The doors opened and Becky exited with huge sunglasses on her face, with George right next to her.
Then it was Blake and…me.
I squinted. He was holding me tightly in one of his arms, protecting me. It didn’t look right, but here it was.
I had a hoody on with my sunglasses on my face. Strands of blonde hair showed from my hoody. Then I caught it, the bracelet around my wrist. I paused. And found the entire screen paused on that exact moment.
It was Becky’s bracelet. That wasn’t me, it was Becky with Blake. They had staged my release. A feeling of guilt washed over me. They were always there, even when I didn’t want them. I entered the scene again just staring at my friends fooling the paparazzi.
Kevin asked a stupid question again and Blake looked at him and broke his camera.
He transformed, taking Becky with him inside his paw.
I looked at them retreating. Becky, or whoever had played her, Lucille, it could only be Lucille, was on George’s back, and Dean on Sammy’s with Blake way at the front.
I smiled and wiped off a tear.
The feed stopped and I found myself looking at another one:
Exclusive interview with Kevin, and I hit that button.
I found myself at Kevin’s show.
I sat in the audience and in front of me, on the podium next to Kevin were Blake and Emanual sitting on chairs.
I’d never seen Blake like this or knew how much Emanual had helped him search for me.
Blake looked tired, frustrated and didn’t even look at Kevin as he laid his head on his hands, staring at the floor.
The interview was about finding me, the progress they’d made, and Emanual answered most of the questions.
“Blake, like to participate?” Kevin asked. “If you could say anything to whomever has Elena, what would it be?”
I didn’t know anymore. An hour ago, I would say keep her away from me, but after seeing this, I didn’t know what to expect anymore and I wanted to know this answer too.
He kept quiet and then he looked at one of the cameras directly in front of him.
I’d never seen him this defeated before, well once, when he’d asked me to kill him. The look disappeared and it changed into the arrogant ass. I knew that look off by heart, because he’d given it to me many times.
“You have twenty-four hours to get her safely back to ME, or I swear, whoever you are, I will do to you twenty million times worse what you are doing to her.” My hands cupped my mouth. I’d never expected this in a million years. “If you bring her back, I swear to you that I will not pursue you, but she needs to be in great condition. Fed, taken care of and not a hair on her body harmed. IF YOU DON’T! I give you my dragon’s oath that I will bring you pain and darkness like you’ve never experienced before.”
I closed my eyes. It wasn’t him. It was the stupid spell. I hated Dents.
“And if you could get a message through to Elena?” Kevin asked and I looked at him again.
He didn’t look at the camera this time, he just looked at the ground and then he nodded, took a deep breath and his entire demeanor changed into the guy I’d fallen in love with when Cara was still with me, the same guy that had showed me how to catch a fish with my bare hands earlier today.
He smiled. “Remember what I said in Professor Pheizer’s class. I was wrong, all of it. It’s not what I thought it was, it’s not a spell, it’s not enslavement. It’s actually the opposite.” His voice began to break and Emanual touched his back. “You freed me from the darkness and if I didn’t know anything about you, that would be enough for me . . . to love you.”
I sucked in my lips.
A tear fell over his cheek and he got up, took off the microphone that was attached to his shirt and left the podium wiping the tear away.
“That was quite intense,” Kevin said to Emanual.
He smiled. “I guess that is the closest any of us will ever come to knowing what a Dent means to them.”
“I honestly hope that you will find her in the next twenty-four hours Emanual, and thank you for coming in.”
He smiled, got up and left too.
The studio disappeared as Kevin said a number where they could phone in with any information that would help find me. I found myself back on the bed.
His message still stayed with me.
It wasn’t a spell, or enslavement. He remembered what he’d said and told me that he was wrong, it wasn’t what he’d thought.
He’d almost died trying to find me. How could I have been so blind?
I lowered my shield and heard him say. “Okay, love you too,” with a chuckle and then it disappeared.
Tabitha.
I’d promised her that she could have him if that was what he truly wanted but what he’d said in that exclusive interview with Kevin flashed through my mind again. If I didn’t know anything about you, that would be enough for me to love you. He’d said that to me, the girl he used to despise.
I closed my eyes as my heart fluttered and I knew that I needed to speak to him about all of this. Ask him why he’d been so mean, why he’d made everyone promise not to tell me what had happened. It was all there, the proof.
I got up and opened my door, took a deep breath and walked a few steps to his bedroom door.
My fist was ready to pound against his door but it lingered for a few seconds.
I owed him this, the least I could do was hear his side of things.
“IS IT TRUE, she was in Etan?” Mom asked.
“Yes, she was in Eikenborough. I don’t know if Anouk and Uncle Lee are still alive, but we can hope right?”
“Yes, Blake, yes. We have no choice for Constance’s sake. Did she say how she got in? This doesn’t make sense Blake. The Creepers would’ve scared her.”
“No, I think she was way too shocked. The first time, well it was when she thought she’d killed me so she must have been beyond herself and the last time, she used my fire. I don’t know how many died but she dreams of it still.”
