“Here is his card,” Marek said, grabbing my elbow and I finally stopped. “I’m only giving it to you because I want to return to Draconia with you.”
I was a little shocked that he changed his mind so drastically. Only half an hour ago, I was convinced that he was perfectly happy in London, but then again, I didn’t really know him.
“Just so we are clear—you don’t want to stay here?” I asked, taking the card.
“No, I think it’s time to head home. I miss the magic and my people,” he admitted. We were just outside the tube station and I forgot my damn cap—people were staring again.
“What about the magician?” Aly said. “Maybe we should—”
“With all due respect, human, you don’t understand how our world works,” Marek said. “The person that you’re talking about is just some quack. Harvey is a real warlock. He deals with vampires and witches on a daily basis. He can help her.” He extended his hand for me to shake. Something told me that I might regret this later.
“What are vampires?” I asked, while Aly burst out laughing.
“They’re dead, blood-sucking creatures that are very dangerous,” he said, glaring at Aly who was still laughing.
“I’m sorry, but witches and vampires don’t exist. These are just made up stories,” Aly finally said, and Marek shook his head.
“Of course, they exist, but as I said, humans have no idea what is going on around them, so maybe it’s better if you don’t get involved in this conversation,” he snapped, sounding annoyed. A cold shiver crawled over my spine when I thought about the blood-sucking creature that I met back in Draconia. He was called a vampire in this world, and according to Marek, he was already dead.
I stared at him wondering what to do, knowing that without help, I most likely wouldn’t be able to return to Draconia. First things first though, I needed to find a spell to change the colour of my eyes. I couldn’t risk being recognised by the Dark Ones again.
“Buy some sage and then use this spell in the morning. Your eyes will change to a normal, more human colour, but sometimes it can work without the formula. This world changes us, especially our eyes; their colour becomes less intense,” Marek muttered, and I heard a bit of nostalgia in his tone.
I could tell he truly missed being in Draconia. Aly didn’t trust him, but she was still only a stranger to him. Things would have been different if Dara were still alive. Knowing her she would have tried to convince me to stay in this world forever, but she wasn’t here anymore, and I needed to think about my own future.
“Thank you. I will find you once I know more,” I told him. He smiled at me, then turned around and started walking away in the opposite direction.
I put the card inside my pocket.
“Come on, let’s go.” Aly cheered me up. She seemed to be in a much better mood now. “I’m a little hungry. I think we should grab some lunch,” she said, reminding me that I was actually starving.
We went to the London subway and she dragged me to some kind of store where everyone was sitting down eating delicious-looking food. She bought me some sort of sandwich that she called a burger. At that point, I didn’t really care, but this food was amazing. When I was younger, I walked around Draconia hungry. The council in Draconia didn’t care about the orphans. Warden children were starving, and I remembered that a lot of the time, I had to feed small kids who were supposed to be under the Dark Ones’ care. It was disgusting how we were being treated, as if we didn’t deserve to live in decent conditions, and every time I thought about it, I wanted to punch someone.
It took us another half hour to get back to the area called Croydon. In the tube, Aly reminded me that I needed to breathe steadily and push away any toxic memories. Apparently, she enjoyed practising tai chi and she said that it helped her to maintain flexibility and more control over her own emotions. I had never heard of it before, but she assured me that if I was going to stay with her, then I had to start practising it too, at some point.
My looming anxiety fortunately didn’t come back, but I hated being squished in such a tight space. I just didn’t like travelling on the train. A lot of wardens were convinced that the Dark Ones could produce magic in the Dimond World that was located under the city of Draconia, but now after everything that had happened to me, I wasn’t sure if this wasn’t just another of their rumours to keep us under their strict rule.
“Fran, don’t rush, please. I might be fit for my age, but I’m not a runner,” Aly shouted after me as I raced down the street when we got off the tube. I stopped, glancing behind me. Aly was several meters behind and I didn’t know why I was in such a hurry. I really needed to stop daydreaming like that. For some reason, I felt like the egg was calling out to me. The magic zipped down my spine. The tingling came back, and in a way, I was relieved. My body was in harmony with my energy once again.
