The cameras still flashed as we reached the carriages. Everyone was outside now. King Helmut bowed his head when he saw me, and with a small smile, I shook my head slightly.

　　I had to admit it felt good, standing up to the Ancients. I couldn’t believe they would have put all of these people into quarantine.

　　This time, I refused to let them get their wish. They hadn’t won, and everyone was safe.

　　Blake was put my bag into one of the carriages and gave his to his father. He wasn’t going to come with us to Dragonia Academy?

　　I didn’t like that, but a part of me didn’t want him to come because I knew he was Tabitha’s.

　　I felt so bad about kissing him not just once, but four times.

　　He still confused me so much, and I let out a huge breath just trying to make sense of this sudden change in him.

　　“Hey.” Blake touched my arm. I hadn’t even seen him walking my way.

　　“I take it you are not coming with us?”

　　“All of them are safe. They have you.”

　　“Oh, shut up.” I smacked him hard on the chest, playfully and he laughed. Flashes reflected around us.

　　“Can’t they just go home?”

　　Blake laughed. “You’d better get used to this, as it’s going to be our life from now on.”

　　I smiled. I liked the “our life” part. Still not knowing in what context he meant it, Iassumed he was referring to the fact that he was my dragon—that wasn’t going to change. Yeah, it could only be that. Nothing more.

　　“I have to go with my father. He wants some information.” His grin was huge as he looked down. “I think he is going to start the Dragon League again.”

　　“What?”

　　“Just a small inkling, otherwise I have no idea why he wants this.”

　　I wielded my shield around us and couldn’t hear anything that was going on in the background.

　　“You promised you wouldn’t –”

　　“I’m not stupid. I know what he will do. He can’t know.”

　　“Okay, then I guess I’ll see you when I see you.”

　　“I won’t be gone that long, three days at the most. King Helmut wants to know a couple of things too.”

　　“Okay,” I said.

　　Blake opened the door to one of the carriages and I got in.

　　He tapped twice on the carriage, and I watched him leave.

　　This wasn’t good. I was falling for him, head over heels, and I didn’t know what to do anymore.

　　I’d promised Tabitha.

　　I’d broken so many promises already.

　　I had to give him up. He had never been mine, and if it wasn’t for the dent, a procedure I still didn’t understand, he still wouldn’t have been mine.

　　When we reached Dragonia Academy, Master Longwei took the refugees to empty staff quarters. It was like a castle, and I was sure they would be more than comfortable.

　　Annie stayed with Constance, and we parted ways after I said goodbye and went up to my room.

　　The meeting had drained me, but I’d never felt so confident in my entire life.

　　I’d stood up to all of them, including Caleb, who wasn’t a king in my eyes anymore. He didn’t deserve that title, no matter what King Helmut said.

　　I found both my friends in our room when I opened the door.

　　“You’re back!” Sammy yelled, getting up and running over for a hug. I folded my arms around her, and I could tell she was surprised when she froze for a few seconds.

　　“You are okay!” she said. “Just like he promised.”

　　I pushed her back. “What are you talking about?”

　　She shook her head. “It’s nothing. What matters is that you are okay.”

　　I laughed. “I was alone with your brother for like a month. We talked.”

　　Her eyebrows rose. “You did?”

　　I looked at Becky, who just raised one eyebrow with a knowing smile. “I hope you apologized to him.”

　　I laughed. “Well, to be honest, he’s the one who can’t stop apologizing.”

　　“So how many times did he make his dragon oath?”

　　We all laughed.

　　“Once.”

　　They gasped.

　　“I almost killed him. I hate that dragons do that.”

　　“So when did you guys have this talk?” Becky asked.

　　“With his dragon form, plenty of times. With the human, the night I discovered I was in Etan all along, and when I discovered all the times he’d tried to find me. The Sonic device did come in handy.” I looked at Sammy.

　　“So you’re an item now?” Becky asked. We had all ended up sitting on her bed.

