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)
“Blasphemy! Sacrilege!” the cloud thundered at us. “I will not have it said that my son is a lover of men!”
“Nevertheless, I am,” Saint said calmly. “I know it is wrong, but I do not care anymore. I choose to be with Avery and to love him in a way that is unnatural—the way of a man with another man—and there is nothing you can do about it.”
Wait—what? I cast a quick glance at Saint. I was touched that he was standing up for me like this, but did he still think that what we were doing was unnatural and wrong? Did he—
Then the big, dark eyes turned towards me and my brain seemed to freeze.
“You know that my son’s Drake is cursed, do you not?” Saint’s father demanded.
I lifted my chin.
“Yes, I know that,” I said calmly. “I love him anyway.”
“I do not think you understand, man-lover.” The cloud face’s scowl twisted into a sly smile. “You think my son loves you—that his Drake loves you—but neither of them do, not really. The only reason my son’s Drake is drawn to you is that it is cursed. The bruja who cursed my son before his birth made certain that no female would be able to tame his Drake—he would never even look at you otherwise.”
I honestly didn’t know what to say to that. Unfortunately, it was kind of exactly what Saint had told me the night he had healed my wounds. My stomach twisted into a knot but I tried not to show it on my face.
“I love him,” I repeated, not knowing what else to say.
A disgusted look came over the enormous face.
“You and your kind are a disgrace—my son would never be with someone like you if the bruja had not cursed him! If the curse was broken, he would revile you as all right-thinking people do!” Saint’s father growled with another rumble of thunder. He looked back at Saint. “If I hear any more about you consorting with this mariposa, I will recall you to the Sky Lands and exile you to the Southern Swamps. There you will live your days in sorrow and regret and you will never be allowed anywhere near another person again, lest you infect them with your evil!”
And then, before Saint or I could say anything else, the dark cloud suddenly sucked in on itself, getting smaller and smaller until it disappeared with an audible pop that made my ears ring.
Apparently the audience with Saint’s father was over. Meeting the parents of my new boyfriend had gone exactly as badly as I had imagined it would.
25
SAINT
I stood, stunned to muteness as the messenger of my father disappeared. Inside me, my Drake roared defiance. Who was he to say Avery was not our l’lorna, he demanded. How dare he forbid us to be near our love?
I was inclined to agree with him. I had accepted the fact that I wanted Avery in my life as much more than a friend and roommate. I could still taste the sweetness of his lips against mine from the night before—could still feel his soft skin under my fingertips. He made me feel things I had never felt with anyone else—he made my body come alive.
I had never felt those feelings when looking at any female. In fact, I could only remember one other person who had made me feel half of what Avery made me feel—and that was my friend, Diego, whom my father had banished. But even what I had felt for my friend was nothing to what I felt now for Avery.
I was determined I would not give him up—not without a fight.
My Drake growled within me, agreeing wholeheartedly. We would never give up Avery, he told me. We would kill or die to protect him! He was our l’lorna and we would never relent and give in to the pressure my Sire was trying to place on us. We would—
“Told you I’d get you back, you little faggot.” Juan Gonzales’ voice interrupted my musings and I turned to see that he was pointing not at me, but at Avery.
I glared at him.
“So you’re the one who alerted my Sire.”
“Somebody had to,” Juan sneered. “Cursed Drake or not, we can’t have you acting like a fucking mariposa in public. You’ll give Drakes everywhere a bad name!”
“What I do in public—or in private—is none of your business,” I growled at him.
My Drake wanted to come forward—he hated Gonzales for the way he had beaten and tormented Avery. And I had to admit, I agreed with him. Gonzales was a bully who ought to be punished for his impudence. How dare he involve my Sire in my private life? How dare he threaten my relationship with Avery?
“You’re both nothing but fucking faggots,” Gonzales sneered at me. “You better get rid of that Mark on your forehead and fly right! If you don’t, your Sire will recall you to the Sky Lands and exile you to the Swamps! You can go live with the bruja that cursed you in the first place!”