As much as I would have loved to see Rosa in trouble, having to deal with her afterwards wouldn’t be worth it. “No, it was my mistake. Sorry for taking up your time.”
I would have to turn to Plan B—find Rosa’s key and swipe it. If she didn’t have the key she couldn’t lock the door. That would help solve the problem.
Breakfast was next. I grabbed an egg and bacon sandwich with the full intention of returning to my room to change quickly before class. I hadn’t anticipated running into Cress in the hallway.
“Hey, how’d your date go last night?” I asked. I was especially curious now after reading about the Civil War.
She frowned. “Not good.”
“Oh, that bad, huh?”
Her blond hair fell around her face as she nodded sadly. “Turns out vampires are very self-centered. Can you believe he actually thought I would be happy to eat at the Meat Shack because I’m ‘one step up from being a dog’?”
I was trying to keep a straight face. The Meat Shack was an eatery off campus. They only sold meat and sodas. You couldn’t get anything else there at all. It was also supposedly really cheap so it was a favorite amongst some of the students.
She linked her arm through mine and we walked in the direction of the classrooms.
“At least you found out he was a mean cheapskate on the first date,” I said. “Imagine wasting several dates on him before you discovered his true colors.”
“Yeah, that’s true. At least now I don’t have to waste any time thinking about what could have been.”
“Vampire’s suck.”
She laughed along with me. I didn’t confess that I’d spent the night alone in the library. I probably would have been happy to leave campus long enough to go to the Meat Shack. I bet Rosa’s boyfriend never dared taking her there.
It felt almost normal as I listened to her give me a play-by-play of the date. They ended up at one of the other fast food places off campus. The vampire guy talked about himself non-stop and then refused to pay for her meal.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for women doing it for themselves and stuff, but there is something to be said for chivalry. It’s nice to be treated like a princess, it’s even nicer when it’s done by a gentleman and not a douche. I think the guy fell directly into the latter category.
Hearing Cress talk about her boy troubles reminded me that she was so normal and nice. I firmly pushed aside any doubts I might have had about her leaving the threatening note in my locker. It couldn’t have been her. My gut instinct agreed with my rational logic.
Speaking of boys, I had completely pushed all thoughts of Liam out of my mind when I first picked up that book last night. So when I saw him in the hallway on the second floor, I froze.
Was I supposed to say something about our little adventure up on the roof? Was he thinking about our almost-kiss as much as I was? Should I say hi or did our shared moment mean I had to have a whole conversation with him? Was it best if I pretended I didn’t see him?
Could I turn invisible right now?
The seconds passed by in slow motion. My heartbeat thumped in my ear as my cheeks started to burn. Our eyes found each other and my options for ignoring him went up in smoke.
“Cress, I’m going to have to catch up with you later,” I mumbled without taking my eyes off Liam. She gave me a funny look but continued on without me.
I came to a halt in front of the guy I had almost kissed the night before. His lips looked just as inviting as they beckoned me to kiss him. And those eyes, it was always about those sky blue eyes.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about you all night,” he said. Those beautiful lips spoke words that sent my heart rate skipping ahead. Why did he have such an effect on me? Why couldn’t I control myself when he looked at me that way?
“I’m sorry I left so suddenly,” I replied. “I kind of had a panic moment.”
He took my hand in his and traced lazy circles on my palms. “Are you panicking now? Or do I have to hold onto this so you don’t run away again?”
Nervous laughter escaped my lips. “I can’t say for sure. I’m not entirely convinced you’re good for me.” What was I saying? Of course he wasn’t good for me. He was the freaking principal’s son. Even if he did say he rarely saw his father, I’m sure he would find him to report a roach on campus.
“I can be very good. Good at all the right things.” There was a cheeky sparkle dancing in his eyes. One that made my defenses fall a little more.
“What are all the right things?”
He let out a breathy laugh that was sexy as hell. This boy was going to get me into serious trouble. He leaned closer so his lips were next to my ear. His warm breath sent a shiver down my spine.
“You know what all the right things are,” he whispered.
And, my goddess, in that moment I sure did know what all the right things were. My skin was electrified and yearning for his warm touch. All I had to do was say the right words and I could experience bliss like I’d never known before.
Oh how I wanted to switch my mind off so I didn’t have to think about the consequences. Liam’s hands were so warm, his lips so delectable. Everything within me hummed to his tune.
“Eden.” A female voice. She needed to leave me alone, couldn’t Cress see that I was talking with Liam? I’d told her I’d catch up.
“Eden.”
Irritation ebbed into my mind. I frowned as Liam disappeared in front of me. He was still down the hallway. I was still walking with Cress.
The whole thing had been a daydream.
I shook my head, trying to get my thoughts back in order. What the hell had just happened? My pulse was still racing and I could swear I still felt his hands around mine. Not to mention those lips so near my ear.
“Hey, earth to Eden,” Cress said as she waved a hand in front of my face.
I blinked a few times and the illusion completely went away. My hands were cold once more. “Sorry, I guess I just spaced out for a moment.”
