“You know what is wrong with Elena?”
“No,” Lucian said. “She looked fine to me today.”
“Fine, Lucian, she wasn’t fine.” I sighed. Did something happen? I mean, she was fine yesterday.
“You guys had a fight,” Lu said.
“What?”
“Yeah, it sounds ludicrous. It’s just the past week you’ve hardly spend time with her. You were always around Jeff or Brian.”
I squinted at Lu. “What are you talking about? I’m always with Elena.”
“Not the last few days.”
I scratched the back of my neck, staring into space. Not the last few days? Did Lu get his hands on weed or something? I walked to the door and opened it.
“Blake?”
I didn’t stop, as I needed to hear this from her lips. I spent yesterday with her, and it was amazing. What the hell was Lu talking about?
I rushed up her steps and passed a few girls, twittering. I didn’t pay attention to what they had said or greet the ones that said hello.
When I reached her room, I knocked and jumped back slightly when Tabitha opened the door.
My eyebrows knitted as I glanced up at the number.
“Elena, your white steed is here,” Tabitha called over the shoulder.
The girls laughed, and Elena walked to the door.
“We need to talk,” I said, and she nodded.
“See you later,” Elena said to her roommates as we rushed up the steps to our spot on the roof.
“So, you and Tabitha are friends now? The last I remembered, my sister wasn’t a big fan of hers.”
“Ha-ha, funny.” She bumped into me, not answering my question.
What the fuck was going on here? What was Tabitha doing in her room? I let it go.
I opened the latch and helped her up the stairs with a gentle nudge. I pulled the ladder up and closed the hatch as we walked to our favorite spot on the roof, watching the moon.
She curled into me, and I held her tight. The coconut smell of her hair caressed my nose; I could lie here with her like this forever. Everything seemed so far away when she was like this with me here.
“So, what is bothering you?”
She looked at me with soft eyes and shook her head with a slight smile.
“Talk to me, Elena. You were a bit off today.”
“I will not complain, Blake. You are your own person, like I’m mine. I just sometimes feel that the honeymoon phase is disappearing, and pretty fast, too.”
“What are you talking about? I sometimes fear that you are going to push me away because you want more free time.”
“It’s nothing. It was just that fight we had.”
“Fight?”
“Blake, stop. You were mean and what you said bothered me, and this morning you were all kiss-y and touch-y, as if nothing happened. I mean, you didn’t even sneak in last night.”
What the fuck was she talking about? I knew asking her was going to bring on more worry. She would ask questions again, and it would force me to speak to her about her father’s concerns. It concerned me as zoning out for days, not remembering a so-called fight, frightened the crap out of me. I pulled her into me, kissed her on top of the head, and apologized. I hated not knowing what I was apologizing for. What did I tell her? What did I say that bothered her that much? Worst of all, what was happening to me?
I had this brilliant idea to keep a date log, writing in my journal. To keep a date log. Every evening I would write something, and I would make sure that the date was there. Hopefully, whatever happened to me on the days that I completely zoned out, not remembering a bloody thing, I would remember to write in the journal too. Well, at least I would know if I skipped a day.
The way everyone spoke, it was like I sometimes did not know what they were speaking about.
Elena became closed off here and there, and it was hard for her to open up. I did not know what caused it. It was as if I went away for days and came back and lecturers would start additional work before we had finished the work we were busy with.
The dates were weird too. Did I miss days? Did I sleep, did the tired come back, what?
Every time I tried to speak to Elena about that without letting her on what was happening with me, she would be short with her answers. I did not know who to confide in without letting on something was horribly wrong. My aunt would immediately phone my dad and he would inform the king.
The worst change for me was Becky and George. They still growled at each other one day and the next they were all in each other’s face, romantically.
The way he spoke to her told me, he had Dented, but it was weird that nobody teased him about it, and the way they were at ease with each other told me it had been like this for at least a few weeks.
When did he Dent?
“When did George and Becky become each other’s shadow?” I asked Lu, and he stared at me.
“You are kidding, right?” Lu smiled.
“No, that’s why I’m asking.”
