Once upon a Dragon Gift (Once Upon a Dragon Series Book 4)

“I’ll stay here, George. Don’t break the connection,” Adolph said.

I nodded and bent down as Adolph recited the spell that would connect him to us and to George.

When Adolph opened his eyes, his irises were pure white, and there was no sign of his pupils.

Jose nodded as he drew his sword and protected Adolph. Micha’s one hand covered her other hand’s fist, a sort of greeting among the Ancient’s guards. They were saying goodbye as anything could happen. I took my hat off to Micha, for wanting to come with us, for wanting to face Goran again. What he had done to her barely a month ago was horrendous, and now she wanted her revenge.

Micha’s eyes were on us, her neck craned as she stared at us. “I’d like to see him dodge you.”

Most of us chuckled, but it came out as one deep gurgle, Garrison’s laugh. The words of Adolph’s spell had changed. He was penetrating all the Black Weavers’ shields. It vibrated and bounced back against us. It felt very similar to nervous twitches underneath human skin.

The build-up shook our core, worked on my nerves, and strung our muscles tight. I prayed for it to stop, afraid that the Saadedine might appear.

Then the break came. It shattered their shield and then it was gone.

The alarm sounded as wyverns charged us. The rest ran around like headless patsies.

King Albert drew his sword. “Jako and Garrison, get my daughter.”

Three wyverns were upon us, and as one, we kicked. Brian grabbed another that was trying to come from our blind side.

Guess there was no blind side if there were six others roaming inside of you.

Bones broke as King Helmut and King Caleb’s men came charging the wyverns.

We followed Jako down the ruin steps and toward the dungeon.

Part of the wall was gone, and the roof was gone. Jako turned the corner. “Don’t be stupid, Goran.”

“Jako?”

“Why are you doing this? Let her go.”

“I want the Elementals,” the snake said.

I came into view, and Goran looked up at me. “Whoa, big fella, step back or I slit her throat.”

A knife glistened against Elena’s throat. I could tell it was sharp, and her skin underneath had turned a darker pink.

Elena’s eyes were wild as they grew, focusing on us.

“I want the Elementals and then you can have her back,” Goran spoke through clenched teeth.

“Dad?” Elena asked. Could she hear?

“Dad, Dad, Dad…. She is so fucking whiney.”

I guessed not.

“Stop,” I demanded. “Let her go; there are no more Elementals.”

“You didn’t. None of you have it in you to slit their throats.”

“We didn’t slit their throats,” Lu roared.

“Then where is it?” Goran was losing his patience.

“You are looking at it,” I replied.

The emotion on his face slacked. “Bullshit. Once the Saadedine takes form, the human one dies.”

“Not if you do it correctly,” Brian spoke. George was quiet, but it was because he had to concentrate on everything else.

“I don’t believe you,” Goran spat.

“I don’t care if you believe me. Elena,” I begged.

Goran laughed. “She can’t hear you. I’m not your father, you stupid dumb little bitch! See? Not a word.”

“Her mother is not with her anymore,” George commented, but it sounded eerily like Adolph.

“Why do you say that?” Lu asked.

“She has a sigil on her hand. It’s warding off spirits.”

“You asshole, you killed the one thing she could hear by sticking that sign on her hand,” I grunted out my words.

Goran squinted as he stared up at us. “How do you know about it?”

“Because we are Garrison. We see everything,” I said. “Let her go and we will give you a swift death.”

“Uh, uh, stay back. I want the Elementals, and the sword, and the Rubicon.”

I ripped my clothes open and showed him the sigil. “Blake can’t be under your spell anymore.”

He frowned, but then it was as if everything at once got revealed to him. Fear grabbed him, but only for a second. His lips turned into a sneer. “No! No! No!” He shook his head wildly, still holding on to Elena. Her eyes glistened with tears, and Latin words left his lips.

“Goran, don’t!” Jako yelled and charged.

Elena screamed as Goran pushed her into us and ran away.

Jako ran after Goran.

Elena stared up at me. Confusion clouded her eyes.

“Stay back. I don’t want to hurt you,” she bellowed, and I could hear bones breaking as she let out a piercing scream.

“What the hell is wrong with her?” Brit asked.

“What did he do?” Becky sounded as if she was on the verge of crying.

She pushed us back, and we hit the wall. She fell on all fours as her body arched and deep growls emerged out of her. Her paw came out and crushed the floor. It was solid rock.

Her tail crashed against the wall.

