I smiled like an idiot. I had no clue how I was going to sneak out to tell him about my wonderful plant wearing deadly fruit, or about what I would say if Master Longwei caught me sneaking out. For some reason nothing mattered anymore. I wanted to see him tonight, share the news with him as soon as I could.
I wasn’t even scared of being alone with him anymore.
He’d truly turned into a saint, back into the Blake Lucian had told me about so many times, the Blake Lucian had promised to save.
I got up and looked at my watch, it was after twelve and I smiled as I heard George’s soft snores coming from Becky’s bed.
I got up and put on my jeans and a long-sleeved sweater. I wasn’t really good at sneaking around either, but I’d witnessed it from two great masters and thought I should be okay.
I’d just pretend to be sleepwalking or something if I got caught. Blake had told me once he’d used that excuse, although I didn’t have to ask when, I knew it was a long time ago, and he’d gotten away with it.
I walked on my toes and opened my bedroom door. Raymond was still missing. I walked fast down the steps. The lobby was deserted and I ran up the boys’ stairs, all the way past the elevator on the seventh floor and three more staircases to where Blake’s room was.
My heart was lodged inside my throat. It sounded silly now using the plant as an excuse, but I wanted to see him. I hated saying goodbye to him, just as much as he hated it.
I took a deep breath, held out my hand and knocked softly.
BLAKE
A knock sounded at the door and I smiled. I put down the book about herbs. I was still searching for that missing ingredient.
It felt as if I was never going to find it, and I went to the door.
I wonder who this could be?
I opened the door and my face fell. “Tabitha?”
She had a bottle of vodka and was wearing a long coat. She didn’t even say anything as she pushed her way into my room.
I sighed and closed the door. “What are you doing here?”
“You know what I’m doing here,” she slurred slightly.
Drunk.
“I told you this afternoon, I never want to see you again. I still can’t believe you used your brother like that. You lied to me, to get what?”
“What did you expect me to do? You are always with her, Blake. You hated Elena. You must know…” She walked over to me and wanted to touch my face. I slapped away her hand.
“I don’t hate her, but I’m starting to dislike you more and more.”
“I’m trying to help you, break this curse. It’s not love, Blake.”
“It’s not a curse. You lied to me, and don’t try to pin this on Elena.”
“I love you and I don’t give a shit about that freak.”
She’d angered me even more. “Do not call her that. Get out of my room.”
“I know you love me, and if I had more time –”
“I said get out, and I never loved you. There is a huge difference between love and lust.”
She laughed. “That is what you are going with, lust?” She shook her head. “She’s clouded your mind. It’s not real, and you are too stupid to see that.”
“Tabitha, leave, please.” I closed my eyes. That was my first mistake, and when I sensed her close to me, she was standing in her underwear. “What the hell are you doing?”
“What? You used to want this so badly. Am I not beautiful anymore?”
“Yes, you are still beautiful, but I love Elena now, so please, just go.”
She sucked her lower lip and stared at me with those ice blue eyes of hers. “She couldn’t possibly give you what I can, remember how we used to –”
“Stop it, it’s over.”
Another knock sounded at the door, and it felt as if my heart fell to my stomach. This cannot be happening.
I stared at the door.
“Expecting someone?”
“Just shush,” I whispered and went to open the door. My heart cringed as I found her with a small plant in her hands. I smiled softly. “What are you doing here?”
She gave me a smile. “Just let me in before someone catches me.”
“Elena, I can’t. Sorry.” I grinned like an idiot. What the hell is she doing here?
“Blake, it’s not funny,” she begged. “Just let me in, I don’t care what your room looks like.”
“I do. Go back to your room. I’ll see you in ten minutes.”
She squinted. “Okay.” She smiled and I could breathe again but then the bitch cleared her throat.
Elena turned around as I closed my eyes. Why, is this always happening to me?
“Am I interrupting something, Blake?” The hurt in her voice was clear.
“It’s not what you think,” I spoke softly and Elena pushed herself into my room as well.
She found Tabitha still standing in her underwear. “Hey.” Tabitha smiled.
Elena looked to the ground and huffed. She stared at me and tears welled up in her eyes.
“It’s not what you think. Nothing happened. I swear.”
“Yeah, nothing happened, Blake, because I knocked on your door.” She looked at Tabitha again. “Finding her brother?” she huffed.
