THE AMBIENCE AT dinner hung around us like a thick curtain. Even Cat was nowhere to be found, and he was always around when food was being served.
After a tense dinner with his parents we went up to his room. Lucian was still upset but at least he wasn’t growling anymore.
I watched a movie as he typed vigorously on a laptop in his room.
“She’s here,” he said as I was just getting into the movie.
“What?” I jumped up from his couch and went over to stand behind him.
“She’s here and if she’s somewhere in Paegeia I will find her.”
“Do you have a picture of her?”
He chuckled. “For some reason I can’t find one. They must have erased her from Paegeia’s database when they ruled against her.”
“She would’ve never betrayed the Queen like that.”
“Not if she was her dent,” Lucian added.
“So what did you get?”
“I can’t seem to find the date of her departure, but I found the date she returned. It wasn’t through the elevators though. She flew directly past the Wall. They have sensors that alarm when someone passes through without authorization and with her ability she could have easily compelled the guards.”
“Do you think Queen Catherine could compel minds too?”
“She might have, but thanks to the Ancients it’s something we’ll never know.”
“Did you find anything on Jako?”
“Nope, I don’t know how he left and he certainly never came back.”
“So you think she’s in the Acker Woods?”
“She’s got to be, it’s the only way she could have made it. My Mom is right about people not returning once they enter.”
“Then you can’t go, Lucian.”
“Have a bit of faith, sweetheart. I’m not planning on dying.” He pulled me onto his lap and gave me a kiss. “I still have a lot of plans for the future and you are in all of them.”
“Then how are you going to come out of there?”
“I’ll find a way. I always do.”
We kissed again and the kiss quickly turned into something more. My hormones fought a battle I loved and I felt like I could kiss him forever.
He growled when a knock came at the door.
“We’re going to crawl in,” his mother’s voice yelled through the thick oak.
“Okay,” he rolled his eyes and I laughed into his chest. I saw the time and decided it was time to go to bed too.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Sire.” I buffed my eyes playfully at him and he slapped me on the ass as I walked away.
He laughed deep in his gut as I glared at him and rubbed it.
Once I was back in my room, I took a long bath and the effects of the kiss vanished as Lucian’s mission jumped into my mind.
He really was a knight, taming dragons and going on missions to save his friend. They don’t make them like that anymore.
As my mind whirled, Paul followed after Lucian. A part of me was scared now that I’d listened to King Helmut’s warnings. His ability was dangerous. Still, the fact that he killed his own kind to save us must say something about his character.
I dozed off quickly after my shower and found myself at the bottom of the grassy hill once again. I was done with this shit and I knew I couldn’t look at Queen Catherine anymore. I didn’t know what the hell she wanted from me and I refused to find out.
In frustration, I plunged myself down onto the grass and rested my head on my knees. It was quiet for a while and when I lifted up my head I saw the hem off her dress standing inches away from me.
I sighed and stared up at her. She was really beautiful, but the dark shadows under her eyes and her pale skin made my skin crawl.
“What do you want from me?”
She just stared, pointed into the woods again and I shook my head.
Her mouth opened and she let out a shrill scream. Blood roll down her cheeks from her eyes and nose, gushing into her mouth. She gurgled and then she burst into a ball of fire.
I jumped up in bed as my veins were injected with adrenaline and I struggled to find my breath.
This was really getting too much and this dream made no sense. Why the hell am I dreaming this shit?
I turned on the TV’s device and quickly found a movie to watch. Once it got transferred to the screen, I just lay there watching the images moving across the wide screen. What it was about I really didn’t know. I must have dozed off once again because when I opened my eyes the sun started to lighten my room. The next time they opened, I found Denise scurrying around my room.
“Sorry, Elena,” she said as she bowed slightly with towels in her arms. “Breakfast is served on the porch,” she announced as my stomach began making gurgling noises.
I gave her a pleading look and she smiled. “You want me to take you?”
I nodded.
She waited for me to get dressed and then I followed her down a bright hall with beautiful curtains that hung the length of the windows. When we reached the end of the hall she took a right and a short left, finally opening another door that dead-ended in a huge hall which looked like a ballroom. I ran to keep up with her as she exited through doors and entered another set.
“Believe me, this is actually the short way,” she said over her shoulder and I giggled. If she hadn’t led the way, I might have ended up missing for three days wandering around this huge castle.
The last room we entered led to a beautiful porch complete with a long glass table with big comfortable chairs stretched over half of the space. On the other side was a small buffet area run by chefs in full uniform. She opened the glass doors and Queen Margerite smiled at me as I exited the castle to join them. Lucian was busy reading through a newspaper.
