Valen
To say I hadn’t been myself for a couple of days was putting it lightly. In all honesty, I’d been a fucking mess. I was barely able to fumble through classes and fencing practice started tomorrow, so I needed to get my shit together. But I just couldn’t stop thinking about Archer and what he could do to me if he decided to tell anyone about our illicit affair.
I’d run through every possible scenario in my head. Archer could report me to the Dean for inappropriate conduct. He could tell his family, who might have connections to the Elder Council. He could spread rumors that would destroy my reputation at the academy. Hell, if his family was as traditional as most old magical bloodlines, they might even try to have me executed on the lie that I’d illegally attempted to turn or feed off of their precious heir. The paranormal world was still deeply prejudiced against vampires.
The worst part was that I couldn’t read him at all. During our brief encounter in the salle, he’d seemed just as shocked as I was, but that didn’t mean anything. He’d had time to think about it now, time to realize what kind of leverage he had over me. Maybe walking away from him in a huff like that hadn’t been thebest course of action. Now I couldn’t go near him again without looking suspicious.
I paced around my cottage like a caged animal, my enhanced hearing picking up every sound from the hallway outside. Every footstep made me tense, wondering if this was the moment campus security would come knocking on my door.
I was so lost in my spiraling thoughts that when someone actually did knock on my door, I nearly jumped out of my skin. My vampire reflexes had me across the room in a split second, pressing my back against the wall beside the door like some kind of paranoid fugitive.
“Valen?” Lila’s voice came through the wood, amused as always. “I can hear your anxiety from out here. Open up.”
I forced myself to take a deep breath and opened the door, trying to look less like I’d been having a mental breakdown for the past forty-eight hours. Judging by Lila’s raised eyebrow, I wasn’t particularly successful.
“You look like hell,” she said, pushing past me into the cottage without invitation. “When’s the last time you showered? Or slept? Or did anything other than pace around this place like a neurotic vampire cliché?”
“I’m fine,” I lied, closing the door and following her into the living room. She’d made herself comfortable on my couch, legs curled under her like she owned the place.
“Right. And I’m the Queen of England.” She studied me with those unsettling purple eyes. “You know, for someone who’s lived for centuries, you’re handling this whole situation with remarkable immaturity.”
“I am not being immature,” I snapped, then immediately proved her point by crossing my arms and glowering at her like a petulant child.
“Oh, you’re not?” Lila’s smile was sharp as a blade. “Then explain to me why you’ve been holed up in here for two daysinstead of handling this like an adult. You even cancelled your class.”
I couldn’t deny that. I had cancelled the class because I was too afraid to step outside. But she didn’t need to know that.
“There’s nothing to handle. I made it clear that nothing happened between us and we’re keeping things professional. End of story.”
“Bullshit.” She leaned forward, her expression growing serious. “You’re terrified, Valen. I can smell it on you. But what exactly are you afraid of?”
I opened my mouth to deny it, then stopped. What was the point? Lila had always been able to see right through me, even when she was newly turned and we barely knew each other. It was one of the more annoying aspects of our friendship.
“I’m afraid he’ll destroy my life,” I admitted quietly, sinking into the chair across from her. “One conversation with the wrong person and everything I’ve built here is gone.”
“And you think hiding from him is going to prevent that?”
“I’m not hiding?—”
“You are absolutely hiding.” She stood up and started pacing, which was ironic since that’s all I’d been doing for days. “You’re so busy catastrophizing that you’re not thinking clearly. Let me ask you something. What did your precious Archer actually do when he realized who you were?”
I frowned, trying to remember past my own panic. “He... he was shocked. Confused.”
“Did he threaten you?”
“No.”
“Did he make any demands?”
“No.”
“Did he seem angry or vindictive?”
“No, but?—”
“Then what makes you think he’s going to run to the Dean?” Lila stopped pacing and fixed me with that penetrating stare. “From what I saw, he looked just as freaked out as you were. Maybe more so.”
I considered this, remembering the way Archer had gone pale when he’d realized who I was. The tremor in his voice when he’d said we needed to talk. He hadn’t seemed calculating or opportunistic. He’d seemed...scared.