　　“I wouldn’t say that, but he definitely wants to be my dragon.”

　　“He wants to be more than just your dragon, I can promise you that.”

　　“It’s complicated,” I said to Becky.

　　“No, it’s not.”

　　I sighed. She would just get upset if I told her the truth.

　　“And don’t you dare say it.” Becky sounded serious.

　　“Then explain it to me, please.”

　　“You didn’t ask him?”

　　“I did, but he couldn’t tell me.”

　　“He couldn’t or he wouldn’t?”

　　“Is there a difference? It’s not him. He hated my guts, treated me like shit. How can Ibe the only one who remembers that?”

　　“Don’t, please,” Sammy begged.

　　“There is a huge difference between wouldn’t and couldn’t. George wouldn’t tell me either, because of what is at stake, not because he doesn’t know.”

　　I shook my head. “It still doesn’t explain the change in them, and that I can’t trust. Not this time.” I got up and went to the bathroom.

　　I was going to feel like this every time I wasn’t near Blake. The doubts would come and it would eventually drive us apart.

　　We didn’t speak about the dent anymore. I knew it was hard for Becky as well. She was head over heels for George, and loved him with all her heart. Thinking that it could be what I said it was, was too hard for her to admit.

　　I couldn’t sleep that night. I kept thinking about so many things.

　　Okay, not about many, about one: Blake. I hated this so much. I didn’t want my life to revolve around him. I was more than that, but I couldn’t get him out of my mind.

　　I drifted away, and just like before, I started to see the faint light of torches.

　　My heart started to beat frantically and the entire scene engulfed me.

　　I was on my back, my hands were being held down by Zac and Patrick, and Billy was starting to unbuckle his belt. Seymour had just finished, and was spent. Once again I felt so worthless; I hated it. Huge trees formed a canopy over the entire scene. I always wished right at this spot that Cara was still inside of me, so that I could scorchtheir asses before any of this happened.

　　Their laughter and what they were saying had started to die out. Their lips still moved and as they laughed, making jokes...no sound came.

　　This had never happened before in my dreams, and then the impossible took place.

　　An invisible hand grabbed Billy and threw him with force.

　　A pink flame engulfed the scene first, before he hit a tree.

　　The pink kiss hit Zac and Patrick first then I was free. The others tried to fight against Blake, but in a matter of seconds it was all over and...

　　I bolted upright in my bed.

　　My heart raced, as if I had been in a sprint, but what I felt in my gut wasn’t fear, it was something else. Revenge. Even if that’d never happened, I felt it.

　　He did it.A small chuckle escaped my lips.

　　He couldn’t be here, but he’d found a way to change that dream, just like the others.

　　I gasped as I realized where he was. He was in Tith; I was in Elm.

　　Had he really seen that from that distance?

　　I knew he struggled with me close by him; he’d told me so himself. It was too fast, and yet, he’d changed it tonight all the way from Tith. Is he okay?

　　I wanted to cry, not because of what had happened in that forest that night, but for being stupid enough to even try to negotiate with Tabitha.

　　“This isn’t real,” I kept saying over and over to myself. The Blake you truly want is gone. He is under a spell, even if he thinks it isn’t.

　　I fell back into my pillow and sleep eventually came after I made peace, sort of, with everything.

　　The next morning I found Tabitha in the cafeteria. She looked up at me, but her expression wasn’t friendly at all. It was as if she knew what had happened. Had he told her the truth? My heart was pounding, not knowing what she knew.

　　I looked back down and walked to the buffet.

　　Chef smiled as he saw me. “Back from Etan?”

　　“Finally,” I said.

　　“What you did for Constance...”

　　“Please, don’t. It was the best thing I could have done for both of them.”

　　“Still, the papers this morning were filled with pictures of that reunion.”

　　I smiled, but it disappeared as I remembered flashes going off while Blake and I talked.“Can I see it?” I asked.

　　Chef smiled as he handed a copy to me.

