Chapter 88

Anila’s POV

By the time we reached the dorm castle, it was beyond crowded. Professors and advisors were ordering people down the stairs and into the basement. I looked up at Harley, confused as to why we were being forced into a basement.

“It’s a safe haven; they had it built in case of dragon attacks,” Harley explained.

I stepped closer to him, feeling much calmer with his presence nearby. Though, it did nothing to calm my tremoring heart.

“Harley, what if it’s my dragon?” I asked in a hushed whisper.

“First of all, it’s not your dragon, Anila. The dragon belongs to the dragon masters and dragon king. Secondly, dragons are dangerous, and we need to stay clear of them,” he told me, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me close to him.

I shook my head.

“I can’t just sit here and do nothing if it is my dragon,” I said, tears filling my eyes. “I need to protect her.”

“You need to protect yourself,” Harley said firmly. “I’m not letting you put yourself in danger like that.”

“Everybody needs to get into the basement where you’ll be safe!” Principal Rapport ordered.

I hadn’t even noticed he was there until he spoke. He wasn’t speaking directly to me though; he was speaking to everybody.

“There has been a dragon spotted in Stardust Valley and it has destroyed many territories and killed hundreds,” he continued to explain.

My heart fell deep into my stomach.

That didn’t sound like my dragon at all; she wouldn’t have done that. Would she?

But if it wasn’t her, that would mean another dragon was loose somewhere. Fear consumed me. Was this dragon in the same battle that Zach and Xaden were in? were they okay? Was that why Xaden hadn’t texted me back? Because he was injured by a dragon?

As the thoughts and fears clouded my mind, I felt Harley tugging me toward the stairwell that led to the safe haven. By the time we were downstairs, I heard my name and then Penny throwing her arms around me.

“I was worried you had disappeared again,” she said, her body trembling. “Do we know what’s going on?”

“There’s a dragon attack,” Harley told her. “But we don’t know anything more other than that. I’m going to see if I can lend a hand upstairs. Can you stay with Anila?”

I glanced up at him, my eyes wide.

“You are leaving?” I asked, my mouth practically dropping to the floor.

“I need to do what I can to help,” Harley said, placing his hands on my shoulders. “You will be safe here, I promise.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about, Harley. What about you?” I asked. “What will I do if something happens to you?”

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” he assured me, running his fingers down the length of my neck and causing a jolt of electricity to course throughout my body. But it felt amazing, and I had to fight not to lean into him. “It’s going to be okay. I promise. I’ll be back before you know it.”

I shook my head, not wanting him to be out of my sight.

He bent down and he kissed me. His kiss was passionate and hungry; my heart was beating rapidly against my ribcage as his tongue twirled around my mouth with my tongue. I moaned into him, leaning into him and wanting so much more.

“I love you, Anila,” he whispered against my lips. “I tried not to, but I can’t help it. I love you.”

Tears fell out of my eyes as I looked up at him.

“I love you too,” I spoke in a broken whisper.

He closed the gap between us and kissed me again. I never wanted this kiss to end; I wanted him. I wanted so much more of him, but then he pulled away.

“Just stay here and I’ll be back,” he assured me.

My head was still in a daze long after he left, taking my heart with him.

I’m not sure how long we’ve been sitting in the basement. They really did make a nice space down here; it wasn’t small, wet, and cramped like I was expecting out of a basement. It was completely finished and had all the essentials that we needed, a few bathrooms with showers.

“How long do you think we are going to be down here for?” Becca asked. We were curled up on one of the couches.

“It’s hard to tell,” Penny yawned. “I thought we’d be able to hear a dragon by now. But there’s nothing.”

“Maybe one of us should shift and try to sneak out,” Sage said, looking over at the twins who stared back at her with wide eyes.

“Just because we are small mice, doesn’t mean we are stupid,” Sally said, folding her arms across her chest.

“We would be dragon snacks,” said Sadie, shaking her head. “There’s no way.”

“I’ll do it,” Penny said, standing to her feet. “Most of the staff are up there anyways. They won’t notice one student going missing.”

I grabbed her arm to pull her back down to the couch.

“It’s too dangerous,” I told her. “Maybe I should go up there and find out for sure what’s going on.”

“Like they’d tell you,” Penny said.

“Well, we can’t just sit here and do nothing. I feel like it’s been hours.”

Before anyone could say anything else, I heard my name from the top of the stairwell. I rushed ot see who it was, others watching my back carefully.

“Anila?” I heard again.

I poked my head around the corner and peered upward to see Principal Rapport at the top of the stairs.

“Can you come here for a moment? We need to speak.”

My heart plummeted into my stomach. It was my baby dragon; it had to have been. That’s the only reason he would be calling me upstairs right now and have that expression on his face. With each step I took, the quicker my heart raced.

When I reached the top of the stairs and stepped into the student lounge area, I saw a few other staff members, including Kendra, seated, and looking majorly stressed.

“What’s going on?” I asked, looking around at all their upset expressions. The main thing I noticed was that Harley wasn’t among them. “Where’s Harley?”

“He had to leave,” Principal Rapport explained.

I snapped a look at him, my eyes large.

“Leave where?” I demanded to know a little harsher than intended.

“There was an accident, Anila. Something happened during the battle that he needed to go attend to,” Principal Rapport told me.

Panic consumed me and I thought I was going to get sick all over the place.

“Is it Zach or Xaden?” I asked, my voice coming out raspy and unrecognizable.

“How about you take a seat?” Principal Rapport suggested motioning for the nearby chairs.

I shook my head.

“Just tell me what’s going on, please,” I pleaded, I hated how desperate I sounded.

“This would be a lot easier if you sat down,” Principal Rapport said again, as he took a seat and then motioned for the other one.

I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sit still, but I wasn’t going to argue with him because I knew he wasn’t going to tell me until I did what he said. So, I sat down in the chair next to his, trying to steady my trembling body.

“What is going on….?” I asked again, trying to keep my tone calm.

“There was a dragon attack, Anila,” Principal Rapport started to explain, pausing as I let out the sob that I had been holding in. “I don’t have all of the details yet, that’s why Harley is going to find out for sure. But Xaden was attacked.”

“What?” I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands. I wasn’t sure that I heard him correctly. “What do you mean he was attacked? Is he okay?”

“I’ve been told the dragon’s tale scratched him pretty deeply,” Principal Rapport explained.

“But that’s okay though, right? They can stitch him up and he’ll be okay?” I knew he could hear the panic in my voice.

“Do you know what happens when a dragon’s tale scratches flesh, Anila?” Principal Rapport asked.

I shook my head, trying desperately to wipe away the tears that were collecting on my cheeks.

“No…” I admitted, unsure that I truly wanted to know.

“It puts them in a coma,” he said sadly, his voice lowering slightly. “It’s kind of like a sleeping curse.”

“A sleep curse?” I gasped. “What do you mean a sleep curse? He’s going to wake up, right?”

“Not unless there’s a cure for it,” he explained, shaking his head. I could see the sadness clear on his face and that made the knot in my stomach grow even more.

“A cure?” I asked, my voice coming out as nothing more than a squeak.

“There’s a legend that goes along with this sleep curse. If he doesn’t wake up in 2 weeks, his body will give out and he will die.”

“What?” I gasped; not sure I could take any more of this information. I just wanted to jump to my feet and run out of this building.

“Xaden is going to die in two weeks if he doesn’t wake up?” I asked.

“According to the legend yes. I’m not sure how true that is. But if that’s true, a cure would wake him.”

“And how do we find this cure?” I asked.

There was a pause where he thought about it before sighing and rubbing his hands over his face.

“It’s never been discovered.”