by Mandi Oyster
Aurelia growled at him. “Do not push me today.” Her pupils were thin slashes, and smoke rolled out of her nostrils. “The Nephilim have pushed my dragon very close to the surface.”
Cody backed off, looking away from her.
Seeing that she wouldn’t budge on this, I grabbed Cody’s hand. “Are you coming with us?” I asked Samantha and Dan.
Samantha shifted uncomfortably, not meeting my eyes. “I’m sorry. I can’t … I can’t go back there, and if they’re in dragon form …” Her voice trailed off. “I just can’t.”
“I understand.” I nodded at her, hoping she could hear the sincerity in my voice.
Dan wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I’ll stay here with her.”
Aurelia took hold of my hand and held her other one out for Cody to take. He stepped forward cautiously. As soon as he slipped his hand into hers, she teleported us to the mountain clearing. Darkness surrounded me. I felt like my body was being stretched out and squeezed together at the same time.
As soon as daylight hit me, I pinched my eyes shut. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and I fought the urge to throw up.
The wind rustled through the trees, but there were no birdsongs, no critters skittering through the undergrowth. I wondered if it was because we had arrived so suddenly or because of the taint of Draconian. Would his vileness forever corrupt this area?
“He’s not here, Dacia.” Cody’s voice was soft. His hands skimmed my arms.
As soon as I opened my eyes, my gaze was drawn to the spot where I’d killed Draconian. I saw him, sitting against the tree, blood spilling from his lips, staining his beard, fear on his face when he realized he was going to die. I looked down at my palms expecting to see them covered in gore.
“Dacia,” Aurelia said.
I didn’t acknowledge her, I kept replaying Draconian’s death, feeling his blood coat my hands, watching the life slip from his body, seeing the light in his eyes dim.
“Dacia.” Aurelia’s voice was urgent.
Cody stepped in front of me and lifted my chin so I was looking at him. “They’re here.”
I pressed my eyes shut and drew some strength from him. Then I turned around. My heart raced, and my legs weakened, but I fought to keep my face from showing the terror that threatened to consume me.
The dragons formed an imposing line next to Aurelia. All of them were in human form. A massive black man stood on Aurelia’s right. He towered over her. Long cornrows ran down his back, and his bronze eyes bored into mine.
I staggered back, and Cody braced me. “Malus Tribulus.” His name was little more than a whisper, but he heard it and nodded.
Extending his hand, he said, “Call me Malcolm.” His voice was low and resonant and brought with it flashes of his dragon.
Taking a deep breath, I placed my hand in his, feeling dwarfed by his size and strength. “Thank you for volunteering.”
“After the terror I imparted on you and your friends”—he lowered his head, and the beads in his hair clanked together—“it was the least I could do.”
A blue-haired guy stepped forward and pulled me against him. He breathed in deeply and moaned.
I tensed, jerking back, trying to free myself from his embrace. He held on longer than was called for, patting my back when he finally let go.
“Call him Val,” Malcolm said.
Val dropped his chin to his chest. “I wanted to tell her my name.” He grabbed my hand with one of his and rubbed his other one down my arm. “Call me Val.” A bright smile engulfed his face.
“Okay.” I stepped away from him and tried to return his smile. “Thank you.”
Next in line was an albino lady with lavender eyes and white close-cropped hair. She smiled at Cody before nodding at me. “Names, as you know, have power.” Her voice was soft and lyrical. “While I’m here, please call me Arianna.”
“Thank you for helping my friends.”
She bobbed her head. “Thank you for freeing us.”
A dark-skinned man with crimson hair nodded. “Russ’ll do.”
“Thank you.” I shook his hand and moved onto the next.
He glowered at me. His black hair was streaked with purple. My heart felt like it slammed to a stop. This dragon was the one I wanted here the least. Even though he’d never attacked me, this was the dragon I still had nightmares about.
“I don’t care what you call me, but if you say my true name out loud again ever, you’ll regret it.” He stepped close to me and breathed in deeply, closing his eyes. “I can smell your fear.” He stepped back, smirking at me. “You’d do well to remember it in my presence.”
“Why—” my voice shook “— why are you here?”
“I’ll not owe a human.” He spat at my feet and turned away.
“Cash.” Aurelia growled. Her features shimmered, and her teeth lengthened into fangs.
He backed away from her, but his amethyst eyes narrowed on me. I shuddered and turned toward the last dragon. He was an enormous man. His long brown hair was braided and fell to the middle of his back.
I had no idea who he was until he bowed and said, “Trickster, I am indebted to you.”
“Tai—” I stopped before saying his full name.
“Tye’s good.” He bowed again and stepped back.
“The dragons here”—Aurelia waved her arm at them—“will be enrolled in your classes. They will be your constant companions.”
I tugged my hand through my hair. “Is all this necessary?”
“Yes,” Tye said. In dragon form, his voice had been sibilant, but as a human, it was commanding. “We can’t let you fall to d—”
“Tye.” A golden haze shimmered around Aurelia, spinning like a vortex, lifting leaves and debris from the ground. She emerged from the miasma fully transformed. The rubble settled around her, and she prowled forward.
Cody’s hand tightened on mine.
