Chapter 74: What Are You?

"Is this the place?" Ava asked as we stopped at the spot where I had seen the dead body last night. We began searching the area carefully.

"I swear I saw the body right here," I said.

"Maybe the killer took it," Ava suggested.

"And my chain?" I looked around, scanning the ground but couldn’t find it. "That was a gift from my brother," I added softly.

Ava scoffed. "You have a brother?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. I nodded, though I didn’t tell her he was a bloodsucker.

"I bet that chain was expensive. Arden loves fancy things," I sighed.

Suddenly, a voice interrupted us. "Hey, what are you doing here?" We turned to see a tall man standing nearby. He looked to be in his thirties, with a strange aura that made me uneasy. "This is private property. Leave now," he commanded.

"We didn’t mean any harm," I said quickly. "We were just looking for something—forget it."

He threw something at me, and I caught it. It was my chain—the same one.

He turned to walk away. I looked at Ava. "I should talk to him," I said, hesitating.

"Hey, you don’t even know him," Ava warned. I watched as he disappeared deeper into the woods. "Come on," she urged, and I followed her. I wasn’t able to speak to Riley, and I was sure I’d hear from Theo soon—or he’d come to my room again uninvited.

Back in my room, I cleaned the blood from the bite with cotton wool. When I removed the bandage, I was surprised to see the wound had already healed. My body usually healed quickly, but this time, it was different—I was feeling better.

I lay on my bed, lost in thought about Daniel. Maybe I should invite him to the party so we could have some fun. He’d probably want to go, especially since he and Ally weren’t talking. It would give me more time with him. I smiled at the idea.

The next morning, I tried calling Riley. I hadn’t fed in a while, and perhaps that was why the bite hadn’t healed completely—maybe because I hadn’t fed in two days. After one ring, she answered as usual. She said she’d come as soon as possible, and I waited.

Moments later, she appeared in my room—no normal human could see her walk in.

She looked around, noting it was her first time in my dorm. "This is beautiful. I love the design," she said, handing me a bag.

"Thanks, as always, Riley. Sorry I bailed last night. I had something to do," I replied, opening the bag.

"I have a question about that. Where have you been, Lilith? What are you up to? You seem suspicious," she said. "You know Theo would be angry if he finds out you’ve been sneaking around."

"I’m not sneaking. I just had an assignment. Hope he hasn’t found out about the council," I said, shaking my head. I took some blood from the bag to drink directly.

"Please, don’t put yourself in danger. I can feel you’re up to something," she warned.

Suddenly, Ava entered without knocking. Her eyes widened in shock. Her mouth dropped open as she looked between Riley and me. "Are you drinking blood? Who is she?" she demanded, pointing at Riley.

"You can see me?" Riley asked, confused.

"Of course, I can see her," Ava replied, eyeing Riley warily. The blood bag I was holding slipped to the floor. I quickly swallowed and said nothing.

"What are you?" Ava asked, trembling.

"This is bad. Very bad," Riley said quietly. I immediately stood, not wanting her to see me like this—at least, not yet. I had intended to tell her, but not like this.

"You're a freak!" Ava shouted as she headed for the door. Riley rushed to block it, struggling to keep it closed.

"Let me out of here, you freaks!" she yelled.

"Calm down, Ava," I pleaded. "Please, don’t freak out."

"Don’t come any closer," she yelled. "No, don’t you dare." Fear was written all over her face—just like Denise when she found out the truth about me. That’s why I had stopped feeding. Once I started, it became impossible to stop. "You’re just like Jody," she spat. "Are you going to eat me too? Just like that half-dead girl? Did you do that to her?" She kept throwing questions at me.

"You’re misunderstanding everything," I said. "I didn’t do that, Ava. Trust me."

"Trust you? Lilith, I trusted you, and now I find out you drink blood and kill people? Am I next?" Her voice trembled.

I didn’t want to compel her. I wanted her to accept me, to see how real everything was.

