by J. N. Colon
I stared after them, my chest slicing open with pain. I blinked back the tears and kept my eyes down, too hurt to even return the hellos coming my way.
I was wrong. This was going to be worse than my very first day at Highland. At least then I had Madison even if she was pretending to be my friend. Now, who the hell did I have?
I walked in arm in arm with Maci Dayton in to the dining hall, a senior vampire who had been here a year below me my junior year. We shared a couple classes and she immediately gravitated to me the moment I walked in. I was sure some of it had to do with the fact that I was the princess, but it was still nice to have someone to talk or—or rather listen to. Her mouth hadn’t stopped moving since the end of our last class before lunch. I was actually grateful. Her mind numbing chatter kept me from thinking about Mac or noticing all the odd stares we were getting because we weren’t even talking to each other.
Marci was a born vampire from the 1800’s that had stopped aging when she accidently turned her friend when she was eighteen. She was about my height and petite, but her frame was a little smaller probably because she didn’t stuff her face like me. Her raven hair was cut in a cute asymmetrical bob just passed her ears. She had big brown eyes and pale pink lips. There was something a little goth about her, a few hints of the macabre. Extra light goth.
The dining hall was as I remembered—ridiculously opulent. Glossy wood paneled walls met even glossier floors that reflected the light from the massive crystal chandelier. Long stations of food that any fine dining restaurant would boast about were stationed across the large room. Shmancy burgundy drapes framed the floor to ceiling windows. Long mahogany tables stretched across the room, filling up with chattering students. A massive fireplace was in the corner and I still thought that fire looked more sinister dancing in the hollow hearth than anything else. I knew the secrets behind Highland Academy, but that didn’t make it any less creepy for me. Things here still went bump in the night.
We got our trays of food and made our way to the table with a mix of vampires and popular humans.
“I told Mark he should totally go out with Ashley because he would totally be her type—type A negative if you know what I mean.” She gave a few dramatic winks and elbowed me.
A halfhearted laugh slipped out my mouth, but Marci didn’t seem to mind or notice.
“So of course I spotted them canoodling at the party last Friday…” Her words were cut off as she pulled me to a stop. “Why is your mate sitting with Sasha Svensson who is practically eye humping him?”
A huge lump rose in my throat when I spotted the two looking extremely close next to each other at the table, whispering. “Oh, well…” I cleared my throat and attempted to blink the sudden tears from my eyes. “He doesn’t remember me.” I hated hearing the sadness in my own voice.
Marci scoffed. “So. He’s still yours. That little lushy tramp doesn’t have the right to touch him.”
I smiled wryly. “I doubt Sasha is a lushy tramp.”
Her brown eyes widened. “Au contraire mon frère. Two weeks ago I saw her straddling Thomas Mayfield and muzzling his neck—if you know what I mean.” She motioned her chin toward a golden blonde Adonis at the end of our table. “And then ten minutes later she was sinking her fangs into Johnny Price.” Johnny was Thomas’s best friend.
I winced. “Maybe she was just thirsty. Or drunk.”
Marci shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Whatevs. All I’m saying is she should not have her eyes on your hunky prize.”
She definitely had a point, but I couldn’t force Mac to do anything especially remember me.
“We can go to another table if want.”
“No.” I could already feel the vampire gazes on me, anticipation thick in the air. “Let’s go. It’s my table too. I actually remember it.” I held my head high and smiled as we sauntered over.
“That a girl.”
We took a seat across from Mac and Sasha. Sasha immediately reddened and back away from Mac, which he was clearly annoyed by.
“Interrupting something?” Marci asked them.
“Nope,” Mac said, leaning back and stretching. “Just getting reacquainted with my old friend here.” He flicked a crooked grin toward Sasha.
Ugh. My appetite suddenly became nonexistent.
“How are you Sasha?” Marci’s tone was filled with double meaning.
“Fine.” Sasha glanced at me. “Hi Rubi. How was your first day back?”
