by LJ Swallow
Money.
Tonight, she either didn’t pay them enough, or their desire to fuck things up for everybody else overrides their love of wealth.
I’ve no interest in some shitty dance either—most Petrescu aren’t. Petrescu students prefer to do their own thing, keeping ourselves in the house building away from the others.
But I heard the guys’ plans to disrupt the dance. I’ve no great love for shifters or witches, but I’ve no time for people who try to destabilise the academy.
Any hostility and injury between the races won’t stop here—the kids will graduate and take the prejudice with them. The finger points at me as a Dominion sympathiser, but my suspicion lies with this group.
They spent this term quiet, heads down in the classrooms on the rare occasions they attended, and took a backseat in the academy’s student affairs.
Until today.
I sit outside the main building, listening to the music spilling from the hall and echoing towards me. There’s fresh snow on the ground: how beautiful for Katherine’s perfect winter night.
I might be scornful, but I’m not a complete bastard. I warned Katherine about the gang’s rumoured plans, but she brushed me off, said she could handle it and that Clive would help.
Which will lead to more disaster.
I’ve seen the pneuma vampire, Saul, high on a huge hit of energy he’s pulled from fighting with a shifter and know he won’t hesitate to do this again.
The gang know they’ll be caught and disciplined, but unless someone dies, this will stay contained in the academy. The three don't care—their parents could pay any compensation for damage to property, or people.
Hands in my pockets, I watch as my breath mists. I remember the day the hemia vamps at prep school teased me for breathing. Andrei, the blood-born vampire and his weird family. Now I live with a tribe of blood-born, who are mostly arseholes.
My internal battle over whether to get involved or not ends, and I stand to walk inside and warn Katherine. Tobias has them under watch, but he’s not strong enough to take them all. I told him about the situation too, but he didn't seem concerned.
I’d rather not talk to him anyway—the snide, blackmailing bastard.
I rub my face and the real reason I’m loitering outside, debating whether to walk in, flashes into my mind.
Maeve. I told myself this is because I don’t want her hurt. I tried to speak to Ash before too, but he didn't have time for me. Jamie wasn’t concerned either. Who would dare mess with Katherine’s night?
Three Petrescu dickheads.
One thing I know about Maeve, even though I don’t understand her as much as I’d like, is that she won’t stand for people pulling stunts that hurt others. Plus, she doesn’t think about her actions sometimes.
I cross beneath the academy shields and colours, hanging side by side in a proud symbol of unity, and walk across the polished hallway.
I rub my nose as I stand close to the double doors leading into the Winter Ball. Others walk in ahead of me, overdressed in fancy suits or expensive dresses. Balls aren't solely for humans—my mother loved them before she left. Yeah, this ostentatious bullshit annoys me because it’s a reminder of someone who screwed up my life.
There’s no written rule that I have to wear a suit for entry. So, I don’t. I’m only staying long enough to keep an eye on people. If shit kicks off, I’m leaving before I get implicated.
Oliver, the lamia, and his two friends have stuck to the dress code, which helps them blend into the crowd. How long before they leave their corner table to start something?
I blink at the ridiculousness of this over-the-top spectacle. Credit where it’s due, Katherine knows how to create an event filled with perfection. I blow air into my cheeks and look around the room for a professor. Mine and Tobias’s relationship went south after the incident with Maeve, but we still speak when we need.
I spot him beneath the specially created lampposts covered in snow and lit with blue witchfire. He’s staring across the room, watching the dancers.
Watching Maeve.
The music assaults my sensitive hearing, and Maeve dances with Jamie and Ash, her back to me. Her short dress reaches her knees and the light picks out the shine in her hair. I’d smile at how relaxed she is, at how those around her smile too, but the sight leaves a hollowness inside. Is this because they’re together and I need to exclude myself as Tobias told me to? Or because Ash has his hands in hers as they move around the dance floor. Light strobes across them and I look at Ash focused on Maeve, a wide smile on his face.
