Lucia turned her head away and Olivia heard a muffled sob. ‘Come here,’ Olivia said, drawing the wedding planner to her in a hug. To her surprise, Lucia didn’t pull away, but buried her head in Olivia’s shoulder.
‘I just wasn’t expecting it!’ she said in a muffled voice.
‘I know, I know,’ Olivia said, comforting her.
‘How did you guess?’ Lucia asked, pulling back to look into Olivia’s face.
‘I could tell by the way you were fidgeting and touching the ring finger of your left hand. There was a ring on there until very recently, wasn’t there?’
A sniffle escaped the sophisticated vampire and, when she turned to face Olivia, tears were pooling in her eyes. Suddenly, Olivia was very aware that a hush had fallen over the Great Hall. Every servant had stopped working and was now watching the scene unfold.
Lucia sank down into one of the plush chairs arranged for the guests. She wiped her eyes, smudging her eyeliner. ‘I don’t know what’s got into me,’ she whimpered. ‘I feel so stupid for crying over such a heartless . . . cad.’
Olivia sat down beside her, taking Lucia’s hand in her lap. ‘Can you tell me what happened?’
Lucia blinked back more tears. ‘I was engaged.’ Her chin dropped to her chest. ‘I was supposed to have a beautiful wedding, just like the one tomorrow.’ Lucia’s breathing was shaky. ‘But at the last moment he called it off. It was only a month ago. My whole life fell apart.’ Her lower lip quivered and Olivia worried she was about to start real, full-on sobbing. Olivia patted her hand, noticing that even Lucia’s fingernails were painted black.
‘I’m sorry to hear that. That truly is the worst! A cancelled wedding! I can’t even imagine. When you must have been dreaming of your wedding day – with the veil and the big white dress and beautiful bouquets!’ Olivia noticed Lucia glaring at her. ‘Sorry,’ she said, returning to her train of thought. ‘But surely no, erm, cad is worth abandoning your entire faith in romance for, right?’
Lucia sniffled, but didn’t disagree.
‘Listen,’ continued Olivia. ‘I remember when I was in Hollywood and another actress tried to ruin my big moment. But was I going to let someone else get the better of me?’ Olivia paused for a response.
‘No?’ Lucia finally hiccupped.
‘Of course not!’ Olivia said with a touch more oomph. ‘And what about you? Should you let some guy get the upper hand?’
‘I guess not,’ Lucia squeaked.
‘Absolutely not,’ said Olivia, feeling like she was in the middle of a very important pep rally. She pulled Lucia back on to her feet. ‘The best way to get over your loser ex would be to celebrate the very idea of romance with a wedding fit for a prince and princess. How often do you get to throw a royal wedding? And think of the thrill it will give Tessa and Alex when they see all you’ve done.’
‘You’re right.’ Lucia swallowed hard, gesturing to the greenhouse lady, who was cradling her half-empty basket by the wall. ‘Helga, let me see those flower samples one more time.’
Olivia watched Lucia sniff a bright purple bloom. All in a day’s work, she thought, mentally patting herself on the back. As the Great Hall began to bustle again, this time with more energetic activity, she slipped outside through the giant French doors.
My own love life may be on ‘pause’ for the time being, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help fix other people’s. As she wound her way through the long corridors of the Lazar mansion, Olivia realised that she should have felt positively giddy at her triumph. She had helped save the day !
But instead of being happy and light, she still felt like a heavy weight had settled in the depths of her stomach. The sound of her wedge sandals ricocheted along the empty hallways, giving Olivia a hollow feeling. She missed Jackson, with his megawatt smile and sweet blue eyes that made her feel like she was melting. But that wasn’t all. As Olivia wandered aimlessly among the ancestral portraits and ornate wallpaper, she realised that maybe one day Ivy might have her own wedding in this very building. Maybe she’ll never return to Franklin Grove. Olivia felt so isolated it was as if she was living on the outskirts of Siberia. Even when she tried to take her mind off Jackson or Ivy, there was no escaping the fear that was quickly becoming all too real to Olivia. She’d only recently got to know this whole new side to her family, and now it felt as though it was all being snatched away again.
I might be left on my own, she thought. I might lose my sister.
