moved right into the first passage that I could. The next was another dead end and I moved right again. I was moving as fast as I could, not giving a damn about my leg anymore. I had to get to him. Together we might get through this, just like the foretelling had said.

I kept moving forward and toward him and the Saadedine with its snakelike sprouts or tongue, or whatever had snatched Blake out like that.

The pit rumbled and I stumbled and fell hard against the floor.

I grunted as I got back up, moved a couple steps and fell down from another rumble. Boulders behind me started to fall and I moved forward faster.

Their growls grew closer and I could hear snapping and then see a blast of pink flame ahead.

His pink flame could incinerate him, but it died out soon as the pit rumbled again.

I didn’t dare use any of my abilities to get to him faster, he needed them more than I did.

I saw light reflecting of walls. It was orange with pink and then it turned into a greenish yellow.

This dragon has green fire, just like Paul had.

My throat become sour as I thought about that bastard again. He was fucking dead now but his presence still lingered around us. No more.

I pushed forward and had to retreat as a flame came my way.

When it stopped I waited for a couple of seconds before I turned my head to look again.

Blake was slightly smaller than him. He was huge, white, and slightly yellow with bright black stripes spread over his lower back. He looked like an Elemental with a long torso and huge legs.

His wings were not as big as I’d thought and they reminded me of Tornado’s, the wind dragon we’d helped to hatch.

How could something so beautiful and sweet turn into something so vicious? It was only Goran that could do something so heinous.

I hated him more than anything else in this entire world. He was behind all the evil in this beautiful world. The evil behind my entire existence.

I moved quickly and past another boulder as Blake and the Saadedine fought.

I looked again and tried to come up with a plan of how I could help Blake but I knew the way they carried on was just going to get me killed too. Still, I had to help

He cannot face him alone, he is injured, he needs my help. Think, Elena, think.

Blake was fast and he trusted his wings, something the Saadedine didn’t have much of. Blake was mostly in the air, but then the Saadedine realized what was happening and snapped right after him, missing him by inches.

His jaws grabbed Blake’s tail and he pulled him back down in one swift motion.

The pit shook again as Blake crashed against the wall and I lost my balance.

I got up and looked at where he was, and saw the Saadedine going in for the kill.

“Noooo!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, my voice so loud inside the confined walls.

The Saadedine growled and turned his blood-red eyes toward me.

He left Blake.

Think Elena, think.

I knew I needed my gifts and suddenly the way I’d claimed Blake flew thought my mind.

Freeze the son of a bitch, give Blake time.

Frost balls emerged from my palms and I flung all of them at his hulking body while diving to get away from his green fire. He just kept on blasting.

I grunted and screamed again as my arms sprang alive with the pink flame as I held it in front of me, to block his green fire. It was warm, and hot as if it was going to burn the skin off my arms as it burned like it never burned before.

When he finally stopped I released a mother of a fire ball aimed right at him.

It hit the dragon full in the face and he staggered back and fell down.

I fell to my knees as his body collapsed in the far corner.

I watched eagerly to see if his body was going to start incinerating, but it didn’t happen.

I didn’t care how the hell he died, I just needed to get to Blake.

I found him crumpled up in a corner. He’d transformed back into his human form and his eyes were closed.

“No, no, no. Wake up. Don’t close your eyes,” I said fast and tapped his face hard. “Wake up, Blake!” I yelled and he opened his eyes.

For a second he didn’t know where we were but realization made his eyes grow slightly and he took a protective stand against me.

“Where is he, Elena?”

“I think he’s dead. I hit him with the pink kiss.”

His head jolted back at me. “My fire doesn’t do anything to him.”

“Well, he collapsed on the other side, somewhere.”

He pinched his nose with his forefinger and thumb. Blood dripped from his arm onto the floor.

“Don’t, I know what you are thinking. He collapsed, let’s just get the hell out of here.”

“Then what, Elena? We can’t contain him. He needs to die.”

“How? Tell me how and I’ll help you, but we don’t know how to kill that thing, Blake!” I yelled back and before he could say anything, the Saadedine was busy getting up. It was too late.

“Just stay here,” he said. He kissed me fiercely fast and got up, transforming again.

“Don’t die, please.”

I didn’t listen to his request. I knew he couldn’t do this alone and I left my post to get a clear shot of the Saadedine. I’d wait for the right moment, when Blake was clear from his path and then I would strike with everything I had.

Together we would kill the son of a bitch.

The fight was hard, Blake was fierce as he kept diving toward the Saadedine, trying to get his talons stuck into his flesh to rip him apart, but the body of the Saadedine was sleek and strong too.

His tail and the snakelike sprouts that slithered around it blocked Blake’s every attempt and pushed him away from him.

Still he would dive down and try another tactic.

My heart was pounding fast as I just looked at it again and watched how Blake was chucked again against the wall. Boulders fell as the pit vibrated. I fell over and again I had to get up and yell at the monster that was going for Blake again.

I used my lightning this time, but it merely stung him. He would hover backward a couple of seconds and then come forward again. Then I tried to gas the son of a bitch.

It didn’t work either.

Blake attacked him again from behind and ripped off one of his snaky sprouts. The Saadedine growled and snapped at Blake.

He turned around and I couldn’t get away from his tail fast enough.

It collided hard with my body and threw me against another wall.

I fell to the floor and blacked out immediately.

When my eyes opened the earth trembled again.

Sounds of dragons snapping vibrated in the distance and then it grew louder and louder.

They were still busy fighting.

Blake was losing the battle.

This isn’t right.

It couldn’t be. If Blake wasn’t a match for the Saadedine, then what was going to kill it? What was the missing ingredient?

I found a pool of blood and realized it was where Blake had been lying a couple of minutes ago. I looked back up, hearing the shrill sound of a dragon, and then back down at the pool of blood.

Becky was right, and Blake was wrong—well, just with one part, saying it wasn’t something we could see or touch. It was us, he’d gotten that part right, but just not mentally, physically. It was something that made both of our hearts beat, it flowed through both our veins, give us life.

My blood was magical, and so was his.

Our blood, our blood mixed together. That was the missing ingredient.

I felt for my axes but they were gone.

I still had my gloves on and I lifted up my hand and yelled the command, “Return to me!”

Nothing happened and I said it again.

Blake was growling, it was a painful growl and I saw that the Saadedine had a good grip on his wing.

It was busy tearing. “No!” I yelled the command as loud as I could and heard both my axes swoosh through the dark. They were making their way to me fast.

I caught the one and the other one followed right after.

I smeared both axes against my bloody leg and dipped them into the pool of Blake’s blood that was on the ground.

Please work.

A tearing sound filled the pit, and I turned around and released both axes just as something sharp connected with my back and the end exited my stomach. It was a spear.

I looked in the direction it’d come from and saw Goran a couple of meters behind me. With a second spear in his hands.

My one ax hit the floor, the noise broke my sight with Goran and I looked at the Saadedine just as my second ax hit him in the torso. He growled.

“Noooo!” Goran screamed with anger.

I kept looking at the Saadedine falling and Blake was gone.

I couldn’t see him anywhere.

Still the adrenaline in my veins made me walk forward. The Saadedine needed to die, and if Blake was dead, I didn’t care anymore. I couldn’t live this life if he wasn’t going to live it with me. This wasn’t the plan.

The growls of the Saadedine grew louder, he was in pain.

That had to be the missing ingredient. It had to be both our bloodlines together. It couldn’t be anything else.

I saw his big body and then watched it growing smaller and smaller.

Another spear struck me and I gasped, but pain wasn’t a factor anymore. My body was starting to give in.

I fell to the floor as the Saadedine turned back into his human form.

I fell hard to the ground and my eyes lingered on the man’s body. So Blake was right, it was a man.

Just then a huge explosion went off. Boulders crashed to the floor, the walls were coming down as voices filled the air.

The boulders were blasted away with spells coming from all directions, and not one of them hit me.

Dragons and their riders filled the pit that was now streaming with light.

Commands were shouted that we had to stop but it was too late. The Saadedine was dead, and even if I wasn’t going to make it, my people would be safe.

The host of the Saadedine stirred. No, please. I was so tired. I couldn’t fight anymore. My adrenaline was busy fading, my eyes were so heavy.

Tears lingered in them as I knew this world will never be safe. We should’ve never come.

“Elena,” the host of the Saadedine barely spoke, but he said my name and his eyes locked with mine.

This cannot be. Goran killed…. I gasped my last breath. “Dad.” And blew it out.

Blake

MY WING WAS busy tearing as I heard Elena yelling the command for her axes.

I growled and spat my acid into its eyes as he released my wing. I crashed again into the wall and fell.

I ducked as one of her axes smeared with blood came flying my way and crashed a couple of meters away from me.

Why is it smeared with blood? It wasn’t her blood, the missing ingredient wasn’t her blood, we’d spoken about that time and time again.

Elena.

The Saadedine growled as the first ax’s twin connected hard with its body. It mimicked someone else’s laugh, Helmut, no, Goran’s. He was in this pit. A huge explosion outside made the pit vibrate again and I lost my balance just as I was busy making my way to where his voice had come from. The walls were blasted away. Light seeped through and I wasn’t close enough to Elena to save her from any boulders. Commands were shouted. It was dragons and their riders. A good sign, and not one of the boulders hit me. We’d done it.

“Don’t!” my father yelled. He was deranged and I saw the Saadedine starting to shrink into the man he used to be.

My father transformed and ran in his direction. What on earth was he trying to do?

He blasted his acid and I thought it was a little overkill. But when I saw boulders being incinerated and he started to move faster, it all made sense. If they wanted the Saadedine to be good, a bad host, the worst there was had to be sacrificed to become the Saadedine. If they wanted an evil Saadedine, someone pure had to be sacrificed. The Saadedine was King Albert. Goran had lied. He was still alive.

Elena.

I got up and looked for her.

I found her lying face down looking at her father. “Dad.” She was still alive and then I saw it. Two spears sticking out her back.

“NOOOO!” I yelled and ran as fast as I could to her side. I fell down on my knees and yanked them out her body without thinking. I picked her up and turned her around.

“Keep your eyes open, Elena, it’s all you have to do!” I yelled while I slapped her. She didn’t open them. “Help, get Constance.”

Emanual transformed back into his human form and came rushing to my side.

“Constance will not make it Blake,” he said and laid his head on her chest. I knew what he was doing, He was listening for a heartbeat, but there wasn’t one. My healing didn’t want to come either. I was too tired.

Tears streamed down my face but no sobs came. She can’t be dead.

“Blake!”

“Don’t say it!”

I put my mouth onto hers and started to do CPR. Blood poured from her wounds and pooled onto the floor.

“Blake.”

“No.” I didn’t even sound like me, as I carried on with the CPR.

“It’s too late, you have to let her go.”

“How do I do this?” I yelled at him.

Emanual squinted.

“The Essence, Emanual, how do I do this?”

He closed his eyes.

“TELL ME!”

“You have to give her literally a piece of your heart, Blake. There is only one way to do that.”

My fire started to spring to life. I pressed my finger against my chest. It fucking hurt but it was nothing compared to what I would feel if she didn’t make it.

I screamed as blood poured out. How could any one of them survive this? But I didn’t give a shit about that part. If she dies, I’m dead too.

I pushed my hand inside my chest and broke off a piece of my heart. I screamed off the pain and Emanual shredded open Elena’s shirt and cut her chest with one of the spears that’d hit her a couple of minutes ago.

Blood didn’t even pour out this time. Another bad sign. I finally got a piece of my actual heart in my hands, and I put my hand gently into her open chest, pressing it against her heart.

Her heart was so tiny and not beating. But my piece of heart was like a blood sucker and it squirmed in my hands. When it connected with her heart, it attached itself.

I pulled my bloody hand out her chest and fatigue like I’d never felt before washed over my body and I collapsed right next to her.

Don’t leave me, please.

ELENA

I OPENED MY eyes and sunlight blinded my sight. Birds chirped close by. There was no wind, only sun.

Tree tops were hovering over me and I didn’t fear them like I used to anymore as I knew I was safe.

I turned my head and found Blake lying next to me, on a bed. How he’d gotten a bed out here underneath the trees was beyond my knowledge.

A smile sprawled over my face as I saw him sleeping.

He looked so peaceful.

I pushed a string of raven black hair that’d fallen on his face away and he opened his blue peacock eyes and smiled.

“Hey, Princess.”

I laughed. “I told you not to call me that, where are we?”

He closed his eyes and smiled but didn’t answer me.

“Blake?” I asked and he opened his eyes again.

“Does it matter where we are? We are together, Elena.”

I squinted. He’d never answered me like that before and I tried to remember the last thing we’d done before waking up here. I couldn’t.

His hand touched my chin. “Hey, why the worried look?” He turned my head to look into his eyes and all the worry seemed to vanish, it just disappeared.

It was such a weird feeling: nothing that had happened before mattered at all, not even the stupid day, the one I couldn’t remember.

“I think it’s time.” There were tears lingering in his eyes.

He scared me. “Time for what?” My voice broke.

“To show you, Elena.”

I knew what he was talking about. I’d waited for that a long time. Was our bond finally healed? I couldn’t remember. “What, the trees don’t have ears this time?”

He laughed. “I’m really getting good at this. So good that….” He closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Good at what?”

“Nothing, this is where I want to be forever and ever.”

I just look at him. What was he hiding? What wasn’t he telling me?

“Close your eyes, Elena.”

I did and his head rested softly on mine. It was very similar to what Cheng showed me and I thought at a stage that Tanya may have shown him the same things, but I knew it wasn’t possible. She was dead.

The images stopped and we were both standing inside a white room.

“Okay, what is this?” I asked him but he didn’t answer.

“Blake,” I tried to touch him and my hand just went through him as if I were a ghost. I didn’t like this.

My heart started to stammer a bit.

“Blake?” I asked again and again and realized fast that he couldn’t see me.

I looked around me. It was pure white everywhere I looked and I felt a dizzy, spinning sensation and the outline of a room appeared. It became clearer and clearer. I saw Lucian and I sitting in a corner. The me sitting with Lucian was looking up and staring right at me, or at Blake. Lucian and I disappeared and the corner was empty again.

I remembered that day. I’d seen something quick, it was fast but I didn’t understand it then. It just didn’t make any sense, it still didn’t make any sense.

I looked at Blake who just stared at what was happening in front of him.

I knew where we were. I was back in the room with my mother and father. Back to the day I was born, but it was after I was born.

My mom, the queen was on the bed with my tiny body lying next to her. My dad was walking around in the room. This was the day they’d discovered I was sick. The day that Tanya came to tell them that she could help, by sacrificing Cara.

I looked at Blake who just stared at my mom and I.

He didn’t say anything.

What was he doing here? That poem.

The room spun again and it stopped on another scene. It was night. We were following a hooded figure and a baby dragon. She was purple and I knew it was Cara.

I was walking, fast. Blake, Blake protested all the way, he sounded upset and it looked like he had no control over his movements at all. He didn’t want to go, and fought against it. But an invisible force pulled him to stay close to Cara and Tanya.

He always had to fight against everything.

He panicked as he didn’t understand any of this. I didn’t either.

Tanya transformed close to the wall that was near a forest. We all went through and only found sea on the other side. It didn’t make any sense, at first I thought I was going to drown but everything spun again and the picture changed when the spinning stopped. We were all inside a hotel room, me, Cara, Blake and Tanya.

Cara was playing with a ball, just like a cat, and Tanya was pacing up and down.

Blake screamed at Tanya, asking questions about why he was here, all sorts of profound things, it was as if he’d lost his own memory before this happened. I could see it on his face, the words forcing him to remember something as he hit his head. When he opened the door to leave, the invisible force pushed him back and he came landing a few feet from Cara.

He grunted, got up, and tried again.

The same thing happened over and over. It was as if he couldn’t leave.

The spinning came again and the next scene was the day my dad, Herbert came.

He was so happy to find Cara. Blake tried to get through to him too, but he couldn’t hear him. I knew how it felt as nobody, not one of them could see me either, but I discovered it much sooner as I’d gone through this before with Lucian. Blake still had no idea what was happening to him.

The image changed again.

The room was different. It wasn’t the motel room anymore, it was a home. I looked outside. The backyard was big, had trees, and was open. The countryside popped into my head.

My dad sat on the bed. It was so good to see him. I wished I could go to him and just talk to him. Tell him that I was sorry for everything I’d done. But I knew he wouldn’t hear me.

