by G. Bailey
Chapter Seventeen
Isola
“Bee, are we near yet? It’s been ages,” I ask her, not wanting to walk much further. We have been climbing over rocks and up hills, for the last god knows how long since we ventured into the forest. I look up, seeing the sun is right in the middle of the sky, so it must be midday already. I finish the energy bar I was eating, tucking the wrapper in my pocket as I wait for Bee to say something. “Bee, come on.”
“Nearly,” she responds finally, smiling at me as she sits on my shoulder. Her green hair is so long it covers her body now, and her green eyes look so innocent when she smiles at me. Like she hasn’t just made me walk for miles with no explanation. It’s like all that pointless running all over again.
“Bee, I’m worried we won’t be able to get back to camp before dark if we keep walking before we even get to training,” I say, and she huffs, flying off my shoulder and floating in the air in front of me, with her back facing us.
“You’ve pissed her off now,” Thorne jokes quietly, and I laugh a little as I step up to Bee’s side to see what she is seeing. There are four rocks on the mountain side, each one at least three times my size, and they are covered in dark purple vines that look like weeds. They stretch over the rock, killing the grass that is now yellow, and the flowers are all wilted.
“What is that?” I ask in shock, looking over at Thorne who seems just as confused as I am.
“Dark. Too much dark in Dragca, not enough light. No balance,” Bee says, like her random statement should explain everything. Thorne walks closer, lifting his sword off his back.
“Don’t get too close, be careful,” I warn him, and he glances back at me with a grin.
“Didn’t know you cared, Issy,” Thorne says, and I roll my eyes at him before he turns back. Thorne slowly lifts his sword, touching one of the veins with its tip and a black flash of light sends him flying across the rocks.
“Thorne!” I scream, running over to him as he lands and rolls on the ground a few times. I fall to my knees next to him and turn him over onto his back. He coughs a few times before opening his eyes, and I breathe out a sigh of relief.
“Fuck, that hurt,” he coughs, sitting up with my help.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he says, managing to smile at me, but he still doesn’t look great. “I might have cracked a rib, but my limited dragon healing will sort it out soon. I just need to rest for a bit to heal,” he explains. I help him pull his bow and bag off his back before he leans back on the rock. I still don’t move for a while, worrying that he might be more hurt than he is admitting to me.
“Go and learn, just don’t touch it,” he insists, studying my expression.
“Are you sure you are okay?” I ask, needing to hear him say it.
“I’m good, now go, Issy. We need you to learn whatever the hell Bee has brought you here for in order to survive that cave,” he says, reaching for my hand. I don’t move as he carefully pulls my hand to his mouth, kissing the back once before letting go as my heart pounds in my chest at every little movement. I’m sure when he stares into my eyes for a second, he can read my every emotion and hear my heart pounding, but luckily for me, he doesn’t call me out on it.
“I should go,” I say nervously, stepping back and practically running over to Bee, who is sitting on a normal rock near the weird ones. Dark covered ones? Rocks I don’t want to touch? Who knows what their name should be.
“Bee, I think it’s time you explain,” I tell her, and she sits up, crossing her legs and pointing at the rocks.
“Light can destroy dark. You must find it and use,” she says, moving her hand to her heart, pointing at it with her little green finger. “Feel the light, call it.” I try not to laugh at the fact she sounds like someone out of Star Wars.
“That doesn’t sound so easy,” I say, and she laughs, floating up in the air and holding her hand out for me.
“Together now, but you can do this alone,” she says, and I reach a hand out, letting her wrap her own hand around my little finger.
“What now?” I ask.
“Connect. Feel,” she instructs and closes her eyes. I watch as her whole body starts to glow white before the white glow travels to her hand and touches me. I close my eyes in awe, a gasp leaving my lips. It feels like someone just threw cold water over every part of my body, and then it disappears, leaving only a weightless feeling.
