The Legend of the Blue Eyes (21 page)

Turner sat, begging Arianna with his eyes.
Molina was sitting behind him nodding her head. Arianna was in a
predicament. It would be safe to take Turner’s blood, but she’d
promised Devin she wouldn’t take any blood unless he said it was
okay. Arianna instinctively closed her eyes as the pain began
again. In the dark, she could hear Turner’s heart beat louder.
Arianna sighed as she caught her breath. “When you do find Devin,
tell him I’m sorry for breaking my promise.”

“Why can’t you tell him yourself? I promise
that I’ll bring him right back here,” Turner replied, confused.

“If you are as powerful as Gabriel says, I
don’t think he’ll believe me, even if I mean it,” Arianna
responded, gently moving the collar of his shirt to expose the vein
in his neck. “Brenton,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry if this
hurts.”

Arianna moved to kneel beside Turner.
Feeling the pain increasing again, she leaned against him and
shuddered. Turner gently helped her balance beside him, waiting for
the bite. He’d never been bit by a night human before, but it was
too late to change his mind. Arianna needed blood to stop the pain,
and Turner was willing to do anything to help her. Closing his
eyes, Turner felt her teeth pierce the skin. After the slight
pinch, he could barely move as a strange feeling came over his
body. Surprisingly, it wasn’t painful. After only a few moments,
Arianna pulled away. Molina moved the computer screen in front of
Arianna and her eyes glazed over, deep in thought. After a few
moments, Arianna pointed to a street on the screen.

“He is moving this way,” Arianna said,
tracing the street with her finger.

“Oak Street, heading east,” Molina said
rapidly into her phone.

“I can go help,” Turner offered, trying to
stand, but Arianna clung to his arm.

“Turner tastes like chocolate,” Arianna said
giggling. She had held on to her senses as long as she could, but
now everything around her seemed funny. She was drunk on blood
again.

“Stay with her,” Molina ordered Turner as
she left the room.

Pulling Turner back onto the couch, Arianna
climbed onto his lap.

“More please?” she asked sweetly. Turner was
unable to respond as Arianna picked up his hand and licked his
wrist. Arianna looked up at Turner waiting for a reply.

“I think I understand why he doesn’t want
you drinking other blood now,” Turner replied. “Did the pain
stop?”

“Pain,” she asked, distracted from taking
more blood. Arianna pondered the question. “Pain?” she
repeated.

“I guess you aren’t feeling much of anything
right now,” Turner replied.

“I’m feeling happy,” she responded, flopping
over his lap to lay on the couch. She scrambled up and pulled his
face near hers. “I have a secret,” she said, pulling his ear close.
“Turner likes me,” she said whispering.

“Yes, he does,” Turner replied, putting her
close enough to hear his heart beating again, just as Devin had
done to make her sleep on the train.

Arianna quickly pushed herself away. “I’m
not sleepy, silly.” Arianna sat up and looked around the room. She
could hear Devin coming near. Arianna smiled as she lay down across
Turner’s lap and closed her eyes.

Bursting through the door, Devin hurried
over to Arianna, kneeling beside her to pick up her limp arm.

“How long has she been like this?” Devin
asked Turner.

“A whole five seconds,” Turner replied,
answering the question. Devin’s face fell as he assumed he was too
late. “I doubt there’s anything to worry about,” Turner reassured
him.

“Hey,” Arianna said, sitting up and
startling Devin. “You ruined my surprise.” Arianna pouted.

Relief spread across Devin’s face. “How much
did she take?” he asked as Arianna began to giggle at Devin’s
sudden change in emotions.

“Not much,” Turner replied. “She told me
before she took it to tell you she’s sorry for breaking her
promise. Now I see why you made her promise.”

“Come here, you,” Devin said, picking
Arianna up. Arianna wiggled in his arms.

“No, Devin is a meanie,” she replied.

“Are you still hungry?” Devin asked,
knocking his head against hers to get her attention.

“Mm hmm,” she replied, licking her lips.

“Thanks,” Devin called over his shoulder to
Turner as he walked away with Arianna. As Devin gently placed her
on the bed, Turner and Molina left the room.

“What have you been doing to use up your
blood so fast?” Devin asked.

“I dunno,” she replied with a giggle. “How
do you use up blood?”

Devin sighed. It was difficult to deal with
her as she was, but he wanted to get an answer. “Were you listening
to anyone?”

“Like you when you didn’t come out to get me
after you were a jerk?” she asked. “Or when Gabriel left me all
alone?”

“You knew he was gone?” Devin asked.

“He told me to be a good girl and listen to
you, but why should I listen to a meanie?” Arianna crawled away,
across the bed, to the opposite side. “You’re just a meanie,
keeping me here in the world locked away with my scary grandfather.
I want to go home. Back with my aunt. At least she loves me.”

“Come here,” Devin said gently to Arianna,
who stared at him from across the bed.

“No,” she replied with a pout. “You’re going
to be nice to me now, and then later you’ll just be mean again. I’m
sick of being confused by all of this. I want to go back home to
Aunt Lilly and Uncle Dean where everything is less confusing. Where
I can be a normal teenager.”

“I’m sorry,” Devin replied quietly. “I don’t
mean to confuse you. I just don’t know how to handle it
myself.”

“I can tell Turner is as confused as you are
at times, but he’s never mean to me,” Arianna responded. “Why are
you?”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings, but
I needed you to get closer to Turner,” Devin replied.

“If you like me, why do you want me to like
Turner? Most guys aren’t in the habit of wanting the girl they like
to like other guys.”

“It’s not something I want to happen, but
it’s something that must happen for you to achieve what everyone is
expecting,” Devin cryptically replied.

