Night Class

August 14th, 2019

Wednesday 7:15pm

Soft humming can be heard throughout the darkened room. The melody isn’t one I’m familiar with, but the act is one that reminds me off the nights when I couldn’t sleep as a child. Mom would lay next to me and run her fingers through my steadily growing brown hair and hum classical music to me. Her voice was so soothing that I would always pass out before she finished the chorus.

I feel the usual pang of hurt in my chest at the small memory and sit straight up. I can feel the pain. I can feel the grief and the guilt and the sickening twist in my chest when I see their faces in my mind now.

The images of fire and Dad shoving me out the front door with promises of returning. Screaming for me to get to safety so he can go get Melanie from her room. I can hear her screaming for Dad from somewhere in the burning house. Then it’s quiet. Nothing but the sound of crackling wood as the flames swallows the entire house. My childhood home, my safe haven. The place where Mom sang me to sleep. The place where I had all of my birthday parties that no one ever showed up to. The backyard filled with her dying rose bushes that Dad attempted to keep alive for her all these years.

My hands grip my ears as the piercing sounds of the ambulance sirens rattle through my brain. I want it to stop. I want it all to stop. I know I had wanted to feel the pain again to feel the guilt and the fear and everything in between, but this is too much. It’s like everything is on times ten speed and I can’t control it. The volumes too loud.

Hands grip mine as they hold on tightly to my head, covering my overly sensitive ears. Then suddenly, the noise stops and all I hear is someone else breathing in front of me. Their breath parts my curtain bangs, hot and heavy as they keep shifting on the bed. I open my eyes to see the watcher I had briefly met two days ago straddling my legs as she keeps her grip on my face.

Her dirty-blonde curls fall gently over her shoulder and she turns my head from side-to-side, as if checking for any injuries. Rhea’s dark blue eyes narrow on me as she finally let’s go and moves off of my bed and sits on the desk chair. She must’ve pulled the chair over closer so she could watch me while I slept.

“Where had you been?” Rhea’s voice is almost overtaken with anger. “I finished my essay and looked in the library, but you weren’t there. Your scent disappeared into the woods near the academy. Explain yourself, Princess.”

Her crossed arms and legs show that she’s not in the mood for games or lies. But do I actually tell her the truth? I did promise to keep the treehouse a secret.

“I- I came back to my room to sleep.” It’s not exactly a lie and I can tell she accepts it by the way she finally uncrosses her arms.

“Obviously you came here to sleep. I came here to check on you four hours ago, but you were completely out of it.” Rhea’s eyes soften as she looks at my face. “Dinner is in an hour. You should at least take a shower and get ready. I’ll be waiting in the dining hall for you.”

I nod in agreement, promising to meet her there as soon as I’m ready. I watch as her tall and slim frame leaves the room. She still had her uniform on, meaning she hadn’t left my side the entire four hours she was here. Guilt eats at my heart knowing that she must’ve been worried the whole time I was in the treehouse. I’ll have to bring that up to Ehren and Kieran, let them know that Rhea should at least know about it if I’m going back at some point.

The blood from earlier. The blood I had drank. It had vampire blood in it the whole time, mixed with human blood. Not only had it lowered my inhibitions, but it also erased my emotions, granted temporarily, but still. Some people would see that as a blessing, but the guilt and the pain are what remind me of the family I had lost. In no way do I ever want to let them go. I’ll carry this pain, this constant ache in my chest until the day I join them.

After showering and brushing out the endless number of tangles from my hair, I finally made my way to the dining hall. Rhea stands near the entrance, her black heels contrasting nicely with her tan skin and black skirt. The leopard print top gives her more of a businesswoman appearance and the clipped-up curls do nothing but further the image in my mind. Her with a briefcase and a folder in one hand with a to-go expresso in the other.

I shake the image from my mind and move closer to her. She glances me up and down and gives me a disapproving look. I take in my own outfit choice and immediately feel shamed while standing in her presence. Dark skinny jeans, a brown polo, and my trusty beat-up Doc’s. Not to mention the wet hair placed into a messy knot on top of my head. She’s right to judge. I’d judge me too.

“You couldn’t have put on something a tad bit more presentable?”