“I won’t take it personally. So, did I mention the vampire asked me for a second date and I flat out said no? He’s lucky I didn’t bite him.”
She continued talking as we walked. Our path took us right past Liam who waved and gave a “hi” as we passed him by.
And that was the extent of our interaction. I could feel the blush creep across my face as I remembered the encounter in my head. Did I really want that? Did I want Liam to hold my hand and whisper sexy things in my ear?
It was all too confusing. I couldn’t be thinking about him when my life was at stake. He was the very thing I needed to avoid in order to survive at the academy. Anything that didn’t involve me blending in and being unmemorable was superfluous.
“Attention students.” An announcement started blaring over the loud speakers. “There is a special assembly this morning on the great lawn. All students of Shadow Academy are required to attend. The assembly starts at nine a.m. sharp. Anyone caught inside the buildings will be given detention for the rest of the semester. Have a good day.”
“That can’t be good,” Cress said.
“No, it really can’t be.”
My stomach tied in a knot and remained that way.
Chapter 7
Principal Dunlop was an older version of Liam in every way. His hair may have been white and his face wore wrinkles but his build and face made it plain to see who was his son.
He stood on the steps at the front of the great lawn. He held a cordless microphone that made his voice echo around the grounds. On his right was Vice Principal Chandler—a female Seer. To his left was his receptionist, poised with an electronic tablet for note taking.
The bad feeling I got when I heard the announcement was still churning up a storm in my stomach. I’d only been at the academy for three days and not once had I actually felt safe there.
With the whole school standing in the one spot, I could actually get a grasp of how massive it was. Supernaturals were required to attend an acade
my for three years after they completed their normal, human education. There had to be over a thousand students here.
If humans ever did find out about us, they would marvel at the population we had. And this was just one academy. It seemed we had really rallied after the Civil War to get our numbers back up.
I was trying to stop my foot from tapping impatiently while I checked my watch for the hundredth time. It was already six minutes past nine, what was the principal waiting for? He said nine and that time had passed. If he didn’t start soon, I was going to vomit.
“Are you okay?” Cress asked.
I guessed I wasn’t hiding my impatience very well. “Yeah, just bored. I was really psyched to get to my first class this morning.”
“I wasn’t. Any time I don’t have to spend in Animal Relations, the better.”
Ear-piercing microphone static interrupted our conversation. Cress covered her ears as quickly as she could. Several other of the werewolf students did the same.
“Yes, um, good morning students,” Principal Dunlop said amongst the static.
The vice principal stepped forward and adjusted something to stop the noise. We all felt relief when we could hear properly again.
“Thank you, Tabitha,” the principal continued. “Now, I will keep this brief. I know we all have somewhere else to be this morning and this is not something I enjoy having to tell you.”
My stomach tied its knot tighter. I was definitely going to vomit soon.
“Some of you may know that we had a non-supernatural amongst us last Monday. The girl was immediately reported to the Council and was removed from campus post haste.”
Any hope I’d had of this not being about roaches fizzled out.
“It seems we had another non-supernatural go unnoticed until this morning. The male was claiming to be a seer and was taken by the authorities in the early hours of this morning.”
Another one? How many roaches were there in my grade? Perhaps we all should have banded together and protected one another in some way.
How many were still undiscovered like me?
Principal Dunlop cleared his throat. “If it wasn’t for the vigilant students and teachers of this school, these non-supernaturals could have permanently damaged this school and the supernatural community as a whole. We must remain hyper-aware of these types of people. If you suspect any one of your classmates is a non-supernatural, you owe it to everyone to report them immediately.”
I looked at Cress out of the corner of my eye. How much of this speech was she taking to heart? Would she be watching me much closer now? Was she already suspicious of me? I didn’t think so, but maybe I was completely wrong.
“The Supernatural Council will be attending our campus this week. Due to the number of non-supernaturals we have already discovered this year, they feel it is in everyone’s best interest to personally oversee our community. I, for one, hope they do not need to be here and can go home satisfied that they are all caught. However, that is not guaranteed. Watch and listen, students. Let’s make sure to eradicate these people before there are any problems.”
Great, now I had the whole Supernatural Council to deal with. I was seriously not going to last much longer. If there was ever a chance for me surviving at the academy, it would soon go up in smoke.
“Anything you would like to add, Tabitha?” The principal turned to his vice and gave her a few seconds to step forward. She took the microphone and gave him a nod.
“Good morning, students,” she started, “I would like to thank those that uncovered the non-supernaturals this week. Your vigilance has saved our community and our way of life.”
Several people around us nodded in agreeance.
She continued. “Only when we stick together, can we rid ourselves of this problem. Principal Dunlop has allowed me to be the one to tell you about the incentive we have on offer. Anyone that discovers a non-supernatural will be rewarded with a ten thousand dollar bonus.”
That certainly got everyone’s attention. Dozens of people cheered. Ten thousand dollars was definitely a big number. It cost a fortune to attend the academy. Ten grand would help to pay off some of that student debt.
