Page 14 of House of Lilith

“So Jhaeros,” I start as I pat him on the back, “now we can have a drink in celebration ofbothyour ancestors.”

For a second, he just looks at me, disgust twisting his features. “Over my dead fucking body,” he snarls, propelling spit at my face.

I ignore the way my pack draw in sharp breaths.

Not letting the little fucker look away, I let the smile slide right off my face. I see the expression in his eyes change. “Then you’ll be grabbing a drink by yourself,mate.” And it’s polite and calm, what I say, but my voice is low and my tone — final. “Far away from us.”

I watch Jhaerous squirm, almost imperceptibly, bitterly swallowing his every urge to fight back.

I feel everyone’s eyes on us as he lets out a scoff, turns on his heel and walks away. Rushes away, to be more exact.

My pack all start laughing and my lips curl into a smile as I watch them pick up where they left off, the care-free little bastards.

“You did it again,” I hear Ricky say, a touch of pride in his voice.

“No, I didn’t,” I spit out as I turn to him. “It got too close to a fight breaking out.”

But I do feel different than before the incident. I’ve been fretting over nothing, thinking about whether I can do all this. I’m strong, I’m the strongest one at our Academy. And not even they know all that I can do.

A smile creeping back on my face, I take a good look around. Everything seems to be going smoothly once again. I pat Ricky on the shoulder and I say, “I think I’ve had enough for today. I’ll see you at the camp, I was told they got everything ready for us.”

He gives me a smile, though he’s obviously disappointed.

And I turn on my heel and I start making my way to the Sobbing Lake, where the said camp is supposed to be located.

The night is balmy and my blood is running hot in my veins, making the stroll more than pleasant. I glance around, admiring the size of the Academy grounds, especially compared to how diminished ours became over the years. And soon, I spot the shimmer coming from the lake and I see the wooden piers behind which our own tents have been erected, strings of soft lights hanging in the air between them.

Maybe, just maybe, this will be much more pleasant than I thought, I think just as I start passing a fragrant orchard.

But almost instantly, my ears prick up and I hear something cut through the air, sharp and metallic. My head snaps to my right and I stop, scanning the moonlit gravel path winding through the trees. There’s someone there, a girl.

Squinting, I watch her make her way down the path, seeming immersed in her own thoughts. But what was that sound?

As soon as I think that, I watch her lift a hand with a knife and propel it into the night air. The knife returns almost instantly, like a boomerang, and she catches it with such skill and grace, I can’t help but want her to do it all over again. And she does, again and again, with such precision and determination that she doesn’t stop her stroll for a second, despite the elaborate dress swaying left right.

Slowly, I realize it’s the Shadowscape girl, the one I saw intentionally lose the game to that pompous vampire prince just before I went to the bathroom. Or at least I think she did it intentionally. Curious, I stroll over to the path she’s walking down.

As soon as I step on it, something nudges me to look down. And like some kind of crumbtrail, I see apple after apple lying on the ground, halves of apples to be more exact. Cut so cleanly in half, it makes my eyebrows shoot up.

I stop and I take another glance at the girl, concern growing inside me once again. They act larger than life, these Grimm Academy students. But it would be a grave mistake to underestimate them.

Chapter 3 - Nyx

Engaged.It’sactuallyhappened.And so much sooner than I thought. Lost in my thoughts, I slowly start walking out of the orchard and back to the party. It came as a pleasant surprise, that no one objected to me taking a walk to process what’s happened. But now it’s time to go back to my fiance.

Still on the path winding through rows of fragrant apple trees, I pause to give a listen in the direction of the courtyard. The party seems to be winding down, low chatter, crickets and night breeze in the leaves the only sounds I can make out. I squint, scanning the rest of the people for Nikolay, Max and Hilde.

Not there. They must be at the after party in the Common Room.

I get out of the orchard and back on the path leading to Lilith Tower. I stop spinning my knife around my fingers to take a look at the ring Max gave me less than an hour ago.

So unreal, I think to myself as I come to a stop below my House’s tower. I crane my neck to look up its dizzying heights. It’s usually a calming sight, its smooth stone surface always glistening under moonlight. But now, all it makes me feel is that same excitement I felt the first night I spent in it. When Max, only having seen me three times before, filled my room with bouquets of my favorites — black roses.

But what really swept me off my feet, I remember as I enter the tower, is the way he stayed up all night with me, making me talk about things I hadn’t talked to anyone before. Making me feel safe, seen, desired. He was nothing like the others, all those men who'd only ever shown interest in me for either my title or my land. It’s the night I fell for him and the night he told me he wanted me to be his.

Engaged, I repeat to myself as I climb the winding staircase up to the Common Room. I’m engaged now. But of course, it won’t all be peaches and cream.

Two images pop into my mind. One is the image of Max and I in our future study, working on some issue of actual importance.

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