No Stakes Allowed

Laura Greenwood

No Stakes Allowed

No Stakes Allowed

Grimalkin Academy: Stakes #1

Laura Greenwood

© 2020 Laura Greenwood

All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise – without prior written permission of the published, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address; lauragreenwood@authorlauragreenwood.co.uk.

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No Stakes Allowed is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Blurb

When vampire hunter turned prisoner, Lily, is given the chance to leave the vampire den, she asks to attend Grimalkin Academy.

The only human among the vampires, she's thrown into a different world from the one she grew up in. With her old enemies all around her, she has to rely on the protection of her vampire bodyguard - a man who hates her. But even his presence can't keep her safe from all attempts at revenge.

Can she convince the vampire she's no longer a threat? Or is Lily too much of a hunter at heart?

***

No Stakes Allowed is book one of the Grimalkin Academy: Stakes Trilogy. It includes an m/f (non-RH) non-bully academy romance set at Grimalkin Academy. It has a vampire/human romance.

Chapter One

I wring my hands nervously, waiting for the woman who changed my life to appear in my room and do it all over again. She's been trying to get me to rejoin some society or other for months, but I keep refusing. I'm not sure of my place anymore, and I don't want to make the wrong decision.

The door creaks open a moment later, as if summoned by my thoughts. I can get used to that happening.

Ashryn steps inside, her vampire senses giving her an elegant approach I can't help but envy, even if it puts me on edge. I've trained my entire life to hunt and kill vampires, the irony of now living in their den doesn't escape me.

"I've decided what I want," I announce, my voice shaking with nerves as the red-haired former hunter stares at me.

"And?" She raises an eyebrow, clearly not expecting me to say anything she can give.

I don't even know why she's still trying with me. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that she is, just like I'm grateful she saved me from the guild when it was about to explode, but I know I wouldn't have the patience.

"I want to go to university," I blurt out.

She shakes her head in surprise. "University?" she echoes.

"Yes. I never got to go, because..."

"I know why you never got to go," she snaps. Guilt wells up in me. She might have been the one that brought down the vampire hunters guild, but she also had her childhood taken by them, just like me.

"I'd like to go now."

She sighs. "I can ask, but I can't promise anything. I doubt Dimitri will let you go to a human university."

My heart pounds in my chest. I know what that means. What I've been asking for since I got here could be within my reach.

"Does that mean you'll turn me into a vampire?" I ask despite myself. Every other time I've voiced the question I've ended up shot down, but it's at least worth an attempt. If not, I'll never know.

Ashryn laughs. "I wouldn't get your hopes up."

"They turned you into a vampire."

"Because I was technically dead," she points out. "Trust me, you don't want to be a vampire."

"You don't know that..."

"I do. The blood's fine. But you know what isn't? Never seeing the sun again. It burns like hell." She shudders at what is clearly a memory of being burned.

I gulp loudly. "But if you can't send me to a human university, you'll have to send me to Grimalkin," I point out. That's the academy closest to the den, and one that admits both witches and vampires. But not normally humans.

"Yes. We will," she acknowledges. "But you'll be sent with a guard."

"You're giving me a bodyguard?"

"I don't know for sure. This is only what I'm guessing will happen." She shrugs.

"Right." I don't know how I feel about that. I know I want out of this room, but the vampires haven't let me since we got back from the guild. Which could be my own fault. Probably because I refuse to live somewhere they can keep an eye on me. Or perhaps because despite only being twenty-one, I've killed a lot of them over the years. Ashryn has been visiting me for weeks trying to get me to tell them what I want to do next so they can let me out. Apparently, it's what they've been doing with all the hunters. Some have gone back to human lives, though I have no idea how they can after what we've seen. Others have started living with the vampires and even taking vampire lovers.

"Anything else?" she asks.

"Turn me into a vampire?" I say sweetly.

She shakes her head. "Not on my watch."

"Please? It's the least you can do for me..."

She chuckles dryly, but I'm not fooled. I can see the darkness that flashes through her eyes. "Your boyfriend tried to torture me to death and told me he was going to do unspeakable things to my body afterwards. And that you used to watch him do it to people..."

A shiver rushes through me at the memories. Not of what Ravi did to her, I wasn't there for that. But of the other things he made me watch. "I told you..."

"You have foresight, yes. And that he'd have done much worse to you if you'd said no. But that doesn't mean you get to tell me what I should be doing for you. If anything you owe me your life. Don't forget that, Lily." She stands up and makes her way to the door. "Don't worry, I'll still ask Dimitri about university," she assures me.

"Thanks." I smile weakly, wishing I hadn't pissed her off. She's surprisingly laid back for someone who died, but that didn't mean I could just go around insulting her.

The door clicks shut behind her and the turn of a key is all I need to know I'm locked away again.

I sigh and sit back down on the bed, leaning my back against the wall and thinking things through. Can I really do it? Go to an academy full of vampires while I'm human? Having been around more of them here, I know they're not likely to start munching on my neck without a good reason, but it seems to be tempting fate a little.

I need to stop overthinking things. Ashryn knows what she's doing. Despite being one of the best vampire hunters at the guild, with a kill count as high as anyone's, she still managed to convince one of the most powerful vampires in the country that she was on his side. There are things I can learn from her.

Chapter Two

I wring my hands together, trying not to let my nerves overtake me. Ashryn sent word ahead that she's coming, and I know it's about the academy.

The lock clicks and the door swings open and Ashryn steps in with a tall, dark-haired vampire behind her. At least, I assume he's a vampire. Despite what the guild tried to tell us our entire lives, it isn't easy to tell vampires apart from humans, so long as they're not sucking blood or something like that.

I stand against the back wall, not moving or saying anything. I'm not usually the tongue-tied type, but this is a special circumstance.

"This mouse killed how many of our kind?" the male vampire sneers.

I glare at him. "More than you can count," I respond smoothly.

Ashryn smothers a smile. She may be a vampire now, but she started out as a hunter and I'm sure she hasn't forgotten that.

He steps forward and studies me up and down. "You don't look like you could hurt a fly."

I move without even thinking about it, spinning my leg around and kicking him back into the wall. I hold my forearm across his throat, pressing too hard for his comfort, I'm certain.

"Don't underestimate me," I growl.

"Lily, enough," Ashryn commands, though I can hear the amusement in her tone. She's not as annoyed at my actions as she should be. Perhaps she should examine why that is.

I pull away from the unknown man and dust off my hands. "Just because I'm small and blonde, it doesn't mean I can be taken advantage of."

"She's right, Bryce. Don't underestimate her."

Ah, that must be his name. Perhaps a proper introduction may have been a better idea. I'm not sure why no one thought of that.

"Your request has been granted," Ashryn says to me. "You can attend Grimalkin Academy."

"I can?" I'm sure my eyes light up, but I don't care if the two of them find out how excited by this I am. I'm finally going to be able to get out of this room, and that's the main thing.

"There are rules," she says, eyeing me carefully. "You won't be allowed to wander around the academy while vampires are asleep. They're enchanting a small flat for you. The door won't open during daylight hours, providing protection."

"Protection for me, or from me?" I quip.

Bryce snorts. At least he has a sense of humour. That's something.

"Both," Ashryn replies flatly. "People there aren't going to like you."

"I guessed as much. But that's the same as being in vampire society full stop for me anyway." I shrug, letting the implications of that roll off me. What do I care if people like me? I've got this far in life without that being the case. Unless I count Ravi, though like is the wrong word. He just chose to coerce me into doing his bidding. That's not exactly the best way to form a friendship.

"Bryce will be accompanying you. He'll live in the same flat, go to your lessons..."

"What?" I stare at her, my mouth hanging open.

"It's for your own safety," Ashryn assures me.

Bryce huffs. "I don't like it any more than you do."

"Then why are you doing it?" I meet his eyes, challenging him to answer me. I'm not sure what it is about this man.

"My reasons aren't important." He crosses his arms in a move I'm reasonably certain is meant to be confrontational.

It fails. I've known far worse men than this one, and I've survived them. He isn't going to intimidate me that easily.

"If we're going to spend all this time together, then it certainly is important." I echo his stance. Two can play at this game. Neither of us are going to win it, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun.

"Your car leaves at dusk," Ashryn says. "I'll leave the two of you to get acquainted." She ducks out of the room. The key scrapes in the lock, trapping me inside with Bryce.

He flashes a longing look at the door.

"You're going to have to get used to being locked in if you're babysitting me," I point out.

"I know."

"If you don't like it, then why did you agree to do this?" I let my guard down for a moment, genuinely interested in hearing his answer. He clearly doesn't want to be here with me.

Maybe he's done something wrong and this is his punishment. That's cruel and twisted enough to have been an idea straight out of the vampire hunting guild. If anyone's going to be hated more than me, it's him. The vampire protecting the vampire hunter.

"I had no choice," he says.

Definitely a punishment then. The question is, what for? He isn't going to tell me now, but I will get it out of him.

"Are you looking forward to being at the academy?" I ask instead.

He startles for a moment. Ah-ha, I got him. That's not the line of questioning he's expecting from me.

"I've never been," he says gruffly.

"Me neither." I put as many bubbles into my words as possible, faking a girlish excitement I don't really feel. That's going to annoy him even more, and right now, that should be my primary aim. Hopefully, if I get under his skin too much, he'll leave me alone once we're at the academy and I can do some exploring.

"I know what you're doing," he warns me.

"I doubt it," I mutter under my breath. I flop down on the bed, at a loss for what else to do. It's clear Bryce doesn't want to get to know me, and I'm not convinced I want to get to know him either. All in all, it's better if we ignore one another. But that doesn't leave me with a lot of entertainment.

Bryce begins to pace around the room. I wish I had a magazine or something to flick through. At least at the academy I'll have coursework of varying kinds to keep me occupied while he broods.

"Don't you have anything to pack?" he asks after a long silence.

I shrug. "I doubt they allow stakes."

I stifle a laugh at his shock. He's probably trying to decide whether or not I'm serious. As if I could have stakes here. I don't have any weapons. Not that I need them. I can take down a fully grown man without any. I've been training since I was seven years old, it's hard to undo that kind of learning.

"What about clothes?" Ah, so he's decided I'm joking about weapons. Such a shame.

"Does it look like I have mountains of them here?" I ask, shifting on the bed so I can wave around the room. "I'm given a set of clothes each time I shower." I hope Ashryn has thought of that and supplied me with a decent wardrobe for going to lessons. I'm done with leggings and baggy t-shirts.

A knock sounds on the door. That's new. I wonder if it's because Bryce is in here with me? Maybe they think they'll catch us in a compromising position. I chuckle to myself. That isn't going to happen.

It opens seconds later to reveal a scarred vampire I've only ever seen with Ashryn before. I don't think I've ever heard him speak.

"It's time to go," he announces.

I jump off the bed, eager for the new chapter of my life to begin. I hope it lives up to my imagination.

Chapter Three

I can't believe I'm here and standing in front of the building that's going to be my home for the next three years. It's kind of imposing, but that may not be the building, but the witches and vampires within it.

It's impossible to forget how much vampires in general hate me. I've destroyed so many of their lives, and I'm not even twenty-two. I push the thought out of my mind and remember that I want to be here. This is what I asked for, I can't back out now, not without looking like a fool.

"Come on," Bryce grunts, pressing into my shoulder and encouraging me to move forward.

I shoot him an annoyed glance. Is this how our interactions are going to go? With how he's acting, I'd have thought I killed his mother or something.

Oh eek. Perhaps I did. It's not like I checked the vampire family trees before I performed a hit. That would have made them too human. And my job too hard.

I stop dwelling on the past and follow Bryce inside the building. I try to stay close to him, not because I want to, but because there's no choice. No one seems to have thought about the fact I'm human, nor that it means I don't have the same senses as the vampires around me. Which means I'm stumbling around in the dark trying not to trip over.

If my guild instructors could see me now, they'd roll over in their graves. Unless they're still alive, and then they'd probably not say anything at all in case it outed them as what they used to be.

Once we're inside the building, it gets a little easier, though now there are students to contend with. I can feel their eyes on me, and even though I don't have anything as obvious as a wheelie suitcase, it's like they all know who I am.

I swallow my nerves. I need to keep my wits about me, that's for sure.

"Is that who I think it is?" one of the girl's sneers, though I'm not entirely sure which one of them it is.

I ignore her and hold my head up high. There's no way I'm going to let some snooty little vampire get the better of me. I've seen far worse things than any of them can possibly imagine. Ravi wasn't a kind man, and what none of them seem to understand, is that they're not his only victims. He made me watch him torture vampires. And then he'd kill them. After that, I got to leave the room, but I know what he did to the bodies. I shudder just thinking about it. The only way I've been able to stay sane is to pretend it doesn't bother me. One day that'll change, but I need some more time.

"Aren't we stopping at the front desk or something?" I ask Bryce, mostly to distract myself from my other train of thoughts.

He grunts, clearly put out by the mere gall of me asking him a question. "We don't want to draw any more attention to you than needed," he admits.

I scoff. "So what, they gave you the keys in advance and told you where our room is?"

"Yes." He doesn't stop walking, but he does pull a keychain from his pocket and dangles it in front of me.

"All right then," I mutter. Am I going to end up with this special treatment the entire time? Because I'm not sure I like the idea of that.

"We're here," he says eventually, standing in front of a door that glows faintly blue.

"Is it supposed to be like that?" I ask.

"It's the spell to stop you leaving the room." He doesn't sound like it bothers him at all. He slips the key into the lock and twists it.

I'm not sure how I feel about stepping into the place that's going to be my home for the next few years. I know I wanted this, but a small part of me definitely wants to reconsider the idea. Why did I ever think it was a good one?

To my surprise, Bryce holds the door open for me.

"Thanks," I say and step inside. I may not like the man, but he's going to be my keeper for at least a little while, it seems like a good idea to at least try and stay on his good side.

It's more spacious than I thought, and nothing like the vampire quarters I've heard about that are nothing except a room. We've been given something more like a flat with a small kitchenette-slash-living-space and three doors. I assume two of them are bedrooms and the other one a bathroom.

Papers lie on the table in the centre of the room. I assume I'm supposed to read them. Perhaps it'll include more information on exactly what I'm allowed to do here.

"That's just your timetable," Bryce says when he notices my interest.

The door clicks shut behind him, locking the two of us into the room.

"Is it bad that I'm disappointed?" I ask.

"Yes."

I roll my eyes and stop paying attention to him, searching the rest of the room. The fridge and cupboards are well stocked, and some of the food there even seems like it's my favourites. Did Ashryn remember from back when we were at the guild? Or did she guess? The only thing I'm sure of right now is that she's behind this.

Abandoning the kitchen, I check in one room and then the other, deciding that the one with blue wallpaper and a matching bedspread is mine. I make my way inside, then notice the suitcases next to the bed. I slowly unpack, examining the clothing and other things I've been provided with. Some of it isn't my style, but other bits are. Overall, it's a decent haul and will help me fit in at the academy.

I snort. Why am I worrying about fitting in? I'm the only human at an academy full of witches and vampires. There's literally no way I'm not going to stand out. It's one of the unfortunate facts about this situation.

But at least I have a small amount of freedom, and it's far better than I could have imagined a few months ago. When I look back at my life, this is going to be the moment it started. Free of the guild, free of hunting. I can finally be myself.

Chapter Four

I walk a couple of paces behind Bryce, trying not to get in the way of any of the vampires charging down the corridors on their way to lessons. I'm not sure if the ones who hit me as they pass are doing it on purpose, or if they're just eager to get to class. I hope the latter, but I know what vampires are like.

And I shouldn't blame them. I did exactly what they blame me for. I'm lucky to even be alive, never mind attending classes with them.

"This was a bad idea," I mutter to myself.

"You're only realising that now?" Bryce demands.

"Your leader is the one who has been encouraging me to do something with my life and stop living as a prisoner," I snap. Ah, right. I can blame this whole situation on Ashryn and not on myself. That's the better way to go with things.

"She's not our leader."

"But she speaks for him, doesn't she? I heard the two of them are as thick as thieves."

He growls. "You won't speak of such things."

"I mean, technically, Ashryn was a hunter. Doesn't that make her more like me than you?" I shouldn't be saying any of this. Not when I know it'll wind him up.

"She helped bring down the guild."

"You realise none of us were there by choice, right?" Why am I revealing this to him? All it'll do is give him ammunition to use against me in the future. "For me, I was seven. A little older than some, younger than others. Your Ashryn was my age too, though I believe she was just found. Not me, though. I was sold. My Dad walked me up to the front door of the guild and walked away with a bag of coins. Rhetorically. I don't know how much he was paid for me."

Bryce remains silent, no doubt made uncomfortable by my words.

"He thought I was freaky. He didn't like it when I knew about things that would happen before they did." I shrug. "I guess it is kind of creepy. But I was a child. I didn't know not to say things."

His silence is far louder than I thought possible. Does that mean I can keep speaking? Or should I stop before I end up telling him too much?

"I saw the fall of the guild," I whisper the words I've never told anyone.

Bryce finally stops walking and turns, grabbing hold of my arm and dragging me into an empty classroom. Is this a victory?

"What are you talking about?"

"Seeing the destruction of the guild?" I shrug. "I don't know. I saw it in a dream a few times. At first, I didn't know what it was, but as events started to unfold, it became clearer. I never told anyone about it. Everyone thinks I'm this good little hunter, the poster girl of the guild. But I'm not. I saw it would fall and I did nothing."

"What could you have done?" he demands.

"Told them it was Ashryn who'd lead the enemy to the door? That would probably have done the trick. Though they worked it out anyway, I had nothing to do with that."

