Beware the Violet (The Eulogimenoi Series Book 1)

by Maria Vermisoglou

  “Yes, I will.” I traced the ground with my boot.

  “So?” Kristy prompted and I tilted my head.

  “So what?”

  “You’re kidding, right?” She huffed. “And I really thought you would have learned something by now. How is it going with Jacques? That’s what I want to gush about!” Her whole face glowed and fluttering her wings, she jumped up and down like a ball.

  “It’s going well,” I said and Kristy put her hands on her hips.

  “Oh, no! You’re going to tell me everything,” she demanded.

  “Everything?” I said, terrified and Kristy held my gaze. Sighing, I told her mostly everything and Kristy sitting on air, smiled contentedly. I had forgotten how much of a girl she was but it was relieving to have someone to talk about him without it being him.

  “I’m glad it worked out. Do you really leave him alone in your room?” Kristy said concerned and I nodded.

  “Yes, but he explores and goes where he pleases. It’s not like I’ve locked him inside.” Kristy’s concerned expression didn’t leave her face and it made me wonder. “Is that bad?”

  “Well, be careful. Boys tend to get jealous over little things. It doesn’t mean you can’t hang out with anyone but keep the balance and you should be fine,” she advised.

  “But he will say something if he’s bothered, won’t he?” Insecurity filled me and I wondered if I was making a mistake.

  “Not necessarily. Remember, he’s a quiet person and I have never heard him utter more than a sentence. You’re the only one who makes him write poems and sonnets.” She giggled. “First human in a long time and you get the hot guy. All the girls are disappointed.”

  “He’s not…it’s not…”

  “Don’t worry, they’re not mad, I’m just teasing you.”

  “Should I say something?” I went back to all of our encounters, but I couldn’t find anything that might show his discomfort.

  “Oh, no. He’ll deny it and you might wound his pride that way.”

  “I’ve already wounded his pride when I took care of the rabbit-like creature.”

  “Well, he shows off all the time. It’s girls’ time!” Kristy said, sitting up. “Shall we?”

  “If I have to,” I muttered and she pulled my hand.

  “I heard you and it’s going to be fun, you’ll see. Come!”

  It was indeed fun and all kinds of fairies appeared, popping from flowers like bubbles. Drinks flowed freely and fairy liquids were even more dangerous than humans’ because they showed you visions of your dreams and desires. I only took a sip and almost spit it out as I watched the vision. This was not one of my dreams at all but someone else’s.

  “What did you see?” Kristy said when she was taking me back to the meeting point.

  “Graduating from uni and traveling the world,” I said, picking up the first dream I could think of. It was better than what I saw.

  “How wonderful. Did you see anything about Jacques?”

  “No, but I only took a sip,” I said, feeling my mouth dry.

  “Oh, you should have. It’s fun.” Stopping, she sighed. “Here is where I leave you. The academy is straight ahead and there are glow fairies on the way so you won’t be lost.” Hugging me, she showered me with fairy dust as she fluttered her wings. “I’m sorry. I’m just so sad I won’t see you again for a while. Be sure to write to me?”

  “Of course,” I said and tossing the fairy dust off me, I smiled and waved. “Thank you for the party, Kristy.”

  “Bye!” she yelled as I was walking down the path and I waved once more before heading to the academy.

  I focused on my steps as my muddled mind swirled with the visions. Turning on the lights of my room, I saw Jacques waiting for me. He cast one look at me before twisting his lips. “Not a good party?”

  “It was good, but I shouldn’t have drunk the fairy drink.” I looked down miserable. “I hate visions.”

  “What did you see?” he said, pulling me into his lap.

  “It was fuzzy, but I saw the academy burning, surrounded by black smoke and blood. I saw bodies but couldn’t make out who it was.”

  “So my hope on a happy ending is for naught, right?”

  “Well, the visions I have are usually warnings so there’s still hope.” Pulling the covers up, I remembered Kristy’s warning. “How was your day?”

