The fear of what had happened to Lucian hit me like a wave. I couldn’t help thinking that if Blake didn’t submit that day, I would still be dragon-less.
“I don’t get it,” I said as I laid next to Blake on the girl’s roof.
“What don’t you get?”
“They had to carry Lucian out of that ring, but Tabitha is up and flying around as if nothing had happened?”
“And?”
“You were almost out for two weeks?”
His lips curved. “Because I submitted and started with the dent process right after I submitted.”
“So, Tabitha hasn’t gone through the Dent process yet?”
“No, it’s a different type of process. To be honest, we don’t know what sets it off. I have a theory, though?”
“Oh, I’m all ears.” I loved his theories.
“Remember our first kiss?”
Heat rushed through my cheeks. “Yes.”
“My hand shook after that. It was like my entire body was buzzing. The trembling never stopped, only after I woke up. It was a bitch to learn how to control that.”
“That was because of the kiss?”
“I think it’s a kiss that starts the dent process for dragons. Or something like an act of kindness or I don’t know. But because you didn’t claim me yet, or face me in that ring, as I submitted, you didn’t claim me. It couldn’t start yet. So I had to wait for that process before I could dent. Dragons have a name for the stage between a claim and the dent process. They call it the impasse stage, as most of the Chromatics rebel against the dent as they think it’s an unnatural bond. But it’s not.”
“What is it?”
“Nice try.”
“Don’t be like that?”
“I can’t tell you, Elena. Believe me, I have more enemies out there than friends.”
“Fine, be like that.”
“You won’t find a dragon out there that will tell you what the dent is. There is a reason for that. It’s sacred. And I’m the alpha. What type of Alpha would I be if I broke that rule?”
A chuckle escaped my lips, and he rolled closer to me and brushed his lips against mine. His kisses drove me insane and the fear of what the Viden had said that day made this feeling inside of me twenty times worse. I couldn’t lose him. I wouldn’t make it in this world if he wasn’t there.
The kiss turned steamy as he pulled me underneath him and he kept pinching my butt cheek as the tingling sensation vibrated through my entire body.
The kiss broke as the buzzing turned into a swirling in my head.
“You okay?” Blake asked.
“You literally make my head spin.”
His lips adorned into a cocky grin. “Yeah, it’s addictive.” He rolled back on his back and soaked up the sun’s rays.
Silence followed, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. There were so many things I wanted to know. “What did you do when your dad told you about me?”
“Stared at the motel ceiling for a long time.”
“Okay, what were you thinking while staring at the motel fan?”
“Many things. Scared that there wouldn’t be anything to build the bond on.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning that I won’t be attracted to you. Those sorts of things.”
“Wow, that sounds pfft.”
A chuckle rumbled in his throat. “It does, but our dragons are vain. I also did not know what the dent process was. I don’t think it would’ve mattered in the end if I found you attractive or not.”
“So I take it you found me attractive?”
“Hell yeah. I remembered how my ears sort of popped and my scales rattled a bit when you entered the cafeteria that day. I looked around like an idiot and when I saw you, everything just settled and jumped into place. It’s hard to explain, but it was as if I just knew who you were. They say a dragon always knows, and I thought it was bullshit. But turns out it wasn’t. It didn’t even matter if you had the same eyes as your dad.”
“I do have the same color eyes as him.”
“Not just his eyes, but all his stares and glares. He had a look that could make you feel as big as a house or as small as an ant. The one he gave when something disappointed him was the worst look. It’s something you two share.”
“If I ever gave it to you, just know I don’t mean it.”
“Yeah, you do. That day in the kitchen, I knew how you felt. I wanted to rip my dad and your dad’s heads off for the way they approach all of it. I mean, I was going to tell you everything that afternoon.”
A sigh left my lips. “I sort of realized later in the afternoon. I should’ve just spoken to you, but I was terrified that I meant nothing to you.”
