Page 34
Blaire stretched, glancing at the windows, watching the storm clouds nervously. The sun was nowhere to be seen, and the entire cafeteria dimmed with softer ambient lighting filling the space. The staff turned the lights down when there wasn’t a meal service in progress, but there was still enough light to read, and with the rain, she found it relaxing and peaceful.
She took a sip from the bottle of peach tea she got from the twenty-four-hour canteen and lifted her book, picking up where she left off. She read in silence, snacking on a package of yogurt raisins for another ten minutes before a pair of legs in black slacks with polished men’s shoes walked into her peripheral vision.
“Is this seat taken?”
Blaire raised her head, tensing when her eyes landed on the student towering over her. He had to be as tall as Kai, if not taller, and much bigger. Not like the wrestler security guard and driver, but definitely built. Despite the aristocratic air in his appearance and aesthetic, his physique awed her.
She was already on edge from what happened yesterday with Aryan and Phillip, so she wasn’t receptive to making a new friend, or small talk with a stranger, at least not a Vasirian. However, she’d been raised with Southern manners; she couldn’t find it in her to be rude to someone she didn’t know, so she shook her head quietly as she returned her attention to her book.
The man took that as an invitation to sit across the table from her. Grateful for the distance, she wasn’t going to complain. She’d had enough of Vasirian getting all in her personal bubble lately.
Blaire tried to get back into her book but kept sneaking glances at the man who sat staring at her with arms folded across his chest. His scrutiny made her uncomfortable.
His facial features appeared refined, from his sharp jawline to his long, narrow nose over full lips. These features softened only slightly when their eyes met, and he smiled.
“What?” Blaire finally snapped in frustration. She’d had enough of being stared at like a prized pig.
A black brow lifted a fraction as his ice-blue eyes, lined with black eyeliner, widened in surprise. “Nothing,” he said with amusement in his tone. “I’m simply admiring our newest addition.”
“Well, please stop.”
“Apologies.” The man raked a hand through long hair the same shade as Kai’s, the soft cafeteria lights bringing out the iridescent shades off the deep black.
As Blaire tried to return to reading, a flash of lightning lit the room, followed by loud thunder echoing through the space. She jumped.
“Afraid?” He tilted his head with a slight grin.
She looked up at him from her book again, drawing her brows together in confusion.
“Are you afraid of the storm?”
Blaire frowned and shook her head.
“I’ve just had a rough few days…” She tried to explain away her reaction, then grew irritated with herself for oversharing. Was a storm closing in? She looked warily at the large windows, wondering how sturdy they were. The forest behind the school looked black and foreboding through the sheets of rain. She hoped it would only rain. Today wasn’t going to give her a break, either.
She set her book down on the table after earmarking the page she stopped on. She hated to do that to her books, but she lost her favorite bookmark, and didn’t have any paper with her to make a temporary substitute.
He motioned to the book. “Might I ask what you’re reading?”
Blaire blushed and shook her head. She wasn’t about to tell a Vasirian she was reading a vampire romance; talk about embarrassing. She should have left the book in her room, but she wanted to finish it soon. “It’s nothing.”
“Mmm… I don’t think so.”
He gave her a charming smile as he reached forward, the tungsten band on his index finger glinting in the ambient light. He tapped a single, manicured black fingernail on the cover of her novel, which depicted a man in black with a woman in his embrace, his face buried in her neck. “This certainly doesn’t look like nothing, my dear.”
“It’s silly.”
“I highly doubt that.”
Blaire’s face warmed from the embarrassment lighting up her face, and she looked down at the book in question as he withdrew his hand, sitting back and folding his arms over his chest.
“It’s a love story. A dark love story, where a human woman is given to a vampire lord as payment for her father’s gambling debts.”
The man waved a lazy hand, motioning for her to continue.
“Um… well, the woman is afraid of the vampire, but from the looks of it—from where I’m at in the story so far—it seems like she’s gradually growing to love him.” Blaire laughed. “Honestly, it sounds more like Stockholm Syndrome than genuine love, but it’s what the author thinks is supposed to be romantic.”
After a beat of silence, the man nodded. “Do you think it’s possible to fall in love in that sort of situation?” He clearly didn’t find it as amusing as Blaire did, as though they were discussing classic literature.
