I wouldn’t be so sure about that.
She ran her hands across my chest as I breathed her in. My mouth wandered down her shoulder, and I pulled her closer until I could feel her hipbones digging gently into my skin. It had been so long, and I had missed her so much—the taste of her, the smell of her. I held her face in my hands, kissing her even more deeply, and my heart began to race. I had to stop and catch my breath.
She looked into my eyes, leaning back on my pillow, careful not to touch me.
Is it any better? Are you—am I hurting you?
No. It’s better.
I looked at the wall and counted silently, steadying my heart.
You’re lying.
I slid my arms around her, but she wouldn’t look at me.
We’ll never really be able to be together, Ethan.
We’re together now.
I ran my fingers lightly down her arms, watching goose bumps spring up under my touch.
You’re sixteen, and I’ll be seventeen in two weeks. We have time.
Actually, in Caster years, I’m already seventeen. Count the moons. I’m older than you now.
She smiled a little, and I crushed her in my arms.
Seventeen. Whatever. Maybe by eighteen we’ll figure it out, L.
L.
I sat up in bed, staring at her.
You know, don’t you?
What?
Your real name. Now that you’re Claimed, you know it, right?
She tilted her head to the side, with a half-smile. I grabbed her up into my arms, my face hovering just above hers.
What is it? Don’t you think I should know?
Haven’t you figured it out yet, Ethan? My name is Lena. It’s the name I had when we met. It’s the only name I’ll ever have.
She knew it, but she wasn’t going to tell me. I understood why. Lena was Claiming herself again. Deciding who she was going to be. Binding us back together with the things we had shared. I was relieved, because she would always be Lena to me.
The girl I met in my dreams.
I pulled the cover up over our heads. Though none of my dreams went remotely like this, in a matter of minutes, we were both sound asleep.
6.22
New Blood
For once I wasn’t dreaming. It was Lucille’s hissing that woke me up. I rolled over, Lena curled up next to me. It was still hard to believe she was here and she was safe. It was the thing I had wanted most in the world, and now I had it. How often did that happen? The waning moon outside my bedroom window was so bright, I could see her eyelashes touching her cheek as she slept.
Lucille leaped off the bottom of my bed, and something moved in the shadows.