KISS (17 page)

“
Sire, the yuries have arrived.
Please come and greet them,” his old friend said. Turning around he
faced him.

“
Why shall I waste my time when
none of them are my true mate?” The yuries were the female version
of suitors and they constantly swarmed him. Being tenacious was a
dragon trait he admired in their kind and yet an irritating
one.

“
Sire, please, you know as well as
I do the time of the dragon is almost at an end.”

“
Onyx, my oldest friend, I
understand your concern but I cannot. Perhaps it is the beginning
of a new era.”

“
Sire, you give me hope, have you
truly found her?”

Onyx was his oldest and closest friend, and
yet he knew something happened during the Great War to erase the
light out of his eyes. He never confronted his friend about it, but
if he was going to trust him with something so important, it was
time Onyx face his darkness and show him he could trust him
explicitly.

“
Who was she?” he commanded. Onyx
heard the command, but an unfamiliar rushing noise filled his head
and suddenly, he knew no more.

Layla and Ryu decided to go to the mall to do
some light shopping or in Ryu’s case look for hotties. Layla
sighed, maybe she was strange in the sense that boys did not simply
attract her. The only thing that seemed to do it for her was a pair
of emerald green eyes. She palmed her forehead.

“
It’s okay. It’s perfectly normal
that a pair of eyes does it for you.” Ryu snickered.

“
Oh shut up Ryu!”

“
You’re going to end up an old maid
at this rate.”

“
I’m only eighteen for crying out
loud. You are a bully!” she pouted.

“
Not the face, okay okay! I’m
sorry!” While the girls bickered, they failed to notice the shadow
that followed them. They continued their banter until they arrived
at a book store.

“
No Layla! All you do is
read,”

“
C’mon let’s go see a movie!” Ryu
whined.

“
Blah, blah, blah. That’s all I
hear,” she said finally tuning Ryu out. However, she wished she
hadn’t heard the next few words Ryu spoke.

“
Look at that hottie!” Ryu
exclaimed. Layla was tired of Ryu pestering her, so to finally shut
her up she looked in the direction she pointed. Layla watched the
individual, he had short sandy blond hair and dark chocolate brown
eyes. His skin was tanned as if he spent majority his of time out
in the sun. He was attractive; but he didn’t compared to her green
eyes.

“
Yeah, whatever, not interested,”
she mumbled. Ryu looked at her in disbelief.

“
What is it with you and
men?”

“
I don’t know,” she whispered to
herself dejected. She had no idea Ryu heard her.

The girls didn’t actually buy anything from
the Galleria—the mall where they currently shopped. The burning
sensation was back, and it made Layla extremely irritable. She
noticed the guy from earlier leaving as they were. It surprised her
when he started to walk their way.

She hoped he was coming to ask Ryu out because
she wasn’t interested. She could hear Ryu squealing as he
approached. She did everything in her power to avoid making eye
contact, she didn’t want to send any mix messages. She hoped it
would deter him; however he still approached.

“
Hey, so this is probably awkward
for you guys and more for me, but I’ve never seen you girls around
before,” he said rubbing the back of his neck.

“
Aww, he’s nervous,” Ryu whispered.
He flushed under Layla’s hard gaze.

“
So what brings you here?” Layla
asked rather rudely. She couldn’t help herself. He just rubbed her
the wrong way. It was either that or the burning sensation
increasing in the pit of her stomach making her mean.

“
Layla, quit being
rude.”

“
Sorry, but I’m not interested,”
Layla told the guy.

“
Uh, I kind of wanted to talk to
your friend,” he said blushing harder. Layla was a little taken
back. Ryu was gorgeous in her own right. She had short dark brown
hair styled into a pixie cut, a lithe figure, and her eyes were a
pretty light hazel color. Ryu stood five feet and six inches. It’s
just that as long as they’d been friends, the guys had always
gravitated towards her. Naturally, Layla blushed at her own mistake
the humiliation burning her.

“
Um, I’ll wait by the car,” she
said quickly excusing herself. Well that was embarrassing. Layla
leant against the car as she waited for Ryu to come out of the
mall. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The wind moved
around her and it soothe the burning sensation in her
stomach.

She felt so serene until her head gave a nasty
throb, and a voice she’d only heard in her dreams penetrated her
mind.

Where are you?

The voice took her by surprised, she looked
around searching for the source. Stunned she focused on the voice,
this was the first time she heard it while awake.

Who are you?
She could feel the
connection fading. She didn’t wait for a response, instead she
answered his questions.

Saint Louis.

Where is that?

Missouri
. She couldn’t understand his
confusion. Did he suck as geography? Saint Louis was known as the
gateway of the Midwest. What did the voice want her to say? That
she was on earth? Before the connection faded completely, the voice
in her head gave off feeling of appeasement. She didn’t know what
she said to make it happy. She was glad she could help it. She
realized, she missed it. When she opened her eyes, Ryu was
approaching the car, and blushing. Layla couldn’t wait to get the
details from her.

“
Spill,” she commanded as she
grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

Onyx couldn’t believe he lost consciousness
like a new recruit, but the question was so unexpected that it
startled him for a moment. He thought he managed to keep his
relationship with A’lala a secret. He originally thought she was a
human. He didn’t understand how a human ended up in their
dimension. She was able to tame his raging temper and soothe his
heart. This human was designed to be his true mate. He loved her
from the moment he first saw her, but he thought the fates had
dealt him a blow. He was the best and strongest warrior among the
Dragonaut clan. Didn’t he deserve a mate equal to him? It was when
she realized she was pregnant that she began to show signs of a
sorceress—a witch. The witches were the enemy of the dragon, they
only sought power, so they targeted the dragons. The dragons were
one of the most powerful creatures in existence. The witches formed
covens and attacked his people. His king and oldest friend had been
ruling for thousands of years, but there was a traitor among them
that lead his people to near extinction. Fearing for their line and
their king they enclosed him in a barrier, where he has become the
princess in the tower. Their king had not found his true mate and
each year that passes, the fear in the people increased. There were
those who whispered the time of the dragon was over. Onyx would not
allow it. He was sworn to protect the line. He would find the
traitor. He would find his daughter and bring her home. It felt as
if the world was on his shoulders, but he would not break, he
couldn’t afford to.

