Jules’s words became more aggressive as the emails kept coming. Finally, she started writing directly to me, along with Gemma.
The final one read: Raegan, you were supposed to be back two days ago. Without any word from you, Headmaster Stone is beginning to believe you could be dead, but I won’t accept that. If I don’t hear from you by the month’s end, I’ll resort to other resources and I will expose the dragons if I have to in order to come find you.
I read the time stamp on the email, and it was sent September twenty-fourth. I didn’t understand how so much time had passed, but I was going to find out really quickly.
Chapter 11
Wrath boiled just beneath the surface as I ground my teeth together and typed a quick response to Jules before going back to the living room. If time was going by faster there than in Drakken, I wasn’t sure how close I was to the end of the month and didn’t want to waste any more time.
Once I hit send, I pushed away from the desk and strode toward the door. When I yanked the door open, I reveled in the vibrations as it slammed into the wall. Stomping my way back to the living room, I made sure they’d know how irate I was before I even entered.
“Well, guess she figured out the time change,” JayLeigh mused when I came around the corner.
“Yeah, asshole, I did. How could you not tell us? Did you forget that there is a psycho sorceress hell bent on getting her hands on me, and I just left my friends unprotected for who knows how long?”
“Oh, don’t get your panties in a bunch.” JayLeigh sighed. “I told you, the gargoyles have a handle on anything major. They’ll be fine. Though, you won’t be if you don’t learn to bond with your dragon, and I knew you wouldn’t come if I told you about the time difference.”
“No shit, I wouldn’t have come, and I’m ready to leave now. I won’t stay here for months. There is too much to do on Earth. I’ve survived this long without my full dragon side. I’ll be fine.”
“Raegan, I know you’re upset, but there has to be a way to make this work,” Marek said. “What about a compromise?”
“The only way I see this working is if we take this little training session to Earth. Why can’t I figure this out there and JayLeigh be put out instead of me?” I asked.
“Because you need the magic of Drakken for the highest chance of success. If it’s not working after a couple weeks, then I promise to send you back with JayLeigh.”
I still didn’t like it. A couple weeks on Drakken was a several of months on Earth. So much could happen in that time, and I was too far away to protect those I loved most. I needed more from Marek if he expected me to rest easy while I was so far away.
“Fine, I’ll give you those couple of weeks, but you have to send two of your top dragons to Earth to stay at Shadow Veil. I want to know that they have help with the absence of me and Enzo.”
“Raegan, that’s asking too much. The shifters here, not all of them see the other supernatural races as people worth protecting. There are things you don’t understand about our history.”
Taking three steps his way, I pushed my finger into his chest. “If you want me to behave, do all these dragon trainings, and be your heir, then I don’t care what it takes. I want my family—the ones who have been there for me—to have the help they might need if they’re in trouble. Gargoyles don’t count. If that’s not possible, take me back to Shadow Veil. Now.”
His eyes narrowed at me, and the battle of wills began; he was about to learn just how stubborn I was. I didn’t give a shit if he was a king or my DDD. I had family at Shadow Veil, and they meant more to me than anything I could learn by staying in Drakken, even if it meant we never received his assistance.
A heaviness settled in my chest as another presence made itself known within me. There was no voice, but there was power, and it was ridiculously strong. Stronger than I expected it to be.
Sweat broke out across my body as I fought to keep my stare. Another few seconds passed, and Marek finally nodded his head.
“Okay. I need a day to find volunteers I trust. I won’t force anyone to go. In the meantime, you’ll need to promise your cooperation. I expect you to do everything JayLeigh requests if we’re to do this for you.”
“How long until your volunteers would be at Shadow Veil?” I asked.
“No more than five days. They’d need a day or two to prepare and then the travel time to take into consideration.”
I held back a groan. In Drakken time, that would be over a month on Earth. I wasn’t sure how I was going to survive that long being unsure of their safety, but it was better than nothing, and I needed to remember that we still needed Marek. Maybe in the time I stayed, I could convince him to help us, even though he’d already said no.
“Fine. You have my promise that as long as it takes no longer than five days and there is nothing else you’re not telling me, then I will stay as previously planned to train with JayLeigh.”
He cleared his throat, seeming nervous about something. “There may be one other thing you’ll want to know, but I need the rest of today to figure it out.”
I tossed my hands in the air, annoyed with all of the revelations over the last couple days. “Whatever. I need to send a proper email now that we have this figured out. JayLeigh, give me a few more minutes, please.”
“Sure thing,” she chirped, seeming far too happy about the situation.
Trudging my way back to the room with the computer, I slammed the door behind me before practically falling into the desk chair. I couldn’t believe the time difference was so severe. Stupid different supernatural realms.
When the screen came back up, there was already a reply from Jules. When I clicked on the email, there were no words, but an attachment, so I clicked on it. My fingers tapped impatiently on the desk for it to load. When it finally did a few minutes later, a smile formed on my face.
Even though it had only felt like a couple days for me, seeing Jules’s and Gemma’s faces brought me a little bit of peace. That was, until I heard their voices.
