32. DAMIAN

Chapter thirty-two

DAMIAN

A fter traveling for hours, the distant glow of the flames dwindled behind me, marking the town's destruction. Finally, I arrived at the fishing village of Evler. However, instead of a wave of relief passing over me, it was nausea from the smell of rotten fish. I had lived in a town like this my entire life, but this one was different. The smells in the air weren't as fresh.

It was dull and somber. Mist and smoke engulfed the whole town, making it seem overcome with a darkness that I couldn't put my finger on. It was empty to the point I couldn't hear anything. I listened intently, only to hear the howls of the wind moving the fog back and forth, covering the whole town with its opaqueness.

Pausing my movements, I attempted to hear my surroundings–an instinct I learned to follow when I was an assassin. Was she here? Did she already make it to the island without me?

The only sound that spread through the wind was the howl of the currents, telling me to go home. There was a certain coldness that radiated through this town that I couldn't quite pinpoint, making me nervous for Aurelia. Something felt off, but what was it?

A twig snapped in the distance as I stood at the forest's edge. My head quickly spun to see who was there. A variety of creatures came to mind of what it could be. Fear rattled throughout my body.

"Hello? Who is there!" I demanded.

A few more twigs snapped. I couldn't help myself but to move toward them, unsheathing the knife from my boot, wanting to know who it was. Curiosity was getting the better of me, making me walk toward the movements and the sounds of branches crackling, regardless of the repercussions.

Fear filled my stomach. Was it Tybalt? Did he find me? Did he know I planned to not hurt Aurelia? Did he get my letter? I instantly regretted sending the letter, sending him exactly where we were going.

I would have both Aurelia and myself killed for my stupid mistake.

Narrowing my eyes to see better, I noticed that there was something faintly shimmering in between the trees. Glimpses of pink and gold scattered my view. "Hello?" I mustered with all my might in a confidence that was starting to dwindle.

A rustle of leaves broke the stillness, and a figure emerged from the dense foliage, stepping into the clearing.

It was Belle.

"Belle!" I ran up to her, wanting to hug her, but not sure how she would react. "Where's Aurelia?" I asked, looking around, not seeing her.

Belle's face seemed dampened. Emotions were almost non-existent. That's when I realized the state of what she looked like. There were patches of dried blood covering her body. Multiple scales looked simply plucked off her skin as if it were nothing, leaving her bare skin vulnerable. She looked awful, and her mood showed it too.

Her features tightened, a subtle hint of denial flickering across her face like a fleeting shadow. Something bad had happened, and I was scared to find out what it was.

"What happened to you?" I touched the scales lining her nose. My hand recoiled, uncertainty etched on my face, unsure of her reaction to my unexpected touch.

She let me touch her, and then I leaned in as Aurelia would. The love that she had for this dragon radiated off of her vibrantly. It made me miss Aurelia and the life that she poured into things simply by her touch.

Belle looked at me with revenge in her eyes. I knew that exact look, because I had felt that same way, but about dragons before. Although I couldn't necessarily communicate with Belle, I knew that we were both thinking the same thing. She knew where Aurelia was, and we would create chaos to get her back. I never thought I would work with a dragon, but I now realized I would do anything to save Aurelia.