The Dragon Prince

Alyssa

I woke up with a banging headache. What the hell happened to me?

“You fainted,” Dahlia said quickly. “I’m not sure where we are though; let’s take a look around,”

I got up slowly, and the room spun for a moment. I could see the bandages around my head, and it hurt to touch them. I tried to take one step, but my legs felt like jelly. “Crap, it hurts to move,”

“You really should be taking it easy,” Elizabeth said, walking into the room.

“Lizzy?” I said with my eyes closed.

“In the flesh. Now, let’s get you back to bed,” Elizabeth grabbed my arm and helped me sit on the bed. I noticed it had gotten dark outside and realized I had no idea how long I was out.

“How long was I out?” I asked.

“A couple of hours,” Elizabeth said. “Are you okay?”

Vincent is going to kill me! “I think so, thanks for the help,”

“You’re welcome. With your fast healing, you should be good in a few hours. Take it slowly for a while,”

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Sorry for the run-down room you’re staying in, but this is an old training facility. After the first wave attacked, we needed a hidden place. So are you the only one here?” Elizabeth asked me.

“No, Vincent and Alexandria are around here somewhere, along with the children of the dragon kingdom leaders,” I said.

“Why are they with you in Varrfarrinn?” Elizabeth asked.

“Let’s just say it has been a crazy couple of days,” I went into my pocket for my phone, only to find it wasn’t there. “Where’s my phone? Vincent needs to know I’m okay,”

“Here, you can use mine,” Elizabeth handed me her phone, and I dialed Vincent’s number.

“Hello?” Vincent said on the other line.

“Vince, it’s me!” I said with joy, thankful that he was okay.

“Alyssa?! Where the hell are you!? Are you alright?” Vincent said with fear and panic in his voice.

“A relative term, but yes, I’m alright. I’m sorry for worrying you. I’m with Elizabeth. We’re at the old training house west on the island, Vincent. We’ll see you in a bit,” I said as I gave Elizabeth her phone back.

“Well, he didn’t sound happy,” Lizzy snickered.

“I might have bailed on him when we arrived,” I said.

“Why on earth would you do that?” Lizzy said. “Do you have any idea what’s going on out there? You were lucky that arrived when I did earlier?”

“You don’t have to scold me. I’m sure Vincent will give me enough when he arrives, and I wasn’t thinking,” I said with shame.

“That seems to be a recurring problem with you. What the hell happened in Bermuda?” Lizzy asked. ”

“I think it’s best if I let Vincent explain that,” I said.

“Okay, but what were you doing at Isabella’s house all alone?” Elizabeth asked.

Hearing her name reminded me of the fact that Isabella was gone. “Isabella is dead,” I covered my mouth after she said her name. “Izzy died to save me,”

“By the goddess! Annabeth must be feeling the pain,” Elizabeth said.

“What do you mean?” I said.

“If one of the mated pair dies, the loss is unbearable for the other as it feels like they have lost a part of their soul. Many dragons and fairies often decide they don’t wish to live without their mate,” Lizzy explained.

“I highly doubt Annabeth will kill herself; she would want revenge for Izzy’s death.

Elizabeth then sat down on the bed and wrapped her hands around me. Once more, I found myself crying, unable to stop. Elizabeth held me close as I cried and waited until I was ready. Elizabeth took me out of the room as I wiped my tears on my sleeve. I knew that my eyes were probably red and swollen from crying, but I didn’t mind if she saw me like this.

“There are some people who want to see you,” Elizabeth said.

We went downstairs, and the room was full of people. I noticed that many had bandages around various parts of their body. People had not been expecting the attack.

“Glad to see you’re awake kiddo,” Mr. Reid said. “How’s your head?”

“Still intact, it’s good to see you, Mr. Reid.” I smiled at him.

“ALYSSA!” I heard Timothy running.

“Tim?” We then embraced. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” I said.

“Damn, you look like shit,” Timothy joked.

“Exactly what any girl wants to hear,” I rolled my eyes at him. “But it’s the truth so I can’t argue with it,”

“What the hell happened to you?” Tim asked me.

“I got cornered by two guys, but they’re dead now, in a worse place,” I said, then an alarm blared throughout the building.

“Someone is approaching the facility; everyone get ready!” Mr. Reid ordered.

“Come with me!” Tim grabbed my hand and quickly led me away from the room.

“Tim, we have to help the others,” I yelled at him.

“With your concussion? Hell to the no!” Tim said. “Now sit before you lose your balance,”

Timothy sat me on the table; he brushed the hair out of my ace and looked concerned.

“I’m fine, Tim,” I said.

