Inner Darkness (Book 2 of Dragonfire series)

Chapter 2

My eyes widened as I looked from Cullen, to Amirah, and back to Cullen. He stood there speechless, glancing back and forth between Amirah and myself. I rolled my eyes and took a dramatic sigh before storming back to my room. After a few seconds, Cullen called after me.

"Alena, wait!" I ignored him and continued walking, forcing the tears out of my eyes. By the time I reached the door to my room he had caught up to me.

"Did you know she was coming here? I thought she was just a friend Cullen. She didn't look at you like you were just friends!" I felt my hands boiling with heat.

"She is just a friend, to me. She has had a crush on me since we were younger, but I never felt that way about her. I promise you I'm telling the truth. I love you, not her." He grabbed my wrists and pulled them up so they were in front of our faces. They were glowing bright red like a burner on an oven. I blushed, and took deep breaths to calm myself down. "Let me go talk to her and ask why she is here. I will return shortly." He kissed my forehead an left to deal with her. I entered my room and unpacked my suitcases. Just as I had put away my last pair of pants, I heard a soft knock on the door. Cullen entered slowly and closed the door behind him. Oh boy, this is gonna be good. He sighed and rubbed the back of neck like he always does when he is nervous about saying something.

"Just say it," I said, answering the question he was contemplating in his head.

"Amirah's parents want her to spend a year studying here. She will only be here for one, but-" My eyes widened at this unfortunate information.

"You have to be kidding me! It's like her parents are trying to hook you guys up or something!" He looked away uneasily, but I didn't have time to question it before Stella burst into my room.

"Alena did you hear about-" she saw Cullen standing across from me and cut herself off.

"Yes, I heard about Amirah." I said, crossing my arms in annoyance. Sensing the unspoken connection between Stella and I, Cullen excused himself to finish unpacking his suitcases. I waited a few minutes before I continued. "This is going to be a rough year." Stella gave me a sympathetic look and joined me on my bed.

"I wonder what her power is," Stella said, appearing to be deep in thought.

"Probably something stupid like manipulating hair growth." We both laughed at the thought of making another girls armpit hair grow down to her knees. We continued to brainstorm about stupid powers until we heard a knock on the door. I gave Stella a startled look before opening the door. Amirah smiled graciously and welcomed herself into my room.

"It's Alena, right? I wanted to formally introduce myself; I'm Amirah." She smiled and offered me her hand. I shook it cautiously, as if she were going to attack me somehow. "I feel as if we got off on the wrong foot. I know we both have history with Cullen, but I'm hoping we can put that behind us. I'd like us to be friends." She continued to wear that smile on her face.

"Yeah I do, want to be friends, I mean." I gave her a fake smile before saying goodbye and closing the door behind her. I turned to Stella and rolled my eyes. "I see right through her act." Stella nodded, and yawned loudly, making me laugh.

"Alright Alena, I'll meet you for breakfast tomorrow." I nodded and closed the door behind her, hoping I didn't have any more visitors. I yawned obnoxiously as I crawled into bed and turned off the light.

I am surrounded by a black abyss, like when Ravyn was inside my head. A red flame dances in front of me. I reach out to touch it, but something happens when I come in contact. The part of the flame that I touch turns black. The darkness spreads over the flame, changing it from its former beauty into something much more ominous. The flame no longer dances, but rages with an evil desire. The black flame starts growing bigger and bigger until it sucks all the oxygen out of the room.

I wake up gasping for air, with my left hand holding my heck. I wipe my brow and lay back, taking deep breaths in an effort to calm myself down. I eventually fall back asleep, confused as to what the dream meant.

I didn't do much the rest of the week. I tried my best to avoid any confrontation with Amirah. Cullen had to help show her around and such as a royal courtesy. If people caught on that they were avoiding each other, the press could make a big deal about it and create royal tensions. I realized I just had to accept that they were friends and would spend some time together. That still didn't stop me from dreading the start of school, which would force me to have classes with her. I desperately hoped she was in my defensive class. I smiled, thinking about what happened to the last girl who challenged me. This year might not be so bad after all.