Chapter 10

First blood.

Jorgen's expecting us to shift into our dragons and I'm not ready to be exposed in front of everyone just yet.

At the same time, I can't refuse to participate; it'll look suspicious on my part. I've been waiting for this moment since the events in the forest, but shifting into a Wyvern in front of everyone here might cause a bit of havoc. Everyone knows my creature's rare and no Wyvern's been seen in Rivenna for many years.

"The first dragon to draw another's blood will score the most points," Jorgen announces and Thayer hands him a black hat. "Ladies first, Astri, draw the name of your opponent."

Everyone turns to look at me and I smile weakly, approaching the duke. The tension around the courtyard drills holes into my stomach.

I've been avoiding unleashing my dragon because I never wanted attention drawn my way, but now everyone's eyes are on me. Mages and shifters never approved when Wyvern called themselves true dragons. My hand's shaking slightly when I pick up the wrapped piece of paper. My head's clogged with images from my nightmare. I keep seeing the duke's vicious smile, telling me I'm the last of my clan-he should've killed me the first time. My knees turn to jelly and my heart starts jackhammering in my chest.

I unwrap the paper and it feels as if a bunch of stones cascade down into the pit of my stomach, making me nauseous. Of course, I picked the one shifter who holds a grudge against me. This couldn't have gone any other way.

"Sebastian," I say, swallowing hard.

"Whoo hooo! It looks like we finally get the chance to play," he says, grinning like he just won the lottery. Dick.

Jorgen doesn't look too pleased, but he can't change his own rules. I just have to beat Sebastian at his own game and prove to everyone I'm as good as any of the other shifters. Everyone else waits for their turn as I back away, trying to ease off the tension in my body. My inner dragon's filled with excitement. A Wyvern uses its instinct to fight and survive. Although my senses are sharper, my eyesight is poor.

"Don't worry, little girl, I'll go easy on you," Sebastian says, winking at me.

He lifts his knife to run his tongue over the blade, challenging me with his eyes. I want to punch him in his stupid face.

Moments later, his whole body goes rigid, and his eyes roll into the back of his head. I see how pure energy is rippling through him, expanding into a burst of light. He's trying to shift, slowly losing all human features and growing at least ten times his normal size.

Everyone around him backs away several hundred meters, knowing it's always dangerous being in close proximity to a mage or a shifter. His transformation is spectacular and within seconds a fully grown, mountain dragon, unravels its wings, roaring with vehemence. Dragon shifters in Rivenna have the same characteristics: black, slick skin and red horns that run alongside their curvy spines. The ground shakes for miles around when the beast tries to rise in the air, flexing his enormous muscles and releasing a fire that turns the nearest tree into ash. It has a long jaw, pointed, sharp fangs and a red reptile-like tongue. Sebastian's creature is four-legged and his tail's longer than any typical dragon I've seen, with yellow spikes at the end.

I shut my eyes and lift my hands on each side. I need to shift too, allowing every cell in my body to release magical energy, then slowly doubling, tripling in size. Power pounds through me, and soon I lose track of time, letting my creature take control of my inner self. Magical energy starts bouncing inside me. My body changes shape, my bones and skin stretch. My muscles are contracting, growing with enormous speed. The ground trembles beneath my feet and my beast bellows out an inhuman roar, finally standing on two legs. This is the main difference between typical shifters and Wyvern creatures.

My skin is shiny red and my jaw's long and wide. I have tiny, pointed spikes scattered around my entire body, but my wings are smaller and thinner. I dig my sharp claws into the ground and lift myself off the ground, taking a large gulp of fresh air. Most of my human senses are lost, but I sense magic, almost like I can touch it with my human hands.

I want to draw blood of the creature who circles above me. I rise into the sky, releasing raw fire, gathering all my energy to attack.

Sebastian's dragon isn't wasting any time. He dives in the air and attacks first, releasing smoke with fire and I somehow manage to avoid it, flying lower than I intended to in the first place.

I lose sight of him, flying over town now, trying to spot him in the darkness. The craving for his blood burns my throat, but my vision's limited, so I feed on energy from the soil and mountains nearby.

His dragon's at least a meter larger than mine. He keeps his distance, following me around for quite some time. We're playing a cat and mouse game, but I'm not planning on wasting my time. His jaw stretches wide in a silent howl and I drop several feet down below, losing sight of his beast again.

