“Do you remember?” I ask, hoping that the black I saw in his eyes means he does, but the confused look he gives me proves he doesn’t.
“Remember what?” he asks.
“Nothing,” I say and kissing him before he can read my expression. Letting his kisses erase any disappointment that he doesn’t remember, and let myself get lost in him. We stay like that a while longer, as I try to forget the fear that when he does remember, he'll hate me for not stopping this because of the curse. I couldn’t stand him hating me, and it makes me sick to think he might. What have I done? When did my life get so complicated?
Chapter Fourteen
Elias
Black shadows surround me, pressing against every part of my body as I try not to scream out from the pain. The bitch won’t hear me scream, that’s for sure. My dragon beats against my mind, but I can’t let him out, the fucking seer has locked him away. I imagine Isola as the pain floods every part of me, remembering what she looks like, how sweet her lips taste. How she is mine, and once I get out of here, I will tell her that. Even if she doesn’t want me, even if the curse takes everything, I will be at her side. Friend, protector, guard or lover. It doesn’t matter, I just want to see her.
“Enough, stop this!” I hear someone demand, but they won’t be able to stop her, no one can.
“I said no more!” the man shouts, a growl reverberating with his words this time. The black shadows move away, dropping me onto the floor. I cough blood out, wiping my mouth as I look around for Dagan and Korbin. I finally find them both passed out on the floor. The bitch started with them before me, and they couldn’t handle it for too long, not that I’m far from passing out myself.
“We should kill them, they will only try to escape and help Isola. They aren’t loyal to you my son,” I hear Tatarina say in her overly sweet voice. I turn to see Thorne watching me as he stands next to his mother.
“I don’t want them dead, I want them available to use against her. Think about it mother, if Isola ever remembers, or anyone tries to help her, we need someone to use against her,” he explains, and I push myself up.
“You betraying bastard,” I spit out, but he ignores me, still watching his mother. She pushes her pale blonde hair over her shoulder, and I see the black veins crawling all up her arms. If it wasn’t for the darkness around her, she would look so sweet and innocent with her big doll like eyes and features. She is using a lot of dark magic, so she must have a dark spirit, the very opposite to Isola. That makes Isola her biggest threat, yet, she isn’t dead. I would know if anyone killed Isola, it would destroy my soul.
“Fine, fine. We will keep them alive…for now. Let them starve, no one helps them,” she says and walks away. Thorne watches until she shuts the dungeon door behind her, and finally meets my eyes.
“How could you? You know what she is to you, what she could be,” I growl.
“Don’t, I don’t need advice from you,” Thorne spits out, anger burning in his eyes as his dragon turns them silver. Thorne shakes his head and reaches into his cloak, pulling out three little bottles. He puts them on the floor just inside the cage.
“Drink these, they will heal you and the others,” he says, confusing me.
“Why do you care? You have your throne and everything you wanted,” I ask.
“I don’t care, but Isola does. For that, I will keep you alive and help you escape when the time is right,” he says, and I step back, not understanding why.
“Are you going to let us go, only to use us against her somehow?” I ask. “I can’t believe you would just to help her.”
“Does it matter why?” he replies but I know it’s a lie, I can see it in his eyes. I don’t question him on it, knowing I’m missing something. And I need to figure it out, I need to figure Thorne out.
Fucking hell,” I mutter, sitting up in bed as another one those messed up dreams bother me again. Haunt me. Ever since I came to this town, I can’t stop dreaming of dragons, of a beautiful girl with blue eyes so clear they almost look like you can fall into them. I dream of a castle, of being locked away for years, and a guy named Thorne bringing me food. Looking after me and the others. For some reason I hate that bastard, and I want to punch him. Then there are dreams of a girl in a red dress, dancing, and looking so happy, so free. It’s always Isola, but it’s like she is someone else in these dreams. A princess, and a forbidden one at that. It’s a total mind fuck that makes me want her more than anything. I slide out of bed, leaving my room in only my pyjama shorts and walking down the corridor, pausing outside Isola’s room. I’ve always been able to smell people, which I know isn’t normal, but it’s not like I can turn it off. I can smell her, mixed with the scent of Korbin. So, their date went well, I guess. For fuck sake. I run down the stairs, taking the right through the lounge, and heading to the stairs that lead to the basement. I walk straight to the punching bag, lifting my hand and slamming it into it. I pour all my frustration, my hate and my confusion into every punch, closing my eyes and shutting the world off until my hands burn.
“Eli!” I hear shouted and I stop. Breathing heavily, I turn to see Korbin standing a few feet away from me. His hair is messy, and he's just wearing his pyjama shorts, smelling so much like Isola that I want to hit him.
“You’re bleeding,” he points out.
“I heal quick, always have. Don’t worry about it,” I say and he offers me a towel. I place it on my hands and quickly step away from him.
“How was your date?” I ask tensely, and he picks up on it.
“Good. She is mine now, Elias,” he states, the possession in his voice isn’t hard to pick up on. He has another thing coming if he thinks I will just walk away.
“For now, I’m not backing off. The naughty princess isn’t something I’m willing to give up on,” I warn him and he walks over, until he is stood straight in front of me.
“Back off,” he bites out.
“Make me,” I say, being deadly serious.
“What the fuck is going on?” Dagan shouts, being the voice of reason like he usually is between us. He comes over, pushing his way in the middle of us, and I try to calm myself down. I don’t really want to fight with Korbin or Dagan, yet it’s hard to think of anything else right now.
“What the fuck is going on with you two idiots? Explain,” he demands.
“I’m not sharing Isola, and fuck face doesn't get that,” Korbin replies in a dry tone.
“I’m guessing your date went well then?” Dagan says, and I hear the growl in his voice, making me smirk.
“You like her too,” I state, but he doesn’t answer, or look at me. There’s a tense moment between all of us, none of us saying a word. We can’t, or won’t, give up on her. That means there is only one way we can have a happy ending with Isola. I think she means more to us than just some random girl. It's been more than that for me since I first saw her. I don't need them to tell me how they feel, I can see it in how they watch her.
“Yeah, you could say that,” Dagan finally replies.
“Right, well, shouldn’t this be Isola’s decision? If she isn’t interested in anyone else, you have nothing to worry about. Though, I will warn you of something Kor,” I say, stepping away from them both.
“What?” Korbin snaps.
“Isola is stubborn and smart, and I doubt you telling her what to do will go over well,” I say, and he shakes his head, looking up at the ceiling. He knows I’m right, this has to be her decision.
“She can’t date us all,” Korbin finally points out what we have all been skirting around.
“Why not?” I’m the only one brave enough to point that out. They just stare, in complete shock as I walk out the room. Sharing or not, I can’t stay away from Isola Dragice, and I won’t even try.
Chapter Fifteen
Isola