Fang and Claw: Nocturne Academy, Book 2

by Anderson, Evangeline

  She shot me a shy smile.

  “Well, I wanted you to be happy. If you’re happy you’re more likely to stay.”

  “Of course I’m staying,” I said, though I couldn’t help the twinge of anxiety I felt as I spoke. “Only…I’m not sure your people are going to like me very much.”

  “They’ll get used to you,” Jalli said with confidence I didn’t feel. “Like they got used to me. Why, most of the servants used to fork the evil eye at me, every time they saw me.” She held up her first two fingers and made a warding gesture with them to show me. “Because they thought I was bad luck, you know—like what happened to my foot would happen to their children too, just by me being around.”

  “What? That’s awful!” I exclaimed. But it also explained a lot of why the Drake people hated deformities and scars. If they were so superstitious that they thought such things were catching—the same way you could catch a cold—it was no wonder they shunned people who were different.

  Jalli shrugged philosophically.

  “It’s just the way people are, you know? But after they got to know me and several other babies were born and none of them had a twisted foot, well, they all decided that my bad luck ended with me. And then they started being friends with me. So the same thing can happen for you,” she ended, smiling. “You just have to be patient—that’s all.”

  I doubted that patience was going to be the answer for me that it had been for Jalli. But it was nice of her to encourage me, I thought.

  “Thank you, Jalli,” I said, giving her a smile. “It’s really sweet of you to want me to be happy.”

  “Well, you’re my brother’s L’lorna,” she said. “Of course I want you to be happy! We—”

  But I never heard what we were going to do because at that moment, a loud rapping sounded at the door of the room.

  “Oh!” I jumped and put a hand to my heart. “Who could that be?”

  “It’s probably just Saint coming to check on us,” Jalli said. And before I could stop her, she hobbled quickly to the carved wooden door and threw it open.

  But it wasn’t Ari’s dark cousin standing outside the door. Instead, I saw a much stranger sight.

  84

  Kaitlyn

  Standing outside the door was a bent old woman with wild gray hair dressed in colorful rags. Over a long, tattered, dirty robe, she seemed to have scarves and sashes of every possible shade of the rainbow tied all over her—including a scarlet one which was tied around her eyes. In her hand she held a long wooden stick, which she apparently used to find her way around.

  “Oh!” I exclaimed involuntarily. “Who—?”

  “It’s the Blind Crone,” Jalli whispered to me. “She roams around the palace all day and night. The Drakes all respect her because she has The Sight.”

  “The Sight? What’s that?” I whispered back.

  “Come closer, my girl, and you shall learn what it is,” the old woman told me in a cracked voice. “I heard you were the L’lorna to our Alpha-to-be and so I came to see you.”

  “Um, nice to meet you,” I said uncertainly, hanging back and offering her a single hand to shake.

  The old woman batted my offered hand away impatiently.

  “No, no, girl—I need to see you.”

  “She wants you to let her read your face,” Jalli explained in a low voice. “Don’t worry,” she added. “She won’t hurt you.”

  It wasn’t that I was afraid the old lady would hurt me—I just really didn’t like the idea of anyone feeling all over my face and touching my scars. It had been hard enough to stand still while Ari’s mother just patted my scarred left cheek. I didn’t want some woman I didn’t know running her fingers all over my disfigurement.

  Still, the way Jalli was looking at me made it clear I was expected to allow this “Blind Crone” as she was called, to do exactly that. I didn’t like it, but I didn’t want to cause more trouble for myself either. Reluctantly, I leaned forward, putting my face closer to her seeking hands.

  “Ah, there you are,” she exclaimed, smiling as her fingers finally found me. Her fingertips were soft as a baby’s—worn smooth by extreme age so that she didn’t even seem to have fingerprints.

  “Yes, here I am,” I mumbled, trying to keep my lips shut so she didn’t stick her fingers in my mouth.

