by G. Bailey
“The princess covered in tattoos? That would be interesting, and I think my father would kill you,”
“So? Do you always play by the rules?” he teases as I put the notebook down.
“Maybe one day,” I chuckle.
“I’ll design you something,” he says in a cocky tone, and I shake my head at him, knowing he won’t give up.
“Tell me everything,” he says, jumping onto the bed and patting the space next to him. I slide my boots off before sitting next to him and he grins over at me.
“You could lie down,” he suggests with a wink.
“I’ll sit,” I say, ignoring his flirty tone. Didn’t we just say friends only?
“I’ve been having dreams since I got to Dragca, of random things I don’t understand, but there’s always this girl in them. I’ve realised they are visions of my future, and she says they are warnings for me,” I say, watching as his eyes widen. He sits there, seemingly speechless for a little bit.
“Shit,” he draws out the word. Elias turns on his side, opening the draw in his bedside cabinet and pulling out a box of cigarettes.
“Those aren’t good for you, they kill humans, you know,” I comment.
“Lucky I’m not human then, isn’t?” he says and gets a cigarette out, lighting it up and resting back against his bed.
“She must be related to you, a close relative in order to be able to give you warnings,” he muses, “but that is impossible, seers and dragons can’t have children,” he says.
“How do we know that, though? It’s only what we have been told, and I can’t see any other way this seer is contacting me,” I say, frustrated. I watch him as he thinks, inhaling deep from his cigarette and blowing it out slowly.
“Nothing is impossible, not ever,” he says, eyeing me closely.
“Some things are,” I answer.
“I don’t believe that,” he shakes his head.
“Are we still talking about me having a seer relative?” I ask.
“What else would we be talking about princess?” he grins at me before looking away.
“Anyway, I don’t think I should tell anyone until I can talk to her some more,” I say.
“You shouldn’t tell anyone. The fire rebellion already claims to have another heir and this would give them more fire to burn you with,” he says.
“How do you know that?” I ask.
“Everyone knows it, everyone is talking about the heir that no one has seen,”
“This seer could be an heir and have a claim to the throne…” I taper off and lean back on the headboard of the bed.
“What did she look like?” he asks me, putting his cigarette out in an ashtray on the bedside cabinet.
“Long black hair, my age, blue eyes,” I tell him, shrugging. “She doesn’t look like an ice dragon. She isn’t blonde, and from what I remember, her eyes aren’t that pale,” I say.
“Strange. When I lived in the castle here, there was a seer that was the son of one of the teachers. He was a good guy, and we hung out a lot,” he tells me.
“That’s how you know about seers?” I ask.
“Yep. He told me a lot of shit, and the most important bit here is,” he leans closer to me, dropping his voice, “Seers can only contact very close blood relatives with warning; sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers. No one else, because the magic doesn’t allow it,” he says.
“Impossible, my mother didn’t have any other children, and my father would have told me,” I shake my head and lean away from him.
“Would he?” Elias challenges me.
“Don’t. My father wouldn’t lie to me about another heir,” I say, shaking my head.
“You don’t know him, princess. You haven’t seen him in years and have no idea what he is like now,” he says.
“I remember–” I start to say but he stops me.
“–Exactly. You remember the father that was mated to your mother and happy. We all know the king who had to give his daughter up after losing his mate, and then savagely hunted fire dragons in order to find out who killed her,” he contends. I move to get off the bed, not wanting to hear this, when he grabs me around the waist, slamming me onto the bed and holding me down.
“Get off, I don’t want to hear this, Elias,” I protest, struggling to get up.
“You need to listen, princess,” he insists, as he leans down, and I turn my head away from him.
“I do not,” I spit out.
“Do you even know what started the war? How many innocent fire dragons your father killed in the name of your mother? How many dragon guards have died protecting him from the angry families of the fire dragons he’s killed?” he asks me.
“Enough,” I shout, feeling my hands freezing the bedsheets under us.
“You don’t know a thing, princess, and you do not know your father,” he tells me, and I look back up at him with tears in my eyes.
“Kings often must make difficult choices, and yes, he might have been wrong. I don’t believe he is evil. He is my father,” I implore him to understand.
“And all you believe you have left,” Elias says softly, searching my eyes for something. I hate that it seems like he can see more in my eyes than I want him to.
“He is all that I have left. I don’t have anyone else, Eli,” I say, and he closes his eyes. When he opens them again, fire burns the colour away, leaving them black.
“I like that, when you call me Eli,” he whispers.
“Eli?” I ask when he suddenly jumps off me, climbing off the bed. I sit up and watch his rigid back in the tense silence in the room.
“You should leave before I listen to my dragon and say screw the friends rule we made, princess,” he warns me. He never looks at me once as I get off the bed and grab my things. I pause at the door, glancing back at Eli with his head lowered and arms crossed.
“Bye Eli,” I whisper, and his black eyes dart up to gaze at me. I turn and open the door, walking out before I say anything else stupid.