“Elena, please.”
“You two really deserve one another.” She turned around.
“No, Elena, wait.”
I rushed after her and pulled her back by the arm. “Don’t do this, please. I’m telling you the truth.”
She pulled her arm out of my grip. “Just, don’t, Blake. Please.” She wiped away her tears and ran fast down the steps. I was ready to follow when she turned around. “And stay away from me. That is an order.”
Immediately an invisible force stopped me from going after her.
“Elena,” I whispered hard. I could still hear her running down the steps fast. She was crying softly, and it pained me that I was responsible for putting her through this heartache, even though I hadn’t done anything. Thanks to my past she will never believe me.
I hit the railing of the steps hard. It vibrated slightly as I tried to stifle a grunt. I tried to follow again, but the force pushed me back. It hadn’t done this when I’d gone after her through the Creepers, why now?
Because her life isn’t in danger. I knew it and the stupid order knew it.
I looked back at my door and strode back.
Tabitha still leaned against my couch. “She clearly doesn’t trust you that much if she doesn’t believe you.” A smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
I walked over to her and her smile grew. “Not what you think.”
I grabbed her arm and pulled her toward my window. “It’s over. What don’t you get? I don’t love you. Never ever come into my room again or I swear, I will kill you.”
I opened my window and chucked her out. She transformed the minute she went over the ledge and I closed my window again.
I picked up my Cammy.
“Elena Watkins.”
It didn’t even ring. The connection didn’t go through, and I tried again.
ELENA
That was so stupid. My heart felt as if someone had torn it into shreds. I struggled to breathe. I’d never felt this kind of pain before, not even on that mountain when he’d…I couldn’t even say it. It had never been over between them. I was stupid idiot who believed him. Seeing Tabitha in her Victoria’s Secret underwear looking like some sort of dessert made it worse. Nothing happened. Whatever, Blake. Asshole. I’d given him my heart again, but that was on me. I’d known I shouldn’t. I’d known this was going to happen sooner or later. How long had he been seeing her? How long?
I barged through my door and ran into the bathroom. Once I was inside, I burst into tears. This hurt so much.
Lucian had had no choice when he left me. Blake had and he didn’t even care about the consequences.
Not long after, Becky came into the bathroom.
“Elena,” she said sleepily. “What the hell happened?” She came over to me where I sat in the corner still holding Louie, and just wrapped her arms around me. “Shhh, what happened?”
“Blake and Tabitha.” It was all I could say.
“No, Elena, he broke up with her.”
“She was in his room parading in her underwear. I’m not stupid.”
Her face fell. “What?”
“I was there, okay? He didn’t want me to go in, said he would see me in ten minutes, and I thought, okay, maybe his room is a mess and I turned around to leave when she cleared her throat.” More tears flew over my cheek.
“Bitch. I told you –”
“Don’t say it, please.”
She hugged me again while I cried. This dragon rider thing wasn’t going to work. It had been doomed from the beginning. Why had he even bothered to make me fall for him? Just because he could? It was who he was, the Blake in my mind, who I’d gotten to know. Just like that, the Blake from tonight disappeared, and it hurt like hell.
He was still the same Blake Leaf from a year ago.
Becky stayed until I told her I was fine. She needed her rest.
I struggled to sleep, but I promised myself that the idiot was never going to see me in tears over him again.
He didn’t deserve them. I felt disgusted by the lies he’d told me on that mountain too. He’d promised he would rather die than betray my trust ever again, and he was lying right to my face. I knew for a fact he would be in that cafeteria the next day breathing.
I got dressed in a pair of jeans and T-shirt with sneakers and went down to breakfast, as if nothing had happened last night.
Blake didn’t exist anymore. He was an asshole. How long had they been secretly seeing each other? I’d told Tabitha she could have him, and now she could. I didn’t even want his stupid dragon anymore.
I would save my father. Somehow I would find a way to work with him one more time and then I would let him go. I’d made up my mind. The Blake I’d come to love wasn’t real. He never had been.
We entered the cafeteria and found Dean and Sammy at one of the tables.
I held my head high.
“Are you okay?” a worried-looking Sammy asked.
“Just perfect, why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“Elena,” she started.
“Don’t, Sammy. It was never going to work anyway.”
“Stop saying that. My brother is a mess this morning.”
