Starlight (The Dragonian Series Book 5) (24 page)

“I can relate. Mom and I took them here when all the others flew back on the private jet. I felt weird afterward, slightly out of proportion.”

“Yes, my first time was like that too.”

“I still struggle to grasp how that even works.”

“It’s magic.”

“Magic…”

I laughed. She sounded much like I had that first time Master Longwei told me that magic was responsible for many things.

I walked into the lodge with her and was greeted by Connie and David.

“Elena,” she greeted me.

“Blake flying here again?” She looked around.

“Yes, always looking for ways to improve something.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Emanual said, grabbing a piece of fruit from one of the bowls on the reception counter.

Annie stared at me.

“Any progress?” Connie asked Emanual.

“He’s pushing her way too hard.” Constance had just entered the reception area with Charles and the others.

“No, I’m not,” he said to Constance and looked at Connie as he started walking backwards to the staircase.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Connie said.

Constance smiled at Annie. “Just be patient, it will come.”

Connie took me up to a room. “I really hope that you guys will at least get some kind of break. I feel like this is not the right thing to say, but welcome back, Princess. Dinner will be served at six. Please make yourself comfortable.

“Thanks Connie, I will.”

ANNIE SPENT THE rest of the day with me until dinner was announced. Blake hadn’t arrived yet

I saw the same old crew that consisted of Emanual, Dicky, Raymond, all the women, Jerry and even Simeon. That guy gave me the creeps. I didn’t know if it was the way he looked with all the scars or because of his silent nature. He didn’t make a peep.

“Princess,” Jerry spoke and his eyes twinkled. I was glad that Blake wasn’t here to see it.

Emanual laughed. “Better get rid of that twinkle, Jerry. The Rubicon is a very jealous dragon.”

Everyone laughed and then Dicky teased him more. I liked Dicky, he reminded me of a mouse with his pure white hair and his delicate build. He wasn’t very tall, more toward the smaller size when it came to men, but if he was one of Emanual’s squad then I could only imagine what the guy could do with weapons.

Taylor gave me the eye. I knew she had a thing for Jerry even though she refused to let him in on that.

She obviously looked away when her gaze met mine, but I saw it.

We all sat at one long, oblong table. It’s what I loved about Connie and David’s. They made everyone feel like a part of their lives.

The food was delicious, and afterwards, I asked Connie to keep a plate for Blake.

“I’ll make that three,” she said with a smile.

“Please let me help clear up,” I begged.

“Elena, no. Go sit in the library,” she said as she shooed me out of the kitchen.

Sometimes I really disliked being a princess, but like Blake said, I had to get used to it.

Still the library was always a good place to be sent to. I picked up where Blake and I’d left off, searching for the missing ingredient.

I hadn’t had time to help with repacking the library, and to be honest, now that I knew the answer could be in there, I looked forward to that task.

Annie obviously helped in silence when she was finished helping Connie and the other women in the kitchen. She was the only other person here besides me and Blake that knew about the missing ingredient.

David even spoke to me about it. Since he and Connie was there the day Blake actually said those words, the helped us to figure out what the missing ingredient wasn’t.

He’d done some research himself. It was mostly about plants and extracts of plants, but none of it felt like it had the properties to kill the Saadedine, but still I kept it. I told him I would speak to Blake about it. Maybe there was something in there that could at least tranquilize the Saadedine long enough for us to kill it. We had to try everything we could.

I even tried to search on the Internet. I mean, Elementals must have gone dark at least once, otherwise how had they gotten the information that Master Longwei had given me the day they’d been stolen from us?

The only thing that I did find was how many times it had happened—twice—and the only thing that was penned down on how to kill it was not very reassuring.
Brave humans that died in the process,
was one error we didn’t want to repeat.

The fact that I hadn’t found it yet, or
we
hadn’t found it yet, threatened to bring tears to my eyes again. I really didn’t want to die anymore, and I definitely didn’t want Blake to die either. With that in my mind I thought about those five days he’d been missing. I’d thought I was going to lose my mind.

Breaking an oath was something I didn’t wish on any dragon, especially my own. He really needed to stop making those.

I took a long bath and went to bed around eleven. Blake was still not here and I was starting to worry.
He is the Rubicon, Elena. He can take care of himself.

I drifted off and dreamt about the Saadedine again. He was huge, and had a green flame just like Paul, and Blake’s dragon form was dodging each and every single bolt the Saadedine breathed his way. I could see Blake clearly now. He was wearing the same black armor.

The Saadedine grabbed Blake and tore him apart.

