Fang and Claw: Nocturne Academy, Book 2

by Anderson, Evangeline

  “As well as can be expected.” His black eyes flashed red for a moment—a strange and unsettling sight. “My Sire and I had another disagreement and Mother thought it would be best for me to take a little time away from our domain.”

  “Another?” Ari’s mother sighed. “Oh, Santiago—what will we ever do with you?”

  He shrugged, his black eyes flashing red again.

  “That’s a good question. If you find the answer, please let my Sire know.”

  “Saint’s father is the younger brother of our Papa,” Jalli explained to me, looking up at her tall cousin with worshipful eyes. “He runs the Western Province.”

  “So he does,” Saint muttered, frowning. “With an iron claw.”

  “You’re coming at a rather unsettled time, Cousin,” Ari remarked.

  “For which I hear we have you to thank,” Saint returned. He bowed to me. “And this must be your lovely L’lorna I hear so many strange reports of from the servants?”

  I nodded at him, trying to keep my chin high.

  “I’m Kaitlyn. Nice to meet you.”

  “I’m pleased to meet you as well,” he replied and flashed me a dark grin. “It’s always nice when someone besides me is causing trouble.”

  “They think Saint brings bad luck,” Jalli volunteered, before I could answer. “Just because he’s a Blood Drake. But that isn’t his fault, any more than my foot is my fault!” she added, frowning.

  “A Blood Drake?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. “What’s that?”

  Saint scowled. “It has to do with the coloring of my scales, that’s all.” He nodded at his arms and their black scales with the crimson sheen.

  “Oh, yes,” I said nodding. “I see—your tattoo shows it.”

  “That’s no tattoo,” Ari said, shaking his head. “Saint just spends so much time in Drake form, he never fully changes back anymore.”

  “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.

  I had no idea if I could change their minds about me or not. But considering that I was an outsider and a Nocturne, and the fact that I was scarred all over, I was betting on not.

  Crap. What a mess.

  81

  Kaitlyn

  We had clearly been dismissed, so we left Ari’s mother’s chambers and went back down the long marble hallway which presumably led to where I would be staying. Ari held my hand but didn’t say anything and I was thinking too hard about what his mother had said to me to want to talk anyway.

  Jalli chattered away like a little bird to Saint, who stalked down the hallway like a tall, dark shadow, only occasionally answering her running patter. Even Mr. Seahorse seemed subdued. He only chimed once and then settled himself quietly on my shoulder and looked alertly around without making another sound.

  In my mind, I kept going over Ari’s mother’s words. I found myself in a much more difficult and dangerous position than I had ever imagined being in when Ari and his Drake asked to take me home with them. Then I had known that I was going into a situation where people most likely wouldn’t care for me, just because of who and what I was and what I looked like. But I hadn’t known that they would fear and distrust me or why they would feel that way.

  Now I was beginning to understand the awesome power and responsibility I would hold as the person Ari’s Drake valued above everything else in the world. As the L’lorna to his Drake, I would be stronger than the strongest warlord I had ever learned about in my World History class—and more able to wreak havoc and destruction.

  It was a sobering thought.

  “Here we are at the guest rooms!” Jalli�
�s high, sweet voice drew me out of my thoughts and I looked up to see that we had turned down a short corridor which had a row of five or six wooden doors. Every one of them was bound in brass and covered in delicate carvings of vines and flowers and Drakes and other creatures, some of them so fantastical I wouldn’t have believed they were real if not for Mr. Seahorse sitting on my shoulder.

  “This room is the perfect one for you, Kaitlyn,” Jalli said, pointing to a door which had many carvings of chimelings on it. “It has a window that opens onto the Scented Gardens,” she explained. “So Mr. Seahorse can go out and catch himself some dinner.”

  “Thank you—that’s very thoughtful of you, Jalli.” I nodded and smiled at her before looking at Ari. “Where do you stay? I mean—where is your room, er, your chambers around here?”

  He frowned. “Across the palace. But I don’t like leaving you alone here in the guest wing. I’ll come and stay with you.”