  “Hush, girl and let me read you,” she commanded in a bossy tone I didn’t like one bit. I decided I would only stay a moment longer before pulling away. Surely I had been as polite as was necessary already by letting her feel my face in the first place.

  The soft old fingers ran over my face and lingered on my scarred left side. I thought the Blind Crone would say something about how it was “bad luck” to have such scars but she didn’t say a word for the longest time—just kept running her hands over my scars in a way that was strangely soothing.

  “Marked,” she whispered at last, her old, cracked voice vibrating on the word. “Marked by The Fire.”

  I could hear the capitals in her voice—she said “The Fire” the same way I did—using it as a proper noun. Talking about it like it was a living entity that had a will of its own.

  “Yes,” I whispered, forgetting my irritation with her. “Yes, I was. The Fire took my home and my parents. It took everything from me.”

  “Not everything, child,” she chided me gently. “You have friends who love you back home. And you have the love of a good male and the prospect of more—much more. The Fire gave that to you, though it took much in return. The Fire never gives without taking—that’s its nature.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that so I stayed silent.

  The old lady felt my face a while longer and then said one more thing.

  “Beware, child—The Fire is not done with you yet.”

  “What?” I exclaimed, yanking away from her. The scars on my back were suddenly itching like crazy and I felt like my whole body was covered in chill bumps. “What did you say?”

  But she didn’t explain. She only felt for her stick and went on her way, tapping her path down the long marble hall and muttering to herself as she went.

  “What did she mean?” I asked, turning to Jalli. My heart was still pounding and the scars on my back were still burning and itching. It seemed like a strange and unsettling ending after the old woman had appeared so unexpectedly and demanded to “see” me.

  “I don’t know. I thought she would at least say a prophecy about you.” Jalli looked disappointed. “Something like—‘You shall be the greatest Queen ever to rule the Sky lands!’ That would have been really good, because everybody always believes the Blind Crone’s prophesies and it might have helped the people like you better.” She sighed. “Well, whatever. C’mon, let’s go watch Mr. Seahorse toast some more bugs.”

  She grabbed my arm and pulled me away, slapping the door shut all in one gesture. But though I allowed myself to be dragged back to the open window and the colorful garden below, I couldn’t get the old woman’s words out of my head.

  “The Fire never gives without taking—that’s its nature,” she’d said. And “The Fire is not done with you yet.” What had she meant by that?

  I had no idea but I was pretty sure I didn’t want to find out.

  85

  Kaitlyn

  The banquet in my honor was held in the Feasting Hall—another area of the palace which was built to Drake-sized proportions, apparently because the nobles and royals were expected to attend in Drake form. Ari came to get me from my room and escorted me there, but once we got to the doorway of the huge marble room—bigger than two football fields put together—he gave his expensive robe to a servant and abruptly turned into his Drake.

  The Drake turned and nosed me anxiously and I could feel him asking if I was all right. Ari had asked the same thing but I hadn’t wanted to worry him, so I had lied and said I was fine.

  With the Drake, it was different. There was no lying to him because the moment I touched his skin, he knew everything I was feeling, just
as I knew everything he was feeling. The emotional bond was both deep and somewhat disconcerting, but it was comforting as well. Comforting to know and be known so completely while understanding that the one who knew me loved me unconditionally at the same time.

  “I’m worried,” I told him softly, as I stroked the velvety skin of his long muzzle. “I’m afraid the people are going to hate me because they think I’ll ask you to do something terrible and you’ll do it, just because you love me so much.”

  The Drake acknowledged that he loved me more than his own life—I was his most perfect treasure and I must be protected at all costs. But he pointed out that he would not have chosen me if I was the kind of person who would ask him to do terrible things.

  This made me feel somewhat better but the problem still remained.

  “But the people that you and Ari will rule over don’t know that about me,” I pointed out. “They don’t know I won’t use your power for my own ends.”

  The Drake assured me that they would get to know me—it would simply take time. I must be patient. In the meanwhile, we must take our place at the banquet.