“I’m sorry, Aly, but it’s the egg. I kind of feel like it’s calling for me,” I admitted, wanting to open up to her. She placed her hand on my arm and smiled. We had only known each other for a day, but I wanted to trust her. Sometimes, I was just stubborn and difficult for no reason, and maybe it was time to change. Dara had always been there for me. She knew when I needed words of encouragement, and when to kick my butt. I missed her so damn much.
“I understand, honey, but don’t worry, Nicolas is there. He has a kind heart; otherwise I wouldn’t have left him alone in my home,” she told me.
She was way too optimistic. None of us knew anything about each other, but we were living together, at least for now.
Ten minutes later, we were back on her street. When we approached the door, Aly frowned, hearing a loud noise coming from inside. It seemed that Nicolas was having some sort of party. The egg was still there. I sensed it, and I really needed to stop worrying. This didn’t help my mental state in any way.
She unlocked the door and I followed her through the narrow corridor. Nicolas was in the living room, dancing to the rhythm of some kind of strange music that was coming from the black box. His bandages were soaked with blood, but he seemed like he was having a good time. My eyes hovered over his bare muscular chest. Desire stirred within me, making me aware that I hadn’t been with a man for a very long time. He was gorgeous, even with his messy brown hair and silly moves. My stomach knotted with a tiny spark of longing. These new feelings were scary, so I quickly pushed them away. I really didn’t have time to dive into another romantic adventure with a random warden.
“I wanna be… you—I wanna walk…” he was singing, and I couldn’t help but laugh. He of course noticed me, and nearly fell on the floor, looking startled.
“That group is called Spice Girls. I used to be a huge fan, but this is a very old song, dear,” Aly said, attempting to hold back laughter, and Nicolas winked at me. He didn’t even seem embarrassed.
She soon started fussing over him, checking his bandage and saying that he was straining himself too much.
“The egg, its warm and it gave me energy, Fran. I could feel magic radiating from it. That thing is amazing,” he said, while I walked around the room, trying to ignore the butterflies stirring in my belly. Somehow, I needed to distract myself, so I started telling Nicolas about everything that happened today. I skipped the fact that I had yet another panic attack in the tube. He didn’t need to know that.
He listened while Aly was changing his bandage. The wound needed to be cleaned again. It was healing nicely, but I thought that it looked horrific. After I was done, I went to his bedroom and picked up my sack. The egg’s scales were shiny and warm, and my fingers started to tingle as the warmth spread throughout my body. I instantly felt stronger. Nicolas was right: the egg was magical in and of itself.
“You fought with two Dark Ones? That’s unbelievable,” Nicolas exclaimed, sitting down on the sofa. Aly was puttering around the kitchen, muttering something about preparing dinner for later. Then she started making a pot of tea. I didn’t really know why non-magical people in this country liked d
rinking tea so much. “Maybe a few days ago I wouldn’t have believed you, but now everything is making prefect sense. Without the egg, I don’t think I would’ve healed so quickly. I could feel it doing something to me. It was sending its energy throughout my entire body this afternoon. I never doubted that the Dark Ones have been trying to control us, but nothing is going to change if you go after them on your own.”
I was moving my fingers over the edge of the shell, feeling so calm and at peace.
“Whatever. Tomorrow, I’ll go see that warlock. There are tonnes of wardens in Draconia that I want to get involved, especially the ones from the cemetery. I can’t let my friend’s death be for nothing. Those bastards killed her. They were the ones who infected her with Dragon Fever,” I told him, and he looked like he was at least trying to put himself in my shoes.
