Chapter 35 Tobias

Christmas at the Dome was normally quiet. Most students would spend the holiday with their families, and the halls and common rooms would be empty until the New Year's Eve ball.

This Christmas, it was decidedly overcrowded.

With the recent vampire activity, parents had either insisted on their children staying in the safety of school while they remained at home, or they'd covertly entered and intruded on the dorms themselves. Very few students were actually permitted to leave.

I hated it.

The avian common room was currently packed with Leya's loud family of harpies. They were a strange bunch, since harpies were normally more...peaceful, living up to their angelic nature. This group whooped and hollered with each present they opened like a bunch of hounds. Why they didn't confine themselves to Leya's dorm like the other families was beyond me.

The noise—coupled with the fact that I was avoiding certain dragon and phoenix families who kept pestering me about how they could either get in or back in the good graces of my father—forced me to escape from the avian wing altogether. So I'd snuck into the gardens for a moment of peace after downing a stack of pancakes and a handful of brown sugar bacon at breakfast.

Since the Dome had a controlled climate completely separate from the bitter chill of Chicago, I was perfectly comfortable lounging in the faux snow in a t-shirt and shorts—I don't know whose bright idea that was, but I didn't envy the person who had to clean all this crap up.

I was smart enough to grab my tablet before leaving my room, so I played the ancient Atari classic, Asteroids , to pass the time while I waited for Arya. I'd texted her an hour ago to meet me. I wanted to give her the gift that was neatly wrapped and stashed in the bag at my feet.

The fake snow muffled any footsteps, and the fountain I leaned against burbled a tranquil tune, but I could sense her approach seconds before a pair of boots came to stand in front of me.

A small smile tugged at my lips. I didn't look up right away, savoring the blossoming feeling in my chest. It was beginning to amaze me rather than annoy me that I didn't even need to look at her for the ache inside me to be satisfied. Well, one of them anyway.

Arya gently tapped the side of my sneaker with her boot.

I looked up, expecting to meet those blue eyes I so often found myself drowning in. Instead, she stared at the roof of the Dome. I stood and circled my arm around her waist, but she didn't tear her eyes away.

"It's so...magical," she said, finally draping her arms around my neck. She lowered her head to meet my eyes.

"Mr. Inari," I said as if it were explanation enough.

Her eyebrows pinched together. "Kai? "

The professor preferred students to refer to him formally, unlike Caesar, but maybe not Arya? She seemed to be the exception on many things shifter, so I wasn't entirely sure.

But she still looked confused and returned her gaze to the sky. I followed suit and watched the ribbons of green and blue dance across the star-filled, black-blue projection.

"It's beautiful," she sighed.

It was. Seeing it through Arya's eyes really opened my own to the beauty in a way I doubted I could ever see alone. After all, I'd been sitting underneath this majesty for more than an hour, and only now looked up.

"Northern lights?" she asked, those piercing blue eyes meeting mine again.

I nodded and pointed upward. "It's a real-time projection of the sky at the North Pole. Mr. Inari rigged it up like that because so many are stuck here for Christmas."

"You think he did it just for Christmas?"

"Well...the tech was always there. Mostly, it's used to make the Dome disappear if anyone above gets too close or if word gets out that someone is looking."

"Like camouflage?"

"Exactly." I ducked my head to place a brief kiss on her irresistible lips. "Besides that, it's only used on the first and last days of the school year."

She still smiled in surprise from the kiss. "And what's projected on those days?"

I wanted to kiss her again and make the smile wider, but I also liked having conversations with her—something I'd never cared for with other girls.

"Stick around long enough, and you'll find out," I teased .

I lowered my head to indulge my craving to taste her lips once more, but she returned her gaze to the sky, making my lips graze the tip of her chin. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous that the sky was getting so much of her attention.

"You said real-time, but it's dark?"

I nodded once. "The North Pole won't see the sun again until March. So, real-time."

She smiled and nodded. "Of course. I knew that...it's just different in person." Then she laughed. That bell-ringing, heart-swelling laugh that had grown so precious to me. "You know what I mean."

It was only then that I noticed her attire.

"You're not...leaving, are you?" Panic flared in my chest at seeing her donned in her winter clothing, complete with gloves and a hat.

Her cheeks flushed as she swiftly unwrapped the scarf and shrugged off her coat.

"There's snow!" she protested with another laugh and waved a still-gloved hand at the very real-looking fake snow. "What is it, anyway?"

"I dunno," I said, a little embarrassed that I didn't know. "Another of Mr. Inari's creations, I'm sure."

"Well, he should sell it on eBay or something. He'd make a fortune!"

That comment, so mundane and yet so Arya , made me throw my head back in a booming laugh. "And he'd probably be offended that you even suggested it."