  “Nothing much. It was the weekend so most of the students have either left or stayed but it was quiet in the supernatural world. Your roommate on the other hand almost drove me crazy with her coming and going. She must have entered the house five times in a row. Why do girls take so much time dressing up for a date?”

  I laughed and putting my head in its usual place, on his chest, I hugged him. “Don’t ask me. I never put much time into these things anyway.”

  Chapter 6: Green-Eyed

  A couple of months had gone by since I had first arrived at the academy and I was doing better.

  I’ve learned all the hallways and didn’t lose myself in the corridors and I even spoke with my parents on the phone a couple of times. Kristy had sent me some fairy letters, filling them with fairy dust and gossip. Of course, it helped that I hadn’t seen the rabbit-like creature or the shapeshifter boys. They were seniors so they were not likely to cross paths with us.

  “There’s a party and we must absolutely attend,” Lena announced one day when we were on the way to lunch.

  “Because?”

  “Because it’s almost spring and we haven’t attended one since our arrival. It’s so weird.”

  It was indeed and I wondered if the supernatural stuff had something to do with the reason. Unis had normally a lot of parties every weekend at least.

  “James and Raid are going to be there.” Excited, she clapped her hands and my ears perked up.

  “I thought they were in senior year.”

  “Yes and so hot!” Uh oh! “They are attending and all the girls are gushing about them. I don’t know why they’re attending, but I don’t care,” she sang and walked to get served.

  But I do, I thought and followed her in order to find out more.

  ◆◆◆

  “Do you think that suits me?” Lena said, twirling her pink dress. “Or maybe I should try the yellow one?”

  “I like the pink one better and it goes so well with your complexion.” She had been going on about this for an hour at least and I was getting tired. Casting a look at the mirror, I grinned as I noticed Jacques in rabbit form, watching us. He threw his little paws up, shaking his head and I shrugged and he jumped away.

  “Maybe you’re right. What about shoes?”

  “Blue!” I blurted out as I had heard Kristy say a million times how these two colors matched perfectly.

  “Right.” Lena put her blue-strapped shoes on and gazed at her reflection in the mirror, seemingly content. “Perfect! We can go now.”

  Hurray! I celebrated and followed her in the living room where we grabbed our bags. Lena was a girl in all the senses of the word and her wardrobe was filled from top to bottom with dresses, shoes, makeup kits, and everything that marked her as a girl. I, on the other hand, had only one dress and then I went with the boyish type pairs of jeans, tees, and cardigans. Dressing for the occasion took me only ten minutes since I owned only the dress Diane had gotten for my birthday and putting some light makeup on. Kristy and Diane would have screamed, but I didn’t care about going to the party and impressing someone? The one who had my attention already thought I was pretty without all the trinkets.

  “Thank you for helping me out. I couldn’t have done it without you,” Lena said when we were finally walking out of the academy. “I must have driven you crazy.”

  “Not much. My sister and my best friend have driven me crazy before. I’m more of the comfortable type and don’t get the gushing about dresses.” I laughed and she returned the smile.

  The party was fun and I was enjoying myself, talking to everyone about human subjects up until th
ey showed up. Silence spread when they made their presence known and I noticed all the girls whispering and fluttering their eyelashes.

  If they knew, I doubt they would go about showing off. Running away in these pretty dresses is going to be hard!

  Dressed in tailored costumes, I imagined them having their shapeshifter bodies and the need to laugh was too great to ignore. Turning it into a light giggle, it resembled like the other girls’. The boys looked around in satisfaction, flashing their smiles to every girl in the room. No one saw what I did—their greedy eyes shining, hungry and impatient.

  James and Raid invited girls to the dance, but after one dance, they jumped to someone else and never danced with the same one twice. Observing them closely from my seat, I thought they didn’t seem to be looking for someone in particular, but “killing” so to speak, their time. Bored, my mind flew to Jacques and how much better he was from these two who were only after a great power.

  “You seem to be having fun,” Raid’s voice reached my ears, freezing my insides.

  Wiping the huge smile from my face, I nodded. “Yeah, it’s a good party.” Cursing myself for being such an idiot and letting my feelings show, I gazed at the couples who were dancing.

