Becoming a Legend (7 page)

Arianna lay on the blanket, staring into the dusk sky. The city slowly began to turn on lights and twinkle as night approached. Arianna preferred the starry sky to the twinkling world beneath them. Their overlook was the best view in the city, and the most isolated. This was where Turner came to think. The first time he brought Arianna to his spot was almost a year ago when he helped her run away from the Randolph estate. As soon as they arrived this night, Turner gave her the gift he had brought with them. She held the delicate necklace in her hand and fingered the pendent from the present Turner had given her.

“
It really wasn’t just me,” Turner admitted from next to her on the ground. He preferred to watch the city below. “Actually, all that was me was the idea. Devin had to find them.”

Arianna stared at the two twisting circles, her parent
’s wedding bands. “It reminds me of me,” she replied quietly. The gold slipped over her fingers. Neither ring had any stones in it, they were just plain gold bands of different width. Her mother had the smaller one as hers and her father the thicker one.

“It’s
you.” Turner reached over and traced the two loops. “You’re both of them. I’m sorry you never got to know them. Even though my mom is gone, I still at least have some memories of her.”

“
Why do you think I can be both?” she asked, pushing the sadness away of the gaping hole that was left by her parents’ death. She didn’t have any memories of them and only a few of her grandfather now. Every family member close to her in her life, beyond Gabriel, had died long before she could ever get to know them.

“
You know the thinking part isn’t the best for me,” Turner replied, putting his hands through his hair. “I’m more of an action sort of guy.” Arianna smiled. That was completely true, but for Turner to admit it was a big step.

“
Has anyone else ever tried?” Arianna asked.

“
Tried action?” he asked. “I can demonstrate.” He leaned over closer to her.

“
Not action,” she laughed, pushing him back. “Has anyone else ever tried to have a child between two different night human races?”

“
Oh yeah, tons of people, especially when they clans got along better. When two unlike night human have a baby, it always ends up being one or the other. Never both. You’re the only one that has been both.” Turner leaned back to his original position, looking over the city.

“
But then why can I be both?” Arianna watched Turner. Someone had to have the answers. He had the connections, so it was possible he knew.

“
No one knows,” Turner admitted while not turning back to her.

“Then
there must be something wrong with me?”

“
No.” Turner turned to face her as he talked. “Something’s completely right.”

“
Do you think if they had lived, I’d have had siblings like me?” she asked.

“
Maybe, maybe not. It could have been because of your parents or maybe it’s just you.” Turner stared back out at the city and smiled. “Maybe it was just fate. Which came first: the chicken or the egg? I don’t think we’ll ever know.”

“
Great. Get all philosophical on me,” she complained as they both laughed, and she playfully hit his arm.

“
You can’t dwell on how you’re different,” he added quietly. “Everyone is different. Don’t you see how well I fit into my family?” Turner never fit in his family. His father and older brother were both straight-laced politicians, but Turner never followed a rule in his life. While they could find pride in living by the books, Turner always wanted independence. Yes, Turner was different from them.

Arianna watched as the last of the darkness came
over the city. “Are you sure your dad isn’t planning anything tonight?” Arianna pointed across the town to the brightly-lit mansion at the edge of the city, Turner’s childhood home.

“
No, it’s always lit up like that. I think my dad likes to be a sitting target.” Turner stretched and sat up. “My twelve hours are almost up. Time to get you back to Devin.”

“You’re
seriously going to give him twelve hours? I thought you offering to spend time with me first was so that you could keep me longer. You’re not one to be following the rules,” Arianna teased. Turner smiled and shrugged.

“
I’m just your future keeper,” Turner replied. “He’s…” Turner didn’t finish. Arianna raised her eyebrows questioning him.

“
What happened while I was asleep?” Arianna wondered. Turner was keeping something to himself.

“
Nothing… everything.” Turner brushed off his slight mood and was back to normal.

Arianna prodded further.
“Please,” she asked. “What’s going on that I should know about?”

“There’s
something going on, and we can’t seem to figure it out,” he replied. “You know me, I’m the brawn, not the brains. And this time we need more brains to figure it out than we need brawn. I’m not very good at even that.” Memories of the attack at the park haunted his mind. “I’m helpless. When you passed out after the council meeting, we brought you back to your room for a night. At one point you got up and tried to walk out of the apartment. We found you passed out.” Turner hesitated. Arianna didn’t remember anything of the past few days and assumed she just spent it in bed. “You were there lying on the ground barely breathing, and I could do nothing. I am useless.”

“
I’m just a bit under the weather,” Arianna added, trying to get Turner off the self-bashing he was doing.

“
No, that’s not it. Yes, you’re sick, but it’s more than that.” Turner was being elusive.

“
How can it be more?” Arianna didn’t understand what was bothering him beyond her being sick.

“
Just let me explain. I really didn’t want to do this to you on your birthday, but you didn’t wake up yesterday. I would have told you then.” Turner was actually at a loss for words.

“Told me what?” Arianna asked, taking control of the conversation.