"You can't talk about things like that here," he hisses.

"Things as in the guild, or things as in being able to see the future? I'm pretty sure that's a normal thing in a school full of supernaturals."

"That doesn't mean you can go around telling people things about your past. People have tried very hard to keep your presence here a secret."

"Pfft. And they've done that how? By spelling a room so people can't enter and making it obvious an enemy lives there? Or giving me a guard who walks around acting as if I'm the scum of the earth?" I demand.

"As far as I'm concerned, you are the scum of the earth," he mutters.

My eyes blaze with fire, and I jab a finger at his chest, not hard enough to hurt by any stretch of the imagination. "No. I'm not. Have I done some bad things? Yes. But there's one thing you seem to forget. I had to do those things."

"You should have refused." Hatred burns in his eyes.

I step back and cross my arms over my chest. "Really? I should have refused to do the things adults were telling me? Maybe if I'd arrived at the guild when I was fifteen. But at seven? What were you doing then?"

Bryce frowns.

"Exactly. You were probably playing video games, or with toy trains. You got a childhood. I didn't. So when you're thinking about all of those bad things I did, remember that it was worse people who made me do them."

"You could have stopped once you realised..."

"I've stopped now," I point out. "And I did what I could, when I could. It wasn't much, but I did save lives." I almost got caught a couple of times too, but I leave that bit out. It's irrelevant. I'm not trying to make him feel sorry for him. I'm trying to get my point across.

He doesn't say anything, though I can tell from the way he's standing that he's mostly just annoyed I'm right. He doesn't want to feel anything other than hatred towards me.

"So, some things are going to change," I say, hands on my hips. "I get that nothing can be done about the room. Everyone wants the vampires in the dorms to be safe from my stakes, and me safe from being chomped on in the night, either because I'm human, or because I'm a hunter. But we can do something about how you're acting around me."

"How I'm acting?" He raises his eyebrow.

"Yes. How you're acting. Now the way I see it, we have three ways to play it. You can be my old friend, my brother, or my boyfriend. Your call." I pause. "Brother may be pushing it, given you're a vampire and I'm a human, but I think we can pull it off if you prefer."

"And what if I don't want to be any of those?" he asks.

"Then we're going to have a problem," I answer honestly. "Because I'm not going around with even more of a target on my back. Most people probably have at least an idea about who I am. I'd rather not advertise that." Maybe I'm being callous, but this could mean life or death for me, and if there's one thing being an ex-vampire hunter has taught me, it's not to let anything kill me.

"Fine. What do you want?"

"To turn up to my first lesson with someone that doesn't look like a guard," I repeat.

"Okay, but only because this is my job. Don't expect me to actually like you."

"I wouldn't expect you to. If it helps, I don't particularly like you either."

"Good, we're in agreement."

"There's a first time for everything," I quip.

The warning bell sounds, signally it's time for us to get to our class.

Bryce sighs and uncrosses his arms. "Friends. We've known each other for a long time."

"Good. I can work with that. Do I get to call you a cute nickname?" I wonder how serious he's being about this. Will he stick to it or not?

"Do whatever you want, Lily. I don't care."

I chuckle. I'll make him care. But not right now. I have other things to do first. Like, survive my first class full of vampires.

Thirty to one is not good odds in a fight. Let's hope lessons are different.

Chapter Five

The classroom stills as the two of us walk in.

"Do they know who I am?" I whisper.

Bryce chuckles. "No. They can just hear your pulse."

"Oh." I don't think it had ever crossed my mind that I could be seen as nothing more than a snack at the academy. Now it's all I'm going to be able to focus on.

I take the only empty seat in the classroom and wait for him to sit down next to me. Or to complain about the fact he has to. But sure to the agreement we made, he's acting civil. I'm not sure anyone would mistake us for friends, but I can live with that so long as he doesn't start acting like a guard, it's fine.

The professor raps on the board, calling the attention of the class to the front. He's older than I expect a vampire teacher to be, but perhaps that's my own prejudice talking. Not all vampires are turned, some are born, and they can choose to grow old, I think. I'm not sure I understand it. One of the many reasons I found myself questioning the guild for the first time.

"I'm Professor Jefferies, and I'll be taking you for history of vampire hunting..."

My eyes widen, while Bryce snorts next to me. I resist the urge to pull out my timetable and double-check we're in the right place. I don't remember any of the listed classes being about vampire hunting, and I would have remembered that.

"You're in the right place," Bryce assures me.

Great. I roll my eyes. Just what I need, surprise lessons on vampire hunting. As if I need to know more about it. Then again, they say history is written by the victors, and it's clear to me that the vampire hunters guild are not the winners in this situation.

"We'll be starting the term with ancient history, and then moving forward to more recent events. Normally, we teach the modern semantics first so you're able to protect yourself, however in light of certain changes, that's not necessary," Professor Jefferies says.

Huh, they must not know who I am. Not if they're talking about things like this. Now I'm intrigued as to what they think I'm doing here.

"Does anyone know when vampire hunting started?" he asks.

A hand shoots up in the air.

"Yes, Mr Davids?"

"No one knows when it started. But most people assume it did when humans first learned about vampires," the student says.

"Very good. The first recorded instance was in the third century and involved the deaths of over fifty vampires. No one knows who was responsible, though many religious sects claim responsibility."

Another hand shot up in the air.

"Miss Hayes?" The professor raises an eyebrow.

"Why do the religious institutes accept us now?"

"That's an excellent question," he admits. "There are some that don't believe any of the supernatural races should be allowed to live, much less be a part of society. But they're governed by the laws which were created when we all came out of hiding."

"But sir," Miss Hayes says. "Aren't there some supernaturals still in hiding?"

He sighs deeply, as if he has to deal with this line of questioning every year. "We believe so, yes. But until we came out into the world, most of the supernatural types were unaware of one another. The witches and wizards always knew the most about the others, but even their knowledge was limited. I suspect some kinds still stay in the shadows..."

"Like the Shadow Association?" she blurts.

"They're nothing but a myth," he assures her. "I've been on this earth a long time, Miss Hayes, and I can assure you, I've never come across anything that suggests the Shadow Association is real."

I glance behind me to find the girl who has been asking the question pursing her lips as if trying to stop herself from saying more.

"But back to the vampire hunts. We'll be studying several different types. Some hunters were nothing more than dangerous rogue men, like the infamous Van Helsing. Others were more organised, not unlike the recently defunct hunter guild."

I swallow the lump that's formed in my throat while he's been talking. I know of several hunters who'd go the lone wolf direction if they could, including my ex-hunting partner, Ravi. I shiver at the mere thought of him. I know he isn't free to do as he wants, he's locked up far more tightly than I ever was, and unable to get to any of us out here. But somehow, that doesn't matter.

The professor starts to explain some more things about the first vampire hunts, but I zone out, not wanting to face the horrors my people have inflicted on theirs. I've known it's wrong for a long time, but I never thought I'd have to deal with it.

Ringing fills my ears, and the air surrounding my vision blurs.

Oh no. Not now. I'm in the middle of a room full of vampires, now isn't the time for a vision, even if it will take my mind of the all-consuming guilt.

"Go away," I mutter, even though I know it won't do anything. I've never been able to stop my visions before. I don't understand anything about them, not even where they came from.

"Are you all right?" Bryce whispers.

I shake my head but don't say anything. I can't. The vision is coming.

Everything around me is hazy, almost as if that part of the scene hasn't been determined yet. I don't worry about it, I've had visions like this before, and they just come back when there's more information. Not that I want that, but I've long since accepted this is what happens.

I lift my hands and stumble back. Why are my hands bloody? What's happening to me?

The vision fades as quickly as it arrived, leaving me shivering.

Bryce shrugs off his jacket and drapes it around my shoulders without saying a word. I frown. That's a quick turn around from him, though I suppose I shouldn't be complaining about that when it helps me.

"Thank you," I whisper.

"No problem," he mutters. "What happened?"

I glance at the professor at the front of the room, checking he's still talking and not paying us any attention. I don't want to be kicked out of the academy, all it'll mean for me is a quick trip back to my lonely room with nothing more to do with my time.

"Vision."

"Ah. That explains the eyes."

"What happened to them?" I ask.

His brow furrows as he looks at me.

I sigh. "I've always made sure I was alone as soon as I felt a vision coming," I admit.

"Then why didn't you know?"

I wave around the room. "I'd draw more attention if I got to my feet rather than less," I point out. "Besides, being able to see the future isn't likely to get me killed here. At the guild, it would have."

"Hmm."

When it becomes clear he isn't going to say anything else, I turn my attention back to the class at hand and start to take down notes, despite the uncomfortable topic.

For his part, he seems to have gone back to his usual surly self. I'm sure it will only get worse when we're back in our room together, though I've come to accept it's something I have to get used to.

Chapter Six

The library is bustling with students, which makes me think this is a terrible idea. I should have gone back to our rooms to do my work, but the idea of spending more time with only Bryce for company was too much, and I'd come here instead.

I tap my tablet, pulling up one of the reference books that's supposed to be required reading for my next class. Unfortunately for me, it's a dull one, detailing a lot of unnecessary things about the history of our world. I don't see why I need to know there was a rumour in the early nineteen hundreds that the royal family were shifters. It's ridiculous.

"Why is any of this relevant?" I ask out loud.

"What?" Bryce asks, not looking up from his own tablet, nor pulling his attention from the apple he was munching on.

"Why do I need to know about rumours about the royal family? Ones that were proved wrong less than five hundred years later. Isn't that a blink of an eye in vampire time?" I demand.

Bryce shrugs. "Isn't that what coming to academy is all about?"

"Useless information?"

"Precisely. You're here to gain a qualification in useless," he quips, seeming more impressed with himself than he had any right to be.

I narrow my eyes, trying to gauge what he's thinking, but he's turned back to his tablet.

A girl drops down into the seat next to me. "This one isn't taken, is it?" she asks.

"Even if it was, you've not left me much room to say no," I point out.

Bryce snorts, but says nothing. It turns out. He's not much use as a bodyguard then. At least I'm finding that out now and not in a life-threatening situation.

She chuckles. "True. But if I didn't, you could say no even though we're both aware no one would be sitting there."

"Perhaps there's a good reason for that," I mutter.

"Oh, no doubt there is. Probably because you're a human and you don't want anyone to get close enough to rip your throat out."

I shrug. "That doesn't worry me." I scroll down the book on my tablet, trying to give her the impression I'm ignoring her, while I watch her as closely as possible.

"Then you're either reckless, or a fool," the girl says.

"Aren't they the same thing?" I scribble down a fake note, hoping it'll get her to leave me alone.

A smirk lifts the corner of her lips. "But which are you?"

I lean in, and put on the sweetest smile I can manage. "Neither," I whisper.

Bryce is watching me, even though he's pretending not to. Hopefully, I'm better than that when I'm trying to look busy, because he's fooling no one.

"That's not possible."

I sit back in my chair and cross my arms. "It is."

"Why are you even here?" she asks.

"The same reason you are, I assume. To get a qualification in useless."

Bryce cracks a smile at my use of his own words. I squash down the triumph inside me.

The girl chuckles and holds out her hand. "I'm Emma."

"Lily." Wait, should I be using my real name? Perhaps an alias would have been better. Oh well, it's too late for that now.

"And your boyfriend?" she asks.

"I'm not her boyfriend," Bryce grumbles.

"He's right, but you can ignore him, he's grumpy all the time."

"Ah, my ex-fiance is like that," she says, trying to make a joke out of it, despite the pain in her eyes.

I want to ask her more about it, but that may imply I care, and I don't want to give her the impression.

"You know, I think we're going to be good friends," Emma observes.

I raise an eyebrow, but don't correct her. She can go on believing that if she wants. I'm not here to make friends. Especially not with girls who look as perfect as Emma does. Even if it takes revealing who I am, I'll put her off. She won't want anything to do with me by the end of the term.

Chapter Seven

I stare up at the ceiling, trying to make sense of the events today. Why would that Emma girl want to be friends with me? Either she knows who I am and is using it to get to me, or she wants to have me as a snack.

I sigh loudly, and sit up. Despite only being here a few days, I have a mountain of work to do in order to keep up with the workload. I'm not sure what I thought I'd have to do when I asked to come here, but this isn't it. Perhaps I thought there'd be more parties and more fun. I didn't think about the fact I wouldn't be invited to those kinds of things.

I take a deep breath and get up, grabbing my bag from the floor and swinging it over my shoulder. Perhaps I should talk to Bryce about putting a desk in the room as well as the bed and wardrobe. That way, I don't have to sit in the same room as him while I do my work.

Huh. Why isn't that the case anyway? Are they worried I'll make up some dastardly plot while I'm trying to do my academy work? Clearly, they didn't do their research on me. I've never been the one who made the plans. I'm the follow orders to keep myself alive kind of person. Now as well as then. Now, keeping myself in line with the vampires is the key to the blood continuing to run through my veins. If they think I'm going to mess it up by trying to kill one of them.

The moment I open the door and am immediately hit by the scent of sizzling onions.

Wait...is Bryce cooking? I didn't know he did that.

"Ah, you're here," he grumbles, having seen me coming out of the room.

"Sorry, I didn't realise you were out here." That's the truth at least. "I wanted to do some work."

"Sure. Table's all yours." He gestures to the cosy looking dining room table.

"Thanks." I bite my lip, trying to make sense of what's happening. Why isn't he more annoyed? I'm in his space, filling it with my human-ness.

Oh, wait. That's not his problem with me. He doesn't like my ex-vocation.

I ignore the direction of my thoughts and set my stuff down on the table. I keep one eye on Bryce as I pull out my books and tablet. He's got to be up to something, hasn't he? There's no way he can go from hatred to seeming domestic bliss in a moment.

"Do you want some tea?" he asks.

I jump, not expecting him to talk to me.

"Erm, yes please," I splutter, the question has taken me off guard.

"How do you take it?"

"Just a bit of milk."

"Coming up," he half-sings.

Has he forgotten who I am? Or that he hates me?

"Have you drunk some spiked blood?" I blurt.

"What makes you say that?" he asks, tossing something into the pan with a soft sizzle.

"You seem almost happy. The only thing I can come up with is that you've gotten laid, or drunk some dodgy blood. The former seems less likely," I reason.

He chuckles. "That's where you'd be wrong." He turns back to making tea.

"Then I can only presume you've had some kind of personality transplant." I click on my tablet, pulling up the app that has all my assignments on it.

"I'm afraid to break it to you, but that's not the case." He sets down a mug in front of me.

I eye it suspiciously. "Thank you," I say slowly, trying to figure out what's going on.

"Poison isn't the best way I have to get rid of you," he points out.

"Why doesn't that fill me with confidence," I mutter.

He sighs loudly and drops himself down into the seat opposite. "Let's just say I've had a think about what you said the other day."

"You mean where I told you not to act like you hate me in public?" I lean back in my chair and raise an eyebrow, wondering where he's going with this.

"Exactly. And you're right. I need to try harder."

"Okay..." What's gotten into him?

"Don't get me wrong. I still don't like you."

"I don't expect you to." I cross my arms. "But that doesn't explain why you're being nice to me here." I pick up the mug of tea and blow across the top. I took a sip and burned my tongue in the process.

Bryce chuckles. "It looks like it won't be me that kills you, but your own stupidity."

I chuff. "That's what you think."

"Well, you haven't tried to kill me since we got here."

"Has it crossed your mind that I don't want to kill people?" I ask.

"You threatened me the moment we met."

"Because you were trying to insinuate, I wasn't capable of it," I say.

"And that's a problem because..."

I laugh darkly. "Have you seen me? Small, slim, blonde. My entire life has been people not taking me seriously unless I have a knife at their throat."

"Or a stake in their chest," he suggests.

"Stakes aren't as useful as you think they are," I point out. "There are dozens of weapons I prefer."

Bryce shakes his head. "Not reassuring in the slightest."

"Please," I dismiss. "It's not like you aren't checking my room while I shower to check I'm not stashing weapons there. And like I said, I'm not trying to kill anyone. I don't want to kill anyone. And I'm not going to."

"If you say so." He scrapes his chair back and returns to his position by the stove. I want to ask what he's making, but there are more important things on my mind.

"You still haven't answered my question," I point out.

"Which one?" He empties a can of tomatoes into the pan. "Do you want some of this?"

"Dinner?" I double-check.

"Yes, dinner."

"Yes, please," I say cautiously, still unsure about what's going on here. "But I meant the question about why you're being nice to me here. There's no one else around."

He chuckles. "I figured here was the best place to practice."

"You're doing pretty decent," I admit. "Which is what's confusing me."

He sighs. "You're a hunter."

"Correction, I was a hunter." I turn the page of one of my books a little too vigorously. The paper slice my finger and I yelp.

I pull my finger back and spot the blood welling up on it. Oops. I stick my finger in my mouth and suck on the wound. It stings at first, but then subsides a little.

I look up to find Bryce staring at me, his eyes wide and focused on me. He licks his lips.

Oh. Right. Blood.

I take my finger out of my mouth and hold it out to him. "Do you need some?" I ask, completely earnest. The last thing I need is a hungry vampire around and craving my blood.

"Are you serious?" he asks.

"Of course." I cock my head to the side.

"But, shouldn't you want to avoid offering me blood?"

I shrug. "You're hardly going to kill me."

"If I did, I'd lose my own."

"So, there's no problem with me offering you a bit of blood. Even if we hate each other."

His face changes in front of me, relaxing and taking on his normal expression. It's a relief, even if I don't want to admit it.

"I'll pass on. But I appreciate the offer." He turns back to the pan and stirs it. He really is making me dinner.

