by Jada Fisher
“I am aware that meeting me is what pulled you into our world. And we both know that you must stay here because it is too dangerous for you to be anywhere else.
“It is my duty, as your host and friend, to make sure that all of your needs are being met. Food, clothing, companionship. It took seeing my cousin providing you sufficient things to wear to make me realize that I had shoved you into a corner to be used like a tool when useful, exactly the type of behavior I loathe from many of my elders.
“So, I hope you can forgive me, and please do believe that I will improve my behavior going forward. There is no excuse for you having to seek me out for updates on the search for you sister or wait weeks for clothing.”
Huh. Well, that was the last thing I expected. “I just figured you were busy,” I said with a shrug. “Honestly, if you knew my life before this, you would realize how much you’ve already spoiled me with three square meals a day and all of them having fresh fruits and red meat.”
“Was that not the case before?”
I shrugged. “It depended on my hours at work. Sometimes we ate okay, some weeks I ingested way too much ramen, but the point is, I am grateful for what you have done for me, not what you haven’t.”
“What is ramen?”
“It’s a very cheap noodle that costs about twenty cents. It’s pretty much a staple of all poor people’s diets. So, trust me, you are doing very well by me.”
He shook his head emphatically. “That is not enough. Do you not see, Davie? You deserve so much more. You are strong, and you have handled everything that has been thrown at you with more poise than I could ever muster. You should stand up, and demand what you are owed. And I believe you are owed much.”
Where was all of this coming from?
“Well, I don’t know about that, but I certainly appreciate the lovely sentiment,” I said. Finally, we reached the doors to the library and I barely stopped myself from heaving a sigh of relief. I didn’t want Bron to think that his opinions tired me but thinking of myself the way he seemed to think of me sounded absolutely exhausting.
“I do know, though, and I will do better.”
He opened the door for me and I headed through, chuckling slightly. “You’ve already literally saved my life twice from attacking dragons. I don’t know how you can do much better than that.”
“Then I will find a way!” His hand gently reached up and stroked one of my blonde tresses. I hadn’t exactly had time or supplies to dye it, so my roots were definitely coming in strong. If this kept up, I was going to have to give up on turning my hair funky colors and just live with the dusky brown that it was. “How is your head, by the way?”
“Back to normal, I think. Or at least whatever’s normal for me.”
“That’s good. I know it is in your nature to downplay everything, but Mallory told me that you had already practically rescued yourself when she arrived, and that you managed to generate a shield to save her. That really is amazing.”
“What would be amazing would be being able to cast that shield again. Despite all my training, I haven’t managed that.” I sighed and hopped onto one of the desks I liked to meditate on. Maybe it was disrespectful, but Velas never said anything so I figured it was alright. “Anyway, you said that you wanted to talk someplace private?”
“Ah yes, I did, didn’t I?” Suddenly, he seemed uncertain and I could see the faintest of flushes to his cheeks as he answered. “It is just, well, you were asking questions in that ballroom that I could not reply to freely. You see, my position as a prince is complicated. I must balance my duties to my people and my duties to myself. It is a delicate line, and I must be careful what I say around those who might overhear.”
“Sooooo, basically, you have to watch what you say around your subjects, court, and relatives, so you couldn’t admit that you don’t want to be this war general thing at all?”
“It is more complex than that, but yes.” He sighed and crossed the room to sit in a chair in front of me. For the first time since I had met him, he looked vulnerable. Stress flitted across his face and worry hung heavy behind his bright eyes. “I don’t like violence. Or fighting. I do it when I must, but I would much rather create than destroy. However, it seems my path in life does not allow me to act as such. If my people deem me to be their best hope as their leader general, then that is what I will be. What I must be.”
I reached out and laid a tentative but supporting hand on his shoulder. I think it was the first time I touched him of my own volition, and instead of a vision shocking through me, I only felt…nicer things. “Hey, if you ask me, having a general who wants to avoid any unnecessary violence is a good thing. Maybe then we can avoid an all-out war.”
“That, I doubt. It is obvious that the Dragon Supremacy faction knows that you are here, and they will stop at nothing to get their hands on you.”
“They’re really willing to risk all of that for me?”
“Their minions saw you conjure a shield before their very eyes, and somehow subvert their attempt to kidnap you. It’s safe to assume that the scope of your powers has been greatly exaggerated on their end.”
“Great. Boy, if they ever do capture me, they’re in for one heck of a disappointment.”
Bron stiffened at that, and he reached up to grip my hand that was still on his shoulder. “I will never allow that.”
“I know, I know. It was a joke, relax.”
“Relax,” he parroted wryly. “Honestly, I think that I have forgotten how.”
I laughed lightly and finally removed my hand. It instantly felt colder at the absence, but I tucked that thought away for another time. “What did you do to wind down before all this happened? Throw a football? Watch movies? Something specifically dragon-y that I wouldn’t have a clue about?”
“I… I like to dance.”
“Dance? Like boogey fever or break dancing?”
