“I do,” I said formally.
“And you do understand that this is not a duty you can shirk or pass to another?” Griffin asked me. “Kaitlyn’s very life will be in your hands. If you fail to nourish her, she will die and her death will be on your head.”
“I understand.” I nodded firmly. “I will never abandon or forsake her. I will nourish, protect, and shield Kaitlyn with my life if necessary.”
Griffin nodded.
“Then, as the Senior Nocturne in this situation, I release her into your care.”
“Thank you.” I bowed my head. “I will not fail.”
Kaitlyn had been sitting silently on the couch, watching with wide eyes as I took my oath. She seemed to be struggling to find words to express herself but at last she burst out,
“Wait a minute—wait a minute!” She looked at me. “This is crazy. You don’t even know me! Why would you want to promise to give me your blood for who knows how long?”
My Drake roared within me, shaking me to my core. I wanted to tell her I longed to care for her because my Drake had chosen her and my heart had followed his. Because she was dear to me, even though we had barely spoken.
But I sensed that saying any of that would frighten her. In the Sky Lands, the instant attraction and devotion of a male for a female is understood and accepted. Once a male’s Drake fixes on a particular female, it’s rarely possible to break the bond that forms. But here in the human world, where males had no Drakes to guide them, the courting process seemed to be a much longer and more convoluted one.
I tried to think of how to voice my feelings for her without going too far—without scaring her off—but it was hard to know how far was too far to go.
“Is this still about the way Pedro Sanchez hit me with that football during our PE class a few months back?” Kaitlyn demanded, and I realized I had taken too long to answer. “Is this some kind of an honor thing? You feel like you have to help me because your countryman hurt me?”
Of course, that wasn’t it at all. But her words made me realize that this might be the easiest explanation for her to understand. The simplest way to get her to accept my help.
Though I disliked lying, I couldn’t think what else to do—how else to show her my regard for her without frightening her away.
“Yes,” I said, nodding my head. “My countryman brought great shame upon my people and my house that day. I must atone for his error and pay back the evil he did with good or I can never hold my head up in the Sky Lands again.”
Griffin and Avery both looked at me sharply, but the expression on Kaitlyn’s face—the part of it I could see past her ever-present curtain of hair anyway—relaxed somewhat. Here was an explanation she could understand and accept. I was grateful she did, though I longed to tell her what was truly in my heart and the heart of my Drake.
“And you swear you’re not up to anything with Nancy?” she asked me at last.
“Never!” I spat the word harshly, not trying to hide my disgust. “I have named her vrota and I will never have anything to do with her. You are the only one I wish to serve.”
Then I could no longer help myself. I fell to one knee beside her and took her small hands in mine.
“Kaitlyn, please—let me help you,” I said earnestly. “Let me nourish and protect you. My honor demands it.”
My Drake demanded it too—as did my heart. But even as he spread his wings, eager to declare our devotion, I had to keep him contained and simply hope that Kaitlyn would take what I was offering.
She looked at me uncertainly, her one visible eye wide.
“It…it doesn’t seem fair that you should have to make up for the awful things Pedro Sanchez did and said,” she said after a moment.
I shrugged.
“It is the Drake way. My wings fly higher than his—I should have curbed his shameful behavior and not allowed it to escalate as it did. Besides,” I added in a softer voice. “I don’t mind. I want to be of service to you, Kaitlyn. Please—let me.”
Within me, my Drake roared in agreement.
Kaitlyn shifted uneasily, almost as though she could hear my other half and he made her nervous.
“Well,” she said at last, in that soft, musical voice of hers. “It’s really not completely up to me, you know. I think it kind of depends on how we both feel when I, er, bite you. I mean, I tried to bite Avery just now and it was awful.” She looked up at her friend and Coven-mate. “No offense, Avery. It was really sweet of you to let me try.”
“None taken, Katydid.” He smiled at her tenderly and I felt my Drake rumble jealously at the exchange.
“Be still,” I told him sternly. “They’re only friends and he has no interest in females—that’s why she couldn’t bite him and drink from his vein.”
Speaking of which, I very much wanted my little human to bite me. Not for any effect it might have on me, but to nourish her. She looked pale and sick and so weak I felt a surge of concern as I looked at her. My Drake and I both agreed that we must feed her—the sooner, the better.
I held out my wrist to her—though I would have preferred to let her drink from my throat.
“Just try,” I said softly. “It’s the only way to know.”
“Well…I suppose so.”
She looked at me shyly, as she took my wrist in both small hands. Just touching her skin again sent an electrical tingle though my entire body and my Drake rumbled with approval. Finally, the female we had both