The door opened and Tanya came out. Herbert and Blake looked up at her. He wasn’t trying to leave anymore.

“What does she look like?” My father had a huge grin on his face. Tanya didn’t. She had tears in her eyes and walked out of the room.

My father just looked at her and then at the bathroom. He got up and walked in. I followed him.

A one-year-old baby was inside the bathroom and my father started to cry. He fell to his knees and broke down.

I knew who that was. It was me and I knew this was the day he realized that Cara was no more.

He swallowed his tears and looked at baby me with so much hatred.

He then shook his head and pushed himself up and walked out of the room.

I didn’t follow and heard how he fought with Tanya as he knew what she’d done.

Blake listened too, got up with a jolt and ran into the bathroom.

He just stared at Baby Elena, sitting naked on the floor in the bathroom.

“What is this?” he asked and Baby Elena looked up straight at him.

She smiled and looked back down.

We both stared at her.

“Whoo hoo,” Blake said and she looked up again, smiled at him and looked back down.

He did it again and each time he got the same response.

He went down on his haunches and came closer to her. “You can see me?” She looked straight at him again and smiled one more time as baby noises left her mouth. A faint curve appeared on his lips.

I saw him? No, I would’ve remembered. Blake would not have been a stranger.

The room started to spin around. We were in the living room. I found myself at the window and I looked out. It was twilight, but it was the same house as before.

Blake was sitting on one of the chairs. Baby Elena was standing right in front of him, clutching his legs to keep her balance. There were a couple of men on their knees on the carpet, kneeling in front of Tanya.

“We pledge with our lives to keep her safe. That is our dragon oath,” they said and I looked at Blake and myself as a one-year-old again. He raised his eyes at her playfully and she cackled with laughter.

The image swirled again and we were still sitting in the living room, it was a different day as Baby Elena was wearing different clothes and her hair was slightly longer. Blake was sitting on one of the opposite couches. Little me was playing with one of his bracelets.

Jako was reading a newspaper on another chair.

I talked, it wasn’t clear, and they both looked up when I said the word bracelet.

Tanya got up and walked over to where Blake sat. He tried to take the bracelet out of my tiny hands but touched nothing. It made him worry.

Tanya took the bracelet out of her hands.

“Who’s is this?” she asked my dad and he just looked at her, got up too and took it.

“Don’t say my name,” he spoke to baby me as my father picked me up.

“Whose bracelet is this Bear?”

He’d called me Bear.

I laughed, and he smiled. Asking me the same question again with a friendlier tone.

Tanya just looked at it very strangely as I giggled again but I never said Blake’s name.

Blake blew out air and sat back down on the couch.

My father gave the bracelet back to me and put me down.

“Find out,” he said to Tanya and walked out the door.

He was still angry with her. She just stood there, staring at me and then at the couch as if she could see Blake. Blake saw this too and he stared straight at her.

She closed her eyes. “She is your only chance at getting claimed one day, please, I’m begging you don’t hurt her. Protect her with your life. Please.”

We both gasped, and he stared at me again still playing with his bracelet. He nodded after a while as if she could see him.

She bent down and looked at me.

“Is this Blake’s baby?” she asked. She knew. And then I got it. She shared a Dent with my mom. This was the procedure. The poem, it was about the Dent.

The image spun around again.

It stopped at a party. I was two and walking with Blake. He held my hand and we walked everywhere in the backyard. There were so many grown-ups there. No kids. The three men that had given their dragon oaths were there too with many others.

I knew this party as I’d seen my face with my party hat on. I had a picture of this sitting on Tanya’s lap. The picture I’d lost that night on Interstate 40.

She was going to leave soon. Was my real mom still alive right at this moment? I didn’t know.

I stared at Blake as he helped me climb up the jungle gym that was in our backyard. It was still the same house.

I found Tanya staring at us too. She smiled as if she could see Blake assisting me as I climbed the railings.

I slid down and he caught me at the bottom, but it never showed him picking me up. It was only touch.

None of this was making any sense as I knew I didn’t see him. I would’ve remembered him.

He pushed his tongue out, and toddler Elena mimicked his actions. He laughed, made a different face and from what I could tell, she tried to mimic that too. She cackled with him this time.

I walked over to them and just sat and watched how they pulled faces at each other.

Then he sighed. “This isn’t going to last is it?” he spoke to me. “You would’ve remembered me if it had.” He took a stray curl and place it behind my ear.

I looked at Blake, he looked sad and two-year-old Elena asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Shhh, nothing,” he spoke again, scared that someone might hear them.

The image changed again.

It was a different place. Herbert and Blake paced in the house while Tanya was screaming upstairs. She was in pain.

“No,” I said as I put two and two together quickly. She’d told me about this night. I tried to get up to her but I only made it to the front door of her bedroom. I couldn’t go in.

I knew what this was as the screams coming from within the room confirmed it. My mom was in Paegeia busy burning on her bed and her dragon felt it.

Toddler Elena started to cry and I went back down. Herbert picked me up. He walked with me to another room, Blake followed and the image turned again.

It was the four of us again. No Tanya. I was a bit older, about four and something told me that I couldn’t see Blake anymore. But he was close, always close with this sad look on his face, just watching me.

It must have been recently that I’d stopped seeing him, as I kept searching for him behind the couch and behind curtains.

Blake shut his eyes. He couldn’t watch this.

“Elena?” my father asked and he stood by an entrance with a jacket in his hands.

I dropped the curtain and stared at him.

“Mommy isn’t coming back?”

He misread the signs, went down on his haunches and gave me a hug.

He put on my coat and we left. Blake followed after walking through the door as if he were a ghost.

The image spun again and I was about eight. The phone rang. What was said I couldn’t hear, but Blake did and he was worried. He rushed to my side and just stayed there till Herbert finished.

Herbert dropped the phone, grabbed his keys and me and we left with nothing.

The image changed. We were in one of my many rooms. I was about ten, crying my eyes out.

A knock on the door made Blake look in the front door’s direction as if he could see through closed doors.

Then my bedroom door opened and Tanya walked in.

“Don’t do this please,” the real me begged as I knew why she was here. They thought that I was never going to handle any of this so she came, erased everything.

Blake just stood there watching Tanya and me with tears in his eyes. She started say that I would not remember anything after this. That I would see my father as the kind, loving human being he always was. I could see Herbert’s figure lingering in my door and then he left.

I stopped crying, closed my eyes and she left.

My body shook every few seconds as a sniff came out. The after-effects of a bad cry.

Blake came over to my bed and lay next to me. He started humming and I watched this with tears in my own eyes before I closed them.

I’d seen his face that day at band rehearsal, when I owned up to what his songs made me feel. He had that knowing smile on his face because I did know his voice.

That is why his songs made me feel like that. He must have sang many times to me when I was still able to see and hear him.

I started to cry as I knew I was so stupid for thinking at a stage that this was a spell.

It wasn’t. He knew me better than I knew myself. He was always there. Becky was right, it’s why they changed after they woke up. It wasn’t an abrupt, instant kind of emotion they experienced, an enchantment as I thought it was. It was a bond created over years and years, one that would never be broken. They were invisible, ignored by us for such a long time and that was why when the process was over, they just wanted to be with us. Because we couldn’t see or hear them for so long.

The image changed again and I was thirteen.

I’d had a fight with Herbert. He was forcing me to come with him. He looked extra worried this time and I didn’t know why.

I stayed in this memory for about two days. I saw how we moved, saw how we found a new place. I’d called him paranoid so many times and remembered how I’d hated the new school.

On the first night, Blake and Herbert watched the news as I did my homework at the kitchen counter of the new place.

“No, Elena,” Blake said as he looked down at my paper. “Y is 85.” I smiled watching him. He was trying to help me with my homework even though I couldn’t hear him.

He just shook his head. It was so frustrating for him.

Then something on the TV got both their attentions. It was a murder. My father turned the TV up louder.

The real me listened too.

My father closed his eyes, opened them and stroked his face. “It’s the last one,” he whispered.

Thirteen-year-old Elena looked at him. “What’s the last one, Dad?”

“Nothing, Bear. You want me to help you with your homework?” he said and I looked at the TV screen as he switched the volume lower again.

Blake stared at the TV too, and was deep in thought.

The last one. The last of the men. Fox had tried that long to find us. He’d killed all the dragons that had made an oath to protect me. That’d kept me safe and I’d had no idea that any of this was happening. They’d warned my father each and every time. Probably helped us getting away too, distracted Fox’s team and end up dying.

I was only thirteen. How had he known the other three years?

The image span again.

I’d fallen asleep on the couch and my father was watching a movie. It was movie night almost every Friday.

He was watching one of those spy movies, he’d loved those.

Blake was sitting on the edge of the sofa I was sleeping on and then he went rigid.

He jumped up and vanished. He’d never vanished before.

Minutes later he appeared again. He was beside himself and crouched in front of my father. “Herbert you need to leave, he’s coming!” he shouted. My father didn’t hear him. Blake tried a couple more times, got up and grunted. He walked over to me.

“Elena, wake up,” he begged, but I didn’t. My own heart was pounding as I remembered this night too. My father threw me over his shoulder and forced me into the truck because I didn’t want to leave.

He then looked at the TV and stared at it. He closed his eyes.

I stared at him What was he doing? He just sat there. Until one of the actors addressed my father. Herbert’s bowl of popcorn flew in the air.

“Herbert,” the actor said again. “He’s coming, get your ass off that couch, now,” Blake spoke and the actor spoke his words. It was so weird. Then the actor went back to his lines, answering the actress. My father spoke to him again, but the actor didn’t answer.

I looked at Blake who swayed a bit as if he was drunk.

My father just sat there, trying to make sense of what had happened, and then it was as if life came back into him and he did as the actor Blake had used had told him.

It was Blake who had warned my father?

The image spun again and I found myself fighting with my dad. I didn’t want to go this time, just like all the other times. Blake just stood against the wall with his fingers clamping his nose.

“Just do something,” Blake grunted.

Herbert threw me over his shoulder as if he’d heard Blake, and walked out of the house.

The image spun again and it stopped on me sitting in one of my other rooms. I was about fifteen years old.

I was doing homework on my bed. Blake was sitting on the chair at my desk staring at me.

He sighed. “How long is this going to last?” he screamed at the ceiling.

“Why are you doing this? It’s useless if she can’t see me, IT’S CRUEL!” he huffed with a small chuckle escaping his mouth.

“I can’t do this anymore.” He didn’t get an answer and I had no idea who he was talking to. Fifteen-year-old me was just sitting on the bed. To think that was only four years ago.

The room spun again.

This time they were short. It was of all the times Blake had warned Herbert. A couple of times was through the TV. One was the anchor woman who read the news. It was so funny to see her speaking to my father, telling him that they were coming again.

My father always obliged and I wondered if my dad knew that it was my dragon that had warned him those times.

A couple of times he’d used the radio. He would speak through the radio and I was always in a different room.

The image swirled and stopped again.

I was walking from school, Blake was walking next to me with his hands in his jeans. He didn’t look happy. I wouldn’t have been either.

I stopped when I saw Mitsy, the stray cat I used to feed, and gave her one of my sandwiches.

Blake sat on the dustbin. “So you are going to the dance with Trevor, Elena?” he asked but I didn’t answer him. I just stroked the cat and the real me started to laugh. This was why he looked so pissed off, because Trevor had asked me to the dance.

He shook his head and walked up the stairs of the house. I followed him.

He disappeared through the door again and I opened it. Music blared from the kitchen.

“Dad, I’m home.”

“Kitchen!” he yelled.

This was the day. The day my dad had died.

I laughed as I saw my father cooking up a storm, grabbing a spoon as all of us entered the kitchen. I loved this, missed this, so much.

He mimicked the song and threw a huge performance for me. I followed his lead and then we just laughed.

Blake just watched this and finally got rid of his foul mood.

My father dished up.

“So I take it that today was a good day?”

“The best,” my father said and turned down the music as he placed two plates of coq-au-vin in front of us. He grabbed my face gently. “I, my little Bear, I just sold my uniflex idea to Google.”

“For the love of blueberries, you are kidding right?!”

He laughed.

I never said that anymore. I used to all the time, but not anymore.

Blake just laughed.

It was annoying now that I thought about it. Who says that?

We talked about staying, no more moving and getting the rust bucket I always wanted. It would’ve been my first wheels.

“So since we are staying can I ask you something?”

“Does it involve a boy?”

“Say no, Herbert,” Blake said, which made me laugh.

“You could say that,” me from the memory said.

“Okay who do I have to kill?” my father asked and Blake grinned.

“Nobody, but there is a dance this Friday.”

My father grunted. “Am I going to at least meet this boy?”

“Fine, whatever.”

“On one condition,” my father said and Blake walked over.

“Make it a hard one,” he said and the real me laughed again.

“Please don’t let it be a stupid riddle. I suck at those.”

“It’s not a difficult one, c’mon.”

“Fine, let’s hear it.”

“What weighs a ton when moving forward but not when you move it back?”

“What!”

Blake had a satisfying grin on his face.

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“It’s easy, Elena. It’s in the answer.”

“Do I have at least a couple of hours?”

“Sure, but you know the rules. No Google, Bing or Yahoo. I’ll know if you cheated.”

“Fine,” I got up. “I might as well kiss this dance goodbye.” I went to my room.

Blake sat with me for hours.

“It’s Ton,” he said. “But you can’t hear me.”

I moved over to my bed and put on my iPod. As I plugged in my ear phones I knew what song played. I remembered it like yesterday. It was one about a miracle and I kept thinking that I needed a miracle to decipher that riddle so that I could have a normal life. It made me think about us moving around so many times, not knowing the reason why. Now it was as if I’d relived it through both their eyes.

Blake froze again and vanished, just like all the other times.

I went outside my room and only reached the top of the stairs. I couldn’t move further down but I could see him sitting on the couch. Herbert was watching a football game.

How was he going to get through to him? The quarterback stopping waving, telling him it was time to hike the ball.

Then Blake came back. I could move again and found myself in the living room.

Blake looked at the screen. “You’ve got to be shitting me,” he said as he saw the football game.

He looked around and saw the radio. It was off but he still went over and closed his eyes. It turned on and my father jumped and looked at it.

“Herbert, they’re coming,” he spoke through a frequency. This time it was his own voice.

“Who is this?” my father spoke to the radio.

“There is no time, they are coming in fast.”

“Please I’m begging you, just tell me.”

“I’m a friend. Someone that would never hurt her.”

My father’s face fell and he just stared at the radio. “Blake.”

“Just do as I say, please.”

My father nodded and rushed up to my room.

My dad knew? Even though it must have not made any sense to him. He’d known before he died.

Blake rushed up the steps and walked through the door like a ghost again. I followed and found him trying to help, to get my ass moving. I walked over to him. “I’m so sorry that I ever thought this was a spell or an enchantment. I’m sorry about so many things.”

I wanted to touch his face as everyone was speaking at the same time. The old me yelling at my father, Herbert throwing my clothes in a suitcase, but my hand just moved through Blake. I was invisible. He knew everything I’d gone through and now I knew that he knew. The yin-yang had gotten it all wrong. It’s not in every good is a bit of bad and every bad is a bit of good. It’s this. He was a part of me and I was a part of him.

We both disappeared and I opened my eyes, finding him still sitting with his head against mine back underneath the trees.

“That really happened?”

“Shhhh, you can’t tell anyone.”

I nodded. I understood now why none of them told anybody. Their enemies would definitely kill us if they knew. It would destroy them.

“Something doesn’t make sense, Blake. If all of that really happened, it means you warned Herbert. It means that you knew before I even entered Paegeia and still….”

“I didn’t Elena.”

“Then how?”

“That is one part I don’t know the answer to, but that really happened.”

“It was two different times. When you went through that…” I froze and looked at him.

“What?”

“It’s like you jumped back in time.”

“That’s what the Dent is, Elena.”

His face fell as if he was in some sort of pain.

“What is it?”

He shook it off and smiled softly at me again. “Now you know how much I love you, and that I always will.”

Tears lingered in his eyes.

What is he not telling me?

A familiar feeling emerged in the pit of my stomach. One I’d felt only two times before. Why did it feel like I was never going to see him again?

Our eyes met again and I just grabbed him and kissed him like I’d never kissed him before.

Blake.

I WOKE UP and a tear rolled down my cheeks.

That felt so real.

I looked at Elena’s lifeless body.

