IT’D BEEN ALMOST an entire week, and nothing major had happened in the Blake department.
I’d gotten through to Tabitha, but whether she had talked to him about it, I didn’t know.
The only thing that seemed to change was the pressure of the Council, still wanting to know how far I’d come in persuading him.
Sir Robert didn’t like the kind of pressure they were putting on me. It wasn’t the rider’s responsibility to make the dragon take up his duties. He feared them not giving him space and time would only drive us further apart, as if we were some estranged couple.
Another thing that had set in, was I was finally starting to become more active in decisions regarding Paegeia than I was used to.
King Helmut and to my surprise, King Caleb too, had agreed to let me not just sit in the meetings when they concerned Paegeia’s future, but have a vote too, which had never happened before now.
I was freed from the boring everyday details, but I’d also learned that it was crucial to know what was said in those meetings since it clearly helped with decision making.
But I had a say in the matter. So it wasn’t just two that made these decisions anymore, it was back to three. I had taken my father’s place.
The first choice was some sort of an expansion decision. They wanted to take on another deal on the other side of the world.
The little I’d learned during those horrible three weeks of my summer break, was that Paegeia was enriched with oil.
It made me think about the Ewings from Dallas; even though I knew JR and Bobby didn’t really exist, I kept seeing a JR somewhere on the other side trying to get his hands on Paegeia’s oil.
My father used to love Dallas, and I’d actually started liking JR, the day he died.
“Helmut, you would be stupid not to take this on,” King Caleb said.
“I don’t like this. Have you even considered the consequences?”
“Consequences. We are protected by a wall; they can’t come in, unless they want to stay here forever.”
“I can’t believe that you went behind my back—”
“I told you before,” King Caleb interrupted. “I didn’t. They somehow knew about Paegeia and the oil.”
“How, Caleb?”
“A dragon might have enlightened them.”
King Helmut started to laugh, as if it was the biggest bull he’d ever heard.
Was King Caleb really spreading the word about the existence of Paegeia to the other side? Why? That was my major concern.
“We can expand,” Caleb said.
“At what cost?” Helmut shook his head. “The oil rigs this side have done more than enough for Paegeia. Going and finding new rigs in places that don’t want anything to do with money or give a damn that they are sitting on a gold mine is a waste of time.”
“And that is exactly why we have to make them see. They can enrich the cities. Make them better.”
“They don’t care about those things. I have thought about this and they just want to be left alone.”
I squinted. “What places are we talking about?”
King Caleb sighed as King Helmut glanced at me with a soft smile. “The dragon cities.”
I raised my eyebrows and stared at King Caleb.
“Elena, don’t. You don’t know what this could mean to Paegeia.”
“What can this mean to Paegeia? The only thing I see in my mind is forcing dragons that still want nothing to do with humans to let humans into their everyday lives, drilling for oil. That is what you are seeing, right?”
His lips thinned out. He didn’t like my reply and I knew he didn’t like granting me any sort of choice in this matter.
“So I take it your vote is going to be a no, and yours too Helmut.” He smiled. “Just like the old days,” he said, then got up and left.
“Caleb, don’t be like that.”
The door to the consulting room in King Helmut’s palace slammed. It made me jump.
“How could he not see that what he is asking is wrong?”
“Caleb is a good king but sometimes I just think he has lost his reason.”
“Yeah, the more I’m hearing some of these things, the more I can see that.”
“Still, it’s a brave decision you’ve made. Your father would’ve been proud. As for Caleb, he really wanted this to go through, so I can’t say what this is going to mean for you in the long run.”
“It doesn’t matter what he is going to try to do. He needs to deal with the fact that I am part of this world, and it is part of me. I’m my father’s daughter and even though he doesn’t like it, he needs to find a way to accept it.”
King Helmut smiled. “If only you could have that confidence in a hall filled with Council members.”
“I’m still working on that one.”
We sat at the table for the next couple of hours and the two of us worked through the rest of the choices. He let me make up my own mind, presented them to me and we discussed the outcome rationally. We granted a few things and declined others. There were even some that I disagreed about with him and he put them into the pile until we had a third voice back.
When the pile was finished, I was transported back to the Academy.
My spirit felt lifted. For the first time ever since the truth had come out, I was being treated like a princess. I was being given a chance to be heard and from all the smiles and nods from Helmut, even if we didn’t agree, I could tell that I reminded him of my father, or maybe my mother. Whichever one, it made me feel good. It meant I was finally filling their shoes, large shoes I might add, but I was stepping into them.
