“School?” It came out like a question.
And since she didn’t care about my answer, she shrugged. “Oh.”
I took the stairs two at a time, ignored Martian at the top the same way he ignored me, and closed my bedroom door behind me. Only then, could I breathe.
Only then, could I dream.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A blizzard greeted me when I popped my head out of the front door. The snow blew from the north, slanted as it pelted the earth. The walkway was covered. The snow came up to the trunks on some of the largest trees in the yard. My breath blew out in misty sheets.
I left the door ajar so Martian could come back in and went over to the living room to turn the television on. I found the local news channel and sat on the end of the sofa, thinking there was no way they’d leave school open when I couldn’t even find the road there.
In disappointment, I read that Port Inlet High School wasn’t on the list of closed schools. My shoulders sagged. Never mind that I’d skipped yesterday. That was where most of my disappointment came from. I had my grades to worry about.
I’d barely managed to sleep well the night before. How could I? With the day’s events playing over and over again in my head? There were so many bright spots I could hold my hand out and feel the sun, too. That didn’t normally happen for me. I didn’t have a hard time picking my favorite part out of a day.
“It’s Port Inlet,” a smooth, rich voice said casually. “A little snow won’t keep us down.”
I whirled around on the couch to find Maxell leaning against the front door, eyes even more hazel than any picture of him I’d seen before. His hair was dampened with snow and tiny ice droplets froze on the tips. He wore a long-sleeved black shirt and dark jeans, his black boots covered in snow. The sight of him tightened in my stomach.
I wasn’t sure whether I should smile or swat him. He’d left in such a hurry last night. “Are you okay?” I asked at once.
He nodded. Just a small dip of his chin, acknowledging my question.
We locked eyes for a long moment. It wasn’t uncomfortable. It was… nice. To maintain eye contact with someone for once and know they wanted the same. I wasn’t used to how I felt looking into his eyes. Like I couldn’t breathe at the same time I couldn’t think. It made for a dry mouth and sweaty palms.
“You’ll be happy to know that they’re here to stay,” he said, not breaking eye contact.
“What is?” I managed to shuffle my feet to stand in front of him. The icy wind blew through the open doorway, carrying with it his scent. I took surreptitious breaths, holding him in.
“My eyes. Masters chewed me out last night for risking you and myself like that. But he’s thankful that we found a cure for the side-effect of purple eyes. You’re never going to believe what color his real eyes are.”
I smiled. “What are they?”
“Come and see?” He held out his hand to me. “You need a shot of the elixir anyway. Your lips are tinged blue and your teeth haven’t stopped chattering.”
“Could be the blizzard.”
He rolled his eyes and stepped foot into Granny Londa’s living room. “It isn’t the blizzard.” He looked around. “Nice mixture of tacky chic.”
“Yeah, I especially love that stitched cat poster above the grandfather clock.”
He looked that way, giving it an appreciative glance. “It does have a certain haunting quality to it.” He turned his back on it. “I don’t do cats.”
On command, Martian leapt from the top of the stairs to the bottom, standing in front of me with the hair on his back raised and his teeth bared. He hissed at Maxell.
Maxell simply stared at it. “Is he protecting you from me?”
Martian hissed louder, spreading his claws out in front of me.
“Huh,” I muttered, surprised. “I thought the furball hated me.” I bent down and gently touched behind his ears. “It’s okay, boy. He isn’t like the others. He’s a good witch.” I glanced up at him to find him glaring at me. “What?” I asked innocently.
“I am a lethal killer,” he told Martian. “Fear me.”
Martian looked me in the eye, his response clear. “He’s cute. Can I rub him?” I imagined him saying.
I nodded. “Go ahead.”
With one last disgruntled meow, he walked over to Maxell and weaved between his legs, purring almost immediately.
Maxell looked down at him in disgust, his lips curled over his teeth. “Shoo. I could end your existence faster than you could lick your butt.” In response, Martian reared back and pressed his paws to Maxell’s leg. “I’m not picking you up.” He leaned over and put his face in front of Martian’s. “You’re not cute.”
