by Laney Powell
“Whatever it is, it’s strong. And it’s pissed,” Mikhail said. “I think you need to talk to Madame Perpetua.”
“Over a dream?” I scoffed.
“Some dreams are just dreams. Some are more. I think this is something more.”
“Okay, well, thanks,” I said, suddenly wanting him to stop talking about it. The idea that there was something actually directing my nightmares made me break out in a cold sweat.
Which Mikhail noticed. “Hey, are you all right?”
“No,” I said. “Does any of this seem all right to you?”
He shook his head. “Would you like help getting back to sleep?”
“Can you make a dreamless sleep?”
Mikhail smiled. The reality of this totally hot guy—because he was hot, with fair skin, and light brown wavy hair that he ran his hand through—in my room hit me. I shouldn’t be looking at other guys, since I had enough on that plate, but Mikhail made me aware that I had on no bra, and an old Nox’s Knights tee shirt.
“Yes, but you have to trust me.”
“In what way?” I gave him the stink eye.
“You have to let me kiss you. Vampire saliva can help you sleep,” he explained, his face open and earnest.
Which made me laugh out loud. Only in this place would someone tell me about the positive aspects of spit.
“If you don’t want my help,” Mikhail shrugged, putting out his hand to push up off the bed.
Oh, hell. I think I might have offended him. “No, no, I do want your help. And I’m not laughing at you, just… I’ve never heard anyone say that saliva was useful.”
He stopped his sliding off the bed. “It is.”
“Well, bring it on. I can’t deal with this recurring nightmare,” I shuddered at the thought of that roaring, booming voice.
“This isn’t a fix or anything,” Mikhail said, and I heard the warning in his words. “You need to talk to Madame Perpetua if they keep happening.”
“I will,” I said. “I appreciate you stopping to help me,” I added.
He smiled for the first time since he’d turned on the bedside light, and it changed the planes on his face. He didn’t look so forbidding, or intimidating. He looked… beautiful. “I can’t walk by when I hear someone who sounded like you did.”
“What did you hear?” I asked, curious and afraid at the same time.
“You weren’t screaming, but you weren’t talking in a normal tone, either. And I could tell that you were afraid.”
I must have given him a look because he hastened to add, “I can hear better than most, and fear…” Mikhail shrugged. “That’s kind of my thing.”
“What?”
“I’m a predator,” he said simply. “We can smell fear. It’s not just smell, it’s a sense. So, you ready?” He looked directly at me.
I felt a thrill of desire shoot through me, and then tried to calm myself. If Mikhail could sense fear, he could probably sense other things, too. I nodded.
He smiled, and I felt my anxiety lessen. I was happy, happy to be kissing Mikhail. His lips touched mine, and they were firm, and I leaned into him, wanting more. My arms came up and twined around his neck. His hands slid around my waist, and I felt the nip of teeth on my bottom lip. I felt a rush of wetness between my legs, and I scooted closer to him.
When Mikhail pulled away, the sense of loss was huge. Almost overwhelming. I hadn’t felt the same electric shock I’d felt when I’d met Xavier, or Carrick, or Devin—but I didn’t want to be away from him. I wanted him closer to me. To be with me. I leaned closer, stopped by his hand on my cheek. “You should be able to sleep now,” he said quietly.
“But—” I began.
He kissed me quickly, so fast it made me blink. “I’ll come and see you again. I promise,” he said.
My eyes were heavy, to the point that I struggled to keep them open. “But—” I wanted him to stay with me.
“I promise,” Mikhail said again.
I let my eyes close, too tired to keep up the fight. A soft touch on my cheek that I thought might be lips, and then I fell into a dreamless sleep. I didn’t wake until my alarm went off and I had to reach over to find it and stop all the noise.
I woke with a smile. I felt better than I’d felt in a long time. Whatever it was in the vampire saliva was effective. Or maybe it was just Mikhail. I smiled again, and threw off the bedclothes. I was still smiling when I walked out of my room to head to breakfast.