My Essence hadn’t worked. She was hooked up to machines that made a soft peep every few seconds.

Today was the day Constance was going to switch off everything.

But I’d placed an enchantment over her, one that would preserve her body as if she was just in a deep sleep, and not dead.

I needed to find my last two orbs. They would become whatever I needed. They just had to become what I needed them now to become.

I climbed off the bed and the door opened. Constance and my mother walked in.

“Blake.”

“Mom, please. Just wait. The enchantment will hold.”

“Your father isn’t going to be able…”

“HE needs to, for me. Please!” I yelled at her, cutting her off. “I can’t live without her. Just wait until I have all my orbs. I can fix this.”

Constance and Mom both gasped and looked at me with huge eyes.

“What do you mean you can fix this?” Constance asked. “Nothing can bring the dead back to life, Blake you know that.”

I nodded. I did know that. But that was not what I need them for.

“I need to find my orbs. Just don’t let them bury her, because then it’s over.”

I walked over to her bed and my lips touched her cheek softly.

She still smelled like her, she was still warm. I breathed in her smell, what made her her, and a tear rolled over my cheek. I shut my eyes. I couldn’t bear to leave her, but I had no choice.

That dream had felt so real, as if I could reach her mind again. As if I’d finally got through to her about what the Dent was, but I knew it wasn’t her. It was me, wanting it to be her. I’d gotten better and better at it every time I’d showed her that. She would become more real, the way I remembered her.

She didn’t know anything, because if she did know what she meant to me she would’ve opened her eyes like I’d told her to that day. It’s all she has to do!

Those questions she’d asked. She’d never asked them before but it was something that had been in the back of my mind for a long time. Did I jump back into the past? That kiss… it was how I’d always wanted to kiss her, but I was afraid that it would unlock memories again and then she would end up ignoring me. She would never be afraid anymore if she would just wake up. I knew how hard it was. I didn’t want to wake up either.

“Soon, I’ll see you soon. I promise.”

I sniffed, kissed her on her head one last time and got up. I didn’t pay any attention to my mom and aunt, and walked out the door.

It had been a month since Etan had been freed, and she was one of the many that had been lost to us.

I needed to find my orbs.

ELENA

“I CAN’T LET you do that,” a male voice said.

No reply came.

“But there are no limits when it comes to your breed. You should’ve never let them become this.”

Still he didn’t receive a reply.

“If you find what you’re looking for, you need to understand one thing. Someone needs to take her spot. Someone that’s alive now.” Silence filled the air for a few seconds. “Are you ready to play God?”

Still no reply.

“And it’s the only way. Death can’t be cheated. Do you understand the consequences?”

It was quiet for a long time.

“I understand,” the other person said and I gasped. It was Blake.

More voices filled my head. “Please,” Sir Robert begged. “Wait for Blake.”

I could hear someone sobbing. It was a man.

“Just wait for him.”

I opened my eyes and closed them immediately. My heart stammered as if I was in a confined space, but the light, the bright light that came with it, didn’t make any sense.

I opened them again. It was so close and I wanted to close my eyes again, but they zoomed out immediately, leaving me with a slight headache.

I wasn’t in a confined space, I was staring at the sky, clouds, and small cherubs with arrows. It didn’t make any sense.

I realized then that it was not moving and it was not actually the sky, it was paint. It was a ceiling, a painted ceiling.

Noise filled my ears. Loud noises, people speaking all at once, a jack hammer, commands being shouted, as a stronger pain jolted through my mind. A horrible smell burned my nostrils. What was this?

I grunted. It sounded like a scream but I knew I hadn’t yelled, I’d hardly made any effort to make that noise.

“Elena!” Becky’s voice overpowered all the others. It was so loud.

“Go get Constance, now!” she yelled again.

“Can you please stop yelling?”

She didn’t say anything, but I could hear her sobbing. It was loud too. Why on earth was Becky sobbing, she wasn’t the kind of person who cried?

Becky reached me. Tears streamed down her cheeks but a huge smile appeared on her face. She was happy. “Sorry, I wish I could. It’s the Essence, Elena. You need to get used to it,” she whispered but it sounded so loud. It didn’t make any sense.

“Wait,” I yelled and I grunted again. I hadn’t meant to yell. “The Essence,” I whispered too, but whispers weren’t whispers anymore. When I was a dragon, I’d never heard things this intensely before.

What Essence? I remembered Blake in the forest showing me what the Dent was and all at once images of what happened before jolted through my head.

My father, I killed my father. He was the Saadedine. Was Blake okay?

I jolted up.

“Shhhh,” Becky said.

The door opened and Constance rushed in. She grabbed her stethoscope and placed it over my chest. It was so cold.

Sammy sobbed too and I turned my head to look at her. She climbed on my bed and gave me an awkward hug as Constance checked my vital signs.

Sammy’s smelled like lilies and roasted almonds. It overpowered my sense of smell this time. I breathed in softer, not that it helped.

Another shriek came and I clutched my head again.

“Softer, please,” Becky whispered. She was so loud and I just stared at Constance. She started to shake with tears as she just listened through her stethoscope and then flung her arms around me, pulling me into her chest.

“I thought you were gone.”

My eyes flew opened. “What?”

I plugged my nose as I couldn’t handle the smell of violets anymore. “What is happening to me?”

“It’s the Essence,” she smiled and touched my chest with her palm. I flinched as it still hurt. I lifted up my shirt and saw a bandage right between my breasts.

“You can tune it out, Elena. Just think about what you want to do, and turn it down like you do with a radio.” Becky crouched in front of me.

“How do you know this?”

She lifted up her shirt and showed me her bandage too.

Blake. That feeling. “Where is Blake?” I asked as tears lingered in my eyes. Why did he show me that if… he can’t be dead. He just can’t be.

“Shhhh, Blake went to look for his orbs. He’s been gone for almost a month now. We don’t know what it does but he said that it would help bring you back.” She smiled. “I think he just succeeded.”

The conversation before I’d woken up. It was an unknown male voice, speaking about death, how it all worked. If someone that is dead wants to be alive again, then a sacrifice of someone alive has to be made. Blake had answered, “I understand.”

“No!” I yelled, sounding deranged.

“Calm down. It’s not a bad thing, Elena.”

“Death doesn’t work like that, Constance.”

“I know, we told him numerous times, Elena, but…” She shook her head. “He went to look for his orbs, he will be back.”

“He’s not going…” I couldn’t say it as he’d given his life to save mine.

“Shhhh, don’t think like that. We need to hope, Elena.”

I didn’t have to hope. I knew he wasn’t going to make it back. He was gone. It was why I’d heard those voices and the forest had been our last goodbye. He loved me so much that… I couldn’t think anymore. I just cried.

The bond jumped into my mind. I’d heard him when he said it wasn’t Helmut, it was Goran. I could hear Blake, the bond was working again.

I closed my eyes trying to feel for him, but I couldn’t. It was so easy before, I’d just heard him, and now he wasn’t there, he just wasn’t.

Please just come back, I begged. Why was I hoping?

“Elena, he will come back, we have to believe that,” Constance said as she cupped my face with both her hands.

The door opened again. I didn’t look.

“Elena,” a familiar voice said and I opened my eyes, looking at Constance. She smiled.

I turned my head slowly to the door and saw the man I’d only seen once before. He looked different, skinnier, he had a slight burn against his cheek that walked all the way down to his neck. He was older too. But his eyes, his eyes were mine and tears streamed down his face.

He rushed over with a cane and fell on my bed, flinging his arms around me.

“I told you not to come and save Etan. I made that very clear. You promised.”

“Dad!” I took deep breaths. “I didn’t kill you.”

He pushed me away to look at me and then kissed my face so many times. Just like Constance had when she’d been reunited with Annie. We both started to cry, and he just held me tight.

“Elena,” Sir Robert’s voice was behind my father and he hugged both of us at once.

“I’ll try to get word to Blake,” he spoke and my father nodded.

When he let go of me, all the others were gone.

“Look at you. You look so much like your mother.”

I wanted to laugh but my lip vibrated again.

“Shhh, he will return.”

I sniffed hard and tried to hold on to that he had found whatever he was looking for, which could only be me. I had to hold on to that. I nodded. “And I don’t. I look like you. Or so everyone kept telling me.”

He started to laugh.

I looked around. I didn’t know this room. It wasn’t the infirmary and it wasn’t the manor. It had the most beautiful cherubs floating on the ceiling and the room was huge. There was a large fireplace, plenty of closets, and a big table with chairs. The light was dimmed but bright lights still dangled at the edges of everything, like the outside was filled with bright light and it was desperately trying to get in. To blind me. “Where are we?”

My father looked at me with soft green eyes. “It’s your room, or it would’ve been.”

“We’re in Etan?”

“We can move if you don’t want to be here, sweet pea. I’ll understand. I just didn’t want to move you. But now, anywhere you want, we can move to the palace in Tith if that’s what you like, or the one in Areeth.”

I shook my head when he said Tith and he sighed.

“Robert told me that you and Lucian… he was a good boy, Elena.”

I smiled. “It’s fine Dad. We can stay here. If this is my home, it’s my home. We don’t need to move.” A soft smile spread over my face. “Besides, I don’t think King Helmut and Queen Marguerite would appreciate it if we crashed at their place.”

My father didn’t laugh, his face fell. “Helmut didn’t make it. He killed Goran, and died in the process. They were found with a steel beam pressed through both their bodies.”

“What!” I cried. My father held me tight as I just succumbed. Queen Marguerite jumped through my mind at once. She’d lost every single member of her family. “Where is the queen, Dad?”

More tears filled his eyes.

“Please don’t say it. Please.”

“She couldn’t cope with it, Elena. I wanted her to live here, but she said she wanted to be left alone. Emanual stayed with her, and Constance checked up on her every day, and one morning, they found her body on the shore. She’d jumped.”

I sobbed again as my father cupped my head with both his hands. “If I knew she would do that, I would’ve taken more precautions. I’m so sorry.”

He hugged me again.

“Why did you break your promise?” he asked. “I told you that I couldn’t live in a world where you didn’t exist.” He looked at me again. “I thought I’d lost you too.”

“I didn’t break your promise. I found myself in Etan by mistake. I lived here for four months and I didn’t even know it.”

“I know, Blake told me.” His face became hard and he sniffed. “I also know what happened to you here, Elena. If you want to move…”

“Dad, I told you, I don’t, okay. This is my home and none of those boys are going to drive me away from my birthplace.”

He sniffed. “They won’t ever touch you like that again, Elena. Blake made sure of it.”

“What?” A cold finger traced up my spine. He’d found them.

“I wanted to set them free, give them a second chance, until Blake laid a claim on their life, told me what they’d done to you. I wanted to kill them myself but Robert said that it was Blake’s job, he needed to deal with it. So, I gave them over to him.”

“He killed them?”

“They deserved it, Elena. I’ve always done what was right for Paegeia, we don’t need more followers of Goran hanging around. This world needs to heal, these people need to heal.” He was angry. “I had to do what I had to do to let that begin. I wasn’t going to let my daughter live in fear of evil… I told you not to free Etan.” He was still angry at me, and if I’d lost Blake, I would regret saving him the rest of my life.

But still. “I know. It wasn’t my promise alone. I’m not that type of Dragonian, Dad.”

He smiled, took a deep breath and shook his head. “You are just like your mother. Stubborn as hell. I wish you could’ve known her, Elena. She wanted you so badly. I wanted you so badly.”

“I know, I read her journals, Dad.”

“You did?” He smiled and wiped one of my tears away with his thumb. “She would’ve been an amazing mother, Elena.”

“I know.”

THREE MONTHS had passed. They went so slowly as my heart was still bleeding. It waited for the other part to reunite, but every night I sat on my sill, looking at the moon, waiting to see the outline of him in the night light. Nothing of that sort happened.

Images of what my father as the Saadedine had done before my axes struck him flashed through my mind.

I was wild at that moment, as he was busy tearing off Blake’s wing. I didn’t think and then a spear struck me. It was Goran. He’d wanted me to die so badly, ever since the day he’d seen me through the Dragonian’s eyes. The last thing I saw was the Saadedine turning into my father and then I’d woken up in that forest with Blake, unable to remember anything. Had he been saying goodbye? Finally able to show me what the Dent was, that he would love me forever and ever, but we would never get that forever?

Sure, they’d told me that he was looking for his last two orbs, but I couldn’t help but think that he was dead and they were just waiting for the right time, for when I was better, stronger, to tell me the truth.

I heaved a deep sigh and touched my scar. It would take months to heal and Constance changed my bandages twice a day for the first month after I’d awoken. The bandage was finally gone but the scar, the scar was still there. She couldn’t heal me with her touch anymore. I had to heal myself from now on with my healing ability, but it was slow, as if the Keeper of my abilities was gone. That was the other reason why I kept wondering if he was dead: I couldn’t wield my abilities anymore.

Still what he had done for me, giving me a piece of his Essence was the only part that told me that he hadn’t died in that cave. He’d been alive before I passed out and slipped into my two month coma. I had to believe that it was a coma and that I hadn’t been dead. It meant he hadn’t found me and hadn’t sacrificed himself to save me.

I’d finally found a way to tune out my new enhanced senses. The first couple of days were hard. The horrible smell, it wasn’t a horrible smell at all, it was all the smells of the world mixed together. I could smell them now, I just needed to control them, force each smell I wanted to enter first, followed by the second. It was quite an amazing ability to be honest.

It felt as if I was a dragon myself again.

The hearing was the same. For weeks everyone had to whisper; even though it sounded so loud, it was only a whisper. The best way I can explain it is that it sounded like someone whispering through a microphone.

My eyes were the best. I could zoom in and out like a photographer’s lens, but better. There were limits with photographers, there weren’t with my enhanced sight. It became my favorite sense too as I could see the night sky from my sill as if I was playing through the clouds myself.

A lot had happened since I’d woken up. I had a lot to deal with too.

Tabitha and Peter had both died. She’d lived her entire life as a coward, but had stepped up when she was needed. Not all the explosives went off as planned and the others on the other side couldn’t get through, so Tabitha and Peter had this brilliant plan that would end their lives but it had worked. They flew into the Creepers fast with a bomb attached to Tabitha. The minute it went off, the Creepers that already had my blood in them from the first explosion started to crumble and fall.

Plenty saw that it was working and eight other brave dragons lost their lives that way too.

They sacrificed themselves so the others could get through.

I guessed Tabitha couldn’t live without Blake in her life either. Peter wasn’t enough. But he’d stuck with her. Died with her.

Julia was another dragon who had died. A Wyvern killed her.

The entire McKenzie line was gone. In a hundred years nobody would even know who they were.

The only family that was left was Nichole but they carried a different last names.

Many of the special ops guys died too. Fred, the guy that was with us and Raymond also.

I’d liked Raymond.

But the most painful loss was Dean.

Sammy had almost lost her life too. She’d gotten hit with a huge harpoon and scorched plenty of guys, but a Wyvern killed Dean in the process. They found her barely alive.

I’d cried with Sammy so many times. If Blake wasn’t going to return, she hadn’t just lost her rider, the man she’d loved and who had adored her, but her brother as well.

Maybe we would team up after all, maybe not. I contemplated it as I struggled to see that future.

Fin-Tails, Copper-Horns, Night Villains, even Sun-Blasts. They all fought and a lot of them perished, but we’d won.

War was never a beautiful affair.

But good had happened too.

I now had a chance to know that man who they referred to as the Greatest King Who Had Ever Lived, personally. He was my father. It didn’t matter how busy he was, or in what meeting he was in trying to figure out the process of healing this world and his people, between two to five every day, he spent time with me.

We spoke about so many things, he even started teaching me the things the Council had tried, but coming from him, with all his personal experiences with these people, it made it so much easier to remember the things that I should’ve learned months ago. We spoke a lot about Mom too. He admitted that in the time before her death, she was desperate to find whoever was going to betray us, and that she blamed him for not trying as hard as she had. It wasn’t the truth though, just the way she had seen it.

My room was filled with black and white pictures of her, making faces, just being happy, laughing. There was even one of her playing in the rain. She was so beautiful and so extraordinarily vibrant. It was sad that she’d become consumed with grief and stopped living. He tried to speak about Blake as well, but I always told him that I was tired. That I needed to rest. I didn’t want to speak about Blake.

I didn’t know if he knew for sure what Blake’s fate was. But I refused to believe that he would lie to me because of what had happened to Queen Marguerite.

