Once upon a Dragon Gift (Once Upon a Dragon Series Book 4)
Once upon a Dragon Gift: Chapter 15

Arianna was busy doing a scrying spell when the jolt came.

I doubled over and grunted.

“Blake!” Lu was at my side.

“Elena,” I muttered. “She is summoning her fire.”

“What?” King Albert asked.

I grunted again.

“Release it, Blake,” Dad instructed, and I let go.

Sparkles came again.

“Jose,” I yelled.

He was right there, his hands twirling, and it was as if he’d assisted Micha with her portal. He spoke a retrieving spell, and she flew from the hole.

I got ready to step through, but it just disappeared.

“No, no, no!” I shouted. “Jose!”

“It’s not my portal!” Jose remarked, as if I should know what he meant. “You are safe, Micha.”

“Where is Elena?” I yelled and growled again.

“Connect with her,” Adolph was right in front of me, “Deep breathes and connect, Blake.”

I closed my eyes. “Elena!” I heard her grunts, just grunting.

“What is she saying?”

“Nothing. It’s just grunts.”

“It’s a spell. Goran must have used one of the occlude spells,” Adolph explained.

I grunted and push through.

“Blake, you can’t—”

“I’m the Rubicon. Nobody tells me what I can’t.”

I asked for her location. Still nothing.

I could feel the effect of this one through our bond. It was locking everything I was in place, even my thoughts.

“What is happening to him?” Arianna asked.

“It’s the spell that Goran has placed on Elena. He is busy experiencing it through the connection. You need to break connection, Blake.”

“Never,” I mumbled.

“Conjuulsis Dracenim,” Goran said.

“Noooo!” At once the spell released me. I growled, but could breathe fire.

“What happened?”

“He used a disconnect spell.” I stood up and rushed out of my room. Grunting and growling down the hallway.

“Blake, calm down.” Lu was right behind me. He grabbed me and tried to ground me by putting his head against mine. “Deep breathes. Calm down.”

“I can’t do this anymore, Lu. I need to find her.” I didn’t even sound like myself anymore.

Tears glistened in Lu’s eyes. “We will find her. I promise, we will find her.”

Voices came from Micha’s room.

I found my balance pretty fast and rushed to her door.

Her sobs reached my ears, and as I entered, Jose had her in his arms.

Adolph entered with the king right after me.

“What have they done to you?” Jose asked.

“Micha, child,” Adolph said and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing Jose with Micha in his arms. The old man smoothed Micha’s hair.

“Elena,” she spoke through sobs. “She remembered and came to save me. He was too fast. I should’ve heard him.” She sounded so tired.

It felt as if my heart fell into my gut.

“Where are they?” King Albert asked.

“Albert, please. Give her time,” Adolph begged.

“Micha,” Jose requested. Her cries were barely audible as she fell asleep.

Tears lodged in the king’s eyes, and I wiped the ones from mine.

“She is safe,” Adolph said and looked at Jose. “Did you get the location?”

“It was too fast,” Jose replied, “but it was in the direction of Tith and Areeth.”

I didn’t know that they could do that, and I didn’t think. I just ran to the window.

“Blake!” my father yelled as I jumped out. Brian was behind me and so was George.

“Tabitha!” Lu yelled, and it wasn’t long when they’d caught up with Brian and George. Brit and Brooke were the only two riders not with us.

We searched in the direction between Tith and Areeth, but couldn’t find a damn fucking thing. I kept on trying to connect with Elena, but there was nothing. It was silent again. What did it mean? Was he going to kill her? Did he kill her? My mind couldn’t function thinking that, and I pushed it back.

When the sun came up, Jose’s circle appeared mid-air.

Part of a room was behind him. “Come back. Micha is awake.”

We flew back to Etan as our dragon forms were too big to step through Jose’s portal. I landed with a rumble and changed back immediately into my human form.

I yanked open the door and grabbed a robe, swinging it mid-step around my body. It fell to my ankles as I ran down the stairs three at a time.

Jose waited in the hallway, and he pointed into the room where Micha slept.

She laid on the bed. Covers covering to mid-chest. Her one eye had a white patch over it, and she had a few bandages across her ribs and arm. Probably a spell that had gone wrong. Her lips were bruised.

Adolph spoke softly to her. She laughed tiredly, but then her lower lip vibrated. “I’m so sorry, Blake.”

“What happened?”

“She remembered me, came for me. The spell Goran had placed her under broke because the dragon that lingered in her had died when you claimed her.”

I nodded. “So she shook off the spell?”

“She was ready to come home.” Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“What happened?”

“Goran. I didn’t hear him. He blasted me into another dimension. I had to act fast, otherwise I would have lost my connection with Jose.”

I nodded.

Micha looked at Adolph. Her lower lip continued vibrating. “I should’ve heard him.”

“Shh.” Adolph brushed her hair lovingly, like a father. “You did what you could do.”

“He is vile, strong.” She sniffed, and I stepped into view.

“Blake,” Adolph acknowledged me first. I kept staring at Micha.

“I know.” She huffed. “And they chose me to slay you.”

A chuckle pushed out of my lips. “I’m sure you would’ve found a way. You okay?”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Blake. I should’ve—”

“Enough, Micha,” I breathed. I stepped forward and helped her. Fluffed out a pillow before she leaned against it. Her gaze met mine. “Thank you.” She looked at Adolph.

“Speak, Micha. You were about to tell me—”

She glanced at me and back to Adolph.

“He is the Rubicon; he can handle it.”

