Darkbeam Part II

by Adrienne Woods

  Our conversation drifted off after that, but I was certain I had gathered all the information I needed.

  I had to consider his confession about the guidance of a higher power.

  Could she have two dragons, two Dents?

  I wasn’t the type of dragon who liked to share. I always had some sort of a claim over Elena even though I don’t want to admit it. It could be the light Paul was talking about. The stronger force.

  It didn’t bother me much that she was with Lucian, which told me I didn’t see her in that way, but knowing that she could have two dragons, two Dents… How the fuck was that going to work?

  Crazy thoughts swirled in my mind, shit I didn’t want to think about. I needed more Fire Cain to dull my mind.

  Paul wasn’t here on Goran’s doing. If he was, he was good at hiding it, and nobody, except me, was that good.

  On Saturday night, I discovered Elena wasn’t at Dragonia Academy.

  She’d gone with Lucian to the palace.

  When Elena returned on Sunday, every cell inside me froze.

  She wasn’t a virgin anymore.

  My chest tightened and I struggled to breathe. Being around her was even worse than it was before. My mind warred with me, and I couldn’t calm it.

  That fucker!

  It wasn’t his to take and yet he took it.

  I groaned long and hard.

  “Are you okay?” Tabitha asked, concerned.

  “I will be,” I said as I got up and stormed out of the cafeteria.

  If I didn’t calm myself, I was going to rip Lucian’s head off his body.

  Being with her was one thing, but taking away something that wasn’t his to take away, was another thing altogether.

  She was the Rubicon’s property.

  I headed to the gym, one place I never frequented, but I needed to work some of my rage off without destroying another mountain top or, heaven forbid, killing the Prince of Tith.

  Why was I this angry?

  I punched the bag, working up to a good rhythm. Sweat dripped from my forehead.

  I still itched to rip Lucian to pieces. But it would give everything away.

  I needed Fire Cain to subdue the beast. I knew it was the beast because I didn’t want Elena in that way.

  I went up to my room and found Lucian waiting for me with a shit-eating grin on his face.

  He narrowed his eyes when he saw me glaring at him. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine. Why the fuck is everybody asking me that?”

  He snorted. “What happened to your knuckles?”

  “Nothing that won’t heal.”

  Lucian shook his head. “Blake, talk to me.”

  “Lucian, get off my back. I’m not in the mood.”

  I was surprised that I was so calm when a part of me wanted to rip him to pieces.

  “Well, if you don’t want to talk about whatever’s going on in your mind, then I need you to listen. I have something to tell you.”

  I looked at him, tilting my head as indication that he should talk.

  “Do you know who Tanya Le Frey is?”

  I stared at Lucian.

  Fuck! I wanted to close my eyes but resisted the urge. I walked past him without saying a word.

  “Blake, answer me. Did you know that Queen Catherine had a dragon?”

  “I can’t remember,” I said, but the lie burned my throat.

  He frowned. “I thought you could remember everything.”

  “They must have compelled me, Lucian, because I didn’t know.” At least I sounded sincere. “The queen had a dragon?” I asked as a way to keep up the pretense of my ignorance.

  “Yeah,” Lucian nodded. “She was part of a Dent. They must have compelled you so you wouldn’t remember her.”

  “She had a Green Vapor, but if she was part of a Dent…” I went into pretend mode.

  “Yeah, she could’ve been one of the first. You don’t remember anything?”

  I shook my head. “I just remember Queen Catherine. She was always so sad. I don’t remember her dragon.”

  “Fuckers.”

  I tried to not roll my eyes. He was one of them.

  “I think she is in the Acker woods, Blake.”

  My gaze found his again. “You’re not serious.”

  “Nobody knows anything. Tanya shared a bond with Queen Catherine. Just think about it.” He sat in front of me. “All of them promised, they vowed to keep you sane for as long as it took, Blake. None of them ever came up with a back-up plan. It was as if they knew you wouldn’t get lost. Someone knew something, and I think the answer lies with Tanya.”

  “Lucian. It’s the Acker woods. No one gets out of there.”

  “I’m not planning on dying. I just need to know what can claim you, so I can use it next time. I almost had you this time.”

  “You had nothing. There will always be a greater force fighting for me, Lucian. You are not the royal meant to claim me.”

  I wanted to say that royal doesn’t exist but the words refused to leave my mouth. It wasn’t true anymore.

  “I know, that royal doesn’t exist, but I’m the closest to it. And I am going to keep my promise.”

  “You’re going to lose. Lucian, you need to let this go, please.”

  “I can’t. You’re like my brother. The darkness took too much away from me, Blake. It’s not getting you, too.” His voice broke, then he turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

  The fact that we used to be close was biting me in the ass now, because there was no way in hell Lucian would give up on me.

  I never should have made friends with him; I should have kept to myself. But the old Blake wasn’t like that.

  He was the complete opposite of what I was now.

  The date for Lucian’s quest was set, only a few days away. I tried everything to deter him from going, but he wouldn’t give up. I even considered telling him the truth, because he would find out the truth anyway.