“Enough.” Aurelia’s tail swished through the air, and she pawed at the dirt. Deep claw marks gouged the ground.
Arianna stepped between Tye and Aurelia. “She deserves the truth.”
“She does.” Aurelia lowered her head. “For now, it has been forbidden.” Her crest flattened, and she morphed into a human again.
The other dragons grumbled, until Malcolm finally said, “We’ll agree to keep her in the dark unless it puts us in danger.”
Aurelia tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned to me. “There are four other dragons here. They will keep an eye on you and your friends but have chosen to remain unseen.”
All the dragons I’d faced flashed through my mind. There had been fifteen under Draconian’s control and one we had warned to stay away. I didn’t like that there were others here that I couldn’t see or sense. The unknown was scary, especially when it involved invisible dragons who might be like Acacia and hold a grudge.
Chapter 3
Strange Allies
The sun sank behind the mountains as Cody and I walked to the student center surrounded by Tye, Cash, Malcolm, and Val. When the breeze picked up, I shivered, and Cody pulled me against his side.
The other two dragons Aurelia had introduced me to this afternoon were with Samantha and Dan in Althea. Arianna had protected them when I fought Draconian, and Russ was a father who I’d returned to his son. I felt my friends would be safest with them. I wanted to keep Cash as far from any other humans as I could, but I hated having him with me.
He looked down on me like I was an insignificant ant that he was contemplating stomping to death. His posture and scowl made it clear he wanted nothing to do with anyone.
The Nephilim trailed behind us, constantly watching me. They stayed back from my bodyguards. Whether they feared them or didn’t want a confrontation, I wasn’t sure.
Va
l held the door to Sedum Hall open. As I walked past him, he clasped my shoulder and smiled at me.
I stood in line looking at the food and wondering if I could stomach any of it. Since sending Mavros back to the Abyss, I hadn’t had much of an appetite, and it was starting to show. My cheeks were sunk in, and dark rings surrounded my eyes.
“Eat.” Cody nudged me forward. “Please.”
I scooped some garden pasta into a bowl and grabbed a slice of cheesy garlic bread. Cody frowned at my tray and piled extra food on his. We sat at a table against the wall so I could keep an eye on all of the people watching me.
Cash pulled out the chair beside me, but Malcolm grabbed his arm and pointed at the table next to ours. “Let them be.”
Cash’s pupils slitted, and his muscles tensed. Tye stood next to Malcolm, and Cash backed down but not before glowering at me.
The beautiful people sat at the tables surrounding us. There seemed to be more of them now than there were earlier. Eight people fit comfortably at each round table. The Nephilim filled four tables with more standing guard at the exits.
I pushed the noodles around in my bowl, feeling like I might throw up if I put them in my mouth. Shoving my tray forward, I laid my head on the table.
“Dacia.” Cody rubbed my back. “You’ve gotta eat.”
I shook my head. “I can’t.” I sat up and looked at him. “What do they want? Why’s it so bad that nobody can tell me?”
“Don’t know.” His hand stopped moving along my spine. “Grabbed this for you.” He lifted a chocolate chip cookie off his tray. “It’s your weakness, remember?”
I took it from him and to make him happy, nibbled on it. “They always have been.” That wasn’t the truth anymore, though. Draconian, his dragons, and Mavros had all proven to me that my true weaknesses were my friends. I’d do anything to keep them safe, including letting the world burn.
Cassandra and Bryce stopped at our table, pulling out chairs, and sitting. Alvin and Vanessa, two of their closest friends, kept walking. They looked over their shoulders at us and whispered to each other. In my first semester here, I’d dubbed the four of them the Potato Heads because they were always together and always giving me grief.
“What’s with all this?” Cassandra waved her fork at the dragons. “Are you trying to start a gang war?”
I tilted my head, shaking it at her. “Why are you sitting here?” The desperation in my voice was obvious even to me. I pointed at several empty tables and the one her friends had chosen.
“I’m sorry.” She set her fork down and leaned forward, looking first at me then at Cody. “For all of it.” Her voice lowered. “I don’t remember everything, but what I do …” She cleared her throat. “I was horrible … because of some dreams … because of a … a monster?” Her voice rose at the end, turning it into a question. She looked at me like she hoped I could answer it for her.
“Really don’t remember?” Cody asked.
She peeled the wrapper off her straw and shoved it into her glass. Then she picked up the wrapper. She folded the paper, smoothed it out, and folded it again. I couldn’t remember ever seeing her so insecure. “Bits and pieces.” She glanced at the other tables. “Enough to know this can’t be good.”
“For what it’s worth”—Bryce’s voice was quiet—“I’m sorry, too.”
Cody shook his head. “Unbelievable.” He leaned back in his chair, moving as far from them as he could without getting up. “Think you’re forgiven?”
“No.” Bryce shook his head and laughed somberly. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But, if it makes you feel any better, my hand is in constant pain. Especially when it rains.”
“Good.” Cody’s voice was harsh, his eyes cold. This was not the Cody I knew. This was anger and hurt and betrayal that had festered inside of him for far too long.
