“Whatever. The way you said it makes me think your mind is dirty.”
“I’m not like that.”
I laughed with raised eyebrows. “Sure you’re not. Now let’s get started.”
I had to suppress my laughter again as Blake mocked me one more time with his.
“I didn’t mean that, I meant the lesson. The fighting lesson,” I retraced my words. Guess it’s true what they say: boys and their hormones get twenty times crazier at night.
“Whatever you say, Princess.”
“I’m serious.”
“Okay. So I’ve seen how you fight. Not bad, I see Lucian has trained you well as you fight more or less the same style he used to fight.”
I smiled as he mentioned Lucian. It wasn’t that tearful feeling anymore. It was peaceful, grateful that I’d known him.
“He taught you to fight good, clean. I’m going to teach you how to fight dirty.”
“That is not good.”
“Nope, it is. Dirty fighters always win.”
“Fine, then bring it on. Teach me how to fight dirty. Am I going to be able to head-butt people?”
He laughed. “I can teach you that if you like.”
“I thought it was as easy as hitting someone with your head.”
“Nope, you do it wrong, you end up with one mother of a headache.”
“Oh, so there are rules in fighting dirty too?”
“There are. But only a few,” he said. “Now pick up your axes. No more jokes. I take fighting quite seriously.”
I did as he said and we started to fight again.
He was really good and so fast, I could hardly pinpoint his next move. He had me again in so many death grips.
He then broke them down, telling me how to get out of each and every one.
“I thought that the thing about these grips was that there isn’t a way to get out of them?”
“There is always a way to get out of one.”
I tried the first one, it was easy. The second one was easy too. Starting from the fourth it got hard, because Blake was really strong.
“Use my strength, Elena,” he started to grunt.
I tried, but it didn’t work and he showed me again.
I didn’t know how long we’d been fighting, practicing, but it was interesting in a very annoying way.
He let go of me hard and was taking huge breaths. The old Blake, with not a lot of patience, was starting to seep through again.
“Again,” I said and we would start all over again, just so we could end up in the same stupid grip I couldn’t get out of.
“What do you do, Elena?” He was totally different than in Art of War: very serious, and I could tell he was very close to losing it again. This Blake was making me scared, just a tiny bit, and he always knew what buttons to push.
“I don’t know.”
“C’mon, even Tabitha could get out of this one.”
He made me furious just mentioning her name. I wasn’t a fucking Snow dragon, far from it.
“I’m not Tabitha,” I said and tried again to get out of his grip with no success. It was harder than the previous one.
He let me go. “I told you many times how to get out of it.”
“I can’t. Your way doesn’t work.” We were both seriously getting fed up with this.
“So you want to tell me that Tabitha is better than you? Never thought that could be possible Elena.” His look of pure disappointment and anger fueled me more.
Why was he mentioning her so many times?
“Again,” he said.
I went for him again, ducked and dove the first two grips he tried to catch me in. The third time, he did it again.
“I have to say, it wasn’t the only thing Tabitha was good at. She is a much better kisser than you too.”
What!?
I stomped on his toe for that, and hit him with my elbow. His grip faltered and I attacked him again. But one shove from his body and I fell flat on my ass for real. He didn’t even help try to stop the landing like he had in Art of War.
What was this? I knew he took fighting seriously, but this seriously was ridiculous. My elbow hurt and I saw a big scrape on my arm. Shake it off, Elena.
“Get up and fight like you are supposed to.”
“You are seriously pissing me off here. I’m not in the mood to fight anymore.” I got up, ready to walk away. I wasn’t a dirty fighter.
His hand pulled me back. “Not so fast. You think your enemy is just going to let you walk away? Tabitha would never walk away.”
I laughed sarcastically. “For your information, she is a fucking Snow dragon. She wouldn’t walk away because she wouldn’t give anyone the chance to walk away from to start with. She would’ve fled a long time ago.”
“Not Tabitha. Now again.”
I attacked him again. I hated the way he kept speaking about her. I wasn’t the jealous type—or was I? I knew I was probably a lousy kisser, but I know Tabitha, she would’ve fled.
He grabbed me into a death grip he should’ve never gotten the chance to get me in.
“This is pathetic, Elena. You are better than this—or are you?” he roared as he got me in between his legs on the ground. He squeezed a tiny bit harder, and I bit him on his leg as hard as I could.
I pushed myself up as he pulled his leg back. I hated this Blake. It was…
The Dent was wearing off. I didn’t know why I thought about it, but it had to be that.
He was going to hate my guts again.
“You bit me.” He trampled on his one leg. “Only dogs bite, Elena.”
“I thought you wanted to teach me to fight dirty. Make up your mind, Blake.”
He shook his head. “To think I wasted a Dent on you.” He had so much hatred in his voice and I was having no more of it. I went for him again and in two seconds I was in his death grip for the umpteenth time. I grunted. I was so furious. I knew this was going to happen. It was a fucking spell, one that didn’t work on the Rubicon because he was too strong.
