“It's going to be fine, Becky, if George wants to hang with us. He just better treat Elena better,” Sammy said, and we all burst out laughing again.
“It’s going to be okay,”I said, trying to boost her ego.“It's not the end of the world, and you rock. That dragon can count his lucky stars to have you as his Dragonian.”
“Aw. I wish I could hug you both. You are the best BFs a girl could ask for.” Becky snorted and wiped her eyes.
“You really electrify people if they come too close?” Lucian asked, pretending to poke her, and Becky giggled. “That’s so wicked,” he said out loud this time. I stood up, seeing it as the perfect moment to grab some lunch.
When I got back, Lucian was talking about tricks to claim George and offered to train her if she wanted.
The bell rang again, ending all our fun. I sulked all the way to Arithmetic.
“So Elena is now with Lucian, what about Brian?” a soft voice said next to me.
“Elena said she will think about Brian's offer. She did, but Lucian stole her heart, and his intentions are not like Brian’s.”
“Elena is making a huge mistake,” he said.“Brian could have offered her so much more.”
“Yeah, yeah, okay, Brian, we get it. Take a hike.” Lucian's voice came from behind us, and he squeezed in between Brian and me.
“Your Highness' wishes are Brian's command,” he teased, and walked away.
Lucian ground hard on his teeth. It made a horrible sound that I couldn't stand.
“Stop doing that. Besides you are the prince of Tith and─”
“Stop that,” he said, poking me playfully in the ribs. This escalated into a lot of laughter, and somehow I ended up in his arms. He kissed me softly just before our paths separated, and then he scurried away to his next class.
“Your wish is everybody's command. You need to deal with it,” I joked, while he walked away.
“Yours too?” he said hopefully.
“You'll have to wait and see, Your Highness.”
He roared with laughter, while the other students in the hallway were shaking their heads and twittering.
I had finally learned how to ignore them. The left side of my lip curled up as I saw room 125. It became an involuntary reaction right before I opened the big door to Arithmetic.
By the end of day, George had finally received the bad news and was really pissed.
He cornered Becky in the hallway and threatened, “You just stay away from me.”
Becky pushed him away, hard. We could hear some electricity pass between them but George didn't flinch one bit.
“You think I wanted this. I will rather spend my life with a colony of wyverns before claiming you.”
He huffed with a sideways smile accepting her challenge. “At least you know where you stand.”
“As if. Let me rephrase. I would rather die than have you around me,” she yelled, standing inches away from his face.
George grunted, bared his teeth, and raced off cussing.
“He’s such an asshole. Why did I have to be struck by lightning? I would even claim a Night Villain over George Mills!” she shouted at his retreating figure.
“It's going to be okay, Becky. In a couple of days he won't be such an arrogant bastard,” Sammy said in a soft tone, but it didn't seem right without the hug.
I had to admit, a part of me did pray that I’d never ascend. I wouldn't be able to handle all of this fighting.
Racing off with Becky to her favorite class, I hoped she would cheer up. Art of War was still not my thing and I felt as if I was going backward instead of forward. I struggled to concentrate as I worried about Becky. I couldn’t focus on Professor Mia's instructions. So in short, I got my ass kicked.
For the next couple of days,the glares between Becky and George grew worse. The girls that liked George kept bumping into Becky as a warning. Some even threatened her about what they’d do if she claimed George. As if she had a choice.
Classes were the same and weren’t getting any better. The only thing I did look forward to was spending more time with Lucian. I felt our time together shrinking as he continued to train Becky for the day she was going to have to face George. By the third day of training, I was already annoyed. They only talked about fighting, and I found it foreign as they talked about highs, lows, and aims.
On Tuesday during Enchantments, there came an announcement over the school’s speaker system. Master Longwei’s voice filled the entire school as he announced: "On Thursday at four in the afternoon, there will be a claim. Rebecca Johnston for the claiming of George Mills."
There was a lot of applause from our class, as well as a lot of good luck punches on her shoulder. She couldn’t stop smiling.
As everyone began to fall into the rigor of the academy, I found myself alone most afternoons. Sammy had started with her extra activity─ who knew a dragon could be into drama classes. Lucian wanted me to come and watch how Becky and he trained, but I couldn't stand the sound of weapons slamming against each other. It gave me a headache after a couple of minutes, so I ended up spending my afternoons in the library.
I saw it as time to learn about Paegeia. Most days it was an exercise in failure,because I couldn’t concentrate and was instead worrying about Becky.
I crawled into bed late, scared that I was going to dream again about the woman on the hill. She had been harassing my dreams for the past week, and I still didn't know who she was, what she wanted, or why I was dreaming of her. At least I didn't wake up screaming anymore. I just wished that she would tell me what the hell she wanted.
I couldn't wait for Thursday─ the day Becky was going to claim George. After that, things should go back to normal, I hoped as I settled into bed. I turned off the light and fell asleep faster than I thought I would. As usual, I felt my dream shift as the mysterious woman made her appearance once again.
Chapter Thirteen
I was woken up by the slamming of the bathroom door. Sammy sat on her bed and glared vehemently in the direction of the bathroom.
“Is everything okay?” I asked in a croaky voice.
“Whatever you do, don't look in that one's direction.” Sammy pointed to the bathroom door.
“You think it's got to do with the claim?”
“I think it's got more to do with her last session with Lucian this morning. She looked highly pissed off when she stormed in.”
Becky came out of the bathroom as we were talking and yanked her dresser drawer’s open.
“Are you okay?” I asked. I hated to see her like this.
“Yes,” she said, as if she was about to take an exam, instead of fighting a dragon. T-shirts flew out of her drawer as she searched for something.
Sammy and I just stared at each other, perplexed.
“Becky, what's wrong? You seem... upset.” Sammy sounded as if she’d struggled to find the right word.
“I'm fine.” She turned around and sighed. “Lucian has taught me well.” Her voice changed, sliding into deep sarcasm. So, Sammy was right about Lucian being the culprit behind Becky's bad mood.
“Spill!” Sammy demanded.
Becky curled her lip. “He's a 'slave driven demon' when it comes to fighting. I mean, the guy is good with a sword in his hands, but he has no sense of when he needs to stop. He's driving me insane!”
“What?” Sammy shrieked.
“Lucian McKenzie, my Lucian?” It felt great saying that.
“You heard me.” She plunged down on her bed with a pair of socks in her hand. “You only know his sweet side, Elena. He's head over heels for you.”