I give her an uneasy smile. “I don’t like dressing up as much as you do. I prefer jeans and sweaters.”

Rhea lets out a sigh and motions for me to enter before her. “It can’t be help, I guess. You were raised among humans. We shouldn’t expect you to dress as a lady.”

I try not to let her comment bother me too much, knowing she doesn’t mean it in a rude way at all. I’ve learned since I first met Rhea that she has a tendency to just speak whatever is on her mind. I respect that in a person. Besides, she could literally snap my neck if she wanted. Yeah, I think I’ll just let her say whatever it is she wants to say about me.

The entire cafeteria is packed full of students and the tables have been rearranged. They are no longer scatter throughout the room, but placed along aside one another to create four rows of five tables each. I quickly notice that most of the dhampir’s are on one side and the danag’s on another. At one of the righthand tables near the door are my friends. However, Kieran isn’t among them. I glance over towards the tables that hold mostly the danag’s and see him sitting next to a petite blonde with a very flashy blue dress on. Our eyes meet and hers flash with a bright yellow hue to them as she grips Kieran’s arm tighter. The poor guy looks miserable sitting with her though, his eyes trained on his brother across the room.

My nerves start to spike as I notice that everyone in the room is either wearing a tuxedo, dress, or skirt like Rhea is. I glance back down at my outfit and suddenly feel very underdressed, but I’m not about to fix it though.

I move to sit with Ehren, but Rhea’s hand on my elbow stops me. “Where are you going?”

I glance between her and Ehren, who is now staring at me with a look I can’t quite decipher. “I’m going to sit with my friends.”

“But I’m going to sit on this side and I need to watch you,” Rhea says as she gives the dhampir’s a look that I recognize quickly as uncertainty. “You should sit with your own class, Princess.”

I give her my best, ’Are you kidding?’ look and walk away from her, ripping my arm from her grasp. As I make my way towards Ehren, Vera, and Romans I can hear her heels clicking closer, not farther away. I look back to see her giving me a glare already and I can’t help but smile. She does have a heart somewhere deep down under that cold exterior. Other than Kieran, she’s the first danag I’ve met that has made the choice to associate with the dhampir’s. I’m sure it’s only because she feels obligated to follow me since she’s my watcher, but it’s still some progress in my opinion.

“Hey guys!” I exclaim as I take a seat in between Ehren and Romans.

Vera is seated across from me directly and stares at Rhea in shock as the sour-faced blonde sits next to her. You can tell just by glancing between the two girls that they are uncomfortable being so close to one another. Neither says a word about it though and I’m thankful for it.

“Someone did not get the memo on this being a formal event,” Romans mutters under his breath.

I glance down at my outfit once more and pout. “I don’t like formal.”

Ehren sighs next to me before standing to his feet and offering me his arm. “You may not like it, but it’s required for certain events. Like the one happening in twenty minutes.”

I stare at his extended hand in confusion and he gives me a stern look, one that says, ‘Don’t make me drag you.’ I grab his arm and let him pull me to my feet. Rhea stands quickly after us, but Ehren places a hand out in front of her.

“I’ll escort her to her room and back before the dinner starts. You’re dismissed for now, Rhea.”

Rhea looks angry that she’s been spoken to like that, but sits back down anyways. Romans chuckles while saying something under his breath in Spanish and Vera covers her mouth with her hands to hide the smile I know is there. Whatever beef is brewing between Rhea and Ehren, I want nothing to do with it, but the defeated look on my watcher’s face has my hands clenching into fists. I stop Ehren from walking and turn to face him completely.

“It’s fine.” I glance back at Rhea and Vera and ask them, “Would you two girls mind escorting me to my room and helping me get dressed?”

Rhea’s eyes flash a bright blue and Vera gives me a look of surprise. Both girls jump up from their seats and grab onto one arm each while Ehren backs up away from us. If looks could kill then I could say with all honesty that us girls would be dead in a flash. His blue eyes are for once, glowing and they don’t seem to be going back to normal anytime soon.

Now, back in my room, Vera is going through my closet like it’s her own. She keeps throwing my clothes on the carpet while saying, ‘Won’t do.’ Rhea hasn’t moved from her spot on my desk chair since we got here five minutes ago. She looks so out of place there, but content with it in some way. I can’t help but walk over to her and sit on my knees in front of her.