Martian licked his nose.
Maxell sighed and easily picked him up, cradling him in his arm. “Can we leave now?”
I giggled lightly, petting Martian’s head. “Let me get my backpack.”
“Why? You’re not going to school and we both know it.”
I frowned at him. “I’m going to get behind.”
“Masters will take care of it.”
My frown deepened. “I don’t need favors. I’m smart. I’d like to succeed because of that, and that alone.”
For some reason, he smiled at me. A soft, stupid smile I wasn’t sure I liked all that much. “He’s a much better teacher. He was a genius as a human with an IQ of 193. There isn’t much school can teach you that he can’t. He gives me classes every night. He can give you the same.”
“That’s higher than Albert Einstein.”
He gaped at me. “How do you know that?”
I tapped my temple. “It’s like a fact vault in here.”
“Sure,” he snorted, gently setting Martian down on the couch. His head snapped up and he looked at the ceiling. “Your grandmother is awake. I’ll be out back.” He dashed out of the house, leaving the door open and the chill blowing in.
I walked over and closed it just as Granny Londa came shuffling down the stairs. “Brr! Why’s it so cold? Start a fire, would you?” She went straight for the pot of coffee I made. “Then get out. I’ve got my card buddies coming over and I don’t need you messing with my good luck.”
This is good luck? I thought, dismayed by the mere notion.
I grabbed a few logs from the pile in the garage and stacked them in the fireplace in the living room, using a piece of newspaper from the Port Inlet News Post I lit on the stove to start it. I grabbed my things and ducked out of the back door, glancing back once to find that Granny Londa wasn’t watching. I jogged across the backyard and into the trees.
Maxell was standing on the edge of the forest in the shadows where he’d first spoken to me.
His eyes cut to mine. “She always that bossy?”
I shrugged. “It’s a small price to pay.”
“For what?”
I kicked the toe of my shoe against a thick tree root. “For not being alone.”
His eyes softened around the edges and he gave my chin a soft pinch with his thumb and index finger. “Shall we?” He looped his arm around my waist and tugged me forward, easily hoisting me up into his arms.
I tried to keep my eyes opened as he ran through the forest, but the trees blurred past us and I didn’t want to risk puking again, so I clamped them shut and focused on breathing. When he set me down, we were at his house and he was opening the front door. I was starting to prefer Maxell speed over warp speed.
I was met with the scent of cinnamon and coffee.
I took a deep breath, letting the scent guide me to the source. I wasn’t as surprised that time when I came in and found four dozen cinnamon rolls on the kitchen counter, and three French presses full of coffee. Steam rose languidly into the air. There was even a ceramic dish of extra glaze.
“Where’s Reowna?” I asked, wiping my bottom lip as I grabbed a particularly large gooey cinnamon roll.
“She’s in the mirror,” Masters said, strolling into the room. “Eat up. It’s all for you.
”
I nearly choked on the bite in my mouth when he set down a glass of the elixir in front of me and I looked up at him. His eyes were brilliant, blinding pale blue. They were nearly clear.
He batted his fair lashes, putting his hands in the pockets of his navy pinstripe suit. “Turns out that the UV rays in the sun counteract one of the carbon-containing chemicals in the synthetic blood. It wasn’t pleasant going into the sunlight, but it will make blending in far easier. Isn’t it funny how these things work themselves out?”
“Hilarious,” I agreed dryly, taking a moment to toss back the elixir before washing it down with a bite of cinnamon roll. In seconds, I felt my body temperature stabilize.
“Reign in your excursions today.” He patted Maxell on the back and without another word, he was gone.
“What happens to the rest of this?” I asked, casting my gaze over all the overabundance of food.
“Reowna packs up what you don’t eat and donates it to the food bank.”
“That’s so nice of her. She’s a really good cook.” I poured some more frosting on my roll. “Can you eat?”
He shook his head.
