After the flight to the mountain, Dad kept his word.
We flew every day. Maggie only took two flights with us and then I was solo.
It was scary the first time, but the second we reached the top of the clouds, all the fear just fell away.
I even gave the simulator a chance. Another brilliant idea of the queen was to teach anatomy inside the simulator. I met all the dragons face to face as professor Wick’s voice spoke in my ears.
The fear of facing them became less and my fascination with them took flight. I even began drawing them.
The queen was in awe of my talent and couldn’t stop gushing about it. My cheeks flushed at least a dozen times with her praises.
She wanted me to paint a mural in one of the meeting rooms in the South wing. The walls were barren, and she tried everything. It would be the biggest project that someone ever gave me.
“I was thinking of a nice war scene, with dragons and mountains, with the forest. What do you think?”
I giggled at her excitement, but she was dead serious.
“It sure fits the room.” I looked around at the enormous oval table with at least forty-eight chairs around it. There were a few knights in armor statues and in a glass case a 3D model of Tith that I would love to get a good look at. The rest of the walls were brick, except for this one.
That would be an awesome distraction. I hadn’t painted or drawn anything in a long time.
I even made peace with Lucian. He apologized profusely.
Blake became something of the past, and my heart got to that place where I could finally let him go.
I still knew little about the Rubicon as Dad stopped putting him in the sim. He didn’t want the progress we made to be for nothing. When I was ready, we could proceed.
I looked forward to weekends again for Lucian to come home. I hated the arrangements Paegeia had, as I really wondered what his kiss would feel like.
We spoke about everything. He even mentioned Blake, and I let him speak about the idiot. But those conversations became less and less too.
One Saturday evening, I struggled to sleep and went to Lucian’s room. I knocked on his door and he opened.
My stomach flipped as he only wore a satin pajama pants hugging his hips. Beautiful sculpted muscles and a six-pack hit me full in the face.
He squinted at the light that was in the hallway. “It’s like two in the morning, Elena. You want me to die?”
I snorted, knowing his dying comment was probably attached to the Rubicon again. “I need to go into the sim, but I’m scared to go alone.”
“Into the sim?”
I nodded. “If I don’t go in now, I won’t do it tomorrow. I feel ready now.”
His entire body fell as he brushed his hands through his hair. “Okay, let me get dressed.”
I nodded and waited for him in the hallway.
He exited wearing a pair of slacks, training shoes and a grey shirt. His hair was still messy though, and I still wanted to brush my fingers through it. I followed him to the simulator.
We entered and rushed down the stairs. He started up everything as I pulled on a suit. After suiting up, I walked to the obstacle course.
The mechanical arms latched themselves to my suit as I put on the gloves. My heart thumbed inside my chest, but it was time to face my beast as time with Armand was almost ending.
He still had plenty to teach me.
I found Lucian wearing a suit too, and a second pair of mechanical arms lowered from the roof.
“What are you doing?”
“Yeah, I heard the first time you almost passed out. I do not want to wake my mother at this hour.”
I chuckled. “Did they tell you I pissed myself too?”
Lucian froze as I laughed.
“I don’t know what it is with him that scares me so much. I know it’s my abilities inside of him, but he terrifies me as much as he fascinates me.”
“He fascinates you?”
“Yeah, he does. He is so different from all the other beasties. Ten or eleven in one, but none of them either. I have a feeling that is what I struggle with the most.”
Lucian chuckled again. “Something tells me he will never lose that name.”
“Nope.”
“You ready?”
“Yeah, let’s do this.”
Lucian tapped his gel pad next to his temple, and I did the same.
The arena immediately turned into day, and the crowd cheered. The MC spoke, and the gate opened.
The Rubicon stepped out.
You can do this, Elena. You know what he is going to do. Just breathe.
My heart thumped inside my chest as I took a deep breath.
He walked closer. Tons of muscle and scales with tendrils bopped with every step. His eyes were blood red, and it sent a shiver down my throat. The beast walked closer and spoke in Latin. He didn’t do that last time.
Lucian answered him, and he gurgled.
“What is he saying?”
“Programmed a stupid thing in order to spike up my adrenaline.”