  “May I?” He held his hand.

  “You don’t have to dance with everyone if you don’t want to,” I said, hoping he would give up on his attempt.

  “Oh, but I want to get to know everyone,” he said and I thought it might be a good plan for getting an inside of his thoughts. I accepted and instantly regretted it. Jacques may have a wild side, but was always gentle. Raid though had a wild side through and through and was terrifying. His hands were hard, full edges and his touch burned me, but I didn’t let it show. I only prayed the song didn’t last long.

  “No talking?” Raid said and his teeth shone in the dark.

  “I’m not much of a talker.”

  “Not a bad attribute. Especially since your beauty speaks for you.”

  Really now? I smiled and prayed harder than ever that the moment ended or I would have ran away right this instant. His hand was anchored in mine so hard it hurt, but again, I didn’t speak.

  “You’re not bad yourself,” I said, keeping my fear at bay and I watched his eyes glimmer. “I’m more dangerous than I am handsome, but thanks for the compliment.”

  “You? Dangerous? Hard to believe!” I giggled and watched as his grin disappeared.

  “You don’t know how much.” The song had ended, but he didn’t let me go, digging his fingers on my arms. Someone from the crowd called him and giving me a charming smile, he left me.

  Shuddering, I examined my arms, finding paw imprints instead of human hands. Looking at the time, I realized it was late—almost twelve—and Jacques would be worried. Besides, I wanted to leave this place before a shapeshifter buffet started.

  Almost running, I reached the gate of the academy where I took a breath of relief. Sharp hands pulled my arm and I yelled.

  “What the hell? You startled me!” Looking at the person across me, I couldn’t believe it was Raid. How could he reach me so fast and why?

  “We didn’t finish our conversation, love.” His fingers dug into my skin and I wondered if he thought this was something attractive.

  “I didn’t realize we had one.”

  He leaned in and I held my breath for his stench was unbearable. Blood and a tiger’s fur smelled and I was scared he was going to shift right in front of me.

  “We didn’t, but we can still have one,” he said, passing his fingers over my neck and all the while I kept Jacques’s memory in my mind otherwise I would have screamed. “Talk to you soon, babe!” He bent on my shoulder and I steeled myself, prepared to feel his teeth, but instead, his hard lips touched my skin and I felt dirty. Raid looked at me and then ran.

  In a daze, I watched him and blinked. He had crossed the entire field in five minutes or less. Going from floor to floor I wondered why he would reveal himself now. Unless he decided I was going to be his next meal.

  When I opened my door, I saw Jacques tying his shoes and wearing his jacket. My heart sank because this was his travel gear, meaning he was leaving soon.

  “I have to go,” he said without emotion in his voice and left the room.

  I watched him leave, hurt he didn’t ask anything about me. His demeanor was strange and shrugging, I removed my shoes when my necklace shone once and the light died. Taking it in my hand, I noticed the silver frame from the flower was gone and puzzled, I opened the secret compartment to find the flower almost withered. Raising my gaze, the pieces clicked together when I saw the open window.

  No! “Jacques, wait!” I yelled and ran to catch him up before he disappeared. It was a while since he left, but maybe if I was lucky…

  “What?”

  I breathed, relieved as he was still in the main room. His eyes mirrored his hurt and his jaw trembled.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going away…I have to…” Biting his lips, he looked at me. “I just have to leave. I’ll send Kristy to guard you.”

  “Jacques, don’t go.” I tried to find the best way to tell him without losing him. Kristy had tried to tell me, but I didn’t think it was a problem. Damn shapeshifters!

  “You seem to be happy enough and I’m more important elsewhere, Miss Webb,” he said and my heart hammered, complaining about the sound of my last name. He had never called me by my last name after I had told him the reason I despised it.

  “Okay…” I said, deciding to stop being nice. “Can you listen to me for a moment?” When he nodded, I gritted my teeth. “During the party, there were a lot of people and among them were the two shapeshifters. One of them kept circling me and when I left, he followed me to the gate and since I didn’t want to…to become his next meal, I stood still while I had to endure his terrible smell and I only managed to do it because I thought of you.”

