by G. Bailey
“Kor?” I prod. He rubs his beard, staring at the pod before looking at me and then back to the pod.
“You should touch it. If I’m right about what it is, it’s here for you, not me,” he says, looking at me in wonder.
“Is it dangerous?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“I don’t know exactly, but ancient magic is in the air, and it’s not calling me. It’s yours, whatever it is,” he looks down at me, “Can’t you feel the pull, doll?” he asks as I look back at the pod. I do feel something that makes me want to walk over to it.
“Go, I won’t let anything hurt you. I’m your dragon guard, and I don’t feel danger here,” he tells me. I know he can't lie to me about that, the curse won't let him put me in direct danger. It would be extremely difficult for him to get around it. I walk forward slowly, feeling the urge to touch the pod grow stronger with every step. I wonder if I fell on purpose? I wonder what kind of magic is calling me? This world was said to be full of magic years ago, both light and dark magic, but war destroyed so much of it over the years. It is said there is nothing pure left anymore, making dark magic more powerful than it's ever been. But then why does this pod smell so pure? I was hidden on Earth to ensure dragons that use dark magic couldn't get to me. There is no magic on Earth, it doesn’t work there. I step into the circle of logs, kneeling down in front of the pod. I feel a force pushing from it as I lower my hand towards it.
“Be careful,” Korbin warns, just as I touch it with my hand. I get thrown into the air, flying backwards, before smacking into a tree and sliding down. I open my eyes, and feel a burning sensation on my right hand. I lift it and see a green tree tattoo, right in the middle of my palm. It almost shines, a green glow emanating from it. I look over to see Korbin running towards me, but he stops when I stand, looking back at the pod. It’s open, a small green little fairy type thing in the middle of it, fast asleep.
“What is that?” I ask as Korbin looks away from it, and comes over to me.
“A baby tree spirit,” he whispers and lifts my hand, swearing under his breath before dropping it.
“It has marked you as its own, and you have to look after it now. It’s a blessing,” he explains to me, staring in awe at the tree spirit.
“They are very powerful when they are older, blessed with magic. It’s said the dragon they mark is destined for greatness. There hasn’t been a dragon blessed by a tree spirit in thousands of years, doll,” he says, looking down at me. He steps closer, rubbing a finger over my cheek. “It had to be you, didn’t it?” he says so quietly that I’m sure he didn’t mean to say it aloud.
“Kor,” I whisper, wondering what he is thinking as he stares back at me. His eyes glaze over, fire burning across them for a second, before he shakes his head and steps away from me.
“The tree spirit must have healed you, your cheek is completely mended. Pick her up, we can leave,” he says, walking away to stare up the hill.
“Are we friends now Kor?” I ask him.
“Seeing as we have cute little nicknames for each other, I would say so,” he says, a hint of humour lacing his words that makes me chuckle a little.
“Can I call you Kor-Kor? Or Korby?” I ask. When he glares at me, I put my hands in the air. “Too far? Okay, I get it,” I say, laughing as I walk over to the tree spirit. I lean down, scanning her long, glittering green hair, her pale green skin, and the tiny leaf she's wearing. She looks like a child, albeit an odd one. Picking her up with both hands, I tuck her into my coat and button it up so she's tightly snuggled in.
“Let’s go,” Korbin says, pointing to the left of the hill.
“We need to walk this way for about half an hour, and then we can climb a small set of rocks to get to the castle,” he tells me. We walk silently for a while, as I keep looking down at the tree spirit.
“There’s a game called The Sims, and there’s these plant sims you can get in the game. She looks just like one, but with longer hair,” I say, and Korbin gives me a strange look.
“What does the game do? We get a few games from Earth, but they are of no interest to me,” he says.
“You make your own humans and houses. And you’re able to control them,” I explain.
“So, strange, but I imagine that it is good practice for when you are queen and have a real world to control,” he comments after clearly thinking about it.
