A crackling came over the feed on Professor Sharp’s radio.
“Sebastian is heading to the stage,” came through the speaker.
“Copy,” she said. “Still in position.”
Several more voices crackled over the feed, confirming they were in position too.
I stared pointedly up at the television screen. “I’m surprised Sebastian is still going through with the confession. I just don’t see what incentive he has now that he’s being charged for a whole new set of crimes.”
Mr. Walters had delivered the news himself, calling me down to the lobby of my dorm last night. Sebastian Holter had been charged with the crime of conspiracy and treason, pending a full investigation and tribunal. Sebastian wasn’t going free. He would, however, still be joining missions for the Hawthorn Group.
“The Hawthorn Group still needs to ease tensions between the soldiers and the Elites, and Sebastian is willing to do it,” Professor Sharp said, but she didn’t sound like she believed her own words. Her gaze darted around the space quickly. “How come Mitch isn’t with you? We expected you two to come together.”
Movement on stage saved me from having to tell her that Mitch hadn’t said a word to me since Monday.
Both of the flat screens on either side of the dais broadcasted Sebastian’s figure. Ten soldiers flanked him. Even though this was supposed to be a confession, nothing about Sebastian seemed repentant. He wore a tailored, expensive-looking gray suit that had recently been pressed. His handsome and cold features were no longer hidden behind dark scruff. The supposed-prisoner held his suit jacket over his shoulder with his shirtsleeves rolled up like he thought this was a runway show. His naked wrists clearly displayed his lack of handcuffs. The skin of his arms was no longer red and raw. He looked exactly as he had before he stole my blood and turned himself into a dhampir.
His ice-blue eyes darted about the room, and I curled into myself, wondering if he was feeling my presence. Was his blood singing?
He had ruined that romantic phrase forever.
“He can’t see us back here,” Professor Sharp said as she glanced over at me. “Are you sure you want to stay for this, January? Because we can leave at any time.”
I shook my head, but what I said was, “I have to know what he says about me.”
I kept expecting people to bring up that I was a dhampir or to treat me differently, but no one had given any indication that they knew what I was. Actually, aside from a quick text from Susie asking my dress size, no one had spoken to me since Monday. Professor Sharp had given me my weekend rides to visit my mother and my nana. Maybe this was what it was like to be a dhampir. No one was openly hostile to me, but I was simply friendless and alone—apart from the rest of the world.
The only other dhampir I knew of in the world was the serial killer standing before me. Sebastian came to a stop before the podium, and I saw his mouth move, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying over the shuffling sound of the audience.
Someone called out, “Microphone!”
The Elite guard raised the microphone up, accounting for Sebastian’s six-foot-something height, but they didn’t turn it on. On Sebastian’s lips, I read the word, “Demons.”
He was making the admission I commanded him to, just not so anyone could actually hear him.
“He’s still confessing,” I said.
“Yes. Whenever he encounters someone new,” Professor Sharp shot a disapproving look over at me.
A screeching came over the speaker feed, and everyone in the audience did a collective wince as the sound resounded through the room.
The room grew so quiet, it was as if everyone was collectively holding their breath.
“Since I was in my mid-teens, I helped my father build a legacy,” Sebastian said, sounding and looking almost bored. “I started in my mid-teens, but the project began long before that. This project is why the Hawthorn Group is able to protect your family today. It’s the reason thousands of humans have been rescued across this country. Yes, soldiers had to die to protect humanity. That’s what they signed up for. They pledged their lives, and they gave their lives. That’s what we should be focusing on…” Sebastian trailed off as his gaze again darted around the space.
A murmur rose through the crowd, and I heard several people call out, “Murderer.”
Sebastian didn’t even seem to notice. A grin spread across his lips, and his coat dropped behind him. “You came,” he said. “Where are you? I can feel you here, Princess of Blood.”
Mitch stepped out of the crowd, and he was suddenly in front of me, completely blocking the stage. “I don’t know what the hell this is, January, but it’s not an apology. Let’s go.”
My heart climbed up into my throat, and I nodded, but one peek at the door told me that I’d have to go out in the open to get there.
“I’m here to apologize,” Sebastian’s voice echoed through the room. “I was taught that you look into someone’s eyes while you apologize. Where are your eyes, Blood Princess?”
Mitch nodded to the wall. “I’m pulling the fire alarm.”
We were right next to it. All we had to do was open up the plastic case and pull down the lever, and then we could flee with the crowd.
“No. That will cause a panic,” Professor Sharp said. “Come with me. We’ve mapped out an alternate route.”
We started to follow her when Sebastian spoke, and his words froze me in place.”
“I am now an immortal dhampir. Yes, you heard me. I am a turned dhampir, and the Hawthorn Group is concealing a method to grant humans immortality. The only reason I’m in chains is that they’re afraid of my powers… it’s not because of the Alphastrain Project. Meaning, apologizing to you gains me nothing. They need me as much as they fear me, and therefore, the outcome will be the same no matter what I do.” Sebastian lifted a shoulder. “Instead of apologizing, how about I tell you every member of the Elite Council who played a part in the Alphastrain project even before I was born—”
The power cut out, sending the room into the dim illumination of green safety lights. A murmur passed through the audience, and then most headed for the main exit, jogging toward the thin portal with powerful strides. A few remained seated, and the rest stormed the stage.