“If we are getting attacked, you will be defenseless. It’s my job to keep you safe,” Tim’s hand was still on my cheek, looking into my eyes. Suddenly, his lips came crashing into mine without a word before I could react.

“Timothy, stop!” I begged

Tim’s hands were on my face, holding it close to him; I couldn’t speak. I tried to push him off gently, but he ignored it. I was feeling a burning pain in my chest. I felt the searing pain subside when I pushed Tim off me.

“Glad to see you’re okay,” Vincent said with a growl. His left hand is on top of his heart, struggling to breathe. I don’t know how long he’s been standing there.

“Vincent, it’s not what you think!” I freaked.

“Hey, man, look-” But before Vincent would let Tim explain his action, Vincent punched Tim. Vincent’s fist meeting Tim’s face echoed through the room. Timothy fell to the floor unconscious; I saw the fury in his eyes as he looked down on him. I could see his knuckles whiten.

Without a word, Vincent walked up to me. Could this be where he will reject me? I wait for him to yell. “I could feel the pain when he kissed you; I felt when you resisted him. He has no regard for the mate bond, you is not his to claim, you are MINE!” Vincent gently placed his lips on mine, and I melted into him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Vincent, about what you saw?” Vincent put his index finger on my lips.

“You tried to push him off, but it doesn’t change that you left the hospital without a word,” Vincent growled softly.

“Vincent, I’m so sorry,” I said.

“All I care about is that you are safe and in my arms again,” We could hear Tim grunt on the floor, and I felt Vincent tense up.

“I see you found her. Tim, what happened to you?” Elizabeth said as she entered the room.

Tim got off the floor and gave Vincent a cold look. “Nothing,” He walked out of the room.

“Is everything alright?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes, now leave us; I want to be with my mate. Alone!” Vincent said. Elizabeth bowed and closed the door behind her. “Now that we are alone, do you want to tell me what the hell were you thinking?”

“I-I don’t know. I went to Isabella’s house because I missed her so much. Then two guys attacked me, I managed to kill one of them, and Elizabeth saved me.

“Those guys better be thankful they are already dead! I would killed them much slower if I had gotten my hands on them!” Vincent said.

“Did you find your mom?” I asked.

“Alex is still looking, and I had to go after my troublemaker that is my mate,” Vincent crossed his arm.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“Stop apologizing! I’m not happy about you ditching me and the others, but I understand why you did it. Promise me that you won’t do this again; if anything happens to you, I won’t be able to handle it,” Vincent said.

“I promise,” I kissed his cheek.

“I can still smell him on you, and it’s pissing me off,” Vincent growled. “I’m going to kill him!”

“Don’t! I won’t agree with what he did to me, but there has been enough violence,” I placed my hand on his shoulder.

“If he so much as touches you again, I will not hold Astarot back,” Vincent warned me.

We returned to the facility’s main hall, and I saw Megan talking with Elizabeth and Mr. Reid. “Megan, what are you doing here?”

“Helping Vincent find you,” Megan stuck her tongue out.

“I guess these two were out intruders,” Mr. Reid said.

“Has Megan fille you in on the situation?” Vincent asked.

“Yes, and it’s much worse than we could have imagined. Varrfarrinn hasn’t been vulnerable since the great war,” Mr. Reid said.

My eyes caught a glimpse of Tim in the room, wearing a brand-new black watch. Vincent had a stern look; thankfully, he ignored him.

“How many are in this facility?” Vincent asked, looking around.

“We saved as many people as we could, I think we have around fifty people here. The attack was sudden, so many of us are vulnerable. There are other places the survivors left, but most here are those fighting back,” Mr. Reid explained.

“Good to know. Any idea where Annabeth is?” Vincent said.

“The fairy? Have you checked the fairy village? It holds one of the few gateways to Avalon. I’m sure she retreated there to help the warriors keep it safe,” Elizabeth said.

“Alex called me. They check it out; almost half of it is gone, but there are no signs of them there.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Annabeth is alright,” Elizabeth said.

“Annabeth is with my mother; we must find them as soon as possible. Audrey and Dr. Solus are with them, too,” Vincent said.

“Excuse for a moment,” Mr. Reid then walked off.

“After you find your mother, what’s the plan your highness,” Elizabeth asked.

“Kill every single last one of the intruders will extreme prejudice, show them no mercy,” Vincent ordered.

“A wish that I’ll be glad to carry out my lord,” Elizabeth smiled as she cracked her knuckles. “I’ve lost a lot of friends these past few days. I’ll round out every fighter, and when you are ready, call and say the word,” Elizabeth said.