“Not exactly. It takes hours to build a castle on that game, and there are no dragons,” I say, and he gives me a confused look.
“I know, right? No dragons, no fun,” I say, remembering how Jace used to think it was funny that I wanted dragons in the game.
"There's that look on your face, the same one you had when you fell," he says.
“I was thinking of Jace, you know the ice prince that is dead?” I repeat his words, and he flinches.
“I am sorry I said that to you. I have an excuse, but I doubt you want to hear it,” he says.
“Tell me,” I reply, kinda wanting to hear it.
“My girlfriend, intended mate, is here at the castle. I didn't tell her I was going to be here for a few weeks to protect you. I wanted to surprise her,” he chuckles, a deep and dark chuckle that is a little frightening.
“What happened?” I ask, not understanding why I feel sick at the thought of him having a girlfriend. It's not like I could be interested in him like that. He is a dragon guard, it’s so forbidden it’s not funny. Besides, it’s not like I can stop thinking of Jace, so it doesn’t matter.
“I walked in on her screwing some dragon. She had the nerve to say it was my fault because I didn’t tell her I was here,” he growls.
“If you ask me, you are better off without her. She clearly didn’t deserve you,” I say, and he looks back at me for a second.
“After I found her, I came into the lunchroom, and I didn’t think before I spoke. I can’t apologise for Dagan, he is just a dick, but I didn’t mean to upset you,” he says.
“Apology accepted,” I say, nearly tripping on a rock but able to catch myself. Korbin looks back, shaking his head.
“Come on, doll, before you break anything else,” he teases. I grin, walking after him and deciding that maybe Korbin isn’t that bad after all.
Chapter 14
Isola
Fire, fire, and more fire is everywhere I look. I can’t see anything through the flames as they warm my skin. I look up and see the top of a building, strange lights hanging from the ceiling with wire hanging between them. This can’t be Dragca. I feel myself turn around, and I see a figure walking through the fire. I run towards them, a sword in my hand that I hold up in the air.
“Don’t,” a female voice warns and I stop, looking over to see a woman my age with black hair that touches the floor, a green dress, and black swirl tattoos on her face.
“Who are you?” I ask. I see the flames are frozen in place, and I look back at the woman.
“A friend, and what happened here, cannot happen,” she smiles, and steps away, “This is your warning, my friend,” she says, and then everything suddenly goes black.
I sit up sharply in bed, holding a hand to my head and feeling like tiny daggers are being shot through my skull. What in the world was that dream? This is the second one since I got here. I jump when I hear a smash from my bathroom, followed by the sound of water being poured. I slide out of bed, walking slowly over to the bathroom, and open the door, not knowing what to think. The tree spirit has made a bath in the sink, with bubbles everywhere, and she is floating in it.
“Err, hello?” I ask, watching as she sits up in the water, swinging her hair around, and splashing water all over me.
“Bee,” she says simply.
“Bee?” I ask.
“Bee,” she says again, pointing at her chest this time.
“Is your name Bee?” I ask her. She nods, before swimming over to the plug and pulling it out as I just stare.
“So, Bee, you chose me or something?” I ask, and regret it instantly when i
t sounds like I’m quoting Pokémon.
“Bee,” she says standing up as the water drains and putting her hands in the air. A ball of green glitter appears in her tiny hands, and she lets it go. It dries all her clothes as it lands on her and she floats up into the air, flying past me back into my bedroom. I walk back into my room to see her land on my pillow, pulling my quilt over herself, and promptly going to sleep.
“That’s rude, and cute. Hell, I don’t know,” I mutter, and I see her lips turn up in a little smile.
I groan when I realise it's Saturday, and I have history lessons or whatever with my uncle. I go into the bathroom and get ready, dressing in the leather uniform. I look back once more at a sleeping Bee before walking out. Thorne is leaning against the wall opposite my room, and he silently lifts a chocolate muffin and a coffee cup in the air.
