Darkbeam Part II

by Adrienne Woods

  She looked over her shoulder then back at me.

  I grinned and she finally looked away and she shook her head.

  Her heart rate rose slightly as the same peaceful bliss I felt that night with Arianna filled me.

  Tonight I was going to tell her who she truly was. I felt it in my core and the beast couldn’t do anything about it.

  He was gone. Drunk out of his mind.

  I was in control.

  Her Cammy buzzed.

  It had to be Lucian. He was always there, coming to her rescue.

  Pure hatred for swelled in me as she walked away to speak to him.

  He knew I was here and he knew I couldn’t be trusted. I’d taken his girlfriend away once, I could do it again. But this time it was different.

  Elena wasn’t his to begin with.

  She had been created for me.

  He needed to back off.

  “I’m worried about him. He does really messed up stuff when he’s not himself,” Lucian voiced his worry.

  Exactly what I thought. A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth as she answered him, soothing his worries.

  If she knew me as well as he did, she’d know better than to brush off his concerns.

  Lucian let out a frustrated groan. “I miss you so much. I want to come home. This is getting ridiculous.”

  I snarled inwardly. I didn’t like him talking to her in that loving tone. She wasn’t his.

  “They’ll change their minds once they meet you.”

  “I hope you’re right. I don’t want to see you get married to that cow.”

  He laughed.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about your cousin? She’s not the friendliest, or a big fan of me, Lucian.”

  Sammy went to the tent and George and Becky were occupied with one another. I got up and moved slowly toward Elena and ducked so Lucian wouldn’t see me.

  “Sweetheart, you don’t have to impress Nicole. Who gives a shit what she thinks?”

  “I do. She’s your family.”

  “Not close. She’s been a pain in the ass since the day she could crawl.”

  Elena laughed, and the sound did all sorts of things to my body. “Okay, fine. She’s not important.”

  “You’ll see, they will love you. I promise.”

  “Okay,” she said softly.

  “I’ve got to go. We have an early hunt so my father will probably wake up soon. I hate these stupid hunts. It’s not my thing.”

  She giggled. Sweet heavens. “Okay, go, before your dad takes away your Cammy and we won’t be able to speak at all.”

  “Love you,” he said.

  “Love you more.”

  I fumed. She had absolutely no idea what the fuck that word meant.

  “I doubt that.” His face disappeared.

  I moved in, stopping mere inches away from her back. She huffed, but then her body went stiff and she slowly turned around.

  I smiled as I leaned back against the tree.

  “What do you want?” she bit out.

  “I just want to talk, Elena. Why are you so uptight?”

  “Probably because I haven’t had as much alcohol as you tonight,” she said sarcastically and took a few steps in the direction of the others.

  I gently grabbed her wrist, stopping her. The tingling of her touch sent aches through my body. She stared at me, eyes wide and heart thumping loudly.

  George and Becky had wielded a shield around them, so I decided to do the same. I didn’t need Sammy overhearing barging out of the tent to save her friend.

  My shield popped into place, and silence surrounded us.

  “C’mon. I’m not going to eat you,” I said in a honey-glazed tone as I looked down at her.

  Elena’s throat bobbed as she swallowed hard, but she quickly regained her composure.

  “You’re drunk. Believe me, if you were sober, you wouldn’t be standing here.”

  “Says who?” The words barely make it out.

  “Me. It’s a fact.”

  I smiled again. “It’s just a big act, Elena. You must know that.”

  “A big act?”

  I shrugged and she swallowed hard again. “Yeah.” She made the Sun-Blast in me crazy with need. The things I wanted to do with this delicate flower…

  “Why do you think I saved your life?”

  “Because you would’ve done that for anybody else on that mission.” She parrots the answer I had given her a month ago.

  I raised my eyebrows playfully, teasing her, and shook my head.

  Her eyes locked with mine.

  “I saved you because of what you are to me. Your father isn’t a dragon, Elena, he never was.” I chuckled. “A dragon knows when he lays his eyes on his rider.” I bit my lower lip and waited for her reply.

  She didn’t say a word, just stared at my lips.

  She wasn’t hearing a single word I said.

  She was under my spell.

  Fuck.

  Our love was written in the stars and I knew if I kissed her, something big would happen.

  My face leaned down, and she lifted her head.

  Lucian was far from her mind. She wanted me to kiss her, and I desperately did too.

  I could feel her sweet, warm breath on my lips.

  “Elena!” Sammy’s shrill voice broke the spell. Elena startled and looked at me in confusion.

  I flashed her a smile.

  “What are you doing, Blake? Mom told you so many times not to do that to anyone.” Sammy shook her head in disgust and pulled Elena away.

  I ground my teeth hard.

  Sammy Leaf… always a fucking pain in my ass.

  “You are pathetic, you know that?” she said and walked back to their tent with Elena.

  “I don’t…” she started. She still sounded out of it.

  I hadn’t thought my persuasion would work so easily on her.

  It was obvious that she felt something more than irritation for me.

  Lucian was going down.

  Tomorrow, I’d figure out how to speak to her.

  George and Becky stared at me as Sammy zipped up their tent.

