The weight of entering the creepers washed away from my shoulders. What Emanual had said about Irene’s prophecies and their double meanings mauled in my thoughts. What else could she have meant if it wasn’t me dying?
My door opened, and I closed my eyes. Dad always came at night to check in on me, but it was late. I pretended to sleep as the covers lifted and my bed shifted.
Someone was climbing into bed with me? I reached out for the switch on the night lamp next to me, flicked it on, and looked at the culprit. “What are you doing here? My dad will skin you alive.”
“Relax, he won’t catch me.” Blake threw the blankets on top of him.
“Famous last words—”
“Yeah, yeah, you said that before.”
He made himself comfortable in my bed, and my eyebrows furrowed. “How many times have you sneaked into my room?”
“You usually sleep at this time of night.”
“Blake?”
“What? You are my dent. It’s hard, okay. Believe me, the past week that you were at the castle was a thousand times harder, as I had to sleep alone.”
“The academy too? How?”
“I have telekinesis. I think Vicky knows. She caught me the last time.”
I muffled my snorts in his chest as his chuckles reached my ears. “That was why she smirked at me like an idiot the last day?
He shrugged. “I don’t care. I struggle to sleep without you and something tells me tomorrow I’m going to need all my strength.”
“You will not fight. What counts for your dad counts for you, too.”
“Not fighting. The Sun-Blast knows my weakness and how to rile me up.”
Warmth spread through my core as my stomach dipped. “I’m your weakness.”
“I submitted. Dead giveaway.”
“My dad actually thinks that you submitted long before that. He asked me the color of your eyes and when I told him they were blue, he mentioned you submitted long before that ring.”
“Interesting.”
“Your eyes were really red?”
“I thought you studied all my claimings?”
“From a distance.”
“The simulator?”
“No, it’s red in the simulator. You scared me to death the first time I faced you in that sim.”
“Sorry.”
“I peed myself.”
He stared at me.
My eyes flickered to his as I tried to suppress my grin. “You can laugh.”
“You peed yourself?”
“I didn’t know it was you.”
“Am I really that scary?”
“You were.”
“I need to see this simulator. The next time we are at the castle, I want to go in. Fight against myself. Not that it’s new.” He was funny with his double meanings. “I’m sorry,” he whispered and kissed me on top of my head. “If you knew it was me, you might have taken it differently.”
“You could’ve told me so many times.”
He put a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I had to admit, it was a lot of fun, but it was wrong.”
“It’s okay. The way you revealed it to me, I doubt anything else would’ve topped that.”
He chuckled as his fingers still brushed my hair.
“I thought you were playing on death’s front porch.”
“If I wasn’t the Rubicon, I would’ve. But he is me, so we are all good.”
Silence lingered. “Were you scared tonight?”
“No, but I was when the king said you had to go first. I almost peed in my pants. So, we are even.”
My body shook with silent laughter. “No, I peed in my pants. We are not even.”
“Whatever.” He brought his lips closer to me and he planted them on mine. Our tongues found their rhythm fast as the kiss deepened. The buzz that came from his kissing swirled through my body and into my head.
What was it with this guy and his kisses? He pulled me tighter into him as his hands traveled hard over my butt and up my back. The kiss grew out of this world. I wanted no one else in my life, as he was all I needed, all I wanted. My mind became fuzzy, and I needed to breathe. I broke the kiss as he carried on, nipping my neck and rubbing his body against me.
“Blake,” I whispered, as this was going too far.
His lips kept on sucking the flesh right below my ear.
“Blake,” I whispered in a harder tone and he grunted as he stopped.
“You are a party pooper.”
“C’mon, I told you I want to wait.”
“Yeah, I know. Sorry.” He rubbed his hand over his face.
“Don’t you dare apologize. What the hell was that?”
“It’s me missing you too much. So sleep.”
He sounded frustrated, and my throat resonated with low laughter. I knew laughing wasn’t the right thing to do, but I wanted to do things with him in the right order. I wanted to be married first.
The next morning, I woke up, and there was no sign of Blake. He even made his side of the bed. Damn, the guy was good.
I smiled, thinking we were both hopelessly in love and couldn’t get enough of each other’s company.
The foretelling dampened the amazing high my emotions bathed in and the ugly darkness and yucky heaviness returned. Tears blurred my sight. I couldn’t even think of not having Blake in my life. The darkness turned into a suffocating sadness that brought on the waterworks.
Stop it, Elena. He is right here. He isn’t dead.
I wiped my eyes as I climbed out of the bed, washed my face and got dressed for today. A pair of jeans, sneakers, a shirt with a hoodie would have to do. I grabbed the handle of my backpack and went downstairs.
Blake, Emanual and everyone that was going to come with us were already digging into their breakfasts. Dishes with scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausages, omelets, scones, and other pastries sat on top of the table against the wall. My mouth watered as I bent over Dad and kissed him on the head before planting a kiss on Blake’s head.