  Saint raised his jet-black eyebrows.

  “Stay in the same rooms before you are properly Joined? Don’t you think you’re pushing the boundaries a bit too far there, Cousin? I mean, you’re already breaking the Edict by choosing a L’lorna with no Drake blood in her veins. Do you truly want to push your Sire into a corner this way and grieve your lady Mother by such an unseemly display?”

  “I would be sleeping on the couch—not in Kaitlyn’s bed,” Ari snapped angrily. “And you’re one to talk about pushing my Sire when all you do is torment your own.”

  The corner of Saint’s mouth twitched.

  “I assure you, Cousin, that the torment between me and my Sire is a two-way street. Look…” He put a hand on Ari’s shoulder. “You know I’m right. You’re already breaking the Edict—”

  “You said yourself the Edict is dead,” Ari pointed out.

  “So it is—but not in the hearts and minds of our elders,” Saint said calmly. “My point is, you don’t need a scandal on top of everything else.”

  “What do you propose I do? Just leave my L’lorna alone with no protection all the way across the palace?” Ari demanded. “She’s already got enemies here. Sanchez accused her of getting his vrota of a son kicked out of Nocturne Academy. I won’t leave her unprotected!”

  “I’ll be here,” Saint said soothingly. “In the room right beside your L’lorna’s. And before your Drake gets riled at the idea of another male being so close to your female, please remember that my own Drake has no interest in females of any kind.”

  “He doesn’t?” Jalli’s eyes went wide. “But then…who is he interested in, Saint?”

  “Nobody.” Saint looked away, not meeting his little cousin’s eyes.

  “But then how will you ever find your own L’lorna?” Jalli asked in a worried tone.

  “I won’t,” Saint said shortly and his black eyes flashed red again. “I’m a Blood Drake, remember? Nobody wants me reproducing and bringing more of my brand of bad luck into the Sky Lands anyway.” He looked at Ari. “What do you say, Cousin? Shall I protect your L’lorna and your reputation—at least for tonight?”

  “Well…” Ari looked at me with a troubled expression in his eyes. “Kaitlyn, how do you feel about this?”

  “If you trust your cousin, I do too,” I told him. Because though Saint struck me as kind of the black sheep of the family, he also seemed steady and honest. “But…am I really in that much danger?” I asked, biting my lip.

  Ari frowned. “I don’t think so. I very much doubt that Sanchez or his son would try anything right here in the palace. But I’d feel better knowing you were being guarded by someone I trust if it cannot be me.” He looked at Saint. “Kaitlyn is my heart, Cousin. You must protect her as though she was your own.”

  Saint nodded gravely. “It will be as you say.” He made a sweeping bow to me. “I am at your service, Kaitlyn of the human world.”

  “Thank you,” I said, nodding back, since I wasn’t sure how to respond. “I appreciate your protection. And, uh, that of your Drake,” I added, thinking it was the right thing to say.

  Apparently it was, because a faint smile curved the sardonic corner of Saint’s mouth.

  “My Drake and I will be at your service as long as we are here in the palace.”

  “And now we have to get Kaitlyn ready for the banquet tonight!” Jalli grabbed my hand and towed me towards the door with the carvings of chimelings all over it.

  But Ari pulled me back for a moment and brought my hand to his lips.

  “Goodbye for now, L’lorna,” he murmured, placing a gentle kiss in the center of my palm which seemed to send shivers and tingles through my entire body. “I will see you later on when I come to escort you to the banquet. For now, I’d best get ready and I’ll need to talk to my Sire again.” He made a face, indicating how little he was looking forward to this.

  “And I’ll be right over here if you need me,” Saint said, indicating the carved wooden door right beside my own. “The walls are thick but I’ll tell my Drake to be attuned to you.”

  “Um, thanks,” I said again. And then Jalli was pulling me through the carved door to show me my new room here in the Drake palace.

  82

  Ari

  I felt troubled as I watched Kaitlyn disappear into the room with Jalli, though I knew that Santiago was watching over her.

