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"I'm not saying that he will, Scar. I'm just saying that we have to be prepared just in case. We can't let our guard down. It is too dangerous to take any chances."

Scarlett nodded her head and I hoped she understood that I only wanted to keep her safe. She raised a delicate hand to her pouty lips as she tried to hold back her tears. After years of being sheltered from the world, she was finally seeing the ugliness in it. It saddened me to watch her, knowing how scared she must have been.

I wrapped my arms around her to comfort her.

"It's going to be alright," I said softly, hoping I was right. It took her a moment before she relaxed into my hold. When she spoke up again, I could hear the fear in her voice.

"You don't know that," she whispered. I squeezed her gently and kissed the top of her head, knowing she needed reassurance.

"Don't worry, Scar. Everything's going to be alright."

And as I spoke those words, they felt empty. My heart ached and I wondered why. Why did I believe that things were ever going to get better? That they were going to end well, one day? I knew I couldn't change what happened, but perhaps I was still naive enough to hope for something different. And yet... and yet my chest still hurt. What kind of promise was that? It wasn't real. The best way to describe it would be 'fake' in every sense of the word.

“What are we going to do now?" She asked quietly. I pulled her tighter against me, wishing I could make all these worries go away.

"We'll deal with whatever comes when it comes," I reassured her, but I didn't believe that myself. Not even for a second. I wished there was some sort of magic trick to put an end to all these troubles. Something that would fix everything that was wrong. But even if there were some such thing, I had no idea if it would work.

I sighed, feeling helpless. If there was anything I had learnt over the years, it was never to doubt your powers or your ability. In fact, I had taken that philosophy very seriously. But when things went wrong, not doubting yourself became much more difficult than it had ever been before. I couldn't afford to lose faith anymore. So, I made sure of that.

Sometimes, though, it was hard to remind myself of it. To remind myself that everything that could go wrong would happen someday, sooner rather than later. Like when the whole world goes dark, like when people start talking about war without even realizing what war really means. Or when the sky turns black, and you suddenly find yourself surrounded by enemies and monsters. Those were the times when the doubts started to creep in. Because once you start questioning whether or not you actually have any powers or whether you aren't just messing with someone else's life, it becomes harder to see things the way you used to. To make things seem so simple.

But I pushed those thoughts aside. I had to. For Scarlett's sake.

She deserved that. No matter how bad things might become, other things mattered more to her. Like the way she loved. Like how she always thought of everyone else first, even if it killed her sometimes. The way she cared so deeply and honestly about every single thing she touched. And maybe most of all, like how she gave her all to protect the ones closest to her.

So that was why I forced my thoughts into the background, ignoring the darkness lurking just out of reach. Because I knew that it would just mess with my mind more than it already had. And that was something I was afraid of.

Chapter Seventeen

Scarlett

The night was dragging on too slowly for me as I watched the rain outside. Another day had passed without getting any closer to finding my father and I was starting to lose hope that I would find him in time. All I could do now was wait, but it seemed like a never-ending wait. I tried to distract myself by going through everything we had been learning about dark dragons and Shadow Crest

The more I learned, the less confident I felt about how much of an advantage I might have against them. They were dragons just like me, but they were also supposed to be stronger than me. That meant that whatever I did wouldn't matter if they were able to outmatch me physically. It didn't help that there hadn't been very much written about dark dragons or even about the queen. There was little information I could share with them on the subject.

I sighed. This whole situation was making me feel completely useless and I couldn't stand feeling this way. I started to wonder whether it was time to prove myself to them or let them continue to think I was weak.

"Are you alright? You seem a little down."

I jumped at the sudden intrusion into my thoughts and looked up at Grayson. He was sitting next to me, watching the rain fall against the window with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You're looking kind of gloomy," he said with a small smile on his face. "You want to talk about it?"

I shook my head and stared back out the window. After a few minutes, he gave up and went to bed, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I hadn't been able to shake the feeling of dread that had been plaguing me all day long. It had me worried and unable to concentrate.

I tried to focus on anything else. I watched the trees as they swayed in the breeze. The sound of the tree limbs hitting the side of the house kept me awake and listening for danger. I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. It only intensified as the night went on. Grayson's words kept running through my head, making me question my faith in Drako. The uncertainty left me feeling uneasy and unsure of what to do next.

By midnight, Drako still hadn't returned, and I was starting to get worried. I was hit with an overwhelming feeling that something bad was about to happen. Out of the window, I saw a dragon flying in our direction. He had bright blue scales and wings, and he was heading straight for the house. I scrambled to my feet and tried to find Grayson so I could warn him.But I couldn't see him anywhere inside or outside. I looked back to the sky to see where the dragon had gone.

And there he was! Coming right at me with his tail outstretched!! As soon as he reached me, he tried to dig his talons into my chest. I shrieked and grabbed onto the front of the dragon’s neck, trying to keep him from sinking his teeth in me. The dragon snarled and began shaking me off its back. My hands slipped and fell to my sides as I tried, again and again, to hold on but I kept losing my grip...I could hear footsteps coming closer but couldn't find it in myself to look up as the dragon continued trying to shake me off its back. Suddenly, I felt myself being picked up like a small child. I heard the dragon's loud screech before he was launched toward the edge of the forest.

I clung to the person tightly, not wanting to go down with him. They held me close to their chest, gently stroking my hair. After a few moments of this, they spoke.

"It's okay, you're safe now." I heard Grayson say as he carried me to the attic. I buried my face in the crook of his shoulder and nodded, too afraid to open my eyes. He put me down on an old bed frame and sat down beside me. He wrapped both his arms around me, rubbing my back and kissing my head repeatedly.

"Shhh, shhh...You don't need to be scared anymore. You're alright now." He whispered in a soothing tone before planting kisses all over my face and neck. His lips were warm and soft against my skin. I giggled and closed my eyes, enjoying his touch. Grayson chuckled softly.

"Are you still scared?" I nodded. I didn't want to let go of Grayson, because then if we got separated, I might never see him again. Grayson sighed quietly before placing one last kiss on my forehead, then he stood up and walked to the door.

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