I DRIFTED AWAY, after a gazillion thoughts had entered my mind. Tonight’s events, Blake’s graceful entry, the way he’d told them this meeting was over and how they’d just accepted it. Why couldn’t I be more like that? They were my abilities inside of him; still, they didn’t fear me at all, not the way they feared Blake. I guessed it had to do with them knowing what he was capable of.
Still, what had Emanuel said? I couldn’t believe that. Sure, he had showed up, even though they’d tried to hide tonight’s hearing from him. I hadn’t even known it was against dragon law at all, but he didn’t seem too pleased to be there.
Then why had Emanuel chosen those words?
Blake was still as arrogant as ever.
I found myself inside the cave again.
It was the cave that had changed drastically after the events that had taken place there about a year ago.
Lucian was lying on the ground, already stung, but Paul, he was still alive, parading around as if Lucian’s iron blade had never killed him. Seymour was there too, and Billy or Blake, I couldn’t tell the two apart in my dreams. It was as if they mushed up into one, forming a new nightmare together.
Billy was sharpening Paul’s knife as Paul’s lips moved.
What he said wasn’t as audible as tonight’s sounds, of what I assumed were a dragon’s wings, lingered outside the cave.
They couldn’t hear it, only I could.
Billy laughed then the entire cave started to rumble just like City Hall, but once again they didn’t see it.
A loud explosion made them realize what was going on.
The Rubicon entered. He was big, just like the last time when I’d faced him in the Coliseum.
He incinerated Billy and Seymour on the spot with his fire as Paul transformed into a wyvern. He looked like Penelope.
The wyvern snapped at the back of the Rubicon’s tail and a loud growl escaped the Rubicon’s lips.
The Rubicon snapped backward and caught Paul around his neck.
It wasn’t a fair match as he was shaken like a rag in a dog’s mouth.
I looked away as he viciously ripped off one of Paul’s wings, and I could hear his guts splattering on the floor and wall.
I jolted in my bed and my breathing was labored. I stroked my face hard, as the images still lay fresh inside my mind.
What the hell is that?
My dreams had never changed like that before, where the Rubicon came to my rescue and killed off all my attackers.
If only the real one had gotten there in time that day, Lucian would still be alive.
I looked at my digital clock, and it said it was three-thirty.
Becky and Sammy were both sound asleep in their beds as I got up and went to wash my face.
I tried to fall asleep again, but it was no use. If only the library was still open.
The next day I skipped breakfast and spent almost the entire day inside the library.
I didn’t care much for school anymore, and only went to the cafeteria to grab a sandwich for dinner.
I wasn’t ready to face Becky and Sammy, so I went to the tower, the one that was Lucian’s and my favorite place.
I sneaked out one of the maps and found a torch in the room and it lit up almost the entire tower.
I opened the map and started to delve into my sandwich.
I searched carefully through each name on the map.
Halfway through, I heard something on top of the tower’s roof and my heart was beating like crazy again.
Stop this, Elena. You are not in Eikenborough anymore. This is Dragonia and you have people here who will assist if anything bad happens.
I shook off my fears and climbed onto the ledge.
I grabbed the beam right above my head and swung my lower body over another and pushed myself onto the ledge.
The roof was inches above me and I needed a few seconds before I was going to be able to look at who was waiting.
I took a deep breath and pushed my body up and found… Nothing!
My heart was racing even more as I scanned the area.
I wasn’t dreaming this. I had heard something up here, and to find nothing, just like in the library, made me feel as if I was starting to lose my mind.
I climbed down and rolled up the map from the ground and grabbed my torch.
It was the only place in Dragonia Academy that carried some of Lucian’s presence, and I refused to give that up.
So I stayed, rolling down the map again and reading through the names one by one.
No noises returned, for which I was grateful, and I guessed it was all in my mind.
I stared at the spot where Lucian and I had slept over the one night and I returned to that memory. It was the Tuesday, the day before he’d left, and my gut feeling had been so right. I would never see him again.
I lay back with my head against the wall and closed my eyes. It was just for a short while and then I had another stupid dream.
It wasn’t of what had happened to me; it was a completely new one.
