Her Rejection's Revenge

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: MIC TESTING 123

It took me a long moment to recover from the shock that my memory had kicked in. With more seconds passing by, I felt surer that it was the name that Isaac had mentioned right before dying. That name had been etched in my mind for a long time and I had been asking around about him when I recently joined the camp.

I never heard anything about him. With time, the name faded and became a mere memory which came back to me right now. I swallowed my outburst and took in a deep breath for courage.

“Listen, Mr. Becker, I am not lying! I really spoke to the red dragon and her daughter as well. Right before it appeared, the dragon came in my dreams and Rhianna mentioned something about me summoning her. I have no idea how I did it or whether I actually have the power to do so.”

Everett gasped. “You summoned her? To my knowledge, there are very few people who can summon a dragon in their dreams. Even the Montgomery didn’t have a dragon Dreamcaller in their generation for centuries.” He rubbed his forehead with the tip of his finger. “Okay, how do we know that it was not a fluke?”

“We don’t,” I assured him immediately. “I really wasn’t expecting to communicate with a dragon,” I explained defensively, my mind raking with multiple thoughts at the same time. If Everett Becker was supposed to help me find the protection of a powerful alpha, maybe I could finally start working on my revenge?

Then, I remembered Miriam saying that Everett was the beta to the Prince Aerys who was dead. So, did that mean that he would not be able to help me?

“I just started thinking and we connected like it was the most natural thing to do,” I went on, ignoring the pessimist thoughts barging in my head. “I am not sure I could feel the same thing for another dragon.”

Everett walked around me in circular slow strides, his frown deeply etched in his forehead while he was assessing me from head to toe. The appraisal should have been insulting, but the man was so caught up in his thoughts that I didn’t mind. All I could think about was that my last hope was about to be dashed.

“I’m afraid we will have to do a test,” he finally apprised in his grave voice.

“A test?” I repeated stupidly unable to believe my own ears. “What kind of a test?” I turned to Miriam for assistance when Everett hesitated to provide a plausible answer.

“Zee is right,” my friend hastened to stand out for me. “What kind of a test are we talking about here?” Miriam approached me and clasped my hand to show her open support against her brother’s companion.

“There’s…a mission,” Everett began hesitantly, pinching his nose as he seemed to be struggling with something. “Listen, we need to make sure that she can actually speak with dragons. Things are too complicated for the moment. I’ll explain when we confirm her aptitude.”

“No,” I retorted silkily. “I refuse to participate in anything unless I know what I’m dealing with. What’s the mission about?”

“Not here,” he said in an urgent whisper and grabbed my arm in a tight grasp before looking at Miriam. “Your Majesty, is there a place where we could talk in private?” Miriam scrutinized his face for a long time before responding with that cool confidence of hers.

“Let’s go to the hall,” she finally replied calmly before hooking my free hand with hers and leading the three of us to the place where we usually held internal discussion committees among the members of Neverland. The fleeting thought caught me that if the place had been founded by the Prince, it would seem that Miriam was the owner of Neverland.

The hall wasn’t a luxurious or spacious building – it was a place surrounded by grey stones which looked like it had been recently added to the barn and huge house which already existed.

“I was the one who supervised the construction of this fort,” Everett explained conversationally, making me look back at him with interest. “Our prince ordered to have a sanctuary for wounded souls…,” his voice trailed off on a trembling note. “…and today it has protected the princess.”

There was a sheen of unshed tears in his eyes as his blue eyes were filled with emotions in Miriam’s direction. “This is such good news that you managed to escape, princess. I am highly relieved. Everything will work out for the best, I promise.”

“What’s the mission?” Miriam asked unwavering.

He sighed, both his shoulders sagging under the pressure. “Do you remember Lord Kensington, your Majesty? Or more importantly Lady Rachel Kensington?”

Miriam squinted her eyes thoughtfully before giving one brisk nod. “We used to be friends and play together until she died two years ago. An unfortunate incident if I remember correctly as she lost her footing in the forest during one hunting trip and fell down some ravine. Am I right?”

There was no emotion from Everett Becker except the clenching of his jaw. “That was the official version about her death, yes. But in reality, she was abducted by a drakon. A fact known by very few royal officials, me included.”

Miriam gasped, and my head whirled from her to Everett like a tightly wound spring stretching with the conversation.

Miriam crossed her arms across her chest in consternation. “Why was it kept a secret? Why wasn’t I informed of this? Rachel was my friend who used to visit our home – I would think that I was at least owed the truth about her disappearance. We conducted her funeral for Goddess’s sake!”

“All bogus,” Everett replied succinctly. “Strict orders from the prince not to let the information known. He was afraid that it would trigger a war between werewolves and dragons. So, we kept everything under wraps.” There was a moment of silence. “When we attacked the dragons’ lairs a few months ago with your brother, we found out that she was still alive. Under the captivity of the drako Vuur.”

