The Dragon Prince

Vincent

Everyone woke up as soon as the sun began to rise. I saw Annabeth awake the entire time, watching over us as we slept. “Did some of you manage to get some sleep?” Annabeth yawned. She looks exhausted.

“A few hours maybe. Did you see anything while we were asleep?” I asked.

“Yes, I could hear dragons flying over us, so I flew up into the trees and fortified my cloaking spell. They were pretty far away from us, but I was taking no chances, and by the looks of how they were acting, they were guards,” Annabeth said.

“It would be wise for us to not fly anymore if we want to keep the element of surprise,” I said.

“Vinnie, you can not be saying what I think you’re saying!” Jacob groaned.

“Everyone get ready. We are walking from here on out,” I commanded.

“We don’t even know how deep in the forest the castle is or even in what direction,” Bao said. “How are we supposed to see that from the ground?”

“We start heading in the direction of the dragons that Annabeth spotted. Annabeth will use her magic to scan the forest ahead of us, and everyone should switch to hiking and camouflage gear for better comfort and travel. When everyone is ready, we start walking,” I said.

I’m on my way, Alyssa. Please hold on a little longer.

Alyssa

The moment when Elijah killed my mother, I played that horrific memory over and over in my head. And now that man was standing before me, and to make matters worse, he was claiming to be my father!

“I could never call the man behind this nightmare ‘father’!” I spat. “You are not my father!”

“It seems that Eleanor never told you about me,” Elijah shrugged.

Could it be true? Is this man my father? No, it couldn’t be; Mom always said my father left before I was born. Mom would never lie to me, would she?

“Your mother, Eleanor, ran way before you were born. She was quite the troublemaker; apparently, the apple doesn’t fall far from the apple tree. Since you escaped, you’ve caused more trouble than your mother ever could,” Elijah scoffed as he explained.

“Don’t you dare say her name! You have no fucking right to speak my mothers name, you killed her!” I roared in anger.

“Indeed I did. That was her punishment for running away. Eleanor had no right to take you from me! You were meant for greatness and she denied you that!” Elijah snarled.

“From what I’ve seen so far, I understand completely why she ran from your crazy ass,” I smiled. “You’re insane!”

Elijah stepped closer, and I got ready for an attack.

“Skeptical. I’ve got to admit, you look a lot like your mother. After all, we were fated mates. You have her eyes,” Elijah said.

“I told you to never talk about her!” I warned.

“You definitely got her temper, at least,” Elijah sighed.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Why am I here?” I said.

“You mean execpt for me to scold you for how much trouble you’ve been causing?” Elijah crossed his arms.

“Don’t even try it. I was here for a year and half and I never saw your face. All that time I never saw anything other than a lab or my jail cell,” I growled. “And we both know that I did cause a lot of trouble back then, so if that’s not why you are telling me this now, then WHAT IS IT?”

Elijah sighed and made a little giggle. “My my. You’ve definitely gotten a mouth after your time in Varrfarrinn. You’re even more bold after you found your fated mate. I can’t wait to gut a white dragon, and little Vincent will make a great test subject,”

“If you touch him, I’ll destory you!” I threatened.

“The bond between you two is more powerful than I thought. The Moon Goddess can’t stop meddling in our affairs even after she left us to rule the earth as we saw fit. Since we’re bonding here, why don’t you ask me any question you want to ask,” Elijah said. “Won’t promise that I’ll answer anything,”

Bond with me? What a fucking nutcase. “So I’m guessing you’re a dragon? I’m pretty sure my mother wasn’t one,” I asked.

“You are right on that account. Eleanor was far from being a dragon and was indeed very ordinary,” Elijah said, pouring himself a glass of alcohol.

“She was not just ordinary! My mother was a fantastic woman!” I spat.

“Who you’ve definitely spent time with. So to answer your question, I’m a Black Dragon,” Elijah said.

“So what with these cuffs, they feel different,” I said as I gestured to the cuffs around my neck and wrists.

“I thought you might ask about that, as you’ve probably figured out they are much stronger than normal draconite. I have had several witches and wizards enchant them so they reflect the magic the weilder tried to use back at them. By the look on your face, you’ve experienced that firsthand,” Elijah laughed.

