Chapter 60: Chapter 60

JONEA

“Okay, since you asked, why not? I happen to have a job, too. This afternoon, I met Armand. He has three jobs for me that I must finish simultaneously.”

“Armand? The man from the auction?” I asked.

“Yeah, the man who brought us together at the auction. He said there were three jobs that they had a hard time handling. That’s why he gave them to me.”

“Three? That’s a lot.”

“Are you ready, Jonea?” Daran asked as he held out his left hand for me to hold.

I nodded at him. Then, the wind rolled around us and enveloped our bodies. Next, we moved. When I landed, a gust of cold wind pierced my entire body.

Daran hugged my waist and held me from falling. “Are you okay?”

The wind slowly died, and I began adapting to the new environment. I still needed to get used to moving places like this. When I looked around, Daran and I were on a hilltop. There were only a few trees there except for thin grass and bushes.

When we were on campus, it was night. Now that we were here, the sky looked bright blue. I really needed clarification on the change in time and place.

"I was told that the dragons have started moving lately," Daran said without trying to hide anything from me. "I don't think it was a coincidence when you said you wanted to be taken to this place."

This was the hill where I lost Aland that night when the dragon troops attacked us. It was crazy to think that I might see Aland again here.

I saw Daran start walking. He jumped down one of the steps and held his hand to me.

"One of the three jobs Armand gave me was to check the movement of the dragons."

I looked at Daran with confusion and anxiety. Did Daran actually know what I was thinking? Had he been pretending not to know all this time?

I didn't expect this much at all. I just wanted to visit this hill to remember the night the dragons took Aland. I didn't expect Daran to take me here, the border of the dragon country.

"Dragons?" I asked, pretending not to understand.

I felt something coming. When I looked back, a giant black dragon appeared. The dragon was spreading its two broad wings. Its head was right behind my back. Its eyes were bright yellow, and its mouth was wide open.

I gasped and reacted too late. It was as if everything was a dream. I really couldn't tell the difference between reality and my imagination.

I heard Daran screaming my name in panic. "JONEA!"

At the same time, the giant dragon grabbed my body with its jaws wide open. I was like a straw doll that was snatched very quickly. I could even feel the dragon's saliva wetting my stomach as it clamped me between its jaws.

I was in pain, not from the dragon's bite but from the strong wind. When the dragon took me flying in the vast sky and away from Daran. While up there, I couldn't see anything but the wind and white clouds rolling in front of my eyes.

Beside the dragon, a man in a white robe appeared. I still couldn't understand the situation, but the man looked like he was flying. More precisely, he was riding and controlling the dragon that had kidnapped me.

"So he's still careless!" the man roared. "He even let his student get caught by my dragon!"

"Wh-who are you?" I shouted while crossing both arms in front of my face to block the wind from hitting me.

I couldn't even see where the land was. I couldn't imagine that if this dragon opened its mouth, I would fly freely and probably be crushed to pieces when I fell to the ground.

"About that... we can talk about it later in our country," said the man riding the dragon's neck. "The last country of dragons!"

Was he Luke Draken? I couldn't see his face because it was covered by his silver hair and white robe blowing in the wind. But I didn't recognize his voice either. Who was this person? Is he dangerous?

***

I felt like I had lost time and even myself. I didn't feel anything at the moment. There was no cold wind, no dragon's jaw grip on my body, and no memories. But I felt like I was hearing voices. I couldn't open my eyes. I felt like I was floating in a vacuum.

Meow!

I heard a cat's voice.

"Are you awake, Jonea?" Daran whispered softly while patting my shoulder carefully.

This time, I really opened my eyes. I moved so fast that it made my body hurt so much. It was as if my bones had just been crushed.

I noticed where I was. The place I was lying on kept shaking and swaying. Oh, it turned out I was lying on Daran's lap. Daran opened the curtains. A ray of sunlight shone right into my eyes.

"Good morning, Jonea," Daran greeted. "I was so surprised. You suddenly fainted and then fell asleep right away."

Really? I don't even remember anything. Where am I now? Then what about the dragon rider? Was it just a dream?

I stared at the open window and tried to sit up straight. I was on a moving train?

I stood up and looked at the scenery outside. We were on a train moving along the edge of a large lake. I had never seen a scene like this before. This wasn't in Blue Sapphire.

"Daran, where are we?"

"This train will take us to our next honeymoon destination."

"WHAT? Honeymoon? How long have I been unconscious and asleep?"

I wanted to go somewhere else. We were on Dragon Hill before; why was I on a train now?

All my questions were unanswered. I heard a knock on the door. Daran and I turned in the same direction. This was an old model train. Each carriage was divided into several rooms containing two long seats facing each other. Privacy was indeed maintained on this train.

"Come in!" Daran said to the knocker.

A man dressed as a train officer opened the door. But he wasn't human. Even though he had a human-like body and face, I knew from his scent that he was a supernatural being.

"There's a messenger who wants to see you, sir," said the train attendant.

"Bring him in," replied Daran calmly.

The train attendant nodded briefly before leaving us. He left the door open.

"This is not a train for humans. We are in a different country, but it's not the land of werewolves either." Daran tried to explain, but I still didn't understand his meaning.

My gaze continued to focus on the open door. The empty hallway before the door was only thick fog, which seemed to keep moving. That's when I realized a black cat was standing in the doorway.

"Cat?" I was surprised. When did he come? Where from?

"Nice to meet you, lycan king, Daran Carver," greeted the cat.

"News of my arrival spreads so quickly," muttered Daran.

Then, the cat stepped into the room where we were sitting.

"In our world, news like this spreads hundreds of miles daily." The cat jumped and sat next to me.

Can cats talk? I wondered. Is it some kind of fairy or magical creature?

"My lord has been waiting for your arrival in our country, Lycan king," the cat continued.

At the same time, a train whistle was heard echoing. Slowly, the train began to stop at the station. We got off the train and walked, guided by the black cat.

I never thought there was a place as beautiful as this. We went to a village. There were only a few buildings, except a few stone houses scattered in several areas far apart.

Along the way, I saw so many cats roaming around. We just walked while following the black cat. There was almost no conversation between us.

"There are a lot of cats here, huh?" I muttered.

“Of course, because this is the kingdom of cats. Our master loves cats very much. She rescues these cats from various places and attempts magic practices by humans and werewolves. The wolves hardly like us. The people who live here love cats very much. That’s why our numbers have increased.”

We continued walking until we passed several stone houses that looked grand and beautiful. But I still didn’t see anyone there other than cats. After a few meters, I saw the first human walking towards us.

She was wearing casual clothes, like humans, but I wasn’t sure if she was human. Our distance was getting closer. When we passed each other, I stopped while she continued walking.

I felt something threatening. The look in her eyes… Why was she watching me? Her body odour was also very familiar. Have we met before?

“What’s wrong, Jonea?” Daran scolded. “Why did you stop?”