by LJ Swallow
“The Devlins are an important family. The others aren’t in the public eye much.”
“Not banished too?” I ask in horror. I’d had a crazy idea that I’d track down the men—one now encouraged by this image. But what if they’re hidden?
“No.”
“Then I can find them,” I whisper to myself.
“Maeve. I’m not sure that’s healthy right now. You're still trying to come to terms with everything.”
“Not now, but one day. I’ve enough to deal with; I can’t search the world for three men. They might not know I exist, either.”
“I think they do.”
I close the book and look at Jamie. “Marie said my mother had four...consorts. There’re only three men here.” Does that answer the question to who my father is? Is he the missing man? "I'd like to know who the fourth is."
Jamie takes the book and taps his fingers on the leather cover. "Please don't be upset with me for saying this, but who your father is isn't important to what's happening."
"What if he has something to teach me?" I retort.
"He isn't a part of the Winterfall line if he's your father." Jamie strokes hair from my face. "I'll do everything I can to find something to help, and we'll all help you develop the magic you have."
I pick up a rune and squeeze the stone in my palm. "But when this is over, will you help me find these men? One of them must be alive; they must be a similar age to my aunt."
Setting the book down, Jamie gently takes my face in both hands and his earnest eyes meet mine. "Yes. I promise."
Jamie’s gentle kisses somehow hold as much passion as Andrei and Ash’s overwhelming ones, but all hold the love I can feel when I’m with them. He almost teases in the way his lips barely touch mine; at first, I thought this was hesitancy, but now I understand he’s relishing the moment.
Strange that this type of kiss can trigger the same shivering through my body and heat in my blood as breath-snatching kisses against the wall.
I also think he knows exactly what his type of kiss does to me.
Jamie shifts his hand to stroke along my neck to collarbone, before planting a kiss in the hollow.
"I sense something, Jamie. What's worrying you?" My stomach sinks. "You doubt we can find any more information, don't you?"
He looks up and cups my cheek. "About the conversation earlier...something stuck in my mind."
"About Vincent? I know, Ash needs to be careful."
"Not that. Has Andrei taken your blood?" he blurts.
I jerk my head back. "No. And if he had, that's not really your concern."
"Wow. Okay, I'm only looking out for you."
"Do you honestly think Andrei would hurt me?" I retort. "If he knew you thought that, Andrei would be bloody pissed off."
Jamie moves away. "You're very defensive."
"Of Andrei? Yes."
"Maeve. I've never doubted that Andrei will taste your blood, but always trusted he'd wait for permission. Sounds like he'll get that soon."
I shift in my seat, uncomfortable with the conversation. This feels the same as if Jamie was prying into my sexual relationship with Andrei.
Which he is.
"Are you jealous?"
His eyes widen. "No. Worried."
"I'm not concerned." I close my hand over Jamie's and squeeze tight. "You need to trust me to make my own decisions. There are bigger dangers out there than Andrei."
Jamie pulls his hand away and stands. "Okay. I will."
His concern comes from love, but also pokes at a worry building. Jamie's latest responses and opinions about vampires, especially hemia, grew recently. Are hemia not the only ones influenced by the presence I hear? What if the issues between Walcott and Petrescu are intensified too?
Chapter Twenty-Four
ASH
Maeve teases me about my pseudo-leader role in our challenge team, but somebody needs to take charge. No way could a Walcott or Petrescu tell each other what to do, and Seamus matches Andrei's lack of enthusiasm. I'm secretly proud how far we've come compared to the other teams, but the actual potion-making isn't going well.
All groups now have the ingredients for the potion, but none have successfully created one yet. We’ve had two attempts, each tested by Professor Turlington with a ‘try again’ response. Katherine is pissed off that Jamie’s team are catching up, convinced that his skills mean they’ll move onto the test part soon. For once, Yvette agrees, and they both hassle us into nightly trials.
