“Nothing like that. He’s been even more withdrawn since the attack. Like he’s embarrassed that he needed saving. I could be wrong, but I’ve met a lot of folks over the last hundred-plus years. You get a sense.”
“That’s fair,” I said. “But maybe he’s not embarrassed. Maybe he’s grateful and doesn’t know how to show it.”
“Could be.” Jared shrugged. “I’ve known plenty of people who hid their better qualities behind bad attitudes. Sometimes it’s the only armor they have.”
I thought about that. Trevor had barely spoken to anyone since arriving, and when he did, it was usually something sharp or dismissive. But Jared was right—when it mattered, he’d moved without thinking. Saved Timmy. Came back to help. That meant something.
“What about Zane?” I asked.
Jared didn’t answer right away. We’d reached the edge of the cemetery now, and he paused, looking out over the rows of weathered headstones.
“He’s good,” Jared finally said. “Really good. Taking down that true-form demon—that’s not easy. Most hunters never even see one.”
“He got hurt doing it.”
“He did. And he didn’t hesitate. The guy’s got guts.” Jared’s brow furrowed slightly. “But...”
“But what?”
He shrugged, a gesture that managed to convey frustration. “I don’t know. Something about him rubs me the wrong way. Can’t put my finger on it.”
I studied his profile. Jared had seen things, survived things, and developed those spooky vampire instincts. If something was pinging his radar about Zane...
Then again, Zane had been nothing but helpful since arriving. Friendly, skilled, good with the other students. He’d literally taken claws across his chest to save my dad.
“He does seem to avoid you,” I said slowly, remembering a couple of times when Jared had sat near Zane in the common area...and Zane had suddenly remembered he needed something from his dorm room. “Have you noticed? Like, he’s fine with everyone else, but whenever you’re around, he finds somewhere else to be.”
“I noticed.”
“Maybe he’s just weirded out. You know—the vampire thing.”
Jared made a noncommittal sound. “Maybe.”
“Give him time. He’s new, he’s adjusting, and you can be a little intimidating.”
He cocked his head. “I’m not intimidating.”
“Oh, please. You’re a hundred and twenty-seven years old and you drink blood. That’s at least a little intimidating.” To befair, Jared didn’t drink human blood—that stuff was like a drug to vamps. He stuck to the animal kind. But since Jared had yet to give theIntro to Vampireslecture yet, the newbies’ only point of reference was pop culture.
“Fair point,” he conceded as we wandered deeper into the cemetery, past the older graves with their crumbling angels and worn inscriptions, toward the newer section where the headstones were simpler but better maintained. I didn’t see Zane anywhere—he’d probably already headed back, and that was just fine with me. I wanted this time with Jared. Just the two of us, away from the chaos of the school.
“Here,” Jared said, stopping near a low stone bench tucked between two ancient oaks. “This is a good spot.”
I sat down, and he settled beside me, close enough that our shoulders touched. Above us, the first stars were beginning to emerge, faint pinpricks against the darkening sky.
“Remember when you first showed me the stars?”
“I remember you couldn’t name a single constellation.”
“I still can’t. That’s what I have you for.”
He pointed upward. “That’s Orion. The three stars in a row are his belt.”
“Okay, I do know that one. But everyone knows that one.”
“Fine. That cluster there—see it? That’s the Pleiades. The Seven Sisters.”
I squinted. “I see like...four stars.”
