"Woah," Yuvien exclaimed and looked around at everyone as if gauging their reactions.
Ryne's eyes widened for just a moment. He leaned forward on his knees, tilted his head and said, "Tell me more."
"The curse that Hecate placed was two-fold. Dragons couldn't shift anymore, reducing our powers to just a percentage of what we were capable of. That was what helped you win the war. To make sure our sins are never forgotten, she also placed a curse on the royal bloodline. A Dragomir can only give birth to one child. And like I told you, we don't survive past twenty-five."
I looked up at Arlan, "Which is why we were betrothed when were just children. If I don't have a child, it will be the end of the royal bloodline. With no hope of ever becoming their former selves, the dragons will truly become extinct."
"Hope?" Arlan spoke for the first time.
"There's a prophecy that's been in our clan since the curse. That Fendal Dragomir's direct descendant by blood, who succeeds in finding the lost god Dragomitus, shall save our clan. Every generation has only one such person on whom the burden of the quest is placed."
"Is that where you went with your teacher all those years ago?" Arlan asked and everyone turned to look at him.
"Remember how we were supposed to get married at sixteen?" I said and he nodded.
"You were what?" Gyrod spoke for the first time. "Wait, aren't you sixteen?" he asked me, his amethyst eyes glowing.
"She's eighteen," Arlan said on my behest, getting up and nodding at me to continue.
"Well, I pleaded with the elders and... I got it postponed. I promised them to successfully complete my quest. I'm sorry I didn't confide in you earlier. You are very dear to me but I didn't want to marry you," I said looking down at my palms again. My cheeks flared up. This was turning into a confession and I wasn't very comfortable with the black eyes that pierced into me as I spoke.
"Do you still not want to?" Arlan asked softly.
"No! I mean, yes," I said quickly. "I..." I sighed, "I love you, Arlan. You are my best friend," I said to the blue-eyed boy.
Keelin began coughing violently. I didn't want an audience as well, but if I didn't do this now, I never would.
"I just don't want to be another irrelevant Dragomir. Besides, I don't want you to end up alone," I said and tears clouded my sight. "I will die soon if I don't find the great god. Although my mother lived until twenty-five, that is almost never the case in my lineage. Apart from her, everyone else has usually died by twenty. I don't have much time," I said and I couldn't help but sob. "I have always been terrified of death. And I am almost at the end of the line. If... if I do end up failing, I will have no other choice. But I want to try my best to make sure we both don't go down that road. As much as I hate my father, I also pity him for having to live on..."
Arlan walked up to me quickly and hugged me. "Oh, Ditty. Why didn't you just tell me everything? I would have helped you. I..." he buried his face in my neck and I hugged him back. I had never said any of it aloud before. Now that I had, I couldn't help but be frightened. Everything seemed so real. I had less than two years of life left. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't come to terms with that. I had never allowed myself to think of failure. Now, it seemed like a possible alternative to the one I had always hoped for.
I peered at Ryne and saw a fleeting moment of despair on his face. Did my imminent death affect him as well? Was I of any significance to him? Even until earlier tonight, I hated him, didn't I? Yes, he was a pain in the ass and a warlock. But, did I hate him?
"As much as I am moved by your story, I still do have to report this to the Council. It's my duty as the ti-eglor," Ryne said with a sigh as he ran his fingers through his dark hair.
Yup, I hated him alright.
I pulled away from Arlan, "I told you everything." I smacked the bed in frustration, "You know that I'm going to die soon. You know that if I die dragons won't exist anymore. You know our location. You can verify it with Arlan. There's literally nothing we can do to harm you. We are completely vulnerable. I am completely vulnerable. Can you not," I sighed and held my face in my palm. "Ryne, I know we are from warring clans. But even the worst enemy won't attack you when you are already down."
"So what do you want now?" Ryne looked away as if he were struggling with his emotions. He then turned to me and scoffed, "You want us to let you go and not talk about it to anyone. Keep the existence of dragons a secret until you complete your quest. If dragons gain power again, how can you guarantee that they won't attack the Council. You wouldn't even complete the marks. How can I be assured that you won't begin a revolt?"
"Would you take part in a ceremony like that? Would you swear allegiance to the people who caused your clan's downfall? How can you expect me to trust the Council that was formed from the blood of my clan?" I cried out, as I got out of the bed. I couldn't take it anymore. How could anyone be so annoying?
He stood up as well. "Precisely. Do you see why you have the perfect motive for vengeance? I cannot risk the system and my people for anything. Not for friendship," he glanced at Arlan. "And not for you," he looked down at me.
"Why are you such an annoying prick?" I gritted out.
"If you hadn't been so stubborn earlier and completed the marks, I wouldn't be having trouble trusting you," he responded curtly.
I scoffed, "Your ancestors sucked the life out of mine and now you're doing the same to me."
He let out a laugh, "Let's not forget who wronged whom first, love."