The first night Seamus didn't appear and neither did Kimberly. Yvette predictably made a comment about Kimberly's reluctance to be around the hemia, which led to a greater lack of cooperation from Andrei. I watched Sergei carefully for a response, but nothing struck me as suspicious.
The potion exploded at the first attempt, fizzing like mint dropped in Coca Cola before shattering the beaker. Katherine lost her shit and blamed Yvette for adding too much orange oil. Andrei snickered as I reprimanded the girls, and Maeve cleared up.
My authoritarian behaviour led to Yvette and Katherine leaving, so I helped Maeve tidy up, as Seamus left too.
This wasn't the worst part of the evening—I missed Clive and his new gang slipping out, because Seamus wasn't around when I searched for him at Gilgamesh afterwards.
What an awesome night: a failed challenge and a missed opportunity to follow the rogue shifter group.
I understand Maeve's concern about me following the gang, of course, but we can't ignore the situation. I've watched Clive and Remi over the last week for any more changes in appearance or behaviour. Nope. They're still the ugly, arrogant arseholes they always are.
Tonight, I can’t find Seamus before we head up to the potions classroom, and shortly after we both arrive there, my phone sounds with a message from Jamie: Clive and Remi showed and his group are headed to the moors.
I only hope they don't use that as an excuse to shift and wander off, because I bet Seamus went with them.
Kimberly turned up this evening too. She gives a quiet hello to me but barely speaks as we sit in a circle at the classroom table, attempting to figure out the correct measurements for each ingredient.
Ignoring the tension that strangles the group, I speak to Maeve, who makes notes.
"These are the exact amounts we used yesterday." Katherine taps the paper with a long, pink nail. "Did you heat the beaker to the right temperature, Yvette?"
"Yes," she retorts.
"Remember, this is a difficult potion," I say. "We can't expect to create one the first time. Even in potions class, we mess up a few times."
"Some of us do. Not all." Yvette crosses her arms.
The door opens and closes as Sergei wanders in without a word.
"Nice of you to join us," says Katherine tersely.
He shrugs as he sits beside Maeve.
Still no Seamus.
I glance over at Yvette and Kimberly as the mood shifts in the room and Andrei audibly sighs.
"I did some research." I can hardly hear Kimberly's meek voice and her cheeks tinge with pink as we all look at her. "Did you use all the flower last time you tried to make the potion?"
"We used one and tore it up," says Katherine. "Good thing too, since we only have four and we already wasted one."
"Only use the petals." Kimberly's hand trembles as she pulls out her phone.
This girl rarely speaks in the classes I share with her, and I'd expected her to behave as reticently as Andrei, especially under Yvette's overbearing influence.
"Really?" Maeve's face brightens as she checks the screen once Kimberly slides the phone to her. "Where did you find this information?"
"Huh. Jamie is slipping," says Andrei.
"He's busy researching something else, Andrei," protests Maeve. "Remember?"
"Oh. Yeah." Andrei sinks lower in his seat.
"What's he researching?" asks Katherine.
"History assignment," says Maeve, not looking at her.
I puff air into my cheeks
. "Who has the flowers?"
"I do." Katherine produces them from her small handbag in a colour that matches her nails, and the plants are tucked into a small black fabric pouch. "But if we use the same weight in petals, then we'll use all three."
"Doesn't matter if we get things right this time." I slap both hands on the desk. "Right! Let's do this."
Maeve chuckles at me and I pull a face at her.
Like I said, somebody has to take charge.
Kimberly and her phone become front and centre of the group’s attention and the girl's discomfort grows. She remains flushed and perspiration marks appear on her shirt. Did Theodora mix Kimberly with some of the academy's most forthright personalities to push her out of her background comfort zone?
Even Katherine becomes quiet as Kimberly quietly explains the potion.
"How do you know so much?" asks Andrei.
Kimberly avoids looking at him. "My dad. He works for the Confederacy science department."
"Science?" Katherine purses her lips. "Like, human science?"
"No. The effect of magic on humans, especially potions."
Maeve takes a sharp breath and Sergei finally speaks. "He experiments on humans?"