“Calm down, Elena.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down.” I tried to get out of his grip but he just held me tighter.
“Calm down.” He’s voice was gentle and right at my ear.
It felt as if I could breathe fire. “Let me go.”
“Calm down.” He spoke once more. “I didn’t mean any of those things. But I had to teach you the first rule of this class.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Anger. If you fight with anger, you will lose.” He still had me in his grip. His body was behind mine, with one of his arms around my neck and the other one holding my arm behind my back. His one leg was blocking mine and I had no idea how he kept his balance. “I wanted to use your father’s promise, breaking it, but that would’ve been cruel. I really didn’t think this one was going to work as well as it did.”
“You made that up?” I was furious.
“Of course I made that up. Now calm down.”
“Urgh.” I let out a frustrated grunt, hating that I’d just showed him what he’d become to me.
“Deep breaths,” he spoke.
“I still don’t understand.”
“If you must use anger to win, then make sure you are where I am. Be the one that makes the other one angry, Elena. Crawl under their skin and push buttons. Make them raving mad. Because if you attack in anger, you will lose.”
I sighed and took another deep breath.
“Sorry about the things I said. I really didn’t mean them.”
“Okay, fine. You proved your point,” I said. “Don’t attack in anger.” I was still in his death grip.
“That’s my girl.” He gave me a soft kiss below my ear and let me go.
I felt like an idiot.
“I think that’s all for tonight. You’ve done good.” He grinned.
I gave him a sarcastic look. “Good. You serious? You had me in so many grips.”
“The beginning you got out of them almost
as fast as I thought I got you in them. You messed up when I started pushing some buttons.” He opened his water bottle and took a few gulps.
Okay, so don’t attack in anger. He handed me his bottle and I took a few gulps. I still didn’t like how he’d used Tabitha’s name, and to think it’d had the effect he wanted. That was so stupid, Elena.
He walked over to me and smiled as he wrapped his arms around me.
“I don’t know if I should thank you or kick you.”
“Is the thank you a violent gesture too?”
I couldn’t help but laugh and gave him a hug back. “You really scared me there for a minute. I saw the old Blake.”
“I can still become him, Elena. Whenever I need to.”
“Still, I wasn’t so fond of him.”
He just smiled. “I was an idiot, I know. I said sorry already for that.”
“You did,” I said, remembering that day he’d told me everything I’d made him feel when I came to Paegeia.
We walked back to the Academy.
“When I get back, we can practice that head-butt.”
“Who am I going to practice it on?”
“I heal fast,” he said and flinched. “Show me your arm.”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine, Elena. I almost gave myself away there.”
“You what?”
“When I saw the scrape, and that you’d gotten hurt. Well, I almost stopped, and then my lesson would’ve been wasted.”
I pulled up my sleeve and showed him the scrape.
He touched it gently and the warm zing sensation spread all over the burn. When he took his hand away, it was gone.
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. One thing I would say is that I’m never going to forget that lesson.”
“Good, as you should never forget it.”
He opened the main door. It was like ten o’clock and I was dead tired.
He hugged me on the podium again. “Sweet dreams, Princess.” His lips brushed my head.
A throat cleared, which made us both jump. “Tomorrow, Elena,” Blake said in a serious tone as he let me go.
I had to suppress my laughter. “Good night, Master Longwei.”
“Yes, I hope it is a good night, Elena,” he said while watching Blake’s retreating figure run up the boys’ stairs two steps at a time.
I couldn’t help but smile.
Still, earlier tonight, when he’d said that he’d wasted that Dent on me, whatever that meant, brought another feeling of doubt in the pit of my stomach. He really sounded like the old Blake, ready to tear my guts out. It was cruel, but he’d made his point. Don’t attack in anger.
FRIDAY CAME FASTER than I wanted it to. Classes went super-fast.
Blake was in his element and it was evident that he was built for war and all that crap. He thrived on it.
We were so different from one another.
At two o’clock Becky, Sammy and I were waiting in the main lobby. I’d asked Master Longwei this morning if Becky and Sammy could go with, but he’d declined, because he knew that I had to take a hundred people through to the other side this weekend. If that fell over to Monday or Tuesday, well, it was his reason and he didn’t want me to be distracted at all. It was so stupid.
Blake came running down the stairs real fast with a huge bag over his shoulder.
He took mine, opened his bag, put mine inside, then zipped it up.
“Please, be careful.” Sammy was the first to speak.
“Samantha,” Blake got back up and put the bag over his shoulder again. “I’m the Rubicon. Don’t forget that.”
“You are still my brother, idiot. And even if you are the Rubicon, you are not indestructible. Be careful.”
“Fine,” he said, giving her a one arm hug and a quick kiss on the head.
“You too, Elena,” Becky said.
“I’m just taking them in and out. Nothing hard,” I spoke.
“Still, you never know what could happen. Be safe and come back. Both of you.”
I didn’t like how they acted. Like they knew something bad was going to happen.
