ILL THEIR EYES were on me.
“Which one?” the Viden asked.
“Believe me I didn’t want to know what it means as I keep on losing the people that are close to me when I follow it. It has caused nothing but heartache and headaches. But not knowing what it means drives me insane. I want to go on a quest with Cheng in order to help me to find out what this means.”
“WHICH ONE!”
I sighed and took a deep breath. “A day will come and a day will go, a choice you have to make otherwise the truth will never be known.”
The Viden knew exactly which one I was talking about. I didn’t even have to finish it. It was written on her face.
I closed my eyes as I could see Becky through the corner of them. She was shocked and hurt because I hadn’t told her about any of this.
“Irene?” Master Longwei asked, and I opened them.
“The girl speaks the truth. It’s hers.”
“The two of you are excused, we have to speak to Elena and Cheng,” Master Longwei said to Becky and George.
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Shush,” George grunted and left the room.
Cheng answered all the other questions as to why I wanted him with me. He was really smart and his answers came naturally.
“We’ve come to a conclusion. You do know what is at stake here, Cheng?”
He nodded.
“Don’t come back if you haven’t fulfilled it Ms. Watkins. That is final.”
He pounded his hammer and that was it.
Cheng led me out.
He opened the door and I pulled my coat tighter as the wind felt icy against my skin. I got pushed hard from the side. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Becky yelled.
George grabbed Becky from behind.
“Shush, Becky. As far as those people inside the board meeting are aware, you were Elena’s cover up. Speak about this later.”
She shook George off her and walked with huge strides to the main building. I closed my eyes as Sammy just stared at me. “What else did you hide from us, Elena? It feels like I have no idea who you are.”
“Sammy…”
“No, Cheng, she should’ve told us.”
She and Dean left, leaving Cheng and I behind.
“I’m so sorry about that. I shouldn’t have brought your name into all of this. I’m just so scared…”
“Shhh, Elena, this is my last year. I don’t have anything to lose. It might be my only chance to see the rest of the world.”
“It’s not a joke, Cheng. If I don’t find out what that stupid foretelling means…” My hands tugged hard on my hair. I realized what he’d just said. “Is it just Dragonia Academy, or all of Paegeia?”
“All of Paegeia for us dragons.”
“That sucks.”
“At least I’ll be able to spend it with the one dragon that knows the other side.”
We started to walk back to the main building. Neither of us said a word.
Then Cheng finally opened his mouth. “Why didn’t you tell me that it was yours that day we saw it?”
“I don’t know. Scared, I guess.”
“Scared of what, Elena?” We paused at the bottom of the stairs leading to the girls’ dormitories.
“Cheng, I’d just started. I still had to get used to the fact that dragons were real, and that magic existed. My dad had just passed away. The more I kept it to myself, the harder it became to tell someone about it.”
He nodded and then sighed. “It’s going to be okay. Just don’t keep any more secrets from those two. They are your best friends, Elena. You are supposed to share this type of things, not hide it from them.”
“I know.”
“I’ll meet you in the library, say around six. There is a lot to go over.”
I nodded and watched him climb the stairs to the boys’ dormitories. “Cheng,” I yelled.
He turned around.
“You can always back out of this. I will do it alone if it comes to that.”
He grinned. “Elena, you might be a Rubicon, but you’ll always be a damsel in distress to me. I’m in, no matter what.”
I smiled as he waved goodbye and carried on running up the stairs.
When I opened the door of my room, both girls sat on the sofa with George and Dean beside them. Seriously. This needed to stop.
“Dean, George. Can I please have a chat alone with Sammy and Becky?”
All of them looked at me and then the guys looked at the girls. Becky nodded and Sammy smiled at Dean saying she would be okay.
When the boys were out both of them started yelling at me at once.
“Stop it. This is why I didn’t tell anyone about anything. It’s got nothing to do with any of you. Those words were directed to me, what I must find, not you Sammy and not you Becky.”
They looked at one another.
“Still, you should…”
“No! I should’ve nothing, Becky. It was mine and if I wanted to keep it a secret it was my choice to do so. You can be mad as long as you want to be. To be honest I didn’t say anything in the library because of how I felt about your brother, Sammy. He doesn’t deserve the things we are doing for him, and I still believe that. But now I’ve got no choice. If I don’t find out what those words mean, Cheng and I can never come back.”
Both gasped and looked at one another.
“What do you mean?”
“Seriously, it’s not just exile somewhere inside Paegeia for us dragons, Sammy. It’s the other side.”
They both shared a horrified look.
“It won’t happen, you have Cheng with you.” Becky walked over to me and hugged me. “Together you will find what Lucian discovered.”
“I’m sorry, Elena. I just hate the fact that you’ve kept something from us for such a long time,” Sammy said. “Sorry that you have to give up your home to save my brother.” She had tears in her eyes again.
I opened the hug I shared with Becky and pulled her into it. “I’ll do anything for you Sammy Leaf. I know it sounds crazy, but you guys are the best friends anybody could ask for. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I just didn’t know how to tell you guys that I’ve got a stupid foretelling in the Book of Shadows.”
Sammy looked at me. “Is that the reason…”
I nodded. “It’s the reason why I decided to trust Paul too. Every time I followed that stupid riddle, trying to fulfil my destiny, someone close to me died. Now it might lead to me never coming back.”
“Don’t think like that. If there is one person that can succeed Elena, it is you.”
“Becky if those words don’t turn red when I return, they are going to send me away. I’ll never be able to come back.”