"I swear, I didn’t do that. I came here for a quiet life—to study. I just wanted to live like a normal human," I said, walking back to my bed. "Until I saw him again—then I got carried away. I wanted him to remember me. You remember I told you about my boyfriend who died? His name was Alaric, but now he’s Daniel. He doesn’t remember me because a witch cast a spell on him when he tried to save me from my father. My father—King Cain—wanted to kill me to extend his own life, using me as a sacrifice. I was chosen, and with that came powers I couldn’t control fully, but I was trying."

I paused, trying to keep my voice steady. "Beauty’s family are sorcerers. I told you that. You saw her doing strange things. She’s against me. I am now the Queen of the Shadow World, since my father is gone. I know this probably confuses you, but I mean no harm. Please don’t run from me. You’ve been my only friend at school when I needed one. Beauty betrayed me." I fought back tears, trying not to cry.

Ava hesitated, then spoke softly. "Then who is she?" she asked, pointing at Riley.

"Her name is Riley. Riley, meet Ava," I said. "She’s a hunter who hunts people like me."

"And she’s your friend? How does that make sense?" Ava asked, confused.

"Well, I came to California seeking peace, but it turned into this. The hunters found out about me the moment I saw one of them—Theo. He sensed I wasn’t ordinary and investigated. He believed my intentions were good and asked for my help fighting demons and bloodsuckers. And I swear, I didn’t kill that girl. I’m trying to find out who did."

Ava hurried to my side and looked over my clothes. "You’re healed," she said, dropping my shirt. She kept some distance. Riley didn’t know everything, but I could tell she was already suspicious. "Don’t look at me like that. After what happened, I read about werewolves and bloodsuckers—they heal fast. Maybe you just didn’t feed."

She was right—I thought the same.

"What is she talking about, Lilith?" Riley asked, approaching me. "What is she saying?"

"Nothing," I said quickly.

"Are you sure?" she pressed.

"Yes, Riley. Nothing at all."

Riley sighed, then placed a dagger on Ava’s neck. "She already knows about you. We can’t let her live."

"What are you doing?" I yelled, panicked.

"Killing her?" Riley asked coldly.

"But why?" I demanded, confused.

"She’s suspicious. She knows about you. We can't risk her telling anyone," Riley said.

"Calm down, Riley. She won’t say anything. I’ll make sure of that."

"How can you be so sure? She looks like someone who’d blab," Riley shot back, eyes narrowing.

The knife still pressed against Ava’s throat. She trembled. "I won’t say a word," she whispered.

"I’ll compel her if she tries," I said. Riley hesitated, then withdrew the dagger.

"You can do that?" Ava asked, wide-eyed. "And what is compelled, exactly?"

I explained, "If you can’t keep a secret, I make you keep it—control your actions. It’s a kind of magic, more like controlling you to do what I want."

Her jaw dropped. "You could do that all along and didn’t tell me? Lilith, you’re incredible," she said, her fear replaced by curiosity. A few moments ago she was terrified of me, and now she was closer. She was strange.

"Yes, I can. But I ask you—please don’t tell Theo. Thank you for the blood," I added softly. Riley sighed again, likely tired of me. If I were her, I’d be tired too. "Thank you," I said once more, and she left.

Turning to Ava, I apologized. "I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I was trying to figure out how, but I was afraid you’d run."

"Let’s go to school. You have a lot to explain," she said with a grin. "Your majesty?" she teased, and we both laughed.

We arrived in class around 9:45, a little late. I saw Jackson sitting in front of Ally. Our eyes met as I walked with Ava to my seat. I sat next to Daniel. Now that Ava knew my secret, I felt relieved. She could help me, watch my back, and I would protect her in return.

I hadn’t heard what she wanted to tell me before she saw me drinking blood. That was an awkward moment. I sighed through the class, my mind on how to save Daniel from Beauty’s spell. He usually asked if I was okay when I sighed, but this time he just looked at the board, not at me.

Something felt off. I couldn’t smell magic around him. Probably, Beauty had cast a spell. I watched her in the distance and decided I’d confront her after class.