The soldiers took up a protective position around Sebastian as several men and women tried to fight their way through.
Sebastian scooped his coat from the floor and brushed the dust off his sleeve before throwing it back over his shoulder. He strolled to the side of the stage, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. Before he reached the curtain, he pivoted and gazed across the room, looking straight at me like he knew I had been there all along.
He was going to kill me. I could feel the knowledge stretching between us. Very soon, I would be dead, and his ice-cold gaze was the last thing I would see.
“Let’s go.” Mitch’s arm wrapped around my shoulders, and he pulled me toward Professor Sharp and a troop of soldiers that were waiting to escort me out of the building. The moment my gaze broke from Sebastian’s, I felt lighter. When I glanced over my shoulder, all I saw was the tailcoats of Sebastian’s jacket as he disappeared offstage.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
An hour later, I found myself alone in my room, staring out my window at the students walking by. Groups of freshmen and sophomores streamed up to the school bedecked in their costumes. Light spilled out of the school and shone from the windows of the chapel where an underclassman dance was going strong.
A knocking sounded on my door, and my heart leaped up into my throat. After Sebastian’s non-apology, Mitch had walked with us to Professor Sharp’s sedan, and then, without saying a word, he just turned and walked away.
Bailey barely seemed interested in the door, though, and she usually had a sixth sense when Mitch was on the other side. I held my breath all the way across my apartment and opened the door in a rush.
“Trick or treat!” A whole group of people yelled from the other sid
e, startling the hell out of me.
Susie, Richard, Mia, and the Baldwin brothers smiled at me from the hallway. All of them were in full costume.
As much as Lucas and Zack had complained about being the twins from Alice in Wonderland last year, they were wearing the red pants, striped shirts, and caps with flags on their heads. Mia had a catsuit stretched over her muscled form, and on it was printed a shiny mechanical body. Richard had his full arms of tattoos showing, plus there were drawn on tattoos over every inch of his skin. Even his fingers had beautiful designs. Susie wore a red silk dress and a pair of horns nestled in her dark curly hair.
“Oh, here,” I turned around and ran into my kitchen, coming back with a bin of red licorice, and I handed them out. “You all look amazing,” I said when they each had their candy. “What are you up to?”
“We came to get you,” Susie said as if it was obvious. “And… ta da!” She lifted up a hanger with a long white silk dress and a pair of feathery angel wings coming out of the back. “You weren’t answering your phone, and we were hoping you would come with us to Lucas and Zack’s family thing.”
My phone was probably still on silent from when I was at the speech. Emotion clotted up in my throat. “You want me to go?”
“It’s just a small get-together,” Lucas said with a shrug.
“Yeah, but…” I swallowed hard, “But you guys know what I am, and you didn’t call or text. It’s your family’s house. You want me to go to your family’s house?”
The group looked at each other.
“No one called you?” Zack leaned back, eyes wide.
Lucas pulled his hat off and rubbed his hand over his hair. “January, I’m so sorry. And, after Zack said that we needed to decide about you, too, I should have remembered to come by and tell you what happened.”
“Damn it, January, I did say that bullshit to you.” Zack banged his head into the doorframe. “I feel like the biggest jerk in the world now.”
“Something happened?” I asked.
Mia held her hands out. “Here, let’s get inside and talk, yeah?”
As soon as the group was in the room and the door was closed behind them, Zack stepped forward. “January, about five minutes after you told us about being a dhampir, soldiers stormed the library and took us to the Hawthorn Group. They immediately debriefed us about you and swore us all to secrecy. I’m surprised you haven’t heard about that at least, everyone is saying that we were arrested for holding that Hybrids meeting.”
“What?” I blinked at them. “No one even mentioned it all week.”
“Yeah.” Lucas winced. “They kept us there until late at night, and then we were stuck in intensive drills, and then there were midterms. Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about what you told us in the library as much as I should have. We just found out so much that night.”
“I wasn’t thinking about it either,” Susie said. “And I am the worst friend in the world for that.”
“No, you’re not.” I sat at the table and gripped onto the edge. “What did the Hawthorn Group tell you when they took you to headquarters?”
“They didn’t tell us much about you.” Zack fell into the seat across from me, making my chair groan in protest. “They just told us that dhampirs are rare and that you were allowed to come to our school because you’re not considered dangerous. They said that Elites are direct descendants of dhampirs just as soldiers are of other types of Supernaturals—usually their grandkids or great-grandkids.”
The dhampir part was a lie. At least, I was pretty sure it was a lie. I hadn’t had another period since the day I died, meaning, I most likely would never have descendants. It was possible that wasn’t what happened with every dhampir, though. I didn’t know.
“They swore us to secrecy about you. We signed binding contracts. And then, they gave each of us a folder with information on what kind of hybrid we are. I think they knew that Mia was never going to let it go,” Susie said as she laid the angel costume on the table. She winced, and a shadow passed over her expression. “They also gave us information on our Supernatural family members.”
