My body feels heavy. Cold. My breathing is short. I need to focus.
He watches me far too intently, waiting for my reply.Why was he at my prom?
“I do,” I finally say, straining to make my voice sound normal.
The last student exits the class, door slamming, leaving us alone in the dim room.
A dozen possibilities flash through my mind. Ways to make him talk.
Silence lingers between us, every question I have dying in my mouth. Gustavsson looks away from me and shakes his head.
“I wish you wouldn’t look at me like that, Cassie,” he whispers. His voice, deep, velvety, crawls beneath my skin. He steps down from his platform, coming closer. “I’ve tried ignoring those looks from you,” he says in a hushed voice. “But it’s becoming unbearable.”
He’s too close. I step back until I feel a table against my lower back, while he puts one arm at my side, inhaling my scent.
My hand trembles. An old fear freezes me in place and leaves me unable to look away from him.
“You’re going to get me into so much trouble,” he whispers. He looks like he’s going to say more,domore, but suddenly he pulls away, glancing at the back entrance.
“Oh, Miss Astra,” he says. “To what do I owe your visit?”
I’m still frozen, skin crawling, and I don’t realise she’s here until she’s at the front of the class. It’s my first time seeing her in this candlelit hall, her hair gold instead of white. Relief floods through me as soon as I realise I’m no longer alone with him. She’s here.
“Get away from her,” Aliz says. Gustavsson takes another step back, raising both hands. His lips break into a crooked grin, an expression I’ve never seen him wear at the university, but one I saw prom night. “Everlookat her again, and you’ll regret it.”
Her hand takes mine, and my panic, everything that froze me in place, vanishes as she drags me away from him.
“I wasn’t aware the Astras were so friendly with humans.” His voice echoes against the frescoes on the vaulted ceiling, and Aliz’s eyes flash red.
“Don’t talk about my family,” she says.
Gustavsson is clasping his cello case, his smile cool now that it’s directed at Aliz.
“You know, you look nothing like your sister,” he says. Before Aliz can push out another word, he adds, “We are related, did you know that?”
“What?” Aliz asks, her voice still sharp. I breathe out, trying to keep up with the conversation.
“You and I. Almost three hundred years ago, your sister blessed me with eternal life.” He looks down at his hands, turning them as though he’s seeing them for the first time. “She fell madly in love with me, though her love was fickle.”
Aliz looks stunned. I am, too. Her fingers are tight against mine, and I can’t tell if she’s furious or afraid.
I recall the story he told during his first lecture. A mysterious aristocrat heard him play, stalked him for a year, and gifted him with eternal life. The reason why Gustavsson knows what he does aboutThe Book of Blood and Roses,then, is because he once lived with the woman who wroteit.
“We’re notrelated,” she finally says. “My sister sired many vampires.” This time, when she starts walking, Gustavsson doesn’t say anything. Though I can still feel his gaze on the back of my neck as we leave.
She doesn’t let go of my hand as we walk through the tunnel, taking the first turn we find, down into a darkened and quiet stairway. Then she pulls me into her arms.
“What made you come here?” I whisper, feeling safe against her chest.
Aliz hesitates. “It’s strange,” she says, not loosening her grip. “But somehow, I could sense that you were in danger.” Her fingers stop on my neck, resting against the Familiar’s mark. A shiver runs across my skin, welcoming her touch.
I look up, chest warming when her eyes meet mine. Then she’s glancing down at my lips, leaning closer. I clear my throat, and though I don’t want to, I pull back. “We should be careful,” I whisper. “If anyone sees us like this, you could get in trouble.”
“I like trouble,” she says and lifts my hand to kiss my knuckles. She pulls me close, and my racing heart starts to calm as I breathe againsther neck. My eyes sting, but I have to keep my emotions to myself. This isn’t something I can explain to her.
We go back to Tynarrich, walking a few metres apart to avoid anyone noticing our proximity. Knowing she’s near keeps my fear at bay.
But I can’t shake off the sickening dread, crawling deeper in my skin, as Gustavsson’s voice and his crooked smile linger in my mind.
