ELENA
IT WAS COLD, dark and a feeling of being broken lay heavily on my gut.
Nobody remained who could pull me out of this darkness, this pain, and I had nothing to live for.
I was freezing to death. Maybe, just maybe, I would get my dying wish this time.
My mind started to shut down and sort of reboot when people close by spoke to one another. One voice was masculine and the other high pitched. Their footsteps were fast, as if they were running.
I was completely numb. The cold didn’t affect me anymore, and my breathing had become shallow. My aching muscles and thighs were grave reminders of what I’d been through at the hands of those monsters, but the image of really wanting to wield fire – and suddenly being able to – comforted me a bit.
My hands had been engulfed in Blake’s pink flame. I didn’t understand it, not at first; but Zack, Derick and that other idiot had just stared at it. They had been mesmerized and terrified, all at the same time.
I hadn’t even hesitated for more than a second then I’d killed them one by one. I reveled in the thought. It felt good. I had watched how they’d started to burn, turned dark and fell into heaps of ash.
Their screams would haunt me forever and that was when I started to run again.
Only, I didn’t know where to run. At least I’d gotten my revenge on three of them. They wouldn’t be able to tell anyone how I’d escaped. They would only find burning grass and hopefully dust heaps after what my fire had done to them.
The voices grew closer. I didn’t care anymore. They could bury me, for what it was worth. It would be better than waking from this trance, dealing with more shit than anyone could possibly deal with.
One heartbeat bounced rapidly, another was so soft that I could barely hear it.
Penelope popped into my mind. Just die, Elena, die. You don’t want to be found by them. Just die.
Neither wyverns nor dragons were good news anymore. Dragons were too chicken shit to stand up for what they were and wyverns, they were evil, always had been and always would be. I didn’t think I could ever trust another dragon ever again.
The footsteps stopped, a shriek filled the air, but I didn’t see who it belonged to, my face was turned away from them. And my eyes were barely open. They felt so heavy.
“Is she alive?” one said in a high voice.
A hand scorched my neck. He was so warm. “I feel a pulse,” the other one said. “We need to get her to a hospital, now.”
Hospital? Seymour would look at the hospitals first. Hospitals weren’t good either.
“Okay, I hate this part, but okay,” the other one with the pitching voice, replied.
I heard the plop and the tearing sound, and could feel my body being lifted from the ground. I wanted to wake, to scream for help, but here no help was going to come, only punishment. And, after what I had done to those three, I would be sent straight to the pits and I’d be put into the next reaping, and I would be voted for, that much I knew.
My fire jumped into my head again, but I was way too weak to wield it this time.
I felt how my body shook slightly from the movement. I could still hear his heartbeat. He was scared. It wasn’t the adrenaline of some fun activity that was going to take place later on. A wyvern, scared. It didn’t make any sense whatsoever.
The movement stopped and I started to feel the wind slightly on my face. It was warm too.
“She is ice cold, which hospital is the nearest?” the one holding me said.
“The one in Tith, definitely,” his dragon answered.
Tith!
I was back home. How in the world was that even remotely possible?
I didn’t remember leaving any borders. Nobody had stopped me; maybe my fire was still around me and they had become scared and run away, but I didn’t remember any of that. I had no recollection of how I’d gotten back home.
The last part I remembered was feeling extremely drained and collapsing.
“Whoever you are, just hold on, please.” A soft voice spoke into my ear.
Killing Blake flashed through my mind again. What sort of punishment awaited me here? I was still scared, believe it or not, and thought that facing evil men that wanted you dead was better than facing loved ones who wanted you dead. I couldn’t run anymore, as I was lying helpless in his arms, and I was on the back of a dragon.
The man gasped.
“What is it, what is it!” The dragon heard his rider’s shock.
“No, it can’t be?” the one holding me answered.
“Can’t be what?”
He didn’t answer.
“Who is it?” The dragon asked again.