“Are you still upset at Ehren for dismissing you?”

Rhea’s eyes flash once, letting me know she definitely is, but then they go back to normal as she says, “A bit, but you surprised me back there, choosing us over him. Not many of us vampires cope well with letting others take what’s our-”

“Found one!” Vera yells out. “Woo, that took a while.” She waltzes over towards us while giving Rhea a stern look before smiling down at me and saying, “This one would look perfect on you for tonight.”

“Oh.”

I stand and grasp my old homecoming dress for school last year. The dress comes to my ankles and has a sheer fabric over deep burgundy red silk. Small diamonds, fake of course, line the sweetheart neckline that dips just between where my breasts would be. I remember picking this out with Jackie.

Her exact words were, “You look like a princess Iz, or at least close enough.”

I smile at the dress now as the silk material falls between my fingertips. She would be one of those girls that would’ve thrown themselves at the opportunity to attend this academy so wearing it in her honor only seems fitting. With a little help from both Rhea and Vera, I finally get the dress on and they tighten up the corset back. Rhea insisted on the constricting outfit being tighter, making what little boobs I have nearly jump out of the dress in protest. Within seconds I can feel Vera taking my hair down and brushing it out. The dhampir curls sections with her fingers and soon, my shoulders are nearly covered by brown ringlets.

I feel my hair and notice that some of them are warm, as if they are cooling off. I look to Vera now with questioning eyes. “Did you use a curling iron that I didn’t see or something?”

“Or something,” she says with a smile. “I’ll explain later on.”

“You look absolutely beautiful, Princess.”

I glance up into Rhea’s eyes and once again find myself begging her, “Please just call me Izzy.” She starts to protest but I put my hand up. “Don’t make me order you to, please. I want us to be friends, not just watcher and... Watchee?”

Vera laughs from behind me and says, “It’s okay Rhea. None of us have had anything said to us about calling her by anything other than her title, so you should be fine.”

Rhea looks between us a couple times before sighing, finally giving in. “Alright then, Izzy.”

I give her a little squeal as I hug her around the waist. The danag looks very uncomfortable, but squeezes back, nonetheless. I can feel Vera grip me from behind and we stand there for a moment, just hugging and enjoying each other’s company. It’s not until I feel another pair of arms wrap around us that I peek up to see Romans holding all three of us as best as he can.

“I just love when we have girl time, don’t you, senoritas?”

Vera wastes no time in smacking the poor vampire on the back of the head while cursing him for not knocking. Romans holds his hands up in defense, but it’s no use as the angry woman continues her assault.

“Oye chica loca! I was only doing as I was told!” Romans exclaims.

I back Vera up to give him a break and ask him, “Who told you to come up here?”

Romans looks unsure now as he places his hands in the pockets of his slacks. I can tell he doesn’t want to say anything and pushing him will only makes things harder on him, so I let it go, for now. I motion for them to follow me and we make our way back to the dining hall. The black heels on my feet may be short, but they’re still killing me. We make it to the dining room with three minutes to spare.

As we enter the room, my eyes immediately find Kieran’s and I notice them flash that bright blue. The girl clinging to his arm has her fangs protruding just a bit from her top lip. I can’t help but smirk a little at her out of sheer immaturity. Sure, she may be his girlfriend or even just some fling that he has, but he obviously likes what he sees judging by the look in his still-glowing eyes.

Romans gathers my arm into his and escorts me like a gentleman to the table we were previously at. I smile as I notice him lending Vera his other arm as she giggles at him attempting to skip us to our destination. The closer we get the more I notice that Ehren is nowhere to be seen. I could’ve sworn I seen a glimpse of him the moment we entered, but it must’ve been my imagination. I sit back in my seat from before and so do the others. I can’t help the nagging voice in the back of my head that’s worrying over Ehren for some reason. I keep glancing between the door and his chair. Whatever came up, I’m sure he’ll be okay. It’s Ehren Knox. He’s the most put-together vampire in this entire academy so far.

