Chapter 4: Fire-Breathing Dragon (Part 1)

Sophia had been sitting down near Eli for about an hour now, bored out of her mind. She could only swim and explore so much before it grew boring in the cave. How was she supposed to last a month in an environment that turned into a hot spring the closer she got to Eli?

True fear of Eli the dragon changing his mind and kill her in an instant haunted her. She would die of heatstroke or anger a dragon before the day was over. Sophia glanced at her round clock, given to the Student Knights as soon as they graduated from the training academy. The clock shows the time of the day, and right now, it was stuck at the same time when she fell into this trap. It seemed that there was time manipulation magic in this cave.

Letting out a heavy sigh as she looked out at the waterfall, the sounds becoming a melody. Brown eyes scanned the water sloshing into the pond below as if she were in a trance. The beautiful crystal-clear flow of the water drew the eyes towards it like a bee to a flower. Maybe she could stare at it all day to pass the time.  Sophia yawned, stood, and wiped the sweat that was trickling down her forehead. Timid eyes glanced over at the ebony dragon to find herself locked in his piercing stare.

"What is it?" she asked nervously.

"Do you know what magic channel is?"

It amazed her that his mouth did not move as he spoke. It was like hearing him speaking in her mind as if his voice was her thoughts. Sophia blinked at him as she nodded slowly. “Magic channel is where my magic flows from my heart. My heart is the source of my magic.”

The dragon's muscular tail whipped out and locked itself around Sophia's body faster than she could process. She squealed in surprise before she was dragged towards Eli until she was floating by mere inches from him. Did she already anger him enough to start her death sentence? She looked up and saw the red irises with black slit pupils. To her amazement, the pupils seemed to swirl with many stars. The woman gasped when the star-like clouds of dust inside the black slit pupils spun slowly in clockwise.

"You have insufficient magic," Eli's voice resounded around her, "but it is flowing so you have potential; however, you will most likely fail."

"That's a real positive attitude to have," Sophia said while furrowing her brows. "How do you know I don’t have sufficient magic?"

"What makes you think you can?"

That was a good question. She was born with a magic channel but she grew without magic affiliation. Sophia prided herself on being a good student in the academy. She graduated on top of her class and even joined the Knights Association even without harboring a strong magic power and now she had a creature that wasn’t supposed to exist here in Laera to tell her she lacked the drive for success.

Sophia liked a challenge; she thrived on success and this would be no different. Above all, success meant going home.

"I like having a sense of accomplishment," Sophia responded, her body relaxing in his grip. "Won't know until I try, right?"

Eli remained silent for a moment, his eyes returning to the solid crimson color they were before. He placed her down and moved away, silver chains rattling in the dark. "Ensure you have adequate sleep. Your training will begin once you wake up."

Sophia looked around the cave, trying to figure out if he expected her to just sleep in the sand. Adrenaline still pumped through her veins from the scare he gave her and now he expected her to sleep? The unnerving trick of his eyes shocked her into alertness. Sleep would elude her until her heart stopped racing. Sophia jogged over to the far end of the enclosed space where the trees were. Healthy grass formed underneath the partial canopy of the tall trees. The health of them confused her. Without an opening in the cave ceiling, how did they stay alive without rain?

A question for Eli some other time. An optimistic thought of fruit trees crossed her mind; Sophia would check later. A blanket of exhaustion washed over her as she laid down at the base of one of the thick trees.

Maybe I'll wake up and this will all be a dream, Sophia thought. I probably hit my head on a rock or something and knocked myself out during our hunt in the Forbidden Forest. I'll wake up and laugh at how crazy this whole thing is.

Sophia threw an arm over her eyes and closed them, hoping she'd wake to find a better scenario.

Eli gazed over at the first human he had seen in a hundred years. Such a strange girl and borderline irritating. He understood the fear of death caused a person to panic, but her timid spirit vexed him. Why didn't he kill her straight away like with the others who came stumbling into his prison? When her small personality shifted to outspoken, it puzzled him further. Did she not realize her life related to the fragile light of a small candle compared to his power?

