Starlight

by Adrienne Woods

  “Don’t promise things you won’t witness, Elena,” he said in a very loud tone. He seemed quite upset again, but his smile appeared as I flinched. “You are still the same pathetic little princess you were the last time I saw you.”

  “You know nothing about me.”

  “How did you claim the Rubicon, Elena?” A grin appeared on his face.

  “Get that tail away from me and I’ll show you.”

  He looked at Nora and both started to laugh.

  “Get on with it Paul, please. You’ve toyed with her enough.”

  “This really wasn’t part of the plan, you know. And it’s going to be a slow painful death because we need that precious blood of yours.”

  “You are and will always be a fucking asshole.”

  He laughed again and winked.

  He lifted his hand and I saw a silver knife in his grip. The point was sharp, and when he swung his arm back down, I closed my eyes, and just saw Blake in my mind. If I died, it would be with him as the last person on my mind. I waited for the entry, but the only thing I heard was the grunt that left his mouth and I opened my eyes.

  He was struggling and his entire body was shaking with all the strength he’d used trying to push the knife into my neck, but he couldn’t.

  What was this?

  The earth tremble as something collided with it.

  Paul grabbed me and placed me in front of his body. The knife was still close to my neck.

  My eyes caught Blake he pulled a robe over his head and it fell over his body like silk. “Nice job, Taylor.”

  Paul’s hand went over my mouth just as I wanted to yell that it was Nora. I grunted and Blake looked at us again. He started to laugh. “What are you trying to do, Jerry? Or should I say Paul?”

  My eyes were on Nora as she moved out of Blake’s eyesight. I squirmed again. He can’t die like Lucian.

  “She’s a feisty one, isn’t she? I bet she tastes just as sweet,” he said with his mouth close to my neck, I could feel his lips turning into a smile as they lingered softly on my skin. He loved every moment knowing that Blake was going to die the same death as Lucian. It’s Nora, Blake! It Nora, Taylor is Nora. I kept thinking it as loud as I could, but nothing happened.

  “Are you trying to piss me off?” Blake sounded calm. “Believe me you don’t want me more pissed off than what I already am. I’m dangerous when I’m pissed off.”

  Paul laughed and I saw Nora striking with her tail toward Blake. I let out another agonizing grunt and squirmed like hell, but nothing was working. Paul was too strong, and I couldn’t even use his strength to get out of this one.

  Just then, Blake turned around, grabbing her tail just before it struck him.

  Neither of them expected that. I hadn’t expected that. It felt as if I could breathe again.

  “You think I didn’t know? You reeked!” He yelled at her.

  She ran toward him, trying to get her tail out of his grip.

  “And you are not my problem.” He pulled her tail harder and she stumbled. She was off her feet, in the air, and collided hard against a boulder behind him. She fell on the ground, stone cold.

  Paul grunted, “You will pay for that.”

  Another dragon landed hard.

  Emanual changed and picked Nora up as he threw something in Blake’s direction, which he caught and put it into the sleeve of his robe.

  “Blake!” Paul yelled and tried again to stab me with the knife. I squirmed again as tears welled up in my eyes.

  “I swear to you, I will kill her. Let Nora go.”

  “No, you won’t because you can’t even push that knife into her neck.”

  Paul breathed heavily and I knew that Blake was doing this; he was keeping him from hurting me. Paul seemed to only realize that now too.

  “You killed my best friend.”

  “I did you a favor,” Paul spat.

  “Fuck you,” Blake said harshly and moved fast towards us. The movement was so quick. In a flash, one of his hands was subduing Paul in some death grip, another was around my arm, and then with a shove I was flying through the air without Blake. The shriek came first and then a claw grabbed me and was taking me away, away from the danger, away from Blake.

  “Elena!” Becky’s voice yelled from above. “Are you okay?”

  “We have to go back, Becky.”

  “To the farm,” Becky ordered George and he did.

  “No, we have to go back!” I yelled but she ignored me.

  The clearing disappeared fast and I only saw treetops as if the clearing had never existed.

