Night Class

September 10th, 2019

Tuesday 5:30pm

None of us speak as we each take off in different directions in the new hallway, opening different doors and shutting them once we find nothing in them. What’s the point in having all these rooms and keeping them empty. There has to be at least one room that has some form of information or a clue that could help lead us to where Kieran is being held. If he’s even being held here at all.

Our footsteps echo down the long corridor, filling the void of awkwardness that none of us are willing to talk about just yet. Peyton unknowingly released his scent to attract me towards him so he could bite me. That’s got to be against something in the new-age vampire rulebook somewhere. Sure, he did try using his scent on me at the school, but that was to help prove a point to me. This seems different. Even Ehren looked more than ready to rip his head off at the action, but he seemed to be more understanding than I would have thought possible. Maybe he’s been at that point of hunger before even as a dhampir. I can’t imagine how hard danag’s must have it. The constant need to feed daily, knowing that skipping even one feeding is risky to their mental state.

Just one glance in the vampire’s direction lets me know just how regretful he is. His eyes stay trained on the doors lining the hallway rather than anywhere in my direction. It makes me feel guilty even though I know that I’ve done nothing wrong. My eyes drift over Ehren’s tense frame and I know I might be taking a gamble with asking him for any favors right now, but I need to talk to Peyton alone if I’m going to get the guy to be honest with me.

“E-Ehren?”

Bright blue eyes meet mine and he looks as though he’s alert, ready for any potential danger. Immediately, my hands reach out and shake in front of me, ready to let him relax at the news of ’no danger’.

“Relax, Ehren, nothing’s wrong.” I peek over my shoulder at Peyton as he looks through another doorway, acting as though he’s not listening in on our conversation. My glasses slide down my nose at the glancing gesture, but I don’t bother fixing them. “I was actually hoping you might be willing to go on and look through the doors down on the left, the ones in the next hallway. I think Peyton and I can handle the rest of these on our own for a bit.”

I try to convey to him what I’m really wanting, glancing in Peyton’s direction every few seconds. He understands, I know he does. His eyes glance with mine before he finally looks away from both of us, his jaw ticking with annoyance. Small wrinkles, frustration lines, are scattered across his forehead and around his lips. I get what the big deal is, I really do, but Peyton is better now. If he were still ravenously hungry then it might be a problem, but the guy is literally fed and searching for Kieran with no issue. If he was even potentially dangerous to my health, Ehren wouldn’t have let him continue searching with us.

“Fine.” Ehren looks between Peyton and I before breathing out, “Just- Yell if you need me.”

He turns to walk away, but his shoulders tense before turning back to stare into my eyes. One hand, a shaking and uncertain hand, reaches out and tucks a strand of hair neatly behind my ringing ear. Blood rushes through my head, mimicking sounds of thunder in my ears, and I feel as though I might faint from the feeling alone. His gaze is intense as his hand lingers on my cheek, thumb gliding nicely along my bottom lip, pulling the soft and plump tissue down before releasing it.

“Don’t be reckless,” Ehren breathes out, hot breath fanning out over my nose and causing my eyelashes to flutter. “Please.”

Then he’s gone. Just a blink of my eyes and he disappeared, as if he wasn’t even there. The hammering heart in my chest slowing and the blood pumping in my ears served as evidence that he was. A small amount of heat lingers on my bottom lip from his thumb, and I find myself touching it, memorized by how giddy it made me feel when he touched it himself. I’ve never experienced something like this, never developed a crush on someone, let alone liked someone as more than a friend. Ehren has helped me tap into something foreign and I’m not sure whether I’m thankful for it just yet.

“Izzy.” Peyton light touches my shoulder. “You good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I shake the feeling of Ehren’s lingering touch to the back of my mind, promising myself that I’ll think more about it later. Pushing my glasses back onto my nose, I turn to face him while saying, “Um, I actually think I should be asking you that question.”

Peyton seems taken aback now before he shrugs. “I’m fine. Don’t be worrying over me.”

“Peyton-”

“I’m fine, Izzy.” His eyes lock onto mine. “Drop it.”

He feels guilty about what happened, I get that, but why can’t he see that I’m only trying to help. He needs someone to talk to about what happened, even if that person is the one he nearly attacked.

“I know you didn’t mean anything by it when you used your gift, Peyton.” His back is tense now as he slowly shuts the door to the room he was looking into. “I don’t feel like you were going to hurt me, at least not on purpose. I’m not scared of you or blame you for anything.”

