Prince of Dragons

Chapter Thirty-Five

I couldn't tell you how long we had been holed up in this small, dark cave, but to me...each minute felt more like an hour, and I began to wonder which minute would be my last. Because let's face it...I wasn't going to survive this. Not with the injuries I had obtained. I would need a miracle to walk out of here. Besides...I could feel the inevitable end approaching. That dark haze that started creeping into the edge of my vision, what...five minutes ago? Ten? Three? Again, time was strange to me in these dragging moments.

I wasn't going to see my family again. Father and Mother...Dorian and Drake. Wait, no...Davian...he named himself Davian. What kind of a brother was I if I couldn't remember that simple fact? In any case, I wasn't going to see them again, and my last words to my parents were a pathetic scrap of paper that I covered with my sloppy writing. I didn't want that to be my last words to them. I didn't want my last words to Davian to simply be goodbye.

Struggling, I slowly rolled my head towards Alaban, who still sat with the orb in his hand, concentrating with pinched brows, and a sweat-slickened forehead. I-I could ask him to give my family my last words. He would do that for me, right? No...he would. He cared about me; I knew he did. I could see it with the way he sometimes looked at me, with longing in those amber eyes. And to be perfectly honest—although it was the worst time to come to such a revelation—but I cared about him too. I...I wanted him too. I may have played naïve...but I wasn't stupid. I knew what this feeling in my chest was, I just didn't want to believe it. Especially after Cyrus' betrayal, and the damage he caused me, and my self worth.

I-I didn't want to trust someone this much, only for them to betray me again.

But...Alaban was a good man. A really good man. And my self hate ruined my chance to be with him. I was paying the price for it now, because he would never know how I felt.

He would be alright, though. He would find his people and they would comfort him. And Narvi would be there too, because Alaban would have taken him in—the last moon dragon in existence. Or, so we think, anyway.

Narvi. I cared about him too. In the short span of time I knew him, he had grown on me—and I loathed the thought that he too would be sad when I was gone. But perhaps Alaban would care for him, teach him how to correctly speak, and grow on one another.

What was I thinking again?

Oh...yes. Last words for my family.

"Alaban?" I whispered—as I couldn't speak much louder at this point.

Alaban's gaze instantly snapped to me, and his body went tense. "Yes Drakell?"

I licked my chapped lips and tried to shift my weight—only to wince and stop when pain shot through my body. "I-I need you to promise me something."

Alaban's eyes grew soft, and I couldn't help but get lost in that amber haze. "Anything, Drakell."

"I-I need you t-to give my family a message for me."

Alaban's gaze then hardened, and he shook his head, hands cupping my face. "I will not, Drakell, because you are going to give them the message, do you hear me? You are going to survive this. Y-You have to survive this."

I gave him a sad smile. "You a-and I both know that isn't going t-to happen." Alaban growled and lowered his head. "I-I can feel the coldness spreading. A-And Alaban? T-That's all I feel, is the cold. I-I can't feel anything e-else. I-I'm not going home, and y-you know this. So please Alaban...do this one thing for me? P-Please."

I attempted to lift my hand to cup one of his...however, I could barely lift my arm, and as I lost the strength to hold it up, Alaban's hand shifted from my cheek and caught it—squeezing it gently.

"I-I promise." He whispered, after a moment of silence—his voice trembling. "Y-Your message...I-I promise I will relay it to them."

I ignored the way my eyes burned as tears began to form. However, I held strong and gulped, closing my eyes. "T-Thank you." I swallowed my saliva and shifted with Alaban's help. "S-So um...I want t-to tell my parents t-that I'm sorry. I-I know I'm not the son t-they wanted me to be...but let them k-know that I love them, a-and that I w-was the one who broke mother's f-favorite blue vase. I-I only b-blamed it on Drake, b-because I-I didn't want to get in trouble." I laughed, only for it to end up in a coughing fit. Once I managed to get my bearings once more, I sucked in a breath and continued. "Tell Drake t-that I'm proud of h-him, and the man he's become. T-The father he's become. T-Tell him I-I'm sorry that I-I won't be there for the birth o-of his third child. A-And you should probably t-tell him that I broke that vase, t-too."

I licked my chapped lips once again—trying not to think about the way my heart stopped for a tense moment. "T-Tell Dorian t-that I'm s-so sorry I couldn't f-find him. I-I looked for s-so long, a-and I hated myself f-for so long, a-and t-that my h-happiest day w-was the day I found him again. Tell Davian t-that he had become a-a wonderful m-man, and I-I wish him n-nothing but a good and happy life w-with that human of his." I frowned. "D-Davian. Right. H-His name is Davian."

The three of us then tensed when I suddenly couldn't intake any air, and after a terrifying few seconds, I managed to catch my breath as I gasped and shook. I felt Narvi place his hand tensely on my shoulder, tears spilling down ivory-colored cheeks. "A-And Alaban, I-I want y-you to protect N-Narvi. I-I know you two don't q-quite get along...b-but c-can you promise me you'll g-get along?"

Narvi grabbed the hand Alaban currently had ahold of, holding tightly as his bottom lip trembled. "No. No. No! Stay! Drakell stay."

"I-I don't think I'm g-going to be a-able to."

I felt my body jerk, just as there was a strange mechanical click that echoed in the cave. My body trembled...but I only felt a brief shock of pain before everything went numb. I could feel that coldness creeping further along my body. First from my fingertips. Then my legs. Then my arms. I could feel it creeping into my lungs.

I could hear Alaban and Narvi's cries...although the tone was muffled—as if the gods didn't want me to hear their pain. They grabbed at me as a blinding light began to appear behind them. But I couldn't feel their hands. I couldn't feel anything. And now...now I was starting to see less. As if the world was...darkening. Which was weird, because at the same time I could see the blinding light behind Alaban and Narvi growing, and growing, and then it was too bright. And that weightless feeling once again took me.

I wanted to say goodbye. I tried to use the rest of my willpower to utter those simple, parting words, so I can give them some closure. But...the only thing that slipped from my lips was the last bit of air in my lungs, and my heart stopped.

A/N: Holy. Friggen. Shnap. That was the saddest scene I think I had ever written! Like oh my lerd my heart strings were being pulled while I wrote this, and hopefully yall think the same lol

But poor Alaban and Narvi! And most importantly, poor Drakell! Poor lil baby didn't even get to say goodbye to the people he cared about Q--Q Gah the feelings!!!!

Anywhooooo, I hope you enjoyed this heart-throbbingly sad chapter!!!! Lemme know what you thinkkkkk, I love feedbackkkkkk!