by Hati Bell
“I saw the fire in your eyes the moment I paid your bail and got you out of jail,” Gregor said. “Kincaid sees everything that I see, and more. If you want to have a fighting chance against him, you’ll have to learn to hide your emotions. You can’t afford any weaknesses, like the dryad girl that you saved from goblins.”
Drake narrowed his eyes. “Looks like Kincaid truly is aware of everything that happens around Somerset.” Except Amber’s vision, he thought. It was impossible that he knew about the vision of what would happen in the school gym.
“Of course he is,” Gregor responded. “How else did you think you got away with just a fine after you got arrested for those vulgar cage fights? Only Kincaid’s grandson would get away with such a low punishment and without a criminal record.”
Drake tensed. “I didn’t ask him for anything.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Then why did he bother? After all these years?” It was a question that had bothered him for a while.
Gregor pushed his fingertips together. “Kincaid wants a male heir. A prince who can inherit his throne, business interests, and family name. Henry and you are the only options. As you might have heard, Henry’s mom can’t have other children.”
Drake’s recollection of Kincaid’s other child, his aunt, was vivid. She had looked at him as if he were dirt under her shoes. Her obvious rage about his presence in the Dome had only amused Kincaid.
“I’m afraid Henry isn’t cut out for this task,” Gregor continued. “It doesn’t matter how often his mother sends him here to draw Kincaid’s attention to him. He’s just a harmless pup compared to you.”
Drake looked away, once again wishing that he could just disappear into the night, for good. “I’m not interested in Kincaid’s dirty business.”
“The two of you are more alike than you realize,” Gregor claimed.
Drake knew what he meant. His father had cursed him during his drunken episodes because he resembled Kincaid’s features. Kincaid distinguished himself through the grey goatee that gave his spotless black hair a sophisticated look. But below that look lurked a merciless opportunist and master manipulator. “I didn’t have a say in my genes, but I do have a say in my last name. Which, by the way, I don’t plan to change.”
“There will come a day that you’ll use the Kincaid name,” Gregor predicted. “When you’ll need the right doors to open for you. From that day on, I’ll be there for you.”
Since his parents never got married, he carried his mother’s last name. Kincaid despised the idea of the possibility of one day leaving the Dome to someone who wasn’t a Kincaid.
Drake raised an eyebrow. “Are you telling me that you will turn your back on Alec Kincaid? I doubt that.”
For a second a flame flickered in Gregor’s eyes, as if he were excited by the idea. “My loyalty lies with the Kincaids, like it has always been. I will act in the interest of the Kincaid family line. That was my promise to your grandmother. A dragon promise. You have to realize that there are two sides to every story. Kincaid might not be perfect, but he does keep the peace in our community. A task that will fall onto the shoulders of his heir. You might be surprised to find that your inheritance consists of more than just the marble columns and thick walls of the Dome.” After those cryptic words, Gregor walked back inside.
Drake relaxed. It looked like he’d found an ally in this snake pit after all–at least for now.
SEVEN
It was the night of the introduction party, and Amber stood indecisively in front of her wardrobe closet. After going back and forth for over an hour, she had managed to reduce the pile of outfits to three dresses.
There was a knock on the door, and then Bryan walked in. He looked worried. Since he and Ian had returned from camp, it seemed his permanent state of mind.
She grabbed the red dress and held it in front of her. “Does this color make me look pale?”
“No more pale than usual,” Bryan said.
Wonderful. “Red is a warm, striking color. It screams, ‘Hey, I’m here.’”
He shot her a strange look. “You mean to stand out tonight?”
“No.”
Yes.
The red item landed on the discard pile, and was replaced by a blue one.
“You’re not going to ask me if your butt looks big in that, are you?” Bryan asked.
“Of course not,” Amber denied, while the dress ended up on the floor like a puddle of water. She was very much aware that her behind was on the smaller side. Just like her boobs. Not that it mattered, because she didn’t need to impress anyone, anyway. Right.
