“I’m alone,” I whisper, mildly panicking. That thought hurts more than all the other pain in my life, because it's so true. I can’t even think about Thorne, not without wanting to walk through a portal, find him and punch him straight in his good-looking face.
“No, you’re not. I’m here, and you are all I have left, too,” she says and I turn to stare at her for a little while, both of us silent. We both share a father, who we recently lost, but she is still a stranger to me. I look at her, really look, and just see the confident friend that part of me thinks I've known for years. But I know that's not who she is, or at least, not all of her. The black, tattoo-like designs covering her arms and extending up her neck and cheeks remind me of who she really is. They meet in the middle of her forehead, curling at the ends. I don’t remember her mother, only that she died at some point when I was still in Dragca as a child. Melody is alone too, I know that, but I still can’t completely trust her.
“What is Thorne doing?” I ask her, needing to know if she is still in the castle, and what is going on back at home.
“Your step brother is, well actually, his mother is making a lot of changes. We need you back, everyone thinks you’re dead,” she explains, biting her lip a little when snow starts falling from my hands again. It’s only because I’m thinking about him, my anger is just too raw to control. I know I need to rein it in though, when I see Melody's slightly worried face as she steps back from the ice spreading across the floor.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I tell her. and she laughs.
“You couldn’t anyway, not without a big fight and I don’t think we are those kinds of siblings. I’m more worried about Thorne,” she says, and a flash of jealousy shoots out from my dragon. It overwhelms me, reminding me that she thinks of Thorne as hers. He never was; he's no treasure to hoard/collect, just a viper in a nest.
“I’m going to kill him when I see him next,” I seethe and she just smiles like she knows something I don't. I don't like it.
“Don’t ask what you don’t want to know, sister,” she says, calling me sister like it’s a normal thing. Not like it’s the very first time she has called me that.
“Where is Bee? She was in the castle last I knew,” I say, starting to panic, and I look down at my hand, seeing the tree mark. It looks normal, nothing wrong with it. Surely if something happened to her, I would know?
“I have her. When you come to rescue me, you will get her back. She misses you, and is getting powerful. Also, it's getting more difficult to hide her, trickier. I will protect her with my life because of who she is. She is all that is left of the light now." I’m relieved, but still a little worried. I watch as her eyes start to glow blue, and she shakes a little.
“Are you okay?” I ask her.
“I have to go, but you need to get the others to remember, and then sneak into Dragca with their help. Once they remember, they will know what to do,” she says abruptly, and I turn to see her move closer, tilting her head to the side.
“Who?” I ask.
“Dagan, Elias, and Korbin. They need to remember who they are, so they can save you. Remember sister, not everything is as it seems. There is only one way you will get them to remember. I just can’t tell you how to do it,” she says.
“Why not?” I demand.
“Because it would mess with fate, and fate has messed with you enough, Isola,” she explains. Melody then gradually fades away, until I'm stood alone in the bathroom, surrounded by snow and ice. I walk over to the sink, the ice cracking under my boots. I stare at myself, inspecting the changes from the last time I saw myself. My hair is a lot longer, hitting my waist, and my face seems older and is covered in makeup. Who wears so much of this crap? I pick my bag up off the floor, putting it on the side. I open it up, seeing textbooks, a pencil case, and my phone inside. I flip my phone on, seeing that it is basically empty of texts or anything, but the date throws me off a little.
“Two thousand and nineteen,” I say, dropping my phone back into my bag in shock. It’s been two years since Thorne betrayed me, two years since I lost my father because of him. How am I even still in school? Two years...I swear I’m going to make him pay for every single day I've lost and so much more.
Chapter Two
Isola
Everything okay, Miss Dragice? You aren’t usually late to my class,” a teacher stops me as I walk past a classroom with its door open, so she can see me. There goes the plan of finding the guys and following them, okay, stalking them. But stalking is okay if it’s for their own good, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. I stop, turning to face the teacher who is tapping her foot on the floor with an unimpressed look. She is an older woman, with short grey hair tied at the back of her neck, and her skin is covered in wrinkles that pull across her face when she frowns at me. I remember her being a nice teacher, but the memory of the class is fading. I think it’s history, no maths? I don’t know.
“Are you coming into class? Or just planning on standing there staring?” she asks me, and I look at the doors of the school once more but looking back at the teacher and deciding maybe I need to act normal for a while. I doubt Thorne left me here alone, I bet someone here is a dragon in hiding or something, watching me for anything suspicious. Thorne is too smart to leave me on Earth without a guarantee that I wouldn’t come back and kick his stupid ass off the throne.
“Sorry I’m late,” I say, pulling my bag up on my shoulder and walking into the class. There are thirty or so students in here, and it’s weird that I sort of remember them. It’s like the memories of being here as a student, and growing up in this town are stuck in my mind, but so is the actual truth. This is still the town I grew up in, this is the same school I went to with Jace. I swallow the bitterness I feel that he isn’t here. That Esmeralda is still walking around free of punishment when she killed him. My vow to kill her, it just bothers me now because I know I won’t be able to keep it for a while. I need to train, get much stronger, and somehow get the people of Dragca behind me, to get back my throne. I slide into my normal seat, two rows back, and next to a girl named Hallie. Hallie winks at me, before looking back towards the front of class as the teacher starts talking about William Shakespeare. I suddenly remember this is my literature class, and that was what we were studying. It’s all confusing, and is slowly giving me a headache. I guess that is what happens when someone messes with your head.
“Everyone knows what we have been going over. With your upcoming test next week, I suggest you all start studying. Please come and see me if you have any problems,” the teacher says, and everyone starts pulling their textbooks out their bags. I get mine out, opening it up to the page I remember.
So weird that I remember the page, but not the teacher’s name.
“How come you were late?” Hallie asks me, flipping through her own book. I look over at her, and scrutinize my friend. She has black hair, and currently has the tips dyed blue, though she changes the colour depending on her mood. She also covers her brown eyes with blue contacts; she hates wearing glasses and likes blue eyes. I remember meeting her when I was ten in the fake memory, but I also remember seeing her around school when I was here in my real life with Jace. We certainly weren't best friends like we are now, I didn't even know her name then. Yet she is the only one that isn't fearful of me, like most human females are. I know everything about Hallie now, from her messed up parents, to the two guys she's sleeping with that don't know about each other. She knows everything about me too, all of the fake lie of a life anyway. The real me, the princess of Dragca, she knows nothing about. I feel a little guilty that she has been dragged into my mess of a life.