“Katydid, you know I love you but that was weird.”
“It was really uncomfortable,” I acknowledged. I could barely look at him as I spoke. I felt like I’d walked in on him naked in the shower or something even worse.
“I don’t like to say I told you so,” Griffin murmured. “But, well…” He shrugged expressively.
“Okay—we get it. You were right,” Avery said, frowning at the tall Nocturne. “I can’t be Kaitlyn’s donor because neither one of us can stand it when she bites me.”
“But then who’s going to feed her?” Megan exclaimed, dismayed. “If I can’t and Avery can’t and I suppose Emma can’t either because she’s straight, then who in the world is going to be Kaitlyn’s donor?”
“I will,” a deep voice behind me said.
I twisted to look around, but the speaker had already come to stand beside me.
“I heard everything,” Ari Reyes said, looking down at me with those pale, burning amber eyes of his. “I will be Kaitlyn’s donor.”
35
Ari
“Who let him in here?” Megan Latimer demanded, frowning at me. From the look on Kaitlyn’s face, she was wondering the same thing, though she kept quiet and simply watched me.
“I did.” Emma, their friend and Coven-mate, came to stand beside me in a show of solidarity, which I appreciated. “He saved Kaitlyn’s life just now in the lake,” she reminded the rest of their coven, who were staring at me uncertainly. “The Guardian would have eaten her if he and his, uh, Drake hadn’t come along in time. And I believe he really wants to help.”
“Well, I don’t believe it.” Kaitlyn spoke up at last. She looked up at me defiantly, a frown on her lush mouth. “I don’t,” she said to me. “I heard what you and Nancy were saying about me in the Dining Hall the other day.”
“You heard what Nancy said—I said nothing,” I protested. “I had nothing to do with what she said.”
Kaitlyn put a hand on her hip and looked up at me mistrustfully.
“Then why was she saying something like that to you in the first place?”
“Mierda! Because she was being malicious—trying to hurt you.” I raked a hand through my hair, trying to control my frustration. “It’s clear she succeeded,” I told her in a low voice. “For which, I am so sorry. But I have nothing to do with Nancy Rattcliff, and I don’t want to either. She is nothing but a vrota.”
“Vrota? Is that Spanish?” Avery Connor frowned.
I shook my head.
“It comes from my mother tongue—the language of the Drakes even before we made our way into the human world in the region of Espana. It means a low or evil person who wishes to do harm to others.”
“Well, that certainly describes Nancy to a T,” Emma muttered.
“It does, indeed.” Griffin Darkheart took a step towards me, frowning and I felt my Drake rumble within me at his approach. He wasn’t exactly threatening me though—more just assessing, I thought. I sent a calming thought to the beast inside me. He had already come out once today and there were sure to be consequences for his escape—consequences I would have to deal with later.
“So you say you want to help Kaitlyn,” he mused, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes.” I nodded firmly. “As I said, I heard everything you were saying before—about the difficulty of finding someone to act as Kaitlyn’s donor. I wish to offer myself for the position.” I looked at Kaitlyn. “If she will have me, of course.”
Griffin frowned.
“I don’t know what drinking from an Other might do to her.”
“You think it might hurt her in some way?” Megan asked anxiously.
Griffin shook his head.
“Not hurt her, exactly. But it might change her in some way we can’t predict. When a Nocturne drinks blood that is other than animal, human is the usual choice with Sister or Witch being a close second.” He looked at Megan. “Mainly because you are simply humans who possess magical powers.”
“Well doesn’t that go for Drakes and Faes too?” Emma objected.
It was Avery who answered her.
“No, Drakes and Faes might look human, but they’re not. They’re completely different species from us and they come from different realms.” He looked at Griffin. “I can understand why you’re reluctant to let Kaitlyn drink from a Drake, but really, what choice do we have? What can we do if she doesn’t drink from Ari?”
“Nothing but tell Headmistress Nightworthy exactly what is going on and hope she shows us mercy,” Griffin said grimly. “My guess, though, is that she might think it necessary to expel Kaitlyn or else have her transported to a Colony.”
“Transported to a Colony? What kind of Colony?” Kaitlyn’s soft voice was faint and my heart squeezed in my chest when I saw the fear in her eyes.
“A Colony for Made Nocturnes,” Griffin said. “A place where humans who have been turned to vampires spend the rest of their lives in solitude.” He shook his head. “I am afraid that would be very bad for you, Kaitlyn, since the only blood offered there is bagged. No uninfected humans are allowed so no fresh blood is to be found.”