She ignored the mocking voice in her head while she walked over to her toiletries on her desk. Suddenly, she missed Pinky. Her bestie could turn a chicken into a swan.
“Before we leave, there are a couple of things that you need to know about what happened at the camp,” Bryan said. “The tension between the groups had been clearly tangible from the beginning.”
He didn’t have to explain which groups he was talking about. “Well, duh,” she said. “You can’t send Gandalf and Sauron on a trip and expect nobody to get hurt.”
“It got worse when a dragon took off a couple of nights ago,” Bryan continued. “Someone discovered it and snitched on him. After that the tension got even worse.”
She grabbed a hair clip. “Who was it?”
“One Logan Stark. Tall, buff, blond, and, according to the stories, one of the most dangerous of them all.”
She grimaced when she heard that name. Of all the dragons, it had to be Drake’s brother who’d gotten into trouble by a dryad. “Who was the one…?”
“Dave Addison,” Bryan said disapprovingly.
Of course. Oh, well, it could have been worse. It could’ve been Ian instead of Dave. “I’m afraid I have more bad news,” she said, and she told him the short version of what happened with the goblins. She didn’t have a chance to tell him earlier, and she didn’t want to spring it just on him, but he had to know.
Bryan now looked even more worried. “I can’t believe this. What business could goblins possibly have with you?”
A question that she also hadn’t been able to answer. Although that was still better than Drake’s ridiculous theory. “According to Drake, they were there to claim a gambling debt from one of you, or maybe Dad. I immediately made it clear to him that you would never do that,” she quickly added.
“Well, he is a Kincaid, after all. Being distrustful towards even your own family is probably in his blood.”
Despite her own annoyance towards Drake, Bryan’s words bothered her. “Just because Alec Kincaid is his grandfather doesn’t mean Drake is like him.”
Bryan remained skeptical. “What else should the cat do but kill the mouse?” he quoted Meg.
“Drake has saved my life twice already. Would Kincaid ever lift a finger to help a dryad?”
“All right,” he conceded. “I’ll talk to this Drake and thank him for keeping an eye on you. Apparently, even dragons are capable of unselfish acts. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
Amber dug her head into her closet, to hide her blushing. She hadn’t told him the part about the promise that she’d made Drake in a rash moment. So Bryan didn’t know that Drake wasn’t exactly a Good Samaritan.
Her last hope was a sleeveless white dress of knee length that Pinky had foisted on her in a vintage store. In a rebellious mood, she pulled out a pair of red heels. Her phone didn’t fit in her clutch, so she left it behind. She was ready to enjoy the night and leave all the drama behind for the rest of the evening.
They got in the car half an hour later.
“I want you to stay in my sight tonight.” Bryan sounded like a chaperon.
Amber rolled her eyes. “I doubt whether I’ll be in any danger at the dance.”
“Maybe not, but I’d feel better if I can see you. I’ll tell Ian about this thing with the goblins tomorrow.”
The party was already hot and happening when th
ey arrived. When they walked into the gym that was transformed into a party, Bryan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“I can’t believe it,” he uttered. “It looks like some kind of distorted painting of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I just can’t decide which one of the parts represents which character.”
Amber grimaced at the cardboard circus in front of them. “I wanted to say that it looks like the tableaus of Mount Doom and the Shire have been torn in half and have been pasted together with cheap glue, but what you said sounds about right too.”
The left side of the gym was clearly dragon territory. It was covered in pieces of rock, lava, and a gigantic treasure chest resting on a bed of coins. There was a line of students standing in front of it to take pictures, no doubt to pimp their Facebook profiles. However, the most striking feature was a chocolate fountain shaped like a volcano which was surrounded by students holding fruit sticks.