Cress made an ‘O’ with her mouth as she looked over at me. I plastered on a smile and hoped it didn’t look anything nearly as fake as it felt.
“Anyone with information is welcome to present it at my office at any time.” The vice principal flashed a huge encouraging smile. “And if we have any more non-supernaturals amongst us today, know this: you will be discovered and you will be dealt with the full extent of the Council’s laws. We will find you.”
Perhaps I was being paranoid but I thought for sure she was looking directly at me when she said that. I knew logically that she probably couldn’t see me in amongst everyone else, but it still felt that way.
Actually, it felt like there were hundreds of people looking at me. Like I was suddenly standing there naked with a huge neon sign over my head declaring me a roach. And a roach worth ten thousand dollars now. Everyone would have to fight over who was the one to catch me first so they could claim the bounty on my head.
Ten thousand dollars. I was so screwed.
We were all dismissed and told to get to our first class of the day and not to dawdle. An excited buzz permeated through the students. I was still likely to vomit at any moment.
I said goodbye to Cress and headed to my Natural Studies class. I had been looking forward to it this morning, now I couldn’t think of anything except the permanent sick feeling in my stomach.
Every one of my classmates now were constantly assessing those around them. There wasn’t one who wasn’t looking for a roach. All eyes turned on one another, silently looking for anything that might give them away.
I tried to act naturally. I tried to fit in and blend into the background. That meant assessing those around me. I too was searching for signs of a roach except I was looking for an entirely different reason.
At least no magic was needed in Natural Studies. The professor spoke briefly about what to expect in class this semester and then started discussing the most used herbs and flowers in magic. I tried to concentrate and keep my eyes firmly fixed ahead.
Liam was in the class with me. He sat one row back and three over. I was consciously aware of his presence too. Had I done anything last night that would tip him off to my status? Could I have betrayed myself in any little way?
Maybe if I had, he would have reported me already. That was little solace because he could have just been waiting to speak with his father. He said he didn’t see him very often, he might have had to make an appointment to rat me out.
It was all getting to me. If I didn’t have a heart attack soon, I would surely explode mentally. I couldn’t see a way of surviving at the academy. Not with a thousand greedy bounty hunters around me.
Maybe I should have run away. I could do it. My parents didn’t have to be involved. Perhaps if I searched hard enough, I could find something that could put a spell on me. One that could turn me invisible so they couldn’t catch me.
If only that were an option. Unfortunately, the council could find anyone. They’d proven that time and time again. I could literally go to the ends of the earth and they would drag me back again. Or kill me there if that was too much trouble.
Witchcraft was developed from nature so Nature Study was pretty easy to follow as the professor continued to drone on about herbs. He was doing a huge information dump, naming something like oregano and then listing all its uses. A flick through the textbook told me he was just reading straight from chapter one. I wouldn’t need to take notes in his lecture.
We had two nature-related classes this semester. This one and Basics of Nature. This class discussed how to use items of nature in spells while the other one focused more on the elements (Fire, wind, earth, and water). They weren’t kidding when they said nature was at the basis of all magic.
After Nature Study was Chemistry. This was definitely not the ch
emistry from high school. A short, round lady named Professor Dot casually explained how different chemicals could react with one another to create an explosion large enough to take down a house.
I paid much more attention to that class. Some of the information might have come in handy if I had to fight my way out of something. Or maybe I could just blow up the school—as long as it was empty, of course—that would delay my discovery for a little while.
At lunchtime I avoided the dining hall. I grabbed a pack of instant noodles from the vending machine and hid out in my room. I didn’t feel like being social and didn’t trust myself not to give away my secret today. Plus, everyone was probably talking about the ten grand up for grabs and I didn’t want to hear it, let alone pretend to participate in it.
Unfortunately, Cress found me in my last class of the day. “You have to come back to my room and study with me tonight,” she said as we left Detection class—which discussed the art of blending in with the humans so we escaped detection.
“I’m pretty tired,” I replied. I was pretty certain my exhaustion was showing on my face to back up my claim. I really hadn’t got too much sleep in the library the night before.
“Oh, please, I really need some help with history and you seem to be all over it.”
We’d received our first homework in history class after lunch. I actually didn’t mind it. The work kept my mind busy so I wasn’t freaking out the whole goddamn time.
Cress had been a good friend and I really didn’t want to let her down. If there was something I could help with, I had to do it. Even if I was at risk of falling asleep while standing up.
“Okay, let’s do it,” I said.
We picked up some food from the dining hall and took it back to Cress’s room. She shared with a second year who was also a werewolf. She was also out a lot, apparently.
“Claire’s pretty cool,” Cress said as she dumped her backpack on the bed and took out her history textbook. “She has a boyfriend in third year so he’s going to be leaving at the end of the year. She’s already moping around like it’s going to be the end of the world. Newsflash: they’ve only been dating for two weeks. I think she’ll survive.”
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