“It would be better if you weren’t trying to sink your fangs into her m…” I stuffed a roll into Marci’s mouth to keep from finishing that statement. I did not want to be the jealous girlfriend—all though technically it was more like wife.
“Fine.”
“Speaking of fine.” Marci’s twin brother Darci—yes Darci and Marci how cute—sat down next to me. His raven hair was cropped short and spiked messily. He was an emo, goth, romantic mess with a smudge of guyliner beneath his eyes that were darker than midnight. He wore a ring on nearly every finger and his tongue was pierced. But being the romantic that he was he never made lewd gestures with it, hinting at certain things that should remain nameless…
HIs body was tall and slender yet carved with lean muscles and I was pretty sure there were some tattoos beneath his uniform. He could probably be the lead singer of a rock band even in his private school uniform.
Darci was hot.
“Princess Rubi, you are a sight for sore eyes. I’ve been dreaming about you for the past year.” He reached in his jacket pocket and drew out a tiny rose that was so dark red it was almost black. “Be still my heart and now you’re here.” Unlike his twin Marci, he still maintained a light English accent that added another layer to his romantic sexiness.
Marci threw her roll at him, hitting him in the head. “You idiot.”
I couldn’t stop the small grin from coming out.
He tapped the petals to my lips before gently placing it in my hand. “I knew I could get you to smile.” Darci shed his jacket, placing on the seat beside him.
I was pretty certain Mac’s jerky behavior was the reason behind Darci’s antics. He couldn’t possible let anyone be treated like a leper by their own mate. Like I said, romantic.
Marci scoffed. “She’s laughing at me throwing a roll at you.”
He shrugged. “I’m still in the equation.”
“Do I know either of you?” Mac asked, his jade eyes flicking between them.
Darci reached over and gave him a fist-bump. “Yes. We used to secretly trade insights on our fav lit. I liked the Victorian London writers while you stayed true to the American frontrunners.”
Skepticism lingered over Mac’s expression as if there was no way possible he would ever read actual literature. That’s what he had everyone believe before I came along.
“Totally glad to hear you’re back and all,” Darci continued without missing a beat. “But I wouldn’t screw around for too long.” He jerked his head toward me. “Lots of us have our eyes on her, just waiting for you to die again.”
Sasha nearly choked on her food as did I.
“Shut up,” I nudged him.
Mac let out a grunt as his eyes followed someone through room. Demy was walking—or more like that stalking thing he does—toward our table, his violet eyes centered on me.
Darci cursed. “Now I’ll have to move.” He picked up my hand and kissed my fingertips, his lips warm and soft. “Such sweet sorrow until tomorrow.” He leaned forward, puckering his lips. “A kiss before I leave so hollow.”
Demy smacked the back of his head. “Stay away from the princess’s lips Darci.”
“Ouch man.” Darci rubbed the back of his head with a pout as he scooted down to make space. “I was only kidding.”
“No he wasn’t.” Marci waved her fingers at Demy dreamily. “Hi Demy.”
He winked. “Marci. Nice to see you again.”
He sat and kissed me quickly on the cheek. “Princess.”
“What are you doing
here?” I asked, pleasantly surprised.
“Yeah Russian, what are you doing here?” A sour note colored Mac’s tone.
“I came to check on Rubi.” He flashed Mac a feral smile. “I can see you are doing a nice job of watching out for her.”
My head reeled back. “I don’t need to be watched out for Demy.”
He ignored me. “Hello Sasha. What a surprise to see you stuck to his side.”
She blushed fiercely and slumped down in her seat.
“Don’t be a dick,” Mac said.
“You’re being the dick,” Demy snarled back.
“Okay.” I thrust my hands up between them. “No fighting. You guys are best friends.”
Mac scoffed. “It looks like Russian’s just your friend.” He said friend with a double meaning.
Demy only grinned widely. “Jealous?”
