The Fire Within (Book 1 of Dragonfire series)

Chapter 6

I took a quick glance around and I knew I wasn't in my room. White walls surrounded me, along with several beds lined along the wall to my left and right.

"Did I get my Fia yesterday?!" I asked excitedly.

"Yes," Cullen said with a soft grin, but this faded when Kokel spoke.

"From now on, you will only be attending your individual class with me, and a defensive class taught by Cullen." Kokel instructed, "This is just until you get a better understanding of your Fia and have a little more control over it. Normally I don't do this, but your power seems to be a bit...different." Alfio scoffed at the thought of me having one on one time with Cullen, and volunteered to help me train.

"What did the witch, Kiora, mean when she said 'it's true' and 'you have it?'" I asked knowing I wouldn't get a direct answer.

"Why don't you get ready and one of these gentlemen will take you to the library." Kokel said looking at both men assertively. They all left my room giving me privacy to change. Alfio waited outside the door and escorted me to the library.

"It's not what you're used to," he explained, "the book system I mean. You stand on a podium, say a key word, and books with that word or about that subject with come to you from the shelves. Just take the ones you want, and the ones you don't will return to their spot on their own." Very cool. We walked into the library, and I craned my neck to look at all the walls filled with books. I had always loved reading and knew I would be spending a great deal of time in here. I did as Alfio instructed and stepped onto the podium.

"Uhh, history of magic, please," I said unsure if I was doing it right. Five books came from completely random parts of the library and assorted themselves before me. I grabbed a book with the title The Axl's, Their Magic, and the Creation of the World. I brought it over to a nearby table and flipped through the first few pages.

The book described there were ten original Axl's, but they mated amongst each other creating more Axl's. Nobody knows for sure how many Axl's were created, but they had a rough idea of a hundred. The ten original Axl's could also reproduce on their own, creating human like beings similar to Wizards or Faeries, but with much more power. The Axl known as Vesta was the strongest because she had a power known as the Dragonfire. Vesta; meaning goddess of sacred fire. The Dragonfire was created from stardust and fused with pure fire from Vesta herself. Vesta created the planet Pyralis, meaning 'of fire', and a single offspring from herself who would be the keeper of the Dragonfire. This supposed keeper, however, has never been found, and is assumed to be no longer living. Thousands of years ago, a witch coven went looking for the Dragonfire, and slaughtered all of the descendants from the Axl's, unsure of which one of them had it. When they were still empty handed, they went to Pyralis and demanded Vesta to give them the flame. When she refused, they sucked the life out of the planet and everyone on it, leaving it cold and barren. It was presumed that her offspring died that day on the planet.

"Do the witches think I have the dragonfire or something?" I asked Alfio in disbelief.

"Maybe, but there is no way that's possible, seeing that these events took place thousands of years ago," he said, though he appeared to be considering the possibility of it.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I said not really paying attention as I saw Cullen enter the library.

"Sorry to interrupt your date, but Kokel wants the princess here to start her defensive training," he said to Alfio but never took his eyes off me.

"I'll see you later," Alfio said before I got up and left, still looking at the book. Cullen led me back to my room so I could change into some crop leggings, a t-shirt, and some sneakers. We then walked to a room known as the training room, which kinda looked like an auditorium. The ceiling was dome shaped with metal tiles covering the whole thing, and the floor was covered with rubber.

"This is the training room," Cullen described, "the metal you see lining the room is magic proof, so if you miss your target you don't have to worry about destroying the place. The rubber flooring is meant to protect you if you fall." Realizing the statement was directed specifically at me, I gave a fake smile and walked to the middle of the room.

"Ok, so how do you want to start this?" I asked a little scared to transform again.

"Use your Fia to transform," he explained, "In order to access your power to its full potential you must transform." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I called upon the fire like feeling I experienced the night before, and forced it to come out from its hiding place. I took a sharp breath in as it roared to life, encircling me in a flaming sphere once again. I was in my light blue sparking outfit and looked to Cullen waiting for a response.

"Wow," he said amused while eyeing me up and down like he hadn't seen a girl in such a skimpy outfit before. I rolled my eyes and gave him a look of annoyance. He lifted his hand, palm facing up, and created a small orb of blue light in his hand. It slightly quivered, but was barely noticeable through the amount of control he had.

"You try," he said simply and lowered his hand, causing the orb to evaporate. I lifted my hand and copied his stance. I stared at my palm and waited for something to happen. After a minute or so I lowered my hand down and took a frustrated sigh.

"Hey, it's ok you didn't get it on your first try. Most people don't," he said and stood behind me, lifting my left hand up making it flat over his with my palm facing up. His chin hovered over my left shoulder, slowly whispering into my ear.

"Close your eyes and take a deep breath." I did as he said and relaxed myself into his chest behind me. I could feel his heart beating against my back with my heightened senses.

"Focus your magic into your palm and picture the orb I had in my hand." I again did as he said and pictured it floating effortlessly.

"Look at me," he whispered so quietly I barely heard it, despite the fact he was right next to my ear. I looked into his eyes, which appeared to be actually glowing green.

Our foreheads were nearly touching when he said, "You did it." I snapped my head around with a smile to see a red glowing orb in my palm, floating under my command. Cullen walked around to face me and stood a few inches away from my hand. I narrowed my eyes at the orb and began to increase the flow of energy into my palm. The orb transformed into a bit larger flame that danced on my hand, licking my palm gently without burning me. I stared at it in awe as it was completely under my control.

"Wow you're a very fast learner, I'm impressed," he said a bit stunned. "Ok, now you can put it out and that will conclude today's lesson." I heard his words, but they meant nothing as the fire within me was slowly coming to life. Just a little more. You know you can do so much better than that. The voices in my head taunted me to push to my limits, knowing I was capable of much greater. Weakly, I gave in and the fire instantly roared to life. The fire before me appeared almost like a mirror, showing me my reflection in the flames. My hair was even lighter than it was last night, officially a bleach blonde. My eyes were no longer brown, but actual orbs of fire as they flickered wildly. The silver crown on my head shined as if it was freshly polished.

"Alena!" Cullen's voice duly made it over the roar of the fire in my hand. "Alena, you need to put it out, now!" I lowered the height of the flames so I could see his face. "Your eyes... and your hair, it's so light..." He said wide eyed with a look similar to fear. Startled, I instantly extinguished the flame and stumbled at the sudden loss of energy I felt. I could feel the raging fire within being stored away to its original hiding place, leaving me empty. I began crying, scared at what I had become.

"I'm sorry," I sobbed, "I'm so sorry..I-I don't know what happened. It called to me, taunting me to use more and more of it." His features softened and embraced me in a strong hug while running his hand over my hair.

"It's ok, we will figure it out. I promise." And with that I buried my face into his muscular chest as if he could protect me from the devious voices in my head.

Hello readers :) Ok so there have been some moments with Cullen but for those who ship Alfina don't worry, they will have their moments too! Have a nice day/night, xoxo