He reaches out to the shelf to the left of the cooker, and pulls down a first aid kit. He comes over to me and pulls out a plaster. He reaches out for my finger and wraps it around, almost tender.

"Thank you," I whisper.

"You're welcome," he responds, his voice gruff and rumbly in a way that makes it seem like he may not hate me as much as he says he does. Now I have to work out how to deal with that.

This night is going from weird to stranger, and I'm not sure how to deal with it.

Chapter Eight

"Do you have to look like you're going to rip someone's head off?" Bryce demands.

I sigh loudly. The Bryce of a few days ago is completely gone. This man won't be making me dinner any time soon. More's the pity. The pasta he made was delicious.

"Do you have to act like you have a stick up your ass the whole time?" I mutter.

I don't have to turn around to know he's glaring at me. I can feel his gaze boring into my back.

It doesn't matter. However he feels about me, I'm not going to worry about it. So long as he keeps to what he's supposed to do, it won't be a problem. And if he doesn't do his job, then it won't be my problem. Despite what he seems to think, I'm as deadly with my hands as with a weapon. Defending myself won't be a problem. But I don't think he'll have such an easy time of it when Ashryn finds out what happened. Having her on my side is going to help.

Though that may be exaggerating it a bit, I'm not sure she's fully forgiven me for what my hunting partner did to her. Not that I blame her. She wears the scars proudly, but there's no escaping them.

I push through the people around the classroom door and make my way into the room.

"What are you doing here, blood bag?" a boy sneers.

I spin around so I can face him, cataloguing at least three different things I can make a stake out of as I do. No. I'm not supposed to be doing anything like that.

"I'm here to learn. Same as you," I say, flashing him an easy smile.

"And yet, I'm meant to be here, and you're not," he retorts.

A girl comes to stand next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder in a possessive move. Does she think I'm going to try stealing this idiot? One look is all I need to know he's not my type, even if he wasn't being rude.

I cross my arms over my chest and stare him down. "I have every right to be here."

"You're human," he spits.

"And you're a regular detective. Congratulations," I mutter.

"How dare you?" His face burns red. Interesting. I didn't know vampires can show embarrassment the same way humans can. It's useful information to have.

"I'm not sure what I'm daring to do," I say evenly. "If I'm not mistaken, you engaged me in conversation."

Oh, the poor boy. It's almost possible to see the thoughts whizzing around his head. He's not the sharpest fang in the jaw.

"You're here," he splutters.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Are you serious? You're annoyed at me because I'm in the room?"

"No, not the room," the girl next to him corrects me, sounding as bratty as she looks. "The academy."

A laugh escapes me before I can stop it. "I don't have time for this." I turn away from him and go to take my seat.

His hand clamps down on my arm, a firm grip I've felt so many times in my life from people who think because I'm slight, I'm not a threat.

"Let me go," I warn, my voice barely more than a growl.

He doesn't remove his hand.

Where is Bryce? Isn't he supposed to be around to stop this kind of thing? Not that I expect him to always step in for me. I know how this really works. Someone attacks me, I don't retaliate, he doesn't step in fast enough, and I end up hurt.

Well, I'm not going to let that happen.

"Let go of me, now," I threaten. "Or you will regret it."

"What's a human like you going to do about it?" the boy demands.

I count to three, hoping he'll let go and I won't be forced to do anything drastic. When he still doesn't let go, I try to pull away, knowing all it will do is make him tighten his grasp.

Once he's done that, I move quickly, and flip him over my head in one practised move. He slams down into the desk at the same time his hand unclamps from my arm. Every time I've used that move, it's worked mostly because the other person underestimates me.

"I told you to let me go," I hiss.

"Lillian Daniels?" the teacher shouts over the din of the other students chattering about what I've done.

"Yes?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

"What is going on?" she demands.

I glance around, my gaze locking on Bryce standing in the door looking helpless.

"I was defending myself," I answer honestly. "I asked him to let me go, and he wouldn't."

She narrows her eyes at me, then flicks them over to Bryce. Ah, I'm guessing she knows the situation between us then. That's almost reassuring.

"The rest of you, get to your seats and get ready to begin," she barks. "The two of you, outside, now."

"Miss, what are we doing about Carlton?" the girl from before asks.

The teacher gives the groaning vampire a once over. "He's fine. I want him sat behind his desk by the time I come back in the room." She doesn't wait for the girl to respond and marches outside.

I follow behind, not seeing what else I can do, given the circumstances.

"What was that?" she demands the moment we're out of the room.

I glance at Bryce, hoping he'll be able to help. I know it's probably wishful thinking after the way he stood aside in there, but a girl can dream.

To my surprise, he coughs and pulls her attention to him. "I was stopped from going into the room after Lily by Carlton's friends. I suspect they were trying to provoke a reaction from her."

I shuffle from side to side and stare at the floor. And I gave them exactly what they want. Great.

"And what happened in there?" the teacher asks me.

I need to learn her name. I push that thought aside. Now isn't the time to seem rude.

"He started taunting me. Then he grabbed hold of me..." I push the sleeve of my cardigan up so she can see the marks left there. I may be able to overwhelm a vampire, but they still leave marks. "I asked him to let go. He refused, and then my instincts kicked in." It's honest without going into how I know the best way to loosen the grip of someone that much stronger than me.

"I must admit, I'm impressed," she admits. "When the Dean told us you were coming, I had my doubts."

I blink, still processing what she's saying. She knows who I am. All the teachers must.

"I'm sorry," I say through half-gritted teeth. I don't want to apologise, nor do I think I should have to. Carlton invaded my personal space and did what he could to belittle me. He's the one who should be in trouble for it, not me.

"I'm sure you're aware that I'll have to inform the Dean about this situation," she says.

I nod. And I'm sure it'll be reported back to Ashryn and her den of vampires in turn too.

"But so long as it doesn't happen again, I'm sure nothing will come of it."

"Thank you," I whisper.

"Now, take a moment to compose yourself, and then present yourself for class, please." She turns and leaves the two of us standing outside the door.

I spin to face Bryce the moment she's gone. "Where were you?" I hiss.

A guilty expression crosses his face. "I should have tried harder to get past them."

"Yes. You should."

"I saw you slam him down though. Impressive." A smug smile replaces the guilt.

"Thanks." I flush, enjoying the compliment more than I want to.

"We should get inside," he murmurs, no doubt in an attempt to cover up the odd look in his eyes.

"Yes. We should."

"I'm sorry," he whispers.

"Apology accepted," I answer instantly. And oddly enough, I mean it. Huh. I know vampires aren't as bad as the guild taught us they were, but I still didn't think I'd be coming around to them as quickly as this. Best not to think about it too much.

Bryce pushes the door open for me, and I don't linger any longer. Besides, I can't wait to see Carlton's face when I step back into the room. I've gotten away without a punishment, but he's just been outwitted by a human in front of his friends. That's got to sting.

Chapter Nine

The images flashing through my mind make too much sense to be a dream. Why is this happening? I've never had a vision while sleeping before. Something must have changed when I came to Grimalkin. Perhaps this wasn't the best idea I've ever had.

I can't make out much around me. There are people there, but no one talks to me. Or maybe they do, but I can't hear them because it isn't relevant to what the vision wants me to know. I don't understand that, either. Most of my visions are about other people. The only one I've had about myself was the one about Ravi and what he'd do to me if I didn't go along with his plans for the vampires he caught.

I want to shudder at the thought, but I'm too gripped in the vision to. The fact that Ravi is still alive scares me. I know he's locked away in a place he can't hurt me, or anyone else, but he's still in the world. Despite everything we went through, Ashryn is still too good of a person for the world.

I close my eyes, hoping it'll stop the vision. Of course, it doesn't. It's not really happening, at least, not yet. So there's no way that it will change, especially if I'm the one asking.

Pain lances through my abdomen. I glance down and see my hands covered in blood. My eyes widen. It's the same vision as last time, but there's more of it. This hasn't happened often enough for me to know what to do next. Typically, my visions happen once, and then not again. And if they do, it's a repeat of the first time.

But this is different.

I hold my hands up higher. Blood drips from them. What have I done?

No. That's the wrong question.

What am I going to do? The moment the guild fell, I promised myself I'd never kill again, unless it's unavoidable. I don't like the idea of it happening.

The pain comes again. I'm going to be sick. That's what it is.

This time, it sears through me. It's not sickness. I haven't killed anyone.

The blood is mine.

I open my mouth and let out the scream of pain that's been building within me.

"Lily?" a voice calls out.

Someone shakes my shoulder. I don't know how that's possible in a vision. Maybe it's the person who stabbed me?

I try to turn and see who it is, but pain radiates from the wound in my stomach. I hunch over, crying out again.

"Lily?" the voice repeats.

Wait. The person isn't part of my vision. I can sense it.

"Lily?" It's Bryce. And he's shaking me, trying to wake me up. A wave of affection floods me, almost washing away the pain. I didn't realise he cared.

I close my eyes, grateful to find it works this time, though maybe it's because I'm dying in my vision and my body is failing. I have no way of knowing, this hasn't happened before.

"Lily?" this time, he sounds closer.

My eyes snap open, and I gasp for breath. My throat constricts from lack of air.

"Finally," Bryce says.

"What happened?" I croak.

He hands me my bottle of water from beside the bed. I take it, gulping it down and letting it soothe my aching throat. Why do I feel as if I've run a marathon? I've not felt this way after a vision before.

"You were screaming," he says softly.

I struggle to sit up, weak from the dream. To my surprise, Bryce leans in and helps me, propping up my pillow so I can sit back against it.

The sheet falls away from me, and I'm suddenly a little self-conscious about the oversized t-shirt I'm wearing. It has a habit of riding up and revealing a bit too much leg, or falling off my shoulder and leaving the skin bare. I've never been bothered by either of those things before, but with Bryce in the room with me...

I push the thought away. He's my jailor, nothing more.

"Screaming?" I repeat, realising it's been too long since I said anything.

"Yes, it's a good job they took the soundproofing charms off the walls between our rooms."

"They did?" Shock fills my voice.

He chuckles. "Of course. How else am I to know if you're murdering someone in here?"

"I never murdered anyone," I mutter under my breath, my voice is still sore, but it's getting better with every moment I'm awake. "I believe what I did is assassination."

A wry smile stretches over his face. "Is there a difference?"

I shrug. "An assassination is ordered, a murder is more a crime of passion?" I suggest. Deep down, I know he's right. There isn't a difference.

"Hmm." The noise should be dismissive, but I can tell there's something more to it. "Does it make you any less guilty if it's assassination?" he asks.

I think about it for a moment. "No. Even if someone else decided I was going to do it, I wielded the knife. I'm guilty of taking a life, but not guilty of doing it maliciously." That's a stretch.

"Are you truly trying to tell me that vampire hunters aren't malicious?"

"Weren't," I correct. "Unless you've forgotten, the guild is no longer in business.

"I haven't."

"The honest answer is that some hunters loved it. Others hated it."

"And you're the latter?" He raises an eyebrow. I'm not sure he believes it.

"I don't know," I admit, unsure where this honesty is coming from. "Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a fan of the death part. If I never have to kill anyone ever again, I'll be happy. But I liked having a purpose. I liked belonging. But..." I trail off, unable to say the words that stick in my throat.

"But?" He leans forward eagerly.

"I didn't have a choice. In any of it. I told you I was sold, right?"

He nods.

"And that's just it. The guild owned me, and they never let me forget it. I was always their plaything to do their bidding. I was never allowed to be a child. I had a teddy when I arrived at the guild, a battered thing Mum gave me. It had lost one of its eyes." I laugh sadly at the memory of my precious bear. "The week after I arrived at the guild, they burned it in front of me. Other than my weapons, that was the last thing I ever owned."

"You don't own anything?"

I shake my head. "Everything I had at the guild was provided for me. Our clothes were passed from one hunter to the next on laundry days. I had a favourite dress that I tried to get every week, most people did. But they didn't belong to us. And now..." I swallow the lump in my throat. "There's stuff in this room, that I use every day, but it's all been chosen for me. Because I need it. None of it is mine. Not since the teddy."

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "I lost all my belongings too," he says.

I cock my head to the side, surprised. "How?"

"It doesn't matter." The tone in his voice tells me all I need to know. He won't expand on the statement, no matter how hard I push. "What happened to make you scream?" he asks, changing the subject.

"I had a vision." There's no point in lying about it.

"What happened?"

I shrug. "I died."

Shock crosses his face. "Do they always come true?" he asks.

"I've never known them not to," I admit.

"Then why aren't you more bothered about it?" Confusion has replaced the shock.

"What can I do about it? I don't know when it'll happen, or how, just that it will. I can either go through the rest of my life worrying about it, or I can make the best of it." I swing my legs around, the sheet slipping away from them and revealing my shirt has rolled up, just like I thought it had.

Bryce's gaze flicks to my bare skin, but I don't mention it to him. I don't want to make things weird between us.

"Where are you going?" he asks once I'm on my feet.

"I'm going to go and make some tea. Do you want some?"

The expression on his face suggests he wants to talk more about visions of my death, but I'm not going to answer any more of his questions. Not when I don't have answers myself.

"Yes," he says after a moment.

"Excellent. I'll put the kettle on, then." I leave the room, hoping the echoes of my vision stay there and don't haunt me still.

Chapter Ten

The moment I step into the classroom, I know something is different, and it has nothing to do with the odd looks being thrown my way as I take my seat, with Bryce one step behind. The tension in the room is almost excited. At least, that's what I think it is.

I try to push away my vision from the night before. It isn't something I should be dwelling on if I want to get anything done with my day. I've learned the hard way over the years. My visions tell me what's going to happen, not how I can change or avoid it.

The professor walks in a moment later. She's a portly woman who I have a lot of questions about. A lot of vampires seem to stay young and attractive, though not all. I have to wonder if she looked this way before she was turned, or if there's more to it. Perhaps it's possible to overgorge on blood?

"Good evening, class," she sing-songs out. "I'm sure you all read my email."

My eyes widen. I definitely haven't done that.

"Here," Bryce whispers, sliding his tablet over to me.

I scan the message, remembering the woman's name is Professor Dennis. "Oh, no."

Bryce chuckles. "Not looking forward to working in a group with someone?"

"When most of the class hates me, definitely not."

"They don't hate you."

"Like you don't hate me?" I throw back.

He shuts up, not wanting to unpack that one. The thing is, I'm not sure he hates me as much as he claims he does. I'm not sure I dislike him as much as I should, either. Now we've spent some time together, I think his gruff personality is simply a result of him hiding something. I don't press him on what. He'll either tell me, or he won't. I can live with both of those.

"Hi," the girl from the library, Emma, says as she pulls up a chair opposite our desk. "Looks like the three of us are working together." She flashes me a wide smile, one that's completely devoid of fangs. It's only then I realise how few vampires I've seen without them out. Probably because of the whole attacking them thing. No one likes being attacked.

"Not me," Bryce says. "I'm not enrolled in this course."

Emma narrows her eyes at him. "Then why are you here?"

Oh, Bryce, what have you done? He isn't supposed to tell people he's not a student. I cross my fingers and hope he can come up with a lie fast enough. Maybe he can pretend he's merely trying out different courses before committing?

He chuckles. "You really think they'd send a human here without giving her protection."

I want to shake him. How is that better? Everyone in the room knows I'm human. I've no doubt they can hear the blood pulsing through my veins. They don't need reminding. That'll only lead to questions about why I'm here in the first place.

I force a nervous giggle out of me, glad I spent so many years perfecting my helpless act while working for the guild. "They were so shocked when I passed the exams, it took them awhile to find someone coming to Grimalkin anyway next year to act as a bodyguard. Bryce is trying out the courses while he's focused on me, but won't be enrolled until next year. Isn't that right?"

I resist the urge to elbow him until he agrees with my lie.

"Yes, that's what I meant."

"Hmm." Emma leans back in her chair, clearly not believing a word we're saying.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm the rushing of my heart or everyone will be paying attention to me.

Bryce scrapes back his chair. "I'm going to check the surroundings."

I want to tell him no, but there isn't a way of doing that which doesn't reveal our lies. Instead, I nod.

"I'll be back in five."

"What are we going to do for this project?" I ask, looking at Bryce's tablet screen and trying to work out exactly what we're supposed to do.

"We need to design a business plan that caters to both vampires and humans," Emma says.

"That's a bit advanced for first years," I mutter.

"Most of us have been here for months," Emma points out.

"Sorry, I'll catch up."

She shrugs. "It doesn't matter. We'll make it work. Will your boyfriend help?"

"He's not my boyfriend," I counter.

"But you want him to be?" A smirk lifts her lips.

I shake my head. "We're fundamentally incompatible." He may have softened towards me, but he'll never go for an ex-hunter. It's going to be a constant thing between us that we can never change.

"Because you're human and he's a vampire?" she asks. "You realise you can change that easily enough."

I chuckle. "Not likely, I've heard there's a ban on new vampires."

"And you think people listen to that stupid rule? Vampires are turning humans all the time. All you have to do is claim it was an accident, or that you found them, and there's nothing the den heads can do about it. They simply tell the new vampire the rules, then leave them on their way."

"Hmm." Somehow I doubt that would be the case for me, especially after I asked to be a vampire. That will only have served to convince them I never should be. "Trust me, that's not the reason."

"Oh, I see. Girls aren't his thing." Emma dismisses the thought with a hand. "He'll grow out of that."

"I don't think that's how being gay works," I point out.

"True. But most vampires stop seeing things the same way after a hundred years or so. Then he'll be more focused on the person, not the gender."

All right then. Most vampires are pansexual. I guess that makes sense, even if it doesn't affect anything for me.

