It was silent.

Thank Jesus.

I didn't think quiet even existed in my life anymore.

We sat there motionless as the car moved along the road; I craved flying, running or any kind of movement because I hated being in vehicles. They made me anxious.

My leg shook beneath me as I sat behind the passenger seat. I thought about jumping out of the car and taking off after Cornelius and Avery but I kept my restraint. Barely, but it was still there.

I looked at the side of Aaron's face; he smiled when he felt my eyes shift on him, then he turned to look at me. Andrea sat across from me with her feet up on the seat, staring out the window.

"Can you turn on some music?" Andrea questioned suddenly, obviously annoyed with the silence. I was as well because it was making me anxious.

Aaron turned a knob on the stereo, and one of Adele's songs turned on. Andrea leaned her head on the window, suddenly uncomfortable.

I opened my window, singing along quietly.

Aaron turned around in his seat and watched as I sung along to the song playing.

I closed my eyes, staying in pitch with Adele, and smiled. I put my hand out the window and pretended it was a dragon, soaring through the sky. Trees passed by in a blur, making the effect of my hand-dragon look really cool.

I looked up and saw Avery falling in my direction, kind of like a dive off of Cornelius. Cornelius dove after her, and they flew in the air together. I watched with envy and groaned internally.

I turned around and looked at Andrea, her eyes glued to me.

"What?" I questioned and she shrugged.

"I didn't think you could sing." She said, and I shrugged as well. It felt like a snarky remark but I didn't really care. It didn't bother me.

"Well, it's another gift I guess. I've always loved music." I said, then I looked back out the window. The mountains came into view and we pulled over. The driver got out and opened the door for us.

"We'll have to walk from here," Aaron said and I nodded, getting out.

"Who said anything about walking?" I questioned, changing my eyes. I was mid shift when Aaron put his hand on my shoulder. I stopped shifting, changing back to normal.

"We can't shift in this area. It's illegal around the villagers." Cornelius said landing next to us with Avery. Cornelius grabbed a hold of her, kissing her cheek. She blushed and took his hand in hers.

Cassie appeared out of nowhere with Ethan and Cornelius.

"Where have you guys been lately?" I questioned, starting to enter the forest.

"Here of course." They gestured to the village we were quickly approaching.

"I dropped Cassie off with them before so I could fly with Avery alone," Cornelius said and I smiled knowingly.

Coming up to the village entrance I looked around, somehow knowing where Samantha Benever had lived once. It was the third hut on the right inside the village. Her human parents are long gone, along with her and her new family who have been on the move ever since.

Walking along, no one spoke to one another. We stayed quiet in respect of the small mundane village. A few villagers watched as we passed by their huts and we kept on going. We finally made it out of the village and my shoulders slumped forwards slightly.

"Not only am I tired, but I hate this place," I said, yawning. As we passed a berry bush, I grabbed some and chucked them in my mouth. I smiled, loving the sour taste of wild berries.

"Yum!" I said, and Aaron laughed.

"Yum?" He questioned and I smiled, turning back to look at him. The wind swirled some leaves around my hair and I my smile grew wider. Aaron leaned forward and put his arm around my waist, pulling me to him.

Ethan was giving Cassie a piggyback, and Cornelius was still holding hands with Avery. Claudius walked a few steps behind us, not saying a word.

"We're almost there," Cornelius said, continuing on forwards. Aaron suddenly stopped us and pulled me close to him. I let out a surprised gasp and whipped my head around to figure out what was happening.

Cornelius seethed through his teeth, Avery pulled behind him within a second. Claudius was gone, and Ethan's face contorted as he growled.

A very large, long red figure slithered out of a nearby cave. It neared us as if it had been expecting us to show up.

"What are you doing here?" The figure seethed in a low, grumbly voice. The dragons accent was extremely thick, almost incoherent to any human language.

"We're here to see Hermia," Cornelius said in a tongue I didn't recognize. The dragon looked from each of us. I knew, as a formality, you were never supposed to look into the eyes of a dragon, but I did by accident.

The dragon's dark emerald eyes held my gaze, and I softened my features. I changed my eyes to a light purple, slitting them and he turned his large head to the side, moving closer slowly. Aaron's grip around my waist tightened, and the air suddenly convulsed. It felt like the wind had turned into a rapid heartbeat. The dragon's face was inches away from mine, his hot breath hitting my face. Aaron tensed up, as though ready to fight this dragon.

"Amanda?" It questioned and without even thinking I gave a short nod. I could see the outline of each scale on his face as he moved in front of us. He pulled his face back away from mine and Aaron sighed, his body going loose once again.

"Hermia has foreseen you coming. You may enter. I'll lead you through the entrance safely." He said, then spun around smoothly. His tail continued until it disappeared, and we began to follow him in, Claudius nowhere in sight.