  The answer lay with Tanya. I didn’t know if she’d made a vow to Queen Catherine or not, but I couldn’t take a chance on that. Lucian was going to discover the truth one way or another. He would discover the truth about Elena, and that I had lied to him all this time. That Brian’s death was my fault because we never would have gone on that crazy mission if I’d opened my fucking mouth and told someone the truth.

  But there was still so much at stake.

  If I gave in, I would be giving up that integral part of me that made me who I was.

  And George wouldn’t tell me what the Dent was. He couldn’t explain why Becky was now his everything, because the plain truth was that he didn’t know, because the Dent was a spell. But George didn’t want to admit it because of how he felt about Becky.

  One thing was certain, though. He was completely different than the old George.

  “Will you do me a favor?” Lucian asked.

  I quirked an eyebrow and shrugged.

  “Look after Elena.”

  I huffed. “Let me come with you.”

  “It’s my foretelling, I have to find its truth, not you, Blake,” he muttered in frustration.

  “Lucian, please.”

  He shook his head. “Just keep an eye on Elena. I don’t trust Paul with her.”

  “You know he is her Dent, right?”

  “Pheizer said that’s a load of crap,” he snapped.

  “Oh come on, Lucian.”

  “I’m not one hundred percent sure that what he says—”

  “He killed his own kind to save us that night.”

  Lucian slammed his fist on the desk. “No, you saved us that night.”

  I pushed up from my bed. “Dammit, you said he deserves a chance.”

  He rubbed a hand over his face. “I know what I said, it’s just—”

  “Your father.”

  Lucian nodded. “He still wants me to be aware. I shouldn’t leave, but I must. I’m begging you, please, keep an eye on Elena.”

  I grunted in defeat.<
br />
  He smiled. “I know she annoys you but I don’t know why.”

  I shrugged.

  He grinned. “It doesn’t matter, as long as I don’t have to slay you.”

  “Seriously?” I said, knowing what he was thinking.

  “I have my doubts, Blake. That speech you made at the revealing was…”

  “Fuck the speech, I was drunk.”

  “Well, you know what they say. A drunk man speaks the truth.”

  “Fuck off. I don’t want your girl.”

  Lucian laughed. “I’m kidding. If you wanted her, you would’ve had her already.”

  Like when he was with Arianna and I took that away from him to find out her fears.

  “I still need to thank you for that, Blake.”

  “For what?”

  “For showing me who Arianna truly was. I would’ve never seen Elena if it wasn’t for that. So, thank you. I mean it.”

  I sat back on my bed. “Don’t expect me to say ‘you’re welcome’, since it wasn’t my intention. I just needed to know what she was afraid of. I’m sorry.”

  Lucian smiled wryly. “Either way, you showed me that she could never be trusted.”

  I grinned.

  “You’ll keep an eye on Elena, right?”

  I nodded. “Sure, whatever will make you sleep better at night. It’s the least I can do for all the shit you are doing for me.”

  He smiled. “I know I will find something.”

  Lucian’s Range Rover was parked at the entrance of the forest.

  I was going to take him down to the ground, since Dragonia Academy was hoisted in the sky, floating in the air.

  I saw him saying goodbye to Elena and quietly slipped out the gate.

  I tried not to pry, but I could hear them easily.

  She was afraid that he wouldn’t come back.

  “I am going to ask you something and I know it sounds stupid, but please, just do it.”

  “What?”

  “I thought a bit more about what my father said about Paul. It’s not that, Elena. He’s your dragon and I’m sure he wouldn’t do anything to hurt you otherwise he will have to deal with me.”

  She didn’t want to listen to Lucian’s warning and I remember what Paul said. She had feelings for Paul; she didn’t want to admit them.

  “I spoke to Blake. Just tell him if you’re going somewhere with Paul, please.”

  I didn’t look at them but I could feel her eyes on me.

  “Promise, Elena.”

  “I promise,” she said.

  I took off my robe to shift as Lucian hurried toward me.

  Tears shone in his eyes.

  Lucian was going to hate me when he came back, and there would be nothing I could say to tell him how sorry I was.

  I flapped my wings, lifting off the ground.

  Lucian grabbed my paw. This could very well be the last time Lucian would get the chance to ride with me.

  I flicked my paw and he crashed onto my back.

  The crowd below gasped as I did a sudden dive.

  “See, it’s not so horrible carrying someone on your back, is it?”

  “Yeah, the only problem is that no one is worthy to ride on my back, except you,” I growled back at him.

  “Blake, I’m going to come back. I promise. And you know my promises are just as unbreakable as yours.”

  I chuckled. King Helmut and Emanuel were already waiting when we arrived. Lucian slid off my wing and landed elegantly on his feet.

  “He suits you, son.”

  Lucian grinned. “I need to win the big guy fair and square.” He tapped a finger on my snout and I growled.

  The king and Emanuel laughed, but Lucian gave me a small smile.

  “You know it won’t be like that, Blake.”

  “I know. I’ll be honored to have someone as brave as you, Lucian. Find out what you need to and come back safely.”

  Lucian nodded. “See you later,” he said as he turned and headed toward his Range Rover.

  I didn’t stay to hear the rest of his goodbyes.

  I flew back to Dragonia, and went straight to my room.