Neither me nor Miriam was surprised – we already knew the direction where this was going.

“So, you expect my friend whom you’ve doubted the moment you arrived here to rescue Lady Kensington? Without any regards to her own safety? Just as a mic testing? You’ve got some nerve coming here…”

“I beg your pardon, princess,” Everett immediately curtsied in front of Miriam’s outrage and fury in total submission with his eyes downcast. “It was never my intention to doubt your friend. I had no idea that Zelda was a respected companion of yours. I apologize for my rudeness and ignorance.”

“And yet, you are willing to risk her life for what? For confirmation?”

Everett grimaced comically in his couched position. “If we confirm that Zelda can speak with any dragon, it will lead to many things. Innumerous possibilities. Plus, we get to rescue Lady Kensington as well – killing two birds with one stone. Trust me princess on this once. The balance that our prince has struggled to maintain between werewolves and dragons is precarious and on the verge of breaking. You know he’s worked all his life accomplishing his duty.”

Miriam pointed her finger in my direction, with a fierce frown. “She is no royalty. She has no duty towards the people. I am the princess. I should be the one rescuing poor Rachel from the clutches of that drakon! Had I known about it, of course.”

Everett remained head bent, but the irony behind Miriam’s words wasn’t lost on him as he winced accordingly. “Again, I apologize, my princess. The onus of telling you the truth wasn’t on me. I could not go against the future King’s words.”

A huff escaped the princess’s tight-lipped mouth. “I refuse to be treated like a fragile princess from now on. Promise me, Everett!”

The man remained in his humble position, and I was amazed at how much I had underestimated Miriam Sullivan’s status. “I promise to do everything in my capacity to involve you in our battles.”

“Good,” she quipped briskly and turned to me. “What’s your take?”

This was it – my moment to shine. A sense of deep longing filled me, and I had to take an instant before speaking my opinion. “I’ll do it. On one condition.”

“Anything you want,” Everett replied fervently, and stood up when Miriam signaled him to do so. “This is very important and I’m ready for anything for this.”

The words faltered in my mouth for a long time. How I wanted to ask for revenge against my old pack member. However, deep inside me, I knew that Everett Becker wasn’t the one who could fulfill that desire of mine. Call that instinct or intrinsic knowledge, but somehow I knew it wouldn’t be him the savior of my soul.

So, I stated the amount that I needed to pay my medical fees.

Everett acquiesced to the exorbitant amount without even batting an eye. “Done. But the money will be paid as soon as the lady is rescued. Not a penny before that!”

“Everett! You’re insulting my friend,” Miriam exclaimed in outrage before she turned to me. “I figured you would ask for revenge?”

I shrugged. “Revenge is a dish best served cold,” I replied evasively, allowing her to hook her arms with mine as we left the hall. It was becoming a dark habit of hers, to walk alongside with me like we were the best of friends. For her to defend me with all my best interests at heart. For her fierce nature to get to my cold frozen heart and wished that I could summon the same emotions in her regards.

“Why do you need money for then? I didn’t even know you needed such a huge amount.”

“I’ve always wanted to become a doctor. Even when I was still a member of the Ocean Howl Pack, I aspired to be a doctor. I waited for years for B…Braxton to fund my studies, but he didn’t give a damn. I used all my savings to pay for a nursing program instead. That’s how I ended up broke.”

We stopped walking, and her eyes shone when they roamed over my face. “Oh, sweetheart. This is the first time you’ve opened up to me, do you know that?” She brushed a falling tear from her cheek. “No one should work so hard to get educated. Education is your right.”

I was engulfed in a fierce hug that I could not prevent, and that I was forced to endure. Princess Miriam Sullivan was the only person whose touch didn’t put me off anymore. Instead, I found a strange comforting safety in her arms, and I allowed her naïve words to think in.

Education was nor free for everyone, I wondered cynically. Some of the mango people had to struggle for their basic rights. How many girls all over the world are denied basic needs for one reason or another? Sometimes, for financial reasons? Sometimes because of oppression? And sometimes, just because the need of the males were considered higher priorities to the ones of the women?

That was the sordid truth of life, but I kept the morose thoughts to myself. Miriam Sullivan was a princess who knew nothing about the harsh realities of life. And to be honest, her sunny disposition was too precious to lose – she was a ray of sunshine in my otherwise dark world.

Besides, there was something more important waiting me. A trial.

For the first time in a long time, I found an opening to my vendetta. If I passed in the test, I would be able to negotiate for a collaboration with the beta and his people to avenge my past. I didn’t know how yet, but I knew that I would be serving their purpose along with mine. Not that I didn’t trust Miriam to help me without any ulterior motive, but nobody would let a princess wander about in New York City to fight alongside an omega.

I prayed fervently that the mic testing would work. An omega who could speak to dragons had many apertures – the stakes had changed, and I could start dreaming about my revenge again.