“I really don’t care, Samantha!” I barked at her. I didn’t want to care. He felt guilty that he got caught. That was it.
“Just like that? You’re giving her what she wants.”
“No, I’m giving them what they want. Your brother isn’t an innocent victim in this.”
“He said nothing happened. He was trying –”
“Just don’t. I really don’t want to know what he was trying to do, okay?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Sammy, let it go.” Becky sounded pissed off as well.
I walked to the buffet line and greeted Chef like I always did. There was no sign of the idiot or his slut.
I was beyond mad but pretended it didn’t bother me.
“Elena,” George stood right next to me.
“I’m not interested in any explanation. It happened and that is that.”
“Nothing happened.”
“I’m not going to speak to you about this, so just let it go.”
“Elena, please. You can’t do this.”
“I can’t? I didn’t do anything. That was all his doing. Let it go,” I said, taking my tray and going to the table. I ate in silence and was surprised when George came over and had his breakfast too.
“Nothing happened,” he finally said and I scowled at him.
“She was in his room wearing underwear,” Becky said. “What was she doing there?”
“Becky, he would never do that to Elena. Why doesn’t anyone believe him?”
I started to laugh. “You are joking, right? I can give you a dozen reasons why.”
“It’s in his past. He is not that Blake anymore.”
I laughed again. Yeah, then where the hell is he? I didn’t say that, but I thought it. “Just let it go,” I said as I got up and put my tray and plate at the drop-off zone.
The entire day Blake and Tabitha were missing. All the professors asked about them, and Peter and I were the idiots left shrugging.
Seriously, the professors could’ve put two and two together.
In Aviant Blake showed up; he was in his dragon form.
He looked at me, and I shook my head and walked away.
“Elena, please,” he said in his deep dragon voice. Not going to work this time, asshole, I know the Rubicon is you. I didn’t trust him either.
Still he didn’t follow, which was a surprise. It shouldn’t have been, though.
I wished that Constance was still here, but she was with Annie at David’s place. We had done so much together during the past few months. I didn’t want to think about all the good Blake and I had accomplished with the people of Etan who had come safely through to this side. It was all a lie, for what? I don’t know.
It broke my heart that it hadn’t been the real Blake.
The image of Blake and Tabitha on his bed, that time he hadn’t cared what he was doing back at their old house, kept finding its way into my mind.
He was an asshole.
I spent the rest of the day in my room.
Becky entered before Sammy did and she was livid, yelling at George, and he didn’t follow with her.
“Dickhead!” she said.
“It’s not George’s fault, Becky.” I immediately realized why they were fighting this time.
“Yes, but he keeps standing up for the idiot. Saying that there is no way he would do that to you.”
“Just stop fighting with him about it. Stop talking about it. It’s not going to change how I feel.”
“I know, but he refuses to let it go.” She shook her head and fell onto her bed. “He keeps saying that he didn’t do it.”
“She was in his room. I don’t give a shit about the rest.”
“I know. She shouldn’t have been in his room to begin with.” She was on my side again. It felt great. “What were you doing there anyway?”
“Becky? If I hadn’t gone I would still be the idiot.”
“I know, but I was wondering about that a lot today. It’s not like you –”
“I found the missing ingredient and wanted to tell him about it.”
“You what?”
I nodded. “It’s that plant. He will bear berries soon and those berries are poisonous. .”
“I’m so sorry.” She came over to me and hugged me.
“Why does this hurt so much?” I started crying.
“Because you trusted him, and you loved the bastard. I wish there was a spell to make us forget about all the good that they lure us into loving them with. An easy breakup potion or something.”
“Yeah, it would be a bestseller.”
She giggled. “I’m not even going to ask if you are okay. I know that answer.”
“I will be. I’ve been through worse.” I wiped away another stray tear. “It was really never going to work anyway.”
“I don’t know. He really acted like he cared about you.”
“I was fooled by that too. It’s not really him.”
“So what are you going to do? You still need him to free Etan.”
“I do, and after we’ve done it, I will let him go for real this time.”
She stroked my arm. “I’m so sorry that this happened to you. You of all people.”
“It’s okay. Just another mountain to climb.”
“This time, you have me. Sammy will come to her senses too, sooner or later. She fought with him in Aviant after you left. Professor Vladimir and Alex really struggled to calm her down.”