"That's not it," I say instead of voicing any of my other thoughts.

"Now, I'm intrigued."

Ah, damn it. That's backfired. How am I going to convince her to move the conversation on? After a moment, it dawns on me. If she's this interested in my love life, then perhaps she wants to talk about her own.

"What about you?" I ask. "Are you seeing anyone?"

She sighs dramatically. "I wish. I was engaged up until earlier this year."

Engaged? Is that common in vampires her age? I'll ask Bryce later, it seems like something he'll know. "What happened?"

"He met a witch in one of the elected classes any year can take, fell head over heels in love with her."

"A witch?"

"Yes, you know they go here, right?"

"Yes."

"It surprises me they didn't send you to that part of the academy," she muses.

Wow, she either really wants to avoid working on our project, or she simply loves to talk. I don't want to take a guess on which of those it is.

"I can't do magic," I point out.

"Oh right, of course. Silly me." She laughs lightly. "You don't want to be up there anyway."

"Up?"

She leans forward, inquisition in her eyes. "You don't know anything about the academy, do you?"

I shake my head. "I've led a sheltered life." Not technically a lie. I don't think it's possible to get much more sheltered than the guild in terms of how the real world works. The only thing they're good for is learning how to kill vampires.

"That explains it. But we're under the witch academy. To keep out the sun."

I nod. That makes sense. A lot of vampires live underground, it should have crossed my mind that an academy full of them would be there too.

"Why wouldn't I want to go up to the witch part?" I ask.

Emma leans forward conspiratorially. "Witch can be spelt with a b as well as a w." She winks.

I chuckle, but dismiss what she's saying. I'm sure witches are just like everyone else. Some of them are bad, some are good. I've had enough of people telling me what to think about a whole species to last me a lifetime and more.

"We should focus on our project," I suggest as Bryce slips back into his seat. That's definitely been more than five minutes, and I'm going to ask him about that later. Perhaps he's trying to avoid Emma. I'm not sure I blame him. I don't know if I like her or not. She seems nice, if a bit judgemental.

"We should, you're right. So...what kind of business do you think would be best? You're a human, that gives us a great advantage."

"I doubt it," Bryce mutters under his breath. I'm sure it's too quiet for Emma to hear, especially as she's now humming to herself.

I try not to laugh. He's right. I'm not much use. I haven't spent any time around coffee shops or department stores.

"What do you feel like you're missing, as a vampire?" I ask the other girl.

"Hmm. That's a good question. You know, there's this great place in town that makes coffees, it opens late for vampires."

"So something like that?" I ask.

She nods. "I think it's our best bet." She jots down a note on her tablet. "What's your email address? I can add you to the file and then we can work on it outside class too." She pushes the tablet in my direction.

I glance at Bryce, checking that putting it in is the right thing to do, not that I'm banned from technology. Ashryn and her den have provided me with everything I need to study here, including a tablet and a laptop. There's nothing I can do with them to counter the peace between vampires and hunters anyway. Most of the hunters are so ingrained in real life for the first time, I doubt they'd even notice.

Bryce nods once.

I type out my email and hit enter, before smiling at Emma. Working with her is going to be good. Normal, even. It's my chance to further my own integration and return to normality. At least, that's my hope and the whole point of me being at the academy in the first place.

Chapter Eleven

Bryce sets a mug down and sits across the table from me. He pushes the mug in my direction.

I set down my pen and smile. "What's this for?" And how am I going to end up paying for it later?

"Call it a peace offering."

"I wasn't aware you'd done anything. But thanks." I blow across the top of the tea. By the look of it, he's made it just the way I like it. Strong, with a dash of milk.

"Nothing specific," he admits. "But I was a bit of a..."

"All is forgiven." I wave him away, unsure where this part of me is coming from. Luckily, or perhaps not, Bryce seems as confused as I am by my behaviour.

"That doesn't seem like a very you behaviour."

I shrug. "I spent a long time hating everyone and everything. At some point, while I was locked in a room back at the den, I realised I didn't want that anymore. I never really did in the first place."

"Being locked in a room does that to you," he muses as his hands close around his mug. I don't need to ask what he's drinking. He only ever uses the mug with a cartoon vampire on when he's drinking blood.

I narrow my eyes at him. "You sound like you've gone through it."

He bites his bottom lip, clearly deciding whether or not to admit what he's thinking to me or not. I could put him at ease and assure him I've already worked it out, but I doubt it'll work. He's wrapping himself up in knots over it.

"When I first arrived at the den, I was put under room arrest, like you were."

I nod. "I thought as much."

"How?" His shock shines through the question, even if he's trying his best not to let it show.

"The way you were talking about it then," I admit, seeing no reason to lie about it. "And I already figured out you'd done something wrong. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here with me."

He chuckles. "I should remember not to underestimate you."

"I wouldn't worry about it, everyone does."

"You're not just saying that, are you?"

I shake my head. "I'm an ex-hunter, remember."

"I'm not sure what that has to do with being underestimated," he admits.

I sigh, then take a sip of my tea as I attempt to collect my thoughts in a way that doesn't make me sound awful. I'm not sure there is a way. "The guild is ruthless. I'm sure you know that..."

"I don't actually know much about them," he admits. "I didn't arrive at Dimitri's den until after the guild had been disbanded. And before that...vampire hunters were an urban legend, but not something we faced."

I frown. What is he talking about? Hunters were a threat to vampires everywhere. There wasn't a corner of the world that didn't have at least one sect. Ashryn is still trying to stop them all, I believe. Except...

"You lived in the City Of Blood, didn't you?"

His eyebrows shoot up. "How..."

"I'm an ex-hunter," I repeat. "You think we didn't know about a vampire-run city that's virtually on our doorstep."

"Then why didn't any of the hunters do anything about it?"

"That's a good question," I admit. "I suspect some may have tried, but ended up dead. Or they decided taking out people in the City helped the vampires outside it too much. Honestly, I wouldn't expect anything like morals from the people in charge of the guild. They didn't have any."

"And the hunters themselves?"

I should have been ready for this question, but I'm not. Instead, it punches me in the gut. He's never going to see me as anything other than a monster.

"It's complicated," I whisper, my voice hoarse. I should have stuck to doing my work for the academy, and not let him pull me into the conversation. Oh well, it's too late now.

"Try me." He sets his mug down and leans forward.

"Will you tell me some of what it was like in the City Of Blood, then?" I counter.

An odd expression crosses his face. "If you want to know, yes."

I nod. "I do. It's been a mystery for a long time."

"Okay then, I will. But you go first."

I take a deep breath. I've never talked about this with anyone, not even fellow ex-hunters, not that I've seen any of them except for Ashryn since the guild blew up.

"Hunters are...pragmatic, I guess the word is. We're taught from an early age that our only worth is in how well we do what the guild wants us to do. In this case, kill vampires." I swallow the lump in my throat. "Most of us know it's wrong. But it's hard to say no. They bribe you as children, then threaten you as teenagers. By the time we reach adulthood, we're nothing more than slaves to the system. Even when we know it's wrong, we do it anyway..."

"I get that." His skin pales even more than usual, and I wonder what secret he's holding onto that's causing him so much pain. Is he going to tell me what it is?

I'm not sure what makes me do it, but I reach out and place one of my hands on his. It's still warm from being around my mug, and he startles slightly before settling down.

"I killed some vampires there," he admits.

"I know."

He looks up sharply. "How?"

"You wake up screaming in the middle of the day."

"That doesn't mean I killed people," he mutters.

"No, it doesn't. But you talk after you finish screaming. You shout that you're sorry, and you don't want to hurt them," I tell him.

"I don't. Their faces are all I can see at night. They beg me not to..."

I sigh loudly. "I know," I repeat. "The vampires I've killed do the same." I've never admitted that aloud, but I think he needs to hear it. I have to reassure him that he's not the only one with his kind of nightmare.

"Now I'm outside, I don't know why I did it," he says.

"You do," I counter. Because it's the same as what I go through with the guild. He doesn't need to fill in the gaps about what life is like in the City Of Blood, I can guess from the haunted look in his eyes.

He sighs loudly. "My Dad made me. At the time, I hated him for it. Not a lot. Just a little bit. But now I'm here and living a different life. I know he had no choice. The whole City is under the thumb of the mayor, and she likes to use threats and violence to control people."

I don't want to admit it out loud, but I'm transfixed. At the guild, we never could find out much about what went on in the City. Probably because vampires control it.

"He died. Executed, I think. But I'm not sure," he says.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, wanting to say something, but not having anything more than that in me.

"You shouldn't be. He rose through the ranks despite what he knew about being at the top. He put Mum and me in danger without even thinking twice about it."

"What happened to her?" I know the answer, it's easy to work out from what he's saying, but I think he needs to say it as part of his process.

"She died too. Killed in our house while she helped me escape. We'd had the plan in place for years, in case Dad was caught up in one of the purges. She was supposed to come with me."

"I'm sorry," I say again.

He looks up, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "She gave up her life so I could have one out here. And I'm wasting it."

"I can ask Ashryn to assign someone else as my guard," I say instantly. "You can start living the life you want?" I don't like the idea of that. It's taken us long enough to get to this point, I don't want to start over with someone new. But I don't say that. It's not my place to. If this is what he needs, then this is what he should have.

"No," he says firmly.

I cock my head to the side, trying to work out what's going on in his head.

"It's got nothing to do with me being your guard. But I promised her I'd try and be happy. That I'd live my life to the full. But here I am fighting it."

I frown. "Fighting it, how?" An odd sensation settles in my stomach. I think it may be hope, but I'm not sure. I've never felt it about someone like this before.

He takes a deep breath. "I want to go on a date with you."

His words land in the silence between us, and all I can do is blink as I try to process what he's saying and if I've heard it right. That isn't what I expected him to say. Ever. But I can't ignore the small leap of my heart as I consider them.

"Yes." The word slips out before I realise it. "I'd like that."

Shock enters his eyes. I don't think he expected me to answer that way, either.

"Really?"

I nod. "Yes. Really."

For the first time, Bryce looks his age. And while I can't see myself without a mirror, I'm sure I do too.

Chapter Twelve

I shuffle in my seat, trying not to let my nerves show too much. If any of the vampires figure out who I am, and the experience I have on the topic of Professor Jefferies' lecture, then I don't know what will happen. After showing up one of them, some must have their suspicions, even if they're not saying anything aloud. I almost wish they would, then I can get whatever it was they were going to do with me out of the way.

"Can anyone tell me anything about dhampirs?" Professor Jefferies asks.

A wave of chatter runs through the room. I'm not surprised. In a lecture on the history of vampire hunting, it doesn't make much sense to be discussing dhampirs. At least, not to my classmates. I'm well aware of the connection. Ashryn must be laughing every time she thinks of me having to take this class. I'm not sure why she signed me up for it.

A student at the front shoots his hand into the air.

"Yes, Mr Foxwright?"

"Aren't dhampirs legends?" the student asks.

I roll my eyes, and before I think about it, I'm raising my own hand.

Professor Jeffries' eyebrows rise faster than I would think possible. "Yes, Miss Daniels?"

"My understanding is that dhampirs are presumed to be possible, but are very rare as humans and vampires don't always procreate. Especially because it's more like a turned vampire would be more likely to want a relationship with a human counterpart. But in the rare case they do happen, dhampirs are half-human, half-vampire offspring, normally sired by the vampire. They don't exhibit many vampiric tendencies," I say.

I catch Bryce's confused look from the corner of my eye, but I don't respond to it. I'll explain to him later if he wants me to.

"Very good, Miss Daniels. That is indeed the case. Do you know what connection they have to vampire hunting by any chance?" The interest on his face is clear, he wants to know what other knowledge I have, and where it comes from. As a human, I shouldn't have much knowledge of these matters, except if there's a more nefarious reason.

Like there is, I suppose. I may not be a hunter any longer, but I spent most of my life hunting down and killing vampires. I should be careful not to show too much of my knowledge in case anyone works it out.

And yet, I find myself wanting to say it all. Perhaps then, people will realise I'm smart and determined.

"In all likelihood, very little," I find myself saying. "Though there are multiple Eastern European traditions that suggest dhampirs are born with abilities that allow them to sense when a vampire is near, and that caused a lot of them to become hunters." I don't add that the dhampirs are said to have been a forerunner of the vampire hunting guild in some circles, but I know that's a lie. And if the guild found out about any, they'd have faced the same deaths as vampires did. To be honest, most days, I'm still surprised they didn't put an end to people like me. I'm sure they knew what I'm capable of.

I shake my head ever so slightly, ridding myself of those thoughts. It'll do me no good to dwell on it. The past is the past, and that's where I need to leave it.

"Very good," Professor Jefferies says, completely oblivious to the direction of my thoughts. "Dhampirs are thought to be incredibly rare for the reasons you laid out, Miss Daniels. No one is truly sure where the rumours of dhampir vampire hunters came from. There has been speculation that it was simply the widow of a turned vampire who started the rumours."

Emma's hand was in the air next. "Could it have been a vampire gone rogue?" she asks before Professor Jeffories even has time to register she wants to ask a question. He's a little taken aback, and I don't blame him.

"That is certainly a possibility," he announces. "And one that has been investigated fully. If you turn to chapter sixteen of your textbooks, you'll find more information on the subject."

I don't even have to do anything to make that happen. Bryce pushes his tablet to me. Our fingers brush as I take it from him, sending tingles up and down my arm.

Our gazes lock, and something indescribable passes between us. Perhaps he's merely wanting to warn me away from revealing too much about my past, but I don't think so. Things have changed since our late-night talk and him asking me on a date, even if we haven't done it yet.

I push those thoughts aside and begin to scan the chapter Professor Jefferies has sent us to. It goes into a lot of boring details about dhampirs, most of which I already know.

"Why are we learning about dhampirs?" one of the boys at the back asks. I don't know his name, or even what he looks like, but I do appreciate the question. This should stop me from saying too much of the wrong thing.

A slow smile crosses Professor Jefferies' face. "The whole point of this class is to fill you in on some of the darker history of our kind. Part of this is so we don't repeat the mistakes of the past, and some of it is so you can all learn how to watch for any situations that may result in your death."

"Then why is she here?" someone mutters from behind. I don't need any more than that to know they're talking about me.

I take a deep breath, but don't say anything. They aren't worth my time, and I have to remember that. Besides, this class is interesting in a way. I'm a little surprised by how matter of fact the vampires are about hunting. I thought they'd be painting the guild and its predecessors with a lot more derision than they do. One more way in which the vampires are the worthy survivors of the conflict between them and the guild.

"Is there a way to spot a dhampir?" Emma asks, flashing a quick look in my direction.

Wait, does she think I'm one? Because that's not likely. My Father sold me during the day. I remember it more vividly than I care to, given that it was the day my life changed forever, and not in a good way.

Professor Jeffories nods to himself. "That's an excellent question. If you read on in the chapter, you may find some examples of ways humans claim to be able to identify a dhampir, such as a lack of shadow, or in some extreme situations, a lack of bones..."

"A lack of bones?" Emma blurts without waiting for him to finish.

Bryce chuckles beside me. "She's going to get herself into trouble," he whispers to me.

I snort. "She seems like the kind who'll get out of it easy enough," I respond.

He smirks, then leans back in his chair. He's an enigma, that's for sure. He's warmed up to me far more than I expected, and far quicker. Especially considering we regularly sit in a class which discusses my old career path.

"The lack of bones seems to be something humans made up for why the dhampir couldn't be found after they accused someone and they weren't where they were supposed to be. There's no true creedence in it," Professor Jefferies says, excitement coming through every word. It's not hard to tell he's enjoying teaching a class that seems to want to learn about his passion. "If dhampir do exist, I suspect they'll be more like their human parent, perhaps with extra abilities that would more often be associated with vampires."

My blood runs cold as I process what he's saying. Extra abilities? Like my ability to sense the future? Could I be one of these dhampirs after all? My hand is in the air before I can stop it, and there's no backing down once the other students have seen it.

"Yes, Miss Daniels?"

"Could the extra abilities include seeing the future?" I blurt.

Bryce sucks in a sharp breath. I'm sure he's been wondering the same thing, but can't voice it as he technically isn't a student. I hope he's also already planning escape routes in case we need one in a hurry should this all go south.

The professor frowns. "I highly doubt it. Clairvoyance isn't often a trait associated with vampires. If a human exhibited signs of the skill, I'd be more inclined to think they had seer blood."

I frown, but don't ask what seers are. I don't want to reveal my ignorance of the other types of supernatural in the world. It'll only make my knowledge of vampires and hunting more suspicious.

Bryce pulls his tablet back to him, and taps a couple of times. He hands it back, and I find a grateful smile stretching my lips.

Seers are a subspecies of reapers, they can predict death, and see the spirits of the recently departed. The note is short, but it's enough.

"Thank you," I whisper. I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering if I have some of their blood in me. I doubt there's any way to find out, at least not without any knowledge of my family tree, something I wasn't privy to at seven years old, and have never even tried to look into. I'm not sure I see the point.

"I still don't understand what dhampirs have to do with vampire hunting," the boy at the back says.

Professor Jeffories sighs. "Then that will have to be the topic of this week's coursework assignment. I want a short essay from each of you on the roles you think dhampirs played in the history of vampire hunting. You can use any resources you like, but please ensure you reference them properly."

Collective groans come from around the room, but I don't join in. I'm actually a little excited to look into the vampire side of this history. And to show off my own knowledge. Though I wonder if it'll even be possible for me to find other sources for the information the guild had. According to them, the dhampirs were nothing more than humans forming a vampire hunting cult. A sort of forerunner to the system they created. Perhaps Ashryn will know something about it. I'll have to remember to ask her about it when we have one of our monthly check-ins.

