THE TABLES INSIDE the cafeteria had big fluffy pillows lined up on either side instead of chairs. Each table had a square sky lantern on top that was lit from the inside and glowed with a majestic light. Chinese balloon lanterns floated from the ceiling, illuminating the room. We quickly went through the buffet line at the back. Fresh fruit, milk, root beer, and other major soda brands, with chicken, fish, beef, and pork served with steamed vegetables and rice made my choice difficult. They even had a pudding section, which had a huge sign in front hanging from a golden chain that read CLOSED.
Becky pulled up her nose and made an unpleasant sound while she eyed the food.
I didn't care what we ate; I was starving.
"Good evening ladies," Chef said. His beard had a red-brown shimmer underneath the bright lights that gleamed over the buffet line.
"You've outdone yourself tonight," Sammy praised as she grabbed a plate and a tray. She poured orange juice into her glass.
"It's Friday. I want junk food," Becky whined.
"Then answer my riddle, and you can choose whatever your little heart desires," Chef countered.
"Fine, I'll see what the stupid riddle says," Becky mumbled the last part.
I laughed, remembering how much I also hated riddles. I would give up this meal, though, if it meant hearing one from Dad's lips again.
Sammy and I sat at the nearest table with our trays. Becky went over to look at the riddle posted on the board in the corner of the cafeteria.
She wrote it down on a napkin and walked back to our table.
"Anyone have it yet?" Sammy asked, curious.
She raised the corner of her upper lip and read the riddle out loud. "I never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will, and yet I am the confidence of all, to live and breathe on this terrestrial ball. What am I?"
"Come again?" Sammy asked, clearly confused.
"That's my point. Guess we're going to have cooked meals for the next two months," she said, and chucked the napkin aside.
"Anybody got the riddle's answer yet?" Lucian's voice made me jump as he approached us.
He apologized for the scare, giving me one of his super smiles, and plopped onto the empty pillow next to me.
"What are you still doing here?" Becky's mood changed in a flash.
"My dad had to leave this afternoon for the meeting in Areeth. He'll swing by tomorrow to come and fetch me."
"Meetings of the Royal Council," Sammy whispered.
Becky recited the riddle to him and he frowned.
"C'mon Lucian, you're good at this crap."
"Sorry Becky, the riddle sounds like French," he said, and gave a sexy chuckle. A million goosebumps broke out across my skin. Weird. Guess the image of him being okay with beating Blake half to death wasn't as much of a turn-off as I'd thought.
"Oh please, I don't know where Chef gets them. I wonder if he even knows the answers himself," Becky said with a pout.
The answer popped into my head. "It��s tomorrow."
"What?"
"The answer is tomorrow. I think."
The three of them stared at me with wide eyes.
Becky recited the riddle softly. She left out an excited squeal and jumped from her pillow. "Oh my word, Elena, you're right."
"You're good at riddles?" Lucian asked.
"It's the first one I got right. I usually suck at them."
"Wicked," he said.
Becky reached the buffet line. She leaned over to speak to Chef. He smiled, went over to a big bell, and rang it twice.
She did a happy dance, which made the entire cafeteria laugh.
Lucian leaned closer to me. "You're going to be her favorite person," he said breathily in my ear, which made my skin tingle all over.
"Hey everyone, what about pizza for breakfast?" Becky announced.
Some boys cheered, with loud whistles.
"It's hardly a food group," Sammy whined
Becky returned with a tray of food and a big smile. "Why didn't you tell me that you were good at riddles?"
"I didn't know I was. Please, don't make this a daily thing."
"You're at least going to try, Elena," she said, completely serious.
"So what's on the menu for tomorrow?" Lucian asked.
"Pizza for breakfast, hot dogs for lunch, and hamburgers for dinner." She sounded pleased. Lucian reached his hand in the air and Becky slapped it playfully in a high-five.
"I might just stay for that."
"And give up a weekend of freedom? You'll leave and go with your dad tomorrow, Lucian, even if I have to push you onto Emanuel myself."
"Emanuel is King Helmut's dragon," Sammy whispered again.