She harbored courage or idiocy.

The way she talked about mastering magic use brought a sense of curiosity. It was dangerous to place faith in this girl, but what would it hurt? Eli did not believe this young woman possessed the talent to undo the curse of that queen. Still, it would get the royalty’s attention. Toleration may prove hard after many decades alone; only time would tell.

The use of magic had dwindled to nothing as time passed judging from the Knights who hiked into his cave. At first, people who came in contact with him used their hidden magic power and pushed their magic channel to the limit to fight for their lives. In the last hundred years, no one tried to use it and they did not have unlocked that hidden magic ability. The possibility of gaining that hidden magic without training existed in rare conditions. Sophia's magic channel levels passed the stage of unlocking, a remarkable feat without training.

Eli laid his head down on his claws. He never noticed any so abstract or vivid eyes like hers on another person before. Their hue mirrored the sands in the dark; not quite a common find in Laera in the past but the word brown too plain as a description. Men alone traveled into his clutches over the years. Sophia had the misfortune to be the first female in his realm.

Did that play a part in why he hesitated to kill her and entertained the ridiculous idea of her freeing him from his bondage? The last woman he saw held responsibility for his chains and dragon appearance, forever cursed with immortality and the odor of charred flesh in his nostrils. This reminder of his predicament brought a realization: a hint of jasmine reached his senses when Sophia invaded his vicinity. Such an intoxicating aroma, something that heightened his awareness and cleared his mind. Within the short time of their encounter, Sophia caused several impossible feats without trying.

The dragon raised his head when he heard her tired groan and witnessed her sit up. Her gaze turned to him and she said, "I can't sleep comfortably when I'm hungry."

"Then feed yourself from the pond," was his simple response. "You will need energy for when you begin your training."

The girl frowned at him. "Do you expect me to catch them with my bare hands?"

Such audacity speaking to him as if they were equals. Eli might kill her before she strengthened her magic abilities. However, trying to catch fish without a pole could prove fruitless. It required skills she did not possess. The trees she yelled at him from harbored fruit; however, she needed protein for the intense work needed before sleep. The sugary fruit may do more harm than good. He would let her find those herself as punishment for such a sour attitude. To save himself a headache, Eli rose to his feet and moved towards the exit. Sophia's eyes widened in astonishment.

"What are you doing?! I thought the chains didn't allow you free movement!"

She scooted back, trying to get out of his range. Sophia's reaction satisfied Elijah; it showed that he still had the fear factor to use over her.

"My chains can restrict my movement when Gaea decides it is necessary," he answered, moving past the frightened female.

"Gaea?"

Eli turned his head to look at her when he reached the cave entrance. "The one who cursed me."

Sophia got to her feet and walked up beside him. "So, um... what happened? Did you actually destroy your entire family?"

"Yes."

A painful twinge pricked her chest at those words. "Even... your parents?"

Eli brought his tail around and hovered it above the water just to the right of the waterfall. "All of them."

She lowered her head, chocolate brown bangs covering her eyes. "How could you do that?" she whispered.

Eli's tail shot into the water like a spear and when he pulled it out, a nice-sized fish wriggled on the tip. He moved it closer and shook the flopping fish onto the warm cave floor. Rock laid on the side of the waterfall instead of sand like in front of the pond. "They needed to die for their insolence."

Sophia couldn't believe her ears. How could anyone say that about their family? They were the ones who loved her the most no matter what she did. They stood by Sophia's side, protected her as she grew. Mother consoled her during the heartbreaks of her teenage years. Father was always there to pick her up when she fell and encouraged her to try again. Sophia didn't know what it meant to have siblings, but she assumed a bond like that proved hard to break.

"You're a monster," she whispered.

Eli's gaze whipped to look at the brown-haired woman who spoke, those words echoing in his memory.

You're a monster!