“Uh, no. Just simple dancing, with a partner, slow and calm music. It’s…nice. I used to have to practice all of the time for formal balls and galas, and it was tedious at first, but then I had a lovely, and beautiful, instructor that turned me right around.”
“Really?” I asked, chortling slightly. “You like to ballroom dance to relax?”
“Why do you laugh? It is a perfectly normal way to decompress.”
“Oh, really? Then prove it.”
“Alright.” He stood, offering me his hand, and I realized that situation I had put myself in. “Shall we?”
“No, no, no,” I said quickly, refusing to stand from the desk. “I don’t dance.”
“But if you do not dance, how can I prove what you ask?” He took a step toward me and suddenly, we were very, very close. I could feel his breath ghost over my face and my heart reacted almost comically. “I would very much like to show you.”
I thought about pushing my way past him and quickly exiting the awkward scenario, but something kept me from fleeing. I could feel my face grow warm and I was probably starting to sweat grossly along my forehead, but I still took his hand and let him pull me to my feet.
“Don’t we need music?” I asked. Although this situation was already pretty awkward, I could imagine it getting ten times worse if we tried to do anything in total silence.
“Of course, one moment.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and flipped to some playlist. It seemed strange to see a dragon prince with a smart device, but I supposed that was the world I lived in now.
Eventually, he picked a song and set his phone on the table. It took a couple of seconds before I heard a low, lilting sort of melody that sounded like it was being played on some sort of woodwind.
He took a step back, still pulling my hand along with him. I followed him to the center of the room, where he finally let go of me. A small smile was on his face as he turned to me, and he gestured for me to come closer. I took a single step, but he just shook his head and gestured me closer again.
One more step, and then another, and then we were practically
flush with each other. One hand wrapped around my back, resting on the soft rise right above my backside, while the other extended out at shoulder level, just like in the movies.
I tried to play it cool as I rested my own hand on his shoulder than grabbed his extended one. Blood was rushing through my body and I was sure I was a bright pink by this point.
But Bron didn’t say anything. In fact, the way he was looking at me stole all of the words out of my own mouth too. What exactly was going on here?
I was the fat, tall, poor girl. Life gave me three chances to be an appealing person and I struck out on all three of them. People liked to argue with me about the tallness, but too many boys didn’t like dating a woman they had to look up at. The other two were much less arguable, but still as pervasive.
No matter how someone tried to spin it, I wasn’t the girl who had princes fight over her. I wasn’t the lovely damsel that people fell in love with on first sight. I wasn’t the girl who had to worry about bad guys ravishing her or wars being fought and won over her beauty.
I was fine with that. I had learned long ago that that wasn’t my path. I could still distinctly remember standing on stage in high school, trying out for the part of Cinderella, and having the director tell me there were just some parts I would never be meant to play. I could have let that moment shrink me, but I had refused. I wore my fat, tall, artsy-poorness with pride.
But if all of that was true, why was Bron looking at me like I was the most amazing thing he had ever seen?
“Just follow my lead,” he murmured, voice low and melodious.
I nodded, my mouth too dry to speak, and he started to move. At first, I was afraid that I would trip over his feet, or just generally make a fool of myself, but he took small steps while making sure to telegraph what he was doing next by tilting his head, squeezing my extended hand, or drumming his hands on the small of my back.
The rhythm of the song started to become more natural to me, and I felt my tension begin to ease. There was indeed a calming sort of nature to it, feeling the warmth of Bron’s body against mine, the thrumming of the melody through my steps. It was easy to imagine myself away from reality, floating free from all the chains of destiny that seemed to bind me to so many uncomfortable situations.
The song ended and the next one came on, then the next. As the melodies passed, I grew closer and closer to Bron until finally my head was on his shoulder. I could hear his heart thundering, much faster than any human’s, but it was incredibly reassuring.
I wanted the moment to last forever. For once in my life, I was experiencing a scene out of a movie that didn’t involve me running for my life. It was a nice change of pace and I didn’t want to give up.
“See?” Bron said quietly, his voice almost a whisper. “Pretty relaxing, right?”
I turned my head to look up at him only to realize that our faces were only a breath away. In fact, if he wasn’t six-three, our noses would definitely be touching.
“Y-yes,” I stuttered, completely surprised by our proximity.
I could feel his breath across my face once more, mixing with the faint scent of his cologne and whatever it was that dragons smelled like. He looked down at me, with half-lidded eyes full of emotions that I didn’t understand, but then his face was moving toward me.
Was…was he going to kiss me?! And more importantly, did I want him to?
I couldn’t think, couldn’t react. I was so stuck in the moment that everything went blank. Just when I was sure his lips were about to touch mine, the music cut off with a buzz and we were standing in total silence.
That seemed to break the spell and Bron snapped upright. “My phone must have died,” he said, cheeks pinkening slightly. I hadn’t imagined that that had happened, had I? He had definitely been trying to kiss me!
“Seems so,” I said, stepping away from his hold and nearly running into the same desk that I had been sitting on earlier. “I…I think I should get back to my room.”
