Dragon's Revenge
1.

Five Years Later

Elodie hits the ground, shoulder blocking her uncle's blow.

"I told you. You aren't ready."

She springs to her feet, raising her fists and gritting her teeth. "Yes, I am! They were my parents. It's my job to get revenge."

Her uncle flies at her again, his fists raised. She plants her feet as he comes flying at her. She smashes his fist away before he can hit her. "Hey!" He overbalances and goes down hard.

"See? I'm more ready than you think. Even if my stupid dragon never woke."

Jebeem sighs as she helps him up. "Elodie, I know you think the dragon within you will never wake, but if you let go of your rage and tap into your inner strength, it still might."

She studies the doubt on her uncle's face, steeling her resolve. "Let me go to the Trials tonight. I'll get chosen as the Jebel's human servant. Then I can get close to them and kill them."

Jebeem moves fast, knocking into her shoulder. She flies backwards, landing on her ass. "No. You're not strong enough. Forget this pointless quest of revenge, Elodie."

"Well, then why did you even bring me out here?"

"So I could keep an eye on you while we do a simple recon mission, that's all."

"Whatever."

That afternoon, she ignores her uncle's advice and sneaks away from the camp. She doesn't see the snare until it tightens around her ankle, flips her upside down and hoists her high into the air. "Ahh!" She curls upward, but can't reach her ankle. She tries to free herself, to no avail. As she struggles, afternoon turns to evening.

"Well, well, well. Look at the little rabbit I've caught in my trap." Still dangling from the rope, she cranes her head to look at the speaker. "Do you know who I am, little rabbit?" He leans close, his wicked smile showing off the points of his canine teeth. The rest of him is half-hidden in the shadows of the night.

"You're clearly a Jebel soldier."

"Hmm, if you know who the Jebels are, then you're here for a reason." He steps into a patch of moonlight that illuminates his body better. Her eyes go wide at the flames licking his body.

"Who are you? Let me go!"

"Why would I? You're sneaking around outside our recruitment center."

"I came for the Trials, okay? I was trying to get my eyes on the course."

"Oh, you were, were you? Trying to get a leg up on the competition?" He chuckles a dark, rich sound that winds its way straight to her core. "I like you. I don't think you stand a chance at the Trials, but I think you will be very entertaining to watch. So I've made my decision. I'll take you to the Jebel Trials." Without another word, the stranger walks over and unfastens the snare.

She drops to the floor, the blood in her head rushing back to her feet. "I didn't ask you to take me."

"No, but you will not go without me." He pauses, studying her newly upright form. A strange look comes over his face. "You look.... familiar. Do I know you?"

"Um, no? Why would we know each other?"

His expression turns from confused to neutral. "You're right, we don't." He leads her through the forest to her original destination, the Trials.

"I.... didn't expect this many people to be here."

He gazes into the packed crowd milling around, nodding to a poster on the bunker wall. "With this many people here, it's amazing that word of dragons haven't leaked to the outside world."

"Because everyone here knows how to keep their mouth shut." Half a dozen women notice her companion and call out. He grins at them, then jerks his chin behind the decrepit bunker. "Trials will be back there. Go get on the list. I have business to handle."

She looks at the women giggling and waving at him, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure you do."

To her surprise, he grabs her wrist, burning her skin as he does. "Don't..... run. I will be watching you."

"I won't run. I'm going to win."

"Sure you are." With that, he releases her and walks away. She stares after him, until she hears someone whisper her name.

She spins around. To her shock, her uncle is standing right there. "What are you doing here?"

"Shh. We can't be seen together, so I'll make this quick. When you snuck away, I knew you'd come here. Since I can't stop you from doing this, take this. Call me when you're done with this farce." He hands her a cellphone. "And remember, don't tell anyone who you are. If the Jebels find out you're a daughter of Clan Aelon...."

"They'll kill me, I know."

He seems like he wants to say more, but instead, he just shakes his head and disappears into the crowd.

She walks into the area where the Trials will actually take place. As she's gazing at it, a man walks to the front of the crowd and lifts his hands. Everyone falls silent. "Welcome, everyone! I'm Mino, the youngest prince of Clan Jebel. Please line up for the trials."

As she falls into line, the girl next to her studies her with a sneer. "Please tell me you're not competing? You look like a strong gust of wind would blow you over."

"Hey, all I can do is my best." She stands with the other participants, waiting for Mino to signal the start of the race.

A second later, the stranger reappears and sidles up next to her. "Seconds to go. I'm taking bets on who's going to win."

Before she can respond, the bitchy girl cuts in, smiling flirtaciously. "I wouldn't bet on her going very far. But you can bet on me, Jessica Simmons."

"Hmm. What do you think, Elodie? Is Jessica right?" His eyes lock onto hers, the heat emanating from him in waves. "Do you have what it takes to serve the Jebels, or will you fall, just like most of them?"

"No, no and go away." Fired up, she takes a ready position.

Mino lifts his arms, a glint in his eye and a grin on his lips. "Ready? Set. Go!"

