Chapter 4 I can feel it, remember?

Allie’s POV 

What the hell is going on here? Before I could even put together what was happening, the actual king and queen appeared in front of me.

Yes—I mean Xavier’s mom and dad. They stood there with fury in their eyes watching their only son lying unconscious close to the same throne he’s supposed to take over. 

I forced a lump down my throat, my whole body trembling in fear without knowing any other way to redeem myself. I threw myself on the ground face down, hands clasped, begging for forgiveness. 

Your graces, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, not to mention your son and heir to Silver City. I swear this has nothing to do with any grudge or whatsoever from the past; I didn’t mean to trespass. I promise he was the one who came at me. I was just about to leave, please… Please show mercy. 

How dare you!!! he thundered, looking at me.

Or I thought he was, but everything I thought I knew stopped existing the minute he walked right through me, headed for my body, grabbed me by the neck, and slammed me against the wall. 

I could watch everything happening, but on my own end, I was still on the floor on my knees, feeling a tight grip on my neck. 

I tried to speak, but I couldn’t as it only got tighter and tighter… Your grace, please, st… I tried to speak in between choking. 

I hope you’re convinced now that being soft doesn’t help because these people have been nothing but cruel to you for the last fifteen years!! Lucifer’s voice echoed in my ears, but I could see my own body staring at me, still being strangled against the wall.

Kill her!!! 

She deserves to die!!! 

The voices of other elves began to echo in the field. 

No!! No!!! No!! Please… I cried; it was at this moment it dawned on me. 

I was still me, but I just wasn’t in my body. Lucifer had taken over my body, but since we had the same hair type and color, no one could notice except my dad. 

Now it all made sense. Why the king was able to walk through me and not bump into me; I had taken Lucifer’s place, and he was out there living my life and taking my place, feeling the raw pain that was meant for me. I watched him stare at me one last time with glassy eyes before he knocked off the king’s hands from his neck and fell to the ground coughing. 

I began to cough too, trying to catch my breath. As I raised my head, I watched all the elves present trying to circle around me.

But something was different now; I could feel the sand; it became more real than before. And when I lifted my eyes, I saw Lucifer, his neck red from the near-death experience; then he whispered, “Run,” before he disappeared. 

And with just that single command, I understood what had just happened; I was back in my body and was about to be eaten alive for a crime he had just committed to save me. 

So without wasting any more time, I fled.

“After her!!! Bring her to me dead or alive!!!” Those were the last words I heard the king say before everything else faded as I focused more on getting out of there than listening to any more words. 

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, but I was too slow, and the king's guards were just a few feet behind me. 

The same people I went to class with, the same people I trained with, were right behind me shooting arrows. 

My throat tightened from the strangulation; breathing became harder, my legs were already getting weak, and I could almost feel my limbs tearing off.

It was right then a miracle happened—a familiar dragon stopped right in front of me.

“Jasmine!” I called out with ragged breaths.

“It’s bad manners to give you a ride here and not give you one back; hop in,” a familiar voice echoed in my ears.

“Prince Ty!” I called out softly, heaving a deep sigh of relief while I hurriedly got on Jasmine’s back. 

Thank goodness for how quick she was; else she would have gotten shot with an arrow by one of the king’s best archers—Drake, my sworn enemy back at the Silver Academy for elf soldiers. 

We flew off into the sky where I tried to catch my breath, clutching onto Prince Ty’s back, eyes closed, tears streaming down my face as my heartbeat collided with his back… I could tell he could feel how fast my heart was racing. If I’d learned anything about dragons and their riders while at the academy, it’s their ability to feel almost anything and their unwavering strength. 

But he didn’t say a word, at least not to my hearing, but my instinct already knew he had a lot of questions; questions I wished I had answers to myself. 

We stayed in the sky for another few minutes before he gave Jasmine a signal to find a place to land. And somehow, it was the exact moment my heart had stopped racing.

Jasmine spotted a mountain just below us and proceeded to land on top of it. 

I got down, pushed my hair back in frustration, trying to wrap my head around everything that had just happened. I turned my gaze back to Ty and watched him pat his dragon, and I guess she understood what that meant as she immediately flew off, giving us some space and time alone. 

“Are… are you okay?” Ty asked. 

