Chapter 40

The next morning Johnny, Charles, and Daniel left the safety of the palace and galloped out to Belmonte's countryside. The three of them split up, each going to a major town in Belmonte. Orion and I had our work cut out for us. There were more people to train to fight, all at different experience levels. We found it most efficient to train the newest recruits in the morning, and the experienced loyalists in the afternoon. Mavis joined the morning session.

A few days in, it was late afternoon. Orion and I began to put our gear away. The loyalists began to head inside for dinner, and the Belmonte residents returned to their homes. A gentle voice spoke behind me.

"King Zander." I turned. It was Galen. They were dressed in a wispy purple dress.Their hair hung down their back.

"Galen, hello. I've been planning to speak with you when I had the time. Mavis suggested us heading up to the mountains for training. Not a lot of people out there usually." I said.

"Sounds like a brilliant idea." Galen said softly. We agreed to begin training once Johnny and Daniel had returned to keep the loyalists occupied.

The week went by rather quickly. Johnny had returned first with her group from Parlton. Daniel and Charles had not returned yet, but their destinations were farther.

Johnny took over training once more, allowing Galen and I to head towards the mountains with little suspicion. We went in deep to the valley of mountains. Galen was quiet for the majority of the journey down. Nestled behind mountains was a cave that provided enough coverage.

"This spot should be alright. We have coverage from all angles." I stopped and spun in a small circle, ensuring we could not be observed.

"Please, take off your shirt. And remind me again about your abilities." Galen said in their calm voice.

I did as they asked. I began pulling off my shirt, revealing the emerald dragon scale embedded into my chest.

"I traveled to the Calkhorn desert in search of something that could help me. I almost died out there, but I was healed by a dragon who could speak to me. It sounds delusional, I know." I said.

"Please continue." They said, examining the scale.

I took a deep breath and told them everything. I told them about the illusion the dragon put me in and how real it felt. I told them about my potential connection to the dragon that the whyrm dragon told me about. I rescued the body and soul, but Samuel had rescued the mind. It was unclear who had a stronger connection to it. I told them about my wound, and how it was replaced with a scale of the whrym dragon. I then told them in detail about Samuel's attack.

"A witch awoke the first dragon, you say?" Galen asked, back tracking to the beginning.

"Yes. Samuel knew her. She put the three pieces together and gave it life."

"That is very complicated to do. Do you remember the witch?"

"She was from Samuel's home. I believed he called her Miss Delphine." I said, remembering the old, skinny woman.

"Miss Delphine is a very powerful individual. Unfortunate that she is on their side. But fortunately for you, you have an individual who is just as powerful." Galen said.

"You? You have powers?"

"Yes. I prefer to use mine for healing purposes only, but war may need more than healing."

They dropped down to the ground and sat with their legs crossed. A chilly breeze drifted past us. Summer was coming to an end.

"I've only turned once. When Samuel attacked Belmonte. I haven't felt anything close to that feeling since then."

"We will learn to curate that feeling when needed. It's not just anger that awakes the dragon. It can be any extreme emotion. But it has to be intense." They said.

I lowered my head a bit.

"To be honest, I'm afraid of changing. I haven't since Samuel attacked and I'm afraid of hurting someone here. I barley remember anything from last time."

"I'm not going to minimize the risks. That is possible. But that's why we're out here. Where you can't hurt anyone."

"What if I hurt you?"

They raised their brows and exhaled.

"Don't worry about me, I can handle a dragon." Galen said. They stood to their feet.

"Alright, king Zander. I want you to try to change. I want you to feel how you did in the dungeon."

I stood up with them and did as they said. I closed my eyes and felt the breeze brush against my bare chest. I thought of Samuel, and the threats he made to my family. I thought about the bloodshed of my people he spilled. I thought of my parents and his pretend love.

My body remained unchanged. I was still just a man standing in a valley of mountains.

"Focus, Zander." Galen instructed.

I squeezed my eyes shut once more. I pictured Samuel. I remembered the day we arrived to Lafayette with the dragon. I remembered the happiness I had felt for the first time. Then, how it all burst into flames. The castle crumbled, with Lafayette people and children inside it. I focused on my hands no longer becoming my hands, and growing into a tall dragon. Despite all my desires, my body hadn't changed.

Galen would repeat themselves, asking me to try again. I began to get frustrated with myself. I had great power possessed in me, but I didn't have the emotional control to use it.

"It takes time." Galen told me upon noticing the frustration. It was nighttime. We had been out there all day. Crickets began to quietly chirp. The occasional firefly would flutter by in a blink.

"No mortal has ever had this kind of power inside of them before. You are the first. Do not be harsh on yourself. We will try again tomorrow."

I agreed with them and began to go back to the castle. It was late, I hadn't even realized how fast the day went by.

Orion was still outside putting away the remainder of the gear from that days practice. His injuries were almost fully healed. The bruises around his face had faded.

