Page 18 of After Darkness Falls

"Immortal History?" Chloe guessed.

She was starting to feel like she should take that class if she wanted to get to know the neighborhood. Which was a crazy notion.

"Right. But my point is, he lives on the hill, comes and goes from Oldcrest as he pleases, and occasionally pops by the Institute's research facility…but he doesn't talk to us. It's like…" Blair attempted to find an equivalent that Chloe would understand but fell short.

"Meeting the president?"

"The president is a lot more accessible than the Leviathan, Chloe."

She was starting to get it.

"So, he's vampire royalty."

"Technically, yes. The vamp queen who rules the northern half of Europe is one of his nieces, Bella De Villier. But even she defers to him. Very few things as old as him are alive in this world."

Chloe grinned. "Do I detect a crush?"

"No." Blair was adamant. "I have a crush on a history and a combat teacher, on a bunch of actors, and the prince of Spain. Levi is practically a god. I'm fucking terrified of him."

Chloe could tell she wasn’t kidding.

She paused, wondering about her own sense of self-preservation, because after the first moment in front of Rose’s Coven, when she'd rightfully believed he might want to harm her…she hadn't been afraid of him.

Not at all.

"Interesting," was the only reply she could bring herself to make.

9

A Stranger in the Night

Before departing, Blair told Chloe she'd better avoid casually mentioning Levi around the school. As she definitely didn't want a repeat of her mentor's reaction, Chloe decided to heed the advice. She wasn’t one to purposely bring attention upon herself.

Chloe thanked her mentor for the beautiful flowers on her wall, and they wished each other goodnight.

The moment the witch left, Chloe's smile disappeared. A good night wasn't likely, now that she was alone with her thoughts.

First things first. The temperature was warmer inside the dorm, but she was still feeling cold. Chloe finished making her bed, then went to draw a bath in her small en-suite.

Small but delightful, with a cast iron sink and a clawfoot bathtub. She wished she had a bubble bath soak, but she’d only traveled with a small shower gel. She’d have to see if the handful of Adairford shops stocked any. She had a notepad in her backpack she should use to start writing down everything Blair had said, along with a shopping list. First item: decent outerwear.

Fresh towels had been left on a rack. She got undressed, dropping her clothes on top of the toilet, and wrapped the towel around her chest before returning to her bedroom.

She would have sworn she'd left her bedroom light on, but the room was now dark. Frowning, she reached for the light and turned it back on.

Chloe's heart jumped, and an uncontrollable spasm made her shiver from head to toes. A dark figure was standing right in front of her, his back to her.

He was dressed all in black with a leather duster—the sorts of things a bounty hunter would wear. Chloe wished she could scream, but she was frozen in alarm.

Then he turned.

Recognizing him, she yelled at the top of her voice, "You fucking moron! You could have given me a heart attack."

She wasn't sure he hadn't.

Levi just seemed amused, as was apparently his way. He lifted a small object in his hand.

"I promised, I deliver. I'm nothing if not a man of my word."

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