“Again with the puzzles. Why can’t you just
tell me the truth?” Arianna sighed, determined to stay on her side
of the bed.

“The legend states that for the blue-eyed
one to reach full power, he or she must take five companions: each
of a differnt race. The guys told me that you agreed to take Turner
as your custodian.” Arianna nodded her head. She already knew that
nothing got past Devin. He’d always watched her every move. “I’m
sorry I was mean to you last night, but this is what I was hoping
would happen. Granted, I didn’t think he’d act as fast as this, to
ask you to allow him to be your custodian.”

“But why? Did you ever like me? Or was this
all a game to get me to trust Turner?” Arianna felt tears begin to
well up in her eyes.

Devin moved across the bed and took her
hands in his own. “My feelings have never been a lie. I’ll love you
until the day we die.”

“Then why did you push me to Turner. Now I
have feelings for him too. This is way too confusing,” Arianna
complained.

“If I told you last night, I wanted you all
to myself, and didn’t want you to ever speak to Turner again, what
would you have done?” Devin asked. Arianna didn’t reply as she
thought the answer. “You would have never gotten close to him. I’ve
known all along that I won’t be the only man beside you. For the
legend to come true, and I truly believe you are the one to make it
come true, you need to take on five keepers. I know I could have
told you earlier, and you would have listened. You’ve always been
good at obeying orders. But that wouldn’t have been enough. Do you
know why you like the taste of my blood so much?”

“’
Cause you were bit by a
baku?” Arianna guessed.

“That’s only part of it. The main part is
because blood tastes differently when the person loves you,” Devin
explained. “I love you, your uncle loves you, Turner loves you, and
in his own way, your grandfather loves you.”

“But his blood tasted sour,” she
complained.

“Sorry. He’s a bad example. He does love
you, but I won’t lie when I say, your grandfather is an evil man.
He’s had to do things that have hardened his soul, and he no longer
feels emotions like you and I do. I’m sure he loves you, but his
blood will never show it,” Devin explained.

“But why do you only love me sometimes, and
not at other times. I can tell,” Arianna complained.

“First and foremost, I have a job to do. I
was hired by your grandfather to make sure you stay safe. That’s my
main concern, and my first priority. When we’re safe and alone, I
can let that part go and just be beside you. Like now. Otherwise, I
have to do my job. My feelings for you don’t just disappear, but my
priorities of love versus safety have to interchange depending on
the moment. Outside of these walls, I can never be that boyfriend
you always wanted.”

Arianna rested her head against Devin. She
was beginning to see how complicated everything was. Devin really
did love her after all. But now it was even more baffling.

“This is too confusing,” she complained.
“It’s almost like I have two boyfriends now. And that’s just
wrong.”

Devin laughed. “Think of it this way. Not
two boyfriends, but two boys you’re dating. It’s just that we’ll
never make you choose between us.” Devin softly stroked her head.
“Now, you really do need to feed more.”

“Uh huh,” she replied, listening to his
heartbeat. The sound filled her ears as she began to get
lightheaded and dizzy. Without trying, she could smell the scent of
his blood. It was intoxicating. Arianna carefully pushed his shirt
away from his neck and watched the blood she had been listening to
flow through his body. Devin sat still, waiting for her to bite. He
was only a child the first time he was bit. The emotions he felt
then were completely different from those he felt now. Filled with
terror, he had pretended to sleep silently as a man entered his
room. The man had viciously attacked Devin’s older brother in the
bed next to him before he turned to Devin. He could remember the
pain as the teeth pierced into his neck. It was nothing like the
sensation he felt as Arianna began to gently lick the same spot
now. Careful not to touch anything other than the vein she was
aiming for, Arianna bit down tenderly.

Arianna glanced across the private
compartment she was sharing on the train ride home with Devin and
Turner. Devin was explaining the contents of the box he had just
handed Turner. Arianna looked from one to the other. She could see
the friendship between them as they talked about each item.

“When alone with Arianna, it’s best to turn
one of these on,” Devin picked up a small cylinder with a clip.
Turning the cap, the bottom blinked red. “Mori can then track you
and send someone to your location, if needed. His blood readout
from last night should be enough for him to really know where you
are, but these are to be on the safe side.”

“Why doesn’t he track Ari based on her blood
readout?” Turner asked. “Wouldn’t that be easier?”

“He tried, but because she is both baku and
dearg-dul, there seems to be a problem with it,” Devin replied.

“Here,” Devin picked up the ring in the box.
“Everyone wears one of these at the Randolph estate.” Turner put
the ring on, and the stone changed from red to white.

“Wait a second,” Turner said, and it caught
Arianna’s attention.

“Why did it change colors?” Arianna
asked.

“A blood stone,” Tuner replied. “I’ve never
seen one before in person.”

“For night humans, it changes to be the
color of the family member you are loyal to. Since you are loyal to
Arianna it’s white, just like everyone on her security team,” Devin
explained.

“Except yours,” Arianna added, pointing at
Devin’s ring.

“For humans, the color doesn’t change,”
Devin replied.

“What does blue mean?” Arianna
questioned.

“Blue was the color of people loyal to your
mother. Red is for your grandfather. As far as I know, I’m the only
person with a blue ring. It was given to me by the head of your
mother’s security team. Your grandfather went and changed the rest
of the rings the non-night humans were given, since it doesn’t
change color on its own when we wear them,” Devin replied.

Arianna went back to staring out the window.
As the train bounced on the tracks, the scenery passed outside.
They sped by farm after farm before heading back into a tunnel
again.

“I didn’t realize there were so many tunnels
on the way,” Arianna commented.

“That would be because you slept through the
ride here,” Turner added, moving to sit beside Arianna. “Are you
feeling better?” he asked.