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It isn’t his fault—or mine either, so I have been told—though I feel completely responsible for his actions—actions I was not strong enough to stop.He is cursed—we both are, since I must bear his madness and violence inside me always.And sometimes, I admit, it is a heavy burden.

But how did this curse come about, you may ask?It was my father’s fault.The same father who hates and avoids me—he was happy when I asked to leave the Sky Lands to come to Nocturne Academy.He couldn’t get rid of his only son fast enough, but he is the reason I am the way I am—the reason my Drake is cursed.

My father, who is the ruler of the Western Province of the Sky Lands, killed one of his underlings in cold blood.But the man’sl’lornawas abruja—a witch.The witches of the Sky Lands are not like the Sisters who live here in the human realm.They deal only in dark magic—magic that stains the soul and corrupts those who use it.She cast a spell on me before I was even born—cursing my Drake to be a Blood Drake—saying that no woman would ever be able to tame him to her hand.

My father, of course, wouldn’t listen.He was determined that his only son would rule after him and a Drake cannot rule without a mate.He called the daughters of his Noblemen to gather and forced me to stand among them, taunting my Drake with the knowledge that they were there to tame him, to force him to comply…

I don’t want to speak of what happened next—I will bear the guilt and the blood of my Drake’s victims on my soul for the rest of my life.But at least it caused my father to give up on me.He pins his hopes on the husband of my sister now.His Drake doesn’t have the two-toned scales of a true Alpha, but he was tamed to my sister’s hand the moment they met and he has a pliant and easy-going demeanor, which couldn’t be more different from the murderer I carry within myself.Someday he will rule the Western Province in my stead.Not that I care.

But back to Avery.

Though my Drake’s emotions usually range only from murderous rage to surly indifference for most people we encounter, he has taken an unusual—and extremely intense—liking for my small, blond roommate.He likes Avery so much, in fact, that he had possessive and protective feelings for him—emotions so deep and powerful they are impossible to ignore.

And so, when right in the middle of my physics class, he began sending me worried feelings for Avery, I found it impossible to ignore him.

Danger,he sent to me, in the middle of a lab that had something to do with an inclined plane and kinetic energy.Following that, I got an image of Avery—his blond hair and deep blue eyes, his light tan skin which is quite a few shades lighter than my own caramel-copper tones.

I tried to ignore my Drake, why would he think that Avery was in danger?And what would Avery himself think if I left class and came looking for him?He would get ideas—he would think I was…like him.

Avery was what is called in the Sky Lands, a “lover of men.”And believe me, that phrase was never said without a tinge of disgust and loathing.In Drake culture, there was no worse thing one can be than a lover of the same sex.

Females might get away with it, if they lived quietly together in the same house, pretending their love was only that of sisters or good friends.But a male who loved another male would be cast out from society—if he wasn’t outright stoned for his sick and twisted ways.He would be hated and reviled by all who knew him and no one would want anything to do with him.

That was the culture I came from and yet…I didn’t hate Avery.I wasn’t sure I quiteunderstoodhim, but I didn’t hate him.I mean, I myself had no interest in females—I never had.But I assumed that was because I was cursed and my Drake was a Blood-Drake which could not be tamed to a female’s hand.

I was certain that if only the curse was lifted, I too, could find al’lorna,just like my cousin Ari had found Kaitlyn.And then she would tame my Drake and we would live happily together in the normal way.

But not only did Avery have no interest in females other than as friends, he didn’t seem to regret that fact.He didn’t loathe or despise himself as other man-lovers I had seen in the Sky Lands did.He accepted his differences and displayed his orientation openly.And I…I hardly knew what to think about that.

All I knew was that I felt drawn to him—doubtless only because my Drake had taken such a deep interest in him.But I didn’t know if I wanted Avery to know that—to know I sometimes had…feelings about him.And seeking him out in the middle of class would certainly give him some strong clues in that direction.

So I tried to ignore my Drake as he pushed the feelings of worry and concern for Avery into my brain, tried to ignore him even though my stomach was twisting in knots and he kept on repeating,

Danger…DANGER…DANGER!

while he showed me Avery’s image again and again and again.

It was like someone shouting in your ear, like trying to ignore the fire alarm going off and the house filling with smoke.It was unendurable.

At last, I couldn’t take it anymore—the feeling of dread and worry for my roommate had reached such a pitch that Ihadto go make certain Avery was safe.Leaving my books and pencils at my lab table, I headed for the door of the physics classroom.

“Excuse me, Mr.Santiago—where exactly do you think you’re going?”my Physics teacher, Mr.Hollsworth demanded.

Hollsworth was one of the Norm teachers—non magical humans—employed by the school and bound by strict non-disclosure spells so that they can’t report the strange and magical things they see in Nocturne Academy on a daily basis.He had nondescript gray hair and deep creases on the sides of his mouth, probably from frowning disapprovingly at students, as he was frowning at me now.

I had no words for him—no explanation to give.My Drake was coming forward much more than I liked, and his madness made him difficult to control.

There was no reasoning with him, as one could reason with a regular Drake.When he found someone he hated, he was relentless.And likewise, when he found someone he…loved?Cared for?Felt possessive of?I didn’t know the right word.But when he found someone like that—someone like Avery—he was even more relentless.Or so I was finding out.

My Drake didn’t actuallyhatemy Physics teacher, but Mr.Hollsworth was standing in the way of something he wanted—in this case, to go and make certain Avery was safe.I didn’t say a word.I simply turned to face my teacher and let my Drake come forward enough to look out of my eyes.

My own eyes are obsidian black, with no other colors at all in their dark depths.But my Drake’s eyes are burning, fiery red and when you look in them, you can see his madness.You can feel it reaching out for you, wanting to drag you into his twisted world of hate and pain and confusion.I let Mr.Hollsworth see that now.

“Oh God!”He stumbled backwards, nearly losing his balance and falling over as I turned the burning gaze of my Blood-Drake on him.“You…you have to go?It’s all right—just go,” he babbled.“Here—take the hall pass.”

He fumbled behind him for the ridiculous pass he uses—a rectangular, brick-shaped metal weight that weighs nearly ten pounds or almost five kilograms.He claims that students are less likely to steal or lose it because it’s such a cumbersome burden to carry around.

He handed it to me with trembling hands and I took it—or rather my Drake took it.His strength was flowing through me, humming like a dark, electric current.He took the weight from Hollsworth and gripped it in my/his fist.I felt him squeezing and the thick metal weight began to change shape.In moments it had gone from perfectly rectangular to a mangled mess—a lump of metal dough distorted until it was barely recognizable.