“We need to get out of here. She is going to bring down the whole place,” Lu yelled as we ran for the exit. The walls rumbled and fell down, missing us by inches. We dived out through the exit as the entire building crumbled and moved back as the giant rock dragon exploded from the rubble.

“Where is Elena?” King Helmut yelled as he was busy fighting against a wyvern.

“You are looking at her,” Lucian replied. “The Saadedine, Blake, now!”

I concentrated on bringing out the Saadedine. The transformation started as Elena’s rock dragon charged at us. We were only halfway transformed when her tail connected with us.

I did not know where Goran was, but Micha was gone. I hoped she followed Jako.

“Damn, girl. Angry much?” Brit questioned.

“She can’t hear you, Brit,” Brian shouted.

“I know, but she is going to kill us if we don’t transform into the Saadedine now, Blake!” she hollered in reply.

Wings sprouted out of our shoulder blades, and our mouth opened. My throat burned, and I wondered if everyone felt the same thing.

I released a flame and was surprised when it had pink and orange hues to it.

I should’ve known that the Saadedine would take on the pink kiss.

“You guys okay?” I was afraid that my fire would hurt them.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Lu said.

“Of course, it doesn’t. Our abilities become one when we are Garrison,” Tabitha explained. “Blake, you need to connect with her.”

“I know. I just don’t know how to do that and be like, you know, Garrison.”

“You are not the only one who is Garrison, bud. It’s time to trust us.”

I get what Lu was saying. I had to let go of the reins and focus on Elena. I closed my eyes. “Fine, take the lead.”

I stepped back, and it felt as if Lu took my spot. It was the most amazing feeling ever to become so one with someone else, someone like my blood brother.

Everything that was Lu poured into me. I pushed it to the back as I had to find a way to connect with Elena.

I sort of took a back seat next to George. I closed my eyes. It was weird how everyone still worked. I moved but didn’t concentrate at all. Lucian was vicious on Elena’s ass.

“Come on, Elena,” I pleaded.

I could hear her heartbeat, pounding so fast inside her stone torso. The tempo reminded me a lot of a ticking bomb.

“Stop, stop, please.” Her voice sounded in my ears. She wasn’t in control of this dragon.

“She isn’t in control, Lu. She is taking a back seat drive.”

“What?” Lu asked.

“She isn’t in control,” I repeated.

“You connected with her?”

“Yes, she is begging it to stop. She doesn’t have control over it.”

“Then who is in control?” Becky yelled as she was trying to push her off of us.

“I don’t know. I’m going to try something, just keep her distracted.”

“Blake, be careful,” Lu said.

Goran’s voice came from the roof, and he shouted something.

“Goran, no!” King Albert yelled as the rock dragon stabbed itself with its arm. One jab after the other. Rocks exploded away from each other as the dragon attacked itself.

“No, no, no,” I hollered. “Out, now.” We transformed back into our human forms, and everyone fell out of Garrison.

Goran’s laughter came from the roof. It turned into a grunt as a Night Villain picked him up with his claws. The monster called all sorts of spells, but Dad didn’t let him go.

“Don’t, Dad,” Lucian warned as Micha tried with spells to stop Elena from killing herself.

“Stop,” I screamed out my alpha cry, but I didn’t think it was going to affect Dad.

Goran laughed but saw how Lucian and Tabitha were close by. He jumped on his uncle and brought him to the ground. He said a spell to break free as Goran iced his lips.

He fell to the floor.

“Your vows, Blake,” George’s voice sounded in the air. “Adolph says to speak your vows.”

“Every thread is magically sewn, from scale to soul and blood to bone. My love will never die, not even after our final goodbye. It’s not random, it’s chosen. It will last for eternity.”

I was right in front of the stone dragon. She finally stopped tearing herself apart, but there was little of her left.

She growled.

I walked closer, went on my haunches.

Micha had tears in her eyes as Elena stared at me. Rocks that were formerly her were scattered everywhere.

She was groaning, and Goran grunted.

“Finish it, Blake,” Micha whispered.

Tears pricked in my eyes. I touched what was her head and closed my eyes. “With this thread, we are bound for infinity.”

A growl came from the stone dragon. What was left of her became like quicksand.

“No, no, no, no,” I pleaded as I tried to pick up the sand that was her. She disintegrated and last was her head. Elena’s entire body was curled up inside the head, no harm was done to her. I grabbed her and pulled her into me.

Micha laughed and cried at the same time.

I felt whole again, as she was with me.

Goran’s grunt reached my ears, and I looked back. King Albert’s sword protruded from his back. Goran growled as he turned into stone.

