Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
The realization filled me with sudden sympathy.
“You don’t want to feel this way, do you?” I murmured to the Drake as I stroked his long muzzle. “You want to feel normal—to feel whole.”
He snorted softly again in agreement and a feeling of deep sorrow and regret rolled through him. He truly felt terrible about the things he had done—the murders he had committed. He had lost control of himself and had been unable to stop until it was too late, he told me.
The thought of being tied not just to a woman but to the wrong person for the rest of his life had made him feel crazy and he had lashed out. But he was so, so sorry. He knew he made Saint’s life a misery—that he had caused him to be an outcast—and he felt awful about it.
I had the feeling that if the enormous Drake could cry, he would be sobbing by now. The river of remorse and shame and pain ran so deep in him it was nearly overwhelming.
But he couldn’t cry—it wasn’t in his nature. I could though and I found that I was. My vision was blurry as I wrapped my arms around his long muzzle—well, as far as I could, anyway.
It’s not your fault,” I whispered, stroking his burning scales. “It’s not your fault, baby. We’re going to heal you—I’m going to break this curse no matter what it takes. I swear it.”
It might seem strange that I was calling a twelve-ton beast “baby” and trying to comfort him, but it didn’t feel strange at all. I found that the love I felt for Saint absolutely extended to his Drake as well. I just wanted to heal him and lift the awful curse that had made his whole life a living hell.
The Drake responded to my emotions by pouring back feelings of his own. His love for me—as twisted as it was—was absolute. He wanted to own me, to protect me and keep me safe, he let me know. He wanted to treasure me always and never let me go. He loved me. Loved me so much it hurt him but he didn’t care about that—he just wanted to keep me close.
“I know, baby. I know,” I murmured, stroking his scales. “Come on now—let’s go. Let’s set you free.”
The Drake was willing to go at once, but first I had to turn to face my friends once more. They had all drifted closer, though they were keeping a prudent distance between them and the Cursed Drake. I swiped at my eyes which were still wet and gave them a watery smile.
“It’s all right,” I told them, not having to fake my confidence this time. “He loves me as much as Saint does. More probably. He’d never hurt me.”
“Oh, Avery…” Megan had tears in her eyes. “I want to come hug you but I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.”
“Me too!” Emma echoed and Kaitlyn nodded agreement.
“Let me tell him.” I turned back to the Drake—I still had one hand on his long nose. “Listen, my friends want to hug me goodbye before we go,” I told him. “They’re not going to try to hurt me or take me away from you—they love me too. Okay?”
I felt reluctance from him to let anyone else touch me but after a moment, he agreed. “As long as they don’t try to steal you away,” he sent.
“They won’t,” I promised.
At last the Drake agreed and I stepped away from him and held out my arms to my coven mates.
Emma, Kaitlyn, and Megan gathered around me and we had a last group hug before I left for the Sky Lands.
“Be careful, Avery!” Emma told me.
“Be safe,” Megan begged.
“We love you,” Kaitlyn murmured. “The Sky Lands can be a lot—be prepared for things to be kind of strange.”
“I’ll be fine,” I reassured them all, hoping I was right. “Just relax girls, I’ll be back in no time.”
“You’d better be!” There were tears in Megan’s eyes—all three of them were crying, actually. And I was too, I realized. I was really turning on the waterworks tonight.
“You’d better come back to us, Avery,” Emma said.
“I will,” I promised. “I’ll be back for classes on Monday.”
I just hoped I was telling the truth.
Then I felt the Drake’s impatience. I made myself let go of my friends and walked back to where he was waiting. He put out one enormous, clawed hand and I stepped into the center of his huge palm.
The Drake lifted me carefully and deposited me on his back. I remembered Kaitlyn telling me that there was a little hollow there, between the spines of the neck, which was big enough to sit in. I found it easily and settled into it, sitting cross-legged in the center.
As the massive Drake launched himself into the sky, I felt the cold night wind pressing down on me like a heavy hand. Still, I managed to raise a hand to my friends who looked tiny in the moonlight. And then we were lifting up, flying higher and higher until the castle that housed Nocturne Academy looked like a doll house in the distance.