Page 43 of The Naga

"Oh," Dustin murmured, and I lowered my head, focusing on his orange nails and remembering how much fun I'd had painting them.

"It wasn't your fault. You can't always control your emotions, no matter how hard you try. It's just not possible."

I glanced up at him, and he met my eyes steadily, his blue eyes warm and sincere and entreating. I knew logically that he was right, but I still felt bad for causing trouble for the headmaster. Maybe I should've let him handle my mother after all.

Thinking of her was enough to raise my hackles once more, so I pulled Dustin close again, focusing on him and only him.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Dustin's voice was soft as he asked the question, hesitation lacing each word, and I thought about saying no outright, but then changed my mind. I knew I needed to talk about that shitwith someone, if simply so something like this wouldn't happen again. What if Dustin had been in a tree or something when it happened? What if he'd fallen and hurt himself? I couldn't risk that happening again.

And if I had to talk to someone about it, there was no one I could think of talking to except Dustin. It was strange how much I trusted him after knowing him for such a short time, but I did. Our mate bond was growing stronger every day, and I didn't think there was anyone I could trust more than him. There was no one else I felt safe being vulnerable around either.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Dustin whispered when I didn't reply, his fingers running through my hair as he held me close.

"I want to. Just maybe not right now," I said, and Dustin gave me a squeeze.

"Of course. Whenever you're ready."

Dustin's stomach growled, bringing a welcome relief from the tension around us. Chuckling, I pulled back and glanced down at him. "How about we go get some lunch?"

Meeting my eyes, Dustin smiled brightly, then nodded. Sliding off the bed, he offered me a hand, and I took it, following after him. Today had been a whirlwind of emotions—and it was only the afternoon—but I was confident that as long as I had Dustin, I'd always come out on the other side.

Dustin

Jacinta didn't punish us this time. Instead, they'd left us dishes laden with food and covered in foil right on a table in the dining room, along with a note hoping Khush felt better now, and to come see Jacinta at dinner so they could make sure he was reallyfine. It was sweet, and it reinforced the thought once more in my mind about just how caring the residents of the Sanctuary were.

As we ate, we talked about lighter topics, like the people we'd surprised and shocked this morning with our snake-and-human duo. It'd been fun, walking around the city with a snake around my neck, especially when a few kids had cornered me to ask me a hundred or so questions about Khush.

We talked about everything but the topic we were both studiously avoiding, and I realized that maybe the best way to get Khush to open up would be to do the same myself. Maybe we could both be each other's listening ear. Wasn't that what partnership was all about, after all?

After finishing our meal, we washed the dishes, put them in their right spots, and left the dining room.

"Oh, I found a book in the library today with some info about nagas. Is it all true?"

"Depends on which book it was," Khush said with a little smile. "Most of the books in there were written by humans with no real knowledge of supes and were based almost completely on rumors."

"The one I read was about Indian myths with pages of handwritten notes in between."

"Ah, the handwritten notes are the real deal. They're inserts written by various supes that the headmaster collected. Most of that collection is his, and the rest of us add books whenever we buy some from the human world."

Well, that made sense. This was the headmaster's home too, after all, and I wonder what had prompted him to create this place. Khush had explained to me how this whole place was made from the headmaster's magic, and then they'd added some real things to it like furniture or the material used to build the houses. It was a mix of magic and physical things, but the Sanctuary wouldn't exist without Zephyr Morrigan.

On our way to the cabin, we ran into Silas and Keoni, and Khush spent a few minutes assuring his friends that he was okay now. Promising to talk more at dinner, Khush and I continued on to our cabin.

Once inside, I wrapped my arms around Khush again, just happy to be near him.

Until I saw him lying on the floor, I hadn't realized just how much my feelings for him had grown in the last few weeks.

Khush was such an amazing person. He was sweet, shy, and surprisingly grumpy sometimes. He always kept me on my toes, and did so many little things that made my day. Ever since I'd met him, there hadn't been a day where I hadn't wanted to be closer to him, and I didn't think that would ever change.

The voice in my head that used to warn me that I was rushing things had been blissfully silent since I moved in, and I wondered if even my deepest instincts knew that he was the one for me.

"Dustin?" Khush questioned, his hands holding onto my waist as I clung to him.

Pulling back just enough to meet his eyes, I said the words dancing on the tip of my tongue. "I love you."

Khush blinked, then shook his head, then blinked some more. He seemed to be utterly speechless as his lips moved without voicing anything, and I rose up on my toes and pressed my lips to his, offering him an outlet for whatever he was feeling.

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