Page 109 of Collared by the Vampire Prince

“Did you expect me to put effort of any kind into schoolwork?” I ask, even though, truthfully, I have been trying quite hard in most subjects. All except Zott’s, where the homework seems to consist largely of horrifying reflective exercises and visualisation tasks whilst lying in bed at night that I have no intention of doing.

Nathaniel straightens. “I expected you to possess some sense of self-preservation.”

“Disappointing, isn’t it?”

“More than you know.”

I open my mouth to retort, but he steps past me towards Professor Parna’s door. “Excuse me. I have business with your professor.”

Not my professor—I’m not allowed to take Potions, you ass.

He walks two steps, then pauses. “Oh, and Kira?”

I glare over my shoulder, stopping in my tracks. “What?”

“Try not to acquire any more detentions. The Academy may be forced to devise a more severe form of punishment if your conduct does not improve.”

I lift my hand and flip him the finger.

His mouth curves, and he opens his mouth to say something, but I don’t stick around to hear it, already striding away.

I am halfway down the stairs to the wolf dormitories when the realisation strikes with such force I stop dead.

The knife.

I had the fucking knife.

That was my chance! A deserted corridor. No students. No Victoria. No Felix. No one but Nathaniel, standing close enough to touch.

And I did nothing.

I press a hand to my forehead, trying to calm my frantic thoughts.

No. It’s alright.

It was too risky with Professor Parna at the end of the hall. I only have one chance to surprise the prince, and I cannot waste it.

I need him alone. Somewhere private. His quarters, ideally—wherever they are.

Later, as I lie in my bed turning the paring knife in my hands, I find I cannot quite forgive myself for hesitating. It’s a three-inch blade, narrow and neat, with a spear point. Small, but far more than I had in the carriage.

If I’d had a knife then, I would have charged Nathaniel without thinking and sunk it into flesh. I’m not sure it would have helped. But I miss that Kira. The one that would have fought tooth and nail to flee her captor.

She wouldn’t have hesitated tonight. Wouldn’t have stood there trading quips with a vampire while her chance slipped away.

Ignoring the uneasy twist in my stomach, I slide the knife beneath my pillow and shut my eyes.

I hope I’m still that person when I finally leave this place.

The weekend is worse than the week.

Most of the vampire students disappear to family homes and estates, leaving the castle unusually quiet. The wolves remain behind, sprawled across the lawns in the afternoon sun.

I join Susie’s pack for a while, but restlessness soon drives me back inside. I spend hours roaming the corridors, discovering locked doors, hidden alcoves behind tapestries, and even one narrow passage concealed behind a carved panel.

Thanks to Susie, I have something other than a uniform to wear: a soft brown skirt, woollen stockings, and a cream knit jumper that hangs a little loose at the wrists. I feel more like myself immediately, though the skirt catches annoyingly around my ankles whenever I take the stairs too quickly.

The cream jumper has a little lace collar that feels far too proper for me. Ana would have liked it. Whenever we were not training or away on a mission, she always made an effort to look presentable, even for dinner at the cottage, with fresh clothes and her long red hair brushed out and falling neatly down her back. Mary adored that about her.