She shrugged like she might suggest it anyway. But when she looked over my shoulder, glistening tears formed in her eyes. Tearing away from me, she took a few steps toward the grand, ten-foot evergreen decorated elegantly with expensive red and green balls—I knew the price tag because they were donated by my mother—LED lights, bells, tinsel and hundreds of tiny, intricately carved and hand-painted figurines.

Arya tentatively stepped toward the tree until she was within arms-length, then reached a hand out and gently touched a small silver bell with a red bow tying it to a low branch.

"We had these," she said softly.

"Hmm?"

"We had these on our tree at home," she clarified. "My mom and I."

"Ah." That was enough for me to walk up behind her and wrap both arms around her. I rested my chin on the top of her fruity-shampoo-scented, silky hair.

She leaned into me, her hand still cradling the bell, the other reaching up to grip my arm.

"I'm sure this one doesn't even make it in your top five, but this is definitely my favorite Christmas to date," I said softly into her hair.

She twisted in my arms until our noses met, resting her arms and hands against my chest. "But you're stuck here. Don't you miss your family?"

To Arya, it probably felt like an innocent and straightforward question. If my family was anything like Arya's mother surely was, it would have been. But I also didn't want to discount the fact that my family was alive while hers was either dead or unknown.

I pushed back a few inches so I could see her face.

"I miss my mom," I said truthfully. "And my sister, Tamara, but she hasn't come home for Christmas since she graduated from the academy, anyway. "

"But not your father?"

I dropped my arms, releasing her. "I respect my father in a lot of ways. But it's hard to miss your warden once you're finally free. Besides, Christmas was always an afterthought to him."

She frowned, her blue eyes swimming with sympathetic understanding. "He still, like, bought you gifts and stuff, right?"

Yeah, like tutoring sessions at age six to push me to shift early, which was my present through age eleven. "Probably only when my mom nagged him about it. After a while, she just took over all of the shopping."

She twisted her pouty lips. "Does he at least buy gifts for her?"

Bitterness and resentment stabbed at my chest. "He always gets her the same thing for every holiday—cheap perfume and a bouquet of roses. She's allergic to roses."

Her brow furrowed, either from my words or the anger in my tone, I wasn't sure. "Damn. I was hoping what I'd seen on the Real Shifter Housewives was just dramatized for ratings."

I scoffed and hung my head. "Oh no, you've watched that show?"

"Yeah. Sorry." She grimaced and offered a shrug of apology. "Do you think he ever loved her?"

"He can't," I ground out, my fists clenching with hatred for my father over that fact.

She cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

Cold fear seeped through me as I realized my slip, momentarily freezing me from the inside out.

I wasn't ready for Arya to learn about the curse. I wasn't even close to finding a way to break it. What would she do if she knew? Would she run? Even if I told her about my imprint on her?

For the briefest of seconds, I considered spilling everything. Letting it all out. Trusting someone for once in my fucking life!

But the possibility of her rejection was too terrifying to contemplate further.

"Nothing. Speaking of presents," I said, plastering a smile onto my face. "I have a gift for you."

She eyed me for a moment, her brows still pinched, the tug-of-war between skepticism and curiosity plain in her gaze. But then both melted, replaced with sparkling anticipation. "Oh?"

Taking her hand, I led her back to my spot near the fountain where I'd left my bag and tablet. Sitting cross-legged, I patted the space beside me for her to join. I chuckled when she hesitated, probably remembering the snow wasn't actually cold.

When she'd settled, my heart thudded at a faster pace. This was new territory for me. My interactions with women had always been either purely physical or with a blood relative, and while I had presented my mother and sister with gifts plenty of times before, I'd never done so with any other female. And with them, their reaction didn't matter nearly as much as this did.

I awkwardly handed it to her. Slowly, she untied the thick red ribbon that had been so adeptly tied by the store clerk and was careful not to create a single tear in the gold paper before revealing the square white box.

My heart hammered harder, threatening to push through my ribcage. Time seemed to slow to a stop.

Fuck, it's just a damn Christmas present, not an engagement ring !

But I snapped my thoughts away from that line of thinking immediately. I was seriously in danger of losing Arya forever if I wasn't careful.

When she gasped, seeing the silver bracelet contrasted against the black velvet, I had to bring my knees up to my chest and put physical force against my beating heart.

She lifted the charms delicately and slowly as if any other way would make them turn to ash.

"Tobias," she said, her voice breathy and barely a whisper. "This is..."

She trailed off, inspecting the five charms I'd chosen—thanks to Niko's somewhat spiteful advice—with purpose and care.

"This one is obvious," she said, grinning as she held up the open seashell with a blue back and silver mermaid sitting inside. "And this one..." She teared up as she looked at the single silver wing with a tiny golden heart attached to a ring surrounded by clear gems.

"Because flying is better than swimming..." I prompted, teasing.