“You will. After you find Tanya and discover what can claim Blake, you phone us. And then go and find what those words mean. You’ve proven plenty of things, this will be solved. I promise you.”
I nodded and sighed again.
“I want to take a bath before six o’clock.”
“Why, what’s happening at six?”
“Cheng and I are going to prepare for this stupid mission.”
“Please can we just promise no more fighting, and no more secrets,” Sammy mumbled inside my shoulder.
“Agree,” Becky seconded and joined our hug.
I winced. “Oh for crying out loud, what else?”
“I sort of dreamed about Queen Catherine. It’s how I came up with that idea.”
Both stared at me again.
“You dreamed about Queen Catherine?” Becky spoke first.
“Yes, and no I don’t know what it means but I’m sure I’ll find out once I discover what can claim Blake. Just don’t make a big deal about it, please.”
“I can live with that.” Sammy lifted her hands up in the air.
“Elena?”
“Please Becky. I don’t know why I’m dreaming about her. I can’t answer your questions.”
She sighed. “Fine, but whatever it is, Elena, it’s big to dream about royalty, especially her bloodline.”
“The story of my life. Just another thing to throw onto the pile of the unknown.”
They both started to laugh and I couldn’t help but join in.
THE NEXT COUPLE of days Cheng and I thought about everything we would need for the mission. How much money we needed for food, lodging, and camping equipment. It added up to a lot of Paegolians. The day we got our budget we had to make a few cancelations. It wouldn’t be enough for everything. Cheng at least had a tent and Dean had let me borrow his sleeping bag and everything that went with it.
“I could always ask Queen Margerite for a loan.”
“No, Elena. Nobody can know where we are going.”
“She’s going to put two and two together when I go to see her tomorrow, Cheng.”
“Then lie to her. But she cannot know.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
MY MEETING WITH Queen Margerite was scheduled at a very high-end coffee shop. The minute I walked in I got that First Wives Club vibe. It was just women in suits and had that business feel to it.
The lady by the door looked up from behind her desk. A broad smile spread over her clean face.
“Hello, Elena. The queen is waiting, follow me,” she said and led me through a couple of round tables of women enjoying their tea, scones, and cake.
I found Lucian’s mom at the back of the room. The table was facing the most beautiful view of the ocean and when we reached it she got up and planted two kisses on both my cheeks. “I take it you didn’t struggle finding this place?”
“Not at all, once I told the cab driver where I wanted to go, he knew I was going to have tea with you.” I sighed. “It’s so weird.”
“What is?”
“A year ago, nobody even knew who I was, and now everyone just knows who I am.”
She laughed. “It comes with the territory of dating the prince, even if he is gone.”
I touched her hand softly. “I miss him so much. I wish this all had a different outcome.”
“You and me both,” she said softly.
“He should’ve never been there that day. He would still be alive if not for me.”
She dabbed at a tear. “And what, let Paul kill you instead? He would’ve been a living corpse if he wasn’t with you Elena. Losing you would’ve meant his death, so the way I see it, he would’ve died no matter what.”
“How can you be so nice to me? He was your only son. I was responsible…”
“Shhhh, you forget. I might be a mother, but I’m the queen of Tith too. We have to make sacrifices for the people. His mission was for Blake and we all made a vow when Blake was little that we would do anything in our power to save him from turning evil. Lucian was my sacrifice.”
“But his death had nothing to do with Blake.”
“I don’t know about that Elena, maybe it did. I’ve been thinking about that lately, but it’s not a discussion for today. We are here because I need to ask you a few questions, well actually just one.”
I looked at her with surprise.
“Are you going where I think you are going?”
Lie to her Elena! Cheng’s voice yelled in my head, but she’d given up so much and she deserved the truth. I nodded. “He found something, I know he did. I have to find out what it was.” I couldn’t tell her about my dreams. It would be weird and she would just think that I was insane.
She huffed with a slight smile. “I knew that journal would make a bit of sense to you. It drove Helmut crazy as there was nothing other than his foretelling.”
“It’s got nothing to do with Blake’s date. It’s a link to Blake but not the way we thought.” I told her what we found and that Tanya left on the 23rd of August seventeen years ago.
The queen frowned.
“Lucian was right to search for her, she knows something and that is why I believe he knew exactly what could claim Blake. I have to go and find out.”
She took a deep breath and took out a thick
envelope. “Please, take this. Keep it safe. I don’t want you guys to run into trouble and not have enough money. Pay them off if you need to but make sure you get out of that forest, Elena.”
I took the thick envelope and knew exactly what was inside. “I can’t.”
“Please, do it for Lucian. I won’t be able to forgive myself if anything happens to you.”
I sighed and nodded. “Thank you.” I put the envelope inside my backpack and had a light lunch with the queen. We talked about everything. My foretelling, and how King Helmut was doing. Losing Nora when she was literally inside his grasp made him more determined than ever to find her.
I said goodbye around three as she had a meeting to attend to.
“Take care of yourself, and I hope you find what it is you are looking for Elena. Phone me the minute you are back.”
I gave her a hug and breathed in her fragrance without making her uncomfortable. “Thank you so much for all your help.”
“You’re so welcome. Stay safe.”
Jeeves walked up to our table.
“Jeeves will take you home, and good luck, Elena.” She gave me two more kisses on both my cheeks and another tight hug before she let me go.
The drive to the Academy was silent. Jeeves didn’t say anything to me just a ‘good luck with the mission’ as he dropped me off at the Academy.
I disrobed behind a tree and flew up. I wasn’t going to tell Cheng about the money and would use it like she’d instructed me. Only when it was needed; hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
