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Aurora's POV:

I shivered against the cool night air and wrapped my cloak further around my body as I looked down as Shade who was still fast asleep, he looked so peaceful, as if he lived in some sort of perfect world where he didn't have to worry about anything

"You look so innocent, you could almost pass as cute," I said, voicing my thoughts aloud.

His crimson eyes suddenly opened, making me scurry backwards in surprise.

"What did you say?" he questioned in a groggy morning voice.

"Nothing" I replied instantly, still slightly panicked by his sudden awakening.

"Ok" he replied, making me sigh in relief.

He pulled himself up into an upright position and stretched his arms upwards with a small groan before he turned his head to face me, his classical smirk spread widely across his face.

"So I didn't just hear you call me cute?" he grinned, raising his eyebrows.

I looked at him blankly for a couple of seconds, not knowing how to respond before awkwardly turning around to lay down.

"It's your turn to take watch" I stated, ignoring his previous comment.

"Sleep well Princess" he laughed, moving to sit next to my body.

I closed my eyes and eventually drifted off into a deceiving sleep, which just so happened to take me back to the place that I had been thinking of the most... Angel Academy.

"Aurora!" chimed the voice of Chase.

I dropped my book and looked wide-eyed at Orpheus who was sitting next to me on the common room's sofa.

"Oh no, not again" I exclaimed, dropping the book that I was reading in panic.

Orpheus released a small laugh and picked up my book, setting it down on the small wooden coffee table.

"You know that he's not going to give up until you agree to go with him" he laughed.

I sighed heavily and nodded my head slowly.

"Then there's no point in avoiding him" he grinned, setting down his own book.

At the same moment, Chase burst into the room and bounded towards us.

"There you are! why didn't you say anything?" he asked, jumping onto the sofa next to me.

"Whats up?" I questioned, already knowing the answer.

"I want to practice flying obviously," he said excitedly.

"Do I have to come with you?" I groaned, rubbing a hand down my face. "It didn't go so well last time," I said in remembrance.

"All the more reason to practice" he reasoned, clapping his hands together loudly.

I rolled my eyes and looked at him pleadingly, hoping that he would change his mind, but his ecstatic expression didn't falter.

"Fine" I groaned, pushing off the blanket that was laid across my lap.

He let out a small cheer and grabbed my hand, pulling me swiftly to my feet.

"See you later," said Orpheus in amusement, giving us a small wave.

"No way!" I shouted, grabbing his hand, pulling him with us "you're not getting out of this" I laughed, watching Chase as his smile grew.

"Yeah, you're one us now" confirmed Chase over his shoulder as he continued to drag me through the school's corridors.

"And that means that you have to put up with Chase" I laughed.

"What have I gotten myself into?" asked Orpheus with an amused expression on his face.

After he had dragged us all the way up to the dragon nursery at a swift run, Chase finally decided to release my hand. I let go of Orpheus' hand and shook my head at Chase who still looked as though he had consumed a bucket of energy berries.

"Was the running really necessary?" I asked as he pushed open the door.

"Cobalt" called Chase dramatically as he walked into the nursery.

The blue dragon, who was only the size of an average horse immediately swung his head around and looked happily towards Chase. Noticing that Obsidian and Ithrendal were not here, I walked over to the big open wall and called out to him with my mind as I looked out at the Academy's grounds.

"I'm surprised that Asher's not here" teased Orpheus.

"I am"

We both spun around in surprise to see Asher staring down at us wearing a serious expression, with his arms folded in front of him.

"Perfect" I groaned "Any advice?" I asked hopefully.

"Don't crash into any trees this time" he smirked, making Orpheus snicker.

"Great!" I uttered sarcastically.

As if on cue, Obsidian flew into the building followed by Orpheus' green and gold dragon Ithrendal.

"You'll be fine" laughed Asher "I have to go and take care of something, so I'll see you later for training" he finished apologetically.

I nodded my head and ran my hand over Obsidian's ebony nose as Asher walked briskly out of the room.

"What's taking so long?" questioned Chase, who was already mounted onto his dragon.

"We will meet you outside if you want" I offered, knowing that Chase tended to get bored easily.

He nodded his head and turned Cobalt towards the opening, they lept forwards and disappeared over the edge before they sored up through the clouds in a blue blur.

"Ok, let's try to stay together this time" I whispered aloud, moving around Obsidians body.

I climbed carefully onto his back and tried my best to secure myself in a comfortable position as Orpheus climbed onto Ithrendal.

"Let's go," he called blissfully.

I turned towards the edge to follow him but was immediately surrounded by a thick grey fog. A sudden coldness overcame me, making me shake uncontrollably.

"Orpheus?" I called clutching onto my body in an effort to warm myself. "Chase?"

"Aurora" called Chase's voice "you have to hurry, he's growing stronger" he blurted.

"I don't understand" I screamed.

Different emotions began to flood through me, clouding my judgement with pain, anger, and confusion.

"You have to destroy him" he shouted distantly. "please... hurry" he finished, his voice fading through the foggy air.

I jolted awake to find that my head was rested on Shade's chest, I also noticed that his cloak was laid over my body. I inhaled slowly to calm my breathing and attempted to get up but found that I couldn't move since his arms were wrapped around my torso.

"Shade?" I questioned in confusion.

His arms flinched before he moved them apart, allowing me to crawl away to sit next to him. I opened my mouth to say something but my mind instantly became clouded, making me forget what I was about to say.

"Morning Princess" he greeted awkwardly. "sorry... you started shivering and... shaking weirdly last night" he explained, scratching the back of his neck. "I figured that you were either cold or having some sort of nightmare" he finished.

I nodded my head and passed him back his cloak.

"Thank you," I said as he accepted it back from me.

"Anyway we should get going," he said, looking out if the window. "we need to reach the river by tonight"

I looked up at the sun and realised that we had stayed here a lot longer than we had planned to.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I asked, remembering how adamant he was to stick to the plan.

"You looked so peaceful," he said quietly "You could've almost passed as cute" he added, quoting my previous words.

A proud look covered his face completed by a large grin that played on his lips, I rolled my eyes at his childlike behaviour and grabbed the rest of my belongings.

"Let's go" I laughed, gesturing to the door.