Guilty, guilty guilty…
My head snapped around at the low whispering in my ear, expecting to see Dana. Nothing was there, but I got the distinct feeling of eyes boring holes into me like lasers. I inwardly groaned. I so did not need this now, not in the middle of the dining hall.
“Why would I be jealous?” Mac asked.
Demy and Darci both let out barking laughs.
But my gaze wasn’t on them. It was on the thick blood oozing from the wall I was facing, some of it was dripping onto students as they passed by.
Trepidation froze my blood and I suddenly stood. “I’ve got to go.” I couldn’t stay here and wait for the bugs or ghosts to come.
Demy shot up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lied. “Just a headache from all the noise. I’m not used to being around such a big crowd.” It sounded plausible.
Demy nodded and linked his arm through mine. “Come on. We’ll go to the library.”
“Okay.” I hoped like hell the library didn’t start bleeding or swarming with bugs.
Chapter 16
I got home a little after five due to a makeup test. Tinkling, girlish giggles coming from the kitchen sent my stomach churning and it was made even worse by the deep, familiar laugh that followed. I turned into the room to find Sasha and Mac sitting at the island together. Close. Her fingers trailed over his arm as they laughed about something.
Mac didn’t even bother acknowledging my presence, but Sasha’s head shifted, her blue eyes widening infinitesimally. I guess she wasn’t expecting me home so soon.
“H-Hello Rubi.” She nervously shifted away from Mac, her pale cheeks tinting pink.
“Sasha, what a surprise,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
She swallowed hard. “Oh, my parents wanted to visit the king and queen and I thought I’d tag along.”
My smile was a grimace. “How nice of you.” My gaze flickered to Mac who was still ignoring me, absentmindedly picking nonexistent lint off his black uniform sweater. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”
“I’m little busy at the moment.” He motioned toward Sasha. “I have a guest.”
I could feel my eyes flecking with silver and I mashed my teeth together to prevent my fangs from tearing through my gums. “Now,” I hissed.
Mac’s brow arched in surprise. This was the first time I actually showed some real anger toward him. “Fine,” he sighed. He shot Sasha a smile. “I’ll be right back.”
She nodded and averted her gaze to the counter.
I led Mac down the hall so she couldn’t hear us before spinning around. “You need to watch out with her. Her parents might have put her up to this.”
He crossed his arm against his chest and leaned on the wall, a smirk curling his lips. “This is about you being jealous, isn’t it?”
I scoffed. “Oh please.” I wasn’t jealous. I was hurt to see him flirting with another girl. I hadn’t experienced anything like that since we’d been together. The closest thing was Laney, but that had been all her. Mac hadn’t reciprocated. Not like he was now. It made my inside churn.
Of course I wasn’t going to let him know that.
“The Svenssons aren’t good people. While you were gone they started coming around, hinting that the Davenport’s rule was in danger of slipping away.”
It was Mac’s turn to scoff. “That’s ridiculous.” He shrugged. “Besides, I’m back now. I’m the future king.”
“I’m serious Mac. That family is up to no good. It’s not a coincidence Sasha transferred to Highland and now she’s at our house, chatting you up.”
He smoothed down a midnight hair that went astray, attempting to go untidy like it was used to. “She said we used to be friends and wanted to catch up. What’s the harm in that?”
My expression turned incredulous. “What, one pretty girl and you turn stupid? Have you even come across any pictures of you and Sasha?”
“I knew you were jealous.”
“I’m not jealous!” I hissed, poking him in his chest. “I’m just telling you to watch your back. And you would be stupid not to be suspicious of everyone around you, but it seems like I’m the only one you don’t like.”
“And Demy.” He bared his teeth. “Don’t forget about your Russian lover.”
I rolled my eyes. “We never…”
“That’s not what Sasha said. She said there were rumors going around that you two were doing the deed behind my back when I was still alive and we were together.”
Anger burned my vision red and I had no doubt my eyes were pure silver. “Rumors Mac. Ask any of our friends and they’ll tell you the same. But of course you’d rather believe a total stranger than your actual mate.”