“I found someone that might help, come with me,” Mr. Reid waved us over.

“I’ll stay here and keep watch over things,” Megan said.

We soon entered a room similar to the one I had woken up in. On the bed layed Grace, one of the councilwomen. She had thick bandages around her torso and bruises all over her body.

“Grace, how are you feeling?”

“Like the morning after shore leave,” Grace groaned.

“What happened, Elder Grace?” Vincent asked.

“I’d bow if I could, you’re Highness, but you should see the other guys and now worry about me,” Grace sat up on the bed stiffly, and I could see a painful expression. “Henry told me that you’re looking for your mother? If Kaiden is with them, I can contact him; as a fellow magic user, I can find him,”

“How can you find him?” I asked Grace.

“Kaiden is a wizard; while I’m a witch, we are both magic users. Since he is my teacher, we have a strong link between us. I hope I can get to him. I hope this works,” Grace said. Grace closed her eyes and took a deep breath; they started to glow when she opened them again. Then her eyes blinked and returned to normal, and Henry grabbed her before she fell.

“I’m sorry. I can’t focus enough to find Kaiden,” Grace said.

“Thank you for trying,” Vincent smiled.

“I might be able to help,” I said, but Vincent gave me a warning look. “Look, we need to find Rosetta,”

“You have a concussion, and it almost killed you last time!” Vincent scoffed.

“This is just a normal wound, and we need to find your mother,” Vincent opened his mouth to say something but stopped. He knew I was right. He didn’t like it, but it was the only way.

“I found out how to use my healing magic and it almost killed me,” I said.

“I’m not going to be responsible for your death if this goes wrong. We’ll find another way,” Grace said.

“Do any of you have other ideas on how to find Rosetta and the other?” I scoffed at them. Everyone was silent. “Didn’t think so! I can do this, and I promise I will stop if it gets too much,”

Grace nodded and layed down on the bed. I removed the bandages with Elizabeth’s held as Vincent and Henry left the room. Grace has three cuts from her belly up to her collarbone. The wound hadn’t closed up properly and was still bleeding a little.

“Not so pretty is it?” Grace asked.

“We had to hide in a hurry. We only have one other wizard. But he is wek from helaing others more wounded then Grace is so she had to wait,” Elizabeth said.

“We’ll fix that. Grace, stay still, this might hurt,” I said.

“Charming,” Grace chuckled.

I focused on my magic and could feel Dahlia knowing she didn’t like this. I felt a tingling sensation in my hand. I had not fully recovered from healing Alex, but Grace didn’t need as much healing as Alex did. I’m counting on that, and I’m hoping it works. I let the magic flow out of my hands, and the golden glow appeared as it covered the wounds. I focused my magic on sealing them. I didn’t have time to recover, so I felt the draining effects. I noticed the cuts and bruises vanishing before my eyes, and I gave a smile.

“Amazing!” Elizabeth gasped.

After a few minutes, the cuts were nothing more than red lines. I closed off my magic and put my hands down. Grace patted her chest, and I saw the look of surprise.

“The Moon Goddess has blessed you child,” Grace smiled at me as she sat up.

“There’s blood coming out of your nose, Alyssa. You need to sit down,” Elizabeth said.

I sat down, touched my nose, and saw blood on my fingertips. “This is nothing compared to last time,” I laughed softly.

“Well, that’s not reassuring,” Elizabeth said.

“Is everything okay in there?” Henry said behind the door.

Elizabeth put on a clean shirt that Elizabeth gave and allowed Vincent and Henry to come in. “You can come in boys,”

Vincent sat by my side. “How are you feeling?”

“Just a little blood, I’ll be fine,” I smiled at him.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Henry said when Grace showed them her healed wounds.

“I feel much better now; I’ll try to contact Kaiden as it’s the least I can do,” Grace said.

“Go get Alyssa some food, Vincent,” Henry asked, and Vincent nodded.

Vincent helped me stand; he placed his hand around my lower back, supporting my weight. “Let’s go, love,” Vincent said.

Vincent sat me on a chair by one of the tables and went to make me something to eat. I laid my head on the table and sighed. “I’m sorry for running like that, Vincent,”

“Don’t worry about it, love. You’ve been through a lot, and I’m just glad you’re alright,” Vincent placed a sandwich next to me on the table. “Eat up, it’s turkey. There’s little to eat here, but I figured that was expected,”

“Now’s not the time to be picky. I ate the food as Vincent found an apple, and we ate silently.

Then, as we finished eating, Megan ran into the dining room. “GUYS! Grace got through to Kaiden. We know where they are,” Megan said,”