“Damn you, Raegan,” Gemma started. “You know how hard it is to convince your aunt not to bring the cavalry to Shadow Veil and cause a scene? We thought you were gone for good, and all of a sudden at almost midnight, her phone dings with a message that says ‘I’m alive. Don’t do anything stupid. I’ll be right back.’ Well, right back was an hour ago and that doesn’t work for us.”
Jules nodded her head in agreement, eyes glaring at the screen. “Gemma’s right. I don’t know what’s going on over there, but this is unacceptable. You’re grounded for a year when you get home. No school parties, no boys, Gemma in moderation.”
Gemma pushed Jules with her shoulder. “Hey, now. Don’t punish me because she’s an idiot.”
“True. We’ll figure something out. Regardless, you’re in deep shit. We finally tracked down Malina or what we hope is her and not some distraction she cooked up, but now you’re nowhere to be found.”
Gemma cut in. “Yeah, it’s doubly annoying because Malina keeps going from one major city to another, all except the one we have a trap in for her. Jules has half of New Orleans on the lookout for the psycho bitch.”
Jules nodded. “There is enough power and magic in that city to keep Malina locked down, but we can’t do anything unless she actually steps foot within range of the covens. If they leave, they’ll lose their connection to their ancestors and their power won’t be as strong.”
Damn. I knew what she wanted now, but we still had no idea on how she planned to achieve it. Or what my role in it was. I was nothing but a mixed breed with limited powers from all three sides. She must have been searching for something within those cities, and it most certainly wasn’t good for us.
“Anyway, we’re headed to bed, but we expect an email back. You probably can’t video chat, but your email better be long as hell with all the updates,” Gemma said before blowing a kiss into the screen.
“We love you, Raegan. I hope you really are staying safe over
there. It’s been almost five weeks, and not knowing what’s going on has almost killed me, but I know you’re strong and you’re handling whatever it is they’re throwing at you. Just check in more often.” Jules gave me her best motherly look before finishing her goodbyes, and then the video ended.
It wasn’t nearly long enough, and I wished I could video them back, but I didn’t see a camera anywhere around, so I settled for an email, going through everything I could think of except anything to do with Enzo. That was staying with me until I figured more out.
I began with the portal and how it was traveling to Drakken, followed by the differences in landscape, and my conversation with Marek about him being my DDD. I could picture Gemma’s reaction clearly and it made me laugh.
I continued with the conversation I’d just had with Marek and JayLeigh, forewarning them that within the next few weeks, there would be dragons at Shadow Veil to assist with whatever they needed. I ended with letting them know that I’d be training and couldn’t promise how long it would be their time, but I’d check the communications system again as soon as I could.
As soon as I exited out of the email system, I headed back into the living area. Enzo and Marek were no longer present, and JayLeigh was leaning casually against the counter, eating some sort of round fruit.
“Ready?” she asked, tossing the core into the trash.
“Sure. Where did the other two go?” I asked.
“King Marek took your not-boyfriend to test his dragon side. Hopefully he comes back in one piece.” When I glared at her, she raised her hands. “Just kidding, geez. You need to get laid and loosen up.”
My face must have given away the fact that I had already been recently laid and it had done nothing to calm my bitchiness, because she began to laugh her ass off.
“Well, never mind then. Let’s get going.” She continued to laugh and make snide comments as we went down the elevator, but when we were in the halls and passing others, her face went from carefree to uptight.
“Why are you so serious now?” I asked when nobody else was around us.
“I have an image to maintain around here. There are very few women on the guard teams, and I refuse to look anything less than badass around the others. If they think there is a weakness within me, they’ll do everything they can to use it against me.”
“Seriously? Your own kind treats you that way?” Drakken was becoming less and less appealing the longer I was there.
“It’s complicated, and we don’t really have time to get into it. You won’t be attending conventional classes in the academy, but I do have a schedule for you. Some of it will be self-learning and practicing, and the rest will be with me. After the first week, I will reassess where you’re at and consider integrating you in with another class for group training.”
One week to prove my worth and another to kick the asses of however many dragons she threw my way. Hopefully within those first two weeks, I could bond enough with my dragon that Enzo and I could go back to Shadow Veil early.
Thinking of him made me wonder what Marek wanted with him and how in the world it was possible for Enzo to have any bit of dragon in him. Maybe one of his grandparents had been a hybrid from Elora before it fell. It was the only explanation I could think of that made sense.
We went down a set of stairs and through a door marked “Restricted.” When we entered, another man was present and beating the stuffing out of a punching bag. Literally.
JayLeigh didn’t pay him any attention and led me through another door that took us to an outdoor area. There were no training materials that I could see, and I wasn’t sure what we were doing out there until JayLeigh stopped abruptly and began taking off her jacket.
“Are we shifting?” I asked.
“Yep. Well, you are. I just need more room to stretch. I could teach you all the defense training in the world, but it won’t make a damn difference if you can’t fully bond with your dragon. You need to bring her to the surface before you can move forward. Let’s hope that happens within the next three weeks.”