She sighed. “He knew that the dragon was busy disappearing and that in the next few days, she would’ve shaken the spell.”

“Is he going to kill her?” Adolph asked, and my gut clenched.

She shook her head. “He has another plan for her, but what that is, he didn’t share with me. All I know is that I didn’t like the way they spoke about it.”

“Another spell?”

She nodded again. “One that is worse than the one he had her under.”

I knew what she was speaking about. It was one of his and Dimmi’s side projects. I’d tried to find out what they were doing, but he’d told me the less I knew, the better. Something told me that it was his backup plan. The asshole seriously thought about everything.

“Where are they, Micha?” I questioned.

She shook her head.

“Tell me,” I yelled.

“They will be gone, Blake.”

“Where?”

“One of the wyvern cities. I can’t remember which one. I had a feeling that they went home to one of them and when I entered, they immediately attacked. Goran came out of nowhere. He is powerful.”

“I know that.” I was with him for a long time.

“How are you going to beat him if I can’t?” she asked.

“Don’t lose hope.” My gaze flickered to Adolph.

“He can’t get his hands on the Elementals,” Adolph stated, as if he could read my mind, but that was not what I was thinking.

“He won’t,” I replied, without looking at Micha.

The corner of Adolph’s lips curved. “Good.”

Her hand was in bandages, and I wanted to heal her.

“Don’t, Blake,” Adolph said. “As selfless as you are to take away her scars, don’t. She needs them to heal.”

I frowned.

“Besides, she has the ability to heal herself.”

“How?” I wanted to know.

“A Swallow Annex was her dragon, or would’ve been if she didn’t become a guard.”

I looked at Micha. She was sleeping again. “We need to go to the wyvern city.”

“She didn’t say which one,” Adolph pointed out.

“I know which one. Bane’s colony.”

Everyone suited up as we got ready. Jose helped us to get there with his portal, and we entered.

Everyone screamed as I stepped through and scrambled around like idiots.

I grabbed the first wyvern, pushed him against the nearest wall I could find. “Where is Elena?”

He spat in my face, and I hit him with my head.

“Blake, calm down.” Lu was right behind me. “You won’t get them to cooperate in anger.”

“They don’t know our ways, Lu.”

“Then show them.”

I growled in the wyvern’s face and let him go.

In less than five minutes, King Albert’s fleet had the city under lockdown. King Helmut had come with us this time, and the wyverns just stared at him.

“Where is my brother?” he yelled, and they all cowered away. Goran has ruled them with fear.

King Albert touched him on the shoulder.

“Blake!” Little Byron ran straight to me and grabbed my leg. He was one of my favorites, and I picked him up.

“Blake, please!” Calista begged, and I scowled at her.

“It’s okay, Mamma. He is alive.”

“Baby, it’s not the Blake you know,” Calista cautioned, and her gaze flickered to mine. “They have him under a spell.”

“Stop lying to your son.” I looked at Byron. We’d need an alliance with them in the future. “It’s me. I’m not under a spell. Where is Elena?”

He cupped my face. “It’s really you?”

“It’s me, buddy. Now answer me.”

“They left during the night when the prisoner got away. Daddy said that they needed to leave.”

“Did he take Elena with him?”

He nodded. “The wyvern king wasn’t very happy with her. He is going to take away her ears because she believes all the lies.”

I squinted. He put her back on that spell, and now, he couldn’t; he needed a dragon for that spell. Dimmi jumped into my mind again.

I closed my eyes as my jaw muscles pumped. “Did your dad say where he was going to go?”

“Byron, enough!”

The boy shook his head. “He just told me that he would be back. You will get him back, won’t you?”

“I’ll try my best, bud.” I kissed him on top of the head. “We are not the enemy, Byron. Remember that when the right time comes, okay?”

He nodded and looked at King Helmut.

I put him down. “Now go to your mom.” I ruffled his hair.

Dad grabbed him, and Calista cried. “Take him with us.”

I stopped Dad. “No. You don’t traumatize kids. Let him go.”

“Blake!”

“I said, let him go back to his mother.” I used my alpha call, and everyone stared at us.

“He is right, Bob.” King Albert came and took Byron from him. The kid froze as the king looked at the boy.

“So tell me, just how bad am I in that little head of yours?” He smiled at the boy.

“You are Albert the Barbaric. Don’t you dare hurt my family!”

Tears filled the king’s eyes, but he smiled. “Barbaric, huh?”

“Please, don’t hurt my family.”

“Where is your mom?”

The boy didn’t want to point, but he searched for her.

“It’s me,” she said, stepping forward.

King Albert walked toward her.

“I wanted an alliance with you. I always did. I’m not barbaric. Teach your son the truth. Maybe there won’t be an alliance in our time, but there might be one in his.” He gave the boy back to her. “Stay and find out if any of them know where my daughter is.”

“I’ll stay too,” Jose said. “If they come back, you will be summoned.”

“Thanks, Jose. Show these people that we aren’t barbarians. The lies have to stop!” he yelled over all their heads.

Jose nodded. I winked at Byron before we left.

“He is going to take my daughter’s hearing, and I’m the barbarian?”

“These wyverns are under tight spells. They think he is their savior,” I explained.

“We need to get her back before that happens, Blake.”

“I’m trying, my king. I’m trying.”

“Try harder, please.”

I knew he was thinking about Garrison. I was thinking about him too, and I guessed that it was time to try again. I might not be able to break the spell by myself, but with the help of my friends, we could do anything.

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