“I warning might have been nice,” I scoffed.

“I firmly believe in the old saying that experience is the best teacher. Just between you and I, I was very excited when you managed to break free from regular draconite. You are proving to be stronger than I ever expected,”

Bastard! “Why are you experimenting on people? I know about the people found with golden eyes,”

“Yeah, Zayne was getting close, and that’s why we had to rush the plan and have him killed along with his white dragon bitch of a mate. I was worried that my men would fail in taking her down, and I was right to be. Rosetta, the Last Female White Dragon, still lives. But it all worked out in the end,” Elijah said.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I said, tapping my foot.

“True, but as I told you, I might not answer all your questions,” Elijah grinned.

“Cut the crap! I know you were using my blood to experiment on people and trying to create more powerful dragons,” I said.

“If you knew that, then why did you ask?” Elijah shrugged.

“Why did my mother run away? Even though I understand her reasons,” I asked. “What did you do?”

“What makes you think it was something I did?” Elijah looked at me.

“Call it an educated guess,” I glared.

“She found out I had been experimenting in you while you were still in the womb,” Elijah said, and then my blood turned cold.

“You experiment on me before I was born?! What the fuck?” I was shocked at this revelation.

“Oh, come on, my dear daughter. You must have seen that one coming. Golden dragons don’t pop out of thin air,” Elijah said.

“You made me a golden dragon?! Why?” I said.

“You should be thanking me; it’s thanks to me that you are this powerful; you hit the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your abilities,” Elijah snarled. “You ungrateful brat!”

“Did you seriously just say that I should be thanking you?! You are more delusional than I thought!” I said.

“Did your mother teach you ANY manner?” Elijah scoffed.

“Oh, she did; I don’t use them on delusional-crazy freaks like yourself,” I laughed. “Now, for my last question, why are you killing all these people?”

“It’s simple, really. The magical community has been cowering in the shadows for too long. Humanity has had their time, and it’s time for us to take the lead and claim the earth. Many witches, wizards, and fairies share my vision,” Elijah explained.

“How does killing all these people accomplish that?” I asked.

“It’s best to strick down your opponents when they don’t see it coming. Those leaders were all stuck in the past, clinging to the old religion of the Moon Goddess where we protect the planet. They never saw that humans are the real threat to earth, and it’s up to me to cast them down to the stone ages where they belong,”

“You really are a monster,” I scoffed.

“Oh, come now, look at this as an opportunity. Dragons are the most powerful beings on earth, and what do we do with this power? We hide in the shadows like a fucking plague. We were fools to fight the Elves during the Great War when we should’ve joined them in their conquest for world domination, but instead, we were forced to drive the Elves into total extinction. Thanks to these stupid leaders, they ensured we stayed hidden!” Elijah said.

“The magical barrier around the world,” I gasped.

“Correct, it ensures that mortals don’t see magic, no matter what we do. The problem was, of course, to kill all the leaders as fast as possible. That’s why it was best to get them all in the same place,” Elijah laughed.

“Goddess, the circle meeting at Burmuda!” My face was paralyzed with fear. “You killed Zayne so all the leaders would gather in the same place!”

“And we have a winner. Everyone at the Citadel in the Bermuda Triangle had no idea what was happening under their noses, so it was child’s play to kill them all. We only have one more obstacle to eliminate, and the actual war can begin,” Elijah said.

“Queen Rosetta. So, as soon as you kill her, you go to war with humanity?!” I said.

“And as soon as they see all these dragons flying about, they will do what humans do best. Start a pointless war, and with every human against us, all magical folk will have no choice but to join us in bringing them down if they want to live. Don’t you see the beauty in it? Dragons, witches, wizards, and fairies united against those powerless humans. The war will be won in days and planet earth will belong to us,” Elijah smiled.

“And what about the humans that remain?” I crossed my arms.

“Humans will be given worthy jobs, and those mated to magical folk will be cared for but will hold no status in the new world order and will only be used for reproduction,”

“You mean turn them into slaves,” I said.

