Fullblood Academy: A Vampire Academy Mild Bully Romance (Vampires of the Sanctum Book 1)

by Phoenix Chaos

  I glanced over my shoulder. “I don’t seem welcome here, so I’m going to make myself scarce. Good luck getting around.”

  Vixie folded her arms over her chest and slumped onto the infirmary bed. “I’m going to make your life hell, you bitch,” she said. “You’re going to wish you never came here.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, you don’t need to make my life hell for that. Never wanted to be here in the first place.”

  She yelled a few insults that weren’t worth my attention as I moved to the exit.

  As soon as I stepped out the infirmary and into the hallway, I saw Grey. He’d been waiting for me outside. “Are you stalking me now?” I asked.

  Grey brushed aside my question and responded, “Where’d you go earlier this morning?”

  “It’s none of your business.” I knew I shouldn’t care about my encounter with Vixie. Why let the words of a conceited brat affect me? But the conversation with her had soured my mood anyway. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk. Not with Grey. Not with anyone.

  “Your safety is my business.”

  “No, it isn’t. Who decided that?”

  “I did.”

  “And you get to decide everything now?”

  “Um, yeah? When it comes to your safety, I do.” He chuckled, but I found no amusement in his words. “Since it’s my business and all that.”

  “It really isn’t.” I sighed. “I’m late for class. Blood systems. See you around.”

  “We’re heading for the same class,” Grey replied. “Here.” Without my approval, Grey snatched my backpack from me and swung it over his shoulder so that he was carrying two bags. I halted in my tracks, jaw dropping at his brazenness.

  “You just stole my backpack.”

  “Not steal,” Grey said. “I’m helping you carry it, just like any good gentleman should.”

  “I’m good with carrying my bag myself,” I said, but Grey ignored my wishes and strode ahead. I huffed and walked faster to keep up with him. His strides were twice as long as mine, so I had to pick up my pace.

  “You still never answered my question,” Grey continued. “Where did you go last night?” When I didn’t answer, he added, “You didn’t go look for Cassius with that knife, did you? Doesn’t sound smart to be barging into the fullblood’s chambers like that.”

  What did he care? Vixie’s taunt returned to haunt me. She told me that I’d never be enough, and a huge part of me believed her. Words from someone like Vixie shouldn’t affect me, but they did, and I hated myself for that.

  After all, actions spoke louder, and all I’d been doing was failing. It started with Gran’s death. Now Hannah’s current state. And just this morning, I’d foolishly stepped into Cassius’s den, alerting him of my intentions and losing the knife Grey had tried so hard to get.

  What use was I if I couldn’t save the people I loved?

  My parents cared little for me, too. I never met their expectations. Bad grades. Bad report cards. I didn’t get into Cornell like they’d always wanted me to, while Hannah always excelled. I had never been academically inclined enough.

  I turned my attention back to Grey. “You don’t have to keep asking. I’m not going to tell you.”

  “Did you lose the knife?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How?”

  “Dropped it somewhere,” I lied.

  “Uh huh. Why am I not convinced?”

  “You’ve gotta take my word for it.”

  “I can’t protect you if you aren’t open with me.”

  “I don’t need you to protect me. I can do that myself. Haven’t I made that clear?”

  “Why are you this stubborn?”

  I cocked my head. “I’m the stubborn one? You’re the guy who’s butting into other people’s problems without them asking you to.”

  “Things would be easier if we just got along.”

  “Stop smoking in our bedroom.”

  “You’re asking too much of me.”

  “See? Who’s being difficult now?”

  We stopped in front of classroom 27E. That was where we were supposed to attend blood systems.

  “We should take our seats,” I said.

  “Yeah. Why can’t you be like other girls?”

  “Other girls?”

  “More obedient. Accepting of help.”

  I sniffed. “Obedient, huh? Why does that not sound right to me?”

  Grey massaged the bridge of his nose. “Don’t stab yourself with a pencil,” Grey said. “I’ll make sure you don’t.”