“Fly faster. It’s the princess.”
Another shriek left the dragon’s mouth and I could feel him taking a different course.
“No, to the hospital. Now. We need to save her life.”
“You’re not thinking clearly; he will kill both of us.”
“We have no choice, he will kill us both if she dies on your back, now fly to the hospital and I promise I will get us clear from his wrath.”
Who were they talking about? Emanuel. It had to be Emanuel or Sir Robert. No, it had to be Emanuel.
I hadn’t thought about either of them for a long time.
The dragon changed its course and not long after, I could hear traffic in the distance. It became louder and louder when people’s voices became audible.
The hospital was near. The doctors were ordering medical terms and machines were beeping all at the same time. It filled my ears as if I was in all of those rooms at the same time.
The dragon landed.
“We need help, now. I think it is Princess Elena.”
Footsteps with hearts beating fast and a wheeling cart was squeaking slightly as they rushed in our direction.
I felt the rocking of being handled by people. More gasps filled the air.
“Why is she so skinny?” a woman’s voice asked.
A guy grunted, medical terms again, a language all by itself but by the tone in his voice, it didn’t sound good. “What happened to her?”
“We only found her. We were taking our morning run and she was just lying there under a tree. We came here as fast as we could. What happened to her, is it the princess?”
No reply came and then a light shone in my eyes.
“It’s the princess all right. Wherever she was, I’m glad that it isn’t going to be me that will have to deal with him.”
There it was again. What did Emanuel do that made these people fear him so badly?
The doctor yelled at someone in the opposite direction. “Get Constance here ASAP, and whatever you do, I don’t want any press, you hear.”
“Will she be okay?” the one who had carried me asked from afar.
“We are going to find out soon. Don’t worry, we will speak to him and tell him you only found her.”
Again they had to be talking about Emanuel, as Sir Robert would never speak to me again because of what I had done.
I heard doctors speaking softly about medicine, antibiotics and a heat blanket, as I was busy dying of hypothermia. A private room was mentioned and again, no press.
I hoped I didn’t get to see what Kevin and his cockroach buddies were going to print about me next. Probably how I deserved all of this for killing Blake and leaving my responsibilities behind.
I thought about the sky and flying away. If Cara were still alive, I wouldn’t have been here at all. I would’ve gone back to the only home where no one really knew me. The home where I was just Elena Watkins.
BLAKE
I TRIED TO feel for her heartbeat again, but for the past few hours since that horrible pain erupted inside of me, I struggled.
Whatever she was going through, I wasn’t there to protect her from it and it was something I would never be able to forgive myself for as long as I lived. Emanuel was here tonight, begging me to wait for proof of her body. I sent him away. I wanted to be alone.
Was she still alive? I didn’t know, but Emanuel knew what I was going to do if she wasn’t.
The pain was gone. It vanished into thin air when Master Longwei told me what it was I needed to do. Elena needed her abilities, and I had to give my consent.
It disgusted me. They weren’t even mine, they had never been mine, and she really needed them more.
Her heart had beat so fast, I had felt her fear as if it were my own, but the connection to her mind was still blocked. She’d left me in the dark, imagining the worst possible scenario I could.
If only I could reach her mind. It used to be so easy before, now it was as if she’d built walls around herself that not even I could break through.
I’d put her in this mess, and the hard part was I couldn’t get her out of it. Daylight streamed into my room. The breeze was cold but refreshing. My clock said it was six-thirty.
A knock came from the door. It sounded urgent, and I got up from bed and opened the door.
Constance.
“They found, Elena. She’s in the hospital at Tith.”
She wanted to say more, but there was no time. She was here. I didn’t wait to hear her fate. The important thing was that she was here.
I jumped through the window, morphed in mid-air and flew as if my life depended on it.
Constance didn’t follow. She was going to take the elevator. I hated those elevator rides, they were not a normal way to travel, and I didn’t trust the way you just magically appeared where you wanted to be.
