by Cara Wylde
Drakon saw pure red in front of his eyes. He felt as if someone had just pushed a button inside his brain and turned him insane, thirsty for blood. He stepped inside the room, after her, barely resisting the powerful urge to tackle her to the ground and rip her to pieces. His body started convulsing, wanting to shift into the dragon who could turn Aileen into a pile of ashes in an instant. He fought his body, fought the commands his brain kept sending to his muscles, fought everything with all his might. And when he felt like he was failing, like he was about to lose control, he fought harder.
Aileen knew what she was doing. She understood the gravity of her actions when she was finally face to face with the object in the middle of the room. It was soft, golden, and as big as a winter coat. The Golden Fleece seemed to be, indeed, a piece of golden fleece, and it could cover Aileen’s body easily if she wanted to wear it. But, she didn’t want to wear it. She wasn’t sure she wanted to touch it. She stopped one step away from the tall rock on which it was sprawled, and focused on the energy coming from it. It was calling for her. Not only that, but Aileen could swear it was telling her something, sending her a message. It wanted to be stolen. That piece of huge, soft, golden fleece wanted to be stolen, wanted to be taken away from this cave it had always seen as a prison, but it also whispered something else in her ear, something dreadful: “He will kill you.”
“No, no he won’t,” Aileen said, reluctantly.
She swallowed hard. She could hear Drakon pacing the floor behind her, stepping closer to her, sneering, then withdrawing. She knew he was fighting the curse. By standing there and simply staring at the fleece, she was only prolonging his agony. So, she took the final step and screamed at the top of her lungs:
“No, he will not kill me!”
She sank both her hands in the softness of the object. It was so smooth and warm that she could die of pleasure and happiness right on the spot.
Drakon’s body hurt everywhere. He had fought to keep himself from shifting, but when Aileen touched the artifact, the bones in both his legs simply snapped. Golden scales started appearing all over his bare skin. He fell to his knees, painfully arched his back, and let out a roar towards the open ceiling. The sound reverberated through the mountains and forest.
Aileen’s heart jumped when Drakon roared. If he could make that kind of sound, then it meant he was shifting and couldn’t do anything about it. If she had been wrong all along, he would soon lose the battle with the curse and be upon her. If, on the contrary, she was right, then this was the moment, the only moment, when she could break the curse. She had to take it, do with it what she could, because a second one would never come.
With a loud scream, Aileen pulled the Golden Fleece off the rock. It wasn’t easy. The thing was heavy, and it looked like it was glued to the piece of stone. After thousands of years, the two seemed to have merged in some weird, unnatural way. Aileen propped her feet firmly on the ground and pulled again, harder. This time, the fleece came off, and she found herself holding it in her trembling arms. It was heavier than she had expected, but that wasn’t what left her speechless, paralyzed in shock, with her ears perked up to listen for another sound which might have come from the direction of the rock. No other sound came. It had been just that one sound, loud and sharp – the fall of a metal object on the stone floor. Apparently, it hadn’t only surprised her, because Drakon’s body stopped convulsing.
The bones in his legs moved back to their normal position, and the scales retreated into his skin. He stood up, his eyes fixed on Aileen’s back. The rage was gone. He could almost trust himself to approach her without the fear of tearing her apart. He chose, however, not to push his luck.
Aileen threw the Golden Fleece to the floor and stepped towards the object that had fallen from under it. It was old, made of rusty metal, and resembled the form of a rather big hand mirror. She knelt, grabbed the handle, stopped to contemplate the iciness of the metal against her sweaty palm, then turned it around and lifted it in front of her eyes. She only saw her face. It was dirty, covered in mud and dried blood, but it was hers. There was nothing unusual about it. The intense green eyes she knew so well, the plump lips, albeit a bit chapped…
“What is this?” she wondered out loud.
Aileen stood up, not taking her eyes away from her own image in the mirror. It was as if she was waiting for something to happen, for some sort of weird trick to be revealed to her. Her heart jumped in her chest when a second reflection appeared behind her. Drakon. Then, she saw the pale blue eyes she had fallen in love with, the love and caring flickering inside them, and the gentle curve of the lips she had kissed so many times in the past few hours. She relaxed.
“A mirror?” he asked.
Aileen nodded. She didn’t know what else to say. Neither did he. They stayed like that for a while, simply looking at their own reflections. Drakon analyzed his feelings carefully, and realized he felt no urge to kill her anymore. Could it have been because she had tossed the Golden Fleece aside, showing disinterest in the treasure? He had no idea.
Nonetheless, he could finally trust himself with her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently pulled her against his chest.
Aileen sighed, smiled cutely at him in the mirror, and relaxed in his embrace.
The mirror broke into a thousand small pieces, startling them both.
“What just happened?” said Aileen.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The small shards were spread all over the floor, at their feet. They stared at them for a long minute, then Aileen stepped away from Drakon and placed the empty mirror support on the rock. She couldn’t say why, but she felt like she didn’t need it anymore, like it was just an old, insignificant piece of metal.