"We did not deserve the punishment we received. But then again. That seems to be common among magic-kind as well as the goddess you worship. Your goddess was unfair and so were you. You want to talk about mark collection? How about the fact that it was a completely biased punishment? I checked the penal code, douchebag," I cried out. Overcome with anger, I shoved him. It did not have any impact on him. Instead, he caught my hands in his and gripped them tightly.
"I am the ti-eglor, the future emperor. I don't care if you are a dragon queen or whatever. You will treat me with respect," he said clearly enraged.
I stood on my toes and moved closer to him, "Respect needs to be earned."
We were mere inches apart. Both of us red from anger. I breathed heavily as I glared back at him. After a moment, his eyes darted down to my lips before restoring contact with mine. His black eyes seemed even darker, if that was even possible. His grip on my wrist loosened and he inched closer to me. I froze in my spot. What was he doing? The air was so thick with tension that it was suffocating. We continued to stare at each other amidst the absolute quiet.
Madame principal who was so still that I forgot about her existence, suddenly spoke up, "We have nothing against you, child. We truly do feel sorry for your plight." She heaved up, her round, bulky form not cooperating with her short, stocky legs.
I pulled away from Ryne, realizing how close we both had been. When the cold air kissed my skin, I suddenly became conscious of the way I was dressed. In a moment of passion, I had completely disregarded that and stood up. Now if I dove back under the covers, I would be even more humiliated. So, I straightened my back and pretended I was totally comfortable in my skin. I glanced at Ryne and swallowed before looking back at the blonde woman who resembled a spinning top.
Madame principal walked up to me and held my hands, "But child, you aren't the only one with a burden to bear here. All the children in this room are tomorrow's leaders. Everyone here is going to be a part of the Council once they graduate. They need to think about the interest of their own people and the Circle as a whole as well."
Her eyes shone with sincerity and I sighed. She was right. I wasn't the only leader here. They all had their own duties as well. Ryne was the ti-eglor of the entire Circle. While I was responsible for a few thousand dragons, he had seven species, six continents, a billion people and counting as his subjects. While I was a queen, he was the future emperor. As much as it sucked, I would probably be wary of someone like me if I were in his shoes.
Feeling defeated, I collapsed onto the bed. So, was that it? Was I going to let them take me to the Council? If that happened, the eglor would decide my fate. They would bring all the dragons in for questioning, treat us like criminals, keep us locked up for who knows how long. The descendants of the witches who helped us out would be in trouble. Due to how powerless we currently were, even if we got assimilated into the Circle as an official species, we would rank quite low. I couldn't even think of such a situation. Assimilating into the Circle would mean accepting the eglor as the emperor. My pride would never allow that. And what of my people? They would lose faith in me, in the prophecy, they would give up hope.
No, even if I couldn't protect anything, I should at least protect their hope. I refused to become the first royal in my clan to destroy everything. Determined, I got up and grabbed Ryne's hand. He seemed surprised by my actions. I looked him in the eyes and poured as much sincerity into my words as possible, "The odds of me succeeding the quest are very slim. It hasn't been possible since a millennium. I am not asking for your help. I just want to be given a chance. Please..."
Ryne took a deep breath and seemed to be lost in thought. When I believed all was over, he looked at me and said, "Fine. We'll do this your way. I'll even help you with your quest. But I need this to benefit the Council in some way so I can justify my actions to my father."
Not expecting him to agree so easily, I let go of his hands in surprise, "Really?" He stared at my hands and frowned. "And what do you want in return?" I asked.
He bit his lip, "There are a lot of species hiding in pockets across the world. Most of them follow the old ways. They think that their previous rulers, the dragons became extinct because of the magic-kind."
"Which is mostly true," I said rolling my eyes. "Only, your ancestors were bad at the bad stuff too."
Arlan snickered from behind me. I flushed, becoming aware of his presence. I took a step back from Ryne. When did I get comfortable enough to be so close to him?
Ignoring us, Ryne said, "I want you to convince them to acknowledge the Council and my father once you get your powers back. Also, you need to sign an accord that you will never revolt against us."
When our mere survival was doubtful, a revolt was out of question. I didn't have a problem signing an accord if that meant I would get a chance to survive and save my clan. But I didn't know if it was okay to trust him. Why was he helping me? I was really grateful for the second-chance, but it didn't make sense to me. He didn't really need me to convince those people. He was powerful enough to make them submit.
"When you said that you would help me, what did you mean by that?" I asked him.
"Well, I don't know why you came here, but gods live in another realm," Ryne said, scratching his chin. "Searching for them on Earth won't help you. You will require passage to Liremia and for that, permission from the gods. And in case you don't know," he smirked, "I am one of their favourites."
I nodded, then paused for a second before gasping in surprise. This was why I was here, wasn't I? I was here for Ryne Novak. I was here for the douchebag.