　　I closed my eyes as I stared at a picture of Blake rubbing his chest and me just after I hit him. We looked like old friends, both smiling.

　　Tabitha must have seen this.

　　“Thanks.” I smiled and returned the newspaper to Chef.

　　I dished up oatmeal and moved on as Chef spoke to the person next to me. I moved with the line, picking up some yogurt and honey, and found Tabitha at the end of the buffet.

　　“Elena,” she said.

　　“Tabitha.”

　　The noise in the cafeteria disappeared immediately, and I knew she wanted a private word, sealing us both inside her shield.

　　“Did you forget the promise you made?”

　　“No, I didn’t. Nothing happened. We simply saw things that were hard to deal with, andit brought me closer to his dragon form,” I said.

　　She gave me an eye roll. “You think I’m an idiot? I saw those pictures.”

　　“You think you saw something. It’s not there.”

　　“You know it’s not him, right?”

　　“Yes, I told you from the beginning, I know what the dent is. I believe the same thing he did, and nothing will change my mind, okay?” The lies just kept pouring out of my mouth. Just keep your mouth shut.“Are we done?”

　　“We are.” She smiled, lowered her shield, and went to her table.

　　The noise in the cafeteria came back instantly, and I could feel my friends’ eyes on me as I sat down.

　　“What did Tabitha want?” Becky asked.

　　“Nothing. Matter of fact, I needed to talk to her in private.”

　　Both girls looked at me in surprise. “She’s not that bad. Quite nice if you just give her a chance,” I said to Sammy.

　　“Why would I?”

　　“This isn’t easy for her, okay?”

　　“This princess crap doesn’t suit you at all. You care way too much about others, even people who don’t deserve it.”

　　I smiled, which made them laugh.

　　George was missing from the table, which was weird. “Where is George?”

　　Becky scrunched up her nose.

　　“Becky, where is George?”

　　“Somewhere. It doesn’t matter, okay?”

　　I frowned as she got up and left. I watched her retreating figure as she placed her tray at the drop-off line. She hadn’t even touched her food.

　　“Sammy?”

　　Sammy shook her head.

　　“What is going on?”

　　“She broke it off with George.” Sammy sounded upset.

　　“What?”

　　“Because of what you said to her last night. It finally sank in, and she asked him this morning to explain it to her. When he wouldn’t, she told him it was over.” Tears lingered in her eyes. “She told him to stay away from her, apart from class and dragon duties. They are not an item anymore.”

　　I closed my eyes. What have I done?

　　“Sometimes I just wish you could keep your theories to yourself.”

　　She got up as well, and I was alone at my table.

　　I tried to eat but couldn’t. When I wanted to get up, George plunged down on the pillow opposite me. He looked completely out of it.

　　“I didn’t mean...”

　　“Don’t. She believes that I don’t love her. That this is a spell. It isn’t. And now...” He couldn’t finish his sentence.

　　“Then explain it to me, please.”

　　He chuckled sarcastically. “Blake didn’t tell you?”

　　“No,” I said.

　　“Then why do you think I will?”

　　“You are not making it any easier on us, you know? You hated Becky. Remember how you cornered her before the claim? Or did you forget that part?”

　　His lips pursed into a thin line. “No, I didn’t forget, okay? I’m disgusted with myself for how I treated her that day and after the claim was made. It’s not what you think, and now she wants nothing to do with me because of your insecurities. We will never tell anyone what the dent is.” He wielded his shield, which made me jerk slightlywhen all the noise disappeared. Tears welled up in his eyes. “Because if our enemies find out the truth, they will kill our dents. That alone will destroy us. It’s not an enchantment, and it’s not enslavement. We can make choices too, but we choose to followyour every wish because...” From the expression on his face, he wasn’t going to finishhis sentence... “I never thought that I would ever say this, and Blake can kill me if hewants. Right now, I wish you never existed.” Noise came back and he got up and stormed out of the cafeteria.