Everything I’d ever thought I knew about all sorts of mythical creatures was so far off from reality, it was unbelievable. Starting with the fact that lots of the mythical creatures were real. But demons being so hot? Reapers using smell to calm people who were dying? Now vampires that were better than a sleeping pill? This whole thing was crazy.
And how could I forget the necromancer? The one who looked like he hated everything, but made my blood sing just by looking at me. I sighed, my step faltering a bit as I walked toward the dining hall. I hadn’t dated much. My dad and the motorcycle club really put the no fly zone around me regularly. But now I’d met four different guys that I wanted to be with, and I didn’t like one more than the other—all four of them were absolutely intoxicating to me. Even Mikhail, whom I’d met less than twenty-four hours ago.
I spotted Bettina sitting with Carla and Nicola, and I found that I wanted to talk to one of them, or all of them, very badly. I wasn’t good at this whole romance thing. Even with one guy, I floundered. How the hell had I stumbled into something with four? Then I wondered if I was being overly full of myself, inflating interactions between me and other people that weren’t really there. Well, Carrick was. For sure. And Mikhail—I thought there was something, but I’d been wrong before. As I sat with my friends, my head was swirling. How had that changed from when I’d walked out of my room this morning?
“How are you?” Carla asked. Her face was pale, and I could tell she’d been crying.
“I’m all right,” I said.
“Are you feeling okay?” Bettina peered at me carefully, and I remembered Mikhail’s words about being able to sense things more.
I nodded. “I am. But I’m still—“
“I know,” Nicola interrupted. “I can’t believe Elizabeth—” she stopped and looked down.
“Did you know her before?”
Carla and Nicola nodded as one.
“Yes,” Nicola said. “Generally, all the families know of each other, even if we don’t hang out with them much.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said. I didn’t know what else to say.
“She was the only girl in her family,” Carla said. “Three older brothers, and then her.”
My heart was heavy. I’d been worrying about my would-be love life, and everyone else was dealing with this.
“No one knows why the classroom was attacked,” Bettina said, carefully cutting her food.
“At least not that anyone is saying,” Carla said darkly. For her, that was uncharacteristic.
“Stop,” Nicola said. “You don’t know that.”
Clearly, I’d missed something. “Know what?” I asked, looking between the three of them.
“The rumor is that the classroom was targeted,” Bettina said, still looking down at her plate.
“But why? Who hates the sirens?”
“Who hates all of us?” Carla asked. Her voice rose slightly. “Why are we even here? The rest of the supernatural world can’t stand us! We have to come here! There’s not choice! If we don’t, we risk everything!” Her hands splayed on the table as she leaned forward. “It could have been anyone, but they’re picking on us, because the whole reason we exist is to kill people!”
“Hey,” Nicola put an arm around Carla. “Hey. I know. We all know. The Concilium sucks. The rest of the world sucks. But we don’t.” She hugged Carla. “And you don’t.”
Carla put her head in her hands. “If I could leave, I would. I’m so sick of it. It’s bad enough being an Underworlder. Now we’re being killed.
Elizabeth was an Origin. She was the sweetest girl. She had a boyfriend. They were going to get married when they got out of school.”
I reached across to put my hand on her arm, but didn’t know what to say. Sometimes, it was better to shut the hell up and just be there.
Breakfast was quiet after that, and as I ate, I looked around. Everyone was subdued. I saw the section of the dining hall where the reapers sat, but I didn’t see Carrick. Xavier was with his demon friends, and amazingly, Sorcha wasn’t all over him. He smiled at me and I felt my insides melt with desire. For hell’s sake. I couldn’t even look at the guy. But I’d been with Carrick, and kissed Mikhail—how was it that Xavier could have the same effect on me he’d had since the moment I’d met him?
A shadow moved between Xavier and I and stopped. I looked up to see Devin glaring down from under his hair. “Are you all right?” he asked in a low voice.
