For a moment I was desperately afraid Ari was one of them. Would he be angry for the humiliation the bubble’s depiction of us together had caused? Would he try to hurt me to prove that we weren’t really together? Would he treat me like a piece of trash, that needed to be thrown away, like the Breedloves had?
I had no time to answer any of those questions because at that moment, Ari reached me and grabbed me by the wrist.
My Coven-mates must have been worried for me too, because I heard Avery say, “No!” sharply and Griffin hissed,
“Reyes, if you hurt her—”
“Dios, I’m not going to fucking hurt my own L’lorna,” Ari snapped at them. “I’m going to claim her.”
And then he stepped up on a chair and from there to the top of the table, pulling me up with him as we faced the angry crowd together.
55
Ari
I didn’t know who had produced the nasty little piece of work that had been shown in the glittering soap bubble, but it wasn’t hard to guess what effect it would have on my classmates. Even before the spell of the bubble was over, I could hear angry muttering and see the dark glances the other Drakes were throwing at me.
But I was a powerful Drake—my wings flew higher than anyone else’s at the Academy. None of them would dare to attack me.
Unfortunately, Kaitlyn had no such protection.
As soon as the bubbles burst, an angry mob of both Drakes and Nocturnes was up from their seats and rushing towards her. I looked at where she was sitting in relation to the exit and judged it was too far away. And the entrance to her dormitory was blocked by the crowd.
There was only one way I could think of to defuse this situation and it was going to require a little help from my Drake.
Get ready, I told him. Kaitlyn is being threatened.
He roared angrily and spread his wings within me. A Drake will do anything to protect his L’lorna—which also means ‘treasure’ in the most ancient language of our kind. I knew that before he saw Kaitlyn hurt he would kill every last person in the entire Dining Hall.
I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.
But in order to stop the possible apocalypse, I had to act quickly.
Shoving my way through the crowd, I managed to get to Kaitlyn before anyone else could. Grabbing her hand, I pulled her up to stand on the table with me and then, using my loudest voice I shouted,
“Stop!”
It did no good—the crowd kept coming. In just another moment they would be upon us and Kaitlyn’s Coven-mates would be hurt or killed as well.
“Let me,” my Drake said inside my head.
“Be my guest.”
I took a step back, mentally, and let him have control. He opened my mouth—our mouth—again, and this time what came out wasn’t a word or even a roar.
What came from our mouth was a gout of flame, fifty feet long. It burst out of me in angry profusion, burning over the heads of the assembled mob like a blast from a flame thrower.
That stopped them.
Not one Drake male in a thousand is able to execute a partial change so subtle that he can breathe his Drake’s fire while still retaining his human form. I say that not to brag, but as a matter of fact. I knew that it would get my people’s attention and remind them of my power.
And so it did. The Drakes stopped in their tracks.
As for the Nocturnes, they also stopped their forward motion and looked up fearfully. All Others fear fire—as of course they should. Drake fire is deadly to any creature but a true Drake and even then they must be in their own Drake form to withstand it.
So my gout of flame stopped the mob in its tracks, which was the effect I had intended.
What I hadn’t intended was to see Kaitlyn shrink from me as well, her eyes going wide with fright. My heart ached when I saw the way she was looking at me now—as though she feared not only my Drake, but my human form as well.
But I had no time to spare on regrets.
The message that the soap bubbles had spread had been distorted, but it was still essentially true. And since I refused to lie about my love, I had to make everyone here understand—and accept—that Kaitlyn was mine and no one could do anything about it.
Only how was I going to manage that?
56
Kaitlyn
I couldn’t believe it when I saw Ari breathe fire. The huge gout of wickedly hot golden-red flames came gushing out of his mouth, nearly singing the hair of the people in the front row of the mob. I saw all of them shrinking back and found that I was doing the same thing. In fact, if Ari hadn’t had hold of my hand, I would have pulled away from him and run like a coward, trying to get away.
But I couldn’t do that. Though my heart was pounding and my pulse was racing and I felt sick to my stomach with legs so weak they would hardly support me, I couldn’t run away from him—not when he was trying to defend me.
But The Fire—The Fire! moaned a little voice in my head. It kills, it steals, it burns, it hurts!
Indeed, I felt my scars throbbing at his display. Not all of them though—just the ones on my back. The ones that had rearranged themselves the week before.
What was going on?
Well, for one thing, Ari was talking. I forced myself to turn away from my panic response and listen to what the big Drake was saying. Taking deep breaths, I made myself calm down.
“Now that I have your attention,” he said, his deep, stern voice rolling out to reach every corner of the vast stone Dining Hall, “I want to set the record straight. Everything that you have just seen on those magic bubbles…”
He paused, his eyes sweeping over the crowd as everyone seemed to hold their breaths.
He’s going to deny it, I thought and felt a mixture of relief and regret I could hardly describe. He’s going to tell them it’s all a lie and we aren’t together after all. He’s going to deny me and that’s okay—he should deny me. After all, it’s not like we can be together for real—not in the long run.
“Everything you have just seen,” Ari said again. “It is all TRUE!”
