Rocky is inclined to agree with the way Violet has acted since admitting to the others that she can hear the whispers of Fairy Dragons. He put it down to stress, but now it seems she might have some sort of personality disorder.
Mason appears at the doorway, eyeing Violet carefully. “Do you have a minute?” he asks Rocky.
The black-haired boy nods and Eryk returns to sitting on the bed beside Violet, smiling nervously. Rocky closes the door behind him as Mason lets out a large sigh.
“It’s Ciara.”
“What about her?” His heart quickens at the thought of his ex. Is she okay?
“She’s waiting for you outside. Look, she…” Mason sighs, rubbing his face tiredly. “She got induced early.”
Rocky heart stops. She had the baby? “I’m…I’m a dad?”
His friend’s face drops. “I’m sorry, she’s not yours.”
“What do you mean?” Rocky steps forward angrily, to which Mason replies by ducking back.
“I’m sorry, I really am. You need to go see for yourself.”
With his heart in his throat, he runs down the hallway Mason came from, ignoring the Wyrms hissing at him as he passes. How could Mason know that he’s not the dad? What isn’t he saying? Despite warnings from the Wyrms not to leave the building without supervision, Rocky throws open the double doors to the outside world. He quickly spots Ciara carrying a bundle wrapped up in a blue blanket.
His daughter.
“You’re not supposed-” a Wyrm approaches him to scold, but he cuts it off.
“Come with me, then.”
The Wyrm ducks its head as Rocky approaches Ciara, who looks up at him with tears in her eyes.
“Please don’t be angry,” she begs, holding the bundle close.
“I wanna see her, my baby,” he coos, holding his arms out to take the bundle from her.
Sniffling, Ciara hands it over, rubbing her eyes with one hand. “I’m so sorry.”
Rocky’s blood runs cold when he looks down at the baby’s face. Staring back at him are a pair of brown eyes, with curly brown hair to match. Her skin is dark, unlike his and Ciara’s. He can’t be the father.
“You…” he begins, but he can’t find the words.
“I thought for sure it was you,” Ciara explains through sobs. “The dates matched and everything.”
Rocky stares down at the baby in front of him, before quietly handing her back to her mother. He let Hazel go alone because of that baby, and it isn’t even his.
“Leave me alone,” he says in a monotone.
“Please, won’t you be her father? Her real dad doesn’t want to know, and I don’t want to do this on my own,” she begs, as the baby starts to cry.
Rocky shakes his head slowly, his face going blank. “No.”
He goes back into the building, numb as Ciara sobs even louder while the baby cries. The Wyrm follows him wordlessly, thankfully leaving him alone to go back to his room. Nothing registers as he makes his way back on autopilot, his heart aching. As soon as he reaches his room, he slams the door behind him, letting the tears flow freely. Cerberus approaches him and tries to nuzzle his hand, but he pushes her away. He doesn’t want comfort right now.
The baby’s face fills his thoughts. Why couldn’t she have been his? Those brown eyes burn into his mind as someone knocks on the door. Without waiting for an answer Mason pokes his head round, his face sullen.
“I’m sorry,” he sighs, squeezing into the overcrowded room.
“I left Hazel for that kid,” Rocky says, trying to disguise his tears by rubbing his face. “And she isn’t even mine.”
“I know,” his friend says, sinking onto the bed next to him. “But at least now you know. If you’d have left, you would have always wondered.”
“I wish I had left. I abandoned Hazel for nothing.”
Mason scrunches his eyebrows. “No, you didn’t. She understood. She’s not alone; she has Braith and Marco. I know Ray has her right now but at least she’ll be coming home. You can see her again.”
Rocky manages to push the baby out of his mind with the thought of his sister returning. This wasn’t all for nothing; she’s coming back after all. The timing is kind of perfect.
“You’re right,” he says, standing up and rubbing his damp hands over his shirt. “Is there any news on Ray?”
“Apparently he’s running late,” Mason says. “The Wyrms have been muttering that he should have been back hours ago.”
“Maybe something happened,” Rocky says, though his heart sinks at the thought of Hazel being stuck in the middle of it too.