“Don’t. Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what- Assure you that I’m not angry with you?”

He shakes his head, releasing a dark chuckle that has not one hint of humor behind it. “Don’t take what I nearly did to you so lightly. Don’t forgive what happened or what could’ve happened.” He faces me now and I can see something in his eyes, something like self-hatred. I’m sure I had the same look in mine when I first lost Dad and Melanie. I blamed no one but myself for their deaths. “I almost hurt you. Heck, if Ehren hadn’t been there, Izzy I would’ve- I’d have killed you, drained you dry of every single drop of your sweet-smelling blood. Each step you took closer towards me, each breath you took- Vampires aren’t meant to be friends with humans and this is why. We’re dangerous for you and you’re just as dangerous for us.”

“Then compromise.” He stares at me now, confused but intrigued. “You can’t just push humans away because you’re scared of hurting one. I’m not going anywhere, okay? You vampires aren’t going to cause me to run for the hills at the slightest revelation of your darkest parts. I’m here to stay.”

It’s now that I realize we’re closer together than before. His eyes shine brightly in the barely candle lit hallway. He doesn’t look as tense as before, as if my words were the one thing he needed to hear to move past whatever it was that had been plaguing his mind.

“Rhea was right,” he mumbles. “You aren’t normal at all.”

“Coming from someone who sucks blood to survive and is allergic to sunlight, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Peyton chuckles before opening another door on the right side of the hallway. I take the left side this time. A few seconds tick by before I hear shuffling around the corner, but Ehren continues staying in a completely different hallway from us. A part of me feels great about him giving Peyton and I the space we needed but another part feels lonely without him here.

“Hey, Peyton?” He hums in response. “Rhea had mentioned before that you and her don’t really get along. Is there anything I can do to help?”

He laughs now, nothing like the dark chuckle from before, but a light and easy laugh that relaxes me. “Unless you can go back in time and fix every mistake both of us have ever made, then no, there’s nothing you can do to help.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“Yeah, it’s that bad.”

“Kind of a left-field question, but did you know about the whole love triangle thing with your sister and the Knox brothers?”

Peyton seems to be glancing between me and the opening in the hallway a few feet from us where Ehren’s most likely listening to everything we’ve been saying. Asking these questions that plague my mind and invading all of their personal and private thoughts are nothing compared to the crap they’ve all collectively put me through for the past month I’ve known them.

“Uh, well...” He trails off as he searches another room. “It’s a tad bit complicated.”

“Try me.”

“Well, first things first, Rhea really didn’t have a thing for Ehren at first, because she was bats for Kieran. But somewhere down the road Knox caught feelings and it made everything complicated. She didn’t mean for the guy to get hurt, but things happen sometimes, you know. Our parents were breathing down our necks to move forward with our studies, trying to get us to graduate early so we could work for them. I don’t know about you, but I’m not too thrilled about spending every waking moment listening to old people gripe and complain about the changes of the world every day. I only wanted to help us both out of a horrid situation. I had thought that, considering Emmy and Ehren were family- If drama started between the Whitmore’s and the Bromley’s then I would easily get out of the marriage, but it didn’t work. Little was I aware that the Bromley’s don’t even like Ehren. I didn’t think everyone would get hurt like they did, or I never would’ve suggested her and Knox as an idea.”

Silence fills the hallway once again. The air is tense as my neck and arm hairs stand on end. It’s as if electricity has filled the room and is slowly charging itself. It happened in the blink of an eye. One minute I’m standing in the hallway with Peyton and the next, Ehren has a death grip on the poor danag’s throat. The sounds around me are not something I’m familiar with. Wooshes and gushes of wind zip back and forth across the hallway as both vampires struggle with control over one another. Crashing sounds out from behind me and I notice a giant hole in the wall now. Standing in the middle of the empty room, Ehren has his hands on Peyton’s shoulders and the danag seems to have a mimicked position. Neither seems to be able to get the upper hand. That’s when I see it. Nether begins leaking out around them, but not touching either boy. It’s as if Ehren wants to use it as a way to intimidate the poor guy.

“It’s your fault!” Ehren grits out. “You and her both are sick!”

“Yeah, well if we’re sick then what does that make you?” Ehren flinches now and it proves to be a fatal mistake.

Peyton sends the dhampir air-borne and within a fraction of a second, he’s zipping forward to slam him on the ground with a flat palm on the chest. The entire room shakes and rumbles at the impact. Floorboards begin creaking and groaning in protest at the sudden movement.