I screamed in the dream and jolted up in bed, realizing I’d screamed in reality too. My heart was bouncing inside my chest, the sounds Blake’s dragon form had made still ringing inside my ears.
He couldn’t die.

A light went on and I jumped slightly as my door closed. Blake’s figure stood against the closed door.

“Sorry,” he smiled softly. “Didn’t mean to scare you. Another bad dream?” He walked over to my bed and lay down.

I nodded and buried my face in the palm of my hand, resting my arm on my knee. Blake just stared at me.

“We need to find that ingredient, Blake.”

“We will.” He stroked my back.

“That dream, I—”

“Shhh, Elena. I saw it when I came rushing up the stairs.”

I looked at him. “David gave me a list of plants.”

“It’s not a plant, Elena.”

“You don’t know that. Besides, some of them have really good tranquilizing ingredients.”

“So what, try to tranquilize it and then kill it?”

“It’s not a bad idea, Blake.”

“Something tells me it’s not going to work, but it won’t hurt to take some with us, Elena.”

“Thank you.” I sighed.

He smiled. “Why the thanks?”

“Because we need a safety net, Blake.”

He wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me to his chest.

“I am your safety net, Elena, but if it will make you feel better, I will look at David’s list. We will find it. I know we will.”

I nodded. “I hate my dreams.”

“I told you before, I don’t. It gives me plenty of intel on what I’m going to be up against.”

“We, Blake. We. You are not going to face it alone.”

He just smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes this time.

“We should try to sleep,” Blake said. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

“Do we really have to go in?”

“Elena. We need to get word to your father’s men. They need to know that help is coming soon. And the best place is at the feast. This parade, I really need to see it for myself.”

“Just promise me we are not going to the feast.”

“I promise. No feast.”

“Have you at least eaten?”

“I’m stuffed. I ate on the way and those three plates.” He looked at me and gave me his super smile. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome. Wait, what you mean you ate on the way?” I frowned.

“I’m a dragon, Elena. We have our delicacies.”

“I so don’t want to know what you devoured. Probably some helpless deer.”

He laughed. “I don’t play with my food. It died really fast.”

I laughed as I lay back down.

It was great having him here again. We’d grown really close the last couple of weeks and I didn’t want to think about not having him around. The dreams of the Saadedine always showed him as the one dying, being ripped apart. Never me.

We had to find that missing ingredient.

I WOKE UP around eight and found the room empty. I dressed in a pair of jeans, a shirt and my flip flops.

I didn’t want to go back to Etan, or that feast, as my experience last time had been dreadful.
What if he saw one of them again?

I pushed that to the back of my mind and went downstairs.

Breakfast was served and everyone was making jokes again.

Raymond was going to come in with us, with Emanual and a couple of his op-guys that were going to set up a base. Where that was going to be, I had no idea.

“Good morning, Princess,” Jerry spoke and we all laughed as Blake glared at him. Jerry just ate his food, not looking at Blake, with a grin on his face.

“He just said good morning,” I said looking at Blake.

“It’s not the good morning I’m worried about. It’s the way his eyes lit up.” Everyone laughed again.

“Do I have to go in today?” Jerry joked as he looked past Blake at Emanual. Blake just stared at him with a broken smile.

“Don’t worry, I will protect you,” I said and I could feel Blake’s gaze on me.

“Just say the word, Elena. Do I need to take Jerry out?”

I smiled again.

“Everyone knows not to mess around in your territory, Blake,” Connie said as she put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me. “This is a no killing or fighting zone.”

“I promise to behave, Connie.” Blake put a heap of eggs onto his fork and into his mouth, smiling at Jerry.

“Not mingling in your affairs, dude.”

“You’d better not.”

I just shook my head.

Was he really that jealous?

After breakfast we started to get ready to take troops in again.

It was only six this time. King Helmut had had a long, private briefing with them this morning.

Five huge SUVs waited for us.

“Where do I meet you?” Blake asked and I knew they were going to take the elevator again to wherever they had to be.

“We go back to Tith, close to one of the Wyvern cities,” King Helmut said. “That is the entry point to Sovereign.”

“Seriously,” I looked at him. “Why don’t you like the elevators?”

“Cause I don’t like the way they make me feel afterwards.”

“Blake...”

“Please Elena. Don’t ask me to use them.” He was serious and his words upset me.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Fine, whatever.” I couldn’t believe he would think that I would order him to use the elevators.

“Someone’s in the dog house,” Jerry joked but this time nobody laughed.