“Oh. Finding out that kind of thing can be a real mindfuck. Are you guys okay?” From the pain in Susie’s expression, I could tell that whatever she found out brought her no happiness.
“Suffice it to say that Amber is a heinous bitch, but she might have been right about the hybrid issue,” Mia said on a sigh. “It doesn’t do us any good to know where we came from. We are who we are now.”
All this time, I was thinking that the others were avoiding me because they knew I was a dhampir, but that wasn’t it. They were going through their own revelations and grappling with the emotional repercussions of that.
“Zack and mine were the least interesting of the bunch. Our great grandfather was a werewolf,” Lucas said.
“The asshole impregnated our great grandmother and took off. Our grandfather was half-wolf, but he died in a car accident at twenty-five, and our mom doesn’t know anything. It all just adds up to another secret we can’t talk about with our families.” Zack pointed in my face. “Once and for all, Blondie, are you coming over to our house? It’s not going to be the rager Mark is throwing, but my dad makes a mean fruit salad. Also, your nana is going to be there, if that’s the kicker. We’re actually supposed to pick her up.”
I opened my mouth to say of course I’d go, but then I remembered.
“The three-day rule,” I said as my heart sank.
“Oh yeah,” Lucas muttered. “Our parents actually only threw this thing together yesterday.”
“You know what.” I sat up. “I’m not supposed to leave campus at night, but there really isn’t a good reason for the rule anymore.”
The demons hunting me had flown away forever, and my father took care of the vampire threat. Sebastian Holter was the biggest remaining danger in my life, and he was locked up, at least for now.
“You know what, it’s a holiday. Fuck the three-day rule,” I said as I stood.
Susie picked up the hanger from the table. “How about you guys go on ahead while January and I head over to pick up her nana. I want to help her with her costume.”
Twenty minutes later, Susie and I were loading up into Susie’s sedan in our angel and devil costumes. There was a bite of cold in the autumn air, but the sky was mostly clear. Susie only put up a small protest when I insisted on adding a thick pair of tights and sturdy boots to the ensemble. On my head was a large halo attached to a headband and on my back were a pair of feather wings spray-painted in gold paint.
“You look perfect,” Susie called over the top of the car. “Those wings are fastened on magnetically. You can just pull them off.”
As soon as I pulled my wings from their magnets and climbed in my seat, Susie asked, “So, where’s Mitch?”
My happiness suddenly took a nosedive. “Everyone has been asking me that today. I have no idea.”
“Oh, sorry. Mitch just… always seems to want to be around you.” She winced. “Sorry if that came out weird.”
“Mitch was watching over me as a favor to Justin, but now that Justin and I broke up, Mitch’s job is over.”
“Um, okay,” she said through a laugh.
I glanced over at her. “What?”
“If Mitch was only watching over you as a favor to his cousin, he was really enthusiastic about it.” As we drove through the gated community and up to my nana’s apartment, Susie chewed on her lip, looking like she was thinking about saying something. As she slid into park, she turned to me in her seat. “So, you know how I told you that I never cheated on Zack—not in any way?”
I paused with my hand on the door handle. “Yeah.”
“I didn’t. But I was falling in love with Richard the whole time. I know that sounds bad, but I never acted on it, not until Zack and I were over. And I loved Zack. I loved him while I was with him, but I loved Richard too at the same time. And… that’s okay?” She said the last part as a question, and I was getting
the feeling that she wasn’t entirely talking about her romances. “I don’t feel bad because the feelings just happened, and I did right by both Zack and Richard. And, people said terrible things about me and Richard cheating, but they moved on and Zack came around.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen that with Zack. I’m glad it all worked out.”
She tapped a finger on the steering wheel, but thankfully, Susie didn’t acknowledge the elephant she’d ushered into the room. Instead, she opened her car door.
“Wait, Susie,” I called while she was still halfway in the car. When she turned back to me, I said, “If you ever want to talk about what you found out at the Hawthorn Group, I’m always here.”
“I’m one-fourth fae,” Susie said with a shrug. “Like, a fairy with wings.”
This wasn’t really a surprise, like at all. Susie’s whole room had a wing décor. Everything she touched smelled like cupcakes, and not the artificial cupcake spray scent, but rather the just baked and frosted smell that makes you feel like it's your birthday.
“I’m actually not as surprised as I thought I would be, and I feel pretty happy about it.” She sounded like she meant what she said, but there was still that shadow in her eyes.
My nana opened the front door before Susie and I made it out of the driveway. A bright smile sat on her face as she clutched a letter to her chest. She wore all black, and on her head was an antenna made out of green pipe cleaner.
“Ha. Nana, if Susie hadn’t wanted to coordinate, you and I would have been wearing matching costumes,” I said as I gave her a hug. “Have you met Susie?”
“Yes, of course. Hi, Susie. Why don’t you girls come inside.”
“We’re late for the Baldwins’ party, Nana.”
“Oh, is it time for the party?” Nana asked, sounding somewhat distracted.
I glanced over at Susie and then down at my white gown. “Are you okay, Nana?”
Broken Elites (The Vampire Legacy Book 3) Page 28