by G. Bailey
“It’s our job to know everything about you, to keep you safe,” Korbin says, but he doesn’t look at me as he says it.
“Alright, well, what kind of fun did you have in mind?” I ask them both this time.
“The bad kind,” Dagan taunts. If I didn’t know any better, I would think he was flirting with me. Maybe he just has that natural flirty nature some people have.
“There’s a party out in the woods, they do it every month,” Korbin explains.
“Will there be wine?” I ask.
“I know there will be beer,” Korbin answers.
“Well I’m sold then, let’s go,” I say, watching as they both smile at each other before we start walking towards the woods.
“Will Elias be there?” I finally ask, after we've walked in silence for a bit to get to the tree line.
“Yes, no doubt picking up a girl for the night,” Dagan says, and I have to swallow the enraged rumble from my dragon.
“Kill the–”
“–Oh my god, no Dragon,” I whisper to her.
“What is your dragon saying? Does she not like Elias?” Korbin asks me, clearly seeing the annoyance on my face and my eyes turned silver.
“Something like that,” I reply, trying to avoid the question as much as I can. We come up to a clearing with a large bonfire in the middle. Some students are sat on logs around it, and others are dancing to music from a speaker nearby. A few people stop what they are doing when they see me, just staring and looking none too friendly. They hate me because of my father, and the war, and maybe just because I’m not one of them. Oh, and I'm pretty sure me freezing the entire cafeteria didn't help with the whole people liking me situation. I may be a dragon, but I wasn’t brought up here, and they know that. It makes me an outsider, in a place I don’t need to be one.
“Maybe I should just go back to the castle, I need to get a new book from the library anyway,” I say, and start to turn back. Dagan puts an arm around my shoulder, drawing me back. It makes me go tense, whereas my dragon sends me waves of happiness. Betraying little hussy.
“Let me get you a drink and then introduce you to some people. You should try to get to know them,” Dagan says, and I look over to see Korbin nod.
“He is right. You’re pretty nice, sometimes, perhaps try to show them that?” he suggests, before walking over to some guys who pat his back.
“Alright, what’s the worst that could happen,” I shrug, letting Dagan lead me over to a cooler box. He opens it up, grabs two beers out, and hands one to me.
“They are a little warm as we have to hide them out here weeks in advance,” Dagan says, and I chuckle. I grab his bottle off him and close my hands around both our beers. I let my dragon out a little, making my hands go cold and cover the bottle in frost. I stop when they are cold, pulling my dragon power back and handing the bottle to Dagan.
“Neat trick,” he comments, rolling his lip ring across his lips. I find myself focusing on it until he drinks some of his beer, and three girls walk over to us.
“Dagan! Have you seen Elias?” the blonde one in the middle asks. She has waist length blonde hair, with red streaks throughout it. The other two girls just spend the whole time eye fucking Dagan, completely ignoring anyone else.
“Nope, how are you Lisa?” he asks.
“I’m good, baby,” she grins, stepping closer and I move before I even noticed I did it.
“I’m Isola, nice to meet you,” I say after I’ve slid right in front of Dagan, and I hear him chuckle behind me. Lisa looks me up and down before putting on a fake smile.
“Lisa, nice to meet you, princess,” she says and looks over my shoulder.
“Come and find me when your done with your work,” she nods her head towards me with a snide look as she says work. I roll my eyes as she walks off.
“That didn’t go well,” Dagan says, stepping to my side as I drink my beer.
“You don’t say,” I reply sarcastically.
“Some might say you were jealous,” he comments, watching me very closely for my reaction.
"And those same people would be wrong," I say, finishing my drink and reaching for another one. I pull the bottle cap off, chucking it in the box and walking off from Dagan, who is still chuckling. I stop when I get near the people dancing and down the rest of my drink, before sliding into the crowd. I close my eyes, dancing to the music and trying to forget everything. Trying to ignore how jealous it makes me to think of Dagan with that stupid girl.
