The next morning, as I opened my door, voices rang inside my ears. Sometimes I really dislike my enhanced hearing.
“That is what they said, this morning.”
“So he is back for real?” another girl a few levels below me said.
“Tabitha is going to flip,” the girl said in an excited tone.
I froze. Blake was back.
“I’m sure she already knows,” the other girls said.
I carried on walking downstairs, and both girls cleared their throats as I reached them.
I barely looked up. By the awkwardness streaming off their bodies, and their staring at the ground, I could tell more or less that they spoke about Blake.
What was he doing back?
He said three days, it was only day two.
“You think she heard us?” the one whispered softly.
I didn’t care for the other one’s reply. It was times like these I just wanted to yell, “Yes, enhanced hearing here,” but I didn’t.
Everyone in the hallways was speaking about Blake’s return.
I found Sammy with Becky and George at a table outside.
“What do you mean you don’t know? You are sharing a room with him.” She didn’t wait on a reply as she saw me. “Good, you’re here. My brother here?”
I shrugged. George was sharing a room with him now?
“He must have said something,” she said to me
“He didn’t, okay?” I spoke softly.
“You guys fight again? I thought at least that would be over now after your trip.”
I didn’t know what to say, as it was something I was really tired of too. “It’s complicated.”
Sammy just shook her head and went to the buffet line.
I looked over my shoulder at Tabitha’s table, the one at which she and Blake usually sat, but she wasn’t there either.
Flashes of another reunion filled my head and my gut felt heavy, turning with a nauseated feeling.
What was it going to be like in the future? Blake being there whenever I needed the Rubicon and leaving at night to be with her?
I pushed the future to the back of my head. It seemed so dull now. Maybe not finding that missing ingredient wasn’t a bad thing.
I dished up and ate my breakfast while the others were talking about all sorts of things. I was glad George and Becky had made up. It was weird not seeing the two of them together, even if it was for just a day.
When the bell rang we made our way to Art of War.
Becky put her arm on my shoulder as we walked. “So what did you guys fight about?”
“It’s stupid. It wasn’t really a fight. A fight is where both parties argue until the problem is resolved. Blake…” I took a huge breath and shook my head.
“Yeah, tell me about it. Fighting with them is not fun at all.”
I smiled at the way she said it and drew another deep breath.
At least I would have all my subjects with him.
We passed through the huge doorway of the Parthenon Dome. Grimdoe was still, like all the statues should be. I remembered the heart attack he almost gave me the first day I set foot in this class.
It felt like eons ago.
Most of the students waited on the bleachers. Professor Mia made some jokes with the first row and Amy, the Night Villain from my second year – well after I turned into a dragon – shared Art of War with us now that she had been claimed.
My eyes found Tabitha immediately. Her snow white hair was hard to miss. Peter was on her one side, but the other spot next to her was empty.
Where the hell was Blake?
“Etan, huh?” Professor Mia yelled, and my gaze broke away from Tabitha and Peter.
I smiled and nodded just before I reached her. It was the first time I had Art of War since my return. “Who would’ve guessed?”
She stroked my arm. “What you did for Constance, bringing back Anouk, it was beautiful.”
“It was nice to watch, that I can say.”
“Go sit,” she ordered, with soft eyes, and I took the spot in between Becky and Sammy on the second row.
All the students were there, except Blake.
Please, don’t do this. Not again. It was the only time I could truly be with him without feeling so guilty.
It was all my fault. I should’ve kept my stupid mouth shut last night.
“Okay, Elena?” Professor Mia asked and my head snapped up at her. “Where is Blake?”
“I don’t know,” I said and sighed. “Is he really back?”
“Yes, he came early this morning.” Professor Mia frowned and looked at Tabitha. “You know where he is?”
Out of the corner of my eyes I saw her shaking her head slightly. He hadn’t been with her this morning?
“Okay, well, the big guy is not coming, so I guess we can start.”
She started to speak about a new contact sport – well, new for me, who’d missed classes for a month.
From the tone of her voice, I could tell she was really excited.
I easily caught a few things: that the sport originated in Portugal; that you had to use your mind and balance. What sport didn’t demand that from you?
After five minutes I lost interest as my mind swirled with thoughts of Blake, Tabitha and I. A trio of people fighting for each other’s affection. It was so draining.
A huge mechanical noise filled the dome. I looked up as every other student in class looked at the ceiling.
One of the panels started to shift open.
I hadn’t even known it could open.
Professor Mia stopped and stared at it too. She walked over to the cupboard and got a remote. She pressed the button and it shifted a couple of inches closed before it moved in the other direction again.
We all started to laugh as she hit the remote against her palm, trying to make it work, and after the umpteenth time she gave up and chucked the remote back into the cupboard.
“Okay, I’ll get someone out to look at that later.” She came back and carried on with her lecture as we all just stared at the big hole that was starting to appear in the ceiling.
“People, it’s just the sky.”
“I didn’t even know it could open.” Becky had the same thought as me.
“Well, we always struggle to get it closed, so now you know why we never open it. This is what happens.”
The class laughed.
She carried on with where she’d left off and this time I was even more lost than before.
A whooshing drowned out Professor Mia’s lecture. A small smile tucked at the corners of my lips. I’d heard that sound once. It had scared the living crap out of me then, but today, it did the opposite.
“What is that?” Becky asked.
Sammy gasped, followed by a couple of other gasps too. When I looked back up I saw Blake, in his dragon form, hovering over the gap in the ceiling.
“How the hell are you going to ride that?” Becky said as he started to descend.
