Dragon's Revenge
3.

She quickly hides her phone, looking up to see Jonah towering over her. He eyes her with a smirk, relishing the control he has over her. "Are you going to answer my question, or are you going to keep me guessing?" He closes the space between them, backing her up against the wall. He presses his body up against hers, his gaze locked onto hers. "You're testing my patience. Tell me where you were going."

"Jonah, why are you so obsessed with me? I've been away for two seconds and now you're here, all up in my business."

"Don't flatter yourself. I have to keep an eye on you, it's my duty. What do you have back there? Hiding something?" Jonah reaches for her hand, but she quickly steps back. "Now my interest is piqued. What are you hiding, Elodie?" Jonah goes for her hand, yet again. She only has a brief moment to react.

In one swift motion, she steps out of his way, spins around and slips her phone into her bra. When she's facing him again, she holds up her hands and shrugs innocently. "I don't know what you think you saw, but clearly I'm not holding anything. See?"

"Hmm. My mistake, then." Jonah's eyes slowly rake over her, his jaw taut with tension. "I thought you had a phone with you. But clearly, I was mistaken." He leans forward, his gaze still glinting with suspicion. "That said, you still avoided my question earlier. So I need you to tell me, before I came out here, where were you going?"

"Oh, I was just looking for that restroom."

"Uh, huh. You do know the restroom isn't outside, right?"

"Oh, my bad. I guess I got turned around."

He grabs her wrist and holds it tight, reminding her of the power he has over her. "Unfortunately, it's against Jebel rules for you to go anywhere without me. So if you do need to go somewhere, I'll have to come with you."

"You know what, Jonah, I'm going to have some fun with you. You made it seem like because I'm your human, you have total control over me. But now you're saying that you have to follow me around. So I have control over you?"

"Don't get any ideas. Yes, I have to keep an eye on you, but you still work for me." Jonah releases her wrist. Suddenly, all the air in her lunges whooshes out. "Now, we really should pivot our focus to the royal court dinner tonight."

"Tonight? But it's already so late."

"It's early for us, given that we don't sleep much. Come on, we're already late." Jonah escorts her out of the pub. Not long after, they're both back in her room. Jonah stays in the room, giving her no chance to use her hidden phone. So instead, she pivots.

"What is this royal dinner? Can you tell me more about it?"

"It's a yearly event hosting representatives from the world's ten most powerful dragon clans." Jonah continues explaining the party to her, completely unaware of her scheming. "We have to be on our best behavior, since its the Jebels' turn to host this year." She nods, distracted. But Jonah finally realizes that she's barely paying attention. "Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, chill. It's just a dinner party." She rolls her eyes. "I'll eat, I'll drink, I'll mingle. I'll be a good little human, I promise."

"That's exactly what I want to hear." Jonah's eyes lock with hers, the air thick with tension, but then he turns to leave. "You have one hour to get ready. And I'd suggest taking a look in the closet." With that, he's gone.

The moment the door shuts, she grabs her hidden phone. She clacks away at her keyboard and quickly shoots off a text. 'As I look up at the sky, I see a storm brewing. The dark clouds are looming over me. But as soon as the storm passes and I can step into the sunlight, I will.'

She shuts her phone off and hides it under the mattress. Then, she turns to the closet. She opens it to see several stunning gowns inside, with a handwritten note from Jonah taped to them. 'A beautiful gown for a beautiful lady'

She throws on a simple dress from the back of the closet and quickly finishes getting ready.

Jonah returns to her room. He looks at her, confused. "Oh, okay. I guess I'd call that a choice. Shall we?" He holds out his arm for her. She takes it and he escorts her out of the suite.

Not too long after, she's out at the dining hall, decked out for the event. "The Jebels don't do simple, do they?"

Jonah laughs, shaking his head. She takes in the crystal chandeliers, the glitzy decorations and floral seating arrangements. "Gorgeous, isn't it?"

She looks up to see Jonah watching her carefully, his eyes bright with emotion. "Jonah, do you like what you see?"

"Very much so. You're gorgeous, Elodie." His eyes lock with hers. He closes the space between them. "Here. Let me." He brushes a stray strand of hair from her face and tucks it behind her ear. Instead of pulling away, she stays close. His face mere inches from her. "Thank you for accompanying me tonight."

"Thank you for choosing me to accompany you."

Jonah leans forward to kiss her cheek, then pauses, hesitant. Her eyes are drawn to his lips, then back up to his eyes. He's clearly waiting for her approval.

Without warning, she takes a step back, leaving him hanging. Heat rises to his face and he looks around, making sure no one saw his flub. "Do me a favor, Elodie. Let's pretend that never happened."

"That what never happened?"

"Exactly." Jonah takes her hand and laces his fingers into hers. "Now, time for the tour." He guides her through the party, whispering commentary into her ear. "There are some other humans here, like Mayor Melshi, the Mayor of Seattle."

"Why is the Mayor here?"

"As I mentioned before, some human leaders are aware of the dragon clans. They work to keep the peace...so long as the dragons remain in hiding the humans stay unharmed."

"Whoa. It seems like you have it all figured out. With someone like the Mayor working for you, your clan can basically do whatever you want. And get away with it. With little to no consequences."

