He nodded.“That's how I know that deep down inside,I don’t have to be the kind of royalty that the Viden foretoldabout.”
“But the Viden said that only the spawn of King Albert and Queen Catherine can claim Blake.”
“Elena, didn’t you hear anything I just said?” he asked.
“The Viden has never been wrong, Lucian.”
“I don’t care. She will be with this. I have to claim him.”
“Why on earth do you want to claim him?” I was starting to lose my patience. I stopped, but he still carried on for a couple of feet.
“Because he used to be my best friend,” he said as he turned back around to face me. It took some time for that to sink in. I struggled to imagine Lucian and Blake walking arm in arm next to each other the way Becky and Sammy always did.
“You used to be best friends!”
“Yes. Both our fathers served in King Albert's court. We used to play outside while they were attending meetings.”
“Why are you no longer friends?”
He looked at the ground with a huge crease on his forehead, and he sighed.“It’s not his fault, Elena. It’s the dark side that starts to take over. He hardly has control over it. I promised him when we were thirteen that I would do anything in my power to try toclaim him.” He stroked his face hard, maybe to hide his emotions, or he was starting to realize how difficult it was going to be to keep that promise.
“I'm so sorry,Lucian. I didn’t know,” I said.
He gave me a crooked smile. “No one does, except for Sammy. If I told you we never tried to ditch her ass, I would be lying.”
I giggled, imagining them as children, running away from a small blabbermouth. “So when did you stop being friends?”
“More or less the same time that we arrived here,”he said.“My first claim was right after we enrolled. It’s against the law to participate in a claim before your sixteenth birthday,and on mine, I tried for the first time. I was down for two weeks,” he boasted.
“You mean,he almost killed you.”
“Trying to claim a dragon that doesn't belong to you does have risks, but we both know it's not impossible.”
“Lucian, why don't you wait till you ascendbefore you try again,” I begged him.
“I might not even ascend, Elena,”he said.“You know my mark isn't that dark.”
“Then how are you going to use Blake's powers once you have claimed him?” My tone was full of concern mixed with questions and disbelief.
“It's not mine to use, so it becomes his.”
I frowned.“I don't understand.”
“If someone claims a dragon that doesn't share the same ability, then it becomes the dragon’s. Emanuel revealed that little secret to me when I turned seventeen. He also said that it hurt when my father claimed him because they shared the same ability. My dad is a fire wielder too. Emanuel believes that it would've been ten times worse if they were dents.”
“Is it true that Blake has many abilities?” I asked.
“He does, but the problem is that they're nothing like the other dragons’ abilities. I only know of three.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Three?” I shrieked. “So he's got more! Lucian, what if you're just wasting your time? I mean, you know of only three abilities. What if he uses another one that might claim your life?” I could feel my voice rising.
“Elena, I have no choice. I promised him!” Lucian threw his hands up in aggravation.
“You were only kids!” I shook my head, trying to understand.
“I can't break my promise and let him become evil. Urgh! Forget it. You're just a girl who knows nothing. You'll never understand.”
I was glad we were close to the main building, because otherwise I would never have found my way back. Shaking, I forced myself not to cry. He was so stubborn.
He left for the weekend without even saying goodbye or hello when he came back on Sunday afternoon.
I didn't go for my morning run with him on Monday. I was surprised to find him close that afternoon as I went to Arianna's Enchantment lesson. She didn't like it one bit that he was hanging around, keeping an eye on her.
Tuesday was Cheng's turn. We spoke about the Rubicon, not just Blake but the previous one as well. There were four they knew of, but the museum in Elm only carried two. The Rubicon before Blake was killed by King William. The people celebrated for a whole month. The picture in my head was comical. People drank, passed out, woke up, drank some more, and for some reason they danced around a roaring bonfire. He took me towards the coliseum today, and we stopped in front of two huge stone dragons at the entrance.
The detail on them had started to fade, and when I softly glided my index finger over the carving, a bit of sand fell to the ground.