Chapter 14: Draconite

Alyssa

(3 Weeks Later)

My bond with Vincent grows, and my powers increase as the days pass. I was picking up fast on all of my studies. I was slowly gaining more and more control over my shift. I even had a class that was made for dragons who found their mates, as many teachers say that the mate bond is the most sacred blessing that all magical beings are blessed with.

I woke up early to eat breakfast with Annabeth and Izzy before school started.

“So, how are things with Vincent?” Izzy asked me.

“Amazing, he showed me some of his abilities as a dragon that only White Dragons have. He refused to show me what Heart-Ripping is and said it’s dark magic.”

“He told you about Heart-Ripping!” Annabeth gasped. “Alyssa, that ability is why White Dragons were almost driven to extinction. The High Elves hunted them out of fear and said they weren’t the true children of the goddess and were heretics. To explain Heart-Ripping as best as possible, it’s magically ripping out someone’s heart. By normal biological means, tearing one’s heart out means instant death. But the heart can be continued to be connected to the body by magic,” Annabeth explained.

“So that’s why he refused to show me how it works; I’m guessing his mother forbid him from using it?” I asked.

“Yes, and he knows better,” Annabeth nodded. “Now, did you finally have sex with Vincent yet?”

“Annabeth!” Izzy shouted.

“What? Are you the only one to ask these kind of questions? It’s bound to happen sooner or later,” Annabeth snickered.

“Your questions are only about sex and breeding cycles,” Izzy said.

“Are you telling me that you don’t like sex?” Anna crossed her arms and looked annoyed. “Because I could tell you last night when I ate you’re-”

“Alright, girls, enough!” I covered my ears. “I don’t want to hear any more of that. No, Vincent and I haven’t had sex with Vincent. We’ve been together for about a month, and I’m not sure if I’m ready,”

“If you’re worried about messing things up with Vincent, I guarantee it’s impossible,” Annabeth smiled.

We laughed together, and I returned to my room and got dressed. I put on a red hoodie with black jeans. We arrived at the school, and I immediately looked around for Vincent. I walked to him and kissed his cheek when I found him.

“Vincent, have you seen Audrey?” Izzy asked.

“Audrey had to take care of something important. She said she be here before class started.” Vincent explained.

Soon, Timothy walked up to us and waved. “Hey Alyssa, everybody.”

“Hey Tim,” Izzy smiled.

“Hey,” Vincent said with a straight face.

“How are you, Tim?” I said, turning to face Tim after glaring at Vincent. Although I had explained to Vincent that Timothy and I were just friends, he would still get a strange look in his eyes every time Tim talked to me.

“Fine, and you?” Tim smiled.

“Good, I’m starting to like this school,” I smiled widely.

I peeked at Vincent’s facial expression, and he kept sneering at Tim. I’ve had enough. “Excuse me for a second, guys.” I grabbed Vincent’s arm, dragged him away, and took him to the bathroom.

“I hope you realize this is the girl’s bathroom,” Vincent laughed.

“Right now, I don’t give a shit! What is your problem?” I yelled.

“What are you talking about?” Vincent tilted his head.

“You don’t think I see the dirty look that you’re giving Timothy? I thought I made it loud and clear that there has and never was anything between Tim and I,” I said.

“And you’re sure that he never had feelings for you?” Vincent questioned.

“That is what this is about? Vincent, I’m your mate; I will only love you and ONLY you! No one, not even Tim, and get between our future together,” I said.

“It’s not that, I don’t trust him,” Vincent huffed.

“He’s my friend, Vincent; I’ve lost enough, and getting some of it back means a lot. I thought that you, out of everyone, would understand that?” I pushed him out of the way and walked out of the bathroom.

“Alyssa, wait!” Vincent called out.

I needed some air before class and stepped outside. I will never look at Tim the way I look at Vincent. Why couldn’t Vincent see that Timothy is a friend and nothing else?

“Hurry up Jacob, we’re going to be late!” I heard Audrey say.

“Slow down, will you?” Jacob said between breaths.

“I won’t be late because you can’t keep up,” Audrey said.

“Oh, is that so,” Jacob grinned, and he pinned Audrey to the wall and kissed her.

Oh my god! I tried sneaking away, but I tripped on the steps.