“Francesca, how exactly do you know that boy, Victor? I didn’t get a very good vibe from him,” Aly said, carrying a tray with a large pot and three cups of tea. There were some biscuits there too. I should have told her earlier that I didn’t want to talk about Victor in any way whatsoever, and now Nicolas would know that my ex-boyfriend was around.
“We used to date a long time ago, and that’s the end of this conversation,” I said, trying not to make a big deal out of it. More warmth lanced down my skin, the egg understood me and calmed me down.
“Ex-boyfriend, well, that must have been awkward,” Nicolas chuckled, but he quit when Aly gave him a sharp look.
“I will go with you, Francesca. Although, I don’t know that this is such a good idea. You may put yourself in dan—
“Don’t sweat it, Aly,” Nicolas interrupted. “I’m not planning to be stuck at home any longer. We will go to see that warlock together.” Then he popped a large biscuit into his mouth. He still hadn’t put his shirt on, and I was aware that my cheeks were flushed. His body was distracting.
“That’s very sweet, darling, but your wound hasn’t healed properly yet. You’re going to get hurt. Besides, Marek mentioned something about sage. I need to buy some tomorrow morning, you know, to cover your eyes,” Aly said, turning to me. She was right, I couldn’t afford to get stopped again, but at the same time, I wasn’t much of a morning person.
“I was ready to leave tonight, but now I think I should to stay here and keep you guys company,” I said. I needed to rest and recoup my energy. Who knew what the warlock would want in return? I didn’t expect him to help me out of the kindness of his heart.
“Well, honey, I think that’s a very good idea,” Aly said with a smile. “Hopefully, tomorrow we can remove the stitches and Nicolas will be able to accompany you. I will feel much better if you go together.” I didn’t know Aly very well, but I could tell that she was up to something.
“Yeah, my beauty…with the dragon egg. Let’s be a team. Maybe if we get more ladies to join us, we can call ourselves, Spice Wardens,” Nicolas suggested, and I rolled my eyes, trying not to laugh.
“Fine, you can come with me, but remember, I’m not your babysitter. I won’t take you if you slow me down,” I said, not liking the way he was looking at me.
He gave me a big smile and moved his arm around my neck. His cologne reminded me of sunny days outside my apartment when Dara and I would sit there eating cakes and drinking lemonade. He smelled heavenly and I felt warmth rising in the pit of my stomach. It was crazy how soft his skin felt. I needed to stop thinking about it.
“Don’t worry, love. I will take care of ya.”
10
The egg speaks.
I was sipping my tea, trying really hard to ignore the fine-looking man who was touching me the entire time we were talking. He smelled good, and my hormones were telling me that maybe I should reciprocate. The egg was vibrating with energy. I was a little concerned that it might hatch out at any moment, but the shell was still undamaged.
We all talked about the city, and once Aly finished her tea, she told us that she needed to take a nap.
She gave us a map of London so we could study it together. I compared it with the small map of the subway. It took me a little while to figure out what all the lines meant, but once I understood how to get from point A to point B, everything was much clearer.
Nicolas was cracking jokes the whole time. He kept touching me, possibly accidentally. Either way, I was a little intimidated. So, after an hour, I told him that I was going upstairs to rest. It had been a while since anyone flirted with me and I wasn’t used to it and honestly, didn’t know how to react. I felt exhausted and I suspected that my earlier encounter with the Dark Ones must have weakened my system. Aly’s house was very clean, and in comparison to my flat in Draconia, it was very spacious too.
The bedroom that I was sleeping in had a large window that looked out to the back of the house. I laid down on the floor and spread all the paperwork on the floor, where I could study the maps a bit more. The egg was next to me. The warmth radiating from it kept me more alert.
After Victor left me alone, I refused to date, or even look at the opposite sex in any kind of romantic way, and right now, I couldn’t even imagine being away from it. I realised that I needed to push aside whatever feelings I had going on for Nicolas.