His friend shrugs and quickly changes the subject. “Guess we’ll have to wait and see. How is Violet anyway? She doesn’t seem like she’s all there anymore.”
“I think the stress is getting to her. She can’t hear what Ray hears.”
Mason rubs the back of his head, as if embarrassed to suggest his idea. “What if she can? She’s Stellar; maybe she has some sort of power.”
Rocky snorts in amusement. “I don’t think Stellar could understand invisible dragons in perfect English.”
“We’ve never looked into it. Maybe we should ask Wes to research it.”
Rocky’s face hardens at the mention of Wes. “You want to drag that asshole into it? Violet is sick; the last thing she needs is Wes and Ray sticking their noses in.”
His friend raises his hands. “It’s just a suggestion.”
“Well, forget about it. We’re not telling Wes anything. He’s a dickhead.”
“Okay, fine.” Mason crosses his arms. “So, what should we do instead?”
Rocky shrugs. “I dunno.”
“Then shouldn’t we be considering Wes as an option?”
“Ask Eryk. He’s the one who is protective of her, not me.”
The brown-haired boy rolls his eyes. “Come on then,” he says, flattening himself against the bed to open the door.
The two boys walk down the corridor with no fuss, as all the Wyrms rush past them to head towards the entrance. Something must have happened: they don’t look at them when they bump into the two boys but continue slithering down the winding corridor.
Eryk spots them coming, biting his nails frantically. “There you are!” he groans. “She’s getting worse. She keeps jumping around to follow the ‘Fairy’.”
“It’s like she’s regressing into a child,” Mason says.
“She is only fifteen,” Rocky argues.
“Fifteen-year-olds don’t act like this.” Eryk shakes his head, cracking the door open to reveal Violet jumping on the bed.
“Oh, teach me how to do that, Fae!” she giggles, reaching her arms up in the air. “I’d love to fly!”
The three boys raise their eyebrows as she turns to look at them, to which Eryk quickly shuts the door.
“She needs a doctor,” Rocky whispers so she can’t hear.
“What she needs is a break,” Eryk snaps back. “This is clearly taking a bigger toll on her than it is on us.”
“Or maybe she can actually see an invisible Fairy Dragon?” Mason suggests again.
Rocky’s mouth drops open. “You can’t be serious? It’s the rantings of a mad woman!”
“All of this is crazy!” Mason suddenly explodes, flapping his arms around for emphasis. “Look around you! There are extinct dragons running around, Ray is AWOL, and we can talk to a giant dragon in our sleep! None of this is normal! So why can’t her seeing a dragon be real too?”
Before Eryk and Rocky can argue, the door inches open and Violet pokes her pale face out. “I can hear you talking about me,” she whispers. “I’m not crazy.”
“Vi, we’re worried about you,” Eryk sighs. “We’re scared you might be sick.”
“I’m fine!” she hisses, which surprises Rocky as it’s out of character for her. “You’re the crazy ones for not seeing them!”
Eryk hesitantly approaches the young girl, swinging the door out of her hands. “Vi, we only want to help.”
&
nbsp; “You can help by getting me out of here!” she fumes. “Fae wants me to leave.”
“There’s no way we can get out, not after the others escaping,” Mason explains softly.
“No, there is a way.” Violet shakes her head and steps out in the hallway, twirling on the spot. “We need someone on the inside.”
Rocky and Eryk exchange confused glances.
“Inside? What do you mean?” Mason enquires.
“A person in Ray’s inner circle.” The ginger girl stares up at the ceiling, as if something were moving up there. “Someone who can help us get out.”
“Like who?” Rocky scoffs, folding his arms. “No-one in Ray’s inner circle will go near us.”
“One has doubts,” Violet says cryptically in a sing-song voice. “One wants to escape.”
“Who?” Mason’s eyes widen, making Rocky want to slap him. He shouldn’t be encouraging her.
“Sadie,” Violet says, closing her eyes and opening them slowly. “She will help. Fae says so.”
