by G. Bailey
“So, let me get this straight. We have four dragon guards who don't have their dragons, one of which is injured and dying. One seer who doesn’t talk to us, and one accident prone princess that is supposed to be dead. . . and we have to save two worlds?” I blurt out. Nope, sorry, we are all going to die.
“You forgot Bee,” Thorne points out, and looks at me seriously. “You are not just some accident-prone princess who is powerless. You can control light magic, the most powerful magic known to Dragca. You are an ice dragon, and you can fight. Don’t count yourself out just yet,” he says. At least he admits I have some faults like tripping over my own feet sometimes, rather than ignoring them.
“I don’t know how to use light magic, and Bee isn’t old enough to tell me,” I say as an excuse, but even my voice falters with my weak retort. Honestly, I haven’t thought about light magic. I have no idea what it can do. I don’t know what dark magic can do either, and the fear of both is making me not want to find out.
“Have you tried asking her? She isn’t a baby anymore,” Thorne points out.
“You still haven’t told me what has happened in Dragca since I’ve been gone,” I counter, because I don’t want to admit I haven’t asked Bee about it, and I’m not sure how to. Light and dark magic are unpredictable, and that’s the last thing we need right now.
“Remember that my mother isn’t evil, she really isn’t, so don’t you all look at me like you feel sorry for me. I don’t agree with what my mother has done, and I’ll admit the power has gone to her head, but there is still good in her. I only need to get close enough to talk some reason into her. She will stop this and place Isola on the throne. I’m sure of it,” Thorne insists, and I briefly glance at Dagan who shakes his head in exasperation. This isn’t the time to disagree with him, and Thorne keeps talking before I can even think of replying, anyway. “My mother has destroyed the councils. Esmeralda killed the selected that ruled them and placed one ruler she trusts in each of the main towns. My mother has started a culling for new dragon guards, making them join her without giving them any choice. I don’t know too much about how she is forcing them to join, but the dragon guard is growing far larger than it’s ever been,” he admits to us, and I close my hands into fists in anger.
“She is forcing them to join the guard? Making them curse themselves?" I gasp in shock. My father never did that. Anyone can join the dragon guard, but it was always a choice, and they knew the price. Forcing them . . . it sends shivers of disgust down my spine. No queen should force her people to do that. Ruling with fear is not ruling at all. It’s a path to destruction.
“The people don’t have a choice. She threatens their families if they don’t join . . . or kills them outright. I met a few in the dungeons that she had imprisoned for refusing to join her,” Dagan tells me, reminding me they spent the last two years trapped in the dungeons. They must know some things that could help us. It reminds me that I still haven’t thanked Thorne for keeping them alive, for setting them free, and helping Bee and Melody. There is a lot I haven’t thanked him for, but I just don’t trust myself not to blurt out a load of other things I’m thinking when we are alone.
“What else?” I ask tentatively, almost not wanting to hear the answer. The guilty look in Thorne’s eyes lets me know there is more to this story.
“She has raised taxes, cut down on food provisions, and gained total control over Dragca with fear,” Elias answers instead, and Thorne glares at him.
“You make it sound worse than it is. She only did that to feed the army, and she offered anyone who wants to join a place there, with their families protected,” Thorne snaps back.
“Every dragon would rather die than join the dragon guard and curse their whole family. Your mother gave them no choice,” Elias spits out.
“Enough!” I shout at them, and they both stop instantly, turning to me. “We cannot fight amongst ourselves like this, not when Korbin needs us to find him help, and we have true enemies everywhere.”
“The princess is right, but my mother is not completely evil,” Thorne contends, and walks away from us all. I want to follow him, tell him everything I know about his mother and that he is wrong about her, but I don’t.
“It is not yet time, sister,” Melody’s voice drifts over to me, but I still watch Thorne as I reply.
“I know.”