"Essays are due by the thirty-first," Professor Jefferies says over the noise of everyone packing up their belongings and bemoaning the extra essay we all have to do.

Chapter Thirteen

"Where are we going?" I ask, a hint of laughter in my voice.

"Nowhere too exciting," Bryce assures me. "We're not allowed to leave the academy."

Oh. I don't think I've ever considered that may be the case. But it makes sense. The whole point of sending me to Grimalkin alongside Bryce is so they can keep an eye on me. They're not going to let me wander around the nearby town in case I have plans of escape. It hardly matters that I don't. I want to be here. And more importantly, I want to gain the vampires' trust.

"Have you managed to commandeer one of the classrooms for a picnic, or something?" I half-joke. In reality, that's the kind of thing I'd do if I were the one planning a date without leaving the academy.

"In a fashion," he admits. "I got a raised eyebrow when I made some of the requests. But I think it's going to be worth it."

"It sounds intriguing." I don't try and work out what he has planned. I'm sure it'll become apparent momentarily.

We turn down the next corridor, one I recognise from when we head to the history classroom. At least I know where I am in terms of the academy.

"How have you managed this when I'm not allowed to be out of the room during daylight?" I ask.

"We'll be back before then," he promises. "We still have a few hours, plenty of time for what I have planned."

Even more curious. We fall into a comfortable silence, neither of us feeling the need to break it. A small smile plays on my lips. I'm going on a date. It's hard to believe it. I've never been on one before. There's never been any reason to. I can't say I thought that would change when I met Bryce, either, and yet it has.

I stumble over air, almost falling to the floor. I fling out my arms to try and find some balance. One of my hands scrapes against the rough stone of the wall, and Bryce grasps the other one.

"Lily!" he half-shouts,

Something about the desperation in his voice causes my vision to blur. Oh no, not now. We have a date to get to, the last thing I want is to delay that for a vision.

But by now, I know I can't put it off, it's going to happen whether I like it or not.

I clutch my hands to my stomach, but there's no pain yet. Maybe this vision is different from the other ones I've been having? It doesn't seem likely, as this one hasn't yet come to pass, but I suppose I can live in hope.

"Lily," Emma says.

I look up to find her walking towards me with a determined expression on her face. What's this about? One glance behind me confirms what I already know is true, Bryce isn't around, which is odd in itself given the number of people in the corridor. Perhaps he's been stopped from getting to me? Either that, or we've argued and he refuses to talk to me. Without any context, I'm not sure.

"Lily," Emma repeats.

I pull my attention back to her, only to see the glint of a knife too late. With one firm stab, she drives it into my stomach and twists. Pain sears through me.

"Lily!" This time it's Bryce's voice calling my name, and he seems genuinely distraught. Probably not an argument then.

"Why?" I whisper through the pain.

She doesn't say anything, but a sadistic smile stretches across her face.

The vision fades, and I start gasping for breath.

"Are you all right?" Bryce asks, his hand still comforting on my arm.

I nod, unsure what else to do, and lean into him.

"Did you have a vision?" he asks.

"Yes." There's no point lying to him, he's seen it happen a couple of times, and he's the observant type, he'll have worked out the signs. Unfortunately.

"What did you see?" Concern is clear in his eyes, but for some reason, I don't want to tell him the new things I've seen, though I'm not sure why. I should, that way, he can be on his guard.

"Nothing new," I find myself saying, then cursing myself for doing so. I need to trust him. And I'm a fool for not doing.

He frowns, probably because he doesn't believe me. "You can tell me anything," he promises.

"I know."

"Hmm."

"Can we carry on to what you have planned?" I ask weakly. "I don't want anything to ruin the night."

He considers me for a moment, then he nods and holds out an arm for me. I slip mine through, secretly glad of the support it'll give me. My whole body is still shaking slightly from my vision. I don't often see them as vividly about myself, and it's shaken me, especially as I know there's very little I can do about them other than wait them out.

"We're here," he says, pushing open the door to a classroom I've never been in before.

I gasp loudly as I step inside. "It's beautiful. I haven't seen the stars in what feels like forever."

I don't have to look at Bryce to know he's smiling. "And I'm sure you didn't have much time to look at them before."

A dark laugh escapes me. "I certainly didn't. There wasn't any time for romance."

"So you haven't..."

I flash him a wry smile. "I've spent the night with someone before, if that's what you're asking." Though not that often. Most of the hunters assumed I had something going with Ravi, and stayed clear for that reason. They couldn't have been more wrong. I'd never have touched Ravi in a full hazmat suit. Especially because I knew how he was really getting his pleasure.

"But dates?"

"You mean going out for a meal?"

He nods.

"No. The only people I ever met were hunters, and none of us ever had any money," I admit.

"They didn't pay you?" He gestures towards a pile of bean bags as he asks, presumably so I can take a seat.

I flop down into one and lean back, staring up at the projection of the night sky he's set up. It's beautiful, though it makes me long for the real outside.

"No, they never paid us," I say eventually. "We were nothing more than slaves to the guild. We killed when they told us to, ate when we were told to, everything."

"Just like we're doing to you," he says as he drops down onto the bean bags next to me and leans back.

I shrug, causing the bag behind me to rustle loudly. "I'm used to it."

"That's a terrible thing to say."

"Aren't you going through the same thing?" I ask, recalling what he said about his own past.

"I had some freedom in the City Of Blood," he assures me. "The first seventeen years of my life weren't much different from a lot of people's. I went to school, hung out with friends, did normal teenage stuff. It only changed when Dad got higher up the ranks."

"But once you escaped, you were controlled by the den," I point out.

"I suppose. But I was allowed to roam around the main complex, and after I've finished my service as your bodyguard, I believe I'll have more freedom still."

I wonder if the same will be true for me? Will I be able to prove myself trustworthy enough to roam free? Somehow, I doubt it'll be that simple, but a girl can dream, right?

"I have to check in with Dimitri in a few days, I thought I could ask about some of your restrictions being lifted, then we can go outside and see the stars from the grounds," Bryce says after another moment.

I shift on the bean bags so I'm facing him, ignoring the stars for a moment. "Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asks.

I frown. I suppose that's a good question. "Sorry, I'm not used to people being nice to me."

"I'm sorry about that." He glances away from me.

"It's not your fault," I assure him. "I was a hunter, you're a vampire, a little friction is to be expected."

"That's no excuse. All I can think is how it would feel if our positions had reversed."

"But they are," I point out. "You're also away from everything you've ever known. Just because the people that controlled us were different, doesn't mean what we went through wasn't similar."

"Have you always been so wise?" he jokes.

"It comes from being made a killer before ten years old," I mutter darkly.

"I'm sorry."

I shrug. "Don't be. It isn't your fault, and it's something I'm slowly coming to terms with. I don't think I'll ever fully forgive myself for the things I did, but I didn't choose the path I was sent down. I'm not a killer in my soul, even if I've dealt the fatal blow more times than I can count."

To my surprise, he sits up. I follow suit, unsure what he's planning.

"This isn't the kind of conversation I had planned for our date," he admits.

I let out a light laugh. "No, I can't imagine it's normal dating small talk. We can change the subject if you want to?"

He nods. "One second." He pulls his tablet from his bag and clicks a few buttons.

A soft melody fills the room. It's hauntingly beautiful. I don't know a lot about music, I've never had a chance to learn, but I do know this is classical.

"Is your change of subject to drown out anything I'm saying?" I joke.

Bryce chuckles. "Not at all, but I thought dancing under the stars would be something you'd never done before," he admits sheepishly.

A wide grin spreads over my face, and I'm on my feet within seconds. "You're right. I haven't, but that sounds wonderful."

He joins me, then holds out his arms. I step into them, conscious of how close the two of us are now.

"I don't know how to dance." The words sound strange, as if I know I shouldn't be having to say them. But it's true. I've never had a chance to learn.

"That's okay. We can just sway." He pulls me close, and the two of us begin to move back and forth.

There are no steps to the dance, which only serves to make it more intimate. I'm not even sure we're moving in time with the music. But I don't care. There's something wonderful about this moment that I don't have a name for. It's so pure. Nothing matters. Not our pasts, or even our futures. It's all about us.

I pull back ever so slightly and meet Bryce's gaze. Neither of us say anything, but deep down, I know we're thinking the same thing. He leans in, his breath fanning against my lips. I have no doubts about what's going to happen next.

Bryce presses his lips against mine, tentatively at first, as if he's trying to work out whether or not he has permission to do this. I kiss him back instantly, granting him it and demanding more. His arm snakes around my waist, tugging me closer. I go willingly, our bodies now tight against one another. The blood pounds through my veins, but I don't worry for a moment about him being tempted by it. I can trust him with this. Nothing he can do will harm me.

Three years ago, if anyone had asked if I thought I could fall for a vampire, I'd have laughed in their face. If someone asks me the same question tonight, I'll have to admit I already have.

Chapter Fourteen

I hum to myself as I walk down the corridor to the library, only noticing when I'm most of the way there that it's the same song Bryce played for me the other night. I've caught myself humming it a couple of times, and can't bring myself to stop. I can't help the way it makes me feel.

I dodge around the other students, trying not to draw too much attention to myself while Bryce isn't with me. He has a conference with Dimitri, and I need to do some research, so we're seeing how being separate will work for us. As soon as I get to the library, I plan on sending him a message from my tablet to assure him I'm there. I don't want to get him into any kind of trouble if I can help it.

The number of students in the corridors thins as I approach my destination. Most of them have disappeared off to their last lesson of the day. I should have thought about coming here earlier in the evening, but I forgot. Despite having lived with vampires since the guild was destroyed, I'm still not used to the nocturnal rhythm. I'm not sure how they do it. Perhaps something in their blood helps them cope. I'm not sure if even they know.

I slip through the door and into the library. I glance around to check if there's anyone I know and want to avoid about. The last thing I need is to run into someone who'll take up my time and energy. It's only when I'm scanning the room a second time that I notice Emma talking to the boy who tried to attack me. Carlton, I think his name is. What can the two of them have to talk about? As far as I'm aware, they aren't friends.

No. I should leave them alone. The only reason I'm even remotely interested is because I'm suspicious of Emma after my vision. I'm not sure what reason she can have for attacking me.

Spurred on by the feeling that I should be doing something about this, I creep around to that side of the library, being careful not to let myself be seen by the wrong people. If someone says my name and they're listening, this is all over before it's begun. If they're talking about anything they're not supposed to be, that is. For all I know, they're talking about nothing more than the best blood type.

I drop into a seat at the table next to theirs, my back to them. I never thought I'd be glad for some of the training the guild gave me, but now I'm trying to listen in, I am. I may not have hearing anywhere near as powerful as a vampire's, but that doesn't mean I can't work out what they're saying. I type out a quick message to Bryce, so he knows I'm here, then start paying attention to what the two vampires are saying.

"...Something needs to be done, Emma. You heard what she did to me," Carlton says.

Interesting. He's most likely talking about me humiliating me in front of the entire class, then. Good to know it still hurts his ego.

"I'm not sure there's anything that can be done," Emma responds.

Hmm. Interesting.

"She shouldn't be here. She's human." Carlton bangs on the table, as if to enunciate his point.

"She's got that bodyguard though. I don't think he's a student. Which means he's been appointed by someone," Emma points out. "Is that someone we want to mess with?"

"It'll only be Dimitri."

I almost scoff. Since when has Dimitri been an only? He's one of the most politically powerful vampires in the country. I'm not sure about physically, but he certainly has some manpower on his side.

"I've heard he's an ex-priest," Emma says.

A priest? How did I not know that? Which means Dimitri is a turned vampire, not a born one. It's surprising he's managed to rise to such prominence given his circumstances, but I suppose he is charming, that'll help.

"That's what we've heard too," Carlton says. "And we're going to start doing something about Dimitri and his kind."

"Who is we?"

I close my eyes and offer up a silent thanks for Emma asking the question I want to know the answer to more than anything.

"There's a group of us. We're determined to change the way things are run. We don't need people with human sympathies running the vampire dens, we need men, no vampires, of power. Ones who aren't afraid to take control."

I wish I could see Emma's face. From her silence, I think I can guess what it looks like, but it'd be interesting to know if I'm right or not.

"Emma..." Carlton's voice almost verges on seductive as he says her name, like he's hoping it'll convince her she needs to listen to him. I half hope she does, but only because it'll mean I can learn more.

"I don't think it's a good idea, Carlton," she returns. "And you can tell whoever your friends are that I said that too. This is going to end badly, whether you intend it to or not."

"Wasn't your best friend killed by vampire hunters?" Carlton asks.

My blood runs cold. I don't need to hear the words to know what he's going to say. He knows my secret, I'm sure of it.

"Maisie?" Emma's voice betrays the hurt she still feels over the loss. Guilt floods through me. My people caused that, whether I like to think about it or not.

"Dimitri has sent a vampire hunter into the academy. She's studying among us, being friends with us. She's even living with that bodyguard of hers," Carlton says.

Oh no. This can't possibly get any worse.

"Lily?" Apparently, Emma isn't capable of saying anything longer than one word at the moment. I'm sure that'll change soon enough.

"Yes. One of my friends survived a hunter attack and saw her there."

A tear rolls down my cheek and splashes onto the screen of my tablet without me realising. When I asked to come here, I didn't think through this as a potential consequence.

"Are you sure it was her?" Emma asks. She's the only one of the three of us who needs convincing.

"Absolutely," Carlton answers.

"But she's so young."

"They teach them young." At least Carlton's source is telling him the truth, though I'm not sure that's particularly reassuring in the grand scheme of things.

Emma is silent for what feels like an age. "What do I have to do to join your friends in helping to change this?" she asks after a moment.

"We'll be in touch," Carlton promises.

I've heard enough, and I can't risk lingering in the library any longer in case they realise I'm here and do something about it. I'm sure they'll have no qualms in harming me, especially if they've correctly guessed I'm an ex-hunter.

I rise from my seat and rush out of the library as quickly as I dare. I don't look back. I don't want anyone to see the tears streaming down my cheeks.

As soon as I'm through the door, I start moving faster, only to end up running straight into the solid chest of someone.

"I'm sorry," I murmur, pushing away from him.

"Lily? Are you okay?" Bryce asks.

I relax, realising I'm safe if he's here. I shake my head. "Not here," I whisper through my tears even as I wipe them away with my sleeve.

"There's an empty classroom down the hall," he promises, and takes my hand in his. He leads me to it, and we're shut away from the world within moments. "What happened?" he asks.

"They know I'm an ex-hunter," I whisper. "And they're planning on trying to usurp Dimitri." Those are the two most important parts of the conversation as far as I'm concerned.

"They know about your past? How?" Concern comes through his words. "And who?"

"At least Carlton and Emma, though the way he was talking, there are more people who do," I ramble.

"How?"

"Someone saw me at an attack where someone got away, and they recognise me. But that's not important but, Bryce. They're going to try and usurp Dimitri. They think he has too many human sympathies," I ramble.

"Hey, it's okay." He reaches out and pulls me into a tight hug before dropping a gentle kiss on the top of my head.

I take a deep breath, surprised to find his gestures are already working to calm me.

"I've just spoken to Dimitri, we can talk to him and get this sorted out. But no more going around the academy without me," he says.

I sniff, but nod into his chest anyway.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you," he says softly.

"Nothing happened," I promise. "I only overheard them talking."

"That's good," he assures me. "If they don't know you heard, then we have time to get a warning to the others."

I relax against him, happy to have someone else taking charge, but only because he's keeping me in the loop.

"We'll be okay, Lily, I promise."

I hope he's right. Because without Dimitri, I won't be the only one in danger. All of the other ex-hunters, not to mention some of the refugees from the City Of Blood, and countless humans will be in danger, and that's never going to be a good thing.

Chapter Fifteen

I pad out of my bedroom, a little self conscious to be around Bryce while I'm only wearing my ratty PJs. He's seen me in them before, but something's changed between us since our date. And since I told him about what Emma and Carlton are up to. I'm guessing it's because I proved myself completely trustworthy and not about to destroy the vampires at the first chance I get.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Bryce asks, putting a mug of tea on the table in the spot that indicates it's for me.

"Hmm." I wave my hand to indicate I'm so-so, as I drop into the seat and close my hands around the mug, letting the heat seep into me.

The chair opposite me scrapes back, and Bryce takes a seat.

"No blood this evening?" I ask, nodding to his plain black mug.

He shakes his head. "Haven't you noticed I don't drink every day?"

Huh. Doesn't he?

He chuckles. "I see some of your prejudices are still alive and well," he teases.

"I'm sorry," I say quickly. "I don't mean to be that way..."

"I know," he assures me. "But a lot of vampires don't drink daily, or if they do, it's not very much."

"It's all so different from what I was told as a kid," I admit. "We were always told that vampires were bloodthirsty. They'd do everything they could for blood, even if it meant murder."

"I suppose that makes sense. Some vampires centuries ago did everything they could to put that idea in people's minds. And even some vampires now aren't doing a great job of convincing people otherwise. Just look at what they're doing in the City Of Blood."

I clear my throat, an awkward question burning at the back of it.

Bryce's lips quirk up into a smile. "You're going to have to come out with it if you want an answer," he points out.

I take a deep breath. "Do you like blood?"

He chuckles and leans back in his chair. "That's not what I was expecting you to say."

"Sorry, should I have asked about the desire to rip someone's throat out?" I ask sweetly.

"Then I can counter with the startling piece of information that I've never once killed a human."

I'm not surprised in the slightest. The more I've gotten to know him, the more I've come to realise he's not the kind to even think about that. He hates the killing he's had to do, and he won't do it again unless he has no other choice.