“You’re dripping snow on the ground, what’s making you so mad,” Dagan whispers in my ear, as his hands slide around my waist, pulling me against his toned body.
“How much have you had to drink?” I ask, still not opening my eyes but letting him control my hips, keeping our bodies moving in time to the slow music. Every movement is sensual, and he knows what he is doing. I hate that I like it.
“Not enough,” he whispers to me. We both dance silently for a long time, moving our bodies together like we know each other much better than we actually do.
“This isn’t smart,” I say, feeling how turned on he is as he's pressed against my back.
“No, it isn’t,” he agrees and breaks away from me. I turn in time to see him pushing through the dancers, his hands in tight fists at his sides. I mentally curse myself over and over as I manoeuvre through the people and look around to see the castle in the distance. I can’t see Korbin anywhere, or Elias, but I have a feeling he isn’t here at all. My dragon can’t smell him, or Korbin near for that matter. I walk away from the party, straight towards the castle as I try not to think about Dagan, Korbin, Elias or hell, even Thorne. I should be thinking about Jace, my boyfriend who just died, and yet here I am. My dragon is clearly already over him, but she is an animal, so it’s expected in a way. She relies on instincts, not her heart, and I just can't process my own feelings right now. Whatever she is thinking, can never be, because they are dragon guards. To let them love me, and allow myself to love them, it would break the curse, but they would lose their dragons.
“Danger,” my dragon whispers, just before I hear a branch broken to my left. I stop in my tracks, sniffing the air. I don’t catch a scent, but I trust my dragon.
“Which way?” I ask her.
“Left,” she replies, so I do the smart thing, and run to the right. I scream when a dagger flies past my arm, cutting my shoulder, and I nearly hit a tree with the distraction. Another dagger sails past my head, landing in the tree beside my head, and I duck around it. I look around as I keep running, seeing nothing but trees, and I realise that my best shot is to shift or shoot some ice at them.
“I got you,” a voice says, just as I slam into a hard chest. I glance up to see Elias looking over my head. He pushes me behind him, and both his hands light up with fire. I jump when Elias darts forward, grabbing a dagger with a hand that’s literally on fire. He spins, throwing the dagger back in the direction of my attacker. We hear a grunt, and then the sound of a body hitting the ground.
“Problem solved, are you ok?” Elias asks, the fire disappearing from his hands as he walks over to me. I lift my arm, turning it so I can see the cut isn’t healing.
“It must have been dragonglass, or I would have healed by now,” I comment, and my eyes widen as Elias pulls off his shirt. The tattoos I have seen on his arms, also cover his entire chest. There’s a large red dragon across his ribs, and a row of symbols I don't recognize over his heart and continued all the way down his v line into his jeans. I wonder where they stop?
“Don’t get too excited, we need to stop the bleeding,” he laughs at my wide eyes, which I narrow as he steps closer.
“Eh, I’ve seen better,” I shrug, trying to ignore the six pack on display, and the way his chest is so toned. Bloody hell, all I can think of is licking it. There is something seriously wrong with me.
“Really? Somehow, I doubt it, my naughty princess,” he chuckles, brushing his naked chest against my body as he lifts my arm.
�
��Try not to scream, this might hurt,” he says, as he wraps the shirt around my arm, and then pulls hard. I rest my head on his shoulder as I try not to scream, but a whimper escapes despite my best efforts.
“That will stop the bleeding, but I bet your tree spirit could heal it up for you,” he says, and I lift my head off my shoulder to meet his dark eyes.
“How did you know?” I ask.
“I broke into your room tonight because I smelt a dragon in there that shouldn’t have been. It seems your little tree spirit had put a barrier up anyway, so I couldn’t get in. I followed the scent of the dragon out here, and I’m glad I did,” he comments.
“You broke into my room?” I ask.
“Out of everything I just said, that’s the bit you’re focused on? Technically, I just walked in, as the door was open from the dragon that broke in first,” he replies.
“I suppose it’s not that bad then,” I say dryly. He laughs and steps closer to me, boxing me in against the tree at my back.
