Starlight (The Dragonian Series Book 5) (54 page)

He was going to be reunited with my father again. I hoped I would get a chance to see it.

“Okay, so you know the plan, Dad,” Blake started again.

“Son,” Sir Robert looked at him. “I’ve been in two wars already, this will be my third. You on the other hand…”

“I’ve lived with war, father. Told you that many times, the worst kind there is. I’m not afraid.”

“I know,” he spoke. “Neither am I.”

They both smiled at one another.

At least he would be with Becky, George, Sammy and Dean. Helmet and Emanual were going a different route. Their mission was to kill Goran, together with King Caleb and his guards. I couldn’t help but think that their mission had some secret lingering around it. It was just a feeling I got each and every time Blake and I walked into a room. I guessed that they didn’t want to overpower us with information, since killing the Saadedine was our job.

But then again, King Helmut had sent Emanual in with ten troops trying to find something secretive for him. I wondered if it was linked to that.

Emanual and Blake started to tease one another as we took off our jackets.

“So, everyone ready?” I asked Sir Robert and King Helmut. King Caleb was not in the office anymore. I didn’t even see him leave.

Ever since he’d decided to fight with us, he didn’t stay in the same room as me or speak a single word to me. I was actually starting to miss his nasty comments.

I assumed he was scared that my father was still alive. I guessed he had plenty more to lose than just his life this time.

His title was at stake too, as my father could take it from him. It had been given to them, they weren’t royals by birth.

“They are all gathered, stationed and ready at the campsite in Areeth. We still need to send word to the lab that everything is on time.”

“How will that work? I mean, won’t the explosion just destroy everything.”

He smiled. “It’s way too technical, Princess. There are two actions that will take place. An action that will shoot the orbs from the bombs, which will drenched the roots with your blood formula. A few seconds later, the actual bombs go off, which will destroy the Creepers.”

“You sure it will work?”

“The scientists say it will, they have the proof, and the rest is left up to faith. You need to have that, Elena. Trust Blake like you’ve never trusted him before.”

I smiled. “I do.”

I could feel Blake’s eyes on me, but he didn’t look at me long.

When the SUV finally parked, it was almost time to take the rest of the mission’s members to the site stationed in Areeth. The ones that would play important roles. Sir Robert, George, Becky and a special ops team were going to free my father and his men, while Blake and I were going with another ops team, trying to find the Saadedine. Finally, Emanual’s group with the two royals would go another way.

I still wondered how on earth King Helmut and King Caleb were going to kill Goran. They were just as magical as him, but he was one of their men. I’d dreamt that, if it really had happened the way my dream had played it off, they were seriously hiding a lot, lying to all of us, and I still wondered who this Cooper and Marica were.

Did they really warn my father? None of them wanted to believe them the first time, so how on earth were they going to have the strength to kill him now. He was one of them and for all I knew they still saw him as one of them, just someone that had gotten lost.

They had a much bigger responsibility than Blake and I.

In a way I was so glad that I wasn’t going to meet him. To be face to face with the man that had destroyed my entire childhood, my parents, what they stood for… I knew I wouldn’t be able to control my anger, the way Blake had drilled it into me every time we would train. I wouldn’t make it.

Blake handed me my suit. I just looked at it. It was the most beautiful white I had ever seen, much better than the black.

He gave me a quick kiss on the temple as he passed and left the room.

“You coming?” Becky asked with her suit in her hand.

I nodded.

Inside the bathroom, I really didn’t want to put it on. It was going to make everything real. My hand trembled slightly. I could die in this suit if I didn’t find the missing ingredient in time. The way Becky believed I would.

“Elena,” Becky found me sitting on the bench in the woman’s locker room. I looked at her.

“You need to put on the suit. It isn’t black. It’s white. It’s light, the color of life, not death.”

I smiled at her and started to strip down.

When I was finally done, I saw my figure in the mirror. I looked like one of the ops guys. Brave, fierce, bold.
Then why was I so fucking scared…

I took a deep breath to calm my beating heart and went to the door.

This is it. Just stay alive, Elena.

BLAKE LOOKED LIKE someone who was going to fight a war in space and he was ready for it.

His suit looked slightly different than mine. He was wearing special kind of shoes, with white pants and a white vest that showed off his mark.

I didn’t like that, as it was also his giveaway.

He tugged at the pants. “I feel like I just joined a boy band.”

I laughed. “You are in a boy band.”

“Not what I meant,” he said. He looked at me and it was as if he could read my mind again. “We’ve been through this before,” he touched my face. “Nothing is going to go wrong.”

