“You’re quiet today,” Korbin says as we run, and I don’t immediately respond. Elias pissed me off way too much last night with everything he said, everything he made me think about. I know he was right, and I hate him for it. I did love Jace, but was I in love with him? Did I really even know the meaning? Every memory I have of Jace keeps flashing through my mind, and in not one of them can I really remember loving him. He was just there for me, and I kind of hate that Elias was right. We were pushed into being together. There wasn’t another option. Everything was planned, from our first date at fifteen, to every date after that. We were such close friends, but I don’t remember any moment that really made me think, I love this man. I hate myself for these thoughts, it feels like such a betrayal.

“I’m just tired, I didn’t sleep well,” I finally reply lightly, running faster to try and get the images out of my head that have been running on a loop all night. Thinking of my true feelings of Jace inevitably lead to thoughts of his murder and they have spiralled from there. Jace with the dagger in his heart. His dead eyes staring back at me. How similar he looked to my mother's dead body. They were killed in the same way, and I know I am next on the hit list. Will, I die just as they did?

“Isola, watch out for the hill!” Korbin shouts at me. I’m so lost in my thoughts, I don’t see the edge of the hill until I’m rolling down it. I scream as I hit trees, bouncing off them as I reach my hands out to try and grab onto anything, but it’s pointless. I finally get to the bottom, rolling across the dirt and rocks, coughing as I pull myself up.

“Isola! Isola I’m coming down!” I hear Korbin shout. Looking up, I see him jumping from tree to tree as he makes his way down the hill. How the hell does he do that? He jumps onto the tree closest to me, and slides down it, avoiding all the branches, and runs over to me.

“You’re hurt, but it should heal,” he says as he grabs my chin to examine my cheek. I lift my hand, feeling the warm blood drip down my face as he shakes his head.

“What is going on in that head of yours that you weren't paying attention to where you were going?” he asks me, still holding my chin and making me look at his green eyes that are practically swirling with anger.

“Why do you care? This is just a job to you lot,” I spit out, jerking my face away from his and walking a few steps away.

“I don't know why I give a damn about a spoilt fucking princess, but for some reason, I do. I don’t see many other people lining up to be your friend,” he says.

“Friend? You seriously want to be friends with someone you call 'a spoilt fucking princess’?” I ask, and he chuckles.

“That’s right doll, I do, and you look like you need a friend, but don’t tell anyone that I’m yours,” he warns, and I just laugh. The one person volunteering to be my friend, and he doesn’t want me to tell anyone.

“Why should I trust you?” I ask him carefully.

“I never said to trust me, just that you can talk to me. I’m a good listener,” he says walking over to me. He takes my hand off my cheek, before quickly pressing it back.

“It’s a deep cut, and my dragon senses that your ribs are broken. We’ll need to stay here for about half an hour to heal,” he tells me. I nod, already knowing that from the pain.

“Let’s find a log or something to sit on then,” I say as I place my other arm around my waist, and he nods. We walk silently through the woods for a little bit until we find a ring of logs. As we get closer, we notice the small, green plant in a pod in the centre of the logs.

“What is that?” I ask, smelling something magical and pure, but not having a clue what it is.

“It can’t be,” Korbin whispers as he shakes his head, looking in absolute shock at the pod.

“Kor?” I prod. He rubs his beard, staring at the pod before looking at me and then back to the pod.

“You should touch it. If I’m right about what it is, it’s here for you, not me,” he says, looking at me in wonder.

“Is it dangerous?” I ask, and he shakes his head.

“I don’t know exactly, but ancient magic is in the air, and it’s not calling me. It’s yours, whatever it is,” he looks down at me, “Can’t you feel the pull, doll?” he asks as I look back at the pod. I do feel something that makes me want to walk over to it.

“Go, I won’t let anything hurt you. I’m your dragon guard, and I don’t feel danger here,” he tells me. I know he can't lie to me about that, the curse won't let him put me in direct danger. It would be extremely difficult for him to get around it. I walk forward slowly, feeling the urge to touch the pod grow stronger with every step. I wonder if I fell on purpose? I wonder what kind of magic is calling me? This world was said to be full of magic years ago, both light and dark magic, but war destroyed so much of it over the years. It is said there is nothing pure left anymore, making dark magic more powerful than it's ever been. But then why does this pod smell so pure? I was hidden on Earth to ensure dragons that use dark magic couldn't get to me. There is no magic on Earth, it doesn’t work there. I step into the circle of logs, kneeling down in front of the pod. I feel a force pushing from it as I lower my hand towards it.

