I didn’t give him chance to answer me as I left, dipping through the crowd once more to the middle of the room for my sister. Laina was standing between three of the men, a tall blonde one holding onto her arms as she sagged with the weight of her vision.
His hands on her skin immediately boiled my blood and I was on them in an instant. I did not trust strangers; especially with Laina.
“Get your fucking hands off her.” I growled, shoving him away as I grabbed hold of Laina’s arms. The man riled at my assault but said nothing except an apology.
“Forgive me your highness, but the Princess was in the throes of a vision, and I thought it best not to let her hit the floor.” He set his face in a hard line and I could have laughed.
His answer was so sarcastic and reminded me of something Dari would say.
“Lainy? What do you see?” I asked my sister. Her eyes rolled back into her head for a moment before she stilled, a minute of total silence ticked by before she jumped up, laughing her head off and swatting me away saying she was fine.
“You sure?” I hovered just encase.
Laina bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement, humming to herself again.
“I'm excellent Kai; I know who my Guard is.” She grinned widely and I was glad she was happy about this forced arrangement. “And he’s a Harpy!” She squealed in excitement, and I almost felt bad for being in a mood.
Whoever she had seen as her Guard had made her incredibly happy so who was I to comment?
“Who is it?” I could barely ask before she laid her hand out, pointing a delicate finger towards the scoundrel who had held her earlier on.
“Theodosian Mori. The fates have named you as my Guard, do you accept my offer, and if so, your position beside me until the God Nakoa deems you done?”
The entire room was silenced with Laina’s words, and I could see the flashes of jealousy on some of the nearby faces. The man she called Theodosian dropped to his knee, brushing an errant strand of blonde hair out of his shocking blue eyes, his face alive with so much pride and glee I could have laughed if not for it being rude to Laina.
How on earth could this man, who didn’t even look thirty, be this happy becoming a personal bitch to my sister? Till the end of his life…
“Your highness nothing in this world would give me greater pleasure!” He almost shouted, “I shall protect you with my life in this realm and in the great beyond. Nothing shall harm you so long as I breathe air into my lungs. I swear that on Nakoa, and Haziel; the God of Fates.”
Laina beamed, holding out her hand and grabbing hold of Theodosian’s arm, locking them in a weird handshake.
“Then so be it. Haziel himself has called you to me, I don’t know why. But I am more than happy to have you by my side.” As Laina spoke a glittering line of silver shot around their conjoined limbs, wrapping itself tighter and tighter until it became a permanent mark on their skin.
They dropped their hands and stared at the new line tattoo that went around their entire wrist, binding them together. For life. The room broke out into cheers and applause and Laina grabbed hold of my hand, whispering in my ear in that annoyingly perfect know it all way she always did.
“Follow the ocean to your fate, you won’t be complete if you try and wait. He is your other half, but not in love. Without him you will fail.”
Her words echoed in my head as I retreated, leaving her to celebrate with the man I would be grilling later. If he thought I would accept him as Laina’s Guard without a thorough questioning then he was as stupid as he was pretty. I didn’t know what the hell Laina’s words meant but I had to decipher them before I left the room today. So I headed back to the bar like I promised I would.
Lucky for me Max the bartender was back, handing me my bottle and a clean glass.
“Your sister is in for a right treat.” He laughed and I cocked my head in question. “Theo is my older brother; he’s the right guy for the job but god he’s annoying about it. I’ve never seen anyone so concerned with being a guard before. ”
Max shuddered and I handed him a shot. Now that I thought about it I was not surprised he was related to Laina’s new slave. Their hair was opposite colours, but their blue eyes were the same. The more attention I paid the more obvious it was that their features resembled each other too closer for them to be anything but family.
“Thanks for the drink Little Dragon.” He smirked, breaking our stare and taking the vodka down in one go again.
I liked his style. He didn’t bother with the fuss of sipping a drink like most people.
“Little Dragon?” I didn’t bother with a glass, drinking out the bottle seemed more my speed today, especially when it got me plenty of stares from the crowd of idiotic wannabe guards.
“It’s what Kaida means in Mordovian. Or Japanese I guess you’d know it as. My foster family come from Mordova, which is basically your version of East Asia, and they taught me a lot of random crap.”
Max smiled fondly. The memories of his happy family almost painful to look at.
“What do you wanna do with your afternoon then, if you are not interested in picking a Guard?” Max asked.
“I want to get drunk and pretend I’m anywhere else.” I replied, ignoring the trembling of my hands. Each drink made it easier to forget there were other people here, but it was not enough.
“Cool, I’m down.” Look at that, I’m making friends…
Dari
I never claimed to be smart, I only ever thought I wasn’t completely devoid of braincells. If you asked Ryder right now, he would disagree, and rudely point out I ‘lacked every single type of common sense known to man’. But I wasn’t fussed with his opinion. Lie. He didn’t mean enough to me for anything he said to have any importance. Another lie.
