Page 23 of Cloak of the Vampire
His eyes suddenly met mine, and a lightning bolt shot through my veins. I forced myself to look anywhere but athim. Instead, I settled on studying the woman by his side, but that was a mistake. How could I not have noticed her until now?
Cassidy.
All thoughts of Ragnor melted away under a new wave of shock. Seeing her after everything that had happened threw me off completely. She looked the same as the last time I’d seen her, like nothing had changed; her charcoal hair was as silky smooth as it had always been, her green eyes brimmed with satisfaction, and her skin was still as unblemished as always, if not more so. She even wore the same revealing clothes she’d always liked.
The only thing different about her was her disposition. She was radiant with happiness and contentment, as though the dark cloud that’d always been hanging over her head was gone under rays of sunshine. The way she held herself was more assured and relaxed, confident in a way that was far from the fake arrogance she’d always adorned herself with. In fact, Cassidy was the most exuberant I’d ever seen her.
This could only mean one thing: Ragnor hadn’t randomly given her the Imprint. He hadn’t been attacking her in the alleyway that night. No, it was with full consent that Cassidy had received the damned Imprint.
And that meant she had been on the waiting list.
A sharp pang of betrayal sliced through my chest. Why hadn’t she told me anything? Cassidy would’ve never kept secrets from me before. What the hell had changed? Why would she discard her freedom as if it mattered shit?
And how dare she be so carefree and happy about it when I was so miserable?
But then again, was it reallydiscardingwhen she most likely consented to it?
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.I’ve got to calm down,I told myself.I can’t let myself lose it here.
The guests at table one were on their feet when Ragnor and Cassidy settled down, and a hush came over the room. This time when I glanced at Zoey’s table, she and the others were staring at me. And they weren’t the only ones; I was now the center of attention in the cafeteria. Everyone seemed to be holding their breaths as though they were waiting for a good show to start.
With a bucketload of effort, I managed to pull on a feigned composure while, inside, my mind was a thunderstorm. For a second time, I made my way totable one. My eyes were supposed to be on my notepad, but from the corner of my eye, I could see Cassidy staring at me with big, wide eyes full of shock. Her mouth opened as though she wanted to say something, but then she closed it, frowned, and looked away.
At once, I was overcome by an urge to slap her face.How dare you.The thought reverberated through the thunderstorm in my head.How dare you drag me into this bullshit while you sit here like a fucking princess and I serve you like a maid?
Logically, I knew she hadn’t reallydraggedme. I’d gone after her of my own volition. But my anger was a culmination of everything, because in our three years of friendship, I’d been a much better friend to her than she had ever been to me. I helped get her out of sketchy situations, helped her shitty band get gigs, and let her walk all over me just so she could be happy.
And somehow, even after I risked my life to save her, gorgeous Cassidy was now cozied up with a vampire Lord, utterly at peace.
My hands shook slightly as I asked, “What can I get for you?” Thankfully, my voice remained steady.
“Why don’t you show us a little smile?” Margarita said, and when I looked up, her eyes were on me, calculating. Gone was the woman from two days ago who showed me around and lied by omission, acting as if my situation were normal. Sure, she hadn’t been that nice then, but now she was downright mean.
“I’m here to take your orders, ma’am,” I replied with as much calm as I could maintain, knowing that everyone, includingCassidy, was looking at me.
“My order is a smile.” Margarita put on that sharklike grin of hers.
I stiffened as red edged into the corners of my sight.What the hell is this bitch’s problem?
“I would like steak and some risotto,” Logan cut in, sending a warning gaze to Margarita before looking back at me with evident impatience. “If you could also add some mushrooms to the risotto, that would be great.”
I scribbled it down immediately, hoping they would all follow Logan’s lead and place their orders without incident. Margarita nodded to Logan as if to say she would be nice from now on. She then curled her lips into a fake smile and said, “I’ll have what he’s having, and I would also like for you to give me a fucking smile.” She smirked. “Noob.”
Deciding that arguing with her was completely unnecessary for my already shaky well-being, I took a deep breath, flipped my hair out of my face, and gave her a chilly, apathetic stretch of the lips.
Her delight immediately changed into a murderous look. “Show some respect,Aileeeeeennnnnn. I’m aLieutenant.”
The way she said my name and the entitlement written all over her face told me everything I needed to know about her, if I hadn’t alreadygotten the memo before. The fact that no one stopped her made me madder than before.
Removing the smile from my face, I gave her a nod and said, with just the right amount of mockery, “I respect you.”
That seemed to enrage her. “You littletwat—”
“That’s enough, Margarita,” a low voice rumbled.
I turned to look at Ragnor, whose eyes were on me. A chill went down my spine when his gaze held mine, followed by a spark that shot fire through my blood. I couldn’t turn away, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
“Three medium-rare steaks and a bowl of pasta,” Ragnor said before licking his lips and keeping his eyes on me.
