Too soon we crawled out of bed. Blake got ready and came down with me to breakfast. Everyone was surprised to see him.
He was wearing his shades as the black in his eyes still made him self-conscious.
Whatever he wants, I kept telling myself over, knowing it was probably the best thing, because if any of them recoiled, I would’ve incinerated their ass on the spot.
Connie made us breakfast. It was amazing, as always, with flavors I had to write down, because I had to find a way to recreate her recipes one day.
Not that I think they would ever let me near a kitchen because of the history that flowed through my veins, but I wanted to know the ingredients.
The worry and darkness surrounding Blake’s state and disappearance were starting to fade as George and Emanuel made everyone laugh.
Annie’s eyes twinkled every time Emanuel opened his mouth to say something.
He’d promised her that he would help her getting in touch with her true from again. When that was actually going to happen I didn’t know, and I wished it would evolve into something more than just friendship, but it had to come from the heart.
Emanuel had made it pretty clear he had given up on it.
I hoped it wasn’t the truth, because Emanuel and Annie were perfect for one another in so many ways.
After breakfast we helped Connie with the cleaning. She started to protest as I grabbed a towel, but Constance, Isabel, Becky, Sammy, and I helping make her work so much lighter.
Blake appeared in the doorway, as we were finishing up.
“I don’t need more help, go rest,” Connie scolded him and he smiled.
“I actually wanted to know if Elena would like to take a walk with me.”
“Please, take her,” Connie joked and I hopped off a tall chair at the long serving table.
I followed him outside the lodge, and he took my hand in his. His temperature was slightly warmer than yesterday, which brought a smile to my face. It meant he was finding himself again.
“So, why do I get the pleasure of your company on this walk?” I asked as I rested my head on his arm.
“I just needed to get out. Everyone keeps staring at the shades, wondering how bad it really is.”
“Is that your assumption or do you know it for a fact?”
His lips curled. “I’m good at reading people.”
“Assumption then.”
He chuckled softly, and it turned into a sigh.
“It will heal. Your temperature is coming back too, I can feel it. And if it doesn’t heal, then we’ll deal with it. I’m with your mother on this. I’m not going anywhere.”
He smiled and I brought my hand to his shades and took off his stupid glasses.
He didn’t like that at first, flinching as his body tensed up.
“I meant what I said. I’m not going anywhere. It seems to me that you are the one struggling with this and not the others around you.”
“Yes, I’m starting to feel like an idiot again.”
“Well, you are.”
He laughed and pulled his hands through his hair as he looked around.
We entered the trees, walking toward the lake.
“Please tell me we are not going to fish again. My back and muscles ached for days.”
“No.” He grinned. “No fishing yet.”
“Good. So what is on your mind?”
“How do you know something’s on my mind?”
“I can sense there is more to this than just taking a stroll, wanting to get away.”
“There is something on my mind, you are right.”
“Then spit it out.”
He stopped beneath a huge tree, not far from the lake, and sat down.
I took the spot in front of him.
“You’re not going to like it.”
“Try me,” I said, but a part of me knew what he was going to say. If it was that, he was right. I wasn’t going to like this one bit and would order him this time not to do it.
“I have to get back into Etan.”
“No,” I said without thinking.
“Not now, but in a few weeks.”
“I don’t care. The next time we go back is the day we free Etan, not a day sooner. I’m not going to lose you like that again.”
“Then come with me.”
I froze as he said that. I never thought that he would actually give me that opportunity. “It will be in and out.”
“Why?”
“We need to see what the reaping is all about. See who is alive still. Those were your father’s men. Maybe, just maybe we can see your father.” He spoke that last part softly. “It will only be you and me, nobody else.”
“And if you see them again?”
“We won’t go to Eikenborough, we will go to one of the other cities nearby that the parade travels through.”
“They know what I look like. We are going to stick out like a couple of sore thumbs.”
“Not if we use magic. I can transform our appearance.”
“And what if someone finds us? Magic is forbidden in Etan.”
“Then I’ll blend in.”
“What if you disappear again?”
“Then you go home. I will find my way back to wherever you are.”
I didn’t like this. Not one bit.
“We need to know as much as we can. We need to know who is still alive. Get word to them that hope is coming, so they have something to hold onto.”
“You forget one thing. I promised my father…”
“Then you blame me. It wasn’t just your promise to make. Tell him I was stronger, heck tell him whatever you think he will believe.”
I looked at him with a sad expression lingering in my eyes.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I know you don’t know much about him, but I promise you that I will do whatever it takes to get you a chance to know him. Just give me this one, please.”