I looked back at Elena. I knew what was coming. We’d studied the King of Lion sword in the hands of King Albert. It turned into rock and then…the explosion came.

A rock slammed into my back and then my head.

The pain seared through my skull, and I tried to hold on. But the darkness consumed me and took me to oblivion.

I opened my eyes, and trees hovered over me.

Did they forget me?

I lay on a bed. Nothing made sense.

“Blake,” Elena spoke, and my head turned to her. I grabbed her as laughter mixed with funny little sobs escaped my lips.

“Shh, I’m okay.”

I kissed her all over her face, and she laughed.

“You came for me, even if I did not know who you were.”

“We’re even; I couldn’t remember you either.”

“I thought nothing could come between the Dent.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Nothing can, but he didn’t create a spell to hurt the Dent. He used the bond to work in favor of his spell.”

She nodded. “He showed me an entire life as a kid, a dragon on the run with her brother.” She cupped my face.

“Glad you don’t think of me as your brother anymore.”

She laughed again.

I hugged her once more. “I missed you so much.”

“Where is he now?”

“Your father killed him with the sword.”

“He what?”

“Elena, he almost killed you.”

“I know.”

“Wait, you can hear?”

She giggled. “It’s amazing, right? When I woke up here, I had my hearing.”

“Woke up here?” I looked around at the beautiful scenery with soft green grass and willow trees. The sun dappled through them. “Where is here?”

“I don’t know, but it’s perfect, don’t you think?”

I tried to pinch myself. There was no pain. Oh, crap. “Elena.”

“What?”

“This is not a good place to be, not if we want to live.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We have to get out of here.”

She smiled at me and grabbed my hands. “Blake, we are together. It’s all that matters.”

“No, you can’t die now. I can’t die now. We have to go back, please.”

Her smile faded and sadness returned. Her nostrils flared. “Where, to a place I’m going to be deaf forever?”

“You won’t be deaf, I promise.”

“He took my hearing, Blake. Told me my father was a barbarian.” Her lower lip wobbled as tears glistened in her eyes. “I’m terrified.”

“You are back.”

“I’m not.”

I squinted as Elena’s gaze broke with mine.

I touched her chin, pulled it gently back to face me. “I broke the spell. Besides, Goran is dead. Everything is back to normal.”

“Which one did you break, Blake? He put so many on me, I might be a fucking vegetable back there. That is not a way to live either.”

“You won’t be. Trust me.”

“Trust you? You couldn’t even find me.” Her voice faltered.

“Elena, you do not know—”

“I don’t want to go back and live a half-life, Blake.”

“I can’t live without you. What don’t you get!” Tears blurred my sight.

“Then stay with me here.”

“Your father, Elena…”

She gasped, and her eyes squinted. Fear overpowered her facial features again. “What is happening to you?”

I looked down and saw I was busy disappearing. I held out my hand. My gaze became extra watery, and a tear rolled down my cheek. “Please, we promised for infinity, Elena. If I kill myself, I will never see you again. Please!”

She looked at me.

“Please,” I begged again.

Her hand touched mine, and I gasped awake.

“Blake, are you okay?” my aunt asked, and relief gushed through her lips.

My gaze fluttered around the room. “Where is Elena?”

“Calm down, she is asleep. It was up and down with the both of you, but I finally got you stabilized. Now you woke up. It’s over.”

“Elena too?”

She nodded.

I got up, and the pain in my side made me almost double over. I touched bandages and remembered that blast at the end.

“Take it easy.” Constance rushed to my side and helped me up. “You need to rest.”

“No, I need to see Elena.”

“She is fine, Blake.”

I stared at her.

She sighed and broke eye contact with me. It was one of her tells that she was not being completely honest.

“Please,” I whispered.

She nodded and gave in. She helped me to Elena’s room. Jako and Albert sat next to her, waiting for her to wake up.

“Blake.” King Albert got up and placed his hand on my shoulder. “You did good.”

My gaze didn’t leave Elena’s body, remembering what she had said to me a few seconds ago. “She okay?”

“We almost lost her, but she came back. We almost lost you, too. You went after her?” Constance wanted to know.

My gaze left Elena and flickered to my aunt. She knew about the in-between.

“No, we ended up together in the in-between. I begged her to come back. She said the spell isn’t broken.”

“What?” Jako and the king’s eyebrows pulled together and then they looked at each other.

“It’s what she said,” I replied as I inched forward to her.

“No, it has to be, Blake,” Jako answered.

I nodded. “Did my aunt heal her?”

“Every day, little by little, but we can’t say for sure. We will know when she wakes up.”

