Sophia had been sitting down near Eli for about an hour now, bored out of her mind. She could only swim and explore so much before it grew boring in the cave. How was she supposed to last a month in an environment that turned into a hot spring the closer she got to Eli?
True fear of Eli the dragon changing his mind and kill her in an instant haunted her. She would die of heatstroke or anger a dragon before the day was over. Sophia glanced at her round clock, given to the Student Knights as soon as they graduated from the training academy. The clock shows the time of the day, and right now, it was stuck at the same time when she fell into this trap. It seemed that there was time manipulation magic in this cave.
Letting out a heavy sigh as she looked out at the waterfall, the sounds becoming a melody. Brown eyes scanned the water sloshing into the pond below as if she were in a trance. The beautiful crystal-clear flow of the water drew the eyes towards it like a bee to a flower. Maybe she could stare at it all day to pass the time. Sophia yawned, stood, and wiped the sweat that was trickling down her forehead. Timid eyes glanced over at the ebony dragon to find herself locked in his piercing stare.
"What is it?" she asked nervously.
"Do you know what magic channel is?"
It amazed her that his mouth did not move as he spoke. It was like hearing him speaking in her mind as if his voice was her thoughts. Sophia blinked at him as she nodded slowly. “Magic channel is where my magic flows from my heart. My heart is the source of my magic.”
The dragon's muscular tail whipped out and locked itself around Sophia's body faster than she could process. She squealed in surprise before she was dragged towards Eli until she was floating by mere inches from him. Did she already anger him enough to start her death sentence? She looked up and saw the red irises with black slit pupils. To her amazement, the pupils seemed to swirl with many stars. The woman gasped when the star-like clouds of dust inside the black slit pupils spun slowly in clockwise.
"You have insufficient magic," Eli's voice resounded around her, "but it is flowing so you have potential; however, you will most likely fail."
"That's a real positive attitude to have," Sophia said while furrowing her brows. "How do you know I don’t have sufficient magic?"
"What makes you think you can?"
That was a good question. She was born with a magic channel but she grew without magic affiliation. Sophia prided herself on being a good student in the academy. She graduated on top of her class and even joined the Knights Association even without harboring a strong magic power and now she had a creature that wasn’t supposed to exist here in Laera to tell her she lacked the drive for success.
Sophia liked a challenge; she thrived on success and this would be no different. Above all, success meant going home.
"I like having a sense of accomplishment," Sophia responded, her body relaxing in his grip. "Won't know until I try, right?"
Eli remained silent for a moment, his eyes returning to the solid crimson color they were before. He placed her down and moved away, silver chains rattling in the dark. "Ensure you have adequate sleep. Your training will begin once you wake up."
Sophia looked around the cave, trying to figure out if he expected her to just sleep in the sand. Adrenaline still pumped through her veins from the scare he gave her and now he expected her to sleep? The unnerving trick of his eyes shocked her into alertness. Sleep would elude her until her heart stopped racing. Sophia jogged over to the far end of the enclosed space where the trees were. Healthy grass formed underneath the partial canopy of the tall trees. The health of them confused her. Without an opening in the cave ceiling, how did they stay alive without rain?
A question for Eli some other time. An optimistic thought of fruit trees crossed her mind; Sophia would check later. A blanket of exhaustion washed over her as she laid down at the base of one of the thick trees.
Maybe I'll wake up and this will all be a dream, Sophia thought. I probably hit my head on a rock or something and knocked myself out during our hunt in the Forbidden Forest. I'll wake up and laugh at how crazy this whole thing is.
Sophia threw an arm over her eyes and closed them, hoping she'd wake to find a better scenario.
Eli gazed over at the first human he had seen in a hundred years. Such a strange girl and borderline irritating. He understood the fear of death caused a person to panic, but her timid spirit vexed him. Why didn't he kill her straight away like with the others who came stumbling into his prison? When her small personality shifted to outspoken, it puzzled him further. Did she not realize her life related to the fragile light of a small candle compared to his power?
She harbored courage or idiocy.
The way she talked about mastering magic use brought a sense of curiosity. It was dangerous to place faith in this girl, but what would it hurt? Eli did not believe this young woman possessed the talent to undo the curse of that queen. Still, it would get the royalty’s attention. Toleration may prove hard after many decades alone; only time would tell.
The use of magic had dwindled to nothing as time passed judging from the Knights who hiked into his cave. At first, people who came in contact with him used their hidden magic power and pushed their magic channel to the limit to fight for their lives. In the last hundred years, no one tried to use it and they did not have unlocked that hidden magic ability. The possibility of gaining that hidden magic without training existed in rare conditions. Sophia's magic channel levels passed the stage of unlocking, a remarkable feat without training.