All around us teens are chattering on about different things. There are a few dhampir’s sitting near us that are casually introducing themselves to me. I gladly let them know they can just drop the title and they seem unsure at first, but then start referring to me as Izzy. The ones I’ve met have been super nice so far, a lot nicer than the danag’s in my classes. All of them have been treating me coldly and eyeing me like I’m a meal they can’t wait to get even the smallest taste of.

I lean over towards Romans more and whisper, “Why is every so fancy tonight anyways? Was something announced before I arrived here?”

He chuckles out, “Sí. The Queen has a special announcement tonight, but I believe it is something we’ve all suspected already.”

“Nicolas...” Vera’s voice comes out in a warning tone.

Rhea looks just as upset about his words, but Romans doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by her expression or Vera’s warning tone. “The Queen has been sick for some time now, but is more than likely just announcing it tonight. We’ve all noticed the doctors coming and going more regularly now and of course, Giles has been on edge since a few months ago.”

“What kind of sickness is it?” I ask him.

He looks at Vera and the girl sighs while adjusting the straps of her thin purple gown. “It’s a blood disease. Spherocytic Hemolytic Anemia. It’s known as a hereditary thing, but so far, she has been the only one reported to have had it in the Crux bloodline.”

Rhea finally looks our direction and says, “It’s most likely that none of the others have spoken about it for fear of uprisings.”

“Uprisings?”

Rhea nods quickly before motioning her head in the direction of a stage towards the front of the room. “The Queen comes from a very noble family, your family. The Crux’s have been ruling over our kind for more than a thousand years. There are some however, who would love to see another family take over, or even possibly be married into the throne room.”

“I’m sorry?” My voice comes out as more of a squeak than anything.

Vera grimaces slightly before finishing for Rhea. “It’s not uncommon for us vampires to be betrothed to relatives in order to keep bloodlines strong. Giles is the first of many generations to have parents on the throne that are not related in some way. His father passed away ten years ago at the hands of the Sealgair.”

“Okay, now I’m really lost.”

Romans laughs at my confusion and pats my back while saying, “Sealgair’s are what you would consider vampire hunters in the human sense. They are trained assassins in our world, some human and some vampiros as well.”

Rhea then says, “The Sealgair were originally formed by a small group of Irish men who discovered our true nature back in the early 1500’s when our ancestors settled in Ireland before relocating in England. We’ve been avoiding them ever since, but sometimes a few do manage to find their way into the school or even into our bloodlines. It’s become more of a problem as of late thanks to rumors spreading of Queen Natalia’s illness.”

“But my aunt’s not that sick, right?” Even I can hear the tremble in my voice.

I’ve already lost my parents and my little sister. I don’t want to lose Natalia or Giles. My list of family members has grown too short in the last few years and I’m hoping it stops thinning out soon.

Two giant doors from behind the stage open up and the entire room falls silent. My aunt and Giles walk up onto the stage followed by a small group of others. Each one dressed just as formal and extravagant as the rest of us. I notice now that my aunt is sporting a pretty fancy crown on top of her head, signifying her as the Queen. She looks like one of those beautiful women in the paintings from our history books, young and elegant. Giles, wearing his black tuxedo and white gloves, looks as though he’s bored out of his mind. He’s sitting between two rough-looking men that seem a little too serious.

Aunt Natalia’s voice comes ringing throughout the room through a small microphone on the podium in front of her. “Good evening my lovely students. I am pleased that all of you could make it to tonight’s feast, for I have a special announcement along with some wonderful news.”

The sound of shuffling has me looking over at Ehren’s empty chair, only it’s not empty anymore. Ehren’s sitting in his previous spot right next to me, tux and slicked back hair just the same as it was before he disappeared. Those always dull blue eyes pierce into mine and I can feel a small shiver run down the extent of my spine.

“Where were you?” I whisper out to him.

The vampire looks frustrated as he whispers back, “Personal business.”

It takes a lot to not glare at him for being so short with me, but what did I really expect from Ehren of all people. He’s basically a walking stone, no emotions or facial expressions other than grumpy and serious.

“To get the first unpleasant business out of the way and to clear up the rumors spreading within our community,” Aunt Natalia says. “I have fallen ill to a blood disease, but we are actively working on a cure as of now. I shall soon make a full recovery. Now, for the wonderful news at hand. It gives me great pleasure to formally introduce my very own niece, Isabella Crux.”