“You want us to listen to an invisible dragon that only you can see?” Rocky snorts in disapproval. “Fuck off.”
“But if it’s true; Sadie can help!” Mason argues.
Rocky rubs his face in frustration. Mason is as obsessed with his ex as he is with Ciara. This won’t be an easy fight.
“I know you love her-”
“That means nothing!” Mason explodes, orange flames licking at the back of his throat. “I didn’t suggest Sadie, Violet did. The least we can do is ask.”
“That’s a terrible idea,” Eryk argues, steadying Violet as she starts spinning in a circle, grinning at the air. “If this isn’t true, then Ray is going to come down on us. Hard. Don’t you remember how pissed he was when he found out that Hazel and Braith had escaped? If we all try to disappear in one go that’ll set him right off.”
That’s the first thing that Eryk has said in a long time that he agrees with. Ray would go crazy if they all tried to escape. Plus, it would be impossible to sneak out six people and six dragons without anyone noticing.
“I’m going to ask Sadie,” Mason snarls, backing off slowly. “She will help us, I know her.”
Against his better judgement, Rocky chases after his friend. “Mase!”
Mason looks back but ignores him, storming towards Sadie’s room. With an irritated sigh, Rocky catches up with him. “If this backfires, I’m not letting you get into shit on your own.”
His friend’s brown eyes light up. “We won’t, I promise. I know Sadie regrets what she did. She acts all tough but inside she’s a big softie.”
Whatever you say.
Rocky couldn’t recall a time where the girl was nice to anyone, let alone him. Mason always saw something in her that everyone else didn’t, though; before this mess they had been together since they were thirteen. Unfortunately, life has a cruel way of breaking relationships up. He and Ciara were proof of that.
As Mason knocks on Sadie’s door, Rocky’s mind fills with that baby’s brown eyes. Staring up at him, almost curiously. She was always in the back of his mind. He can’t shake the sight of her.
“Yes?” Sadie opens the door with an irritated grunt, before freezing upon seeing Mason. “Mase?”
“Do you have a minute?”
“I…I guess.” She shuts the door behind her, giving Rocky a quizzical look.
“Are you okay with all this?” Mason says, taking one of her hands.
She doesn’t pull away. “What do you mean?”
“This. Taking orders from Ray.”
At first, she looks shocked that he would ask, before hardening again. “Of course I am; why wouldn’t I be?”
Here we go.
Rocky rolls his eyes for the imminent spiel about being disloyal to Ray, but Mason shakes his head slowly. “You’re lying. I can tell.”
Tearing her hand away from his to brush her hair behind her ears, she replies: “No I’m not.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Sades. You aren’t happy, I can see it in your eyes.” Mason strokes her cheek with his thumb, and her icy exterior starts to melt.
Choking back a sob, she whispers. “I’ve made a mistake.”
So Violet was right?
The two of them embrace as Sadie starts to cry, Mason gently stroking her hair and whispering into her ear. Rocky shuffles uncomfortably. Mason might have a chance with Sadie again, but he can’t go back to Ciara. Not after what she’s done and the turmoil she’s put him through.
The child she lied about.
“It’s okay,” Mason coos, kissing her softly on the forehead. “I can help you.”
“But…I’ve been so horrible…”
“Not to me,” he smiles. “You never waved that giant stick in my face.”
This makes her chuckle and relax slightly. Rocky feels uncomfortable interrupting, so he glares at Mason to hurry him up. The Wyrms could come back with Ray any minute.
“Ray isn’t who I thought he was. He’s lost it, and those Wyrms creep me out. He’s promised me immunity, but I don’t know whether I believe him anymore,” she explains, wiping tears away from her reddening face. “And…I don’t want you to die.”
“I’m not going anywhere, not if you help us.”
“Help you how?”
Mason glances down the hallway before muttering in a hushed voice. “We need to get out of camp.”
She raises her eyebrows. “That won’t be easy with the Wyrm patrols.”
“But you know their patterns; we could leave at the right moment.” Sadie hesitates, so Mason continues. “You and me, we can buy a house, get fancy cars and adopt all the dogs in the world. We can start a new life.”