“There's just something about you...what is it that draws me in?" he asks, making my breath catch. I can't escape or look anywhere other than into his eyes.
“Is it you or your dragon that is interested?” I ask, wondering how much of him is in control, because his eyes are naturally dark, and I can’t tell.
“My dragon and I are divided on you princess,” he says, and goes to say something else, when we hear Korbin shout.
“What is going on here?” Elias moves away from me, and I look over to see Korbin stood watching us, blatant anger all over his face.
“Kor…I need you to take the princess to her room. She is hurt, and I need to deal with the body of the attacker,” Elias says.
“Hurt? What the fuck happened, Eli?” Korbin demands, somehow looking even angrier than before as he walks over to us. He steps right in front of me, lifting my arm.
“Ow, that hurts,” I say, pulling my arm away.
“We can’t leave her alone, nowhere is safe apparently,” Korbin tells Elias, who looks at me for a long time before answering.
“You need to stay with her tonight, and I will find Dagan and explain. We should sleep in her room for protection now,” Korbin comments.
“That’s not–” I go to protest but they both ignore me.
“I don’t want a damn roommate!” I shout at them, and they finally pay attention to me.
“Well, you have three now, get over it,” Elias says.
“Four, you’re forgetting Thorne,” I say, not knowing why I feel I have to remind them.
“He can’t be trusted,” Elias says, but Korbin shakes his head.
“With her, he can, trust me on that,” Korbin says. They stare at each other for a while before Elias gives in.
“Take her back. I’m taking the body to her uncle,” he says and walks off into the forest. I stare after him, until I can't see any trace of him anymore. What is Elias Fire doing to me?
Chapter 18
Korbin
What the fucking hell is wrong with me? I can’t get the image of Elias pressed so close to Isola out of my head. My dragon was ready to fight him, one of my oldest friends, over a girl that isn’t mine. A girl that can never be mine because of the curse.
“Elias thinks Bee will heal me,” Isola says quietly, as we climb up the steps of the castle, heading towards her room.
“Bee?” I ask her, having no idea what she is going on about.
“Bee is the tree spirit’s name, or what she told me,” Isola shrugs.
“Interesting, so she can speak?” I ask.
“Not exactly, she’s only said Bee,” she chuckles, her laugh light and sweet. It’s annoyingly attractive, but then everything about her is. From her shiny, soft looking blonde hair to her curvy body that I find my eyes admiring far too often. We get to her door before I have to answer her. I open it, seeing the massive blue tree first.
“Did Bee do that?” I ask, closing the door behind us and walking over. The tree has a green pod hanging from it, and it has an actual little door on it.
“Yep, on her first night. I’m meant to take the plant back to the teacher with knowledge on what it does,” Isola says as she sits on her bed and starts undoing Elias shirt, “But I can’t take that tree back. I can’t even move it, and I still have no idea what it does.”
“I can help you find out. You need to test the leaves or any fruit it makes,” I say, stepping closer to the tree and stroking a blue leaf. The door to the pod bursts open and Bee pops her green head out, looking up at me.
“Isola needs you,” I tell Bee, who immediately flies out the door and straight over to Isola. She lands in Isola’s lap, and I watch as they stare at each other.
“You don’t have to help me; I’m sure I can sort it out myself,” she tells Bee, who flies around Isola, looking for something before flying back over to the tree. She goes inside her pod, and comes out with a tiny white bag.
“Where did you get a bag?” Isola asks.
“Bee make,” Bee answers in a tiny voice.
“Remember that elder tree spirits make dragon clothes, woven with magic. It makes sense that Bee could make small items,” I comment.
“Bee,” Bee says with a happy nod, and flies over to Isola. I watch as she gets a handful of what looks like glitter, and sprinkles it onto Isola’s arm above the cut.
“Damn that hurts,” Isola whimpers, as she closes her eyes. I walk over, kneeling in front of her as Bee keeps sprinkling the magic powder on the cut. I take Isola’s hands in mine, letting her squeeze them as tightly as she needs.
