by SF Benson
“We both know I don’t belong here. This campus is for those who want to stay separated—”
“Bull!”
“What?”
“Why bother finding out about the rules?” he snapped. “Why worry about inclusion if you’re just planning on leaving, let those who want to stay here deal with it.”
I didn’t like his ugly tone.
“Milos, I’m here until the end of the semester. Cyrena wants to go home.”
He swallowed hard, and the rest of the color in his face drained. “I don’t want you to leave.”
Why was he making it personal? I hadn’t even decided anything yet. Deep down, though, I knew I wouldn’t stay around. I never wanted to come to Lorelei’s in the first place. It was all because our mother thought it was best for us, but with Cyrena wanting to leave too, it just made perfect sense to go.
“Hey, it’s not like this was going to be a long-term thing between us,” I stated.
He gave me a long, pained look before averting his eyes. “Does the school exist?”
“I’m not sure. I asked my mother to let me know.”
Slowly, he faced me again. “If you go, I’ll go.”
Wow.
I didn’t expect that, but we couldn’t have a future.
Or could we? A vamp and a succubus had only happened once in Lilin history, and it ended badly for all of us.
“How could you? Your parents—”
“I’m emancipated, Lilith. I can go wherever I want. All that’s required is a place for me to stay.”
Interesting.
“Maybe I could help with that. There’s a vampire coven in town.”
He nodded. “I know of it. A male named Luc Duquette is the leader. If the school is a real thing, I’ll reach out to him. I can finish up my education in Falls Creek. Mr. Duquette could help me find a place to live while I do so.”
As I studied my vampire boyfriend, I realized how wrong I was about him. I thought all vamps were shallow and self-absorbed like Kamila. I figured all vamps would only do what was in the best interest of their own kind—like Maksim. I was so glad to have Milos in my life. Regardless of our differences, I really liked him.
§
After Study Hall, I returned to Amatory in search of Nico. I found him in London and Sybil’s room.
“Just the incubus I was looking for,” I said, taking a seat beside London.
Sitting next to Sybil, Nico raked a hand through his long hair. “What’s going on?”
“Milos and I need your help this evening.” Before I lost my nerve, I blurted out, “We need your magical services.”
London nudged my ribs. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.” I quickly filled the three of them in on what we had discovered about Samantha. “We need to find her staff file.”
Nico rubbed his scruffy chin. “You do realize if we’re caught—”
“We’ll be expelled.”
“No. It will be considerably worse,” Sybil interjected.
What could be worse for a supernatural student than getting kicked out of an academy?
London and Nico, in unison, asked, “Like what?”
Sybil sighed and crossed her legs. “Of course you wouldn’t know of it but being a Nakamura I’ve seen Gehenna. It’s a penitentiary just for supernaturals. Besides housing adult convicts there’s a juvenile-detention facility. You don’t want to end up in Tophet. If you’re caught stealing from the headmistress, you’ll go straight there without any type of hearing.”
A chill snaked down my spine. “What do you suggest, Sybil? We need to find out as much as we can about Samantha, but I don’t want to get anyone into trouble.”
Nico exhaled loudly. “London, if you help me, it can be done without being caught.”
“How?” I asked.
“Leave it to us,” London said. “When do you meet with Milos?”
“Ten thirty tonight.”
Sybil rose off the bed. “I’ll go see Mistress Lorelei and tell her I need to speak with my parents. She’s quite enamored of them. It should be enough of a distraction for you and London to get inside her office. Waiting until after curfew is too risky though.”
I wasn’t sure how things would play out, but it seemed like my friends knew exactly what to do. As much as I cared about all of them, I would have given anything for a simpler life back at home. If Milos could get to Falls Creek, I’d definitely consider leaving Lorelei’s.
Going across the hall, I found Cyrena in bed with a book. She looked up as I shut the door.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey, yourself.” I plopped down on my bed without removing my blazer. “Do you still want to go home?”
