The Dragons Blood Key: Legend of the Dragon's Blood Key - Book 1 (28 page)

Frier stood then led Cassy outside to the
garden just off the balcony where Roupert had spoken to Keira the
night before.

As they strolled down the path leading to
the large water fountain, Cassy could not help but feel sorrow at
the idea of leaving Frier and Walandra behind her. She knew it was
foolish to feel this way, but something deep down inside of her did
not want to leave. She glanced over at Frier and felt her heart
beat wildly. Once at the fountain, they sat on the bench in the
shade below a large tree.

Frier looked over at Cassy and swallowed,
trying to gather his thoughts before he spoke. He knew she would be
leaving soon, but he wanted her to know his feelings before she
left him forever. “Cassy.”

“Yes, Frier.”

He turned so that he could look into her
eyes. “I know that we are both young and that we have separate
lives, but I wanted to let you know how I feel about you before you
leave.”

Cassy looked into his eyes and felt her
heart breaking. She wanted to respond, but the words evaded her
lips.

Frier saw the emotions stirring in Cassy,
and he felt overcome with his feeling for her. “As you know, once a
Dragon surrenders his heart to the one they love, it is lost to
them for all eternity. I love you,
Cassy,
and even though we will live far apart, you will
always possess my heart.”

He lifted her hand to his lips and gently
kissed it.

Cassy could no longer hold back the tears
fighting to escape down her cheeks. She wanted to throw herself
into his
arms
and tell him that
she would stay with him, but she knew that was impossible. She had
to take Aaron home and give her great-grandmother the Blood Stone,
as she had promised Keira.

“Frier, I wish I could stay with you and
live here forever, but I can’t. I have to return to my family. I
have obligations and things I need to do.” She reached up and wiped
the tears from her eyes, hoping she had convinced him.

He turned his head away, fighting the pain
welling up inside of his heart. “I understand obligations. I have
many things that my Father expects of me as well. Learning the
truth of who I am, and having everything I have believed my entire
life turned upside down is frightening. The only thing that has
made it bearable is you. When we met that first day, I felt
something that I could not explain. Something deep inside of me
awakened when I saw you standing there. I did not know what it was,
but for some reason I sensed that we would be in each other’s
lives. I did not know how or why, but my heart told me you would
always be special to me.”

Cassy tipped her head to the side, surprised
at his words. “But you never let on. I knew we were friends, but
you never let on there was any more than friendship.”

Frier chuckled, “It is because I did not
understand it myself. I was under my Mother’s spell in which not
only was I trapped in the body of a young boy, but I had the
emotions of one as well. It was not until the spell was broken and
I gained my Dragon powers and memories
that I thoroughly
understood the strange feelings I had
for you.”

Cassy shook her head and laughed softly. “In
my realm, people speak of love at first sight, but this isn’t as
simple as that, is it?”

Frier reached up and wiped the tears from
her cheek. “No, it is not. I know you care for me. I can see it in
your eyes. The Power of the Dragon has forever joined our hearts,
and I wanted you to know that I will love you for the rest of my
life.”

“Oh Frier, it’s so unfair,” she cried out
then threw her arms around his neck. “I can’t stay with you. I’m
sorry.”

Cassy held on to him, not wanting to let him
go. She knew their time together was coming to an end, and that she
would never see him again.
How can one love someone so deeply in
such a short
time
?
The words burned in her mind.

She pressed her cheek against his and whispered
in his ear, “I love you too, and I will for the rest of my
life.”

“Ah, there you two are,” Roupert laughed
when he saw the flushed looks on their faces.

“I thought we were going to have to send out
the Palace Guards to bring you back inside. The King and Queen have
been waiting,” Roupert winked playfully.

Frier and Cassy exchanged embarrassed
glances then followed Roupert to the Great Hall.

“There they are. We were wondering when you
two would join us,” King Ashlym teased. “Please come here.”

Frier and Cassy walked to where the King and
Queen were standing with several of the Royal family.

“Cassandra, please come stand by me,” the
King smiled as he waited for her.

She glanced over at Frier, not wanting to
leave his side.

“Go on, the King awaits,” he smiled, as he
released her hand.

Cassy walked over to the King and Queen with
her heart pounding in her chest as she wondered what they
wanted.

“Behold, our Champion, Cassandra. She came
to us from another realm, summand by the Blood Key. Through the
selfless acts of bravery, she bested the Evil Queen
Alona
and made it possible to banish her to the
Land of Shadows for all eternity.”

Cheers erupted from those gathered around.
“Praises for our Champion, Cassandra!”

Cassy looked up at the King and noticed the
broad smile on his face. He held up his hand to silence the crowd
then he turned to Cassy. “We will forever be in your debt. The
Queen and I wish to bestow a gift showing our appreciation for all
you have done.”

He turned and retrieved a necklace from a
small jeweled
box. “This amulet
has special powers which will give you the ability to return to
Walandra should your heart wish to return.” He took the necklace
and handed it to Frier.

Cassy turned her back to Frier, allowing him
to put the
necklace
around her
neck. Once it was in place, she lifted the amulet and looked at
it.

“It looks like the Blood Stone, only
smaller. Thank you, it’s beautiful,” she said in a near
whisper.

She gently ran her fingertip across the face
of the amulet, when a familiar sensation surged through her body.
“It’s you,” she said with surprise in her voice as she whirled
around and faced Frier.

“Father didn’t want you to forget Walandra.
He and Mother both hope that someday you will return to us… to me,”
he looked into her eyes with hope burning in them.

