Page 117 of Blood

“I believe he referred to it as Micky Donalds.”

“Um, yeah, I suppose we can go to McDonalds.” I scratch at the nape of my neck.

“Yay!” Hera claps her hands together excitedly. “I’ll make us a reservation for this Friday.”

“Make it for three,” Lucifer and Dracula both interject at the same time...before glaring at each other. And then, in eerie unison, they add, “You’re not invited!”

I once again have to keep in the giggles that threaten to escape.

Never in a million years did I think I would have a good relationship with the Vladimir Dracula. Now, I’m closer to him than ever and also have the ability to learn about my birth parents.

And as I watch Hera place a hand on Dracula’s chest—causing Lucifer to snap at her and Dracula to grin smugly—I wonder if my love story isn’t the only one forming here.

I just pray I never have to hear the details of theirs.

CHAPTER 40

VIOLET

It feels strange to be back at Prodigium Academy after everything that happened.

Strange, but not uncomfortable.

There’s a tranquility that blankets the air as I step into the house Frankie, Vin, Mason, Jack, and Hux share at the very edge of campus.

Within a span of a year, my life has changed so drastically that I barely recognize the girl I once was. The Violet Dracula who first arrived at this school for monsters is completely different from the woman I am now. I’ve been broken, destroyed, and then reformed into a new and improved version of myself. The fire didn’t burn me; it forged me.

I remain standing in the entryway, watching Vin and Jack laugh and shove at each other as they head to their rooms to grab a few of their belongings. Frankie has already left to go to his lab in the main academic building, and Dimitri has returned to his office to meet with a few officials. Cal and Barret move to sit on the couch in the living room, whispering to one another, contented smiles adorning their faces.

“Pinkie, you know I love you, but you really need to let me go,” Mason murmurs as he presses a kiss to the side of my head. One of his snakes wiggles out from underneath his beanie and caresses my cheek. “I need to go pack up my things.”

Instinctively, my grip tightens around his bicep, but I force myself to relax and remove my hand one finger at a time.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve become a grade-A clinger since Mason returned to me. He hasn’t been able to leave my sight for more than an hour. Hell, I even followed him into the bathroom last night after I had a panic attack. I’m not sure if my fear will ever allay when it comes to him or if it’ll always remain, clogging my airways and siphoning the breath from my lungs. I lost him, and there’s a part of me that fears, if I let him out of my sight for longer than a few minutes, I’ll lose him again.

“Yeah...okay...” I very reluctantly take a step away from him, curling my hands into fists to stop myself from pulling him back to me.

Mason must see the dilemma on my face, because he leans forward to kiss me soundly on the lips. And then he’s gone, taking the stairs two at a time, his whoop of joy cascading down to where I stand.

It only occurs to me now that...it’s over. It’s really, truly over.

Zeus is gone, my mates are safe, and I’m closer than ever to getting that happily ever after I’ve always craved.

I have no idea what the future holds for any of us, if I’m being perfectly honest. I know that I have to finish my schooling at Prodigium, and then I’ll go where the winds of fate take me, a dandelion seed blowing in the breeze. In the future, I’ll take over the “family business,” but for now, I’ll merely live.

We decided that we would all get a large house in the town next door to Prodigium. That way, we can all be together while we finish our schooling. Most students are required to live on campus, but most students aren’t fucking the headmaster.

Well, they better not be fucking the headmaster or heads. Will. Roll.

It seems as if my life finally has a direction that isn’t a squiggle of random lines. It’s nothing but straight shooting from here on out.

Hopefully.

Probably.

Maybe.

A throat clears behind me, and I turn away from the staircase to see Alex watching me from the entryway, his arms crossed over his chest. He nibbles absently on his lip ring as those bloody onyx eyes crawl over me, infusing my veins with liquid heat.

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