Rocky’s heart thumps in his chest as Sadie goes silent. If she says no and tells Ray…
“I dunno…. I can have all that anyway when this finishes.”
“But you won’t have me.”
Her face falls. “No. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”
“It doesn’t. Just do this for me, please.”
“Okay, I’ll do it for you.” She snuggles into his chest, making Mason squeeze her tightly.
Rocky’s heart aches at the sight.
He and Ciara could never have that again. He couldn’t have the family he dreamed of with her.
19
Chapter Nineteen
Ariadne pushes through the undergrowth, her mouth empty. She must have delivered the food to the Wyverns.
“Were they okay?” I ask, my eyes darting over her for wounds.
She nods and settles under a tree as Drea follows her out. The white dragon snorts and trots over to the deer she caught earlier, now half-eaten, tearing chunks off its hide. I know she isn’t happy about sharing, but it’s a good way to gain their trust.
“So, what do we call these Wyverns?” Marco muses, passing me a tin of beans. “We can’t just call them all Wyvern.”
“I was going to call them by their colours. Red, Green and Purple,” I answer, shoving a mouthful of steaming hot beans into my mouth.
My boyfriend nods. “I guess so, or we could call them Pain-In-The-Ass-One, Pain-In-The-Ass-Two-”
“We’re supposed to gain their trust, not insult them,” I remind him, but he just rolls his eyes in reply.
After finishing our meals, Marco starts a fire as an autumn chill rolls in. Although it’s not dark yet, it’s nice to have a source of warmth for when it gets colder at night. A familiar screech brings my attention to the sky, as Patriarch circles us from above, flapping his wings and screaming at us.
“What’s his deal?” my boyfriend asks.
“I dunno. I’m guessing by the look on his face it ain’t good.”
Patriarch lands on the fire, kicking dirt over it. “Hey!” Marco shouts. “What the hell?”
Marine appears in front of Patriarch, her face contorted in anger. “No fire.”
“We need to keep warm,” he argues.
“No. Freeze.”
What a lovely dragon
.
“You’d rather have us freeze because you don’t like us?”
“Egg stealers freeze.” Marine smirks, crossing her arms.
“For the final time, we didn’t steal anything,” Marco groans. “It was the scientists who stole them, not us.”
“Children stolen!” Marine points to Drea, who cocks her head to one side.
“They want to stay with us,” I say, patting my chest. “We are bonded for life.”
Patriarch and Marine recoil in disgust. “Egg stealer! Manipulator!”
“We haven’t manipulated anyone!” I argue.
“Children!” Marine snarls, pointing to Drea once more.
“I don’t think they like the fact that we’re connected to the dragons,” Marco whispers.
“Our connection can only be broken by death, so tough shit,” I mutter back.
I obviously spoke louder than I thought, as Patriarch roars to the sky. “Then die!” Marine screeches.
Oh shit.
Patriarch steps over Marine, making her dissolve. Drea and Ariadne jump in front of us, growling as Patriarch eyes us hungrily. Just when I think a fight is about to break out, Red lands in front of Patriarch, hissing and flapping its wings. Patriarch tries to swat it away, but Red stands its ground, baring its teeth at its former leader. Not wanting to harm Red, Patriarch backs off, hissing at Marco and I with such intense hatred. As Red charges at him, Patriarch leaps into the sky, twirling in the air before heading back to the mountain.
“Thank you,” I say to Red, who bows its head. “I didn’t realise he hates us so much.”
The Wyvern looks at Drea and Ariadne, desperation in its eyes. It growls something to them urgently, making the two dragons growl back.
“What’s going on?” Marco asks his companion, who points to Red in reply.
“I wish we could understand it,” I mutter under my breath.
“Him,” Marco corrects.
“Him?”
“Males have spikes on their tails, like male Western Dragons.”
I follow his gaze to the spikes on Red’s tail, which look exactly like Aqueous’. I suppose that he got his tail spikes from his Wyvern parents.
Glass and Ice (Elemental Dragons Book 3) Page 12