“I think you are meant for Devin,” Turner replied. He sighed and looked over the city. This was going to be much harder than he thought. “I realized while you were asleep, you belong with Devin. He knows you better than anyone. When we got back to your room, he put you to bed and made plans to come here. I was left to watch you. You started to have a seizure, and there was nothing I could do. Devin came in and the instant he put his arms around you, you stopped. I just saw what I always suspected, you two are connected. There will never be that between us. He won. I’m throwing in the towel,” Turner admitted, defeat in his voice over loss of the dream of making Arianna into his own girlfriend. Turner stood, looking at the city and not at Arianna, hunched over, defeated.

“
You don’t want to be my keeper?” Arianna asked, shocked, as tears began to well up in her eyes.

“
No, no, please don’t cry. That’s not what I’m saying at all.” Turner turned quickly at the sound of her sniffles. Turner wiped the tears away. “I’ll stand beside you until the day I die. I’ll always be here, as your friend, your best friend. Nothing can change that.” He hurriedly looked back to the city to avoid her now silent gaze.

Arianna stared at Turner as he looked down
at the city. He was right. She loved him, but it was more in a friendship kind of way. He was exciting and unpredictable, and a lot of fun to be around, but she didn’t feel for him what she felt for Devin. Turner reached over and took her hand.

He gave her a Turner smile before adding,
“I think this is one of the rare times that if I don’t return you, he might actually go wolf hunting like he always threatens. We better head back.”

Arianna silently followed Turner back to his bike. Turner was lost in his own thoughts, and she
didn’t want to interrupt them. The ride back to Turner’s home was faster than Arianna wanted. She still wasn’t sure how much she wanted to see Devin, knowing that he had allowed her to be an experiment. Always a gentleman, Turner walked Arianna to her bedroom door where Devin was waiting inside. Turner leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead.

“
Happy birthday,” he added as Arianna opened the door to her room.

Devin
, as usual, sat on the couch reading. He didn’t look up as she entered.

“
Are you feeling tired?” he asked, setting his reading glasses down on top of the latest stack. For eighteen, he was much more mature than his age suggested.

Arianna wanted to be mad at him
, but, as always, his assessment was correct. She plopped down on the couch next to him. “A little.” She was still mad, just too tired to actually care.

“
Do you want to sleep some?”

“
No,” she replied. Devin waited for her to continue. She stared across the room before looking back at him. “
Why?”
Was the only word she could squeak out before the tears came. Devin pulled her onto his lap. The feeling of his heart beating calmed her a bit and stopped the tears. Arianna caught her breath again and asked, “Why would you let them experiment on me?”

“
Oh Ari,” he said, gently stroking her head, which was now resting against him. Her eyes became heavy as the sound of his heart amplified. Arianna felt the lull of sleep pulling at her, and after being sick so recently, she was too tired to refuse.

SIX

Arianna lifted her head from Devin’s bare chest with a start. He quickly sat up also and looked around the room for danger. He was ready to pounce. In an instant, Devin could go from quietly sleeping to cutting down an unknown enemy. He had trained for years, and it showed in every moment of his life. He was the best guardian she could ever have. He always put her safety first and was the first to stand up and defend her from anything.

“
Did you hear something?” he asked.

Arianna never woke unless she sensed something. In the past year, Devin never failed to be one step ahead of her in everything. He knew when she was hungry or needed to feed. He
knew when she needed to sleep or needed a break from her new life. He knew everything one moment before she did.

Arianna rubbed her eyes.
“Why are we in here?” she asked, looking around the bedroom more. She remembered waking up at the Winter estate, but her last memory was of sitting beside Devin in the front room. Over the last six months, more and more of her memory was gone. It started with only minutes to hours missing, but now, she would wake to now find days were completely gone.

“
I thought you were out again, so I decided we could go to bed.” Devin relaxed as the sense of danger passed.

“
Again?” Arianna knew something was missing.

“
Like after the last council meeting.” Devin pulled on her to get her to lay back down too.

“
Oh,” Arianna replied. Her face reddened as she looked at her clothes and realized she was now in pajamas.

“
Molina changed you for me,” Devin replied in response to her embarrassment.

“
But I thought I didn’t sleep unless with you or Turner. How could she change my clothes without waking me?” Arianna had been having trouble sleeping since the first night she turned. She had too much power, which included super-sensitive hearing that only had gotten better in the past year.

“
Lately you’ve been sleeping very soundly once we get you to sleep,” Devin replied.

Silence stretched on as neither talked. Finally Arianna asked,
“Is that how you could take my blood to study.”

Devin
’s controlled exterior melted. “Oh, Ari, I’d never do that to you. We used some blood left over from last year after you healed everyone. There was a pitcher that had less than a glassful left, and we decided it would be a good time to start studying it since everyone else was bound to hear what it did, and how you saved everyone. Have you been thinking that all along?” Arianna didn’t meet his eyes but just nodded.

“
Why? Do you think I’m such a freak like everyone else? I hear them talk,” she added, finally looking up at him. “Everyone, everywhere we go. They all wonder the same thing. How is it possible? She’s a freak. How can anyone really be two night humans at once? It isn’t natural.” Arianna looked back down and started to pick at the lace edging to the shirt she was wearing. Molina must have gone to great lengths to find such a frilly pajama and she mentally made a note that revenge was needed. Molina was one of the very few Arianna had met that truly treated her like a human, not a monster. Even amongst her own kind, the stares could be sometimes unbearable.