“Flare, please enter the Golden Office,” the voice repeated in a pleasant manner.
It was time to meet Saaron again after three months of avoiding each other. As I headed toward the golden door, a sort of wedge in appeared in the crowd, giving me a free pass. It had nothing to do with respect. To them, I was a freak.
The double door was twice as tall as me, and when I cracked them open their thickness appeared to be around two inches. Solid doors.
I entered.
A small hall, which had none of the grandeur from the previous chamber or the rest of the academy, welcomed me. Patterned carpets, red walls with golden stripes, and the desk at the end where a woman, whose voice I’d heard in the chamber, sat.
“I was called in,” I said coolly.
The woman looked very official. Stacks of papers flanked her small figure. Directly before her lay a single sheet and a pen.
“Flare,” she said in exactly the same voice as earlier. “I need you to give me a signature here.”
Signature? What for? Since joining the academy, the officials haven’t required anything from me. Suddenly, they wanted a signature. I didn’t like the change in the nature of relations.
“I won’t sign anything,” I said bluntly.
“Expected,” she nodded. “This means that from now on, you’ll have to earn your own money. The academy will keep providing you with a room, a basic uniform, and food, but anything extra won’t come your way.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Students who acquire a scholarship, have free access to a swimming pool, expanded library, gym, premium buffet, and—”
“I understand,” I cut in. “But I’m not interested.”
The woman behind the desk received my refusal with an adamant face. Another dragoness with dampened dragon rage. At first, her look took me back to a conversation with Elleria in the medical section, where she’d revealed a second personality that contrasted with her draconic nature. And yet, I noticed nuances. Elleria’s alter ego hasn’t been deprived of emotions as this woman here. Almost like… Saaron. The demi-dragon’s behavior seemed to maintain a seemingly emotionless façade except he had it well hidden. If I’d risk a theory, then the possible outcomes ranged too far into the territory I feared to even begin to explore. Could it be that Elleria and Saaron worked together? The way they switched their personalities suggested as much. Where in this mess was a place for Ignelion and Mirenne?
“You may enter the Head’s office,” the woman said without any interest in me. I appreciated it.
I had no idea what to expect beyond the red door. Would there be a huge chamber fit for the status of the Head of the Dragon House or something modest? The issue here lay in the fact that being emotionless made it difficult to understand a person’s character.
Chapter 18
I had no expectation, and yet Saaron’s taste caught me off guard. A spacious room was divided by the glass walls, creating four smaller compartments with a corridor in the middle. One of the rooms was opened and I assumed that they wanted me to enter it.
The lights were bright, carpets were gray, and it didn’t really look expensive. Was is this truly the Head’s office? The glass was stained and couldn’t see anyone inside until I crossed the threshold of the room. It has one bare chair in the middle and a long desk behind which five people sat. I knew three of them; Saaron, Ignelion and that fucking bitch Selene. What was she doing here… and Ignelion? This was messed up.
I’ve never seen the man in a long mustache and long graying hair and the oldest face in the academy. The last woman gave off a strange aura. She was handsome, but not exactly beautiful. I liked her long straight blue hair, which was very uncommon. She possessed nice gray eyes and rather pale skin.
Everyone except Selene and Saaron gave me stern looks. The demi-dragon’s expression was blank, while Selene looked amused. I hated her for the fact of using emotions that they denied us, dragons!
“Miss Flare,” Saaron said flatly. “Do you understand the nature of the quarterly review?”
“Not really,” I answered. “Isn’t it routinely done for everyone?”
Selene’s amusement morphed in an open smirk that denoted a clear message; derision.
“It is not,” Saaron said. “We pick only students, we feel need further guidance.”
I knew I shouldn’t say it. But fuck their important attitudes.
“Too bad that I don’t need and want any guidance from you. Are we done here?”
The blue-haired woman’s brows knit together. It looked that some rules were only applied to dragons.
“What is this?” she blurted in an angry voice. “Why is this pup speaking without respect to us? Saaron, explain.”