Tobias hasn't seen me, and when I look back to him, he’s still staring at the dance floor. Once, I suspected the guy was attracted to Maeve. Now I’m sure his motives are more sinister. I’m hamstrung—if I approach anybody about Maeve or him, I can kiss my life goodbye, as Ravenhold would welcome me with open arms.
That or I’d walk to my death.
The jealousy running through me changes to disgust at the predator who accuses me of wrongdoing. I’ve watched Tobias carefully and he’s not approached Maeve since that night, but if he does, I won't stand back.
The band pauses in their set and Maeve turns in my direction. I tense and sidestep to slip away from the bright dance floor towards an empty table. I’m not here to interact; I’m here to watch.
I shuffle down in my seat and do exactly that.
Maeve approaches the table, but I stay slumped down as her face becomes clearer.
She’s smiling at me.
Please don't come any closer. Maeve doesn't know how much I struggle against my desire for witch blood. How I crave the attention she could never give to me, because if I ever touched her, everything would turn to shit.
Because everything I touch in my life turns to shit.
Maeve’s smile is torture to my aching, dark soul.
“Andrei?” Maeve pulls out a chair beside me and sits close enough for her scent to wind around me.
Shit.
I fumble in my pocket and pull out gum. Maeve watches with a crease to her brow as I put a piece in my mouth and chew. Immediately, the mint overwhelms my senses and I can’t smell or taste anything else, especially her.
“Hey, Maeve. Having fun?”
“I am.” Her smile broadens.
I trail a gaze down her neck to where her heart thumps below the lower neckline and snap my head the other way. She’s perspiring from dancing, which isn't helping.
“You look nice,” I say as I stamp down the words ‘you’re fucking beautiful and breaking my cold heart’.
She bursts a laugh. “Thank you. You look… the same.”
I give a tight smile and look over Maeve’s shoulder. So much temptation in one place—no wonder most Petrescu stay away. I shouldn't have come here.
“On your own?” she asks.
“Yeah. Not staying long. Keeping an eye on them.” I jerk my head to the Petrescu gang.
“I think the professors have their eye on the group.”
“Don't underestimate them.”
She pushes a stray strand of hair from her strangely transformed face. “I’ll get you a drink. It’s about time we had a chat.”
I freeze and glance over her shoulder, where a stony-faced Ash stands a few feet away. “Alone?”
“I think so. Don't you?”
Maeve returns to her friends, and whispers something to Ash, placing a hand on his cheek as she does. As she walks away to find the drink she promised, Ash raises a warning eyebrow, but doesn't approach.
Chapter Forty-Three
MAEVE
Andrei doesn't get to escape this time, and if Tobias approaches, I’ll have an interesting conversation with him too.
I don't know what I saw that day in my weird vision, but Andrei has a significance in my life at some point in the future. Tobias must be what’s holding him back.
Since I discovered the shocking truth about Andrei’s family, I’ve wavered between speaking to and avoiding him. I remember his ge
ntleness and concern by the bonfire that day. How he helped me when I was attacked by Dominion on the evening I took my house colours. If Andrei had evil intent, wouldn't I feel this? I moved past the disgust at his blood-drinking and now understand why: I see a broken guy beneath.
Placing two drinks on the table, I sit beside Andrei. Why does he look nervous of me? Or am I imagining this?
“Thanks.” Andrei stares at the non-alcoholic punch but doesn't drink.
“Probably won’t taste nice with gum.” I point at his mouth.
“Probably.” Andrei shifts away from me, angling his body in a different direction.
The group he allegedly came to watch grow louder and Andrei glances over his shoulder. “I hope Tobias is watching them carefully. I told him they’re planning trouble tonight.”
“Is that why you came?” I ask him.
“Mostly.”
I lean closer to ensure he hears my next sentence. “You haven’t spoken to me for weeks. Not since we went on our ‘field trip’. Why?”