“You made that disgusting comment a few days ago when they hung. Elena was so upset with you about that.”
“What?”
“Bud, what the fuck is going on with you?”
I pulled my hands through my hair as I put my feet off the bed and on the floor.
Something was happening. I was losing time and whoever took over my body wasn’t me. He said things that upset Elena and drove a wedge between us.
I wanted to just leave before I hurt her again.
Lu put his hand on my shoulder, and my gaze flickered to his. “Talk to me.”
“I don’t know what is happening. I can’t remember them coming together the way they are now, Lu.”
“Yeah, I picked up on that. It’s pretty freaky. I think you should speak to your aunt.”
I shook my head. “I can’t. If I speak to her, she will tell my dad, and he will tell Elena’s father—”
“Oh, my word. Elena is right about you hiding something from her, isn’t she?”
“Lu?”
“Fine. What is the last thing you remember?”
“You walking in on us? I think two days after that. We were happy.”
Lu’s eyebrows furrowed as he stared at me.
“How long has passed?” I leaned my elbows on my legs and rested my palms in front of my lips.
“More than a few weeks, Blake.”
“Weeks?” Fuck. I wiped my hands on my legs and pushed myself from the bed, pacing the length of our room.
“Blake.”
“Don’t tell Elena, please. It will put her on edge. I’ll figure it out.”
Lu nodded.
“What was it I told them that was so disgusting?”
“You want me to repeat that?”
“Lu, please?”
He mumbled it, and I froze. It sounded like the old me.
“You are scaring me, bud.”
“I need to apologize to them and Elena.”
“You already did.”
“When?”
“A few hours later and you made it sound very sincere.”
Fuck. I rubbed my face.
“You really don’t remember?”
“Does it look like I fucking remember?”
“Okay, then we need to find out what is causing this, Blake.”
“No Elena or Tabitha.”
“Seriously, Tabitha. Nothing in that department has changed. I doubt that it ever would.”
“Thank heavens I didn’t miss that.”
He chuckled, but it wasn’t long lived. The worry ate at the both of us. Something was happening, and I did not know what.
ELENA
“You are going to do great,” Blake said.
“I still feel bad that we can’t go with the Conveyance spell.”
“That is my fault. It’s a bit of an advanced one. You basically just started. This is the right spell.” He wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me into his chest.
For the past few weeks, we’d practiced the seeing spell. It was listed under the duo spells and needed two people to perform it. Well, not in the way I think Sir Edward meant, but close. Blake had also said that it should be easy for us to tap into this one, as our bond was strong.
The seeing spell could easily be turned into a hearing spell, or basically anything the dragon could do. You see through their eyes, hear through their ears. That sort of thing.
We were waiting for our turn. Lucian and Tabitha had tackled another spell called the adding spell. It looked like fun to perform it, and heaven knew those two needed a bit of fun.
“Blake and Elena,” Professor Gregory called us to the podium, and we got up from our seats and walked to the front.
My heart slightly galloped and the sweaty palms didn’t help the anxiety that was building up.
I rushed up the steps toward the podium and glanced over at the judges’ table that was made up of a few professors and sirs.
Blake stood on the other side of the auditorium as I turned to address the judges.
“We are going to do the seeing spell. It’s part of the duo spells and we both thought that it’s the best that I could perform.”
Sir Edward and Professor Gregory’s lips tugged softly as Professor Pheizer raised her eyebrow at me.
I turned to face Blake again and started with the spell, asking the magic to lend me the gift to see through Blake’s eyes.
Blake opened his eyes and his peacock blues had changed into orbs of pure white. My view shifted from facing the judges to standing at the back of the auditorium. I knew through practices that a small orb behind me was showing the judges what I was seeing, which was through Blake’s eyes.
And I also knew through practicing this spell that my eyes had changed color and were now peacock blue.
It was such a cool spell.
I closed my eyes and released Blake from the spell. I faced the judges again.
They applauded as I bowed and then I turned around and rushed down the podium, back to my classmates.
I got a brief peck on the temple as Blake reached me.
