Chapter 9: Our Good Byes

Sophia had got the hang of using her magic and hand signals in tandem after many failed attempts. She was only moments away from freeing Elijah. Her heart was pounding with anticipation, her hands were clammy, and there was a bead of sweat trickling down the side of her face. The young woman reached up and twisted her wavy brown locks around her finger. After Gaea visited her in her dream, she knew something was about to happen... something serious. She hinted to her that someone Elijah knew of was coming for him.

Bane of the Dragons… She knew the dragons were their arch-nemesis. But the dragons haven’t even tried to invade them for so many years now, so why are they going to war with the Dragonae Kingdom? So many questions were wracking her brain.

She thought about sharing the dream she had with Elijah or telling him she already knew his name. He deserved to know what would happen. She cared about his wellbeing and the young woman couldn't lie to herself about it any longer. Sophia frowned.

The crush she developed for Elijah wasn’t logical but didn’t change the intensity of her feelings. Brown eyes turned to look at the male sitting on a large rock a few feet away. She could tell that he had grown tolerant of her. To her surprise, he had a playful side. One time, Sophia and Elijah got into an argument. She reached down into the lake and splashed water at him out of childish anger. It was only about two drops, but it still was enough to have Elijah lumbering in her direction, smoke billowing from his nostrils. Sophia jumped into the lake and swam away as fast as possible, treading water in the middle of the lake.

"Sophia, come here."

"No way!" she exclaimed. "Catch me if you can!"

"Such an easy task."

Before Sophia could process what he had said, Elijah bounded from the edge of the mouth of the cave into the air. Her eyes widened when long wings opened from his back. He could fly?! Well, he was a dragon, but it still caught Sophia off guard.

She tried to swim away to the farthest wall. She looked over her shoulder and saw the large black dragon flap his wings to raise his place in the air before nose-diving into the water. His entrance caused a large wave to crash over Sophia's head. The brown-haired woman came up sputtering and wiped her eyes.

She looked down and her heart almost stopped when she saw Elijah rocketing towards her from underneath the surface of the water. "Wait!"

It was too late. Elijah burst through the water a few feet away and his thick tail wrapped around her, pinning Sophia’s arms to her sides. The dragon pulled her to his face, bright red eyes boring into her.

"I've caught you."

"I see," Sophia stated in a dry voice. "How did you get out of the cave?"

"You do not listen well, Sophia," came his smooth voice. "I told you when you first arrived that my chain restrictions change at Gaea's discretion. She agreed with the actions I decided on."

Sophia cocked her head. "What action is that?"

Elijah moved over to the cave opening and placed Sophia down. She gave him a confused look which turned to shock when Sophia saw him raise his tail.

"Don't you dare -"

Her words stopped when a massive wall of water barreled into her. The strength of the wave knocked Sophia flat on her back. As the water seeped back into the lake, Sophia sat up and coughed.

"No fair."

That moment of play allowed them to feel more at ease. It also showed Sophia that although Elijah had been an unapologetic murderer, he had a human side. She still wondered what happened between Elijah and his family. What drove him to kill them? There had to be a reason. The man she'd gotten to know contemplated his actions before executing them. So, she would ask Elijah before freeing him. 

They took a short break from training. Elijah taught her how to use her strength with magic to her advantage. He also taught her how to break free from illusion, magic that messed with a person's mind. She pointed out she already knew how but when he tried it on her, she was easily defeated… shamefully so.

She knew this world was an illusion. Their physical bodies were still in the cave. Elijah weakened his illusion, the Void prison he’d like to call it, to let Sophia practice breaking it. Once, she tried while Elijah had his illusion at its normal strength and she was almost successful, but Elijah realized what she was doing and almost tore her to pieces, hence she never tried that again.

Her mind returned to the previous thoughts about letting him know what she dreamed. Sophia stood, brushed her hands down her sides, and walked over to him. The quiet male was looking over the rippling water of the river, one leg propped up with his arm resting on it. Sophia sat down next to him and gazed at the river for a moment before turning to him.

"We need to talk."

Elijah's eyes remained constant in their stare. "What is it, Sophia? Something is bothering you."

Sophia exhaled. "Yes." She crossed her legs Indian style. "Your name is Elijah, isn’t it?”

Whether or not he was surprised, he didn’t show it. She wished he would open his heart to her but she doubted that wish could be true at any moment in time.

Sophia raised her knees slightly and slipped her forearms below it. “Gaea came to me in a dream. She told me that the war between the Knights and the Dragons is far from over.”