Then I hear a horrible noise, a yowling, screeching and screaming somewhere beneath me. Sebastian attacks, instantly ripping my lower stomach with his horns, releasing a storm of fire at the same time. I register hot pain and let go of a loud roar. He must have used some kind of magical spell, tricking my senses and causing my ears to ring. I don't even realise we're flying around in a circle, close to the castle tower.

I work hard to rise higher, but Sebastian's dragon blocks me, launching its enormous body on me. When he releases his fire I'm too slow and too heavy to rise above and escape. The heat blast burns my entire left side, and the smoke blurs my vision.

Fierce pain shakes me to the core, and it feels as if my tough dragon skin is melting away. Pain erupts above the surface of my back, thick smoke enters my nose, and I lose sense of coordination in the air.

I try to use my wings to remain flying, but I can't control my free fall from the sky. The fire burns my wings, and everything goes dark.

***

"She's Wyvern, Thayer. How is this possible? How did we all miss the fact she's been living here, in Rivenna, this entire time?" asks a mumbled voice I can barely hear. I want to wake up and open my eyes, but my body's spasming uncontrollably, or maybe this whole thing's happening in my head. The soaring pain shifts around and icy horror begins drenching my veins. I can't move my arms, legs or neck. Something's wrong, and the darkness shatters my vision.

I don't remember what happened.

Where are my Pixies? I'm desperate to see them; they can heal me-put me back together again.

"They were all slaughtered, my lord, during the Great War. There were others in neighbouring cities, but Rivenna has only mountain shifters. I don't understand how she hasn't been seen around. People aren't secretive around here. We should have known."

"She's one of them; a protected species, maybe even the last of her clan. My father tried to track creatures like hers his whole life," adds the same voice.

"Maybe you should cancel the contest. The news will spread fast and her life will be in danger if this reaches other parts of the Eastern World," adds the other voice I've heard before. It must be Thayer.

Entire parts of my body are numb, and coldness spreads throughout my chest. The burning smell of flesh wafts through the air.

I feel lightning pain pounding through my entire left side, like my skin's burning, peeling away. The contest-I remember shifting into my dragon, but something went wrong. I'd used my magic, a lot of magic, but Sebastian launched his beast on me.

Anxious energy rolls through me and I want to wake up from this nightmare.

"She has to stay in the castle for now-with me. I'll make sure she's looked after. The guards will keep an eye on her."

"But, my lord, the others witnessed her shifting into a Wyvern dragon. What if the mas-"

"Silence, Thayer, don't even mention his name to me. He won't dare show his face around here. He won't. Astri is my responsibility now. I think you should go and find out as much as you can about her past. There must be something we all missed. I'm planning to keep her here for as long as possible," the same voice adds and I want to scream with pain and wake up to find out what's happened. More darkness shades me and the pain breaks the dragon inside me again.

***

Someone's caressing my face, and warm energy spreads over my body. My dragon stirs inside me, unharmed, and I exhale with relief. I know I should be opening my eyes, but it feels so nice and pleasant.

I've never been so warm and comfortable; the sheets smell like lavender and lemons. Little waves of magic crackle over my arms, spinning rapidly as I let it loose, probably for the first time since I can remember.

"She has to be all right, Emilia. Astri's strong and she's going to get through this," says a high-pitched voice that can only belong to Lenin.

I blink rapidly spotting Emilia. She's smiling and her eyes are puffy. She looks like she's been crying.

"What's going on? What are you doing in here?" I ask, staring at the white walls in a huge room that can only be the castle's hospital, because there's a bunch of other beds next to mine. My skin feels sticky and I try to remember what happened, but everything from today's events seem fuzzy in my head.

Lenin and Jetli are flying in front of me. They're relieved and happy I'm conscious again.

"That other contestant, Sebastian. He went overboard with his dragon fire and he nearly killed you. The duke was furious when you went down on the ground. I think he healed you using his dragon venom. His magic is extraordinary," Emilia explains, touching my hand.

Now I remember what happened. I had to shift into a dragon and I picked Sebastian's name out of the hat.

I pull back the covers and see I'm only wearing some lousy T-shirt. My arm, ribcage and left leg are covered in bandages. Everything's slowly coming back to me. I unleashed my dragon, and we were fighting over the castle grounds. Sebastian attacked me out of nowhere and nearly ripped me apart.