I turned around, a bit in a daze, as I wondered if she’d truly come back with me.

She gasped and coughed.

I turned around and took her hand in mine. Both her dads released a little chuckle. I stroked her hair as King Albert gave her some water.

“Here you go, sweetheart.”

She looked at him. Bewilderment stuck in her eyes.

“I’m not Albert the Barbaric; I’m your father. Goran was the barbarian.”

Her gaze flickered to her other dad.

“Bear, c’mon. You are not a dragon. Shake it off,” Jako said.

She frowned.

Then she looked at me, and her eyes grew slightly as she saw me.

“Elena, I’ll find a way to break this one. Just stay.”

She shook her head. “Who is Elena?” Her gaze fluttered around her room. “Where am I?”

We all stared at her.

“Bear?” Jako’s eyebrows squinted.

“What is a bear? Who are you?”

“Elena, c’mon. This is not funny,” King Albert said.

“Stop, stop, stop, stop.” She clutched her ears. She could hear, but something was awfully wrong. King Albert lifted his hands, trying to keep her calm as tears filled his eyes.

“We will go.” The king stood up, contemplating if he should kiss her on her head or just leave. He touched Jako and nudged in the direction of the door, looking at me.

I kept looking at Elena.

“Blake?” the king said.

I closed my eyes, tears pricking behind them. “I can’t—”

“Yes, you can. Let’s go.”

Fingers grasped around my arm and pulled me toward the door.

The king closed her door behind him.

“Al, what the hell happened?” Jako demanded.

“Goran. He put so many bloody spells on her, and it broke…it broke down into her soul. She doesn’t know who she is.”

My aunt was the only one still with her. I tuned in, listening. Elena truly had no idea who she was, and the conversation she had with Constance was heartbreaking. I couldn’t imagine how lost she felt and that she had no idea where she was or what was going on around her.

“Blake,” Jako said, and my gaze flickered to him. “I have no idea what to even say. How did this happen? The Vastech, wasn’t it supposed to protect her?”

“I don’t know. I need to speak to Adolph.”

We waited for Adolph. Everyone was there. Lu and Tabitha, George with Becky and Sammy, and Brian with Brit.

The girls had been crying, except for Brit. She didn’t know Elena the way they did.

Finally, Micha’s sparks came, and her portal grew bigger. Adolph stepped through, and they assessed the emotion in the room.

“What happened?” Micha asked worriedly.

I told them what had happened, and afterwards they both just stared at me.

“The Vastech didn’t protect her!” My voice faltered as my heart wanted to shatter.

“No, Blake, it did,” Adolph assured me, as his shoulders slumped. He finally mimicked his age.

“I don’t understand.” I sniffed and wiped my tears.

“We spoke about it. That spell you pulled her from, it’s a deadly spell, meaning that a life had to be sacrificed. She wasn’t a dragon. When you claimed her, her dragon died, and she was going to die too. Goran saved her life but in the most twisted way, by giving her a new dragon. One that didn’t exist, and if she failed him, she would pay with her life.”

I gaped. “There is magic like that out there?”

“Forbidden magic. Why do you think we have a law around it? Goran had Dimitri. You’ve dealt with him before. You know what he can do, Blake. With Goran’s help, I don’t want to imagine the atrocities those two conjured up. The Vastech saved her life because she wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for that.”

Tears rolled over my cheeks.

“The price she paid, who she is,” he continued, “if you think about her foretelling, it’s exactly what Irene saw. In a way, she did give her life. Elena isn’t here anymore with us.”

“We need to be patient. Let her get to know us again,” King Albert interjected, and Adolph sighed.

“What are you not telling us?” I asked Adolph directly.

“It’s the spells, Blake. Spells did that to Elena. Nothing will bring her back as everything that is life is what is terrifying to her. It’s what the spell was set out to do. You can wait, see what happens, but I’ve seen this so many times. It was the reason we created the serum for those who couldn’t come to terms with our world. This is worse. Elena won’t come to terms with life.”

“No, I refuse to give up,” I snarled. “She is my Dent, and she will stay my Dent until the day we both die. I promised her infinity, and that is what I’m going to give her.”

I stormed out of the room, but I could hear their conversation as I left.

“So what you are saying is that time won’t even fix it?”

“She is gone, Albert,” Adolph’s voice faltered, “I’m so sorry for your loss. You can try to give her time, but you will come to see that the serum is the only solution now.”

Serum. I was not giving up on her. I refused. I wasn’t some useless dragon; I was the fucking Rubicon.