I trusted what I could see and feel, and my wings were fast enough to get me where I needed to be.
My heart pounded, like the first time I’d saved her life, but I didn’t stop. It felt like forever.
I had to see her, had to know if she was okay.
I sped up and when the towers of the cathedral in Tith came into view through the clouds, I actually got scared. I hadn’t been in the air that long. Still, Elena needed me, and I was close. I’d become fast, but I didn’t imagine this type of speed. I descended and slowed down.
I missed the landing of the hospital by a mile and turned around.
A few doctors waited for me on the rooftop. They’d known I was coming; Constance must be here already.
I landed, my paws had barely touched the ground when I transformed back, and stopped just in time on the edge of the roof at the hospital.
I ran back to the hospital staff and grabbed the blue scrubs one of them held out and pulled the pants on first.
I started following them through the entrance at the top of the roof back into the hospital.
“She was brought in an hour ago. The doctors are with her now.”
“Who brought her in?” I said as I pulled my arms through the shirt.
“It was a couple, they were on their morning run and they found her under a tree.”
“Where are they?”
“Blake.” The woman had a grave expression on her face. “She barely had any clothes on.”
I stared at her. I knew what that meant. Why she’d needed my fire. Why her heart had been beating like that. A part of me broke and a part of me wanted to go back into the darkness again for a while.
I clutched my head as if it was going to explode with anger and muffled a scream.
Their scent lingered in my thoughts. Too many people had handled her, and I wouldn’t be able to find the fuckers who had done this to her. But there was another way.
“Where are they?” I was referring to the couple. I knew my ability to do what Crown Tails did wasn’t that strong yet, but I needed to see and smell what they had, when they’d found her. It was the only way to avenge what had been done to Elena. I prayed that one was a dragon; no human would breathe after I was finished with them, and the list of innocent lives I’d taken was way too long already.
“They are in the waiting room on the eleventh floor. They saved her life.”
I ran down the steps to the eleventh floor and opened the door with a slight push. It hit the wall hard and made some staff jump.
“Waiting room,” I barked at two girls who shrieked at my robust entry, and one pointed me in the right direction.
The sign announcing the waiting room was above the entrance and I barged through the doors.
People were sitting there.
“Who found her?”
“We didn’t harm her,” one of the guys said with his hands up in defense.
He was human, but the skinny one who was biting his nails and hiding behind him was a dragon.
I walked straight to him and grabbed his head in both my hands.
A scream came from him. I could feel people trying to get me off him, but I was almost there in his mind.
I saw glimpses of them running, making jokes. They were a couple, and I knew the place. I’d been there many times searching for her. It was close to the border of Tith.
A shriek came from this one’s mouth and the other one bent down to a half-naked body lying underneath the trees. My heart broke into a million pieces. She was so skinny and her legs were so bruised. They would all fucking die.
I took in all the scents. One, sweat and something disgusting, two, soot, three a sickening sweet cologne, more sweat. Four. How many were there? I prayed for strength and took in more scents.
I swore they would wish they’d never lain eyes on her when I found them. I finished at seven. Angry tears blurred my vision. Anger that was aimed towards myself and anger that was aimed towards them.
I let go of his head and the guy fell to the floor.
My body shook.
“What did you do?” the other one yelled.
“I had to see what you saw in order to know what happened, he will be okay. Give him my apologies, please.”
His partner stared at me then nodded.
“Thank you, I’m in your debt, whatever you need, just let me know.” I spoke softly as a stray tear rolled down my cheek.
He was speechless, and I pushed myself from the floor then went to find out if Constance was here and if I could see Elena. My head spun from all the info I’d gathered. Bile rose in my throat as a nurse wanted to help me.
I crouched and concentrated on making this sickening feeling in my gut disappear.
“Are you okay?”
“Don’t.” I spoke to an old nurse. “Where is Constance?”
