Bryce’s hand rests on the small of my back, giving me the strength to step outside our safe haven of a room and make my way to class for the first time since waking up.
Nerves flutter in my stomach. After the number of students in the hallway when I died, the whole academy is going to know I’m not human any longer, and I’m not sure how they’re going to react to that.
“It’ll be all right,” Bryce promises in my ear.
“I hope so,” I respond, leaning into him and wishing for more of the kisses he’d given me before we left the room.
The dormitory hallway is empty, probably because most people are already out and about for the night.
I stride forward, trying not to think about what’s going to happen to me once I’m around others. This isn’t the time to worry about that. If I do, then I’m never going to manage to get to class again, and I’ll be stuck as an odd ex-human reject.
The moment I’m in the corridors which lead to the classrooms, the noise hits me. The place is filled with various students chatting and going about their days. I take a deep breath. I can do this.
As I approach, people begin to fall silent. Some people glare at me, others mutter curses under their breaths. I think they forget I can hear them now, whereas I couldn’t when I was human.
“She doesn’t look like a hunter,” someone whispers to their friend.
I clench my hand into a ball and try to keep myself calm. There was a time when I’d prove myself by slamming them against a wall and threatening them, but I know that’s not the best way to gain anyone’s respect here. My fellow classmates need to see me as someone who isn’t a threat.
“You’re okay,” Bryce whispers.
I nod. I’ve spent my whole life pretending not to be a threat when I really am. I can manage that again. Of course the bonus this time is that I’m not planning on using that fact to kill anyone.
I push past a group of girls who are giggling and making signs with their fingers. I think they’re trying to imitate stakes, but I’m not so sure because they’re doing a terrible job of it. Thankfully, that makes it easy to ignore.
A door slams down the corridor, and the scene in front of me begins to grow hazy. Am I hungry? Do I need to give my body more food?
Oh, wait. That’s not what this is at all. Somehow, I’d thought visions were a thing of my past now I’m a vampire, but it seems I’ve retained the ability.
Great.
Everything blurs together, and I’m standing outside in the rain. Why does this seem familiar? I’ve never been here before. I don’t think, and yet I feel like I’ve…
My dream! I saw this while I was turning, this is what I woke up wanting to tell Bryce about. He needs to know that Ravi is going to escape.
As if on cue, a door slams in my vision, and a man walks out of it. I didn’t see his face during the dream version of this vision, but I definitely do now.
A beam of light falls over him, illuminating the thin plains of his face. He’s thinner than I’ve ever seen him, knowing Ravi, he probably refused to eat anything made by vampires until he absolutely had to. I sigh, though no sound comes from me. My body isn’t really here. I’m not sure if it’s reassuring that I’m not going to be there on the day he escapes or not. It’s not like we can do anything about the escape itself. That’s going to happen whether I like it or not. But perhaps with warning, there can be people from the den there to pick him up once he’s free.
A shaft of sunlight drifts through the rain clouds putting paid to that idea. At least I now know I’m definitely not going to be there. Sunlight isn’t something I’m going to be seeing a lot of in the future.
Ravi runs towards me, and I flinch in my mind. I hate that he still has this effect on me, even if I know he will until the day one of us dies. Even then, he’ll probably find a way to haunt my afterlife.
He checks over his shoulder, then rushes off into the distance.
My vision ends abruptly, and I’m slammed back into my body. I look around, but no one seems to have noticed I’ve been gone. Probably because they’re too busy making fun of me and trying to work out more about my past, rather than paying attention to what I’m doing.
I glance over my shoulder for Bryce, but he’s not there. I spot him a couple of feet away, being held up by someone trying to hold a conversation with him. He’s having none of it, but the boy keeps him occupied all the same.
That’s it. I’m having none of it. There’s no reason for them to keep Bryce away from me like that. I storm through the crowd, ignoring all of the people who don’t care about me anyway, and find my way in front of my vampire protector.
“I need to talk to you,” I say firmly.
