Page 37 of Dragon Rejected

Kaida scoffed at Blaze. “What on the Great Dragon’s green earth makes you think I would agree to such a thing? How do you even figure I know this information? I didn’t grow up in that castle. I grew up on my family’s lands! I don’t even have a dragon! How can I lead anything?”

Arlo shook his head. “Are we going to have to spoon-feed everything to her?”

Kaida noticed Beckett shrug his shoulders.

“That’s where the deal comes in, Sweetheart.” Esen’s voice was as smooth as a breeze brushing across her face.

“We are going to unlock your dragon. When we do, you are going to owe us big time. Therefore, you will help us get what we want.”

“How the hell do you think you will unlock my dragon? What even makes you think I have one? She didn’t emerge on my birthday when she was supposed to, and she certainly hasn’t emerged since then!”

Blaze chuckled deeply, his eyes glowing again as he explained, though not much clearer than before, “As I said, the elements are a powerful force to be trifled with. We know for a fact we can unlock that dragon of yours, and we know one is in there because we can feel her power. It’s pretty fucking clear that you are something special in regard to a dragon. That’s why she hasn’t emerged yet. We need to draw her out, and we know exactly how to do that. Once we do, you can use her to pay that asshole back for rejecting you.”

Kaida gasped as she glanced at each of them. Seeing each of the princes smirking at her was so weird. They already knew there wasn’t a chance in hell she would turn this down. No one would.

I could have my dragon… and revenge?“When do we start?”

Twenty-One

Sleep did not come easily that night. The girls did their best to get her to eat something heavy in protein to prepare her for the level of training the guys were going to put her through. Before she left, they told Kaida that one way to draw a dragon out was to force it to protect its human half. They realized pretty quickly this was how the guys planned to bring out Kaida’s dragon. They were going to do as much as they could to make her dragon think she was in mortal danger. From what the girls told her, there was a reason the boys were called the Fearsome Four, but it wasn’t because they were the most powerful dragons on the island. It was because of how ruthless they were with their magic and their dragons. With the explanation of what they could do, there was no chance in hell that Kaida was going to have an appetite.

Nor will I get much sleep.

Even though she was terrified of what this training was going to entail, Kaida also couldn’t wait to see what the results would be. That small part of her didn’t care what she was about to endure at the hands of the four. Why would it matter that she could get hurt or worse? It could bring out the one thing she had been wanting her entire life.

I can finally meet my dragon. I’ve waited my whole life to meet her… and now I finally have the chance. No matter what happens to me, that alone will be worth it all.

All she could do was stare at the ceiling that night. The thoughts of feeling the magic wash over her as the first shift took control, hearing her dragon’s roar, and even knowing what color it was swarmed through her mind. A joy she never thought she would get to experience in her life was possible now more than ever. When her dragon emerged, she could fly herself right to Enzo’s doorstep and accept the rejection.

And then he can know what it feels like to have a broken heart.

About an hour before the sun rose, Kaida managed to get herself to sleep. She dreamt of a pair of purple eyes staring into her soul. Everywhere else was black, and the eyes were the only thing she could see. The feeling of magical power beyond her wildest imagination flowed through her as she stared into them. As she vibrated from the power, she felt her bones snapping and popping. Purple sparks and arcs of light flashed all around her as a dangerous roar belted through the silence. Then a mirror appeared before her. Just as she tried to look into it to see what the mirror wanted her to see, Kaida woke up to someone screaming her name.

“Kaida! Beckett is here!” Adrien yelled from outside her door.

Kaida groaned but didn’t move. Her eyelids felt heavier than concrete as she tried to pry them open. In an attempt to roll off the bed, she found a pocket she had sunk into that caused her to return to the twilight state. The sheets under her feet were perfectly cold while she lay on her stomach, her head was just right on the pillow, and the way she moved caused the blankets around her to seal her into the pocket to give her the right warmth. Just as her mind drifted back into the dream where she could see the pair of eyes again, a loud rapping of a hand on wood broke her focus again.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

“Kaida! Are you up? Beckett is downstairs!”

“Uuughhh,” was the only thing that she could muster.

It was like her limbs were made of metal, and the bed was a magnet. She tried to move, but there was no progress. Kaida heard a click from her door opening before being doused in frigid water. The abrupt coldness caused her to yelp as she pushed herself to a seated position. She turned to look around the room, and her eyes landed on Beckett. His smirk made her throw her pillow at his head. Thankfully, her aim was accurate, and she managed to smack him with it before he could block it. The problem was it caused him to laugh. It was so melodious that it brought a smile to her own face. She wanted to hate him for pouring water onto her but couldn’t.

That’s when she noticed he wasn’t carrying a bucket or cup of any kind.

“Where did the water come from?” After she asked the question, she realized it was a stupid one.

“I am a Tidal Dragon, Kaida. I have control over water. And if you don’t get out of bed and get moving, I am going to start freezing parts of your body to wake your ass up.”

Kaida narrowed her eyes at him, “you wouldn’t dare.”

Beckett held up his hand as a deep, ocean blue hue lit up around it, and the movements were like waves moving up the sand as they crashed. Kaida let out a yip before jumping off the bed and into her closet. She quickly grabbed something off a hanger and ran into the bathroom to take a shower. There was a chuckle that she chose to ignore, not wanting him to know that his laugh made her want to snuggle into his chest to hear it reverberate inside of him.

I have got to get a grip. The last thing I need is to go falling for one of the Fearsome Four.

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