M O R G A N

The fort had few supplies for non-vampires. We found bottles of blood that Poppy could survive on, but nothing for the rest of us. When Erik had offered that burnt rat as dinner, I thought he was joking - I realise now he wasn't.

"We'll have to hunt for rabbits," Erik said, throwing a bow across his back.

He was walking about with his enormous gold wings out. It was odd seeing them. Usually, all the dragons in the village kept their wings hidden.

"I pulled this off a mannequin in the hallway," Erik said to Rupert and tossed him a set of padded leather armour.

Rupert caught the armour clumsily, and dropped the gloves on the floor.

"He's a butcher, Erik. Not a soldier," I objected.

Erik ignored me and stared at Rupert.

"Do you want to protect her?" He asked, nodding at Poppy.

Rupert tightened his grip on the leather armour and nodded. He then took the armour into a side room and changed.

When he came out, his wings were folded behind his back. Poppy gasped.

"Your wings are such a pretty colour," she gushed, admiring his shimmering green and purple wings. "They remind me of dragonfly wings."

Rupert blushed and stared down at his feet.

"I bet your wings look lovely too, Poppy," he mumbled.

Poppy's face suddenly fell.

"I think my wings are gone," she said sadly and then forced a smile. "Not that I ever really used them. They were a funny colour - they didn't sparkle like your wings."

Rupert stared at Poppy hopelessly. It was nauseatingly twee. Thankfully, Erik interrupted their moment by thrusting a sword into Rupert's open hands.

"We'll take the mountain path that runs around the back of the fort. It's not fit for carriages, so I doubt we'll run into any vampires," Erik explained.

"What about the sun? I won't be able to travel during daylight," Poppy asked nervously.

"Vampires have a special cloak for travelling in the sunlight. It's made from a special cloth that stops sunlight from touching your skin," Erik said, handing Poppy a long black robe.

Poppy stared at the black cloth, mortified.

"You want me to wear black?" she said.

"It's either that or burn up in the sun," Erik replied.

Poppy took the cloth reluctantly and threw it over her shoulders. The heavy material swamped Poppy's tiny frame.

"You'll need to keep every inch of your body covered with the cloak while travelling through the sun. You'll even need to keep your eyes covered unless you want them to explode in your head," Erik said.

"How on earth am I supposed to know where I am going?" Poppy cried.

"Rupert will lead you. He will be your eyes during the daytime," Erik said.

With all of us suited and booted, he headed into the fort's small enclosed courtyard. It was a clear, moonless night, and the frozen sky was filled with thousands of stars. Erik stared at the sky, almost wistfully and smiled.

"Gods, I have missed this," he said.

I might have liked it, too, if it wasn't utterly freezing cold. I stamped my feet against the frozen cobbles and moved towards the iron gates.

"Come on, the quicker we start moving, the quicker we warm up," I said.

Poppy cocked her head at me.

"Is it cold?" She asked, reaching her bare arm out of her cloak and waving it through the cold night air.

"Are you crazy? It's freezing," I said, flapping my arms.

"Feels pretty mild to me," Poppy shrugged.

Erik came to my side and looped an arm around me. His skin was wonderfully warm. Even through his armour, he radiated heat. I leaned against him and felt his wing curl around my body, creating a little bubble of warmth. I moaned gratefully and rested my head against his shoulder.

"Stay close. I will keep you warm," Erik instructed.

"You really are a giant dragon-ey wheat bag," I sighed.

Behind me, I heard Rupert offering his wing to Poppy, but she politely declined, adding the temperature felt 'mild'.

"I thought vampires didn't like the cold," I told Erik in a low voice as we passed through the iron gates.

"They don't," Erik replied. "High cold tolerance is a trait unique to dragons. It seems Poppy hasn't lost all her dragon traits."

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Poppy throwing her head back and laughing at Rupert's words.

"They make such a cute couple," I sighed.

"It's a pity she's a vampire. They'll never be together now," Erik replied.

"What makes you so sure? I'm not a dragon, but we are mated."

"Vampires can't love in the same way other creatures love. Their first love will always be their insatiable thirst for blood," Erik said.

"Poppy seems to be doing just fine with Rupert," I countered.

"Wait until she is thirsty. Then we will have a monster on our hands," Erik said.

I didn't like what he was implying and hoped that Poppy would prove him wrong.

We followed the main road for half a mile and then turned off onto a narrow path. The lights of the fort twinkled behind us, while in front of us was ice and blackness.

I clung to Erik's arm, terrified that I might slip and fall. The path was rocky, and I found it hard to keep balance with my bad ankle.

Erik slowed his pace and prevented me from stumbling a couple of times.

"I can carry you," he suggested after stopping me from falling on my face.

"I'm not letting you carry me," I protested.

"You keep slipping. I'm worried that you will injure yourself. Please, let me carry you - just until we get to even ground," he said.

