was as if she expected it, so I wanted to change it… and it happened.”
I kept staring at him. “She could claim me if she ever found out.”
“They won’t, you’re a Rubicon, Elena.”
“You don’t know that.” Nicole was Lucian’s cousin, but she was far from Lucian. The total opposite to be exact, and I so didn’t want her to become my rider.
“What is going on with us? I don’t get this.”
“I do.”
“Please share.”
“We’re the same, Elena. We’re bound to have some sort of link with one another that makes us different from all the other dragons.”
“All my life I’ve been different, but never in a million years did I expect to be this.” My hands gestured down my body.
“You still don’t like being a dragon?”
“That’s not what I said. I love my dragon. She has helped me with a lot of things that I would never be able to make peace with on my own.” I went back to the boulder and sat down. “Why did you help me?”
“She’s not worthy enough to claim you,” he said.
“Why do you care who is worthy enough or not?”
“You’re a Rubicon. Only the best of the best should be able to claim you, never forget that.” He looked at me in such a way that I thought he was going to be able to see my deepest secret. The one where I’d broken his promise and crashed madly in love with him. I hid my face inside my hands.
I looked back at him, he was still staring at me and I could feel his peacock-blues. His face came closer to mine and for a short moment I couldn’t breathe, then he snapped his head away, got up and walked to the nearest tree.
My heart started to thump and I didn’t know what had just happened. I could feel we were almost there. I could sense that Tabitha was far from his mind and Lucian was nowhere near mine. It was only us.
“There are rumors that Arianna is going to try to claim one of us next. I’ve got a feeling that it’s going to be you, so we should start preparing for it. She’s a bit more fierce than Nicole.”
“Are you shitting me?”
“I can help you.” He was back in front of me in a crouching position.
“Blake, you can’t. If anyone finds out what it is you can do…” I closed my eyes and shook my head. “I can’t become Arianna’s, she’s even more evil than Nicole.”
“You won’t, just trust me.”
“I take it you know her fears too?”
“All of them.” He gave a seductive smile.
“You know when she’s planning this?”
“The way some of the Dragonians spoke about it, soon.”
“Then we should get started.”
OR THE NEXT couple of days I froze every time Master Longwei’s voice came from the speaker system. He hadn’t once mentioned my name or Arianna’s, or the word claim, but it’d led to a lot of restless nights and I somehow missed Paul’s stupid voice inside my head. He sure had a way of calming me down.
The afternoons with Blake were the only things that helped, even though he trained me harder than ever; I somehow forgot what it was he was preparing me for.
I was drained every afternoon and barely had the strength to notice anything else that was going on around the Academy.
Becky and Sammy disappeared after dinner and I took a long bath. I would wake up every single time when my gills appeared and realize that I had fallen asleep in the tub.
When I got out, I would usually be wide awake and have a bit of strength left to do my homework for the next day.
When I left the bathroom that night the most beautiful dresses were strewn on Becky’s bed. Not the modern fancy type of dresses but the princess kind, with undergarments and corsets.
“Is Halloween coming early this year?”
Becky laughed. “No silly. It’s for the Testrial ball.”
I gave her the best confused look I could muster.
“Seriously Elena, where is your mind lately? You know what?” she said with her hand in the air. “Don’t answer that.”
I giggled.
“The school has banners everywhere,” Sammy said.
“I guess my mind is not on balls and …okay, that did not come out the way I wanted it to.”
The two of them laughed after they gasped.
“My brother is seriously rubbing off on you.”
“You guys are talking about balls?”
“No,” somehow I managed to blush which made them laugh even harder. “Whatever.”
Becky got up and put her arm around my neck.