“That was fun,” he said.
“Baby steps, Blake. We will get to the big ones in no time.”
George and Becky were next, and George somehow made Becky disappear before he vanished too.
Lu and Blake applauded and cajoled their excitement, which told me it wasn’t a simple spell to master.
They reappeared and all of us applauded their effort.
That night we all celebrated as the spell announced the last day of the exams. They were draining, and I was so tired of studying. Christmas was upon us too, which reminded me to buy a present for Blake.
I still didn’t know what he wanted, and a part of me knew he would not tell me, either.
Guess I would have to drag it out of his sister.
Christmas decorations covered the streets of Paegeia. Sammy came with me as George and Becky were on their own mission.
Sammy had promised that she was going to take me to one of Blake’s favorite stores.
“Hey, you okay?” Sam asked as we sat on the benches in the tram.
“Yeah, it’s your brother.”
“What about him?”
“It’s fine, Sam. Forget that I said anything.”
“No, if it’s about Blake, I need to know.”
I sighed. I really didn’t want to drag her into this, but all of my roommates knew the other side of Blake, except Sam.
“We fought, okay?”
“When?”
“All the time, Sam. It’s okay for a week or two and then he loses it and we fight.”
“He fought with you today?”
“Yeah, before I came to meet you.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to keep this a surprise. I didn’t tell him where I was going.”
“Okay, that is just silly.”
I huffed. “Tell me about it.”
“Screw him. You need time away from him too.”
I nodded, not wanting to go into detail with Sam. I could already see by her drawn eyes that this was also worrying her a bit. It wasn’t normal. Nothing about the Rubicon and our Dent was normal.
Sammy got up from the chair, ready to walk to the front. “I don’t know if I should take you to his favorite store then, if that is how he treats you, Elena.”
“We’ll be fine. Let’s go.”
We climbed off right in front of a gigantic auto dealership. But instead of cars, this one was filled with bikes—very expensive ones.
I followed Sammy inside, and the salesperson introduced himself to me as Andy.
“Please try to keep this on the low. I don’t want Blake to know I was in here.”
“Of course,” Andy said and took us to a beautiful dark red and purple Ducati. “This one here.”
I nodded as my gaze took in the purple and red glitter that was in the framework.
“Elena, you’re seriously going to buy this for him?” Sammy asked.
“Yes. I want him to have something he really wanted.”
“Then this is it. He’s had his heart set on this bike for a long time. You can tell him it’s his birthday gift too.”
“Birthday gift?” It only just hit me that I had no idea when Blake’s birthday was. I’d never asked him.
“Yeah, you do know that his birthday is the first of January. A lot of guys at the academy thinks it’s the first of April, but that is just his April Fool’s Day joke.”
“And people believe him?”
“That is Blake. Doesn’t like it that people bestow gifts on him.”
I huffed and pulled out the credit card that my father had given me and handed it to Andy. His left eyebrow raised as he made the purchase.
My Cammy rang, and it was no surprise that my Dad Albert’s name flashed on the screen. When I hit the button, my father’s holograph appeared.
“What on earth are you buying, sweet pea?”
“A bike for Blake. You said anything, Dad.”
My father laughed. “I didn’t think it would be a bike, Elena. Are you sure?”
“Yes, his sister said that he’s had his heart set on this one for a long time.”
Sir Robert’s laughter roared in the background. “He is going to shit himself when he sees it.”
“Okay, hand the phone to the dealer. I’ll make final arrangements to pick it up.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“You are welcome. Or, in this case, Blake is welcome.”
I giggled as Dad’s holograph disappeared.
“Oh, my word. I can’t believe you just purchased a bike for my brother. I’m with my dad. He is going to shit himself.”
“Please, Sam, keep this one a secret, okay?”
“Of course, I will. Still, he doesn’t deserve it if he fights with you over crap, Elena.”
“It’s okay. I’m sure it will get better as our bond grows.”
“Grows? You are his Dent. It doesn’t get stronger than this.”
I didn’t like the way Sam said that, using that tone, but a girl could hope that this would get better, right?
