Mate to the Dragon Prince

Chapter Five

"Something isn't right here!"

"It looks thoroughly planned! Someone planned to kill Jisoo!"

"We don't know that! We can't jump into conclusions, mother!"

"The evidence is there, Jackson!"

Voices drifted around, distorted, so I couldn't make out the words or who they belonged to. I felt a cool hand caressing my cheek and slowly the voices started becoming at least familiar to me. But my eyes kept shut, they wouldn't open my command, a heaviness floated on them.

A soft sob came from the side, perhaps to one that was caressing my cheek, "Will she be alright?" Hearing mother's voice, relief flooded through me and for a few seconds I forgot the words she said to me.

I heard someone shifting their feet; walking towards me on the other side, "She will be alright! She's a fighter!" My father's words floated in the air, lacing with such pride. If it was a few or more years back, I would have happily accepted the words, like any little girl eagerly wanting to make her father proud, but I was no longer that girl, I learnt of my father's ways; I will not fall for little tricks and lies anymore, I have grown to learn them.

"She must be exhausted." Audrey's voice suddenly sounded. If she was here, Jackson wasn't far off, "We should leave her to rest."

"She hasn't even woken up yet, Audrey." Slight annoyance laced through mother's voice, I guess she always had a love-hate relationship with her daughter-in-law. But hearing mother's voice was music to my ears, there was some underlying fear within her voice; a trembling terror for my survival. If it was any other day...if that dinner hadn't happened or if she wouldn't have said those words, I would have accepted her concern and allowed it to be my fight to open my eyes, but I didn't so allowed the exhaustion to win and take me back into the darkness.

Throughout the time, I was in a blissful state of sleeping but consciousness was bordering every so often. A feeling of being able to hear everything around me, but not having the energy to open my eyes just yet. Hazy and sleep filled questions drifted through my head in a confusing storm. All that I remembered was the flash and the death-gripping pain...and Tristan..a name from the dream. Everything else was a blurry mess.

I tried opening my eyes again, only to be weighed down by my heavy eyelids. The constant beating of the monitors was starting to annoy me, I kept wanting to sit up and knock the damn thing over, but the numbing pain and sedative I was under made it impossible. My body laid still..unmoving, but my mind was awake.

"When will she wake-up?" Mother's voice filled my ears again and this time I fought the urge to embrace it.

"The doctor did say it will take a while." My father let out a tired sigh as he spoke the words.

"Who could have done this?" Mother sobbed again and I felt the soft caressing of her fingers on my hand, before she grabbed hold of it, wrapping her fingers around mine.

"It had to be Antonio Venturi." My father grumbled the name he once praised in hatred and disgust now.

"But why would you think that?"

"Who else would be?" My father almost snapped at her. It was easy to point fingers at the Venturi, at this very moment he was the most suspicious. I had rejected him after the date, when my father and Jackson were planning to marry me off to him and become a Venturi. The rejection is probably what pushed him to plot against Jackson and run away with the money. But the messages he sent afterwards with dinner invites and other as such told me he didn't accept the rejection, in his eyes I was still a trophy to be won, like many men did.