Onyx opened his eyes ready to face his king.
The king watched his oldest friend and guardian patiently as he
gathered his thoughts. There was a look of determination on his
face and he settled in his seat to hear his story.

“
It all started with a human girl
named A’lala,” he said reminiscing about the past. The king nodded
and waited for the Onyx to continue his story.

***

Layla and Ryu were in their room talking. She
listened with rapt attention as Ryu recounted her story.

“
What happened after I left,” she
asked. A frown worked its way across Ryu’s face.

“
Well, after you left, I thought he
seemed disappointed. But why would he feel disappointed if he
intended to ask me out right?”

“
Go, on,” she urged her
on.

“
Anyway, his name is Zacharias, but
he goes by Zack. He just moved to the area. He’ll be starting
senior year at the same school as us,” she squealed.

“
Really? Isn’t that a little
strange?” Layla asked.

“
Not really, after all normal teens
do spend their time at the mall. They don’t dream about a pair of
emerald eyes.”

Layla wanted to throttle Ryu. She was starting
to think that she couldn’t tell her anything, especially if she’s
just going to bring it up later and rub it in her face.

“
Is this your way of telling me,
that I can’t trust you with things?” she asked Ryu. The burning
sensation was back in her stomach. It seemed to move through her
whole body.

“
Layla calm down? What’s the
matter?” Ryu asked confused. Layla couldn’t think, there were so
many things going on and it was making her crazy. All she wanted,
was her soothing voice back. The ringing sensation in her mind
increased adding to her pain. She grabbed the sides of her head in
an attempt to drown the noise out.

“
I don’t know!” she shouted. She
felt something pop. All the intense pressure was suddenly gone.
When she open her eyes, it appeared as if a tornado had been in her
room. The windows were shattered, clothes littered the floor, and
all of her things were strewn about in a disorganized fashion. She
looked into Ryu’s unnerved expression.

“
It’s not how it looks.” Ryu took a
step away from her. Layla ran into the bathroom. She checked her
eyes. They were glowing a bright fuchsia color. Fear filled her
body. What was going on? She rushed out the bathroom to go talk to
Ryu, but she was gone. She ran through the house, discombobulated,
disoriented and confused. What was she to do about her room and the
windows? She searched the house for her dad but he hadn’t made it
home yet.

She closed her eyes and wished for serenity.
All she could do now, was clean her room and board up the windows.
She had no idea what explanation she would give her dad. She wanted
to tell him about what happened, but was afraid he would react the
same way that Ryu did.

Why did she run away? She couldn’t tell
anyone. No one would believe her. Magic didn’t exist. There was
only science and illusions. What should she do? She was in a real
jam.

CHAPTER 3: Lies and Deceit

After hearing Onyx story, the King was
satisfied he could share his secrets with him.

“
Well Onyx, after thousands of
years, I have found her,” he said pleased.

“
Have you really?” Onyx asked
excitedly. He wanted to find her immediately and bring her to his
majesty. It was true after all. The time of the dragon was really
here. The council would do everything in their power to bring her
home.

“
This is good, majesty, we can
bring her home. If we notify the council, they will ensure her safe
return.”

“
No! The council must not know of
her. If word got out that I’ve found my true mate; that would give
the covens enough reason to move. They’ve already think our kind
has died out. She will come when the time is right.”

“
Are you certain of this
majesty?”

“
Aye.” The King wanted to ensure
the safety of his mate. Now that he had some inkling of where she
was located, he was content in his ability to obtain her. He would
do his research and prepare the castle because it was the beginning
of a new era, no longer would they fear for their young. His people
can finally thrive. There was only one thing he was missing. He
didn’t know her name.

“
Tell me, what is she like?” Onyx
asked. Well the King couldn’t quite answer his question, as he
still didn’t even know his mate’s name. She was in a place called
earth. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but it’s been eons since
he’s heard of it. Let alone, a place called Saint Louis. She was
gorgeous, he did not know what species she was, but that did not
matter. The fates had finally decided to give him what he craved.
He was selfish, he wanted to know everything about her. Treasure
her and share that information with no man. She was his. It was in
his nature to possess his mate in every way. A deep rumble fell
from his lips.

“
I do not know now, but I will know
everything about her.” He told his friend.

In the end, Layla cleaned her chaotic room and
boarded up the windows. She eventually fell asleep from exhaustion.
When she woke, it was eerily quiet. She thought her dad would be
furious with her for breaking the windows, but when she glanced at
them, it was as if they’d never been broken in the first place. She
felt butterfly wings in her stomach, she could feel it—the fear
slowly eating away at her. It was a disease, destroying her from
the inside out. Calm down, she didn’t need to panic. She looked
around her room to see if there was anything else out of place; no
there was nothing. She loved her room, it was spacious with bone
colored bedroom set and dark hardware occupying majority of the
space. She was grateful she grew up in a home with two masters. She
went into the adjourning bathroom to splash some water on her face.
She was slowly going insane. She had to shake the maniacal look out
of her eyes.