  “You say that like it’s a challenge. Now I do want to stab myself with a pencil.”

  “You’re not that dumb, little lion.”

  “Is that your new nickname for me?”

  “I like it.”

  “I don’t.”

  “You’ll warm up to it.” He winked at me and walked into the classroom, joining the rest of the students.

  Grey found an empty seat and sat down. He took out a book and flipped through it as he waited for the lesson to start.

  I did the same, though I hadn’t brought a book to read. The teacher who walked in five minutes later was a clean-shaven male with slicked-back hair. He wore a striped suit and sported a blond beard. He didn’t give the students time to greet him before he pulled out a remote control and turned on the projector.

  Bright light flashed from the projector, sending images onto the screen before us.

  “Bite marks,” he said. The teachers around here didn’t waste time with icebreakers and whatnot. They liked to get straight to work. “I’m sure enough information has traveled amongst you now, and you know of the three main kinds of vampires—fullbloods, normals, and lowbloods.”

  The students stared at the teacher dumbly.

  “Can I get a sign that you’re listening?” the teacher said.

  A lackluster chorus of “yes” followed.

  The teacher nodded. “Good. There are many traits that distinguish the three classes, bite marks being one of them.” He plucked a laser pointer from his pocket and gestured to the screen. “This is the bite mark of a lowblood.”

  The screen flipped to the next slide. We were shown an image of a woman’s neck. There was a huge wound on that looked like an animal had slashed through the skin. I’d seen that mark on Hannah after the attack that night. The gory mess brought back memories that caused my hands to curl into fists. I couldn’t stop throwing blame at myself, and I wasn’t sure if I should stop.

  “The fangs of lowbloods grow in multiple pairs. They aren’t as neat as a fullblood’s,” the teacher said. “So, the tears on the victim’s neck are somewhat gruesome.”

  I scribbled the information into my new notebook. The Sanctum had provided it to us, along with a plethora of other school supplies. I wrote with a quill pen, which made me wonder whether vampires had an obsession with the past. Taking notes was an old habit of mine. I’d started doing so in high school, and sitting in a classroom without doing so felt weird. I was raised to be studious. Being the daughter of a principal ensured I adopted good studying habits.

  “These here,” the teacher continued, “are the kinds of bite marks inflicted by the two other types of vampires.” He flicked through more slides, quickly running over the topic of bite marks, before moving on to the importance of vitality.

  Apparently, every living being had vitality in their bloodstream. The essence determined how much strength a being could have. Speed. Power. Heightened senses. More powerful vampires had more vitality, while the lowbloods had the least. Vitality, along with other abilities, could be transferred by exchanging blood, which was why so many normal vampires craved the essence of the fullbloods.

  Cassius Lucian’s blood was a delicacy amongst his own kind.

  The lesson went into more detail, and I noted every word of what the teacher said. Maybe knowing more about the vampires would help me hunt them in the future.

  I shut my notebook when a low, melodic ringing signaled the end of the lesson
. The teacher dismissed us, grabbed his briefcase, and took his leave.

  “Remember to turn in your assignments before next Tuesday,” he said as he walked out the door. “Too many late or missed assignments will result in expulsion and a memory wipe.” His boots clicked against the ground as he made his exit.

  I slid my notebook into my backpack, zipped it up, then stood. Grey was already approaching me, but before he reached me, a familiar figure cut in his way, interrupting his greeting.

  Miles. He was the man who’d brought me to the Sanctum and ripped me from my sister. He wore a casual tee, paired with ripped jeans. I’d seen him dressed more formally before. The new outfit threw me off slightly.

  I eyed him with distrust.

  Before I could ask him what he was here for, Miles said, “Cassius sent me.”

  “Cassius?” I asked. Any news regarding him couldn’t be good.

  “He wants you in his chambers.”

  Dread sank through my chest. After our first meeting, I didn’t want to be anywhere near him. “He… He asked me to stay away.”

