ELENA
HE IS GOING to be fine. I wish you could’ve seen both their faces when they saw one another. It was priceless.”
“I’m so happy. He really missed Charles.”
I was tired after that, drained, and just wanted to sleep.
“Thank you.” Daisy grabbed me around the shoulders.
“You are welcome.”
Blake drove the truck and they all gasped as we neared the lodge. It was breathtaking, and I felt sort of safe, now that Blake was here.
We all went in. Shelby showed everyone to a room. The little ones must have been exhausted because they fell right asleep.
“Thank you, so much.” Luke’s expression was of sincere gratitude. His girls couldn’t stop examining everything around them.
“Welcome to Areeth.” Connie spoke and they hid behind their father. “They must be exhausted. Come, let me show you to your room.”
I could hear Connie telling Luke that whenever they woke, they must come down for something to eat.
I was tired as well, so tired.
“I’m going to go to bed too,” I said and entered Blake’s room where I crashed on his bed.
I fell asleep faster than I thought I would, but heard him coming in. He was so quiet, and I only felt the bed shifting. I couldn’t open my eyes. I wanted to this time, but I just couldn’t. I was way too exhausted to speak.
I felt his body lying close to me. He was so warm and then I drifted away again.
A CAMMY RANG and Blake picked it up.
“Yeah,” he said in a sleepy voice.
My stomach clenched, as I knew it was Tabitha.
“Who did you find, Blake?” Isabel asked.
Isabel.
“I can’t tell you that, Mom. Just make sure that you are all there please. The Council is threatening to put them all in quarantine.”
“How many?” Isabel asked.
“Mom, please, I need some sleep.”
“Is Elena okay?”
“Yes, she is fine.”
“Okay, love you. Sorry that I woke you.”
I smiled at that part.
“Love you too, speak to you soon.”
I almost choked as he said those words. Blake actually told Isabel that he loved her? It scared me more, as it was further proof that nothing of who he was now was really him. I felt sorry for him.
I couldn’t fall asleep, so I listened to him breathing.
I didn’t even know if he was excited to be here at all; I shouldn’t even care about that, but the idiot kept on kissing me every time we were alone. He confused me so much I had no idea what was going to happen next.
What was school going to be like? I’d promised Tabitha I didn’t want the boy, ever, I only wanted the dragon. And now, I had never considered this would be possible. Me wanting another guy. After what Seymour and Billy had done, after what all of them had done to me.
I’d never dreamed that he would change like this, either. He was Blake, for crying out loud – a dark entity that had made my life a living nightmare a good six months back. Now, whenever I thought about that, it was as if it all just disappeared as the new Blake replaced all those old images. The one who had saved my life from the mermaid, the one who had saved me when I’d collapsed from the mermaid’s poison, the one who’d saved me that time we climbed that wall, and the one who’d always ended up changing most of my dreams. It was hard to still hate him the way I used to. Hate was a strong emotion, a wrong one too, but it was how I felt. Whenever I tried to remember the way he had been, the way he was still supposed to be, that Blake kept jumping into my mind, killing the Blake who had been mean and cruel to me for so long.
I was in real danger here, of giving my heart to him again. How on earth could I trust something if I didn’t even know it was real? I understood now why Becky was fighting with me every time I said that. I wanted this to be real, I really did.
BREAKFAST WAS QUIET around the table – or let me rephrase – I was quiet. Everyone commented on dinner, how amazing their rooms were, how good it felt to be living on the other side of the Creepers again, to feel hope, to wake with hope. Their conversations revolved only around that.
We were going to leave later tonight, to make it in time for our meeting tomorrow evening.
At eight a mini-bus stopped outside. The long trip back home was going to start.
I didn’t know how Blake was going to carry all of us, but then he took us to the port.
“Blake, the elevators –” I didn’t have to finish; most of these people had never experienced an elevator ride before.
“We are not taking the elevator, Elena, but a small airplane.”
“An airplane?”
“We actually have some this side.”
Luke laughed. He took the seat next to Blake, up front, and I watched him park the mini-bus.
We all got out and I was glad none of the reporters were here.
It meant this was seriously a top secret mission, one they were treating as such. I guessed there was a first for everything.
We followed Blake to another section of the port where we found a small private airplane.
We boarded, and after half an hour, the plane lifted off.
Cassy and the kids were terrified, and I listened to how Blake calmed her down as he put her on his lap and started reading them a story. They listened with awe, even laughed as he made a deep voice for a character in the book who was saying something. Who is this guy?
They all calmed down, forgetting about what awaited them.
Whether he used a tiny bit of persuasion, I didn’t know, but I could feel myself becoming comfortable as well.
I really had no idea who this new Blake was. He was a mixture of the one on the mountain and the one Lucian used to speak so highly of, the one he’d tried to claim, to save from the darkness inside of him.
Our eyes met for a few seconds and he mouthed, “You okay?”
I nodded, smiled and plugged in my ear phones. I gave Annie the other one so she could listen to music with me.
Songs blurred through the phones and she closed her eyes and listened, as if she was hearing music for the very first time. It hadn’t really been like that, as music played in the house, in Clive’s house all the time.
When we fell asleep, Annie laid her head on my lap, and I awkwardly laid mine against the seat. It was so uncomfortable.