Chapter 22
Isola
“Another warning?” I ask the shadowy figure in the room full of ice I find myself in. The floor, walls, and the ceiling are all frozen. I look down at my white dress, it’s covered in glitter and crystals.
“Yes,” the girl says, as her body comes into focus, and I can see her blue eyes, dark hair, and the long, dark blue dress she has on.
“Of what? Ice?” I ask, and she laughs sadly, shaking her head.
“Of what happens when fire falls for ice,” she waves around the room I don’t recognize, “ice always wins.”
“Who are you to me?”
“I cannot tell you that, you must discover that on your own,” she says, stepping closer so I can see we are the same height.
“Remember that when fire falls for ice, ice always wins,” she states, and everything fades to black before I can ask her what that even means.
I wake up to the feeling of something pulling my hair. Turning my head, I see Bee sitting on my pillow, a piece of my hair in her hand, tugging on it.
“Food?” she asks, and I yawn as I reach into the cabinet above my head and grab a chocolate bar.
“Do you eat anything other than chocolate?” I ask her, and she shakes her head, pointing to the tree.
“Leaves food, chocolate food,” she says.
“That’s good speech,” I smile at her as I open the chocolate bar and get out of bed. She flies over to her pod next to me, where I leave some pieces of chocolate for her.
“Bee, do you ever feel like everything is out of your control? Like you’re playing a game, but you don’t know the rules?” I ask her, resting my hand against the tree.
“No,” she says, shaking her head and flying out the pod. I hold my hand out, and she lands on it, hanging her feet over the side of my palm.
“Fate,” she points at the mark on my hand as she speaks.
“What if fate is playing a dangerous game?” I ask her.
“Fate, good,” she t
ells me and I don’t get to respond, as someone knocks on my door.
“Time to hide Bee,” I say, putting her in the pod and she closes the door. I walk over to my door, opening it up and hiding my body behind it.
“Hey, can I come in?” Dagan asks and I look down at my cat pyjamas and back to Dagan.
“Erm sure. I thought you would be Korbin for our run,” I say, letting him in and shutting the door behind him.
“He is running a little late but will be here soon,” he tells me, and then pauses looking at my pyjamas.
“Cats?” he laughs.
“Don’t, I couldn’t find anything to wear last night when I got back,” I say, and he shakes his head, reaching inside his jacket.
“I have a letter for you, kitty cat,” he says.
“Don’t call me that ever again,” I groan, taking the yellow letter off him and going to sit on my bed. I open it up, reading a long invitation from one of the area's richest families for their daughter's mating ceremony. The estate is nearby, and prominent families always invite a royal to watch their matings. Normal dragons may mate whenever they like, but it's considered a blessing to have a royal in attendance. I can’t see much danger with going, being that it’s not far away.
“It’s an invite to a mating ceremony, they think it’s a blessing if I go and they have my father’s approval,” I explain what it basically says.
“Makes sense,” Dagan responds, still rolling that damn sexy lip ring between his lips.
“How does that not get removed when you shift?” I ask him, curious. I always thought about having my belly button or something pierced but I assumed dragon healing wouldn’t let it stick.
“It’s a long story, up to you if you really want to know,” he says, leaning against the wall.
“Sure, I’m curious,” I reply.
“There’s a dragon that lives on Earth, who works in a tattoo parlour. He learnt how to do dragon piercings, tattoos and all that. Anyway, we had a job to find a young, runaway dragon girl on Earth a few years back, it was one of our first assignments, actually,” he chuckles as he rests against the wall and then carries on with his story.
“We tracked this girl, who was twenty, and found her with the tattoo guy, Lucak. They had fallen in love, and her parents wouldn’t let them mate, so she ran away,” he says.
“Did you take her back?” I ask.
“Nope, I’m not heartless. Besides, the family had told us she was in danger, which she wasn’t. She was happy and Lucak wanted to give us a gift to say thank you for keeping their location a secret. Especially considering we lost a lot of money doing so,” he says.
“The lip ring?” I ask.
“Yep, he did this, and Kor’s–“ he goes to say and then laughs, “I likely shouldn’t tell you that,”.
“What did he have pierced?” I ask, with a cheeky little smile.
“The night before Lucak was to do the piercing, we all had a bet, and the loser had to let us choose the piercing for him,” he says.
“Korbin lost?” I fill in.
“Yep, but still not telling you what we chose,” he winks at me, but I think I have a good idea what they would have chosen.
“And the tattoos? How does Lucak get them to stick to dragon skin with our healing,” I ask.
“As mad as it sounds, dragonglass,” he tells me.
“That’s crazy and sounds painful,” I say, a little shocked.
“It is, but it’s not dangerous,” he says.
“You have a tattoo like Korbin and Elias?” I ask and he grins, rolling the lip ring around.
“Yep, but kitty cat, I wouldn’t ask to see it if I were you. That is, unless you want me to be taking a lot of clothes off," he says, making me blush.
“Anyways,” I clear my throat, standing up and handing him the letter.
“It’s tonight, and I’m guessing I will need all of my guards,” I say as he reads the top of the letter.