I nodded.

“Did you get everything we need?”

He lifted up some of the flaps in his vest. Each pocket carried some sort of gun or some sort of bullet with different colored serums. “We are prepared Elena. He will go down and we are going to kill this son of a bitch.”

I nodded.

“Now give me your hand.” I did as he asked and he took out my glove from his left pocket. They were my gloves for my axes.

He put them on and kissed the jewel on top. He repeated this action with the other one.

I wanted to cry and for some reason I felt like the tears were close by for him too. Silence lingered for a few seconds. Blake didn’t even look at me.

“You need to breathe, Elena.” He finally spoke and I looked up. “It’s all you have to do today, okay?”

I nodded. “You too.” I sighed and grabbed him around his waist.
Don’t cry, he is not going to die, and you aren’t either.
You will find the missing ingredient.
The Saadedine was going to die, not us.

“It’s time,” Emanual’s voice said and I opened my eyes and let go of Blake.

He grabbed my hand tightly in his and led the way.

This was it, we were going to meet the others that were stationed close to Areeth.

I climbed into the SUV that carried Emanual and King Helmut.

Sir Robert was going with Becky and the other SUV would bring King Caleb and a couple more guards.

We drove to the elevator at a small port. Many people waited for us, some cried, plenty prayed and we all took it in as we entered the elevators.

You can do this Elena. You are trained well, trust your reflexes, trust your instincts.

We found a small gathering at Areeth too. We took the elevator that went to David’s place as they’d made camp close by.

Constance and Annie were among them with Connie, Gertrude, David and Charles.

I ran over to Constance and Annie and just hugged them.

“You are going to be fine. Trust Blake, Elena. He will never let anything happen to you.”

“Becky!” I heard Lucille’s voice and couldn’t even look at her.

Constance saw it and pulled my chin back to meet her gaze. “She is fine, just a bit overwhelmed. She isn’t angry, Elena. It’s a big day for her.”

I nodded.

“I love you Constance.” I hugged her again. “You were like the mother I never had.”

“And you, the daughter I missed so much.” She kissed me on my head and sniffed. “Trust Blake.”

I nodded again and saw Blake hugging his mom. Sir Robert was also there.

It only hit me now that her entire family was going to fight this war and she had to sit on the sidelines and watch.

Sammy was crushed in between Blake and Isabel. They just had to make it. They had no choice.

Annie was next. “You make sure that thing is dead, Elena, you hear? You can do it. I know you can. You and Plucky.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. My eyes were thick with tears, but I laughed.

“Come here.” I hugged her even tighter. “I am going to see you again. I know I will.”

“Of course you will.” She sounded so sure of herself. “I know you will.”

I hugged both of them again, and when we broke, Queen Marguerite was there too. She gave me a kiss on my temple and hugged me too.

“I’ve buried too many young children, Elena. Promise me I won’t have to attend your funeral too.”

“I promise,” I said, even though I knew that I couldn’t really make such a promise.

She found King Helmut and he put his arms around her. He wielded his shield immediately and I could see her laughing but couldn’t hear a word he was saying.

Isabel came over and hugged me too. “Just don’t you dare die, please,” she begged.

“I am not planning to,” I said and hugged her tighter.

I found Lucille’s eyes on me as she just held Becky tight, and to my surprise she let one of her arms open up and Isabel nodded for me to go.

I ran to her and hugged her tightly. “I’m so sorry that I withheld that from you.”

“Don’t be. It’s all good. You two must just breathe, okay.”

We both nodded.

“Love you, Mom.”

“Love you more,” both of them said with tears in their eyes.

“We have to go,” Becky said and she hugged Lucille one more time. “You are the best mom ever.”

“Don’t you dare say your goodbyes Rebecca Johnson. You get to your father and you come straight home, you hear?”

She nodded.

“Promise me.”

“I promise, Mom.”

She wiped Becky’s tear, something she almost never did and wiped her own.

“See you soon.”

“You bet.” Becky gave her a beautiful smile.

She walked over to George.

“And remember what we spoke about George!” Lucille yelled.

“With my dying breath!” George yelled back.

“It’s not funny,” Becky slapped him real hard and he laughed, rubbing the spot on his arm that connected with her fist.

We said goodbye to so many people. Connie, Gertrude, David, all of them. Even Charles. Some of those we brought back were going to fight too. Fight to end their fear, for revenge and to get their farms back.

Four SUVs were waiting for us and we filled them up one by one quickly.

Blake and I grabbed one with Sammy, Dean, Sir Robert, King Helmut and Emanual.