Glowing eyes, nearly a hundred of them are all fixated on me. What’s worse? My heart decides to take this moment to spike out of fear. Nearly all of the danag’s look strained as their eyes almost glow brighter. A hand touches my own from under the table and I glance over at Ehren. He’s staring straight ahead at Natalia, not at me. None of my friends are looking at me actually. My heart slows and I give the dhampir a grateful squeeze for his unexpected kindness.

Natalia gives me a warming smile before clapping her hands together once. “Isabella is new to vampires and our culture, so she would therefore wish to be addressed as Izzy by her peers. I expect each and every one of you to respect her wishes. She is in fact human, but remember this, that in no way deems her as less. Now that introductions are out of the way, let the festivities begin! Royals will take their respective partners and lead as per usual tradition, however, this year our Royals will select their own partner rather than be paired.”

I give Vera a look of confusion but the dhampir only smiles at me brightly, clearly unaware that I have no idea what’s going on right now. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Ehren staring at me so I turn to face him.

“What?” I ask him.

He looks confused now and motions towards the open dance area near the podium where Giles, Natalia, and a few others are dancing to ballroom music. I look back at him now, still not understanding what the deal is, but Romans decides to just throw me a bone for once.

“You are a royal, chica. You have to pick a lucky vampiro to dance with.”

I feel my heart start to race once more, but quickly get it under control. “I’ve never danced before, not ballroom anyways.”

“Well learn,” Rhea hisses. “Everyone is looking over here because they notice a royal is missing from the floor.”

I look around and sure enough everyone is starting to throw glances my way. I look back to Vera. “Okay, who here can dance ballroom and lead me?”

None of them move, but Ehren says, “I can.”

I don’t miss the sudden hesitation from Rhea as Ehren says this. I’m still not sure what’s going on between them, but that’s something for another time. I already know I’ll have to be the one to ask Ehren to dance from what Natalia had said, but for some reason, the thought of being pressed up against him makes me nervous. I hadn’t been worried about things like that before and he’s a dhampir so there’s no risk of him going crazy and killing me during it, but still. There’s just something about the way he’s been looking at me and the way everyone has been acting about me and him. It doesn’t seem like dancing with him right now would be a smart move.

I turn to glance at Romans, but a voice drifts from right next to me, hot breath fanning over my sensitive ear. “Don’t even think about it, Isabella.”

I try not to visibly shiver as I turn back to face Ehren now. I try to keep my voice even as I ask him, “Would you like to dance with me, Ehren?”

The vampire gives a small nod while standing to his feet. I accept his outstretched hand and let him lead me to the dancefloor. My aunt and cousin smile big as they see me walking towards them. At the last second, I’m spun to face the vampire gripping my hand in his own. He guides my free hand to his shoulder while placing his own on my hip securely. My heart begins pumping faster at how warm his hand feels there, squeezing just barely as we begin to move to the live music playing.

Ehren now stares into my eyes as we start moving. I attempt to look down, but the hand on my hip moves to catch my chin. “Look at me, not your feet.”

I nod and he places his hand back on my hip. Slowly, we make our way around the floor, twirling around others in the process. We pass my aunt a few times and I give her a small smile. She looks like she’s having a good time, despite her smile not exactly reaching her lips. Maybe she’s become numb to things like this, considering this kind of thing must happen often for them.

Ehren slowly dips me backwards until I can feel my spine and chest muscles screaming in protest, then proceeds to lift me back up and into a graceful spin. His hands seem to shake almost as he twirls me and pulls me in towards him. I notice the beat drop a bit and everyone switching partners, but Ehren stays mine for some reason.

“Shouldn’t we have changed partners?” I ask him.

His jaw ticks a bit before he looks away from me. “I doubt you want to dance with a complete stranger.”

“Um, Ehren?” He looks at me now and I give him a polite smile. “You’re a complete stranger.”

I could be imagining things, but it was as if Ehren’s entire demeanor changed for a moment. He seemed less sure of himself, less confident in his twirl than he had just moments before.

“Well, then we should fix that,” he finally says. “How are you enjoying the school?”

