by G. Bailey
“So, doll, happy to get back to your classes?” Korbin asks me.
“Kinda, being sick is slightly boring, but I did get plenty of time to read,” I say, proud of the five books I’ve read over the past week. Not so proud of the crazy amount of junk food I ate while reading, but oh well.
“I guess that’s–” Korbin starts to say, before he suddenly falls to the floor, dropping my bag and holding his hands to his head. He looks up at me, his eyes burning black and fire spreading across them, as his face is contorted in pain. “Run from me,” he spits out, and I shake my head.
“What is going on?” I ask, moving a step back when his hand goes to his sword.
“Isola, run and go to your father. Something is wrong, and I am being ordered to hurt you. I will follow you when I can get back in control,” he says and then screams, falling on his side. I do what he says, fear filling me as I turn and run. I head down the stairs of the academy and out the doors, not seeing anyone on the way. I hold my stomach from the pain as I run down the steps and stop.
“We need to go to the castle, so I need you to take over,” I whisper to her, and she roars, white mist appearing in front of me as we shift and fly straight into the sky.
“Danger,” she warns me, flying faster than she usually does.
“I know, but he is our father,” I tell her. She whines, but doesn’t stop flying. My fear for my father and my guard mixes with her own fear as she flies through the mountains. The castle slowly comes into sight, and my dragon shoots towards it. The castle is as massive as I remember it being, with five diamond topped towers, and the main part of the castle in the centre. what I can see. There are bodies of guards on the floor, their mouths parted in shock as their blood pools from their bodies on the stone. What has happened here? I grow more concerned when I don’t see any dragons flying around, and when no one stops me as I land right outside the castle. I ask my dragon to let me back in control, despite her apprehension. I hold my side when I stand up in my human form, looking down to see it bleeding a little.
Everything inside me screams as I run through the doors of the castle, seeing the dead dragons lining the floors and the sight making me sick to my stomach. I try not to look at the spears in their stomachs, the dragonglass that is rare in this world. Where did they get this much of it? The more and more bodies I pass, who are both dragon and guards, the less hope I have that my father is okay. No, I can’t be too late, I can’t lose him too. The once grand doors to the throne room are smashed into pieces of stone, in a pile on the floor, and only the hinges to the door hang off the walls. I run straight over, climbing over the rocks and broken stone. The sight in front of me makes me stop, not believing what I’m seeing but I know it’s true.
“Father…” I ask quietly, knowing he won’t reply to me. My father is sat on his throne, a sword through his stomach and a wide mouthed expression on his face. His blood drips down onto the gold floors of the throne room and snow falls from the broken ceiling above onto his face. There’s no ice in here, no sign he even tried to fight before he was killed. He must have never saw this coming because he trusted whoever killed him.
“No,” is all I can think to say as I fall to my knees, bending my head and looking down at the ground instead of the body of my father. I couldn’t stop this, even when they warned me and risked everything. I hear footsteps in front of me as I watch my tears drip onto the ground, but I don’t look up as I know who it is. I know from the way they smell; my dragon whispers their name to me but I can’t even think it.
“Why?” I ask as everything clicks into place. I should have known, I should have never trusted him.
“Because the curse has to end. Because he was no good for Dragca. Our city needs a true heir, me. I’m the heir of fire and ice, the one the prophecy speaks of, and it’s finally time I took what is mine,” he says and every word seems to cut straight through my heart. I trusted him.
“The curse hasn’t ended, I’m still here,” I whisper to the dragon in front of me, but I know he could hear my words as if I’d just spoken them into his ear.
“Not for long, not even for a moment longer actually. Your dragon guard will only thank me when you are gone. I didn’t want to do this to you, not in the end, but you are just too powerful. You are of no use to me anymore, not unless you’re gone,” he says. I look down at the ground as his words run around my head and I don’t know what to do. I feel lost, powerless, and broken in every way possible. There’s a part of the door in front of me that catches my attention, a part with the royal crest. The dragon in a circle, a proud, strong dragon. My father’s words come back to me, and I know they are all I need to say.
“There’s a reason ice dragons hold the throne and have done so for centuries. There’s a reason the royal name of Dragice is feared.” I say and stand up slowly, wiping my tears away.
