Page 71 of Forbidden Magic
One positive thing about being a pariah is that I get to be alone in my room, which is pretty convenient when I want to make out with my vampire boyfriend.
Trent is wrapped around me over my dark comforter, his jeans hanging low on his hips, his hair tickling my cheeks.
Cool lips linger on my neck. The playful tone of his voice barely covers the clear bloodlust on his face. “I swear you’d love it.”
The scrape of his teeth scatters goosebumps across my chest. “I don’t doubt that.” The more I invite him over, the more I’m sure I want to try.
His fingers twitch against my hip. “Then what are we waiting for?”
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. I shift to my elbows and grab my notebook on the nightstand.
Trent groans. “You know that book inside and out.”
“I’ve had quite enough distraction for tonight. I have to ace this test tomorrow.”
“You love my distractions,” he says, hiking his hand up my side.
My whole body arches in response, and I almost toss the book to the ground but clench it instead. I can’t spend the whole evening fooling around with him.
When I don’t budge, he rolls off me and sags against the mattress. “I’ve taken this test already. If you let me bite you, I could show you a memory of it or two…”
I clamp my palm over his mouth. “Using your vampire memory-sharing voodoo to cheat at a test? Really?”
Vampires have the ability to merge a human’s memory with their own during a bite. That’s how they’ve managed to feed without being caught for so many centuries. They essentially replace the memory of the bite with something else, and the victim is none the wiser. As a supernatural being, I wouldn’t be so easily manipulated. Trent could use this power to show me a moment from his past, but I don’t want to cheat my way to victory.
He shrugs like his offer was no big deal, grabs his own homework and adjusts the pillow under his head. “We should go to the winter dance together,” he says, casually flipping a page of his book.
“Okay.”
“Yes?” His eyes are wide and open, and a big grin breaks across his face.
“Sure.”
“I thought you’d fight me on this.” He rolls me over and dives in for another kiss.
Studying be damned.
After a risqué make-out session, Trent talks me into a late night walk. The night is chilly but calm. The icy rain frosts over the tips of the pine trees at the edge of Summer Hall. The leaves of the tree in the middle of the garden have orange and yellow edges.
Like Miss Eillis predicted, winter is coming.
I run my fingers through the cedar hedge, and the stiff needles prickle my skin.
Trent points to the sky. “Full moon.”
The bright silver disk is imperial above our heads, the stars shying away from its light. A blue halo makes it perfect for casting a powerful spell.
Trent kisses me goodnight, but a rustling in the trees sets my teeth on edge.
A hunched form staggers out of the forest, and I squint, a sense of dread blooming in my chest. A girl walks aimlessly among the tall pines. The red and white uniform barely sticks to her bloody skin.
My heart plunges past my feet before my brain truly grasps what’s happening. “Oh my God, Lydia!” I break into a run, my lungs burning, my entire body shaking from the blood flowing down her knees.
She grips my hands to steady herself upright. “Jules?” Hooded eyes seem to look past me without seeing me.
“What happened? Tell me!” I scream, unable to rein the panic in.
She grips my arm, her fingers digging into my flesh. “You need to leave. You need to leave before it kills us all.” Her high-pitched, feminine voice sounds like tiny diamonds scattered across glass.
