Saving Verakko: The Clecanian Series Book 3 by Victoria Aveline (books to read for teens TXT) 📕

“I’m not sure you should go to Mithrandir. I think Tremanta would be a better place for you right now.” This thought had come to him repeatedly last night, but he’d ignored it, knowing it would mean he’d have to be apart from Lily for a short while. But the more he thought about it, the more honorable a decision it appeared to be. “I don’t know how my city will react to humans. They may not even be aware of your existence yet, and the Queen of Tremanta is giving humans certain liberties that my mother may not.” Like the right to choose not to be with me, he thought, wincing as though a knife had sliced into his gut.

Lily’s eyes shot back and forth, digesting the information, before landing back on him. A shy smile lit her face. “But what about you? Will you go to Tremanta with me?”

Verakko could feel his pulse thrumming through his body. “Yes. Eventually. I just need to settle something with my mother first.”

Her eyes brightened. “You would go with me? Does that mean we could date?” Lily’s gaze turned quizzical. “But I thought your mother had to choose a wife for you from your city.” Her shoulders slumped, but then that determined look returned to her eyes. “Do you think it would ever be possible for me to negotiate a contract with your mom? I’d only want to pretend we were trying to get pregnant, obviously, and we could keep extending the contract if that’s allowed, but it could be a way of dating.” Lily looked at him, embarrassment clear in her features. “I know we’ve already been over this… I just thought…after last night, maybe you’d thought of a different solution?” She lifted her brows at him hopefully.

“What if I told you we could be together forever, as mates?” he said hesitantly, tracking every expression that crossed Lily’s face.

Her brows shot up momentarily, then drew together. Her expression turned distant as she thought, muttering “mates” under her breath.

Verakko could heart his heart pumping in his ears as he waited with bated breath for her reply.

“Uh…” She bit her lower lip. “A week ago, I would’ve said you were crazy, but…” She nodded uncertainly, tipping her head from side to side. “Maybe if we could date a while first.”

Fuck. “There’s something I need to tell you, Lily.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “What?”

“I lied before, about what my eyes changing means.” She remained silent, so he reluctantly continued. “When a Clecanian’s eyes change, it means they’ve recognized a potential mate.”

“It doesn’t have to do with your health?” She shook her head in confusion. “Then why did you tell me it did?”

“Well, at the time, I didn’t want to scare you away. You were already so wary of me.”

“Scare me off?” Lily studied him and crossed her arms over her chest, her confused expression becoming more suspicious by the second. “Verakko, tell me whatever it is you’re trying to say. I’m not following. You think I’m your mate? What does that mean? I thought it meant married for life. But we aren’t married, so how could we be mated?”

“When a Clecanian recognizes a potential mate, potentially the one person in the universe meant for them, their eyes will change,” he explained, trying to mentally force her to understand what they were to each other. “Then later on, when they’ve recognized them fully, marks appear on their hands.”

“One person in the universe…?” Lily blinked at him, then her lips parted. “Soul-mate.” She said the words calmly, but her eyes were alight with some unknown emotion. “You think I could be your soulmate because your eyes turned black?”

He let out an exasperated breath. “I felt you were my mate from the first day, but I was so confused, because my eyes hadn’t changed.”

“But you made me think you couldn’t be with me for some reason. If you thought I could possibly be your mate, why wouldn’t you just tell me?”

His muscles tensed at the accusation in her tone, and he began pacing. “At first, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think it mattered. You didn’t like me very much and I didn’t recognize you, so I decided I must’ve been imagining the pull I felt toward you. But then things between us changed.”

Verakko’s gaze darted around wildly. He wanted her to understand the chaos that had been brewing in his mind. His reasons for keeping all this from her had seemed sensible at the time, but now, saying them out loud, he knew what they’d all been. Cowardly excuses. He hadn’t told her because he hadn’t wanted her to know about his engagement and treat him differently. That was the truth of it.

“I thought that maybe if my marks showed up and I knew you were my mate, everything would resolve itself, and my contract would’ve never mattered. But then they didn’t show up, yet my feelings for you only got stronger, and—”

She held up a hand. “Wait, what?” She licked her lips, and her chest started to rise and fall more quickly. She scrunched her lids closed in thought and shook her head. “You…you mean you’re married?” Her eyes flashed open at the last word, and Verakko recoiled at the anger flaring in their depths.

His skin broke out in a rare cold sweat. “No. Not married. Betrothed. But,” he added quickly as her breathing started to become more labored, “that contract will be void as soon as I announce that I’ve recognized you.”

Despite the scorching heat of the desert, ice sluiced down his back as he waited for her reaction.

Lily paced, eyes wide with furious disbelief. “This whole time? You’ve been lying to me this whole time?”

“I never technically lied…” Verakko’s words died in his mouth