I was grateful for the empty room when I came back from training to take a shower. I literally showered and slept here. Between classes and Micha, there wasn’t any time for playing around.
I didn’t bargain on Blake being a student. Was it his last year? That would be my luck too.
When the school bell rang, I went to class.
I walked into anatomy and found a guy standing on the podium in front of his desk and a blackboard that filled the entire wall. His hand flicked through papers on his desk. He wore jeans, boots and a check shirt. The lecturer looked up, and I did not know whether he was a teacher or a student. He looked way too young to be a teacher, but then again, we were in Paegeia. He could probably be in his hundreds already.
The glass screamed anatomy. Against the walls were pictures of dragons with humans in front of them to show the ration. Each painting showcased the inside of all the dragon breeds. At the end of the class were glass shelving, with see through jars carrying specimens in brine.
Just like all the other classes, this one had tier seating too, facing the podium where the lecturer’s desk sat.
I slipped into an open seat in the fourth row after everyone took their seats. I got out a notepad as everyone’s eyes were on me. It was Falmouth all over.
“So how do you know Blake?” Ashley’s voice came from the table behind me.
I turned around to face her. “He must have made a mistake as I’m so dull, so it couldn’t be me, right?” I whispered back, and the look on her face said it all. She knew I overheard her this morning. She shifted back in her seat and folded her arms.
A girl plopped down next to me. It was the girl that everyone crowded during lunch and dinners. “Name is Sammy Leaf. Great to meet you.”
“You’re Blake’s sister?”
“Yup.”
The professor carried on with a lesson he previously started. We covered the Snow Dragon. That was Blake’s Beasty. They were very smart, cunning, but also cowardly. They fled at any sign of danger. I feel sorry for Blake. He was the complete opposite of cowardly.
The Snow Beasties had a chamber right above their stomach that was like a freezer. I knew the information as I learned it from my professors at the castle.
When the bell rang, Sammy walked with me to my next class, even if she didn’t have it. “I heard you got four trainers already.”
“Yeah, and a thousand Epsom salt baths.”
She laughed. “Why didn’t you just ask Ben to heal your sore muscles?”
“The poor guy has to heal my cuts and bruises. Sore muscles sounded like pushing it a bit.”
Her laugh echoed through the hallway, and everyone stared at us. “You are funny, Elena. I get why my brother likes you so much.”
She shouldn’t say things like that.
“Here is your class. See you later.”
“Later.” I smiled at her and entered the class.
Sammy was everywhere and spoke nonstop. I listened with one ear. I mean, the chick was awesome, but my plate was too full with my beasty and Blake.
Way too many students lingered around her table, and I finished my plate of food and got up.
“Where are you going?”
“Training,” I yelled.
I found Micha in the Parthenon dome. “I see you made some new friends today.”
“Don’t. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be.”
She grabbed my arm. “Hey, you are home now. Nothing else is going to happen. Make friends, Elena.”
I nodded.
We trained for about three hours, and at three o’clock I couldn’t anymore. There were literally two days left. Four practice sessions at the most before facing my worst nightmare.
My room mates kept our door open again and at least ten different voices came from inside.
“Today she spent the entire day with Sammy. You think she is family?”
“Could be. I mean, he only speaks to family.”
I didn’t have time for their questions, and I turned around and walked up the many flights of stairs to get to the roof.
I needed a break from all of this.
On the roof, I laid down and soaked up the sun. I could feel the sun warming up my skin. The smell of stale sweat mixed with my deodorant reached my nostrils. I should take a shower, but right now, my room was full of bratty teenagers that loved to gossip.
The latch opened, and I wanted to cry. It closed as I waited for questions, but none came.
A shadow cast over my face and I opened my one eye just as a whiff of his scent filled my nostrils and clouded my mind.
I wanted to grunt.
Blake sat down next to me again. “Are you hiding again?”
“I’m not hiding. I’m trying to get away from the thousands of questions that await me in my room. Thank you so much for that.”
He chuckled. “Well, I had to speak to you.”
He handed me a can of coke, and I thanked him for it.
“What do you think about Dragonia?”
The gas released as the latch to the soda opened.
“My worst nightmare to be honest.” I took a few gulps, and the icy sweetness burned down my throat. It tasted good.
“Come on, Elena. They don’t treat you like royalty.”
I put the can down next to me. “Yeah, that part is cool. Arithmetics are Greek, not to speak about Latin and the spells.”
“Well, I’m sure if you claim your beasty you don’t have to learn to speak Latin.”