She races toward the first obstacle, a set of monkey bars that twist and turn when they're grabbed. Jessica reaches them at the same time as her. They're neck-and-neck as they both leap, reaching for the bars. She stretches, grasping the monkey bars. She swings from bar to bar, then leaps to the next mat. Jessica is still beside her.

"You're going to lose! You might as well not even try!"

"Fuck off, Jessica Simmons." She jumps for the next obstacle, a long wall with tiny finger holds. Jessica moves ahead of her and she grits her teeth before pushing harder. The next obstacle requires her to leap to an unsteady platform, then balance and leap to another. When Jessica sees them, she hesitates. Elodie jumps from one to another, then lands. It was the last task and the stranger waits on the other side.

He grins at her, looking impressed. "Well, well, well. Looks like I underestimated you."

"Yeah. Looks like you did."

"Congrats! As the winner of the competition, you get a special advantage." Mino flourishes an ax with a blade made of ice, then hands it to her. She grips the shaft, in awe of the weapon. "For your next challenge, you'll be going toe-to-toe with Clan Jebel's greatest warrior!"

Everyone follows Mino to a fighting ring. To her shock, the stranger steps inside. He looks directly at her as he speaks. "I look forward to facing anyone who is worthy, though I have a feeling most of you are not."

"Maybe you're the one who isn't worthy."

The whole crowd gasps, but the stranger smiles slowly. "I guess we'll have to get into the ring and see. Who's first, Mino?"

She watches as the second challenge progresses. Fighter after fighter faces the stranger. No one even touches him. Not even Jessica, who lasts longer than anyone else, her movements lithe. She exits the ring, wiping blood from her lip. "I hope you brought family to carry your corpse out of the ring, weakling. You won't last a minute against him."

"Jessica, are you having a bad day?"

Jessica snarls, but before she can respond, Mino calls her name. Elodie steps into the ring and squares up against the stranger. "I'll take it easy. I have no desire to kill tonight."

As she watches him, she feels the spark again. A primal rage that grows, burning hotter and hotter. "Bring it on."

"Begin!"

She steps into the ring, moving sideways as they circle each other. She searches for a weakness, but he doesn't have any. Suddenly, he darts forward, grabbing her wrists. She twists and hooks her foot behind his knee, trying to trip him. It works, but she also goes down. At the last second, he twists so she lands on top, his hard body stretched out beneath her. "If you just wanted this, we could have gone somewhere more private." The stranger winks at her, clearly challenging her to beat him. She feels a sudden, heated course of strength flow through her. She kicks out her leg and hooks it behind his knee, shifting her weight so she flips on top of him. The heat in her grows. "I don't mind this at all, either."

"You will when I kick your ass." She rolls backwards and scrambles to her feet. She unhooks the ax from her belt, jumping forward to attack. He dodges, but she scores a bloody line down his cheek.

"Not bad."

"Gee, thanks."

"First blood! Good job, Elodie. No one else wounded him at all. I think that means you win. Here's your prize for winning both challenges." He hands her a bronze award.

"Well, well. Looks like the little rabbit's got some fire in her, after all."

"The last round is a verbal test with Queen Desmonda. Everyone follow me." They're escorted into an enormous hall inside the bunker. After a moment, the queen enters alongside a second man and several security guards. "Allow me to introduce the Queen and my oldest brother, Prince Morgan. Approach one by one and she'll interview you."

The Queen goes through each of the contestants, never looking pleased with any of their answers. Finally, it's her turn. To her surprise, the stranger steps up. "Your Majesty, allow me to conduct this interview." The Queen hesitates, then nods at the stranger to go ahead. She stares in shock at the woman. "Alright, Elodie. What makes you so committed to protecting the Jebel Clan?"

"Because you guys are the only clan around. And of course, I want to work for dragons. Who wouldn't?"

"Who, indeed?"

The queen stands close by. She arches a regal brow at Elodie. "Hmm. This one is interesting, isn't she?"

"I couldn't agree more, my Queen."

Morgan looks less than impressed. He shoots a glance at the stranger, laced with rage. But she can't focus on that, because the questions keep coming, about her past, what she's doing here.

"Is that everything you have to ask?"

"I have one more, actually." The stranger narrows his eyes at her. Her heart drops with fear. "Full humans are born with no knowledge of the dragon world, which means each human remembers when they first saw a dragon. Tell me your story. When was the first time you saw a dragon?"

She tries to calm her racing heart, scrambling for an answer. "Umm.... I don't know. I like, always knew about them?"

"Congratulations. That's the worst answer of the night so far."

Morgan glares at her with suspicion. She knows she's already on his list.

"The Trials have ended. Thank you everyone for participating." The Queen nods at the eager crowd, then turns to the stranger. "Let's finish this."

To her shock, the stranger immediately transforms into a dragon. "Everyone, I would like you to meet my son. Jonah Jebel, crown prince of the Jebel Clan."

But she's too busy staring into Jonah Jebel's eyes. Silver eyes. The exact silver eyes that burned into her memory the night her parents died.

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