“You have no room to judge us for our mistakes.” Peyton lifts Ehren’s now dangling form, letting his legs slightly swing as he’s lifted from the floor by his shirt. “You murdered someone, Knox. You literally took someone else’s life and yet, here you are, all high and mighty! You act as though everyone around you should give you all the respect you deserve, but the truth is, you’re a monster just like the rest of us. What makes you so special to the queen, huh? Does she have you on a tighter leash because of your gift or is it because even she knows how messed up you are in the head. I mean, you are a Bromley after all.”

Ehren’s eyes tighten before he headbutt’s Peyton, earning him a drop to the floor. The dhampir now makes it onto his knees, spitting some blood to the left of him before wiping his bleeding lips. Peyton looks as though he’s only just realized what’s happened between them, guilt eating at his blue eyes, chasing away any remaining bits of anger that were leftover.

“Ehren- I-”

“I don’t care about anything you said. I started it. I stopped it. Problem solved. Just move on.”

“You’re not a murderer,” Peyton breathes out. He leans back on the hardwood flooring, attempting to catch his breath. “I don’t know where that came from. I think I’m still a tad bit hungry and it’s made me agitated. Not to mention Izzy’s heart is beating a million miles per minute.”

Finally, Ehren’s eyes meet mine and it feels as though we’ve not seen one another in days. Those blue eyes with moss green reflecting off them, devour me entirely. Flames lick against my lower stomach as whatever this new feeling is he’s awakened in me takes hold. Suddenly, I’m all too aware of how focused I am on his face. His lips are wet now as his tongue slowly licks at them for a second, pure habit I’m noticing.

“-okay?”

My attention finally reverts to the blue eyes with a hint of green in them. They seem to be shining with concern now. Those wet lips are moving, but I can’t be bothered to ask what they’re saying. A repetitive snapping noise rings out in my ears and suddenly the room finally has sound.

Ehren grips my shoulders before shaking gently. “Isabella. Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah.” A glance behind him and I make eye-contact with Peyton. A knowing smirk on his lips. “I’m fine.”

“Alright.” Ehren slowly releases my shoulders. “Just making sure. I was talking to you and then you just checked out.”

“I do that sometimes,” I try assuring him, but he doesn’t seem convinced.

“Well-” Peyton rises from the floor now before approaching us. “As much as I would love to keep beating each other, Knox, we should get back to looking for Kieran and Vera.”

Ehren nods before walking away from us, but I throw my arms up in building frustration. “Wait, wait. Hold on for a second.” Both boys look at me now. “You two were literally just beating each other up not even one minute ago but now you’re acting as though nothing happened?”

Peyton looks at Ehren and they stare for a second before Peyton shrugs. “Yeah?”

I don’t think I’ll ever understand the male brain, ever. I guess things are easier if they aren’t tearing one another apart and working together. It does make me wonder though just how often these two, or any of them, fight against one another like that. It seems as though the vampires are all driven by nothing but pure instinct and emotion. None of them act as though they understand that actions really do have consequences. The blame really should fall on their society. They’ve been taught that slaps on the wrists are all they’ll ever receive, that their actions have little-to-no repercussions. The thought alone is quite terrifying, especially when thinking of just how much more they get away with when they have unique abilities like the small group does.

Without looking up, I make my way towards the hole in the wall, but smack right into Ehren’s backside. He and Peyton both seem to be staring at the wall with perplexed expressions. The wall- There’s no hole in it anymore. Smooth and deep purple wallpaper lines the wall with dark brown bordering just like all the other empty rooms. But this one- This one isn’t empty at all. Random pieces of furniture are covered up by dusty scraps of white cloth. A fireplace on the right-hand side seems to be filled with cobwebs and the stoker holder is broken, shattered in pieces, at the stone base. The only piece of furniture not covered is the queen canopy bed with white mesh curtains hanging from it. A purple duvet and white pillows decorate the bed, not a wrinkle in sight. The room looks pristine, as though it hasn’t been touched in years.

“What is this place?” I ask as I step farther into the room. “It looks so old.”

“Yeah, like it’s straight out of an early 1900’s film,” Peyton quirks.

“It’s a bedroom,” Ehren deadpans. “Nothing more, nothing less. It’s just an old room.”

Peyton and I share a quick look. There was something behind Ehren’s words, a bite that indicates even he doesn’t believe what he’s saying. Whatever his issue is now, I won’t comment on it, just yet. Circling around myself, I take in the cobwebs in each nook and cranny, the thick collection of dust layering on everything in sight. It’s basically abandoned.