  “And you didn’t listen to his orders.”

  I felt Grey clasping my shoulder and pulling me back protectively. I faced Miles down, knowing that Grey was useless against these vampires. He didn’t know how to hunt them, and the likes of Miles and Cassius were too powerful for a human like Grey. Grey hadn’t even gone through the training Jonas put me through yet. He’d die in two seconds if he dared face someone like Miles. I wasn’t sure if Jonas would hold up well against the warrior either.

  “She’s not going,” Grey said, puffing out his chest.

  “She doesn’t have a choice. What Cassius wants, he gets.”

  “Not this time.”

  Miles cocked his head. The way he looked at Grey reminded me of a cat staring at a mouse with amusement. “You seem to think you have a choice.”

  Grey curled his hands into fists. “Don’t I? You’re not getting anywhere close to Verity. She’s under my protection, and—”

  I lightly placed my hand on Grey’s belly and pushed him backward. My rejection, judging from the scowl on his face, had offended him. I spun around to Miles. “Why does Cassius want to see me?”

  Miles shrugged. “Cassius gets to see whoever he wishes. He has no need to explain his intentions. I’m merely a messenger who was sent to fetch you.”

  “Always with that same line.” I wrapped my hand around my backpack. “There’s nothing I say that will make you back off, am I right?”

  Miles nodded.

  I didn’t have a choice when Miles had ripped me away from my sister, too.

  “Okay,” I said, my stomach dropping. “Don’t hurt Grey.”

  “If he knows his place,” Miles replied, “he’ll get to keep his head.”

  Grey straightened his shoulders before rolling them backward, as if readying for a fight.

  “Know your place, dog,” Miles said. He turned around, and, dragging my feet, I followed closely behind.

  “He wants to punish me, doesn’t he?” I asked as Miles led me to Cassius’s chambers.

  “He didn’t tell me his intentions,” Miles replied. He walked slightly ahead of me, and I was facing his back.

  “Says he wants to kill me, drain me of my blood. Does he have the right to?”

  Miles nodded. “Cassius can do whatever he wants in the Sanctum. It’s his domain. If he asks to have all its inhabitants killed tomorrow, that will happen. Luckily for the students, he doesn’t usually want much.”

  “He’s unhappy with me,” I said. “What if he wants to get rid of me?”

  “Then you’ll be taken care of.”

  I dropped my gaze to the ground. My head felt much heavier all of a sudden. “And if I tried to run?”

  “I would have to stop you.”

  “Do I have a chance of escaping?”

  “No.”

  I inhaled sharply.

  “Why do you follow his bidding without question?” I asked. “He’s merely using you to fulfill his desires. Aren’t you sometimes curious about why you’re made to do the things you do?”

  “I don’t question what I’m told.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because that is my place.” Miles straightened, his back stiffening.

  “Your place in life isn’t fixed. You’re free to climb or fall and choose.”

  “Not in my case.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “It’s not difficult to understand,” Miles said. “I receive orders from my masters and I carry them out. That is my duty.”

  “There’s more to life than duty.”

  “No, there isn’t.”

  The resolute way Miles made his proclamation left me speechless. I dropped back slightly, before quickening my pace again to catch up with him. “Why did you choose Cassius, then?” I asked. “There are many other masters to follow.”

  “My lord is a good man.”

  I noticed that Miles’s walk was like a march. He moved in a nearly straight line. Despite not being in his formal outfit, he reminded me of a soldier.

  “How do you know that?” I asked.

  “His actions speak greatly. My lord has proven his worthiness time and time again, so now I have no reason to question his goodness.”

  I bit my lower lip. “I don’t have a good impression of him.”

  “You barged into his room without consent.”

  “Could have sent me out nicely,” I muttered.

  “Fangs. And to think I had a good impression of you earlier.” Miles turned to me and raised an eyebrow. “Before making snap judgments of my lord, maybe you should get to know him first. He saved me from a life of slavery. I was to be used as fodder, running straight into bullets to distract the enemy. Cassius freed us. He took care of the enemy himself and won the battle for my side so we wouldn’t have to suffer that fate.”

