Fae Blood

by Jayme Morse

  Chapter 23

  Riley

  I had a new plan. I was going to find a way to get rid of the vampire part of me. It was the best way to avoid going into a coffin for a year.

  “Professor Ryan?” I asked as I raised my hand.

  He pushed his glasses up his nose and looked down at his seating chart. “Yes, Riley?”

  “If a vampire wanted to become human again, is it possible?” I asked.

  His gaze on me turned to a scowl. “What makes you ask that?”

  Every pair of eyes in the room turned to look at me. A group closer to the front of the room whispered amongst themselves as they gave me amused looks.

  I felt anxious under all thirty or so pairs of eyes in the room.

  “I, um, wanted to know—” I began, but Julius’s urgent voice flooded my thoughts.

  “Don’t you dare tell him the truth,” he said, his voice harsh.

  “Wanted to know…?” Professor Ryan prodded.

  Deciding to listen to Julius, I chose my words carefully.

  It was hard to think of a good response on the spot.

  “I wanted to know if vampires one day get so old that they become human again and die.”

  I was officially that girl. The ditzy girl that interrupted the whole classroom to ask dumb questions.

  “I prefer to have this class think you’re dumb than to know that you’d want to become human again if you could,” Julius replied simply.

  But, instead of making me feel dumb, Professor Ryan’s face lit up.

  “That is an intriguing thought. I’m aware that you missed the beginning of the school year, which was when we talked about the ways a vampire can die, so I’ll just give a quick little refresher.”

  He walked to the front of the room and began to write on the whiteboard.

  “There are three ways to kill a vampire. What do you think is the first?”

  I waited for someone else to answer. I wasn’t sure he was talking to me at first until he glanced over his shoulder at me.

  “It’s one of the most well-known ways a vampire can be killed. I’m sure you’ve seen it in movies back in the human world. Hollywood loves it,” he said.

  “A wooden stake?” I asked.

  “There you go. Wooden stakes are often in vampire movies. In real life, however, the stake doesn’t have to be wooden. It can be made from any material, so long as it’s sharp. You could even use a really sharp icicle. Aside from that, there are two other ways to kill a vampire.”

  He turned back to the board and wrote a numbered list.

  When he moved out of the way, I read his list.

  1. Stakes to the heart.

  2. Vampire venom.

  3. Fire.

  My eyes widened. Vampire venom could kill me?

  “You look confused, Miss Emerson,” Professor Ryan said, studying my face.

  “I didn’t know vampire venom could kill someone,” I replied, swallowing hard. I wasn’t about to tell him that I’d had it used on me before.

  “It’s a very particular science, vampire venom. Using too little will prove to be ineffective, but using too much can cause paralysis—sometimes permanently—or a slow or sudden death,” he explained. “It’s a good murder weapon.”

  Had my professor really just told me how to murder another vampire? I didn’t ever want to have to murder someone—vampire or otherwise—but I appreciated the knowledge. Just in case.

  “Now that we have covered all the ways in which a vampire can die, let’s talk about the vampire aging process.” His eyes met mine from across the room. “The answer is simple: Vampires don’t age. If you were born a vampire, your body usually stops aging around the age of twenty-one. For those who were bitten, their aging process stops the day they were turned. They will become stuck at that age for the rest of their lives.” He paused. “Now, let’s get back to your original question. Can a vampire go back to being a human again if they wanted to be? The answer is simple: yes. A vampire can become a human again, but it isn’t easy. The process is quite difficult, in fact, and potentially deadly. I am also not allowed to talk about it here. It’s forbidden to talk about it on school grounds. Telling you how to become a human again could get me fired. That being said, let’s think about all of the advantages being a vampire has to offer over being a human. Vampires are far superior to humans. In addition to not growing old the way humans do, vampires are also far more powerful. So, while the answer is that you very well could become a human again, if that was truly what you wanted, I really don’t know why you would want to.”

