Once Upon a Dragon Soul (Once Upon a Dragon Series Book 3)

After dinner, Blake pulled me up the boys’ dorm stairs, and I’d spent the rest of the evening with him.

Around ten, he helped me sneak back to my room. I kissed him goodbye on the bottom of the stairs.

“I’ll see you tonight,” he whispered, and my lips curved, knowing that he meant he would come to my room after everyone had fallen asleep.

I kissed him one more time and then rushed up the steps to my room.

My Blake was back, and the knots and tight-strung muscles disappeared around him.

I skipped the elevator tonight and walked the last two sets of stairs. Sniffs reached my ears as I was busy heading for the door. It was on the stairs above.

Just leave it and go into your room.

I couldn’t though, and I walked up the stairs. Tabitha sat on the stair leading to the eight floor.

“Hey,” I said, crouching in front of her. “You okay?”

She shook her head. “I need help.” She wiped her tears. “I’m always crying. I’m so tired of the tears. He’s never going to trust me, Elena. Not fully.”

I stroked her arms. “He said something?”

“No, it’s just the way he acts around my dragon form and around my human form. It’s like the human form has the plague or something. I’m actually wondering if I shouldn’t be a dragon twenty-four seven.” Her lower-lip vibrated again.

“Shh.” I stroked her arm.

“He does not know what he is doing to me.”

“Have you told him you Dented?”

“No, please. I told you, I don’t want something like that pushing him toward me. I love him too much for that.”

“Oh, you are breaking my heart. I’m so sorry that you are going through this. I wish I could slap him for you or something.”

She laughed through her snot and tears and sniffed again.

“He is such an idiot. When that pillar fell on you, he was at your side twenty-four seven, and now he can’t even speak to you.”

“Elena, I was in my dragon form then.”

“Well, when you woke up and shifted back, you weren’t a dragon then, were you? And he still begged me to go check up on you.”

I could swear a tiny sparkle glinted in her eyes as her lips curved.

“It will pass, Tabitha, promise.”

She sniffed and nodded.

“Where is Susan?” I asked.

She shook her head.

“Tabitha?”

“They don’t understand any of it. They see me as damaged goods now. That is what they call the ones that have riders.”

“Screw them. Why are you friends with that?”

She laughed. “I’m not. It’s difficult, as Blake thinks I have an agenda hanging around you, and Lu wants nothing to do with my human figure. I feel so sad all the time.”

“I can imagine. You were one of the most popular girls in school, Tabitha. Going from that to sitting on a step bawling your eyes out would make me depressed too.”

“I just feel off balance, you know.”

“Hey, he will get there, okay? You have my word. We have an open bed if you want a new scenery. I don’t know when our roommate will be back, but the bed is yours until then.”

“Sammy and I—”

“I’ll deal with Sammy. Becky won’t have a problem.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, Sammy doesn’t have a rider yet, but she doesn’t see it as damaged goods, and if your friends can’t appreciate you, then they don’t deserve to be your friend, either.”

Her lips curved. “You don’t want to talk with Blake about this first? I would hate for him to fight with you again because of me.”

“Hey, I’ll deal with him too. It’s in the past, and he needs to get over that now. Go pack your bags.”

She flung her arms around my neck and hugged me tight. “Thank you, Elena.”

I stroked her back. “Maybe you just need some change of scenery.”

We got up and walked back down the stairs to the seventh floor.

Tabitha disappeared through the door leading to the hallway as I opened my door and found Sammy watching a Peageian TV series that seemed to be popular.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey, you back.”

“How is Becky?”

“Good. She woke up. Still very sore and my aunt wants to keep her for one more night, so I guess that tomorrow she will be back.”

“I’m glad,” I said as I killed the distance between us and sat my butt on top of the coffee table, almost in front of her. She paused the show and looked at me.

“Why do I get a feeling you are about to either ask me something or tell me something?”

I laughed. “Please, I know how you feel about her, but she isn’t the same person anymore.”

She frowned. “Who are you speaking about?”

“I found Tabitha on the stairs bawling her eyes out. Do you know Susan is calling dragons that got claimed damage goods?”

“Susan is a shallow bitch. I don’t care what she calls dragons who got claimed. She is so wrong.”

“I know. Tabitha is struggling with Lucian not trusting her, and she doubts if he will ever trust her human form. So I offered her Vicky’s bed.”

