[Valerie] Elias joins us for dinner. It’s a tense affair. Dad, mom and Elias are silent. Xyan is still stuck at a business meeting and Georgia merely sits silently, eating because she has always been like that. Viola hasn’t joined as usual. It’s unsettling but I don’t utter a word, simply because I am scared to ask. I know what Elias will say; I know what mom and dad will advise. The food which the chefs have prepared so well tastes bland and I force them into my mouth. My stomach has been in knots since the afternoon. I tried going to meet Ken, but he was nowhere nearby and I didn’t dare go to the infirmary. “Chew your food properly,” mom says mildly. I glance up and find her staring back in concern. I nod silently. After dinner, while the plates are being cleared away, I turn to Elias. “Can we talk?” Elias doesn’t look surprised. His jaw tenses as he nods. I glance at my parents, who look like they want to stop us but can’t. We step onto the corridor. The night is humid, so th

[Valerie] My legs are trembling as I stand where Viola stood this morning. The audience seems to have increased and I spot Mrs Rupert, sitting in the front row of the make-shift gallery. I clench my jaw as she glares back at me with pure viciousness and then my gaze lands on the person whom I hadn’t seen for quite some time now. I inhale sharply as our eyes meet. Kenneth’s face dons a neat mask of careful neutrality. I swallow back the pain that threatens to make itself known. Ruelle has become a subdued presence at the back of my mind. I turn away from him because I know that staring for another second might raise suspicion. Elias thankfully walks up to me and asks, “Are you ready?” If I had a choice, I would say no, but in this case, I don’t, so I nod hesitantly. I glanced at the Elders sitting beside my dad. I don’t look for Clyde because somehow I feel that he will make me feel unnerved. “Begin!” Elias says loudly and for a moment my mind blanks. I stare at the circular ma

[Valerie] “No fucking way!” I stand up, too angry to care about propriety, too hurt to care about the hierarchy. “Listen to me—” Elias begins placatingly before I raise my hand to interrupt him. “I am in no way going with Viola,” I reiterate. The conversation with my parents did not go well. They did not tell me what Clyde said to the Elders or what the Elders’ verdict was which had pissed me off and now early in the morning, Elias announces that I will be going with Viola as an apprentice after yesterday’s clownery. Mom and dad apparently were okay with that. I don’t even have Xyan to back me up at the moment and even if Georgia is here, she hardly has a say in this what with being a human and all. “Why? Why can’t I stay here? Am I too dangerous to stay in my own house now?” I can’t help but ask. “Enough. Elias is suggesting this out of concern. You will never be a danger to us. Whatever happened with Mrs Rupert’s daughter was a mishap,” dad says, leaving no room for argument.

[Clyde]That was reckless. I should not have acted like that. I flex my fingers remembering the warmth of her skin, the way she shuddered in my grasp. Brenton stirs. I raise my arm and push up the sleeve to see the faint outline of scales. I am not someone who loses control so easily and yet I did. This is the reason I hate the mate bond. Brian ended up this way just because of his mate. I close my eyes to gain more control over my emotions and slowly feel Brenton reluctantly receding back. I am guilty of eavesdropping but even if I wanted to, I couldn’t leave the place, and it had nothing to do with what I wanted, it was this… this invisible pull which spurred emotions that I did not wish to experience, not with her. When I heard beta Kenneth’s confession, I felt several emotions grip my heart like vines. I had half a mind to step out of the shadows and make my presence known, but that would cost some damage to my reputation. A part of me, a darker side that I keep on a leash, fel

[Valerie]My teeth are chattering from the nippy temperature but who cares? Not the man who is practically dragging me down the hill, not caring if I freeze in this temperature. At least the boots help to keep my feet from becoming blocks of ice. Also, no getting on dragons so that’s a good sign, my guts will be saved for the time being. It would be so much better if we could all go together. Why divide? Did Elias really think that Clyde and I had a chance to get together? Hell to the no. Clyde definitely is on the same page as mine. He should have let me go with Moran and the others. He could transform into his dragon and simply fly to his territory. But I can’t even tell him that, lest Mr. high and mighty gets offended. It’s not like I am super close to Moran, but the guy is approachable and easy to talk to. I can already predict that if I can rely on anyone here, it will be him. Why couldn’t he be my mate? Even Elias left me to this brute. He will get an earful from me once I rea