Moonbreeze (The Dragonian Series Book 4) (12 page)

COULDN’T SEE anything up front. Too many people blocked my way.

“Yes, Mr. Brody,” a sweet angelic voice said. My entire body rippled as she said his name.

I looked back at the young man who was a younger version of Kevin, but I didn’t care about him, not this time.

I started to move through the crowd. It was so easy and not like a normal crowd. I saw the outline of their bodies. I walked farther through and came into view of my mother.

An emotion so strong overwhelmed me as I just stared at her and my father, happy close to one another.

She was beautiful, her smile lit up the entire room and he was handsome, just like the day I’d seen him during my Ascending.

She spoke but I didn’t pay any attention. Then everyone laughed as I realized it was something sassy.

“Mom.” I spoke softly but she didn’t pay any attention to me.

Then the entire image just stopped as they moved away from the crowd, away from me, and I could feel a tear roll down my face.

I wiped it away and felt Lukas take the earphones off my head.

I opened my eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Princess.”

I started to laugh and flung my arms around him as flashes went off again.

“Thank you, you gave me something nobody could ever give me. I saw her, even if she didn’t see me. I know what she sounded like, looked like, it was so real.”

Questions were being asked again.

“Princess, tell us how it felt finally being so close to her?” Kevin asked.

“Mr. Brody, I can finally say now that you’ve been a thorn in my mother’s backside too.”

Everyone laughed including Kevin.

“Thank you,” I said to Lukas again as Emanuel stepped in and started guiding me back to the limousine.

Becky and Sammy caught up with me in the elevator.

“That was seriously amazing, Elena.”

“It felt so real.”

Sammy hugged me. “It was the right project to fund. This will change lives and will give that son of a bitch what he needs.”

I laughed and saw Emanuel had a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips too.

“Congratulations, Princess.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m so buying one of those.” Becky left her two cent comment as we walked out of the elevator. I knew what she would use it on, to hopefully see her father.

ON MONDAY I found out that on Friday, King Helmut wanted me to come to the palace only at five. The camping trip was set for this weekend, and they would be long gone by then.

Everyone was going, even Blake, or so it seemed from the way Sammy spoke about this weekend.

I was going to finally have the manor all to myself. I couldn’t wait.

  I was sure that Queen Margerite would let me stay in Lucian’s room or in one of the guest rooms, if she got her way, and she always ended up getting what she wanted. I would make up my mind once that was offered to me.

That morning, I also found a package from PSU Labs – the lab working on the Sonic.

I opened the card and read the note.

Thank you for believing in us, and as promised, here is the first Sonic
.

My eyes widened slightly before I tore off the paper and opened the box. It was round, and white with red neon stripes over the body. The patches were round and had a sticky substance that could easily attach to your temples.

There was an on button and a search button that carried all the video clips ever recorded in Paegeia.

The software was also called Sonic Ware, and this device had come with it.

Sammy, Becky and the boys barged through the doors and I showed them my new cool toy.

They immediately inspected it and they all tried it out with the directions Lukas left inside a leaflet.

We all had turns and experienced a video recording or two, and all of them were just as amazed as I was, after their first experience.

None of us could stop talking about it for the rest of the week. When the excitement was over, they started to speak about the weekend trip.

“We are not going to be able to phone you. Mom said it’s in the middle of nowhere.”

“It’s fine, Sammy. We all have to do some things we don’t want. Plus I have to learn how to do things like a princess.”

On Wednesday, the Sonic was released. Everyone went insane over it and it made King Caleb’s kind of money in the first two days. They even shipped some of it to the other side as gifts to the Royal families and presidents of all the countries.

On Friday, it was hard to say goodbye to my friends as we went our separate ways at the port. Isabel was there to pick up Sammy and Becky, and I gave her a quick hug before I jumped into the limousine.

I reached the palace in no time and had lunch with Queen Margerite in the garden with Cat at my feet.

She was quiet, and something told me that today was hard for her, for some reason.

It wasn’t Lucian’s death, it could’ve been Dezi’s, but I was too scared to ask. I didn’t want to make it unbearable for her.

Around three, and not five as I thought, I was called into King Helmut’s library.