I sighed and said, “You tell me, what do you think?” I asked. 

“Right, that was probably a very stupid question,” he replied. “I’m so sorry for what happened back there; I didn’t know Xavier was…” he tried to speak.

“No… no…. It’s okay. What happened back there, none of it was your fault. Xavier and I had it coming.” 

“What? What do you mean?” he asked with furrowed brows. 

“I mean, our dispute started a long time ago, while we were still kids, so none of this was your fault. So don’t blame yourself,” I replied.

He paused for a while, staring at me with confusion in his eyes. “Well, if you knew, why did you still attend the coronation?” he asked softly. 

“Because…” I said, pausing for a while. “Because I never thought I'd be out there in the spotlight like that; no one ever really notices my presence in such a crowd. Plus, my dad is part of the king's council and I'm part of the recently trained soldiers, so it was kind of like a duty to be there,” I explained.

“Oh,” he mumbled softly. So it's kinda my fault you got all that attention today, he said. 

Not entirely, I said with shrugged shoulders. I mean if Aria had t showed up maybe things wouldn't had gone south, I added.

Oh, right your twin. He said with a smile. Well, you being a soldier explains how you were able to save yourself without any help,” he said with a light chuckle. 

But I just smiled and looked away, taking in the cool breeze that brushed my hair with its rhythm. I wished I could tell him that all that wasn't just me, that I actually did get help; if only he'd believe me, I thought, staring into thin air, letting the cool air dry up my tears.

“But I do have a question, though,” his voice cut through the silence between us. 

Here it comes… I said inwardly. “Which is?” I asked, maintaining my gaze on the skyline.

“I don't mean to add to how you're feeling right now because trust me when I say I can feel it too,” he began.

“I know,” I replied softly, turning to him with a wry smile on my face.

“But, you see, I'm very learned—I mean I try to read the books about our history given to us at our royal school, and I know quite well that elves—you all possess some kind of nature manipulation, moon magic, and healing, but super strength? That's kind of a dragon quality; so if you don't mind me asking, how were you able to throw off Xavier with just one hand?” he asked.

I stayed quiet for a while, sat on the ground… he did the same, staring deeply into my eyes, searching for answers. 

Then I said, “Would you believe me if I told you?” I asked.

“Of course, of course I will… You can trust me.”

“I… I… I stuttered. I can… I tried to speak; I tried to tell him my heart, to tell him the real truth, but just then, Lucifer appeared behind him.

“Don't you dare do that,” he snarled. 

I just sat there, staring at him with creased brows, wondering why he went silent all those times only to appear to me now. Wondering why he doesn't want me to tell Ty about him. Does he know something I don't and was just pretending? I wondered. 

“It's not even been up to a day since you met him, Allie, and because he was able to entice you with his charms, you just want to let your guard down that easily, really?” Lucifer asked.

And at this point, listening to him, I hate to admit it, but he had a point. I couldn't trust anyone, especially not when I'm the most wanted elf in the whole of Silver City, I thought. 

“You what?” Ty’s voice jolted me back to reality. 

But I just stared at him; now my eyes were clear enough to see something odd in his eyes as he was waiting for my answers. 

“I don't know,” I blurted out. 

“What?” he asked with confusion written on his face. 

“I don't know how I was able to do that,” I repeated.

But frankly speaking, I wasn't lying, I thought inwardly. I mean, I don't know how all of that happened, but one thing was certain; I knew it had something to do with the moment Lucifer and I exchanged bodies, which is something I still can't explain. 

He shifted backward, stared at me skeptically before saying, “You don't trust me, do you?” he asked. 

“What? Huh?” I mumbled.

“You don’t have to lie to me, Allie; I can feel it, remember?” he said with raised brows. 

“Right,” I muttered softly. 

“It's okay, I understand,” he said, standing up. He blew a whistle, and in a matter of seconds, Jasmine flew up to where we were. 

“Come on, I'll drop you off somewhere safe. When you are ready to talk, you can come find me at High-Garden.”

He said, referring to his homeland, where dragons and dragon riders lived and ruled.

As I stood up, a pang of guilt washed over me, wondering if I'd done the right thing by not telling him about Lucifer.

Speaking of Lucifer, where is he when you need him? I wondered as I hopped onto Jasmine.