“Wait. First off, of course, I want to know it’s your birthday. We could have celebrated or something! And I would have bought you gifts. Geez, Dorian, now I feel like an ass.” I roll over to my side so I can gauge his reaction. “And what do you mean by mark me?”
“I can mark you, Gabriella. Much like the mark I wear but of course I would never bestow that curse on you.” Dorian lets his fingers dance in the loose curls cascading over my shoulder and down to my breast. “Our kind has the ability to mark others as a sign of deep devotion and commitment. And love. Just something to show that you are mine. Forever.”
“Geez, sounds a lot like getting married.” Dorian’s eyes are suddenly wide with shock and horror and I instantly regret even thinking the words. “Not that I want to get married, of course,” I say hurriedly trying to erase the unease from his expression. “Tell me about this mark. Like, will regular people see it or just people like us?”
“It depends. Do you want everyone to see it?”
I think back to when I was reluctant to show the employees at Cashmere that we were together and the look on his face every time I pulled my hand away in public. It angered him, though part of me feels it hurt him more than anything else. He’s been rejected his entire life by his own father. Centuries of feeling like a disappointment, an outcast. I want to prove to him that this is where he belongs. With me.
“Yes, I do,” I nod, smiling. “I’d like that. You’re not gonna scrawl your name on me or something, right?” Crap. Maybe I should have asked that before I agreed.
“No, not unless you want me to. I can give you anything you want.” Dorian scoots forward, closing the small distance between our bodies. “Once you ascend, it’s very possible that you will be marked. Whether that is the mark of the Dark, or something else entirely, I want to be etched in you first. I want you to see it every day and let it remind you of the immense love I have for you, little girl. Because there will be a time where I may not be around to tell you. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
I slowly nod though I am unable to fathom having to live without Dorian. I know better than to ask further questions, questions that could reveal the truth that we are both trying to conceal in order to save our lives.
“I’ll do it. But only if you do it too.” I want Dorian to be mine just as much as he wants me to be his. I want him to know that my love is with him always, in this life and the next.
Dorian perks into a sly smile. “So what did you have in mind?”
I bite my bottom lip and shift my eyes towards the ceiling as I try to imagine a symbol of our complicated love. Our need for each other, the hunger to constantly be in one another’s presence is so intense, it’s as if there is some unseen magnetic pull that keeps us conjoined. I can’t even describe it; it goes beyond all things natural and logical.
“Anchors.” When Dorian gives me a perplexed raise of his eyebrow, I continue. “I’ve always felt that we were anchored to each other in some uncanny way. No matter how we try to deny it, we can’t fight the impulse. And I know it’s more than some deep-seated, ancient attraction between the Light and the Dark. I need you.” I look down, a bit embarrassed at my earnest admission but it’s the truth. “Plus I think it’s fitting considering the meaning of your name.”
I feel a single cool finger on my chin, pulling my face up. Dorian’s glittering baby blues meld with my hazels and his delicious lips spread into a broad smile. “I love it. And I feel the same way; I need you too. Whenever we’re apart, all I can think about is holding you again. How I would give anything to be in your presence, even if it could very well kill me. We are anchored, little girl. We were made this way, made for each other. This is our destiny.”
I try to stifle the swell of joyous emotion that tightens my throat. I honestly don’t know what I have done to deserve the amazing creature lying beside me. Dorian is my destiny. Even with my impending ascension and the assassin trying to snuff me out, I feel so fortunate because I have him. If it weren’t for my parents’ unshakable love for each other, if it weren’t for Dorian’s defiance of his father, we would not be here now. It was destiny that Dorian was sent to kill me. Destiny that kept me uncertain of who I was and what I was meant for. Everything happens for a reason.
“So little girl, where should we place them?” he asks with a bright smile. Dorian looks so youthful and exuberant.
“Why don’t you choose? I’m only good for one awesome idea a day,” I jibe.