“She’s with the princess. Let me just help you. What you did back there drained all your strength. You need to sit down.”
“No, I need to see her!”
She led me to the reception and gave me a glass filled with juice. I wanted to chuck it back at her because she wasn’t listening, but I didn’t. My throat felt like the desert, so I took a sip instead.
“Where is she?” I spoke as I finished the last drop. I could barely contain my emotions, and my voice was barely audible.
“The doctors are still busy with her. Please, let them do their job.”
I nodded and pinched my eyes hoping it would make me feel better. I hadn’t slept much during the past four months since I had woken that day to find her missing.
The elevator door opened. “Blake,” my mother said.
She flung her arms around my neck. “We came as soon as we heard. Have you seen her?” She studied me and I shook my head.
“I’m sorry, son. I wish I could spare you from this. Who found her?” my father asked.
“A couple that went for a jog this morning. She was close to the border. We need to get Matt here, she,” I swallowed hard. She was…” I couldn’t say it. I took a deep breath as my mom gasped.
“Who, Blake?” My father said through clenched teeth.
“I don’t know. Their scent isn’t familiar.”
“Their?” my mother asked with tears in her eyes. “How many?”
I shook my head. “I got eleven, but two belonged to the couple that found her, the others belonged to two doctors.”
She cupped her mouth as tears lingered in her eyes. “More than half a dozen.”
“Fucking bastards,” my father said. “I’ll get a hold of Matt.”
I nodded and watched my father return to the elevator.
When it opened, Queen Margerite came out, barely acknowledging my father, and ran straight toward us.
“They found her?” she asked.
My mother nodded.
“Where is she, can we see her?”
“The doctors are still busy with her.” I didn’t want to listen to how my mother was going to explain all of this to the queen.
I rested my back against the reception desk with my arms folded. I didn’t have to make up scenarios anymore. I could fill in the missing details of why her heart had pounded like that. I saw images of men with no faces taking turns.
They would fucking die, I swore it, even if it was the last thing I did, and I promised to make it as painful as possible for as long as I could.
I felt her hand on my arm, and my gaze found hers. Queen Margerite had tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
“Blake.” Emanuel spoke from the direction from which I’d come previously. King Helmut was next to him.
Emanuel had never given up on the search either. He’d saved my life more than a couple of times near the Creepers.
I was drained. I couldn’t stay strong anymore, and I hid my face with my one hand. My body shook as the tears flowed. I hadn’t been there to protect her, failed to do my duties as her dragon too many times.
His arms grabbed a hold of my body. “It’s not your fault. Don’t ever think that. You tried to find her, and I’ll testify to that.”
I wiped my tears and so much anger crept into my gut – anger I hadn’t felt for the past four months.
“What—” King Helmut wanted to ask.
“Don’t, please. Don’t ask me what happened. I can’t.”
“She is safe now,” Emanuel said as a nurse came to take us back to the waiting room.
I could still hear Queen Margerite giving her husband the news in detail. He grunted too and cussed a few times.
I grabbed the nearest nurse’s arm. “When Constance gets out, can you please just tell her that I’m waiting?”
“I think she already knows that.”
I thanked her softly and walked back to the waiting room. I cringed as I entered, and found the couple who had discovered her still sitting on the chairs. The dragon didn’t look good but at least he was awake.
“I’m so sorry. I had to do that. Your rider wouldn’t have been able to handle it.”
“It’s okay, as long as it showed you that we didn’t hurt her, you can do whatever you bloody like.”
“Felix?” his partner said.
“At least I can say the Rubicon was in my head. That is what that was, right? You left me with a mother of a headache.” His one hand touched his head with his pinky in the air.
“I had to know. Once again, I’m so sorry.”
“Is she going to be okay?” his partner asked.
“She will be, eventually.”
“Did what we think really happen to her?”
I nodded. “One thing I know is that when I find them, they will experience hell.”