“You think I’m barbaric? They’ll have the chance to undergo my process to turn themselves into dragons, and most will not survive, but that is just survival of the fittest, and those that don’t want to turn will be killed or as I said, finding them worthly jobs,”

“You’ll never succeed. You’ll never find Rosetta,” I said.

“I’m not concerned about the last female white dragon anymore; as soon as I get a location on Rosetta, she’s as good as dead, and the final plan will begin,” Elijah cheered.

I hope he doesn’t figure out the plan to find Merlin. “Why are you telling me this now? There’s a saying about situations in which villains usually divulge their plans, and the answer to that is when they think they’ve already won,” I said.

“Well, I’ve started to see what an asset you could become. That’s why I’m telling you this to see if Vincent would be willing to join us. You see, the mate bond is a gift the Moon Goddess bestowed upon us, and no doubt it has made you stronger. It would be in my best interest to keep you at your best. Join me, Alyssa, and take your rightful place at my side,”

“What?!” I was shocked at his offer.

“With you by my side, nothing will stop us. You will have Vincent by your side, too, and I promise he will not be harmed; the mate bond is sacred, and I see you treasure it as you bear his mark on your flesh. Think about it, father and daughter ruling over the world yet to come,”

“You’re more insane than I thought if you’d ever believed I’d go for that!” I rejected.

“You petulant child, you will either stand by my side or spend the rest of your life rotting in a cage. The choice is yours,” Elijah said.

Thoughts raced through my head. If Rosetta were to die, it was likely that a war between the magical world and humanity would break out. But until that time, there was still a chance to stop him. “You can take your offer and shove it up your ass!” Before he could react, I slammed my hand hard into his throat, making him gasp. I repeatedly punched him, hearing his nose break under my fist. He couldn’t scream for help as he struggled to catch his breath, and I wasn’t going to give him a chance.

Before I could land another punch, I could feel pain all over my body. I screamed, as every fiber of my being regarded like it was tearing itself apart, and I fell to the floor. This didn’t make any sense. I didn’t use my powers but saw Elijah holding a small device with similar markings. His thumb pressed on the small hole in the middle, making the markings glow with the same light as the markings on my chains.

“You stupid, foolish girl. How stupid do you think I am?” His breath was getting under control, and I saw the rage in his eyes. The pain was making it hard for me to breathe.

“Is everything alright, my lord? I heard screaming,” Gabrial said, running into the room. Gabrial notices the blood all over Elijah’s face and me lying on the floor.

“Any news about Varrfarrinn?” Elijah asked.

“We’ve lost control of the kingdom as the royal family and thier allies took back control,” Gabrial said.

“And Rosetta?” Elijah raised an eyebrow.

“Unknown, my lord,” Gabrial breath shook.

Elijah looked at me more and then released his hold on the device. The pain began to fade, and I gasped for air. I was unable to move. He looked down at his suit, which was covered in blood, and by the look in his eyes, he was more angry about that than his broken nose.

“You ungrateful little bitch! Do you have ANY idea how much this suit costs?!” Elijah looked down at me, probably expecting me to cover in fear, but with all my strength left, I gave him the biggest grin I could muster. That sent him over the edge, and his palm landed hard on my cheek. I could taste the blood as I rolled across the floor. “GET THIS UNGRATEFUL GIRL OUT OF MY SIGHT AND MAKE SURE THE ARENA IS READY TONIGHT!”

“Yes, my lord,” Gabrial bowed, then pulled me to my feet and quickly dragged me out of the room. I could tell Gabrial was dragging me back to the basement. The halls became greasier the further we walked. My head was still ringing after the slap from Elijah, and I could still taste blood in my mouth. Gabrial held my arm tight and practically dragged me along.

“So, you really have just been a lapdog this whole time,” I rolled my eyes.

“I’m nobody’s lapdog,” Gabrial snarled at me.

“Yet here you are taking me somewhere just because he said so,” I smiled. “Admit it Gabrial, you’re his bitch,”

Gabrial threw me against the stone-cold wall; he was up against me, pressing his forearm hard against my throat. Because of the draconite around my neck, he couldn’t block my airway, but it made the chain cut my skin, and I hissed in pain. His face was centimeters from mine, and I could see it getting red with anger.