  I had to get back to Blake.

  George landed and he opened his claw. I rolled on the grass, got up to my feet and started running toward the forest again.

  A pair of arms grabbed me, Raymond’s. “Calm down Princess, you are safe.”

  “Blake is alone.”

  “He is the Rubicon, just calm down. He will come back. You are safe.”

  Blake

  THE SCUM GRUNTED as his nostrils flared at me. My arm under his chin kept him against the boulder.

  If he could breathe fire, he would have. Then he started to laugh. If I didn’t know darkness, this laugh would have made me back the fuck away. He was as sadistic as they came.

  “I know what you are trying to do. Mocking me with your laughter isn’t going to help, Paul. How did you do it? How did you manage to fool Emanual the way you have?”

  “Didn’t your mother tell you not to play with your food, Blake?”

  “I never listen to my mother, Paul. Something we surely have in common. Now answer my question.”

  He laughed. “You don’t scare me,” he had a huge grin plastered on his face.

  I took out the iron dagger Emanual had thrown at me when he landed, and sliced his torso. The movement was so fast and I barely felt the blade tearing his flesh.

  Paul grunted. His grin instantly disappeared.

  “Don’t let me get creative. Now tell me.”

  He breathed hard through his nostrils.

  He stared at me with shallow, dark, angry eyes. “There is nothing about darkness I can’t teach you, Blake. Fine,” he grunted. “I became one of Emanual’s best soldiers. Proved myself in Etan, and saved his life,” his smirk appeared again and he chuckled. “Reminds you of a recipe, doesn’t it?”

  It was how he’d won all of us over, me in particular, when he came to the academy. “Yes, you are seriously good at brewing trust, Paul.”

  He cocked his head. “I am one of the best.” He smiled. “What I don’t get is how the hell you are going to kill me with that mermaid’s tail at our feet? Surely not by using an iron dagger? You are more than that, Blake.”

  I smiled. “You know me so well, Paul. Always had this curiosity for things you would never understand.” I looked at Xaline’s tail and smiled. “I knew Xaline well. I know what she was capable of, what her tail can do. She took my powers easily through Elena, but she struggled slightly in that department with me.”

  Paul’s face froze. “You’re bluffing.”

  “Nope, and I promised Elena that when I found you, I will make you pay for all the heartache you brought on her.”

  “I didn’t kill Lucian, Blake. Nora did.” He was a weasel too.

  “I’m not speaking about Lucian’s death. Nora will be dealt with, just not by my doing.”

  “Don’t do this. You’ll have a Wyvern war on your hands. I’m seen as a prince in the Wyvern colonies.”

  “Elena is a princess with the dragons, and Lucian was a prince, so I say tit for tat.”

  “Don’t be stupid Blake. You can’t win this without our alliances.”

  I laughed. “You’re seriously going to play that card? In what life do you think I will ever trust a Wyvern? Definitely not in this one. You made sure of that. Besides, I know what is going on in Etan. He rules the Wyverns. You call him the Wyvern King.”

  Paul’s nostrils and jaw muscles pumped. “Goran will find a way to tame you.”


  “I’m already tamed and claimed. I won’t break,” I yelled. “I can’t break to anyone’s will anymore.” I looked slightly away as I realized something. “You always knew, didn’t you?”

  “About what?”

  “Who Elena was?”

  He laughed. “You know so much, you figure it out.”

  I sliced him again on the other side of his torso.

  “Fuck!” He spat out the words, cried out of the pain and grunted at the same time.

  “I can do this all night. Don’t tempt me. Answer my damn question.”

  “Yes, okay, yes. I knew.” His demeanor finally changed. “I knew. Just like you did. Yet you still let her believe that I was her dragon.”

  “It was a different time for me. I didn’t want a rider. I’m not that Blake anymore. How did you know?”

  A faint smiled tugged on the corner of his lips. I sliced him again causing him bite down hard on his tongue to try to hide the pain.