  As the class moved on to other topics, Julius’s voice filled my thoughts again.

  “I shouldn’t have to explain to you that vampires are expected to want to be vampires,” he said with attitude.

  “Well, it’s not like I could have asked you or the other guys any of the questions I need answers to. Because, so far, every time I ask you guys a question, someone makes me fall asleep,” I shot back. “You’ve all left me no choice but to go to other people.”

  “I get that you hate being a vampire. This decision was forced upon you. I get it. But think about something. If we hadn’t turned you into a vampire, the alternative would have been death. Would you have rather been dead?” Julius asked me.

  I didn’t answer him.

  Mostly because I wasn’t sure which was really worse: being a vampire or death.

  Chapter 24

  Riley

  When I got back to my dorm room later that day, I was surprised to find that there was a gown on my coffin. It looked like a prom gown; it was sweetheart-cut with silver sparkly sequins on the bodice. The light pink fabric cinched at the waist before flailing out into a ball gown.

  It looked like something out of a dream… or a Cinderella movie. It was, by far, the most beautiful gown I had ever seen in my life.

  There was a matching masquerade mask, with silvery and pale pink sequins.

  I wondered who had put it here. As far as I knew, Drew and my coven were the only ones who had access to my room. I doubted that it had been Drew, but I wouldn’t have put it past my coven.

  As I got closer to the dress, I noticed the gold-embossed invitation that was resting on the coffin next to it.

  Riley Emerson

  My name was scrawled in a fancy font on the front of the envelope. It looked like an invitation, I thought, as I tore the envelope open.

  Riley,

  Welcome to Nightshade Vampire Academy. Our fraternity would like to extend an invitation to our next meeting, which will be held in the Nightshade Vampire Academy ballroom.

  There is no obligation to join our fraternity. This is simply a meet and greet. We hope to see you there.

  The Nightshades

  There was information about the time and day attached.

  I swallowed hard. They had given me this incredibly fancy—and no doubt, expensive—dress to wear to their “meeting.” Yet, they claimed there was no obligation to join? They’d already forked out hundreds of dollars on me.

  There was also the fact that my coven was a part of the Nightshades. I already felt an obligation to join. A part of me feared that if I actually went to this meet and greet, I would walk away a Nightshade.

  Then again, would that be such a bad thing? Aside from the whole spending a year in a coffin thing, I figured that the Nightshade wasn’t that bad if my coven were all a part of it. And if I absolutely had to be a vampire, then I might as well have been able to use the magic this ring could give me.

  But I was a faerie. I had magical powers of my own, even if I didn’t know how to use them yet. I didn’t need the magic from this ring.

  I glanced back down at the invitation, wondering how the Nightshades had even managed to get inside my dorm room.

  There was time to decide if I wanted to go to this meeting or not.

  *

  The weeks passed by slowly. I focused on my classes, mostly. Before I knew it, the Nightshades’ Meet and Greet had arriv
ed.

  I stood in front of the mirror, staring at myself in the dress.

  “You look freakin’ hot,” Drew said with a grin. “Seriously. Whoever picked out this dress for you should be your personal shopper. This dress was made for you.”

  “It really was,” Jordan agreed with a nod. “You look awesome.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled at them both. “I’ll be back later. Wish me luck.”

  “I’m so jeally. Why don’t we ever get invited to parties?” I heard Drew saying as I left our dorm room.

  Closing the door behind me, a nervous knot tightened in my stomach. I had a weird feeling about this whole thing.

  When I arrived at the ballroom, I found that there were already about twenty people in the room. All of their eyes fell on me as I entered.

  I spotted them then: my coven, at one corner of the room.

  I walked over to them.

  “You look beautiful,” Slade’s voice filled my mind.

  “Absolutely gorgeous.” Noah’s blue eyes found mine as he spoke to me.

  “You’re so pretty,” Julius added.