On the right of the room, the volcanic island suddenly transformed into vine-covered trees, fake grass, and water fountains. It was gorgeous and it breathed a certain lost mysticism, but she’d already seen it many times before. A few steps from the fountain, she noticed Team Heartless looking at the defected humans of Trinity with a murderous look.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Drake standing at the edge of the dance floor. He was dressed in all black, up to his thin, nonchalant tie. Her stomach contracted at the thought of him holding her in his arms last night. Maybe it had just been a dream. But that wouldn’t explain the absence of her signature migraine after her nightmare. She decided that his dragon morphine had done its job once again.
The band started playing a ballad and Drake almost got dragged onto the dance floor by Annabel, dressed in ruby red. Drake saw her standing there, demonstratively turned his back to her and took the girl into his arms.
Amber swallowed and told herself that didn’t hurt. Nope, not one bit.
Bryan dragged her along to “their” side of the room. She saw him look at the deacon, who was standing by the punch table. He was the one who could write you a letter of recommendation for a university of your choice.
“Go ahead. Talk to him. You don’t have to stay by my side all night,” she encouraged him.
“I can talk to him another time,” he said nonchalantly.
“I need to use the restroom anyway.”
“Don’t take too long,” he warned, while he smoothed his hair and jacket.
Finally he took off. She had to walk by the stage if she wanted to go to the restroom but also avoid dragon territory.
Jimmy and his band were on fire. She waved at him and got a big smile in return. When she turned around, she almost bumped into Dave Addison. He was dressed in a black suit that seemed to be a little too tight. According to Jimmy, he bought his clothing a size too small on purpose, to emphasize his muscles.
Dave stretched his hand out to her. “Amber. You look great. May I have the first…”
He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. Suddenly, a big body was standing in between them. It was Drake’s brother, Logan. She barely reached his shoulders. He wore gray slacks, a blue shirt, and a cocky smirk, as if he had just strutted off a runway.
“Finally, there you are. It’s time to claim my first dance,” Logan proclaimed with a grin.
Dave turned red in barely contained anger when Logan put an arm around her waist and led her away. With all the teachers around, Dave clearly didn’t feel the need to start a scene.
Amber felt a mild fever coming up when she had a vision of Logan in a steaming shower. He was holding a gorgeous woman with curls in his arms. Thankfully, the moment didn’t last more than a couple of seconds. “That was very rude,” she uttered.
“It was also rude to snitch on me. Do you know who I am?”
She cautiously nodded. “You’re Drake’s brother.”
Logan pouted. “Right now, I think of myself more as the one who got in trouble for protecting you.”
She had wondered how long it would take before someone threw that in her face. Apparently, not that long.
The ballad was followed by an upbeat song, and Logan smiled. It was a smirk, one that promised all kinds of trouble. He spun her around, and they were now dancing on the invisible border of the dance floor. The fiery dragon territory kept getting interchanged with the green oasis of the dryads. He didn’t seem to care that they were stared at with a mix of surprise and disgust, by both sides.
Amber felt like daggers were being stabbed in her back. “What are you doing?” she hissed, although it wasn’t hard to guess. Dave had snitched on Logan, and this was his revenge.
“I’m here to claim my favor,” he said, as he spun her around.
“Your favor?” she asked, not sure where he was going with this.
“Ten thousand words on the Wars of the Roses. It’s supposed to be a fitting punishment for my nightly escapade. An escapade I had to do to watch your ass.”
She was struggling to keep her face straight. The Wars of the Roses was about a power play between two parties. They couldn’t have chosen a more fitting subject. “I’m sure it will be an interesting read,” she said, trying not to laugh.
“I’m glad you feel that way. You have until next Monday.”
Her amusement vanished. “What?”
“It’s a fair trade,” he claimed.
“You should take this up with Drake, not me,” she protested, not planning to write his paper. “After all, he’s the one who… hired you.”
“Interesting choice of words. Except, my dear brother lately hasn’t been in the mood to type anything, really.” He bent her over his arm as if he were Patrick Swayze. “Nice and flexible,” he mumbled in her ear and pulled her back up.