Sammy and Becky practically lived in the castle. Becky’s hands were filled with two sad cases but she made sure that we laughed on occasion, and she too tried to give us hope that Blake would return.

Sir Robert was a different dragon now that my father was back. He was fierce again.

Becky’s Dad was one of my father’s loyal men that had made it out alive with him.

I’d been in a coma and hadn’t seen most of the reunions, they’d made a big fuss about it through the media.

Lucille had been beyond herself when she saw him, or so I’d heard. They were still on their second honeymoon, where I don’t know, not even Becky knew, but she talked to him every night.

My father gave them all a choice, they could still serve the country or retire. Most of them, including Etienne, wanted to get away from Etan as fast as possible. I didn’t blame him.

My father’s hearing with the Council came soon. I didn’t think that they would’ve done that to him, but he looked ready.

I sat next to my father in front of the Ancients.

I had to suppress my smile on numerous occasions, as they forgot who he was. The day hadn’t started off like that though…

“DO I REALLY have to go? The Council and Ancients are not huge fans of mine, Dad.”

“It is the first meeting we will be together, Elena. I would love for you to be there, please.” I had the feeling that they weren’t huge fans of my father either and that just maybe he didn’t love these meetings either.

I nodded.

He smiled, kissed me on my head. “That’s my sweet pea.”

I loved his nickname for me; he’d used it a lot too, just like I used to say “for the love of blueberries.”

I put on my best clothes for today’s meeting and went with my father, Sir Robert and a couple of guards I’d used to see hanging around the Castle of Tith.

We went to the City Hall in Tith. I hated that hall.

My father and Sir Robert were speaking softly. His recovery was going well, but he still walked with his cane and there were times that I wondered how he’d got the burn scar on his face and neck. Whenever it had happened, the two never spoke about it in front of me.

Sir Robert started to laugh and my father and I looked at him.

“What is it?” my father asked through a huge grin.

“Just Blake.”

I smiled too thinking about the day he’d destroyed the City Hall.

“Should I be worried?”

“Not the least, Al. Just after he Dented, Elena didn’t make it easy on him.”

My father laughed softly. “Your mother would’ve loved knowing that. She was always worried about the future. About this Dent since the day she found out we were having a baby girl. What did he do?”

“The Council and Ancients have changed, Al. A lot. I can’t prepare you for what you are about to find.”

“We’ve all changed, Bob.”

“You know about them trying to strip away her title. What I forgot to tell you was they forgot to inform Blake about the hearing, they never sent him an invitation and somehow he got one.”

I smiled as it was Pappi who had made sure Blake had gotten his invitation.

“He almost destroyed the City Hall to get to her. The way he used to speak to them, it embarrassed me for many years, but that day, I was the proudest father there ever was.”

My father just stared at him. “What?”

We both laughed.

“Oh, I wasn’t happy either, Dad. But they said it was against their Dragon Law not to have informed him.”

Sir Robert laughed. “Breaking down the walls is not what your father is referring to Elena.”

“They disrespected the Dragon Law?” my father asked in a serious tone.

“One of the things that has changed, Al. They use it whenever they see fit.”

“Robert, how could you just let them do that?” All jokes were suddenly gone.

“How, you really want me to answer that?”

My father just stared at him. I knew now what they meant about my father and Sir Robert sharing their own, different kind of bond. They lifted each other’s spirits. He bent over and leaned with his forehead against Sir Robert’s. “Even if I was dead, Bob. You had responsibilities to all dragons.”

“They tortured me because they thought I was the one that betrayed you. If it wasn’t for Helmut…”

My flesh erupted with goosebumps, it was intense.

My father took a deep breath and sat back in his seat.

“Even if I wanted to Al, they wouldn’t have listened to me. If Blake wasn’t the Rubicon, believe me, my family wouldn’t be here today.”

My father turned his head and just stared out the window, thinking.

Maybe it had finally sunk in how much everything had changed.

The carriage landed in front of the City Hall and reporters rushed toward us.

My heart started to beat but my father, even if he felt the way I did, didn’t show it.

Sir Robert climbed out first and cameras went off. I huffed when they addressed him as Sir Robert again, asking him all sorts of questions.

My father closed the door. “What is that about?”

“Didn’t you hear what they did to him, Dad? They’ve only started to address him as Sir Robert again the day everyone found out you were still alive. Actually, not even then. It was the day you were reunited with him.”

He squinted first and closed his eyes as his jaw muscles pumped.

“You don’t have to be here today, Dad. Wait, see what they’ve became like first, prepare yourself, please.”

He smiled and touched my face softly. “It’s good to have someone care again. I’ll be fine, Elena.”

He took a deep breath and opened the door.

I feared that he really wasn’t ready for any of this. But to be honest, I wasn’t ready for what followed either.

My father smiled, waved and even stopped to shake hands with some of the reporters. He spoke to them as if they were humans, not cockroaches. He answered so many questions as he walked toward the entrance of City Hall. They all laughed at his responses. It was as if he was a different type of dragon breed himself. One that charmed everyone, that made them forgot what they were, and about their job.

I smiled.

Sir Robert caught the admiration on my face “Now you know why everyone called him the Greatest King That Ever Lived.”

“Because of the way he spoke to reporters?”

Sir Robert chuckled as my father wrapped his arms around an older lady to take a picture. “No, because your father treated everyone as if they were someone important.”

I looked at my father again. He sure was amazing with all of them.

When we reached the stairs, my father turned around, waved at everyone and held out his hand for mine. I took it and we walked up the steps to the entrance.

Stan and his gang were waiting, as one of the guards opened the City Hall’s door for us to enter. I was glowing inside as my father knew what the cockroach had done, but they all bowed down low.

“Please, Stan, get up,” my father addressed him. He didn’t even look at me.

“I need to thank you for taking care of Elena, trying to teach her everything that she needed to learn in such short time. It comes from my heart, thank you.” My father bowed his head to Stan, gave him a warm smile and walked on again.

I just stared at him. I wasn’t the only one. Stanley was confused too and he hardly looked at me and then back down. “Princess.”

I didn’t greet him at all, walking with huge strides after my father. How could he have thanked him? I’d told him what he and his team had done to me when I’d just discovered I was the princess.

Everyone on the Council bowed as my father entered. He also bowed down gracefully and walked over to one of the two chairs that were in front of the Ancients who weren’t on their thrones yet.

My father should be up there, not those old farts.

I sat down next to him.

Sir Robert was not standing behind my father. It bothered him and he looked at me through narrow eyes.

“Told you,” I spoke softly and my father’s face turned emotionless as if my reply just didn’t bother him anymore.

He looked at me again and I looked away.

He wielded a shield around us. I knew it as the twitter of the others started to disappear instantly.

“You are upset because I thanked Stan?”

“He didn’t deserve a thank you from you.”

He chuckled. “You are so much like your mother. She would’ve probably ordered a restraining order on him for the way he treated you.”

“I don’t want to know what Mom would’ve done. She’s not here, but you are. He treated me like shit, Dad. Threatened to take our money away. Was part of the team who wanted to strip me of my title.”

My father laughed, which made me even angrier. “Even if he wanted to Elena, he couldn’t. He was manipulating you. And got away with it.”

“So it’s my fault?”

“That’s not what I said,” he spoke softly. “Getting a thank you from someone with my sort of status, Elena, is harder than a punishment. Believe me, you will get your apology from him, it might not be in front of millions of people, or the cameras, but it will be sincere and from the heart.”

I just stared at my father as I thought about it.

“You think that I’m not livid with him for how he treated you? I am furious, but I’m also a king. We have to strategize to get what we want. You are my daughter, Elena, and it’s time they respect and accept that.”

I nodded. “Sorry, I really suck at this.” I was referring to the strategizing part.

“What, being my daughter? I think you are doing an excellent job.” He gave me a one armed hug and a kiss on the temple.

The shield vanished as the Ancients walked through the doors and took their seats.

Pappi smiled as he saw me and nodded toward my father who nodded back.

I wondered if my dad knew about him being Mom’s great, great, great-great-great grandfather.

They all addressed my father like they did with everyone, nothing special, like he deserved. My father took all of their questions, even the harsh ones.

It made me furious again as I couldn’t see the end result of this. Why was he so friendly and obedient? He was the King of Paegeia for crying out loud.

My Pappi didn’t like it either. He stared at Duclin with all his questions and I knew where it was going to lead to.

Then Sir Robert got up.

“Sit down, Dragon,” Duclin said and he stared at Sir Robert. He didn’t wanted to but after a while he did. It was as if an invisible force did it for Sir Robert against his will.

I looked at my father who looked at Duclin again.

“What is your reply, Albert?”

“Let me get this straight, you want to disown millennia of bloodlines from the throne of Paegeia? Is that it?”

“Not in those precise words, but it is time a stronger bloodline takes on this responsibility.”

“Let me guess, a dragon bloodline, like your own bloodline perhaps, your honor?” My father sounded calm, as if he were really thinking about giving up his birthright.

“I don’t see why not. This is after all the dragons’ world.”

“And yet you order your will on your subjects?” my father said and Duclin squinted. “What will I do to my people if you can’t even listen to what dragons have to say? What voice will humans and shifters have?”

“There are other elite dragon families, Albert.”

“Other dragons.” My father smiled. “And who is going to follow these other dragons?”

“Your family has had this world for a long time, it’s time to stand down.”

“And when danger comes again, who will this world turn to, those dragon that will rule Paegeia?” My father was still calm.

“Remember who you are talking to,” Duclin said through gritted teeth.

My father smiled at him. “Precisely because of that, I will not stand down. If you don’t like it, then we can sort it out like they used to in the old days.” Everyone gasped. How did they sort it out in the old days? “But just remember what runs through my veins, and I will bring my sword and shield to defend my right and my people’s right.”

“Is that a threat?”

“I don’t need to make threats, Duclin. I’m the King of Paegeia, and so was my father, and his father before him. We were chosen by the greater power to rule this world. When the greater power chooses you, or your bloodline, I promise you He will let me know and I will step down. But there is no dragon in this world that will run this country the way I will. Not yet.” The way he said that I knew he was referring to Blake. As if he believed with all his heart he was going to come back too. It gave me hope.

“I’m what my people need to heal and to have peace. And whoever is going to stand in my way will cause another war. I’m not afraid of those, as I have one of the most noble and strongest dragon’s fighting at my side.”

I could see Sir Robert’s chest rising slightly and a smile appeared at the corner of his lips. “I will not make you pay for all the unkindness you’ve bestowed on him and his family, but I think it’s time.”

“Time for what?” Duclin spat.

“Time to take that vote. Our forefathers put you five up there, I think it’s time to rethink who our next Ancient team is going to be, as some of you are a bit clouded about what is best for Paegeia and all its inhabitants here.”

“You cannot do that. Like you said, only your forefathers could do that.”

“They are dead and no longer have a say in this world.” My father’s tone was slightly stronger, but still calm. “Aye, for a new Council.” My father lifted up his hand. I looked at Pappi and he had a smile on his face. He closed his eyes and laid back as if he’d been waiting for this for a long time.

I lifted up my hand too. “Aye.”

One by one all the Council members lifted up their hands, even King Caleb.

My Pappi opened his eyes and lifted up his hand.

Duclin look at him. “You fool, you are on this Council. Lower your hand.”

“King Albert is right. He is the best for this world and his people. I thought you had learned by now that you cannot strip this family line of their title. It’s who they are, and it’s who they will always be for millennia to come. Aye.”

The others just stared at the floor and three more lifted up their hands.

“You can’t do this!”

“It is done. And if anyone mistreats the Dragon Law again they will be brought in for a hearing and sentenced by me. From now on, no dragon will ever not have a say when it comes to hearings. We fought years for them to have a voice, we killed our kind for them to have a voice, and we lost a lot of good men for them to have a voice, and lost really brave dragons for them to have a voice. My dragon belongs at my side and no hearing or meeting will ever tell him otherwise. They will be addressed accordingly as they deserve. To gain that title, it’s something that cannot be bought, only earned and nothing can take it away. Now if you’ll be so kind as to excuse me, I have a world to run.”

My father stood up, grabbed my hand and bowed down again.

The entire hall burst into applause.

Goosebumps flushed my skin as everyone got up, everyone except Duclin. It was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen and for the first time I didn’t regret saving him from Etan.

A smile appeared on my father’s face before we walked out.

I smiled again as I thought about that day. It was the first day I’d met my father’s patient side and his side that had given him the title of The Greatest King That Ever Lived.

He wasn’t the type that would change things because he wanted to, he was the type that changed things for the good of his people, and changing the board of the Ancients was for the best, as some of their minds were clouded, as he’d said.

It wasn’t a surprise either that he didn’t take Areeth away from Caleb. He believed in second chances and believed in his heart that Caleb deserved one, even if I didn’t.

But I trusted him.

Like he said, Caleb must have earned it too, in some way.

That wasn’t the only thing that happened. My father found love again.

They tried to hide it from me for a long time. And now that I thought about it, it was stupid for them to do so.

I thought she was at the palace to make sure that I was okay, getting healthy, getting the new hospital back on track, but she stayed longer than she should have.

And one night I caught them dancing on a balcony.

They both froze when they finally saw me standing on my opening—yes, the castle had those too. My father had built it for Blake.

“Elena.” It was the only thing he said.

“Dad,” I said back. I smiled softly and went back into my room.

My father didn’t waste any time after we spoke about that possibility, that drastic change, and wanted to know if I was ready for it.

I loved Constance, she was like the mother I’d never had. We shared a special bond and I just laughed as I gave her a hug.

“It’s about time, Dad.”

She really looked so embarrassed about all of this, and worried. But I wasn’t.

This weekend was the big day.

I tried to get a special message to Blake to return but again, no answer.

That conversation he’d had with someone, who I was sure now was death, replayed in my mind, every time I thought about it.

I was losing hope and I knew how Queen Marguerite had felt, well an inkling of it. She’d lost so much more.

I found out that my father had granted him passage, if he needed to go to the other side. We talked a lot about it too, as he was scared that I would do something I shouldn’t do.

I wondered if it was the Wall that blocked this new connection—well, old connection that had been lost, but had so recently been found again. Could it be, was there hope?

I missed his voice, his face. His arrogant ass. I ached to see him, but at what cost?

At night I would either sit on the ledge just waiting for him to come home or I would play all the albums he’d ever recorded and cry myself to sleep. I was becoming one of those girls. Pathetic, but I didn’t care anymore. I wanted him back.

“Your Highness,” a soft voice said over and over, and when my eyes jolted open, I found myself still on the window sill.

Simone, my lady who had a slight Scottish accent, was standing right at my side.

She just gave me a smile.

I nodded, looked one last time at the moon, jumped off the ledge and crawled into bed.

I didn’t dream about my first time in Etan and everything that happened anymore.

Since the night Blake changed all of them, they’d stopped. I had to say the times I’d spoken to Leo had helped me too. They were supposedly dark but they were very smart, had an effect on problems, which would give psychologists on the other side a run for their money.

I didn’t have to see him anymore, but my father still saw one from time to time. She was a woman, and I had to admit, he was getting better and better every week, especially at night.

We shared our ability to dream. In the beginning he used to wake up so many nights. He would storm into my room, almost giving me a heart attack and would just break down.

He would always ask me why I’d freed him. Always, even though he knew the answer.

Still we were all busy healing. The people of Etan were picking up the pieces. All the farmers got their land back. The ones that didn’t sell theirs started working their own lands again.

August found his dragon. He was on the other side and was going to attend Dragonia Academy a couple of weeks from now.

The hospitals were the first to start running again, then the other buildings started to pop up one by one. The farms and docks opened again with the help of many people

My father helped too. He rebuilt buildings alongside his people when he shouldn’t have, but that was just the type of man he was. A king people would remember for millennia and millennia. His greatness was already written in the stars.

THE WEDDING WAS beautiful. It was held in a cathedral that was as big as the coliseum itself. There were so many stores, and I’d never seen so many beautiful flowers and wedding decorations. My father, well it was as if they’d invited the entire kingdom to join in the celebration.

Gustav Mondaux made Constance’s dress and all our bridesmaid’s dresses.

I’d gotten to know him a while back when he was designing all my gowns for special occasions.

The theme of the wedding was Victorian, except for the hair. We all looked gorgeous wearing tiaras and my father looked like a king again with his traditional attire and crown on his head.

Lucille and Etienne were there also and I stared at them for a long time.

