1. Adelaide

1

ADELAIDE

The memory of that night of my thirteenth birthday floods through my thoughts. The ticking of the clock on the mantlepiece seems unnaturally loud in the tense silence of our living room. I'm perched on the edge of the sofa, my fingers drumming an anxious rhythm on my thigh as I stare at the man sitting across from me. The same man I saw eight years ago on a stormy night just like this one.

His dark hair and pale skin seem to absorb the dim light of the room. He's dressed impeccably in a tailored black suit that probably costs more than our entire house. His eyes, so dark they're almost black, are fixed on me with an intensity that makes me want to squirm.

"Adelaide," he says, his voice a low, hypnotic rumble. "I know you have questions?—"

I resist the urge to snort. "Who are you?" I interrupt, although I have a sinking feeling I already know the answer. I look just like him.

He leans forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees. "My name is Randall Black," he says, pausing as if to gauge my reaction. When I don't respond, he continues, "I'm your father, Adelaide."

The words hang in the air between us, heavy and suffocating. I glance at my mother, standing silently by the window. Her face is a mask of rigid calm, unsurprised by any of this. She's known all along, I realise with a jolt.

"My father," I repeat, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. "The same father who's been absent for the past twenty-one years?"

Randall has the grace to look uncomfortable. "I know I have a lot to answer for," he says. "But there were circumstances that prevented me from being part of your life. Circumstances that I'm here to explain now."

I'm barely listening to him. My mind keeps drifting back to that night. The night I thought I saw fangs gleaming in his mouth as he recoiled from the cross my mother thrust at him. The memory is so vivid, so real, that I can almost hear the rain lashing against the windows, feeling the chill that ran down my spine.

"Adelaide?" Randall's voice pulls me back to the present. "Are you listening?"

I blink, focusing on him again. "You were saying?"

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I was trying to explain why I couldn't be in your life. Your mother wanted to raise you as a human child, keep who you really are from you."

Mum hisses as he says this, appearing to throw her under the proverbial bus for whatever lies are about to be spewed. "Human child," I murmur as my brain catches up. "What else would I be?"

Randall opens his mouth to answer, but a flash of lightning illuminates the room, followed closely by a crack of thunder that seems to shake the foundations of our small, terraced house. I jump slightly, my heart racing. The clock on the mantelpiece chimes 9:00 PM.

Randall leans forward, placing a black envelope on the coffee table between us. My name is written on it in elegant gold script: Adelaide Légère.

"What is this?" I ask, my voice sounding strange.

Randall's lips curl into a smile that I want to say is sinister but isn't quite. "It's your admission acceptance to MistHallow University."

I frown. "I've never heard of it." I glance at my mother again, but her expression remains unchanged.

Randall leans back in his chair, studying me with those unnaturally dark eyes. "You're special, Adelaide. You're what we call a Vesperidae – a being of two worlds. Half-vampire, half-human. MistHallow's mission is to provide education and guidance to young supernatural beings. It's a safe haven for those who need to learn control, for troubled souls who need focus and direction."

His words wash over me as I struggle to process what he's saying. A Vesperidae. Half-vampire, half-human.

The words hit me like a physical blow. I should be shocked, in disbelief. But as the revelation sinks in, all I feel is relief. Suddenly, all the dark thoughts that have plagued me for years, the strange urges and desires I've tried to suppress, seem to make sense.

"I'm a full-blooded vampire," Randall continues as if this is the most natural conversation in the world and not one that has blindsided me despite my ready acceptance to believe I'm not just fucked up in the head. "One of the oldest and most powerful of our kind. Your mother is human, which makes you what we call a Vesper – a rare and uniquely gifted individual."

"So you're a vampire," I say, my voice flat. "A full-blooded vampire who decided to have a child with a human woman. And then you abandoned us for twenty-one years."

Randall's expression hardens. "It wasn't that simple, Adelaide. The supernatural world is complex, filled with ancient laws and customs. Your mother didn't want you growing up in that world."

"You keep blaming her, but all I see are excuses," I snap. "You had a choice. If you're this powerful creature, you could've fought harder."

"Not against the witchcraft."

"What?" I look at my mother, who just sighs and shrugs slightly. "You're a witch?"

She shakes her head, apparently dumbstruck.

"Vespers are incredibly rare, Adelaide," Randall interjects on her behalf. "You have abilities that some full-blooded vampires can only dream of. There are factions in our world who would stop at nothing to control you, to harness your power for their own ends."

I laugh, but there's no humour in it. "Powers? What powers? I'm just a normal girl. Well, a normal girl with some serious issues, but still." But there is no denying his words strike a chord deep in my morally grey soul. Automatically, I rub my wrist where thin, silvery scars crisscross my skin. For the first time in years, I don't feel the usual shame associated with them. Instead, it's as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. There is a reason for all this fuckery.

