Becoming a Legend by B. Kristin McMichael Page B

left, and we decided it would be a good time to start studying it since everyone else was bound to hear what it did, and how you saved everyone. Have you been thinking that all along?” Arianna didn’t meet his eyes but just nodded.
    “ Why? Do you think I’m such a freak like everyone else? I hear them talk,” she added, finally looking up at him. “Everyone, everywhere we go. They all wonder the same thing. How is it possible? She’s a freak. How can anyone really be two night humans at once? It isn’t natural.” Arianna looked back down and started to pick at the lace edging to the shirt she was wearing. Molina must have gone to great lengths to find such a frilly pajama and she mentally made a note that revenge was needed. Molina was one of the very few Arianna had met that truly treated her like a human, not a monster. Even amongst her own kind, the stares could be sometimes unbearable.
    Devin reached over and gently cupped her face in his hands and raised her head until her eyes met his own.
    “ Arianna Caiohme.” Devin used her middle name like he was scolding her. “I’ll never do, and have never done, anything that would ever physically harm you. I love you and would never let harm come to you.” Devin’s clear blue eyes stared at her, waiting for her to understand his words.
    Arianna ’s heart raced. She had always felt the love Devin had for her when they were alone, but she had never heard him say the words out loud before. The gentleness in how he held her face was so different than when they were outside the bedroom. Arianna just stared at his intense eyes. Devin had always been true to her even when he had a controlled exterior in public. Arianna wanted to reach over and pull him closer so that she could kiss him. As he stared more, his eyes betrayed that he wanted the same thing. Arianna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He was too mesmerizing sometimes.
    “ Then why?” Arianna couldn’t help but ask the question that still nagged at her. The moment was broken.
    Devin ran his hands through his now shortened blond hair and flopped back onto the pillows. He had cut his hair much shorter recently and was a stark contrast to Andrew , who was his exact opposite with longer dark hair. He sighed and this time didn’t look at her as he spoke.
    “ You can’t take this the wrong way, but I’m having them study you for the same reasons everyone stares at you. You’re different. We can’t deny that. But you’re not a monster,” he quickly added. He finally looked up after admitting the truth. “Ari, I’m worried about you. You hold so much more power than anyone has ever had before. I’m afraid what that power is doing to you physically. Night humans that hold more power always have shorter life-spans, and a lot of them tend to go a bit crazy when the power peaks.”
    “ What do you mean?” His words were laced with concern, and now she was beginning to worry.
    Devin reached over and pulled Arianna back down to him. He ran his hands through her hair as he pondered, giving her shivers down her back. Arianna looked at his face, and he was temporarily lost in thought. His face was more beautiful than rugged most of the time. Now, he hadn’t shaved for days and looked a bit different. The slight stubble on his face aged him years. Arianna yearned to rub her hand against it, but refrained as he began to speak again.
    “ Andrew’s older brother, Alex, was one of the most powerful baku Randolph had ever seen. When Alex was a teen, he began to come into his power. As he grew more powerful, it was predicted that he would surpass Gabriel. Your grandfather began to track Alex, fearing what he would unleash if Gabriel couldn’t contain him.” Devin paused and stared at the ceiling as he absent-mindedly continued to stroke Arianna’s head.
    “ Did you know I actually attended kindergarten at Bradley?” Images of Arianna’s elementary school flashed through her mind, the large stone