Saaron’s eyes were on me. He didn’t need to say anything. The intensity of his gaze spoke volumes. Was he repeating in his head that moment three months ago when we’d lost our control and had sex? Not that I expected him… wait. Why am I thinking about it? For three months I’ve been avoiding thinking about Dramer and Saaron. Self-pleasure didn’t possess the same magic as two grinding bodies. Only by not thinking about them, I’ve managed to get by. Obviously, I despised Saaron, too. None the less, I didn’t need to love him to have sex with that bastard.
“She needs more time than others,’ Saaron finally said.
“Is that so?” the old man asked. “Her class results are by far the worst of the entire first-year cohort.”
“Except, the spells class,” I chimed in.
“Saaron, get her under control,” the blue-haired woman hissed.
“That isn’t easy, Rosa Watermane,” Saaron admitted. “This girl may turn into another Dramer.”
His words cut deep. I expected… no, I wanted to see similar hurt in Selene’s eyes. Wasn’t she Dramer’s fiancée after all? But the demi-unicorn didn’t show the slightest reaction. It could be an act, of course. Unicorns were the psychic powerhouses that could manipulate the emotions better than anyone else in the world. Still, my blood boiled. Not entirely because of her, Saaron’s presence here played a hefty role in it as well. The bastard was handsome and now that I knew how he looked naked, it wasn’t hard to strip him naked with my eyes.
“Dramer is better than you, Saaron!” I said staring with a challenge at him.
“Enough of this!” Rosa Watermane’s fist slammed against the desk and a wave of her power reached me. She was level 8 and possessed the power of water… more actually, she was like water. What exactly was she? “If you cannot get hold of this girl, Saaron. I will do it. I will not allow her lack of respect to tarnish our status.”
She slowly rose, and I sensed her power level to skyrocket to her maximum. Was she going to strike me here? Fine. I wouldn’t back down because some hag threatened me into submission. I couldn’t bend under pressure. But then, what choice I had left? Neither my friends nor Dramer have contacted me so far. Elleria has gone into hiding, and it seemed Ignelion wasn’t going to help as he had claimed in the library. I could go ahead, butthead and ignore all the rules they threw at me and be the outcast, hated and despised. Or comply and become one of them.
Easy.
I would never go against my instinct and it screamed to defy the bullshit they tried to feed me with.
“It’s quite a show of power, Rosa,” Ignelion said. “But an assault on a student? You’ve never seemed keen going against Dramer, and he’d called you names. What’s changed?”
The blue-haired woman gave him a deadly stare that Ignelion shrugged off, despite having a lower magic power level and a scrawny body. Why was he here anyway?
“I agree with Ignelion,” Selene said. Is she for real? She is the last person to be my ally. “There is no need for violence here. It seems that only you, Rosa Waterman, and you, Hugman, hadn’t had a prior chance to familiarize with Flare. She is quite a piece of work. I have to say…”
Ignelion twitched revealing a shock, which he quickly masked. It told me that Mirenne hasn’t spoken to
him about our meeting. But it didn’t explain why he hasn’t known that the director knew about it. After all, I told Elleria about this. So, it seemed that the relationship between Ignelion and Elleria wasn’t as solid as expected. But I knew now that Mirenne had shared her knowledge with her daughter.
“It’s the first time I hear it,” Hugman murmured. “So, the rumor, three months ago, was it true?”
Instinctively, I looked at Saaron’s who maintained the mask of indifference.
“Yes,” Selene admitted. “One of the Heads of the Houses was intimately involved with this girl.” Her voice was drenched in satisfaction. Was her plan to discredit Saaron? It made no sense. Her mother knew the truth. What was the point of revealing it now? Unless they waited for the right moment.
“Interesting,” Hugman murmured.
“Dragons…” Rosa Watermane hissed. “Troublemakers as always. Anyway. I don’t care what kind of deal you have had with this pup. Our job here is to assess and guide her.”