I blinked in surprise. I could feel all three of my friends looking at me. I had no idea if I’d mentioned meeting him. “I… I guess so. I’m alive,” I said, thinking about Elizabeth again.
“I’m sorry about Elizabeth,” Devin said. “She was sweet. How is everyone else?”
“As far as I know,” I said, “we’re all okay.”
“But you’re all right?” Devin asked again, his voice going lower.
I nodded, overcome with the intensity I felt coming from him. Since arriving at Darklight, I’d discovered nothing about my history or my mom. I’d found that I liked four different people, and couldn’t decide which one I liked best. None of this was anything I’d ever experienced before. And I had friends.
Who were staring holes into my back.
“Good,” Devin said. “I’m glad.” He stopped, almost biting off his words, as though he was unwilling to say more. He nodded, and stalked off, hands in his pockets. He gave off the impression of someone completely uneasy with himself, or the situation, or something—but he was just as attractive as he’d been when I met him.
“That guy can’t decide if he likes you or wants to run away,” Nicola said.
“What?” I turned back to my friends.
“When did you meet Devin?” Bettina asked.
“The first night I was here, when Madame Perpetua took me to my room.”
“He’s so dark and dreamy,” Carla sighed, turning to watch Devin as he walked from the dining hall, hands still in his pockets.
“He is indeed,” I agreed.
“How the hell do you come here out of nowhere and meet all the hot ones?” Bettina asked.
I looked over quickly to see if she was angry, or bitter—but she was smiling at me. “I didn’t plan it,” I muttered.
All three of the girls burst out laughing.
“It’s not really a surprise,” Bettina said. “We’ve all known each other for years. Coming to school is just getting to spend more time with people. You’re totally hot, Raven, and you’re new. That’s a rare commodity.”
“Oh, so it’s not my stunning personality?” I asked, feeling way better.
“What personality?” Carla asked, her outburst seemingly forgotten. If laughing at me would help her feel better, I was all for it.
Now all four of us laughed. I looked around once more to see that Carrick had come into the dining hall, smiling as he met my eyes. I smiled back, feeling warm as he gazed at me. As I looked away, I noticed that we were being watched by Xavier. Shit. All of my interests were coming together pretty quickly and I still had no idea what to make of it, of the fact that I liked them all, and that I’d kissed three of them. When I put it that way, this had the potential to be messy. Shit.
Remembering my desire to share all of this, I leaned into the middle of the table. “I met another vampire,” I said.
“Really? Who?” Bettina asked.
Carla and Nicola both leaned in.
“Mikhail…um, I can’t remember his last name,” I said. He’d told me, but between trying to look at my nightmare and helping me sleep and that amazing kiss, I’d forgotten it entirely.
I swear, I didn’t recognize myself since I’d come to Darklight. It had always been about fixing bikes, my gorgeous Bonneville, and riding with the Nox’s Knights. Probably by design, there hadn’t been a lot of attention given to dating. Not my design, but that of my dad and all his buddies. I knew this, I knew they’d scared off all the guys who were interested, and had adjusted my expectations. It would take a guy with a steel backbone to stand up to the overprotective men in my life.
There was no way in hell I planned on telling my father about this, but I had to tell someone.
“He’s interesting,” Bettina said. “I like him. How did you meet him?”
With the heat flaring up my neck and into my face, I told them about the nightmares, and how last night, after meeting Mikhail was the first time I’d gotten a full night of sleep since the classroom had been attacked and Elizabeth died.
Even as upset as we all were, they were upset I waited a week to tell them about the nightmares.
“I’m glad he stopped to make sure you were all right,” Carla said.
“Just how all right were you?” Nicola asked slyly.
All four of us laughed out loud.
“A lot all right. He was able to see into what was giving me nightmares, and he helped me sleep,” I said.
“So he kissed you,” Bettina said, the corners of her lips turning up.
I nodded, the heat rushing back to my face.
“And you liked it more than just a ‘help me sleep’ kiss,” Carla said, smiling.
