“It’s easier that way,” Saint said shortly, looking away. “So may I have my regular room, Aunt?” he asked Ari’s mother.
She nodded.
“That’s fine, Santiago. Jalli, show your older brother’s L’lorna to her room as well, will you please?” She looked at me. “Forgive me, but I’m very tired and must rest before the banquet to introduce you to the Court tonight, my dear. It was lovely to meet you.”
“Banquet to introduce me?” My heart fluttered in panic. “I…you mean I have to appear before the entire Court?”
Ari’s mother gave me a steady look.
“As the chosen L’lorna of the Alpha-to-be you will have to endure much scrutiny, my dear. Being mated to the highest male in the land is no easy thing, I’m afraid.”
“I…” I licked my lips. “I think I’m beginning to understand that. But I’m not really very outgoing.”
She shook her head.
“That does not matter. The duties of the Queen to the Alpha Drake are heavy, as is the responsibility laid upon her.”
“Responsibility?” I asked, my voice coming out in a squeak.
“My dear, you must understand…” She took my hands again and looked earnestly into my eyes. “You will be the greatest and most closely guarded treasure of the most powerful Drake in all the land. He will want to protect you—to please you. If you wish destruction and death upon your enemies—he will bring about their downfall and doom, even if it ruins the peace of the Sky Lands. If you desire riches and wealth, he will gain them for you—even if it means beggaring everyone else in the province. Please believe me…” Her voice dropped to an intense whisper. “The desires of your heart will command his actions. And a Drake as large and powerful as my son’s, whose fire burns hotter than the surface of the sun can do a lot of damage.”
For a moment I didn’t know what to say. As her words sank in, I understood at last what she was trying to tell me. Commanding Ari’s Drake—being the most important thing in his life—would be like having a loaded gun in my pocket at all times. Or maybe more like a nuclear warhead, primed to go off. The amount of death and destruction such a huge, dangerous creature could cause would be almost unlimited. But would he really do anything I asked, even if it was bad for the kingdom of Sky Lands?
I thought of the overwhelming, never-ending, all-encompassing love I felt from the immense creature every time I touched him. He had claimed me and he wanted me to be happy to be his. So he probably would do awful things if I asked him to—not that I ever would, of course. But Ari’s mom didn’t know that—she didn’t know me at all. She might think I was just some opportunistic girl trying to lure Ari and his Drake to me for my own ends. What an awful thought!
“I don’t want any of those things,” I said, trying to reassure her. “I don’t want revenge or riches or anything but just, well…Ari and his Drake.”
As I spoke the words, I knew they were true. Though I had been reluctant to express my feelings to Ari as freely as he had expressed his to me, mine were definitely there—buried under a layer of self-doubt that I was good enough for him—but there just the same.
I thought some of the sadness left her large, dark eyes just for a moment.
“Ah, my dear,” she said softly. “If only you had a Drake heritage. I do not mind this…” She reached up and patted my scarred cheek gently. “Though many of our people focus only on the outside, I have raised my son to love that which is within. But the fact that you two are breaking the Edict…” She shook her head sorrowfully. “I fear what will come of this—truly, I do.”
“Nothing will come of it, Mother,” Ari said firmly, stepping up to put an arm around me. “The people will come to love Kaitlyn as I and my Drake do, in time. “She has beauty, both inside and out. I and my Drake will teach them to see it.”
She nodded sadly.
“You may try, my son. And I pray you will succeed.”
Then she squeezed my hands lightly and left us, going back behind the pink, gauzy curtain she’d emerged from in the first place.
I couldn’t help feeling a sense of disquiet as I watched her go. Would the Drake people really hate me that much? I supposed if they did I could understand why. I was an outsider who was invading their territory—holding a powerful weapon over their heads in the form of Ari’s Drake.
What reason did they have to trust that I wouldn’t use that weapon against them? None. So they would hate me and fear me.