Chapter Fifteen

I left Sam with one of Marin's assistants—apparently Marin's time was much too valuable to be taken up by a lowly human, what a damn bigot—and made myself scarce before I could do anything dumb like actually voice that opinion. Thaden and Thessalia had no right to treat Sam the way they had, and the fact everyone else had just stood there and let it happen made my blood boil. So what that he wasn't a damn vampire? He mattered every bit as much as the rest of them—a shit ton more than most of them, in my opinion—and he deserved better. It wasn't fair. What was it Ryker had said last year? I was too old to believe in fair. And apparently Darkveil and its occupants intended to make fully sure I was over my naivety before my time here was done.

I kept my word and allowed Thaden to feed that evening, but it was a full three weeks until I summoned the courage to see if he had kept his word.

"You're worrying about nothing," Ling said, as I reluctantly pushed the book in front of me—arcane pack law that I hadn't been fully sure was in English before I spent an hour staring at it—away and reluctantly got to my feet.

"I'm worrying that Thaden and his sister haven't kept their word."

"No, you're not."

I opened my mouth to argue and blew out a sigh instead. "No, I'm not."

Thaden had said the books had been delivered and they'd started work on the other arrangements we'd agreed—those were about the only words he'd spoken to me, in fact—and whilst Thaden didn't have the same aversion to lying that I did, he'd never outright lied to my face before, and there was no reason to assume he'd started now.

Truth was, it wasn't anything to do with Thaden that had me worried. It was me. I hadn't spoken to the humans properly—alone—since I'd been down there making some pretty big promises. And a lot had changed since then…but for me, not them.

"It'll be okay," Ling said softly, reaching out to squeeze my hand.

"But what if it's not? Ling, I don't think I can handle one more set of people hating me. Seems like everyone around here hates me already, except you and Cole."

She cleared her throat and gave me a pointed look. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, fine. Jax hasn't been a total asshole about the whole dhampir thing, either. But only to piss Kallan off."

"At first," she said.

I paused, and then slid back into the chair beside her.

"You really do like him, huh?" I said, arching a brow, but I guess I'd known for a long time. Since we all worked together after Cole's arrest last year.

Her cheeks glowed faintly pink. "It doesn't matter," she mumbled.

"If you like him, then you should do something about it. He would be lucky to have a shot with you, Ling. Lucky."

"I… It's not that simple."

She got that look in her eye that she tended to get whenever the conversation got too close to who she was, or what she was, or anything about her past.

"Whatever it is, I'm here for you, okay? Whether you want to talk about it, or if you just want to—" I feigned a shudder, "—fangirl over Jax."

She reached over and slapped my shoulder with the back of her hand playfully.

"I do not fangirl."

"Much," I teased.

"Anyway, don't think I don't know stalling when I see it. Humans. Go. Now."

"Yes, mom," I grumbled as I got to my feet again. She was right, no point putting it off. It wasn't like my absence was going to make things better. Of course, it at least wouldn't make things worse…

"Go!"

I slipped out of the library with a chuckle.

"Something amusing you, pet?"

The mirth fell from my face as I saw Davorin lounging against the corridor wall, watching me.

"How long have you been there?" I demanded. Offence was the best defense, right?

"I asked first," he said with a smirk that somehow looked completely natural on his preternaturally handsome face. But then, I wasn't sure any expression could look ugly on him. That was just the way the fae were. The high fae, anyway. That, and sadistic as all hell, far as I'd seen so far.

"Well it sure as hell wasn't you putting me in a good mood," I told him stiffly.

He tutted, reaching for a lock of my hair and playing it across his fingers. "So rude," he said wistfully.

"Would you stop with the touching already?" I snapped. "And can't you go and find someone else to play your dumb games with?"

"There's no-one else here quite like you, pet."

Well, he had me there. For one thing, they were all a hell of a lot stronger than me. And most of them were immune to his compulsion. He seemed to pick the thoughts from my mind, and his eyes shimmered hypnotically with amusement as my breathing spiked.

"Do I scare you, pet?"

"Do you get off on trying to scare me?" I countered, fighting the urge to back away from him—we both knew I'd only be leaving if he let me, and trying to run was a surefire way of making sure he didn't.

"Do you always answer a question with a question?" he countered, canting his head a fraction as amusement ghosted across his perfectly formed lips. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were fae."

"Yeah, well I'm not, so why don't you go and play with your own kind?"

"You seem very obsessed with games today, pet. Has your beloved mate been neglecting you?"

"No, he has not. Not that it's any of your business." I felt my cheeks growing hot. Great. Now I was thinking about what I got up to with Cole last night…while Davorin was standing right in front of me.

He chuckled, and the sound did weird things to my body. Because I was still thinking about Cole. Nothing at all to do with his elegant high cheekbones, lean physique, flawless complexion, long blond hair that begged to be touched… Nope. I was definitely just thinking about last night with Cole.

"And yet, you still haven't allowed him to claim you."