  What if Lucian didn’t come back?

  Nobody would know the truth, but I would be responsible for his death. Just like I was responsible for Brian’s death.

  I should’ve told him the truth, and I wanted to follow him and tell him. I wanted to beg him for forgiveness for having lied for so long, and for what I was to Elena.

  It would be better than him going into the Acker woods and never coming back, but I couldn’t do it.

  The beast, or perhaps that invisible force that wanted me with Elena, was keeping me in place.

  I kept to myself in the days after Lucian left, though Tabitha was a permanent fixture in my room—she would have moved in if it was allowed.

  It was fun for a while. We took showers together and we slept late, but then the darkness came back, and the fighting started again.

  So I chucked her out.

  I was following my grumbling stomach to the cafeteria when that sickeningly sweet scent I associated with the Hippogriff assaulted my senses.

  I looked around me.

  “What is it?” Jeff asked as he walked up to me, sniffing the air, too.

  “Nothing,” I muttered, the smell gone.

  This wasn’t good. It meant that the Hippogriff was close by, and that danger still lurked inside Dragonia.

  I found Paul sitting alone at a table.

  He’d told me that he was some sort of a tracker, so perhaps he could be of some use to us after all.

  I’d thought that with Lucian gone, Paul would’ve grabbed every chance he could to spend time with Elena, but evidently there was still something keeping him from sitting with her.

  “Hey.” Paul looked up in surprise as I sat down.

  “I need your help,” I said.

  He looked puzzled. “What?”

  I told him about the night at the Warbel games, about the Hippogriff and how I lost her, how she vanished into thin air.

  “Dude, please don’t think I have—”

  I shook my head. “I’m not. I’m not entirely sure how she vanished, though, that could be linked to the Wyverns.”

  “Yeah, I hear you. So you think a Wyvern is behind this?” he asked, scraping his fork along the plate.

  I nodded. “She had to get the help from one to just vanish like that.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “You told me your ability kind of works like a tracker.”

  “Yeah, if I have something of hers. Her smell… anything.”

  “I don’t have anything, but my father has one of her feathers. Would that work?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Good. I’ll get it.” My hunger forgotten, I got up and left the cafeteria.

  Luckily, when I got home, it wasn’t hard to convince my father to give me the feather.

  I told him that I was on to her, and that George had agreed to track her down.

  “Do you need my help?”

  “No, Dad. Let us sort it out.”

  “Blake, please just don’t burn down any more warehouses.”

  I nodded tightly and headed back to Dragonia.

  That night, I gave Paul the feather.

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Let me know, okay?”

  He nodded and closed the door as I left.

  I didn’t hear a peep from Paul for two days, and I was becoming uncomfortable with his silence.

  I strode into the cafeteria and saw him chatting to Jeff at one of the tables.

  Paul winked at someone behind me, and I turned to find Elena.

  I shook my head as I headed over to him. He could chat her up later. Right now, I needed answers.

  “So,” I said as I sat down, glaring at him.

  “Blake, it doesn’t work like that. It’s going to take a few days.”

  “It’s already been a few days. I trust you, Paul. You don
’t want that to change.”

  “Of course not. I know you’re on edge about this, but a lot of people handled this feather. I’m picking up a lot of scents, not just the scent you want me to track.”

  I couldn’t argue with that, because it made sense.

  I sighed. “Fine, a few more days.”

  “If I get something. I’m doing everything in my power to help, Blake.”

  I nodded. I believed him. I shouldn’t be taking my impatience out on him.

  “You still hear Paul’s voice?” Sammy’s voice sounded as if she was sitting right at our table and not on the opposite side of the cafeteria.

  “No, he’s been quiet lately. Don’t know why,” Elena answered.

  “Maybe he doesn’t like having someone in his head?” Becky piped up.

  I froze.

  Someone in his head.

  I felt sick to my stomach again.

  I got up and left.

  Someone in his head.

  No, there was no way Elena could hear my thoughts. She wasn’t that strong.

  I told myself to calm down. Paul was weak, and he didn’t guard his mind as well as I guarded mine. To make sure, I kept tabs on Elena.

  Eventually, I got a chance to prove that it wasn’t my thoughts she heard. It was the Wyvern’s.

  She was in Anatomy, where Gregory was giving a lecture on Green Vapors.

  It was one of his favorite trick questions: where does the Green Vapor’s Chlorine lie?

  It wasn’t in any of the compartments he drew on the board.

  I knew Elena wouldn’t know the answer. I doubted that Paul would know the answer.

  I thought about the board and how Gregory drew the compartments and cleared my mind of everything else.

  Then I thought about another picture. A Green Vapor’s chlorine lay in its throat, above the stomach.

  “Elena,” Gregory called her name.

  “It’s not any of them,” she answered. “The Green-Vapor’s chlorine is located just above the stomach, close to its throat.”

  I froze.

  This couldn’t be happening.

  The Dent wasn’t even in place yet.

  I clutched my stomach.

  “Blake?” Professor Pheizer asked. “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t know, why don’t you tell me? You claim you know so much about us.”

  She just looked at me. “I don’t claim anything, I know more than you think.”