by SF Benson
“I will expect all of you in my office within the hour.” Glancing at Mr. Olin, who was gasping on the floor, she said, “Take the rest of the night off to recover, Barric.”
The formidable female pivoted on her slender heels and left us. As soon as she departed, my friends and I went to my room. Cyrena’s jaw dropped when she saw us.
“What happened to you?”
Wiping my cheek, I saw the streaks of dark blood on my fingertips and nearly vomited. “Long story.”
Cyrena’s eyes widened.
London jumped in. “Samantha was a witch pretending to be a succubus. She’s gone. Thanks to the headmistress.”
“Oh,” my sister said. “Is that why you’re all…” She waved her fingers up and down.
“Yeah. We have time to shower and change before heading over to the main office,” I said, going to my closet for fresh clothes.
Milos said, “I’ll meet you over there.” And then he was gone.
“I’m not showering in that room,” said Sybil.
“I’ll clean it up,” London offered. “We may not be staying here much longer, anyway.”
Her words would become prophetic.
It was the real reason behind why we had been summoned to Mistress Lorelei’s office. One at a time we were called into the room. Nico and London were up first followed by Sybil. No one came back after they entered the temple of doom. Milos and I sat side by side waiting our turn.
“What do you think will happen?” he asked.
“She’ll probably send me home as fast as possible,” I said with a touch of remorse. In all honesty, I didn’t want to leave Milos behind, but I couldn’t ask him to come with me. It would create too many problems.
The door opened, and Frigz waved both of us in. He pointed to two chairs in front of Mistress Lorelei’s desk. As I sat down, I noticed our friends were standing off to the side.
What was going on?
The scary headmistress cleared her throat. “I don’t know whether to be pleased or annoyed,” she began. Her dark eyes narrowed. “I don’t appreciate students breaking rules and taking it upon themselves to solve problems.”
I swallowed hard and dared to sneak a peek at Milos. His fingers curled around the arms of the chair as he held his head down.
“In light of how the events turned out, I’m willing to overlook your meddling into administrative affairs.”
I exhaled.
“Do not be so relieved, Miss Martin. Although Miss Rivers was overstepping her boundaries, I’m inclined to agree with her reasoning. It is imperative that there should be rules dictating proper conduct between species.”
Beads of sweat trickled down the side of my face, and my stomach churned.
Mistress Lorelei folded her hands on top of her desk. “Until I can construct such boundaries, I shall allow whatever relationship has begun between you. Keep in mind, the ancestral curse instituted by Morcana still holds. This school will not be held responsible should you choose to ignore it.” Her gaze darted from me to Milos. “Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes,” we said in unison.
“Good.” She glanced over at the others. “As for you… It is my understanding that Frigz and his staff could use help. Miss Constantine and Miss Nakamura, you will be reporting for kitchen duty for the rest of the semester. Be sure to not miss a shift. Mr. Constantine and Mr. Petrovich, you will both be given janitorial assignments.” A snake-like smile crossed her face when she looked at me. “And Miss Martin, you will be helping here in my office. Each day after study hall you’ll report to me.”
The knot forming in my gut tightened.
In all honesty, we should have been grateful. Mistress Lorelei’s punishment could have been much worse.
§
Much later, standing near the Healing Pond, Milos and I had a proper date. For once, it didn’t matter if anyone saw us. The sun was setting, and there was a slight breeze in the air.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked for the umpteenth time.
Smiling, I nodded. “Never been better. I don’t have to go home, and we can actually keep seeing each other.”
“Yeah. I’m glad, but I was serious about what I’d said before. If you leave, I’ll leave.” He stepped closer, and for the first time I noticed there was no heat with his breathing. “I care a lot about you, Lilith Martin.”
“Same here.”
The rest of the semester would be totally awesome with a hot-looking vampire at my side. Lilin no longer had to worry about a masquerading witch hellbent on keeping us all separated.
Milos leaned in, and I put my arms around his neck. Suddenly, I heard a faint tittering.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Nymphs.”
He smiled. “Well, let’s give them something to watch.”
His chilly lips brushed mine, and I was happy to not have to hide anymore.
Epilogue
It took a while for it to happen, but the headmistress kept her promise. Within weeks, the entire campus would endure a new form of degradation—segregated functions. No longer would the different species get to mingle at parties and other social gatherings. Even prom would be organized differently.
But I kept up the good fight, not giving up on my beliefs. Lucky for me, I had instructors who appreciated my forward thinking.
Professor Malachi was my biggest supporter. He allowed me to sit in on his advanced classes. Thanks to him, I added students to the SHU register right under the headmistress’s nose. Even Mr. Olin wasn’t aware.
Without Samantha inside Amatory Hall, I held meetings in my dorm room. Anyone who wanted to discuss inclusivity was welcome.
Everything was going well including my relationship with Milos. We probably would have stayed together had it not been for a nosy house gremlin. The shrew went to Mistress Lorelei and reported my secret gatherings with students. It was to be my last trip to the headmistress’s office. The administrator wasted no time dismissing me.
It also ended things with Milos. We knew we weren’t meant to last forever, but we both held out hope.
The only one who benefitted was Cyrena. My sister was terribly homesick, but I swore two things before we left. First, I’d never lose touch with my new friends. And second, I’d never send my kids to Lorelei’s. It was a promise even Cyrena made.
As for Milos? Well, we tried to keep in touch. The one vampire I knew in Falls Creek refused to let my former boyfriend live with him. Something told me my mother was behind it.