“Also, we will need to leave in three hours in order to fly there and give you a few hours to get ready. So, looks like no class for you,” he says.
“Some good news then,” I grin.
“You and your dragon gonna be okay to fly there?” he asks, and I redirect the question to my dragon.
“As long as mine are with us,” she says, and I shake my head.
“She’s cool with it,” I say and he nods, walking out the room.
“See you in a few hours then, I will send Kor to guard your room,” he says and walks out.
Chapter 23
Isola
My dragon lands with a loud thump on the ground, shaking the trees nearby, and causing snow from the tops to fall on top of her. She shakes it off before letting me back in her mind, pulling my human body back, and opening my eyes to find myself kneeling on the ground. Dagan and Kor land next to me, shifting back quickly, and I look to the skies to see Elias’s dragon flying down. Elias roars, shifting as he lands and making it look effortless. He stands up, shaking the snow off and running a hand through his hair, before pulling a cigarette out of his leather jacket.
“Isola,” Thorne says from behind me, coming out of the trees. His cloak is covered in snow. He decided to fly here earlier than all us to scout the area for any danger.
“Where is the house?” I ask, looking around at the snow-covered trees and the suns setting in the sky. The light catches the snow, making it almost look like it is glowing, and it’s beautiful.
“This way, princess,” Elias says, and we walk through the woods with him leading the way. I slip on a piece of ice as we round a corner, and Thorne catches me, lifting me back up and smiling.
“Careful,” he whispers, and I can see Dagan staring at us both as we keep walking. Thankfully, our surroundings seem to distract him, as much as it does me. The trees clear out to a massive house, with a small farm in front of it, and a large metal wall surrounding the property with a big gate. The gate is open as people walk in, their heads covered, but it’s clear they are well off from the cloaks they wear alone. They are all bright colours, with shiny jewels stitched into the partings. The pathway up to the house is lined with pretty white lights and a few trees and plants. The door is open to the house when we reach it, and the man at the door bows low for me.
“We have a room made up for you, your highness,” the man says and turns around. Dagan puts his hand on the middle of my back, steering me into the house when I don't move, still staring in awe. The inside is amazing, with stories of dragons painted across the ceilings and all up the stairs. I can’t take my eyes away from the little details, the dragon wings, the villages, and even the snow-covered trees painted on the walls. It must have taken months to paint this, for every little detail. I could spend hours searching it all to see what the story tells.
“It’s stunning,” I say, not exactly speaking to anyone in particular, as we get to the top of the stairs and into a big circular space with doors everywhere.
“Much like the princess,” a woman says. I look over to see an older blonde woman walk out of a room. She bows low before stepping closer to me. She has a long gold dress on, with white crystal down the sides. Her hair is up in a complicated bun with lots of plaits, and a gold flower on the side.
“This is your room, and I’m here to help you get ready,” she points at the door, she just left.
“Thank you. Lovely to meet you, you are?” I ask, holding out my hand. She looks at it strangely before accepting my handshake as she speaks.
“My name is Catrina Lowdane. It is my daughter, Elana’s, mating ceremony today,” she explains to me.
“I can’t wait, and congratulations. I haven’t seen a mating ceremony in years, and they are always so magical,” I comment. Actually, I’m very excited to relax and see some of the magic of Dragca. Mating ceremonies are amazing, and I hate that the last one I saw was my father and stepmother’s. It wasn’t a true mating, not that anyone expected it to be. They didn’t love each other, and my father was still very much in love
with my mother. The mating can take place whether it’s true or not, but a true mating is an honour to witness.
“Very true princess, and we are very honoured to have you here,” she says.
“The honour is all mine,” I say, bowing my head and looking over at Elias. He is watching me, as are the other guys, but he gives me a little smile.
“Your guards are more than welcome to wait downstairs,” she comments.
“The princess must have a guard close to her at all times, I will wait outside the room,” Dagan interrupts with a firm voice.
“Of course,” Catrina nods and looks back at me, “This way, please, princess.”
“It’s Isola, if you’d like to call me that,” I offer as I follow her back to the room.
“If you wish, Isola,” she says, holding the door open for me, and Dagan pulls it closed behind her.
“I have a range of dresses your father sent over, and I’m very good with hair styles, if you would like me to assist,” she informs me.
“My father sent dresses?” I ask in reply, wanting to see the first gift he has bought me in a long time. Catrina points to a rack of coloured dresses, most of them are a light or dark blue, but there is one long red one. I automatically touch the red dress, pulling it out to admire the simplicity of the dark red, its low cut and has a slit up the side.
“I’m sorry, that one wasn’t sent by your father. It was on the rack before I added the others,” Catrina says. I hold it up against myself, looking in the mirror and catching Catrina’s eyes behind me.
“Red suits you, but I doubt the king would be happy with the ice princess wearing the colour of fire,” she advises.
“That’s the kind of attitude that I will never adopt, we are all dragons. Fire or Ice, it’s all the same. I believe it's time for people to see that though I may be an ice dragon, that does not mean I am against fire," I say definitively, and she smiles at me, nodding her head.