I had a good day, not one filled with a pesky dragon who loved to complain about how unfair this claim was blah, blah, blah. I had bigger things to be concerned about and for once, Blake wasn’t one of them.
But it also made it more clear that my future was going to be a lonely one, as I knew for a fact nobody was going to want me. Not with this dent hanging over my head.
They all feared the Rubicon, even if he didn’t want me.
“BLAKE!” TABITHA YELLED.
We were in Mia’s class again.
“I told you the other night to stay out of this.”
“She just needs the Rubicon.”
Blake chuckled. “I am the Rubicon.”
“Then act like it,” I yelled at him. “This constant bitching and moaning about how unfair this is, it’s not the Rubicon at all. You are being a coward.” I gasped. “Oh, I forgot, you are one tenth of a Snow Dragon. No offence,” My eyes shifted for a second on Tabitha then back to him. “Which must be what’s guiding you at the moment. Well, when all the other nine parts show themselves again, let me know.”
The entire class started clapping. Ever since they found out that I could stand up for them to Blake, they’d gained a bit more confidence.
“Do what you want, I keep telling you that. I don’t want you like that, but I need that mutt that lingers inside of you.” I sighed. He hadn’t replied yet. “Let’s just do what it is we have to do and be done with it. After that you can do whatever you want.”
“Oh, yeah. You sure about that? ’Cause people tend to say things they don’t mean, Elena.”
My lips thinned. “I’m not one of them. And you know that!” I yelled then stomped away.
He did know it. I’d proved it to him once when I’d had to find the King of Lion sword. I could’ve asked to see my mother and would’ve seen Queen Catherine then all of this might have been different, but I didn’t. I had gone in for one purpose, to find that sword.
I had done what I said I would. We had even spoken about that. How could he insinuate that I would change my mind?
I WAS RAVING mad for almost an entire day. Two more crows came from the Council asking me how far I was with the Rubicon. “Making progress,” I wrote on the piece of parchment as hard as I could and sent the last crow back. Still it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.
More news came, but I was glad it hadn’t been sent via crow. This news came from a babbly Fire-Tail dragon who was smiling from ear to ear when she entered the room.
“The manor is finished. My parents have invited all of us over for dinner this Friday.”
“We’re leaving Dragonia?” Becky asked, pretending that we weren’t going in the first place. The manor got finished just in time for our plans, as this weekend was Sammy’s birthday party too.
Sammy nodded.
“Freedom!” Becky yelled. “What about a celebration at Longbottoms, Elena?”
I gave her a look, she was giving everything we managed to arrange in secret away in two seconds.
“We’re going to have a celebration at the manor, Becky.” Sammy’s voice was pitching.
“I’m with Sammy.” I played my part and for a second Becky sort of seemed nervous that I was going to cancel all the plans we had made for Sammy’s surprise on Saturday.
FRIDAY CAME FAST and we couldn’t wait to finally see the manor. Sir Robert came to fetch us. George had managed to slip away one afternoon and had gone to buy Sammy her jacket. We struggled to sneak it with us to the manor, but somehow Becky managed.
The vibe in the limo was extremely thick as the ass and his precious were sharing it with us.
Still, Sir Robert didn’t care about his son’s foul mood. He talked with everyone about how beautiful the manor had turned out.
When the limo stopped at the Port in Elm, reporters were waiting outside again.
“Just fucking great. You just had to bring her too, didn’t you?” he said to his father.
“Don’t, Blake. Elena is part of this family.”
Blake had that sarcastic grin, and shook his head. “You live in a dream world, old man,” he said and got out of the limo before Sir Robert could say anything.
From his expression, I could see another beating was coming.
“Wipe that out of your mind, immediately,” I said and he grunted softly.
Reporters yelled as Blake shut the door. He didn’t say anything, answered none of their questions, and by a plop and tear sound, I knew he’d transformed and was probably in the air right now.
Tabitha was still in the limo with us.
“I’m sorry about that. He sure is different.”
“It’s fine, Tabitha. I know this isn’t easy on you either.”
She didn’t say anything, although it was evident on her face.
More flashes came as I exited after Sir Robert.
“Elena, so where are you going?”
“Home,” I said with a smile.
“You mean Etan?” Another asked.
“If I was leaving for Etan, believe me it would be a glorious day.”
Everyone laughed again, including the party I’d come with.
“So that means that the Rubicon hasn’t dented yet?”
“I don’t need him to dent, but I do need him to get me past those deadly snatchers.” I remembered what Sir Robert had called them that one time and thought it was an appropriate thing a princess would say.
Another question came and Sir Robert intervened. “The princess has answered enough questions for now.”