I stilled. “Like not at all?”
“Like not at all.”
“What happens if you do eat?”
“It comes back up.” He held up his hand to stop my impending question. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
My appetite fizzled out. I forced down the rest of my roll. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“So, what would you like to do today?” he asked. “Scale Mount Everest? Fight a bear? See how long it takes to run to New York?”
I shot him a glare. “No, thank you. I have an idea though.”
“I bet it’s boring. Is it boring?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
I fought my impending smile. “I want to study and catch up on my missing assignments. And since it’s your fault I’m behind, I think it’s only fair that you help me.”
“I was right. It is boring.” He blew out an exasperated breath—purely theatrics; I knew he didn’t need to expel air—and he left in a blur, returning an impossible second later with my backpack. “Let’s go. We can work in Masters’ study. After which, the night is up to me.”
When we passed a hallway, there was an ornate mirror in the middle. Standing before it, staring at herself in wonder, was Reowna.
Maxell rolled his eyes at her and tugged me along, shutting us inside Masters’ office. The last time I’d been there, I’d been in excruciating pain and overwhelmed by fear. The purple velvet couch I’d lain on was gone. For which I was glad.
Maxell opened my backpack and spread everything out on the desk. He studied one item in particular, picking up my copy of Dracula. He turned the cover and found his name. He traced his name, his expression hard to read.
He plucked a black pen out of the holder on Masters’ desk and wrote something beneath his name.
I leaned over and looked, finding that he’d written mine under his.
EMMIE TEALSON.
“Guess this isn’t fantasy anymore,” he muttered, tone solemn. “And it’s nothing close to reality.” He sat down at the computer and booted it up. There was a folder in the center of the desktop marked EMMIE-ACADEMICS.
“What is all that?” There were an abundance of files, with my class names and subtitles. Too many more to read them all.
“Masters is a computer whiz. Are the things he does legal? Who knows. He’s a vampire. Good luck arresting him. Anyway, he managed to get all your missing assignments, current, and future. He can’t do much for physical projects, but there’s no reason you should be behind.”
I wasn’t sure if Masters had hacked the school’s system, and I didn’t want to ask. “He’s, uh, a very capable man, isn’t he?”
Maxell’s eyes shone with humor as he printed out a sheet of paper and handed it to me. It was the next chapter test for Dracula. “Let’s start with this.” He plucked it up. “I’ll read, you look out for the answers.” When I didn’t move, he gave me a look. “What’re you waiting for?”
“There’s nowhere for me to sit.”
He grabbed one of my beltloops and tugged me down on his lap. “Problem solved.” He turned to the page I’d last read and began to read.
My head immediately fogged over. For one, his smooth, deep voice was entrancing. He’d read an entire page before he realized I wasn’t listening.
“Are you even paying attention?”
I shook my head. The coolness of his body was welcomed. I was inordinately flushed for reasons I refused to acknowledge. It had nothing to do with how hard and solid he felt beneath me. How one of his arms was wrapped around my waist, toying with the loop on my jeans. Every once in a while, his cool fingers would brush across my flushed skin; I shivered.
“How much did you catch?”
I looked over my shoulder at him. Huge mistake. He was even more distracting up close than he was against me. I shook my head and picked up the pen. “Can you start over, please?” I took an unsteady breath and forced myself to focus.
Somehow, I eventually managed to pay attention. I leaned back against his chest and listened to his voice read eloquently and entrancingly. He sounded so good, I didn’t stop him when he’d read ahead. After English was over, we moved on to math and then physics. I was impressed by how much he knew, how further ahead in his studies than I was in my own. He took to Italian, turning the words that were so difficult to grasp impossible not to listen to; he made me fall in love with the beautiful language.
By the time we were done, I was no longer behind, my brain hurt, and the morning had turned into late afternoon. Outside, the snow continue to fall. The light bleeding into Masters’ study was silver and opaque; I couldn’t even see the trees. I walked over and looked out, pressing my palm to the cool glass.
