Page 15

The girl smiled brightly at her.

No fangs. Had it been a dream?

“So, it’s true, right? You’re like, totally a human? Or no, wait… are you half-Vasirian or something? Not that I know if that’s a thing or not, but yeah, are you, like, a half?”

Not a dream then.

Blaire’s mouth opened in frozen shock at how casual this girl… no, this vampire… or whatever she called herself, was being.

Unable to stop her shaking hands as she gripped her legs tightly, she felt like she was having a mental breakdown. The girl continued rambling, but Blaire zoned out, devolving deeper into a state of panic. Were they going to eat her? Drink her blood? Where was the professor?

“Oh yeah!” the girl said, loud enough to cause Blaire to jump, shaken out of her panicked thoughts. “How old are you? Are you, like, going to be commuting to the high school branch? No… you look older than that. I’m in my first year of university, so that would totally make sense, because you look older than me.”

“Riley! Shut. Up,” the guy with the deep voice said from the other side of the room.

At the foot of the other bed, watching Blaire, sat a guy with inky black hair cut close on the sides and back but long and messy on the top. That just-got-out-of-bed look. His heavy brow narrowed, and he pressed his full lips into a flat line as he studied Blaire with concern in his dark green eyes.

Blaire remembered the two of them from the diner when she spoke to the professor.

“Whaaat? Don’t you want to know about her too?” The girl pouted, looking at him.

“Read the damn room. For fuck’s sake.” The guy speared his fingers through his hair. “It’s obvious she’s afraid, and you need to calm down and let her process what’s happening.”

“Afraid? Of what?” The girl genuinely looked confused.

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “Of us, you idiot!”

The girl stared at him in confusion before turning toward Blaire. “Look, I know Lukas might look scary, but he’s totally harmless.”

The sound of sucking teeth drew Blaire’s attention to the long-haired guy she ran into at the plaza. He was just as gorgeous as she remembered him. Without the leather jacket, the definition of the muscles at his shoulders and arms showed through his black t-shirt. She swallowed hard and her heartbeat quickened.

His brows narrowed as he moved his gaze down, giving Blaire the same full-body appraisal she had given him.

If it were physically possible to feel heat from a look alone, Blaire felt it lick along her skin like white-hot flames when his eyes moved over her. Her breath hitched, and his eyebrows shot up as his eyes met hers. They stared at one another in silence until Blaire forgot about the others in the room.

An exasperated sigh came from the dark-haired guy, drawing Blaire’s attention. “I doubt it’s Lukas she’s afraid of, but more the fact that we’re all Vasirian.”

The girl laughed but jerked her head around to look at Blaire when no one said anything. “Whoa, wait, wait… You’re… serious?”

Blaire pulled her knees tighter to her chest, and the girl’s gaze fell on Blaire’s trembling hands.

The girl threw her hands up animatedly. “Whoa, wait a minute. Like, holy shit. I would never hurt you, or any human, for that matter. I’ve never even killed a spider before. I actually have to get Aiden to do that for me because I’m totally terrified of the creepy crawlies.”

Blaire laughed softly, her body relaxing a fraction, and both guys visibly relaxed in turn.

“I- I’m afraid of spiders t-too…” She wanted to sound brave, but she felt anything but, right now. Too much happened lately, with Caleb, and now this; she wasn’t holding up as well as she hoped.

The long-haired guy frowned and looked uncomfortable at her words.

“That’s better! You’re prettier when you laugh,” the girl said, tucking one of her legs underneath herself as she turned on the bed to face Blaire. “So, anyway… my name is Riley Easton, and over there”—she pointed to the dark-haired guy at the foot of the other bed—“that’s Aiden, my brother. He’s best friends with Lukas.”

“Who’s Lukas?” Blaire frowned. She didn’t remember being introduced to anyone by that name.

The long-haired guy stiffened, his face morphing into shock and disbelief before he glared at the floor, clearly dissatisfied with her question.

Aiden smirked and gave him a pitying glance. Before Blaire could fix her faux-pas, Riley confirmed her suspicion.

“That grumpy-looking guy over there.” She pointed. “That’s Lukas. You at least know he’s your Korrena, right?”