I laughed.
“Laughter is great, Elena, you’ve made loads of progress.”
The Rubicon opened his mouth, and both Lucian and I ran in different directions. He followed Lucian as if I was invisible. I was grateful for that, as I saw Lucian move with the Rubicon.
He was fast for a lump of beast, and Lucian was a master with all his abilities. Not that he would receive them in reality. But he gave me a great visual of what it would be like for me.
I observed a lot and was ready to take a chance. When the Rubicon turned his back; I jumped on top of his back. The adrenaline actually did what it needed to do for the first time in my life.
I didn’t freeze. I actually moved forward, pushed forward.
I grabbed his tendrils and yanked as hard as I could.
I didn’t like the screech that came out of his lips and felt sorry for him. He went down and his eyes faded from red. The words Yield flashed in big gold letters in front of me, and Lucian hollered.
He disappeared, and I tapped on my pads and yanked the goggles off.
“He yielded,” I yelled and jumped into his arms.
“You did it. Wicked, Elena.”
I didn’t think and pushed my lips onto his. My stomach went crazy with the butterflies as his soft warm lips caressed mine. There was no buzzing coming from him the way it came from Blake, but it was magical.
Lucian pulled away. “I’m sorry, we can’t do this, Elena.”
He put me down.
The rejection from his words felt as if my insides shattered. “Yeah, I… I know, I’m sorry.” It barely came out as tears pricked my eyes. “Just forget it happened, please.” I ran to the stairs.
“Elena,” Lucian yelled, but I was too embarrassed to turn around.
He would always choose the Rubicon.
I went to my room and shut the door behind me.
There was no tingling sensation. Was it something to do with a girl’s first kiss or was it because Blake was a Dragonian?
Lucian trained to be one. Why wasn’t there a buzz? Nothing made sense.
I felt like an idiot. He was betrothed to someone and I have the Rubicon.
I already put one guy’s life in danger, and I couldn’t believe that I pulled in a second one, too.
I hated this arrangement so much.
The next morning, I woke up around eight.
Lucian was with his mom and dad sitting around the table. Dad was among them. I went over and kissed Dad and felt so stupid that I kissed Lucian last night. The vibe was so awkward around the table. I couldn’t even look at him.
He didn’t speak about last night’s yield and after breakfast; he wanted a word.
I hated this so much.
We walked toward the royal zoo.
“I said I was sorry, can’t we just forget about it?”
“Elena, you do not know what you did last night.”
“I did, I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Can you let me finish?”
“Sorry,” I whispered as hot flushes rolled off my body. We walked toward the maze. Patches of hedges were still busy growing, mending themselves. Apparently, the maze was a magical one and therefore magic couldn’t fix it. It made little sense, but I didn’t argue?
“If you weren’t his only hope, I wouldn’t think twice. I like you more than I should. It’s not that hard. You are light, and it’s easy to fall in love with you as you are extremely beautiful. It doesn’t matter which parent’s features you have.”
My cheeks reddened. Okay, I didn’t expect that at all.
“You are funny too and last night, believe me, I hated him with everything in my being. He doesn’t deserve you. It’s not fair.”
“Does it matter if I say I agree with you a hundred percent on all the above?”
He chuckled. “It sucks being royal, really. They do not know what they put us through. Sometimes I dream of being part of an opposite Dent so that I don’t have to marry Arianna. I don’t want her.”
“She is really beautiful, I mean, maybe you just don’t know that side of her yet.”
“I know all her sides. We tried to make it work, someone interfered, and she went for him as every fucking person goes for him.”
“There is someone more popular with you in Dragonia?”
He laughed. “Yeah there is. He messed up everything between us. The worst part is that he doesn’t even give two scents about her. For him it was just to find out her worst fears.”
“Her worst fear?” That didn’t sound good.
“Your dragon, Elena.”
I frowned. I tried to understand how that all fitted together. What I got from him was that he stepped between Lucian and Arianna romantically, like she cheated on him, but everyone kept telling me he was a little boy. That sounded wrong.
“I’m sorry. I’ll cross my fingers for you to find a Dent, and if not, lie your ass off that he or she is.”