Her smile met her eyes, and she shoved me lightly.

She furrowed her eyebrows at the next one—the silver origami crane with its wings folded up.

I touched it with a fingertip and rolled my eyes. "Jewelers need to grow imaginations." My neck grew hot with sudden self-consciousness. "They didn't have any dragons."

"Ah." Her eyes widened, and I wondered if she saw any resemblance between the tiny paper crane and my own alter-form.

I felt a little chagrined, thinking maybe she was merely humoring me. It seemed more obvious when I picked it out in the store .

The next was a silver locket. Simple, with embellished swirls on the outside. Arya opened it carefully.

"What, no picture?" she asked with a wink. "Am I supposed to ask for a tiny picture of my boyfriend so I can take him with me wherever I go?"

"Actually, I thought you could put your mom in that one," I said, hearing my voice go flat. Probably due to my previous embarrassment.

She nodded and swallowed, moving on to the final charm. "And this one is just pretty."

She held the rose-gold sphere, diamond in the middle and spokes of gold pointing outward to more diamonds, then more spokes and diamonds. It had reminded me of one of my fireballs, but again, like with the crane, I felt foolish for thinking so.

"Actually..." She paused and turned it to the side. "It looks like...a fireball."

Relief washed through me. A silly feeling, but this girl was doing all sorts of crazy things to my emotions, so I wasn't surprised.

I nodded. "And I thought…" I took it from her fingers and held it carefully between my thumb and finger. "You could put some of your light inside."

"I love it!" Arya threw herself into my arms before I was ready, pinning one of my hands against my chest.

I breathed another sigh of relief. "I'm glad."

"I have something for you, too!" she said after clasping the charms around her thin, porcelain wrist. It somehow looked even more beautiful against her skin. "But I don't have it with me. Come back to my dorm? "

I couldn't help but smile at that and nodded—after secretly praying I could slip in without being noticed by the families I'd avoided.

A few minutes later, we sat knee-to-knee on the edge of Arya's bed. We had successfully snuck back in without issue since most of the families had migrated to the dining hall for lunch. Arya pursed her lips when she handed me a brightly wrapped gift with cartoonish green Christmas trees on a red background. It was the shape and size of a Blu-ray or DVD.

I wasn't so careful about the unwrapping and blurted out the title before the paper hit the floor. " Flesh Eaters 4, the Collector's Edition! "

I held in my hand the newly released zombie killing video game Brett had been going on and on about for the better part of the last six months. Though I hadn't been as vocal about it, I, too, had been eagerly anticipating its release.

"How'd you get it?" I asked, embracing Arya so tightly I realized too late that I might crack some bones.

"The mall?" Arya croaked when I'd released her.

"But how? It's been sold out for months!"

I couldn't help the giddy, boyish grin I had on my face, but I didn't care. I couldn't remember the last time someone gave me a gift that was absolutely nonessential to my advancement in the shifter or dragon community.

"They had a bunch at that gaming store on Black Friday," she said, looking a little fearful for her life suddenly.

I willed myself to calm down in order to wipe the look from her face. "They had them in?"

She nodded. "And not that it matters, but I got it on sale, too."

"Do you have any idea just how much I lo—?" I choked on my words, but pulled her close and kissed her anyway .

A hard lump formed in my stomach as our kiss deepened, and almost as quickly as I'd reached for her, I broke the kiss and pulled backward.

"Thank you," I said, touching my mouth and trying to hide the fact that I'd pushed her away so suddenly.

"You're welcome," she said, looking as though she was struggling just as much to decipher my reaction as I was to recover from it.

Something caught my eye just over Arya's shoulder. A rose sitting on the nightstand. It hadn't been there the last time I'd been here.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked, not realizing that it could be from another guy until the words left my mouth.

Great. Now, I sounded like a jealous boyfriend.

"Shea."

I nodded and made a noise of approval. As much as I disliked Arya's friendship with the witch, I was relieved.

"So...I hear the New Year's Eve Ball is pretty fantastic," she said, suddenly sounding nervous.

The ball was a yearly tradition at the Dome, and while a lot of the students made a big deal out of it, I never cared.

But this year was different.

"Yes." I had been meaning to ask her, but between embarrassment over silver cranes and the excitement and anticipation of fighting brand new zombies, it had fled my mind. "And you're coming as my date."

She smiled, then laced her fingers through mine and squeezed before turning her chin upward to meet my lips in a gentle kiss .

My tablet buzzed in my bag next to the bed, breaking the moment. I glanced at the clock and realized it would be my parents calling.

"I should take this," I said, standing. "I need to make sure Mom got the plate I sent her."

"Plate?" She scoffed. "You got your mom a plate for Christmas?"

I frowned, then leaned in for one last kiss. "It's gold-plated and hand-painted ceramic. She's wanted it for a while. It's a collector's item."