Chapter Three
Isola
"I finally know where we are," Dagan says, and I stop, looking back at him as he helps Thorne hold up Korbin. Thorne has a royal cloak on now, covering up his eyes and hair, much like I do. We both stand out way too much otherwise. The only difference, I have my ice power, and he doesn’t. It would be a death sentence if anyone spotted Thorne. Elias and Melody are behind them, watching their backs as I stay in front. As Melody and I are the only ones with any powers currently, it’s smart to have us at the front and the back. I follow Dagan’s gaze to our left, where there is a row of trees and a path in the middle of them. The trees have dragons engraved down the trunk, painted in red.
“Where are we?” I ask, curious. I don’t see any towns, but the path looks well worn.
“Where we first met you, kitty cat,” Dagan says playfully, but I can see the pain in his eyes when he looks at me. His old home, where he lost his mum, which, no doubt, holds some awful memories for them. I glance around Dagan to Elias, who looks tense, staring at the ground. Of all the places we could have ventured to, it had to be their old home.
“Which town is it?” Melody asks.
“Mesmoia,” Elias answers gruffly.
“Perfect! Mesmoia is only two days away from where the seers are hiding, and where I saw us meeting them,” Melody answers happily. She opens her bag up, and Bee flies off my shoulder straight into it, knowing she has to hide for now.
“But we still need to get through the town without anyone recognising us and get help for Korbin,” I tell Melody firmly. She looks at Korbin, and then nods.
“We don’t really have the time, but he won’t make it to the seers like this. I guess we have no choice,” Melody states, looking away from us all as she puts her bag back on.
“I know someone in Mesmoia that might hide us. If he is still alive, anyway,” Dagan tells me.
“Can he be trusted?” I ask.
“No idea. He was a friend of our mentor growing up. I don’t want to trust him, but we don’t really have much of a choice,” Dagan says, looking down at Korbin, who they are just dragging along the floor at this point. He isn’t conscious, and his breathing is shallow.
“Let’s just go. Like you said, we don’t have a choice because I refuse to let him die. We risk this for Korbin, he's worth it," I say, making my mind up and knowing they feel the same when none of them disagree with me. This could be Korbin’s only chance, and there is no way I’m not taking it. Elias catches up to my side as we get to the row of trees, and we start walking down the path. I pull the hood of my coat up, hiding my blonde hair and knowing I need to keep my eyes on the ground when we enter the village.
“How are you?” Elias prods quietly, his hand brushing mine with every step. He doesn’t push to hold my hand, but the little contact feels like he needs it.
“Fine,” I answer quickly.
“Tut, tut, naughty princess. You know I don’t like lies,” Elias calls me out on my crap, and I sigh, looking back at Korbin and then to Elias.
“I’m worried, scared, and I can’t think of anything other than saving Korbin right now. My problems can wait,” I explain, and he gives me a dark look, full of understanding. I love that with Elias, he just gets what I mean. He knows what I’m feeling like he can feel it himself. And that one kiss with him, just stays on repeat at the back of my mind. I find myself staring at his lips, and then I don’t know what happens. I just freeze, pulled into a memory of being defenseless on that bed in Michael's house, and ice starts dripping from my hands.
Safe. Mine keep us safe, my dragon comforts me, and I try to shake the panic of
f.
“When you’re ready to talk about it, let me in. I was brought up in a whorehouse, and it wasn’t a pleasant childhood. I might be easier to talk to, than just holding it all in that pretty mind of yours,” he says, not looking my way as he speaks. It’s hard for him, too, I can feel that. I think my blood bond with them is making my emotions more connected with theirs, and I need to find out more about blood bonds. I know it means we can find each other, no matter where, and we can feel great emotion or physical pain. It’s not the same as a mating bond, that bond is far more.
“Why didn’t your mum move you out of the whorehouse? Let you live anywhere else?”
“She couldn’t afford to after our dad left her. She wasn’t always a whore, we know that. It was only the last three years of her life she was in there with us. We were safe, most of the time anyway, but we saw things no kid ever should," he admits, and I only pause for a brief moment before I grab his hand, linking our fingers.