  “What the hell, dude?”

  I shrugged. “See you losers tomorrow,” I said and disappeared into my own tent.

  I groaned when I saw Tabitha curled up in the sleeping bag next to mine. Sighing, I crashed down next to her and perked my ears so I could listen to Sammy explaining what I had just done to Elena.

  Persuasion was one of my most precious gifts. Filling someone’s mind with nothing and controlling them.

  I hadn’t planned to use it on her, but the voice was set and when she looked into my eyes, she started to lose control.

  Just a pity she hadn’t heard a word I said.

  “Dude, what the hell was that last night?” George asked me the next morning.

  “I was drunk. I don’t know what I did. Believe me, Elena is the last girl I want,” I said, hoping he’d buy it.

  He chuckled. “You sure are messed up when you’re drunk.

  “Don’t tell Tabitha.”

  “I won’t, but it’s not me you need to worry about. Sammy is really angry.”

  “I’ll handle my sister.”

  George wasn’t exaggerating. Sammy was beyond pissed. I found her in the woods, where she and a few others were washing dishes.

  “Don’t!” she yelled when she saw me.

  “Just a minute, please,” I begged.

  After a long pause, she huffed and followed me further into the woods.

  I wielded my shield, and from the confusion in her eyes, it only raised more questions, but I would answer them later.

  “I know what I did last night was fucked up. I don’t know what I was doing.” I begged her with my eyes to believe me.

  “If you ever do that again—”

  “I don’t even want your friend, I swear. You know I do fucked up things when I’m drunk. You can tell Mom and Dad the truth if I ever do this again.”

  “Fine.
Don’t think I’ll hesitate to tell Mom or Dad.”

  I nodded.

  The beast inside me was stark raving mad. He wanted to kill Elena. I wanted to kill her.

  So why did I want her so much when I was out of it?

  I trudged back to the campsite, where I completely ignored Elena for the rest of our trip. But I could feel her judgmental eyes on me.

  When we got home, I called Isaac, needing a place to crash for a few days while Elena stayed with us. She was set to arrive in a couple hours, and I clearly wasn’t safe around her until my thick head realized that I didn’t want her.

  It was all fucked up.

  I hoped to all that was holy that Sammy would keep her mouth shut. If any of this reached my father’s ears, he would bombard me with questions and I doubted I’d be able to sidestep them this time.

  I relaxed on my bed after I got off my Cammy with Isaac, who had given me the okay to crash at his place, and watched as Tabitha moved around my room, picking up her clothes and stuffing them into her bag.

  “Ugh, I hate her. It’s so fucking unfair that I have to leave so the spawn can come stay,” Tabitha complained.

  “I know. And believe me, I’m starting to hate her, too.”

  Tabitha grinned and climbed onto the bed, snuggling into my arms.

  I placed a soft kiss on her head and stroked her arm.

  “Why can’t I stay?” she mumbled into my shoulder.

  “You know my father doesn’t like having too many people in his house.”

  “I know, but why does she get to stay here?”

  “Because she’s an orphan with no home. She shouldn’t even be in Dragonia Academy.”

  “Then why is she?”

  “Because the old fart reads way too much into her mark. Irene thinks it’s just a birth birthmark.”

  Tabitha kept quiet and I tilted my head to look down at her.

  “What is it?”

  “Nothing. You’re just so formal with her. I don’t like it.”

  “I’m the Rubicon, Tabitha. I’m formal with everyone. No one is above me.”

  She smiled. “I know. Believe me, that part I know.” She got up and grabbed a sweater from over my desk chair and chucked it into her bag.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing, it’s just something I learned the hard way. I struggle to deal with some of your needs.”

  She was starting to piss me off.

  “Are we talking about the Arianna thing again? I told you I’m sorry. How many times—”

  “I know, and it’s okay. It’s just that you do stupid shit when I’m not around.”

  “Believe me, I won’t do stupid shit this time.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, Elena is hardly noticeable. Besides, Lucian will try to cut your balls off this time. Don’t even think about it. Lucian is the only one who can tame you. You need to remember that.”

  “No one can tame me,” I snapped.

  “I didn’t mean it like that. But he is one of the few who keeps on trying.”

  She shouldered her bag and looked at me expectantly.

  I got up and followed her out of my room.

  I wouldn’t be seeing her for three weeks, which might give me the perfect opportunity to sneak off to visit Irene.

  I knew she lived somewhere in one of the Dragon cities, the one near Areeth.

  If I could just see her, it would be enough.

  Crashing at Isaac’s was great. It was always fun to hang out with Missy, and our band managed to get some quality practice in. Ty had written a song, which didn’t have a lot of potential on its own, but I could use parts of it with one of my songs.

  All too soon, I had to go back home.

  Elena wasn’t there when I returned.

  As I said hello my dad mentioned we had tickets for the Warbel opening ceremony.

  One of his friends from King Albert’s court couldn’t make it, so he’d given my father five tickets, which meant the spawn would be joining us.

  I’d have to keep my distance from her. I couldn’t be close to her while I was intoxicated.

  When she returned later that afternoon, I slipped to my room and stayed there.

