One year later…
“No, you can't charge me rent!" I protest even as I hand the Monopoly money over to Heath.
I swear he has a mystical power at Monopoly that none of us can even come close to.
"Sorry, Daphne, you know there's no holding back when it comes to games."
"Oh I don't expect you to. Once we get scrabble out, you'll see that I have the advantage." That's a lie, but the three of them all seem resistant to the word game, so it's safe to pretend I can beat them at it.
One day, I may have to prove it. Maybe it's time to start reading the dictionary in preparation or something like that.
"My turn." Bradley reaches across the board and picking up the dice and rolling. The next moment, Heath is demanding more money from him.
Cade shakes his head. "Do you own everything?"
"Old vampire trick," Heath jokes. "We earn a lot of money over a long time and then buy everything." He flashes us a wicked grin.
"That should give us all a decent place to live after we graduate then," Cade throws back.
I try not to laugh, but the muffled snort escapes anyway. "Heath's supplying?"
"It doesn't work like that." He blushes, but I can tell he doesn't mind the attention really. Probably because he knows I won't stand by and let him pay for the entire house we choose to live in. We're all here because we want to get decent jobs at the end.
"Don't you have to move back into the vampire den?" Bradley asks.
"Don't remind me." A dark look crosses Heath's face.
"What did Emma do now?" I ask.
"Nothing new. She's just trying to get the older vampires to step in for her," he says. "It's not going to work. I don't know how they found out, but they're not happy that she tried to get someone expelled."
And there's one of the reasons I didn't need to turn her in myself. The vampires will deal with it themselves and she'll have more problems going forward. Emma most likely won't be trusted by them ever again.
Cade takes his turn, somehow avoiding landing on any of our squares.
"I swear you're all cheating," I say, looking down at my very small pile of fake money in front of me.
"Or you're just not very good at the game," Cade teases.
I smile. "I'm going to go make a pot of tea rather than spend another turn losing money to Heath." I scrape back my chair and head into the kitchen.
"I'll come with you," Bradley says.
He follows me into the kitchen and starts pulling out cookies and some cake bars the guys have stocked in my kitchen.
"Do you remember when we talked about Monopoly?" he asks me.
"Yes. You suggested we should play."
"And you said we weren't ready for it," he reminds me.
"I did, and I was right."
"You were. And now, how do you feel about it?" he prompts.
"We're playing, aren't we?" I fill the kettle and flick on the switch, letting it boil.
"And are we ready?"
"Yes," I answer softly.
"And are you accepting that we're at a stage where things are more serious between us all?"
I nod. "This can go the distance." As if talking about what we're going to do after graduation isn't proof of that.
"I'm glad." He pauses. "I'm going to take these back to your room."
"Okay, I'll bring the tea in a moment."
He disappears, leaving me alone in the kitchen. I take a deep breath and think about all I've gained in a year. Three boyfriends who love me, the start of a good education, a best friend, and the ability to turn into a cat.
I touch the shell necklace I still wear every day. I've not had any repeat symptoms, but that doesn't mean they're not coming. Bradley's made the charm stronger over time, but I don't wear it because of that. He gave it to me that day, and it symbolises more than just a shell to me.
It's the freedom for me to have the future I want. And I'm going to make the most of it, with all three of my boyfriends by my side.
Thank you for reading the Grimalkin Academy: Catacombs series. I hope you enjoyed it. Daphne also appears in her best friend’s series, starting with First Time’s A Charm: http://books2read.com/firsttimesacharm