The Dragon Prince

Alyssa

Vincent and I lay next to each other naked and kissing passionately. My heart was racing; my breath was getting more and more rapid. I then felt the vibration and saw that it was Vincent’s phone.

“It’s Annabeth,” Vincent said as he answered. “Annabeth now is not a good time. Woah, slow down! What are you saying? I have to go!”

Suddenly, Vincent’s demeanor changed. I could see him squeeze his phone, and anger flashed in his eyes. Vincent gave me my dress and told me to put it back on, and he then got dressed.

“Rory is the killer, Alyssa! That bitch killed my father!” Vincent roared.

“What!?” I gasped.

“My mother woke up briefly and told them. Then Annabeth said that she and Audrey can’t reach Alexandria; they thought she might be in danger,” Vincent said.

As soon as I was ready, we ran back to the Citadel. We ran back to the path we came and were outside the Citadel. We were heading back inside when I remembered something. “Vincent, wait, earlier, I saw Alex and Rory in the forest around the same time as us. I think I remember the path they took,” Then I saw a dead body behind Vincent, and the color drained from my face.

“Alyssa?” Then Vincent noticed the fear on my face and turned around. Vincent ran towards the body, but I stood still. The body was facing down, so Vincent had to turn it over. I heard Vincent gasp as he examined the body. “Oh no, it’s Kashekim! His throat has been slit,”

I felt bile rise in my throat as I noticed the blood on Kashekim’s face, but I couldn’t look away. Vincent held my face, pulling me away from Kashekim’s body. “We can do nothing for him, but Alex could still be in danger. You have to remember the path Rory and Alex took!” Vincent said.

I took a deep breath. “Follow me,” I nodded. We then started to run, and I could feel what Vincent felt. He fears for his sister and hopes we won’t be too late.

Vincent and I jumped out of the forest and into the clearing, where we soon saw Rory standing beside Alexandria. Alex was lying on the ground, and I felt she was struggling to breathe. I saw Tristan with her, too, covered in blood. Vincent roared and tackled Tristan and started beating him. I then looked at Rory, and we looked at each other with immense hatred.

Rory and I circled each other in our dresses. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the freak itself!” Rory said, twirling her dagger.

“You killed Zayne! How could you?” I said.

“Guilty as charged,” Rory laughed. “I guess that Rosetta finally woke up, and I was wondering how long I could stay under the radar,”

Behind Rory, I noticed Vincent and Tristan rolling around the ground. Tristan was holding a blade the size of my forearm, and Vincent managed to keep it away from him.

Rory pulled a dagger out of her purse, and I noticed it still had Alex’s blood on it. “The boss doesn’t want you dead, or you’re a precious mate. But accidents can happen,” Rory smiled.

“Who is your boss!?” I yelled at her.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Rory smiled.

“The dagger, poisoned,” Alexandria said weakly.

I heard Alex’s words and saw some form of liquid on the dagger. I raised my hands to make a fist and took a battle stance.

“What are you going to do, freak? You don’t even know how to fight,” Rory laughed.

Rory was right about the fact that I couldn’t fight. I had no experience in battle one-on-one, and her having that dagger didn’t improve my odds.

Rory lunged at me with the blade raised. I stepped to the side, the dagger centimeters from my face. I heard Dahlia shout in my head to use our power, and I had every intention of using it. We circled each other for a while. I raised my hand and took a deep breath. Instantly, Rory’s grin dropped, and she gave me a confused look.

A golden light started to appear in my hands. “Stay back!”

I then saw that Vincent was on the ground with Tristan on top of him, trying to plunge the dagger into Vincent’s chest. Vincent was holding his own, but I saw his strength waning. “VINCENT!” I fired the golden ball at Tristan’s back. Tristan flew off Vincent and hit a tree with a sickening crunch. Rory used this chance and jumped at me. Rory kicked me to the ground. I tried to get back up, but she kicked me in the stomach to keep me down. I cried out as I fell back down. Rory stood over me, dagger in hand.

“With your death, I will be set free!” Rory screamed.

Then I saw Vincent move quickly behind her, holding a dagger close to her neck but not breaking the skin. “You’ll be set free, alright,” Vincent grinned. I noticed that Tristan was unmoving on the ground behind him. Vincent’s voice was cold and emotionless. “Drop the fucking dagger, you cunt!”

Vincent would kill Rory if she made the wrong move. Rory dropped the dagger, and it fell to the ground. I reached for the weapon, careful not to touch the blade itself. “Are you alright, love?” Vincent asked me.

Vincent’s voice got a little lighter as he looked at me, holding the dagger close to Rory’s throat. He has a fresh cut over his right eye and a busted lip, but otherwise, he’s okay.

“I’m good, feeling a hell of a lot better than they are,” I gestured to Rory and Tristan. I ran over to Alexandria. Her breathing was shallow, but she was alive. “Alex is alive,” I said happily.

“For now,” Rory laughed.

I looked back at Rory and saw the grin on her face. “What is on the blade?” Vincent’s voice was dark and scary. He pressed the dagger a little harder against Rory’s throat. She hissed at the pain as the blade cut a little through her skin.

“Dragonbane!” Rory snickered.

I noticed the fear on Vincent’s face as they looked at Alexandria’s body on the ground. Rory used this chance to twist Vincent’s arms and force him to drop the dagger. She bent down for the blade, but my hand was glowing gold. “I won’t miss this time!” I smiled.

Rory screamed and lunged at me, and I shot her in the chest. She flew away from Vincent and me and landed hard on the ground. We walked over to Rory, light still in my hands. My magic severely scorched Rory’s dress.

“It doesn’t matter if I die or not. It’s already too late,” Rory laughed as she coughed up blood. I aimed my hand at her.

“What do you mean?” I demanded her to tell me.

“It doesn’t matter how much you fight. The plan is already in motion. You should give up now while you can. Anyone who stands in our way will be dead,” Rory then choked on her blood and died.

I watched as the light left her eyes. What did she mean? Then Vincent held out his hand, and a white light came out of Rory’s body. “This is Rory’s soul,” Then white fire engulfed Rory’s soul and exploded. “I shredded her soul, a fate worse than death,”

“Vincent, that’s dark magic!” I took a step back.

“So?” Vincent shrugged at me. “She deserved what she got; I trusted her, Alex trusted her, my family trusted her, Varrfarrinn trusted her! We gave her everything, and this is how she repays us! She will never know peace, and I’m okay with that,”

“But -” Then it dawned on me, oh god. “Vincent, we have to get back to the Citadel. Get Alex, and let’s move!”

Vincent picked up Alexandria and looked at me. “Lead the way, and I’ll follow. We will find the antidote to Dragonbane in the Citadel.