  Part of me didn’t want to leave her alone, even for a minute, but I knew that Saint was right. If it was known that I was not only breaking the Edict by choosing a non-Drake girl as my L’lorna but also staying in the same room with her before we had a proper Joining ceremony, the gossip would be too much for my father to ignore.

  And, as my mother had pointed out, I was already putting him in a very difficult position.

  And now I had to go to him and talk about the preparations for the banquet as well. I sighed. This was not going to be an easy conversation to have. Doubtless he would ask the same thing my mother had asked—if my Drake couldn’t be persuaded to change his mind and choose a different L’lorna.

  “NEVER!” my Drake roared so loudly within me it seemed as though the entire marble hallway shivered with the strength of his voice.

  “Callate!” I shouted at him mentally. “Don’t worry—you and I both know we aren’t giving Kaitlyn up.”

  My words reassured him and I could hear his wings rustling as he settled down, growing a little calmer. As long as we were both in agreement that Kaitlyn was the only one for us, all was well, he informed me.

  “Of course,” I told him, frowning. “If my Sire cannot be made to accept her, we will leave the Sky Lands forever rather than lose her. Kaitlyn is our L’lorna and there can be no other.”

  I just hoped that I could make my Sire understand and accept that.

  83

  Kaitlyn

  The room they had assigned me looked a little like a smaller version of the Arabian Nights setup in Ari’s mother’s chambers, only it was done in turquoise instead of pink.

  A large round bed mounted on a pedestal was the central focus of the room. The bed had a satin spread of vivid turquoise and gauzy curtains of gold and turquoise hung down around it. There were so many elaborately embroidered cushions and pillows and bolsters on it that I wondered how I was going to fit on the bed myself with all of them on there.

  The room had other luxury amenities too. In one corner was a little wooden writing table with intricately carved legs and a chair to match. It was fully stocked with a stack of rich, creamy writing paper and a pot of ink with an old-fashioned looking quill pen with a brass nib. The pen had been made from a large, plumy feather that looked like it might have belonged to a peacock, except it was brilliant red and orange and yellow instead of turquoise and green and blue.

  In the other corner of the room was a kind of hot tub with flower pedals strewn on its surface. It bubbled quietly to itself and the steam rising from its surface was fragrant and sweet. There were towels as well and I wondered why I hadn’t been sent here to take a bath instead of Jalli’s private bathing ch
amber. Maybe because only Ari’s mother could assign the guest rooms? I wasn’t sure and Jalli didn’t offer to tell me.

  Ari’s little sister was busy hobbling around the room in that surprisingly quick way of hers, showing me the features and luxuries like the hand-milled soap, which had been carved in the shape of chimelings, and the basket of brilliant blue hooplah fruits which were said to be good for digestion.

  Since I wasn’t up to digesting anything but blood at the moment, I simply nodded politely and smiled. I didn’t have to fake my amusement at her antics, though—Jalli was impossible not to like and her high, sweet voice took my mind off my own worries.

  “And here’s the best thing about your room!” she exclaimed, pointing to a huge, arching window which was covered by a carved wooden lattice. The sunlight from outside came through its carvings and threw strange-looking shadows on the marble floor.

  Jalli threw open the lattice, revealing a breathtaking view. Just outside the window—which showed me that we were apparently on the second floor of the palace—was a lovely garden. There were beautiful trees, filled with blossoms and strange but sweet-smelling fruit I had never seen, flowers of all colors and descriptions arranged in beds, and even a little brook flowing through the center of the garden, gurgling quietly to itself.

  “Oh, it’s gorgeous!” I remarked, coming to the window to see. There were dozens of insects sampling the multicolored flowers and Mr. Seahorse chimed once in my ear and flew out to hunt.

  “Look—there he goes!” Jalli exclaimed, delighted as my new pet targeted a large green insect and shot out his miniature tongue of flame to fry it before chowing down. “Oh, he really does roast them first, just like you said!”

  “He certainly does,” I said, smiling as I watched him go hunting for the next one. “You were right, Jalli—this is the perfect room for me.”