“See, connect,” I hear Bee say, feeling like she is all around me as I open my eyes. I smile as I see we are floating above the ground, and when I move my other hand, I notice all my skin is glowing white. I glance over at Thorne, who is sitting up watching with wide eyes, and I smile at him in reassurance. I can see something in his chest, like a yellow light.
“What is the yellow in Thorne’s chest?” I ask.
“His soul. Babies are born with a white, pure soul. The soul can be tainted, and you can see the taint in time. Yellow is close to white, because Thorne is not tainted by the dark too much,” Bee explains, her voice like a sweet echo, and I’m surprised how well she has learnt to speak. I look away from Bee and towards the rocks, seeing them glow with almost a black light that covers it.
“Destroy,” Bee urges, letting me go, but the power never leaves me as I feel my feet graze across the floor before I land. I don’t look away from the rocks as I walk over, knowing that I am meant to help them. Help the land. Help destroy the darkness. All these thoughts run through my head as I place my hand against the rock and a sharp pain shoots up my arm, like an electric shock. The shock buzzes through me as my hand warms up, and a bright light flows out of my hand until I can’t see anything other than light.
“Isola! Enough! Stop!” I hear Thorne shout, but I ignore anything other than the need to stop the darkness, and only when I feel nothing but light, does everything fade away.
Chapter Eighteen
Elias
“Any change?” Dagan asks, stepping into the small bedroom and closing the door behind him. I look back over at Isola as she lies in the bed, her eyes closed, and her skin still lightly glowing white. Her blonde hair surrounds her on the pillow, and her pink lips are the only other colour to her pale face. I think back to seeing Thorne running across the woods, holding her in his arms as she glowed like a flashlight, and Bee following not far behind them. I don’t think I’ve ever been as scared as I was in that moment. It reminded me of the time Isola was stabbed and how helpless I felt. And I didn’t even love her back then.
“Same as the last six days,” I growl out, standing up from the chair and walking to the window. I stare at the morning suns, just as they peek out of the tree line and slowly rise into the sky. Bird fly past, the trees sway in the breeze, and everything seems so peaceful, all while I feel nothing but panic inside of me.
“Bee said she will be fine. Try not to worry, brother,” Dagan reassures me, and I glance over at him. His face is tired and tense as he strokes Isola's cheek with the back of his hand, steady rolling his lip ring around in his lips. I’m not the only one worrying and not sure if Bee is right. Bee is young, and she’s not even a dragon. What if she doesn’t have a clue what she is doing?
“The last thing I said to Isola is that I didn’t want to mate with her,” I lament, keeping my voice quiet as I look back at Isola, running my eyes over her beautiful face. “She doesn’t even know how much I regret being a coward, or how I love her enough to be anything she wants or needs.”
“Why did you tell her no?” Dagan asks as he steps back from Isola, his voice free of judgement, and it shocks me a little. I fully expected he would beat the shit out of me for hurting her because I’m an idiot.
“I’m–no, we–are children of a woman who worked at a whorehouse, and we did a lot of bad shit to just survive. I’ve killed so many that I don’t even remember them all, and I can’t make myself regret the life I’ve lived. What kind of mate would I make for a queen?” I say, turning away and facing the window as I clench my fists.
Who in their right mind would want me as a mate with my past?
“A fierce mate, a mate any queen would be damn proud to have,” Isola’s sweet voice says, and I turn abruptly to her as she sits up, staring at me with tears on her cheeks. Her blue eyes look like they can see straight through me, like they always have done. There has been no one like her in my entire life, no one who can know me with one look like she does.
“Isola,” I whisper, feeling like my feet are glued to the floor as we just stare at each other. I hear the sound of Dagan walking out of the room and closing the door behind him, but neither of us move an inch.
