“Wake up,” a voice shouts, and then there’s loud banging on my door. I roll over and groan into my pillow as I rub my tired eyes. I look over at the gap in the curtains, only to see that it's still dark out. Sliding myself out of bed, I move to shout at whoever is stupid enough to wake me up this early. It’s inhuman, that’s what it is, no one should be awake before the sun rises. I walk over to the door, pulling it open, and glaring at Korbin who is jogging on the spot outside my room. He has a short vest on, showing off white tattoos that trail up his arms and disappear into the vest.

“Eyes up, doll,” Korbin says, laughing when I glare at him and rub my eyes.

“I’m half asleep, and this doll is not fucking impressed, what the hell do you want?” I snap, making him laugh louder.

“I like you already, but we have a two-mile run to do. So, Doll, get some running gear on as we only have two hours before class,” he says, making my jaw drop open.

“I don’t run, not unless something is chasing me, and even then, I’d rather take my chances with it,” I grumble. He steps closer to me, before leaning down to growl into my ear.

“You can get your butt in there and get changed for our run, or I can throw you over my shoulder, take you to the woods, and throw fireballs at your ass to make you run,” he warns me.

“Seems like you’re focused on my ass a lot in that sentence,” I respond, making him grin at me.

“Get changed, flirting with me won’t make me be any nicer to you,” he says, moving back and starting to do that annoying jogging thing again. Why is he so happy, and more importantly, awake at this time in the morning?

“I wasn’t–” I snap and he interrupts me.

“–Get changed,”

“So, bossy,” I groan, giving up because I’m pretty sure he would throw fireballs at me, and enjoy it. I’m also pretty sure I wouldn’t. I turn around and walk back into my room, slamming the door shut behind me. I quickly dive through my suitcase to try to find my activewear. I really need to unpack. Finding what I need, I pull the yoga top, leggings and small jacket on.

“Hurry up,” Korbin shouts, banging on the door once. I resist the urge to throw my trainers at the door, deciding to put them on, and pull my hair up into a ponytail instead. I brush my teeth, then throw some water on my face before walking out the room.

“About time,” Korbin begins before pausing. His eyes trail over me, starting at my feet and making their way up my body slowly, as he rubs his beard with one hand.

“Is this what humans wear? Tight, bright clothes?” he questions, and I look down at my bright pink leggings and black crop top.

“Some people live in clothes like this, but never actually work out in them. They are designed for working out,” I shrug, so used to seeing humans wearing them that I never considered that it would be weird at all.

“Humans are strange,” he states before turning and running down the stairs. I start after him, but he goes so fast that he is stood leaning against the wall when I finally reach the bottom. He smiles arrogantly, before taking off running out the room. We run straight down the corridor, to the entrance hall, where he holds the door open for me.

“So, where are we running?” I ask.

“In the forest. Don’t worry it’s protected, and Dagan is out flying in dragon form, keeping an eye out,” he says, just as a loud roar shakes the trees.

“Well, he is closer than I thought,” Korbin laughs, before running straight towards the trees. I run after him, getting to his side as we get to the path in the woods. He keeps at a steady pace as I take the opportunity to look around. The path is smooth, and there are little hills at the side that drop down into more trees. I look up at the sunrise, seeing the pinks and purples spreading across the sky around the two suns. The large green trees stretch so high that they almost look like they are touching the sky, it’s amazing. I have to look down and focus on my breathing when running gets harder, making me realise how out of shape I am. I seriously don’t run.

“How much longer?” I ask as the trees all start to look the same. I stop, breathing heavily as I put my hands on my knees.

“The path takes an hour and a half to run at this speed, and we have been running for twenty minutes,” he says plainly.

“Oh my god,” I pant out. “It felt like forever, I’m done,” I state, making him chuckle and I look up.

“We have an hour left. Don’t make me get the fire balls started,” he threatens and I just glare at him.

“I’m not going to do this every day. What is the point?” I ask as I get my breath back and lean against a nearby tree. Korbin sighs, holding his hand in the air and making a small fireball.

“Now doll, I wasn’t kidding about throwing fireballs at your ass if you don’t start running. I’m not paid to explain anything to you,” he says, making the fireball in his hand larger. I move away from the tree, walking straight up to him, and placing my hand into the fire. It warms my hand, but it doesn’t hurt me one bit.

“Fire doesn’t hurt me, so there would be no point, other than burning my clothes. Do you really want to see my ass that badly?” I ask, watching his eyes widen in shock. I lower my hand when he stops the fire and steps closer. I have to tilt my head up to meet his eyes as we both glare at each other.

“I think you’re the one obsessed with your pretty little ass, not me. You keep bringing it up,”

“I think you’re in denial,” I chuckle, and he narrows his eyes at me.

“Well being princess and all, I guess you would be right about everything,” he says, the amount of venom and sarcasm in his words makes me want to back away from him. I don’t, I just end up staring into his green eyes. They are a dark green, with black around them and in places they have little tints of hazel. They are amazing, so deep and different from anyone else’s I’ve seen.

“Why do you hate me?” I ask, seeing his dislike in his eyes.

“Do you have any clue what it is like to be a slave to the throne? Knowing that your only place in the world is to die for the royal family. That the curse will always ruin every part of your life, and knowing you can never really be free?” he asks me.

“Who says I’m free? There is no curse on the throne, but there is a burden that no one, particularly me, wants,” I reply.

“But you can run, you can escape. Magic won't make you choose to allow the curse to kill you, or come back to a king that would kill you for deserting him,” he spits out.

“He wouldn’t do that,” I shake my head as Korbin takes a step back and laughs.

“Tell my parents and sister that. Oh wait you can’t, because they are dead for wanting to be free,” he growls at me. His vehemence makes me stumble back with a slight bit of fear, but then he turns away from me. I take a deep breath before stepping closer, feeling like I need to tell him something, anything that I can to make this better. I didn’t know my father was like that, I didn’t even know the words of the curse until yesterday. I place my hand on his shoulder, his skin burning hot under my touch.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know about my father, or even the specifics of the curse until recently. I would never do that to anyone."

“Then you should know not to touch me. I have to be nothing to you, not even a friend,” he says, glancing over his shoulder and shrugging my hand off.

“I know that,” I reply, feeling stupid for trying to comfort him.

“There’s still a lot you do not know doll,” he states cryptically as he narrows his eyes at me and walks away.

“Run or don’t, but being in the best physical shape you can makes your dragon stronger,” he says, just before he runs off. I stand and watch for second before taking off after him, and we don’t say a word for the rest of the run.