If she could guide me anywhere with that attitude, I’d end up in hell for sure. I waited, though I guessed they misunderstood my silence because their expressions relaxed.
So, the fact of our sex doesn’t seem a big deal… no, something doesn’t add up here, I thought suspiciously.
“To sum up, your results are very poor, the behavior has improved, but it seems you still cannot muster respect toward your betters, and you haven’t made a single friend since joining the Dragon Academy.”
“If my behavior improved why didn’t my points go up? I want to meet my friends.”
“I think, she raised a good point, Saaron,” Selene said. Once more she surprised me with that out of blue sympathy. I’d never trust this woman. She must know about me and Dramer, and whatever she’s been doing was aimed at destroying me. “You froze her points so she can’t meet her friends and, you, Hugman did the same to her friends.”
“What?!” I rose from my chair. “You did what?” I repeated. Rage filling my veins with an immediate surge. “For three months I’ve believed that I could gain fucking points so I can finally see them, but it was all for nothing?”
I was the best in my class if it came to spells. The difference between me and the second person was substantial. The teacher, Hakura, has given me a few tips that went beyond the standards of the first year. He was truly falling for me. It was time I put them to good use.
“Calm down, girl,” Rosa Watermane growled. “Or I will put you down.”
“Good grief,” Hugman murmured.
Selene smiled, while Ignelion squinted at her, but said nothing. Saaron remained silent.
“Say something, bastard!” I hissed. I gathered two coils of power in my hands. It was a purified version of fire. In other words, a more powerful and destructive form of energy than I’ve been using so far.
Saaron just sat and stared at me with his blank face. I had enough of this. I’d shared with him one of the most incredible moments in my life, but right now, I wished to reduce him to a cinder.
Two yellowish fireballs shot out of my hands before I knew it, but both of them were intercepted by the serpent made of water. It snaked in the air and ate them like they were nothing! The next second, something smashed into the right side of my face.
“Attacking a teacher, you little punk?” Rosa Watermane growled. The water serpent twisted in the air, around her body. She looked kind of magnificent. “I will give you a lesson, you will not forget.”
Suddenly, the room’s air humidity increased, then hundreds of droplets appeared suspended all over the room.
“Good grief,” Hugman murmured. “That girl worked her up quite well.”
“Stop it, Rosa,” Ignelion snapped, but the fellow woman ignored him. “Dammit, Saaron, do something. Flare is your responsibility.”
The slightest possible twitch of emotions flickered in Saaron’s red eyes. But if he was going to do something, then he would be too late. Rosa Watermane was on the offensive. The droplets merged into ten fist-sized water spheres.
Rosa extended her hands to both sides. I received a satisfied glance from Selene, otherwise, she seemed not really present here.
“Ten Spheres of…”
“Rosa!”
“…Ocean!”
The spheres acquired an inner light and shot toward me. Things happened too fast. Lights flashed, and pain flared… wait, no, it wasn’t pain. A stinging all over my body. I saw Ingnelion burst toward me and webs of runes weaved themselves into reality.
Chaos descended on the room. Splinters of wood flying all over the place. More water droplets rushed from all directions.
And yet, nothing of this even touched me.
The entire commotion lasted maybe three seconds.
“You have balls, woman,” Saaron said coolly. “Going against a demi-dragon.”
Saaron stood between me and Rosa Watermane. Ignelion was next to me. I saw his concerned expression that told me that the troubles weren’t over.
“Elementals are the descendants of the Titans,” Hugman murmured pleased that his chair was left intact, though the desk before him disintegrated. He must have used some serious shield spell to keep all the destructive energy flying around away from him. And to think he seemed so fragile.
“Shut up, cursed man,” Rosa Watermane snapped. “Elementals have nothing to do with Titans. And as for you Saaron. Backing the girl up tells the story, isn’t it?”
“What the fuck happened?” I whispered to Ignelion.
“I’m not exactly sure myself, Flare.”
It was a startling admission. Keeping a composed face was harder than I expected, but I needed to focus on the business at hand. At the moment, one of the Heads of the Houses wanted to murder me.