A small, breathy laugh escapes my lips. “The school? Well, your brother asked me the same thing and I told him that I found it nice despite everything that’s happened.”

“But?”

“But…” I take in a deep breath as he dips me again and pulls me back up to meet his electric blue eyes. “I think this place is scary. I feel like I’m out of my element here and that my aunt was nuts to bring me here, whether I knew the truth about vampires or not. As of right now, a human shouldn’t be around a bunch of temperamental vampires who have control issues.”

His grip tightens on my hip and I stare into his eyes now. It’s as if he wants to protest, but he keeps his mouth shut into a thin line. Whether or not it’s because of my royalty status I don’t know, but I want him to be able to speak freely with me. I refuse to give in to these stupid titles and the pointless weight they hold.

“Do you not agree?”

“Oh, I agree completely, but-“ He looks conflicted now as he breathes out, “But I think that you being here will do more help than harm. If the school wants to grow in the future, if us vampires can get along with you while under this roof, then we have a better chance at it in the real world.”

He’s right. I guess I never thought of it like that. The more practice that they can get here the better their chances when they graduate at having a nice and normal life among humans.

“What’s your full name?” I ask him out of left field.

His eyes snap to mine and his face holds confusion. “Why?”

“Because I should know who exactly has their body smooshed up against mine.”

That seems to work. His eyes blaze and his jaw twitches. “Booker Ehren Knox.”

Booker. Booker. “Booker,” I whisper out, testing the name on my tongue. “I like that name. It’s unique and seems like it suits you.”

That one earns me an eye roll before the beat dips and his hands on me tighten once more, signaling that he doesn’t plan on letting me change partners anytime soon.

“What’s your full name?”

A smile reaches my lips now at hearing the actual curiosity in his voice. “Isabella Rose Crux.”

“Rose, huh?” He nods to himself. “It has a nice sound.”

“Well, thank you.” I can’t help but giggle this time as he dips me. “I’ve had it my whole life, seventeen years, and I’m rather fond of it myself.”

I notice now how tight Ehren’s grip has gotten on my hip and look at him. His eyes burn a bright blue and his jaw is set. He’s refusing to meet my eyes though, which is concerning.

“What’s wrong with you?” I squeeze his hand to get his attention.

He looks at me now and grits out, “I forget you can’t hear as well as I can.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess. I am a human, Ehren.” I nearly squeak as he spins me from his body and brings me back. “So, what are you hearing that I’m not?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Tell me, Ehren. Or I’ll just stop dancing and demand they tell me,” I say while nodding my head at the room full of vampires.

The brunette growls in frustration before spinning me again. “Some guys over there are talking about you.”

“Talking about me?” I look back at the seated student body and begin wondering which ones are talking. “Which guys?”

“Why?” Ehren snaps.

My eyes widen at how aggressive he just got with me. Ehren’s been the cool-headed one so far. I shake my head while peeling my eyes from his as they glow.

“I was just wondering, sorry.”

He sighs before saying, “We have to switch off partners this time or Queen Natalia will have a fit. I’m giving you to your cousin.”

With that, he spins me while releasing my body. I try not to flinch as I feel Giles’ cold hand grip my own. He chuckles as he stares down at me. “Someone’s having a good time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I feel my cheeks heat up with embarrassment now.

He laughs quietly while twirling us around the others. “It doesn’t take a vampire to hear your heart beating wildly, dear cousin. Someone in this room makes you quite nervous.”

I glance over at Ehren to see him dancing with a girl about his height with shoulder length chestnut hair and a shimmering yellow gown. His hands are in respectful places and he’s looking at the other dancers as we make our turns. I’m not sure why that makes my heart flutter, but it does.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I breathe out.

Giles smirks before spinning me twice and holding me once more. “You can’t lie to a vampire, Izzy. Is it the Knox boy?”

“Which one?” I mumble out, but of course he’s a vampire and heard it.

His eyes widen in surprise before he says, “My, oh my, cousin. Both Knox brothers? Scandalous indeed.”