I gave both girls a hug and walked with Blake to the gate where Master Longwei was waiting for us.
He had a few words with Blake and then I turned around as Blake started to strip down. He was going to transform.
When the hulking beast of a dragon stood in his place, it was our cue to leave.
I grabbed hold of his paw this time and he flew with me to the Port of Elm.
Traveling to Areeth, back to David, was faster this time as the scientists had connected an elevator that went to that destination in two ticks.
I had to say goodbye to him and take the elevator alone, as Blake still didn’t trust that mode of transportation. He’d tried it once a long time ago and didn’t like the effect it had on him. I remembered it like yesterday. It was a horrible feeling, but mine went away the minute we stopped. Blake struggled days later with getting himself balanced again.
He was really different than any of us.
He stayed with me and answered a couple of their questions about getting the first hundred out of Etan. He was just like Lucian when it came to speaking in public—a natural. I had to learn the hard way.
Blake left immediately as I was safe from the cockroaches. He didn’t want me to fly with him because he still didn’t have a saddle that could keep me safe and secure on his back. And he also wanted to see how fast he could get there.
The first time took us more than two weeks to get to David, but then again, we were on a different mission too. Finding his orbs. I still had no idea what it was they could do, and by the sound of it, neither did he.
He just said that part hadn’t come to him yet.
King Helmut picked me up himself at the port. They’d set up camp after that night I’d told the Ancients that nobody was going to be put into quarantine and had been camping out, waiting for Emanual to come back with that special something King Helmut wanted.
I wondered what it could be. Did he have family that side too, and asked his dragon to make sure that they still existed? A sister, perhaps?
It was really sad to think how many people had lost loved ones. People they had no idea if they would ever see again.
“Elena, am I glad to see you.” He smiled and gave me a fatherly hug. “Where on earth is Blake?”
I smiled at him. “He doesn’t like the elevators so he is going to meet us there.” I knew he wasn’t that fast yet, as King Helmut wouldn’t have asked where he was.
We took an SUV and drove the last couple of miles back to the lodge.
The campsite was set up yards from the lodge.
It was good to see everyone again. Luke and Daisy, the little ones. I couldn’t wait to get more of their family and friends away from Etan, away from that danger. My stomach turned into knots knowing that Blake was going to go in for three days.
He was adamant about finding Maxine, Nicky and Leana, and although I wanted them safe too, especially for Tom and August, the two of them had no idea what they were asking from me.
If anything happened to Blake…I couldn’t even think about it.
Connie gave me the room I had the first time we came here. She was worried sick about David: although she hadn’t said anything, it was evident on her face.
Not having contact with David for the past week, knowing that he was in Etan, would do that to someone.
Annie and Constance kept me company during dinner and I really was so happy that at least I saved one of Constance’s family members.
I went to bed around ten. Blake still wasn’t anywhere to be seen and I had tried to phone him a couple of times, but his voicemail was the only thing that came up.
I struggled to fall asleep, and dreamed again about the foretelling Blake had seen about the Saadedine and the missing ingredient.
I wished I could dream about what the missing ingredient was, then I would welcome this sort of tortur
e, but it never was revealed to me.
Blake’s dragon form was so tiny against the Saadedine. Was Blake really telling me the truth that it wasn’t going to be that ratio when we found him, or did he only say that to make my own fear less?
The Saadedine opened his mouth and released a ball of yellow with green flames. Paul’s flame.
It connected with the pink kiss and then something crazy happened.
It consumed the pink kiss. The green flame spread like a virus through the pink kiss and connected hard with Blake’s dragon form. I watched as Blake burned from the inside out and I couldn’t do anything. I just stood there frozen, staring in horror at how my dragon started to disintegrate.
He roared, a roar I had never heard before. It was painful, and I just watched in shock.
Then he exploded.
I jumped up and found myself still in bed. I took huge breaths as sweat ran down my temples. My hands trembled. My entire body trembled.
Was that going to happen?
I saw a stir in the couch and jumped. The night light went on and Blake’s figure appeared sitting inside the chair.
He didn’t say anything, he didn’t have to. I knew he’d seen that too.
He just looked at me with a worried expression on his face.
“I hate my fucking dreams.”
He smiled softly as if my voice brought him back out of whatever was going on in his mind, and got up, then came over, sat next to me and kissed me softly on the shoulder. It felt so good to have him here, safe.
“I don’t.” He rested his chin on my shoulder. “They tell me so much, especially of the things we don’t know yet.”
“Blake, you don’t know if that is the truth.”
“Still, it gives me plenty of hints, Elena. Like that one told me to watch out for his fire.” He pushed himself off the bed and took off his shirt.
I looked away from his perfectly sculpted body and found the time on the digital clock. It showed three in the morning.
“Not so bad.” I smiled.
“I could’ve been faster.”
I shook my head. It was as if he was never satisfied with any of his abilities. My abilities. And he had to give it all up for me to be able to wield my fire while he was in human form. How was he going to do that?