Page 7 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Kiss

Judging by the cursed letter, it seemed safe to say that ship had sailed already. “Damn. There goes my plan to rock-up and cut off Adrian’s head.” Cal looked like he wouldn’t put it past me and I snorted. “Fancy doing your thing and dropping me there?”

“Doing my… thing?”

“You know.” I waved my hand vaguely at him. “Your disappearing act.”

He coughed and I suspected it was to hide a laugh. “I can create a portal for you later. Pack and meet me back here.”

“Or you could come to me, seeing as I’ll be bringing Novalie and Emerson with me and driving to you is long as fuck?” Despite myself, excitement thrummed through me at the thought of using a portal to get somewhere, and I pictured it as some kind of glowing orb of blue liquid. “I want to learn how to do that. Portal, I mean.” The request came out before I could swallow the words down. Cal had lied to me about who Hayes really was, yes. But he was too useful to ignore forever. Plus, there was the pesky matter of him being the only semi-decent parent I had left.

Something like hope gleamed in his eyes before I turned away and walked to the door.

“You want to resume training with me, then?”

“Seems only wise,” I said calmly, hand on the door handle. “Seeing as I’m going into the lion’s den imminently,” I said, turning to watch him before I walked away. “Give me a day to talk to Novalie and Emerson?”

The mention of them seemed to please him, approval tipping up one corner of his mouth. “Okay.”

I nodded and before the awkwardness could rise any further, I pulled open the front door and took a step outside.

“He asks about you, you know. I think he’s concerned.”

I stiffened. There was only one he Cal could be talking about. “Tell him he can choke on his concern for all I care.” The bond seemed to heat up under my skin, bubbling angrily like it didn’t appreciate my tone towards the living vampire I was bound to.

“Leonora—”

“And some moral support from you wouldn’t hurt, you know,” I said sharply. “I am your daughter, after all.”

I wasn’t sure how they chose the vampires who ran the schools like Ashvale, but the new head bore very little resemblance to Elowen.

She’d been waiting for me inside the gates when I returned from Cal’s, a pleasant smile on her face, and I wasn’t sure how she’d known when to expect me.

I’d left the car in town and had opted to run the short distance back to Ashvale from there. With my speed, it hadn’t taken too long and I’d been able to enjoy the early evening air. I’d missed Ashvale more than I’d realised. It wasn’t until the familiar scents of the forest had wrapped around me that I’d felt at ease.

Rowan was dead and Elowen was gone, things with Hayes were a mess, but the trees hadn’t changed and for some reason that brought me comfort.

“Leonora,” the undead vampire said, the glint in her eyes speaking to the predator that lurked beneath her polished surface. “I think it’s time we chat.”

I raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue, letting her lead the way to the office that had belonged to my mother before she’d tried to kill me and then fled the castle grounds.

The corridors were busy, mostly with living vampires heading off to classes or to the food hall, and there was no shortage of staring as the lady of Ashvale led me through the halls. If it hadn’t been so annoying, the whispered rumours might have been funny. One student had heard that the last caretaker of Ashvale, Elowen, had been murdered by me and that was why Carina was here instead. I snorted, looking directly at the living vampire as we passed him.

The undead vampire in front of me, Carina apparently, turned to look at me with a small smile curving her lips. “It’s probably one of the tamer theories I’ve heard since joining the sanctuary.”

We kept moving until we reached the office and I followed her inside. The room looked different to the last time that I was here, despite the layout being the same. It was the small touches that added warmth where Elowen had none—like the plush rug beneath the desk that extended out to the chair positioned in front, or the scented candles tucked into the corner of the desk that made the room smell like cinnamon. So far, Carina was unlike any undead vampire I’d met.

“Please, take a seat.” She indicated the padded chair opposite her desk and I obeyed, expecting her to round the desk and sit too. Instead, she perched on the edge of the desk and looked down at me. Her face was pointed, almost elfin, with a sharp little chin and an upturned nose that reminded me of Christmas elves. “I’m Carina, the new caretaker of the sanctuary here at Ashvale.”

“Nice to meet you.” I didn’t want to be impolite, but I also had no idea why she wanted to talk to me—unless it was to get the real story from the horse’s mouth instead of listening to the gossip in the halls.

“I know your history with the previous caretaker was more than a little fraught, but I wanted to assure you of your place here at Ashvale. This is where you belong, Leonora.”

Something about her tone raised the hair on the back of my neck, her brown eyes boring into me like she could convince me with her will alone.

“That’s nice of you to say,” I replied, crossing one leg over another as I leaned back to consider her. “But I’m not so sure.”

She blinked, displeasure tightening her mouth at her failed attempt to use thrall on me, and rounded the desk to sit behind it. “I know you’ve been summoned to court.”

“Word travels fast.” Especially if she was the one who’d cursed the letter. Though, what her motivation would be, I couldn’t begin to guess.

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