I remembered the pain in Bryce’s scream when I’d crushed his hand. It had stopped him from punching Cody again, but I hadn’t known what I was doing, and I’d never forgiven myself for it. “Let me see it.”
Bryce slid his hand over the table. I set mine on top of it, and his muscles tightened in response. Thinking about life, I sent my power into him. His body relaxed, and he sighed. He wiggled his fingers, stretching them, then clenching them into a fist. He held his hand in front of him, massaging it. “Thanks, but why would you do that?”
“I told you—” I looked down at the table “—I never meant to hurt you.”
“You should have.” He opened his Gatorade. “I’d planned to hurt you.” He screwed the lid back on and slid the bottle from hand to hand across the table. “I kept hearing a voice telling me you were evil and you needed stopped.” He caught his drink and looked up at me. “I don’t know why I listened.”
“Demon—” Cody leaned forward “—controlled Cassandra. Maybe you.”
Cassandra crumpled the wrapper and clenched it in her fist. “A demon controlled me?” Her voice rose, and Bryce clamped his hand down on her arm.
“Yes.” I massaged my forehead, not really understanding how I’d gotten into this conversation with them. “He tried to kill me. I won. Yay me.”
Bryce leaned so far over the table he was practically lying on it. “You killed a demon.”
Cody lifted up two fingers.
Pushing them down, I said, “None. I returned them to the Abyss.”
“So, what happened to Damon?” Cassandra’s ice-blue eyes were alight with interest.
My throat went dry. She’d been my enemy since the first day I arrived on campus. How much did I want her to know? I took a long drink of water, partly to wet my throat and partly to avoid the question.
“Abyss.” Cody squeezed my thigh.
“But—” Cassandra’s perfectly plucked eyebrows pinched together “—I thought you liked him.”
I slammed my chair back and jumped up. “I gotta go.” I darted for the doors. I heard other chairs scrape across the tile floor and footsteps keeping time with mine, but I didn’t turn around to see who was following me.
Pushing through the cafeteria doors, I ran out into the evening. As soon as the cool air hit my face, I stopped. Tears wetted my cheeks. I clutched my stomach and sobbed. Strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me close.
I started to settle back against him before realizing it wasn’t Cody. “Let go!”
The arms pulled back, and I spun around. Val lifted his hands in the air, backing away. “Sorry. I thought it would fix you.” He pointed at the corner of his eye.
Wiping my tears away, I said, “Nothing’s going to fix me.”
Cody walked up with Malcolm and Cash. His face was the stony mask he’d worn so often when Mavros was on Earth.
“The girl apologizes.” Malcolm growled.
The Nephilim gathered outside the student center. I had no idea what they were capable of or what they wanted, but their sheer numbers terrified me.
I nodded at the Nephilim, drawing my guards’ attention to them. “Let’s go before they realize they outnumber us six to one.”
Cash stood with his arms folded over his chest, glaring at me. “You don’t think very highly of us if you think they can defeat us.”
Stepping closer to him, I shoved my finger into his pecs. “Not of you,” I said through clenched teeth. “You can’t be grateful that I freed you because you’re too arrogant to admit you needed help.”
“You worthless human.” He shoved my hand away.
I turned my back on him, knowing it would infuriate him. “We can’t cause a scene unless you want every human to know about you all.”
Val laughed, a deep rumble that started off quiet and built up. “She got you there.”
Tye ushered Cody and me in front of him, keeping himself positioned between us and Cash. Then he herded us back to the dor
m.
As soon as we were in our room, I said, “I’m sorry, Cody.”
He walked past me and plopped down in Cookie Monster. “Yeah, hear that a lot.”
Knowing he didn’t want me near him, I sat in Big Bird. “I didn’t expect the questions or the guilt. I did like him, and I sent him to Hell.”
“He planned to kill us, Dacia.” The vein in his neck bulged, and his lip curled up.
“I know.” I stared at my hands. He had every right to be mad at me, but I couldn’t help the way I felt. “Why do you stay? All I do is hurt you.”
“Parta me gets it. Had friends with bad intentions. Was okay when they kept it from me.” He leaned back, looking anywhere but at me. “Parta me wonders if he has a hold on you still.” He let out a deep breath. “Every time you grieve for him, it cuts deep.”
My head dropped further, and tears spilled over, blurring my vision. “I’m trying, Cody. I really am.” A tear dripped off the tip of my nose. “She caught me off guard.”
“Falcon Lake?”
“Really?” I snorted. “With Cash?”
He scooted to the edge of the chair. “No. You promised. Remember?”
He was serious. I could see it in his face. I remembered telling him that no matter what monster I was facing, we needed to make sure to make time for ourselves. We needed that time away to recharge. “Give me your hand.” As soon as his fingers grazed mine, I teleported us to the trees surrounding the lake.
The half-moon brightened the night sky but not enough to cover the stars. Millions of them lit up the heavens. Their tiny flickering lights eased the knot of tension between my shoulder blades.
I slid my arm around Cody’s waist. “The dragons will be pissed when they find out about this.”
“If.”
A smile lifted my lips. “Yeah … if.”
We walked hand in hand to the water’s edge. It gently lapped against the rocky shore. The smell of moss and pine helped relax me further.