I chuckled at the way he said beasty.
“If is a huge word.”
“You’ll be okay.”
“Yeah, I’m hanging on by a threat, to be honest,” I mumbled and rubbed my face. I was so tired.
“What do you mean?” All playfulness in his tone was gone.
I shook my head without looking at him. “It’s nothing.”
“Elena, if you are not mentally ready for Saturday, you need to tell your father.”
I laughed as my eyes flicked toward him. Genuine concern pulled at his eyebrows.
“Oh, and wait until he goes dark and takes me with him.”
“He lasted this long. I’m sure he can last another few weeks or months. Maybe a year.” Blake was way too serious.
“Thanks, but really, you don’t have to worry.”
“Well, I am. You are way too cool to go to the looney bin.”
“My roommates will disagree. They think I’m boring.”
“They said that?”
“I overheard them.”
“Well, they don’t know you the way we do. Because something tells me you don’t let them.”
“It’s not that easy, okay?”
He nodded, and then the corner of his lips pulled into a soft grin before he flickered his peacock blue eyes at me. “You met my sister?”
“Yeah, she talks a lot.”
He smiled. “Always had that. She is a real blabbermouth.”
“She is cool. She might think I’m weird, as I don’t listen to half of the things coming out of her lips. So many people circling around her because of you. It’s claustrophobic.”
“It will quiet down, I promise. Orientation week is just everything at once, in your face. They settle down once they become part of the entire system.” He laid down on the roof with his hands behind his head, closing his eyes. I couldn’t stop staring at his beauty and wanted to kick him because how he made me fall in love with him.
“I hope so. So what, this is like your last year or are you still going to grace us with your presence next year?”
He chuckled without opening his eyes. “Yeah, I’m sorry, but you are stuck with me next year too.”
“Great,” I breathed.
He opened his one eye and stared at me. “Thanks, Elena. You make me feel so special.”
I chuckled. “Sorry, I told you I was hanging on a thread.”
He pulled me by my arm and I fell down next to him, falling on my elbow.
“Ow.” I rubbed the pain that shot up into my arm.
“Sorry, you make me claustrophobic sitting while I’m laying down. You tried maybe climbing that thread to get to more solid ground?”
“Any suggestions will be helpful.”
“Tell your father you are not mentally ready for Saturday.”
“I can’t. I have to try.” Silence lingered as I let the rays washed their warmth over me again. “So you ever tried to claim him?”
“What?” Blake asked. I knew he was looking at me because of the angle his voice came from.
I covered my eyes from the sun and turned my head to look at him. “You tried to claim the Rubicon? Lucian tried twice.”
His lips twitched. “No, I’m not that crazy.”
I punched him playfully on his stomach. He grunted and rubbed the spot my fist connected with.
I chuckled at his playful protesting.
“This is insane. It feels like a huge, fat nightmare, to be honest. But every time when I face Micha, she makes it crystal clear that it’s my life now.”
“Yeah, it will go away as soon as you climb that thread.”
I chuckled. I sounded so tired.
“You need a break and a shower badly.”
“I know. I don’t have a shower at the moment. They are going to bombard me with too many questions.”
“I have a shower. I’ll borrow you a shirt, I’m sure it will fit you like a dress.”
“Oh, and answer those questions when I enter my room wearing one of your shirts.”
“When do you have to meet Micha again?”
“At seven.”
“Until?”
“Around nine.”
“Fuck, Elena.”
“What? I need all the help I can get.”
“He is one dragon, not ten.”
I raised my eyebrow.
“Okay, fine. He has ten abilities, but not all of them have woken up yet. He is still just one dragon.”
“One scary mother beasty.”
“Dra-gon!” He spoke slowly.
“Whatever. Okay, fine. I need a shower badly. I reek.”
“Let’s go.”
He got up and lend me a hand. I took it and the current was still there. It made me want to cry.
We walked on the roof walked over to the other side. He helped me past the one tower and finally we reached a ledge similar to the one I excited.
We climbed down a couple of flights and every guy we passed had something to chirp in Latin.
We finally reached his room, and Blake opened the door.
My eyes skidded over the gigantic bed against the wall. Lucian laid on the second bed against the other wall, close to the window.
“Oh, hey, Elena.”
“You share a room with Blake?” I asked as my eyes skidded over to a brown leather couch facing a big ass screen. Something that resembled a Playstation but wasn’t one, sat in a corner with headphones on top of a coffee table.
“Yeah.” He smiled, and I saw Blake shaking his head, standing close to his bed.
“What? Why are you shaking your head?”