Cassy knew what she wanted to say, but she
also knew she must remain
strong
.
“Thank you, King Ashlym; I will forever treasure your gift.”

“You are quite welcome; nevertheless, my son
has not told you everything the amulet will do. It will not only
bring you back to us should you desire to return, but it will also
return you and Aaron to your realm.”

Cassy ran her fingertip on the face of the
amulet
again
and felt the power
trapped inside. “Thank you, I promise to guard it forever.”

“We hope that you are not going to leave
without saying goodbye, Cassandra,” Syrea said, as she and the
other two Lillients appeared beside the King and Queen.

“I would also hope our special friend Aaron
does not leave without saying goodbye,” Arianna added.

“Yes, we would truly be sad,” Brianna said
as she flew up to Aaron and kissed his cheek, causing him to
giggle.

“I’m so glad you came to say goodbye. I
never would have been able to complete my task had it not been for
your help,” Cassy bowed to the Lillients in respect for their
support
during her difficult time
against Alona.

“Yeah, I want to thank you for keeping me
safe. You three are the best,” Aaron bowed as well.

“It was our honor,” the three said in
unison.

“What about me? I came all this way to say
goodbye. Have you forgotten me?” Othan grinned as he stepped
forward.

“Othan, how wonderful to see you again. I
want to thank you for your help and for giving me the nectar. It
worked just as you promised.” Cassy leaned down and hugged Othan
then kissed him on the cheek.

Othan reached up his hand and touched his
cheek. “I will forever treasure this kiss. Thank you,
Cassandra.”

Laughter broke out in the hall at the look
of pure joy on Othan’s face.

“Cassandra, I do believe that you have done
the impossible. You have made that old man smile,” King Ashlym
laughed uncontrollably.

Othan looked at Cassy and
merely
shrugged his shoulders, this bringing
another round of laughter.

Once everyone had settled down, King Ashlym
raised his arm and announced, “We have kept our friends for long
enough. Cassandra, I want you and Aaron to know that you both will
be greatly missed. You have given us a gift that can never be
adequately
repaid, but I hope that
you will remember us and know that you will forever be in our
hearts.”

He reached out and took Cassy in his arms
then hugged her tightly. Once he was done, the Queen
embraced
both Cassy and Aaron.

The King turned to Aaron and held out his
hand. “I did not know what gift a young man from your realm would
enjoy, so I asked my son what he thought you might like. He
informed me that you are quite taken with anything of the Dragon.
Maybe this will bring you joy and help you not to forget us.”

King Ashlym handed Aaron an object wrapped
in cloth. “Go ahead and open it.”

Aaron quickly unwrapped the object, and once
he realized what it was, he shouted with joy. “This is so cool!
It’s a Dragon’s scale,” Aaron smiled as he held it up for Cassy to
see.

“That is not just any scale. That is the
scale
of a King,” Frier laughed
when he saw the look of disbelief appear on Aaron’s face.

“Really? Thank you, your Majesty,” Aaron
said as he bowed before King Ashlym.

“It was the least I could do for the brave
brother of our Champion,” King Ashlym smiled tenderly. “Still,
there is something you must remember. If you were to try to show it
to anyone other than Cassandra, it
would
return to Walandra. No one must ever know you have
been here. Not your friends, not even your parents. I am sorry, but
that is how it must be.”

“I understand and I promise to obey the
rules. Thank you again.”

“Wonderful, then all is done. It is time for
you two to return to your realm.”

“Not until I get to say goodbye,” Roupert
said as he stepped forward, taking Cassy in his arms and hugging
her tightly. “Thank you for everything you have done. I will never
forget you.”

Cassy rested her head against his chest.
“I’ll never forget you either, Roupert. Thank you for having faith
in me. I never could have done it without you.”

“Hey, what about me?” Aaron crossed his arms
in protest.

Roupert released Cassy then grabbed Aaron
and pulled him close, hugging him tightly. “I could never forget
you, my brave warrior.”

“Hey, you’re crushing me,” Aaron laughed as
he struggled to free himself from Roupert embrace.

Once he had freed himself, Cassy looked at
Aaron. “Are you ready to go home?”

“I guess so,” he said with sadness in his
voice.

Cassy felt Frier take her by the hand, and
when she turned to face him, she saw tears in his eyes.

“I do not want you to leave,” he
pleaded.

“I know, but I must; I’m sorry.”

“May I kiss you one time before you go?” The
look in his eyes showed her the deep sorrow he was feeling.

“Yes,” she whispered.

He smiled then leaned down and gently
pressed his lips to hers.

Time seemed to stand still as they shared
the kiss they both knew would be their only one. Cassy felt her
resolve begin to waver, so she stepped back, ending the dream of
love
unfulfilled.

“Okay, we’re ready,” she said, keeping her
eyes transfixed on Frier.

Cassy reached for the amulet and held it in
her hand. She glanced over at the King and Queen, who both nodded,
offering their encouragement. She then reached for Aaron’s hand and
pulled him close to her.

Her heart was screaming in pain, as she held
the amulet. Suddenly, a strange fog seemed to appear in the room,
hiding everyone from her sight.

“What’s going on?” she said, but no one
responded.

“Do not fear, Cassandra. It is I,
Keira.”

“Keira? Have you come to say goodbye? If so,
why all the mystery?”

Keira appeared in front of Cassy, with a
look of seriousness in her eyes. “I have come to tell you something
of great importance. It is about the amulet the King gave you.”

“Okay, what else do I need to know other
than it will take me home and bring me back here should I decide I
want to return?”