I dreamed that I opened my eyes slightly and saw Blake’s face. He was carrying me. I closed them again and could hear a soft hum, like a song, coming from his lips. It was so soothing. The door opened, and after a short moment the soft mattress of my bed felt amazing against my body. A warm blanket was pulled over me and Becky whispered.
“What are you doing here?”
“Just bringing her back,” he said.
“You guys spoke?”
He didn’t reply. “When she asks, just say George brought her back.”
“Blake. When is this going to stop? Make her see.”
“It’s not how it works. It’s my turn to be patient now.”
BLAKE
I KNOCKED ON Constance’s door. She had to have seen it; why hadn’t she told me?
I knocked again, and Constance opened the door. She didn’t look pleased at all. “You had to break down –”
“You knew about the barcode on her arm,” I interrupted what was probably a scolding.
She closed her eyes.
“You knew. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You’ve dealt with so many things.”
“You didn’t think that it could actually be a clue as to where she was.”
“I don’t think it was that sort.” She sounded angry, as I didn’t see her point.
“You just don’t know how to search. Barcodes mean things are up for grabs, registered in some sort of database.”
Guilt washed over her face, and she grabbed her head. “I didn’t think, I’m sorry.”
“Is there anything else you know about?”
“No, I promise. It’s just the barcode.”
I nodded. “I’ll find wherever she was,” I said, eager.
“Blake. How?”
“Don’t worry, I actually do know really smart dragons.”
“You think it’s wise, giving her hope like that?”
“It’s not hope. I simply needed her help.”
“Okay,” she said, and I left. I ran up the girls’ steps and stopped on the fourth floor in front of Elena’s door. I took a deep breath and ran three more floors up then knocked on the first door on the left.
Tabitha opened and flashed her perfect teeth as she saw me.
“I need your help,” I said.
“Sure, anything.” She sounded so willing; I hated that.
“I’ll meet you tomorrow, early, in the library. Say six.”
“Six o’clock?”
“Please, Tabitha.”
“Okay, fine. See you at six.”
“Thanks.” I turned around to leave.
“You want to come in for a drink?”
“No, I’m fine. Thanks for offering, though.”
She didn’t say anything and just closed the door.
ELENA
A LOUD BUZZ woke me and I found myself in my room.
Becky and Sammy stirred and woke.
How the hell did I get back to my room?
I remembered the dream but couldn’t remember the dialogue that clearly. Something about George and being patient.
“Morning,” Becky said as I just stared at my bed.
“How did I get back?”
“You ready to hear it?”
“Becky,” Sammy said.
“What? I’m just saying it will prove to Elena that there are actually people here worrying about her.”
“Why do you always fight?”
“I’m not fighting. I’m just frustrated. I want my friend back.” She stared at me. “I want to know what happened to you, where you were.”
Tears lingered in her eyes as she spoke. “We woke up and got worried about you, so I phoned George and we found you up in the tower.”
“George carried me?”
She nodded.
That stupid dream. Why was I even dreaming that, I don’t want Blake like that, do I?
None of it was making any sense, none.
“Thank you, and I’m sorry about last night. I…” I sighed. “It’s just hard, that’s all.”
“What is hard?”
“Taking orders from him. He didn’t want anything to do with me whatsoever, and now he wants to know my every move. I can’t do that.”
“He is your dragon, and he needs to know about all these meetings.”
“Why? I released him. He is free to do whatever the hell he wants.”
“Yes, he is.” That’s all she said and left for the bathroom.
Don’t, just don’t. If he dented, and that is a big if, everyone said he had, then it wasn’t real. None of it was real.
I went to the library and froze when I saw him and Tabitha sitting at a computer. She was laughing at something he said. Their backs were turned to me, and I decided to hell with maps today, I wasn’t going to sit in the library while the two love birds were doing their homework. It was disgusting how he used her to do his.
No, he hadn’t dented. This was something else. What, I wasn’t sure and I knew I shouldn’t really care either.
THE NEXT FEW days were just plain weird. It was nothing like Becky and George. Blake didn’t follow me like some love-struck puppy; in fact, he was still next to his precious, at lunch, in all of the classes, making jokes and laughing.
Why it even bothered me was beyond my knowledge. I really didn’t care, I didn’t want to care but here I was, wondering.