Andrei stares at Tobias close by. “How have you been, Maeve?”
“Me? Okay. I’m feeling more settled but looking forward to Christmas.”
“Mmm.”
“Do vampires have Christmas?”
He looks at me as if I’m insane. “No vampire Santa for me as a kid, Maeve.”
I seize my chance to talk about this kid with no Christmas.
“I had an interesting talk with Sofia the other week.”
“Yeah? One where she told you to stay away from me.” He meets my eyes. “I noticed you're avoiding me too.”
“She showed me pictures of Dominion members.”
“Uh huh.” His bright blue eyes stay on mine. “If you can help visions by touching objects, that’s useful. If Jamie can, I suppose you have the ability too.”
Is he deliberately ignoring the implications here? I lower my voice. “This wasn’t about visions, Andrei. I know about your mother.”
“Everybody knows about my mother, but nobody talks about her and me. It’s kinda hard to hide when she’s the leader of the friendly neighbourhood terrorist organisation.”
“Is this why you’re the way you are?”
His focus on me intensifies. “And what way would that be, Maeve?”
“You hide who you are behind the persona people think you should have. There’s more to you than this image you show the world.”
“I’d rather people left me alone.” He runs his tongue along his teeth. “Few people trust me, and a few don’t trust you. We have that in common, don't we?”
“Does it bother you that they don’t trust you?”
He narrows his eyes. “I don’t give a crap what people think.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” I say softly.
“Maeve, if I worried about the people who didn’t like me, I’d spend a lot of time unhappy. And contrary to what people believe, I’m not unhappy.”
“You can always talk to me if something is bothering you.”
Andrei stares at me as if I’ve offered to feed him my blood. “Right. Maybe not. You don’t exactly understand me.”
“No, but I could. I’m starting to realise I need to take time to understand the different races.”
“Yeah? That’s more than most do. I reckon lack of understanding is part of what leads to the division in our world. Mutual suspicion. Our society breaking down is inevitable.”
His voice is barely audible above the music and voices in the room and my scalp prickles. “I hope you don’t say this to other people, Andrei.”
“Like I said, I don’t give a shit what people think.”
I want to reach out and ask him what he meant about his future the evening by the bonfire, but something more plays on my mind. “How well do you know Tobias?”
“Too well.” Andrei glances over his shoulder at Tobias, who’s facing away from us. “I want to talk to you about something. Really want to talk to you. I’ve spent every waking moment deciding what the hell to do, Maeve.”
He darts another look at Tobias, moving in his seat as if he’s about to walk away from me at any moment.
“About the field trip?” I ask.
“Will you meet me later? Alone.”
The more insistent his tone becomes, the more I’m torn between demanding answers and not wanting to know anything.
“I don’t know about alone... Tell me now.”
“Not in the middle of the dance.”
Ash approaches and Andrei stands the moment he reaches the table. He looks down at me and rejection flickers in his eyes. “Find me later. Or not. That’s your choice.”
“Andrei, I—"
I don’t finish my sentence because I’d be speaking to Andrei’s back as he strides away.
Chapter Forty-Four
JAMIE
I watch Maeve with Andrei and Ash as I debate joining them. Andrei's attendance surprises me, but not as much as him talking to Maeve. They've barely spoken since the weird field trip. I confronted him once to demand he tell me what happened, but Andrei didn't respond. He walked away.
Maybe that was a good thing since I'd lose my temper if he said something wrong.
I look around the room for Amelia, who's paused her dancing to talk to Katherine. Jade stands with them unfolding sheets of paper as they count votes for king and queen. Typical Amelia, throwing herself into all this.
I know one reason she is—Matt. Amelia rarely mentions him, but she speaks to him once a week on the phone, and occasionally they connect mentally. But the longer they're apart, the less often that connection happens. My heart aches for her, but I'm also frustrated that she won't let him go.
Matt won't be back. Ravenhold is a death sentence.