She slammed her book closed. “What’s happened?”
“Nothing to worry about. I’m just fishing.”
“Yeah, right. Like, I know you too well. Besides, I heard that you, like, got into trouble this morning. Spill it.”
“I went home for a little while to speak to Mom. Supposedly there’s a supernatural school starting up in Falls Creek. Mom’s going to look into it.”
Suddenly, my mattress dipped as my sister pounced on me. “I’m in!”
My head flinched back slightly. “Seriously?”
“Oh, Siren, yes!” she screeched. “I was so wrong about this school. I was in History when the announcement was made about Kamila. Miss Vamptastic got the seat on the Tribunal without having to work for it. You were robbed!”
It was nice to have Cyrena on my side, but I had to set her straight. “I wasn’t robbed. I was cheated. The headmistress and my academic adviser decided I was too controversial for the Tribunal.”
“Because of your beliefs.”
My sister wasn’t questioning me. She knew all about my theories on inclusivity and fairness. Needless to say, we didn’t agree on my rhetoric, but Cyrena did respect it.
“Don’t say it,” I warned her, pushing up on my elbows.
“I’m not. Although I don’t share your concerns, the entire student body should have had the chance to hear them. Decide for themselves if they wanted you to represent them.” Cyrena removed a purple sparkly scrunchie from her wrist, pulled her hair back into a low ponytail, and wrapped the accessory around it. “Kamila Tesarova is a spoiled brat who won’t think about anyone else but herself.”
I smiled. Before coming to Lorelei’s, Cyrena was a single-minded spoiled brat. If being a student at the exclusive school helped my sister see the world differently, then coming there was a good thing after all.
Chapter Eighteen
Pacing the floor, I was on spikes and thorns waiting for word from the rest of the posse. Nothing was going according to plan. When I started my little Nancy Drew adventure, I’d only involved Milos, thinking it was safer keeping it between us. Then we complicated matters adding Nico and London and Sybil. Talk about messed up!
Making matters worse—and adding to my increasing anxiety—Milos couldn’t meet me. He was stuck on clean-up duty thanks to Frigz. I was fortunate a lesser demon was able to get me the message. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed. I’d come to care a lot about the vampire—more than I should—and I was looking forward to seeing him.
Milos wanting to follow me back to Falls Creek was endearing. My mother, however, wouldn’t tolerate a relationship between us. She was extremely old school in that regard. No matter what we discovered about the Amatory Hall adviser, I had to stay at Lorelei’s if I wanted to continue dating the vampire. Besides, I couldn’t allow him to risk his family status along with my own. Emancipated or not, if he became serious about me, his parents would disown him—which meant no inheritance.
What about Cyrena?
I’d help my sister realize we needed to complete our year at the school before returning home. Maybe if she became interested in someone…
I shook my head, trying to put that nonsense behind me. We had more important issues to deal with.
Like the troubling fact I hadn’t heard anything from th
e Constantines or Sybil. Most people would see it as a good thing. If they’d been quick about their mission, it could have meant there was nothing to learn. But I wasn’t like most supernaturals. I saw the problems that could arise in any situation. It was why I was so good with SHU. For every measure the members wanted to enact, I could foresee the inherent challenges. As I wore a groove into my dorm floor, I worried their prolonged absence could mean they had been caught. What if they were sent to the juvie? The possibility twisted my stomach into one humongous knot.
What if they were forced to tell all they knew? Would the headmistress come for me next?
Was a supernatural detention center scary? Would we have to stay there for all eternity? Or could we leave once we reached the age of maturity?
Something scraped my dorm window, disrupting my inane thoughts and making me jump.
What the crap?
I walked over and looked out. Milos was downstairs tossing pebbles—or maybe it was dirt—at the window. He was going to get himself into a world of trouble. Pushing the heavy glass open, I whisper-shouted, “Stop! I’ll be down in a minute.”