“Your treacherous attack could kill her,” Saaron said without a trace of empathy, and yet, my heart skipped a beat. He defended me. Was it because he cared about me or his position as the Head of the Dragon House? Oh man, this was annoying. Not knowing the exact reasoning behind his action. I must confront him about this.
Selene rose as if she now realized what just happened.
“I think, we can resolve this peacefully,” she said. “After all, it’s our error to put water and fire in the same room. We should expect this would occur.”
“Says the bitch who stole my fiancée,” Rosa Watermane growled. What the hell? Does she speak about Dramer? Were they engaged? How fucked up this entire academy is?
“Oh Rosa, we both understand I didn’t steal anyone. It was your failing that pushed him away. And now, your other failing might cost you the position of the Head of the Elemental House.”
“I vote to end the meeting,” Ignelion raised his voice. “There is no point dragging Flare into this farce. Your private differences have nothing to do with her.”
I glanced at him and a long-gone warmth stirred in my soul. I’ve seriously missed my friends. Their absence deepened a wound inside me. I needed to heal it before moving on. Without Rust and Simona, my life wasn’t complete.
“Agreed,” everyone except Rosa Watermane said.
“Wait,” I snapped drawing her deadly stare. I gave zero fucks. “I want to see my friends.”
Everyone looked at Hugman who shrugged.
“It was a favor to Saaron,” he murmured.
“I’ll agree to it, Flare, only if you begin to take the studies here seriously.”
My teeth ground loudly. So, what now? Should I bend now? It’d be for the sake of my friends, after all, wouldn’t it?
“I see,” Saaron said when my silence stretched. “We will discuss it when you’ll come to your wits.”
“I won’t yield,” I whispered loud enough for him to hear it.
“You’re free to go, Flare. The meeting is over.”
Chapter 19
Without the slightest idea what’d exactly happened in Saaron’s office, I stepped outside into the chamber with the fountain in the middle. Crowds milled around, some people looked excited others not
some much. Only then I realized that they weren’t only dragons here. Other students came downstairs as well. With the influx of other Houses, my notoriety decreased.
Could I possibly…?
“Flare?”
My friends…
I spun on the heel and found myself face to face with Elleria.
“I had a good guess that they will call you in.” I doubted it was her guess, though her relationship with Ignelion didn’t seem so close anymore in my eyes. “We need to talk.”
She turned sharply and wedged between students. Curiosity took a better of me and I followed her until we found ourselves alone in some remote corridor.
“What do you want from me?” I asked not hiding my dislike. She’d promised me a training, then she abandoned me.
“You didn’t heed my advice and haven’t made a single friend, Flare.”
“No shit. I thought you’ll train me, Elleria.”
“Easy there, the world doesn’t revolve only around you,” she smirked mischievously. “There was something I had to acquire first.” She clapped a bag at her perfect waist. Without her around it was easy to forget my own shortcomings. Even though I was a straight girl, the sight of her lithe body caused shivers. I could snuggle and…
Snap!
“What does that dumb face of yours means?”
“Not your business,” I murmured feeling as my face blushed. Sex starvation was doing funny things to me.
She noticed it of course. Elleria was a sharp beast. A new light gleamed in her eyes, and then it was gone, and she returned to the earth.
“Let’s get serious, shall we?”
“I can’t wait,” I said. “So, what do you want from me this time? I’m not buying the training thing.”
“It’s true, though. I finally came to fulfill my promise.”
*
By the training, Elleria meant learning how to pass the year one exam without losing the dragon rage. She revealed as much as I’d guessed myself. She possessed a second personality.
We met in the library after the classes and have gone through the theories of the mind duality spell. Apparently, this was the basic unicorns’ magic. It allowed the user to possess different sets of skills and personalities. At first, I couldn’t really understand the sense of this magic until Elleria has given me examples. The unicorns utilized it to overcome moral and physical issues. For some reason, the second personality was able to learn faster than the prime one.
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