He took the driver’s seat and one by one we pulled off.

I stared at all the people who had come here today to bid us farewell and good wishes.

They all waved their flags and when they finally disappeared it felt as if I could breathe again.

I really wanted to see them all again but I wanted it at no cost. I wanted Blake next to me, alive and not in some stupid coffin that was going to disappear into the water.

If not, then there would have to be two of those coffins.

When Emanual reached the top, both Blake and my eyes grew.

Goosebumps flushed my skin. Before us was a sea of warriors, ready. Dragons, and their riders, shifters, already in their true form, foot soldiers, and many Metallic dragons. Fin-Tails to be precise. “They came back,” I spoke softly.

“Most of them came back, Elena. We got the call from the port that the Wall was creating some sort of glitch as they flew in colonies to get here.” King Helmut turned around and I could see the emotion in his eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“So that we could see the looks on both your faces.”

“Close your mouth, Blake. The dragon war had many more dragons than this,” Emanual chirped from the front and Sir Robert laughed.

“Those were the days.”

King Helmut slapped him on the arm. “Will be again, Sir Robert.”

He laughed at that and watched out his window. Sighing. He was going to see my father real soon.

The SUV stopped and someone was already addressing them over a mic. It was someone I’d never seen before.

Then Blake got out and the entire crowd started to cheer.

I couldn’t see what he did as I was still inside the SUV.

I took a deep breath and climbed out the same time King Helmut did.

He was wearing a completely different outfit and had shaved his mustache. Why, well, I didn’t ask. Probably war reasons.

He looked so different.

Everyone bowed when they saw him and we walked up the podium.

King Helmut addressed them first. He spoke about my dad, spoke about the gratitude he was feeling that they had all come to fight, to free Etan. He promised that Goran would die and everyone cheered again.

The side of my lips curled, knowing that Goran had no idea what was coming for him. I looked at Blake; he didn’t share my emotion. What was going through his mind? Had a part of him looked forward to having Goran as his rider?

I swallowed hard.

Blake spoke next.

“Today all of us come together. Human, dragon, shifter, to face the greatest threat to our peace we have ever known. Today is the day we say NO MORE!” At this a cheer rippled over the crowd.

“We stand here not divided by our differences but bound by our desire to free those who have been enslaved, fix those who have been broken and take our revenge on those who are guilty.”

As he spoke his voice began to change, sending a sea of goosebumps rushing over my skin.

“I won’t lie to you, many of us won’t make it back, but I swear to you your sacrifice will not be in vain. Standing together as one we will free our fallen brothers and sisters. We will free Etan!”

As he said those words he let out a shout that echoed in the soul of every person listening.

Then the entire crowd went crazy as he exploded into his dragon form. He was a mixture of purple, red and white. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

Becky and George cheered the loudest, even Sammy joined in as he flew into the air.

It riled them up.

Dragons growled like I never heard them growl before. It wasn’t scary, it was fierce.

The other animals all made their sounds, and the riders screamed for war.

They were ready.

Blake prepared to land and I couldn’t help but stare at him.

The suit covered his face and his entire body, paws, everything. It looked stunning.

He looked majestic, and I’d never felt so proud to know he was my dragon. The dragon that would give me the moon and stars, the dragon that would love me forever no matter what today’s outcome was.

To me, that was enough.

I didn’t need to know what the stupid Dent was all about, he’d showed it to me the past few months through all the little things he did. A spell couldn’t do that, it just wasn’t that powerful.

It has to be real, it was real.

He moved toward me and transformed back into his human form as he reached the steps.

The white suit ran like a gel over his perfectly sculpted body and then grew back to the ops suit that was made just for him. He kissed me fiercely and smiled as everyone cheered again.

“You like my display?” he asked and I laughed.

“It was totally frawsome.”

He laughed. “Let me guess, fucking awesome.”

“Whatever you say.”

I kissed him one more time.
Remember this kiss Elena, in case it is
the last one.

We went in at five that afternoon. It was night time, early morning hours in Etan.

I took King Helmut and Emanual through and they waited for King Caleb and his guards.

All of them sucked in a breath as this was the first time they’d seen Etan after so many years.

Their entire group was here, and I knew the minute I went back for the others they would be gone. This was it as I said my farewell to them.

I grabbed King Helmut around his chest. “Thank you for everything,” I said.

“This isn’t goodbye, Elena. You will see your father alive. That is my promise.”

I nodded.

Emanual hugged me next. “Take care of Blake, Elena, and please just make sure your heart is beating at the end of this.”