For a brief moment, I was uncharacteristically thankful for the snow. For the silver, dreary sky. If things were even a little sunnier, Maxell’s reflection wouldn’t be looking back at me.
And something about that deeply bothered me.
His reflection trapped my eyes, holding my gaze hostage. His eyes appeared slightly darker near his pupil, as if the black was spreading. Catching sight of that in his reflection, he looked away. He took a deep inhale and his fist shot out to grip the edge of Masters’ desk. “It smells like food.” His hands cut through it like butter. Wood splintered and he lifted his hand to reveal a large chunk of the desk was in his hand. He stared at it in shocked wonder even though his words belied his strange actions. “Italian. Reowna must be at it again. Can you find the kitchen on your own?” He dashed to the door, looking back at me.
My heart stuttered. His eyes were dark, terrifying holes. I realized his mistake. He’d inhaled the air to identify what Reowna was cooking and forgot I was in the room. Deep hunger radiated from his eyes. He needed blood. And he didn’t want me to know. His reluctance to do so made me feel weird. Logically, my feelings shouldn’t be hurt. But they were.
“You don’t have to hide that part of you from me, Maxell.” I went to him, peering up at his darkened eyes calmly. “I can handle it.”
Shame made his expression bitter. He opened the door and motioned for me to go first. “You shouldn’t have to.”
I didn’t move. “Does it hurt when you’re hungry?” The tendons in his neck were taut. Both of his hands were tight fists. Every nerve ending in his body screamed under the strength it took him to remain in control.
“Emmie, don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t try to understand this!” he exploded, sprinting out of the room.
I didn’t know which way he went, but his fast departure left behind a rush of his scent. I took a deep breath of him, and then I held him in my lungs. I closed my eyes and imagined what it would be like to fight my nature every single second of every single day. I refused to breathe until I started to sway. Only then did I open my eyes and pull in a breath.
I trailed my fingers along the hall, ending up at an opened archway that led to the other side of the living room near a set of stairs. I looked around. I didn’t see anyone. I wasn’t sure if that mattered in a house full of vampires. Curiosity tickled in my toes. I bit my lip and took a step, my nerves bounding around when I got to the second story without interruption. I kept going, ending up at a fork in the hall. The windows at my back went from the floor to the ceiling, and they showed the snow-capped forest.
I took the hall directly in front of me, finding that it opened up into one large art room. Paintings that took my breath away littered the space. Bare canvases, paint-smeared pallets, and smocks took up the rest of the space. The light shone lovingly into the room at the most perfect angle. The painting on the canvas in front of me was a familiar face. Reowna’s portrait was as stunning as it was in real life, except this version of her had eyes the color of gray clouds with a hint of blue spreading through her iris.
Her love for her eyes made me smile. I shook my head and went back out into the hall. The house did smell of Italian food. Basil and olive oil wafted up the stairs, making my stomach growl. I slipped down the second hall. This one spread out and a number of doors were spaced apart. I opened one to find a large bathroom. It was clear the bathroom was unused. There were no towels or soap, not even a shower curtain. I closed it and kept going, picking the door at the end of the hall.
I knew it was Maxell’s room the moment I opened the door. His titanium, chocolate, and cinnamon scent smacked me in the face. I took a deep sniff, equating the moment of lightheadedness I felt to holding my breath earlier. I peeked over my shoulder, determined the coast was clear, and then I stepped inside. His room was enormous. It easily took up most of the west side of the house.
He had a glass desk on the right side of his room, fit with a state-of-the art computer. Textbooks littered his desk. There was no bed. I frowned at his room. Did that mean he didn’t sleep? The notion hadn’t occurred to me yet. But it made sense, I guessed, in that totally senseless way things had been lately. There were clothes all over the floor. Mostly black articles of clothing. Black jeans, hoodies, shoes, and there was even a pair of black boxer briefs on the floor beside what appeared to be an empty hamper.
Court of Frost and Embers (The Pair Bond Chronicles Book 1) Page 12