I smiled as we were separated from the reporters by a door that led to a private section reserved for the royal and famous people of Paegeia. Thankfully, the elevator to Tith was fast.
I took a chair next to Tabitha.
“So, I take it you didn’t have much luck with him either?”
“I’m trying my best. It’s not easy asking him to do that.”
“I told you before, I don’t want him, not like that.”
“So you did.”
“I meant it.”
She gave me a smile. It wasn’t the kind she gave Blake but she’d given me one. Something I thought would never come from her.
We both screamed from excitement and patted our hair down when the ride came to a stop.
More flashlights were waiting on the other side and Sir Robert did all the talking as we reached his SUV. He’d gotten rid of that old rust bucket he’d used to drive and bought the meanest black four-wheel drive anyone had ever seen.
Sammy took the front, with the rest of us climbing into the back.
George and Dean said they would join us later that night.
The drive was excruciating as we were all super excited to see the manor.
He pulled in, in front of a large wooden gate. It was gorgeous, made from a deep mahogany with huge letters spelling out their surname carved into the wood.
“The gate is gorgeous.” Sammy’s voice broke and her father laughed.
“It’s just the gate. Wait till you see your room.”
We all laughed as the gate opened and my heart started to bounce a bit faster as a huge, double-story manor began to reveal itself through the trees.
Gasps filled the air.
The house was colossal, built with dark stone and the biggest windows I had ever seen.
Vines trailed all over the walls.
I felt like a dwarf against this giant structure in front of me.
Sir Robert parked and we all got out, not saying a word.
The second story had balconies, but they weren’t the type with which I was familiar. These reminded me of the openings of caves. They had no railings and for the love of blueberries I couldn’t understand why they had been built like that. I was starting to feel they weren’t balconies at all. It must be a house built dragon style. I was going to live in a dragon house.
“Okay, now I’m worried none of you have said a word, except that the gate is beautiful.”
Sammy flung her arms around her dad’s neck. “It’s stunning, Dad.” She let him go. “Is that what I think it is?” She pointed at the cave-like hole I was staring at.
“Blake told you about it?”
She nodded.
Just then, a huge purple dragon dove out from the clouds and landed on the balcony we were staring at. Everyone gasped at how fast he’d become. Tith was at least a day’s ride from Elm; he’d flown here in less than an hour.
He walked into the opening and the last thing I saw was his spiky tail disappearing.
“Wrong room, son!” Sir Robert yelled and we all laughed.
I now understood why they were built this way. None of them had to use the front door, they each had their own separate entrance to their rooms. I gaped. The house didn’t even shake when he landed and Blake was massive.
“That is so frawsome!” I yelled.
Everyone laughed, including Becky, who was staring at everything like I was.
“Come, let me show you guys your rooms,” Sir Robert said and led us through the big front door.
A beautiful lobby greeted us with a set of stairs at the back. It had a big stone floor and a luscious cream carpet with a table and vase filled with flowers in the middle. He led us through a hallway, filled with pictures of his entire family.
I stopped and stared at one. It was of Lucian and Blake, standing arm in arm, about twelve or thirteen years old, both smiling as if nothing was ever going to come between them.
My heart clenched, and I felt Sammy’s arm around me.
“They were really such great friends, the best. If only I could go back and warn them what was going to happen.”
“What do you mean, warn them?”
“It was the summer before the darkness started. They’d fought so much, and eventually Lucian gave up.”
“He never gave up. Blake told me once that it was his light, reflecting—”
“Just shut up.” Blake walked past us wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, with no shoes.
I sighed deeply.
Sammy grunted.
“Don’t,” I said.
“He is so arrogant.”
“He has a point; I shouldn’t be here. This is your home. Not mine.”
“Don’t ever say that. You are like family. My father was your father’s dragon. Do you have any idea what that was like?”
“No, because I didn’t get that chance,” I said a bit too loudly. Why can’t they get that?
Sir Robert appeared from another part of the house into which all of them had disappeared, and walked back to us.
“This is your home. Don’t ever let him make you feel like it isn’t, you hear me?”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
Sir Robert blew out a huge breath. “One day I know I’m going to regret it, but now, not so much.”
I squinted and Sammy laughed.
“I thought you didn’t worry about that, but I guess I was wrong.”
A full-on quarrel was taking place in the kitchen as we walked in.
It was between Blake and his mother, and it was weird how I didn’t seem to hear it.
“Sound-proof walls,” Sammy said as she must have seen the confused look on my face when Sir Robert opened another door that Blake had shut behind him.