Eli laid his head down on his claws. He never noticed any so abstract or vivid eyes like hers on another person before. Their hue mirrored the sands in the dark; not quite a common find in Laera in the past but the word brown too plain as a description. Men alone traveled into his clutches over the years. Sophia had the misfortune to be the first female in his realm.
Did that play a part in why he hesitated to kill her and entertained the ridiculous idea of her freeing him from his bondage? The last woman he saw held responsibility for his chains and dragon appearance, forever cursed with immortality and the odor of charred flesh in his nostrils. This reminder of his predicament brought a realization: a hint of jasmine reached his senses when Sophia invaded his vicinity. Such an intoxicating aroma, something that heightened his awareness and cleared his mind. Within the short time of their encounter, Sophia caused several impossible feats without trying.
The dragon raised his head when he heard her tired groan and witnessed her sit up. Her gaze turned to him and she said, "I can't sleep comfortably when I'm hungry."
"Then feed yourself from the pond," was his simple response. "You will need energy for when you begin your training."
The girl frowned at him. "Do you expect me to catch them with my bare hands?"
Such audacity speaking to him as if they were equals. Eli might kill her before she strengthened her magic abilities. However, trying to catch fish without a pole could prove fruitless. It required skills she did not possess. The trees she yelled at him from harbored fruit; however, she needed protein for the intense work needed before sleep. The sugary fruit may do more harm than good. He would let her find those herself as punishment for such a sour attitude. To save himself a headache, Eli rose to his feet and moved towards the exit. Sophia's eyes widened in astonishment.
"What are you doing?! I thought the chains didn't allow you free movement!"
She scooted back, trying to get out of his range. Sophia's reaction satisfied Elijah; it showed that he still had the fear factor to use over her.
"My chains can restrict my movement when Gaea decides it is necessary," he answered, moving past the frightened female.
"Gaea?"
Eli turned his head to look at her when he reached the cave entrance. "The one who cursed me."
Sophia got to her feet and walked up beside him. "So, um... what happened? Did you actually destroy your entire family?"
"Yes."
A painful twinge pricked her chest at those words. "Even... your parents?"
Eli brought his tail around and hovered it above the water just to the right of the waterfall. "All of them."
She lowered her head, chocolate brown bangs covering her eyes. "How could you do that?" she whispered.
Eli's tail shot into the water like a spear and when he pulled it out, a nice-sized fish wriggled on the tip. He moved it closer and shook the flopping fish onto the warm cave floor. Rock laid on the side of the waterfall instead of sand like in front of the pond. "They needed to die for their insolence."
Sophia couldn't believe her ears. How could anyone say that about their family? They were the ones who loved her the most no matter what she did. They stood by Sophia's side, protected her as she grew. Mother consoled her during the heartbreaks of her teenage years. Father was always there to pick her up when she fell and encouraged her to try again. Sophia didn't know what it meant to have siblings, but she assumed a bond like that proved hard to break.
"You're a monster," she whispered.
Eli's gaze whipped to look at the brown-haired woman who spoke, those words echoing in his memory.
You're a monster!
"You're a monster!" "Iam," he echoed, turning around to face. He tried to force her to shy away with hostility looming towards her. "However, it is not your place to give your opinion on something that does not concern you. Even more so when you remain ignorant to the entire story." Sophia gazed up at the creature before her and a revelation glared back at him. The fear he desired lingered, but in the intense gaze, she gave defiance. Anger blazed in those deep jade pools. Tears trickled down her cheeks, and he observedher wipe them away with force. She didn’t take one step away. "I'd do anything to have my parents back," she growled. "I can't believe I'm helping someone like you get out of here. You... you deserve it!"