“We don’t give up, and we bow to no one. I’m Isola Dragice, and you will pay for what you have done,” I tell him as I finally meet his now cruel eyes, before calling my dragon and feeling her take over.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you princess,” a cold female voice says, as a dagger is pressed against my neck from behind and I stop the shift, knowing I would be dead before I could even get my dragon out.
“Thorne, why don’t you get your crown, and then we can deal with the princess,” the woman behind me demands in an overly sweet tone. Thorne smirks at me before walking over to my father, and lifting the crown off his head.
Chapter 29
Isola
“Why?” I ask Thorne, who stands watching me as one of my father’s guards handcuff my arms behind me. The woman with the dagger moves it away from my neck, walking around me to stand next to Thorne. I didn’t think I could be more shocked, but I am at seeing my stepmother's self-satisfied smile. Her long white hair is down, and she has a white leather outfit on with a white cloak. Her crown sparkles on her head in the light, very much like Thorne’s does. Thorne must have dyed his hair and worn contacts; his once brown hair is now an almost white blonde colour, and his eyes are no longer hazel, they are blue. A pale blue like mine. He looks like an ice dragon, he might even be one. He did say he was the fire and ice heir. He doesn’t speak a word, only staring at me and not moving. He’s like an ice sculpture, but one I want to smash into a million pieces for betraying me. I thought he was my friend, and I trusted him. Hell, I even liked him. My dragon growls low in my mind, her anger towards him is even scarier than mine. Heartbreak and betrayal swim through my mind as I look around Thorne, seeing my father’s body once more. I’ve lost everything, everyone is gone.
“I will answer that,” my step mother says, the happiness in her voice is hard to miss.
“I don’t even remember your name. You’re just the bitch that married my father and clearly betrayed him,” I sneer, laughing at her as her eyes narrow. She walks over, slapping me hard across the face, and I fall to the floor.
“Careful now, and it’s Tatarina,” she says as I look up at her. The door to the left of the throne room opens, and Esmeralda walks in, her red heels clicking on the floor. Her cloak is gone, replaced with a red leather outfit much like her sisters, though hers is dripping with blood. There’s blood in her red hair and splattered across her face as she smiles at me. It’s a sinister smile and when she gets close enough, her scent hits me. I didn’t smell it before, she must of hid it, but I know straight away where I recognise it from.
“You bitch, you killed Jace!” I scream at her, trying to get up, but a sword pokes into my back. I turn around to see a dragon guard watching me, his sword placed on my back and threatening to pierce all the way through me. The dragon guard will protect the new royal family, and that’s not me anymore. They protect the queen, my step-mother, as she holds the throne. It was never given to me, neither was the curse that comes with the crown. I imagine she plans to give it to Thorne, as she called him her king.
“Yes, well, I remember. He was not a fighter that one,” she lau
ghs, and I growl low.
“I will complete my vow, you evil bitch!” I scream. She just laughs as she walks over to Thorne and my step mother.
“Everything is done. I will return to the academy to finish the other issues, sister,” she says and then bows at Thorne.
“My king, how the crown suits you,” she practically purrs.
“You are no king, just an idiot wearing a crown that isn’t his,” I spit out, and he narrows his eyes on me, still silent like a ghost.
“Let me tell you a story, one that will explain all this, and then perhaps you will watch your tongue,” she says, walking closer to Thorne and resting her hand on his arm in a loving way as she stares at him.
“This is my son, a son I had with a fire dragon before I was dragged from my home to marry a king I had never even met. My son was hidden with an adoptive family I found, kept safe as I built the fire rebellion up and made the true heir an army,” she says, clearly proud, and yet I can’t believe her.
“An ice dragon and fire dragon can’t have a child,” I say in disbelief.
“Yes, they can,” Thorne finally speaks, holding out both his hands. In one hand a ball of flame appears and in the other a sphere of ice. He smashes them together and grins at me.
“You apparently shouldn’t believe everything you hear, princess,” he says coldly.
“I would have given you the throne, I never wanted it! You didn’t have to kill my father for it!” I shout at them both and Tatarina laughs, looking behind me. I turn, looking to see Dagan, Elias, and Korbin being dragged into the room. They all look like they put up a hell of fight, none of them are conscious as they are thrown onto the ground near me.