Maeve crosses the dance floor towards me, and I stare as if seeing her for the first time this evening. The lights pick out the sparkle in her dress and smile on her face. The one for me. She grabs my hand, hers soft and warm in mine, and her vanilla scent drifts closer.
"Why aren't you dancing, Jamie?" she asks.
"I'm watching Amelia because I'm worried about those three." I tip my head to indicate the Petrescu kids who now dance stupidly, mocking those close by. How long before they start something?
"Katherine has everything under control. Come on." Maeve tugs me towards the dance floor, and I hesitate. Not because I don't want to dance, but because I'm shocked she's chosen to dance with me.
Wrapping her arms around my neck and resting them on my shoulders, Maeve smiles. "Don't you want to dance with me?"
"That's a dumb question."
A relaxed and happy Maeve fills me with as much warmth as the skin touching mine. What do I do? Touch her? Pull her closer to me? Hell no, just this close is enough to send my hormones into overdrive.
She tips her chin as I easily wrap my arms around Maeve's waist, the smooth material warm from her body. If I were a worse guy, I'd use this as an excuse to touch her gorgeous backside, but I'm not. I can wait. Yeah, sure, Jamie. She wants Ash.
"How are you, Jamie?"
"I'm okay. The dance isn't that bad."
She arches a brow. "You know what I mean. How do you feel?"
Another lecture about the Blackwood magic. Will they ever drop this? "Safe. I haven't touched anybody."
With a sigh, Maeve reaches out and brushes her fingers down my cheek. "I don't know why the visions stopped."
"Maybe I found the solution, and you don't need to stop them anymore?"
"Maybe." She's doubtful and if I'm honest, so am I.
"What were you speaking to Andrei about?" I ask.
She moves her arm back to my shoulder, and her she sways to the music beneath my hands. Bloody hell, I need to keep her body from touching mine; thank the stars this isn't a slow song.
"Not much," she says.
"That's evasive."
"Yes. So was he."
What is with Andrei? I'm no fan, but he's helped Maeve before. Weirdly, he became part of us and t
hen suddenly… nothing. The guy stopped talking to us and slunk back to his Petrescu life.
We stop talking, and Maeve rests her head against my chest. Finally, I relax and hold her to me, wishing that we could move on. I've considered finding time alone with Maeve many times, but I'm scared we'll lose our spirt connection if things become awkward.
I need for her visions to strengthen, but she's holding back still. I'm impressed with her mind control skills, and I'm hanging my hopes on that helping me if the Blackwood magic fails.
As if Blackwood magic would fail.
"Your heart is beating fast," she says and turns her face to look up at me.
"I'm dancing with a beautiful girl."
Her face softens, and she smiles. If there weren't hesitance in that smile, I'd reach out to her, across the barrier we've created. Is that one reason our connection won't strengthen? Am I thinking about this in the wrong way?
"Thanks, Jamie."
"That's not a compliment, that's the truth."
My pulse picks up the longer our eyes remain on each other, and I curse myself at the distance we've allowed to grow between us. This girl is the centre of everything to me, but I don't think I'll ever be the same to her. I look at her mouth, to the lips I've imagined kissing, and ache inside.
I don't care if I'm not the centre of her world, but I want to be part of it.
Someone jostles us, and I snap my head around at a tall guy with a sardonic grin. Petrescu. "Sorry, dude."
With that lie, he whirls away from me, swinging his arms around like a bloody windmill and smacking other dancers in the head. I twist my head to look around for the professors. Sofia now stands with a distracted Katherine and Amelia.
Tobias?
I spot him pushing his way through the crowd and smirk to myself as he grabs the kid by the arm and drags him off the dance floor.
Beside me, Maeve stares. "At least Tobias has things under control," she comments.
"I hope so." The two other kids sit on a table, boots on chairs as they sneer at Tobias removing their friend. The two place their heads together, gesturing plans with their hands.