My mind was still stuck on the alive part. “You are alive?”
“Elena, you are not ready for this.”
“No, if you are alive, they will fight.”
“Elena!”
“Don’t Elena me! It’s part of our foretelling. We are the only ones that can free Etan.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “They prophesied it?”
I nodded. “I think I know why now. You are still alive.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“So what! You just said that he is the meanest dragon of them all.” I had no problem calling him that now.
My father stared at me and then pulled me into his arms. “I can’t ask you this.”
“I don’t care. It’s going to happen. I’m not losing you. And neither will Paegeia. If they really love you like all of them say, they will fight.”
He kissed me on top of my head. “It will be nice to be free, to meet you, to be a father.”
“I don’t fit in here. I want to but I don’t.”
He touched my face. “It’s your home, you will. I promise you.”
I nodded. I couldn’t believe my father was still alive.
His eyes flickered to the crowd and landed on someone. I turned around and saw Sir Robert staring at Blake and me. My other father was standing next to him.
“Tell him I never doubted him. That it wasn’t like that. I wanted to tell him, but I knew the Rubicon would need him, and telling him about you, he would’ve abandoned his son. We did all of this so that we wouldn’t lose Blake. And that you could have something that will make you feel extraordinary, Elena. You can’t compare a dragon’s love to a human’s love. You deserve that type of love and he deserves a great Dragonian. He is not your pet, you hear?”
I nodded and looked back at Robert. “Robert?” I asked and remembered that time in the kitchen. When he said he was King Albert, my dad stopped him. “He was your dragon?”
“Still is.” My father squinted. “You didn’t know?”
“Dad, I only discovered a few minutes back, Blake was the Rubicon.”
His eyes made a curious frown, and I laughed. He chuckled too. “How?”
“It’s a long story. I’m hanging on by a thread, but I think I climbed it fast to solid ground. He’s your dragon?” I smiled again and my father nodded as he stared at him.
His smile disappeared as he swallowed hard.
“What is it?”
“You need Blake close to him when you tell him I’m alive, Elena.”
“Why?”
“Because he won’t think. He will fly to those creepers and they will kill him. I can’t lose my dragon too. I already lost your mother. Please, I’m begging you.”
I nodded. “You won’t. I promise.” Tears welled up in my eyes and my dad hugged me again.
“I ticked off the days until your birthday. I lost count during the years, but you were always on my mind.”
“You are going to see me again. I’m tired of listening to stories about you and Mom. I’m tired of people staring at me, too. Just hold on longer, please?”