“Do you still…”
“Yeah, I’m still one of them, but at least she told me that it’s because I remind her of someone. The dragon thing worked Mom, at least she is trusting that part of me.” I sighed.
“Give her time, and show her the real you, Blake. I promise you it will change.”
“Mom, she only knows this Blake. But, time is one thing I have.”
My mom was quiet for a while and then she spoke again.
“You didn’t try to commit suicide, did you?”
“I don’t know Mom. I was pretty out of it back then.”
“Baby, I’m telling you, you didn’t. Constance was right, there is nothing wrong with you. Your tracking sense knew exactly where she was, that was why you always found yourself close to the Creepers.”
I huffed. “That is one way to look at things.”
“It’s the only way, Blake.”
“Okay, whatever you say.”
“I love you baby.” She spoke softly. She’d kept on telling me that these last couple of months, over and over.
“Okay, love you too.” I chuckled and pressed the disconnect button. Her holograph disappeared moments after Elena’s heartbeat came back.
She must have fallen asleep, it was the only time her shield weakened and she became visible to me again.
I could listen to her heartbeat forever.
I closed my eyes and just listened to both our heartbeats. They weren’t beating at the same time, even though I wanted it so badly. Hers was faster than mine. Always faster, as if she didn’t feel safe. The day it beat the same tempo as mine, was the day I could start hoping again.
Still she had kissed me at the lake, even though she’d broken it and run away like a little mouse, it was a start.
I tried to tune in but she wouldn’t let me. I hated her dreams but at the same time they told me so much, what had truly happened to her.
Her heartbeat grew louder. It sounded as if she was right beside me.
br />
I jumped as a knock on the door came out of nowhere and I tuned out.
I got up, pulled on a shirt and went to open it.
My eyes grew slightly as I found her gnawing on her lower lip. “Elena.”
“Can we talk, please?” she said with a Sonic in her hand.
I nodded and stepped out of the way for her to enter. She wasn’t asleep.
She sat down on the chair, putting the Sonic on the counter. I’d heard about them, but never experienced how one worked. Since Lucian’s death...
I pulled the other chair out but didn’t sit down just yet. “You want something to drink?”
She squinted and looked at the mini fridge inside my room.
“It’s not like that anymore, I promise.”
The sides of her lips curved slightly. “Sure, why not.”
I crouched down and opened it, taking out two small bottles of brandy and poured it into two glasses with ice. A scoop of Firepowder went in to mine and I offered her one too which made her giggle as she shook her head.
“You sure?”
“Yes, and no, I don’t want.”
“Okay.” I closed the lid and handed her a glass.
She took a sip but didn’t pull a face as I thought she would. That kiss must’ve worked somehow. Otherwise she wouldn’t be here, but I could also see that she’d been crying. Wet tracks still glistened softly on her cheeks. She was scared to death.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know that you were in Etan, Elena. Didn’t you see how shocked I was when you told me that Eikenborough was the place you’d searched for?”
“Not that.” She had a slight whine in her tone, “This.” She pushed the Sonic in my direction.
I look at the headings on the page.
Blake’s close encounter with death, Blake searches for Elena, Blake, Blake, Blake… All of them were about the time I’d searched for her. There was even the stupid waste of a good couple of hours where I could have searched for her: Exclusive Interview with Kevin. Did she see that one too? I closed my eyes, she knew that I’d lied to her about not being the Rubicon, pretending to be something I wasn’t.
“Why?” she asked me again.
I opened my eyes and looked at her. “Would you have honestly believed me if I told you.”
She didn’t say anything. “This would’ve shown me, Blake.”
“Elena,” I chuckled. “I didn’t even know there was anything posted on the internet. If you hadn’t noticed, I was busy with other things the past couple of months than searching for myself. I’m not that egoistic.” I looked up, “Well not anymore.”
A small giggle escaped her lips and she took another sip of her drink. “So you can’t hear my thoughts anymore?”
I nodded. “It disappeared when I woke up.”
She nodded and looked away gnawing on her lip again. It was driving me insane and I took a sip of my drink instead, breaking my gaze with it. I hated the silence.
“You want to know the good news?”
“Good news?” She sounded surprised.
“My mom thinks that nothing was wrong with my tracking, and that was why I got too close to the Creepers. I sort of knew you were there, but didn’t react on it.”
She squinted. “She knows I was in Etan?”
I smiled. “Of course she knows, she’s been bugging me every single night wanting to know how you are doing.”
She looked guilty and I hated that.
“I didn’t mean it like that. She misses you at the manor.”
“Yeah, I haven’t been very pleasant to be around lately.”
“Hey, give yourself some time okay? You went through a lot on the other side.” I bumped her with my foot against her leg.
Her eyes widened slightly as she looked back at me. “I thought you said you couldn’t read my mind anymore.”
Shit, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. No more lies Blake. “I can’t, but whatever is blocking me during the day, well, it seems to vanish when you fall asleep.”
She closed her eyes and winced.
“I don’t complain one bit, Elena.”