"I figured as much," I admit, not wanting to leave him hanging for too long. "You don't seem like the type."

"Have you?" he asks.

Startled, I stare back at him, unable to come up with an answer.

"A human, I mean?"

I think back to the way Ravi and I had hunted Ashryn, and guilt floods through me. I don't suppose it counts, she was already a vampire at the time, and we never managed to kill her. I'm not sure that lessens my guilt.

"Not that I'm aware of," I say. "But I don't think it matters. I've taken lives. Human, vampire, does it matter?" I take a sip of my tea, mostly for something to do. I'm too lost in my past to even taste it.

"You were brainwashed," Bryce assures me. It's such a change from how he was when we first arrived here. What a change a few weeks and a kiss can make.

I flash him a weak smile. "I wish that helped me feel better."

"Maybe it's good that you don't."

"Does it make you feel any differently about your past? The way you were forced into it, I mean?"

He shakes his head. "If anything, it makes me feel worse. I like to believe I'm a strong person, as I'm sure you do too. But if that's true, then why was I so easy to turn? I barely hesitated. I just did it, without any thought to the consequences of what I was doing."

"It's not your fault," I reassure him, but it's probably more to him than me.

"But it is. I killed them. I heard their screams..." A haunted look flits over his face.

My heart breaks for him. I wish I could take the pain away, but I know it isn't possible. This is something he has to work through on his own.

We both sit there in silence. Both wearing the clothes we've slept in. Or maybe the ones we're pretending we slept in. I hate wearing anything more than a t-shirt while I'm in bed, but I'm hardly going to walk around in nothing more than that the rest of the time.

"Did you manage to talk to Dimitri about what I heard?" I ask softly.

Relief for the change of subject flits over his face. But then he shakes his head. "He's been out of the den, I think. But I promise as soon as I can talk to him about it, I will."

"Thanks." I wish I could feel relief at that, but the more time passes, the more worried I am. But that's not Bryce's fault. I know he's trying.

"What have you got on tonight?" he asks.

I shrug. "Politics, history of vampire hunting...the normal lessons. We've got a couple of hours before the first one." I grimace. He's only awake so early because he's learned that I haven't quite adapted to the vampire rhythm yet. Though I think I'm finally starting to get there.

He nods, then opens his mouth as if to say something, but shuts it before he can.

I cock my head to the side. "What is it?" I prompt. I want to add that he can ask me anything, but I'm not sure whether or not that sounds too awkward.

"Is this everything you want it to be?" he asks. "Here?"

I frown. "At Grimalkin?"

He nods.

I lean back in my chair. "I don't know," I admit. "I don't think it's what I expected it to be. But I've found some aspects particularly enjoyable." I wink at him, but make a complete hash of it.

Bryce laughs, the booming sound chasing away all the ghosts of our earlier conversation. Maybe we shouldn't be flirting and talking about the bad things we've both done in one sentence, but then, I don't see any other way of us getting past it. We're guilty of crimes, but we're also the product of our upbringings. And while that's not an excuse, it is something we have to work past.

Perhaps in forgiving ourselves, we can start towards earning the forgiveness of other people. As a child, I never dreamed of becoming someone who killed for a living. Now I'm an adult, I don't know how to deal with what's become my past.

"You look lost in thought," he says. "Anywhere good?"

"Try nowhere," I mutter, then sigh loudly.

"You shouldn't let guilt overwhelm you."

I smile at him, but I'm certain it comes out more like a grimace.

"Lily..." he starts.

I shake my head. "It's not important."

I go to pick up my mug, but he catches my hand in his and squeezes it. Despite my grim mood, it makes my heart skip a beat.

"I've been thinking about your visions," he says abruptly.

My eyes widen, but I don't pull away from his touch.

"What about them?" It feels odd to talk about them as candidly as this, but I also like it. He puts me at ease in a way I certainly never thought a vampire could. Huh. I don't even think about the fact he's a vampire most of the time.

"I want you to have something, for your protection." He pushes a small package towards me. It's been on the table the entire time, but I've dismissed it as nothing to do with me. I've spent my entire life turning a blind eye, it seems the habit has continued without me even realising it.

"What is it?"

"Haven't you gotten a present before?" he asks with a laugh.

I shift uncomfortably in my seat. "No," I admit. "At least, not that I can remember. I'm sure I did before I moved to the guild." A lump forms in my throat as I speak.

"I'm sorry, I should have thought..."

"It's not your fault," I assure him. "It's not something I've ever thought about before. No one got presents at the guild, so it didn't feel odd not to."

"In which case, I'm pleased to give you the first of many."

I giggle, a surprisingly girly sound coming from me. "I think that involves knowing many people," I point out.

"I meant from me."

"Oh." I glance between him and the package.

"Open it, Lily," he prompts.

I pull my hand away from his and pick up the package. It isn't heavy, and it's longer than it is wide. Unable to take the suspense any more, I tear the paper from it.

A knife clatters to the table. My eyes widen.

"Bryce..."

"I want you to be able to protect yourself."

"I don't think this is a good idea." They haven't given me a weapon since I was taken into custody. With good reason. In Ashryn's position, I wouldn't give me one either.

"It's been approved," he promises. "Kind of."

I raise an eyebrow.

He rubs a hand around the back of his neck nervously. "I got permission to give you a weapon if I thought your life might be in danger."

I swallow hard. Not only because it's a thoughtful thing to do, but also because I know he's right. Death is coming for me, if my visions are anything to go by. Though I don't think a knife will make much difference.

"Thank you. It's beautiful." I pick it up and balance it in my hand. There's nothing special about the outside of it, but one touch of this weapon and I can tell it's a high-quality one. He hasn't skimped on it in the slightest.

"You're welcome. But please, promise me you'll try and keep yourself out of trouble?" he asks.

I nod. "I will." And I hope I'm right.

Chapter Sixteen

I wish Bryce will hurry up and catch up with me. He's supposed to walk me between classes, and I feel so exposed without him next to me. But he got a call, and didn't want to put off answering it. Which makes sense. We've been hoping to hear from Dimitri for a few nights now.

The rest of the students mill around, oblivious to the way I'm feeling. That seems about right. They don't care that I'm not used to roaming around the halls. At most, the only thing that matters about me to most of them is that I'm human, and I've been here long enough for that fact to have become mundane gossip.

I shuffle my bag more comfortably onto my shoulder and push through the growing crowd of students. I'm not sure why so many of them are standing this still. Surely I'm not the only one who needs to get to a class.

I step through another cluster of students and find myself in a ring of them. I frown, glancing around. Why is no one crossing it?

My stomach drops like a rock as some sort of realisation sinks in. I've seen this before. And it does not end well for me.

I search for Bryce in the crowd, hoping I'll see his face. If I do, then perhaps this isn't the day I'm going to die. I gulp down my fear. He's nowhere to be seen.

"Come on, Bryce," I whisper under my breath. "Please?"

There's no response, which is to be expected. Some of the students pull away from me.

Should I go for my knife? A small part of me thinks I should. That I should do everything I can to get out of this situation alive. But the rest of me knows there's no point. The vision has already made it clear what's going to happen. There's no need to make things worse for anyone else.

As if on cue, Emma pushes through the ring of students and steps in front of me. I glance at her hands, but there isn't a knife in her hands.

I back away, but the students behind me push me back in. One look over my shoulder sends a shiver of fear down my spine. Carlton and his friends seem to have formed a barrier between me and the students who may stop my death because they're good people.

It barely even crosses my mind that I'm about to start bleeding out in the middle of a corridor filled with vampires. It'll test even the strongest of their resolves not to drink blood. It can't be helped.

"Are you okay, Emma?" I ask, my voice shaking ever so slightly.

She smiles sweetly at me, which only makes my stomach drop further. This isn't good.

"I will be."

"Oh, is there something I can help you with?" I clench my hands together, letting my nails dig into the palms in an attempt not to try and scratch her eyes out.

"You can answer me a couple of questions..."

"If I know the answers, I'll answer you."

"Why did you kill Julie?" she asks, hurt and anger warring for dominance in her voice.

I step back, confusion about what's going on whizzing around my mind. None of my visions included talking to her, but I don't suppose that means anything. I'm not sure how they work, but none of them have ever come to pass in the exact way they appeared to me. Which isn't particularly reassuring, given the circumstances.

I rack my brains, trying to think if I've ever killed anyone called Julie. The problem is, I don't know. I almost never knew who I was killing. They were only ever whats.

Somehow, I don't think that's the answer Emma is looking for.

"I was told to," I answer honestly. "Someone ordered me to do it." There's no lie in my words, but from the look on her face, anyone would think I had.

"And you just do what you're told all the time, do you?" she sneers.

I shake my head. "I'm sorry, Emma. I..."

"Don't say my name!" she shouts. "You don't deserve to use anyone's name. I can't believe they let you come here."

The sting of tears surprises me. "I'm sorry," I repeat. "I don't like my past any more than you do..."

"But you came here anyway?" she hisses. "You tried to become my friend?"

I want to point out that it's the other way around. She's the one who has been trying to become my friend. Though now I'm wondering what her motivations are regarding that.

"I'm sorry," I say again. There isn't anything else I can say. And it's true. There isn't a moment that goes by when I don't regret my past. But there's nothing I can do to change it. Something she should know too. But grief does funny things to people.

"Why aren't you making excuses?"

"There are no excuses to make," I answer.

I look around at the other students, but I already know they won't step in to help. The ones that know about my past already will most likely see things the same way Emma is. Those that don't will want to know what's going on between us and what they can spread around the academy in response.

"How dare you." Her hand slips into her pocket.

I hope the terrified look on my face is giving her all the satisfaction she desires. I'm not usually the quivering type. I've faced many vampires in my day, and I'm the one who has lived to tell the tale. But those times were different. I had a knife in my hand, and didn't have the knowledge of certain death. Something about that makes this situation a lot worse.

"There's no excuse I can offer," I say loudly. "I did what I did because I was told to. I was saving my own skin. The truth is, I don't know why I killed Julie. I don't even know if I did. All I can say is that I'm sorry I did it all, and if I could take it back, I would."

The other students are eerily silent, all of them watching and waiting for what's going to happen next. So far, Emma's only shouted at me. They have no idea this is going to turn violent.

Bryce's face appears behind the crowd. I almost sigh with relief, but my attention is pulled away by the glint of the knife in Emma's hand..

I take a deep breath and meet her eyes. I'm going to make her look at me while she does this. She can live with the nightmares of my expression as she stabs the knife into my stomach.

"Lily!" Bryce calls.

I cry out as the pain rips through me.

She twists, making it worse. Black spots float across my eyes. I try to take a deep breath, but that only makes it hurt more.

Emma pulls the knife out, then drops it, staring at the blood on her hands. Her eyes aren't filled with hunger, as I expect it to be, they're filled with horror. Perhaps she didn't think she could go through with it.

My hands rest on my stomach, and I try not to think about the wetness being my blood. My whole body begins to shake, and my knees weaken. I fall to them, the jolt of my weight hitting the ground sending another spasm of pain through me.

"Lily," Bryce says again. His voice is closer this time.

I reach out, my blood-covered hands wanting to touch him, to reassure him I'm not alone.

Then it hits me. He can stop what's happening to me. He can change this so it's not the end. Do I have the right to ask for that? I'm not sure about that. On the one hand, it's sort of what I've been asking for since I came under the custody of the vampires. On the other hand, why should I be afforded a second chance?

"Bryce," I whisper, unable to say his name any louder than that.

"I'm here," he assures me. "Someone go get one of the witch healers," he barks at the students.

He catches me as I slump over.

"Stay with me, Lily."

I stare up at him. He's the only thing I can focus on. At least I'll die with something pleasant in front of me.

"Don't let it take you, Lily," he says. "Help is coming."

I shake my head. I can feel the blood loss starting to affect me. There's no doubt I'm not going to last much longer.

"Please, Bryce. Don't let me go," I whisper, my voice hoarse.

Understanding dawns in his eyes. He's understanding what I'm asking without words.

The pain has almost vanished from my stomach, though I know the wound is still there, and that it's fatal, but that doesn't matter anymore. This is it. What dying feels like. It's more peaceful than I expect.

The last thing I see before my whole world goes black is Bryce smiling down at me.

Chapter Seventeen

I want to scream. Shout. Scratch at my skin. I'm not sure it's painful, but there's something...itchy about it.

Faces pass my thoughts too. Ones I haven't thought about in years. They bring the guilt with them.

I'm sorry, I think at them as they pass. But none of them say anything back. I shouldn't have asked Bryce to change me. I should have passed on from the world. I've brought so much pain and suffering to people, and all to save my own skin. I can say all I want to about being forced into it, but I made the decision. I drove knives into throats.

Worse, I let Ravi have his way.

Thinking his name triggers something, and my thoughts begin to blur.

Oh no. A vision? Is that possible while I'm half-dying? I'm not so sure. I can have them while sleeping, so I suppose it makes sense that I can now.

Rain pounds on the pavement, and I glance around, but it's hard to see anything through the gloom. I don't think I'm here. Or that I will be here. This is one of the visions where I'm seeing something that isn't happening to me. They've happened before. Like the first one I ever had of Ravi. He was torturing someone that looked like me.

A sickness washes over me. Maybe it was me after all. I always assumed it wasn't because he only ever did that to vampires. He seemed to understand what I was seeing though, as after that, he'd said that was coming to me if I ever turned against him, or told the guild what he did to the vampires he caught. In hindsight, I don't doubt they already knew. They knew everything, though I never did figure out how.

A door slams behind me in the vision. I turn so I can see it.

A man steps out of the building to my left, and a figure emerges. I gasp. I'd know that walk anywhere. I don't even need to see his face to know for sure.

The vision fades out before I can see anything else, but the panic is already starting to sink in. I need to wake up. Now. I have to tell Ashryn what I've seen. I don't know exactly where they're keeping Ravi, but I do know he's supposed to be secure and locked away. Unlike most of the hunters, I doubt he'll integrate with vampire society. If anything, his imprisonment will only spur him and make him kill more ruthlessly.

Wake up, wake up, wake up.

Unsurprisingly, nothing happens. I don't think I'm prepared for this part of vampirism. The guild never told us how vampires are made. I suspect they didn't want any of us finding out how easy it could be.

Or maybe they didn't know.

Unlikely. I find it much more likely that they were keeping things from us. It was their way of maintaining control. The less we knew about vampires, the less human they are, and the easier they are to kill.

Pain lances through me again, but this time it's emotional.

Bryce's face swims in front of me. What if someone had been sent to kill him? What if I'd never met him? It hardly matters that I know he was still in the City Of Blood when the guild fell, he'd have been safe from anyone like me. But that's not the point.

I slip off into a semi-dream state where Bryce is killed in front of me over and over. The only saving grace is that my dreams aren't cruel enough to put the knife in my hand, but almost every other hunter I know does, including Ravi.

What will he do if he finds out about me? About Bryce? Ravi's cruelty was renowned through the guild. If he finds us, he'll probably torture Bryce in front of me before he kills us both. Except, he'll do worse than that to me, I've seen it happen too many times to have any doubts.

Wake up, Lily. If I keep wishing it, perhaps it'll happen.

After a while, I'm dimly aware of someone stroking the hair away from my forehead. Is it Bryce? I hope so. And that it's nearly the end of the transformation. I can't deal with the itchiness any longer.

"I'm here, Lily. I'm not sure if you can hear me yet, but if you can, then know this is nearly over," he reassures me.

Contentment floods through me. Has he been talking to me the entire time in an attempt to reassure me? I'll have to make sure I thank him for it once I'm awake. I can't imagine what it must be like if someone has to wake up on their own.

"You're due to wake up in a couple of hours," he continues. "But it's different for everyone. I've already talked to Dimitri again. He knows what's happening. You can stay here at Grimalkin once you've turned. But you won't need me any more." He scoffs, though I'm not sure if it's in amusement or disappointment.

If I could speak, I'd point out I'll need him more than ever now. I doubt Emma is the only one with a personal vendetta against me, and as rumours of my former employment gets around, then I'm going to be the target even more than before.

I suppose none of that is going to change whether or not Bryce gets to stay with me. I'm his punishment as much as he is mine. People far more important than the two of us are going to be the ones deciding our fates. I try not to let that rub me up the wrong way.

I want to be my own person, and for the first time in my life, I have the chance to be. I don't want to waste it.

What's being a vampire going to be like? I'm never going to see the sun again, but I guess that hasn't actually affected me much in the past few weeks anyway. I don't come into regular contact with Holy Water either, so that's not going to burn me.

My mind shudders at the thought of the scars on Ashryn's body. She tries her best to cover them, but I've still seen. That's what Holy Water does to vampires. At least it didn't kill her. As far as I know, the blade used to cut her was dipped in the stuff. Ravi's handiwork, and something I may have waiting for me in my future.

No. It's not possible. Even if his escape is an almost certainty thanks to my vision, he won't easily be able to get hold of Holy Water, I don't think. When the guild exploded, it probably took the whole supply we had with it. I'm sure there's more in the world, but I wouldn't know where to get it.

"Lily?" Bryce says again, then sighs. "I thought I saw your eyes opening, sorry."

I hear him slump back into his seat next to my bed. Or what I assume is my bed. I'm not sure why he'd take me anywhere else. This is a safe place that is locked by magic during the day. It would be foolish to have taken me anywhere else.

Wake up, I try again. One of these times, I'm going to have to listen to myself, right? I'm not dead, which means there's still a part of me trying to break through the haze of vampirism.

It doesn't take long for everything to fade away. My thoughts, dreams, even the vision of Ravi is turning into dust in my mind.