“And if Vicky comes back?”

“I told Tabitha that if she comes back, we might have a situation, so I guess she knows it’s until she gets back.”

Sammy sighed.

“She mentioned that the two of you never saw eye to eye. She is not that Tabitha anymore. You can ask Becky—”

“Yeah, yeah. Becky couldn’t stop speaking about her. Kept on babbling how cool she actually was. What if we butt heads?”

“Then she is out of here, but you need to try, too.”

“Okay, fine. As long as I know she is out of here if it doesn’t work between her and me.”

I flung my arms around her neck. “Thanks, Sam. You are the best.”

A knock sounded at the door. “Seriously, you just got back. Can’t he leave you alone for a second?”

I laughed. “It’s not your brother. I told her to go pack her bags.”

“She is moving in tonight?”

I gave Sammy the wide-eyed look as I rushed to open the door.

“Okay.”

Susan and another girl, I didn’t get her name, walked in behind Tabitha.

Nice of them to still help her.

“Thanks for letting Tabitha stay here. She’s got this feeling that we have nothing in common anymore.”

“You believe dragons are damaged goods when they are claimed, Susan.”

“I didn’t mean you. But maybe being around riders for once might put back that smile on your face.” Susan walked over and hugged Tabitha. “You are my best friend, and nothing is going to change that, not even the idiot of a prince.”

“Hey,” Tabitha scolded playfully.

“I’m with Susan,” I said. “He is an idiot.”

“He is my idiot.”

“You are always welcome back. I’m going to miss you,” Susan said.

“I think this is for the best.”

“If that is what you think, try it, okay? Be happy again.” Susan stroked Tabitha’s arms. “You want me to help you unpack?”

“No, I got it. Thanks.”

“Okay, see you.”

Tabitha walked with them to the door and told them goodbye.

That was actually sad to watch.

“I thought they were mean and wanted you out of the room?”

“I know,” Tabitha sulked and plunged on top of her bed, next to all the boxes and bags. “I’m horrible.”

Sammy didn’t utter a word as I sat next to her on her bed.

“Well, let’s see how this goes. Maybe Susan isn’t wrong by saying you need to be around riders for a change.”

I helped her unpack and after a while, Sammy helped too.

“Sorry, I know you are not—”

“Stop. Becky couldn’t stop speaking about how awesome you are. I actually choked on my soda, but then Elena said the same thing. So I would like to meet this awesome side of you as I only know the pain in the ass.”

A chuckle escaped my lips. “I knew that side a bit myself. I mean, the girl tried to kill me twice.”

Sammy gasped.

“Believe me, I didn’t,” Tabitha retaliated. “I was such a mess back then, and I felt like shit afterwards.”

“Yeah, well, they don’t call it regret for nothing,” Sammy said, as we helped Tabitha settle in her new room.

Who would’ve thought that I would become friends with the girl that tried to kill me twice? It was only in Paegeia that things like that were possible.

Becky came out of the infirmary the following day, just like Sammy had said. She still walked on a crutch as healing shattered bones takes longer than 48 hours, apparently.

George was a pain in the ass. I wanted to scream by the sixth day when he stalked up to our table and yelled more profanities at Becky.

Blake laughed every single time, and I didn’t know if it was at my irritation or George’s attempts to make Becky feel bad.

The girl had skin like an ox. It was impenetrable, and harmful words just bounced off it.

George was twenty times worse in class, always sitting like a lone soldier on the other side of class.

Could one dragon seriously be that stubborn?

Lucian glared at it, too. He wasn’t that far behind George when it came to his dragon. Hopefully the idiot could make out two and two that his dragon actually Dented.

Classes were getting harder, as the exams were upon us. I did not know how George and Becky would pass as the guy was in this stage that Lu had mentioned. They called it the Impasse Stage.

We had to choose a duel spell, and Blake had to choose the most difficult one there was. I couldn’t even pronounce that name, and that alone should’ve told me that the spell would be even more difficult to perform.

The spell had to be one that needed both our participation. This one was a sort of transferring spell, and the worst part was that Blake wanted us to do the spell with his tattoo.

We trained with a normal stick-on. I put it on me first. Blake transferred the tattoo easily on to him.

When it was my turn, I failed.

He taught me the words again, but I kept putting the wrong emphasis on certain words and then the spell would not work.

We would fail if I did not get this one right.