  “Stunning,” Tristan said.

  I knew that my cheeks were probably beet red. “Thank you all. You all look good, too.” Each of them was donning a suit and tie. I had never seen them so dressed up before, but they looked absolutely gorgeous. I wasn’t even sure who I found to be the most attractive. They were all attractive.

  As I glanced around the room, I noticed that everyone was wearing their magical rings. Everyone except for me. I normally wore it everywhere I went, but I had completely forgotten to put mine back on after I’d taken a shower.

  A few moments later, a guy, who towered above everyone else in the room, moved to stand in front of a microphone. “Thank you all for coming tonight, my precious fraternity brothers and sisters. The reason we have gathered here today is because we have a new potential recruit. I would just like to take a moment to welcome the star of our evening… Riley Emmerson.” He pointed at me, and everyone in the room began to clap.

  Another blush rose to my cheeks, and that knot in my stomach tightened hard. I was a little confused, to say the least. I had thought this Meet and Greet was to welcome all new potential recruits. As in multiple recruits. I hadn’t been expecting to be the only one. But apparently, I was.

  Yet, there was no obligation for me to join? Mmmkay.

  “Riley, my name is Drake Covington,” the guy said into the microphone. “I am the leader of the Nightshades. The reason I arranged this Meet and Greet tonight was so you could have the chance to mingle with everyone, and so we could give you all the details you want to know about joining the Nightshades. Is there anything you would like to know about joining our fraternity?”

  I swallowed hard. No pressure. No pressure at all. “Uh, what do I have to do to join?”

  “That’s a wonderful question. In order to join our fraternity, one must first go through our initiation.” His eyes met mine. “I don’t want our initiation to scare you. I know it’s not the easiest initiation, but we can’t make our initiation too easy or everyone will join. The reason we have chosen such a hard task is because we want to weed out those who won’t be committed to our fraternity. We want to ensure that only the most dedicated, most loyal vampires will join.”

  “So, what do I have to do?” I asked with wide eyes. The fact that he—a vampire—had called this initiation “hard” made me feel sort of nervous.

  “Let’s not get to that detail just yet. First, let’s talk about your willingness to join. Since your coven are members of our fraternity, then joining is something you want. Correct?” Drake asked.

  “Well…” I trailed off. The truth was that I did sort of want to join, simply because my coven was a part of the Nightshades. But there was also a part of me that wasn’t entirely sold on the idea of joining, too. I was so busy adapting to my new life as a vampire. Throwing a vampire fraternity into the mix didn’t feel like the wisest thing right now.

  “You do want to join, Riley.” Drake’s eyes flashed as they met mine.

  I realized then that he was trying to compel me. If only he knew that it wouldn’t work on me, considering the whole Fae Thing.

  “Whatever you do, don’t tell him you’re part Fae,” Noah’s voice filled my mind.

  I swallowed hard. I wasn’t sure why that had to be kept a secret, but I wasn’t about to go against his advice.

  “I’m not sure if I want to join,” I said firmly.

  Drake’s eyes filled with what looked like anger. “Of course you want to join. You can’t not join our fraternity when your coven is a part of it. You have to join.”

  “I thought there was no obligation to join,” I commented, referring to the invitation.

  I could feel everyone’s eyes on me throughout the room. Whispering began from the other side of the room. No one liked how I was reacting. That much was clear. They all wanted me to join.

  Well, newsflash. I wasn’t a sheep. I wasn’t about to join just because someone was telling me to.

  “There is no obligation to join, but we’ve never had to deal with this. Everyone who has ever come to one of our Meet and Greets has wanted to join. You should just want to.” He took a few steps closer to me. “You do realize that we are the most powerful fraternity this school—and the paranormal world—has to offer, don’t you?”

  “I actually did not know that,” I replied quietly.

  “Well, now you do.” He stared at me for a long moment. “If you felt any sense of loyalty to your coven, you would just join.”