I’d never seen Lucille so happy, so beautiful and they had been inseparable since he came back.

Becky and George sat right next to them, then his parents followed. Sir Robert and a couple of his men were standing in front with my father.

Isabel and Sammy were sitting in one of the front seats. Almost all the Leafs were here… almost.

Arianna and her mom with all the first cousins and cousin’s cousins were there too.

I smiled when I saw Ty, Isaac and all of Blake’s band members with many of the shape shifters.

All the Council members were there, even arrogant Philip.

All had been forgiven.

Like I said, many people were here, even ones I’d never met before.

Master Longwei wore a traditional Chinese robe.

He walked Constance in and my heart broke again that his son had died so many years ago trying to free my father.

It wasn’t right for a parent to lose a child.

Annie and I both had tears in our eyes. She was standing right next to me and shared the duty of bridesmaid.

She’d come last night and I was surprised to find out that Emanual was her date.

It shouldn’t have surprised me, he’d helped her find her dragon form, and she’d finally changed a couple of weeks back. Now she was just learning how to be a dragon again. I’d spoken to him last night after she’d gone to bed.

He’d lost both the humans he’d given a part of his heart to and I knew it couldn’t have been easy on him.

“Annie helps a lot with the pain.” He smiled with a beer in his hand.

“She does that really well.” I smiled and he chuckled. “So is she the one for you, Emanual?” I had to know.

“I was wrong,” he said.

“About?”

“That only one like you is born every thousand years.”

“Well, she is a princess.”

He smiled. “That she is.”

“I’m happy for you Emanual, really. I can’t tell you how much. You deserve someone like her.”

He nodded and sighed. He took a sip of his beer and looked up at the moon. “He will come back, Elena. We have to believe that.”

“How do I believe that, Emanual?” I asked and my lower lip vibrated. “It’s been three months and there has been no sign of him. Not even a phone call.”

“Be patient.”

I huffed and wiped away my tears. “It seems that this relationship is all about patience.”

“It’s a good thing. That saying, all good things come to those who wait, it’s a strong and powerful saying, Elena.”

I nodded as dark thoughts crept into my soul. Blake was waiting for me on the other side, I knew that.

“I’m going to tell you what I once told him, Elena,” Emanual said and the look on his face was a sad one. “Just wait for proof before you do something drastic.”

I just looked at him. How did he know?

“I know that look. I searched with him when you were missing. Don’t deny it. I saw it with her too, and I knew what she would do if she had the chance. I fell asleep and when I woke up she was gone. I was too late.”

A tear lingered in his eyes.

I nodded and wiped away my own stray tear.

“I hate that saying so much. Be patient.”

He chuckled again, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Emanual knew and it didn’t even look as if he was going to try and stop me. He saw what Helmut’s death had done to Queen Marguerite. What all of their deaths had done to her.

That was last night, and I’d gotten pulled back to the wedding again as I stood next to Annie, still staring at Emanual. He caught me and just winked. I smiled and looked away.

My Pappi was there too. My father had chosen a different group of Ancients and they would only be called in if all the royals, including me and Constance, with Annie, Arianna and her mother with Caleb couldn’t agree.

It was no longer just the kings making decisions; everyone in the royal house had a say.

I dabbed away a tear when my father and Constance said their vows.

He looked at Constance with so much love, and kindness. I couldn’t imagine how he’d looked at my mom.

Constance said that his heart belonged to Katie, but I was glad that he’d given love a second chance. That he was finding happiness again.

The reception was an even a bigger event. We laughed at Sir Robert’s speeches, a couple of others made heartwarming speeches too. Annie did one as well and I couldn’t believe that she was my sister now.

There were no “step” in this family.

It was a good night.

We all ate and during dinner Sir Robert’s Cammy rang. I stared at him as he got up and went outside.

Every time his Cammy rang I thought that it was Blake, but he would’ve been here tonight if it was him. And every time he didn’t say anything or looked at me as he returned, I knew it wasn’t Blake. I just knew it, and it became clearer. He was dead. He’d found me and somehow they’d erased my memory of the afterlife and just let me keep our goodbye.

I pushed back the tears and my eyes caught Emanual’s again, sitting diagonally from me next to Annie.

Wait for confirmation, please, Emanual’s eyes begged. I gave a soft smile, and took a huge breath. Okay, I’ll wait for confirmation first. I was going to be patient.

Sir Robert was gone a long time and only after we were finished taking pictures with everyone in the ballroom did he return.

He went to my father and whispered something in his ear, which made my father smile and nod. I saw Sir Robert give the DJ that was playing tonight with an orchestra a nod and he took the podium again.

Was he going to sing? It wouldn’t surprise me, his son had an amazing voice.

“No, Elena, I’m not going to sing.”

“You can read my mind too?” I smiled but was scared that he could, cause he too would know what Emanual did.

“No, but that look on your face said it all.” Everyone laughed. “It is time to ask the lovely new couple to open the dance floor for us. The young want to start partying.”

“Hear, hear!” George said with a beer in his hand, and Becky smacked him playfully on his chest.

My dad and new mom walked hand in hand to the dance floor. She looked gorgeous, with white flowers in her silver blonde hair and the most beautiful gown. It was pure white with lace that clung to her body and fanned out at her knees. Her eyes caught Annie’s and mine and she winked at both of us.

My father pulled her with one hand and she was in his arms. Everyone applauded, which was a moment worthy of an eye roll.

Dad and Constance laughed, whispering in each other’s ears as their bodies glided on the dance floor. She laughed heartily again and they shared a small kiss.

I couldn’t help but smile at them. They made a beautiful couple.

The song they chose had a really long instrumental intro, it was a beautiful soft melody. They glided slowly around the dance floor staring into each other’s eyes. Both looked so happy.

Then the vocals finally started and my smile disappeared.

“Treacherous, powerless, maybe enslaved.

Neither of these, I’ve been saved.”

My heart beat a couple of beats, and I closed my eyes. It was Blake’s voice.

Sweet, sweet love, hold me tight.

My heart is yours, you showed me the light.

“When did he record this?” I asked Sammy and stared at her with glistening eyes.

Her eyes glistened too, and a stray tear rolled over her cheek. She didn’t even wipe it away.

She wrapped her arms around me. I listened to the words. It was one of his poems. The poem I’d read that night when I realized what Lucian had told me all those times was the truth. No one would love me the way Blake would.

“When you were in the coma.”

They’d call it a coma as all of them believed with their hearts that he was going to come back. I didn’t anymore. Why else had I heard that conversation he’d had with death?

It was mixed with his other poem that explained what the Dent was and I doubted that any of them would ever realize it. He’d turned that part into the chorus

I’ve seen your hopes, experienced you fears,

As part of you, I’ve lived your years.

Come my love, come be still.

Wrapped you in the arms of lovers will.

My heart ached just to see him again. I closed my eyes, pretending that it was really him singing tonight. It was too much and I struggled to breathe.

Oh my love, I’ve been so wrong,

I know now where I belong.

My darkness has died, evil no more,

The bond we share shakes my core.

Do not part, it’s too sweet sorrow,

I’m here, loving you till tomorrow.

The chorus came again. I could listen to this song forever. Sammy stroked my back as I rested on my hands. I’d never thought that I would miss him this much. His voice went up a notch with the second chorus and my heart felt as if someone had squeezed it. I’d listened to his songs the past three months but this one, it was the first time I’d heard it.

I wanted to stand up and leave but I didn’t have the strength. I couldn’t part with his voice.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay, shhh,” Sammy whispered in my ear and hugged me tight. It wasn’t okay, not at all. And the worst part was she didn’t even know it herself. It would never be okay and once they found his body, they would realize that too. This was cruel, to play his song. What was my father thinking? What were all of them thinking?

I found the strength I needed to get up and leave. I had to get out of the tight dress, I had to find a way to breathe again.

“Elena,” Annie said and Emanual told her softly to let me go. Becky gasped. All of them did. I didn’t care what my father had done, probably a special step or something.

The door was so close, just a few more steps. The lyrics continued as I reached the door, and I stopped.

Love, come be still.

I need your more than you’ll ever know.

The light in me you make it grow

It didn’t sound like a recording anymore but I was too scared to turn around. Too scared that I would find Isaac or Ty singing the way Blake did.

I need you now, I’ll make things right,

For you alone, I will always fight.

You keep my demons away,

Your purity, your innocence, you make me stay.

Always have, always will.

I finally turned and sucked in a breath. My legs felt wobbly and I struggled to keep the tears at bay, they rolled down my cheeks.

He was making his way slowly to where I stood, and was singing the chorus paces from me.

I pinched myself softly as I just stared at him singing the song, and when he finally stopped everyone applauded, except me. He just stood there staring at me.

He finally smiled, and my legs carried me forward. I flung myself into his arms and just started to kiss him. He hugged me tighter and his lips brushed my neck softly as he twirled me around.

“Where the hell have you been?” I asked.

“I’m sorry I took so long,” he whispered. “I missed you so much.”

“I thought you were dead,” I cried softly.

He kissed me on the temple and his lips lingered for a few seconds. I just breathed in his scent. I was never going to let him go. I knew that now.

“I thought you were dead.” His voice broke too, lips still lingering on my temple as his fingers held the back of my head gently, slightly pulling my hairdo out of place.

“Weeds don’t die that easily.” I laughed and cried all at the same time.

His body shook slightly from laughter as he pulled his head inches back to look at me. Tears lingered in his own eyes, but he had a smile on his face. One that reached his eyes and made my stomach flutter. His hair was a bit longer, he looked tired but he was alive and real. I touched his face with my one hand and he closed his eyes. He opened them again.

“You are far from a weed, Elena. You are a rose.”

I giggled.

“A rose?” I asked.

“Yes.” He hugged me tight again. “And I’m the thorn, the type that hurts like hell.”

Our lips touched one another again. He sounded so goofy, and didn’t give a shit if millions of people were staring.

MY FATHER CLEARED his throat and our kiss broke.

“Welcome back Blake, for a minute I thought you weren’t going to make it,” my father said.

“My king, good to see you are looking healthier.”

I hit my dad playfully on his arm. “You knew?”

“It was a surprise, sweet pea.” He laughed. “Why do you think I chose that song?”

“How long did you know?” I sounded upset, ignoring his last statement. If he knew how close I was, even if I’d said I would be patient, he wouldn’t have kept this from me.

“This morning,” Blake answered instead. “It wasn’t that long and I flew here as fast as I could when my dad finally told me that you’d woken up. I literally landed ten minutes ago and I still had to sing,” Blake said.

I laughed again and gave him a hug around his waist.

My father cleared his throat and looked at both of us with raised eyebrows.

“Seriously. I’m nineteen.”

“Don’t worry, I got the speech already,” Blake said, looking at my father.

I looked at him. From who? And then I remembered that day in the manor. Sir Robert and Isabel. His arm was still around my waist.

“So did you get your stupid orbs?” I asked him.

“Oh they are far from stupid, and I think it’s time I shared with everyone what it is they can do.”

“What they do?”

He raised his eyebrows. “It’s a surprise Elena, so go dress warm, wear a rain coat and boots.”

“What, why?” It was a beautiful night, no clouds or even a hint of a rainstorm coming.

“Just do it. I don’t want you to ruin that pretty dress of yours.”

My father looked at me with a slight frown. “You too,” Blake said and looked at my dad. “It’s something both of you need to see.”

“Fine, but don’t disappear again.” I held my finger in his face.

“Not in a million years.”

I smiled, turned around and ran in the direction of my room.

I looked back at him hugging his sister and his mom. I had to pinch myself as I rushed up the steps to my room to go and change. It was real, he was here. A million years wasn’t farfetched to me anymore. It could happen: it was Paegeia and I had his Essence.

I had to ask Simone for help getting me out of my dress.

My father had taken in Jeeves and most of King Helmut’s staff. The palace in Tith was going to be our second home.

“I’m so happy that he finally returned, were you surprised?”

“You knew too?” I asked.

“It was a hard surprise to keep, Princess.”

I saw it in her eyes. She knew how much I’d missed him. Sometimes even found me crying on my bed when I thought he was dead, when I was so sure he was dead. Where the hell was he?

I finally got out of my dress and pulled on my jeans, boots that came up to my calves and a T-shirt with a blazer over it.

I rushed back downstairs as Simone took my dress to the laundry room.

“Enjoy,” she sang and a small giggle escaped her lips as I waved at her.

I found Sir Robert waiting for me, no Blake.

“Don’t worry, he had to set up for this surprise,” he said and I smiled.

“When did he phone you?” I had to know.

“This morning, during breakfast.” They’d had a breakfast just for my father and all his men. We’d been having a girl’s thing, and I’d really tried to enjoy it.

“Blake was speaking so fast, I could hardly hear a word he was saying, but I knew the tone. He was panicking, and then I just had to tell him you’d woken up and were waiting for him.”

I smiled like an idiot.

“It’s a good day, Elena.”

“Yes, the best.”

He took me to the garden by the small waterfall and the huge lake. Gardens would never be just a garden to me anymore.

I found my dad, Annie, Constance, Isabel, Becky, Sammy, George and Emanual all waiting by the lake.

Blake was missing again and I searched everywhere.

I didn’t like this.

“Look up,” my father said and I found him walking on the cliff above the waterfall. He bent down every five yards, placing one of his orbs on a spot. When he was done he dove into the lake and came walking out looking like a Tommy Hilfiger ad.

He shook his head and water splashed all over me.

I laughed, put my hands up in defense and he stopped and gave me another quick kiss on the mouth before he bent down and took the last orb out of his bag.

“I need utter silence now, please. Not a peep.”

We all just looked at him as he took a couple of steps back. He held the orb with both hands and winked at me before he closed his eyes. “And don’t be scared,” he said just as I looked away, and when I looked at him to find out what was up with the Don’t be scared comment, the orb in his hand was already glowing.

All the others he placed up on the cliff started to glow too. It was a faint light and then they grew brighter and brighter. They all took on a different color, shooting beams out that connected with the orb in Blake’s hand. He concentrated real hard as he guided all the orb’s colors to the lake. The water started turning blue, then the purple connected with the blue, the pink started to melt into them, and soon all the colors of the rainbow flowed into one another.

It was simply beautiful. A silver spot right into the middle appeared and slowly grew bigger. It moved to the edge and then it turned into a bright silver light. It made the lake look like a big bright moon.

We all gasped at its beauty.

The water started to ripple. Something was in there and I looked at Blake again who was still concentrating.

‘Don’t be afraid.’ That was what he’d said.

I clung onto my father’s arm, who looked calm as always. He gave me a soft smile but didn’t take his eyes off the water as his hand lay on top of mine.

Something started to emerge from the lake.

I didn’t know what it was at first, but halfway through I knew it was two people. One was huge and another was about Sammy’s height.

I thought about the mermaids. My encounter with them hadn’t been a good experience.

They wore cloaks and their faces were covered as they came to a standstill a few feet away, still in the water.

One took off its hood first and revealed a girl in her early twenties. She had purple streaks in her dark, curly short hair and she smiled, looking at Blake, then her eyes found mine. Her smile grew slightly.

It made me feel awkward as I had no idea who she was. I didn’t know her at all. The next one took off its hood and my eyes lingered on him for a few seconds. They grew slightly as I realized who it was.

My heart was beating so fast. How... this cannot be?

I looked at Blake who was staring at them too.

He nodded his head toward the second figure like a greeting.

I looked back at the man in the lake, who was staring at me now, and I left my father’s arm and ran into the lake.

I could hear how my father said “Thank you.” To who, I didn’t care.

I flung my arms around him. “I’m so sorry.” It barely came out.

“Shhhh, Bear. It’s all right.” He stroked my back. Herbert’s hands were stroking my back.

“How is this possible?”

He laughed, the one that creased up his cheeks, the one that lit up his eyes. His eyes glistened with tears, and he cupped my face gently. They felt so warm. “You still don’t understand what his orbs can do, do you?”

My father was dead. I just stared at him. He looked so real. He had tears in his eyes. He was warm, and then I got it.

Blake could communicate with the dead through them.

I looked back at Blake, at my father and back at Herbert.

“I should’ve never fought with you, you had to raise me when you knew that I killed…” I froze and then looked at the girl next to him. She had dark hair, purple streaks showing here and there. “Cara?”

She smiled. “What took you so long sugar?”

I flung my arms around her. “I missed you so much.”

“What, the rodent still giving you hell? It doesn’t sound like that.”