She felt her ears burn when his lips briefly brushed over it. Dammit, he had some moves and not only in the dancing department.
“You smell great. Like a sweet, forbidden fruit,” he said.
She looked at him, startled, and wanted to protest when he spun her around again. When she looked around, she noticed they had a lot of spectators. One of them was Drake, his face void of any emotion. Annabel still had her clutches on his arm. “He seems to be having a great time,” she objected.
“Looks can be deceiving.”
“You can let go of me now,” she said stiffly. “You got your revenge.” She didn’t want to be on the dance floor anymore, not while Drake treated her like she had some kind of disease.
Logan looked insulted and a little… dangerous. “Revenge? Oh, but this is no revenge, little flower. Trust me. I’ll be doing a very different kind of dance when I get back at that loose-lipped tree-hugger. But I’ll let you go… for now.” He swirled back to her part of the dance floor and gently let her go.
Amber got out of the gym as fast as she could. She decided to go to the bathroom in the quieter part of the school. This meant she had to take a detour, but that was okay. It was better than going back and again being confronted with Logan, who was trying to force a paper on her.
She turned on the tap and let the water run over her wrists. Dragon skin had a strangely heating effect on her. She re-applied her makeup and combed her fingers through her hair.
When she walked out of the bathroom, she ran right into Fiona Claw. Shit.
Fiona was wearing an icy blue strapless dress with shiny jewels. Combined with her platinum blonde updo, she was the epitome of an ice queen. She was flanked by two girls, whom she recognized from the auditorium. They, too, wore strapless dresses.
“Well, look at who’s roaming the halls like a lost little rat. All alone and unprotected,” Fiona purred. She opened the door of the janitor’s closet next to the bathroom.
Someone grabbed Amber’s shoulder, shoved her in her back–she was really getting tired of that–and she was propelled into the closet. She heard the door close and the turning of a key.
She immediately started banging on the door. “Let me out! You can’t do this! Let me out!” Her cry for he
lp was drowned out by a deafening guitar solo.
She grabbed in her clutch. Oh, shit. She had left her phone at home! She could kick herself for the position she had maneuvered into. Why didn’t she just stick around Bryan? The only thing she could do was to keep yelling and hoping for someone to pass by.
“Dammit!” she cursed.
“I don’t think anyone can hear you.”
EIGHT
Amber spun around, startled to find out somebody was already in the janitor’s closet.
Underneath the window, next to a broom and some pots, a girl sat on a stool. She wore glasses with oversize frames and silver bracelets. It was the friendliest face Amber had seen that night. “They locked you up here too?”
The girl shook her head, which made a honey-blond curl escape from her headband. “Oh, no,” she assured her. “I’m sitting here voluntarily, waiting for the party to be over. They didn’t see me when they opened the door, or didn’t want to see me.” She didn’t seem particularly upset by that.
“Um, why are you waiting for the party to be over?”
“I’m not in a party mood, but I promised my mom I would go,” the girl confessed. “It’s my birthday today, but my mom isn’t home, so we couldn’t celebrate. She thought I should get a party anyways, so here I am. I’m Cally, by the way,” she said extending her hand.
“Hi, I’m Amber,” she said and tentatively shook her hand.
It was the most heartbreaking vision she’d seen in a long time. She choked up when she got an unwanted glimpse into Cally’s life. The woman with the bald head in the hospital bed had to be her mom. Suddenly, she felt ashamed of her petty problems that didn’t compare to what Cally was going through. “Do you happen to have your phone with you?”
Cally shook her head. “Cell phones are a beacon of radioactive waves that cause cancer. I’m afraid our generation will have brain tumors the size of basketballs about ten years from now.”
Before her vision, Amber might have made a remark about that, but now she only wanted to avoid the painful topic. “Maybe someone will hear us if we yell together?” she suggested. “Or maybe they will come back to open the door for us? I mean, they can’t just leave us here the rest of the night, right?” She stumbled back to the door. She heard Cally follow her.