“He?”
“Anything can happen, Lucian. It’s a life better than marrying the skanky slut.”
He laughed.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that last night. Would it help if I tell you I suck at thinking things through?”
His jolly spirit was back.
“I believe everything happens for a reason. We somehow would get our happy endings, Lucian. I don’t know how, but we only have one life, right? Well, some of us, one extremely long life.”
He chuckled.
“Everything will happen the way it should. Life can’t suck that much.”
“You really believe that?”
“Yeah, I do. Or maybe I’m just losing it all together, I don’t know.”
“I hate you feel sorry about that kiss. It was amazing until reality kicked in.” He wrapped his arm around me and hugged me tight against his chest.
“Okay, fine, I’m not that sorry then.”
His chuckle reached my ears. “That is better. Our secret, and I mean secret, Elena, if the Rubicon is going to find out about this he will skin me alive.”
“I thought you were not afraid of him?”
“Yeah, well, a part of me is.”
I giggled. “I promise. If it’s life threatening, then yes, I’ll take it to my grave.”
“Great.” He sighed.
He left that afternoon and I felt lighter that we had this conversation, but I still liked him a lot more than I should.
Even if his kiss didn’t leave me with a buzzing sensation afterward. I thought about Blake again. It still hurt when I thought about the intimate side of him, but time would heal that, too.
On Monday, Armand took me in the simulator and everyone came as their curiosity was killing them.
He didn’t scare me like he had the other times, but it was scary that he focused his attention solely on me now.
He didn’t yield this time. I couldn’t get on his back and my energy in the game depleted, meaning that I died.
It was a start
After that, I faced him every single day.
He really was a significant beast, but his red eyes still freaked the living crap out of me.
My birthday was a month away, and the king wanted me to claim the Rubicon on my birthday.
Great sixteenth birthday gift. A non-refundable one.
It was going to be held inside the colosseum in Tith and the press already gossiped about it in the tabloids.
They hadn’t got a glimpse of me yet, but I guessed I would see what the beast was going to do now that his days were numbered.
My time with Armand ended, and I did not know who my last trainer was.
I was going to meet her today.
Dad didn’t come to fetch me like he had the other times, and I met them in my training gear inside the arena.
King Helmut and the queen were here. A couple of staff members watched. I found Dad leaning against the wall watching with arms folded and my eyes skidded toward the woman in the center. She wore loose black pants with a white shirt. She played with the dark fog in her hands.
“What is that?”
“Magic you have to earn.”
I looked at her again. She had brown short hair. The dark fog danced into her palms and her lips kept moving. She was tall, too.
The dark became gray and then faded to white. Bright light pierced through and it illuminated the entire hall.
I had to look away as it burned my eyes.
Everyone applauded. Dad too.
The woman bowed, and Dad took me to her.
She smiled.
“Elena, I want you to meet Micha Le Clerk.”
“So the king finally got you here.”
“Sorry?” she asked, and I let out my hand.
“Elena, please don’t say the p word.”
She smiled. “Micha.” She grabbed my hand and shook it.
She was the Ancient guard. Lucian told me everything he could about her. How they assigned her to kill the Rubicon when he became dark.
“Please tell Adolph again, my gratitude. I’ll owe him forever,” Dad said.
“Please, he literally pushed me out of the door this morning with a bag and told me to go.”
Dad laughed.
Adolph was the Ancient that stared at me and dismissed the hearing. She was his guard?
“May I have a few minutes alone with your daughter?”
“Of course. You are going to learn a lot, bear. Soak up what she is going to teach you.”
I shook my head at my dad. I’d been soaking up everything with everyone of my trainers.
We walked out one of the side doors.
“So Adolph wanted you to train me?”
“Yes, he did. I obviously demanded him to tell me the truth as he was extremely smitten with your birth mother. We always wondered what that was about and then he told me this morning. I had to admit, that was the last thing that ever crossed my mind.”
“Are you going to share that part with me? He kind of freaked me out when he stared at me.”
She laughed. “Can you carry a secret, Elena?”
“Of course I can.”
“Adolph is your family?”
