“I can’t,” I whisper, freezing when I feel his hand tighten on my neck and his lips ever so gently brush mine.
"Soon then," he promises, and lets me go. He steps back, and I release the breath I'd been holding. I open my eyes, seeing him open the bedroom door and walk out without another word.
What the hell am I doing?
Chapter Eight
Dagan
I can’t stand this anymore,” I yell, slamming my hand into the stone wall. Korbin looks up as he does another sit up, and then rolls back into a crouch.
“Keep it down, Elias never gets any rest. Work out, keep yourself occupied, do anything but think. It’s what I do,” he snaps, nodding a head towards Elias sleeping in the corner. I look into the other dungeons, seeing the other dragons in here. Most have no idea why they were taken, others have said they side with the ice throne, and its true leader. Isola isn’t here to save them, or to be on the throne, and she needs us.
“It’s been two years! Two years of living in this cage, stuck in this dungeon, while we wait for him to bring us food!” I growl, though I quickly lose my bluster. Sighing, I lean back against the wall and think of the only person that makes all this worth it. Isola.
“I miss her too, and the connection makes separation painful for us all,” Korbin says as he sits down next to me. I don’t reply, I don’t need to confirm how I’m feeling. We all know, because we're all experiencing the same emotions. When we saved her life, we didn’t expect to be separated from her.
“I can’t even connect to her,” I growl again.
“It’s because we’ve been weakened, and she is lost in her own mind. Connecting to her dreams is impossible,” Korbin replies.
“Maybe she is better lost, because when she remembers…it will break her,” I say quietly. She is strong, one of the strongest people I know, but none of us expected Thorne to betray her the way he did. Never expected him to kill her father, to imprison her guards, and take her throne.
“But she will have us,” he comments.
“Yet, she won’t. We can’t escape this,” I mutter back, getting angry all over again. Flames burst out my hands, and I roll them around, forming a dragon. We are silent as I play with the flames, but eventually I put them out and watch the door to the dungeons. Thorne should be here with food soon. He always shows up like clockwork every five days, around the same time of day. Elias wakes up, but stays quiet as he waits for the door to open with the rest of us. The door soon opens, but instead of coming in with the usual two guards, Thorne arrives with the seer at his side. The one that made Isola forget.
“Get up,” Thorne demands as he lifts his hand, showing us keys and unlocking our cage. We all stand to hurry out, but Elias is first through the open cell door. He immediately walks over and drives his fist into Thorne's face.
“What the fuck? I’m getting you out of here, you moron!” Thorne sputters, rubbing his jaw as his nose bleeds.
“That’s for Isola. Don’t even say you didn’t deserve it,” Elias says as they stare at each other. Thorne eventually nods, and turns away, walking up the stairs.
“Come on, we don’t have long to get you out. Be ready to fly,” he says, and we follow him out the dungeons.
“And be ready to forget, it is the only way because I’ve seen all your deaths if you just go to her. Including my sister’s, and I will not risk that,” the seer says, just as darkness blurs everything.
“Anything for Isola, even my memories, even my dragon,” are the last words I manage to hear myself say.
I wipe my face and give myself a shake, trying to clear my mind of the dream I've had every night since we arrived. I force myself to focus on the fact I'm in class, and it's not real. I glance over at Isola, staring at the beauty sitting two rows in front of me. Like she can feel my eyes on her, she turns, and her pale blue eyes lock with mine. Everything disappears, the classroom, the school until there is nothing but us gazing at each other. Her blue eyes are like a pool of clear water, they suck you in until you don’t want to escape. Her blonde hair is light, so natural as it frames her face, falling in perfect waves. She is stunning and utterly irresistible, and I've only known her a few days.
“Mr Fire? Do you know the answer?” someone says, and reality rushes back as I realise the teacher was talking to me.
“I completely missed the question, miss, what did you say?” I ask.
“Perhaps try listening next time, Mr Fire. I asked what made Juliet decide to kiss the poison lips of Romeo when she awoke?” she asks me. I look at Isola as I answer.
“Juliet knew she couldn’t live without the one person that made life worth living. She wanted to follow Romeo anywhere, and that included death. She made the choice that he was worth more than herself,” I answer, and Isola takes a deep breath, before turning around and facing the front.
“Correct, Mr Fire. Now can someone tell me what happened when the poison didn’t work?” she asks and Isola puts her hand up, “go on, Miss Dragice.”
“In her utter agony at the poison not working, she picked up a dagger and stabbed herself through the heart. She was certain that the only way to be with him was in death, so she guaranteed it the only way she knew how. Many people were sad and jealous of such a tragic love, that death was the only way for them to be together,” she answers. The teacher claps, turning to the white board as she keeps talking. I don’t hear a word of it as I watch Isola, like I have since I got to this school. There’s something different about her, and there’s something different about me when I’m around her, too. I can’t stay away and I have no plan to try either.
Chapter Nine
Isola
I look up at the gym, the building I’ve avoided ever since I remembered who I was. The place where Jace died, the place that holds a memory I don’t want to replay, but I need to. The final bell rings, and I square my shoulders, holding my head up as I walk in. The normal smells of socks and body odor fills my senses as I walk through the small room and into the main part of the gym. I stare at the spot where he died, seeing nothing other than a newly painted floor. Any sign Jace died here is gone, everything about him is gone from this place. Meanwhile, I'm forced to stay here and pretend everything is normal. Ignoring my teacher's shouts for me to return, I turn around and leave the building. I can’t act normal in that class, in that room. It’s too much. I wipe my tears away as I walk out the school and head towards the bus stop. I just want to go home, and feel like shit for the rest of the evening. Everything is just so fucked up, and damn if I have a clue what I’m doing.
“Hey!” Dagan shouts, and I slow down so he can reach my side.
“Skipping class? I didn’t think you had it in you, kitty cat,” Dagan says as he catches up to me on my way to the bus stop.
“It’s been a shit day,” I tell him dryly, looking away as I can't deal with trying to get him to remember right now.
“So, I have Jules’ car today as she wants to me to do a food shop for her. Problem is, I have no idea how to find the supermarket," he says, grabbing my arm gently so I stop walking. “Would you show me?”
“Why are you shopping for Jules, anyway?”
“Apparently the three of us eat too much and keep her busy with all the extra washing we've caused. Jules is tired of constantly having to go to the shops, and told us we needed to start helping,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck and making his shirt ride up. I quickly pull my eyes away, looking up at him and sighing.
“Fine. I could use some chocolate and ice cream,” I reply. I follow him back to the car park, and he opens the door for me, letting me in.
“Take the main road out of town, and then its three rights to get to the Tesco,” I explain to him, as it’s pretty hard to find. I don’t know why they didn’t just buy a building in town to put the store in, but they didn’t.
“So, why are you skipping class?” Dagan asks me after he starts driving.