  “Did he turn you?”

  “And I’m ever-thankful for it.”

  “You’re out of your mind,” I said. “I’m not sure why anyone would want to be a vampire.”

  “Many of the students here are vying for the right. You’re performing better than most. If this keeps up, by the end of six months, you’ll be one of us.”

  I frowned. “I’m not doing this because I want to be one of you.”

  “Then why?”

  “I’ve just been taught to do my best in school. It’s my weird past.” A pause. “What about the thirst?”

  “Every aspect of life has its pros and cons. It’s a kind of suffering I’ve learned to accept.” Miles didn’t have red eyes, not like Cassius or the other lowbloods. I thought it was a trait vampires had. “Your eyes,” I said. “They’re not red.”

  “I’ve fed recently.”

  I didn’t bother asking whom he’d fed from. I was afraid I mightn’t like his answer. “I don’t get the correlation.”

  “You can tell how hungry a vampire is based on the color of his eyes. If our eyes are red, it means that we’re famished. Lowbloods thirst more often, so their pupils turn crimson on a more regular basis.”

  “But Cassius’s are usually that color.”

  “He doesn’t drink blood.”

  “Why not? A man like him gets whatever he wants. Shouldn’t he be allowed to indulge?”

  “You know little about my lord. He’s more than the monster you’re unfairly picturing him to be.” He stopped in front of the stairwell that led to Cassius’s room. “After you,” he said.

  I stared at the flight of steps. Each one suddenly seemed taller than I remembered.

  My insides twisted. After what I’d done yesterday, I doubted this meeting would be a friendly one.

  Twelve

  Verity

  Miles lingered behind me as I climbed toward Cassius’s chamber.

  “Remember to knock before you enter,” Miles said. He sounded calm and controlled, so different from my erratic breathing. “As a man of privacy, my lord doesn’t like being disturbed wi
thout warning. I’m sure you learned that yesterday.”

  I muttered a curse, sensing my heart banging against my ribcage, and took the last two steps toward the archaic door. My hand was shaking when I rapped my knuckles on the hardwood. I continued to question why I was so afraid. I’d faced vampires before. Some hair pulling shouldn’t scare me.

  I didn’t wish to see Cassius. Then again, I’d never wished for vampires to exist, or for any of this to happen. Ever since that encounter with Gran, my experiences with the race had been filled with death and heartache and loss. I thought it’d be nice to go back to being a kid. Back then, all that mattered were grades and popularity. All those insignificant things.

  Not everybody got what they wanted.

  “Enter,” Cassius said through the door.

  I glanced over my shoulder. Miles stood there like a guard dog, making sure I had no escape.

  I brushed my hair away from my face, sucked in a deep breath, then pushed the entrance open. The room was completely dark. I took wary steps into Cassius’s chambers. Out of curiosity, I held my hand out in front of my face, and when I couldn’t even see my fingertips, my pulse quickened even further.

  Click.

  The door shut behind me.

  Darkness surrounded me. I couldn’t see past it despite my squinting.

  “I… I’m here,” I said. “Miles sent me here to—”

  I was swept off my feet and knocked onto my back.

  The wind blew the curtains up, letting moonlight into the room, exposing Cassius’s face to me.

  It was the first time I’d seen him this hideous.

  His features contorted, changing from man to beast. His fangs had extended far below his bottom lip, and veins spread from around his crimson eyes. His pupils were so red that they seemed to be pulsing.

  “V-Veritiyy…”

  My name left his throat in a guttural croak. I inched away from him and felt soft sheets beneath me, their silky texture rubbing against my skin. It was only then that I noticed he’d thrown me onto his bed. Both his hands were propped at my sides, and he kept me caged in with his large frame. A drumming began in my ears as fear shot through my senses, making me lose reason.