“All right—but I won’t be unchaining you. You’ll have to bid her farewell as you are.”
Ari nodded as though that suited him.
“Let her come to me.”
“Go, girl!” One of the traitorous Chamberlains who had remained in human form gave me a shove, right between my shoulder blades that nearly sent me sprawling. I tripped over my long robe and managed to catch myself just in time to keep from falling over.
As soon as I found my feet, I ran to Ari, who was chained with his muscular arms manacled above his head in a wide V.
“Ari!” I whispered, standing on tiptoes to throw my arms around his neck. “Ari, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have shouted at you the way I did. I love you too—I swear I do!”
Because this awful situation had finally broken through the last barrier standing between us. Now that I knew I was going to lose him—now that I knew we were both going to die—I understood, too late, that I did love him. I saw how I had let my own self-doubt and loathing hold me back from the true happiness he had offered me. If only I had been able to recognize it earlier! But now it was too late…too late…
“Oh Kaitlyn, my L’lorna…” Ari nuzzled me as well as he could, pressing his face to my hair. “I love you too,” he murmured, “So much. But we don’t have time for this now—you must drink from my Drake.”
“What?” I pulled back, my vision pink from the tears of remorse I’d been crying. “What do you mean?” I asked him. “How can I drink from your Drake when you can’t shift into him?”
“These bruja-cursed manacles are keeping me from a complete shift,” he said. “But I think I can still manage a partial one. Look.”
Tilting his head to one side, he offered me his vein as he so often had. Only this time instead of smooth, caramel-colored skin, I saw royal purple scales with an emerald sheen. He had indeed managed a partial shift and the vein I saw pulsing beneath the patch of scales was much bigger and thicker than the one he usually presented to me—it was clearly his Drake’s.
“Bite me—bite my Drake, Kaitlyn,” Ari murmured to me. “Do it quickly—we don’t have much time.”
I didn’t ask any more questions. Pressing my face to his neck as though I was crying again, I felt the itching in my fangs. The moment they grew long and sharp, I plunged them into the thick Drake vein I saw before me.
Immediately the Drake’s blood gushed into my mouth like liquid gold. Had I thought that Ari’s blood was like a fine wine? Well drinking from his Drake was like tasting the finest, sweetest, strongest liquor ever distilled. It was like drinking pure, liquid sunshine—like drinking fire that didn’t burn me but somehow changed me inside, transforming me in a way I didn’t understand.
“That’s right, L’lorna,” I heard Ari murmuring in my ear as I swallowed the sweet, strong, heady stuff. “Drink your fill. Every vessel in your body must be filled with my Drake’s blood. Drink until you can hold no more.”
The strong jets of blood pumped by the unseen Drake’s heart filled my mouth as fast as I could swallow. I drank thirstily from the gushing fountain, obeying his command to completely satiate my thirst.
At last, when I had enough, I pulled back and looked up at Ari. I was surprised to see that the blood which still trickled from the patch of purple and green scales really was golden—as golden as his Drake’s eyes.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “And thank your Drake for me. I feel stronger now—not so afraid.”
“We’re not done yet,” Ari murmured. “And we must be quick—Sanchez and his brood are getting restless.” He nodded over my shoulder and a quick look showed that the Sanchez family was indeed tapping their feet and frowning at us, as though wondering what was taking so long.
“What else can we do?” I asked uncertainly. “Is there some way I can get you free of these?” I looked doubtfully up at the chains.
But Ari shook his head.
“Bite your thumb before your fangs retract,” he told me, just as he had when he’d wanted me to mark him.
“But…I’ve already marked you, Ari,” I protested. Nevertheless, I brought my thumb surreptitiously to my mouth and pierced the pad of it with one still-elongated fang. I looked at him. “All right—now what?”
“Now put your thumb to my mouth,” he directed in a low voice. “I’ll make it look like I’m kissing your hand.”
Still uncertain about what he meant to do, I put my bleeding thumb to his lips and watched as he kissed it tenderly. At the same time, I felt his warm tongue sweep across the pad of my thumb, licking away the little droplet of blood.