  “My father told me that iron blades are like…” I searched for the right word. “Kryptonite, for you wyverns. Tell me, how does it feel for something so small to have so much power over you?”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Oh, really,” I lift up the blade again.

  “Okay,” he lifted his hand, begging me to stop.

  “How did you know?” My voice grew slightly stronger and my arm pushed tighter into his throat.

  “Fox.”

  “Fox, who killed her father? He worked with you?”

  “He was one of Goran’s most loyal followers. Goran promised him Elm when he rules. When the Creepers consumed Etan, he still did what Goran asked him to do: find alliances past the wall, so when the right time comes, we will have an army. But he found more than just an alliance. He saw Elena a few months after they left.”

  “How?” No Moonbolt could see the true royals’ future.

  “He was nine hundred fucking years old, Blake. I’m sure I don’t have to explain that to you.”

  “He told Goran.”

  “No, he told Cain who withheld it from Goran. Said that he should bring him the girl. Cain hadn’t bargained on so many dragons protecting her.”

  “And let me guess, Cain never mentioned this after Fox’s death.”

  “No, he knew Goran would never trust him again, so he kept it to himself. Goran revealed her existence after you guys found that Dragonian in the forest.”

  “You Wyverns have no back bones. You are so weak. In what way did you ever think I would let you rule Paegeia? Or the world?”

  “Oh, aren’t we courageous all of a sudden. The light doesn’t suit you, Blake.”

  “Neither does the dark,” I sliced him again and he backed away slightly. He started to laugh again.

  “If you want to kill me, do it,” he said. “It won’t matter. Goran already knows that you are coming, Blake.”

  I froze. “Bullshit.”

  “You don’t believe me? Fine, it’s your funeral. Or maybe it’ll be Elena’s.”

  I hated what came out of his mouth and sliced him one more time. His shirt was already drenched in blood from all the cuts.

  He laughed again. “You seriously lost plenty when Elena claimed you—even your sadistic mind. You no longer scare me, pup.”

  I hated being called Pup, but I needed to find out more about Goran.

  “How does he know? Emanual would’ve suspected something.”

  He laughed again, mocking me and stirring up my blood.

  “I’m not telling you shit.” He spat into my face.

  I closed my eyes and opened them again.

  My hand ripped off his shirt and I stuck my fingers into one of his cuts, tearing into it and ripping some of his muscle. He doubled over, heaving and breathing heavily from the pain, but no sound came from his mouth.

  “You are wrong about that pup comment. Now tell me what I want to know. How did you get past Emanual?”

  I pulled my hand out from inside of him. He breathed heavily, not even a match for me to fight against.

  “The first group. We went in with the first group. Taylor went to see Goran. I let everyone else believe that she was still there.” He begged me with his eyes. “Please, Blake.”

  I could feel something brewing in my mind. Friends, he showed me my friendship with him, the secrets of mine he kept.

  “Stop that, it’s not going to work this time.” I pushed his thoughts out of my head and they disappeared.

  “You are truly one of a kind, Blake.”

  “I’ve learned the hard way to keep my thoughts to myself.”

  “And now it’s biting you in the ass, or so I’ve heard. The way you threw your little tantrums when you couldn’t hear Elena’s anymore.” He still mocked me. What would I have to do to instill fear in this fucker’s head?

  “Don’t push me. Making me angry is just going to stretch this out longer. My heart and head is always in the same place. To think, you won’t even be there when Nora screams out for you.”

  His nostrils flared again.

  “You killed Dickers.”

  He didn’t speak.

  “You want me to squeeze some of your organs next?” I yelled. “Tell me, did you kill Dickers?”

  “Yes, okay. He was supposed to be in that fucking meeting we were all at. The only problem was that I wasn’t there. I just made them believe I was. He found me in Helmut’s office searching for things.”

  “And he realized what you were.”

  “Yes, I had no choice but to kill him.”

  “No, you love every single thing you do, Paul. You are sadistic little fucking asshole, who won’t be there when Nora is going to scream out for you.”