He scoffed, drawing a furrowed eyebrow from the brown-haired Knight. But he didn’t say anything in his mind. Instead, he asked, “What else did she say?”

“Hmm,” Sophia mused. “She said she placed a curse on you to keep you away from us, the Knights. And that the dragons found you; that I should become the bane of the dragons… and not you.”

Elijah looked up and turned towards her. "I wasn’t the bane,” he said before he caught himself. Did he just deny something out of a whim? He took a deep breath turned away. “So, they have found me. The wait for this battle has stretched over centuries; however, I am not sure how you play a part. Your magic use progressed faster than I thought. Still, your strength does not begin to rival those of my enemies."

“Don’t sound so optimistic,” Sophia snapped. "What’s with this Void?”

"Gaea told you about the Void?"

Sophia shook her head in response. “I just wondered if you had such ability then your family must have the same magic as yours. You killing them with this kind of magic is…”

“Insanity?”

“Bizarre,” Sophia corrected. “I figured you must have a reason for all this.”

Elijah stood to his feet and hooked an ebony strand of hair behind his ear. "I suppose I will have to start from the beginning. As you have discovered, I am Elijah. My family, the Trueblade, has the most powerful illusionary magic that had ever existed in the kingdom of Laera. Before the massacre, other clans possess types of magics different from ours. All villages in the kingdom were at peace. We had allied with the neighboring people and often accompanied each other on missions.

“My father was the leader of the head family and asked me what I thought about our position on the chain of power. I responded that each of the villages worked equally hard to keep us safe and prosperous. He then informed me he believed we should have total power over all the villages in the kingdom and the neighboring ones, including the kingdom of Dragonae. A rebellion was in process to start their grandiose plan.”

Elijah paused and glanced down at me. “The royal family is in favor of that.”

“No way!”

He turned to her fully without a smile on his face. “It is true, and you must figure it out when you come back there.”

“What do you mean come back?” she asked, still dumbfounded.

Elijah brought them back to the cave and, in his dragon form, he turned to the tunnel where Sophia had come from before. “It opened. You can go.”

“But… our deal…”

He glanced down at her. “Your magic is stronger now but it was not yet refined. There seemed to be something restricting it.”

Sophia stared up at the black dragon and a realization dawned upon her. “You knew about this before…” he didn’t answer. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Elijah didn’t even make a grunt as a response.

“Elijah… you knew I am a hopeless case, didn’t you?”

He drew a breath, making the cave even warmer than it already was. “I knew it the moment we entered the Void,” he finally admitted.

“Then, why?” Sophia had tears in her eyes as she took a step back. “Why didn’t you just tell the truth? Why did you hold me in here like a prisoner? WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME?”

He whipped his dragon head to me, his red eyes narrowed. “Because I was hoping the same thing, too,” he growled. “I was hoping that your magic will be enough to release me. Do you think I didn’t try unlocking your potential?”

“Then, why…”

“You have a lot of magic power inside you, Sophia. Unlocking it is a different story. You must train with the Knights Association to do that.”

“That means… that means, I wouldn’t be back here?”

Elijah snorted. “You will be rushing your way back here.”

Sophia sniffed and straightened her back as she stared up at him. “How did you know?”

Elijah’s dragon red eyes stared at her before it rapidly changed. One moment, Sophia was acting tough, the next moment she was pulled into the Void, and the next she found herself kissing Elijah.

Her head was spinning but she couldn’t deny how exhilarating his lips felt. It was as soft as his hands and rough as his nature. The flush of their bodies and the heat he was sharing with her made her knees weak and she nearly toppled over if he hadn’t wrapped his arms around her waist to support her. She put her arms around his shoulders and locked it behind his head, running her fingers along with his hair and tugging at it harshly.

Elijah grunted and he pulled her closer to him, gripping her waist tightly as he ran his tongue against her lower lip before biting on it. Sophia gasped as she arched her body to him and as she opened her mouth, his tongue danced its way in.

Sophia didn’t know why she was responding to his kisses as hard as he did. She knew this was all due to excessive feelings… maybe, feelings of hatred and frustration, or maybe just an impulsive move from the pent-up sexual tension she had for him these past few days.

The lack of breath made them separate a few inches, with Elijah pressing his forehead against hers. His arms were still wrapped around her – well, so was hers.

“You have to come back here, Sophia,” he whispered, his hot breath fanning her face. “You have to find a way.”