Maybe the dent wasn’t as special as everyone thought and they could choose to love whomever they wanted? Well that seemed to be the case in my situation. Still, I shouldn’t care, but here I was thinking those exact same words and glancing every odd minute in their direction. He wasn’t protesting either, as he used to; in fact he participated in so many classes, and started to remind me of Riley just a tiny bit as they were always the only two who knew everything.
It was weird seeing him like that.
“Elena?” Sir Edward asked and I jumped slightly in my chair breaking my gaze from the love-struck couple. Everyone stared back at me.
Becky started to laugh next to me, which was followed by George’s shaking body.
I buried my face in my hands. This was so embarrassing. They were going to get the wrong impression. “Sorry, I should pay more attention.”
“You should.” He turned around and scribbled on the board again.
“What, no more of that famous little line of yours?” I said, and everyone laughed again.
He chuckled as well. “No, Elena, no more.”
Blake wouldn’t understand, as he hadn’t been here that time they kept saying it.
“This time, I think it’s getting you on board.”
Everyone laughed again. Blake just smiled and I hated that so much, it would give him hope that would never come. The idiot wasn’t stupid; he could put two and two together. Why did I have to open my mouth?
“I’ll pay more attention,” I said.
When the bell rang, I followed everyone to the next class as they were making their way to Aviance.
I stopped as Becky and George walked in front of me with Sammy and Dean. Blake and Tabitha were way up ahead with Peter – something I never thought I would ever see either.
I turned around and returned to the library. I wasn’t ready for this class, even though I would have loved to be in the clouds again.
“Hey, where are you going?” Becky yelled.
“I’ll see you at lunch.” I rushed up the stairs that led back to the building.
“Elena, you can’t run from this forever.”
I ignored her, as George and Dean laughed.
“She’s making progress, Becky. Just let her be,” George said.
“She should speed her progress up a bit,” I heard her say as I slipped through the door. “Have you seen how—” The door closed and killed the rest of her words. I rushed back to open it slightly again.
George and Dean laughed, and I completely missed the rest of her sentence. Shit. They’d seen my little moment staring at the idiot. It wasn’t like that.
“She’s making progress,” George said and I could hear Sammy clapping her hands excitedly together with a small chant, like only she could do. I had to say, a part of me really missed them so much. I wished I could feel better about everything and go back to how things were. I listened to how they entered the Coliseum.
“Sorry, big guy, your little damsel rushed her legs off,” George said.
Your little damsel?
“Next time,” Blake answered.
I pushed the door as hard as I could.
What the hell? His little damsel! I was furious all of a sudden. I wasn’t anyone’s damsel, especially his.
It was those stupid dreams. The dreams where he suddenly appeared being what I had always wanted him to be.
He was never there, for crying out loud.
He even appeared in one of my other dreams, the one where Seymour pushed me against the wall. I remembered that day so clearly whenever I had that stupid dream.
The Rubicon showed up again, and grabbed Seymour. He was no match for him. He would burn everything then grab me in his paw and fly away with a jolt. I would always wake right at that precise moment. If only it had really happened. Then maybe we could’ve had a chance at this arrangement, but he hadn’t been there.
The only dream that was Rubicon-free was that last one – the one that took place inside the woods.
I spent the entire day looking at maps upon maps again.
I was making progress with this too. I was busy with Elm, even though I knew Elm was a waste of time. I hadn’t traveled in Elm’s direction that night.
Still, I had to rule out all three of the provinces.
At lunch I waited for everyone at a table.
Blake entered, hardly looked at me as he rushed to the buffet. I stared at his back and jumped again as Becky and the rest plopped down at the table.
I tried to pretend that I hadn’t been staring at him again. This had to stop.
I could see George mouthing something to Becky, whose eyes were boring into my soul.
“What?” I looked at George, who was smiling.
“Nothing,” he said with a smirk, and I stared at Becky, who was smiling.
“Why are you smiling at me like that?”
“It’s nothing,” she whined a bit and got up to get her food.
I sighed. I knew why they were smiling. “It’s not what you think, okay,” I said to George.
“What are you talking about?”
“I know you guys saw me staring plenty of times, it’s not what you think.”
“Staring?”
“Just stop it. All I’m saying is it’s not what you guys think.”
“Whatever you say, princess.”
I slapped him. “Stop calling me that, okay.”
He chuckled.