"Ah, like the zombie game, collector's edition ," she whispered the last part in a mocking tone.

"Exactly! We Draculs are collectors." I winked before exiting.

I managed to play secret agent, ducking through the hallways and making it to my room without being stopped. The call ended before I could get there, but I called back as soon as I was in the safety of my room.

Victoria answered, her thick auburn curls filling almost the entirety of the screen. I almost couldn't tell what room she was in.

"Merry Christmas, Tobias," she sang. Her smile brightened the screen and my father's office behind it.

"Merry Christmas, Mom," I returned.

Her eyebrows twitched downward a fraction of an inch.

"Is everything okay?" I asked. "Did you get the plate I sent?"

Her eyebrows returned to their rightful positions. "Yes, sweetheart! Thank you so much!" She clutched a hand to her chest.

I smiled and ducked my head in a semi-nod .

"Tobias." Arthur's face filled the screen.

"Hello, Father," I said, donning the mask I'd worn around my father ever since I could remember. "Merry Christmas."

Arthur nodded. "And to you as well, son. Your mother and I are coming to the Dome for the New Year's Eve Ball. We have some business to discuss with Caesar and some others who will be there, and your mother would like to spend some time with you, since she didn't get to see you today."

I nodded, my brows furrowing as I contemplated just how I would juggle what I'd planned to be a night to remember for Arya at her first New Year's Eve Ball and whatever my parents expected of me.

"Did the connection cut out?" Arthur asked.

"Hmm?" I asked, inwardly kicking myself for using a non-committal noise in front of Arthur. I was sure to get scolded like a three-year-old any minute.

"Tobias?" The video shook as if Arthur was tapping his screen. "Did you hear me?"

"What did you ask?" I felt partial relief that my father blamed my momentary daze on the quality of the video connection and rolled with it.

Arthur's face smoothed. "How are things with the siren? Have you seen her? Any word if she's been able to tap into her voice yet?"

The memory of her using it on me made my dick twitch inside my boxers, but I instantly forced bloody images from the Flesh Eaters 4 trailers into my mind, absolutely unwilling to be even remotely aroused in Arthur's presence—even if it was only digitally.

"I hear she's still struggling," I lied. "I overheard Celeste talking to someone about it. "

"Has she said anything to you about it?"

"Nope," I said with injected disinterest. "And anyway, I broke things off with her like you asked. I thought you were done with me staying close to her?"

Arthur's frustrated face flashed across the screen, and he rubbed the skin between his eyebrows, mouth tight, jaw set.

"Did you want me to befriend her again?" It could give me permission to stay near her at the ball.

"No. No, that's not necessary," Arthur said dismissively. "I want you to stay away from her. You were right to follow my instructions to break things off with her. You've done enough in that area. I'm proud of you, Tobias."

I gulped. "Thanks, Dad."

Lying to my father felt unnatural and uncomfortable, especially considering what would happen if I were caught in that lie.

"And while we're on that topic, Charlotte Stern says hello."

Char? I hadn't thought of her even once since Arya arrived at the school. Charlotte Stern was one of my oldest friends and a dragon who had graduated recently and joined the shifter military.

"Tell her ‘hi' for me," I said.

Arthur nodded, and I wondered if there was still talk between my family and hers about an eventual union. As much as I cared about Char, I really hoped not.

"Could I speak with him again?" Victoria asked in the background, for which I was grateful. I wasn't ready to go down that naga hole of arranged dragon marriages.

"And how is your Christmas?" Victoria asked when she was back on the screen. "You got our package? "

"I did." I relaxed on my bed, eyeing the opened packages across the room. Shoes and suits and books—with extensive detail about rare shifters in Eastern Europe and tactical maneuvers for the military—littered the area in organized chaos. "Thank you."

"Well, we've missed you," she said. "I hope you haven't been too lonely stuck at the Dome this Christmas."

It was almost like she'd forgotten I would have stayed regardless of recent events. I'd done so last year, and there'd been nothing preventing me from going home then—other than the fact that my childhood home was also empty since my parents spent the holiday in the Alps. For whatever reason, my mother seemed to miss me more this Christmas. Arthur had all but said it when he mentioned she wanted quality time when they came on New Year's Eve.

I suspected it had something to do with my recent near-death experience.

"I haven't been lonely," I reassured, thinking about my time with Arya.

Victoria's eyebrows dropped like they did before.

I glanced at the small video of myself in the top corner, wondering what made her face do that, if perhaps she thought I'd lied about not being lonely.

But when I saw the expression I was wearing, my heart dropped. I recognized that look. I'd never seen it on my own face, but it was nearly identical to the one my mother had worn my entire life.

And she knew it, too.

For her sake and mine, the damned Dracul curse had to be broken.