In Between

Chapter Thirteen: Draven's Tale

Apryl was used to her sister flirting with boys. Bri kissed Soren with a playful giggle, and Cain pretended to be jealous—all in good fun. Apryl wondered if Bri would have still kissed Soren if he'd had a girlfriend—even an almost girlfriend who Draven said he would end up marrying. I wonder what Kieran would do if I kissed him? Apryl thought once she had securely shielded herself from prying minds. Her stomach flipped at the thought and then stewed her guilt.

Whether or not Kieran was currently in love with Jasmine, she had certainly made it clear that Kieran was rightfully hers. And I'm sitting here entertaining my daydreams about kissing him! Apryl thought, angry with herself. It was stupid to think about, not only because someone was already trying to claim him, but because soon she would be leaving his world forever. Apryl was too disappointed to wonder what things could be like if she stayed.

"Do you think you two will be alright tonight? I need to go home to get the rent money and speak with my father," Kieran said from across the table. Apryl did her best not to stare at his lips which were nice ones.

"We'll be fine. We've been living with just the two of us for years," she answered.

"Our real concern are the Warriors should they happen to show up when you two are alone," Draven pointed out.

"I didn't think it was your concern," Mel said bluntly, her dark eyes narrowing.

"Kieran is my friend, too, whether you like it or not. If he wants to help these girls, and he says they're his concern than by default they're mine."

Apryl was stunned by this declaration, and she wasn't alone. She still didn't particularly like Draven, and sometimes she did wonder if she hated him, but this was the first thing he'd ever said that held him even partly responsible for the safety of her and her sister. Even if Mel and the others were glaring at him with anger or astonishment, Apryl discovered that she respected him for it.

"Fine. I suppose you make a valid point," Mel hissed as though she were saying it through a mouthful of acid. Draven leaned back in his chair looking particularly smug about this admission.

"They shouldn't stay here alone. If the Warriors somehow find them and they have to run, someone needs to be there to help," Kieran decided.

Apryl knew that he was right. If she and Bri had to make a quick getaway in the middle of the pitch-black night they'd be stumbling around an unfamiliar world, blind and afraid, and would likely be captured in minutes.

"Cain and I need to go home tonight, because we have to work in the morning at the butcher's shop and mom doesn't even know that we're here," Soren said, smiling apologetically at Bri.

"And I can't stay, because I'm grounded for being out so late last night," Mel added with a growl.

Apryl was looking from one person to the next and ended up meeting Draven's playful eyes as he smirked in her direction. "I've got no place to be. Maybe I'll crash here with you girls." He suggested it softly, but everyone reacted as if he had taken his shirt off and yelled it from the tabletop. The room erupted with exclamations of shock and protest, but Draven never dropped Apryl's gaze.

"Are you joking?" one of the twins asked. Apryl couldn't tell which one was speaking, because she was still looking at Draven and trying to figure him out.

"They want to be protected not violated," Mel muttered, but Apryl and Draven ignored her.

What's your game? she asked him privately.

No game, he told her. His expression never wavered from harmless.

Why would you volunteer to stay? I don't even think you like me or Bri.