"Perfect timing. Can you help me take this last set to the armory? It's supposed to rain tonight, don't wanna get Johnny's equipment wet." Orion said.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Galen." I said to them, releasing them from their duties.

"Sleep well. See you tomorrow." They said in their soft tone.

I scooped up heavy shields in my arm and followed Orion to the armory.

"Y'all moved up to shields now. That's exciting."

"Yeah. I think the loyalists are happy about having something to block with instead of getting smacked around by Johnny." Orion said, carrying armfuls of heavy equipment.

"How was your day? Any progress with Galen?" Orion asked quietly.

"No. None at all." I sighed.

"You'll get there. I'm sure." He said.

"I don't know if what we're doing is even right. I'm the only human to apparently ever exist with this. We have no idea what to expect."

"The dragon entrusted you with it. The dragon must have thought you could handle it and figure out how to use it."

"He said no human had ever survived receiving it. Perhaps I wasn't meant to survive."

"We'll if you weren't meant to, you'd be dead right now. But you're not. You're here, stronger than ever." He said.

His words were a comfort. I appreciated his kindness, despite my doubts continuing. I never thought I would be with the prince of Vendov in my wife's castle. Then again, I never thought I would be part dragon. Life truly is full of surprises.

We unlocked the armory and went in. We began putting the weapons back to their rightful place. The room was filled with swords, shields, daggers, wooden weapons, and metal armor. Rows and rows of it were displayed throughout the room. We began to put the armor away in its proper locations.

"Do you hear that? I think it started raining." Orion said, listening to harsh drops begin to fall down from the sky. He looked out the window at the steady rain.

"Great." I said sharply.

"You still seem upset. Would you like to go for a walk in the gardens?"

"In this rain?" I asked him.

"What's a matter? Afraid of getting a little wet?" He asked, with a small smile.

"Of course not! Wanting to play in the rain doesn't seem very proper."

"Proper? I left my kingdom to fight on the side of the enemy. I think I left proper long ago." Orion gently grabbed my wrist and tugged.

"Let's go, Zander. Just a moment of fun." He insisted.

I let him pull me out of the castle. It was dark. The garden was barley visible. The rain fell down from the sky. It wasn't a cold rain. It was most likely the last warm rain of the season.

Orion was eager to be outside. He spread out his arms, embracing the beading rain.

"What do you say, Zander? Whoever makes the biggest splash wins?" He said, hovering over a puddle.

"Sounds a bit childish." I replied.

Before I could say anything else, Zander scooped his hands into the puddle and pushed water towards my legs. It splashed up my pants and soaked my ankles.

"Hey!" I called out, lowering my hands to return fire. I splashed him as harsh as I could, but my splash was minimal to his.

"You'll have to do better than that!" He said, splashing up handfuls of water at me.

We began splashing each other back and fourth as the rain fell down on us. I hated to admit how much fun it was. We weren't doing anything interesting by any means, just splashing around like two ducks in a pond.

I went to throw a heavy splash onto Orion, but my foot gave out on the wet grass. I fell backwards, landing on my back. My butt and body was throughly wet.

"Are you alright?" He crouched down to me.

My smile couldn't be eased. I laughed at myself.

"I'm fine, thanks." I said. He offered his hand to help me up. I took it, but instead pulling myself up, I pulled Orion down on the ground next to me.

"Taking advantage of my generosity, huh?" He laughed on the wet grass with me.

"I'm glad I got you to laugh." Orion said to me. I looked over to him. He was wearing a smile, which felt was rare for him.

The rain had faded. The rain clouds drifted past, allowing the moon and stars to make an appearance. We laid there together staring up at the stars. It reminded me of someone.

"It's good to try to have fun at times like this, I think. Hopefully it helps clear your mind a little." Orion said to me.

How could my mind be clear when such a handsome man was sitting in the wet grass with me? I thought.

"We're about to fight a very dangerous war. It's probably best to try to have fun while we can." I said.

He turned his head from the stars to me and smiled. His smile sent a warm feeling from my heart to my stomach, then dropped down further.

"Your bruises look nice." I awkwardly said.

"I mean. They look better. Like, they're almost gone." I attempted to correct myself.

"Thanks." He let out a light laugh.

Our hands were within finger length distance of touching. The desire to hold his hand and give into the feelings I was experiencing was tempting.

No.

No.

No.

I told myself in my head. I couldn't act upon my feelings. I needed to stop feeling things. I knew I couldn't be with anyone romantically. It was a terrible idea. I remembered Carlo, and how bad leaving him hurt. I couldn't give into the warm feelings that my body and heart wanted me to.

I pushed up off the wet grass. My clothes was full of green smears from the grass.

"I should try to dry off before bed." I said to him.

"Do you need help?" He asked.

"I-I think. I think I can handle it. Thank you." I said, approaching the castle door.

"Alright, Goodnight, your majesty."

"Goodnight, Orion." I walked away, wishing I wasn't ending the night.