  I swallowed hard. The last thing I wanted was to be disloyal to my coven, but I wasn’t sure if they felt the same way as Drake about this.

  “I do,” Slade’s voice filled my mind. “But I won’t be mad at you if you don’t join. I know it’s a lot.”

  I swallowed hard and then glanced over at Drake again. “What would my initiation consist of?”

  Drake’s dark eyes met mine. “You would have to kill a human.”

  “Kill a human?” I repeated.

  The idea made me feel completely sick to my stomach. How could I just kill an innocent, unsuspecting human just to become a member of a vampire fraternity?

  “It’s easy.” Drake shrugged.

  “Nothing about that sounds easy. There’s no way I can kill a human.”

  “Yes, you can. You’re a vampire. It’s what you were born to do,” Drake insisted.

  I shook my head as the tears stabbed at my eyes.

  Then, without saying another word, I fled from the room.

  I was about halfway down the hallway that led out of the building when a hand caught my elbow.

  I turned to find Slade standing there, his bright blue eyes locked on mine. “Riley, it’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not okay. I can’t kill a human. I don’t even know how to kill a human.” The tears had begun to fall freely now.

  Moving in closer to me, he wiped my tears away. “Of course you do. You might not have been born for this. But you know what to do to kill a human.”

  I shook my head. “But I don’t.”

  “You do.”

  His deep blue eyes locked on mine, and he leaned in closer to me. Pressing me up against the wall, his lips came crashing down on mine.

  His hands dropped to my waist, and mine wrapped around his neck, pulling him in closer to me.

  His kiss was so different from Noah’s. It was careful and calculated, but there was also something so strong about it—something so dominant.

  When we broke away from one another, we were both breathless.

  His lips hovered over mine for a long moment before his blue eyes locked on mine again. Then, he tilted his neck then and pointed to it.

  “Drink.”

  “Drink?” My eyebrows lifted.

  “I’m going to teach you how to kill a human,” he explained. “Drink.”

  I allowed my fangs to come out, and I brushed them against his neck.

 
; My teeth barely even scraped his skin.

  “You’re being too gentle. You’re not even applying any pressure.”

  Frustrated, I pulled my head away from his neck. “I can’t. I can’t do it, and maybe I don’t want to.”

  “You can,” he insisted. This time, he didn’t even give me a choice.

  He grabbed me hard around my throat and brought me to him. He squeezed a little and wrapped his other arm around my lower back.

  I couldn’t move. I couldn’t get away, even if I wanted to… but I definitely didn’t want to.

  I was highly in tune to every sensation he was making my body feel.

  The spicy scent of his cologne.

  His hard, chiseled chest that I was pushed up against.

  And his heartbeat was thudding against my lower lip.

  “Bite me.”

  I bit his neck, my fangs sinking into his skin.

  He didn’t even flinch.

  As his blood began to pour onto my tongue, I began to drink. The sweet taste of blood hit my tongue, making fireworks go off in my mouth. It tasted so good.

  Slade began to moan softly, his hands falling to my back as I began to drink from him. His moans grew louder the longer I drank from him.

  There was so much blood.

  “Stop,” he whispered.

  I heard him tell me to stop, but it hadn’t registered with my brain yet. The taste of his blood, the scent of it… it was all just so much.

  “Riley, stop,” Slade said, pushing me away from him.

  I stopped then, glancing up at him. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean to take too much.”

  “It’s okay.” He took a deep breath, his eyes locking on mine. “You would just have to drink about a half a cup more if I was a human and I would be dead. A human would get really sleepy due to the blood loss, and they would go limp in your arms. That’s it. Killing a human is as easy as that. No one says you have to go snapping anyone’s neck or anything crazy. All you have to do is drink someone to death.”

  So, he was right. Technically, I could do it. Physically, it wasn’t that hard to do. But emotionally, it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I hated the idea of killing someone, for almost no reason.