Dragons Trust Book 1 - The Start

The Underside

"What did Clinton mean when he said, 'there's already been a few incidents'?" Marcus asked. Via looked down. I saw her hands begin to rub together. If I was right, and I usually am, she would begin to pick at her skin next. After a moment of her obviously trying to find the words, her hands started to pick. One of my hands went under the table and grabbed both of hers. She stilled and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Some of the others don't think I belong here." Her words were quiet. Almost unable to be heard in the loud hall. My thumb rubbed over her hands. Ares laid outside the window. His head lifted so one orange eye could see me and the others. One of her hands slipped out from under mine and began to rub back and forth on the material of her pants. "They um, made threats and some other things. Nothing too bad though. I guess I was lucky Clinton was there."

"It's okay, Birdy," Marcus told her. He had noticed her fidgeting as well. "You don't have to be scared. We're almost all together again. We can protect you now."

"She's scared?" Ares asked. I told him yes. Her fingers moved over my palm. Grounding her and keeping her attention was crucial. If she had a full blown panic attack, she would crumple.

"Let's go to our cabin. It's quieter there," I said. It wasn't really a suggestion. So, the four of us left and went to the decently sized building we would be staying in for the next few nights. Octavia had stayed close but far enough away that it was noticeable she was nervous.

Outside wasn't any quieter than the Hall. In fact, it was probably louder. We passed by stands with vendors that yelled out prices and the items they were selling. It was definitely a lot. Not stopping for anything, we pushed our way to the cabin then closed the door on someone trying to sell us something.

I flopped onto to one of the couches situated around the room. A sigh left my lips. This was going to be an interesting year to say the least. Octavia hesitantly sat on one of the chairs and put her hands uber her legs. Ares poked his head in through a large side door. Two other dragons joined him. Marcus started to talk.

"Via, these are our dragons. You know Ares from him always being behind Noah." The crimson beast rumbled. He was confused on my feelings about the girl. "The yellow one is mine, her name's Solana. And the red one is Micah's, his name is Brantley."

"They're all very pretty," she said. Ares lifted his head proudly.

"Please don't feed his ego," I huffed. "Where we're at right now is what we call the Underside. The floating mountains are called the Topside, or it's actual name, Dovlescea." Octavia nodded. I doubted she would have any problems learning her way around, or whatever else.

"When do I get to meet mine?" Her eyes wondered over us for a moment before darting to floor. Gods, it's been three years. Three years of not being to see her or speak to her. Why is the only thing I can think about her? Why do I still want her just as bad?

"When it senses you, it'll fly down and find you. Or, it will come from wherever it is. Either way it will come to you," Marcus explained. The radio mumbled in my ear and I sighed again. A report of the attack needed to be made. I let the other three know I was leaving then mounted Ares and flew off.

It was probably a better thing I needed to go for a little bit. Octavia was captivating. Almost nothing could hold my attention the way she did. Even just simple movements forced me to stop and watch. My want for her hurt. When I wasn't able to say goodbye to her my heart had shattered. I hadn't been able to say goodbye to anybody. Not even my own brothers.

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A few hours had passed. When I walked into the cabin Octavia was the only one awake. Marcus and Micah had gone to their rooms and passed out. Via sat in front of the T.V. It illuminated her features and cast a shadow behind her. The clothes she wore now were different from earlier. I recognized one of old long sleeved shirts I had given her, and the pair of joggers I had bought her.

"I was waiting for you to get back," she explained. I couldn't help but look at her. My jacket dropped from my hand as I walked over to her. The fact that she was explaining what she was doing unprompted was a little bit concerning. We had all worked so hard to get her out of that only for her to go right back. I grabbed her hand and pulled her so she stood in front of me, then I hugged her. "I missed you guys so much." Her voice broke a little bit. There was no telling what she had been through after we had left.

"You don't have to tell me what you're doing Via," I told her softly. Her arms returned the hug as she buried her face into my shoulder. She held onto me like I would disappear if she let go. Neither one of us wanted to let go. "It's okay, you're safe here. I will do everything in my power to stay with you this time. I missed you too Octavia."

Once again, just like before, I fought the urge to kiss her. She meant the world to me. If we were simply objects out in space, she would be the world I revolved around, I would be the moon that always circled her, forever entranced, never able to break away because of the pull she had on my soul.

"You should get some sleep," I said.

"I don't want to let go yet," she pleaded. I had no problem with this. But she needed to go to sleep.

"We can go to my room. You can sleep in there with me, if you want to."

Via nodded. I lead her to the room that was marked as mine and told her to lay down while I went to shower. A little while later, when I was done with my shower, I walked out the bathroom without a shirt. Via was on the top of the blankets fast asleep. A smile tugged at my lips. I carefully moved her so she was under the blankets, then I slid in next to her.