She shook her head and tears lingered in her eyes. Urgh fuck, I should have just kept my fucking mouth shut. I just looked at her and she finally looked back.
“Every time my dreams change, is that…”
I nodded, she was really smart too. Put two and two quickly together. “A piss poor performance, but yes. I’m trying everything I can, Elena to show you that the Dent is not some sort of enslavement.”
She giggled again. “You still need to convince me on that one.”
“One day, when this bond is working again like it should, but right now, too many ears.”
She nodded.
“Can I ask you a question? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“Sure,” she said.
“What is it like in Etan?”
She looked at the floor again and huffed at something that was going on inside that head of hers.
“Forget I asked.”
“It’s not that.” She sighed. “It’s bad, really, really bad. They have found a way to control Wyverns.”
“That much I gathered, Goran was fluent in Wyvic and he is really powerful, if there is someone that can control them it’s him. Did you see him?” I knew that answer but I had to know.
She shook her head. “I never met him or the people that were close to him. I’ve only been in Alkadeen and in Eikenborough as I was too shit scared to go anyplace else. Scared that Paul would find me, I was so stupid.”
“It’s not stupid, you did the right thing, Elena.”
“The people that side have lost hope, they die of hunger, are suppressed by the court. Taxation is what kills them. If they’re caught stealing, they chuck them into something that is called the pits. They don’t care what age they are Blake. I saw a three-year-old.”
My eyes closed and it was my turn to wince.
“They took me and one of the farm girls to Eikenborough. I found a way for her to stay with me.” She kept sniffing softly. “I disappeared and I have a funny feeling they took it out on her.” Tears welled up in her eyes.
I bent over closer to her and stroked her arm. “Don’t lose hope, okay. She might still be alive.”
She nodded.
“Is that why you wanted to find this city so badly?”
“How long you have you known about that?”
“Elena, I’m not stupid. You looking through every single map for the past few months pretty much told me that.”
Her eyebrows knitted. “How…”
“I’m a silent observer.”
That made her smile again and she nodded. “I need to find her, but I’m shit scared.”
“Why?” I asked.
“I don’t know how I got through the Creepers both times. What if they are going to react differently this time?”
“They won’t, trust me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Something tells me it’s a bloodline thing, Elena, not a state of the mind thing.”
She took another sip, worry lacing her face.
“So, the pits, tell me what happens to these people that are in the pits.”
“Every four months there is a Feast, and no it’s not the jolly type but if you don’t like it…” She didn’t finish.
“What sort of a Feast is it?”
“They call it the harvesting. The people in the pits, they are the ones being harvested. I had no choice and had to go to one, as the guy who looked after me, it’s a long story, had to be there. They would bring out all these people, including the kids and then the crowd voted.”
“To do what?” I asked.
“Be slaughtered by Wyverns.” Another tear rolled over her cheeks. “The worst part is that I was part of the crowd. If you don’t pretend to love it, well you win yourself a spot in the pits.”
She wiped her tear away. No wonder she wa
s so messed up. I still felt responsible for this. It didn’t matter where she was, this was my fault.
“I’ve never wanted to kill, but that day, I wanted to kill every single being and creature in that place.”
I should’ve been there.
“They have some sort of an arena, it’s not as majestic as the Coliseum, but it was huge, and they bring out the ones that have committed crimes that never even took place. You would vomit if you knew what the three-year-old apparently did.” Tears lingered in her eyes. “Then voting starts, the crowd would cheer the loudest for whoever they wanted to see get slaughtered. Of course I didn’t cheer when it came to the kids. The three winners, they stayed behind while all the others were taken back to the pits. The Wyverns would come out and mutilate the three, I never...” She didn’t finish as her voice broke but she kept her tears at bay.
“I should’ve been there.”
“No, Blake. You have no idea what they do with the dragons that side. The girl that stayed with me, was one, she hadn’t transformed in the past ten years.”
“What?” I stared at her.
“Those that transform are either killed when they can’t be broken or they are abused until their spirits break.”
I didn’t like that.
“There is no honor in that.”
I nodded. “I should’ve been there.”
“Didn’t you hear what I just said?”
“I don’t care what you just said. I should’ve tried harder to find a way through, Elena.”
“How? The Creepers would’ve killed you, they almost did.”
I chuckled. It sounded so frustrated. She still wasn’t getting it. “Elena, if I trusted my ability and didn’t think something was wrong with me, I would’ve tried everything to get through.”
“Don’t be absurd. You would’ve died.”
“At least you would’ve known then that I’d tried.”
She just stared at me. She looked guilty again.
“I didn’t…”
“Stop saying that you didn’t mean it like that. You have no idea what it was like when I thought that I’d killed you that night.” She shook her head and a tear rolled over her cheek. “I can’t…” She looked away and didn’t finish her sentence, whatever it was. Her emotions overpowered mine again. I blew out air to not give it away. It was intense. Constance was right, the connection was starting to heal. The emotion was fear. But it wasn’t the same fear of what happened to her. It was a different kind. A fear of losing me. Tears glistened in my own eyes and I blinked to pull them back.