I squinted not knowing what she meant by that last part, but I didn’t care. She was here, in her own body.

“It’s not what I meant.”

“I know, and I told you I’m always here.” She touched my chest, “Well, figure of speech.”

I smiled and hugged her again. “You taught me so much.”

“That was why my egg hatched, Elena. To guide you. It’s amazing, the afterlife, you just know what you were created for, but you have to wait for it for a very long time, but something tells me you will have your own piece of heaven right here.”

I squeezed her tighter. Something told me she wasn’t staying, as she just stroked my back.

“Jako.” My father stood in front of the person who had raised me in the water.

“Don’t, my king. I always knew when Cara hatched that she’d been created for a bigger destiny.”

King Albert touched Cara’s face gently.

She smiled. “Hey, I remember you.” She hugged my real father. “Always so kind, and we used to play for hours.”

My dad laughed, but there was regret and guilt lacing his face. “It was my pleasure, really. She was a great part of my life.” Cara looked back at me.

“I don’t know how to thank you both,” my father spoke again. “It will never be enough. You stayed when Tanya didn’t.” He looked at Herbert again.

“I should’ve told her sooner,” Herbert answered softly.

“Don’t. It worked out just like it should.” My dad smiled.

They both laughed, as it was something Herbert always said.

“Just enjoy the time you get with her, she is a remarkable young lady, Al.”

“Thanks to you.”

“We have to go, Elena,” Herbert said.

“Already?” I looked at both of them.

“Hey. We want to stay,” Cara said. “We just can’t.”

I nodded.

“Take care of her rodent,” Cara looked past me at Blake. “Or I’ll come haunt your ass.”

“I’d be so lucky,” Blake joked and I gave her another hug and my father too.

“I love you.”

“I love you more, Bear. Always have, always will. See you again one day,” my father said and winked at me.

I watched them go back into the water and needed to say thank you to Blake. He’d given me a chance to say sorry to my father. To say goodbye. Something I’d never thought I would ever get to say. But when I turned around his eyes were closed, concentrating again in order to get them safely back home.

I walked to him slowly, waiting until he’d finished, and then Constance and Isabel gasped. I heard the splashing of water and when I turned to see, all of the people on the shore were bowing down. My father’s cane was on the ground.

I turned around as saw him hugging a smaller figure, crying and whispering.

My legs felt slightly wobbly. It can’t be.

“Go, Elena,” Blake said and I looked at him. “She really wants to see you.” His eyes were open again.

“I’m so sorry, Katie. I should’ve tried harder,” my father cried softly as I walked back slowly to the lake.

“Shhhh,” she whispered. “I love you so much and I was so lost back then. I made your life a living hell. I’m sorry.” I only heard her voice, my father was blocking her entire body with his.

“You had all the reason in the world to feel lost.”

I just stared at my father’s back. “Elena,” he said. “I want you to meet the bravest woman I’ve ever met. Your mother.”

He turned his head toward me and moved out of the way.

She was gorgeous, just like in the pictures that were hanging on my bedroom’s walls, just like that last dream I’d had of her and that one interview when she’d had no idea I was there. With brown hair and big, doe gray eyes. Her smile made you feel as if you could do anything. Why couldn’t I look like her?

We just stared at one another and then she opened her arms. I ran to her, not fast enough. It was as if everything in this universe had tried to not make this reunion possible. When I finally connected hard with her body, she had to step slightly back to keep her balance.

She was as tall as me and her arms felt so motherly. They hugged me so tightly that I felt immediately the love she’d had for me. They felt so familiar, arms I’d only felt for a short time when I was so little.

She kissed me all over my face and hugged me again. “You are all grown up,” she whispered and sniffed. Her face was inches from mine. “I love you so much, and I will never ever stop loving you. I really wanted you and I’m so sorry that we never got to share anything. I really looked forward to our shopping sprees.”

“Oh and could she shop,” my father joked with tears glistening in his eyes.

“Shush,” she slapped my father and I laughed.

“But I promise you, you will have an amazing life, Elena.” She tugged my hair behind my ear. “One that will be filled with love, and memories. Your destiny is written in the stars and one day, one day, we’ll go on that shopping spree.”

I hugged her again. And she kissed me on my head one more time. “I love you, Baby.”

“Please don’t go,” my voice broke.

“If it was possible sweet, sweet girl, I would stay, but I can’t. I’m no longer a part of this world. But you have a great mother now, she’ll look after you.”

I nodded. I wanted to say I wanted her, not Constance, but I loved Constance too. How does one choose?

She wiped my tears while hers were still lying thick in her eyes.

“I’ll always be with you. I promise.” She kissed me one more time on my temple and started to retreat.

I didn’t want her to go but our hands left one another, and my shoulders shook when she moved back into the water.

My father hugged me, comforted me as I was forced to look at her retreating figure.

“I love you, Catherine Squires,” my father said. “Always have always will.”

She laughed. “Don’t be so forward. Your new bride might get jealous.”

I heard Constance’s laughter from the shore. She didn’t say anything.

And then she was gone.

“I’m so sorry Elena. Believe me, if I’d known it was Goran I would’ve done something. I swear to you.” A stray tear rolled over my father’s cheek.

“Shhh,” I sniffed. “It’s in the past, Dad.” We couldn’t change it, but at least I’d gotten a chance to have met her and not through a stupid device. This time it was for real.

One by one the orbs started to make a whizzing sound and shoot into the air. We all stared at them as they exploded one after another into the sky. First red, then pink, orange, yellow, blue. All of them exploded in a stream of colors, and died out with tiny colorful sparkles that fell from the sky. It was the meanest and most amazing fireworks display I’d ever seen.

We watched until the last one shot through the air and engulfed the night sky with its purple light. I’d had that orb in my hands once. It was one of them that Blake had had to dig out with his talons. I looked back at Blake who kissed the last one in his hands, as if he were parting with a great treasure. He threw it up into the air as hard as he could and a bright light filled the night sky, no explosion, and they were gone.

He’d used them all for me, so I could say goodbye to the people I couldn’t, and meet the one person I really wanted to meet. My mom.

I ran over to him and jumped into his arms.

“Thank you,” I said, my voice raspy.

“Shhhh,” he said against my ear. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more time.”

“Thank you Blake,” my father interrupted us and he put me down. “I can’t thank you enough. I know what they must have meant to you.”

“They mean nothing compare to what your daughter means to me.”

“Please,” my father shook his head, his tone quite serious. “Don’t ask me for my blessing, not yet.”

We all laughed.

“Too soon?” Blake joked.

“Way, way too soon.”

We went back to the wedding. I couldn’t get my mother out of my head. She was real, she was there and I had to let her go again, just like that.

“Fly with me?” Blake asked. I nodded.

He took my hand and led me outside where he started to strip down and change.

I didn’t look away this time. He was right, I had to get used to his nakedness and he just smiled when he found me staring at him.

“It’s about time,” he joked and transformed.

The Rubicon, as hulking as ever, stood in his place and I climbed onto his back with his assistance.

When my hands touched his neck sprouts I twirled them softly around my hands. I’d never thought that I would feel so safe on top of his back. But it was now the most natural place for me to be. His colossal wings started to flap and we ascended into the sky.

The wind against my face made me feel free again.

I was finally at peace, and he’d given that final peace to me.

My mom was happy wherever she was and Herbert knew how sorry I was for making everything so hard on him. And Cara, she was beautiful, just as I’d imagined she would if I wasn’t her human form.

My heart was at peace and he was responsible for that.

He spoke and I gasped softly.

He was reciting poems off the top of his head, of tonight’s scenery, the way he felt, the way I made him feel

It wasn’t his dragon’s voice and I knew what that meant.

I could hear him and I closed my eyes just getting lost in his head. How he saw the beauty of this flight.

He descended and we landed on the clearing.

It was a place Becky and George had told me about, a place in Etan, but I’d never gone. I would’ve just ended up missing him more, and I struggled with it back then. The place was stunning, something that one only saw in a picture of a fantasy world.

The moon was reflecting on a small river, and the meadow lit up with fireflies, or they could be fairies. The words Blake used to describe this in his head were so beautiful, I could understand why Professor Pheizer had tears in her eyes that day when I’d told her what the voice in my head said.

He transformed again and came to stand behind me with his arms wrapped around me.

His body was so warm, heat radiated from it, just like a blanket.

“I’m sorry that I took so long,” he said.

“It’s fine. You had to find them, just promise me next time you have to do something like that again, I can fit in your bag.”

He chuckled. “I’ve promised this way too many times, Elena, but this time, you have my oath.”

I smiled. I knew that he would never leave me to go do something like that ever again. He’d swore it with his entire being that he would take me with him.

It was quiet as we just stood there and watched the million fireflies around us.

“That poem was beautiful.”

“I know, you told me that before.”

“Not the one you turned into a song Blake, the one you spoke when we came here.”

He was quiet for a few seconds. “You heard that?”

I nodded. “I heard it when we were separated in the castle too, when Goran was pretending to be Helmut. I couldn’t see you, and I was so scared. I really thought Helmut wanted to kill me, and then your voice roared that it was Goran.”

“He didn’t want you to find out that he was his twin.”

I turned around in his arms to look at him. “I know that now.”

He smiled softly but it disappeared.

“Why the long face?” I asked.

“It’s not a two way stream, Elena. I can’t hear yours.”

“Guess it’s a bit of payback,” I said and he smiled. “It will come back, Blake. That I know.”

He smiled and took a deep breath. I knew that breath. He had to be patient. “Well, if you can see my thoughts, maybe now I can show you something.”

I squinted. “What on earth would that be?” I joked.

He grinned. “Shhh.”

I closed my eyes and found myself in the same white room I had that day underneath the tree.

I started to laugh. “You want to show me the Dent again?”

A picture of my face filled my mind as the white room disappeared. I opened my eyes and saw a slight frown between his eyes.

“What do you mean by again?”

“You already showed me that.”

“No, I would’ve remembered if I had.” He had a sheepish, yet confused smile on his face.

I laughed, but it disappeared. It had to be real. “That day in the forest. I thought you were going to say goodbye to me. It looked as if you were hiding something.”

He squinted.

“I even told you that it didn’t make sense. That if you were there.” He put his finger on my mouth this time and closed his eyes. Images of that dream flew into his mind.

“Yes, that.”

That was you?

“Who else would it have been?”

He showed me something else. That it was him or he’d thought it was him imagining that. I saw the picture of me lying on a bed, with a machine breathing for me. The emotion with that was hard to explain, it was tormenting, it made it hard to breath. He was lying next to me as day and night kept moving fast.

“I don’t understand.”

I did that so many times in that first month, wanting to connect with you, to bring you back. I needed to hear your voice, even if it was my own doing. I didn’t care.

An image of that day and that kiss I’d given him, it had felt real to him, so strong. He should’ve known that it was real. He’d left that day.

I just looked at him, “You really tried that more than once?”

“Every time I possibly could,” he spoke out loud.

I closed my eyes and our lips touched again. I could kiss him forever. It became harder and faster.

He grunted as a promise, flashes really flew through his mind, and broke our kiss.

“What was that?” I laughed.

“I can’t,” he smiled. “I made a promise to keep my hormones at bay until our wedding day.”

We both laughed as he spoke in rhyme again.

“And your father just told me that it is too soon, so it’s going to be hard for me but I want to try, Elena.”

“Who did you promise?” He hid his thoughts from me as I didn’t get it. He was so good at everything. A master.

“Your mother.”

I squinted. I was there and he hadn’t promised her anything like that.

“When?”

He stared at me and looked at me with so much love. Flashes of another place entered his mind. It was so beautiful, so bright, and Lucian’s face flashed fast through his mind. He tried to hide it but I saw Lucian’s face.

“When I used half the orbs’ powers to go talk to him.”

“To who?” Lucian?

“Lucian. I thought he had you, Elena.”

I stared at him. Lucian was dead, and then I got what he was saying. “You called Lucian the way you called my mom?”

He chuckled again and shook his head. “No, he didn’t want to speak to me, which only confirmed my fears, so I had to take a trip to go beat his ass.” His grin still stayed on his lips.

More flashes of this serene place went through his mind. I saw Helmut and Queen Marguerite too with an unknown girl. Goosebumps broke over my skin. “You were on the other side?” My voice broke.

He nodded. “Time works differently that side. I struggled to track him down and promised that if I found him with you, I was going to scorch him, didn’t matter how saintly he was, until he gave you up. When I finally found him, had was surrounded by girls.” He smiled. “He told me that it wasn’t the reason he didn’t want to speak to me. He wanted peace. He said that you were not there, and that was how I met your mother. She’s a lot like you, Elena. When she discovered who I was, she scared the living crap out of me.”

“You told her that you didn’t treat me like crap anymore, right?”

He chuckled. “Not about that, Elena. About taking advantage of you. She’s very traditional and didn’t want you doing things with me you were not supposed to be doing until your wedding night.”

I laughed just watching his image of her pushing him against the tree. She was scary. “You didn’t mention...”

“Hell, no,” he whispered and we both laughed softly.

Our eyes met again and he looked at me. Really looked at me, as if he could see straight into my heart. I hated that look. He made me feel everything at once with that look. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more time. It turns out I still needed to learn how to be patient too.”

“Shhh, I have that same problem.”

“And now I just went and made it even worse.”

I hugged him again. “We’ll see it as a learning experience.”

I buried my face deep in his shoulder and just breathed in his Essence.

“You really went to the other side for me?” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement. One that was struggling to sunk in.

He lifted up my chin to look at him and smiled. “When will you get it, Elena? Not even death can keep me away from you.”

THE END

The Rubicon

Don’t forget to look out for the spin off series.

Starbeam

Moonbeam

Darktbeam - The Rubicon’s tale.

Coming Soon

(a chapter of each of what to come included below)

moonBEAM
a DRAGONIAN SERIES NOVEL

It’s been said that the greatest love that ever existed in this world was God’s love. He sent his only son to die for our sins. A son that had done no evil and would never do evil. A son that had risen from the dead and was alive for eternity, and that everyone who believed in him, would gain that same life.

My great, great, great, great nanna and her beloved Rubicon shared the second greatest love. A love for one another that would last for thousands and thousands of years. They would die for one another without giving it a second thought. You don’t find a love like that anymore.

The saddest part was that she had to say goodbye to him 1022 years ago. It was his time, but because of his Essence inside of her, she couldn’t go with him. She was in some ways stronger than him.

Everyone thought that she would die of a broken heart but her family, a long, long line, loved her so much and she them, that they brought some sort of spark back into her existence. She’d found a way to make peace with it, and to wait for the day when he would come and fetch her.

I never knew the Rubicon my nanna spoke of personally, but I’d heard a great many stories about him.

I was born twenty-eight years ago, but I knew what he looked like, because her face would light up every time I entered her room, whenever I came to hear a story about the big guy. I called him that, just like the way she called him.

Her eyes would sparkle as her stories continued and I knew she loved him truly and I wanted so badly to have a love like that one day too. For someone to love me the way she loved the Rubicon.

When I was six, I was still a young boy, but I remembered that day as if it was yesterday: a very special egg hatched.

Nanna could hear the dragon living inside that egg’s thoughts before the shell even cracked.

It was the new Rubicon entering this world. She still had that connection with it, even after so many years since the previous one died.

Her name was Morgan and she was the ugliest baby dragon I’d ever seen, but I remembered the way nanna stared at her with so much love, so much admiration.

She helped Morgan into this world, guided her to the light. She treasured her always, and soon I saw that I was the lucky one that would claim her on her sixteenth birthday.

The Viden couldn’t even see that. So many of them had come and gone, all of them Moon-Bolts. Their fortellings had guided many of this world to do great things, and some would magically appear in a book that was connected to each and every one of them, that was inside the same old library that still held thousands of those books. Nanna had her own special book. The words didn’t appear magically but what she said, she always spoke clearly, never in tongues and never in riddles, and they always came true.

She had guided our family through all of them as the Viden’s minds couldn’t see a glimpse of our bloodline’s futures, only nanna could and a Moon-Bolt named George, who had died thousands of years ago.

He was one of their greatest friends and they all said when he died, his Dragonian left our world a few days later. They shared that special bond too, the kind that was so rare, just like nanna and her Rubicon.

Morgan had finally got her human form and it was quite the opposite of her dragon form. She was a beautiful, blonde haired little girl, with the most beautiful red-brown eyes.

