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“I think we should,” he said with shallow breaths, wanting more of my touch. I knew he would.

“Hurry. No one should see us.”

He then started to repeat me as if in a daze. “Yeah, no one should see us.” I could see the lust in his eyes. Perfect, he's falling for my plan. Grabbing his hand, I ushered him toward my tower, the thud in his veins pumping loudly.

He blindly followed me, wanting to pick up the pace. We crossed the gardens and passed the bushes, where we went through the small gap leading to my hidden tower. He had been there several times and knew exactly where we were going.

We started to pass the cobalt-stoned wall, and I found my chance. I could fight him for it, resulting in me being injured, or I could end the fight right now. When else was I going to get the map? I had little time left. It was now or never.

I quickly went behind him, grabbed his head, and slammed it into the wall. He fell limp to the ground, not expecting my brash aggressiveness.

The rush of adrenaline heightened my senses, electricity pulsing through my body. My chest heaved up and down silently as I tried to catch my breath.

Oh, my scales. Did I kill him? I had never done anything like this.

Oh, my scales.

Oh, my scales.

I gasped for a moment, thinking that this was all a dream. I would never do this to anyone in real life.

But I did.

Flipping his body over with effort, there was a massive gash on his head, crimson silently trickling down his forehead.

I couldn’t believe I just did that.

My hands lifted to his neck, scared to know the damage I had done, scared to see if he didn’t have a pulse.

As I touched his cold, wind-stricken skin, I felt small beats like a rhythmic tune beneath his skin. I sighed, the tension in my shoulders rolling down. At least I didn’t kill him. My hands were shaking from the shock of doing something physically aggressive, and the feel of his hair was still attached to the senses in my fingers. I was still able to feel his weight.

It was so outside of my nature. I would’ve never done it unless the situation was dire. I couldn’t risk losing the map tonight. It was my only chance to get it in my possession.

Scraping across his luxurious, heavy-weighted jacket, I scrounged for any sign of the map, hoping I didn’t hurt him in vain. Checking one of his side pockets on the inside of his coat, I felt a folded parchment. Plucking it out, I studied it, looking at each of the inked designs on the face.

There were exact trails on where I should go to find the hidden dragon relic. The dotted lines led to the island on the outside shore of a small town near the Sardan Castle grounds' borders. Bubbly trees on the map showed the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest, as well as the other cities and the outcast areas.

Folding the map up, I knew where I had to go, and I had to leave before he woke up. I had already packed a bag in my tower, ready for me. I just had to grab it, and then I could make my way toward the island that held the dragon relic.

I was about to run to my tower when I heard a shrill cry echo throughout the ballroom.

1.Laneux (Law-neh-ooh)

Chapter thirteen

DAMIAN

How was I supposed to find a Scaleborne? Last I heard, they were said to be extinct or almost extinct. I knew they were the result of the Scaleborne curse, given to someone who has killed a dragon. However, dragons were becoming extinct as well. Or so I thought.

I decided it was worth a shot to ask the smartest person I could think of. I had no time to waste, and this was my best shot at learning more about Scalebornes.

Growing up, my parents would take me to the library. An old man there seemed to know the answers to everything. I figured that talking to him would be a start, and maybe he could at least lead me in some sort of direction to head in.

The air was crisp, whispering tales of the town’s melancholy. All the once-vibrant streets were now cloaked in shadows, casting a gloom that covered the light posts and the small shacks lining the walkways. The skies used to sing with the wind and salt and the pinkness of the sunsets setting on the water, and thesea used to ripple waves of different shades of blue bubbly foam, spreading the color through the land.

However, not after the incident. It hadn’t been the same since. The skies were set in constant blurs, making it difficult to distinguish the day from night. Sunsets halted their existence as the sun itself was hardly found. The light from the sun and moon were both so faint through the darkness of the sky that the time of day was always a mystery.

The sea was no longer a vibrant blue, a translucent color that you could see the different colors of corals, seaweed, and fish. But now a deep nightmare black, that was as thick as ink, only holding fish the colors of ash.