　　Okay, that only made me feel crappier. It still didn’t make any sense. What triggered this love? I needed to know. Not just for my sake anymore, but for Becky’s too.

　　My Cammy rang and Blake’s name flashing in neon letters. I didn’t pick it up and just pressed the disconnect button.

　　It rang again and I switched it over to silent.

　　During my first class, my heart wanted to break when I saw George and Becky sitting next to one another not even looking at each other. He was respecting her wishes, but he should fight for her, idiot.

　　I took my seat next to her as my Cammy kept vibrating non-stop.

　　Then it eventually stopped, and Sammy’s Cammy started to play his song.

　　The class began to laugh as she tried to sit on it to keep the ring tone quiet.

　　“Sorry about that, I forgot to switch it off,” she apologized to Sir Edward, and just gave me the look.

　　Her Cammy stopped, and she put it on silent.

　　Then Becky’s started to vibrate.

　　She looked at it and narrowed her eyes as she gave me a look.

　　“Can someone please answer that?” Sir Edward interrupted his lecture, and Becky opened her Cammy.

　　“We are in class, you idiot,” she whispered.

　　“Stop this, Becky! Are you insane?” Blake said, and everyone turned around to look at her.

　　“No, I need to know.”

　　“You’ve never had to know before, why now?”

　　“Because you did a piss-poor job with Elena, asshole.” She switched off her Cammy. “Mind your own business!” she yelled at the class and put her Cammy back.

　　“Now I have to pay for it,” George whispered.

　　“Don’t, George, please. I can’t do this.”

　　“Is there something going on here?” Sir Edward asked and stared at all of us in the last row. Nobody said a word, not even George.

　　“Becky?”

　　“Yes, I need to know if the dent is real or just a stupid spell.”

　　“It’s not a spell, okay!” George yelled.

　　“Becky, what is going on here?”

　　“I need to understand the change. He doesn’t want to tell me.”

　　“And he never will either,” Sir Edward said.

　　“Why not?” She was frantic.

　　This was all my fault.

　　“Becky, please don’t,” I begged.

　　“No. Your version makes a shit load of sense, especially last night. Anybody ever wonder why Blake just changed like that after he woke up? It’s not real, and these idiots can’t even explain it to us.”

　　“It’s not that we can’t. We know what happened, why I love you, I just can’t tell you!” George yelled as well.

　　“Why not?”

　　“Becky, please,” he begged, and now I also had tears in my eyes. “Don’t do this.”

　　“I just can’t. I’m sorry.” She got up and walked out of the classroom.

　　My Cammy vibrated continuously again. I even received text messages I was too scared to open. I didn’t even know when he’d paired phones.

　　I felt George’s pain, but I knew exactly what Becky was going through.

　　She didn’t return for class, and George went missing too.

　　Sammy didn’t even speak to me. I never thought that Becky would finally admit this. I should’ve kept my mouth shut.

　　In Aviant, I sat alone in the Coliseum when a dragon came in, landing hard.

　　I jumped slightly from the rumble that vibrated through the entire structure, as I hadn’t expected it, but flinched again when I saw who it was.

　　What was he doing here?He was huge and moved to one of the entrances that led to the seats. Blake ran out in his human form, wearing a robe, and he came up the steps toward me. “Something wrong with your Cammy?” He sounded upset.

　　“Please, just don’t, okay,” I said, got up and put away my sketchbook in which I was drawing.

　　“No.” He grabbed my arm as I walked away.

　　“What do you want me to say? That I feel crap that Becky broke it off with George? I do, okay?”

　　“Elena.” he grunted. “This is so not my department.”

　　“I know, it’s my fault, but you cannot blame me for feeling like this.”

　　“Like what?”

　　“You’ve got to be shitting me, right?”

　　“Just speak to me.”

　　“I can’t, because this is not you.” I tapped him hard on his chest. “I don’t know who this is.”

　　He narrowed his eyes. “You are not making any sense.”

