Chapter 68

SEVEN.

This is the most awkward moment of my life and it’s not even a contest.

I don’t want June to pick up on something wrong before I’m ready to tell her everything. I can tell she’s confused and curious at the same time, taking in Vlad’s words and trying not to make it seem too mean.

Meanwhile, Vlad is staring at June like she did something horrible. He dials back a little when he realizes that it can compromise him too, but my instincts are already kicking into place. I wedge myself between June and Vlad, who turns his attention to me.

“What the hell are you doing?” he demands, glancing at June and seemingly feeling bad about the way he came in. He takes a deep breath and faces her. “I’m sorry. I just… we share a room and I took responsibility for the room. And you’re not supposed to be alone with him here. You should go now.”

“I was on my way out,” June says, still frowning like all of this freaked her out. “There’s no need to panic. There are a couple of girls downstairs and I think the school is probably prepared for something like that to happen. It’s not a big deal.”

Vlad stays quiet at first, then he relents. He takes a deep breath and forces a smile. “You’re right. I’m sorry about being so weird about it. But you do need to leave before they see you in the bedroom. This is the one thing that’s strictly out of bounds.”

She just shrugs, smiling back at him. “Well, at least give me time to say goodbye.”

The awkwardness is slowly dissipating and all that’s left for me is the joy of finally belonging to her. She comes closer to me as Vlad steps out for a moment to give us space. She holds my face, kissing me on the lips and nearly making me fall to my knees right then and there.

“I love you,” I whisper. “And hey….”

“Yes?”

I swallow hard. I know I will keep my promise to Nancy and tell June what I can, but I won’t divulge the whole truth so they won’t get into trouble. I’ll just tell her what she needs to know and end it there.

And I really want to say it now.

Perhaps now that I marked her, she will understand better. Maybe the bond will do something and she would just automatically know.

“I have to tell you something important,” I start. “I’ve been meaning to tell you from the beginning, but things got complicated but now we’re here. June, I’m a—“

June just brushes her finger over my lips. “You don’t need to say it. I know.”

My eyes go wide in surprise. But she just smiles and kisses me again. “I love you too, Seven. I’ll get going now. I hope you have a wonderful night.”

With that, she exits the room, leaving me wondering if she indeed knew what I was going to say. Somehow I feel like she doesn’t, so I need to get her alone tomorrow and just tell her everything she needs to know.

I go back to bed, a little worried now, and as though things can’t get any worse, Vlad goes back inside the room.

Now he’s not even bothering to hide his anger. “Excuse me, but what the fuck, Seven?”

I sigh. “You have to be a bit more specific than that.”

“You marked a Human,” he says forcefully, the words coming out of his gritted teeth. “Why would you do such a thing? What the hell are you thinking?”

I take a deep breath and raise my hands in surrender. “I know that it looks wrong, but when I met June I already felt something for her. I already knew that she was my mate—“

“That’s impossible and we both know it,” Vlad spits out. “The only way you can feel that towards someone is when they’re a Dragon too.”

I stay quiet, letting him take that in. I was never really able to confirm whether or not June has Dragon blood, because all the feats she has achieved have been so impressive. I don’t know how she was able to get away with so much as a Human. Then there’s that matter of connection I have always felt with her. Vlad is right. That can only come if you’re both Dragons, and I think that June might be one.

Slowly, it sinks in for Vlad too. I can tell that he can see that I’m not lying about feeling connected to June.

“You’re implying that she’s a Dragon too, and that’s why you felt that connection?” he asks slowly, in a voice that’s barely audible. When I just nod, he shakes his head. “Seven, this is serious. I don’t smell a Dragon scent on her at all. Call me crazy, but I do think she’s Human and nothing more. What you felt is probably just attraction. These Humans can be attractive to us and I know that, I was dating one until before the trip.”

“You mean Tiffany.” I shake my head. “And you broke up with her why?”

“Because the Hunt is approaching and I need to focus on the important stuff,” Vlad says, with an edge to his voice that tells me he doesn’t think I’m focusing enough. “It’s… what, two months away? Seven weeks?”

“That’s still a long time away,” I point out. “If they’re really that serious about it, then they wouldn’t send us here to have fun and unwind. I’m sure Professor Venetia knows that too.”

“You know what he wants now?” he asks, and there’s just some unnecessary aggression there that I don’t want to unpack. “I didn’t know you’ve grown so close.”

“We’re not close,” I point out. “He hates my guts. My family is the one that lost the Crown and he won’t let me forget that anytime soon. Where is this aggression coming from?”

He opens his mouth as though to say exactly what it is, but he seems to change his mind and just swerves out of the topic. “Look, for your sake and for June’s, I will not tell anyone. But I hope you know what you’re doing. If something happens or if someone finds out, I’m going to let you handle it and I won’t offer any help.”

“Nothing bad is going to happen,” I say, but now I’m losing my conviction because of how negative he’s acting. “And if shit does hit the fan, I will not involve you. I’m not like that. You’ve been a good friend to me and you’re just looking out for me. I know that.”

Vlad doesn’t seem to be listening to me now. He’s lost in his own thoughts. “The Hunt is so close. Every Dragon I know seems to be… panicking, almost. Really going crazy about it. Except for you. But I won’t wonder why. I already know.”

Now it feels like he’s talking more to himself, but I still say, “What do you mean? Of course I’m not going to lose my mind over it. It’s still two months away and there’s plenty of time to prepare—"

“That Hunt should be the most important thing in your life right now,” he interjects. “I’m fucking appalled that you don’t seem to care!”

He starts to pace the floor, and that’s when I realize that he’s upset. He’s really, really upset. I can even go as far as saying that he’s downright angry. I slowly get to my feet, watching him carefully. I can see scales starting to sprout from his skin and that tells me he’s actually raging inside. He’s just doing a really good job controlling it.

“Vlad,” I begin to say. “Are you alright?”

“No,” he says flatly, looking at me and smiling humorlessly. The curl of his lips tells me that he’s holding back a lot of bitterness. “I’m not alright. How would I be alright when the thing that I want so bad is just… thrown away by someone who’s going to get it without making much of an effort?”

I try to take in what he’s saying but nothing is making sense. “What are you talking about? What do you want to say?”

At last, Vlad inhales sharply and turns to face me. “They’re planning to crown you the Dragon King if the Crown isn’t found this season.”