Hardness crept into his expression, darkening his eyes. “I told you I don’t remember us being mates.”
“Funny you don’t remember being friends with Sasha, but you don’t have a problem believing anything she says.” Without waiting for a response, I spun around and marched away, biting my lip to keep the sob from slipping out.
***
My foot kicked a pile of dead leaves, scattering them across the bulging oak roots. Fog swirled in the distance between twisting tree trunks and the air smelled of crisp autumn. The sharp angles of the school buildings stabbed the gray sky, puncturing the heavens.
I couldn’t believe I was back at Highland Academy—back where it all started. It was funny how so many things had changed since I first set foot in Salem two years ago around this same time. I was human for one and completely ignorant of the entire supernatural world. I was single. And I’d never seen a dead body before—at least not that I could remember.
I also wasn’t the reason dozens of vampires were getting murdered by hunters so easily.
Speaking off… I froze dead in my tracks when I spotted a deformed body crawling through the fog.
Robert drooled as he scuttled toward me, his mutilated legs dragging behind him in the mist.
A lump clogged my throat and my stomach churned remembering our last encounter when he shoved bugs in my mouth. I could still feel their crunchy bodies squishing between my teeth.
“Hello princess.” Dana was suddenly a foot away, glaring at me with her one visible red eye through her stringy raven hair. “Having a wonderful day? I hope so.” Her saccharine voice was laced with malicious intent.
Bronson appeared on my other side, dripping in slime. He held out his hand full of writhing bugs. “Did you already have breakfast?”
With a whimper I sprinted away, unwilling to stand around and be assaulted again. Trees, leaves, and fog whirled by in vampire speed, but I could still feel their dark presence creeping behind me, moving just as fast.
A myriad of whispers clouded my ears while their foul stench choked me. Overlapping words of accusation were thrown at me, stabbing guilt into my chest each time. Tears welled in my eyes, blurring my vision.
I reached the building, yanking the doors opened and running down the dim hallway. They were still behind me, laughing at my panicked attempt of escape. Finally room 23 came into view and I jerked the door opened, hurrying inside.
Several pairs of eyes were on me, staring widely at my disheveled, panting appearance.
“Rubi, are you all right?” Professor Larkin asked, his brows knit in concern.
I threw a glance over my shoulder, seeing nothing. “F-Fine,” I mumbled, heading toward my seat in the back.
Mac and Sasha were sitting next to each other, wearing mirrored expressions of shock. I slumped down in my seat, averting my eyes to the desk, trying to calm my pounding heart and cool the embarrassed flush across my cheeks.
Something touched my hand and I flinched ready to release a scream when I realized Marci was turned around in the desk in front of me, her dark eyes worried. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
I nodded silently, unable to get my mouth to form words.
Thoroughly depressed after my long day of school where several stares followed me in the halls, I trudged into the house. The vampires were the worst. Most of them knew about my freaky psychic ghost medium thing, but they’ve never seen me act like a paranoid, raging lunatic. All day my eyes kept darting around, expecting the three tormenting musketeers to pop out.
I shuffled past the kitchen and shed my blazer. All I wanted to do was hide in my room, preferably with Demy, but I should say hello to Whit and Miranda. Once I found them. The most obvious place to look for Whitmore was in his study. As I got closer familiar voices floated out.
Ugh! I recognized one of them as Anton Svensson. Why was he always here? It was like he and his wife were just waiting for me to screw up.
I tiptoed toward the door, careful to keep my breathing steady and steps light. I didn’t want to tip them off to my presence.
“People are talking Whitmore.” Anton’s arrogant voice graded on my ears.
“About what exactly?” Whitmore asked.
“The princess’s erratic behavior.”
Oh man. My cheeks burned red and dread ripped a hole in my gut. Was that really true or was Anton trying to spread rumors?
“She’s been seen acting quite disturbed at school,” he continued. “She sometimes stares off into the distance or is frightened of something invisible.”