Relief flits across his face. He’s glad to be rid of all the people too. One of the many reasons to like him despite our first impressions of one another.
“I’m sorry, Charles, I have to go,” he says to the boy, then pushes past and takes my arm. “There’s an empty classroom around the corner,” he whispers under his breath. It’s so quiet, I doubt anyone but me can hear, even with the advantages vampirism brings.
“What happened there?” I ask the moment we’re inside and the two of us are certain no one else is around.
He shrugs. “I’m guessing they’re trying to get you to react to them. “
“How annoying.”
“I don’t know how you’re managing not to, I’m finding it difficult enough,” he admits.
A dry chuckle escapes me. “I’ve had practise keeping myself calm and pretending like I’m unaffected by people. I’m only applying the same logic here.”
“It’s impressive.”
“It’s only a bit of restraint,” I counter. “Anyone can master it.”
“Somehow, I think the things you learned at the guild are more useful than the things you learn here,” he jokes.
Darkness washes through me. “No, they’re not.”
“Lily, I’m sorry, I didn’t think…”
“It’s fine,” I dismiss. “I know what I am. Everyone knows what I am. I’m a trained killer, an assassin, a murderer. I can kill someone in over a dozen different ways, and most of them don’t even see it coming because they’re too focused on the pretty girl with blonde hair and a pretty dress on.”
“Lily…”
“I said it’s fine,” I snap. “We, as a species, have bigger problems. Ravi is going to escape. I saw it just now in a vision, and I think I saw it in a dream while I was turning. He’s going to get out of the den house, and I’ll give you three guesses what he’s going to do after that.”
“Recruit people for his vendetta?” Bryce leans against the whiteboard at the front of class.
Unsure what else to do with myself, I hop up onto the teacher’s desk and swing my legs back and forth. “Something like that. I suspect he’ll go after his previous associates first. I’m not sure what he’ll do to them if they say no, but I don’t imagine it’ll do any good.”
“Who are his known associates?” he asks.
I shake my head. “None of their names will mean anything to you.”
“Except yours.”
“Except mine,” I confirm. “He’ll almost certainly come after me. I know more about him than any other member of the guild did. And more importantly, I helped him. He’ll want to recruit me. At least until…” I trail off, not able to make myself say it.
“Until he realises you’re a vampire. What will he do then?”
I laugh bitterly. “Then, there’ll be hell to pay. He won’t let me get off lightly.” Other memories of when I was turning enter my mind. I shudder at the thoughts of Ravi, and what he’ll do to Bryce in order to punish me. I don’t venture any of my theories aloud. There’s no need to worry him like that, even if he is technically still my bodyguard and that’s his job.
“We won’t let him escape…”
“That isn’t an option,” I counter. “I’ve seen it, Bryce. It’s going to happen, no matter what any of us do about it. The only thing we can change is how we respond to it.”
“Then it’s a good job Ashryn and Dimitri are on their way here today,” he muses.
“Yes.” It’s a very good job they’re on their way. They’re the only people with any real power to do anything. Until this moment, I never considered how limiting not being able to go out in the sun can be. But hopefully, with the more important people in the den being involved, they can talk to some of the supernaturals who can. The witches who helped to fortify my room here at Grimalkin. I’m sure they’ll help us with this problem too.
This is bad news for all supernaturals. If vampire hunters are left to roam the world, then what’s to say people don’t start hunting witches again. Or shifters. They’re both a lot less hidden and secretive than vampires, they’ll be easy to find.
Bryce pushes away from the board and makes his way over to me. He reaches out a hand, and I take it, letting him pull me to my feet, and then into a hug.
He kisses the top of my head, and I close my eyes, relaxing against his chest and feeling a little better about the prospect of the future.
“It’s going to be all right,” he promises. “We’ll make certain that it is.”
I nod. “I hope so.” But I fear not. He doesn’t need to be infected by my lack of faith, though. One of us has to be strong, and he’s the better choice for that.