There was a challenge in her tone. She seemed to be well aware that I never backed down from one thrown my way. I’d find my dragon and figure out how to make her emerge, and it would happen before the sun set.
I was already wearing workout clothes since I hadn’t been completely sure of what we would start with, so I went straight into my partial shift. My wings expanded with little effort after so many weeks of practice while I had been gone. By the time I shook the six-foot-long beauties out, my skin was covered in scales and my nails had turned to fierce talons.
“Impressive for someone with no training, but it’s not good enough. Can you hear your dragon when you’re in this form?” JayLeigh asked.
“No, I never even knew she was supposed to be a separate part of me. Nobody really explained to me what it means to be a shifter while I was at Shadow Veil. I just figured things out as I went.”
“Hmmm. Okay, well, you need to draw her out. There are a few ways we can do this. Should we start with the least invasive or the most?” Before I could answer, she did. “Something in the middle sounds nice.”
She pulled a knife from behind her back that I hadn’t seen and threw it at my head. The blade nicked my pointed ears, and I snarled at her.
“That was better. Your eyes are slits like they should be in a full shift. Sorry, Raegan, but if you can’t draw her out on your own, I’m going to have to resort to violence.” The grin on her face told me she wasn’t sorry at all.
“Give me a minute,” I said, then closed my eyes.
Come on, girl. I know we haven’t officially met, but I don’t want that psycho over there to throw any other sharp objects at us.
There was a stirring sensation within me that I recognized but had never really questioned before. Even with all of the learning I had already done at Shadow Veil, I still really didn’t know how to identify certain things that happened within me.
Maybe all that would change once my dragon fully awoke.
The sensation that had stirred just moments before was gone again, so I opened my eyes to find JayLeigh standing near me with two more knives in her hand. “Did it work?”
“No, but I really don’t think those are necessary.” I nodded to the blades.
“Maybe. Maybe not. Only one way to find out.”
She threw another one at me, but I dodged it, and just as a grin appeared on my face, the second knife lodged in my shoulder.
“Are you shitting me?” I screamed. “You actually hit me!”
“Well, duh. What did you think I was trying to do?”
“I don’t know. Scare my dragon out?” I should have known better.
JayLeigh walked closer and yanked the blade from my scales before replacing it with a cloth. “Your healing should kick in within the minute. I didn’t cut you deep.”
“You still cut me,” I muttered.
“Don’t be such a ninny. If you’re going to pout about it so much, we can do hand-to-hand combat to piss off your dragon. I haven’t kicked anyone’s ass in a while.”
I rolled my eyes. She was a cocky chick, but I secretly loved it. I just wished it wasn’t directed at me personally.
Just as I pulled the cloth away to find there was no more blood, the door we had come through slammed open. The big guy we had seen before was headed straight for us, and I recognized his dark cobalt eyes.
My dragon senses heightened as his glare remained on me. Maybe JayLeigh kicking my ass wouldn’t be necessary.
“What can I do for you, Onyx?” JayLeigh said with only a hint of irritation in her voice.
He ignored her question and moved to stand within two feet of me. “You don’t belong here. You’re a disgrace to our race. A dragon who can’t shift should be put down.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but JayLeigh cut me off.
“This doesn’t concern you. Marek didn’t ask you to train her, he asked me. So, if you don’t have anything useful t
o say, get the fuck out of here before I make you.”
He finally glanced at her, a smirk on his face. “I’d like to see you try, sweetheart.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time I kicked your ass. There’s a reason I was welcomed into the guard.”
He leaned toward her. “You’re right. There is a reason, and you better thank the fates every day for your DNA or you’d be nothing more than a breeding whore.”
She lunged for him, but he dodged her punch. “Leave, Onyx,” she warned one last time.
His eyes met mine, and pure hatred filled them. “I’m not the one you should be encouraging to leave, JayLeigh.” He spit at my feet. “Watch your back, human.”
Onyx turned around and headed back inside while I used every bit of strength to hold in my rage. Ripping that asshole to shreds sounded like a great idea, but even if it was possible, I knew that wouldn’t further my progression, so I bit my tongue and let him win. This time.
“I’m sorry, Raegan. He’s always been a dick, so don’t let him get to you. We’ll figure out how to connect with your dragon, and nobody will be able to say anything to you again.”
“And what if I can’t? What if there are too many parts to me and none of them will ever thrive over the others?” I asked, because that was beginning to look like a very real possibility.
“I don’t know, but however it works out, we’ll figure out a solution. I promise. I’ve never failed at anything, and I won’t let you be the thing that breaks my streak.”
I had a hard time believing her, but I tried, even as she threw a sucker punch at me and our brawl began. Her in her human form and me in my half-dragon one, and she was still kicking my ass.
My dragon better hurry up and come on out or we were going to have major problems.
Chapter 12
I had no idea what time it was when we finally stopped, because the days in Drakken seemed to be never-ending, but my body had been put through the grinder and spit back out several times over. Every facet of my being ached, and as JayLeigh skipped ahead of me toward the eatery, it made me want to stab her for being unaffected by our training sessions.
Deadly Declaration (Shadow Veil Academy Book 2) Page 10