“How do you do this?” I was annoyed. “You were in such a dark place because of Etan and a mission that had nothing to do with you. And now you want to take on another, just to find out who is still alive. Aren’t you scared just a tiny bit?”
“I refuse to let fear cloud my judgment. I am…”
“Stop saying that. I know what you are. Stop trying to prove to people what type of dragon you are, and just be scared with me for once.”
He leaned closer to me. “How can I? You are scared enough for the both of us.”
“Now it’s my fault!”
“I didn’t say that. I told you before, greatness comes with fear. If you think I wasn’t scared the first time knowing that I had to go back in there after I found my way out of that dark place, then you still have plenty to learn about me. I am shit scared of ending up there again, but…” He paused for a few seconds. “I’m more scared of disappointing you. I have to try and get word to your father, to his men, that help is coming.”
“Why not let Emanuel go and do it, or one of his men? You have done enough.”
A curve tugged around the corners of his lips. “You sound just like my father.”
“Well, he has a point.”
“They wanted to send him. Can you imagine what it would be like if he found out?”
I closed my eyes just thinking about what he said.
“That’s the reason why you want to do this?”
“We are the only ones who can. Nobody would keep that a secret if they saw him.”
I nodded and took a huge breath. He had a point. If they saw my father, this whole mission would be a complete failure. Sir Robert would do anything to get my father out of his jail, his torture. If he knew he was still alive, he would blow this entire mission.
“Okay.” I eventually spoke. “When do you want to go back?”
“In two weeks, it will be during the next feast.”
“Two weeks.” I blew out air. It was way too soon. “Okay.”
“I’m sorry, I know it wasn’t what you expected.”
“It’s not that. It’s just we are so different from one another. It scares me sometimes.”
“Opposites attract, it’s a good thing,” he said with a lopsided smile.
It made me laugh slightly. “Yeah, I hope that is true.”
He pulled me closer and I rested my head on his chest. He still smelled of sulfur, but his dragon smell was seeping through.
I wished I could hear his heartbeat, the way he heard mine, and then maybe I would know when he was truly afraid and when he wasn’t.
“Nobody is going to see us coming. I promise, in and out.”
“Please just tell me that we are not going to the pits.”
He smiled. “No, that is actually another group’s responsibility, promise.”
“Thank the heavens! You do know what the word ‘delegation’ means.”
We stayed by the tree for a while longer, discussing our next trip into Etan. He was thinking of going to a nearby city in Tith called Sovereign.
These cities had such difficult names, and it was hard to believe Etan was so big. It was half the size of Paegeia.
Then we went to the lake. We played in the water a bit, it was refreshing, and even caught a fish or two, even though he said no fishing. He made a fire near the lakeside and we ate the fish we’d just caught.
It tasted wonderful, and we seasoned the fish with some of the herbs that grew close by.
He was seriously a great cook.
We went back around ten and heard voices coming from the library. They were talking about war, about someone that side, but I couldn’t make out who it was. Blake cleared his throat, and they stopped.
He gave me a broken smile and shrugged. What is everyone hiding?
We walked inside.
“Princess,” Charles greeted me with a smile. “I’m glad you two found your way back.”
Sir Robert stared at Blake, who closed his eyes and shook his head slightly.
“Nothing happened,” I scolded my father’s dragon, and he smiled at me.
“How do you feel, Blake?” David asked.
“Much better, thanks for asking.”
“He is organizing another trip into Etan,” I blurted.
“He’s what?” Charles asked.
Sir Robert didn’t look at me. I knew for a fact that was what the private conversation had been about. It was that very conversation that had made Blake want to take his father’s place.
“He wants to go to the fest,” I told Charles.
“Son, have you lost your marbles?” Charles looked at Blake and then at Sir Robert. “Tell me that you are not okay with this.”
“It’s who he is. I can’t tell my son what he can and cannot do.”
“None of you know what the reaping is. It is the perfect place to blow this entire mission.” Charles sounded stern.
“Finally, someone that feels exactly as I do,” I said and went to sit on one of the available chairs. Blake grabbed another and sat on it after spinning it around.
“It’s only going to be me and Elena, in and out.”
“Over my dead body,” Sir Robert said.
“I agree,” King Helmut said. “I will send a handful of troops in with you.”
“A group! The chances of us getting caught would be astronomical.”
“Just for the night. Blake, we need to know that the two of you are safe.”
I knew the conversation was over the minute King Helmut spoke. I still envied him for that. They really listened to him.
