After failing as a vampire hunter, 17-year-old Cleo is sent to an academy full of vampires as a false peace treaty. Her true objective is supposed to be finding the hidden heir to the dark world while befriending the current one, but the current hei...
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Going back to class on Monday had me more anxious than even my first day had. Kaz, San, and I walked together, huddling close to fend off the early morning chill. San prattled on about the video game he'd been playing well into the night while I looked around for Adora. She hadn't joined us and I realized she must feel just as embarrassed as I did. I would clear things with her up first.
Claude wasn't anywhere to be seen, either. When we entered the classroom, I found Adora already seated by herself in a corner next to some other students, leaving no room for us to sit near her. I frowned, hoping to just settle this right now. Instead, I followed Kaz to the other side of the room and took a seat beside him. San sat on Kaz's opposite side, leaving the seat next to me open. I stared hard at Adora, trying to get her attention so I could wave her over, but she kept her head down, focusing on the book splayed in front of her.
I let out a small sigh, pulling the grammar book that'd been delivered to me over the weekend. Doing so made me to knock my pen off my desk and when I reached down to grab it, a hand appeared and snatched it before me. I straightened up, moving back in my seat slightly.
A girl with long black hair dyed purple at the ends held my pen out to me. "Here."
"Oh, thanks."
She eyed me for a moment. "I heard what you did for Esgi."
Esgi? I shook my head to indicate I didn't know who she meant.
She cleared her throat. "She's my twin. She was, um, part of that group the other day."
I stiffened. "Oh." I had no idea which of the girls there she was referring to. I probably couldn't place a face to anyone besides Rehan.
"I'm sorry for what she did to you, but thank you for not having her expelled. My parents would have killed her. They're all about prestige and the bragging rights Maiestas Regia gives them."
"You don't need to apologize for her," I said, suppressing a shudder. Her family would kill her? I wished I could say I doubted that, but I knew that feeling all too well. "And I didn't do it for your sister specifically."
She tucked her hair behind her ears, taking the seat next to me. "I know. I've heard the rumors."
"Rumors?"
"That was just you reaffirming your stance, right? I can't speak for everyone, but you've changed my mind about you. Daughter of the Levant family or not, I can tell when someone has good intentions. I hate war, too. So many of us do. I hope that they can believe in you, too. Maybe the peace treaty is the start to true peace."
I stared at her, my heart constricting.
She fiddled with the edge of her blouse. "Was that weird to say?"
