The Dragon Prince

Returning to Varrfarrinn

Alyssa

We flew across the night sky; none of us could speak of what happened; none wanted to accept what happened hours ago. We split into two groups, one flying while the other shifted back and rested on the ones flying so we wouldn't have to stop on our way back to Varrfarrinn. I sat on Vincent's back, tears flowing freely down my face. Isabella was gone, and I blamed Gabrial. I couldn't wait to tear his head off. But a small part of me knew this was my fault; she pushed me out of the way. Looking up at the sky, I lay back as I felt Vincent's wings move.

I watched the stars and felt my tears leak down my cheeks to my ears, but I ignored them. Isabella was the first I trusted when I arrived in Varrfarrinn, my first friend in years. She made me laugh while I was sad and taught me not to fear the mate bond but to embrace it. Isabella was more than a friend; now she's dead because of me.

The sun began to shine as it rose on the horizon. I had jumped off Vincent when I saw that he was getting tired, shifted into my dragon, and allowed him to rest on me as he turned. I felt him lie forward, and I could swear I felt a slight shiver from him like he was crying. He hugged my back, and sometime later, he fell asleep.

"It's not your fault," Dahlia said.

"You are a part of me; you know it is, Dahlia," I snapped at her. "Why didn't we shoot him? We are stronger than we once were, so why couldn't we shoot him!?"

"Alyssa, calm down. We almost died healing Alexandria; we had no energy to cast our magic," Dahlia said.

"Calm down!? I just watched that monster murder my best friend! I did nothing!" I yelled.

"There was nothing we could have done," Dahlia said. "We will make him pay for what he has done,"

"But it won't bring her back to us, to Annabeth, her family, will it?" I growled.

Dahlia tried to say something else, but I pushed her back to the depths of my mind. We had started learning to communicate better, and now I know how to shut her out. I still felt her emotions; she was annoyed that I had shut her out, but I knew she understood why I did it.

With my argument with Dahlia, I didn't notice Vincent waking up. I felt his hand on the of my neck, brushing it gently. "Alyssa, there was nothing we could have done for her," Vincent said.

I shook my head at his statement, not willing to believe him. "Isabella made her choice; Isabella chose to save you. She is at peace and in the Promised Land of the Moon Goddess," I gave him a slight growl, but he continued stroking my neck. Vincent then asked if I was tired and if he should take over, but I shook my head. I was still weak from healing Alexandria, and it didn't help that we were flying much faster than when we arrived, but I couldn't justify switching places. I deserve this pain.

"Alyssa, please don't be like this. I'll take over," Vincent said.

I felt Vincent unhook his belt from mine and jump off a moment later. He quickly shifted into his white dragon form and flew next to me. Vincent nodded to me to get on his back, but I refused. He then tried to talk to me through our mind link, but I blocked him and flew away. I don't want Dahlia, Vincent, or anyone in my head right now.

Two hours passed, and I could feel my wings burning, so I flew over Vincent and shifted back. Soon, we could see Varrfarrinn in the distance. But something was wrong; I saw smoke rising from a few places around the island. "Oh no, the watchtowers," I huffed in panic.

I hope we are not too late. We flew low, ensuring the intruders did not spot us. After a while, we found a place to land. We all stored our bags under a bush since walking around with them would be hard.