Chapter Six
Ivy stuffed another tender piece of rare steak into her mouth. She and Petra were seated at a round, granite table inside the Wallachia canteen. Unlike at Franklin Grove, where the students ate off plastic trays with flimsy forks, Wallachia provided fancy cloth napkins and baroque silverware. The table setting was even nicer than her father’s best china at home!
‘You like it?’ asked Petra, shoving some food around on her plate.
‘Like it? The food here is ten times better than anything at the Meat and Greet and the Bloodmart back home, combined – and, trust me,’ she said with her mouth full, ‘I’m a big fan of both.’
‘American food . . .’ Petra sighed as if a plate of burgers and French fries might be the most exotic thing on the planet. ‘You’re so lucky!’
Lucky? Ivy was about to disagree entirely when she took a sip of straight B-positive from the crystal goblet in front of her, grimacing the way humans did when they sucked a lemon. ‘OK, fine, I’ll admit, you guys may be lacking in the milkshake department.’ Ivy preferred to get her blood fix a little less directly.
‘Well,’ said Petra, ‘if you came here permanently, I’m sure the chef could figure out something as simple as a milkshake. But seriously –’ she pointed her fork at Ivy – ‘we need more cool, less stuck-up girls around, and having you here would be a big help.’
Ivy felt her face get hot. ‘Thanks,’ she stammered. Ivy thought Petra was cool, too, but how stuck-up was this place if Petra was so desperate to balance out the snoot-factor?
Just then a group of first years walked by in their Wallachia uniforms – each with a matching strand of pearls. Their red pleated skirts swung lightly at their knees. As if on cue, their heads swivelled to examine Ivy. Oh no, do I have something in my teeth? Ivy slid her tongue over her would-be fangs, but that wasn’t it. A blonde first year with a trendy designer tote bag wrinkled her nose, her gaze lingering on Ivy’s plain T-shirt and jeans. She was worse than Charlotte Brown – even worse than the old, prima-donna version of Charlotte before she had become kind of, sort of, Ivy’s friend.
The moment the girls were out of earshot, Petra burst into laughter. ‘Oh my darkness, you so have to come here!’
‘After that?’ asked Ivy. ‘Where I come from, that wouldn’t exactly pass for a warm welcome.’
Petra clutched her sides. ‘Can you imagine how riled up those girls will be every single day if you come here? It’s going to be killer.’ She squeezed Ivy’s arm as if the two of them had concocted this whole scheme together.
‘Right,’ said Ivy, pulling her hands to her lap. ‘Killer . . .’ But her neck prickled. Could it be that Petra wasn’t as friendly as she’d thought? It seemed like she just hoped that Ivy’s American ways would get a rise out of the teachers and the other snooty students.
Ivy was about to excuse herself when the sound of a loud gong rippled through the air. She looked around. Why would someone be ringing a gong? Everyone but Ivy jumped up. An excited murmur travelled through the canteen, the likes of which Ivy hadn’t seen since Principal Whitehead had announced the school dance at the end of term and the bunnies had freaked out. Could that be it? Was there going to be a Wallachia-style shindig?
‘Hey! That sound can mean only one thing – a duel! Come on.’ Petra pulled Ivy up by the sleeve of her T-shirt. ‘We don’t want to miss this. It’s pretty much the only time boys and girls are allowed to mix!’
A duel? Ivy wondered. Like, to the death? Petra dragged her outside to a grassy field where a gr
oup of vampire boys were bunched together. A bunch of girls were huddled together too, whispering furiously to each other, their eyes wide. Haven’t they ever seen boys before? Ivy thought. If this is the way that segregated classes make girls behave I’m not sure I like it.
One of the boys suddenly slammed a rugby ball to the ground, where it bounced – or it would have bounced, had it not burst.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Ivy, going on tiptoes because the crowd outside was getting so thick. Two young vampire boys snatched off their shirts while their fellow players formed a tight ring around them. Ivy caught her breath. The Academy might be fancy, but it wasn’t all that different from Franklin Grove School. Stupid teen boys on an ego trip – it must be universal.
