Chapter 19


    Chapter 19: Not Letting Them Die


    She hesitated outside of Ana’s ssroom. She had spent all weekend dreading the new subject in


    her science ss. She nced towards the bathroom. She could run and hide and avoid the entire


    subcourse. She took a step in that direction.


    “Lily, please, take your seat. ss will be starting in a minute.”


    t


    She sighed. Busted. She meandered to her seat. She eyed Emile sitting in the chair by Ana’s desk,


    trying to keep ahold of Tara, their 1 year old daughter. She closed her eyes, trying to keep the tears


    from falling. She knew she should have tried to pretend like she was sick, not that it had worked


    before. Ana cleared her throat and everyone fell silent.


    “So, as you all know, today begins our section on males. We are going to learn everything there is


    to know about mates, how they are chosen, what the bond feels like and how to recognize them.”


    She paused. “But first things first, the annual second quarterpetition is about to start.” She


    picked up a stack of papers. “This year, the task will be to choose an influential royal member and


    discuss in three paragraphs why they are important. There will be six winners from our school that


    will be picked.” She passed the papers out. “Papers are to be submitted to me by next week. The


    winners will he announced two weeks from now She paused next to Lily. “It can be any member of


    any royal family from any of the dragon ns, It must include information about their mates, their


    children and what they have done that has been important. Yes, Jimmy?”


    “Do I have to do it?”


    “No. This is fully optional. Now, everyone, let’s start with a pop quiz. Raise your hands if you know


    the answer. Who knows how old you have to be to be able to recognize your mate?” She paused to


    look around. “Nobody?” Her eyesnded on Lily.


    Not


    me, please. Pick somebody el-


    “Lily, do you know?”


    “Most people think it’s 16, but it’s not. I have a friend who found hers at 14 and-” She cleared her


    throat. “14”


    Ana eyed her for a moment. “Good try, but you are wrong. There is no right age to


    to find your mate


    mate. The youngest person ever recorded to feel the mate bond was 7. Next, what does it feel like


    when your mate touches you or you touch them?” She waited for someone to raise their hands,


    before her eyes rested on Lily again. “Lily?”


    She looked at the chalk board behind Ana. “It feels like fireworks going off inside of your body. It


    feels like happiness and it makes you never want to leave their side. Or so I’ve heard.”


    Ana nodded at her. “That is a very good description. So good in fact, it’s almost like you’ve felt it.


    Would you all like to feel what it feels like?” Everyone nodded and Lily’s jaw clenched. Ana walked


    over to Emile. “Everyone, do not fight my mindlink. I will push how it feels through it.”


    Lily felt Ana seek entrance into her mind and she swallowed, debating how much trouble she would


    get into for not allowing it.


    “Lily, we are waiting for you.”


    She sighed and let her in. She reached over to touch Emile and electricity raced through the link.


    Her hand instinctively reached for her ne and the sparks that she got from it, made her eyes


    close as her sparks drowned out Ana’s. Suddenly, the link was snapped shut. Her eyes


    immediately opened when she heard whispers start. She dropped the ne and lowered her


    head. Ana squeezed her shoulder.


    “I want you to stay after ss. I would like to speak to you.”


    Lily nodded. Ana handed out a paper for them to do and Lily wasted no time inpleting it. She


    pulled her sketch pad out and began to draw eyes. She grabbed her lime green pencil and began to


    shade them in, before going over them with the evergreen. Next she picked up the silver and added


    flecks all around the iris. She was so absorbed in making the eyes just right that she missed the


    bell ringing. A shadow fell over her desk and she mmed her book shut.


    “Those eyes were pretty, Lily. Whose were they?,” Ana asked.


    “Nobody,” she mumbled.


    “Come here will you?”


    Chapter 19: Not Letting Them Die


    Lily stuffed everything into her backpack, before going to Ana’s desk. “Yes, Mrs. Ana?”


    “Are you alright? You haven’t really been yourselftely. You always look sick and I can tell you


    haven’t been eating or sleeping. You need to take care of yourself. You can’t go on like this too


    much longer.”


    Her hand tightened around her bookbag, “I’m fine. May I be excused?”


    Ana sat back in her chair. “After I show you something.”


    She pulled her phone out and dialed a number. She pressed a button andid it t on the desk


    between them. Her heart started pounding in her chest. Lukas. She was calling Lukas. It rang twice


    before his face filled the screen. She gasped when she saw how thin his face had be and how


    tired he looked.


    “Ana? Is Lily ok?”


    She almost sank to her knees and had to lean on the desk to stay upright, making sure to stay out


    of view.


    “Yeah, she’s okay. I just wanted to check on you,” Ana answered.


    Lukas twisted the ck leather braided bracelet she had given him before he had rescued them


    from his mother two years ago. She remembered how she had taken the hair out of her brush and


    weaved it into the leather. She couldn’t believe he still wore it.


    “I’m not doing too hot, Ana.” He sighed and she saw a tear fall from his eye. “This is killing me. I


    miss her. I wish I knew what happened, why she turned her back on everything we could have


    had.” His head dropped. “I have to go. Tell her.. Tell my Lily that I will always love her, okay? If she


    will even listen to you.”