“Are you kidding me?” He pulled me into him and kissed me on top of my head. “I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to rip Lucian’s head off. Especially that night when you came to Jimmy’s and didn’t tell me. I was so pissed off with him.”
“Yeah, well, you looked pretty relaxed to me, and not to mention having a great time.”
“I smoked a joint that night. One reason I couldn’t smell your scent.”
My eyes grew as I drew breath. “You what?”
“Believe me, joint smoking is not the worst thing I’d done, Elena.”
“Oh my word, I’m dating the ultimate bad boy.”
Laughter rolled off him. “You better get used to it, as you are going to marry this ultimate bad boy.”
“You’d be so lucky.”
“It’s written in the stars, and in the book of Shadows, Elena.”
“That first foretelling, you believe it’s ours?”
“Of course I do. It’s in the riddle itself who the foretelling belongs to. I might not have been born when the Viden made it, but the second I saw it, I growled. I knew it was mine. It should’ve told me you were out there, but I was a bit of a dumb ass back then.”
“What if it’s not ours? What if it’s the Rubicon and their rider after us?”
“It’s not.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I love you like that.”
I didn’t know what to say, other than flaring up again. “You love me.”
“With all my heart. But if you tell anyone, I’ll have to…. no, I can’t.”
I planted my lips on his. He could be so sweet when we were alone.
The next day in history, we learn about all the dragon clans. Most of them were the people that were half and half. Meaning that somewhere in their blood was a dragon. Their tradition sounded a lot like the Highlanders’ traditions on the other side of the wall. They had their colors and each clan leader handled their group of people.
They also had a Vastech, which was like a handfest tradition.
“War was responsible for most Vastech traditions,” Sir Edward said in his brisk Irish accent. “If I remember correctly, your mother and father went through a Vastech ceremony during the Great War, Elena.”
“They what now?”
Most of the students sniggered.
“Yes, something your grandfather didn’t like so much after the war. I think he got it annulled, but then later he told your father to choose with his heart and they got married in front of their family and friends.”
“So they had to get married again?”
“Yes, because your grandfather voided their first marriage.”
“Could he do that?”
“He was the king, Blake. What he said was pretty much law.”
“That much power.”
“Yes, so one day, use it wisely.”
The class sniggered again as I raised my left eyebrow.
“Elena, it’s your destiny. Sorry that you can’t choose.” Sir Edward shrugged as teasing rolled off him.
“Haha,” Blake said. “For your information, I’m a great dragon.”
“Yes, you are, Blake.”
More sniggers came as it sounded like Sir Edward’s comment had an underlying meaning underneath the praise.
“For a Vastech to be legal, it had to be performed in front of a priest, and two witnesses had to be present. At one stage, they used to say that the ancients used the most power performing one. The priest, or ancient, represents the holy that had a path straight to God. So some deemed this ceremony even bigger than a wedding. It was a sacred ritual and one to be believed once you do it. No one can undo it. Well, not in a dragon’s eyes. So ladies, as romantic as this suggestion sounds, there is no such thing as a divorce with this one.”
The girls snickered. Whether they were dragon or human. The only one that didn’t laugh was Tabitha. She was still sulking about the fact that Lucian had claimed her.
What she didn’t realize was that he was her ticket back to Dragonia again. She had to be here in order to learn further with him. The girl was pretty damn lucky to have him as her rider. She could’ve ended up with someone that wasn’t her dent and that had to beat her to stay good.
It was still such a repulsive process, and I wished there was another way for the Chromatics to stay good.
Luckily for me, I didn’t have to beat Blake. I wondered how I even would’ve done that. He was so big. I doubted he would’ve let me beat him.
The bell rang, and we packed our books and made our way to the door.
“Don’t forget about the essay on the Vastech that needs to be in by Monday.”
“Some of us have to go to the revealing this weekend,” one student said. I didn’t know him from a bar of chocolate.
“Then I suggest you do it tonight.”
Great, now we have to do homework this weekend.
