The past week was rough. Elena jumped at every little sound and transformations and incantations were difficult on her. She dabbled into the pink kiss easily, but with her snow, her fear would show whenever the cold seeped into her hands and spread up her arms.
“I can’t!” she yelled when I pushed. She needed to make peace with this. She stormed out of the colosseum, and I tried to follow, but Professor Heathcliff kept me behind.
“Blake, she will try when she is ready. You can’t force your bravery on her.”
“You know how hard it was for her to get over her fear? Now we are back there.” I kicked the first step.
“Give her time. She went through a lot. You both have.”
I nodded.
I didn’t push after the incident.
Tonight was definitely something we both needed. I hoped she would relax and enjoy the evening.
Isaac got us fitting outfits again. We looked like toy soldiers wearing jackets over white tank tops and jeans.
At Jimmy’s, the band all greeted Elena with a hug. I loved how welcoming they made her feel, as if she was one of us.
“Princess,” Ty said.
“Ty?” I scolded.
“What, I’m just saying hi, Blake.” He wrapped her arm around Elena and pulled her into his chest as I stared at him.
The rest of them laughed.
“Does this make you crazy?” Ty teased as he rested his cheek on top of her head and stroked her back.
“Yes, let her go.” I pulled her back to me.
A few other bands showed up, and I introduced Elena to Mitsy, the lead singer of one of our rival bands, not that they were rivals. We actually recorded a few songs together, as she had a killer voice.
“I don’t know if I envy or feel sorry for you to end up with the beast.”
“He is tamed now,” Elena said, and the guys chuckled as Mitsy smiled.
“Yeah, I’m not speaking about the dragon, Elena.”
Elena’s cheeks reddened as everyone teased.
The announcements started, and Mitsy and her band left.
I sat with Elena on the couch.
“Are you nervous?”
“No,” I said. “Music is like breathing air.”
Lu entered with another disguise, and Elena laughed. “Seriously.”
“What, if you waited for me, I wouldn’t have to come in a disguise.”
“I was with Blake. He had to get here.”
“She is my rider, not yours.”
“Whatever.” Lu pulled off the wig, ruffled his hair and plopped the wig and glasses on the table. He pulled off some artificial skin that he added on his nose and chin, and the real Lucian welcomed us with his presence.
He left toward the bar and bought all of us drinks, including Elena.
“I’m sixteen,” she hissed at me when I offered her one of the shot glasses.
“Pfft, live a little.” I put it in her hand and push her finger around the glass so that she has a tight grip on it.
“You are such a bad influence, Blake.”
I laughed as I chucked my shot glass down my throat, and the band followed.
Elena smelled the content first, and then she took a sip before downing it.
“That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” I pulled her closer and pushed my lips on hers. I loved kissing her. The tingling was still there, and the buzzing feeling erupted all over my body as the sweetness of the shot lingered on both our lips.
I could kiss her forever.
ELENA
Tonight was fun. I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed so much.
When Mitsy’s band finished with their selection of songs, it was the Shifter’s chance to perform.
Blake kissed me a few times, as if he would leave for weeks.
“Go, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Okay fine.”
“Break a leg, Blake,” Mitsy yelled as they passed each other at the door and the band came straight to us.
“Hey, Lucian,” she flirted and Lucian waved at her.
They would make a great couple, but then I remembered the arrangement he had. It sucked to have an arranged marriage over your head.
Arianna was a real drama queen at school, too, and it was hard to see her with Lucian like a romantic couple.
The two didn’t fit at all.
We had a few more shots, and I enjoyed speaking to Mitsy, while Blake’s voice entertained everyone in the background.
“What are you doing here?” Lucian’s tone of his voice went hostile, and my eyes flickered to him when they landed on Tabitha.
“I need to speak to Elena, please, Lucian?”
She looked like shit. No evidence of makeup was on her face. She wore a pair of jeans and a way too big sweater.
“No, you should’ve listened.”
“Please, it was an accident.” Her voice faltered.
“Go, before Blake comes back.”
“No, I need to speak to her.”
My heart galloped inside my chest as I kept staring at her. What was she even doing here, after what she’d put me and Blake through? We still have to face consequences. I didn’t know what type of consequences.
Lucian was speaking softly with her, as Mitsy wanted to know what was going on with her. She looked like crap.
I shook my head as I refused to go back to that day at the lockers.
“She is the only one that can vouch for me!” Tabitha spoke through clench teeth.
“Vouch for you, are you insane? You almost killed her.”
“She is fine. I lost everything.. I can’t go back to Dragonia. What future do I have?”
“Not Elena’s fault. You broke Dragonia’s rule.”
“She is the Rubicon’s rider. I didn’t know that he didn’t have his fucking snow. It was an accident.”
I jumped up. “Accident. I told you, over and over, to stop. You didn’t care and just carried on. You didn’t think about any of the consequences and now you want me to vouch for you?”
“You are the Rubicon’s rider.”
“I’m the princess of Paegeia, too. Not all of this has to do with Blake. You better go before he comes back. He is not happy with you.”
“No! You are alive—”
“Thanks to Blake. Not you!” She made me crazy.
“You little bitch.” Tabitha’s hands glowed with ice and she released solid slants.
I shrieked and tried to duck as ice daggers left her palms.
A grunt and plenty of yelps and shrieks filled the area as Tabitha got contained by another Snow Dragon from Mitsy’s band. My eyes flickered to the body that was lying in front of me and a scream escaped my lips as my body went ice cold.
Lucian laid on the carpet, with blood soaking his shirt. An ice dagger stuck from his chest.
“No, no!” I crawled fast to him as someone already dialed for help.
“Why? Why did you do this?”
His eyes are wild. Blood lingered on his lips as the tears pricked my eyes.
“I’m immune to her fucking ice. Blake…” Blake could heal. “Get Blake, now!”
One of the band members left and rushed down as Tabitha fought off the guy that held her in his grasp, and the coward fled again. What was her agenda, to kill all the royals? She was a loose cannon.
I took off my jacket and pushed it around the wound as the background music halted.
A few seconds later, Blake yelled my name as I tried to help Lucian in any way I could.
“You are going to be okay?” I said, as his eyes started closing.
“Lucian, no! Open your eyes.”
“Elena.”
“Heal him,” I cried, as he gaped in shock at the image in front of him. His gaze landed on the ice dagger.
“Tabitha!” he said through a tight jaw.
“Blake, please. Heal him!”
He shook his head as tears filled his eyes. “This one is all backwards. I can make it worse, Elena.”
“No, please, Blake, please.” He came over and hugged me as his band members try everything in their ability to save Lucian’s life until help came.
During my sobbing in Blake’s chest, the METs rushed through the door and worked on Lucian’s fast. They pulled him on the gurney and I had to phone the queen.
“I want to go with you,” I said at the EMT’s back.
“We will all go, Elena.” Isaac said.
He had blood all over him, the same with Ty, and I looked at my hands that were covered in Lu’s blood.
My lower lip vibrated as the tears blurred my sight. Blake yelled for a bottle of water and grabbed his bag as he pulled me after the band members to the hospital.
In Ty’s car, Blake poured out the water on his shirt and cleaned my face and then my hands.
“Your shirt?”
“It’s just a shirt,” he said, sounding as worried as I was.
Lu couldn’t die, he just couldn’t die.
