“How do you know anything about fate, dragon?” I ask her, and she just laughs.
“Seers and dragons came from the same land. Fate brought us all into existence. It’s not what I know, it’s what I feel.” She says gentle almost. I open the plastic, pulling out one of the daggers. I flip it over, looking closely at the fire dragon on it. I know I won’t get any answers from the dagger, but I still commit the crest on the dagger to memory. Someone came after me, and I want to know who. I pick the other dagger up, holding them both at my sides and look over at the tree about fifty foot away from me. I spin around, throwing both the daggers at the same time and they slam into the tree, buried to the hilt.
“Now shift,” she tells me. Our conversation makes me wonder what else my dragon knows, but decides not to tell me. I pull my coat off, followed by my boots, and finally my pyjamas. I walk away from the tree I leave them near, and take a deep breath, smelling for any humans nearby and finding none. I open my arms, calling my dragon, and white mist appears in front of me slowly, swallowing me inside of it. She takes over with a roar that shakes all the trees near us, and then she stretches her wings out, ice falling off them onto the grass. She looks up at the skies, her sense of freedom improving even my bad mood. She then lifts herself off the ground, and shoots into the sky.
Chapter Sixteen
Isola
My dragon lands in the clearing many hours later with a huff, her annoyance at the dark skies and knowledge that she needs to let me back flooding her thoughts. The rain pours down on us, soaking my dragon and I know it will be worse when I’m in human form.
“Again…soon?” she asks me as she lets me shift back, my human form kneeling on the cold ground, naked and freezing everything off as my wet, cold hair drips down my body. I look up at the skies, just as the rain stops slowly.
“Soon,” I reply and stand up, freezing when I hear a branch snap somewhere near me. I don’t move, looking around as I open my senses. I jump to my right when a shadow of a man steps out from behind the trees, where my clothes are hidden. He walks into the clearing, pausing as he holds my clothes in his arms. His eyes widen, and quickly look away. Shit, I’m naked and not the kinda naked I’d like to be with Dagan.
“Dagan,” I say his name carefully, very aware it’s unlikely he didn’t just see me shift into a dragon. He watches me, his black hair dripping rain water down his face, his blue eyes almost glowing in the darkness. His white shirt is wet, his jeans too and they stick to his impressive body, as he breathes deeply. It’s the only sign he is even alive, the movement of his chest. I hope he didn’t see me shift, but when he meets my eyes, the fear is too hard to just avoid. He knows, and how the hell do I explain that?
“What… the… hell?” he asks slowly, his usual calm voice is replaced with a nervous, gruff one. He keeps his eyes locked on my face, and not looking anywhere else. He doesn’t look scared, or even that shocked…but fearful. Which is understandable, I mean most people would just go running in the other direction, screaming.
“Can I have my clothes, and then explain?” I ask, and he nods, walking closer and handing me my clothes slowly before stepping away again. Its awkward as I quickly get dressed, sliding my boots, and coat on over my pyjamas. I squeeze my wet hair, the rain dripping on the ground before shaking it and pushing it out my face. He just waits the whole time, silent, unnerving to me.
“You’re a dragon?” he asks finally.
“Yes…” I say and he steps back, shaking his head.
“A…dragon…dragon,” he mutters, rubbing his lip ring between his lips and not really making much sense, “dragons aren’t real. Just damn fairy tales but that doesn’t explain what I just saw.”
“Do you want to sit down or something?” I ask, making him laugh. A sarcastic and mean laugh as he glares at me.
“No, I don’t want to sit down Isola! I want you to explain what you are! How dragons even exist?” he says, frustrated. “How one minute this huge dragon flies out the sky, and the next white shit appears and you are there. Naked.”
“Technically, what we are,” I say, just needing to point that out, but regret it when his eyes widen in shock. I try to think back to the paranormal books where the main guy usually has to explain to the female main character how she is one of them. How did they do it?
“I’m not a dragon, I would have noticed that,” he huffs, waving a hand at his body.
“Erm, well you are, but a seer has blocked your dragon away in your mind. Made you forget who you are, and your past,” I say, and for a second I think he might believe me but then he steps back.
“You’re crazy,” he tries to walk away and I hold my hand out, making a wall of ice appear in front of him, and he stops walking just before he would have hit it. He turns, looking at my hand and back at the wall of ice.
“What the fuck?” he exclaims, stepping away from it, shaking his head.
“You need to believe me, I’m tired of trying to do things to make you remember who you are Dagan,” I say.
“Like what?”
“When I asked you about your parents? Your childhood, it was like a robot repeating a story with no details,” I say and he shakes his head.
“You’re mad,” he says.
“Nope, I’m not. So, Dagan, what was your favourite ice cream as a child? Where did you hide when you played hide and seek? Where did your parents take you when you did something good in school?” I ask, and he gives me a confused look.
“I…I.”
“You don’t know, because it’s not real. The real Dagan was brought up in a whore house, the bastard child of a fire guard and his mother was killed. I know this because your brother told me, because I met you as a child,” I say, and he glares, a glare that almost makes me want to run away from him. But I don’t, I hold my ground. I need him to see I’m telling him the truth. I need him to remember.
“I need to tell Elias and Korbin about this, about you,” he says and starts pacing. I stay silent for a while, letting him pace as my wall of ice melts slowly and the moon starts to come out. It’s getting dark quick, and we should get back home but Dagan is still pacing.
“They won’t believe it, and they are dragons too. Can you stop pacing and freaking out for a second?” I ask, placing my hands on my hips.
“What do you suggest I do? Just act like you don’t turn into a massive blue ice dragon, and you’re not telling me I’m one?” he asks me sarcastically.
“That would be great, yes,” I say, nodding and he gives me a nasty look.
“Look it’s getting dark, and I’m worn out from flying all day. Let’s go back home, and you can freak all you want there. Go ahead, and tell anyone you want, no one will believe you,” I say walking past him, and pausing before I get to the trees.
“When you want the real truth of who you are, you know where I am,” I tell him, thinking I’ve heard that in a book somewhere and it’s good advice. I walk off into the woods after one more look, seeing the angry look crossing over his face as he stares. After walking for a while, trying to avoid logs and rocks, I hear Dagan stalking behind me. I turn to see him looking at the ground, clearly, he is thinking but likely doesn’t want to talk to me yet. I guess it’s a big shock. I turn back, walking to the light from the house in the distance and when we get there, Dagan walks past me through the front door and straight up the stairs. I shut the door, sighing against it for a moment until Korbin walks out the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn.
“Long day?” he asks, eyeing my dirt covered clothes and messy hair, and then to Dagan walking up the stairs.
“I went for a hike, Dagan came too,” I explain and his eyes narrow.
“Right, I see how it is,” he says, accusing me of something I haven’t even done.