Chapter 50

VALERIA.

Days pass after the incident.

The next day, Professor Blossom faces everyone in the Main Hall and announces that the killer was Ylona Briggs all along. He apologizes for his neglect, and for the fact that he didn’t think it could be one of the students. He says that the investigation has been officially closed, and that he will put more effort into protecting everyone.

Not all the students believe him, and neither do their parents. That very same week, a lot of students pull out of the School.

However, despite this, Professor Blossom seems to be doing everything to be true to his word. The School indeed experiences some sort of normalcy. Nothing of note happens for the following weeks. Before we all knew it, a whole month passes and everything seems actually safe.

It's the first time I ever feel at home in the School. The routines are the same and familiar. There is no looming sense of danger.

The only thing off in my life is not talking to Stefano or Celeste.

This happened before already, when I brought up the topic of going back to the tunnels. It hurt before and it hurts now.

Well, it’s not like they didn’t try reaching out to me. During the first week, Celeste incessantly passed notes to me in class, asking me to have a talk with her. Stefano also left notes in my locker. I ignored them all.

What they said about me was not right. I don’t think I can forgive either of them anytime soon.

But at the same time, I can’t also say that I don’t miss them, even though I have Auric by my side.

Now, we’re together in the library, studying for the upcoming history quiz. I can’t focus. All I can think about is the note that Celeste and Stefano both signed, given to me this morning. I still have it folded in my hand.

'Meet us at the west garden. We really need to talk to you.'

Should I go?

“Easy on the paper, you would incinerate that with just a look,” Auric says, staring at me. He doesn’t know about the notes, so I hide it immediately and he doesn’t comment about it. Instead he lowers his voice and says, “You know, I’ve heard a rumor.”

Thank god. A distraction. “What is it?”

“I heard from my coach this morning that the Society Council wants to kick out Professor Blossom after the Ylona Briggs incident.”

My eyes go wide. “What? But he did a good job protecting everyone.”

“Not with three dead people, no.” He shakes his head. “All the teachers are scared, apparently. They don’t want him gone. Did you know that he’s the only thing that those pesky vampires ever feared? Apparently even if he goes out, they won’t touch him.”

I open my mouth to agree with the teachers in his story, but my mouth suddenly goes dry. I remember the vampires when I was about to enter the School. Particularly the one that wouldn’t even attack me even if it had the chance.

And the vampires at the lake who just avoided me….

Were those vampires afraid of me too like they’re afraid of Professor Blossom?

“Valeria? Are you okay?”

Auric’s voice snaps me back to reality. I look at him and force a smile. “I’m okay. I just wondered for a moment. What is Professor Blossom?”

“He’s a Mage,” he says, shrugging it off like it’s no big deal. “One of the most powerful ones who ever lived. I think that’s why the vampires are scared of him. They say that he fought and killed a lot of them in his youth.”

“Right,” I say, my heart sinking.

So if the vampires are afraid of Professor Blossom because he’s a powerful Mage who’s also a known killer of their race… then why are they seemingly afraid of me?

* * *

That night, I can’t sleep. The question played over and over in my head. As I lay in bed, alone in the dorm room, I can’t help but turn same thought over and over in my mind.

I go back to those two encounters with the vampires. The first one was odd. The big vampire was just there and it could have killed me since Stefano was preoccupied, but it didn’t. It let me go.

And the vampires at the lake didn’t even attempt to attack me. Like the ones at the School gate, they were fixed on Stefano.

I’m half-werewolf. Shouldn’t they see me as a threat?

I sigh. That could also be a reason why they’re avoiding me. Maybe they think I’m too strong for them just because of what I am.

Either way, I don’t think it’s for a bad reason. Everything is good now. There are no more threats.

Trying to get myself to relax, I take another deep breath and close my eyes. I expect myself to sink gradually into soft sleep, but it’s just not happening. Still, I concentrate on it, willing it to happen….

Then the door opens.

I jolt upright, clutching my chest and feeling my heart pounding there erratically. My palm immediately slaps the switch of the lamp and I see Eden coming into the room, wearing a coat that’scovered in snow.

She jumps back as though she’s surprised to see me there. “Valeria? You’re still awake?”

“Well yeah,” I say, rubbing my eyes. “Where have you been?”

Eden doesn’t answer. She just sits on her bed and starts to take off her coat, shaking it off and letting the snow melt on the carpet. When she notices me watching her, her face starts to contort with worry and guilt.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I know I’m not supposed to sneak out. I just… I feel very trapped here in this school.”

“I get that,” I say even though I don’t really get it. “Where did you go?”

“Just out in the gardens,” she says. When I stare at her to see if she’s lying, she sighs and finally admits, “I went to some shops in the Society. I got some drinks I’m not supposed to purchase.”

I immediately get what she meant and my heart swells with sympathy. I have been so preoccupied with my personal problems that I have neglected checking in on her. It really seems that she’s been spiraling down since the incident with Jake. She hasn’t mentioned him since then, and it seems that his condition is getting worse if she’s dealing with it like this.

I get up from bed and approach her, my chest constricting as she buries her face in her hands and starts to sob. I sit next to her on her bed and put my arm around her. “Eden, I’m here. You can tell me what’s going on.”

Eden shakes her head. “I can’t. I know how it sounds. I know that it’s insane. But I just… I wish it was me who got attacked by the vampires and not Jake. I wish it was me. He’s suffering so badly now and I just can’t forgive myself.”

“Oh, Eden,” I whisper, tightening my arm around her and pulling her into a hug.

But as I do so, I feel something wet, warm, and sticky on her back. It smears all over my fingers with a squelch that instantly makes me recoil. I pull back from the hug, looking at my hand and seeing the very distinct stain of bright red blood on my hand.

Suddenly my vision tunnels.

“Eden,” I say, but my voice sounds distant now.

“I’m sorry,” she says frantically. “I got cut. I didn’t tell you. I was going through the wired fences and my back got snagged in the barbs. I’m going to clean it off…”

She’s saying more things, but I can’t hear her anymore. I don’t even notice her going to the bathroom to fetch things until the silence hits.

All I can focus on is the blood on my hand.

How shiny it looks. How warm and fresh it is.

How good it smells and how much I want to taste it.