“An apology muffin? I heard humans buy food to say sorry,” he says, holding out his offerings. I accept them and laugh.
“Sometimes they do, but I’ve always preferred flowers or wine,” I wink at him.
“Aren’t you a little young in human years to drink?” he asks, but it’s playful.
“I lived in Britain; the drinking age is eighteen, but they don’t reinforce that much. I was drinking with Jace from fifteen,” I say, thinking about how out of control we used to get because we knew we had so much responsibility in our future. It was just a good way to let off steam, to relax.
“When I mess up next time, I will remember the wine,” he says, knocking my shoulder in a playful way. I eat my muffin, throwing the wrapper in a bin on the way to my uncle’s office. It’s clear everyone sleeps in on a Saturday, as we only see a few dragon’s guards as we walk. I drink the coffee slowly, wondering how Thorne knew I liked a lot of sugar in my coffee. Thank god for dragon high metabolism, or I’d be the size of a house.
“Good luck, and I will wait here, as usual,” Thorne says, running his hand through his brown hair, before lowering it back to his side.
“Thanks,” I smile at him before knocking on my uncle’s office door and hearing him shout for me to come in. I open the door and walk in, seeing him sat on his chair behind his desk. In the middle of the room is a map of Dragca. It’s huge. I’ve seen maps of Dragca before, but this really shows the intricate details. It looks like a dragon eye. The main part is the land around the pupil of the eye, which is where we are. The pupil is mainly mountains, with two gaps in them. One is the castle my father lives in and the other is the Academy.
“Have you seen this map before?” my uncle asks.
“Yes, we had one sent with us when we were left on Earth. I have looked at it a few times, but never studied it,” I say as he gets up and walks over to me. He picks a long walking stick up off the side of the wall and points the tip on my father’s castle.
“The royal castle of Dragca, where you were brought up. It’s on top of a mountain, making it impossible to penetrate. As you know, massive dragonglass spears are kept on the top of the castle and will shoot at any enemies that get close. Not to mention the dragon guard who fly around defending the castle,” he says, moving the tip of the stick across the map to the academy.
“This is us, and again we are in a good position. We have dragons in the mountains, to keep us safe, but what is it that makes us safer than anywhere else in Dragca?” he asks me.
“I don’t know, I think I remember something about a barrier,” I reply, and he tuts.
“Every queen should know where to find the safest place in the world she rules,” he warns me and I nod, knowing he is right.
“Ten thousand years ago, there was a war between dragons and the dark magic users. When dragons use dark magic, it corrupts their souls, and there is no saving them. The dragons fought the war on the very ground we are stood on, but there was a huge price. We can’t use light magic anymore. The abilities we were said to have, were lost that night,” he tells me.
“What could we do? Why is it safe here?” I ask him.
“We could heal, we could see magic in the air, we could make portals, and most of all, we could connect to the magic of this world to do incredible things,” he says and sighs.
“Most magic is lost, as are the spirits we had as familiars, and the magic they gave us. Dark magic still exists of course, but not dark familiars, so the dark magic users will never be that powerful,” he informs me. I start to tell him about Bee when my dragons whispers,
“Not to be trusted, must keep Bee safe,” and I pause, closing my mouth before I say anything, deciding to trust my dragon. My uncle keeps talking anyway, not even noticing my pause.
“The land is safe because of the blood spilt here. It keeps those who want war and destruction away, literally stopping them from entering. Anyone that sides with the fire rebellion, would never be able to get in here,” he says, and I nod. He slides the tip of the walking stick across to the land of the eye, and to the area just above.
“Any clue what all this is across here?” he asks.
“The poor villages,” I say, remembering from my visit as a child. We flew across the purple ocean to them, and the villages are all the same from my memory. Mud huts, muddy ground, and full of the worse of our kind in some places, like the whorehouses and drug dens. There are also people who are just born into that life and don’t deserve to be there, but have little choice. Not all dragons have rich parents, so they don’t get an education or any way of escaping the life they have.
