Onbekend(25)

“That’s easy for you to say. You can’t hear every little whisper about you,” she sulked.

“Eventually they’ll get used to you, and the gossiping should stop,” he replied.

“Why is everyone making such a big deal about me?” she asked. “Gabriel said there’s some legend about a dearg-dul with blue eyes, but he didn’t know the details.”

“Mm hmm,” Devin replied, not elaborating.

Arianna was starting to get mad at his short replies. “Why won’t anyone tell me anything?” she complained.

“They’ve told you quite enough for one day. Too much information at one time can be bad,” he replied calmly. “You need to get some sleep. Tomorrow I’ll answer all of your questions, okay?” Arianna nodded. He was always correct. She already had way too much to think about.

“Can I sit here a little longer until I feel sleepy?” she asked. Devin nodded without looking up from his papers. “Thanks.”

Arianna sat and watched the fire flicker. The flames danced on the walls, captivating her attention, but she couldn’t stop the sounds running through her head of the people talking below. Arianna sighed. She wanted to sleep, but being in such an unfamiliar place made it impossible to ignore all the new noises she heard. There was nothing she could do to block out the sounds. Out of the corner of his eye, Devin watched Arianna as she endlessly watched the fire. She was exhausted from her long day, but she wasn’t showing any signs of falling asleep soon.

“You really need to go to sleep,” he said, as he scooped her into his arms and carried her back to her room.

“But I can’t fall asleep,” she complained, struggling to get out of his grasp. “It’s still too noisy in this house.”

“You have to get used to it. Your sense of hearing has increased now, and it won’t change,” he added.

“But,” she began to complain again.

Devin sat down on the bed beside her. Arianna stared in shock as he began to unbutton his shirt.

“What are you doing?” she asked, moving away from him.

“Come here,” he directed in a serious tone. He patted the bed and patiently waited. She slowly crawled back to him, sitting on the edge of the bed. Devin took her hand and placed it on his bare chest. “There’s something a dearg-dul can hear even better than voices.”

Arianna felt his heart beating beneath her hand. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the sound of the blood rushing through his body. Arianna began to feel the outside world dimming. She could no longer hear the guests at the party, or the maid down the hall. Everything was covered up by the gentle thumping of Devin’s heart. Arianna felt her body being moved, but she didn’t fight it. The urge to sleep was slowly drawing over her. Without the distracting noises around her, she could finally rest.

“Devin,” she asked, as she drifted off to sleep. “Promise me that you will always take care of me.”

“Of course,” he replied as she drifted off





EIGHT




Arianna lifted her head slightly and heard a rush of noises around her. The bird outside chirped loudly, the maids clicked as they walked down the marble hallways, and the clanking of dishes told her it was already daytime. Arianna felt the warmth of her pillow before realizing her pillow had a pulse. She opened her eyes, in the dim light, and to her surprise, she found she was lying on Devin’s bare chest. Swiftly, she sat up and moved away from him to the other side of the bed.

“I knew you were tired, but thirteen hours is a long time to sleep,” he complained, as he placed the paper he was reading on the nightstand.

“What…” she began to ask, but fumbled with her words. Here she was lying in a bed with a half-naked boy with absolutely no memory of the previous night.

Devin smiled. “You don’t remember last night?” he asked, knowing it would be fun to tease her a bit more.

Arianna blushed from head to toe as she tried to look away from Devin. Arianna’s experience with boys was rather limited. While many girls her age were allowed to date, Aunt Lilly and Uncle Dean had told her she would have to wait until she was older. For the most part, Arianna didn’t care, as she was too busy helping with the diner. In reality though, she wanted to hang out with her friends more, and the prospects of dating were quite scary. Every boy she had ever had a crush on was impossible to talk to. When she finally liked a boy, she couldn't make complete sentences when alone with him, even if just in a hallway at school.

Devin cautiously reached for her hand as she obviously, for a reason unknown to him, became frightened by the situation. Arianna moved to stand, but instead felt her legs weaken, and she ended up back on the bed. Without looking up, her face continued to glow red. Devin tried to catch her gaze, but she avoided him.