“Whose bedroom do you think it is?” Peyton asks while swiping a finger across an end-table.

“I don’t know,” Ehren mumbles.

I look between them both before motioning towards the untouched wall that just had a hole in it not ten minutes ago. “Forget who lives in the dusty old room! What about the magically fixed wall?”

They both stare at me now before looking at one another. Ehren then turns to face me while simply stating, “It must be charmed.”

Oh, yeah that makes perfect sense. Rolling my eyes, I make my way towards the door to the room. Grabbing the handle, I wiggle it but there’s no clicking noises at all. It’s as if the handle is just for show, no actual purpose. Putting my shoulder into the door, it doesn’t even groan in protest. Now I know I’m not that weak.

“The door’s stuck.”

Shuffling sounds behind me before two arms are encasing me, trapping me between the warm chest and the solid door. I don’t know which is hotter, the sudden temperature of the room or the inappropriate thoughts that immediately filled my mind.

“It seems to be charmed as well,” Ehren mumbles. “Probably to keep people out.”

“Or to keep someone in,” Peyton says from somewhere behind us. “This entire room screams hostage. It’s as if someone had spent at least a year in here with no contact involving the outside world. The windows are blacked out, the nightstands have reading material in them, and the fireplace has wood stacked up beside it. Someone spent a lot of time in here.”

Ehren’s chest presses right up against my backside and the feeling alone has my legs shaking. He’s so close that his hot breath is hitting the base of my neck and it’s coming out in short pants. Is he feeling the heated strain just as much as I am? The thought of Ehren feeling hot and bothered by my proximity has my knees finally giving. Two hands find my hips, giving them experimental squeezes. My feet find the ground once more and my legs straighten. He shouldn’t get to me like this. We barely know each other, strangers at best. Sure, we’re friends, but we still don’t truly know one another like people should before these feeling surface.

“You checked out again.” Ehren’s voice causes my eyes to lock onto his lips. Wet lips. “Are you back now?”

“Y-Yeah.” I slowly moved back until he fully released me. “Thanks for- Well, for catching me, I guess.”

“Yeah, you’re welcome.” Ehren then turns to face Peyton. “We might be stuck in here until someone realizes that we’re not meeting back up with them in the entrance.”

“Great.” Peyton plops himself down into one of the armchairs- cover still on it. “That’s another thirty minutes.”

Ehren moves towards the danag and crouches down so that he’s eye level with him. “Are you alright on blood?”

“Should be,” Peyton barely mutters.

“No.” Ehren stands and forces Peyton to stand with him. “I need to know now whether or not you can control yourself in this sealed room with her. The truth, Whitmore.”

Peyton’s eyes meet mine and they seem apologetic now. “I- Not really. I don’t think I can last thirty minutes. Her heart beating like that and-” Black and blue veins begin spreading around his deep blue eyes. “I can already feel it.”

Without another second to pass, I watch in absolute horror as Ehren grips Peyton’s head on both sides, snapping his neck. There was no hesitation, no mercy in the action. Peyton’s neck had snapped so hard that I could not only hear it, but also watch the bone attempt to protrude from the skin. Heat fills my insides as bile threatens to spill from my lips. I’ve never actually seen someone... I guess, technically, Peyton isn’t dead per say. He’s just unconscious for a while.

“Are you okay?” Ehren stands in front of me now, blocking my view of Peyton sleeping on the bed. “I guess I should’ve given you some sort of warning beforehand, but I didn’t want to risk him-”

“Ehren. I- I get it.” He walks with me as I sit in one of the armchairs. “I’ve just never seen someone get their- their neck snapped before. It was a bit...”

“Disorienting?” I nod. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. Sometimes, I forget that us vampires are numb to things like that.” His eyes scan over my body once before sighing and slumping into this seat more, seemingly relaxing. “I guess we just wait now. Not much we can do, other than hope your annoying cousin realizes that we’re missing. He might be able to spoof in here. Maybe...”

“You and Giles don’t get along, do you?”

Blue eyes meet mine and the green seems to brighten. “We do, but at times we bump heads. It really just depends on what we’re arguing about. He’s not like most royals, any royals actually, other than you.”

“And Natalia,” I correct him.

Ehren’s eyes darken before looking away from me, his jaw ticking like usual. “Natalia is like any other royal; proper and expectant. She expects all of us underlings to do her bidding, to do her dirty work without fuss. And we do, for the most part. Not many of us disobey her, but some can get away with it more than others can.”