“A blight to our proud world, but every world has them,” my uncles goes on.
“My mother used to say, the most beautiful things in the world can be lost in the dirtiest and most dangerous places, which is why you should never give up hope,” I say, remembering her telling me that before she tucked me into bed one night. She really was the sweetest person, so loving and kind.
“She was too kind for a queen, too full of hope, and it was her downfall,” he says, and I turn sharply to look at him.
“Being kind is something a queen needs to rule fairly, and hope is something she should inspire in her people,” I tell him.
“In a peaceful world, yes. In a world drenched in blood and war, no,” he says and moves his walking stick to the left side of the map.
“This is where the fire rebellion live, in the old castles. They are able to see our every move with their army of seers. We cannot get too close to them, or they move around the castle so that it's empty when we do get there," he tells me.
“We have never fought with the seers before. How can we beat an army that can see our moves before we make them?” I ask, wondering about how it’s even possible to win.
“That is something your father should answer, not me,” he says and moves the stick to the other side of the map.
“What is here?” he asks me.
“Our farms. Our water farms and well, everything we need to survive, comes from the East,” I say.
“Correct. Without this, we would all starve. Or worse, our dragons would leave and go to Earth. Could you imagine thousands of dragons appearing through the portals. It would be a war on Earth,” he says, and he isn’t wrong. That would be horrible, and the humans would never just accept dragons there. My uncle moves his stick to the bottom of the map, the black lands.
“What is here, Isola?” he asks.
“Nothing, just death and dead lands. No one can go there, ever, or they don’t return,” I say, knowing about those from the little I listened to Jace. He always wondered what made the lands dead, why they were lost.
“Your father sends traitors to the throne there, and you are right. You would never want to be there, Isola,” he says and pulls his stick away. He rests it against the wall, and picks up a notebook and a pen.
“Here,” he says, holding them out to me. I put my coffee cup down on the desk next to me and take them off him.
“I want you to write down the five main towns, the villages that surround them, and memorize them all,” he tells me.
“There must be over th
ree hundred villages, I couldn’t possibly memorize them all,” I admit.
“How do you expect to rule, if you don’t even know the land,” he shakes his head. “This is something you must learn, so get on with it,” he says. I sit down on the floor, cross my legs, and start my list with the main cities. I know my uncle is right, and this is something I need to learn.
Mesmoia…Iaarita…Kenzta…
Chapter 15
Isola
“Bee?” I ask as I shut the door behind me and look at the empty place in the pillow, balancing my tray of food. I nearly drop the tray when I see the plant, well, now mini tree, in my room. What was the small plant from my class, is now a blue tree with long leaves. There is a pod hanging from it, and the pod has a door. An actual door, do I knock?
“Isola, I was just thinking–“ Thorne says, coming into the room and stopping to stare at the plant, just as I am.
“What the hell is that?” he asks, quickly shutting the door behind him. I sigh and put the tray on my bed, knowing that I’m going to have to explain the tree spirit. I look at Thorne, who is watching me with surprise, and I wonder if I can trust him. I guess he has given me no reason not to.
“My tree spirit, Bee, must have made it grow and made herself a house by the looks of it,” I say and Thorne couldn’t look more shocked if he tried. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m thinking about knocking on the plant door, but that sounds bloody weird,” I say, and then laugh a little. I start shuffling on my feet when it’s silent between us for a long time, to the point of getting awkward.
“Thorne, are you okay?” I ask him, and he narrows his eyes at me. I step back as he walks over and grabs my hand, turning it over to see the tree mark.
“Why does it have to be you, fucking you, of all people,” he growls, staring at the mark like his eyes could burn it away.
“Thorne?” I whisper, feeling like anything I may say could set him off right now. I don’t know why he is so angry, but his hand is warming up and getting hot enough to burn anyone but me. When he looks up to meet my eyes, his are black. His dragon is in control.