"I peed in his shoes while you were asleep," Lenin admits proudly and high-fives his sister. I drag my hand over my scar, feeling like a complete idiot.

Of course, that piece of shit, Sebastian won the latest challenge. I haven't unleashed my dragon for months and I don't know what I was expecting.

Emilia tries not to laugh, but I notice a tiny smile on her face. I lift myself and sit up in the bed. Then I remember the conversation between the duke and Thayer. They must have been near my bed when I was fighting to wake up. They were talking about me, and the duke's plan to keep me in the castle for as long as he can. Now they know I'm a Wyvern, and I'm the only one in Rivenna.

"And what are you doing in here, Emilia?" I ask.

"The duke's people showed up in the shop. They were asking me about your family. They wanted to know how long you worked for me," she explains, sounding a little on edge. For Hommis, I hope Jorgen didn't send his people to my aunt and uncle too. This would've been a total disaster.

"Emilia, please tell me you haven't told them I lived with humans," I ask, already imagining their reaction when the duke or his guards showed up at their door.

"I had no choice, Astri. That shifter, Thayer, was very persistent. I explained they were the only family you had left and they raised you," she says and Lenin slaps himself in the forehead. I swallow past a huge lump in my throat knowing exactly how my aunt and uncle will react to shifters from the castle at their door, and I need to get out and have some air. "But I explained to them your aunt and uncle wouldn't want to speak to them. I said that I always treated you like a daughter, and they wanted me to be here when you woke up."

"Oh Hommis," I whisper and then glance back at her, realising what she said about the duke. "Hold on, how did Jorgen heal me?"

"Jorgen said you were badly injured, and you weren't going to make it, so he used his magic and his dragon venom to put you back together. The duke saved your life, Astri," she says and I stare at her with disbelief. "That man is so handsome and he has such a good heart. If I could just find the right shifter female for him."

I kind of switch off when Emilia starts going over a perfect match for the duke. I can't believe I'm alive.

I don't get why Jorgen would decide to heal me. I realise a lot of time has passed and he probably doesn't remember me; I was just a little girl the last time he saw me.

"I'm glad I survived, but now the contest is over for me. I lost to Sebastian," I say, filled with bitter disappointment. My magic failed me again.

"Are you giving up so easily? I thought you were going to teach that arrogant shifter a real life lesson," says a familiar voice that makes my heart shudder in my chest. Warmth travels down my body when the duke enters the hospital, wearing his Rivenna army uniform.

No, no, no, I don't want to owe him anything. He's the enemy. My own body shouldn't betray me like this, especially not in front of Emilia. She'll try even harder to hook us up. I mentally slap myself for allowing my stupid hormones to take over my body at will.

"But what about the contest rules? Sebastian must have scored the most points," I say, feeling too exposed in this huge room. My scar's visible and he's staring at it and I don't know how to act around him. Lenin and Jetli are flying around Emilia. They're quiet for a change.

"Yes, and so far you're right behind him, in second position," Jorgen says, sounding like he's proud of me. I stare at him in utter disbelief. There's no way I'm in second place after what happened out there. I bet he healed me because he had no other choice. Now people will believe he's a real hero.

Wyvern's history has always been unclear, and now he knows who I am.

"Game on, Astri. We can stay... Can I kiss you, my lordi lord? I've never been so happy in my life!" Lenin starts shouting and flying like crazy. I suppose he's happy we don't have to leave the castle after all.

"Emilia mentioned you healed me. I must thank you," I say, rubbing my cheek, trying to ignore the fact I enjoy his company.

I accepted my aunt and uncle were taking advantage of me. I accepted I couldn't make any friends because of the way I looked, but ever since the dream, I can't stop thinking about avenging them.

"You exhibited a great amount of bravery and your dragon's very unique. It was the least I could've done for you," he adds. "I'll leave you now. I hope you recover soon."

He nods to Emilia and walks away.

"Yes, Astri, the whole town is talking about you. Wyverns are so rare and of course you never shifted anywhere near me, so I didn't know," Emilia says, and I automatically feel guilty. There was so much more I'd hidden from her.

"The whole town?" I repeat feeling dizzy.

"Yes, you're famous and now your dragon is too. The shop's been swamped since this morning. People keep asking me about you. They want you to win!"