He hadn’t bothered to message me, or come up to me, since we had hooked up in his classroom. At least that was until after lunch, when he almost broke down my bedroom door to snap at me to get ready. He explained where he was escorting us to he didn’t seem the happiest about it, and I couldn’t figure out why.
I had complained. Which led to us arguing. Which then led to us kissing each other against the bedroom door until Laina had knocked and almost caught us and we fought once more. Ryder had stormed off without a word after that and had been shooting me daggers ever since.
I had to take it a step further as we were in the courtyard before we left, and accidentally started a fight with that stronzo friend of Xavier’s, Drew. He had said something to Kaida, so I hit him. And we had begun to fight. I didn’t particularly mind getting into a scuffle, but he had a Vampire friend with him who had tried to take a bite out of me. The way Ryder had appeared out of nowhere and sparked out the Vampire had been quite amusing even if it hadn’t helped his mood or my ego.
The scrapes on my knees where bleeding profusely, and now my Vampiro was hungry as well as mad. Probably doesn’t help I got blood on his shirt, and he can smell it…
“Everybody out! This bathroom is now closed!” Ryder had kicked open the bathroom door of the fancy bar and quickly dispersed the few stragglers inside with a ferocious snarl.
One look at his pissed off face was enough to make even the hardiest of Guards run for the hills. I doubted there was a soul alive who wouldn’t shirk at the way he was glaring. Except for me that was. No, I stayed right where I was admiring the view of the bathroom. It wasn’t anything like the bar ones back home. It lacked the sticky floor for one.
The walls were a dark brick, the floor a solid wood. There were mirrors and lights in every available space, and a round beauty station in the middle, complete with hair products, skincare things and enough random beauty things you could have started a makeover business.
Ryder grabbed one of the chairs from said table, and hoisted it over to the door, barring anyone from coming inside. Being trapped in this bathroom with a pissed off Vampire should have scared me, but if I was being honest I didn’t give a shit. And not just because of the cocktails I
had secretly shared with Allie at lunch; I knew Ryder wouldn’t do a damn thing to hurt me. Even if he is a bit of a head fuck.
I jumped onto the table and sat against a mirror, twiddling with the edge of my skirt and hoping that the few drops of blood on it would come out in the wash. I had only bought the skirt last week and despised the idea of only being able to wear it once.
“Are you quite done checking yourself out Princess?” Ryder snapped, his green eyes brimming with fury.
“I wasn’t checking myself out stronzo, I was waiting for you to stop being a testa di cazzo.”
I smiled sweetly, hoping he didn’t remember the Italian word for dickhead. Why does he look hotter covered in blood?
“I told you before you need to insult me in a language I understand,” Ryder moaned, striding towards me as he yanked off his bloody shirt, “Now move over, I need to try and get the blood out before it stains and ruins my shit.”
I shuffled my bum over a little, allowing him access to the random cleaning things next to me. I didn’t think a fancy soap would do much, but I hardly ever washed clothes myself so I wouldn’t know.
“Do you know how to stop it from staining? I just bought this skirt, and I don’t want it ruined either…” I watched Ryder scrub away the stains on his collar with ease, and figured he was adult enough to know the answer to my question.
Ryder nodded, and held out a hand for my skirt. He didn’t turn to look at me, and I was by no means shy, but it was still a little weird for me to take my skirt off and stand in nothing but my crop top and lilac thong. There were people outside…
“It won’t take me five minutes to clean and dry it; but feel free to wrap my jacket around your waist if you’re uncomfortable.” He waved a hand towards the bomber jacket he had thrown next to the sink and silently continued his cleaning.
I declined the offer and sat back down on the side, messing around with various sprays and creams until I was bored enough to speak to Ryder and risk his attitude.
“So um thanks for hitting that guy. Kaida was doing a rather good job but it’s nice to know you have my back. I’d have thought you’d let him eat me considering you’ve been rude again for days. ”
“Are you fucking serious Dari?”
Ryder stomped over to me, slamming a chair down in front of my dangling legs, and lifting my feet so they were either side of his lap. He didn’t seem to care I was half-naked, so I pretended not to notice either.
“Why the fuck would I let anyone feed from you when you’re my source?” Ahh so it was a Vampiro thing, not because he cared…
He carried on talking about the Vampire code of ethics, but I wasn’t interested. The gist of it was that it was his job to protect me as I was his meal ticket; I didn’t need to hear that.
“Okay I get it. I’m your dinner so you must beat the shit out of other Vampires for me. Cool. Can we go now? I’m supposed to find a man to cater to my every need for eternity.” I was a little snappy with my reply, but it wasn’t my fault he had made me feel crap again, and I didn’t want to be here which didn’t help.
I wasn’t under the impression me and Ryder were anything more than flirty and a one-off hook-up, but that didn’t make hearing that confirmed any easier to deal with. Plus, I had no desire to have any Guard near me at the moment.
“Have I hurt your feelings?” He asked, irritating me even more.
“Oh yeah because I care what some random guy who fingered me one time thinks of me. Fuck off.” That didn’t even sound believable to me.
