Chapter 62 – The Dragon’s Eye

Pel quickly grew fidgety. Levisia may not have felt the gaze, as she seemed no different than before. He glanced at her, saw that she was following him, and decided to save his words.

‘Even if I say it now…’ he thought, not wanting to cause Levisia unnecessary worry.

Her green eyes were as clear as ever as she wandered around in curiosity. Was there really any need to plant anxiety and worry into her? It was a matter of caution, without the need to tell her.

At least that’s what he had thought…

Pel, his eyes rolled back, stood still in the crowd. A short moment later, he couldn’t feel Levisia’s presence. He cursed himself for allowing her to disappear. All of his attention had been on tracking the people who followed them among the crowd.

‘Dang it. Where did she disappear off to?’

He began feeling around for her; the ever-watching eyes nowhere to be found. Pel realized what this meant: the target of those eyes was Levisia, not him.

‘Were there… around four of them?’

He clamped his lips shut, turning around at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him. He soon found out that, whilst he was lost in his thoughts, he had stopped in the middle of the walkway.

“Why’re you standing there blocking the way?”

“Hey, move out of the way!”

Pel uttered an apology and shuffled off to the side, away from the crowds. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing his mind on opening his dragon’s eye. Tuning into his third eye did not take long. When he reopened his eyes the pitch-black pupil, located between his golden eyes, was as thin and sharp as a needle.

With the dragon’s eye open, Pel’s field of vision was wider than usual. From where he was standing, he could roam around the streets and see through the crowds.

Thankfully, Levisia wasn’t too far away. Pel breathed a deep sigh of relief, as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulder. Desperate to get to her, he set off in her direction when an unimaginable pain burst through his chest.

‘Ugh!’ Pel frowned as he doubled over, finding it hard to breathe. ‘It’s the curse…’

There was a strong pressing sensation against his chest, as though someone had laid him down and was sitting on him. Every movement of the dragon’s eye was accompanied by pain. It was the curse carved in blood by the ones who demolished the kingdom he called home.

The last time the dragon’s eye opened was when Levisia had fainted. It had only been a few weeks since then, so perhaps that was why the pain he felt now was more brutal and lasted a bit longer.

Pel’s vision constantly switched between being crystal clear and murky, like his eyes were open under pond water. He clasped his chapped lips together. Blood leaked from them, soaking the tip of his tongue. The metallic taste quickly spread inside his mouth.

‘No!’

He couldn’t faint like this, not in such an unsightly condition. If he wasted any more time, Levisia, who was still close-by, might disappear again.

‘I have to reach her.’ Pel resolved, determination in his voice. He clenched his jaw and trudged onwards, every step bringing more agony due to the curse. As he slithered through the crowd, he could see her standing still, her head facing the pavement. He felt a mixture of frustration and relief, both welcome after all the pain.

‘Are you done looking?’

When Pel blinked, the needle-shaped pupil disappeared and returned to its original form. After rubbing his stiff chest, he took a deep breath and approached her.

“What are you doing here? Oh…”

Levisia tilted her head up, their gazes meeting. Her complexion was unnaturally white.

Pel’s head felt like it had been dunked into ice-cold water. An increasingly growl escaped from his mouth. “What happened to you?” Pel stepped forwards, his hands clasped by his sides. He could feel the skin tightening against his knuckles.

Levisia was unable to speak. Her eyes were frantically shifting back and forth, and her hands kept scratching her neck like she was looking for something.

Or, like she had something to hide.

Pel, desperate to know what was wrong, reached out a hand. He paused, waiting for her consent to move closer. Levisia quietly nodded, her hand retracting from her neck. Pel’s long fingers dipped into her hood and he gently swept away her flowy, silver hair. On her slender neck was a fresh wound. Levisia flinched slightly when Pel’s fingertips brushed over her red, bruised skin.

She was heating up in front of his eyes. Pel cautiously moved his hand away, trembling in… Fear? Anger? He couldn’t tell.

“Who did this to you?” Pel asked, furious that someone would do such a thing.

“I couldn’t see their face.” Levisia’s breath was shaky as she touched her neck again. She frowned as she struggled to remember who her attacker was, and what they had looked like.

It was more than Pel could bear.