"No. Not really."
"Not really?" asks Andrei and cocks his head.
"He doesn't have them locked in cages like humans do animals," she retorts. "Clinical trials. Works in a human lab too."
"Huh," says Andrei, almost impressed. "Cool. Helps us. Continue, Kimberly."
Maeve splutters. "Ash is the boss, remember."
I smile at Maeve, but hers is hesitant. Kimberly's words shocked her.
Kimberly struggles with measuring sulphur due to her shaking hands, and Yvette takes over. I cross my arms and watch as Katherine picks petals from the flowers and weighs them on the small scales.
Maeve stands beside them, but Andrei now has his phone out and hasn't moved from his seat. I catch Andrei's eye and jerk my head in the direction of the others at the bench. Of course, he bloody ignores me.
Sergei stands behind Maeve as he looks over her shoulder and as I watch, I swear he edges closer. Placing a hand on the bench, he leans down for a closer look at their activity and his bare arm touches Maeve's.
Maeve startles and sidesteps him. I notice the confused glance she throws him, although he isn't looking at her, and she moves closer to Katherine on her left.
"Careful!" she snaps as Maeve knocks the petals from the bowl. "I'm counting these as I weigh them."
"So am I, and you don't have enough." Yvette takes the bowl off Katherine, who snatches it back. "I don't want another evening stuck with the group; we need to do this correctly."
I close my eyes in despair as they squabble over the bowl.
Kimberly focuses on dripping orange oil from a small pipette into the vial containing sulphur at the opposite end of the bench, and Sergei moves away from his position by Maeve to stand behind her instead.
Is he behaving weirdly, or am I influenced by our discussion the other night?
Sergei moves closer, as he did with Maeve, and if I were Kimberly, I'd feel him breathing against my neck.
Yep. Definitely weird.
Why isn't Kimberly responding?
Maeve watches him too, but the others are intent on their potion making. She backs away from the bench and sits beside Andrei, whispering something. Andrei looks up at Sergei and presses his lips together.
"Light the burner, Sergei," says Kimberly in a croaky voice.
Not 'back the hell off'?
"Sure." This gives Sergei the excuse to step beside her, their bodies almost touching. He runs his tongue along his bottom lip, and I swear he sniffs her hair, which she's arranged as a curtain between them.
"Dude. Fire," calls Andrei.
"One flame?" Sergei snorts. "Not exactly frightening."
Yvette looks around at Andrei. "Are you scared of fire? Is that why you won't come to the bench and help?"
"No," he retorts and shoves his chair back to stand.
But I know Andrei is, and if Sergei doesn't care about naked flames, he's unusual for hemia.
"Andrei," says Maeve with a sigh as he crosses to the bench and pointedly stands beside Yvette.
Yvette scrunches her face up and edges away.
Please let the potion work tonight, because I can't stand much more of this bloody ridiculous behaviour. Maeve's expression echoes my thoughts as she shakes her head and sighs.
"Fuck!"
Sergei's yell breaks the moment between Andrei and Yvette, and I straighten. He stares at his blazer and shakes his fingers as if something stuck to them. Did he or Kimberly spill something?
"Omigod!" Katherine shoves Andrei to one side. "Switch the burner off, Kimberly."
Kimberly stares at the lit burner but says nothing.
"She singed my sleeve!" Sergei continues as he holds his arm away from his body. "You could've set fire to me!"
"No, I didn't," she mumbles. "You put your arm too close."
"Do you know how dangerous fire is to vamps?" he growls at her.
"Are you threatening Kimberly?" Yvette crosses and stands between him and the trembling witch.
Oh, shit. "I'm sure this was an accident," I say lightly. "Too many people at the bench."
Sergei glares at me then spins on his heel to stomp away. We all cringe at how loud the door bangs when he walks through.
"Can we stop the dramatics and finish the bloody potion?" Katherine's voice rises. "Yvette. Now."
"Don't tell me what to do!"
