But no. I pushed the thought away. Just because he kissed me, it didn’t mean anything. The feelings between us when I fed from him were just intense—that was all—I was sure of it.
“Mmm, L’lorna,” I love the feel of your little fangs in my throat,” he growled softly.
I pulled away, having had my fill, and looked up at him. He was sprawled in the big leather chair and I was curled in his lap like a little girl, which my head resting against his broad chest.
“I like it too,” I confessed softly. “Drinking from you, I mean. But what does L’lorna mean? Is it a word in Spanish? Or in the Drake language?”
He looked down at me, as though he wasn’t sure he wanted to answer or not. But at last he sighed.
“It’s from the ancient Drake tongue,” he said. “It means ‘little sweet one.’ It’s a, uh…” He cleared his throat. “A term of affection that mated Drakes give their brides.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. Did this mean he was planning to make me his bride? But that was impossible, wasn’t it? After all, I was a second-rate Nocturne and he was a big, handsome, powerful Drake. Not to mention his people still adhered strictly to The Edict. There was no way there could be anything between us.
Not anything permanent, anyway.
“I’m not a Drake,” I pointed out at last. “I’m a Nocturne—a Made Nocturne. Which means I’m not welcome anywhere.”
“You are welcome with me—always,” Ari rumbled. “I don’t care that you’re not a Drake—or that you’re a different species than me. The Edict is dead, as far as I am concerned. You are my L’lorna, Kaitlyn—now and forever.”
“I…” I bit my lip. “I don’t know what to say,” I whispered at last.
“Say nothing until you are ready. It’s time we got to the Dining Hall,” Ari murmured.
“All right.” I got off his lap and straightened my hair. “I’ll go first to avoid any, er, suspicion.”
This had been our usual way—arriving and leaving the Drake’s Den separately. But to my surprise, Ari frowned and shook his head.
“No, I will be escorting you to classes and everywhere else in the castle from now on,” he said firmly. “If that vrota Nancy Rattcliff thinks she can hurt or threaten you, she can think again.” His frown deepened. “If she wasn’t a female…” But he left the thought unfinished, shaking his head.
“But…but everyone will talk,” I protested. “I mean, even more than they’re already talking!”
“Let them,” Ari growled. “I don’t care who knows you’re mine.”
And with that, he pulled me out the door and we walked down the hall together.
51
Ari
Finally, I had claimed Kaitlyn and named her as mine. I felt a surge of triumph at the thought. Holding her in my lap and giving her my blood had been so sweet for the past week or so but something had been missing—and that something was my naming her for what she was to me—my L’lorna.
I hadn’t been certain she would let me kiss her but she had—and she had kissed me back—the sweetest kiss I’d ever had. Even now I could still taste her sweet lips on mine and feel the way she had melted against me so trustingly. Oh yes, she was my L’lorna and now that we were together, no one would ever be able to separate us.
Something is still missing, whispered a little voice in my head. She has yet to meet your Drake.
The thought gave me pause. I knew Kaitlyn was still unsure about my other half and I wasn’t sure what would happen when they finally met. I sensed resistance to the idea in her —she feared his fire, perhaps. And who could blame her, considering the way her parents had died and how badly she’d been burned?
But there would be time to think about that later, I told myself. For now, she was mine and even if my Drake did growl and spread his wings, protesting that she ought to be his too, well, I could put off their meeting for a little while longer.
Or so I thought.
52
Kaitlyn
“Well, are you two a couple now, or what?” Avery inquired, the next day at dinner when Ari dropped me off at my table and then went to sit with the Drakes. I had the feeling that he would have liked to sit with us, but was waiting for me to extend the invitation.
I wanted to extend it—I swear I did. But there was still some uncertainty left in me—still just a little bit of doubt. It wasn’t because of Ari himself, I didn’t think. Though it seemed like a miracle, the big Drake seemed to truly care for me. Every time I remembered the gentle way he’d kissed my scars, my stomach started to flutter. He had been so kind…so sweet.