“No one is perfect, especially not me or my family, who have been the kings and queens, princesses and princes for thousands of years. I don’t care what anyone else thinks, and I hope you don’t either, because in my eyes, Elias, you are everything. Please don’t think I judge you, please don’t think I ever will,” she whispers, and my feet finally move as I walk to the bed and fall to my knees next to her. She leans over, placing her soft hands on my cheeks, and slowly kissing me. I groan at her taste, at the feel of her, until I have to pull away.
“I don’t want to fuck this all up. I’ve never been scared of anything as much as the thought of losing you scares me. I’ve always believed I was strong, brave and not a coward, until the second I hurt you the other day. I never wanted to do that, and I was a fucking idiot,” I admit, and she shakes her head.
“I get it, the fear anyway. I remember when you told me once not to fall in love, because if I did, I would lose them in the end. You were right. I'm dangerous to love, and that won’t change anytime soon. I get it if you want to walk out this room and never look back,” she chuckles humourlessly. “Most would.”
“I’m not most, naughty princess. I’m here fighting for you . . . if you will still have me?” I ask resolutely, knowing I made my mind up the second I saw the pain in her eyes from my stupid words the other day. I love her, and even if loving her is dangerous, every moment is worth it.
“I love you, but please don’t hurt me again. If we keep hurting each other, there won’t be anything left of us that is worth fighting for,” she says, taking a deep breath.
“Never again,” I say and slam my lips onto hers in a harsh, brief kiss before I break away and keep her beautiful blue eyes locked on mine. “Mate with me, Isola Dragice? I can’t offer you anything other than myself and my heart, but I will be yours forever. I will always love and protect you,” I say, and she smiles widely, her eyes drifting to silver as she speaks to her dragon. I watch silently until her eyes turn back to blue.
“Yes, even my dragon agrees . . . but says she will ice your feet to the floor for a week if you hurt us again,” she says, and I laugh, pulling her to me. I hear the door open behind us, and Korbin walks in with Bee on his shoulder.
“Light is awake,” Bee says, and Isola pulls away from me, confusion rolling over her face as she looks at me and asks one question.
“What happened?”
Chapter Nineteen
Isola
“Made light,” Bee answers my question, flying into the room and sitting on my lap. I look away from Elias to Korbin leaning against the door frame. Kor has a leather dragon guard uniform on like the others, and I wonder who made them it for only a second as I see how well Kor looks. His tanned skin looks healthy, and his green eyes are blazing with mischief and love as he watches me.
“You’re here and looking good,” I say and he grins, walking over.
“Thanks, doll. You don’t look too bad yourself,” he jokes and places a tender kiss on my forehead.
“So, guys, how did I get from the woods to here? Everything is a little blank,” I admit, looking between Kor and Eli, as they both sit on the edge of the bed. Eli puts his hand on my leg, comforting me.
Fly soon. Need mates with us, my dragon hisses in my mind.
Do you know what happened? I ask her, and all I get in return is a yawn as she ignores me, and I focus back on Eli and Kor.
“I can answer that, if I can come in?” Thorne asks from the doorway.
“Come in,” I say with a smile, waving him in. Eli and Kor tense but don’t openly say anything as he walks in. Thorne sits on a chair in the room, clearing his throat before talking.
“You glowed like a flashlight, and then you touched the rocks. You lit up like nothing else; I couldn’t see you, I couldn’t see anything but light. I tried shouting, telling you to stop,” he explains, and I have a vague memory of Thorne shouting.
“I heard you, but I just couldn’t stop,” I say, “or I didn’t want to. The power was addictive.”
“What happened next?” Kor asks, sliding his hand into mine on the bed.
“The light just suddenly cut off and Isola was lying on a rock, still glowing but passed out. Bee was watching her and clapping her little hands,” Thorne tells us. “Bee seemed really proud of you and told me I didn’t have to worry about you not waking up.” I stare at Bee who just shrugs, her cheeks a bright-red colour.
“I’m sorry, that must have scared you,” I say, looking at Thorne, but he only stares out of the window.