"Eli?" she asked curiously. "Is that you?" There was something in Eli’s red eyes that Sophia couldn’t grasp. He seemed to want to tell her something but he chose not to. Instead, he said, "Yes. This is my original form.” Sophia failed to formulate another sentence. Eli’s human form took her by surprise. The longer she gazed at him, the more describing him as handsome sounded obsolete. His raven black hair reached his shoulders in a messy nest and he had that seemingly perfect sculpted face that Sophia only saw in magazines back in her apartment. And his voice… it was not the same booming, bass voice when he was in his dragon form. Instead, it was in a baritone and manly tone of voice. Her heart fluttered in her chest and her stomach tried to tie itself in knots. Sophia had never seen a more attractive man in her life and her cheeks heated up against her will. How could she focus on him in this form? Sophia understood she was acting like a love-struck
Jennifer sat in class biting her manicured nails out of nervousness, her foot tapping against the cool tile in a rhythmic pattern. She needed out of this room; her worry for Sophia prevented her from focusing on whatever their mentor droned on about. Two weeks passed since their idiotic trip to the Forbidden Forest in search of a dragon. When she and Caiden noticed Sophia hadn't caught up, they back-tracked and found no trace of their friend. There were footprints embedded in the muddied forest floor, but they led to a solid rock wall. No other clues existed to pinpoint her location. It was like the Forbidden Forest swallowed her. Jennifer wrapped her arms around her body after an unpleasant shiver crawled up her spine. The footprints vanished as if something swooped out of the sky and hauled her away. Jennifer switched to a different nail after gnawing the current to oblivion. She tried to focus on the major’s debriefing again, but his voice faded out when h
Sophia resurfaced from underneath the crystal-clear pond. She flipped her darkened brown locks over her head and hooked stray strands of hair behind her ears. A bath was just what she needed. Although Sophia grew accustomed to the humid atmosphere of the cave, all the extra training made her sticky and gross. However, she had long since outgrown her despair over not having things like clean clothes, comb, and personal necessities. Still, she was more than ready to take a scalding hot shower and maybe comb her hair that grew wild and uncontrollable. Thank the heavens, she knew a magic art to prevent her monthly visits. Sophia didn't want to think about the bathroom situation in the vast cave either. She cringed when it crossed her mind. Sophia swam in slow languid strokes to a flat rock surface where her clothes lay. It was located out of Eli's line of vision. Although he was a dragon, when the two of them were not in the Void, he was still a male and she was uncomfor
Sophia had got the hang of using her magic andhand signals in tandem after many failed attempts. She was only moments away from freeing Elijah. Her heart was pounding with anticipation, her hands wereclammy, and there was a bead of sweat trickling down the side of her face. The young woman reached up and twisted her wavy brown locks around her finger. After Gaea visited her in her dream, she knew something was about to happen... somethingserious. She hinted to her that someone Elijah knew of was coming for him. Bane of the Dragons… She knew the dragons were their arch-nemesis. But the dragons haven’t even tried to invade them for so many years now, so why are they going to war with the Dragonae Kingdom? So many questions were wracking her brain. She thought about sharing the dream she had with Elijah or telling him she already knew his name. He deserved to know what would happen. She cared about his wellbeing and the young woman couldn't li
When Sophia had gotten back to the Knights Association, she realized she made quite a fuss... indirectly. Her teammates, even her mentor, asked her what had happened. She made an excuse of getting lost in the forest, wandering in the jungle for a month before she finally got seen by some Higher Knights in patrol. She admitted it was a good excuse as the way she looked was really out of the jungle. Her hair was unkempt and her clothes were all tattered and dirty. She was somehow thankful for Elijah's help with tearing her clothes just like a month would tear it a little bit while on the run. Elijah... After such an intense kiss, Elijah had brought them back to the cave and set her up for her new mission. "Never trust anyone from the Knights Association." She had looked at her teammates after she told them a revision of her story and noted how innocent they looked. Even Zain Anderson whom she knew wasn't much of a showy of his emotions looked b
Her hyperactive teammate sulked as he furiously scrubbed at the dish in his hands. Sophia couldn’t blame him. She thought it was unbearably unfair to promise washing dishes to be the coolest mission they could do, but it was even more so because they were at Leon's favorite restaurant in the city. Leon complained about cleaning dishes, “There shouldn’t be anything left in the bowls. This is the food of the gods." "You were just being sulky for not being allowed to eat any of your favorite noodles while on the mission," Zain deadpanned as he passed him a bowl. After that Leon got all gloomy and silent, mumbling under his breath. Although he did start washing at a much faster pace. She and Zain were hard-pressed to keep up with him. She was willing to admit to herself that she was surprised by both boys' work ethic. With Leon being the loud, boisterous person he was and Zain with his ‘I’m an Anderson. You are beneath me’ attitude, Sophi
The brunette was starting to wonder if Major Dylan examined every possible D-Class mission the King had to offer in hopes of finding the most insane and boring ones he could to annoy his team with as she returned scrolls to their correct shelves. Every mission can be classified as S to E-Class, with S being the most high-end missions that consist of fighting dragons and being the heroes of the kingdom of Laera and E-Class as being the most beginner as one could get. And Team Dylan was currently in the library for a D-Class mission. Their mission was to work as the librarian’s assistants. Sophia’s task was to return checked-in books and scrolls to the right place according to some crazy and confusing filing system, dusting the shelves as she went. Leon was working behind the desk, it being the place where he could cause the least amount of damage or trouble. Zain sat behind the help desk. He was supposed to be helping with questions asked or directing a visito