In time, Cyrena and I would find suitable human men to start our families. As fate would have it, my sister and I had two kids a piece—a son and a daughter. Cyrena became an acclaimed interior designer in town while I pursued a law degree. I tried politics and found it irritating. My time in Washington was spent schmoozing with the hoi polloi attempting to push my agenda.
I tried to sway the different supernatural councils using my connections. Repeatedly, I was met with obstacles. Most supes didn’t want to entertain the idea of inclusivity. They preferred the status quo. Finally, I gave it all up and became a lawyer in Falls Creek. I preferred clients who were accused of crimes simply because of what they were. My most celebrated case involved a dragon shifter who fell in love with a human. The debutante was wealthy. When she went missing, the law came after the shifter. He wasn’t guilty though. His only crime was liking beautiful things, including humans.
Outside of the kids who joined SHU—an organization that eventually collapsed—I wasn’t close to anyone else but the Lilin Posse. We never lost contact with each other. Once a year, we gathered in the city to hang out and reminisce. It was Samhain, too early for the annual event, when I received an unexpected but pleasant surprise.
My children were grown with kids of their own, so I no longer celebrated the holiday. The massive Baroque manor was unbelievably quiet and empty when the doorbell sliced through the silence. I’d given the staff the night off, so I went to the front door.
&nb
sp; My jaw dropped when I saw a handsome man with dark hair and eyes. It had been years since we last saw each other, but Milos Petrovich remained beautiful and so irresistible.
“Hello, Lilith.” My heart stopped. “Can I come in?”
“Y-yes.” I stepped to the side.
I ushered him into my study where I had a roaring fire going. We sat down in chairs near the hearth. The male had barely aged. He wore his wavy hair longer but still rocked the leather pants and jacket.
“What brings you…” Better question. “How did you find me?”
His lips lifted into that crooked grin of his. “Remember, Luc Duquette? I was in town visiting with him. When he mentioned Cyrena, I asked about you.”
“Oh.” I reached for the cup of tea I’d been sipping. Suddenly, I wanted something much stronger.
“How have you been?” he asked.
“Good. You?”
“I’ve been okay.” He glanced up at the mantel and pointed to the pictures. “Kids?”
“Yes. A son and a daughter,” I said with pride.
Milos’s features turned down. “Married?”
“No.” It wasn’t unusual for Lilin to be single. Our prime directive didn’t include marriage. We were only tasked with populating the world with our progeny—keeping the balance between good and evil in place. “What about you?”
“Never found anyone else I enjoyed being with,” he admitted.
His words tugged at my heart. It had been a long, long time since Milos was part of my life, but I had never forgotten him. In those moments when I allowed myself to think of him, I realized how much I missed the vamp. I worked really hard to not dwell on the situation.
We sat there for hours exchanging little nuggets from our lives. Then, a simple fact occurred to me and probably Milos too. Why weren’t we together? After all, I wasn’t looking to increase the size of my family. That endeavor was left to Cyrena. She was busy preparing to marry the incubus Hiro Najex. Cash, my nephew, married a djinniyah, and they were new parents. Kelsie, my niece, had met and married a vampire. They found a way to make it work. Why couldn’t Milos and I?
“So Milos, are you planning on sticking around? Or do you have some place else to go?”
In a flash he was at my side. “If you tuck me in…”
“Oh, I’ll do a lot more than that.” I faced him and claimed his lips. No one, not even the fathers of my children, kissed like Milos Petrovich. Whether he knew it or not, I never intended to kiss anyone else after him again.
That was months ago.
Milos showed up on my doorstep and never left. Just goes to show that some encounters—even bloodborne ones—were worth waiting for.
THANK YOU FOR READING!
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Lorelei’s School of Deviltry: Semester One. You first met Cyrena and Lilith in The Hearts Duology: Cursed Hearts. Both characters have been mentioned a few times in the Another Falls Creek Romance novels too. When I first wrote about Lorelei’s, I didn’t imagine creating books about the scary school. Then I wrote Sybil’s story in Unexpected Love and thought it might be interesting to learn about her youth. I hope you find all the characters just as intriguing as I do.
Authors love feedback, and I’m no exception. Let me know how you like the series. I even want to know what you’d like to read more of. You can send me a direct message at [email protected] and visit me on the web at www.authorsfbenson.com.
Finally, I need to ask a favor. If you’re so inclined, I’d love it if you’d post a review of Lorelei’s School of Deviltry: Semester One. Loved it, hated it—I just want to hear your feedback. Reviews are tough to come by these days. Readers can make or break a book. If you have the time, please consider writing one.
Thank you, once again, for reading Lorelei’s School of Deviltry: Semester One!
Gratefully yours,
SF Benson
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, I thank those who continue to support me on my journey. Thanks to my husband and daughter for your continued support.
To my editor, Tia, thank you for your hard work! I swear I’m getting better!
And I can’t forget Mom and Dad. Y’all know…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SF Benson, a Michigan native, resides in Georgia with her husband, a human daughter, and a couple of miniature fur kids (two female short-haired guinea pigs). At one time, she wrangled a household which included three Samoyeds, saltwater fish, a hamster, and three guinea pigs. She’s an avid bookworm who appreciates a well-written book regardless of genre. SF prefers writing stories about strong, diverse protagonists set in dystopian, science fiction, or paranormal worlds.
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