“Enough!” Isabel yelled. “I love you, Blake but I’m not having this in my house!”
“Your house? What happened to ‘welcome home, son’?” He sounded sarcastic.
“You have become such an ungrateful little prick. If it wasn’t for what Elena feels when you are getting a hiding, I would’ve given you one myself by now. Now get the hell away from my sight.”
He glared at his mother, bared his teeth, and turned around and walked past me.
Tabitha ran after him, not saying a word.
Isabel let out a frustrated groan and Sir Robert pulled her into his chest.
“He needs to dent. When is that going to happen, Robert?”
“Shhhh, we have company.”
She turned around, worry lacing her eyes, before a smile took its place as she saw all three of us.
She opened her arms for Sammy, and they both hugged one another. “Welcome home, sweetheart. You, I know, will appreciate it.”
“It’s gorgeous, Mom. I mean look at this kitchen.”
It was gorgeous; granite tops with the most beautiful open fireplace in one corner, which for some reason made me think of a dragon lying in front of it in the winter. There was a huge wooden table in the middle and appliances I’d never seen before on the counters. It had a huge fridge, and a stove that could make food for any occasion. There was also a wash-up area that reminded me of King Helmut’s kitchen.
“Elena,” Isabel said as she gave me a hug too. “Welcome home.”
“Thanks, it’s really stunning.”
“This was exactly how my home was before that horrible night when everything was lost to us,” she said softly.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t. Today is a good day, and not even a little ungrateful dragon is going to change that.”
“Isabel,” I said. “He’s everything but little.”
Her head fell back and she laughed. All of us joined in.
“I missed you girls so much. Come, let me show you your rooms.”
She led us upstairs and we went to Sammy’s first. It was so spacious, had the most lovely four-poster bed and there were all sorts of colors everywhere.
“I love it,” Sammy said.
“It’s Sammy all right,” Becky said, as she opened the door that led out to the balcony, or what I just called the opening.
It had a huge passageway and opened into a landing. We stood on the edge and peered over the most beautifully manicured backyard with swimming pool, deck chairs and umbrellas; even a BBQ area for Sir Robert, that had a huge wooden table and plenty of chairs. The rest of the view was breathtaking. Tith’s mountains created a background and it was just open spaces. Everything was the opposite of what they’d had before. I was glad my father had left his dragon a vault filled with treasures.
It was so cool, and a part of me wished I was still a dragon.
We passed Blake’s room but didn’t hear anything coming from within.
“It’s bliss,” Sir Robert said. “Not hearing things you don’t want to hear.”
Isabel laughed. “Yeah, that’s what you say now.”
“Don’t remind me, please.”
Sammy suppressed her smile, and I stared at Becky, who was grinning too.
“Seriously?” Becky asked.
“What?”
“At least Elena won’t be a Tabitha,” Isabel said, and winked at me.
I finally got it. “Oh please, that is so not going to happen.”
They all laughed at my tone. I sounded disgusted, and also embarrassed all at the same time.
“It’s what I said too.” Becky smirked again.
We walked past three rooms before Sir Robert opened the door to his and Isabel’s room, which was at the far end of the hall.
It was stunning, with a fireplace and luxurious carpets, with the walls draped in the most beautiful abstract décor. Rich in color and very homey. The bed was colossal just like the room. They had an en-suite bathroom that reminded me of the one I’d had in my room when I’d visited Lucian.
We went out and walked back to the door we’d passed not long before.
It was mine.
The girls cracked themselves up again at my proximity to Isabel and Sir Robert.
“So this is your precaution?” Sammy asked both her parents. “Elena’s room right next to yours.”
Sir Robert stepped on a creaky floorboard right in front of my room. “That is my precaution.”
We all laughed. These people had seriously high hopes, but they were in good spirits, and I wasn’t going to kill that.
My room was perfect. It had a huge bed, closets the length of the wall, with a beautiful cream carpet. It had a bathroom too, not as luxurious as Isabel’s, but it was perfect and mine. For the first time ever I had something to call mine.
“Do you like it?” Isabel asked.
“It’s perfect, thank you.” I hugged her.
“It is us that should thank you.”
“Don’t, please,” I begged. I really didn’t want to speak about that at the moment.
We were ready to walk back out when I saw another door.
I squinted at Isabel and walked to it.
It was an opening and I started to laugh.
“Why on earth did I get one too?”
“It was a mistake in the plans we drew up, and now we can’t fix it as it’s part of the main structure, sorry about that.”
Sir Robert just grunted. “I really need to fix that somehow. Put some sort of a device that would trigger the alarm,” he was speaking to himself since I refused to listen to this. It is never going to happen. Why didn’t any of them get it?