She had a sweet soul too, smart as hell and as naughty as they came, and although we never went to Dragonia Academy together, I was one of her friends from birth and had claimed her six years ago when the dark inside her started to claw its way into her soul.

She knew that I would become her rider, or her Dent as Rubicon’s could never be good without their light, as my nanna used to call me.

The pain in my heart grew stronger as I saw her fragile body lying on the bed. She still had that spark but her body was finally giving up. Her mind was speaking about things that I didn’t know if they had passed or were yet to come. About an evil so strong that it ripped her entire family apart. It scared me so much as I couldn’t find anything in the library about that. She was so old and it would cost me my Essence too to finally discover what she’d been talking about the past week.

She was close to her time. She was going to go home, back to him.

I couldn’t imagine life without her, she was the only thing constant in our family tree, and yet it was coming to an end. I knew that she was not going to be around anymore.

A knock came on the door and Morgan appeared. “How is she?” she whispered and came over for a kiss.

I wrapped my arms around her as she sat on the sofa next to me and although I couldn’t hear her heartbeat, I know it was beating the same pace as mine.

“In and out of it. She thought I was him a couple of times today.”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she walked over to nanna’s bed.

She smiled and I knew nanna was awake. “My sweet, sweet Morganna,” she spoke.

“Don’t leave me, please.”

“Shush, child. You know you are not the only Rubicon that needs me.”

Morgan gave a soft laugh as she made nanna comfortable. “What am I going to do without you?”

“You have Theo. Just think when I’m gone, the two of you will drive one another insane.”

I chuckled as I would start hearing Morgan’s thoughts when nanna passed. She turned her head and that sparkle was in her eyes once more. She looked at Morgan again.

“You will be fine. I’ve taught you everything that you need to know. The rest you must discover together.”

She nodded.

“Do me a favor?” she asked.

“Anything,” Morgan said.

“Go see if his star is still gone.”

She rushed to the windowsill. For the past week the Southern star had been missing. It had been written that the day the Rubicon died a star appeared in the South. It was the brightest star, even brighter than the Northern star, something I doubted was even true, but books spoke about the Northern star that guided everyone, even the Bible spoke about the Northern star, never the Southern star.

It hadn’t left the sky for the past 1000 years.

They all believed that it was his star. His soul watching over her. I would always laugh at it, it was so farfetched, so silly. But seven days ago, that star just vanished. Did it fall? I didn’t know. But nanna believed truly that it was him coming to fetch her. It wasn’t so silly anymore.

Since that star disappeared, nanna had grown weaker and weaker. It was as if she was just giving up.

She’d just made peace with it. We hadn’t. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Who would keep the peace in this world, who would they go to if they couldn’t find a way to make a decision? Nanna was that person. Sure there were other old Dragonians, but nanna was the wisest of them all.

I couldn’t say goodbye to her yet. Not with a world looming over my shoulder. I was the next in line as she’d given it to me and not my father to take over from her. I had no idea if I could do it the way she had with her Rubicon.

She said that it was the reason she’d given it to me. A great king never knows he is a great king.

I wasn’t so sure.

Elena

It was late at night, I was so in and out of it. I’d said goodbye so many times to loved ones. Saw how they went back into the ground, became the dust they were made of. So many had died before my eyes. First my father, then his wife, I couldn’t even remember who she was anymore.

Then my friends, their faces long forgotten, the memories weak.

Blake was always at my side, making it easier, and then he went too. I thought I was going to die myself, but I found love again through so many things.

Especially the new ones that came into this world.

New ones for me to love and to hold, to guide and to say goodbye to again.

One might say it was cruel and that it must be so tired to open your heart again to love another. But for me, it was natural. It was my life and it felt full.

I’d helped many, I’d guided plenty and loved many, but never truly loved another the way my father had, or had he?

I was so out of it, in and out of different timelines. I didn’t know anymore what had truly happened and what hadn’t and where they fit together. Morgan came tonight again. She confirmed it. His star was still gone. He was finally coming for me.

I heard a sniff and opened my eyes.

Theo was sitting on his haunches at my closet. The sweet boy was the spitting image of my Blake and yet he would laugh it off every time I told him that.

What is he doing here, why doesn’t he go to bed and sleep? I had taught him the most. He was ready even if he didn’t believe it himself. He was ready.

He finally looked up, it felt as if my soul was on fire. A new kind of life filled it, and my stomach fluttered.

His eyes were soft, with so much compassion, and I hadn’t been looked at like that for a thousand years. “What took you so long?”

“I told you before, time works different on the other side,” he spoke softly and came over to me.

He was so handsome, always was, till the day he left my side.

“I’ve missed you so much,” my old voice said. Lucky bastard had gotten his young body back.

“I missed you more,” he whispered.

“How long do I have?”

“One more day, Elena.”

I smiled. One more day then I was going to go home.

“Your mother is quite the organizer up there,” he joked and I smiled. “I had to keep on helping her get things ready for you.”

“Our first shopping spree?” I said and his face fell. “Why the long face, my love?”

He touched my old wrinkled cheek with his one hand. “You need to remember what truly happened, Elena.”

I swallowed. I knew what he was talking about. I’d struggled with that for the past week.

“You need to tell Theo what it is he has to do, otherwise they will be stuck with a future they should never have been stuck with.”

“What do you mean?” I spoke softly.

He touched my head softly and the timelines, different stages of my life all jumped back into place with his touch. The one that had truly happened but only the two of us remembered it, and another everyone else believed was the truth.

“They can’t be stuck with that past. You need to tell him what he must do, otherwise they are not going to have this life.”

It didn’t make sense and then it came back to me. That night Blake ran into our room and told me that horrible truth.

“That was Theo?” I asked and he nodded.

A tear welled up into my eyes.

“But you said it was you?”

“I was wrong. I wished I wasn’t.” He stared at me with so much compassion.

“So I did….” My lip started to tremble, I couldn’t even finish my sentence.

He nodded again.

“She was an innocent baby, wasn’t she?”

“Shhhh, she understands Elena. She knew why we had to do that. Siloh is waiting for you too. She cannot wait to finally meet her mom.”

I sniffed hard.

“Will I remember this tomorrow?”

“It will hold,” he spoke and smiled again.

I returned his smile although it didn’t reach my eyes. “Still a master at everything. I hope I don’t have to kill other women up there.”

He laughed. “It’s a killing free environment. And I only have eyes for you. You know that.”

I smiled.

“Sleep, my sweet love.” He kissed me softly on the temple. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

I closed my eyes and couldn’t wait for the last day of my life.

The time had finally come. Was I going to choose my daughter or my entire family tree…

STARBEAM

Queen Catherine and King Albert’s story

KATIE

It had been a chilly morning as the wind howled outside our two bedroom house that was barely holding up this winter. A house where my father was lying in bed, sick. A house where I had to share a room with four of my siblings, the two smallest slept in my parent’s room.

I took a deep breath as the house creaked.

The worst of the winter was over, the snow was starting to melt and nature was blossoming through in patches. Still the wind was not resting, bringing in more of the cold from up north.

I was fifteen years old, and hadn’t been spoken for. At my age it wasn’t a good thing. Even Marguerite, or Maggy as we all called her, was spoken for. A woman was good for only a few things, cooking, cleaning, and bearing children, and I didn’t fall in any of those category. I was born barren, or that is what my mother thought as I still hadn’t received the signs of womanhood yet and I had a problem with saying what was on my mind. There wasn’t a filter between my mind and tongue. It got me into so much trouble, and plenty times out of it too.

Still, my mom and dad didn’t share what other people believed when it came to marriage. He treated her as his equal, showed us what kind of love a man and woman could share. I loved both my parents to death and hated seeing my father so weak, to hear his breaths at night when the Squire house went to sleep. To wake up with his coughing, deep, raspy and unnatural coughs.

Our family owned a small grocery that sold everything from healing remedies—if only they could heal father—to herbs and spices, where I worked full time, since Pappa had gotten ill.

After noon I would go back home, and make sure that my brother and sisters got something to eat and help them with their lessons they’d brought from school. To make sure they wouldn’t disturb Pappa.

I missed school, life was so much simpler then, but I knew my duties now, and helping Mamma was top priority.

Pappa caught the disease of the lungs from his last trip buying inventory for the store. It started out with a sneeze, turned into influenza, and now it was fully in his lungs. He’d taken a turn for the worst this winter.

The only thing that could heal him now was the touch of a Swallow Annex. They were one of the few good dragons, but there was no money to pay for such a service. Mamma had tried to save, but with the king’s taxes taking most of it, the money was never enough. And then there was still the fact that we were commoners. The only people that had access to a Swallow Annex’s touch were nobles and royalty.

I slipped on my boots that Pappa had made for me from an animal skin he’d brought once.

“Katy,” Mom called from the room. “Is that you?”

“Yes, Mamma, go back to sleep.”

“Off taking another stroll?”

“I won’t be long, I’ll meet you at the store.” I prayed that she wouldn’t came out as I had my bow and arrows right next to me. I didn’t have time last night to hide them in their normal hiding place as I had to help with Pappa. If mother found out that Nicolas Squire, my father, had taught me how to handle a bow and arrow, it wouldn’t be the sickness that caused his last breath. “Hunting is for the boys,” Mamma always said. “No business of a woman, or a young lady for that matter.”

I tied the laces on my boots and slipped into my winter coat that hid my favorite hobby over my arm.

I closed the wooden door of my bedroom where the other three slept and last the door of our small house, entering a white and green scene. The wind nipped around my neck and I pulled my coat tighter.

No one had awoken yet, except for Tony, the baker whose shop was right at the end of the street. I had this strange inkling that he wasn’t human, because no human could make amazing pastries and bread like that. He was by far the best and people from all over Paegeia came to taste his creations from heaven. He even made the king’s birthday cake once. For some reason Tony refused to become the royal baker, and for that alone, I knew Tony hid something from all of us. Fin-Tales were known to live around people in need and I had imagined those golden scales on him in my mind’s eye when all was asleep, but it was also a commonly known fact that Copper-Horns did magic when they were stirring a pot.

I tapped on his window and the man’s entire face lit up as he saw my heart shaped face tucked inside my furry coat, another gift from Pappa.

Tony opened the door. “Sneaking off again in the early mornings, Katie?”

I smiled. “You know me so well.”

The old baker laughed and let me in. The smell of honey and roasted almonds filled my nostrils. It was followed by the smell of freshly baked bread and I inhaled deeper as my eyes closed involuntarily. My stomach growled and I was sure Tony heard it too, as he just gave me a side glance with a smirk on his face.

“Here, have one,” he said and held out a tray of round bread.

I took off my glove and reached out to touch one. “Just be careful, they are still hot.”

I smiled at the baker. “Didn’t you know, I love them freshly baked.”

I grabbed the biggest one I could find. Ever since Pappa’s health started taking its toll, my mother had to juggle two jobs in order to pay the bills and put food on the table. I hardly ate as my brothers and sisters needed it more than I did. Besides, Tony always made sure that I got freshly baked breakfast every morning.

“How’s your father, lass?” He poured me a cup of warm milk.

“Mamma’s really hopeful, but the doctor said it won’t be long now. The sickness is getting worse, and the stuff he coughs up.” It was a disgusting green muck but I couldn’t share it around a table that was filled with amazing pastries that had barely came out of the oven.

“Your mom still working at the tavern?”

“Every night, now,” I said as I took a sip of the delicious creamy milk. “She has to find a way to pay the king’s taxes otherwise they will take the store, and it’s the only thing we have.”

Tony bent down and took out a brown bag. He chucked it on the table and by the clanging noise it made, I knew what it was.

“Please, take it. I would hate to see you suffer over there.”

“Tony, I can’t,” I declined. “You’ve worked hard for your money, and besides, Mamma would never accept it.”

“Your mother’s pride will get the better of her one day,” Tony said and put the bag back underneath the table again.

“You’ve helped more than enough just by giving me a freshly baked roll and that delicious milk every morning. It’s plenty.”

Tony smiled. “Well then, at least let me pack you some more rolls for the road.”

I always got this feeling that Tony knew we didn’t have enough food, and he had no idea how grateful I was for the rolls he would give me for the others.

“And promise me one thing, Katie. If you run out of food, let me know. You can’t live off herbs and spices, and there is no potion in this world that can fill your bellies either.”

I laughed. “Deal.” I finished my cup of milk and ate the last piece of bread. “I’ve got to go, before all the squirrels disappear.”

Tony laughed. “If they are going to come out of their nests at all. Are you still selling squirrels to Marco around the corner?”

“It helps with the bills, but it’s the skins he wants. I was making some good money off him a few months back.”

“Then go catch your squirrels, before the wind scares them away.”

I picked up my bow and sheath of arrows and threw them over my shoulder. The clinging sound of bells chimed as I exited Tony’s bakery. “Have a beautiful morning, Tony, and blessed be.”

“The same to you, Katie.”

I took the path, the one I’d taken so many times down to the woods, and in a couple of minutes I found the stream that still flowed but the water was freezing cold.

A couple of miles further I found the place I knew had squirrels and winter rabbits. But I hadn’t seen a winter rabbit in a long time and I prayed that maybe today was my lucky day.

I crouched behind a tree and became as quiet as the woods around me. My eyes saw everything, my senses were at their highest peak. I missed father. He was the one that had told me how to use a bow and arrow when I was little and how to kill something without wasting any of the good meat or fur.

He was good with his hands and could wield so many things no one could, even a needle and thread. Lately he couldn’t hold anything as he just shivered underneath the blankets every day. I should’ve taken Tony’s money, it looked like a huge bag and maybe, just maybe it could have been enough to get father to a Swallow Annex.

The sound of little feet scurrying on a branch caught my ears and my eye caught on the fur that blended in against the branch. My hands and arms were just as fast as my sight and in two seconds the arrow spun from the bow and struck the animal right in the head.

I heard it drop and ran over to pick it up. It was a heavy one, and male. I thanked God for the kill. His fur would be worth at least fifteen silver Peagolians and his meat at least five. That would help Mom with the taxes for this month and just maybe she wouldn’t need to work so much at the tavern and could spend time at home with the family more.

I hated the royals: they only thought about themselves and never looked out for their people. They had plenty of feasts while the others that weren’t as lucky had to suffer paying taxes. It was extortion.

I had to admit, Albert was handsome. Me and Maggy had seen him only once in a parade at the fair. It was so strange though, that was the only parade they ever took. After the incident with the rotten food being thrown at the royal carriage, the fair never made it to Eikenborough again.

I started to skin the squirrel with my dagger and kept the tail for my little brother, Samuel, as I’d seen Feline throwing the last one into the fire. Feline was my sister, just two years younger than me. She was pretty, had a lot of Mom’s fair hair and pale blue eyes. She would definitely be spoken for in a year or two from now. I had Dad’s dark hair and his gray, sad eyes.

The trip back to the house was my favorite as I would take another route that would take me to the highest peak with a view that could take your breath away.

I thought about Maggy’s stupid little joke from the other day. I was clearly missing the punch line completely, as she was the only one that had laughed.

Still, I loved my best friend. Like the Squires the Trins also owned a store, but one where you could find wine and rum. It was Maggy’s dad, Peter, who had gotten Mom the job at the tavern. He supplied us with all sorts of liquor for Dad’s cough remedy. The extra punch seemed to help when he coughed unbearably.

I’d known Maggy since the age of four and we had been inseparable ever since.

I reached the peak and I took a place at my favorite boulder. I put the squirrel skin in my bag and the meat hung from a rope in my hand. Marco would never buy it if it had ground or filth on it.

I looked over all of Paegeia and saw the castle in the distance. Etan was a big place, but not big enough to get away from those towers. I’d imagined so many times what this view would be like without those towers in the distance, and yet I would give anything to see the royals’ view. When the sun started to warm my skin slightly I knew it was time to leave. My brother and sisters would be leaving for school soon and I’d promised Mamma that I would meet her at the store.

At times I wished that I could grow a pair of wings and just fly away, but what would become of Feline, Cassandra, Gabriella, Susannah, and Samuel, my brother of four? He was my favorite in the entire world and I was his, he’d told me himself so many times at night after I’d told him one of my tales.

Marco’s shop was still closed but the butcher was hacking away at some meat somewhere at the back. I knocked on the door and in a couple of seconds a head popped behind the wall. He smiled at me, walking to the door still with a bloodied apron and a cloth that he wiped his hands on. He was somewhere in his mid-forties and had been trying to set me up with his oldest son, Seth, for a long time. I didn’t know about that one.