“Get the seer,” Tatarina says, walking over to the guys and stopping near Elias. She moves to touch him, and I roar so loudly it shakes the ground around us, and ice spreads across the floor without me even realising I was doing it.
“You were right, it seems,” Tatarina says, moving her hand away and smiling like she just won something.
“We should kill her and them, despite the price,” Tatarina continues, flipping a dagger around in her hand as she walks back to Thorne.
“We cannot, not with the tree spirit blessing. I have explained this to you mother,” Thorne replies, clearly frustrated.
“Fine, we will play by the rules and stick to our plan, for now. She won’t be a threat, none of them will be soon,” she says. No one says a word for a long time, as I stare at my dragon guard with tears running down my face. If they die because of me, I won’t be able to forgive myself. Everyone dies because of me, it never seems to stop.
“Was any of it real?” I ask Thorne, wanting to hear him admit it was fake from the start, as I look up at him.
“None of it,” he says, his words cold as ice.
“I will kill you, and I promise that will be real,” I threaten, and he smiles.
“I look forward to the day you try, and I get a reason to kill you,” he replies, looking away as the door to my right opens. A girl, with her face hidden under a cloak walks in, her red dress moving around her as she moves towards Thorne.
“I was called,” she says, her voice strangely familiar to me.
“Wipe her memory, and lock their dragons away. We will make her human, with no memory of who she is, and leave her on Earth. As for the guards, I will deal with them,” Tatarina says, and I nearly choke on my fear. Can she erase my memory of everything? Make me human?
“NO!” I scream. Standing up, I knock the guard out the way and try to run away when ice freezes my boots to the floor and spreads up my legs, stopping at my knees. Tears fall down my face as the woman in the cloak bows and walks over to me. I keep my eyes locked with Thorne’s as the seer puts her hands on either side of my head, and whispers inside my mind.
“Forget everything.”
Epilogue
Isola
“Time for school. Hurry up, you're going to be late, Isola," Jules says and I chuckle, putting my kindle down and standing up off the kitchen stool.
“Okay, okay. I’m going,” I say and walk past her, patting her arm before running to the door. I grab my bag and slide my boots on, before leaving the house and walking to the bus stop. I stand there waiting, like I do every day, and it starts to snow, not that we weren’t expecting snow at some point. The bus pulls up, and I get on, walking down the aisles and stopping as I look at the three guys on the back row. One has black hair, tattoos and is smoking, another has black hair too and a lip ring that I watch him twist and play with between his lips. The last guy has a serious look, with dark brown hair and a big, muscular build just like his friends. The three of them all stare at me as I slide into a seat. I don’t look back at the new students, despite the fact they look familiar, which is impossible. I’ve lived in Barkwood, in Wales, my whole life. It’s the smallest town ever. Anyone new, or as good looking as these guys are, I would definitely remember.
“Issy, have you seen the new hotties?” Melody says as she scoots into the seat next to me. Melody and I have been friends since we were kids. With her black hair and blue eyes, she is a stunner, and a pretty good friend too.
“Yeah, they are something,” I say, and she laughs. We chat about pointless things until the bus stops outside the school, and we all get off the bus. I stop to put my phone in my bag when someone slams into my shoulder.
“Watch where you’re going, princess,” the guy with the tattoos says and storms past me with his friends into the school.
“Come with me, I want to ask you something,” Melody says suddenly and grabs my hand, dragging me through the school. She drags me into the girl’s bathroom, checking all the stalls and locking the door.
“This is going to sound weird, and trust me it is. But it’s time you remember. They are here now and I can’t keep pretending to be a student,” she says, looking around her and then staring into my eyes again.
“What the hell are you going on about?” I ask her as she walks over to me and places her hands on my head.
“I’m not Melody. I’m a seer, and I took your memory. Not by choice, but it’s time you had your memories back and remember who you are. Promise me something?” she says, and I have no idea what has gotten into her crazy ass this morning. Maybe seeing those hot guys have sent her insane or something.
“You’re acting crazy,” I say, trying to move away, but she tightens her grip.
“Promise me you will bust my ass out of that castle, and get me away from your psycho step-brother,” she asks. I start to get scared, and I grab at her arms to try and pull her off me.
“Let go!”
“No. Now, remember,” she demands, and a white light blasts into my mind.
The End
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