“A sorcerer?”
“Yes.” He chuckled, but it quickly disappeared and was replaced by a sad frown. “I wish he’d died before he could produce an heir,” he sulked.
“Why?” It was a weird thing to say.
“Because the most powerful sorcerer that ever lived was descended from his bloodline. His power consumed him, and he betrayed and murdered his best friend.”
“Who did he betray?”I was intrigued by Cheng’s story. Why couldn’t they talk about the interesting stuff in class?
“King Albert.”
“His best friend was a sorcerer?”
Cheng’s lips twitched while he stared holes into the ground. “It happened about fifteen years ago. The Viden did warn King Albert, or so my mother tells me. The Viden said that someone in his kingdom would betray him. He didn't want to believe her because everybody loved him. She did plant the seed of doubt though. My mom said there was a time that he became suspicious of everybody, became really quiet too. My mom was a serving maid in his castle, and she remembered the sadness in his eyes around the dinner table, just looking at his men and wondering who was going to betray him. My mom told me that it was a look that didn't suit him at all,” he said softly.
The story of King Albert had hooked me, and I stumbled over the only rock in the path.
Cheng's reflexes were fast, however, and he caught me before I landed on my face. He chuckled. “I can see why you don't do so well with classes this side.”
I giggled at his sarcasm. “If you think this is bad, you don't want to see me in Enchantments.”
We walked past the coliseum toward the edge of Dragonia, while he continued his story. Looking around, he chose a spot on top of a big rock and wanted me to sit with him, but I chose to stay on the grass with my back turned toward the view. My fear of heights had spoiled plenty of breathtaking scenes and this was no exception.
He told me how King Albert had been the only one who had given Chromatic dragons a chance. He explained how Sir Robert was very evil, but King Albert was adamant about claiming him. Night Villains were not very pet-like, he explained while shrugging his shoulders, and I laughed at his comment when he said that it was the Metallic dragon’s job. I was mesmerized by King Albert's bravery, how he’d claimed the first Chromatic dragon. It had changed Paegeia forever. Cheng told me it was also when he decided to build Dragonia. It took many sorcerers and strong enchantments to raise the academy into the air, and keep it aloft. The minute King Albert discovered that the humans born with the mark could actually bond with the dragons, he chucked them inside too.
“I don't know why people like that always have to die. The world doesn’t have many of them to start with.” His tone was soft, and I could hear some sadness lining each word.
“So this best friend that betrayed him, is he still around?”
“Goran.” He gave me the sorcerer’s name. “He's the reason Etan is forbidden.”
“Yes, Becky told me about the creepers. Is it true that only Blake and his Dragonian can enter?”
He grinned. “I doubt that anyone would be able to claim the Rubicon.”
“Why do you think that? King Albert claimed the first Chromatic dragon, how should the Rubicon be any different? There always has to be a first, even if it seems impossible.”
He looked at me, surprised. “You've listened.”
“Well,your story’s interesting,” I complimented him. For the love of blueberries,I hadn’t even fallen asleep!
“It's history, Elena.”
I frowned when I realized what he meant. “Then why’s mine so boring?”
He roared with laughter. “Don't tell anyone but I agree.”
We both laughed and then he sighed. It was quiet for a while, before he spoke again. “I know you and Lucian have something going on, and don't get me wrong, he's got the makings of a great Dragonian, but I truly don't believe that he'll be able to claim Blake,” he said honestly.
“Why not?” I was intrigued by his statement.
“Easy. The Viden.”
“The Viden sucks things out of her thumb." Just thinking about her made me pissed off all over again. Grabbing a rock that was next to my leg, I threw it as far as I could, pretended it was her crystal ball.
“Yes, most of the time, but when she makes a true foretelling, it always comes true.”
“You mean like when the so-called wind blows and her eyes become silver,” I joked.
He threw a stone over the edge. “Yes, it freaks me out too.”
“It happened when you were with her?” I asked, and he nodded. “What did she say?”
“That's only meant for me, Elena. Foretellings are very personal, and you'll never find anyone that will reveal what the Viden told them.”
“Then how do you know that Blake won't get claimed?”
“Because it's written in the Book of Shadows for everyone to see,” he said.
“Book of Shadows?”
“It’s a book that follows the Viden’s foretelling’s. Nobody knows how it came to exist. Every time she makes a foretelling that is of importance to Paegeia, it will magically appear in the Book of Shadows,” he said.
“What did it say?” I asked, curious. I was always curious when it came to Blake and should have known that his foretellings had reached the Book of Shadows.
“That the only one who will ever claim Blake is his true Dragonian. His egg hatched three years before King Albert and Queen Catherine were murdered. When she said that the Rubicon would be claimed by a royal, it meant them. When she received a foretelling about King Helmut or King Caleb, she would refer to them as the Knights. My mom said that it was the best news she ever gave them,because she was telling them indirectly that they’d get a child. It was the only thing they ever wanted. My mom told me that before the Viden made the prediction, the queen prayed for a child every single day for at least a hundred and fifty years.”
I gasped. “She had the essence of life too?”
“Yes. Their dragons gave them each a piece. King Albert was two hundred and fifty years, and Queen Catherine was about two hundred and forty-five.”
Jeez. It sounded so old to try to have children. “Are you sure it was one of their children? What if the Viden had it wrong just this once?”
He laughed. “Then she wouldn’t be the Viden.”
“Is it true that all Moon-Bolts can see the future?”
“Depends on how old they are.”
“I saw two, before George, I mean.”
“Yes, I know. How did it happen?” he asked.
I couldn’t believe it when my mouth just opened up and my story started spilling out.
“My dad was a Copper-Horn. I never even knew that he was a dragon. We used to flee from our home every three months. He told me a lot about Paegeia when I was little, but I thought it was just bedtime stories.”I didn't tell him that I’d forgotten most of it. Tears started to well up. The pain buried deep inside of me slowly emerged to the surface. I missed Dad so much. I told him everything about that night, and when I was finished, I looked away to wipe off a tear before it rolled down my cheek.
“No wonder you don't cope with classes. You’ve hardly dealt with all of this.”
“I just don't know why it happened. What was so important that they felt his life had to be the price? What if he died thinking that I would never forgive him? I can’t tell you how many nights I’d prayed for a miracle, a normal life. One where we didn’thave to flee anymore. Now that I’ve gotten my wish, I feel like such a nobody. The way some of the students look at me as if I don't belong here, the Viden...”