“Your dad left?”
“Yeah, my mum said he left her for another dragon and that was the end of it. He must have been a dragon guard, because we are, but we don’t know much else. If I ever see him, I’m going to kill him,” he tells me firmly, and I feel his hand warm up in mine. Even though he doesn’t have his dragon, his hand can still burn hot. I call my ice to my hand, just to cool it down, and it melts instantly.
“Life seems to like making us stronger before it allows us to be happy,” I say, and he squeezes my hand.
“I’m happy with you, even in these little moments I manage to steal. I know you're hurting, and that's on me. Once again, I didn't protect you, and I can't begin to tell you how much I regret it," he says, almost gently, but there is so much anger in his voice that he just can’t hide from me. I wish I felt angry, and not just scared of a human. Of what could have happened.
“He was a human, and I still wasn’t strong enough to stop him. If Thorne . . .” I stop, feeling hot tears streaming down my face as I talk about what happened for the first time, and I can’t even look at Elias.
“It’s no secret I dislike Thorne. I think he has his own motives for everything he does and loves no one but himself and his mother. But when I saw him walking through the door with you in his arms, he was so angry, so furious that anyone had tried to hurt you. He was destroyed with his anger and pain for you. I will always owe him for saving you, and I believe he would do anything to keep you alive,” Elias tells me, making my eyes drift over to Thorne for a moment. He is watching me, but I can only see his blue eyes as he is hidden in his cloak.
“I still don’t trust him. Betrayal changes everything, particularly anything we once had,” I say.
“You still don’t get what I’m trying to tell you, princess,” Elias says, almost teasingly.
“Explain then,” I respond, smiling a little.
“Thorne has betrayed everyone that is close to him. His mother. His aunt. You. Everyone . . . but it was you he came back for. It was you from the very start, and that’s why you should let him, and us, protect you. What happened on Earth, it was all of our fault. I remember feeling like Michael was a threat, and if I had known who I was, I would have killed him before he ever had a chance to lay a finger on you,” Elias growls out.
“He didn’t . . . you know. Thorne killed him just before he could . . .” I let my voice trail off because I can’t say the word. I have to remember I’m in Dragca, not Earth, and that I’m safe from Michael. I don’t need to worry or panic. Everything is going to be okay.
“I’m glad to know that, but don’t let him win. He is just a bug, a bug your dragon guard stomped on, so you can rise above him. In ten years, a thousand, no one will remember him, but Dragca will always remember you. No matter what happens, they will know you fight for Dragca, for them,” Elias firmly tells me, and I nod, agreeing with him as his words fill me with pride. I’m not the only one that will be remembered if I get my way. Elias, Dagan, Korbin, and Thorne should be, too. I ignore the little whisper that drifts in my head, the thought that they will be remembered as my mates.
Minnnee . . . my dragon demands, and her urge to shift and fly brushes against my mind.
It isn’t safe. Soon, trust me.
Soon, I want revenge, she growls, before settling down. I focus back on Elias, who is watching my eyes closely.
“I love seeing your sexy eyes shift. They are stunning,” he tells me.
“I miss seeing yours, it’s like I can feel the emptiness of your dragon,” I tell him honestly.
“The last thing I heard my dragon tell me, was to protect you. That you are his,” he says softly. “He is happy with the choice I made. He never argued once as I stepped into the portal and said goodbye.”
“I don’t remember much about Mesmoia as a child, what is the town like?” I ask, needing to change the subject. Elias nods his head in front of me, just as we walk over a small hill.
“Why don’t you see for yourself?”