  He picked me up carefully in one taloned forehand and put me on his back before proceeding to lope gracefully, in that sinuous, cat-like walk of his, over to the spot at the head table which had been reserved for us.

  There were actually two tables set up, though. One was huge and about ten feet off the ground. It was clearly meant for the Drakes because enormous platters of fresh meat and bowls of clear water as big as bathtubs were already placed at intervals along it.

  The second table was human-sized and obviously meant for the Drakes’ mates. It was placed on top of the first table, right in the center, with a good view of the rest of the Feasting Hall. I saw that Ari’s mother was already seated there, looking regal in robes that matched the scarlet and gold scales of her husband’s Drake. There were several other noblewomen on either side of her but the seat directly to her right was empty. That was my place, Ari’s Drake informed me. The queen-to-be always sat to the right of the current queen, apparently.

  There was an empty place for the Drake, too, to the right of his Sire who looked at me and snorted disapprovingly.

  Being disapproved of by a creature that could eat me in one bite was more than a little frightening, but my Drake informed me that no male would ever touch another male’s L’lorna—it was simply unheard of. He promised me I would be safe before depositing me gently beside the empty chair at the human-sized table and taking his own place behind me, at the larger Drake’s table the smaller table was placed upon. I could feel his comforting presence at my back and it made me feel much better as I took my seat.

  “Hello, my dear,” Ari’s mother greeted me calmly. Raising her voice a bit, she called to the other noblewomen and introduced me as her son’s L’lorna. Most of the women simply nodded at me with neutral expressions on their faces. But one of them—a woman with flashing black eyes who was wearing a poison-green gown—glared at me with a face full of hatred.

  “I know who she is,” she snapped, when Ari’s mother said my name. “This is the little puta who got mi hijo, Pedro, marked for life and kicked out of that expensive school in the human world!”

  “Sasha! Watch your tongue—you are speaking of the L’lorna of the Alpha-to-be!” Ari’s mother sounded genuinely angry on my behalf, which I appreciated.

  The other woman, who had to be Pedro Sanchez’s mother, said nothing but only stared daggers at me some more. I wondered what she meant by her son being “marked” but then I remembered, uneasily, the handprint Megan had left on Pedro Sanchez’s cheek when she slapped him for hitting me in the face with a football and laughing about it.

  Though Megan hadn’t meant to do it, the “shame-marking” as it was called, was completely irreversible, meaning that Pedro would wear her handprint on his cheek for the rest of his life, like an ugly tattoo.

  No wonder his mother was angry at me.

  “He deserved what happened to him,” Ari’s Drake remarked, nosing me gently. “He was hurting you. If I had come out when I wanted to, he would have paid a much higher price than a simple shame-marking.”

  The growl in his mental voice sent a shiver down my spine. I wondered if Drakes sometimes battled to the death and I had no illusions as to who would win in a fight between Pedro Sanchez’s Drake and Ari’s.

  Ari had said, “My wings fly higher than his.” I had thought it was some kind of euphemism for rank but now I realized it was a fact. Ari’s Drake’s wingspan was bound to be much wider and if he could gain the advantage of height, I was certain he could blast fire down upon whoever he was fighting. Pedro’s Drake wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

  In fact, looking around the Feasting Hall, where three other double tables were set up for the other nobles and their wives, I realized that no other Drake in the entire place was bigger than Ari’s—other than his father’s. But I didn’t think the two of them would ever fight—Ari and his Drake had both assured me they preferred exile to such a lethal contest. And wasn’t this banquet tonight a sign that his Sire intended to accept me as Ari’s L’lorna rather than exiling his son?

  I certainly hoped so—though from the looks the other Drakes and their wives were giving me, I wasn’t sure if they would accept the Alpha Drake’s ruling or not.

  The one Drake I didn’t see was Ari’s Cousin, Saint. Though I looked all around for another friendly face, there was no black Drake with a blood-red sheen to his scales to be seen anywhere. Saint had said his Drake was considered bad luck—did they exclude him from public events like tonight’s banquet? Or did he make himself scarce voluntarily? He, like Ari’s little sister Jalli, seemed to be kept hidden in the background, maybe because they were examples of imperfection that the royals didn’t want to acknowledge.