“You are chirpy this morning?” Blake said with a straight face.
“You okay, Bear?”
“Yes, the worst is over. I can get through the creepers. So a weight expelled from my shoulders last night and I got a good night’s rest.”
Blake almost choked on his food and coughed a bit. “Sorry, wrong whole.”
“It’s because you hoover your food down. Chew first, Son.”
“I’m hungry, Dad.”
My lips curved, knowing it wasn’t why he almost choked. I rushed over to the buffet and grabbed a plate, filling it with a scoop of scrambled eggs and toast. The savory omelets’ aroma filled my nostrils, and my stomach growled. I plopped down on the chair next to Blake and started eating. It tasted just as amazing as it smelled and the eggs were fluffy, almost melting on my tongue.
Connie came over, wearing a white frilly apron over a pair of jeans and a white button shirt. She carried a coffeepot and refilled all our cups. She had the friendliest eyes. “Morning, Elena.”
“Morning. May I bother you for some water and fruit for the trip?” I asked.
“I already prepared something to take with you. David was adamant last night if you find Marcus to give him something from this side. Things they never had in years.”
“That is so sweet.”
“He believes that with the letter, they will know you come in peace and bring hope.”
“That is so thoughtful.”
“Just something to help the cause. I know it’s not much, but it’s the best we can do.”
“It’s more than enough,” King Helmut said.
She smiled, chuffed with herself, and went back to her kitchen.
After breakfast, we enjoyed another cup of coffee as David and Charles joined us with the basket that Connie had mentioned earlier. Emanual wore a pair of jeans, with a black pullover and a shirt sticking out. His muscles were as big as boulders.
Blake wore a pair of jeans with a long sleeve shirt he had pulled up to his elbows and his converse sneakers.
I couldn’t wait to see what was on the other side. I wondered where they kept my father, how long it would take for the people to trust us, to trust that we were from the other side and that we came in peace. So many things that involved danger flashed through my mind. It was a lot to feel responsible for so many people and I did not know how to be a leader, or royalty.
Blake touched my hand, and my gaze flickered to him.
“Relax, nothing will happen to you.”
“You are a mind reader, too.”
“That would be awesome.”
Dad scoffed, giving Blake his unimpressed glare.
“It’s enough that I’m going to get it from the other dad, too. So please, one of you has to be pro-Blake.”
“Maybe Albert would be lenient with you. After all, he knew what you would become to her.”
“So did you, and you still give me crap.”
“Because I was once your age. I remember like it was yesterday.”
My lips thinned at the two of them bickering over Blake’s hormones.
“Besides, I’m a tamed dragon. What she says goes.”
The entire table chuckled at the tone of Blake’s voice. A part of him must not like that, but I’d promised not to order him to do things against his will.
When we all finished our coffees, it was time to go. Dad picked up a big ass backpack and put it on his back. He looked like a hiker today.
Emanual just shook his head.
“You will look differently at things when you raise a kid.”
“I’m sure there are a few little dragons out there that belong to Emanual,” King Helmut said.
“Ha-ha. I’m not irresponsible.”
“Just joking.”
I laughed at the severe tone in King Helmut’s voice. He had a weird sense of humor that seemed to resonate with mine.
“You could’ve done that without carrying the entire town in your backpack,” Emanual said to Dad.
Blake chuckled, and Dad glared at him. The chuckle turned into a cough. “Sorry, wrong whole.”
That elicited more laughter from everyone as we followed David to the truck.
Queen Maggie and King Helmut stayed behind as the five of us got on the back and Sir Robert took the front with David.
The drive to the creepers was faster than last night, because I knew what was waiting.
When the truck stopped, we climbed off and the creepers looked twenty times more intimidating than they had last night. They were restless in the morning and slithered around like snakes.
“I’ll go in first,” Emanual said as he motioned for me with his hand.
“Be careful. We didn’t find out last night what the other side does,” Blake said.
“Yes, Dad,” Emanual sang, and he pulled me to walk in front of him. I closed my eyes as he guided me forward. It was a lot faster than yesterday, but the hissing stepped a notch up this morning. Still, no strikes came. When we were inside Emanual walked slower.
“Why are they so tense this morning?”
“Because they know there is someone that can go through them, Elena. I’m with Helmut. The creepers are your dad’s doing. He conjured it and they recognized his bloodline. It’s why it doesn’t hurt you.”
“My dad did this. Why?”
“If he didn’t, there would be nothing left of Paegeia. Goran would’ve discovered the fact that there is a claim to Blake and he would’ve tried to kill you.”
“So Goran really wants him?”
Emanual nodded.
“How do you feel about the fact that he is your rider’s brother, his twin?”
“He can’t fool me. They never could. I always knew when it was Helmut and when it wasn’t.”
