“People can hear you!” Taya hissed.
He shook his head and lowered his voice as he stared at me. “You’re only prolonging the inevitable. Carrick isn’t right for you, and deep down—somewhere inside, you know that.”
Rebecca knelt, frozen in place, her yellow gloved hands hovering over a soapy bucket, her face unreadable.
Taya stood watching him, doubtful and slightly bemused.
“I…” My bottom lip trembled, and I shook my head before whispering, “I’m really drunk.”
I covered my face and stared at the ground.
“You need to go,” Taya told the Drake Prime. “And we’re all going to pretend that this never happened.”
“Sydney?” He asked.
Becca’s voice was soft and low as she said, “Please, Logan. For now, just go.”
I heard the door open and then slam closed.
Taya touched my shoulder. “He’s gone now.”
“I’m so stupid,” I muttered.
My guard kneeled in front of me and forced a glass of water into my hands. Then she pointed to the door. “That’s on him. That’s not your fault.”
My heart ached, and I sniffed. “I led him on.”
“No, you didn’t. I’ve seen you fend that boy off more times than I can even count. He just wore you down—it happens.” She pushed my hands, holding the glass toward my mouth.
“Ashe is going to hate me,” I said, my voice hitching at the end.
“No, he won’t,” she told me, breathing out a laugh.
My mouth dropped open. “I think I ruined our bond.”
Becca stopped scrubbing at the ground. “Oh shit! You guys had sex? I thought you just made out or something.”
My voice came out in a croak, “Oh my god! No, we just kissed… but it felt like more than a kiss.” I touched my alcohol-induced red cheeks, wanting to disappear.
My roommate tied the top of the trash can liner she held as she walked toward the door. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to throw this away and wash up.”
“Mmmm,” was all I could manage.
Taya sat down beside me and smoothed my hair back in a motherly fashion. “Hey, it’ll be all right. Logan is a total… what did you call him when you first met?”
I let out a sob, “A twat.”
“Yes. He’s totally a twat,” she breathed out a laugh. “Guys like that have moves. I’m sure you’re not the only girl to fall for his tricks.”
I laid back onto my pillows. “I thought we were friends.”
“Maybe you are. I don’t know Sydney.” Taya said, grunting as she pulled open the window.
The breeze felt good and smelled sweet.
I pulled the blanket up and over me, closing my eyes.
Someone pulled off my shoes, but that was the last thing I remembered before I fell asleep.
20
I’m an idiot.
That was my first thought when I woke up with a headache and a dry mouth. I sat and stacked the pillows into a comfortable position before leaning against them—still uncomfortable, but not too bad.
Rebecca was gone, and light streamed into the room from a sun that sat high in the sky. Someone had filled my water bottle and set it on my nightstand.
“Ugghh,” I moaned, feeling for Aaraeth.
I am displeassssssed, she hissed.
My brain hurt too much to think to her, so I spoke aloud, “Where were you?”
Pushed away by youuuuuuu…
“I didn’t mean to,” I groaned, cutting her off.
She sniffed, and I felt her mentally turn her back on me.
“Aaraeth, Aaraeth, I’m sorry… hey, can you still see everything when I’m… when I’ve taken poison?”
She snorted. Yes. But, I wish I could not. Foolish human: once a bond is started, it cannot be undone. Bad things happen with unfinished bondssssss…
“I know this. I’ve tried to tell Ashe. You know that.” I chugged my water. “Wait… You didn’t tell Eondian or Ashe about last night, did you? I need to tell him myself.”
Mmmm… no. They are far away, and the connection is weak. But I believe your emotions of self-loathing were strong enough to feel.
“They felt that?’ I asked dryly.
Who didn’t? Any Prime nearby would’ve picked up your broadcast.
I groaned.
Aaraeth hesitated, and I could feel her gathering all my human emotions and trying to compute them through her dragon brain. When she spoke, she was careful with her words, even more cautious than usual.