“Be careful,” Korbin warns, just as I touch it with my hand. I get thrown into the air, flying backwards, before smacking into a tree and sliding down. I open my eyes, and feel a burning sensation on my right hand. I lift it and see a green tree tattoo, right in the middle of my palm. It almost shines, a green glow emanating from it. I look over to see Korbin running towards me, but he stops when I stand, looking back at the pod. It’s open, a small green little fairy type thing in the middle of it, fast asleep.

“What is that?” I ask as Korbin looks away from it, and comes over to me.

“A baby tree spirit,” he whispers and lifts my hand, swearing under his breath before dropping it.

“It has marked you as its own, and you have to look after it now. It’s a blessing,” he explains to me, staring in awe at the tree spirit.

“They are very powerful when they are older, blessed with magic. It’s said the dragon they mark is destined for greatness. There hasn’t been a dragon blessed by a tree spirit in thousands of years, doll,” he says, looking down at me. He steps closer, rubbing a finger over my cheek. “It had to be you, didn’t it?” he says so quietly that I’m sure he didn’t mean to say it aloud.

“Kor,” I whisper, wondering what he is thinking as he stares back at me. His eyes glaze over, fire burning across them for a second, before he shakes his head and steps away from me.

“The tree spirit must have healed you, your cheek is completely mended. Pick her up, we can leave,” he says, walking away to stare up the hill.

“Are we friends now Kor?” I ask him.

“Seeing as we have cute little nicknames for each other, I would say so,” he says, a hint of humour lacing his words that makes me chuckle a little.

“Can I call you Kor-Kor? Or Korby?” I ask. When he glares at me, I put my hands in the air. “Too far? Okay, I get it,” I say, laughing as I walk over to the tree spirit. I lean down, scanning her long, glittering green hair, her pale green skin, and the tiny leaf she's wearing. She looks like a child, albeit an odd one. Picking her up with both hands, I tuck her into my coat and button it up so she's tightly snuggled in.

“Let’s go,” Korbin says, pointing to the left of the hill.

“We need to walk this way for about half an hour, and then we can climb a small set of rocks to get to the castle,” he tells me. We walk silently for a while, as I keep looking down at the tree spirit.

“There’s a game called The Sims, and there’s these plant sims you can get in the game. She looks just like one, but with longer hair,” I say, and Korbin gives me a strange look.

“What does the game do? We get a few games from Earth, but they are of no interest to me,” he says.

“You make your own humans and houses. And you’re able to control them,” I explain.

“So, strange, but I imagine that it is good practice for when you are queen and have a real world to control,” he comments after clearly thinking about it.

“Not exactly. It takes hours to build a castle on that game, and there are no dragons,” I say, and he gives me a confused look.

“I know, right? No dragons, no fun,” I say, remembering how Jace used to think it was funny that I wanted dragons in the game.

"There's that look on your face, the same one you had when you fell," he says.

“I was thinking of Jace, you know the ice prince that is dead?” I repeat his words, and he flinches.

“I am sorry I said that to you. I have an excuse, but I doubt you want to hear it,” he says.

“Tell me,” I reply, kinda wanting to hear it.

“My girlfriend, intended mate, is here at the castle. I didn't tell her I was going to be here for a few weeks to protect you. I wanted to surprise her,” he chuckles, a deep and dark chuckle that is a little frightening.

“What happened?” I ask, not understanding why I feel sick at the thought of him having a girlfriend. It's not like I could be interested in him like that. He is a dragon guard, it’s so forbidden it’s not funny. Besides, it’s not like I can stop thinking of Jace, so it doesn’t matter.

“I walked in on her screwing some dragon. She had the nerve to say it was my fault because I didn’t tell her I was here,” he growls.

“If you ask me, you are better off without her. She clearly didn’t deserve you,” I say, and he looks back at me for a second.

“After I found her, I came into the lunchroom, and I didn’t think before I spoke. I can’t apologise for Dagan, he is just a dick, but I didn’t mean to upset you,” he says.

“Apology accepted,” I say, nearly tripping on a rock but able to catch myself. Korbin looks back, shaking his head.

“Come on, doll, before you break anything else,” he teases. I grin, walking after him and deciding that maybe Korbin isn’t that bad after all.