The crowd of angry Drakes and Nocturnes started to mutter again but he held up his hand—the one that wasn’t still clasping mine—for silence. And for a wonder, they all shut up.
“Kaitlyn and I are together,” he said loudly and defiantly, glaring especially at the Drakes in the crowd. “And yes, she was turned into a Made Vampire—but it was an accident and not her fault,” he continued, switching his gaze to the white faces of the Nocturnes. “I do not care if any of you like it or not. The only fact that matters here is that Kaitlyn is my acknowledged L’lorna—my dear one, my Drake’s treasure, and my fated-mate.”
“Oh my Goddess—he really is claiming her!” I heard Avery murmur in the brief silence that followed this statement.
I do not suggest,” Ari continued loudly, when the muttering started again. “That any of you attempt to harm Kaitlyn Fellows in any way.”
He glared at all of them in turn and I saw that his eyes had gone pure gold once more—a sure sign that his Drake was very close to the surface. When he spoke again, his voice had dropped an octave and I knew that I had been right. For it wasn’t Ari talking now—it was actually his other half—his Drake.
“Anyone who hurts my L’lorna will pay the price in blood and flame,” he growled. “She…is…MINE!”
I tried not to cringe away from the deep voice which echoed against the stone walls, reverberating like a great bell or gong. I half expected another gout of flame to spurt from between Ari’s lips, but instead, his eyes cleared and became their usual pale amber again.
“She is mine!” he repeated loudly. “And I claim her now, before you all!”
Then he pressed the pad of his thumb against one of his teeth—which had somehow grown as long and sharp as my fangs when they came out—and drew a crimson drop of blood.
I had barely a chance to register what was happening before Ari pressed his thumb to my forehead—at the spot rig
ht between my eyebrows—and said, “Kaitlyn Fellows, I claim you as my L’lorna for now and forever!”
At his words, a sudden tingling went through me and then rushed out of me.
I felt like one of those model volcanoes you see at school science fairs, the ones filled with baking soda so that when someone pours vinegar into them they “erupt” and a rush of fizzing foam spouts out of the top and goes all over the place, making a huge mess.
It was like that now with the magic Ari had somehow invoked by claiming me as his mate and marking me with his blood. An invisible shockwave seemed to blow out from all around us. It was so strong it blew back the hair of the people standing in the front of the crowd and bowled them over.
I saw them all staggering and stumbling with stunned looks on their faces. Nobody seemed to know quite what was going on.
Including me. Had Ari actually marked me as his own? Marked me the same way Griffin had marked Megan? Of course, those two were Blood-Bonded, which wasn’t the same thing—it was permanent while a marking could be broken. But still, marking someone with your blood was a clear sign of possession and intent—and Ari had done it to me!
My head was still spinning when a new voice rang out above the stunned crowd.
“What is the meaning of this? What in the name of the Goddess who gives us all life have you been doing in my school while I was gone?”
Looking for the source of the voice, I saw the last person I would have expected. It was Headmistress Nightworthy, pushing her way through the gaping students.
And from the look on her face, she was angrier than I had ever seen her in my life.
57
Kaitlyn
“Into my office, now! Both of you!” Headmistress Nightworthy gestured at Ari and me to get down from the table. “And if you even think of breathing flame again in my school, Mr. Reyes, you should know that I will expel you in a heartbeat,” she continued, when Ari glared down at her mutinously. “You and Miss Fellows,” she added, which was what seemed to really get his attention.
“I don’t want Kaitlyn to be harmed in any way by my actions,” he said stiffly, frowning.
“Then you’d better come down from there now and get to my office.” The Headmistress’s voice was as cold as ice and she had her arms crossed, her long, red fingernails tap-tap-tapping away as she waited for us to comply.
“Ari, let’s go—we have to,” I whispered to him. “Please, I just want to get down and have everyone stop staring at us!”
At last the big Drake seemed to bend.
“Of course, my L’lorna,” he murmured. “I’m sorry if this was hard for you but I had to claim you publicly. Otherwise you might have been hurt.”
Then he stepped down from the table and held his hands out to me. Leaning down, I put my hands on his shoulders and Ari gasped me by the waist and swung me down to the floor as everyone watched.
“All right, that’s enough,” Headmistress Nightworthy snapped, looking around at the milling students behind her. “Get to your dorms—all of you! And everyone who is going home for the weekend had better be out the front gate of the castle in fifteen minutes flat or you lose all weekend privileges for a month!”
This caused a general stampede out of the Dining Hall. It was Friday and nobody wanted to be stuck in the gloomy Nocturne castle all weekend when they could be home or at least out on the town instead.
None of my Coven-mates moved, however, even though I knew Emma had to work tonight and Megan and Griffin had made plans to have dinner with her aunt. Avery had been planning to stay with me anyway, but of course he wouldn’t have gone anywhere even if he’d had plans.
“Now, both of you get to my office,” the Headmistress snapped, glaring angrily at Ari and me.
She started to lead the way but Avery said,
“Excuse me, Headmistress Nightworthy.”
“Yes, Mr. Connor?” she said, turning and raising one elegantly shaped eyebrow at Avery threateningly.
He lifted his chin bravely.