When I entered I found King Helmut on the phone calming someone down and King Caleb pacing up and down. Something wasn’t right.

King Helmut finally put down the phone and looked at King Caleb.

“None of us could have foreseen this, Caleb.”

“Well, you should have thought harder about the consequences of this project, Helmut.”

“Consequences? What are you talking about?” I spoke out of turn.

“Your little project.” King Caleb spat the words out.

“Caleb?” King Helmut warned.

“No, she should know what mess we are currently sitting on, Helmut.”

“Mess? What mess?”

King Helmut looked at me. “It’s a good project Elena, but there are some complications and it’s only three days after its release.”

“What complications?”

“Some people are trying to live in the virtual realm, or that is what they call this world the Sonic creates. The first victim died after spending more than 48 hours in it.”

“Died!”

“It’s not a safe project,” Caleb said.

“Speak to Lukas, maybe he can install a timeout button or something. It’s a good project.”

“No, Elena, we can’t take that risk. The project has been pulled back.”

“You can’t do this without telling him about this risk. Maybe he can fix it.”

“And what will be next, Elena? Someone developing some sort of tumor? This is way too advanced, even for Paegeia. We need to wait a couple of years.”

I closed my eyes.

“Maybe you need to wait a couple of years too.” King Caleb spoke.

My eyes flew open. “What do you mean by that?”

“You are too young to make these sorts of decisions. Many mistakes were made with this and I don’t think you are ready for this type of responsibility.”

“How will I ever be ready if you don’t give me a chance?” I looked at Caleb. He always got what he wanted. He’d never wanted me to sit in on these meetings from the beginning.

“Let me guess, you think so too?” I looked at King Helmut.

“I think it’s for the best.”

I huffed as I realized my friends were long gone by now. If I’d known losing my responsibilities were going to be taken away, even though someone has died, going to, I would’ve left with them.

“So what, you want to take my title, my responsibility? Is that it?” I yelled at Caleb. He wasn’t a king to me anymore and I didn’t care how good a friend he’d been to my father, he was devious and would do anything to strip me of my title.

“Elena, you don’t have the proper training to run Paegeia.”

“I’ve done everything you’ve said, everything you’ve shoved in front of me. Everything! And this is your great plan? To take it anyway, no matter how hard I worked?”

“Elena,” King Helmut said.

“Don’t, not today,” I said, turned around and walked out of his meeting room.

I’ve sat so long, listening to so many boring things, how to become a ruler, make the right choices. They actually granted me a couple and I thought the things I was doing were for the best. It lifted spirits and I’d had my mother’s journal to thank for that.

She taught me so much through those entries. How to make decisions and how to stand up to bastards like Caleb Kingsley. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy learning all of this. To attend the Academy and to be part of the Council, to make decisions like the ones I had over the past couple of weeks, two months to be exact. I’d really thought I was doing well, but apparently I wasn’t doing so well at all.

“Elena.” Emanuel grabbed my arm softly.

“Please just let me go. I can’t deal with one of your stupid explanations, Emanual.”

He smiled. “I don’t give those to the people I care about, Elena.”

“I give up, he is never going to let me try to be the Princess, is he?”

“Don’t give up. The people of Paegeia need you. The blood that flows through your veins is what gives them hope, makes them feel safe.”

“He doesn’t see it that way.” I was referring to Caleb.

“I know, but just imagine how frustrating it is for him as well. You did amazing work in just a couple of months, Elena. You connected with the people and that is what your mother and father would have done. How do you think he got the title, the Greatest King that Ever Lived? He forgot about all of this.” He pointed in the direction of the meeting hall. “And he just put his foot down.”

“It was different, he had their support. I don’t.”

“You’ve got Helmut’s.”

“I don’t think I had that today. You didn’t hear him in there.”

“He hates seeing you upset, Elena. You have their support and you are winning people over every week.”

“It’s not enough, it will never be enough. I have to go,” I said and walked out of the castle.

A limo was waiting for me outside and it took me straight to my second home.

The Leafs were long gone, while I had to stay to go to meetings upon meetings for the next couple of days. Well if they would’ve just told me I wasn’t needed anymore, I could be on the trip.