Riley entered the cafeteria and went first to the buffet line. Chef nodded in the direction of our table and she turned around to look at us. Disappointment was written over her face as she stalked to our table. Riley wasn't pretty, but not ugly either. She had a strong body and I wondered who would win between her and Becky in the Parthenon Dome.
Without saying hello she asked, "You got the riddle?"
I kicked Becky's shin underneath the table and begged her with my eyes not to tell Riley it was me.
"Yes, you have a problem with that?" she challenged.
Riley huffed, arched her eyebrows and stormed away to a table filled with girls who couldn't stop glaring our way. She dropped into a pillow and huddled in with the girls there.
"Why don't you want to let them in on the fact that you're good at solving riddles?" Lucian's question broke my gaze from theirtable.
"I'm not good at dealing with confrontations the way Becky is." I nodded toward her. She made brushing people off look so easy.
He looked at his plate again and smiled. A gentle crease formed on his forehead. I could feel myself getting warm again; this had to stop happening in public.
The food was great, just like the company. I listened to Lucian talk with admiration about his father's kingdom, Tith, and how he wanted to make his biggest dream, to claim Blake, a reality. He spun his empty glass in circles on his plate as he talked. He sounded so brave when speaking of swords, shields, and fighting. He hardly made eye contact with me, but the few times our gazes met, I could feel the electricity passing through us. Maybe it was just my imagination running wild, but the picture of Lucian the dragon abuser vanished, leaving behind the image of Lucian—the hottest guy ever.
By the end of the night, a number of girls had either scolded or murdered me with their eyes. I tried to ignore them, but I could feel their glares burning straight through to my soul.
When the bell chimed nine times, we returned to our dorms. We said goodbye to Lucian by the stairs and I wished him a lovely weekend. I had a different view of things after our talk. A fuzzy feeling rose inside my chest whenever he popped into my mind, especially his brilliant smile.
I still had one lingering question on my mind as the three of us sat down on Sammy's bed. "Do any of the humans ever get hurt during a claim?"
"Oh yes, the Chromatic dragons don't give up easily," Sammy said.
"Then claiming a dragon can kill you?" I was suddenly afraid for Lucian, since he had just explained to me that he was planning a third attempt to claim Blake.
"There's always one of the professors nearby, Elena," Becky said in an assuring tone. "So when it gets too rough they jump in."
I was just glad they didn't go 'poof.'
The subject soon changed away from the claiming to their capital city, Etan. Sammy said that creepers had consumed the entire city, along with the nearby villages and farms, on the night of King Albert's and Queen Catherine's deaths. For the past fifteen years, brave Dragonians had tried to find a way through the creepers, but when they got too close, the creepers became wild and alive, tearing apart everything in their reach. Every year, scientists checked the creepers to measure their growth, but they had yet to find a single one dead. The way the two of them explained it made me think about Sleeping Beauty and how the prince had to hack his way through to get to her. Becky had her own opinion and believed the Council was wasting their time with science. She believed only Blake and his true Dragonian would be able to pass, like the Viden had prophesied when Blake's egg hatched. But since his true Dragonian didn't exist, Etan was lost forever.
When Blake's egg hatched, the Viden had also predicted that his Dragonian would be from King Albert and Queen Catherine's bloodline.
"They died before producing an heir and, with that, my brother's only chance at getting claimed."
"Oh, Sammy, you can't say that," Becky said, giving her a side hug as Sammy's eyes sparkled with tears.
She sighed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"When the Viden makes a true calling, she has never been wrong, Becky," she said in a soft, sad tone.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, we changed our conversation to the Viden. She was three hundred years old, but her human body was still relatively young. The boys attending Dragonia Academy drooled over her. Sammy explained to me how vain she was and how the Viden had a fondness for only her famous foretellings, like Blake. He saw her at least twice a week.
We kept talking until the clock chimed eleven, then we called it a night.
I struggled to go to sleep even though I was so exhausted my brain cells hurt. I wasn't sure if it was all the information my mind was trying to process or the new bed. I shivered, thinking of what the other side would do if they discovered dragons were real. Humans had the tendency to destroy everything they didn't understand. They wouldn't even consider a truce.
I hoped Constance was right about the Wall and that it would never lose its power, otherwise Paegeia could be in serious danger. I said a small prayer to keep us safe as I drifted off to sleep.