"Says who?" I demanded, carefully avoiding answering.

Davorin's stardust flecked eyes narrowed the smallest amount, and then his lips twitched in amusement. "Are you sure you're not fae, pet? No-one said, but there's no trace of the bonding magic on you. There's no sense in trying to deny it…even if you could."

"I. Am. Not. A. Fae," I ground out.

"No, you're not. At least, not any kind of high fae." I saw the malice darken his eyes. "If you were, I couldn't make you do this. Kneel."

Compulsion dripped from the word and my legs gave out beneath me, sending me crashing painfully to my knees.

The chuckle that spilled from his lips was low, throaty. "I've missed this, pet."

"That makes one of us," I growled.

"You're the one who wanted to play games," he said, his self-satisfied smirk warring with something else. Something predatory.

"You should get your hearing checked, fae."

"And you should remember that you speak with more than words, pet."

"I'm not your damned pet!"

"You are whatever I say you are. And such an obedient little pet you are, too. Shall I have you pant like a good little girl?"

I clamped my mouth shut, and shook my head, my cheeks burning at the thought. Because if he compelled me, there wouldn't be a damned thing I could do to stop myself doing exactly what he wanted. And whether we were alone in this corridor or not, I had zero doubt that it'd be round the academy by morning. The dhampir kneeling at the fae prince's feet, panting? Yeah, I didn't need that getting around.

"No? No, I suppose you wouldn't enjoy that much, would you? What to do then," he mused, "that my little pet would enjoy…"

"You could try just leaving me alone."

"I could…but no, I don't think I would enjoy that. Darkveil can be a dreadfully boring place, and I do need some form of amusement."

I snorted. "Boring. Right. Good one."

He reached down and took hold of another lock of my hair, letting it fall through his fingers as he watched me with interest. "No, I imagine your experience truly has not been boring. How fascinating. Perhaps that's why you intrigue me so." He straightened, and his lips twisted with malice. "Or perhaps it's merely how you tremble."

"Yeah, well, I'll try not to do that again. Are you done?"

"In such a hurry to leave me?"

"Always," I said acerbically.

"Careful, pet."

"Or what? You'll lurk around in the hallways, waiting to make me kneel and humiliate me?"

I glanced meaningfully at my legs, and Davorin waved his hand airily.

"Fine. You may rise."

I felt the compulsion wrapped around me fall away, and scrambled to my feet before he could change his mind—or someone could see.

"See you around, pet."

And raking his eyes over me one last time, he turned and left. I watched for a long moment, then pivoted on my heel and made for the vampire quarters. Suddenly, facing the humans didn't seem nearly so terrifying.

…Which didn't stop me hesitating when I reached the feeding den. I hadn't been in here outside of my horrific daily lessons since I'd discovered what I was. Because walking in here as a human under Thaden's protection? That had been terrifying. But walking in here as a dhampir without that protection? That was a whole new level.

But whether the vamps liked it or not—hell, whether I liked it or not—I was half vampire, and that meant I had a right to be here. I notched my chin and pushed my way through the doors.

The breath rushed out of me in a relieved huff. It was empty. I guess all the vamps were busy perpetrating Dracula myths. It was about time I had a little luck around here. Without breaking my stride, I made straight for the plain wooden door set into the far wall, knocked once, and then opened it.

A stunning, leggy blonde, halfway to the door, blinked in surprise.

"You're…not who I was expecting," she said, then pasted a polite smile on her face. "If you require a feeder—"

"Hi, Melody," I said. "Um, I really don't, thanks."

"No. I thought not. So what does bring you here?" Her tone was placid and deferential, the way she had no doubt been trained to address vampire, but there was no hiding the curiosity under it. Of course, like everyone else here, she knew I wasn't a vampire. Not exactly.

"I was hoping we might talk. Us, and the others."

"I'm sure some of them would be open to that," she agreed, stepping aside and gesturing me down the hallway with her arm, the picture of acquiescence.

I shook my head. "I don't know how you do it."

"I don't know what you mean, I'm sure," she said softly.

"Act the way you do with the vampires."

"You mean the other vampires?"

I snorted. "Yeah, let's not pretend you think I'm anything other than I am. I'm probably the only creature here with a lower status than all of you, as far as the vamps are concerned."

"Yes, you do seem to have made some waves," she agreed as we started down the hallway, her half a step behind but still managing to steer the way effortlessly.

"You didn't answer my question," I said, my forehead crinkling as I played back her words.

"I'm aware."

I caught the mischievous glint in her eyes and allowed myself a small smile. I suspected I could learn a thing or two from Melody.

"You're very convincing," I told her conspiratorially.

"Not all of us view Darkveil the way you do," she said. "Some of us quite enjoy being here."

"Ah. Yes." I thought back to our conversation last time we'd met. "How are your, um…"

"My three vampiric lovers?" I nodded, and for just a moment her smile turned dreamy. "Exquisite."

