The pounding of footsteps on the stairs caught me completely by surprise. One of the reasons I’d offered to check the crystals in the west wing of the main house was because I knew no one ever came through these drafty corridors. I’d been seeking solitude, hoping to find it in the vacant top floor, where only cobwebs and the occasional spider would find me. Watching Claire’s face as we learned more about the Dark Watch had made me want to go to her, but I didn’t. I stayed put, promising myself I’d get far away once the class was over.
Now, from the sounds of it, I was going to have company whether I liked it or not.
The door burst open and Claire stood there, dark hair flying and eyes wild. From the look on her face, I’d done something terribly wrong.
“What is your problem?” she demanded.
It was a rare occasion when I couldn’t think up some sort of smart-ass reply, but this was one of those times. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I answered in as calm a voice as I could muster, completely oblivious to whatever I was being accused of.
“You don’t know what I’m talking about?” she repeated, her voice getting louder.
The walls of the main house were made of stone, but I still found myself wondering if everyone in the courtyard could hear her.
“No, I don’t. I haven’t even been near you all week.”
That got a reaction—yet another thing I didn’t see coming. Instead of making some snarky response, her bottom lip quivered, and something vulnerable flickered in her eyes. Then they narrowed and took on a hard edge. “I never figured you for that kind of person, Logan Fairmont.”
The kind of person who has been insanely jealous over seeing you hang around another guy? Or the kind of person who has been trying to keep his heart from being broken by staying away from you?
I didn’t say anything, and that seemed to add fuel to the fire.
“So you are that kind of person, aren’t you? You just kiss girls, rescue them, and promise them everything will be fine, and then, without so much as an it's-not-you-it's-me, you move on to someone else,” she raged, suddenly close enough to stab the heel of her hand against my chest. “How dare you? How dare you make me feel something for you and then walk away? You're no different from anyone else. You told me I could trust you and count on you, but where have you been for the past week? Gone! I shared my deepest, darkest secret with you and you didn't even give me the courtesy of goodbye. You think just because you're a dragon, that gives you the right to do what you want? Well, it doesn't! It doesn't give you the right to play with my heart, it doesn't give you the right to play with my trust, just like it didn't give my foster father the right to hit me. But I'm over it now, because I finally know that when push truly comes to shove, the only one I can count on is myself!”
It was all I could do not to grab her hand and pull her to me. If it was a fight she wanted, I could give it to her…especially when I was being accused of…what exactly? Dumping her? Cheating? A few of her words began clicking into place. You move on to someone else. I’d seen her expression when I sat next to Arrica in class, but didn’t think anything of it until now. She’d totally misunderstood.
“It isn’t what you’re thinking, Claire.” But she wasn’t listening.
I could see her magic coming to life as a faint blue swirl swept over her skin. It reminded me of my own magic when I was angry. She was tapping into my energy, I realized. She was angry because I had stopped hanging around her? Even as hope blossomed, I found myself wondering if all that anger was truly hers, or if she’d somehow managed to take on some of my own characteristics—short temper included.
I took a mental inventory of my body, but I didn’t feel drained in the slightest. I hadn’t felt a decrease in my power when I’d fought Victor either, come to think of it. One of the main points taught at Imperium were that shifters should fear the Yokai because they could—and would—drain their power.
But they were wrong.
I could still feel my magic and knew I could summon my dragon at any time, but I also knew I wouldn’t do it. Not now.
Claire’s face began to change shape, and I knew she was on the verge of shifting. Was she angry enough to challenge me?
At least this room is big enough to hold a dragon, I thought as my magic became Claire’s, too.
“I won’t fight you, Claire,” I said softly.
All my words didn’t sink in. Apparently, only “fight” had since she took a deep breath and let out a huge stream of smoke, aimed directly at me. A second later, she transformed into a dragon with scales the color of emeralds and shot a fiery wave at the wall a few feet away.
I didn’t flinch. And I didn’t move. Even though I could feel the heat from the scorched stone. “I won’t fight you, Claire,” I repeated. “Do whatever you want to me, but I won’t fight you.”
She twisted toward me. One of her wings caught the crystal I had come to check on, sending it in a spiral to the floor. It shattered, tiny pieces tinkling to the floor, orange shards bouncing and scattering like beads.
Claire’s anger broke with it, and she shifted back, a look of pure horror on her face at what she had done.
“I’ll get Hadley to make another one. She’s done it before. It will be okay,” I lied, attempting to soothe her. Getting a new one might take a bit of work, but I was determined Claire wasn’t going to worry about it. She was upset enough about…whatever it was that had brought her up here in the first place. “And the girl I was sitting beside in class is Paul’s sister, Arrica,” I continued. “He’s getting married this winter. He told her to make sure I knew I was invited to the wedding.”
Every ounce of fury I had seen in her was gone now, replaced with a sad sort of resignation that was a hundred times scarier than her anger.
“Now I feel like an idiot,” she admitted, tucking her hair behind her ear.
Suddenly, I was crushing my mouth to hers, pinning her to the wall, and showing her exactly what I'd felt this last week. All that want, all of that fear, all of that need. But it wasn't enough, it couldn't be enough or we wouldn't be here now.
I backed up just far enough to speak, my voice rough even to me. “I didn’t come around you because I thought you had feelings for Blake.”
“I do have feelings for him,” she whispered against my lips. “He’s my brother.”
“I know, but I mean other…feelings…” This wasn’t working. At all.
“You mean you thought I felt about him the same way I feel about you?” she asked.
Yes. I didn’t dare say it out loud.
“I don’t. Blake is my brother, and I love him. He was all I had for a very long time…but he isn’t you.” She closed the breath of space between us and pressed her lips back to mine.
I wanted to tell her I loved her, but the words stuck in my throat. Overcome with awkwardness, I simply kissed her instead, hoping to show her how I felt. When the kiss broke, she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.
One thought came to my mind as I held her close, and I made myself a promise. She’ll never question how I feel again. She’ll know. I’ll find a way to show her, even if I can’t find the words.