Andrei mutters something and moves back to the table Maeve sits at. Palms on the table, he leans down and whispers something. I don't see her expression, but I do see the slow kiss as he holds the back of her head.
They stand and I'm on the verge of telling them to stay, but what's the point? Tonight ended in another disaster.
"Are you coming, Kimberly?" asks Yvette as she heads to the door.
"Guys!" I protest.
"We don't all need to be here."
"I'd like to finish," says Kimberly glancing over her shoulder. "I agree with Katherine. I don't want to spend much more time around some people in this group."
"Ash. You're our leader. You can stay with Katherine and Kimberly." Andrei smirks at me as he winds an arm around Maeve's waist.
Maeve is bailing too? Bloody hell.
I'm left in the potions classroom with a vampire and witch, where I'm forced to stand between them and help.
And pray to whatever god watches over us that we get the potion right before there's a death on our hands.
Chapter Twenty-Five
ANDREI
I sit on the grass behind the Walcott building, legs crossed as I half-focus on my phone and half-listen to what happens around me. The light in Maeve’s window switched off several hours ago and few people now go in and out of the building. I heard that Sofia wants to ward Walcott but was instructed not to add more barriers between the races.
Theodora’s team-building, race-uniting games are hit and miss, but nobody has died yet. I half-laugh to myself because the possibility could be a reality. Bloody stupid challenges.
In past years, I refused to take part since there were enough idiots who loved the fun and games. Despite Theodora encouraging everybody to join in, the challenges weren't compulsory until now.
This year, I could've walked away, but I join in. Not because I want to, but because I hate letting Maeve out of my sight. Jamie tells me to calm down because my vocal disgust at her situation doesn't help Maeve. But I can’t. The others don’t know her in the way I do, because they don’t share the same damage from misfit lives. Maeve's problems have magnified and I'm helpless to do anything but watch and support her when I'm able.
Like watch her when she’s vulnerable.
Yawning, I glance at the sky. I always stay here until the last minute, convinced if anybody attacks, they’ll do so in the middle of the night.
If Tobias knew I’d given myself
the role of Maeve’s bodyguard, he’d be okay with this. If he knew this included loitering outside Walcott on a nightly basis, he’d tell me what I already know.
I’m playing with fire.
But, hey, I’m doing the whole of Walcott a favour. No big bad can walk into that building without me noticing.
Tonight's fun and games in the potions room proves what a joke this "bringing the academy together" exercise is. My patience with Yvette wears thinner every time she opens her mouth, and I agree with Maeve that Yvette wants a bad reaction from me to support her poisonous crusade. Ash told me Maeve almost lost her shit with Yvette the night on the moors, which worries us both, because an out of control Maeve would lead to a situation that won’t end well.
Who knows if Ash, Kimberly, and Katherine finished the potion? I spent the rest of the night with Maeve, although she's still holding out on me and I’m not pushing her. My paranoia is growing that this isn't only because her head is messed up by the Winterfall situation, but that something's is screwed between us.
My mind wanders into worry territory again. My heart aches because I’m scared she doesn’t trust me. I avoid asking in case I hear the answer I don’t want. We’ve come close but stopped, and Maeve left me aching in other ways.
I shift before my thoughts wander onto a happy path; I’m even scared to imagine that in case I veer into a dark place. I'll wait until she's ready to have the conversation we're avoiding, but I don't want to broach the subject first, in case this confirms I'm obsessing about her blood. I rest my head on the cool bricks and clench my jaw in an attempt to push away the constant nagging need to know what her blood tastes like. How can I reassure Maeve if I don't trust myself?
Can I honestly deny the deep-rooted desire for her blood forever?
Forever.
We don’t have forever and that’s another conversation we avoid.
Jamie assures me Maeve is safe in bed at Walcott, but Maeve likes her alone time and sleeps by herself most nights, however hard I try to persuade her to stay with me. I back off when she picks up on my intensity; if she knows I’m freaked out, Maeve would worry.
