Bleeding Hearts

Chapter 23

*Aaliyah's P.O.V*

My eyes open as I look around, trying to figure out what woke me up. I yawn as I sit up, my back hurting from sleeping curled up for who knows how long. I realize that I'm under a table so I peek out from under the tablecloth, hearing footsteps at the end of the hall. I can't see the people walking towards me yet but I can see from one of the nearby windows that it is too dark outside for me to be up.

"How did we lose a whole child?" Levana asks, sounding quite upset. I furrow my eyebrows, confused about what she was talking about. However I let the tablecloth I had lifted up slightly fall back into place as I decide to just listen.

"I did not lose a child. She has misplaced herself," Ametrine says, making my eyebrows furrow as I sit criss-cross, resting my head against the tablecloth slightly.

"You were the one who was supposed to put up the old bloodwards that childproofed the room!" Levana retorts, earning a huff from Ametrine. I can't imagine that she's happy. I wouldn't be happy if someone talked to me like that.

"Well I was not the one who promised Ashia that her granddaughter was safe and residing in our care. Shall you be the one to tell her that we lost Aaliyah?" Ametrine asks and then what they're talking about hits me. They're talking about me! That was kind of funny especially since they were walking right by me.

I cover my mouth to hide my giggles as I hear their footsteps fade away. As soon as they're gone, I crawl out from under the table. I run over to the window, getting a feeling in my stomach. I am actually a little too short to see out the window so I have to jump and try to pull myself up to look out the window. That plan doesn't work very well and I end up falling. It hurts my knees since I had banged them against the stone wall so I decide to be a problem solver.

I walk quickly down the hallways, knowing that there are some windows that are lower to the ground and bigger so I could see out of them. I have to occasionally stop to listen to make sure that no one is going to suddenly appear but I eventually find one of the slightly lower down windows. I have to stand on my tippy toes to see out it but I get the perfect view into the courtyard.

Taking up almost all of the courtyard is Vathini, my grandma's dragon! I squeal excitedly, watching as one of the giant dragon's eyes snaps open. I can't see her other one right now but when she turns her head in my direction, a small grumble escapes the massive dragon as she moves her head towards the window. I stop standing on my tippy toes, trying to envision where there was an open space outside.

I manage to focus my magic, focusing on that spot as my magic circles around me. I feel like I'm being squeezed uncomfortably as I keep my eyes shut. I can tell that I'm outside when I feel something rough under my feet. I should have maybe put some shoes on before coming out here but it's too late now.

I open my eyes, looking down to see that my teleporting hadn't worked as well as I thought. I'm now just kind of standing on the window ledge. I squeak as I see how high up I am, my site being obscured by a giant snout that blocks my view. I slowly look up, squeaking when I see that Vathini has moved her entire body to be on this side of the courtyard.

'Young one,' her voice rumbles in my head as she inhales. I can't help but try to step back, pressing against the glass of the window so I don't fall. I knew she could communicate with people, she had enough magic in her blood for her to project words into people's minds.

"Vathini," I say, offering a small smile to the immortal dragon. She was ancient, I was pretty sure she was like a million years old at the very least. She was over 150 feet in length last time I checked and that was huge compared to when I was in my regular body. Now that I was a child again, it was even scarier.

'You are...small...again' Vathini comments, sounding disappointed. Her yellow eyes blink as she turns her head to observe me some more before turning slightly to raise a wing to offer to me. She can't spread her wings all the way at all but she can open them enough to allow me to step onto one of them to get me off the ledge.

I take the step, not sure what she's talking about at the moment. I realize after a moment that she was talking about when I was young. She had always hated how tiny I was. She wanted all human children to be bigger and stronger, like her own children were. She had constantly been trying to get my grandma to feed me raw fish and meat. I always declined but she still tried her best!

"Magic can be a pain in the ass," I retort, earning an amused noise from Vathini as she slowly lowers me to the ground before curling up.

'Ashia would disagree. So would I,' Vathini rumbles as she turns her head slightly, her wing curling up slightly to keep the wind from hitting me.

"Of course you do," I mutter, frowning when Vathini breathes heavily. She takes in my scent, her eyes narrowing.

'You smell like one of my young...my missing egg,' Vathini growls, her slitted yellow eyes narrowing even more as she realizes where her missing egg went. Dragons were amazing creatures, their offspring had individual scents before they even hatched. Something that screwed me over at the moment.

"Fuck," is all I say before I try to sprint away, Vathini block my way with one of her talons as a low growl escapes her.

Decided now was the perfect time to add another dragon. Vathini is an ice dragon for anyone curious