  Saturday finally arrived and I decided I’d rather meet everyone at the game than travel with them—I fucking hated the elevators—and my dad gave me my ticket in case I arrived first.

  When I got to the arena, Blaze found me and led me up to the VIP lounge. Blaze was one of the best people I knew, always championing for me to get a spot on her team, but the damn council wouldn’t budge. They thought I had too many abilities. It didn’t help that my Pink Kiss was extremely deadly.

  The council even refused to let me participate in my human form, even though Blaze tried to convince them it would be an extraordinary outlet for my rage.

  Now, I could do nothing but sit on the sidelines and watch useless jocks play the one sport I had any interest in.

  “I’m sorry, big guy,” Blaze said in her thick European accent.

  “You tried. I guess I have to thank my big bad wolf part.”

  She scrunched up her nose and pretended to growl at me. I chuckled as she handed me a beer.

  “I need to get ready for the game, but you should be fine here. It’s one of the best spots to watch the game.”

  “Thanks, Blaze.”

  She gave me a small nod. “See you later,” she said as she walked out the door.

  I had the lounge to myself for a couple minutes before the VIP guests started filing in.

  A few of them had served with my father in the Dragon League and they talked to me about the good old times.

  It was hard to listen to.

  My father had been such a different dragon before Goran had betrayed the king and queen. He’d had a commanding presence and he had been revered almost as much as the king and queen. Now, he was barely holding himself together. He was practically a disgrace. I shook my head as I walked away from the reminiscing group. He had fallen so far.

  That annoying churning hit my stomach, indicating that Elena—and my family—were near.

  I despised her for having this effect on me even when there were thousands of people in the arena.

  It was never going to go away.

  I craved a stronger drink, but I needed to stay sober. I couldn’t risk repeating my drunken actions around her. It was only a matter of time before I slipped up and spilled the beans.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls… Oh, and dragons.”

  The crowds cheered, their roaring deafening.

  “Welcome to the 205th annual opening of the Warbel games!”

  Fireworks shot off, enormous starbursts glittering in the sky. The display reminded me of the only time I went to the other side of the Wall. To China.

  It was an honor to be celebrated by the humans.

  I knew the Ancients would never allow me to visit again. I’d only get past the Wall again if I gave up my freedom and became a slave.

  Lost in my own thoughts, I barely heard the announcer.

  I was so weak when I wasn’t myself.

  The beast hated when I my weakness. So did I.

  I flicked my attention back to the announcer. It did me no good to wallow in my thoughts.

  “Now the moment everyone has been waiting for. I’m honored to present this year’s teams. The Sapphires!”

  The human and dragon players showed off, and I watched them for a bit before I turned and walked to the bar.

  I needed another drink, but I had to pace myself.

  I sat at the bar until I heard the whistle blow, indicating the start of the game. I didn’t care about the boring introductions and speeches. I was only interested in the action.

  There were grumbles all around because McIntosh was the ref this year. I was pissed too. He was allowed to be a referee, but I wasn’t allowed to join a team?

  Fucking Ancients.

  Granted, McIntosh didn’t have the numerous dangerous abilities I did
, but he was a fucking cheat who used to coach the Yellow Hornets.

  It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Yellow Hornets won the entire league this year; that shady fuck would probably ensure they won every game.

  I was sure they would beat the Sapphires tonight.

  I headed back to my seat and settled in to watch the frost, fire, and acid balls flying through the air.

  The balls bounced off shields that protected the crowd, each crash loud and reverberating.

  The spectators went wild when the first goal was scored, making waves around the crevice. I loathed the waves; it always made me feel like I was going to drown in the sea of people.

  “Luke is in great shape this year,” Uys said from my right.

  “I’ve seen better,” I said as I raised my beer to my mouth.

  Uys let out a loud laugh. “I heard they declined you a spot again this year.”

  “It’s fine. Wouldn’t be a fair game if they let me play.”

  “I’m sure the crowd would love you, Blake.”

  I grinned and turned back to the game just as Luke scored.

  The Sapphires went crazy.

  The whistle blew, and the Yellow Hornets fought to redeem themselves, scoring almost immediately.

  But that didn’t deter the Sapphires. They were on fire, scoring three times in the next ten minutes.

  The VIP lounge went ballistic.

  The room collectively gasped as a fireball slammed into one of the players.

  But if they couldn’t handle getting hurt, then they shouldn’t be playing the game.

  A teammate caught the player and rushed him to the medical station at the edge of the action.

  Back before the creepers took Etan over, Constance used to be a medic at the games, and she used to take me and Anouk to the games with her.

  A deep ache tore through my heart when I realized that Anouk hadn’t crossed my mind in forever.

  Anouk was my cousin, and the bravest little Sun-Blast I had known. Shit had gone down before she’d matured into her human form.

  Now, she was trapped behind the creepers, probably dead for all I knew.

  The sudden silence of the crowd drew me out of my depressing thoughts.

  “What the hell?” Uys exclaimed, and I whipped my head toward the game.

  The dragons were flapping their wings and hovering in midair. Their eyes were glassy and vacant.