Thankfully, I’d overheard Samantha say she was turning in early for the night. It made slipping out the front door a heck of a lot easier. Still, I tiptoed across the lobby and outside. I found Milos around the side of the building near a copse of trees.
“What are you doing here?” I said in a lowered voice.
“I finished up early and had to see you.” His dark eyes crinkled in the corners as he reached for me. Milos leaned in, cupped my face in his chilly hands, and brushed his lips to mine.
After a few delicious minutes, he pulled away, leaving me feeling empty. As I said earlier, I really liked him.
“Any word from your friends?” he asked in a raspy tone with his hands resting on my shoulders.
I grasped his wrists. “Not yet, and it’s worrying the crap out of me.”
“Good to know we were missed,” said a familiar male voice.
Milos and I broke apart as if someone had shot a bolt of lightning at us. We looked up and saw London and her brother approaching.
“Where’s Sybil?” I asked.
“She’s coming. She had to spend some time with her parents and the headmistress. Something about dinner.”
I shuddered. Glad it was Sybil and not me. With that much creepiness around me—Mistress Lorelei and a couple of demons—I wouldn’t have been able to eat a bite. The things we were willing to do for a little information.
“What did you find out?”
Nico pointed toward the door. “We should go inside.”
“Hello?” Milos said, raising his hand. “I can’t go in there.”
Nico grinned. “You can, vamp, if I invite you in. We’ll head up to my room. Samantha can’t complain if my sister is in my room after curfew.”
True.
“But how do we get him in?” I complained. Last thing any of us needed was to have someone witness us sneaking a vampire into the dorm.
London wiggled her fingers. “Leave that to me.”
She faced Milos and chanted some indiscernible words. Then, she winked. “All done. No one will know the difference.”
I blinked a few times, not believing what I saw. Tilting my head to the side, I asked, “What did you do?”
“Just a little cloaking spell to hide his aura. Anyone who looks at us will only see Lilin.”
Clever.
Immediately, I wondered if Samantha was using a similar spell. My answer would have to wait until we were inside the building.
The stairs creaked beneath our collective feet as we made our way to the third floor. My heart pounded. What if the noise brought Samantha out of her quarters? When we reached Nico’s room, I allowed myself to breathe.
Torin, seated at a desk, looked up as we barged in. “What the—”
“Calm down. We have business to discuss.” Nico collapsed onto one of the beds.
London sank down beside her brother. She waved her hand, and I watched Milos’s aura switch from Lilin silver and crimson to bright blue again.
“And that business includes him?” Torin, his face scrunched up, pointed to Milos.
“Actually, it does,” said London.
Unwilling to listen to Torin continue his complaining, I perched on the desk and said, “Start talking. What did you find?”
Nico blew air through his cheeks as he sat forward. “You were right about our illustrious adviser. She’s no more Lilin than I’m a vamp.” He glanced at Milos. “No offense.”
“None taken.” My boyfriend leaned against the wall and propped his foot up behind him. “So what is she?”
London interjected, “Sorceress, but that’s not the interesting part.”
“What is?” I asked.
The siblings exchanged a knowing look before London added, “Samantha is a distant relative to Morcana—the ancestor.”
Holy crap!
We were right back where we started. I really wanted the female to be related to Keleva. We could have tied a bow on the matter and been done with it. Having Morcana’s family in a Lilin dorm made no sense.
But wait!
We had bigger issues.
“How did you find this out? Was it in her file?” If it was, that meant Mistress Lorelei knew.
“Yes and no,” said Nico. “I had to read between the lines to get it.”
Okay, color me confused. “How?”
“My brother and I have unique skills. I’m great at cloaking spells and other useful incantations. I can make people see what’s not there. Nico can see what’s not visible to others. We’re kind of the Yin and Yang of the supernatural world.”
“I discerned the intention in Samantha’s pen strokes,” Nico added. “She took the position intending to deceive.”
Fascinating and very useful!
“What was the point?” Torin finally asked.