BLAKE
“ARE YOU SURE they’re the right numbers on the barcode?” Tabitha sounded tired. It was like eight and I’d promised the librarian I would lock up.
I grunted. “Yes, it’s the right numbers. Check again.”
“Blake, believe me, I’ve checked through everything I possibly can. I’ve hacked into five systems that could get me into serious shit.”
“I told you I’d take the blame. Not to worry.”
“What is this for anyway? If I know what it’s for‒
“You holding back?”
“No, but sometimes the old barcodes are of things they don’t make anymore, if it’s discontinued or a better one comes out and they all get new barcodes. When the system gets too big, well, those barcodes are the ones that go first. Just tell me what it is, and I can find out if it’s something like that.”
“No it has to be that one or it’s nothing.”
“Well, then I’m sorry to say, but I can’t help you further.”
I ground my teeth. She wasn’t holding back; she would do anything to spend more quality time with me. But I couldn’t tell her.
“What was it?” She asked again.
“Something I really want.” I couldn’t believe I’d said that, but it was the truth.
“I’m so sorry, again. Well, maybe if you are ready to tell me what it is, I’ll try again. But I can’t.”
“Thanks, Tabitha. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Still no luck with her?” She had hope in her tone.
“I won’t give up,” I said and left the library.
ELENA
TWO WEEKS FLEW like that. I didn’t stare at Blake anymore. I came to the conclusion that he didn’t want me, thank heavens, the way George wanted Becky. I also ignored him completely again, and the others didn’t think that it was funny this time.
Around the end of the week in Professor Pheizer’s class, Master Longwei’s voice filled the entire system.
“Will Blake and Elena please come to the office?”
I froze, as I’d never heard both our names in one sentence like that, ever. Blake was packing up his bag and putting away his books. He looked nervous too, but I didn’t stare.
Why on earth does he want to see us both?
“Elena,” Blake said a bit loud and I snapped out of it. “Let’s go,” he said and threw his backpack over his shoulder.
I put my stuff away and threw my bag over my own shoulder.
Blake had already left through the door, and I was glad he wasn’t waiting for me.
I kept my distance. I really didn’t want to speak to him about anything. I honestly didn’t know why Master Longwei wanted to see us both. I hoped it wasn’t another meeting.
When I entered Master Longwei’s office, he was already waiting, sitting on one of the two chairs in front of Master Longwei’s desk.
I took the other one.
“What is this about?” I asked, just wanting to leave.
“You two need to sort out your differences. Irene is feeling ill. She said it’s this foretelling both of you are linked to.”
“That time hasn’t passed.”
“No, but if you can’t work together, we might as well kiss Etan goodbye. And I have to say, I have family in Etan, so I’m begging you to work though this, both of you, and do what it is you two are supposed to do. Before that time comes.”
“That’s it?” Blake asked.
“Yup, the board needs to have a meeting with you soon, Blake. Elena, I need your answer of what it’s going to be. Do this once, like you said a couple of months back before you went missing, and be done with it.”
“Fine,” I replied. I didn’t know why I said it, as I’d promised my father I wouldn’t, but I couldn’t stand up to the Ancients or the Council anymore. This matter had been discussed as far as it could. Now I had to do whatever it was to keep their mouths shut. I saw Blake turning into a pillar as he just stared at me. I hated that.
“Fine, as in fine you’re ready, or fine, you’ll think about it?” Master Longwei asked.
“Master Longwei, I’ll never be ready, but that doesn’t seem to bother anyone here. If Irene feels that the door is closing on this then I have no choice, just as I have had no choices in so many other things, but sure, whatever. Like you said, let’s just do it and get it over with.”
I got up and left.
“She is making progress, Blake.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“What, don’t you think so?”
“That’s not what I said. She’s just never going to trust me. I can’t do this if she’s not going to trust me.”
“Blake, you can’t force—”
“That’s not what I meant!” I jumped slightly as he yelled and ran down the steps to go back to class.
Becky wanted to know what it was all about.
“Tell you later,” I said just as Blake entered; he looked really pissed off.
Professor Pheizer just regarded him through narrowed eyes, and I made sure I wasn’t looking at him.
“Is everything okay?” Professor Pheizer asked.
“Yes, professor. Everything is fine,” Blake answered. “Or it will be one day.”