“I have no idea how to interpret this,” she said, waving towards the broken mirror shards and the Golden Fleece. Surprisingly enough, it seemed to have lost some of its radiance and appeal.
Drakon closed his eyes for a second, opened them again, then rubbed his temples and shook his head as if he was trying to get rid of a nasty headache.
“Are you okay?”
“Huh?”
Aileen closed the distance between them, cupped his left cheek with her hand, and looked deep into his eyes.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
“I… I don’t know. It’s just… I feel so tired. No, exhausted. I feel exhausted.”
Aileen cocked an eyebrow.
Drakon smiled brightly when the realization finally hit him.
“I feel like I could sleep for days! The anxiety is gone! I mean… that terrible, heavy anxiety which I felt every time I thought about simply lying down and falling asleep… it’s gone! Which means… I could lie down right now and fall asleep in an instant. Aileen, do you know what this means?”
“The curse has been lifted,” she said. She was smiling so widely that she soon felt her cheeks burn. “Oh my God, the curse has been lifted!”
“How… how did you do it?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I found the real treasure, the one hidden underneath the fleece. I think the mirror was the object that kept the curse activated.”
Drakon furrowed his brows. He still felt like he had a long way to go until he fully grasped how the curse had been broken, why, and why then… Why Aileen?
“I don’t understand,” he said. “Anyone could have broken it? Anyone could have set me free if I had just been able to fight the urge to kill them long enough for them to find the mirror?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Once again, she pulled out the scroll with the prophecy, unfolded it, and read it out loud:
“In his lair, he never slumbers.
How long he’s lived, he never wonders.
His eyes let fall three healing tears:
The first can soothe all hidden fears,
A troubled mind the second mends,
The third, the body’s pain transcends.
The Guardian’s tears - a sacrifice.”
“A sacrifice,” Drakon whispered.
“Yes. My sacrifice. It makes sense, you see? As a child, I drank your tears and I was healed. That created some sort of bond between us. I grew up fascinated by Mythology and Folklore, then I started studying the myths of Ancient Greece, especially the one about the Golden Fleece. Eventually, I became a professor, which opened more opportunities for me to research and truly get to the bottom of it. I was meant to find you, Drakon, because I was meant to find the Guardian who healed me. I had to pay the price.”
“You were ready to sacrifice yourself to break the curse and set me free.”
They were both starting to connect the pieces of this complicated, ancient puzzle. It was all beginning to make sense.
“Yes, that’s right,” she said. “I knew that if I touched the Golden Fleece, you would be forced to attack me, but I did it anyway. Putting an end to this ordeal was more important than my life.”
“I, however, fought the curse,” said Drakon. “I could feel there was something inside me, in my heart, which was stronger than the curse, stronger than anything I had ever felt before. I think… it was love.” He paused for a moment, when he realized his explanation lacked something. It lacked an important detail, which truly stood at the root of the mystery. “No, it was the undeniable fact that you are my fated mate. I couldn’t harm you. Not even a thousand-year-old curse could make me harm you.”
Aileen nodded. “So, I was the only one who could save you. You saved me, and then it was my turn. I wonder… Did Medea know what would happen when she wrote the prophecy?”
Drakon smiled. It was the first time when hearing her name, Medea’s name, and summoning her image before his mind’s eye didn’t hurt. In fact, he was grateful to her. He was grateful that she had chosen to leave. She had probably known his true mate hadn’t been born yet, and that was why she had abandoned him then. The whole madness with the healing tears and the prophecy had been meant to aid destiny into bringing him and Aileen together. Medea had seen the future, and she had accepted to play her part in turning it into reality.
“It doesn’t matter,” he finally answered her question. He pulled her against his chest, and ran his fingers through her long, tangled hair. “It’s over now.”
Aileen sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck. The closeness of him kept her warm. They kissed slowly, passionately, and she soon felt his hard cock pressed up against her belly. He was naked, as always, and she chuckled when the thought of him entering the modern world crossed her mind. Would he get used to wearing proper, modern clothes? What would he say to jeans and T-shirts? Then, it struck her. It was time to leave the cave and the mountains, and go back to civilization. The adventure was over.
“Drakon, we have to find my team. There’s been almost two days, and who knows what happened to them? Who knows what those three bastards did to them?”
He nodded. “I agree. We’re going. Right now.”
The determination in his voice told Aileen he was sure he could leave the cave and the clearing. There was nothing holding him there anymore.
“You should put something on,” she suggested.
They both glanced at the Golden Fleece lying on the ground. It had lost almost all its shine. With every passing minute, it was turning into a plain piece of fleece. It was still rich and soft, but it was clear it wasn’t made of gold. Its original color was a bright, unnatural yellow.
“I think you’ve earned the right to wear it,” Aileen said.
“Yeah, I was thinking the same.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
They approached the camp carefully. It was already dawn, and the sun was peeking from between the highest branches of the trees. Aileen’s heart was beating wildly in her chest, which distracted Drakon a great deal. Instead of focusing on the noises surrounding them, his ears could only hear her fluttering heart and slightly panicked breathing. He took her hand and squeezed it gently.
“It’s all right,” he whispered. “As long as I’m here, by your side, you don’t have to be afraid.”