In the past, I had to do a lot to prove myself because my magic was useless. The energy inside me was like an old steam bike that a mechanic was trying to spark back to life, but it just wouldn’t work. Even Dara was able to produce more energy than me. I had to work hard to be accepted. It took me a long time to prove to others that I was a skilled thief. For years, I was upset with my own family. They didn’t believe in me, but once people realised that they couldn’t do certain jobs without me, I let go of the grudge I was holding.
After all, my family left me under the care of the Dark Ones. I ran away from their orphanage when I was only ten years old, and that’s when I met Dara.
“I wish you could talk to me,” I said to the egg. “I really want to know if you’re a female or a male dragon.” I spoke aloud, feeling a little silly. I had gone over the history books in the local library a few times, and they said nothing about how to communicate with a dragon. Our connection was strong, I could feel it, but maybe the creature wasn’t developed enough to be able to understand me.
“Finally, Francesca! I thought that you would never bloody ask,” a voice in my head said.
I jumped back on my feet, stunned, thinking that surely this was some kind of dark magic. The egg couldn’t have just spoken to me. I glanced around, wondering if Nicolas was playing some sort of trick on me. The egg was buzzing. I felt tingling all over my body as the energy rushed down my spine, and when I opened the door, there was no one there.
“Come on, chill out. It’s only me, the baby dragon. And I’m a female, by the way, just so we’re clear,” the same voice repeated.
“How? I mean, how are you even able to communicate with me? I thought that you weren’t developed yet,” I said, thinking that I had definitely lost my mind. Nicolas was downstairs, so there was no way he could interfere with my magic.
“Not developed yet? Are you out of your mind? Of course I’m developed, but I was shy, and I didn’t want to freak you out. Don’t you know that dragons are very sensitive creatures?” she asked, while I stared at the scaly golden shell, telling myself not to make any sudden movements.
The silence stretched for some time. I thought that this had to be one of the craziest moments of my life. Dara would have loved it.
“No, but you’re the first dragon egg that I ever owned. Do you have a name? Did you feed me with magic? Earlier on, when we were attacked by the Dark Ones?
I was asking way too many questions, but I couldn’t help myself. It was exciting that I could communicate with my egg.
“We girls have to help each other out, right? I have been in that attic for months and months, dying of boredom. I thought that stupid warden had forgotten about me. Then you took me, and I could sense that there was something wrong with you. So, I fixed you,” the baby drago
n explained, and I had to get up and pace around the room. This way, I could think more clearly.
“Fixed me? What are you talking about? I was born this way, without magic and that’s why all the wardens have been divided into classes. The wealthy wardens are the ones blessed with a significant amount of magic,” I explained.
I was talking to her through my mind. I never thought that I could even do something like that.
There was a light laughter, then the dragon continued. “Your magic was all tangled up, the cells weren’t talking to each other, so I fixed what was wrong inside your system. Don’t you know that every dragon egg can be linked to a warden, to its host? And I instantly felt that we were going to be a perfect match. “I can tell you now that you were born with magic, like every warden in the Lower World, but without a dragon your magic couldn’t develop properly.”
My jaw dropped. I kept pacing, trying to reason with myself, analysing everything that she was telling me. The division of classes started happening more than two hundred years ago, and that was where the information from the books in the library stopped. I wanted to know the reason that we began losing magic. The Dark Ones must have done something to us, they must have taken away the eggs and made us forget about them. It was the only logical explanation.
“Breathe in, Fran, and stop over analysing everything that I’m saying. I’ll look after you,” she said, and I listened. “I don’t have a name, so you have to come up with something awesome.”
“Avianna,” I said instantly, not even knowing how I came up with that name. It was like my subconscious knew that we would be reunited with each other again.
“Wow, that sounds good and very badass. I can be Avianna.”
“Great, I’m glad,” I admitted. “About what you said earlier on. So, are you saying that there was magic inside me all this time and that my parents had no idea?” I asked, and a cold shiver crawled over my spine.
Hatched (Draconia World Book 1) Page 7