“I knew you weren’t dead, our blood bond told me as much as I ran to you. Isola,” he pauses, looking back, “the dark-purple things that covered the rocks were gone, and the rocks were covered in bright flowers and vibrant grass. You had brought the entire place back to life.”
“Light can heal, right, Bee?” I ask her, and she nods, landing on my open hand.
“You are strong,” she says and looks at the door.
“Food is ready,” I hear Melody shout, and Bee doesn’t hesitate as she flies off my hand and out of the door. I swear Bee loves food more than anything else. I can’t say I blame her.
“How long was I sleeping?” I ask everyone.
“Six days, doll,” Korbin answers, and it suddenly dawns on me.
“The trial, it’s tonight, isn’t it?” I ask, and Eli nods.
“You don’t have to do it, you know that right? We can live without our dragons as long as you are alive,” he says, squeezing my leg.
“I need to do this. If I don’t, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself,” I say, making sure to catch each of their eyes.
“You could die,” Kor whispers hoarsely, reaching over and pushing a strand of hair behind my ear.
“The dragon guard needs to be free of this curse. Not only so you can get your dragons back, but so Tatarina doesn’t have an army who can’t think or act for themselves. Once the curse is broken, the dragons could leave, and the fight for the throne would not be as great,” I explain. “Plus, it will earn the seers’ respect and, hopefully, their help.”
“We are meant to meet Essna in half an hour to start the trial,” Thorne states, standing up. “Isola needs to shower and get ready.”
“Are you saying I smell?” I ask, and he smirks, shrugging his shoulders once.
“Maybe,” he says.
“Cheeky bastard,” I mutter as he walks out, and all the guys laugh. It takes me by surprise a little at how relaxed they are around Thorne now; how I am, too.
“Thorne has a point, and I want to get your weapons ready before you go,” Eli says, kissing my cheek before walking out of the room as Kor stands up.
“These are your new clothes,” Kor says, picking up the pile of clothes next to him on the end of the bed and passing them to me. I smooth my hands over the supple, light-blue leather, never having seen anything like this leather before. There are even snowflakes etched into the design and a long dark-blue cloak rests under it.
“Where did this come from?” I ask Kor, still rubbing my fingers over the material.
“Bee. She made it for you while you slept,” he says and points at his own clothes. “She made these, too. We all have new clothes.”
“Wow,” I say, speechless and amazed how she has become strong enough to make this.
“I will get some food ready for you, and the shower is through there,” Kor says, goin
g to step off the bed, but I catch his hand, stopping him.
“I love you,” I whisper, and he turns our hands over, kissing the back of mine sweetly.
“I love you more,” he says and lets my hand go, walking out of the room and shutting the door behind him. I slide off the bed, walking straight to the other door in the room, and catch a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror in the bedroom just before I open the bathroom door. My whole body is slightly glowing white, my eyes look brighter, and I feel so much stronger than I was. Let’s hope I’m strong enough to survive this trial, because nothing else matters now.
Chapter Twenty
Isola
“Isola Dragice, looking every bit like the princess you are,” Essna says as I walk into the clearing where she sits on her makeshift throne. Her calculating eyes watch my every step, only briefly glancing at my guards at my side, until I’m right in front of her. She has a long cloak on, her black hair is up in a tight bun, and her sharp eyes are decorated with black makeup which matches the black seer marks on her face. The marks make me think of Melody, knowing my sister has my back if Essna tries to attack me.
“Where is your sister and the light spirit?” Essna asks first, folding her hands together.
“Safe,” I answer simply, and her teeth grind together, the only sign of her annoyance as she keeps her face blank. I know she wants my sister dead and to have Bee near her in case I die in that cave, but that isn’t happening. Now that we know light magic isn’t going to help me in the cave unless I need to heal plants, we all agreed that sending Melody and Bee to hide was the best plan. If anything happens to me, Bee will bond with Melody and that is the best option we have. Not that I plan on dying any time soon.