6 Chapter 6

The greatest thing about attending a university is that you can choose to do the whole graduation celebration or just opt for a simple plaque and transcripts to be mailed to you. Kaylen hated social gatherings and celebrations. They always made her feel more isolated. So, when she received her plaque in the mail with her official transcripts she started packing.

It had been 5 weeks since Demetri had visited her. Her low-key attire and attitude made her virtually invisible to others so there was no need for saying goodbyes and promising to visit. Packing her things was just a simple wave of her hands and in a moment the room was empty as all the contents were stored neatly into her space.

"Are you not going to tell your family?" A voice sounded in her head. "I don't know for sure how it will truly turn out."

"It doesn't matter, Venos. It's better that I disappear without them knowing or continue living afterwards. Maybe then I can open up to them."

"Maybe it would have been better for them to know from the beginning."

"It's not fair to them." Her eyes started to sting. The empty void in her heart taunted her.

"But, it's not fair to you either."

"Its alright Venos. Let's just take it one day at a time."

"As you wish."

Kaylen took a deep breath and walked out of her apartment. She wore a large black hoodie that reached her midthigh with skinny jeans. She opted to not put contacts on since she was wearing dark sunglasses to hide her eyes. People made her feel uncomfortable when they stared at her unusual eyes. Hiding them made her life quieter. Her simple black flats allowed her to walk without noise down the street as she made her way to the bus stop.

Outside of town was the entrance to a forest. Many people used this forest to hunt and train during the summer days. Since it was the middle of winter there was not a lot of people visiting the forest. Kaylen stepped off the bus and entered the forest. The sun had set, blanketing the forest with an eerie darkness.

Kaylen walked on as if she was walking in her own backyard. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness allowing her walk as if it were sunny. An hour in she came to a large meadow with tall grass. Ice fireflies were seen every now blinking with their blue lights. The scene seemed to reflect the clear night sky. It was beautiful.

"Venos." Kaylen whispered.

If there was daylight, the dark air around Kaylen could have been seen snaking around her like black smoke. The smoke grew larger and larger before starting to form a large body. Dark claws stepped out of the smoke followed by its serpent like body and tail. It walked in front of her small figure. Its large head lowered in front of her. The serpent like crystal eyes looked at her with reverence.

"My lady." Its deep voice called out to her.

"Venos." Kaylen smiled as her small hands touched its forehead in front of her. He was her closest friend and her spirit companion. Venos was the one who found her and trained her giving her most of his knowledge and all the skills that she could learn. He was an ancient dragon from the Draco family and far older than even Ethos's dragon. Being her spirit companion allowed her to be adopted into the Draco family because everyone knew that only the Draco family could have shadow dragons as their spirit companions.

Venos's head was taller than Kaylen. He had to dip his head lower so she could use his nose at a stepping stone to sit at the top of his head. The most vulnerable part of a dragon. Many dragons would never allow someone to sit there unless they fully trusted their master with their lives. As she reached the top of his head, the many spikes moved out her way so she could rest comfortably between them. Once she sat down the spikes stood back up to guard her small figure protecting her from the elements. This was the only place she felt safe and the only place that allowed her to sleep without nightmares.

"Rest, my lady. When you wake next, we will be on the Draco family island."

It had been weeks since she allowed herself to sleep in this cocoon of warmth. As soon as she was comfortable, she drifted off to sleep.