The onlookers had drawn closer, chanting: ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’
All across the grounds more students were streaming on to the field. ‘We need a better view.’ Petra tugged Ivy along after her again, snaking through the crowd until they found a perch on a stone bench. ‘You’re in luck!’ Petra winked. ‘We don’t get one of these every day, you know!’ Petra clapped her hands and began whooping along with the other spectators. ‘I love duels,’ she continued. ‘There aren’t enough of them these days. Seriously, we’ve gone whole school years without one.’
In the centre of the ring of vampires, the two boys, shirtless and barefoot, circled each other. They looked high-school age, around sixteen. One of them – the slightly taller one – was tying his long blond hair into a ponytail, while the other removed an expensive-looking gold watch and handed it to one of his friends standing nearby.
Ivy was finding the whole scene strange. The boys back at Franklin Grove would shout and get furious and shove each other – but these boys were calm and focused. They didn’t even look that angry. Ivy shuddered. This wouldn’t be a regular human fight. Knowing vampire skills the way Ivy did, she knew this could turn out very, very badly. Ivy tried not to imagine the damage the two boys could do to one another.
Another commotion stirred the crowd and the ring parted opposite her and Petra. Now everyone was gasping. Prince Alex stepped right into the circle with the shirtless vampires. Everyone bowed in his presence, including the two fighters. Ivy’s shoulders relaxed. Everything would be under control now. Alex would put a stop to this.
The prince wedged himself between the two boys, one palm on each of their chests. ‘It’s fortunate that I’m here today. Please state your names.’ Alex’s voice boomed across the field.
‘Carlos,’ answered the tall, blond vampire.
‘Gregor,’ said the shorter one.
‘And what is your quarrel?’
Gregor pointed at his opponent, a sneer twisting his lips. ‘Carlos accused me of dishonesty on the playing field, but he’s wrong. I took the lead fairly –’ he pushed his finger into his chest – ‘and I should not be called a cheat in front of my classmates.’
Carlos shook his head and his ponytail swept across his bare back. ‘That’s not what happened. I saw the ball touch the ground but Gregor carried on playing – he had an unfair advantage.’
‘You’re mistaken,’ Gregor insisted.
‘I am not.’ Carlos crossed his arms. Ivy rolled her eyes. They were being so polite, while still managing to act like total cavemen. Were they really going to fight over this ? Ivy would give them each a trophy if they would just chill out!
Alex turned to the group. ‘Would the other players please step forward?’ Young vampires wearing different coloured Wallachia rugby shirts entered the circle, bowing slightly as they approached Prince Alex. ‘Now. Can anyone verify either boy’s story?’
They all shrugged. One bulky vampire with huge, muddied hands spoke up for the group. ‘It all happened too fast and we were playing the game ourselves. We didn’t get a good look.’
‘Very well,’ said Prince Alex, returning to the two quarrelling players. ‘As the highest-ranking vampire on this property, I hereby formally sanction this duel.’
What!? Ivy nearly blurted out. He can’t be serious. Alex was supporting the boys’ decision to fight? It didn’t make sense! Ivy started to push forwards – there would be no duel if she had anything to say about it – but Petra grabbed her arm and pulled it back down to her side, giving Ivy a look that said, Don’t even think about it.
But why? Ivy wanted to know. She didn’t want to watch a vampire fight and she couldn’t understand why anyone else would want to either. These boys could seriously hurt each other. And since when did Ivy Vega bite her tongue about anything?
‘Is this a joke?’ Ivy demanded in Petra’s ear. ‘We can’t actually be about to watch two boys fight each other, can we?’
‘Shhh!’ Petra pressed a finger to her lips. ‘It’s tradition! And I’d take this over an action movie any day. I only wish I’d known. I’d have grabbed us a box of plasmallows!’
Ivy’s stomach did a nosedive. If I didn’t know for a fact that I have excellent hearing, I’d think I needed my ears checked.
A younger vampire boy drew a circle with a stick around the shirtless boys, who were crouched opposite one another. Ivy squirmed beside Petra. Were they really going to go through with this ‘duel’?
Like a radio announcer, Alex began to outline the rules. ‘Each opponent must respect the rules of the duel,’ he began. ‘One: there will be three rounds. Two: in each round one vampire must try to push the other vampire out of the circle. Three: no punching or biting is allowed in the fight. Four: as referee, my word is law. My say is final. And five: if at the end of the third and final round there is no clear victor, we will return tomorrow at the same time for a rematch . . . with swords. Agreed?’