The door opened with another set of bells. “Good morning, Katie. Let me guess, you found one.”

“Why else would I be here?” I laughed.

Marco let me in and I hated how his store was the opposite of Tony’s. It was cold and didn’t have that welcome and warm feeling, but nevertheless, Marco was far from what his store reflected, well, to me anyway.

“Let’s see,” he said and I took out the fur and dropped the flesh of the squirrel on his counter.

“That is one hell of a kill, Katie.”

“So, what are you going to pay for him?”

“Ten for the fur and three for the meat.” It was seven coins less than what I’d hoped for.

“Marco, you know this fur is worth five more, and the meat, look at it.”

“I know Katie, but the taxman came yesterday and you know what they are like.”

“They raised the taxes again?” Mom hadn’t said anything about that.

“Aye, and it’s all I have to offer you at the moment.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. We would not survive this month if the taxmen raised their taxes again. “Fine, it’s better than nothing.” I gave Marco a smile. I knew he wouldn’t do me in if he had the money. This was just another thousand points down for the royals. If it went on like this, I might even consider shooting an arrow straight through their heads.

Get that out of your head, Catherine Squire, Mother’s voice sniped inside my head. No daughter of mine is a killer.

Yes Mom, I replied. Sorry.

I took the money from Marco and walked back the way I’d came in. “So have you spoken to Seth yet?”

“No, Marco. I’m busy.” I smiled back at him and the bells chimed in my ears again.

“Aye, lass, you are almost fifteen, your time is running out to find a husband.”

“I don’t have time for stupid husbands,” I mumbled back so that Marco wouldn’t hear and made my way back to home again so I could pull a dress over my head and help mother at the store.

ALBERT

“Father, I don’t want to go to this time-waste of a ball,” I said. “This is your and mother’s affair, not mine.” I sighed. “Just let me be. I’m twenty years old, and soon, I’ll be marrying Drizelda. So I don’t see why I need to attend them anymore.”

“Albert, we do things as a family. Without you there….”

“You have to be there,” my mother said. “Drizelda will be there too.”

“Hiding behind a mask. What, you want me to find her now, and then what, mother? We will be soul mates forever,” I snickered.

“Don’t make fun of your mother’s beliefs, Albert.”

“It is silly father. Seriously, what if I find another, then the lass will become then my soul mate, right?” I humored her. “You will still make me marry Drizelda.”

“Yes, but you will be attending my silly ball and you will wear a silly mask,” she said back as if none of my words had made any mark on her at all.

“Fine, I’ll be there.” I threw the napkin on the table and stood up from the breakfast feast.

“And you’ll wear the mask?”

Now she asked? The remark didn’t leave my mouth. “Yes, I’ll wear the mask.”

I could feel her grin as her eyes bored into my back. For the past twenty years I’d said no to many things. It was the easiest word to say. “No”: not so difficult, but for some reason I couldn’t say no to the queen. My sweet loving mother who had stood up for me so many times, protecting me from my father’s wrath. It was the only time her sweet loving side showed.

I was their only son, but I knew my father had loved another. She’s died a long time ago, which was so wrong. To think if my grandfather had spared the love of my father’s life, my mother could’ve been a dragon.

I’d grown up with the Metallic dragons. It was one thing King Louie ruled when Grandfather Alexander died. They signed a treaty with the Metallics as he knew they were not a danger to humans. My father had loved a Metallic.

My tutor and nanny were both Metallics, and so were most of the high staff in the royal Council. It was clear to everyone where my father’s love lay—with a dragon—but for me, his son from the womb of another he’d had to marry, he had little. He only showed love now and then, and it had started only recently too.

I was sure if I was the spawn of his dragon love, it would’ve been another story, but mother told me so many times not to take it personally, we would always be the king’s second choice.

What type of a father would put his family second just because things didn’t work out the way he wanted? No, I would love my children, no matter who their mother was, even if it was Drizelda Longbottom. I loathed that woman on so many levels, she was a cousin for Caleb’s royal family. Her father was King Normand’s brother and her mother one of the most sophisticated woman who ran a finishing school in Etan. She’d opened the second one in Tith and rumor had it that she was doing quite well for herself and the Longbottom family. The end result was Drizelda: a very well educated young lady with a cruelty for the poor. Not that I had any love for the poor either. They had so many children and yet they had no money or intelligence whatsoever to raise them. If I was poor… no, I couldn’t even imagine it.

I jumped at a sullen cry from down in the dungeons. It was the second one this month, and what I couldn’t understand was why on earth father did that.

He loved dragons so much but he had no love for the Chromatics.

The ones that were slightly different than his beloved Metallics. They didn’t like their human form and they were not as gentle as their counterparts.

The Chromatics were fierce, they all had extra abilities and for some reason, they couldn’t be tamed. But they were wrong. I’d tamed a Night Villain, a name I’d come up with as his dragon was the color of the night and his demeanor that of a villain.

He’d only started to get used to his human form, a handsome devil if I might say, something father refused to believe, even though the rumors told him otherwise. My dragon’s name was Robert. He was feisty at first, but he had a gentle side to him after the punches flew between us. It was as if those punches beat the good back into him. I’d started to hate that, as it happened once a month now.

I was busy teaching him how to speak English. I could speak fluent Latin. It was a must as, all the Metallics and Chromatics only conversed in Latin. The only thing I had to fear was the acid he breathed. My shield was made of a special armor, one that no fire or acid could penetrate. It had saved my life a couple of times when Robert’s dragon form got too feisty and wanted to incinerate my ass. And he was ride-able too.

The entire court had found a way to ride on the Metallics. Father himself had a Copper-Horn. He loved his theories, which made me crazy, but I had to admit, the man was always on to something.

I went past the courtiers that had raised me. She was a Fire-Tail and she’d even once showed me her fire. It was something I’d wished so many times I could’ve done myself and she laughed on so many occasions when I tried to light a fire the way she did. Goran could do it and so could Helmut. They were twins, and the spitting image of one another, so much so that you couldn’t tell the difference, except the abilities they wielded.

Helmut was born first, and he was the crown Prince of Tith, but Goran, he was the troublemaker. He couldn’t just speak Latin, but Wyvic too. His father believed that it was a sign that he was rotten, with a dark soul, and had him beaten plenty times as a lad. Helmut had taken a couple of his brother’s punches, pretending to be him, but Goran was nothing like that. He would help you dig a grave while Helmut would watch for cover.

Goran could play with snow, any form of snow. He could free a flower in the heat of spring. It was amazing to watch, and he even had an endurance for cold weather. The change came to him after we all thought that he was going to die of a lung disease. He was so sick. But he pulled through that winter and since then, no cold ever harmed him again. In fact, it became a part of him.

Helmut had more or less the same kind of fire that my nanny had. But his flame was blue. What was strange was that he’d too gotten ill just a couple of month after Goran, a different sickness that no Swallow Annex could heal. His fever was so high that it was a miracle he was still breathing today.

My nanny, she was old now, but father still gave her a place in the palace.

I decided that she would be there for my children as well, as she’d told me once how old she was. She was almost fourteen thousand years old.

I knocked on the door and opened it. She smiled just like any mother would watching their favorite son enter the room. Her arms opened wide from her rocking chair by the window just after she put her knitting down.

I crouched down by her chair and just lay my head on her lap. She stroked my hair softly.

“The queen would slay me for this if she knew you favored me above her.”

“My mother will never know,” I looked up at her. “Besides, she never had a problem with you when I was younger, when I soiled my pants or scraped an elbow, or even when I was running a fever.”

“You hold your tongue, Albert.”

I laughed. “She is my mother only by blood, but you are my real mother.”

The woman smiled down at me again and I kindly repaid it. “So let me guess, you didn’t find a way out of her ball?”

“No, after all these years, I still try to please her.”

“She loves you, Albert, more than you know.”

“Yeah, I do.” I sighed. “Just promise me you will outlive her please. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

She smiled again. “I’ve still got a lot of spark in me, young prince.”

I laughed.

“Do you have a mask?” she asked.

“No, but I’m sure she will have someone bring me one. I will stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Then let me make you one that nobody will recognize. And you can hide from all for one night.”

I laughed. I loved this old woman so much. She always had a trick up her sleeve and always found a way to not play mother’s silly little games.

“Something tells me that this ball is going to be a lot of fun.”

DARKBEAM

The Rubicon’s story

Darkness or Light,

The Rubicon will fight,

He will succeed,

But a rider he needs.

Rider be brave and fierce,
strongest bond in all these years,
of Royal blood they be born

Fate of Paegeia is forewarned.

Then light seeped through.

That happened sixteen years ago. Why I’d thought about this today, I didn’t know. They were the words that were spoken when my egg hatched. But what was said never came to life. Why the words were still black inside the Book of Shadows, none of us knew, but it had given me hope, hope that maybe, just maybe my true rider existed, somewhere. It was all I was holding onto now, it was what my mother and father were holding onto, and Irene.

I remembered her words, as if they were spoken yesterday. I remembered them just like I could remember the temperature of my egg when my mother lay on it. Why she didn’t trample on it, I would never know. She knew what I was a Rubicon. There was only one born a thousand years after the previous one died. If there was more than one, we would annihilate this world, as we craved dominance.

We were so different from the other dragon races, all ten dragons combined, or so they told me.

I had ten abilities, but I only knew about five, or let’s say five had shown themselves. Five that would fight later today against the person that used to be my best friend since I’d shed my first scales and he was in diapers.

It all change three summer ago, when the darkness started speaking to me. Well, it didn’t use words like humans were used to, it had no language, it was a darkness that stirred, and boiled inside my core. It had wants I never needed, it woke up a monstrous beast that wanted to kill, thoughts, dark thoughts erupted in my mind. It would carry on driving me insane, until I did its deeds. Then the beast would go quiet for a short while, and I could breathe again, fight again, but those dark deeds would later haunt my soul.

No one could pull me from this. The beast that had awoken three summers ago was now too strong. Too strong for anyone but one. A dark sorcerer trapped behind deadly snatchers. He was the only one that would be able to control me, to make me do things that would make every living soul fear him, and I would rejoice doing that as I knew by every second, the beast grew stronger.

Lucian told me so many times to fight it. That I was stronger than this. That I was good, but that was a long time ago.

A note landed on my table. I looked up and saw the Snow Dragon from a few tables away sitting next to the Green-Vapor giving me her dashing smile. What did she want from me now? I thought my actions from a few weeks back would make her back off, but some girls were just pathetic, and it was a known fact that Snow Dragons fell in that department. Still, she had a beauty lingering around her that turned her cowardly streak into something I couldn’t put my finger on. It wasn’t love, it wasn’t even lust. I was longer capable of any of those things.

I opened the note.

Her handwriting was seriously unreadable but for some reason it was not the department I struggled in.

“Tell you what, meet me in the coliseum’s changing room before your claim, and you can show me how sorry you are?”

How sorry I am? I wasn’t sorry about anything, but my lips softly curled. Some girls would do anything not to be ignored.

Fine, whatever. It was going to fulfill one of the beast’s needs and maybe, just maybe, Lucian wouldn’t die today.

Not many knew that the Prince of Tith and the Rubicon used to be such good friends, except for my younger sister, Samantha Leaf, a Fire-Tail and the biggest pain in the ass one could meet. She would come to the Academy three years from now. She was also a Metallic, meaning one of the good dragons that didn’t have to get beatings on a monthly basis to stay good. Those stung like hell, and I felt sorry for my father as there would come a time he wouldn’t be able to tame the beast.

It was one of the things I feared, killing my loved ones. I knew when the time came, I wouldn’t care anymore as this part of me would be completely dark too, but I feared for him now. Just like I feared for this afternoon when I was going to face my first claim with the Prince of Tith.

I’d had many claims, ever since I’d turned sixteen. Others tried to claim me, but they’d failed miserably. One had actually died.

The Prince of Tith, well he’d just come of age, and was keeping the promise he’d made two years ago.

I remembered it like yesterday.

It was right after a beating. We were both sitting on the stone wall back at the castle in Tith. It overlooked parts of Tith, and you could see the Creepers in the distance.

The beating was horrible. I remembered the fatigue that came with it, the two weeks of silence from me. The beast inside me was raving mad, but he was in control.

It was twilight. I gazed at the most beautiful sunset, colors of a red, pink, orange even a glow of purple. It was so peaceful.

My back stung.

“If I was a dragon, I would give you my oath,” Lucian said.

“Oath for what, to stop my father whenever I needed a beating?”

“No, to find a way to claim you.”

I stared at him. Was he deranged?

“So, I guess my promise will do?”

“Lucian, you don’t know what you are saying. Nobody can take part in a claim before their sixteenth birthday.”

“Then I’ll wait.”

“You have no idea what I will be like three years from now.”

“Doesn’t matter. I know who you are now, and that is enough. I’m not going to lose you to darkness, Blake.”

He wrapped his one arm around me. “You are like my brother, and brothers don’t give up on one another.”

That was then. We were tight like brothers, but that was before the light came. His light.

I had no choice but to push him away. That pure goodness inside of him clashed horribly with my darkness, a darkness that was slightly stronger than his light, and it made me sick.

The best way to explain it is when someone eats too much salty and sweet at the same time. Or eating rotten fish, or a sick deer. It was like that. A nauseated feeling that I couldn’t handle.

I had no choice but to stay as far as I could away from him, and today I was going to face that inside the coliseum. It was going to rile up the beast while I had to deal with this nauseated feeling and try my utmost to not let the beast kill him.

He had no idea what he was putting me through, and for what? A promise he’d made me that summer when that first glimpse of darkness had showed itself. That he would find a way to claim me?

He was going to die inside that ring. I just hoped it wasn’t going to be this afternoon.

The crowds were already cheering in the coliseum as I was busy feeding the beast. The Snow Dragon kept to her word and I found her only wearing her robe in the changing room of my room where I would exit into the ring.

It happened so fast. I wanted to fill a need, one of his needs and I kissed her fiercely. Her back connected hard with the wall as her legs curled around my waist.

Her body was sculpted to perfection and her white skin made me think she was some sort of an ice queen.

She reminded me of winter, calmed my yearning, and her cold touch calmed my own stirring flame deep inside of me.

Her complaints filled my ears, it pleased the beast and when she begged for more, I gave her what she wanted.

The lust and satisfaction started to numb both the beast inside and myself and when we reached the peak, it felt amazing.

Her laughter filled my ears, tired laughter, and I could hear my voice being called outside. How many times they called me I didn’t know, but it was time to go.

“Give him hell, and make him regret that he ever decided to try and claim you.” She touched my lips. The beast was calm, he was at peace. “You are untamable,” she said softly and my lips curved.

I kissed her quickly on the lips and left the room.

Everyone in the crowd was going insane. The Dragonians, and the dragons. I just stared at Lucian. Why the hell are you doing this, you stupid fool? You haven’t even ascended yet. I didn’t speak it out loud, though; I thought it.

His light streamed out of him as he just stared at me with so much compassion that it made me want to throw up. The beast was starting to wake up again, the Snow Dragon hadn’t been enough.

I transformed, which made him back away a bit.

I knew that I’d grown since the last time he’d seen me, and I knew he was contemplating things for a bit. It disappeared after a few short minutes, just like everything about my new self would disappear when I revealed some darkness to him. He always remembered what I was like. Well today I was going to change that for real.

He put his shield in front of him. “Let’s show them a claiming they will never forget!” he yelled in Latin and I started to chuckle. The beast was going to take over and I knew that nothing I did would protect Lucian from the beast.

“There will never be a claiming, you are not the royal the Viden spoke about.”

I changed the scenery to a swamp. I loved swamps: you could be so many things and they wouldn’t even see it coming. The beast was already clouding my mind. Remember who that is, no killing him. I roared inside my mind. But the beast roared back, it sent shivers down my spine and straight into my soul. He was in charge and today was going to be a fight I had never fought before. The one inside me

I could tell he saw the swamp, the daze of everything, the look on his face, the fear in his eyes.

I stayed still, appeared to be a boulder right in front of him, then the beast took over completely. I was in way over my head. Don’t kill him, please. I’ll give you what you want, just don’t kill him.

Adrienne Woods was born and raised in South Africa, where she still resides on the East side of Johannesburg with her husband and two little girls. She's been writing for the past four years and in her free time she likes to review books of new and upcoming authors.

www.authoradriennewoods.com