Page 3 of Princess Takes Academy
He was nothing like what I’d dreamed of. Beautiful ponies like Esperanza, only all the colors of the rainbow with sweeping wings that carried them effortlessly through the sky.
Not this gray, heavy creature with funny legs. He wouldn’t be able to run very fast, let alone fly.
What would I do if Mama died? If I lost our nest? At least I had our new queen.
This boy had no one.
No one but me.
I stepped closer and dropped down to my knees beside him, but before I could say anything, he growled at me. “Go away. I don’t need your pity.”
“What are you? I mean, what’s your animal?”
“Rhinoceros.”
“Oh.” I tried to think of something nice to say about his beast. “You’ll have a horn one day, right? That’s cool.”
He lifted his head, his eyes flashing in the darkness. “Of course, I’ll have a horn. All male rhinos do. Most are killed for them.”
“Mama calls jaguars, but I don’t want cats. I don’t know what kind of shape I’ll have, but our new queen can shift into a black jaguar with wings. She was so pretty.”
His face tightened but he didn’t look away. “Mama could shift into a rhino too, but she still died.”
Such pain shone in his eyes. I shifted closer and picked up one of his hands in mine. His bloody and torn nails, swollen knuckles, and scraped palms made me think he’d been in a fight. “Who killed her?”
He didn’t pull away and his hand trembled in mine. “A giant crocodile. I’ve never seen one so big before, and it was a strange color. I tried…” He blew out a long, shaking breath. “I couldn’t save her. My beast wouldn’t come when I needed it. She died so I could escape.”
“What color was it?”
“Shiny gold like a coin with red eyes.”
I shivered. “A huge golden bird tried to drag me through a portal to Ra, but Queen Shara pulled me back out. That’s why I wanted Blood that could fly.”
“Even if I could have controlled my beast, I don’t have a horn yet. I’m too young. I couldn’t have saved Mama.”
He was silent several moments. Long enough for me to listen to the bird calls and wonder what time it was at home. What Sarah might make for breakfast. I wanted to go back to the tree and see if I could find Shara’s nest.
“I can’t fly, but when my horn comes in, I’ll stab anything that tries to steal you. Then I’ll trample it into the ground,” he whispered fiercely. His fingers tightened on mine, hard enough it hurt. “I’ll be your Blood. I’ll do what you ask. As long as you let me come back here when I’m strong and hunt down the crocodile that killed my mother.”
“Okay. But I’m coming with you.”
“Deal.”
I looked up at Isis. “How do I make him my Blood?”
She reached out, palm up, and I slipped my hand into hers. “You give him blood and take his in turn. Then he will always be yours, and you will always be his queen.”
One of Her long, painted nails made a small cut on my wrist, so quickly that I didn’t even feel it. My blood welled up and She guided my wrist to the boy.
I’d tasted blood before, but I’d never given anyone mine. I held my breath, unsure what would happen. What it would feel like. He leaned toward my arm and sniffed at my wrist, making a low whuffing sound like his beast. Then he licked the trail of blood and closed his mouth over the small cut.
Goosebumps raced down my arms and my spine tingled. My hair felt like I’d rolled around on the carpet with Papa. If I touched anything, I’d probably blow my finger off.
He lifted his head and blinked slowly, as if he was waking from a dream. “My queen.”
“And now it’s your turn,” Isis said.
He held up his arm and she made a small cut for me.