"Maybe you're right, but my clan would never abuse their power like that." Jonah gestures to the crowd. "And it's not just humans that are here. There's also dragon royalty from other countries... and their families and their security teams. Plus, everyone from the Jebel clan; Desmonda, Morgan, Maria, Mino, Jeremiah, Nori." As she scans the crowd, she spots her uncle among the guests. Her heart almost stops in shock. He's dressed in a nice suit and is chatting with Nori, of all people. Jonah notices her sudden change in demeanor. "What is it? Is everything okay?"

"Actually, I need to stretch my legs. It's starting to feel stuffy in here, especially around all these people. But I know you're supposed to come with me...."

"No, it's okay. I trust you. Go take a walk, I'll wait here."

She moves through the crowd and heads straight to the bar. She orders a glass of water from the barkeep. Jebeem sees her at the bar and excuses himself from the conversation with Nori. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Nori."

"I'm sure it was." Nori watches Jebeem approach Elodie at the bar. She scowls before disappearing into the crowd.

As soon as Nori's out of earshot, she turns to her uncle and hisses at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I wanted to make sure you were alright. I was worried when I got your text."

"If I was in danger, I would've let you know. You can't be here, it's not safe."

"What kind of uncle would I be if I left you alone with our sworn enemy?"

"Uncle, I can handle myself. I know I don't have powers, but that's why you've trained me." He starts to argue back, but she changes the subject before he can continue. "Now, since you're here, want to tell me what the SOS text was about?"

"Oh, that. I needed your help getting in tonight, but I figured it out."

"And how exactly did you figure it out?"

"I convinced a guard to create a false identity for me. I'm now a lesser prince from Germany's Kiron Clan."

"And what if someone from the Kiron Clan replaces out that you're faking your identity?"

Jebeem laughs and nods over at the Kiron Clan's table. "There are about 45 people over at that table. How would they even know?" She scans the crowd and notices Jonah. He's talking with guests, but meets her eyes across the room. He shoots her a bored grin, which her uncle notices. "It seems like you're getting quite close to a certain prince...."

"Uncle, mind your own business. I'm here to do a job. Who cares how I get it done, as long as it gets done."

"Just don't forget why you're here and what's at stake. You can't trust the Jebels, any of them."

Before she can respond, Mino taps her on the shoulder. "Apologies for the interruption, but I was hoping you'd have this dance with me."

"Me?"

"Yes, you, Elodie. I couldn't help but notice your tenacity at the Trials."

She looks up to see Jonah now glaring at Mino and she turns back to him. "I'm sorry, Mino, but I'm waiting for a certain prince to ask me." Her eyes lock with Jonah again.

Mino, embarrassed, watches the entire exchange. "Understood. Sorry I asked." Defeated, he leaves.

By the time she turns back around, Jebeem is long gone.

"Goddamit, Jebeem." Still holding her cup of water, she searches through the crowd, but her uncle's gone.

She sighs in frustration and heads back to Jonah, now sitting at a table with a flirtatious Nori.

"Elodie, Jonah and I were just catching up on the good old days. Like the days we used to date."

At the word 'date', her stomach sinks in unease. No wonder Nori always looks jealous.

"Nori, now's not the time to be bringing up the past."

She glances at Jonah. But he's unable to meet her eyes, flush with discomfort.

"You didn't know we used to date, did you, Elodie? Oh, my bad."

"Nori, thirsty much?"

Nori ignores her comment and coyly touches Jonah's shoulder. "Who knows, maybe history will repeat itself. Come on, Jonah. Let's dance." She reaches for Jonah's hand but he swats it away.

"Not tonight, Nori. Elodie is my guest." Jonah looks back up at her, his eyes once again locking onto hers with intensity. "And besides, she's the only one I want to dance with tonight. So, what do you say, Elodie. May I have this dance?" He holds out his hand, waiting for her response. Nori glares at her with barely suppressed anger.

"I'm not much of a dancer."

"Good! Then he'll dance with me."

"Oh, no-" Nori grabs Jonah's hand and pulls him onto the dance floor, refusing to let him turn her down. As they dance, Jonah never takes his eyes off of her. All of a sudden, she feels woozy and leans back in her seat. Jonah notices and rushes to her side. "Are you okay?"

"I think I just need some air. I'll be right back." She excuses herself and heads down a hallway, toward the restroom. Before she can understand what's happening, she keels forward and passes out.

Moments, or hours later, she wakes to darkness. Rope around her wrists. She slowly opens her eyes, her head pounding. She's in a clearing, surrounded by trees.

"Good morning, sunshine. Feeling thirsty?" And standing in front of her is Nori, holding a glass of water she drank earlier. "You really should be more careful about leaving your drinks unattended, Elodie. You never know who means you harm, or who wants to drug you."

"Nori, you're making a big mistake."

"Please, Elodie. What are you even talking about? Just because Jonah thinks you're special, doesn't actually mean you're special." She tries to fight against the ropes, frustration and anger building inside her. Nori reacts by slapping her across the face. "Stop fighting! I don't need any more work subduing you!" Suddenly, a spark of rage ignites deep within her. The same fire that's been building since she stepped into the Trials. Her clothes start to burn and her eyes start to glow. "What the hell?" As Nori stares at her in shock, Elodie realizes she's starting to awaken the dragon within!