　　“No, you are not making any sense. You hated my guts. Despised me ever since I set foot in this place. You wanted nothing to do with me. And now...” I blew out a huge breath. “You want to blame someone for breaking them up, blame yourself, as it’s your change that made this dent thing finally sink into her head. It’s not real.”

　　His entire face fell and everything went dead silent again. I didn’t even hear his shield. “What don’t you get?”

　　I flinched as the old Blake showed himself. “You want me to yell to the entire world what it is we went through? I promise you, I have more enemies than you think, and our lives will be the same as what you went through with Jako.”

　　What does he know about what I went through with Jako?

　　“Be patient, and stop filling Becky’s head with your theories. I will show you when the time comes.” His shield disappeared as I could now hear the zing of bugs baking in the sun’s rays. He turned around and walked away.

　　Now thatI trusted, even if he made me super mad. It was the old Blake, the one who wantednothing to do with me.

　　“And answer your Cammy when I call,” he ground out, and before I could yell a reply he was already in the air flying back to where he’d come from.

　　I found Becky asleep on her bed that afternoon. She was starting to display what I’d felt on numerous occasions.

　　I sat next to her and tapped her softly on her backside to wake her.

　　She stirred then opened her eyes. Tears lingered. “Don’t try to make me feel otherwise.”

　　“This is all my fault. I’m sorry.”

　　“No, you just finally made sense. Blake hated your guts. For months after he woke up and you were gone, I struggled with this same thing, but we just accepted him like that. Forgot about all the nasty things he used to tell you because he was actually doing a hell of a lot of things trying to find you. He showed us what you meant to him, so we forgot what he used to be like. You just reminded me of that last night.”

　　“George is a wreck without you. He wished me dead this morning.”

　　“It’s not the real George.”

　　“It might not be, or maybe it is. Maybe I have it wrong.”

　　“You are just saying this...”

　　“No, I’m not, okay? Blake got pissed off because I didn’t answer. We had a huge fight and he told me more or less the same thing George did.”

　　Her eyes rose slightly and she pushed herself up. “He told you what the dent is?”

　　“No,” I said and wielded my shield. Why couldn’t they just do this and tell us what the hell it was so we could believe them and just move on? “George told me this morning that if his enemies knew what we mean to them, they would kill us, and that alone would destroy them.”

　　“It doesn’t make any sense.”

　　“I know. Blake told me – the old Blake, not the giddy one – more or less the same thing. He got really angry at what I was thinking. Believe me, that Blake I know. And he still asked me afterwards to answer my Cammy when he calls.”

　　She sighed. “This is messed up.”

　　“He said if we can hear each other’s thoughts he will show me. I will know.”

　　“It might be a long time.”

　　“Then break up with him then, not now.”

　　“I don’t know if I can trust this.”

　　“You have no choice. You and George, to be honest, were the only two that gave me some hope with Blake. Don’t ruin this because of my insecurities.”

　　“What if it’s not real?”

　　“Then we release them and hopefully they will wake up and we can move on with our lives as they should be. We don’t need to cross that bridge today.”

　　Becky looked at me. “I don’t know.”

　　“Do you love him?”

　　“You know I do.”

　　“Then stop this, okay? This, this is not complicated, believe me.”

　　“So we wait till one of us finds out, and we tell the other one?”

　　“Yeah, something like that.”

　　She inhaled deeply.

　　“You want me to go get him? I really don’t want him to hate me.”

　　She smiled again and nodded.

　　“Go wash your face.” I tapped her on the backside and couldn’t believe I had to track down a Moon-Bolt, who could hide like a needle in a haystack.

　　I drew a deep breath and took out my Cammy. I couldn’t believe I was going to phone Blake.

　　His Cammy rang twice. “See, not so difficult.” His hologram appeared. He still sounded upset.

　　“You know where George might be hiding?”

　　“Try the roof of the girls’ dorms,” he said and his image disappeared. Rude bastard.

