Chapter 10: Curse of the Royals

The two men had whispered plans of freeing Tris, but as the sun rises in the East they are still stuck in the tower. Nick had taken to watching out the window a couple of hours earlier. The guards below are finishing the yard for Tris’ execution.

‘I won’t let this happen, I have to do something’ he thinks to himself.

If only his parents had sent for him, he could have explained everything. That never happened, though, and now he has nothing but hate in his heart for the two people that brought him into this world. The few hours he has spent with Levi have educated him more than the years he has spent with his parents.

He was told that before he was born, the dragons had been a very close ally to the Kingdom. His grandfather had forged a bond between the two nations that was unbreakable. Levi hadn’t been sure what happened, he was only a small child when the conflict began, but the bond had broken and the dragons were forced to the Isle of Suns.

Nick’s father had taken over the Kingdom and banished the creatures off of the mainland. At this time, a prophecy was told that two children would be born, and their union would repair what was broken.

Levi had talked to Nick until he lost his voice. All the years he had wanted to speak with his daughter about her mark weighed heavy on him. The people in the Kingdom were frightened into silence. They were told it would be considered an act of treason to speak about the dragons and their prophecy.

“Your parents felt like it was a curse placed on them personally,” Levi explained in a whisper. “When Tris was born with the dragon mark, her mother and I knew it wasn’t just them.”

Nick had wanted to ask more questions, but Levi was fighting sleep. The beating he had taken was more than he could handle, and his body needed time to heal. As Tris’ dad drifted off, Nick made his way over to the window and watched the activity below.

Now that the sun is breaking the darkness of night, Nick feels panic growing inside him. Tears start swelling in his eyes, blurring his vision of the grizzly scene below. Word must have been sent out sometime in the night, as people from deep in the Kingdom begin flooding into the courtyard to watch the execution.

‘No, this can’t happen,’ Nick thinks, letting the tears streak down his cheeks.

Levi stirs on the cot behind him, sitting straight up with a yell.

“It’s okay,” a very startled Nick says.

“I dreamt Tris was burning. I saw my own daughter dead,” Levi whimpers, still half asleep, desperation heavy in his words.

“That’s not going to happen,” Nick says sternly as Levi drifts back off.

A few more minutes pass as more and more people pack into the grounds outside. Nick wracks his brain trying to figure out how to save Tris. It’s all he cares about right now. He will take her back and flee the Kingdom. He has a promise to keep, after all. That night in the woods plays over in his mind as he remembers telling her no harm would fall her ever again.

Nick reaches up and pulls at the bars on the window again. They are still firmly in place, making his frustration grow.

“I have to do something,” he cries out in exhaustion.

“What are you going to do?” a deep gruff voice asks.

Nick looks around, but no one has come into the room and Levi is still asleep.

“Who said that?” he demands.

“Look at you, barking orders,” the voice replies with a chuckle.

This time, Nick realizes it isn’t coming from somewhere in the room. He’s hearing the sound in his head, the same way he heard the dragons by the mountain. Nick feels a ping of regret for not telling Tris he could hear them. He just hadn’t known what to think at the time. Part of him believed he had been going crazy, so he hadn’t admitted to being able to hear them as he should have.

“I don’t have time for this. Show yourself!” Nick bellows, causing Levi to jump up from the bed.

“What’s going on?” Tris’ dad yells, preparing himself for a fight.

“Look what you did,’ the voice taunts.

“Did you hear that?” Nick asks with a look of worry plastered on his face.

The man just shakes his head and walks over to the window.

“What a bunch of sick fools,” Levi growls, looking out at the courtyard full of people. “What are we going to do?”

“He can’t do anything,” the voice informs. “But you and I can, kid. We can save the girl if you want.”

Nick looks at Levi, wide-eyed, shocked he hadn’t just heard that.

“Who are you?” Nick asks, turning away from Levi who starts looking at him in a funny way. “Are you a dragon nearby or something?”

“You could say that,” the voice taunts.

“You said you can save her, is that true?” Nick continues, growing frustrated by the sideways answers.

“I said WE can save her, and yes, it is,” comes the reply.

“There bringing that baby dragon out in a cage,” Levi says from behind him.

Nick turns around to see the wizard carrying Ember out into the courtyard in a small iron cage. He hangs it up just outside the wooden circle and the crowd goes nuts. Everyone falls silent as a woman is led into the yard. At first, Nick doesn’t recognize her. Once her hooded cape is ripped off, he gasps.

Tris has been put into a beautiful form-fitting gown that pools around her feet. She looks like a flower with her red hair shining in the morning sun. Two guards grab her, causing Nick to scream out the window. He doesn’t even realize he’s doing it until he has to gasp for air.

He hates that someone else is touching her. Nick wants to rip their arms off so they can’t even think about grabbing Tris ever again. Everyone who has caused her pain is going to pay dearly for their actions.

“Save her! Save her now!” he screams at the voice. “I’ll do anything, just get Tris out of there!”

“All you have to do is set me free,” the voice instructs.

Nick doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Is he locked in the tower nearby? He doesn’t have time for these games, Tris needs him.

“Set me free, and I’ll save every hair on her pretty little head,” the voice continues.

“How? How do I set you free?” Nick asks, his frustration growing as he glances out the window to see the guards tying Tris to a post in the middle of the wood ring.

“Nick? What’s going on?” Levi asks, fear coming through his words as he backs against the chamber wall.

Nick ignores him and continues questioning the strange voice.

“How?” he screams, feeling a sudden pressure in his head.

The pain drops him to his knees as he screams. It’s as if lighting is shooting through his head, making it feel as if it's splitting it in two. A bright white light fills the chamber, blinding Nick, but it isn’t coming from anywhere outside.

“They’re lighting the fire!” Levi yells as he gawks out the window from his place against the wall. “Do something,” he begs.

“I am you, and you are me, until you set the dragon free,” the voice in Nick’s head chants.

Unable to take it any longer, the prince jumps to his feet and runs at the wall with the window overlooking the courtyard. Rather than smashing into the cold stone, he feels his body burst right through.

“I set you free!” he screams as he begins falling toward the crowd.

Nick closes his eyes for only a moment as a bright white light blinds him. When he opens them again, he watches as he soars over the courtyard. The smoke from the fire is blinding, and he only catches a glimpse of Tris in the center of the ring as they sore overhead.

“No, go back,” Nick shouts, causing him to realize he isn’t in control of his actions.

Looking down, he isn’t even in his own body anymore. Bright white scales with a blue glow cover the massive torso he’s looking at. Nick begins to panic as confusion takes hold.

“Don’t worry, kid, I always get the girl,” the voice jokes while turning them around.

“Who are you?” Nick stutters, hardly able to find his voice. “Am I a dragon?”

“I’m you, well, the dragon within you. The name’s Dom, and it’s good to be free,” he replies.

Nick can see through Dom’s eyes as he flies, and his heart drops as a very lifeless-looking Tris comes into view. They’re too late. The fire and smoke have done their job and Tris can no longer be saved. Rage boils up in Nick’s veins as he screams. Rather than his voice, a deafening roar causes the startled crowd to scurry.