    Ana met Lily’s eyes. “I will. Tello I said hi


    “Will do


    Lukas hung up and Lily was left staring at the phone with tears burning the back of her eyes.


    “He hasn’t eaten in 4 months, Lily. He is dying. He doesn’t deep much and when he does, he


    wakes up either screaming or crying. It’s not just you that is hurting.”


    Lily tensed. She didn’t want him to die. She never wanted him to be hurt. She was so confused. Her


    father had told her that he was doing well, but he didn’t look like he was.


    “I–I have to go.”


    She sprinted out of the room and out to the pic tables. She copsed at one, panting hard. She


    buried her face in her hands. This didn’t make sense. Why would his first words be to ask about


    her? Why did he look so sick? If he wasn’t her mate, then why did she still react to him, even after 4


    months? She tucked her hair behind her ear, stroking the spot that she now kept clean shaven. She


    had been so angry when he had ripped her hair out, but after she had calmed down some, she had


    started thinking that maybe she had been wrong. He had never hurt her before, so he must have


    had a reason. Everyone told her that Loatie was her mate, but what little sparks there had been the


    first time she met him had faded into nothing.


    She sat up


    to


    pull out her sketchbook again. She flipped it open to the eyes she had been working on. Even after


    everything that had happened, it was still him. Would it always be him or would what her parents


    called a teenage crush fade? Someone sat next to her and she sighed when she inhaled Gregory’s


    scent. He leaned back on the table.


    “You know, Lily…. If you want to go for thepetition, I can have Aiden arrange for Lukas to be


    there. The two of you need to talk. Something fishy is going on and I understand why you don’t


    want to tell us, but you should tell him. All he has ever done is look out for you. He still is.”


    She looked at him, “What do you mean?”


    He pointed to the sketch book in her hands, “Who do you think buys your art supplies? Who do


    you think puts money in your lunch ount? Who do you think buys your medicine when you’re


    sick? It’s not your father. Everyone knows something is going on, but until you tell us, there is not


    much we can do about it.” He put his arms around her shoulder. “Did I ever tell you about how I felt


    when Anastasia had the three of you in her ws?”


    “No”


    “I could feel Annie’s pain. I could feel every strike against her skin. I could taste every bit of


    dragon’s bane that was forced down her throat. It


    Chapter 19: Not Letting Them Die


    weakened me and left me almost incapable of doing anything. Now, mind you this was after we had


    marked each other.” He paused to let her digest what he was saying, “Lukas also felt everything.


    The three of them are bonded together. Sasha, Kni and Lukas. There is not one thing that can


    hurt Sasha that the other two can’t feel. He was crippled. It wasn’t until you were threatened that he


    was able to push through that and help you guys. Sasha was crippled by Aiden’s death and Kni


    was full of dragon’s bane. He was the one to push everyst ounce of his dragon out to protect you.


    There has only ever been three people to ever willingly give up their dragons. Aiden for Sasha and


    Lukas and Sasha for you. If he wasn’t your mate, do you think he would have done that? We all


    love you very much.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Just think about it, okay?”


    He started walking away when she called out to him. He stopped to turn back to her, waiting for her


    to speak.


    “Did he tell you tell me this?”


    He shook his head. “When he finds out Ana and I interfered it will most likely be our deaths.”


    “Then why tell


    “Because if it was Kni or Emile, we would want someone to help us. We would want them to


    know how much we loved and needed them. We would want someone to love both of us enough to


    save our lives. I can smell death on you, Lily. Everyone can smell death on you. We can smell it on


    Lukas, too. Let us help you guys save each other. Whatever has happened, we can fix it. You two


    can fix it, but you have to let him know you want to. He won’te to you. He cares about what


    you want too much to do that, but I will tell you, the rest of us care too much not to. Go eat, Lily,


    please.”


    She nodded. She picked up her bag and walked into the cafeteria with him by her side. She got in


    line and eyed the nachos hungrily. Her stomach rumbled and she sighed. She got her te and


    stopped at the cashier.


    “Miss V., can I ask you something?”


    “Sure, Lily. What’s up?”


    “Who puts money in my ount?*


    She reached under the register for a thick binder. She flipped through it, before pointing to Lukas’s


    name under hers. She picked up her tray and walked away. She went straight back to Ana’s


    ssroom. She stopped talking to raise an eyebrow at Lily.


    “Can I speak to you in the hallway?” Ana stepped out. “Can I borrow your phone?”


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    “Sure.”


    Ana gave Lily her phone and she walked away. She went into the library and went to the back most


    secluded table. She set her bag up on the table and leaned the phone against it. She pulled up


    Ana’s contacts and pressed video. The phone rang twice, before it was answered. Her mouth went


    dry when the green eyes she had dreamt about for forever, now were staring into hers like they had


    never been apart.


    “Lily,” he whispered, his anguish crushing her heart.


    “Hello, Lukas.”


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