“As Kaitlyn’s Coven-mates, we are all involved in this matter and we would like to come to your office, too.”
“Oh, you would, would you?” the Headmistress said flatly, glaring at him.
Megan stepped forward.
“Yes, Headmistress, we would,” she said firmly.
Griffin came with her, linking his hand with hers and then Emma stepped up beside Avery.
“Coven-mates stick together,” she said bravely. “We need to be there to support Kaitlyn no matter what happens.”
Headmistress Nightworthy stared at all of them, and for a minute I thought she was going to give my Coven-mates a tongue-lashing that they would never forget. But then, to my surprise, she threw up her hands and shook her head.
“Very well then—all of you come to my office. And be quick about it.”
Turning, she strode through the Dining Hall, her elegant stiletto heels tapping on the gray flagstones. Ari and I, still holding hands, and all the rest of my Coven followed. I felt incredibly grateful to my friends for sticking by me, but I couldn’t help the stab of fear I felt as well.
What would Headmistress Nightworthy do to us?
I had no answers—I could only follow along with my friends as we made our silent way to the Headmistress’s office, fearing the worst.
58
Kaitlyn
As we walked down the long stone corridor that led to the Headmistress’s office, my mind was filled with awful questions.
What was going to happen to us? Would we all be expelled? And if so, where would I go? I had no place to call home except Nocturne Academy anymore. What would I do if I lost it, like I had lost all my other homes? Where would I go? Would I be relegated to one of those awful colonies for Made Vampires that Griffin had warned me about? Would I die there, unable get any fresh blood for nourishment?
And worst of all, would I never see Ari again?
This last question tore at my heart. Though I was frightened of the big Drake—even more frightened than I had been, since I’d seen him spout fire like a flame thrower—I was tied to him, too. And I couldn’t forget the gentle way he’d kissed my scars and then claimed and marked me publicly. He didn’t seem to care that I was a freak and an outcast to everyone but my own Coven. He had named me as his fated-mate and basically told the whole rest of the school to go screw themselves.
Now that was commitment.
He cares for me, I thought, looking up at him as we strode along, trying to keep up with Headmistress Nightworthy who was gliding ahead of all of us effortlessly. He honestly wants me.
The trouble was, his Drake wanted me too. And I still wasn’t sure how I felt about that…
Before I knew it, we were rounding the corner and heading down a long, dark, narrow hallway that shouldn’t have been there at all, if you looked at the castle’s outer architecture. Of course I had been here before with Megan so I didn’t flinch, but I saw Avery and Emma looking around in awe as we walked into the darkness.
Soon enough, we came to the wooden door at the end with the plaque that said, Headmistress on it. Headmistress Nightworthy opened the door and ushered us in, still glaring as we passed.
I tried not to meet her sharp blue eyes as we filed into her office and stood in a group before her antique Victorian desk.
“Now, then…” Rather than sitting behind the desk, she stood in front of it and crossed her arms over her lean chest. She was wearing a designer dress that draped beautifully around her angular form—as always, it was black.
“Now, then,” she repeated as she stared at our faces. “Will someone please tell me what was the meaning of that display in the Dining Hall just now?”
We all started talking at once.
“It was the bubble—” Emma protested
“The happy-gram,” Avery corrected.
“It made everyone angry and so I had to protect Kaitlyn by claiming her,” Ari said.
“It didn’t really happen that way though,
” I said. “I mean what the bubble showed—”
“Nancy Rattcliff is behind all of this!” Megan exclaimed. “She stole Kaitlyn’s hair so she could work that spell.”
“The Edict no longer exists so Ari marking Kaitlyn should not be a problem,” Griffin pointed out.
“All right, enough—enough!” Headmistress Nightworthy held up her hands for silence. “One at a time!” she exclaimed, when we finally shut up. “Now first of all, I want to know if the contents of that ‘happy-gram’ bubble I received the minute I walked in the door of my office are true or not? Because if they are…” She gave Ari and me a withering look. “Then you, Mr. Reyes, have been abusing the privileges of the Drake’s Den. It is not meant for private trysts between lovers, as you well know!”
“We are not lovers, though Kaitlyn is mine.” Ari lifted his chin defiantly. “I have been bringing her there so that I could give her my blood in private. But much of what you saw on the bubble spell was exaggerated.”
“Grossly exaggerated!” I put in. “We never, uh…” My cheeks got hot. “Never made out like that,” I finally made myself finish, though my voice dropped nearly to a whisper. “Ari never took advantage of me, Headmistress. He was only feeding me his blood.”
“And this is another thing we now have to deal with.” The Headmistress threw up her hands. “The Healer sent me a message that one of our students had been turned into a Made Nocturne but it went astray. So I didn’t get it until I came back, just now.” She shook her head. “I leave the school for just a few weeks and when I come back, students who were not supposed to be Nocturnes have become Nocturnes, while other students are breathing fire like a circus act in the Dining Hall! What am I supposed to do with you? Any of you?”
“Just listen, please, Headmistress,” Griffin said quietly. “If you do, you’ll see there is a perfectly sane explanation for all of this apparent insanity.”
Fang and Claw: Nocturne Academy, Book 2 Page 22