I sighed and opened my eyes. I was really so tired.
Blake got up and made sure Cassy was comfortable on the seat and he covered her with a blanket.
He came to me and my heart was beating fast again.
He had that power over me now.
He squeezed into the bit of space that was left next to me then wrapped his arm around me.
Without saying a word, I laid my head on his shoulder and that was the position I fell asleep in.
When I woke again, I found him reading a magazine.
The sun was trying to get into the closed windows.
The pictures were of bikes, and I smiled.
“You had a perfect one and you just chucked it back in my face.”
He chuckled. “Idiot, I know, but for your information, I still have it. My father knew how much I wanted that and kept it in the garage.”
I laughed. “So how does it drive?”
“Don’t know, haven’t tried it yet.”
“What?”
He smiled. “I told you, I was busy with other things.”
“Yeah, so you did.”
I knew what those other things were now – him trying to find me.
A few hours later, the plane began its descent.
We all woke, but nobody said a word as we all feared what was going to happen.
Blake opened one of the window covers and bright light streamed in. He squinted. “Another mini-van is waiting with plenty of cockroaches.”
I hated that so much.
Blake gave them a small crash course on what to expect. I wished I’d had this sort of advice from him just after I’d woken and claimed my identity, but he hadn’t been there. He’d run away – away from me. Again the Blake who’d saved me so many times jumped through my mind.
Was this going to happen every time I thought ill of him?
Cameras flashed as we all grabbed our bags over our shoulders and walked fast to the van. King Helmut’s guards, I knew from the McKenzie sign on their uniform, kept us safe.
“Princess, what are you going to do if this verdict doesn’t go your way?” one of the reporters shouted. More questions followed as I heard the mini-van’s door open.
“Just get in,” Blake whispered, and I entered with all the rest.
The door eventually closed after Luke and Blake got in, and I could breathe again.
Flashes still bounced off the windows.
“Is it like this every time?” Annie’s eyes were huge.
I nodded.
“How do you get used to this?”
“Who said I was?” I smiled and offered her the other ear phone.
She took it without saying a word, and I could hear Blake speaking softly to one of the guards who had taken the seat next to the driver.
The Ancients and the entire Council were waiting for us. I didn’t like that. Not one bit. They always did this, changed meetings around without giving anybody notice.
FOR THE FIRST time in hours, all of us were dead silent.
Annie seemed petrified. “Hey.” I touched her arm. “It’s going to be okay. Nothing bad is going to happen. Promise.”
“I second that.” Blake turned so he could look at us.
The big structure of City Hall came into view. The last time I’d seen it was the night that Blake had almost destroyed the entire building.
The mini-van parked right in front of the stairs that led to the building, and more cockroaches were waiting for us.
Annie gawked at them.
I put my arm on her and gave her a soft smile. “Just like before, you keep your head down and you don’t say a word.”
I blew out a deep breath as Sir Robert approached the van.
“Is that –”
“Yes,” I answered Luke and wielded my shield around all of us. “And please, whatever you do, don’t tell him about my father. Don’t tell anyone, please, including your mother.” I glanced at Annie.
They all nodded, and I lowered my shield as Blake opened the door.
“Dad.” He smiled and hugged his father.
“I’m glad you made it safely out of there. What does it look like, son?”
“We need to get them out of there as fast as possible. It is really bad. I’ll fill you in later, but now, you have to do me a favor, keep them safe, all of them.”
“You have my word on that. Nobody will hurt them.”
“I know.” Blake smiled and turned his head away. I could only imagine how he must feel, knowing his father’s rider was still alive and that he couldn’t say anything.
“Sir Robert.” I smiled and got out of the mini-van. The cameras flashed like mad as more questions were yelled in my direction.
Sir Robert grunted.
“Just ignore them this time,” I said softly and the rest climbed out. I put Cassy’s hoody over her head as she clung onto Daisy’s hand.
They all followed the guard who had traveled with us safely into the hall.
I walked next to Sir Robert.
He said, “I am very proud that you finally put your foot down, but you did threaten the Ancients.”
“They deserved it for even thinking about quarantine.”
“It’s not that easy; it only fuels what they want more.” He blew out a huge breath. He was worried we wouldn’t succeed tonight. I was worried as well, and my actions from a few days ago were biting me in the ass now. They always did.
We entered City Hall and Blake stayed with the group inside a room.
Sir Robert put his hand on Blake’s arm. “I promise.”
“I know, Dad, I don’t doubt you for one second.”
I hugged Annie and Daisy – all of them – with a confident smile. The Ancients must see it our way. These people had suffered enough.
“Ready?” Blake asked me and I drew a huge breath then followed him out the room.
I looked back at Sir Robert and he nodded once. They were safe.
Denise waited for us right in front of the door that led into the court room. I didn’t even smile at her.
“You ready?” she asked sweetly, looking at Blake. All I could see in my mind’s eye was her using that same tone with my two best friends the day she’d told them I didn’t need them anymore.
“Ready,” Blake said. He was always confident when facing the Ancients.
We entered. Everyone sat in their seats. I glimpsed Constance and Master Longwei. Neither of them smiled at me, and my stomach turned.
This meeting wasn’t going to go Blake’s way.