You have doubted yourself since you learned George Miller is not your father. It has made you uncertain. You have been reckless with Logan, but I do not blame you. Nor will Ashe. Intrigues brew in human minds here.
Is that why you were you so quiet when I met with Evgeni? I asked her.
Plotssssss within plots. Planssss within plans, she hissed.
“Awwww crap! Aaraeth! You know I hate when you speak to me in riddles. Do they teach you that in the dragon realm?”
This is a warning.
“So, Evgeni was lying to me?”
No, he did not lie. Remember what Daende said.
My brain felt sluggish, but I remembered the gist. “Everyone sees things differently.”
Yessss…. Taya comes. Important.
I rolled my eyes.
As if on cue, Taya popped through the door, dressed but with wet hair. She didn’t look at me right away but paced the spot in front of her bed, her eyes on the floor.
“Hey? I’m sorry about last night. Are you mad?” I asked.
She stopped her pacing and met my eye. “No. I’m not mad… It’s just…”
“Sit down,” I told her, pulling my legs into a cross-legged position and patting the spot in front of me.
Sucking in a deep breath, she handed me a book and sat nervously.
Her eyes roamed the wall, the ceiling, the floor, everywhere but on me.
Gazing down at the book, I sighed. It was the missing yearbook.
“You took this?” I asked, pursing my lips and tilting my head to the side. “Why?”
Her mouth twisted, and I waited for her to gather her thoughts.
In hushed tones, she said, “I feel like shit, but I never meant to hurt you. I took this job because I thought it would be simple, easy. But it’s been complicated as hell. I’ve been given orders by different council members. Your grandmother ordered me to keep you from looking into your mom. To keep you from knowing the truth about her. So, after you put the yearbooks up, I pulled them down, and when I saw that one, I knew I had to take it.”
Anger built within me. “How can I trust you ever again? This is the second time you kept things from me, followed orders that went against my better interest.”
I stared into her miserable face and anger built within me. “Okay. What were the other orders?”
“I was ordered to leave you alone when you were with Logan. That’s why I haven’t been around.” She shook her head and examined her hands before finally looking up at me. “I’m sorry. I should’ve protected you these past months. I should’ve protected you last night. What happened last night is my fault. If I had been doing my job, nothing would’ve happened… I’m so, so incredibly sorry.”
“Who ordered that?”
Her gaze drifted away, and she seemed to deflate like a balloon. “Councilman Brooks.”
I closed my eyes briefly, “Logan and Becca’s father?”
Aaraeth hissed, Someone powerful, someone in control.
Taya couldn’t meet my eye. “Yes. I thought they would tell him if I didn’t do it… I should’ve just ignored the order… but I didn’t.”
“Were you forced to do it? Like compulsively?”
“No, but I’ve never disobeyed a direct order.” She reached out and took my hand and opened her mind to me. “I swear that’s all I’ve kept from you. I’ll be on your side from now on. I won’t ever leave you again unless you want me to. I’ll tell you every o
rder anyone else ever gives me. I promise!”
Truth and regret flowed through her words, and I nodded. “I believe you,” I breathed. “You aren’t the person at fault here. I’m mad, but I don’t blame you. And what happened with Logan—that wasn’t your fault either. I have only myself to blame.”
My chest ached. “I don’t blame Logan either. I care about him… but I’m in love with Ashe. Sometimes, I feel like I’m being driven insane by the bond.”
My guard snorted, “Maybe.”
“I’m a horrible person, Taya.”
“No, you aren’t.” She leaned over and squeezed my hand. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. I think Ashe should be able to grant you a little leeway… considering his history.”
I knew enough of his history because of the bond… just not all the details.
“I don’t think we can wait until I’m eighteen. I don’t think we’ll survive it.”
Taya touched my knee. “Don’t work yourself up too much. Everything will be all right. You’re down four months. When’s your birthday? September? That’s a little over a year, and you’ll be eighteen.”
