Chapter 134

Anila’s POV

“Holy fuck,” Zach breathed, pushing me the rest of the way into the room and shutting the door behind us. The window was wide open, so I knew the dragon didn’t just walk in through the door.

I was too frozen to say or do anything except gawk at the big dragon that sat in the middle of the dormitory. Sage and Becca were on the couch while Sadie and Sally were across the living room, staring at the dragon with big and worried eyes. Penny was the only one who didn’t seem afraid; she was standing closer to the dragon, and she looked a bit sheepish.

“I can’t believe you let that thing in here,” Sally said, hiding behind her twin.

Penny frowned and folded her arms across her chest.

“She was wandering around outside. What was I supposed to do? Let her get hurt? The hunters wouldn’t let her live if they found her.”

“Why do we care what happens to a dragon, Pen?” Sally asked, her frown deepening as she glared at Penny from across the room. “She’s a freaking dragon!”

“And she’s harmless. She’s been here for like an hour and she hasn’t hurt anyone. Right?” Penny countered, raising her brows.

“That’s not really the point,” Becca said, standing to her feet. “The point is, having a dragon here is dangerous, not only for her but for us too. They are forbidden creatures for a reason. We could get expelled.”

Penny opened her mouth to say something, but Zach interrupted their bickering.

“Want to tell us why there is a dragon in the middle of the dorm?” He asked, staring at the ladies who looked amongst one another, none of them speaking.

Zach let out a low and annoyed growl as he turned his attention to Penny.

“You,” he said, pointing at her. “Owl girl. Start talking.”

Penny pressed her lips in a thin line.

“I don’t appreciate that nickname,” she murmured.

“I don’t care,” he shot back. “Tell us why there is a dragon in here.”

“I heard her outside the window. It sounded like she was trying to knock on the window. When I saw her, she looked desperate to come in, so I opened the window and here we are,” Penny explained, glancing up at the dragon.

I noticed the dragon’s eyes were familiar and they were pouring into me like she wanted to say something. During my time with Jaxon, I’ve gotten used to the idea of dragons and I knew they weren’t truly dangerous like everyone though. It was more shocking to see a full-sized dragon… yet still not as big as some of the others, in the middle of the dorm while everyone else slept.

Becca was right, if we were found out… if this dragon was spotted in here, we could all get expelled.

This wasn’t a good situation, but I had a knot in the middle of my belly. Why would this dragon be here? What was wrong?

And most importantly, where was Jaxon?

I stepped towards the dragon.

“What are you doing?” Zach asked, aiming to grab my arm, but I pulled away from him and continued my way towards the dragon who was pouring her gaze into mine. “She’s a dragon and dangerous, Anila. Don’t be stupid,” he scolded.

Ignoring him, I reached my hand out to touch the dragon on her head and the second my fingers touched her scaly skin, images of the baby dragon came into view. It was like pictures that went across my mind, playing a movie and keeping me paralyzed until it was over.

I pulled back and stared up at the dragon, my mouth gawking at her incredible size, still not sure how it was possible.

“Ember?” I whispered.

The dragon closed her eyes and pressed her head against mine, my question was answered immediately.

Holy hell!

“What the…” I started to say my eyes wide as I stared up at her. “Y…you’re huge!”

“Who is Ember?” Penny asked, raising her brows.

“That baby dragon that I found in the woods that one time,” I told her. “Remember I tried to hide her?”

Penny chuckled and nodded.

“Yeah, and she nearly burned down the school,” Penny said, but then her eyes grew wide. “Are you saying that this is that baby dragon? That wasn’t even that long ago. How could she be this big already?”

I had no words because I too wasn’t sure how it was possible. I just left Dragon Valley last week and she was still a baby at that point.

“I hear that dragons grow fast,” Zach said, reminding me of what Jaxon had once said to me.

I nodded as I ran my fingers down Ember’s neck, her scales tickling the palms of my hands.

“Ember, it’s too dangerous for you to be here. Why are you here?” I asked her, not sure if she was able to tell me or not… but maybe she could show me.

On cue, more images flashed through my mind. I saw Ember in the dragon stables with her mother. Ember had grown drastically since the last time I saw her, and they were both sleeping. But then something happened, and it made my heart stutter to watch it happen.

Ember’s mother opened her eyes, and they were completely red. It was as if there was no humanity left in her; she was moved like a robotic zombie. She stood and started to walk out of the stables. Ember also woke, but her eyes were normal as she followed her mother curiously out of the stables.

More dragons came out of the stables as well, their eyes also red. Ember was the only one who didn’t have red eyes.

I saw as the stable staff noticed something strange was happening and she tried to get them to return to the stables.

But something was wrong with them; they weren’t the same dragons I had come to know. They turned on her completely. One of them ripped her head off and I couldn’t help but scream as I ripped my hand away from Ember, stumbling backwards and into Zach who caught me with ease.

“What was it? What did you see?” He asked.

“They killed her,” I said, my eyes filling with tears. “But why?”

Ember had the look of pure remorse in her eyes as she lowered her head and stared at the ground. She couldn’t speak, but her emotions were clear, and it tugged at my heart.

I reached my hand out again to touch her, I needed more answers, but Zach grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.

“That’s not a good idea,” he told me. “You don’t know if she’s showing you the truth or if it’s part of some big plan. She could be working for someone.”

I pulled my hand away from him and folded my arms across my chest.

“Ember wouldn’t do that to me. I trust her,” I said firmly, narrowing my eyes.

“How do you know that?” Zach asked a bite in his words. It was clear he didn’t want any part of the dragon aspect, and it was infuriating.

I pressed my finger to his chest and stepped towards him.

“You need to start getting on board with this side of me, Zach. I am a dragon master… I am supposedly some kind of queen, and the dragons aren’t as bad as most think. Jaxon is my mate just like you are… if you don’t like it, then leave and let me deal with this on my own. Clearly, Ember came here to tell me something and I need to listen to her.”

Zach’s jaw tightened as he fought to keep himself under control. He stared down at me, his brows twitching and his nostrils flaring. He was pissed, that much was clear.

“This thing could turn on you in a second,” he said through his teeth.

“She would never,” I said adamantly. “As I said, you are free to leave any time.”

“I’m not leaving you,” he replied, shaking his head stubbornly.

“Then stay out of my way,” I said in return, turning away from him and going towards Ember who was still watching me.

Taking in a deep breath I ran my hands down her nose.

“Tell me more,” I whispered. “What happened to the other dragons? What happened to Jaxon?”

She closed her eyes and soon, more pictures flashed through my head. I watched the dragons burn Dravon Valley until they found a way out of the ground. They were desperate to get out. Ember was the only one who wasn’t affected by whatever was going on. She looked terrified though and she tried to send out a warning cry, but it fell on deaf ears.

There was so much damage in Dragon Valley that it broke my heart in a second.

Angelica paused beside Ember; tears clear, in her eyes as she stared around all the damage.

“We need to get help,” she whispered. “Our King is gone… Anila is our last hope.” She then turned to Ember and touched her head gently. “Go find her. Tell her that the Alpha King is using the Dragon Stone. He has control over all our dragons. There is a war coming and it’s looking really bad.”

With that, Ember took off and went to find me immediately.

I pulled my hand back, letting out a breath of air as I processed what I had heard.

“What did you see?” Penny asked as Zach tried to keep me stable.

I looked at her and then at everyone else in the room.

“There’s a war,” I told them, my voice coming out grim. “And I think we are all in trouble.”