“Alyssa!?” Audrey turned to see me on the ground. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said as I got up and wiped the dirt off my pants.

“Alyssa, what you saw, please don’t tell Alexandria or Vincent. I’m not ready to tell them I found my mate!” Audrey begged.

“What do you think I am, a rat?” I joked.

“We’re just waiting for the right moment, I guess,” Jacob said.

“I’m sure Vincent will understand, he is mated to me after all,” I smiled.

“Alexandria is who I’m worried about, she is tempermental. What are doing out here anyway, class is going to be starting soon,” Audrey asked me.

“A story for another time, we should get to class before the bell rings,”

As I said those words, the bell rang. Speak of the devil. The three of us ran inside and went to our classes. Lucky for me, Audrey and I were in most of the same courses.

“Ladies, so nice of you to join us,” Ms. Gord scoffed.

“We’re sorry, Ms. Gord,” Audrey lowered her head. We both took our seats, and she continued the lesson. I’m thankful we didn’t miss much. Ms. Gord is my chemistry teacher; she’s not my favorite teacher at the academy. She is a witch and very strict. I learned in history class that wizards and witches helped in the war against the High Elves. The Elves had no allies to call upon during the Great War. Why were the elves so hell-bent on world domination? Why did they think they were superior and wanted to rule over the magical and human world?

“Okay, guys, today I have something special to show you.” Ms. Gord entered her desk drawer and picked up what looked like black metal.

Suddenly, I could feel my insides grow cold, and I could feel Dahlia growing nervous.

“Dahlia, what’s wrong?” I asked her. But I only received a slight growl. “Dahlia, please talk to me,” I looked at the stone again, and something about it made Dahlia uneasy.

“Can anyone tell me what this stone is?” Ms. Gord asked the class.

“A rock?” Miguel said with disinterest as his friends laughed.

“Very observant, Miguel, but no, anyone else?” Ms. Gord said.

I kept staring at the rock, which showed on my face. “Hey, Alyssa, what’s wrong?” Audrey asked me.

“I don’t know, but Dahlia is not talking to me; something about that object Ms. Gord has is making her uneasy,” I said.

“Girls, since you two look distracted, you must know what this is?” Ms. Gord looked at us with annoyance.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know,” Audrey said.

“Draconite!” I said, pushing myself away from it. I had yet to learn where that name came from. But by the growl received from Dahlia, I wasn’t wrong.

“Impressive, Alyssa. Yes, this is indeed Draconite. Can anyone tell me what it does?” Ms. Gord asked.

“Doesn’t the metal dampen a dragons power?” Saga questioned.

Then it clicked why Dahlia was so uncomfortable. I rubbed my arm where the scare from the chain was when I was held captive. It’s why I couldn’t shift.

“Excellent, Saga. This metal can bind dragon magic. The elves created this metal during the war to keep dragons prisoner and even kill them if injected into a dragon’s bloodstream. It’s a complex mixture of rare metals alongside potent chemical mixtures. Now, Saga and Alyssa, please join me up here,” Ms. Gord said. We both stood beside her as I eyed the metal in her hands.

As Ms. Gord placed the metal in her hand, Saga held it. I could see her face blacken and slacken; her eyes opened in surprise when she felt her dragon weaken. A feeling I was all too familiar with. Saga quickly handed her the metal back.

“How did you feel, Saga?” Ms. Gord asked.

“Like someone switched off my dragon, like all my magic faded as soon as it touched my skin,” Saga told her experience.

Ms. Gord told Saga to sit down and face me, and she reached out with the metal. I felt my insides grow cold. “NO! Don’t touch it, Alyssa!” Dahlia screamed.

“KEEP THAT AWAY FROM ME!” I whacked the metal out of Ms. Gord’s hands. Even with the metal not touching me, I remember feeling my skin on fire. I hear the students murmuring and looking at me, surprised at my reaction. I ran out of the classroom and into the bathroom without a second thought. I looked at myself in the mirror, tears streaming down my face; so much for being strong. A part of me wanted to call Vincent, but I was still mad at him, so I didn’t.

“Alyssa,” Ms. Gord said behind me.

“I’m sorry; I’ll return inside in a moment.” I sniffled.

“You don’t have to excuse yourself. Can you tell me what happened back there?” Ms. Gord asked.