“I’m getting tired of your snappy comebacks. Make no mistake; if I wanted to, I could kill you without hesitation. But I want to see you suffer more,” Gabrial smiled wickedly.

I felt his free hand on my stomach, and he dragged the top up a bit. I sucked in a breath as I felt his fingers on the scars he had given me when I escaped the first time. Now, he was grinning as he saw the pain in my eyes. “I can put you though so much pain than you can ever dream of, Alyssa. Much worse than when I gave you these scars. So if you don’t want a matching set on the other side, I suggest you watch your mouth. Now, let’s go!”

Again, Gabrial grabbed my arm and continued dragging me through the halls. He stopped outside a door, and I noticed it was not the same cell. Why was he taking me here? He opened the door and gestured me inside. “Get inside, or I’ll throw you inside,” Gabrial threatened.

Not wanting another beating, I did as I was told and stepped inside. As soon as I stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind me. I guess these bastards knew that the arm cuffs worked, so he wasn’t bothering to chain me up like a dog this time. I think I can’t complain about that.

“Alyssa? Alyssa, is that?” Said a familiar voice. I turned around, and I saw Gloria.

“Gloria?!” I ran to her and gave her a big hug. It’s nice to see a friendly face.

Alexandria

Ethan led us out of town into the woods; after half an hour of walking, we arrived at a run-down building hidden within the forest.

“Well this place doesn’t look like a hideout for serial killers,” Ashley rolled her eyes.

“Everyone be on guard,” I announced. The inside looked like a run-down factory that had been abandoned for some time. There were town beds in one corner, so it looked like the guys were staying there. Ethan laid Finn on his bed; my punch still knocked him out.

“Seems like you managed to land a decent punch,” Ethan said.

“Start talking or you’ll get to experiance it first hand!” I threatened.

“I dare you to try; unlike most people, I’m not afraid to hit a woman!” Ethan growled.

“Both of you, that’s enough,” Mom said.

“Now, why are you guys here?” Ethan asked.

“We need to find Merlin, Ethan. We need his help,” Mom said.

“Does this have anything to do with the dragon attacks we’re been hearing about?” Ethan said, crossing his arms.

“I’m afraid so,” Mom nodded.

“Then things are as bad as Merlin thought they were,” Ethan said.

“It’s worse,” Mom said.

“Things will get worse in here if we don’t start getting some answers,” I clenched my teeth, getting impatient.

“You’re right. We work for Merlin, you mother is right about that,” Ethan nodded.

“So where is Merlin? You know where his is, right?” Daiyu said.

“Merlin is not here,” Ethan said.

“Yeah, that’s obvious,” Renna scoffed.

“That still doesn’t explain why you guys tried to killed us!” Caitlin roared.

“There have been a lot of people looking for Merlin recently, and none of them had good intentions. None of you should know the details of the fates of those who tried to look for him,” Ethan smiled. “All I will say is that they were dealt with. Now, why are you looking for Merlin?”

“All the leaders are dead,” Mom said.

“Seriously!? I heard that there were some casualties, but all of them?” Ethan’s breath hitched with fear.

“I’m the last one, and the magical barrier hiding us from humanity is in danger,” Mom explained.

“Then I guess I understand why you are looking for him,” Ethan said. Suddenly, Finn sprung out of his bed, fists raised. “Finn, stand down! You stand in the presence of her grace!”

“Why are they here, Ethan?” Finn glared at me. “You want to go again tough girl, I promise you won’t get lucky this time,”

“We both know I didn’t strike you down out of luck,” I grinned.

“For the love of the goddess Finn, stand down!” Ethan ordered again. “They are friends,” Finn lowered his hands and backed off. “I’m not going to tell you where Merlin is, instead I’m going to take you to him,” Ethan said.

“What!?” Finn said, shocked. “Are you out of your mind?!”

“Give me a moment to talk to his idiot, then we’ll make a portal that will take us to Merlin,” Ethan said.