Page 7 of Blood & Betrayals

He glances at Alice, but his silver gaze quickly returns to me. He crosses his arms over his chest, and I try not to notice how his dark suit jacket strains a little over his muscles or how broad he is. Instead, I focus on the glint of obsidian rings on his fingers but become distracted by the runes covering his hands.

Okay, maybe I can see what that sorceress was talking about. He is hot and terrifying. The cult following makes sense now. This guy is the headmaster? He seems more like an evil warrior king plucked from the battlefields of old and slipped into a dark suit. The black runes that crawl up the side of his neck toward his jaw only seem out of place in an academic setting.

“I will consider today to be an aberration. Just two curious students who wandered too far from their tour. I will not make such an allowance again.” Without another word, he spins on his heel and walks away. The dismissal is clearly from a male accustomed to wielding power and knowing the weight of his word. Air rushes back into my lungs so violently I nearly choke on it.

Son of Merlin. I don’t know much about Merlin other than he founded the school and the Sorcerer’s Guild. Well, there is also the King Arthur stuff, but I don’t know how much of the Arthurian legends of my past world are accurate. They definitely never mentioned Merlin having a son. Or, if they did, they didn’t mention how terrifying he is.

Alice lets out a breath of relief as we watch him walk away. Students part like the sea before him, and though several try to get his attention with heated looks, he never pauses.

“Fuck, that was close.” Alice wipes imaginary sweat off her forehead, though the gesture is laden with genuine fear.

I smile at her, trying to cover my lingering unease. “Well, now that we’re not being expelled, I should get back to unpack my things.”

“We should stop on the way and get some tequila.” Alice slips her arm through my elbow. I guess we are going together. After that encounter with the headmaster, I am grateful not to be traveling across campus alone.

We stop at the small shop to grab some tequila and limes. At least the university doesn’t pretend we will not drink. Sometimes, it is the only thing that dulls my senses enough to come close to a semblance of normal. From past experiences in my old realm, some alcohol and recreational drugs take the edge off.

“You know, you’re not like I thought fae would be,” Alice says, juggling the limes on the walk home. I carried the bags with the tequila and other snacks she had picked up for me. She hadn’t asked what I liked, just picked them out and paid for them. I don’t know why I find it so endearing, but it is. Especially as a vampire, she has no idea what tastes good.

“Oh?”

Alice nudges my shoulder. “Yeah, but I mean, I don’t know a lot. I wasn’t allowed to leave Draculea until Old Windbag finally died.”

Old Windbag? Wait, does she mean Dracula? The ruler and creator of the vampiric home realm, Vlad Dracula, had just recently died under rather ominous circumstances, with no heir to the throne. Was that why I’d never seen a female vampire before? Were they not allowed to leave the Realm of Blood?

“Oh, right. I heard about that.”

“He was the worst. You know I was betrothed at birth because of that asshole?” Alice shakes her head. “To a guy who is five thousand years old. Powdery motherfucker.”

My lips twitch. “I take it you’re not into age gap?”

Alice gives me a look. “I was a baby! I had squishy fangs!”

I laugh. “I’m messing with you.”

“Well, all I know about fae is that you guys don’t talk to anyone but… well, fae.”

My laughter dies. Yeah, maybe other fae, but not me. I’m a blue-eyed enigma. I glance around, searching for a distraction. “Oh, look, that’s the canteen. We should check it out.”

Alice blinks at the change in subject but follows my gaze. It looks like they’re hosting a student club fair. It seems the quad was only the start of the Hellscape that is group activities. What looks like hundreds of multicolored booths touting the various clubs clutter the enormous room. First-years mill around the tables while the clubs attempt to recruit them into their ranks.

“Hey, sexy, come sign up.” The claws of an incubus’ power rake down my back. It’s a sensual lure, trying to find its way into my mind and manipulate my emotions. I don’t even look in the direction of the beckoning voice. He could just back the fuck off. I’d spent my life ruthlessly aware of and suppressing my own powers. I could immediately sense the presence of someone else’s, and I will never allow them through my shields.

“No,” I state flatly.

“Why not? Scared? Our club is about realm politics.” His voice is laden with suggestion. “At least, on paper.”

I finally lift my gaze to give him the most bored look I can before moving past him with ease. The affronted look on his face as I bat off his magical wiles with the ease of swatting a fly is very satisfying.

Alice flips him off. “That fucker did not actually try to mesmerize us in the middle of the canteen.”

“Really? I didn’t notice,” I add matter-of-factly.

As we move deeper into the room, more people call out to us, trying to get us to sign up to their various clubs. This school has a thing for group activities.

“Maybe you’re immune to the incubus’ lure. It might be because they are related to fae. Though, I guess, very distantly related,” Alice says.

My power crawls along my skin, insidiously seeking a way out. My fight-or-flight instinct digs its claws in, and I don’t have to look to know why.Fae. I’m sure the Fair Folk Club has a booth here. My body starts to hum, my magic about to rip from my skin. I shake my head and grip Alice’s arm in a vise grip before turning around, hoping to get out of the canteen before I can no longer contain my power. I tug her toward the door, but a group of students steps in front of us, blocking our exit.

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