Page 5 of Prince of Never

The entrance to the waystation was a dark maw stretching into the ground, lit only by wisps of faelight in the walls.It was enough to guide me down the steps, but only just.

The portal watcher straightened as I entered the chamber at the bottom of the staircase, his beady eyes squinting to make me out from behind his huge, curling tusks.

‘The human realm, watcher,’ I said, approaching the pool behind him, as still as the surface of a mirror, reflecting the stalactites hanging from the cave roof above.

‘Yessir, course sir,’ the watcher mumbled, bending his huge frame in half to reach the pool and dip his stubby fingers in.He swirled the water, sending ripples of light cascading across the surface.

I nodded in thanks and stepped slowly into the water, immediately feeling the portal magic take hold of me, pulling at me like it wanted to carry me in every direction at once.I felt the moment it locked onto the heading.Cold and darkness crashed into me, swallowing me up, scattering my thoughts and my sense of who I was for a few breathless moments, before it spat me out on the other side.

I shook off the feeling of vertigo and stepped out of the portal, little more than a puddle of stagnant water at the base of a staircase at this end.Curling my lip in distaste, I looked around me, seeking out a sign that Arun’s lackey was nearby.I was in a tunnel decorated with coarse drawings and cluttered with litter.The grumble of a car sputtered past overhead, but there was no sign of the scout.Exhaling a sigh, I began to climb the steps into the cursed human realm, ready to take on whatever fate had in store for me.

I would find this girl.

And I would kill her.

Chapter 3

Imogen

Sleepwashardwonthat night, and plagued with nightmares of fangs and blood.I sighed up at the ceiling for the hundredth time before finally flinging the covers off and padding to the bathroom.I’d long since given up looking at my phone.The officer’s advice had circled around in my head for hours.It was tempting to postpone the lecture and hide away in the safety of my apartment.But if I did that, it would make it harder for me to leave tomorrow.I couldn’t hide away forever.

But today I would make sure I was home before dark.

I opted for a black pencil skirt and a silk blouse, dusting off every inch of fabric to ensure it was clean and tidy.Tan stockings covered my legs, black pumps on my feet.I pulled my blond hair back into a neat bun, using pins and spray to keep every strand in place.I never bothered much with make-up; my skin was a blessing, and I liked to think it was compensation for my mental state, but today I did put on some eyeliner and mascara, just to add a little something extra.As I looked in the mirror, I smoothed out my skirt one last time, scrutinising every inch of my outfit.

I spent the next couple of hours going over my lecture notes, rehearsing even though I knew every word by heart already.Professor Langly was the sort of woman who had so much personality and confidence in herself that she became impossible to say no to.You were swept up in the energy of her before you realised the wordyeshad come out of your mouth.She’d been my professor as a student, and when the topic of vampires in literature came up in her class this semester, she asked me to guest lecture.

Lecturing was never something I’d had any interest in.Public speaking wasn’t exactly my forte, but here I was, my stomach churning and my mind stuck on a loop of,what the fuck are you doing?Why the hell did you agree to this?

When my alarm began to sing its cheerful tune, I let out a long breath, wishing I could expel all the jittering emotions swirling around in me.I was as ready as I was ever going to be.I only hoped I didn’t completely embarrass myself.I dropped a few flakes of food into the fishbowl, where my goldfish happily swooped to the surface to gobble it up.

‘Wish me luck, Goldy.’

I flicked the slide on the PowerPoint, looking out at the students gathered and trying not to focus too closely on any of their faces.I’d almost made it through the lecture without throwing up or breaking into a sweat, and I wanted to keep it that way.

‘One of the most common themes represented by vampires in fiction is a fear of being an outcast from society.As much as some of you may like to declare otherwise, it is the basic nature of humans to find a sense of belonging in their community.Vampires are often depicted to look different from humans, they exhibit behaviours that make them seem unusual, and they often live away from humans; isolated.’

‘But they’re hot,’ one girl piped up, her comment followed by a chorus of giggling.

‘True, especially in the more modern texts, vampires have become romanticised.They’ve gone from the monsters of old to Edward Cullen and the Salvatore brothers.Vampires in romance are so popular because of their beauty, their power, and their strength.All things that make them dangerous, but combined with the absolute certainty that he will never hurther—his love, his mate.It taps into a universal fantasy.’

‘Do you find that attractive, Miss Summers?’a masculine voice asked, tone threaded with amusement.The speaker drew my gaze before I could stop myself, my sights locking on his face; aquiline features under a shock of dark hair and eyes that were assessing me with a strange intensity.There was something about his appearance that tugged on my fear, an otherworldly beauty that sent me back to that night in the alley.

I forced myself to breathe.‘I think that something so dangerous could never be contained by something as flimsy as love,’ I said, before cursing myself inwardly for answering so personally.What kind of question was that, anyway?Who was this guy?

There was a quiet snigger towards the back of the room.I could feel the audience’s staring prickling my skin.I felt like I was standing before them in my underwear, exposed for all the world to see.What did they think of the bitter woman standing before their young minds declaring that love was as good as a fairy tale?I forced myself to smile, dragging my eyes away from the stranger.‘But that’s the fun of literature, isn’t it?It gives us a safe space to explore any number of fantasies that would be impossible in the real world.’

Professor Langly signalled to me and I gave a small nod.‘Alright, that’s all we have time for today.Professor Langly is going to talk to you about your assignments now.’

The lights flickered on and applause filled the room as I ducked into the wings, gladly letting Professor Langly take the floor.My eyes were drawn to the man who’d asked the last question, but his seat was now empty.I shook myself inwardly.He hadn’t been a figment of my imagination, he’d probably just slipped out early.He probably wasn’t even a student.Sometimes people came to sit in on a lecture purely out of interest.The university didn’t encourage that, but they also didn’t stop it.

There was a shuffle of noise and movement as the students packed up and raced for the door, eager for freedom.‘You did marvellously, Imogen,’ Professor Langly said as she approached me, a warm smile on her face.

‘Thanks.It was actually kind of fun,’ I lied.God, I hoped she didn’t ask me to do that again.I found my gaze once again drifting to the empty seat wherehehad been sitting only moments ago.Was it all in my head?Was I projecting my fear from last night onto this stranger or was there something more going on here?Releasing a sigh, I tried to let it go.He had just been a random, completely normal man who had asked a weird question in a lecture.There was nothing more to it than that.

Two eager faces looked up at me as I entered the café for lunch.Ivy, Ethan, and I ate lunch at that same table almost every day.At some point it had just become this unspoken rule.

‘So, how did it go?’Ivy asked brightly.

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