I snaked my hand out and grabbed her arm as she stood. “Aaraeth says bad things happen when people wait to complete a bond.”
“Dude, bad things will happen to Ashe if he sleeps with you.” She cocked her head sideways, watching me.
“Gah!” I said, flopping forward on my bed. “This is so stupid!”
Taya shrugged, her flip flops popping as she strode over to her bed and stared out the window into the bright sky.
I tapped the yearbook, “Thank you for this, and thank you for coming clean with me. Is that everything?”
She nodded, answering truthfully, “Yes, I swear.”
“And I’m so sorry you had to clean up my puke.”
She frowned, “You should thank Rebecca; she did most of the work.”
I pulled myself up and spotted the heavy gift bag Evgeni had left with Taya yesterday. It sat in front of my wardrobe. “Well, hopefully, I can make it out of here without more rumors starting up.”
Taya was texting on her phone, “Oh. I’m sorry to tell you this, but that ship has sailed. Pretty much everyone at the school already knows about Evgeni.”
“But not Logan, I hope!” I breathed, hand to my chest.
“No, no one knows about you and Logan… but that’s nothing new according to the rumors already going around.”
“Who’s spreading the Evgeni news, Logan, Olivia?” I asked.
“No, neither. However, it wouldn’t be a leap to guess why Evgeni Garin and the PL were here.” She looked up. “It doesn’t surprise me that he has come to claim what’s his.”
My brows came together, and I asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She sucked in a breath, “Mr. Garin just strikes me as a man who wouldn’t leave money on the table.”
“You know him?”
“I know his reputation,” she told me. Extending her foot, she pointed her toe at the silver gift bag, “Are you going to open those?”
“Yeah.”
She smirked. “I already looked inside—you know—security reasons.”
I laughed and threw a pillow at her. “Shut up.”
She stood and brought the heavy, glossy shopping bag over to me, setting it on my bed. “Let’s just say the man isn’t stingy, and apparently he hit up an apple store on the way over.”
I frowned and pulled out the decorative paper. It tipped over, and several shiny white apple boxes slid out.
“Maybe he has stock in the company?” I joked.
Taya snorted. “Who knows, maybe someone paid him in electronics.”
“Expensive gifts make me uncomfortable. Me and George lived on a shoestring budget since I can remember. We lived off grant money most of the time and it was barely enough for him, let alone both of us.”
Taya sniffed. “Yeah, my parents aren’t scientists like your… George, but they’re not bringing it in like Primes.”
I laid the boxes out—all the latest Apple products.
“Why would he do this?” I scrunched up my face. “This is weird, isn’t it?’
“My guess? Maybe this isn’t much money to him… or he wants to use it to keep track of you…” She trailed off and began to pull the plastic wrapping from the watch box. “I’ll take anything you don’t want. I don’t even care if Garin has it bugged or not.”
I examined another box. Everything was shrink wrapped. “You really think this stuff is all wired?”
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
I began piling everything back in the bag. “I can’t keep any of this anyway.”
My comment earned me Taya’s first genuine smile in a long time. “Why not? He’s your dad. Besides, it’s not like he can’t afford it.” She picked my off-brand laptop from the desk and its battery drooped against the duct tape that held it in.
“Hey!” I said, grabbing it from her. “It still works!”
She shook her head. “Take the gifts. I didn’t mean to freak you out. He’ll know where you are, no matter what.” She splayed one hand to indicate the electronics. “With or without all this.”
I twisted my lips. “I’ll think about it.”
My stomach turned. I needed to talk to Ashe. Maybe I should go grab a soda first…
No. I needed to get this out of the way.
I’d been waiting for him to apologize after our fight about Elijah. But he hadn’t.
I hadn’t texted, emailed, or called, and neither had he.
But this was bigger than a fight.
Closing my eyes, I reached out to Eondian with my mind. Our connection had been so weak, so tenuous.