“That remains to be seen,” Nico said. “It requires a confrontation.”
Although I felt a little like a paranormal teenage detective, I seriously doubted my ability to pull the truth out of a suspect. I also didn’t believe Nico and Milos, our version of the Hardy Boys, could do it without trouble.
“How?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest.
London smiled. “We set a trap for her.”
There was a knock on the door. My heart froze. Before we could do anything, it opened, and Sybil stuck her head in. “I thought you all might be in here.” She glanced over at Milos as she entered the room. “I didn’t count on him, however.”
I noticed how Torin’s face lit up when Sybil walked past him. She sat on the other bed, grinning back. His cheeks reddened slightly before he averted his eyes. Those two had it bad. I couldn’t understand why they didn’t admit their feelings. The fact that she was royalty and Torin wasn’t shouldn’t matter. Two Lilin who found love were rare. Sybil and Torin should have embraced it. The Nakamuras should have been proud of their daughter.
Milos pushed off the wall. “I might have a way to draw Samantha out.”
“Let’s hear it,” London prompted.
For the next thirty minutes, we hashed out a plan to trap our dorm adviser. If we failed, we’d face expulsion, but the risk was worth it. Having a sorceress hiding out amongst Lilin was wrong, especially if she had a nefarious agenda.
Torin clapped his hands together. “Sounds like we have a plan and a problem.”
“Problem?” London asked.
“Yeah. It’s really late. If the vamp leaves the dorm now…” Torin’s voice trailed off as he glanced over at Milos.
We sat looking at each other as if the answer would fall from the ceiling. Nico stood. “Easy solution. Milos, you’ll stay here tonight. London?”
“On it.” She recited a few words and a pile of extra blankets and a pillow appeared. “Hope you don’t mind the floor.”
He shook his head. “It’s not like I’ll actually sleep.”
Collectively,
we all said, “No?”
“Vampires don’t sleep,” he said flatly. “We rest. For your sakes, I’ll close my eyes so it’s not so creepy.”
Suddenly, I had images of Milos lying in a coffin.
He laughed. “Lilith, I’ve never been in a coffin. My family are traditionalists, but even that’s too morbid for them. Mother and Father rest on a slab in our basement.”
Oh, like that was so much better.
His laughter grew louder. “I’m just messing with you. Sheesh!”
“Not funny, Milos Petrovich.” I hit his arm before heading to the door.
“If you tuck me in, I’ll make it up to you,” he said near my ear.
I flinched. Once again, I completely forgot about how fast he could move.
“Not happening, bat boy!” London pushed me out of the room. “Good night, guys!”
Sybil shut the door behind her. “You really like him?”
My cheeks heated. “Yeah, I do.” In a lower voice, I asked, “What about Torin and you?”
She fought back her own blush. “He’s nice.”
London rolled her eyes. “Right. Sybil likes him. A whole lot.”
As we climbed the stairs up to our floor, Sybil said, “It doesn’t matter who I like or who I want, my parents will never approve of Torin.”
“But he’s Lilin,” I stated.
“That’s not how it works for Nakamuras. I’ll have to find someone of similar ancestry, or they will make a match for me. We are a true dynasty.”
Translation: the Nakamuras were true snobs. As long as Lilin married other Lilin, we should have been considered royals. Sharing some fictitious ancestry should have been unnecessary.
Being at Lorelei’s made me appreciate what we had in Falls Creek. My hometown wasn’t perfect, but we were able to mingle with one another. Austin Cartwright, the incubus I’d been dating, didn’t even know his ancestry outside of Keleva. It didn’t matter to him or me.
“Good night, Lilith!” the roomies said before entering their room.
“Night!”
Maybe one day, Sybil and Torin would realize they were meant for each other—true soul mates. I didn’t need Nico’s sight to see that Sybil was headed for a loveless, disrespectful union with an incubus who only cared that she was a Nakamura. Torin, on the other hand, would be miserable without her. They’d better wake up before it was too late.