Dragon of a Broken World

Chapter 6

At the party, stood at the edge of the ballroom, a focal point of the Founder's Gala. My dress,deep sapphire piece, drew every eye in the room, a familiar, if slightly unsettling, occurrence. I usually handled the attention with grace, but tonight, the collective gaze felt like needles, pricking at my composure.

The true source of my unease, however, was Edgar. He looked utterly miserable, his jaw clenched as if fighting a perpetual headache. I couldn't help but lean closer and ask, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," he replied, his gaze barely flickering in my direction.

I finally brought myself to ask about how he sudden disappeared at my house.“The other day when you were at my house, you just disappeared in the middle of all that chaos. I didn’t even know where you went.”

He nodded slowly. “Oh, that day? Something felt off, so I went around to check the place. I thought maybe someone was pulling a prank. It just felt strange

His answer was vague to me, but I already knew who was behind it, so I just let it go.

I pressed on, concern overriding decorum. "You know you don't have to do this."

"I'm fine. I mean, I have to."

"But why are you doing this then? Is someone compelling you? You don't even like me."

He finally looked at me, a flicker of something unreadable in his blue eyes. "Because part of me enjoys being your fiancé”

I stared, taken aback. "What? I thought you were being forced, like me. You don't even like me."

"Yeah, that's true," he admitted, but then a familiar, smug smirk touched his lips. "But who knows if I haven't already grown fond of you?"

I was utterly surprised. Did he actually mean that? Before I could process the thought, he was already backing away. "Hey, I'll be right back," he mumbled, still looking awkward, and then he was gone.

Diva grabbed the mic. "I'm so excited to welcome everyone here tonight! Now, it’s time for the Founders' Waltz! Please, everyone, find your partner and prepare to dance!"

A fresh wave of panic washed over me. The music was already beginning, and Edgar, my assigned partner, had vanished. Everyone in the ballroom was pairing up, and the whispers started immediately. I could feel the students' cruel speculation as they looked at me standing alone. “Where is her date? Did he actually ditch her here?” Their judgmental eyes made me feel like an interloper, a guest who didn't belong.

Just as the humiliation threatened to swallow me whole, a sudden hush fell over. The collective attention shifted, and I turned to see what had caused the silence.

He stood framed in the doorway, Harvey impossibly handsome. His black suit looked tailored from shadows, and his presence was a disruptive force, magnetic and commanding. As the crowd collectively swooned, his eyes began to sweep the room, his gaze unhurried until it landed squarely on me.

It was as if time stopped.

He froze. For a minute that stretched into an eternity, he didn't just look at me; he stared into my soul. His gaze was one of profound, raw admiration, the kind of look a lost soul gives to its salvation. It was deep, aching recognition, as if I were a sacred artifact he had spent centuries searching for. I had never, in my life, been seen like that.

Then, with an unwavering focus that ignored the entire gossiping crowd, he began walking straight toward me. He stopped before me and, with a gentle grace, offered me his hand.

The crowd gasped. “He’s her boyfriend,” I heard a whisper that was clearly meant to be heard. I was mesmerized, still grappling with the reality of this celestial being standing before me. Finally, I stretched out my hand and accepted his.

The dance started immediately. He pulled me seamlessly onto the floor as the crowd watched, still suspended in shock.

“Did you know the dance steps?” I whispered, completely out of breath.

His eyes, a startling amber, crinkled at the corners. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

I placed my arms around his neck, feeling a rush of confidence that was entirely his doing. His closeness was a profound comfort. And he was flawless. Every turn, every dip, every intricate step of the waltz was perfectly executed.

Yet, his intense stare never left me. He kept looking down, sometimes quickly glancing away only to immediately return, as if struggling to control the magnetic pull of his gaze. I smiled awkwardly, suddenly self-conscious of my dress.

“It’s okay, you can look at me,” I said playfully, trying to lighten the tension. “I know my dressing kinda…”

“You look perfect, my lady.” He cut me off before I could finish.

He leaned in slightly, his voice a low, rough murmur. “You’re… looking… gorgeous.” I stared deep into his eyes and saw it: a glistening moisture, a visible pain that looked like the surface of a tear, quickly fought back.

“You keep staring into my soul,” I said, attempting to turn the emotional intensity into a joke.

He searched for his words, his composure momentarily breaking. “I’m sorry. It… it’s just that you look like my first love.

A strange, compelling need to know more took hold of me, even as I felt myself being dragged into a fantasy I couldn't understand. “The grimoire you’re looking for, if you find it, will you still leave forever?” I asked, recalling some earlier rumor I'd overheard about him.

“I wasn’t searching for only the grimoire,” he corrected, his voice tinged with sorrow. “I wasnt only searching for the freedom for my kingdom that has been lost for years, I was searching for her…”

Before he could finish, I filled in the blank. “Aurora?”

Our eyes collided, and in that instant, I was hit by a vivid, blinding flashback, a memory that was not mine. I saw a girl with long, straight red hair, standing solitary against a stark white snowscape. It was chilling and strange.

“I’ll be right back,” I stammered, pulling away from him. “I have to cool off my head.”

I stood outside alone for a while, gazing at the grounds, trying to process the strange vision, when Harvey found me. We settled gently at the edge of a balcony in the garden, looking up at the moon and stars.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, his voice laced with genuine concern.

“Yeah it just that I need to clear my head. I don’t understand what’s happening to me. Maybe I’m just stressed out.”

The compelling curiosity returned. “Tell me about her.”

“Aurora?”

“Yeah.”

“She was everything I have lived for,” he said gently. The true reflection of his pain was visible in his eyes, a depth of hurt that was agonizing.

I’m not typically good at consolation, but I found myself speaking before I could think. “Well, I’m sure she loved you back the same way.”

His gaze drifted all over me, as if I were a miracle, a precious, fragile thing. Then, a piercing, large scream echoed from the nearby woods.

“Did you hear that?” Our eyes met, both startled.

“Yeah.”

We both stood immediately, scanning the trees and the empty gardens, but there was nothing. We dismissed it as a strange animal noise.

Sleep was impossible. The darkness swarming around me wasn't just the absence of light; it felt heavy and alive, thick with the night's secrets and the echoes of that terrifying scream. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the stark image of Aurora in the snow, a memory that wasn't mine, chilling me to the bone.

My focus shifted entirely to the mystery unfolding. I felt a powerful urge to discover what was happening, utterly unaware of the huge danger that lay ahead.

Perhaps if I had simply pretended everything was fine, I would have been much safer. But that isn't the kind of person I am. I can't force myself to be normal when everything around me feels insane.

I decided I had to find out the truth even though I don’t know where to start.I needed answers about this entire spectacle, about how I had summoned Harvey, and especially about what my father and the Willson family were hiding.But little did I know that my environment itself was no longer safe, that the walls closing in on me were not just metaphorical.