Page 38 of The Cursed Fae

“The Keene boy is fine,” Nana said, as though reading my mind. “His injuries were very minor. Do not blame yourself for what happened at Arcane Cove. Bloodlust drives vampires. So close to Night of Four Moons, the hunger is even harder to control. They came to feast on fae blood.”

My jaw tightened. “So it's a coincidence that the vampire from California—the one who should be a pile of ash—appeared in Arcane Landing?” I was yelling, and I didn't care.

Nana showed almost no visible reaction, but the surrounding energy changed. She no longer projected tranquility. My admission both surprised and unnerved her, which terrified me.

“Are you positive it was the same one?” she asked, her voice betraying none of the turmoil swirling in her eyes.

“I will never forget his face.” An involuntary shudder ran down my spine. “Or his voice.”

Nana narrowed her eyes. “You spoke to him? In California or last night?”

I swallowed, aware I'd said too much. “It was more like he talked at me.”

“Did you hear his voice with your ears?”

I looked down. “Not exactly. Not at first, anyway.”

“He spoke inside your head,” Nana said as if confirming a belief she'd hoped I would contradict.

I didn't bother with a response. She knew the truth.

“Winter, look at me.” Nana's voice was both gentle and commanding.

I met her tired eyes.

“How was Lazlo injured?”

Of all the questions she might have asked, I hadn't anticipated this one. Because surely Nana already knew the answer. The attack had occurred almost twenty-four hours earlier, leaving plenty of time to interview my classmates. Someone else must have seen the vampire shoot blue light from his palm.

“The vampire, the one from California, he threw magical lightning or something. Laz jumped in front of me. It hit him instead. Isn't that what he told you?”

Nana studied me. “Lazlo hit his head pretty hard when he fell. He doesn't remember the exact events. Your classmates have said everything was chaotic. No one knew where the spell that hurt the Keene boy originated.” She sighed. “Though I suspect a few saw what happened and didn't want to say.”

I shook my head. “I don't get it. Why wouldn't they tell the truth?”

“Vampires can't use magic, Winter.” Nana's lips thinned into a straight line. “Not even if they were fae in life, before they were turned.”

“No. You're wrong,” I said, refusing to accept her words as fact. “I know what I saw. I saw him use magic. Last night and back at my house in California.”

“There is no reason to be defensive, dear. I believe you,” Nana said.

My eyes narrowed. “You do? But you just said—wait. Are you saying that monster on the beach, the monster from California, isn't a vampire?”

Nana Essie's jaw tightened.

“If he's not a vampire, what the hell is he?” I demanded, though I really wanted to ask—What am I?

“A problem I should have dealt with a very long time ago.”

Of all the things she'd said, this scared me the most.

Chapter thirteen

Get it in the Gazebo

I never worked up the courage to ask Nana about the conversation I overheard. As badly as I wanted to know what I was, I also sort of didn't want to know. In my brief time at Arcane University, I'd learned that being different wasn't a good look. The fae world and the human world had that in common.

Speaking of the human world... I'd been a terrible friend to my bestie and roommate back in California.

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