Page 229 of Blood & Betrayals

Connor pulls back, blinking. “So you’re?—”

“I’m in.” I grin, and Connor glows a little brighter, squeezing me tight.

“I’m going to need the biggest room,” Alice says.

“Absolutely not,” I say as Connor lowers me to the ground. “Okay! Presents from me!” I walk to my bag and pull out two presents. I hand one to Alice and one to Connor. In direct contrast to the finesse I demonstrated, Connor tears into his present like a kid. He pulls out a football jersey in the school’s colors, but the name on the back isTuatha De Star.

Connor holds it up with a wide, bright smile. “This is perfect!” He kisses me, and I snuggle against him when I hear Alice tearing into hers. While Connor was like a child, Alice opens her present like a rabid animal.

Inside the box, there is a blood-red dagger. The steel is darker than the handle. Legosi is engraved on the hilt, with tiny rubies set into the letters. “It’s runed to you. If you want it and it’s not near, it’ll appear in your hand. The blade can also heat upand freeze as you will it.” Those runes were challenging to create, but I finally managed to get them right just in time. I’m suddenly tackled out of Connor’s arms. Alice takes me to the ground, her small body landing hard on top of me. “I love it!” she exclaims, nuzzling into me.

“Alice!” I laugh.

“Shh. Endure it. You do this shit to me all the time.”

After a moment, Connor lifts Alice off me and helps me to my feet.

“I also have a present for you, Sum.” She hands me a very small, thin gift almost completely covered in tape to hold the paper together. The wrapping paper is folded in odd ways and it sticks out in random places, but it might be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen because she’s done it herself.

I open it, and inside is a solid gold credit card withHHRH Summer Tuatha De Daananwritten across the front. I gape at the shiny gold.

“I’ve added you as an honorary princess of Drãculea, so you’ll have access to the royal treasury.”

“Alice, I can’t accept this,” I stammer out.

“Yes, you can. I never want you to worry about money.”

“But—”

“But nothing, Summer. It’s yours.”

I smile and pull her into a hug, smothering her in kisses. She allows it for a little longer than usual before pulling back. “All right, no more mushy.”

I move back to Connor and cuddle into him. “Your other gift I’ll need to give you when we’re alone.”

Connor’s eyes darken, and he kisses me.

Alice comes over with glasses of eggnog and hands each of us one. “I don’t know what this is, but I can’t see any other alcohol.”

“It’s traditional!” Connor says, somewhat outraged.

Alice lifts her glass in the air. “To a family of misfits.”

Connor and I lift our glasses, too. “A family of misfits.”

91

Summer

The next week of the break seems to blur past, and I spend most of it trying to come to terms with the trauma I faced before Yule. Every single night, I go back to the forest. I see her sitting against that tree, and she’s in a different state of decay every time. When I’m alone, I can still feel the phantom trickle of her blood as it slides down my legs, and how heavy it made my yoga pants.

Alice has done her best to distract me, but she has her own demons, especially when in Drãculea. There are moments of silence when fear sinks its claws into us. The insular feeling of pain isolates both of us until one of us is able to quell it enough to reach out to the other. I was reluctant to leave Alice to go to Connor’s birthday celebration, but I had promised him, so Alice spent the day at Avalon, which didn’t alleviate my fears even slightly.

Even though I am afraid, I’m excited for the term to start again and fall back into a schedule. When did this campus become my home, and why do I feel like it’s slowly being taken from me?

Summer Tuatha De Daanan, destined to be hunted, destined to run.

“I need a bigger closet,” I say, shoving clothes to the side.

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