Then the mischievous glint was back as she looked me up and down. "Ready to expand your horizons yet? Or perhaps you have already? We hear a surprising amount in here."

I barked a harsh laugh. "Not as much as you think, clearly. Thaden wants nothing to do with me." I flushed. "Not that I'm unhappy with Cole, obviously."

"You don't have to explain to me, of all people."

"Huh. No, guess not. Still, it's irrelevant, because I'm pretty sure Thaden would kill me if he thought he could get away with it."

She gave me a sideways look. "Perhaps you're the one who doesn't know as much as they think."

"Trust me. Thaden can barely stand to be in the same room as me."

She lifted one shoulder in an easy shrug. "If you say so. Still, when you're ready for that talk, I'll be waiting. And amusing myself in the meantime."

"I'm glad. That you enjoy being here, I mean. But not all of the humans do."

Her expression sobered. "No. And I'm sorry for that, truly."

"Me, too. And I'm still trying to make it better."

I pushed open the door at the end of the short hallway and stepped inside the small communal area that served as a common room for the academy's humans. It was much like I remembered it from my last visit—bland and basic, lacking any of the ostentatious luxury that was lavished on the feeding den. It was brightly lit, but not with the convincing artificial sunlight that most of the academy shared. Instead, it was more akin to cheap artificial lighting which reflected harshly from the white tiled floors—which had been designed to make the blood easier to see and clean, Sam had once told me.

The chairs and couches were the same hard and uninviting specimens I'd seen on my last visit, but as then, they were still in use. This time, I noted, some of the occupants were engrossed in new-looking books. The bookcase, which'd had only a couple of dozen books, now seemed filled to overflowing. Thaden had kept his word, then. Not that I'd expected otherwise. Not even he was arrogant enough to think he could get away with breaking that promise without me noticing. Probably.

"Cali!" Sam said, looking up from his book and quickly scrambling to his feet.

"Hey, Sam. Uh, no need to get up."

"Yeah, don't give her ideas," a bitter voice said as its owner sashayed through the doorway. I glanced over to see one of the humans I'd spoken to on my last visit—Celine? Celia?

Sam rolled his eyes. "You should try being grateful, Celeste."

"To her? You must be joking. She sends a few books and we're supposed to fall at her feet?"

"Um, you're really not," I put in quickly. "I just wanted to check in."

Celeste snorted and looked away.

"Ignore her," Sam said, crossing to me. "How are you?"

"Oh, you know, trying to get through the year without anyone killing me when the whole academy wants me dead."

"Not the whole academy," he said.

"Right." I gave him a grateful smile. He had more reason than most to hate me after getting caught up in Thaden and Thessalia's scheme, but somehow he didn't. "Why is that, by the way?"

"You're trying, which is more than can be said for anyone else. And, you know, you're not a terrible person."

I laughed. "Gee, thanks. You sure know how to compliment a gal." I swept my gaze around the room, and frowned. "Is it just the books?"

"No, you're not terrible because of a whole list of reasons, which I'm sure someone will write one day."

"Funny. No, I meant, haven't they changed anything other than bringing new books?"

"We're grateful for whatever we're given," he said automatically, and then his eyes tightened in the smallest wince.

"Thought you were breaking that habit," I said softly.

"Yeah, me too. Not like there's any point though, right? It's still going to be a long time until I'm back out in the real world, whatever's waiting for me out there."

I squeezed his arm gently with a sad smile.

"I'll be fine," he said. "And we are grateful for the books, honestly. But no, there haven't been any other changes."

"Thaden," I snarled. "That lying, cheating leech."

Sam's eyes widened, though whether at me accusing Thaden of being a liar, or calling him a leech I wasn't sure.

"Can you make a wishlist?" I asked him, and then looked around the room, raising my voice so the half dozen humans could hear me. "All of you, can you get together and tell me what you wish would change round here?"

Celeste snorted. "Where's the point in that? It's not like you have any actual power."

"Celeste!" Sam hissed, looking mortified.

"No, she's right," I agreed. "I don't, but Thaden owes me, and if I can use his power to make your time here better, then I will. I can't wipe out your debts—I wish I could—but maybe I can help in other ways."

"Some of us are glad to be here," a male voice pointed out, and I twisted round until I saw a guy with a shaved head watching me from one of the chairs. I remembered him, too, from my last visit, and the pale brunette by his side, who I knew had been through hell on the streets before she'd made her deal.

"Like I said last year, I'm not here to screw anything up for anyone."

"We know," the brunette—Nikki, I was pretty sure—said. Her voice turned wistful. "I just wish I had something to look forward to when I left here. You know, other than trying to get a clan to take me in as a blood bag until I get too old and unappealing."

The shudder that ran through her delicate frame told me exactly what she thought of that career path, and I chewed at my lower lip thoughtfully. "Okay, let me give it some thought. Meanwhile, work on that list, okay? I'll get to lessons early for the next couple of weeks so you can give it to me without risking Demir finding out."

Or, I hoped, Astor.