I have to remember that, though. I have to tell Bryce about Ravi. We need to prepare for him getting free. Even that slips away from me.

I hope I'll remember when I wake up.

Chapter Eighteen

A loud gasp escapes me as my eyes widen and the light of the room streams back in. My whole body is still a bit itchy, but it’s easy for me to push away the sensation now. That’s something, at least. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life trying to slice my skin off. Do all vampires feel this way in their bodies? If so, then this is torture enough.

“You’re awake,” Bryce says, relief flooding through his face as he speaks.

I flash him a weak smile. “It would appear so.” My words come out slurred, thanks to the larger than I expect fangs now protruding from my upper jaw.

I trace them with my tongue, curious to know what they’re like. I’ve never spent much time examining vampire teeth, I have to admit.

Bryce chuckles. “You’ll be able to retract them once you feed.”

I’m sure shock is written all over my face, because it’s the only thing I can feel right now. “How did you know?”

“Lucky guess.” He winks at me.

I shuffle up on the bed and prop myself against the headboard. “Seriously? I could have been thinking a whole host of you-just-turned-me-into-a-vampire things.”

“But that’s the first thing I’d ask about if I’d just been turned. You’re smart enough to realise that the burning in your throat is thirst.”

I frown. I hadn’t noticed it until he said that.

“You’ve never been through this, though. Right?”

He shakes his head. “I’m born and bred. But all vampires are taught about what being turned means.”

“But I thought it was illegal?” The slurring is wearing off as I get used to how the fangs feel. The burn is more noticeable, though. I hope he realises and gets me something to drink soon.

Drink. Huh. That’s going to take on a whole different meaning for me now. I wonder how long it’s going to take me to get used to it.

“It is,” he says with a shrug. “But it also happens. As far as I know, out here, nothing really happens if someone breaks that law. But where I come from…” He shudders.

I reach out and take his hand in mine. I don’t want him reliving anything that could torment him.

“So, they make it illegal, but they also teach you what to do?”

“Pretty much.”

“Isn’t that tempting fate a little too much?”

“I’ve never thought about it like that. But yes, I suppose it is.”

“Well, I, for one, am glad about it. If you hadn’t known what to do, then I’d be in a much worse position now.”

It’s impossible to miss the pain in his eyes as he thinks about that.

Bryce clears his throat. “We need to get some blood in you.”

“What will happen if we don’t, will I go on a rampage?” I joke.

His stern expression kills all of the amusement within me. “It’s possible, yes.”

“Ah. All right, then. Blood drinking it is.” I shuffle in the bed again, determined to get to my feet and make my way to the kitchen.

“No, you don’t,” he says, pushing me back down. “I’ll go get you some.”

He leaves the room without saying anything else, and I find myself longing for his return. I’m so used to him being around, especially after my time unconscious while I changed…

Wait. What happened in that time?

I frown as I attempt to recall what I’d thought about while completely unconscious. I feel as if I’ve woken up from a particularly active dream, so I must have thought of something, and yet, I have no idea what it is.

Bryce bustles back in, a mug in his hand.

“That’s your mug,” I say, recognising the cartoon vampire and this is my blood mug slogan.

“Sorry, it’s the only one I have for blood. We can get you your own once you’re strong enough to go into town, though,” he assures me.

“Thank you.” I take it from him and give it a sniff.

It’s odd. The metallic-ness I’d be able to smell as a human isn’t there. I can’t even describe the way the blood makes itself known to my senses. It’s almost…rich. Creamy? I don’t have any words to describe it.

“It might not be your preferred blood type,” Bryce says apologetically. “I haven’t left here long enough to get more in.”

“This is your own supply?” I ask, not having taken a slip yet.

He nods. “But it’s fine. I’ve talked to Dimitri, and he knows what’s happened. Between him and the canteen, we won’t run out.”

I nod. “Is this my only food now?”

He laughs loudly and sits back down in his chair. “You’ve seen me eat,” he points out.

“Oh. Sorry. I think I’m still a little confused from whatever that was.” I indicate to the bed with my non-mug-filled hand.

“There isn’t a name for it,” he tells me. “It’s just turning.”

“Ah.” Feeling brave, I take a sip of the blood. My first ever. It slips down my throat easily, quenching the slight burn I felt there. I drink more deeply after that, and the mug is drained within minutes. “Is there more?” I ask sheepishly.

He shakes his head. “Not for you. Not yet. Young vampires are the most likely to get too much of a taste for it and go on a rampage. It’s one of the reasons turning was made illegal.”

“Oh.” I push aside the small pang of disappointment. It’s easy to do, which makes me wonder if, deep down, I knew what he’d say about it.

“How are you feeling?” he asks after a moment. He takes the mug from me and sets it down on my desk. I watch it longingly, wishing it to be full again so I can drink some more. I’ll admit that this isn’t how I expected to be when it came to blood-drinking.

I close my eyes and take stock of my entire body, trying to work out what the answer to that question is. “Okay, I think.”

“The burn is gone?”

I nod. “Does it really only take that much blood?”

“Well, how many times have you seen the other students here drink it?”

I blink a couple of times, letting his question sink in. The realisation that I haven’t seen it hits me like a brick wall.

“I’ve only ever seen you drink.”

“And that’s because you live with me,” he points out.

A small thrill shoots through me at his words. Now the immediate needs of my new vampirism are sated, it seems my heart wants back into the game.

“How’s your stomach feeling?” he asks.

I prod it gingerly. “Tender,” I admit, not having noticed that before. “Should it be that way?”

“You did get stabbed.”

“Should I be disappointed that vampirism doesn’t heal injuries properly?”

He scoffs. “It’s healed you enough that you aren’t dead.”

Touché. I’ll try and remember that next time I’m disappointed by the lack of healing prowess.

“What happened while I was out?”

He shrugs. “I’m not sure. I’ve been in here with you most of the time. I believe Dimitri and Ashryn are planning on coming to talk to us, but they’ve been holding off until you were awake again.”

My eyebrows knit together. “Couldn’t they have just talked to us over the phone?”

“I don’t pretend to have any sway over them. I just do what I’m told.”

“Should we be worried?” Will they be angry at him for turning me? I can’t see how they won’t be, especially as I’ve asked to be turned before and the answer has always been no.

“I don’t think so. They know I did it to save your life. And I think Ashryn holds some affection for you…”

I scoff. “I assure you, she doesn’t.”

“No?”

“Why would she? Has she ever told you about our past?”

“I can’t say I’ve had much to do with her other than this assignment,” he admits.

“I hunted her, after she’d been turned. Played games with her and one of her husbands. If I’d caught them, I’d have killed them.”

“But you didn’t,” he points out.

“Only because I didn’t catch them. If I had…” I shudder at the thought. There’s an irony in the fact Ashryn has become one of my most important allies after everything I’ve done.

“She used to be a hunter, though. Right?”

I nod. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“It means she’ll understand why you did what you did. And she’ll forgive you for it. I’m sure she has her demons to face. Her own ghosts to vanquish. If she hated you for what you were, then that means she’d have to hate herself.”

“You’re far too wise for my liking,” I joke, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear and grimacing. Why is it so greasy? “How long was I unconscious?” I ask.

“About forty-seven hours. A little longer than most, but nothing to worry about,” he says.

“Hmm.” That’s a long time to go without having any memories of my sleep.

“What did you dream about while you were out?” Bryce asks, surprising me with the deeply personal question that I have no answer for.

“I don’t remember, why?”

“You seemed distressed a couple of times.” He frowns. “I’m not even sure how I know that. You were so still the entire time.”

“Maybe it’s a master-infected thing?”

He shudders. “Never use the word master again.”

“What do you want me to call it, then? Turner?”

“Or nothing,” he suggests.

“I can do that.” It’s no skin off my nose what he wants me to call what he did to me.

“I don’t think it’s that. Your eyes just seemed…restless, I suppose.”

I shrug. “I don’t remember any of it. Is that weird?”

“I don’t know,” he admits. “I’ve never talked to anyone who’d been through the turning before.”

“Oh.” Should I ask Ashryn when she gets here? It seems like a very personal question to talk to someone about, especially when I don’t know her that well. It’s only our circumstances that have brought us this close together in our lives.

“But I can find out. There are places I can research…”

I reach out and place a hand over his. “It’s all right,” I assure him. “I’m sure I’ll remember in time. I hope I do. I’m sure there’s something I need to tell you from what I saw.”

“Was it that you like me, and you want to kiss me some more?” he asks, waggling his eyebrows.

I snort. “I don’t think so. But I’m not opposed to that so long as I can shower and brush my teeth first.” It’s only as I say it that I realise my fangs have retracted after I drank the blood. Neat.

“I see you have your priorities in order,” he says.

“I should hope so. But…” I trail off, unsure how to say the next bit.

“If you need to ask me something, I need you to use your words,” he teases.

A blush spreads over my cheeks. “Do I need to do anything special to…” I point to my teeth, hoping he understands what I’m asking.

Bryce’s laughter booms around the room. “No, you don’t have to do anything special to look after your fangs. They’re just like normal teeth.”

I flash him a weak smile. At least that solves one question I have about being a vampire. Though I’m sure I’ll have a lot more questions to come.

Chapter Nineteen

Bryce’s hand rests on the small of my back, giving me the strength to step outside our safe haven of a room and make my way to class for the first time since waking up.

Nerves flutter in my stomach. After the number of students in the hallway when I died, the whole academy is going to know I’m not human any longer, and I’m not sure how they’re going to react to that.

“It’ll be all right,” Bryce promises in my ear.

“I hope so,” I respond, leaning into him and wishing for more of the kisses he’d given me before we left the room.

The dormitory hallway is empty, probably because most people are already out and about for the night.

I stride forward, trying not to think about what’s going to happen to me once I’m around others. This isn’t the time to worry about that. If I do, then I’m never going to manage to get to class again, and I’ll be stuck as an odd ex-human reject.

The moment I’m in the corridors which lead to the classrooms, the noise hits me. The place is filled with various students chatting and going about their days. I take a deep breath. I can do this.

As I approach, people begin to fall silent. Some people glare at me, others mutter curses under their breaths. I think they forget I can hear them now, whereas I couldn’t when I was human.

“She doesn’t look like a hunter,” someone whispers to their friend.

I clench my hand into a ball and try to keep myself calm. There was a time when I’d prove myself by slamming them against a wall and threatening them, but I know that’s not the best way to gain anyone’s respect here. My fellow classmates need to see me as someone who isn’t a threat.

“You’re okay,” Bryce whispers.

I nod. I’ve spent my whole life pretending not to be a threat when I really am. I can manage that again. Of course the bonus this time is that I’m not planning on using that fact to kill anyone.

I push past a group of girls who are giggling and making signs with their fingers. I think they’re trying to imitate stakes, but I’m not so sure because they’re doing a terrible job of it. Thankfully, that makes it easy to ignore.

A door slams down the corridor, and the scene in front of me begins to grow hazy. Am I hungry? Do I need to give my body more food?

Oh, wait. That’s not what this is at all. Somehow, I’d thought visions were a thing of my past now I’m a vampire, but it seems I’ve retained the ability.

Great.

Everything blurs together, and I’m standing outside in the rain. Why does this seem familiar? I’ve never been here before. I don’t think, and yet I feel like I’ve…

My dream! I saw this while I was turning, this is what I woke up wanting to tell Bryce about. He needs to know that Ravi is going to escape.

As if on cue, a door slams in my vision, and a man walks out of it. I didn’t see his face during the dream version of this vision, but I definitely do now.

A beam of light falls over him, illuminating the thin plains of his face. He’s thinner than I’ve ever seen him, knowing Ravi, he probably refused to eat anything made by vampires until he absolutely had to. I sigh, though no sound comes from me. My body isn’t really here. I’m not sure if it’s reassuring that I’m not going to be there on the day he escapes or not. It’s not like we can do anything about the escape itself. That’s going to happen whether I like it or not. But perhaps with warning, there can be people from the den there to pick him up once he’s free.

A shaft of sunlight drifts through the rain clouds putting paid to that idea. At least I now know I’m definitely not going to be there. Sunlight isn’t something I’m going to be seeing a lot of in the future.

Ravi runs towards me, and I flinch in my mind. I hate that he still has this effect on me, even if I know he will until the day one of us dies. Even then, he’ll probably find a way to haunt my afterlife.

He checks over his shoulder, then rushes off into the distance.

My vision ends abruptly, and I’m slammed back into my body. I look around, but no one seems to have noticed I’ve been gone. Probably because they’re too busy making fun of me and trying to work out more about my past, rather than paying attention to what I’m doing.

I glance over my shoulder for Bryce, but he’s not there. I spot him a couple of feet away, being held up by someone trying to hold a conversation with him. He’s having none of it, but the boy keeps him occupied all the same.

That’s it. I’m having none of it. There’s no reason for them to keep Bryce away from me like that. I storm through the crowd, ignoring all of the people who don’t care about me anyway, and find my way in front of my vampire protector.

“I need to talk to you,” I say firmly.

Relief flits across his face. He’s glad to be rid of all the people too. One of the many reasons to like him despite our first impressions of one another.

“I’m sorry, Charles, I have to go,” he says to the boy, then pushes past and takes my arm. “There’s an empty classroom around the corner,” he whispers under his breath. It’s so quiet, I doubt anyone but me can hear, even with the advantages vampirism brings.

“What happened there?” I ask the moment we’re inside and the two of us are certain no one else is around.

He shrugs. “I’m guessing they’re trying to get you to react to them. “

“How annoying.”

“I don’t know how you’re managing not to, I’m finding it difficult enough,” he admits.

A dry chuckle escapes me. “I’ve had practise keeping myself calm and pretending like I’m unaffected by people. I’m only applying the same logic here.”

“It’s impressive.”

“It’s only a bit of restraint,” I counter. “Anyone can master it.”

“Somehow, I think the things you learned at the guild are more useful than the things you learn here,” he jokes.

Darkness washes through me. “No, they’re not.”

“Lily, I’m sorry, I didn’t think…”

“It’s fine,” I dismiss. “I know what I am. Everyone knows what I am. I’m a trained killer, an assassin, a murderer. I can kill someone in over a dozen different ways, and most of them don’t even see it coming because they’re too focused on the pretty girl with blonde hair and a pretty dress on.”

“Lily…”

“I said it’s fine,” I snap. “We, as a species, have bigger problems. Ravi is going to escape. I saw it just now in a vision, and I think I saw it in a dream while I was turning. He’s going to get out of the den house, and I’ll give you three guesses what he’s going to do after that.”

“Recruit people for his vendetta?” Bryce leans against the whiteboard at the front of class.

Unsure what else to do with myself, I hop up onto the teacher’s desk and swing my legs back and forth. “Something like that. I suspect he’ll go after his previous associates first. I’m not sure what he’ll do to them if they say no, but I don’t imagine it’ll do any good.”

“Who are his known associates?” he asks.

I shake my head. “None of their names will mean anything to you.”

“Except yours.”

“Except mine,” I confirm. “He’ll almost certainly come after me. I know more about him than any other member of the guild did. And more importantly, I helped him. He’ll want to recruit me. At least until…” I trail off, not able to make myself say it.

“Until he realises you’re a vampire. What will he do then?”

I laugh bitterly. “Then, there’ll be hell to pay. He won’t let me get off lightly.” Other memories of when I was turning enter my mind. I shudder at the thoughts of Ravi, and what he’ll do to Bryce in order to punish me. I don’t venture any of my theories aloud. There’s no need to worry him like that, even if he is technically still my bodyguard and that’s his job.

“We won’t let him escape…”

“That isn’t an option,” I counter. “I’ve seen it, Bryce. It’s going to happen, no matter what any of us do about it. The only thing we can change is how we respond to it.”

“Then it’s a good job Ashryn and Dimitri are on their way here today,” he muses.

“Yes.” It’s a very good job they’re on their way. They’re the only people with any real power to do anything. Until this moment, I never considered how limiting not being able to go out in the sun can be. But hopefully, with the more important people in the den being involved, they can talk to some of the supernaturals who can. The witches who helped to fortify my room here at Grimalkin. I’m sure they’ll help us with this problem too.

This is bad news for all supernaturals. If vampire hunters are left to roam the world, then what’s to say people don’t start hunting witches again. Or shifters. They’re both a lot less hidden and secretive than vampires, they’ll be easy to find.

Bryce pushes away from the board and makes his way over to me. He reaches out a hand, and I take it, letting him pull me to my feet, and then into a hug.

He kisses the top of my head, and I close my eyes, relaxing against his chest and feeling a little better about the prospect of the future.

“It’s going to be all right,” he promises. “We’ll make certain that it is.”

I nod. “I hope so.” But I fear not. He doesn’t need to be infected by my lack of faith, though. One of us has to be strong, and he’s the better choice for that.

Chapter Twenty

I dance around the kitchenette as I make dinner. I'm not sure where Bryce has gone, but he'll be back soon enough, and then both of us have to eat. Food, that is. We both need blood too, but he's the one in charge of that. I think he doesn't fully trust that I'll be able to restrain myself around blood. I'm not entirely sure he's wrong. I've not done a lot of testing on the matter.

The pasta comes to a boil, so I stir it, trying to stop it from sticking. I have to admit, this isn't something I'm very good at. I've not had many chances to cook in my life, so I've been using my tablet to look up cooking videos online. I'm still not completely certain I won't burn everything, but at least I'm trying.

The door clicks as it opens and shuts.

I turn instantly, flinging hot water droplets across the small room.

"Oops."

"I hope that isn't Holy Water," Bryce quips.

"Definitely not. I took that off my shopping list last week," I respond.