The crowd exploded into rowdy cheering as if their favourite team had just scored a goal. Vampire boys pumped their fists in the air while the girls who had stared at Ivy began a high-pitched chant: ‘Greg-or, Greg-or, Greg-or!’ The ringleader of the group lifted her palms in the air, trying to encourage more people to join in.
Gregor and Carlos bent low, fingers grazing the ground and muscles tense. Petra’s hand tightened around Ivy’s arm. We are not in this together, thought Ivy and she shrugged off Petra’s grip, pushing her way out of the crowd. She didn’t know where she was heading to; she just knew she didn’t want to stay here.
She stumbled out of the mass of vampires, winding up near the front gates of the school where her grandmother had dropped her off not too long ago. She had thought vampires were more advanced than bunnies. They were stronger and quicker and had super-senses, but that didn’t change the fact that they were so old-fashioned they were practically backwards! Of all the ways vampires could use their physical superiority, they chose to waste it on dumb things like this – a duel ! Ivy felt sick, like she’d swallowed a whole clove of garlic.
She climbed on to a cool stone bench, pulling her knees to her chest. The students were still whooping, though at least from here Ivy could no longer see Carlos and Gregor. It’s like the Middle Ages never ended for these people.
Ivy stared through the wrought-iron gate with its regal Wallachia crest. If this was the way young vampires were expected to behave at the Academy, Ivy wasn’t sure she could ever be proud to wear it.
Ivy’s head snapped up at the sound of a door opening behind her. Three teachers in long professorial robes sprinted out in the direction of the fight. The first of them – a thin, pointy-nosed teacher – noticed Ivy sitting on the bench. She skidded to a stop. ‘Come on!’ she said. ‘The duel might be over at any moment. You certainly don’t want to be the only one to miss it, now do you?’
Actually I do, she wanted to tell them. Ivy couldn’t believe it. Had she entered a parallel universe? She pinched herself to be sure she wasn’t dreaming. But when she blinked and saw that she was still seated in the middle of the pristine grounds, Ivy decided to smile and wave the teachers on. After all, challenging centuries of convention was a bit too much to take on during a simple school visit.
Even for Ivy Vega.
/> Chapter Seven
Olivia may not have had any vamp powers, but she had competed in the state cheerleading competition three times, and that meant she had a few special skills of her own. She stared up at the impossibly high oak tree. Its branches stretched over the Lazar family grounds. It was the perfect spot to scout for locations for shots of the wedding reception . . . just so long as she didn’t look down.
Olivia straddled the tree trunk and inched her way up until she reached one of the solid lower branches. From there, she caught hold of the next limb up, moving from bough to bough like she was climbing a rickety ladder. When she reached a branch near the top of the tree, she hiked her leg over and leaned her back against the knotted trunk.
Her feet dangled as she lifted the viewfinder to study the landscape. The first half of the wedding reception was to be held outside, beneath the sparkling Transylvania stars, before the guests went back into the ballroom to dance the night away. The whole day was going to be a fairytale come true – only this fairytale came with vampires. The tables had been draped with garlands of pink-and-cream flowers. A silk awning billowed over the table where Tessa and Alex would sit for the wedding dinner, and a band was setting up to one side, their gilt chairs decorated with huge cream satin bows. I’m so glad Lucia changed her plans, she thought. All it took was a nudge in the right direction.
Olivia snapped a few test shots, double-checking the digital screen after each one to see which angles were working best. She scooted further out along the branch, but then it dawned on her: I’ll hardly be able to climb up here in the fabulous gown I’ll be wearing! Not that she’d ever tested it, but Olivia didn’t think pink chiffon and rough tree bark would go together very well.
The branch swayed beneath her and she dug all ten fingernails into the tree until the bough stopped moving. Panting, Olivia smacked herself on the forehead. What was wrong with her lately? Was she so desperate to avoid thinking about Jackson that she would risk life and limb climbing a stupid tree? She needed to get it together. She clutched the trunk and lowered herself on to a branch below.
10 Date with Destiny - My Sister the Vampire Page 6