**Conner**
Since Avery nearly died, I have seen her in a different light. Her body might be frail, but her spirit was far from that. She keeps pushing forward no matter what has been done to her. She more than deserves the surprise in her locker that my brothers and I arranged. As I think back to how I have mistreated her, I recall a quote from Pride and Prejudice, "I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit," Mr. Darcy said in that book. I am just as guilty as he is, and so are my brothers. We let our titles and pride keep us from knowing the real Avery. We judged her by her appearance, not her character. Maybe it is too late for a truly fresh start, because of all of the damage that has been done, but that won't stop me from trying.
Before the bell rings to signal us to go to our first-period classes, Heidi walks over to me with a fake smile plastered on her face, and a seductive glint in her eyes. She puts her hand on my arm and I fight the urge to slap it away. Pretending that we don't know what she and the other girls did might prove harder than I thought. "Meet me under the bleachers after school since there's no practice. I have something that I want to show you," she says. I only nod in response because I won't be meeting her. Instead, I will be taking Avery home.
**Avery**
To my delight, my day sped by, plus it was great not having to go to PE. I skipped lunch because I was still full from breakfast. When I get back to the palace, I will have a care basket sent to Momma June and Poppa Anton. They cared enough to come and check on me, so I will make sure their kindness doesn't go unrewarded. So far, the Hags have kept their distance from me, but I have felt their furious gazes when I traversed the halls. They must be pissed that I didn't die or get withdrawn from school because I was in a coma. A coma they tried to cause. I have always continued forward. Even when I had tried to kill myself, fate intervened. I survived my parents' deaths, that dragon in the woods, my own feeble attempt at suicide, and this latest attack by the Hags. Fate wants me alive for a reason, and I won't disappoint her again.
I entered Mr. Chen's class and he greeted me. He remarked on how well I look, and attributes it to me having a good weekend. I assumed that only the headmaster knows what happened, aside from those that were involved. After I took my seat, Cassius came in and sat beside me at our lab station. Mr. Chen handed out the necessary items and encouraged us to begin the first part of our study on genetics. We were going to use an equation involving our physical traits to craft what our offspring would look like. He wants both human and dragon offspring to be revealed during this experiment. I sighed and looked down.
Cassius put his finger under my chin. Our eyes met as he said, "Use your imagination. What would you like your dragon to look like?"
That is something that I have never thought about. Dragons have always frightened me, ever since I was attacked when I was six. If my dreams were any indication, dragons killed my parents. I have no reason to want a dragon, but The Trio did saved me. I will try because I am alive because of them. "She would have blue eyes, because I love blue eyes," I began to blush, as his blue eyes twinkled at me, before a bit of red dotted them. "Her scales would be white, iridescent, and maybe accentuated with gold or silver."
Cassius nodded, as he put my information into the formula. Next, he added Asher's traits. Mr. Chen came over and congratulated us on creating a beautifully unique wormling. After he left, I asked Cassius, "Why did he have that look on his face?"
Cassius suddenly loses his confidence. He's nervous. Why? He clears his throat, "Because we just made a true queen. We made the Supreme Mother."
I blink rapidly. Based on what history I have learned, the Supreme Mother has been extinct for several millennia. She was the one who possessed the magic that was responsible for the mating bond. "That can't be right."
"You can give me different traits and we can see if it changes the results," he suggested. I nodded, because I didn't use any of the Supreme Mother's known traits. I simply told him what I liked in a dragon.
"Okay, try silver eyes on a sky-blue dragon."
Cassius chuckled, "I need to remember how much you like blue," as he put in the new information. However, we ended up with nearly the same thing. I took the first one and he took the second. He put his paper into his backpack and I carried mine out of class, but I protectively put it into my book when I saw Jessica bounding over with a paper in her hand.
She spoke so loudly that I couldn't help but overhear, "Look at this. I put you and Asher in as my mate. Look how adorable our babies are."
I pushed back the bile that rose into my mouth. Cassius said, "That's nice," as he started walking to his next class. Jessica trailed after him like a lost puppy. I shook my head and went to my next class. I sighed, because I hope that he knows what he is doing. What if she turns out to be his mate? Can he punish her then? If by some twisted chance, the Hags are the Trio's mates, I will ask them to allow me to graduate early so that I can leave. I am done being abused because I am considered to be a weak human girl.