Crap.
My teeth clicked together, my gaze shooting down to the archway of the living room. Second to Antoine, Marcus was the worst one of my dads to get caught by. Once a knight, with armor and everything, he had this sense of honor that was hard to argue with. You’d think, with being the undead and all, that he’d have loosen up some, but if anything, it had only made him more rigid in his beliefs.
An unmarried daughter running around on her own without a male family member to look after her ground against all of those beliefs. Some might like to say it’s from a misogynistic belief that women are nothing more than property, but I think it came more from the fact that he couldn’t protect his own family when he was alive. So he’s making up for it with me.
Not mom.
God forbid he tried to keep her from doing what she wanted. If I knew anything about my mom and her relationship with my dads, it’s that she could tell them all to fall on a stake, and they’d do it happily with a smile on their faces. Well, not Darren, withhim being human and all, but he’d do pretty much anything for her as well.
So best I avoided Marcus unless I wanted to be stuck explaining where I was going for an hour.
I quickly made my way down the stairs, not stopping to listen for Marcus or any of my other dads as I darted out the front door. A glance back at the house, showed a curtain fluttering in the living room. I ignored it, keeping my attention solely on getting to my bike.
Pulling my helmet on, I threw one leg over the machine. It roared to life as the front door opened. A tall, dark figure stood in the doorway, watching me from the threshold of the house, but not coming after me.
I flipped the visor of my helmet down and hit the gas, pebbles flying behind me as I zipped out of the front gate.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it, knowing it was likely my dad asking where I was going. For all they knew, I had nowhere to be. No Hunter’s Guild to work at. No academy to attend. And since I’d just been picked up and dropped off by Tate, no guy to visit. Not unless Julian had calmed down or Kyren had changed his mind about blaming me for his sire’s actions.
I pulled up to the school just as the sky started to lighten. There were a few students still milling around the courtyard as I parked my bike and stepped onto the sidewalk. I had no idea where to start figuring out who the vampire Kyren killed was, but I wouldn’t find answers sitting at home.
Acting like I belonged there — which wasn’t hard since, up until a few weeks ago, I actually had — I strolled into the quad and then down the hallway. Maybe I should start in the cafeteria. There was bound to be some human servants still lingering there before sun up.
The moment I stepped into the cafeteria, a high-pitched scream pierced my ears and then I was being attacked by a little dark-haired gremlin.
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!” Xinyi screeched, clinging to me with all her might. “You bitch!” She released me long enough to punch me on the arm. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?”
I winced, rubbing the spot. “Sorry, I didn’t know until a few minutes ago. And I’m not back. I’m just…” I glanced around, looking for anyone who might be eavesdropping.
The cafeteria was mostly empty. A few humans nursed their heads, hands around a cup of coffee or laid down on the table. Likely having had far more fun than they were expecting.
Leaning forward, I lowered my voice. “You don’t know any vampires that didn’t come home tonight, do you?”
Xinyi blinked her brown eyes at me, her black hair framing her face, making her look like a little doll, especially in the puffy sleeved pink and white dress she was wearing today. “A missing vampire? Not that I know of.”
“Oh.” I blew out a breath, slightly disappointed. But this wasn’t unexpected. Figured it wouldn’t be that easy.
Xinyi must have seen the disappointment on my face. “But Iris might?”
“Would she still be up?” I inquired, following her out of the cafeteria. Her hand was on mine, dragging me more than leading me.
“Oh, yeah.” She bobbed her head. “Iris can’t sleep unless I’m there.” She giggled, clear adoration on her face. “She’d stay up all day, if that was what it took.”
“That’s sweet,” I murmured, though I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about someone being so obsessed with me that they couldn’t sleep if I wasn’t there.
My mind flashed to a dark-haired vampire who, up until recently, kept my nightmares away.
Maybe I could understand how Iris felt a little bit.
We walked down the mostly empty hallways, getting a few curious looks along the way. Though no one stopped us, I hoped none of them reported that they’d seen me to the headmaster or worse, my dad, Antoine.
“Does it feel weird?”
“What?” I turned my attention back to Xinyi as we walked into the Vampire’s Crypt.
“Being back here.” She gestured around the foyer. “I mean, it’s only been a couple weeks, but I don’t know what I’d do if I’d been kicked out.”
“Woah.” I tugged her hand, making her stop. “I wasnotkicked out. I’m taking a mental health break.”