　　I went up all the stairs and took the elevator from the seventh floor to the top. There was a door and I opened it. More steps led to the ceiling and I opened the hatch that exited onto the roof.

　　I peeked outside and found George’s dragon form lying at the edge of the roof.

　　“When you are done sulking, Becky wants to see you,” I said and went back down.

　　I ran down all the stairs and went back into my room.

　　Sammy was sitting in the lounge with Dean, and Becky came out of the bathroom.

　　“You find him?” Becky asked.

　　“Yes,” I said. “He’ll be –” A knock on the door interrupted my sentence. “Sorry again.” I hugged her, and she smiled. She walked to the door and left.

　　“Please tell me they are going to get back together.”

　　“Yeah, I told her this was stupid. She shouldn’t listen to me.”

　　“Elena,” Sammy started.

　　“No, you were right. I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

　　“Your theories, not your mouth.”

　　By around five, Becky was still not back. I started to worry about her but felt my Cammy vibrating. I really didn’t want to pick it up but I wanted the old Blake, and it was as if I was getting him now. That scared me too, because he was unpredictable.

　　I picked up eventually and his hologram appeared.

　　“Did you find him?”

　　“Yes, he was on the roof,” I said.

　　“Did the two love birds make up?” He sounded like the new Blake.

　　“They are not back yet, so I guess it’s a good sign.”

　　“It is.” He had a knowing sort of evil grin on his face.

　　It was quiet for a few seconds and I looked at his image for the first time. He was looking down.

　　“What do you want?”

　　“You phoned me,” I said.

　　“That’s not what I mean. Sometimes I just don’t know, something that is not supposed to be impossible. But it is.”

　　Make it easy and just tell him.You promised Tabitha.“I don’t know.”

　　He nodded his head. “Fine, I’ll wing it,” he said, and I couldn’t help but laugh softly. Again, there was silence, and I heard Sammy and Dean leaving.

　　“Hey, what is going on in that mind of yours?” Blake asked.

　　I shook my head and wiped off a stray tear. Why was this so hard? It was Blake, for cryingout loud. The boy who never knew what he wanted.

　　“Talk to me. I can’t read your mind, remember.”

　　I smiled. “I’m breaking too many promises.” I looked at him.

　　“So, it’s Etan. You want to wait?”

　　“It’s not just Etan.” I sighed. “I made another promise to Tabitha.”

　　“Tabitha?”

　　“You gave me no choice. I really needed your help in classes and you never...” I couldn’t finish. That time of my life had been so hard, and I had been messed up with everything I had to learn, everything I had to deal with.

　　“What promise?” He wasn’t angry.

　　“That she could have you, I just need the dragon.”

　　He nodded. “And I have no say in this?”

　　“It’s not that easy. It wasn’t that easy. You might have easily forgotten that, but Ican’t.”

　　“Oh, believe me I haven’t. I know what I was like. It’s why I’m trying to make it up to you. Being a bit nicer.”

　　“A bit nicer? It’s as if you are stuck in some twilight zone.”

　　He chuckled but his smile disappeared. “So what, you are going to make promises left, right and center without consulting me first?”

　　“Without consulting you? You hated –”

　　“Yes, you said that already. Hated your guts. I still do from time to time, especially when you are so hard-headed that nobody can get through to you.”

　　“I just don’t know if I can break this promise.”

　　His lips curved downward and he nodded. I couldn’t look at him, as this was exactly the same as rejecting him, and whatever he felt toward me, whether it was real or not.

　　“So we’re back at square one,” he mumbled, sighed, and I could see how he pulled his hand through his hair.

　　“Okay, fine. Whatever,” he said and his hologram disappeared.

　　I closed my eyes. My heart wanted to break into a thousand pieces. I couldn’t believe we were back there, and the worst part was that it was all my doing this time. He’d been perfect the past few days – well, not counting today. Or maybe he’d been perfect todaytoo, letting me off easy so that he could be with Tabitha without admitting it, or feeling guilty about it.

　　He confused me so much.