The music stopped and Blake said goodnight as the ocean of people went ballistic again. The stage lowered to the ground with everyone’s chants and cheers and then every single band member, exploded into some sort of animal. Shirts and leather fell off them and the crowd’s cheering were thunderous. It lasted for a long time. My eyes grew and locked on that sight.
I jumped as a black panther strolled past the gate. “Lu, princess.”
“Ty.” Lucian waved.
I leaned closer to Lucian and whispered, “That’s the drummer?”
Lucian chuckled. “Go get your dragon.”
The stage hoisted back up to the roof and the entire arena lit up. There was no sign of the Rubicon, but the cameras were flashing like crazy.
The gate moved upwards, and the MC started the announcements, thanking everyone who sponsored tonight’s claim.
“Don’t fear your abilities, they won’t hurt you.”
“Thanks, Lucian. For everything.”
He rolled his eyes. “You will not die.”
“Let’s hope not.”
I still couldn’t believe Blake was the Rubicon. Why did everyone call him a little cocky shit? Okay, he was, as the memory of that night at Longbottoms flashed through my mind.
I walked out into a bright light. Flashes blinded me and the cheers vibrated through the ground. My legs wanted to run away. Something gigantic caught my eyes on the opposite side.
He was huge. I closed my eyes as the tears pricked. It wasn’t the simulator anymore. It was real, and it was Blake. I didn’t want to hurt him, either.
I huffed as another memory played through my mind. That night when Fox’s smile disappeared. Blake told him who he was.
I opened my eyes, and the Rubicon stared at me.It isn’t Blake, Elena. He has no control over him.
The gate closed, and Lucian showed me a thumbs up. My heart pounded like crazy.
No song played, as I told Dad it was stupid. I didn’t have a fight song, as they called it.
Nothing happened. I would not make the first move, either. The plan was to defend myself.
It’s not Blake, Elena. Claim him. He needs to yield.
He walked toward me. Every scale moved with muscles. He was as big as a house, towering over me as he closed the gap. The tendrils around his head were gigantic, moving slowly with the rhythmic motion of his steps.
My heart hammered inside my chest and the adrenaline wasn’t assisting me like it had in the simulator. It was doing its same old thing, freezing every limb in place. I took a deep breath and waited for the swamp or whatever he was planning to change the arena.
I huffed as I remembered something Blake said to me in the woods. I wouldn’t believe him too if he told me he was a dragon. He was telling me the truth. He never lied.
The beast reached me and his peacock blue eyes stared back at me. If I’d met him, I would’ve known that it was him. Nobody had that type of color eyes except him.
He bowed down, and I froze. His snout came toward my cheek and he sniffed.
I did not know what was happening, but the flashes of cameras went crazy as twitters and gasps came from the crowd. Even the MC stuttered. He had no words.
I closed my eyes and felt a warmth I never felt before. It burned ten times worse than the suit and, just like that, it stopped. It was over.
43
ELENA
Everything fell silent—the unnatural type of silent too like that day at the gas station. There wasn’t a breeze or a noise. It wasn’t normal for a place as packed as this one.