“Oh Dad, please,” Sammy said. “Isn’t it enough that Elena didn’t get sound-proof walls?”
Her father glanced at her with soft eyes and smiled. “Elena isn’t the only one that didn’t get sound-proof walls. I know boys your age, Sammy.”
I was glad Dean wasn’t here.
I smiled. “Wish I could have used it. I miss being a dragon.” I tried to change the subject.
Isabel’s arms wrapped around me. “She was never supposed to wake up.”
“I know, but still. I miss her.”
She just gave me a soft smile.
“So, who’s hungry? I’ve worked like a slave today preparing snacks for our BBQ at the pool.”
We all shrieked excitedly. A pool BBQ.
“So frawsome,” Becky chanted and we all laughed.
THE EVENING WAS amazing, well except when Blake started with his shit. He’d had way too many things to say, which made me turn around and walk away. A few had riled up Sir Robert. He was pushing his father, but Sir Robert was careful about striking Blake again, worried that my bracelet wouldn’t work or maybe scared because of the way I had threatened him the last time he beat Blake and what I would do to him if he tried that again right in front of me.
On Saturday morning, Constance came over. It was for Sammy’s birthday, but she used the reason that she wanted to check out the house.
She gave her niece loud smacking kisses on the cheeks and whispered a sweet birthday message in her ear. To think she’d only had three or four birthdays at the most with her daughter. It would always be a sad story, and I wondered if her family was still alive.
Isabel made us breakfast and we enjoyed it around the huge dining room table right next to the kitchen.
When we all finished and were drinking coffee (tea for Constance and Isabel) Blake started with his shit again. Couldn’t he just leave it for once?
Constance stared at her nephew while he was fighting with his father about so many things.
When it got to be too much, I stepped in.
“Blake! Enough!” I yelled.
“Oh shut up.”
“No, you shut up. What is wrong with you? Seriously. Just get over yourself. I know you are trying to make me feel unwelcome here, but I don’t give a shit about what it is you are trying to do. That time is long past. I don’t care about you, the same way you don’t care about me, but what I do care about is your family and you are spoiling everything for them. So just shut up and just go.”
He huffed and stared at me for a second before he left.
I plunged into the chair and a minute later Tabitha returned with tears in her eyes.
“He wants to be alone.”
“Come, sit here.” Isabel pulled out the chair next to her.
“He’s never been like this before.” She gave me a slight scolding look, as if it was all my fault and that I shouldn’t be here.
I shook my head. He was making it difficult for everyone. I’d never thought he was this type of person.
“Tabitha, you do know that he needs to dent.”
“Please don’t.”
“Baby.”
“He will forget about me.”
“I told you it’s not going to be like that.” I stepped in. “He loves you, Tabitha, believe me.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. On all the others’ faces, I could tell it was something they all wanted to know.
“That time he helped me out, well he was the total opposite of this.”
“You fell for him, didn’t you?”
“I did, but he made it very clear that I wasn’t you. He loves you, and no spell or enchantment is going to take that away.”
Isabel and Constance squinted as I said it.
“I meant what I said. I just need the dragon. You can have that arrogant ass if you want.”
She sniggered.
“Well, with that out of the way, we need to know how the dent works, what triggers it,” Isabel said. “George, any ideas?”
We all laughed and Becky stared at him.
“It will never happen if I say it out loud,” George said as he brought the cup of coffee to his lips.
Becky gasped. “You’re shitting me?” She got things so easily.
“Shush, I mean it.”
“Oh crap, what is it?” They both started to freak me out.
Nobody answered me.
“It needs to come from him, anyway, so it’s not a rider’s decision.” George looked at Tabitha.
She nodded. “So it’s never going to happen.” She had a soft curve at the lips.
“It’s not a good thing, Tabitha,” Constance said.
“Am I the only one that doesn’t get this?” I asked.
Becky and Sammy laughed. The grownups looked contemplated a bit and George, well, he sort of didn’t look at me at all.
“It’s not surprising,” Becky said. “You have been on your own little planet lately.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll think of something.” Constance put her arm around me.
Still, I would’ve liked to know what it was that made them dent, something Blake would never do, and then I got it. I started to laugh, not the ‘ha-ha’ kind, but at how messed up this all really was. “You are all right, it’s never going to happen.”
I shook my head and got up. “We might as well give up now. Tabitha is right.”
I left for my room. I hated the creak more and more as I stepped over it and just fell onto my bed.
The dent would never happen. Because Blake would have to kiss me of his own free will.
