Page 31 of House of Vampires and Flame

Did the self-proclaimed oracle know I was a girl? It’d be inconvenient. I needed to be quick on my feet and think of an exit strategy.

“Not exactly,” she said. “My tealeaf reading has only eighty-three percent accuracy. But next year, I’ll be enrolled in the crystal ball reading class to improve my odds. Professor Rainy is the best divination teacher. Anyway, I think I was destined to meet you. I’m Bea. May I sit with you?”

“It’s a free country, isn’t it?” I asked. “Sit with me at your own risk though, since I’m looked down on here. And I’m not sharing my breakfast with you, just so you know. You’ll have to get your own plate.”

She smiled at me again as she glanced at the plates of food spread over the table, threatening to weigh it down.

“Don’t worry.” She smiled. “I ate already. I usually eat lightly so I won’t need to go to the gym to lose weight.”

I gave her a onceover. She was a little chubby but on the cute side. She shouldn’t worry about some extra pounds. There were a lot worse things to worry about.

“Are you saying that you’re too lazy to work out?” I asked. Not that I went to the gym either.

“It won’t help to go to the gym,” Bea said. “We witches come in all sizes and shapes, unlike other supernatural species. Vampires were made from the gene pool of only the young and the best looking. Fae are born beautiful. Shifters have a great metabolism. My kind have human genes, even though we have a lot more magic in our veins. Even after evolution, we still share their fragility.”

“I don’t understand why everyone is obsessed with a slim body image. So the wind can blow them away?” I shook my head. “Each to their own. I don’t eat lightly. I eat heavily since my body needs it. Also, from my experience, food is not always guaranteed. I never know when I’ll have my next meal. So, when I have access to food, I eat as much as I can until I nearly pop. It’s the same with shelter—when I have a bed to sleep in, I try to get a full sleep.”

“I’m sorry. You must’ve had a hard life.” She sat down across from me and set her wand on the table. “What’s your name?”

“There he is!” Gunnar shouted angrily from the stairs. “That damn chihuahua!”

Unfortunately, he’d found me, as had Prince Louis. The prince zoomed toward me like a hurricane.

“Shit!” I cursed. “I haven’t even finished my breakfast.” I regarded the witch ruefully. “Go! They’re a mean bunch. You don’t want to be seen sitting with me now.”

Bea turned to look at the coming prince and left my table in a hurry. But she didn’t go too far; she stopped several tables away and hid behind a tall boy.

Every eye looked our way, fixing on the vampire prince. The girls wanted him and the boys wanted to be him.

Prince Louis shot toward me, halted beside me, and regarded the dishes spread over the table.

“You’re a glutton, little Bob,” he said.

My face reddened in humiliation.

“I’m eating for two!” I argued in my husky voice. “I’ve got to prepare for giving you iron-rich blood tomorrow. It’s a burden which I’ll have to bear alone.”

“How dare you!” Gunnar hissed. “You’re on the job.”

“But I’m not good at it,” I said. “You aren’t good at it either. I caught you sleeping on the job.”

“That’s a lie!” Gunnar said menacingly, then dropped the attitude when he noticed his boss frowning at him. “Next time you must say ‘may I have your permission to leave, Your Highness.’”

“Say may I have your permission to leave, Your Highness,” I said.

A few giggles came our way, including Bea’s.

“You’re a disgrace, Little Bob!” Gunnar said. “You have no discipline. Now get off your lazy ass and attend to His Highness properly!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll attend to His Highness,” I said. “Let me box the food to go first. I don’t want to waste it.”

From the look Gunnar gave me, he was planning to strike me, but he restrained himself at the prince’s warning look. After all, I was no one’s pet but the prince’s.

“Just grab an apple to go,” Louis ordered. “No more shenanigans, little Bob. My patience has a limit. My tolerance has an expiration date, and it expires now. For making me late for class, I’ll require an extra feeding tonight as a suitable punishment.”

I rushed to his side, not even snatching an apple. “Let’s hurry up, sir.”

The prince led the way out of the hall, strutting like a peacock, commanding the attention of the room as if it was his birthright. I lowered my head and hunched my shoulders to follow him.

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