"No, Erik. I couldn't do that to your poor back - I weigh a tonne," I replied.

His eyes narrowed on me, almost like my comment offended him.

"Do you think that I am weak? Do you think that I cannot care for my mate? You are tiny - you weigh barely anything," he said.

I wasn't sure if he was flexing or not. Guys had a habit of over-exaggerating their strength.

I patted him lightly on the arm.

"Save your strength. We may need it later," I said, trying to not bruise his ego.

Erik frowned disapprovingly but did not push the matter any further.

We continued down the path for an hour or two. The ground evened out and became easier to walk on. On the horizon, dawn started to break. Poppy pulled the heavy cloak over her head and allowed Rupert to walk her through the snow.

It was strange to be in a place that was so detached from the modern world that we had come from. The silence was unnerving. I was used to the distant rumble of a car, train or aeroplane engine.

I don't think engines exist in this world.

Erik pointed off into the distance.

"There's an abandoned farm beyond that hill. You can rest there while Rupert and I hunt for food," he said.

I gazed about the barren, snowy landscape and wondered what he expected to find. This landscape seemed devoid of life.

We continued our journey until the snow-covered ruins of an old house came into view. Erik suddenly held his hand in front of me, and I stopped.

"Wait here," he instructed.

"Why - I thought this place was abandoned?" I asked.

"It was the last time I visited it, but that was a couple of years ago. Goblins could have moved in since then," he explained.

I frowned and pondered what a goblin looked like.

"Are goblins big?" I asked uneasily.

"No, they are quite small but can be dangerous if travelling in a hoard," Erik explained and glanced across to Rupert, "Come on, you are coming with me."

Rupert froze with a kind of 'who, me?' look. I'd known Rupert since he was fourteen, and I still thought of him as a child in many ways. I didn't want him going with Erik - he was too young to face this danger.

I took the sword from Rupert's hand and said, "Rupert, stay here with Poppy. I'll go with Erik to the farmhouse."

Erik shook his head, "No, it is not safe."

"That's why the adults are going to make sure the house is free of goblins," I said, stepping through the snow.

"This isn't a game, Morgan," Erik snapped.

"It's not, and that's why I'm coming with you. I dragged Poppy and Rupert into this mess. It's my job to keep them safe," I said.

Erik swallowed a groan and fell in step beside me. Together, we crept up to the old farmhouse. It was a single-storey building with thick stone walls. A large pile of snow had built up in front of the door, which gave us hope that goblins hadn't been living in it.

Erik peeked through the dusty glass windows and sighed, "It's empty."

I waved at Rupert and Poppy, and Rupert started to guide Poppy towards the house. Erik pushed the front door open. My nose twitched at the heavy smell of dust and dampness.

"Nobody's been in here for years. But it will do for a brief rest," Erik said.

The farmhouse was less of a house and more of a glorified stone shed. There were no bedrooms, toilet, or bathroom. The whole place was simply one big room with a fireplace.

Erik found an old chair and broke it down to start a fire. There wasn't much in the house, but I did find an old cast iron pot hanging over the fireplace that we could use to boil water and cook dinner.

"We need food," I said.

"I'll take Rupert, and we will go hunting," Erik said.

I glanced across at Rupert and wondered if I should volunteer, but Rupert smiled.

"I shoot rabbits with my dad down on the farm. I can handle wringing a few rabbit necks," he said confidently.

The thought of snapping a rabbit's neck made me shudder. Perhaps it was best to leave the hunting to the boys.

"Okay, but take of him," I told Erik.

Erik clapped his hands around Rupert's shoulders and began pushing him out the door.

"Come on, the mountains are filled with delicious frostjack deer and winter hares," Erik chirped.

I raised an eyebrow at the strange names. I guess they must have different animals here - although that should hardly be surprising, considering the land was filled with goblins, vampires, and dragons.

I stared into the flames of the fire and wondered what other fantastical creatures lived in these lands.

"Rupert is a good man. I don't know why I got so hung up on Eli - he was such a douchebag. I don't know what I saw in him," Poppy sighed.

"Money? A better life? Something more than being a barmaid?" I replied frankly.

I couldn't see Poppy's face under her black cloak, but I saw her shrug her shoulders.

"Maybe. It always bothered me that people thought we were less because we didn't come from one of the great families," Poppy explained.

"There is nothing wrong with being a Button. We may not be pedigrees like the Corvells, Greeves, or Lightfalls, but we are good people. You are a good person - you were a much better than Eli," I replied.

Poppy fell silent and then said, "I don't think I am."

"You are a thousand times better than Eli," I smiled.

A sob escaped from underneath the cloak.

"I'm not. I'm bad - terrible," Poppy replied, choking on her words.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"It was me - I did it. I killed Eli," Poppy confessed.