  Jacques’s jaw dropped. “That was the shapeshifter?”

  My body shook as I nodded. Then, I said, “Yes” as I suspected he couldn’t tell from my constant shaking. The memory was enough to make my insides acid.

  “He’s the white tiger. Usually, he’s somber but tonight, they danced with every girl in the room but no more than once. Raid seemed like he was on drugs or something. Laughing at odd times and maybe he was shifting because…” I pulled my sleeve and under the light, clear paw prints could be seen with some bruises on my arm.

  Jacques took my hand and anger flashed in his face. Shaking, he caressed my arm. “I’m going to kill him.” I haven’t heard him talk with so much hate before and I shuddered.

  “I’m sorry, Violet.” Holding my hand, he shuddered but not with anger. Shame colored his face and the sudden change of emotion, confused me. “I don’t know what came over to me. I thought… I’m stupid.” His ramblings didn’t make sense, but I managed to piece them together. “I don’t know what is happening to me.” Shaking, he seemed crumbling and lost. He closed his eyes while holding my hand close to his heart. “I see you with other guys and I get these intense feelings and today I snapped. I’m so sorry, please forgive me.”

  Touching his arm, I felt it burn. “It’s okay.” Involuntarily, I placed my arms to his side and he doubled over in pain. “Did I hurt you? Are you all right?”

  Hurt passed from his expression as his breath hitched. Sharp short breaths left his lips and I folded my arms on my chest so I wouldn’t hurt him. I wanted to touch him so badly, but I didn’t want to cause him any more pain.

  “It’s not you,” he managed. “It’s the stupid trap.”

  “I thought it was your paw that got entrapped and it’s been a while since that day. Aren’t shifters supposed to heal quickly?” My eyebrows folded and looked at him intently. He didn’t look at me which got me thinking there was something I wasn’t aware of.

  “I wish. If it had, I would have shifted, but it got me in the torso and I couldn’t breathe or shift. That’s why I called Kristy.” He
shrugged. “We normally heal quickly but I don’t know why it’s taking so long now. Maybe it’s the Darkness.” My eyebrows drew into a frown but he smirked as if to reassure me. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.”

  “Let me see.” I placed my hands carefully around the wound, letting a bit of my magic trickle but his breath hitched and I pulled away.

  “Please stop,” he begged, “you’re driving me crazy.”

  “I’m sorry.” Hurt, I didn’t say a word, putting his insult to pain. “I didn’t mean…Damn! I’m making all of the mistakes in the world today,” Jacques said between breaths. “Your touch is driving me crazy. I hate being a teenager shapeshifter!” He covered his eyes and my heart beat in my chest so loudly I thought he could hear it.

  “You’re not a teenager,” I said and he tilted his head.

  “Well, seventeen and a half is still a teenager.”

  Awed, I shook my head. “You’re seventeen?” He nodded and I shook my head.

  “How old did you think I was?”

  “Umm…you look more like nineteen.” I blushed and he laughed.

  “No, I am not there yet.” He sighed and placed his hand on his wound.

  “That’s ridiculous!” Decisively, I removed his arm and cast a healing spell that worked like a charm, erasing any sign of the wound.

  “You’re beautiful when you’re angry.” His back against the wall, he breathed like he was still in pain.

  “Didn’t it work?”

  “It did. Thank you. I’m still trying to overcome his stench on you.”

  “You can’t still smell it. I’m sure it’s just the thought.”

  “No, shapeshifters are part animal so we leave our imprints on objects or people. He bruised you, leaving his mark.” Gritting his teeth, he held my hand and I felt my anger boiling.

  “Can’t I remove it? Wait, I don’t understand. You haven’t left something on me.”

  “No, it’s dangerous and it would have caused you trouble as they scoured every inch of the university for me.” He gazed at me as his eyes glazed over. “It’s a pretty intense thing and I’m going to seem like I’m drunk afterward.”