He chuckles. "I'm glad to hear it. I dread to think what would happen if one of us drank it."

I wince even at the thought of it. Holy Water burns are bad enough from the outside.

"It's normal water," I promise. "But it still might poison you if I don't get this right."

He comes over and looks over my shoulder. "Hmm. I think it can be rescued."

"You might need to show me how." I wish I could mean that as simple flirting, but that isn't the case. I think the pasta truly needs his help.

"I will. But first, I have something for you."

I set the wooden spoon down, and turn to watch him unpack the small bag he's brought with him.

"Blood?" I suggest.

He shakes his head, an amused smile on his face. "But you're on the right lines."

"You've got me intrigued."

"Here." He hands me a box.

I take it from him, a confused frown on my face. I open it and lift out the object. A laugh escapes me before I can help it.

"You got me a blood mug," I say.

"Of course."

I turn it over and shake my head in bemusement. It's black, with red insides, and two white teeth coming from the top of it. "That's going to look like I have fangs," I say, pointing to the two comic fangs coming down from the rim.

"That's the idea."

"Thank you." I set the mug down, then lean in to kiss his cheek.

"I know it's not the traditional present of flowers for someone you're newly dating..."

"It's perfect," I assure him. "Flowers are overrated. Besides, your last present was a knife," I point out.

Bryce chuckles. "I should work on more socially acceptable presents."

"I'm okay if you don't," I assure him. "I'm not exactly a normal woman."

"That's for sure."

I'm stopped from saying anything in response by a knock on the door.

"Ashryn and Dimitri," Bryce says, answering my unspoken question. He must have seen it written on my face. I try not to enjoy how it feels to have someone know me this well. It drives home how much I didn't have it before.

He walks over to the door and pulls it open. I swallow down my nerves as the two senior vampires walk in. There's something intimidating about them, especially now I'm one of the fold.

I switch off the pasta. There's no doubt in my mind that it's going to be ruined now, but it hardly matters. I flick the kettle on. I'm sure they'll want tea, and it'll keep me from worrying too much.

The three of them make small talk, but I don't pay any attention to it. They're only talking about people they all know and how things fit together, it's nothing I need to be aware of.

I set a pot of tea and four mugs down on the table, moving my new one away. Ashryn smiles as she catches sight of it, a knowing look in her eyes.

I sit down next to Bryce and try to stop my leg from jittering.

"Thank you for the information the other day," Dimitri says stiffly.

"You're welcome." It's odd to be thanked, especially when I don't see it as doing anything more than telling Bryce about what I heard Emma and Carlton talking about.

"We're sorry about what happened to you," he says.

I shrug. "It's in the past. It's not your fault."

"We should have done more research into who your fellow students were, and if any of them had been your previous hit," he says.

I wince, and Ashryn laughs sarcastically. "We blew up the records," she reminds him. "There'd have been no way of checking that."

Dimitri grimaces. "We have our own, though..."

She places a hand on his arm. "I'm sure they're not as accurate as you think they are."

"Perhaps we should check them and put names to all of the cases we can," I suggest. "That way we can protect the ex-hunters and stop something like this happening to them."

"Or it'll make it worse," Bryce mutters. "If someone gets hold of them..."

"No one is going to do that," Dimitri assures us.

"Someone found out about Lily though, didn't they?" Bryce demands, anger rising in his voice.

I put a hand on his leg under the table, hoping I can offer him so kind of reassurance. He shifts in his seat, which I hope is an indication that it's helped.

"We don't know how that happened," Dimitri admits.

I raise an eyebrow. That's not what I expect him to say. Shouldn't he deny that they had anything to do with it? That's what the guild would have done. But I can't keep judging everyone by their standards. Especially when the vampires have done nothing to harm me. Other than Emma, that is.

"It's fine," I assure them.

"It isn't," Ashryn counters softly. "You were killed. We both know what that feels like." She gestures to Dimitri.

Interesting. So he's a turned vampire like us?

"But it's over," I point out. "Don't get me wrong, I don't like the idea of running into Emma again..."

The two of them exchange a glance.

I sigh. "She's still here, isn't she?"

Ashryn nods. "We're in the process of doing what we can to punish her for your murder, but it's proving difficult with you being alive, and..." she trails off, not wanting to state the truth.

"And the fact most vampires won't blame her for killing me because I'm an ex-hunter. A lot of them will probably clap her on the back and tell her she's done a good job. I get it." I shrug. Partly because the truth of it is that I also don't blame her, especially if hunters, maybe even me, did kill someone she loved.

"Exactly. But they've accepted me, for the most part. I'm sure it's only a matter of time," she promises.

I nod. "And am I staying here in the meantime?" I cross my fingers under the table. I hope she says yes. I don't want to be sent somewhere where I can't spend more time with Bryce.

"If you want to," Dimitri responds. "We think you may be a bit safer now you're one of us."

"I think so too," I assure them.

"Good. Then the two of you will stay on here," he says.

"There's one more thing," I say, then tell the two of them about my vision of Ravi.

Ashryn pales and touches the top edge of a scar under her collarbone. I know they go much deeper down her body.

"What can we do?" she asks me, no surprise or disbelief in her tone.

"The vision will come true, no matter what we do to try and stop it," I explain. "The visions always come true."

"But we can influence events after it?" Ashryn correctly guesses.

I nod. "And before. Perhaps you can make it so he escapes on a day of your choosing, and you can have something set up. That's what I'd do."

She nods. "We'll think about it, and let you know," she promises. "I know you won't rest easy with Ravi about."

I shake my head. "Definitely not." The thought of him being out in the open again is almost too much for me to bear. But I know they won't let anything happen to me if it can be helped.

"Stay safe, Lily."

"You too, Ashryn," I respond. I'm not the only one Ravi will be after. I'm sure she's on his hit list too.

Epilogue

The class falls silent as I walk in. I sigh dramatically. Is this what it's always going to be like from now on?

But then my gaze catches on the real reason they've stopped talking.

Emma is sitting there, her hand cuffed to that of a bored-looking vampire who must be some kind of guard. I guess I'm not the only one who has a bodyguard now.

The only set of two seats free are right next to her. Great. Just what I need. A whole lesson sat next to my would-be-murderer. Oh well, I'm going to prove to everyone here that I'm not weak. I can take the high road and be civil to her.

I walk over, conscious of all the eyes on me. I drop my bag on the desk next to Emma, and start getting my things out. Bryce does the same next to me. I wish I could ask him for some comfort, but I don't think it's appropriate in the situation, unfortunately.

"Hi," Emma says.

I turn to her, my shock no doubt written all over my face. "Hi," I respond, sitting down and pulling my chair close to the desk.

The silence is oppressive, but I'm sure it'll end when everyone realises I'm not going to do or say anything interesting.

"No hard feelings?" she asks.

"Are you serious?" I blurt.

She shrugs. "You're a vampire now."

"That doesn't mean you didn't murder me," I point out.

"But..."

"There are no buts, Emma," I tell her firmly. "I don't need, or want anything to do with you."

I turn to Bryce, even though I can still feel her watching me. Slowly, our other classmates turn back to their usual chatter.

"Is this going to happen in any of my other classes?" I ask.

"I don't know. I didn't realise it would happen in this one," he admits. "But I'll send an email now and find out. I'm not sure if there's anything they can do about it..."

"It's fine. I can take the high road," I promise him.

He reaches out and squeezes my hand.

"You're the proof we need," Emma says from behind me.

I frown, searching Bryce's face for recognition about what she's on about, but he seems as clueless as me.

Seeing nothing else for it, I twist around and face her again. "What do you mean?"

I shouldn't be doing this. I should be keeping quiet and not engaging her in any kind of conversation. And yet, she's intrigued me.

"You're a turned vampire. No one is doubting that Bryce did the right thing by turning you," she points out.

"Actually, I think everyone doubts it's the right thing to do," I counter. "Especially after you told them all who I am."

"But you know it was the right thing to do."

"No."

She laughs, briefly drawing the attention of her bodyguard. He seems to decide that nothing she's doing or saying is of any interest to him. I've lucked out with Bryce and how interested he is in me.

"You must think it's the right thing, or you wouldn't be here now," she says.

"Or perhaps I'm simply making the most of the second chance I've been offered." The words ring truer than I intended them to. I believe them. Much to my surprise.

"But don't you think other people deserve that second chance too?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

I chew on my lip, considering what she's saying. I'm sure there are people who deserve the second chance vampirism can give them, but is it really our right to decide that? I don't think so.

"There's a group of us who want to change things..."

The same ones who want to take down Dimitri, no doubt.

"All you have to do is say the word, and I'll introduce you to the others," Emma says.

I narrow my eyes at her. "Don't you hate me?" That seems a better thing to say than continuing down her line of conversation.

"I don't have to like you for you to join our cause. Only recognise the worth you could have to our plans."

"Hmm."

I don't have to respond to her this time thanks to the professor walking into the room and calling attention to him.

I sigh and settle back in my chair. But her words are at the forefront of my mind. Would a change in the system be best?

No. Not if it means taking down the people who have made my life, and that of the other ex-hunters possible. But maybe that is the reason I should take Emma up on her offer...

...then play the double agent.

Thank you for reading No Stakes Allowed! I hope you enjoyed the first part of Lily's story! If you want to find out what happens next (and how playing the double agent goes for Lily!) then her story continues in Stakes Are Raised: http://books2read.com/stakesareraised. You can also find out more about Bryce's past in a free short story, Punishment Fit For The Crime: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cmoadk2xef

Author’s Note

Lily is an interesting character. I've known since the end of the Ashryn Barker trilogy that I wanted to tell the story of what came next for her, but I've never been able to pinpoint exactly what that next was for her. Until it all clicked into place with the revelation that Grimalkin Academy was a place for both witches & warlocks, and vampires. After that, her story started to unfold, especially her interactions with Ashryn, some of which were written well before there was a title, story, or even names for the other characters.

I know people have asked me about what happened to Lily, and others have asked me what happened to Ravi, and if he got what was coming to him after the events of Tarnished Illusions. Obviously, I don't want to give away spoilers, but I can reveal that the answer to that question will come up in this series.

As with all my books in the Obscure World, there are links to the other series, but you don't have to have read any of the others to understand. But, in case you want to know, here's the rundown:

Ashryn is the main character in the Ashryn Barker trilogy (Lily herself first appears at the end of book one)

Bryce's past is a link to the upcoming City Of Blood series (you can read a bit about that in his prequel short story)

Emma is the same Emma who faced off against Heath and Daphne in Grimalkin Academy: Catacombs (another character people wanted to know what happened to after!)

The coffee shop Emma mentioned for their business study is actually an Easter Egg for a future series!

I hope you enjoyed the first part of Lily and Bryce's story. I've had so much fun writing it and am looking forward to spending more time with them! (Even if I didn't originally plan on it!)

Also by Laura Greenwood

Books in the Paranormal Council Universe

The Paranormal Council Series (shifter romance, completed series)

The Dryad’s Pawprint (Audiobook Available)

The Vixen’s Bark (Audiobook Available)

The Necromancer’s Prey (Audiobook Available)

The Vampire’s Bite (Audiobook Available)

The Witch’s Stripes

The Paranormal Council Boxed Set

The Fae Queen Of Winter (paranormal/fantasy)

Saving Eira (Audiobook Available)

Reigning Eira

Calling Eira

Fated Seasons: Spring (paranormal/fantasy)

Chasing Aledwen (Audiobook Available)

Thornheart Coven (witch romance)

Witch’s Potion (Audiobook Available)

Witch’s Spark (Audiobook Available)

Return Of The Fae (paranormal post-apocalyptic)

Fall Of Hope (Audiobook Available)

Rise Of Night (Audiobook Available)

Dawn Of Pain (Audiobook Available)

Sight Of Change

Paranormal Criminal Investigations (urban fantasy mystery)

Spell Caster (Audiobook Available)

Spell Tamer

MatchMater Paranormal Dating App (paranormal romance)

Reluctant Dragon Mate (Audiobook Available)

Bewitched Incubus Mate

Forbidden Vampire Mate

Stories From the Paranormal Council Universe (each story stands alone)

Frost’s Forfeit (Audiobook Available)

Death’s Choice

Stories From the Paranormal Council Universe Collection

Blood & Deceit (Audiobook Available)

A Touch of Necromancy: Six Tales of Necromancers

Books in the Obscure World

Ashryn Barker Trilogy (urban fantasy, completed series)

Shattered Illusions (Audiobook Available)

Broken Illusions (Audiobook Available)

Tarnished Illusions (Audiobook Available)

The Ashryn Barker Trilogy Boxed Set (Audiobook Available)

Grimalkin Academy: Kittens (paranormal academy, completed series)

First Time’s A Charm

Second Time’s A Curse

Third Time’s A Crime

Fourth Time’s A Cure

Fifth Time’s A Crisis

Curses Start Somewhere

Witch Friends Are Forever (Short Story)

Grimalkin Academy: Catacombs (paranormal academy, completed series)

Catching A Vampire (Audiobook Available)

Catching A Wizard

Catching A Warlock

Witch Friends Are Forever (Short Story)

City Of Blood (urban fantasy)

Drop Of Blood

Blood Payment (Prequel)

Grimalkin Academy: Stakes (paranormal academy)

No Stakes Allowed

Stakes Are Raised

Highest Of Stakes

Books in the Forgotten Gods World

Consorts of the Goddess Trilogy (paranormal/mythology romance)

Quest of the Goddess

Forgotten Gods Series (paranormal/mythology romance, completed series)

Protectors of Poison (Audiobook Available)

Daughter of the Sun (Audiobook Available)

Servant of Chaos (Audiobook Available)

Priestess of Truth (Short Story)

Forgotten Gods Boxed Set

The Grimm World

Grimm Academy (fairy tale academy)

Spindles And Spells

Pumpkins And Proms

Huntsmen And Hoods

Mirrors And Magic

Lamps And Lies

Frosts And Fears

Fate Of The Crown (Arthurian Academy)

The Almost Queen

Once Upon An Academy (Fairy Tale Academy)

Tower Of Thorns

Other Books

Untold Tales (urban fantasy fairy tales)

Balanced Scales (Audiobook Available)

Golden Wings

Poisoned Fate

Tainted Ashes

Braids Of Silver

Fractured Core

ME Contemporary Standalones (contemporary romance)

Sweet About Me (Audiobook Available)

Kneel For Me (Audiobook Available)

Heard From Me (Audiobook Available)

Laid By Me

If The Shoe Fits (Audiobook Available)

Con With Me

ME Collection Volume One

Rats: Tori (steampunk one shot stories, completed series)

Rats: Tori Collection(Audiobook Available)

Standalones

Permission to Breathe Denied (dystopian, Audiobook Available)

Glass Heart (urban fantasy, Audiobook Available)

Reaper (fantasy romance, Audiobook Available)

Co-written Books

Twin Souls Trilogy, co-written with Arizona Tape (paranormal romance, completed series)

Soulswap (Audiobook Available)

Soulshift (Audiobook Available)

Soultrade (Audiobook Available)

Twin Souls Trilogy Boxed Set (Audiobook Available)

Dragon Soul Series, co-written with Arizona Tape (paranormal romance, completed series)

Bound Soul

Half Soul

Torn Soul (Audiobook Available)

The Renegade Dragons Series, co-written with Arizona Tape (paranormal romance, completed series)

Fifth Soul (Audiobook Available)

Fifth Round (Audiobook Available)

Fifth Flame (Audiobook Available)

Renegade Dragons Boxed Set (Audiobook Available)

The Vampire Detective, co-written with Arizona Tape (urban fantasy mystery, completed series)

Fangs For Nothing

What The Fangs

Fangs For All

The Witch and The Detective, co-written with Arizona Tape (urban fantasy)

Hexes and Vexes

Seven Wardens, co-written with Skye MacKinnon (paranormal/fantasy romance, completed series)

From the Deeps (Audiobook Available)

Into the Mists (Audiobook Available)

Beneath the Earth

Within the Flames

Above the Waves

Under the Ice

Rule the Dark

Beyond the Loch (series prequel)

Through the Storms (to be read between From the Deeps & Into the Mists)

Below the Baubles (to be read between Above the Waves & Under the Ice)

Seven Wardens Boxed Set: Books 1-4

Seven Wardens Boxed Set: Books 5-7

Valentine Pride, co-written with L.A. Boruff (paranormal shifter romance, completed series)

Unicorn Mates

Unicorn Luck

Unicorn Truth

Unicorn Surprise

Magic and Metaphysics Academy, co-written with L.A. Boruff (paranormal academy, completed series)

Magical Mischief

Magical Mistake

Magical Misfit

Mountain Shifters Standalones, co-written with L.A. Boruff (paranormal romance)

The Platypus And Her Wolves

Wolf Tears

The Firehouse Feline, co-written with Lacey Carter Andersen & L.A. Boruff (paranormal/urban fantasy romance)

Feline The Heat

Feline The Flames

Feline The Burn

Kingdom Of Fairytales Season 11, co-written with J.A. Armitage (fantasy fairy tale)

Queen Of Reflections

Heiress Of Mirrors

Throne Of Wands

Goddess Of Magic

Kingdom Of Fairytales Prequels

Standalones

Ocean’s Serenade (co-written with J&L Wells. Paranormal Romance)

Goddess of Virtue (co-written with L.A. Boruff, Paranormal Romance)

Audiobooks: www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk/p/audio.html

About the Author

Laura is a USA Today Bestselling Author of paranormal and fantasy romance. When she's not writing, she can be found drinking ridiculous amounts of tea, trying to resist French Macaroons, and watching the Pitch Perfect trilogy for the hundredth time (at least!)

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