Aileen looked up at him, relief flooding her whole body. The kindness in his pale blue eyes immediately put her at ease.
“Sorry,” she said.
She felt foolish. Of course she was safe! Her lover was a dragon shifter!
Drakon led her by the hand. His keen sight studied the forest, and his ears easily caught the sound of the wind, of the small twigs breaking under their feet, and the little noises the animals made as they scurried out of their way. When they reached the camp, Drakon motioned for Aileen to stop. He wanted to take a minute to assess the situation before they decided on a plan.
Aileen bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from gasping. She could see Nadia, Josh, and Luka tied with their backs against the same tree. They all looked terrible, as if they had barely eaten or drunk in the past two days. Nadia was shivering in the cold morning air, and Josh was whispering encouraging words, trying to help her calm down and forget about how much she was suffering. Aileen could tell he couldn’t possibly do more than that. Luka, the guide, had his eyes closed, but Aileen doubted he was asleep.
“We have to do something,” she told Drakon.
“Shh… Wait.”
Aileen pursed her lips. He probably saw or sensed more than her eyes could see. She needed to trust him.
“Look,” Drakon pointed at the only tent left upright. “There.”
Aileen followed his gaze and saw a man emerging from the tent. So, the three guys who had attacked her in the clearing had left this one guy at the camp to guard the prisoners. It made sense. Now, the question was whether this guy was alone, or whether there were more people with him. She couldn’t know.
“I think he’s the only one left,” Drakon said, as if he had read her thoughts. “I can’t detect any other foreign scents in the near vicinity of the camp.”
“I know him,” Aileen whispered. She took a step closer and peeked from behind a tree. “Oh my God, I know him!”
She didn’t wait for Drakon to reply. She pulled her hand free from his, and started running towards the camp. As she reached the middle of the clearing, she slowed down to a purposeful walk, and spat between her gritted teeth:
“Derek Stevens! How could you do this?!”
“Aileen!” Drakon ran after her. “Be careful!”
Just as he fell in step with her, said Derek Stevens pulled out two guns from under his coat. He stood in front of his tent, his feet firmly planted on the ground, his fingers trembling slightly around the guns. Unlike the other three attackers, he was anything but strong and bulky. He was tall, but thin and lanky, which showed he had never lifted weights in his life. He probably didn’t even know what the inside of a gym looked like.
“Miss Callas, please stop where you are,” Derek said. His voice trembled as hard as his fingers on the two triggers, but he did his best to be intimidating, nonetheless. “Stop, or I’ll be forced to shoot you.”
Aileen listened to him, but the expression on her face didn’t betray fear. On the contrary, she was angry, baffled, and determined to get to the bottom of this ridiculous situation.
“Who is he?” Drakon asked. His eyes were fixed on the guns. He already knew they couldn’t do anything to him, but he couldn’t risk letting the man hurt Aileen. If needed, he was ready to push her out of the way.
“He’s one of my former students,” Aileen said. Her voice was loud and filled with anger and disappointment. “Last year, Derek Stevens studied Greek Mythology at Harvard for one semester. He was in my class. What happened to you, Derek? You were one of my best students. Why are you doing this? Attacking our camp, taking my people prisoners, trying to kidnap me, maybe even torture me…? What the hell?! What have I ever done to you?”
The young man’s body shook as if he was having a fever. A few minutes ago, he had seeme
d confident enough, but now his resolve was faltering, and it was obvious.
“Where are my brothers?” he asked.
Aileen crossed her arms over her chest, once again aware that she was only wearing her sports bra and she was rather exposed.
“Those three were your brothers?”
“Y-yes. Where are they? What did you do to them?”
“Err…”
Aileen hesitated. Even though she had just found out Derek had been at the heart of this whole, messed up operation, she didn’t know how to give him the news that his brothers were dead. More than dead, actually. Completely vanished into the cold wind of the Egrisi Mountains.
“Dead,” Drakon answered in her stead.
His harsh, matter-of-fact voice made Aileen’s heart jumped. Then, she saw the confusion in Derek’s eyes, followed by utter pain and helplessness.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Was she really sorry? She couldn’t say, at the moment. Maybe, it would have been better to capture the three men and not set them on fire, but when the tragedy happened, she had been dying herself. Drakon had made the call he had believed was fair.
Derek shook his head slowly. He could barely wrap his head around the news, let alone speak. To Drakon’s and Aileen’s surprise, he let the guns drop to the ground, took a couple of steps towards a nearby tree, then sat down with his back against the rough bark. Everyone was looking at him dumbfounded, even the three prisoners. They hadn’t expected that reaction from someone who had come up with such an elaborate plan and executed it with cold blood. At least, up until then.
Aileen and Drakon exchanged a quick glance. Then, Aileen made eye contact with Nadia. She was itching to walk over there and untie all of them, but, to her surprise, the blonde shook her head “no”. She was right, of course. First, they had to make sure Derek was no longer a threat.
“Do you even know their names?” Derek asked, weakly. He didn’t even look at Aileen or Drakon. His gaze was fixed on the ground.