“Sleep,” Bee comments, just as Isola falls forward onto my lap, and I catch her, lifting her in my arms. She tucks her head into my shoulder, her lips brushing my neck as her breathing gets heavier.
“Bee done,” Bee comments, making me look away from Isola and watch as she carries the bag back to her pod, and slams the door closed behind her. That’s one interesting tree spirit.
I slip onto the bed, rolling Isola down next to me as gently as I can, remembering to make sure she doesn’t sleep on her hurt arm. She immediately cuddles into the pillow as I reach down to take her shoes off. I pull the blanket up, tucking her in, and she whines softly in her sleep. I don’t know what I’m thinking as I stroke a finger down her cheek, and tuck a little piece of her hair behind her ear.
“Sleep well, Doll,” I comment quietly, and look at her arm before moving away, seeing its nearly completely healed.
“Thanks Bee,” I whisper to the pod as I walk past and go over to the window seat. I look over at Isola, seeing how peaceful she looks as she sleeps. You wouldn’t know she was just attacked a few hours earlier. I like that about her, that she doesn’t destroy herself because of everything that’s happened to her. It must have been soul crushing to lose Jacian, the boyfriend she grew up with and likely loved. What would have happened if he lived? I doubt the fire rebellion would have as much support if there were two heirs to the throne. I get as comfy as I can before closing my eyes and trying to drift off to sleep, when someone knocks on the door. I groan, getting up and walking over, pulling it open to see Dagan on the other side. He pushes into the room, heading straight over to Isola and looking down at her.
“Is she alright?” he asks me, his voice gruff and deep, almost a growl.
“She’s fine,” I say, shutting the door. I wait for him to notice the tree spirit, but he doesn’t look away from Isola for a long time.
“It was my fault; I left her out in the woods, and I damn well shouldn’t have. I knew you had gone back to the castle, and I still left her alone,” he says.
“They would have gotten to her either way,” I comment, knowing who ever it was would have planned some way to get her alone.
“I saw the body, it was a student. Her uncle has sent the guards after his family and kicked his brother out of the school, just in case,” he says. I hate that the punishments for attacking the throne are so high. There is a good chance his family didn’t know anything about
the attack on Isola, but her father won’t care. He kills anyone that is an enemy, no matter what.
“Damn,” I comment, running my hand over my beard as I look away.
“And when the fuck did she get a tree spirit?” Dagan asks, pointing at the pod and knowing straight away what it is.
“Bee, the tree spirit, marked her when we were on a run. I think Isola might even be able to use light magic, but I haven’t told her yet. It’s probably not a good idea when she needs to be in perfect harmony with her dragon before even attempting magic,” I say, looking back at Isola. She could be the most powerful dragon in years if she is able to use light magic. She could be the most powerful queen Dragca has ever seen.
“Light magic and tree spirits, it all sounds like fairy tales. There hasn’t been a tree spirit familiar in thousands of years, or a dragon that can use light magic,” Dagan replies.
“They say that when dark magic rises, light magic will rise to fight it,” I say as Dagan steps away from the bed.
“I don’t know a thing about magic, but I don’t like this. It doesn’t feel right,” he tells me.
“Nothing has felt normal since Isola got here. Something feels wrong, and I know that,” I reply, “but we have a job to do, and we can’t focus on anything else until it’s done,” I remind Dagan.
“I will see you in the morning after your run,” he calls as he walks out of the room. I go back to my window seat, lying my head back and getting some much-needed sleep.
Chapter 19
Isola
Two hands grab my face tightly, almost hurting me, as I hear a voice shouting but I can’t understand it.
“Who?” I ask, looking up to see a blurry face staring down at me, mouthing words I can’t really understand.
“I know you think you hate me, but not like this, not before I can tell you how much of a fucking idiot I am,” the man says, but I can’t make out who it is.
“I hate you,” I spit out, but for some reason, it feels like I’m lying.