Chapter 2: Yhendorn

Yhendorn

Pain. So much pain. I’ve felt my dragon’s fire and somehow this feels worse. Maybe it’s because when Kenna hurts me, it’s accidental and she always heals me quickly.

But this pain, this is intentional. It’s all-encompassing. It’s like they’ve put fire in my blood and it’s pumping through my veins, burning me from the inside out.

I open my mouth to scream but nothing comes out. My throat is raw. My back bows, trying to find some way to escape this pain, but there is none.

I can hear the voices, the voices of my captors as they talk about me, talk about what they’re doing to me and how I’m responding. But I can’t hear what they’re saying over the roaring in my ears.

I don’t know how long I suffer, writhing in pain, suffering in silence. But eventually, I can hear their words again, and I know they’re going to break me.

“Add another one.”

I feel the fire turn to electricity in my veins and I jolt upright.

I look around quickly, panting and soaked in sweat as I realize I’m in my own bed, in my castle, on my elf lands. I’m not in the laboratory being experimented on.

I let my head drop as I force myself to take deep breaths, willing my heart rate to return to normal. I grit my teeth and force the fear back down into the depths of my subconscious. Fear accomplishes nothing.

The nightmares have returned since I left the Academy. Without my fierce fire dragon to keep them away, I can’t seem to close my eyes without returning to that horrible time in my life.

I kick off the covers that have become entangled around me and stand unsteadily. I brace myself against the bed until I feel steady enough to walk. Then I make my way to the shower and turn it on. The memory of the heat in my body makes me turn the water to a cooler temperature than I usually use before I step under the spray.

I shower off the sweat wishing that I could just as easily shower away the residual memories and fear that linger from the nightmares. I had them when I first returned to my castle ten years ago after spending months as a lab rat and then being placed into an arena where I was forced to fight for my life.

I scrub my face, willing the images of that time away.

Once I met Kenna, the nightmares started to ease. The more time I spent with her, the fewer nightmares I had, until they were gone completely. I thought I was past them, that I was done with the nightmares. Apparently, it was only the close proximity to my beautiful mate that actually kept the horrible nightmares at bay.

I smile, thinking of my fierce dragon. I know her. She would find a way to get into my head and destroy every nightmare I have. She would burn every scientist, every laboratory, every competitor to ash. Of course, she’d have to let me get close enough to her for her to realize that my nightmares have returned. And since I can’t even get her to respond to my calls or text messages, I know I’m stuck with my nightmares for now.

As I get out of the shower, I grab my phone. I know she won’t answer me but I’m hoping that she hasn’t blocked me completely.

Me: Good morning, my beautiful dragon. Don’t forget there’s a Royal Conclave of elvish rulers today. I’m hoping we can come to some sort of agreement about elves claiming dragons.

I hit enter, then decide to add something that might actually bring her to the meeting.

Me: Kenzo and Ember will be there with King Faeler and Prince Merellien.

I hit enter again. Then I sigh. I can’t help myself, no matter how many times she tells me to stay away from her. I can’t.

Me: I miss you. I love you.

Knowing it’s the best I can do, I toss my phone aside and begin getting dressed in my royal attire. I hate these royal conclaves. Even before the problems with the dragons, this was a time for royals to boast about how great they are. Not all of them, just the ones who seem to think that if they say it enough times or loudly enough, the rest of us will believe them.

My phone buzzes and I stupidly hope that it’s Kenna. I snatch it off the bed where I tossed it and check. Not Kenna. It's a text message from Mere.

Mere: Ready for today?

Me: As ready as I’ll ever be. Will you and Avani be there?

Mere: Unfortunately, no. There was an attack on Rhys and Enki last night. Avani and a couple other dragons spent the night burying the evidence of Tana, Kenna, and Amne’s destruction of the elvish troupe that attacked them.

Me: Who?

I already know this is going to make today so much worse. If one of these kings lost their son because he tried to claim a dragon and failed ...

Mere: Prince Keryth with a large number of elves, possibly half of King Ilvisar’s troupe.

Ilvisar is one of the Kings who has been very vocal about elves being allowed to claim dragons any way they see fit. I guess if you’re going to go against the laws that were set centuries ago on how to claim a dragon, then the dragons aren’t going to abide by them either. Since it was Rhys and Enki, I’m not surprised that Tana and Avani are involved. Their sons might be fully grown dragons, but they are in no way ready to be claimed. They are hybrids, just like Kenna.

And that is the crux of the disagreement among the elves. They feel that once the dragon is fully mature, they should be allowed to claim them. It doesn’t matter to them that Rhys and Enki are only eight and seven in their human forms. It doesn’t matter to them that they are still children in their human forms.

Having spent the last ten years waiting for my mate to mature, I know there are parts of her mind and psyche that were fully mature when I met her. But I also know that it’s not just her body that hadn’t fully developed. She has human hormones. She went through puberty twice, once in her dragon form and once in her human form. Her view of the world, for a long time, was very childlike, very simplistic. It made it difficult for her to manage the depth of the emotions she feels as a dragon. Her anger was magnified and she wanted to kill those who hurt her family and friends without any remorse. Some of that is the fire dragon in her, but some of it was her immaturity.

What would an elf like King Ilvisar do with a dragon like Rhys or Enki. I’ve been around both boys since they were born. As often as not, they act like boys, young boys who are still growing and learning about the world. They throw tantrums and when they’re angry, they struggle to maintain control of their emotions. An elf like King Ilvisar would consider it his right to whip the childish defiance out of them which would ultimately destroy them.

I sigh. I was hoping we would get somewhere in our negotiations today, but if Prince Keryth is dead, it will only incite the royals to fight harder to get a dragon.

I finish getting dressed before pocketing my phone and heading out. Without a dragon to take me, I’ll be running to the conclave.