“It’s a perfect day; I thought having breakfast on the porch would be refreshing.”
“It’s really beautiful out here.”
Lucian put away the newspaper and winked at me as I went to his side. The butler pulled the chair right next to Lucian and waited until I sat down before pushing me back closer to the table. He picked up the napkin that was folded into some sort of exotic flower or bird, I couldn’t tell what it was, and with one shake landed it perfectly onto my lap.
I gave him my super-smile and thanked him. He nodded once and retreated as another staff member asked me what I wanted to drink. He carried a jug of juice and a silver pot filled with coffee.
“Juice will be fine, thank you.” I wasn’t use to this kind of service and found Lucian smiling at me as our eyes met. He just pulled his fork out of his mouth and chewed with a smirk on his face.
“Don’t,” I whispered back.
The door opened again and King Helmut entered with a familiar face; one I’d only saw for a brief moment. It wasn’t the face that I remembered from that night on Interstate 40, it was the nose.
He smiled as he saw me next to Lucian. “Hello, Elena.”
“Hi,” my voice broke and my tone sounded awkward.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” He took a chair opposite me with a smile.
“It’s Matt, right?”
He nodded. “I’m glad that you are alright. We thought we might have lost you that day.”
I didn’t want to remember that night. It was the night my whole life changed in a split second and I found Lucian stroking my leg softly. He seemed to rub away all my worries and I gave him a smile.
“Thank you,” I said to Matt.
Lucian tried to change the subject and started asking him questions about the hippogriff, as Matt was still working on the case.
It was interesting to hear what he had to say, but it led to a dead-end too and Matt only had speculations. The same ones Sir Robert and Master Longwei had that night.
The butler took my empty plate and I decided to have a cup of coffee.
The strong roast did the trick and I felt a buzzing sensation flow through me as my senses were brought back to full alert. My tired eyes didn’t burn anymore and I felt like I could finally start the day.
“Elena, can we talk for a couple of minutes?” Matt asked.
I nodded. My eyes fell on Lucian as I pulled out my chair and he gave me a concerned look.
“It’s okay. I need to talk to him too. Find out a couple of things,” I whispered softly.
He gave me a peck on the head and I ran after Matt who was already descending the stairs.
We walked in silence and down the stairs that led to the orchard.
“Elena,” Matt said. “Not knowing what your father wanted to tell me that night gave me a lot of restless nights. I tried to open up a case, but I couldn’t find a Herbert Watkins living this side, so the only explanation I could come up with was that your Dad was born on the other side. It happens from time to time. They usually don’t know about the registration, but it also leaves me with plenty of unanswered questions. Why where those dragons after you?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t even know my father was a dragon.” Dad did know about Paegeia though, I knew it from the stories he’d told me. Why couldn’t I remember the details?
He frowned. “You never saw his true form?”
He brought me back out of my string of thoughts and I shook my head to answer his question. “We used to flee every three months. I thought my Dad was paranoid or something. Fleeing from nothing, but it wasn’t nothing in the end.”
“You must have known something.”
“I don’t,” I said sternly. “Sorry, I just have so many questions that I know I’ll never get any answers to. Why didn’t he tell me what he was?”
“I don’t know. One thing I just don’t understand is where he got my number from?” He sighed. “I wish I could give you the answers you need. The leads I had all ended up nowhere.”
“I can’t help you.”
“I can see that now. I hate to bury a case but I’ve got no leads to take this one further. I’m sorry. I really thought the next time I saw you, I would have some sort of answer for you.”
“It’s fine. The answers died with him that night.”
“Sorry,” he whispered again with a strong strain pulling his mouth downwards.
I forced a smile. “I’ve got a good life here, Matt. You tried everything you could and who knows, maybe one day you’ll find something again and I’ll get some answers.”
“Yeah, who knows?”
Pretending to be positive was the only thing I could do. I’d made peace with not getting the answers, although I wanted them so badly. I knew deep down inside me that I would never get them.
We walked back to the castle and talked about the King of Lions mission. I would never be able to escape that either as everyone I met wanted to know everything in detail. I told him as much as I could, but left out a couple of things, like what was inside the cavern. He wanted to see my scar and looked at it with admiration.
I told Lucian what Matt had told me and he was so supportive. He put his arm around me and promised me again that nothing would ever happen to me.
That entire day Matt’s conversation played over in my mind for a long time. We both didn’t have any answers and I could tell he was just as frustrated as I was. Guess only time will tell what Dad was running from all those years.