“How?”
“Their demeanor, or as some would call an aura. Helmut is much more relaxed. He is open and doesn’t have walls. Goran was the opposite. It was hard to gain his trust, and he was so much more serious than Helmut. Whenever he tried to portray his brother, he’d put it on too thick and that was one of the tells that I knew they were messing with us. Helmut sucks being serious. He needs to be angry to pull that off.”
My lips curved. “Did you ever suspect it was him?”
Emanual shook his head. “Not once. I expected the king’s dragon many times and felt so guilty when it wasn’t him. Robert would have died for the king, and I learned the hard way. Your father forced him away that night.”
“He did what?”
“Something Helmut had told me when we both woke up. For a long time, I thought there had to be a second person helping him, but there wasn’t. He had a colony of wyverns that assisted him. Your father believed that there was an alliance with the wyverns, too. I doubt he would ever trust another wyvern.”
I didn’t know what to say, and we reached the other side.
“You ready?”
I nodded, and Emanual pulled me in front of him again. “We don’t know how they would act on the other side, Emanual.”
“Like last night. Just stay close to me.”
I nodded and closed my eyes. I heard the walls parted, but no light seeped through.
“What is this?” Emanual asked, and I opened my eyes and froze as a creeper with his mouth open was right in our face.
Emanual probably felt that I was about the scream as I gasped and he muffled my scream with the palm of his hand.
“Shh, close your eyes.”
I did as he said and he walked with me faster, out of their reach. It was nighttime on the other side, and that was what bothered him. My entire body trembled and my muscles turned into knots. Then I realized I had to go back alone.
“I can’t do this.”
“Elena, you have to do this. You will be okay.”
“I won’t. Please, don’t make me go through them alone.” The tears blurred my sight as I grabbed his arm.
“Okay, calm down. I’ll go back with you and we’ll see if you can take in more than just one, okay?”
I nodded.
He walked back with me while my lower lip trembled. I wasn’t as brave as I’d thought, and the others gasped when we got back.
“What happened?”
“Relax. Reality hit her on the other side. She can’t walk back alone. It’s nighttime on the other side.”
Blake rubbed my back and gave me a squeeze.
“What?” Sir Robert asked.
“It’s pitch dark. Only a big ass moon and no stars. It’s the most unnatural feeling I’ve ever felt.”
“So what now?” Blake asked.
“We are going to find out if Elena can take in two at a time.”
“Emanual, if we mask her scent—”
“Blake, she can’t go back alone. I can’t take her either.”
“Okay, give me your hoodie.”
“Why?”
“It has your scent on. I don’t know how they sense you.”
“Just let me walk in front, like always.”
“Okay.”
Still, I gave him my hoodie, and he wrapped it around his shoulders.
They both walked behind me, side to side, squashed as tightly as they could against each other. I closed my eyes as Blake guided me and, to our surprise; the creepers let us through.
Relief expelled from my chest as we walked fast to the other side and Blake came out with us.
“How?” Blake asked Emanual as he stared at the moon.
“Goran’s magic must have grown twenty times stronger than what it was.”
“What?”
“It was all he had this side, Blake.”
“How the fuck did he conjure a moon?”
“I don’t know,” Emanual whispered. “Move fast. I don’t want to wait here for long.”
Blake nodded and picked me up, ran with me into the creepers and out the other side.
We took my father in next and Dad gasped as he saw the inside. The glowing flowers did that, and Dad couldn’t stop looking around him. It sure was magical inside, with the pink and purple colors lighting the way.
On the other side, they huddled together again behind me and we walked out.
We did one last time to fetch Blake’s father.
“You think it’s safe bringing your dad.”
“His not stupid. He is here to rescue your father without losing too many casualties.”
I nodded. I trusted Blake.
“I’m sorry. I feel so weak.”
“They are scary. Besides, we grew up with them. You didn’t. You are brave.”
He ran out the other side, and then it was his father’s turn.
We said goodbye to David and Charles.
“Stay safe,” David said, and we all nodded.
They all experienced the same when they entered the core of the creepers. It took everyone’s breath away. We exited the other side and all five of us were together.
Sir Robert took a knee at a safe distance from the creepers and touched the ground. He picked up loose sand and let it go. I looked at Blake and he went on his knee next to his dad.
“We have to move.”
“This is our home, Blake. Look at it.”
“Dad, not now, please.”
He nodded as he looked around and got up. It was time to walk, following the map that David drew. Sir Robert seemed to know the way, and we ended up following him.
“My dad said that Etan was your home, too.” I walked next to Blake.
“We lived in Boliva.”
“Close to my parents?”
He nodded. “My dad is patriotic. He won’t mess up. He knows how important this part of the mission is as he designed it.”
I nodded and bumped into my dad. He grabbed my hand as a gun cocked at the front.