  We hadn’t been served any food yet—the broad golden plate at my place was empty and the golden goblet was as well. So I looked around the Feasting Hall some more, being careful not to meet anyone’s eyes. Instead of the Drakes and their mates, I pointedly studied the architecture, which was well-worth studying.

  Like the Audience Chamber, the Feasting Hall had a high, vaulted ceiling. But instead of marble, this ceiling was made of colored glass. The vast, round dome showed a scarlet dragon flying in a blue sky and shooting orange and yellow flames. The dying sun, shining through the glass mosaic, cast colored shadows on the white marble floor, making a beautiful display.

  After everyone was seated and all four of the double tables were filled, servants came around and filled everyone’s plates and goblets. The food looked and smelled to me like a cross between Spanish tapas and Indian cuisine—two types of food I had loved back when I was human.

  Though human food often smelled disgusting to me now, this actually seemed intriguing and I wished I could try it. However, even touching my tongue to my fork let me know that my body wouldn’t be able to process it. So I was stuck just pushing the food around my plate and bringing nearly-empty utensils to my mouth to try and make it look like I was eating. I did the same thing with the fruity-smelling wine in the goblet, bringing it to my mouth and pretending to sip.

  After everyone had been served and was busy eating, Ari’s mother rose from her carved wooden chair and rang a dainty-looking golden bell. Though it was small, the bell was powerfully loud in the large, echoing chamber. Everyone stopped eating and drinking and looked at her expectantly.

  “Honored guests and members of the Court,” she began, speaking loudly and enunciating her words so that everyone in the vast dining area could hear her. “Today is a glad occasion for us all. My son, Ari, the Alpha-to-be, has chosen his L’lorna. Her name is Kaitlyn Fellows and she hails from the human world.”

  At this information, an angry murmuring began at all the tables. But nobody said anything outright until Sasha Sanchez, Pedro’s mother, rose in her seat and shouted,

  “This girl is not a Drake! How dare your son break the Edict and bring a non-Drake am
ong us as his L’lorna? How dare you flaunt his choice in our faces when you know she brings bad luck to us all?”

  Before Ari’s mother could answer, Mr. Seahorse rose from his place on my shoulder and charged at the angry woman’s face, chiming angrily. She gasped and jumped back, nearly tipping her chair over. Only the large snout of the green dragon behind her, who was doubtless her husband in Drake form, saved her from going ass-over-teakettle as my Mom used to say.

  “What was that you were saying about my son’s L’lorna bringing bad luck, Sasha?” Ari’s mother raised one dark eyebrow delicately. “As you know, chimelings were thought to have all died out and yet one found Kaitlyn and claimed her for its own—just as my son’s Drake claimed her,” she said, raising her voice so that everyone could hear. “And everyone knows, the presence of a chimeling is powerful good luck. So I think you’d better reconsider your words.”

  I was awed at the way she was sticking up for me! If Ari and I ever did get married, she would make an awesome mother-in-law. But though her words seemed to at least make the other women at the banquet look at me differently, Sasha Sanchez kept the nasty expression on her face.

  As though she’s been sucking lemons all day, I thought and Ari’s Drake agreed with me.

  As Mr. Seahorse flew back and landed pointedly on my shoulder, drawing murmurs of admiration from the women at the feast who hadn’t noticed him before Ari’s mother pointed him out, Sasha Sanchez straightened her gown and pulled her chair back up to the table. But she still wasn’t done. Leaning towards Ari’s mother, she hissed at her in a whisper that carried,

  “Just because you come from peasant stock instead of nobility you think you can foist another peasant-born queen on us—and this one with scarred skin with not a drop of Drake blood in her veins. Well, you won’t get away with it, Maria! Those of us who come from the noble houses have been waiting for decades to have a proper queen in your position—we won’t be cheated out of it now!”