A new discussion started. They were fantasizing about what they would do if they could go back and change the past. All of them agreed they would kill Goran.
Soon King Helmut excused himself, the conversation died out and the men started talking about the Dragon League. Sir Robert answered all of their questions and their talk wandered to the past again, and what an honor it had been for a dragon to become part of the Dragon League.
After a few minutes, Blake got up without saying a word, walked over, and grabbed a book from the shelf.
I took the one next to his, and we paged through them, looking for anything that could be the missing ingredient. I knew deep down he couldn’t die, and neither could I.
That night Blake sneaked into my room, and we fell asleep without saying a word. I felt so safe with him, and couldn’t imagine what it would be like back at the Academy, not being able to be this close to him at night.
I understood now why George sneaked in at night to be with Becky.
The next morning we woke to the ringing of Blake’s Cammy. It was a song I’d never heard before and feared it was Tabitha, but he picked it up and I saw a guy more or less his age on the hologram.
“Isaak, do you know how early it is?”
He chuckled. “Good, you are up and running. I heard what happened. Why didn’t you phone? You know how worried we were.”
Blake grinned. “A weed doesn’t die that easily.”
“You are far from a weed, dude.”
“You phoning just to find out how I’m doing?”
“Nope, I’m phoning because of a special request. An upcoming gig, I’m so sorry dude; the girl requested us and is willing to pay more than our normal fee. You up for it? If not I can…”
“No, a gig would be a good distraction, just as long as it’s not two weeks from now.”
“Nope, it’s Friday.”
“Where?” he asked.
“The Crevice.”
Blake looked at him. “What kind of function is this?”
“A huge one. One of the non’s eighteenth birthdays, they have rented out the entire stadium.”
“It must suck to have so much money.”
“Hear, hear! But remember your new girlfriend is loaded too.”
I laughed softly when he said that.
“Shit, she’s there?”
“Yes, asshole, she’s here. Now she knows why I dig her so much.”
Isaak laughed. “So, are we going to get to meet her this time?”
Blake looked at me. “I don’t know. You guys are a bit rough around the edges,” he teased.
“I promise we will be on our best behavior.”
“I’ll have to see it before I believe it. See you Thursday night, rehearsal, and tell Ty to be sober.”
“Got it.”
They said goodbye, and the connection broke.
“So you only like me for my money?” I asked.
He smiled. “You know my affection can’t be bought.”
“Yet you kept the bike.”
“Yeah.” He raised his eyes. “You know how difficult it was to chuck those keys back at you. I was such an asshole back then.”
“Yeah you were, but you were my asshole.”
He laughed. “Even if I didn’t deserve it.”
“Especially because you didn’t deserve it.”
“So what is The Crevice?” I had to know.
“You might not even want to go because the last time you were there, plenty of dragons tried to kill you.”
“That Crevice?” I asked.
“Yup,” he answered with closed eyes.
“No, I would love to go there again, and face my fears of the place.”
He laughed. “See? Not so different after all.”
We arrived back at the Academy around ten that morning. It was Wednesday, and I couldn’t believe I was going to hear Blake sing the next night, because I was so going to his rehearsal.
We immediately jumped back into classes. Blake still wore his shades and none of the professors asked him to take them off.
I guessed news spread fast.
Classes were blissful with him again.
We even trained that night. He really had no idea what the term ‘take it easy’ meant.
Training was just as hard as the previous time, but I kept my cool when Blake tried to make me angry again. I laughed in his face, every time, until he gave up being mean to me.
I got out of most of his grips, except the last one where I had to use his strength; it was hard, because he was really heavy and huge.
When we were done, we walked back to the dorms together.
I hated saying goodbye to him, especially tonight.
I’d gotten so used to his presence outside the Academy it was seriously becoming difficult to just be alone, and away from him.
I was really falling in over my head.
I’d broken my own promise. Becky had been right: Being with him was addictive and you wanted to believe with all your heart that the dent wasn’t some sort of spell.
I struggled to fall asleep and even heard when our window opened and George came in.
I pretended to be asleep.
I missed Blake. Missed him being so close to me, but I knew why he didn’t sneak into my room like George did at night. It was thanks to those idiots who would soon meet their worst fears.
I closed my eyes and forced myself to sleep.
I froze again as a purring sound erupted. I’d never heard it coming from George before; in all his time sleeping next to Becky this was the first time he’d purred.
I didn’t care how Blake felt about it; it was one of the most amazing sounds in the entire world. A sound of contentment. A sound of peace.
And with that, I closed my eyes and drifted away.