“Like you?”

“Like me.”

The room has become quiet now. Tension builds between us and I’m not exactly sure where it came from, at least not until I remember Peyton’s words.

“Ehren, I don’t think- Natalia doesn’t keep you so close because she thinks badly of you being a Bromley.”

“And she’s admitted this to you?”

Even he knows I’m going to say no. “No, but she told me that getting close to you and Kieran would be a good thing. That has to amount to something, right?”

“Of course, it’d be a good thing,” he scoffs. “We’re her most valuable-” My look fixes him quickly. “We’re important to her. She wants all of her ducks in a row. If you were to be close to one of us, or both of us, then you’d be right where she wants you. Besides, it’s all a bit complicated when it comes to you anyway.”

“Why?”

“You really need to ask that?” He seems genuinely amused by my question. “You’re a human princess among vampires- an anomaly. Any time, in our entire history, a human was born into the royal family- well, they didn’t stay around long enough to make it on the Crux scroll.”

“I know that. You already showed me the scrolls, but I still don’t get how that makes me different-”

“It just does, okay.” Ehren seems tense now, like he’s not looking forward to this conversation. “You are...” His eyes lock me in place now as he breathes out, “You’re different, Isabella. Everything involving you is different. I don’t know if Natalia realizes just how different things are with you, but they are.”

Leaving the safety of my chair, I sit on my knees in front of him now. “Explain it to me then, Ehren. I want to know more about my family, where I come from, who I was supposed to be. My dad may have had his reasons for keeping all of this from me, but I need you to understand that despite his wishes, his thoughts, concerns- I am part vampire. There is a dormant part of me that is just like you. I need to know more about my history.”

His eyes soften now as my hand rubs his knee. There’s a look in those eyes, as if he’s slowly dropping his guard, and that’s what I want. I want him to be open with me, to continue trusting me just as he had before I knew about his past with Rhea. Ehren was showing me who he truly was and then things happened that stopped him from opening up, but right here and right now, I need to see him wholly.

“I guess I never thought of it that way. That you’re technically a vampire like us. There’s something sad about that- not being able to fully embrace who you are.” Ehren’s hand reaches out, rubbing a thumb over my cheekbone. “You’re just as broken as me, aren’t you?”

“We’re not broken, Ehren. Broken is giving up. You and me- We’re cracked. But the moment we stop trying to fix ourselves, that’s when we’ve become broken.”

Something similar to the sound of sand falling to the ground has us both looking towards the door to the room. Romans stands there, a look of shock on his face with both of his hands out in front of him. The door is no longer there, now a pile of ashes in the floor, handle, hinges, and all.

“Ta-Da!”

“Romans?” I stand on my feet now. “How- What-” The dhampir moves into the room and I hug him tightly. “How did you find us?”

“Your heartbeat,” Romans explains. “And Giles has been freaking out for the last ten minutes. I thought for sure he was going to snap my neck when I told him to calm down.” His eyes drift past me and land on Peyton’s sleeping form. “What the... What happened to Peyton?”

“Ehren snapped his neck,” I explain. “He’s fine, I think.”

“He is.” Ehren moves closer towards us, standing right next to me until our hands are just barely touching. “He’ll wake up soon, but where is Giles?”

“The prince is with Rhea, searching still for you three. We should probably get going.”

Ehren and I quickly agreed with him. Leaving the room finally, Peyton slung over Romans’ shoulders, the hallway is just as it was before we got trapped. Empty. Stepping over the pile of ashes, I start to think about how Romans could do something like this.

“Uh, hey Romans?” He hums before grunting, adjusting Peyton’s weight no doubt. “How exactly did you disintegrate the door?”

“About that- I don’t actually know.” Romans looks at Ehren, almost as if he’s looking for some type of assistance. “I’m not gifted like the others are. I just wanted the door out of the way, and it turned to ash. It was, well, cool.”

“It was impossible.” Ehren stares between Romans and the pile of ashes. “You shouldn’t have been able to do that to the door. You’re not like us. Unless... Unless you developed the ability later than normal. You’ve never been pushed to the point where you’d need to use the gift, I guess.”

“And all of you were?” I ask him, concerned now.

“Well-”

“AAGGHH!” A blood-curling scream echoes through the entire building, causing the estate to suddenly feel more like a haunted mansion than before.

All three of us look at one another before Peyton begins groaning from Romans’ shoulders. “Was that Vera?”