“What’re you so afraid of? You of all people should be backing me up, Becky.”I could feel my nostrils flare. I was furious that she wouldn’t even consider my plan.
She spun around angrily. “What's that supposed to mean?”
“You really think that you're just going to waltz into the Royal Council and tell them,‘Hey, I want to be a member’, and they'll give it to you? You have to earn it. This mission will help you live up to that dream. So if you're really serious about that dream of yours, youhave to pursue it while you can. If Goran finds a way out of there─”
“I heard you the first time, Elena! He'll destroy us all!” She sounded beyond pissed off. Clearly I had struck a nerve. “Fine, I'm in, but you're all insane.”
We flinched as Becky slammed the door behind her.
“I'm in too,” Sammy said resolutely.
“Okay.” I sighed, not wanting to fight anymore. Fighting was really exhausting.
“So what's the plan? We have to get more than one dragon onboard if we want to pursue this mission.” Lucian took a deep breath.
“What? Why?” I asked, confused.
“It's a long trip. The Sacred Cavern is northeast from Tith. It'll take us at least half a day travelling on top of one.”
My shoulders slouched in disappointment.I didn't think it was that far, and dragons were my last choice when it came to transportation. I couldn’t even consider what I would be like on top of one. The image of landscapes flashing by underneath me made my knees tremble.
“George has no choice. He'll follow Becky,” Sammy said in a soft tone. She looked scared and swallowed hard. It was followed by a couple of deep breaths, and she started to look uncertain.
I didn’t care if they doubted my plan. Deep down, I knew it was the right thing to do.
“You told Blake about this?”Lucian’s arms were folded. He still looked pissed.
“No, he'll tell Master Longwei,” I said, not wanting to involve him for my own sanity.
“Elena, he's the Rubicon, he might offer his assistance.”Lucian’s jaw muscles clenched.
“We have enough people already, Lucian. We can fly with Sammy.” I gave her a look, and she nodded back quickly.
“And what if we get into a battle?” he asked.
“Then we fight. You're not a Moon-Bolt, don't try to foresee things,” I said, growing frustrated that he kept insisting on bringing Blake along.
“So, take it one step at a time.”
I nodded.
He stroked his face and roughly ran his fingers through his hair. “Fine, when do you want to leave?”
“Nightfall at shift change. There's a delay of five minutes,” I said confidently.
“Where do we meet?” He started with something that reminded me of an interrogation in a Law and Order courtroom.
I didn’t know. I never thought about it, until now.
“There is a tower right behind the cafeteria. Becky and I used to go there in the beginning until someone told us it was off limit. It's the perfect place, surrounded by trees. No one will see us from there. It will be an easy escape, Lucian.” Sammy came to my rescue but she didn’t sound happy about it either.
I wanted to give her a huge hug, but instead I left out a huge sigh and hoped that her explanation would be enough to stop the pissed off vibe emanating from him.
He walked towards the window in our room and turned around with a huge frown dented between his eyebrows. “How long have you been planning this?”
“Since the sixth day,” I said.
He huffed and looked at the carpet for a few seconds. “Tonight is Bill's shift.”Lucian drew back the curtains and peeked outside.“George and I will meet you there at half-past eight. Don't be late, or we can forget about making a clean break. Elena, there's only one condition: you do exactly as I say.”
He didn't give me a chance to argue.
“See you tonight,” he grunted, and left.
* * *
We ate our supper in complete silence. Lucian was absent and Becky hadn't said one word to me since I said those awful things that helped me change her mind. George didn't approve of the idea either, and I could feel his eyes drilling holes into my soul.
We went back to our dorms around seven and prepared for our trip. Sammy grabbed all the sodas in the fridge and fruit from tonight's buffet line. She chucked everything into her backpack along with two sets of clothes. We all did the same, just in case. We shouldn't be gone that long and hopefully we would make it back before anyone knew we had left. If not, Sammy and George could catch fish. Dragons were known to be excellent fishermen.
We dressed in dark sweat suits, grabbed our backpacks, and left our dorms around eight fifteen. We arrived at the tower early, and when we heard George and Lucian coming up the stairs, my heart beat like a jackhammer.