“What is this?” Professor Mia asked him in Latin. “It’s Art of War, not transformations, Blake, and you’re late.”
“Sorry for my tardiness,” he answered in a deep voice as he landed. “Dragon is what I am from now on, so you better get used to it, Mia.”
I sucked my lips and closed my eyes. My stomach was fluttering as I kept repeating his words in my mind. Dragon is what I am…from now on. I’d promised Tabitha I just wanted the dragon, she could have the human. He was doing this for me.
“Elena?” Professor Mia asked.
I responded with a shrug.
Becky and Sammy both had that “need to know now” look on their faces as they saw how I desperately tried to hide a bigger smile.
“Care to tell Blake to transform back? He is as big as my class and there is not enough space for the big guy and all of us.”
“I’m not that kind of Dragonian. He can do whatever he wants.”
A gurgle came from Blake. “Yeah, right,” he said and fell onto his stomach. A slight rumble rippled up the bleachers.
Professor Mia just stared at him. “Fine, we work around him then.”
Professor Mia carried on but we were all distracted by Blake rolling on his back, playing with his talons, and grooming himself. We couldn’t stop snickering.
Professor Mia shot him glares every five to ten seconds and he would freeze every time she did that.
“Not cool, Blake,” she eventually said. “Change back, please.”
“Nope! Can’t do it.”
“Fine, then leave, as I need the space to lecture and you are a distraction.”
He got up and started to ascend back through the roof.
“And close my roof. I know it was you!” Professor Mia yelled behind him. Not long after he disappeared, the roof started to close.
We all laughed.
I felt as if I was going to burst from happiness and didn’t even care to glance over at Tabitha.
The next half an hour wasn’t so easy though. I sparred against Mia as Blake was loafing like usual – well, this time he had done it to make a statement. How long it was going to go on like that, only he knew.
When the bell rang, we had a fifteen-minute break to go and take a shower for our next class. My heart started to flutter as I thought about next period.
It was Aviant, which meant I was going to fly on Blake like a normal Dragonian for the first time. That picture in my mind was overpowering. I was excited, something I hadn’t experienced in a long time, because it was flying, and it was Blake.
A few months back he had seen Aviant classes as sleeping time and would just sleep under a tree with Tabitha next to him. Peter and I, well we had to endure that, while all the other dragons and their Dragonians were having fun in the sky. It was going to be different this time.
“What the hell was that about?” Becky was the first to ask.
“He doesn’t want me to break a promise.”
“What promise?”
I laughed. “A stupid one.” I looked at her and raised my eyebrows once. “Beat your ass?”
She laughed, and we both raced up the steps. That shower was so mine.
After ten minutes, Becky and I found George, Sammy and Dean waiting for us at the staircase.
Samantha had hardly worked up a sweat. Dragons really had it so easy.
She wanted to know the same thing as Becky, and I gave her the exact same answer.
“So what, he’s going to be a dragon from now on?” George asked with a twinkle in his eyes and deep dimples in his cheeks as he walked with his arm across Becky’s shoulder.
“Something like that.”
“For how long?” Sammy sounded worried.
“Relax, it won’t be forever. Sammy.”
“Elena, he’s not one of the most beautiful dragons out there.”
I faked outrage. “I happen to like my dragon’s form, thank you very much.”
Sammy just smiled and put her arm around my shoulder.
We finally reached the Coliseum where Professor Vladimir and Professor Alexandra were waiting for us.
I immediately saw Blake baking in the sun, still in his dragon form.
Professor Vladimir was laughing at something he said.
Something I didn’t catch.
George was the first to take off his shirt and I looked away as he pulled off his trousers. After the plop and tear sound, a Moon-Bolt stood majestically in the place of George, and he was busy making his way over to Blake.
Whenever a pack of dragons hadn’t seen one another in a long time, it always reminded me of giant puppies. George leaped for Blake, who pushed him back with a lazy paw, which was hilarious.
Becky shook her head.
“Guess we will be finally having you up in the sky too.” Sammy smiled as she took off her robe and transformed.
A beautiful brass dragon stood in her place, and she ran over to her brother and George, as well as some other dragons.
Being naked in front of others was the most natural thing for dragons. They were so free, something I envied.
When we eventually reached them, I couldn’t help chuckling. “Seriously.” I looked at Blake. Tabitha’s Snow dragon was on the other side with Peter putting a saddle on her back.
I still felt bad, as if I was now the reason he didn’t want to be with her.
He shook his head as if it was his way of shrugging, and he lowered it inches from mine.
I couldn’t help but smile at his mug. I touched one of his tendrils and venerated it softly in my hands. Everything seemed to disappear around us, and for a short while, while I admired all the colors that sparkled off the tendril in my hand, we were alone.
I don’t know how anybody could say he was ugly. He was really such a beautiful dragon.
He closed his beady eyes and a loud, fast clucking noise I had heard once during our trip came from his torso. It stopped after a few seconds when his eyes opened.
“What the hell was that?” Becky asked, and paused in the act of putting her saddle on George’s back.
George laughed. “I’m so glad I’m not the only idiot doing that anymore.”
“Shut up.” His huge paw pushed George again, and he fell over, away from Becky.
“Okay,” Becky said and stepped away. “Let me know when you two are done.” She looked at Blake and George.
“Sorry, Becks. I’m done,” George said as he rolled back onto his stomach for her to finish saddling him.
Oh hell, I didn’t have a saddle for him at all. “How are we going to do this?”
“Easy, I’ll stay a dragon till it sinks in.”
I laughed. “Not that, Blake. Flying.”
“Oh,” he gurgled. “Just trust me.”