“That seems like a good idea.” He paused for a moment, then seemed to recover. “Shall I walk you? I prefer that you don’t wander alone.”
I thought about turning him down, but I realized that I didn’t want to be alone either. “Sure. Let’s go.”
He offered his arm once more and I took it. Once more, my thoughts were incredibly full as I headed back to my current home, but this time, they were a little bit brighter than usual.
9
On the Breadth of Nightmares Comes the Truth
“I’m just saying, I don’t like this whole idea of war and trusting these dragon-folks. I mean, you guys left their society and raised me solely with humans for a reason.”
I looked up from the book I was reading about ancient seers, my attention piqued by Mallory’s conversation with her parents. Ever since the small group of drakes had managed to sneak past whatever magical barriers had been keeping this place safe, she insisted on following me wherever I went, and since apparently the danger was so great that her parents refused to leave her alone either, we traveled around the palace like our own herd.
Sometimes I didn’t mind it, but sometimes it was a bit trying. I was used to being more of a solitary person with only my sister and occasionally Mallory to talk to. Sure, I had to paste on a customer service smile all the time at work and be pleasant, but that was literally my job. In real life, I was much less outgoing. I preferred to sit with my sister and draw for hours while she watched movies.
“We left because we thought there would be more opportunities for half-dwarfs in human society, but there won’t be any opportunities if we’re all dead or captured by the Dragon Supremacy faction.”
“Wow, way to be pessimistic.” Mallory pouted. “I just don’t like the way they look at Davie, okay? Like she’s some sort of big boomstick instead of a living, breathing person.”
“I’m not quite sure what else you want to do,” I said, clearly surprising all of them by chiming in. “If we leave, we’re dead. If we stay, I might be used or end up dead. My sister might be dead. All we can do is hope my visions help guide us along.”
“Or maybe you’ll just generate a shield big enough to just permanently protect half of the city forever.”
“Yeah, that’s real practical,” I said with a snort.
“Wait, you can generate shields?” That was Mallory’s dad, to whom I had only ever spoken maybe three times in my entire life. He was a short man, with a thick, ginger beard and dark brown hair.
“Um, I did once. So, I can probably do it again. Maybe.” I raised the book I was reading. “According to this, Mihana the Oracle once was able to foresee the coming of a massive storm and saved the life of many other-folk. She also spoke of the end of her own kind, so it’s a mixed bag. I mean, she was right, but still a bummer.”
“Anything about her generating shields in there?” Mallory said, crossing over to look at the book as well.
“No. But Kiloa the Furious apparently once made an entire town disappear.”
“Disappear? What, she, like, blew it up?”
I shook my head. “Nope. It just disappeared.” I looked down to the pages and read more. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!”
“What? What is it?”
“It’s the island of Atlantis. According to this, she’s the one who made it vanish.”
“Atlantis? Is that supposed to mean something?”
I gave her a look. “You know, the island of Atlantis? Sunk into the sea and been a legend for approximately forever.”
“Oh, are you serious? You’re telling me an oracle made it go boom?”
“Again, no, not boom. Vanish. It was just gone. No debris. No damage. It was just…not there anymore.”
“Huh. So, it’s not just telling the future and all that. You guys pack some serious psychic punch.”
“Apparently.” I sighed and looked back at the book. “I don’t know if every oracle has the same powers or if it’s different for each one. There’s not really a clear answer
on that.”
“Huh. I guess I get why the dragons are so obsessed with you then. You don’t just tell them how battles go, but you also can just make their entire stronghold go poof!”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I didn’t feel like I was some all-powerful entity. I still was Davie, the pudgy or fat (depending on the season) barista with overly dyed hair and probably early onset carpal tunnel from all my drawing. I didn’t even have a college degree or any real-world skills. I was just an orphan and a scarred up, traumatized one at that.
I knew that I had done amazing things, impossible things, and I had seen things that no human would ever believe. But… I didn’t know. It was complicated.
I figured I’d had enough for the night and set the book aside. “Hey, I think I’m gonna turn in for the night. Are you guys okay with that or do you want to turn in with me?”
The three of them looked at each other, as if debating, and I took that as my cue to rush out. I was in my twenties, after all. I could walk myself to bed.
But almost as soon as I opened the door, I was face-to-face with a muscled chest. Blinking, I took a step back to see none other than Baelfyre standing there, already equipped with a crooked smile.
“Oh, hello. I thought I might be able to find you here,” he said, leaning in the doorway like he was some sort of hotshot. Well, I guessed he was, considering he was a lesser dragon prince. “Bron unfortunately is caught up in a tailoring, so he sent me to make sure you get dinner and escort you to your room.” He offered his arm and it was such a crude imitation of Bron’s usual gesture that my skin crawled for a moment. While I was still torn between trusting my vision version of him and trusting his apparent kindness, I wasn’t in the mood to entertain the mental debate.
However, I managed to stop my reaction and walk past him politely. “I’m fine.”
But his long legs caught up with me easily, his eyes glinting with mischief. “I know you are, but I’d like to make sure you’re taken care of anyway.”
