My eyelids snapped shut the moment I heard footsteps on the pavement. He’d followed me. The rain had nearly stopped, and I dared not look up at him. Would seeing my death coming hurt too much, make the pain worse? I didn’t know the answers to questions like that. Never had to think of them before.
I’d lived such a sheltered life before, but now…now I would pay for it. I would pay for everything I’d ever done.
I waited and waited, but no knife ever came. When it grew to be too much, my eyes were measured in opening, and I lifted my head to view the man standing before me.
It wasn’t Bram.
Wearing a dark suit that appeared to be hand-tailored to his stature, an unfamiliar man stood staring down at me, his gaunt face free of any stubble or beard, beside his sideburns. His clothing was a bit out of date, and his brown hair, combed to the side as it was, was also out of style. Still, the out-of-time style suited him and made his appearance entrancingly gorgeous. Sexy in a refined way. His hands were held behind his back, his nose upturned as he studied my hunched figure.
And then, as our eyes locked, I realized with horror in my heart that I did recognize him. The man before me wore the same face as the portrait in the basement.
“Hello, Felice,” he spoke smoothly, confidently, tilting his head as he examined me. “I’ve been waiting a long time for you.”
My mouth fell open, but no words came from me. I couldn’t find my voice even if I wanted to, couldn’t find the inner strength to ask this man just who the heck he was and why this was happening. How he knew my name, how he was here, and yet had never been seen before.
Turned out, I didn’t need to.
His voice flooded my head, “My name is Victor Grimmstead. My dear, you are exactly what I’ve been waiting for.”
Victor Grimmstead?
Another Grimmstead related to Lucien?
It was as I tried to reason, to put it all together, that I found I could not. My mind blanked, and no longer could I hold myself up. With my eyes rolling into the back of my skull, I collapsed. A cold world of unconsciousness slammed into me.
Death would not clamp its jaws on me today, but tomorrow was another story.
If tomorrow ever came.
I hope you enjoyed your first look at Grimmstead! It’s definitely not your typical academy…and I do have plenty more in store for its inhabitants in the next two installments. If you’ve got time, please leave a review. Twenty words and a star rating is all it takes to literally make my day. I’d love to write full time (imagine the books!), and I need your help with that in spreading the word.
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Be on the lookout for book 2, Grimmstead Academy: Submission, coming soon!
Grimmstead Academy: A Villainous Introduction Page 19
