Chapter 5 The gold pocket watch!

Calista Pov

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on warm wooden flooring, sunlight streaming through an enormous window.

I sat up quickly, clutching my head as it throbbed with sharp pain, and beside me, Azeroth was sitting up too, rubbing the back of his head with obvious irritation.

I turned to him, my voice a mix of fury and dread. "What did you do, you idiot?! Where are we?! Get me back to my shop, right now!"

"No .. what did you do, witch!" He stood, still swaying slightly on his feet. "What kind of spell did you just cast?"

His eyes suddenly went wide with shock as he looked around... and then, slowly, his smile started to spread. "You actually brought me to Uralis." He turned to me, and for the first time since I'd known him, something almost civil crept into his voice. "I thought you were just a useless, foolish little witch. Seems I was wrong about that."

"What do you mean by.." I cut myself off, glancing out the window to see dozens of dragons soaring freely across the sky. "What is that?!"

He kept talking, completely ignoring my shock. "Once I understand exactly what happened to me, and what I was even doing in that forest to begin with, I'll consider rewarding you for bringing me back here."

I scanned the room around us in growing bewilderment. It looked exactly like the layout of the cellar we'd fled from .. but the choking dust and rusted books were completely gone, replaced by the fresh scent of herbs I didn't recognize filling every corner, and clean, gleaming glass jars lined the tables, as if they'd just been used.

He gestured at me carelessly. "Fetch me something to wear, immediately. It's beneath me to walk around looking like this."

I glared at him openly. "Clothes? You strange creature, I don't even know where we are. I want to go back to my shop, right now."

He looked me up and down with a cold sweep of his eyes. "I won't punish you for that tone with me .. not this time." He sighed, brushing past me toward the door. "I'm going to transform and return to my palace immediately. I'll dress properly there, as befits me."

I shouted after him, chasing without a second thought. "You are not leaving me here! Take me back to my shop first!"

He strode out the door quickly, and I ran after him. "Stop! Where are you even going?!"

"Enough chattering, Falcros. I'm not interested in spending any more time with you. Trust me, the time I've already spent in your company is more than enough."

"Well, I'm not exactly thrilled to be spending time with you either, trust me," I shot back, sharp with sarcasm. "I just want you to take me back to my shop, to my aunt!"

He stopped abruptly and closed his eyes, bracing to transform... but after several long, silent seconds, his eyes snapped open in unmistakable fury. "What is wrong with me?! Why can't I transform?!"

I planted myself directly in front of him, unable to hold back a smirk. "My apologies for interrupting your riveting attempt to turn into your magnificent dragon self. But I really do need to get back to my shop once you take me there. Try as much as you like .. I'm not going anywhere."

He shoved me aside with total indifference, as if I were nothing more than a sack of garbage in his way. "Get out of my sight." He started walking again, muttering under his breath with rising anger. "Once I reach the palace, I'll find a solution to this ridiculous inability to transform."

The howling of dragons filled the sky above us in a way that was genuinely terrifying, and I shivered despite myself at the sheer scale of it.

Azeroth suddenly turned, changing direction entirely. "We'll take the forest path, so no one sees me looking like this."

I snapped, completely out of patience. "Why won't you listen to a single word I'm saying?! I'm telling you, none of this is possible .. how exactly did you bring me to a place like this? I want to go back to my shop!"

"Stop screaming in my face, you fool!" he hissed, low and sharp, gesturing toward the dragons circling overhead, then toward a towering palace visible in the distance despite the gap, simply from its sheer, overwhelming scale.

He went on, anger climbing with every word. "Don't you see the palace right there? Don't you see my dragons? We are in Uralis. This is my town. My palace, which I abandoned for some reason I can't currently recall! And the blame for all of this lies entirely with your failed spell that's cursed my ability to transform!"

I smacked my own forehead hard. "There are no real dragons! They've been extinct for centuries .. they're nothing but myths people tell their children! I don't understand how those dragons suddenly appeared, or how you appeared in the first place, but.."

I stopped mid-sentence, a realization crashing over me. "The gold pocket watch!"