I ate the beef stew that Chef had made and drank the glass of milk. I felt so tired and decided to worry about facing life again tomorrow.
I found Lucian on a chair right next to me the following morning. He rested his head on my bed, and his eyes were closed.
A new tear rolled down my cheek. Why does he have to be so beautiful? I don't deserve him. After what I have done, I don't deserve any of them.
"Hey," he whispered, and brought me back to reality. He came closer and closed his eyes while mumbling a couple of words that sounded like a soft prayer. "How do you feel?"
"Better now that you are here," I croaked.
He took a deep breath and leaned closer. "Don't ever scare me like that again. I thought when he thrust that blade inside of you again and again..." His face looked as if he was torn but at the same time relieved. Everything was so messed up and felt wrong.
"What happened, Lucian? How did Brian die?"
"It happened so fast. One minute we were statues and the next I could move. We only realized that it was Brian that had scooped you up when the other Sun-Blast came back for his rider. After Brian released you and the Dragonian, the two of them got into a fight. Brian was no match against a full-grown Sun-Blast. They collapsed near one of the sites. Set an entire forest on fire, or so George told us.” His eyes sparkled with fresh tears as he closed them, trying to stem the flow. A strained look appeared on his face, making it look as if Lucian was in some sort of inner turmoil.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm fine now."
He shook his head. "When the Dragonian got up from the fall, I knew we weren't going to make it. Only when Blake picked up one of your axes and threw it at the Dragonian, did we realize what you had. The sword's ability causes its victims to explode. Queen Catherine's axes make them turn into dust. They took them away, Sweetheart, I'm so sorry."
Of course they took away my axes.
"Did Blake really save my life?"
He nodded.
"I owe him my life."
"You don't owe him anything, Elena. Blake's back to the egoistic son-of-a-bitch he always is."
I smiled and closed my eyes. It was silent for a while.
"Thanks for fighting to live," Lucian whispered in my ear.
"Why didn't you tell Master Longwei what happened?"
"It's not our story to tell."
"But your father─”
He put his index finger on my mouth. "Shhh, he'll get over it." He gave me one of Blake's lopsided smiles, and it vanished just as fast. Something wasn't right.
"What happened?"
"Nothing unexpected." His smile returned.
"Tell me."
"You've been through enough, Elena. I'm not going to burden you with a stupid story."
I huffed as I quickly put two and two together. "It's your dad, isn't it?"
His gaze fell to the floor.
"Is he forcing you to break up with me?" My voice broke.
Lucian's head jolted up. "No, Elena, I don't care what my father wants. You're my choice."
"Lucian, your father is the king of Tith."
"He could be the Pope for all I care. We're not living in the sixteenth century anymore. I'll choose whom to love."
"You really think that it will be that easy. If your father disowned you, you will have nothing."
"I don't care!" he said, sounding like a spoiled brat.
"You have no idea what it is to have nothing. So don't tell me that you'll be okay with it. When you do discover ten years from now that you don't love me, you'll blame me for everything," I yelled, and grabbed my stomach where the Dragonian had stabbed me. It wasn't healed properly, and I should give it more time.
Lucian was at my side and helped me to lie back on my pillow.
"Just take it easy. That will never happen. How can you even think that?" He sat on my bed and looked at me with gentle eyes. "I’ve never felt the way I do with anyone. Don't worry about my father. He'll never disown me. He'll come around once he gets to know you better."
I wasn't so sure about that. I knew that the king would only see a troublemaker that didn't think before she acted. He would see me as a person that would get his son killed, because Lucian would always follow me.
I didn't tell him that. "You really love me," I whispered.
"With all my heart."
* * *
Recovery was hard, but I got there. Becky, Sammy, and Lucian visited me every second they could get. Becky was a tough girl, but Sammy... She cried so much when she saw that I was okay that Constance had to give her something to calm her down. The way they acted, you would think that Becky was the Dragon and Sammy the human. Still, they were the best friends a girl could ask for.
I was another four days in the infirmary, and all I could think of was my foretelling. It felt good knowing that I had fulfilled it. It was the choice I had to make. One, dangerous enough, that found its way scrawled into the Book of Shadows.