I’d put up with red faces for the rest of the year if it helped Carla, one of the nicest and most cheerful people I’d ever met, to feel better. “You’ve seen him, right?”
“He’s totally hot,” Nicola said. “So that makes… what? Three?”
“Four,” I said, head down.
“What?” all three of them nearly shouted.
“Who?” Nicola asked.
“You’re holding out on us?” Carla sat back.
“Haven’t you been busy,” Bettina smiled even more than when she’d been teasing me about Mikhail. “Don’t keep us in suspense. Who’s lucky number four?”
“Carrick Shade,” I said.
There was a silence, and then Carla said, “Oh. He’s absolutely delish.”
“Yes, indeed,” Nicola agreed.
I looked up. “How do I choose?” I asked.
“Who do you like the best?” Bettina replied.
“All of them,” I would have wailed if I hadn’t wanted to try and keep this private. “I like every one of them. That’s the problem!”
“Why is that a problem?” Carla asked.
“Well, because you’re only supposed date one guy at a time,” I hissed.
“Why?” Bettina asked.
“Oh, right, there are people who are dating more than one person floating around school?” I asked scathingly.
“No, but that doesn’t mean anything,” Nicola asked. “We’re Underworlders. Sometimes pairings are not traditional.”
First I wasn’t the weird girl. Well, I was to Sorcha, who still called me ‘stray’ in the nastiest was possible. I wanted to slap the snotty right off her, but I’d been restraining myself. Because in the scheme of things, she didn’t matter. But no one else seemed to feel that way. Now it was all right to have more than one boyfriend? I shook my head. Just when I thought I was getting a handle on Darklight, another curve ball came at me.
“You get to choose who you want to be with. If you like them all, let them know. They can decide if they can live with it,” Bettina said.
“And that’s it? It doesn’t matter that we’re not exactly the same?”
All three of them shook their heads.
Carla’s face sobered. “Yes. We have enough to deal with, Raven. You haven’t been here that long, but the reason we all know each other? And we try to make life easier when possible? Because the rest of the supes look at us with serious side eye.”
“I don’t get that,” I said. “You, particularly, are one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”
“What are we?” Nicola asked Bettina. “Dragon bait?”
I gave her the stink eye, knowing she was teasing me about the first day I’d been here when I’d asked about dragons eating other students.
“That doesn’t mean shit outside our homes, or these walls,” Carla continued. “We don’t talk about it, because that makes it real,” her voice held bitterness, “but it’s there, and real as you or me. So we make life easier for ourselves. No one else will, that’s for damn sure.” She pressed her lips together and leaned back. Nicola put her arm around Carla once more.
“Okay, that makes sense on paper. But in real life?” I shook my head.
“Make sure you like them,” Bettina said. “The only people who really get stuck are the dragons, because they have some sort of mate bond. But the rest of us don’t. We can choose. And we’ve all been around and getting together for long enough that we know the kids, if there are kids, will be all right. So if you really like them, tell them. Then it’s up to the guys.”
I leaned back, stunned. “I totally didn’t expect this,” I said.
“Welcome to Darklight,” all three of my friends said.
When we got up to head off to afternoon classes, it felt like everyone left with a lighter heart. I know I did, and I hoped that my friends did as well.
As I walked to class, I nearly stopped in my tracks. We’d been all up in my romantic life, and forgotten all about my nightmares, which I also really wanted some advice on how to address.
Maybe Mikhail’s kiss would help me tonight.
Chapter Eleven
Mikhail’s kiss did not last more than one night. I tossed and turned, hearing the angry voice, at times taunting, and other times, roaring in anger. I remembered what Mikhail said—that it was a demon. What did a demon want with me? Since I had no idea about my siren side, and Sagara hadn’t been able to find anything out about my mother, nor had I heard from Margiana, I didn’t have the first clue as to why a demon would be angry with me, or wanting to make me crazy. Which was what was going to happen if I didn’t figure out how to get rid of the nightmares.
