I felt another burst of possessive protectiveness coming from my Drake. He would never let that happen to me, he assured me firmly. I must be strong—must be brave and patient. He simply had to explain the situation to his Sire—which was apparently the scarlet and gold Drake. This was the Drake way of explaining.
I really hoped the Drake way didn’t involve any more fire. But after a moment, the immense scarlet and gold dragon folded his wings and bobbed his head in a formal sort of motion.
My Drake bobbed back, in that same formal manner and then the scarlet dragon spoke a word I understood, “Robes.”
It was said in a low, growling voice and the human servants on the ground quickly rushed around to all the Drakes, each of them holding a pile of rich-looking, silky fabric in their arms.
A servant came over to my Drake as well and waited quietly. The Drake reached up with one taloned forehand and I understood that he wanted me to dismount. Though I was nervous about leaving the safety of his broad back, I knew I had no choice. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into his palm and waited as the talons closed like protective bars around me. Smoothly, as though he was used to lifting people, the Drake put me down, and I climbed out of his talons and stood on shaky legs on the black marble floor.
As soon as I was safely down, the Drake began to shrink. In the blink of an eye, it was Ari standing there—completely naked.
I turned my eyes away, feeling my cheeks heat in embarrassment, but a human servant was already rushing over with a long, silky robe for Ari to wear. He draped the golden fabric around Ari’s broad shoulders and I saw that all around the hall, the other servants were doing the same for the other Drakes who had now become men. There were no women, though, and I remembered that only the males of the Sky Lands had Drakes—none of the females had one.
“My son.” The man who had been the scarlet and gold Drake stepped forward. He had Ari’s same clear, amber eyes but his hair was darker, with hints of gray at the temples, though he seemed to be a strong man in his forties.
“Sire.” Ari stepped forward to meet him and then beckoned to me.
I came forward uncertainly, not sure what to expect. Ari took my hand firmly in his and looked into his father’s eyes.
“Sire,” he said again and pulled me forward. “May I present Kaitlyn Fellows, my L’lorna and the future Queen of the Sky Lands.”
74
Kaitlyn
The assembled men who had been Drakes looked me over and began muttering angrily among themselves.
“She’s not even a Drake!” I heard one of them say.
“He’s breaking the Edict!” another exclaimed. “Tossing it aside with impunity!”
“What’s wrong with her face? With her skin?” I heard a third mutter.
Others were talking in a mixture of Spanish and the Drake language I couldn’t understand at all—but I didn’t need to in order to know what they were saying about me was not good.
“Son,” Ari’s father said, frowning. “This is not the place or the time for such a declaration. You know perfectly well that as the prince of our people and the Alpha-to-be, your mating must be discussed by the Council and—”
‘There can be no discussion.” Ari’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Kaitlyn is my L’lorna and I will not give her up. My Drake has chosen her and his decision is final.”
His father’s face grew dark.
“I said we will not speak of this in public!” He spread his hands. “You have interrupted a meeting of my Chamberlains.”
“I know who this girl is,” one of the men said, coming forward. I thought he was the one who had been the bottle-green Drake, though I wasn’t completely sure.
Ari turned on him, frowning.
“And how can you know her, Chamberlain Sanchez?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow at the older man.
“Because she is the one who got my son expelled from the human school—from that Nocturne Academy.” The man—who did look like Pedro Sanchez around his shifty eyes and narrow mouth—pointed at me. “I know because her skin is scarred all over. My son was kicked out because of her, though she is nothing but a deformed orphan with no family to speak for her!”
He glared at me, his dark eyes angry and disgusted, as though I wasn’t even fit to live.
Ari put himself between me and the other Drake, his face rigid with rage.
“Your son was expelled because he attacked my L’lorna,” he growled. “He attacked a female—attacked one who was weaker than him and acted like nothing but a vrota. I was ashamed that day for our whole race!” He spat on the ground at the other man’s feet.
“How dare you?” Chamberlain Sanchez demanded. “You and this deformed puta will pay for such an insult.”
Suddenly Ari had a knife in his hand. No, not a knife, I saw—somehow he had managed a partial shift and his hand had become one of the long, razor-sharp talons which belonged to his Drake.
“Insult my L’lorna again,” he growled, pressing the edge of the wickedly sharp talon to the other man’s throat. “See how long you live once the words leave your lips, cabron!”
Chamberlain Sanchez’s eyes widened and he took an involuntary step back. I wondered if being able to do a partial shift like that was a sign of power. It couldn’t be easy for Ari to let only a small part of the huge Drake he kept inside himself out.
“That is enough!” Ari’s father roared. Striding forward, he put a hand on Ari’s chest and one on Sanchez’s and pushed to make room between them. He glared at Ari.
“You know I will not tolerate blood