I can tell by the smile that he’s joking with me, but it still makes my stomach turn. I don’t like Ehren in that way, do I? I admit that I might have thought something about Kieran at one point, but that’s only because of circumstances. It’s obvious though that he has something like a girlfriend by the way the blonde was clinging to him earlier. I don’t even need to be concerned about stuff like that right now though. I need to focus on surviving this school in general.

“I think you and Ehren would make an oddly cute couple,” Giles jesters.

“That’s not funny, Giles.”

His eyes dance with mischief as he says, “On the contrary, it would seem the entire school is talking of it non-stop right now.”

My heart jumps from my chest as my hands begin to sweat. “W-What?”

“Mmhm.” He spins me before humming out, “It would seem there are some who are very confused as to why Ehren Knox would be dancing at one of these functions, let alone with you, the new human of the academy. Scandalous, juicy gossip, my dear cousin. It’s fang-tastic.”

My insides flip at the mention of Ehren and I being the center of a rumor and then I groan at hearing Giles’ lame joke. “Really? Fang-tastic? You can do better than that.”

“Fang-rific?” He tilts his head, but I shake mine and he sighs out, “I’ll work on it.”

His eyes shine for a moment before zoning in on me, becoming serious. “Be careful with the Knox brothers, Izzy. I won’t go into too much detail, but just know that one of them, if not both, would prove critical to your overall health. And as much as we’ve just met one another-“ His hand squeezes mine and I feel my heartrate increases. “-I’d hate to lose you.”

“I don’t think one of them would kill me, Giles.” Even I don’t believe my own words.

“There’s more than one way to lose someone. Whether that be through death, insanity, or heartbreak.” Giles gently bends me backwards then pulls me closer. “I’m not sure which brother would cause the most damage, but I know at least one of them is capable of destroying a person. I can’t watch you become lost to their charms. So, promise me that you’ll be careful.”

His brown eyes are intense as we stare at one another, gold reflecting in his iris’. “I promise.”

The beat does the little drop when it’s time to switch partners and I’m spun around until I feel someone else holding me. I look up to see a man with dark brown hair and even darker brown eyes. They are almost black as they peer into mine now, hands firmly where they should be, respectfully. He seems to be about my dad’s age, nearing forty.

“How are you, Princess Isabella?” The man asks with an accent thicker than Natalia’s.

“I’m good, thank you.” I give him the smile I reserve for adults. “But you can just call me Izzy, everyone else does.”

“Of course,” the man says with an unamused expression. “It seems you’ve been stirring up quite a bit of trouble since arriving here at the academy, Princess.”

I can’t help but narrow my eyes now at the man. “And you might be?”

He throws a smirk my way before smugly replying, “Aldrich Crux. Prince Aldrich Crux. I do believe in the human society I’m referred to as your uncle, but you can just use the term superior.”

My hand grips his tighter, but he grips back more. It takes everything in me in the way of self-control to not gasp out of pain. My hand will definitely be bruised later from that one. My feet nearly trip as we turn sharply and I don’t miss the brief eye contact with Ehren from across the room. Bright blue eyes with a hint of green blaze in the sea of dancing bodies.

“That would not happen if you were like the rest of our family. A vampire.” He spins me once before tightening his grip again. “Vampires are so much more... Hmm. Capable of handling pain. Humans are such weak creatures, pathetic in that way that makes you just want to end their miserable suffering. No?”

The dance finally comes to an end and Aldrich bows to me slightly and I curtsey to him in return. The man steps closer to me with a smirk playing on his pale lips. “Think over what I’ve said. The world could always use more vampires.”

He walks away from me, leaving me feeling confused and drained of all my energy. I wanted to smack him in the face but also yell at him about how wrong he was. There are some humans out there that I’m sure can be just as strong as vampires, if not stronger. I look up as I rub my sore hand to see Ehren making his way towards me, a look of concern mixed with silent rage on his usually stone face. He finally reaches me and grips my wrist, right above where Aldrich had nearly broken my fingers.

“What happened?” He asks in a rough voice.

The deepness to his voice startles me to the say the least. It’s almost deeper than Kieran’s now.

“Nothing.” I easily lie to him. “Just a little family drama is all.”

Ehren doesn’t seem convinced, but let’s it go nonetheless and I’m thankful for it. He only takes my other hand and escorts me back to my seat with swift haste.