I rolled my eyes, breaking our stare and forcing myself to be super interested in the bottle of pineapple scented moisturiser in my hands like it was the best thing in the world .
“Princess, I’m not trying to hurt your feelings. Even if I am just a onetime hook up for you, I still don’t want you thinking I’m a nasty person or anything.” Ryder said.
“Nah, you just mess with me then completely ignore me, then mess with me again. It’s been the same cycle for weeks now, so forgive me for thinking you’re a dick and real damn stupido.”
I had never been in a relationship before. Not a real one. I was used to casual hook-ups and one-night encounters so was well aware of the etiquette involved. But Ryder hadn’t made his position clear yet, and that was what was getting me the most. He said he wanted me to be his…
“I don’t care if you want to fuck me and never speak to me again, as long as you’re honest about it. I just don’t like feeling like someone is using me for their own gain, without me any the wiser.”
I bit my lip, gnawing at the lipstick and trying to figure out how best to handle the situation without completely making a fool of myself. I still had to see Ryder three times a week in his class, I couldn’t handle it if it were awkward. I had faked being sick our last lesson but knew I couldn’t get away with that again.
“I don’t want to fuck you.” Ryder replied, causing a rather evil laugh to escape me.
“Cool then. Glad we talked.”
I moved my legs back, planning on jumping up and running off half naked if that’s what it took to get out of here.
“No wait,” but Ryder had other plans and grabbed hold of me with his Vampire grip, keeping me in my place, “let me finish my fucking sentence!”
“Go on.” This is why you should never be open with people, they get under your skin and hurt your damn feelings.
“I don’t want to fuck you. I want to actually date you, and be all cheesy romantic with you, and not use you as a onetime thing I sleep with and never hear from again.”
I softened my anger a touch, stopping myself from cursing him so harshly with my eyes.
“I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since I met you, you know that, but things are complicated. Not just because I’m going to be your teacher for the few months either. There’s just so much going on already that I couldn’t ever give you what you deserve. Even more now with you expected to pick a Guard.” He sighed and ran a hand through his messy blonde hair. “But I didn’t know how to explain what I wanted without being all vulnerable and shit, which I really don’t do often. But I can’t have you thinking I’m only here to use you.”
Ryder loosened his grip on my legs, gently caressing up my calves and towards my knees.
“I know we barely know each other Dari, and that there are probably a million reasons in the world for why this is a terrible idea, but I want you to like me, and I want you to want me…”
“But really like me? Or do you mean like me one day then hate me the next.”
“I mean really like you. Have you be mine, in every sense of the word. I just don’t know how to do that without being awkward.”
I had no idea if he was lying to me, and just pretending to care to get what he wanted, but I felt like he was telling the truth and that was good enough for now. So I retreated into old habits and used sex instead of words.
“Let’s play a game, and avoid all the awkward shit. Ask me anything and I’ll do the same, each time you can move your hands a little higher and I’ll go lower.” I lifted my palms to his bare chest, gently trailing my fingers along his collarbones and tracing the lines of the geometric lion tattoo over his heart.
Ryder hissed, his fingers tightening against the tanned flesh at the bottom of my thighs.
“Okay Princess; tell me your favourite colour. Mine is brown, like chocolate.” If he’s being serious then that’s cute; it’s my eye colour.
“Mine is pink,” I dropped my hands a couple inches lower, and Ryder followed suit, “when’s your birthday and how old are you?”
“My birthday is October twentieth, and I’ll be twenty-three. And I already know your answer; your birthday is December thirty first and you’ll be nineteen.”
A four-year age gap didn’t bother me, I had always preferred older guys, but the date of his birthday baffled me for a moment until I realised how dumb I had been.
“Wait, it’s your birthday in a week?! Why didn’t you say anythin
g!” Can I stick a bow on my ass and call it a present?
“I dunno, didn’t think it mattered… I don’t usually celebrate much. Cal and Xavier have their birthdays not long afterwards and I guess I couldn’t be bothered for the hassle of an extra party for me too.”
His point made sense, even if it was a little sad. Me and my sisters had never celebrated our birthdays much either.
“I’m going to bring you breakfast in bed! What do you like?”
“Coffee with three sugars and cream, and a plain bagel with salted butter.” He responded instantly, laughing at the grimace on my face.
“That’s way too much sugar babe. But fine, consider your breakfast sorted. But I guess you’ll have to crash in our dorm, as otherwise I won’t be able to bring it to you.”
Ryder had no objections, and I secretly hoped I would be able to get the chance to sneak him into my bedroom, and not just my dorm.
“What are you scared off? I have a fear of spiders and deep water.” Ryder shuddered.
“I hate heights and I’m claustrophobic, and I actually love spiders.” I chuckled. I didn’t think now was the time to mention I had looked into getting a pet spider.
We carried on our questioning, finding out every bit of information we could that was probably not even important, but felt good to know, and slowly moved our way along each other’s bodies until eventually my hands were bracing the edge of his jeans, and his hands were gripping onto my hips.
CONVICTION OF THE DAMNED: SUPERNO ACADEMY BOOK ONE Page 29