“I’m not sure,” I said.

“You’ve had some experiance with Draconite before, haven’t you?” Ms. Gord said.

“I have,” I nodded. I showed Ms. Gord the scars around my wrists, and the look on her face was full of horror.

“By the Goddess, Alyssa, I had no idea! I would have never made you try to hold the metal if I had known,” Ms. Gord said.

“I should have asked to skip it, but I was scared.” I breathed deeply.

“These scars are strange for standard Draconite chains. If I may ask, how did you get them off?” Ms. Gord looked puzzled.

“I managed to shift, it broke the chain, but it broke my hand in the process.” I explained.

“How is that even possible? Shifting while your skin was in contact with Draconite metal, how fascinating.” Ms. Gord said. “I don’t want to alarm you, but I would be careful who you tell this to. You might have a power that allows you to bypass the dragonite’s effects, and many power-hungry people are out there who would want to use that power for their nefarious deeds. Do you want to finish the class or take the rest of the time off?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I think I'm fine to return to class. I’m sorry for reacting the way I did in class.”

“You don’t have to apologize. Come on,” Ms. Gord smiled.

We returned to the classroom, and I took my seat next to Audrey; she gave me a look that if I needed to talk, I could confide in her.

“Audrey and I are here if you need anything,” Laufay said in my mind.

“Thank you, Faye,” I can feel Dahlia’s smile.

“Everyone Quiet! As you saw, Draconite is powerful,” Ms. Gord explained as everyone stared at me. Ms. Gord then picked up the metal and, with her right hand, summoned a flame in her hand. “As you can see, it does not affect other magical beings. Dragonite is used in our prisons to contain dragons that break the law. She placed the Draconite back inside her desk.

After that chemistry class, I wasn’t in the mood for anything. The rest of the school day went by, and I tried to avoid everyone. I left the school, heading back to Izzy’s house to do homework and go to bed. “Alyssa,” Tim waved. “I haven’t seen you all day, are you okay?”

“Hey, Tim,” I said while my back was turned to him. “I’m fine,”

“You remember that I can always tell when you’re upset and when you’re lying to me,” Tim said.

“It’s nothing, just a rough day,” I lied. “Vincent and I had a fight and don’t want to discuss it.” I quickly changed the subject. “So what are you up?”

“I don’t have anything planned. Do you want some coffee?” Tim asked.

“No, I just want to go home,” I said. “I’ll see you around,”

I walked back home and walked past Isabella when she said hi. I didn’t mean to be rude and not say hi back, but I’m not in my right mind. I locked my door. I needed to be alone. My mind was overflowing with bad memories that I thought I had pushed back to the darkest recesses of my mind.

“Alyssa?” Izzy said from behind my door. “Are you okay? May I come in?”

“I’m fine, I just want to be alone for a while if that’s okay,” I said.

“Alright, I’ll come back later to check on you,” Izzy said, then left.

I hadn’t left my room since school ended; before I knew it, it was dark out. I haven’t stopped crying for hours. I don’t know what that metal did, but it opened up an old wound. “Alyssa, it’s me, Vincent,” Vincent said. “Annabeth and Isabella called me to come over. Please open the door,”

“Vince, I just want to be alone,” I said.

“I’m not leaving, not when you need me now more then ever,” Vincent protested. “Please open the door, or I will find another way to open it,”

I rolled my eyes and reluctantly unlocked the door. As soon as Vincent saw me, he embraced me in his arms. “What are you doing here?” I asked him.

“As I said before, I was called here,” Vincent said.

“Of course she did,” I scoffed. “I’m fine; just go,”

“I’m not leaving my mate like this,” Vincent said as he held me tighter. I was still mad at him, but I couldn’t keep it in any longer as he continued to have me in his arms. “Please, baby, talk to me,”

“I can’t stop remembering the pain, the torture, the abuse, everything,” I burst out in tears again in his arms.

“Did this happen when you saw the Draconite?” Vincent asked.

“Yes, Dahlia screamed in my head not to touch it, but just seeing it did enough damage. I don’t know how to stop this,” I cried.

“I’m here now, it’s okay, and I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for you,” Vincent placed his fingers on my chin and had me look at him, and he put his lips on mine.