"The darkness that you've felt all these years," Randall says softly, "the urges you've tried to suppress – that's your vampire nature. It's been lying dormant, waiting to be awakened."

How does he know all of this?

My throat goes dry. "And MistHallow? What's its role in all this?"

"MistHallow University is a place where young supernatural beings like yourself can learn to control and harness their abilities. It's not just for Vespers or other hybrids, but full-blooded vampires, fae, elementals, and countless other creatures you've only read about in stories." He leans forward again, his eyes intense. "At MistHallow, you'll learn about your heritage, about the supernatural world that exists alongside the human one. You'll develop your powers under the guidance of experienced mentors."

I sit back, my mind reeling from all this new information. Part of me wants to dismiss it all as an elaborate joke or a vivid hallucination. But deep down, in a place I've always tried to ignore, something resonates with Randall's words.

It explains so much. My obsession with blood, and pain and death; my depression and malaise during the daylight hours and night when I come alive; my aversion to being touched because my skin feels too sensitive, too fragile like ancient paper that will crumble if you breathe too heavily near it; my dislike of other people, humans , who don't seem to understand me and write me off as the emo goth girl with too much drama, the list goes on.

"Say I believe you," I say slowly, my eyes on the clock as it ticks over to 9:05 PM. "Say I accept that I'm this... Vesperidae. What happens now?"

Randall gestures to the black envelope on the table. "Now, you have a choice. You can continue to live in the human world, ignoring your true nature and struggling to fit in. Or you can accept your place at MistHallow and learn to embrace who you truly are."

I stare at the envelope, my heart pounding. It's tempting, so tempting, to just say no. To pretend this conversation never happened and go back to my normal life. Whatever that is. The choice seems simple. Continue struggling on a night schedule when most of this world operates during the day or go to a place where there are others like me, and I don't have to pretend how fucked up I am, which takes more energy than I usually have to give.

But even as I think it, I know there is no choice. I've never fit in the human world. I've always felt like an outsider like there was something fundamentally wrong with me. And now I know why.

With trembling fingers, I pick up the envelope. It's heavier than it looks, the paper is thick and expensive. I break the seal and pull out the letter inside, my eyes skimming over the words.

"Dear Ms Légère," it reads. "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to MistHallow University for Year 3 of 4..."

I look up at Randall, questions burning on my tongue. But before I can speak, my mother steps forward for the first time since this surreal conversation began.

"Addy," she says softly, her voice thick with emotion. "I know this is a lot to take in, and I'm sorry that it has taken this many years for you to find out. The protection spells on you were strong. I made sure of it. Your father couldn't see you. They broke today, which is why he is here now. You are an adult now, and this choice has to be yours. As much as I wish I could go on protecting you, this has gone on longer than it should've. I know you feel pain living in this world, so you have the choice now to decide what you want to do."

I stare at her, feeling betrayal, yet understanding her choices.

Tears shimmer in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I wanted to tell you so many times, but... something always stopped me."

I look between them, these two people who have shaped my life in such different ways. My mother, always present, always loving, but hiding this enormous secret. Randall, my father, absent for so long but now offering me a key to understanding myself. I can't even deal with this knowledge of what I really am, and I can't show how relieved I am within myself with them both staring at me like this.

I stand up abruptly, clutching the MistHallow acceptance letter in my hand. "I need some time," I say, my voice shaking slightly.

Randall nods, looking disappointed but unsurprised. "Of course. But not too long. The year starts next week."

I don't respond. Instead, I turn and stride out of the living room, ignoring my mother's soft call of my name. I climb the stairs two at a time, slamming my bedroom door behind me with more force than necessary.

In the sanctuary of my room, I sink onto my bed, staring at the letter in my hands. Excitement rushes up as I realise I can leave my dead-end job at the morgue and go and do something amazing. I'd always wanted to go to University and learn as many things as I could, but trying to drum up the energy for day classes was too much for me. Now, with vampires wandering the halls of MistHallow there will have to be night classes, and not just for a couple of hours like at the Tech down the road, but all night on all sorts of subjects.

I read through the letter. It outlines the unique curriculum at MistHallow, designed to help supernatural beings understand and control their abilities. There are courses in magickal theory, supernatural history, meditation and focus.

As I read, I feel that spark of excitement ignite. This is it. This is the explanation I've been searching for all my life.

I may want nothing to do with Randall Black, but this chance to understand myself, to belong somewhere is something I can't pass up.

As thunder rumbles outside my window, I make my decision. I'm going to MistHallow University. I'm going to learn who and what I truly am.

And maybe, I'll finally find where I belong.

Taking a deep breath, I feel something shift inside me. The darkness that I've always tried to suppress, the part of me that I've always been afraid of – it doesn't seem so scary anymore. Instead, it feels like a strength, a power waiting to be unleashed.

For the first time in my life, I'm not afraid of who I am. I'm excited to find out more.