“You're not a nobody, and your dark mark is why you are in Dragonia, Elena, not who or what your father was.”
“Then why don't I get anything, Cheng?” I said, tossing my hands in the air.
“Give yourself some time, woman. You’ll get there,” he assured me in a very patient tone. It was as if he knew something
I didn't.
“When?”
“Rome wasn't built in a day, or so I’ve heard,” he joked, and it worked, it made me smile. “You put so much pressure on yourself, why do you do that?”
“It’s stupid, you'll laugh,” I spoke, turning my face away.
“Try me.”
I took a deep breath. For the love of blueberries, I might as well tell him. I had told him everything so far, and I felt as though I could trust him with my life. “I never felt so alive.”
He just looked at me and frowned. “I'll help you with whatever I can, Elena. If it's that important to you not to fail, I'll give it my best.”
“Thanks, I really appreciate it. You're really cool,” I said, meaning every single word.
“Wow, I don't think I heard that one before. Most of the other students think of me as a geek.”
I laughed again and punched him playfully on the leg. “Well, maybe they should try to get to know you.”
“So, do you want to know why I believe Lucian won't claim Blake?” He changed the subject moving from the rock and plopping down on the ground beside me. “It has to do with another foretelling she made a couple of years later. It's also written in the book. She said that only the King of Lion can claim him.”
“The King of Lion, like in the sword?” I asked, and he nodded.
“Nobody knows what she meant. Not even her. They still think that using the sword is the answer, but it's also the one thing that can kill Blake, so they don't even consider it.”
“You don't believe that?”
“I can give you a lot of theories, Elena. Crown-Tails love theories. If you ask me, I think she didn't mean the sword at all.”
“What then?” I said,leaning in so I wouldn’t miss a word.
"I think it's got to do with King Albert's bloodline.”
Chapter Seventeen
Cheng's theory was intriguing, although a bit far-fetched. The King of Lion sword was the only weapon that could defeat evil, and for the love of blueberries, Paegeia had plenty of that!
He told me that once flesh-eating plants were devouring people in their sleep. The only way they could kill them was when King Alexander destroyed them with the King of Lion sword. King Louie had used the sword to vanquish a fog that would literally dissolve whoever entered it. Every supernatural entity, no matter the form, could be defeated by the sword. Cheng had a theory; he believed that the blood of King Albert and his family was special. Not like alien blood or something strange, but that it contained trace amounts of magic, because the sword had been in the possession of Paegeia's true rulers for thousands of years. King William had his arm severed by it, and after the incident,the sword acquired the ability to destroy evil. Whatever the reason for this sword’s magic, I felt safe in the knowledge that there was a weapon like it out there. Cheng also said that Goran was still alive, trapped in Etan, and that he had tried to steal the sword through dark magic. As he explained how Goran had harnessed his dark magic through the blood of Wyverns and by forcing his own dragon to commit horrifying deeds, my knees trembled and my heart pounded rhythmically in my chest.
Goran wanted to destroy the sword so it wouldn’t pose a threat to his dark sorcery. With the only weapon that could kill him gone, he would become invincible if he ever broke out of Etan. The people of Paegeia believed that if Blake succumbed to his evil, Goran’s magic would be able to control him. This new information scared the living crap out of me. I shivered involuntarily as if icy fingers were tracing patterns on my spine.
If Cheng's theories were right, Lucian was wasting his time and Arianna had really high hopes.
I now understood why Sammy worried about her brother so much. She believed what Cheng did and knew, deep down in her heart, that her brother would never be claimed. Walking back to the room from my meeting with Cheng, I forced myself to think about something else.
Tomorrow was my first session with Lucian,and the butterflies in my stomach started to do a happy dance. I’d never looked forward to Art of War before, but I hoped he would be able to transform me into a warrior, as he had done with Becky. I did pause, however,as I wondered if he was really the slave-driving demon she’d accused him of being.
Throwing myself onto my fluffy mattress, I fell into a dreamless sleep as soon as my head touched the pillow. I guess Cheng's information was too much to dream about, even for the mysterious woman who haunted my dreams every night.
The next morning I felt incredibly well rested. I assumed it had something to do with the mysterious woman not appearing to me. The lady must cause some sort of an emotional drainage while I sleep.
To sum it up in one word, breakfast was uncomfortable. George suddenly started following Becky around,and he even sat at our table. He completely ignored the other guys’ remarks and had a look of admiration on his face whenever Becky spoke.
Sammy gawked at him, forgetting to eat her breakfast while Becky tried to ignore his unexpected behavior.
My first class was Latin. I didn't understand any of it and every foreign word made me feel like I was going to explode. Leaving one punishing class for another, after Latin I was rewarded with Arithmetic. I didn't have anyone tutoring me in Arithmetic, so I was basically doomed. I was determined not to ask for help either; they might end up having Tabitha tutor me, and believe me, dealing with Arianna was more than enough.
Moving through another less than excellent day, I was relieved that it was lunch until I realized that Becky had another riddle she wanted me to answer. Lucian begged me to give her the answer too, and Sammy simply rolled her eyes, stirring her vegetables.
“Okay,let’s hear it,” I said, finally caving under the pressure.
“There was a green house, inside the green house there was a white house, inside the white house there was a red house, inside the red house there were lots of babies. What is it?”
They all looked at me with anticipation, and my mind wandered back to Dad again. He’d asked me this riddle before.
“It's a watermelon,” I said, trying to mask the sadness inside my voice at the memory.
She hopped up from the table and ran off at a breakneck speed, excited to tell the chef her answer.
Lucian stared at me, concerned about my sudden shift in mood. “You okay?”
“My dad asked me that one not so long ago,” I said, shrugging my shoulders in defeat, while letting the emotions roll over me.
“Sorry Sweetheart.” He gave me a soft kiss on my temple and stroked my back. The bell rang, and he insisted on walking me to my class. I guess he was scared Brian was going to try to steal me away or something.
We didn't talk much as we made our way through the halls and parted with a quick kiss.
The day ended with Art of War, which meant I was going to have a double period if I included Lucian's session too. I barely had the strength to walk to my dorm to take a shower just so I could sweat again. It didn't make much sense.