“Nothing!” He looked at Lucian. “She needs a shower as nosy brats stole her room.”
I chuckled. “Just give me a shirt.”
He went to his closet and handed me one of his shirts.
I opened the door to their bathroom and locked it behind me. Their bathroom was more or less the same as ours. Accept for the clutter of women’s products strewing over the sink, and their bigger shower, it was almost similar.
I disrobed as my thoughts wandered again. See how I would cause Blake’s death because of my jealous beasty. I’d hate him forever. I climbed into the shower and opened the taps.
The water felt wonderful, and it felt great after three hours of training.
My eyelids felt tired and ached slightly, as I have absolutely no strength. These past four months were hectic.
I turned the taps closed, and the water stopped. I climbed out of the shower and dried myself with one of their towels. Blake’s shirt fell over my body as I pulled my arms into the sleeves. It reached above my knee. I feel like a circus clown wearing his shirt. My one shoulder showed because the neckline was too wide.
Now all I needed was a bed. I exited the bathroom and found Blake on the couch while Lucian still laid on his bed, reading through a textbook. Both their eyes flickered to me and I could see the smile that was lingering on Blake’s lips.
“Don’t laugh. I need to sleep.” I plopped on his bed as it was a double bed and laid with my head on his pillow. It smelled like him. I would never escape him. Ever. It was a lost cause.
“Are you really going to sleep now?”
“Yes, I’m tired.” I answered Blake. I drifted away faster than I thought I would. This was a stupid idea. Really stupid.
BLAKE
Elena started to snore and Lucian laughed softly.
“She is exhausted. She is not ready for Saturday.”
“She told you?” Lucian climbed off his bed and came over to the lounge.
I nodded.
“What did you tell her?”
“She should postpone. She is just as stubborn as her mother. Refuse to listen.”
“Then you should.”
“They never listen to the dragon. She does not know, Lucian.”
“She told you?”
“She asked me if I tried to claim the Rubicon. She fucking thinks I’m a Dragonian.”
Lucian laughed, using his theatre voice. “You didn’t set her straight?”
“She is hanging on by a thread. I couldn’t.”
“Fuck, Blake.” He sighed and brushed his hand through his hair. “This girl is going to claim you without knowing.”
“She won’t. We got the gig.”
“You’re going to perform at your own claiming?”
I nodded, and we both breathed our laughter. I kept looking at Elena. She was beyond exhausted. I got up and pulled the other side of the duvet over her. I bent down and kissed her on top of her head and walked back to the lounge.
She was my weakness.
“At least she is speaking to you, again.”
“For how long? If she is going to find out the truth, she is going to run her legs off.”
“You don’t know that.”
I squinted as I looked at the table. Imagining how much that rejection was going to hurt. “I don’t want to find out either.”
“Blake.”
“Lucian, I’m terrified of breaking her mentally, not even to mention physically. She is not ready to face me in that ring.”
“Okay, how do we sort it out?”
“She won’t tell her father or yours. She’ll just deny it.”
“We never had this problem before.”
“Yeah, I know. They fucking push everything down her throat. It pisses me off.”
“Well, you can’t do anything until she claims you fair and square.”
We played a game and ignored all the pounds at our door.
It was almost five thirty, and I phoned my sister.
I asked her to get Elena some clothes to train in. I did not know which room was hers, but my sister found out and then she gasped when I told her to bring it to my room where she was hiding out.
Ten minutes later, Sammy knocked on my door and handed me her clothes.
“Thanks.” I winked, and she rushed back down the stairs.
I walked over to the bed where she slept and hated to wake her up. Her green eyes flew open.
I grinned. “Get up, it’s almost six.”
She grunted.
“I hear you. My sister brought you some clothes.” I put it on the nightstand table.
She pulled the blanket from her and got up, grabbed her clothes, and slouched into the bathroom. I kept staring at her butt, moving inside my shirt as she walked. My stomach flipped, and I loved this feeling but hated it, too.
I put on my shoes, as I wanted to keep her company while she ate her dinner.
She came out and handed my shirt back to me.
“You want some company?”
“No, thank you. You caused a lot of shit already. It’s going to be shoving food down my throat and hoping they digest in time. Thanks for this, I really needed that.” She pulled her elastic out of her hair and pulled her fingers through her hair and tied it up again.
“You are welcome.” I grabbed her arm and she slammed into my chest. “He’s just a dragon, Elena. If you are not ready tell your father.”
“I have to try,” she pry her out of my arms and waved at both of us goodbye and left.