Chapter Four
Isola
I stand still, staring at the massive town of Mesmoia and taking in the beauty of it. I don’t remember it being beautiful like this, but then, I was so young when I was last here. It is a town full of blue-slate buildings, a massive clock tower in the center, and a wall surrounding the town that is made of dark blue stone, with five large defence towers in the corners with bright blue fires on the tops of them. Seeing the fires, reminds me of my mum taking me here all those years ago. She loved the fire and how its blue light can be seen from our castle. I look back, seeing there is only one way in and one way out, through the large gates I can barely see from here. I look up as three fire dragons shoot across the sky, flying towards the entrance and shifting back.
“You can’t fly in or out of the town. In each tower, there is a seer orb, and it has magic that protects Mesmoia,” Melody explains as she stops at my side. “Much like my own orb, it needs a seer to re-fill it with magic every few months. I doubt Mesmoia will have its protection for much longer now that the seers aren't on the side of the throne."
“Amazing, and that might be good for us if we need a quick escape at some point,” I say, still staring at the town. There is a surprising amount of trees and large bushes full of flowers all around it, making the town seem more alive than I expected.
“Isola, make sure you keep your hood up, and don’t look directly at anyone. You, too, Thorne. You’re both too easily recognisable,” Melody tells me firmly, just as Korbin coughs, and blood drips down his cheek as I run to him. I wipe the blood off his chin with my sleeve, and tilt his head up, seeing how completely out of it he looks. He doesn’t even seem to notice me in front of him, and the purple lines are now covering his face, his neck, and I bet, everywhere else. How long until the poison kills him?
“We don’t have time, Korbin doesn’t have time. Let’s hope your friend can help us, or I’m freezing the whole goddamn town until someone does,” I say, keeping my voice calm despite the fury flowing through me as I let Korbin rest his head down again. I turn around, walking straight down the path towards Mesmoia. Melody catches up to my side, and Dagan stays on my other as Elias swaps places with him to hold Korbin up. We walk as fast as we can down the hill and come to a group of people that are walking towards the entrance. There are five of them, all in ragged clothes, and they are pulling a cart behind them that has two children on it who don’t look in any better of a state. They both have dark-red hair, and one of them sits up to stare at me, pushing her messy hair over her shoulder. I look away, but I know we are too close to let her see me. The kid might have seen my eyes, or even a little bit of my hair. Or I might be paranoid. . . who knows?
“Come here, kitty cat,” Dagan holds an arm out for me, and I quickly realise he wants to hold me close to keep me hidden. I step closer, letting him slide an arm around my waist, and I bend my head close to his chest, breathing in his smoky scent. I keep looking to the side as we walk behind the people and their cart, the children still watching us.
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br /> “Guards,” Dagan whispers close to me, his lips gently brushing the tip of my ear, and I inch my hand to his sword on instinct. I know I can pull it out and attack anyone to get us a distraction to escape. I briefly look up after I feel us starting to walk on stone to see five dragon guards at the gate. They watch us all for a second before another guard walks over to them, and they get distracted talking to each other. I look away just in case I catch any of their gazes, and, thankfully, none of them stop us as we walk straight into the town and join the crowds of people. I lift my head, still keeping close to Dagan’s side as I look around. Dozens of people surround us, a mixture of red, black, and brown-haired dragons. Some dragon guards are in their dragon leather, and nearly everyone else has cloaks on, covering themselves up. I spot people huddled together on the ground near a building, begging for food or money, but people walk past them like they aren’t even there. The cracked blue-stone path we walk down leads to the clock tower right in the middle of town. The tower is surrounded by little stalls selling foods, powders, clothing, and many other things. There is so much colour, so much life . . . it’s amazing and nothing like any human town I’ve ever seen.
“This way,” Dagan pulls at my waist, leading me and the others past all the stalls. We get to an alleyway behind the tower that looks dark, and Dagan walks us down it. We get to the other end which opens up into a quieter part of Mesmoia, and there is a water fountain. I pause, remembering this place as I stare at the stone dragon, the water shooting out of its mouth and spraying into the fountain. The water isn’t blue like Earth, it’s more of a purple colour. I know humans can’t drink the water here; it would kill them and has done so many times. Dragca isn’t made for humans, I guess.