  “Fuck you, I will find Elena and I swear, Blake. You will regret every…”

  I snapped his neck. He didn’t deserve a quick death, but I was done with him. I couldn’t look at his face anymore. The weasel threatened Elena. Over my fucking dead body.

  I had promised Elena and made a vow that I would avenge Lucian’s death. That was repaid.

  I bent down next to his lifeless body. “Don’t make promises you will never keep, Paul.” I got up and went over to Xaline’s tail and picked it up, dropping it a good few meters from me. I’d meant what I said about her not being able to take my abilities, but it was only a blocking technique. My abilities did disappear for the short time she was near me.

  I went back to him and tore off his head with both my hands. Blood spilled but it wasn’t much since he was already dead. I took the dagger and cut out the tattoo on his arm and gathered all his jewelry. A nice gift for Cain. They might think I’m tamed but I’m still as dangerous as ever.

  My pink kiss appeared in the palm of my hand. “Try to fucking escape that, asshole.” I said and threw the flame on his body, watching it burn.

  I then took his head and walked with it back to the tail, picked up the tail, and left. If anyone had to give Sibian the news that his beloved daughter was dead, even if she was two steps away from psycho, it would be me.

  ELENA

  IT FELT LIKE forever, and Blake wasn’t back yet. King Helmut entered the farmhouse’s office. “Is it true, Wyverns are here?”

  “Calm down, it’s taken care of,” Sir Robert said and looked back down at his paperwork.

  Calm down! I felt like screaming.

  King Helmut saw me. “Are you okay?” he asked and I nodded.

  “Where is Blake?” he asked looking at Sir Robert who was busy with some sort of report.

  “Busy taking care of a problem.” He didn’t even sound worried.

  “Somebody has to go and help him!” I yelled and Sir Robert looked up.

  “He doesn’t need help, Princess. Nobody wants to witness what he does to Paul.”

  King Helmut froze. “Paul, as in Paul Sutton? He’s dead.”

  I flinched as tears were still in my eyes.

  “Elena, Paul is dead right?” he asked.

  “He will be after tonight,” Sir Robert answere
d.

  “He was alive all this time and you didn’t say anything?!” King Helmut sounded angry as he looked at both of us.

  “It wasn’t Paul that killed your son, it was the Hippogriff. Just wait for Blake.”

  “Where is Emanual?”

  “Busy, he will be back soon.” Sir Robert did all of the talking.

  King Helmut was furious that we’d lied to him and started pacing around.

  He didn’t even want to look at me. The times he did it was with a glare.

  “I didn’t know he was still alive. I didn’t know what I saw in that cave,” I spoke to King Helmut.

  He shook his head and stopped pacing. “Sir Robert is right, it wasn’t him that killed Lucian, but he could’ve led me to her, Elena. You knew how long I’ve searched for Nora.”

  “It was Taylor.”

  “What was Taylor?” King Helmut looked at Sir Robert.

  “Nora transformed herself into Taylor.”

  “How long?”

  “I don’t know, Helmut. I don’t think there was a soldier out there that used to be a Taylor.”

  He closed his eyes and when they opened they were hard. “You want to tell me that she has been under my nose this entire fucking time?!” he roared.

  I flinched and looked at King Helmut.

  “They were really good at hiding. They fooled all of us, not just Emanual. Wait for Blake, Helmut.” Sir Robert still sounded calm.

  Ten minutes later the door opened and Emanual entered with Blake behind him. I got up on my feet and ran over to him.

  I smacked into his body. “Shhh,” he kissed me on the head. “You are safe.” He blew out a gush of air. He gently pushed me away and held me at arm’s-length. “Why did you follow him, Elena?”

  “I didn’t know. I thought I would be able to wield my abilities. He killed…”

  “I know. Sibian already knows.”

  I stared at him. Where the hell is Paul “Is he…”

  “He is dead, Elena.”

  I buried my face in his chest.

  “We have another problem, Dad,” Blake spoke and I looked up at him.

  “What problem?” All of us spoke at the same time.