Page 14

SAINT

W hen my Drake awoke, he was extremely upset.

Because I can hide little to nothing from him, he saw that I had been intimate with Avery.

Well, maybe “intimate” is too strong a term, but he saw that I had been able to touch him at least—to hold him—and to press my mouth to his soft skin and breathe in his warm scent.

I got feelings of extreme jealousy from him—why had I been allowed to hold and touch and be near our fated mate while he, my Drake, had not? Why had I been allowed to be so close to our l’lorna while he was sleeping?

“Avery is not our l’lorna,” I told him firmly. “He is a male—a male cannot be the fated mate—the l’lorna — of a male Drake.”

But my Drake insisted—in angry pictures and emotions that he shoved into my mind—that Avery was our l’lorna and that he must be allowed to be close to him, too.

“No—absolutely not!” I mentally shouted at him. “You’re too big and unpredictable and frightening. If you come out you’ll scare him.”

My Drake pointed out that he had come out part of the way yesterday and Avery had been the only person who wasn’t frightened. He insisted that he would never hurt Avery—he only wanted to come out and “cuddle” him.

I had never heard him so articulate—it seemed that his desire for my roommate brought out his words.

But this was still a bad situation. I reminded him that if he came out again, I would be expelled from the school and that both of us would have to go back to the Sky Lands and never see Avery again.

This revelation brought a burst of emotions from my drake—horror at the idea of never seeing the beloved l’lorna again, anger that others were trying to keep Avery from him, and such a strong desire to be close to my short, blond roommate that he made me ache with it, from head to toe.

If he could not hold and cuddle Avery, could I do it again—this time while he was awake, he asked? At least then he could feel the sensations through me.

It was no use trying to explain to him how awkward such a request would be.

Last night had been different —we had been speaking openly and Avery had offered me a hug—the first one I’d had in years.

It had felt right to pour our hearts out to each other and right for me to heal him.

But now it was morning and we were about to start another school day.

How could I go over to Avery and ask if I could “cuddle” him for a few minutes before we went to Breakfast?

The answer was, I couldn’t . I told my Drake he would have to wait—to hold himself in check. I had things I must attend to and cuddling my roommate was not one of them.

This drove him into a fury and I had to fight with him as I got dressed, straining to keep him under control as I got ready for the day’s classes.

I’m not sure what Avery must have thought of me.

I was almost silent and when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, my face was white with tension.

I hoped he didn’t think I was upset about the healing the night before but I simply couldn’t spare any strength for idle conversation.

I was trying too hard to keep my Drake in check and I couldn’t concentrate on anything else.