Renegade Dragons

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I breathed out a little cluster of flames, sparking up the small twig in my hand. The fire danced across the wooden stick right until it almost touched the tips of my fingers. The gravel under my shoes cracked as I took in a deep breath, filling my lungs with air and fire. With a soft sigh, I encouraged the tiny ember between my fingers. The wood turned ashen as the tiny flame jumped onto my skin and twirled along my veins.

“Lola?”

Rachel’s voice jolted me out of my thoughts and I quickly gulped up the flame. She never liked me playing with fire out in the open and frankly, I shouldn’t. But it helped me take my mind off of things.

“You okay?” she asked, joining me at the backdoor of Dragon Soul. I nodded slowly, but I wasn’t sure if I was convincing her or me.

“You darted out of there like your ass was on fire.” She tilted her head and looked at me with her big concerned eyes. I smiled bemused and nudged her shoulder with mine. She worried far too much about me.

“I just needed some fresh air,” I explained, kicking some of the little rocks into a hidden grate. There was something satisfying about the noise they made as they bounced against the metal bars.

“Why did they pull you to the side?” Rachel pushed her blonde hair behind her ear and gave me her famous piercing stare, the one that I couldn’t shrug off.

“They pretty much told me I’m going to be the winner.”

“Oh, that’s great!” she gasped, jumping up and down in excitement, even if she didn’t really get the gaming. She knew how important it was to me.

“They also want me on their team,” I added a little sourly.

“Isn’t that amazing?” Rachel hugged me tight, the scent of cinnamon enwrapping me. She always smelled like the best things of a bonfire night and I so happened to love bonfires.

“They’re the best team on the East Server… Playing with them would mean I get to do quests I couldn’t have dreamed of before and I’d be going pro,” I added slowly, reluctantly. I didn’t want to admit just how cool it could be to play with some of the best players around.

My best friend clapped her hands in glee. “But isn’t that fantastic?” She studied my expression and her smile fell. “It’s not fantastic?”

“I don’t know… I want to game with them, I do… And making gaming my actual career sounds amazing. I’d love to do that.... But is that fair to Tate and JJ? I mean, I know they’ve been a bit awol but just joining a different party seems…”

“Inconsiderate?” Rachel added, staring at me with her deep blue eyes. She always had a knack for finishing my sentences.

“Pretty much, yeah… And not just Tate and JJ. I’ve got you to think about as well.” I leaned against the wall, the rough bricks rubbing against my shoulder blades. I was itching for a fly, but the summer was still a fair bit off and I wasn’t about to get mated just so I could engage in the mating dance.

The image of Martin and Hector popped up in my head and angrily, I shrugged it away. No. I wasn’t about to lose my friendship with Rachel just because of a couple of testosterone filled men. They could get lost, both of them.

“I’m not taking their offer,” I hummed, taking Rachel’s hand in mine. I gently squeezed and let a rare smile dance across my lips. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“It’s a great opportunity for you, though.”

“No chance. A gaming career would take up too much of my time.”

“Lola, look at me.” Rachel’s voice drew my eyes up and I stared back into hers. Nervously, I swallowed, afraid of what she’d tell me to do next.

“This is a great and rare chance for you to do something you love. Don’t let me stop you, I’m already depriving you of enough.”

“You’re not, I chose to stay unmated.”

“Which is ridiculous,” she muttered as she pulled her hand out of mine. A little lost, I studied my best friend, wondering why she looked so pouty all of a sudden.

“It’s not at all. You know the others won’t let you join in…”

“You have to stop blaming yourself for me being different,” Rachel blurted out. She turned her back to me and I wondered what she was hiding. We talked about everything. We had since we were young. I’d seen her laugh, cry and shout. But all of a sudden it was like things were different.

“I don’t blame myself,” I assured her.

“Maybe blame is the wrong word. But you’ve taken on their prejudice as a fault of your own. But that’s not fair to you, Lola.You shouldn’t miss out on your own life just because I can’t live mine.”

“But you can live yours,” I pointed out. “We’re doing it right now. The two of us, in our flat…”

“No, Lola. We’re living half lives. I’m hiding who I am and you’re just trying to protect me from the world. Well, I’m sorry to say, but the world doesn’t work like that. It just isn’t as easy to be protected from. You know that.”

“Rachel…” I did wonder what she’d been hiding from me, but I knew she’d tell me in her own time. I wasn’t about to push her.

“No, Lola.” She sniffed slightly and I stepped closer, closing the gap between us and slipping my arm around her. The cinnamon scent that was Rachel consumed my senses. I wasn’t about to tell her, but I loved the smell. It always made me feel at home.

“You’re more than enough for me,” I murmured, my voice soft and low. I didn’t hug Rachel often and this was why. There was something oddly intimate about it, far more so than I expected from best friends. Then again, I’d only ever had Rachel, so with nothing else to compare it to, how was I to know.

“I find that unlikely,” she muttered. “You’re meant to have three mates, not one odd one.”

“I’d rather have one odd one.” The words were out before I realised what I’d actually said. Maybe mates could be more platonic than I’d been led to believe. That way, Rachel really could be mine and the three male fire dragons I was supposed to have ended up with had never been born.

“You say that now, but I saw how you were looking at that bartender in there…”

“What?” I demanded, letting go of her and gently pushing on her arm to get her to turn around. She complied instantly.

We stood closer to one another than was entirely comfortable, but neither of us actually moved. The moment was too poised for that. All it would take was a small movement on either of our parts and we could be kissing. If we were so inclined.

“The bartender. You were exchanging glances with him every couple of seconds. You weren’t even trying to hide it.” There was something in her voice I couldn’t quite recognise. Hurt maybe? Or jealousy?

I knew I should have stayed away from men.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, meaning it with every fibre of my being. “I didn’t mean to…”

“I know,” she whispered back, leaning forward and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “And you’re perfectly fine to like men, Lola.”

“I won’t abandon you,” I insisted. Even if something went very wrong and I ended up mated with a dance and all, I’d make sure she wasn’t left alone. That wouldn’t be fair of me.

“You should. If you get the chance to be loved like you should, then you should go for it…”

“No,” I replied. “I refuse.”

Rachel sighed. “One day, you’ll feel differently.”

“I doubt it,” I muttered, more to myself than to her.

“You will.” She gave me a wry smile and pulled away from me. “Now, I’m going to make sure we have somewhere to stay for the night. You should go back and make sure you win that tournament fair and square.”

I stared after her as she walked away, admiring the sway of her hips as she moved and wishing I could move in the same alluring way. I’d never understood why men hadn’t been all over Rachel. She was everything most men would want. Beautiful, blonde, athletic...perfect, basically.

She was also right. There was no way I was going to let myself win this tournament without doing it fair and square.