Opening my video chat app, I tapped his contact. The phone began to make that bubbly ring…
“Hey, hang up! Now!” Taya snapped her fingers. She’d moved over to her own bed to read, but lowered her racy romance novel to get my attention.
She surprised me and hit the red end button. “Why?”
Groaning, she explained, “If you’re gonna tell Ashe about Logan, you need to tell him in person, not over the phone.”
“It’s video chat,” I told her.
“Ugh… you’re so cringy sometimes.” Setting her book down, she pulled out the chair to my desk. “Don’t do this. This is an in-person conversation—seriously.”
“We don’t keep things like this from each other.”
“You’re not keeping it from him. You’re caring about his feelings. He’s in the middle of an op right now. This will only mess with his head, and his mind needs to be clear.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “What op? What do you know? What’s he doing?”
She blew out a long breath. “I don’t know all the details, but I know that it’s important. And Ashe is important.”
I groaned and ran… tried to run my hand through my hair, but it got caught in the tangles.
Someone knocked and opened the door, not waiting for a response. Logan peered inside and started to enter.
“No. You, out!” Taya ordered.
He held his hands up in surrender, “Look, I just want to apologize. Can I do that?”
My guard folded her arms over her narrow chest. “Fine, but I’m not going anywhere, and neither is Sydney.”
Cautiously, he approached, inching around Taya before sitting in my desk chair. He turned to my guard, who loomed over him. “Can you at least give us a little space?”
Taya flopped back onto her bed and resumed her position, book in hand.
She wasn’t reading, though, of that I was certain. I could see her eyes peeping over the worn edges of the paperback. It featured a pirate man, hair blowing in the wind… abs out for all to see.
Logan reached out for my hands, and tentatively, I moved to sit on the edge of my bed before placing them into his. His hazel eyes were bloodshot, and his hair mussed from sleep. His t-shirt was even inside out.
His voice was low and rough when he spoke, “I’
m sorry. I didn’t plan last night, I swear. But I don’t regret it.” He darted a glance toward Taya, who held her book up higher to cover her face.
The Drake Prime stared at our joined hands. “I care about you. I’m falling in love with you, and it’s not right that you’re bound to a man just because he couldn’t control his dragon.”
I frowned.
“Logan…” I whispered, but he cut me off.
“You don’t have to make a decision right now, but I want you to know that I’m here—for you. We could be great together, you know that. I can make you happy. He can’t.”
Logan stood and then planted a kiss on my temple.
“Think about it,” he let go of my hands and stood, “before it’s too late.”
I nodded and watched as he left the room, closing the door behind himself.
I rubbed my temples. “I think my brain is about to explode,” I said, not to Taya exactly, but just to say it aloud.
She cocked an eyebrow as she peeped over her book. “He didn’t even say anything about all the loot on your bed.”
I frowned, ignoring her comment.
I should’ve told Logan no, that there could be no us. Yes, we had a connection. Yes, I was falling for him…
But Ashe was already living in my heart, and Logan was just a tourist.
Thankfully, I had a good excuse to escape Logan and Nate—final exams. Liv came to my room to study with me, claiming Nate distracted her too much, which was honestly true.
I’d already filled her in on the Logan and Evgeni situation, but she was still curious about my bio-dad.
“So, Evgeni Garin has custody, but you’re keeping the Lambert name?” She asked.
I rolled my eyes and tossed both my old and new passport to her. “Look at this. It’s like my grandparents are trying to erase the fact that I had a life before.”
The little blue books landed in a stack on her notebook, and she picked them up. “Holy shit. They’ve changed your name and everything. Where’d they get the new photo?”
“It’s my school ID pic.”
She laughed. “You look like shit in this.”
“Yeah? Well, I’d just had a two-ton dragon beat the crap out of me.”
Over Easy (The Dragon Born Academy Book 2) Page 18
