21
Hildi
“It’s not fair,” Marielle says, pouting at her reflection.
“What’s not fair?” I ask, lacing up my boots. I found them in my trunk, along with some of my other clothing and possessions from home. Magic is weird.
Marielle is sitting in front of the mirror, curling her hair. For the record, vampires can see their reflection, they can totally be around garlic, and sadly for all the believers out there, aren’t affected by religious objects.
“That you look so amazing without any work.”
I roll my eyes. Marielle is incredibly, naturally beautiful. She doesn’t need to spend time in front of the mirror at all.
“I don’t look amazing. I just look like myself.”
“Fucking hot,” she says. “Luke is about to die for me to arrange something so you two can hang out.”
“I thought Luke was into you.”
“He’s into my blood and title. That’s all.” She meets my eyes in the mirror. “He wants to fuck you, Hildi, and mark you as his own.”
I snort. “Yeah, no, I’m not into little—” I snap my mouth shut right before I say the word “boys.”
“Little? Are you talking about his cock? Because I can assure you, he’s hung.”
I want to tell her I was not talking about his dick, because gross, but the alternative isn’t acceptable. So I just shrug and say, “He’s not my type.”
“I know,” she says. “I saw that fire between you and Instructor Agis today. You’re into older men.”
“What? No. I am not.”
“Yeah, okay, that wasn’t chemistry I saw on the mat.”
“That was me trying to keep from getting killed.” I stand and walk toward the door. “You’
re confusing rage with lust.”
“You think there’s a difference?”
I shake my head and see that she’s still nowhere near ready. “I’ll meet you down there.”
“Okay, but if you run into any tall, dark, and handsome professors, let me know if I need to clear out the room.”
“Stop,” I say, feeling the heat rush to my cheeks. I shut the door on her laughter.
I head outside and walk across the grounds. When I reach the statue, I feel myself drawn to it and walk over. I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t some magical elements used in its creation. I study the dark orb. Once again, just looking at it makes me feel unsteady. It’s not made of stone but something translucent. The insides swirl hypnotically. I gaze at it and see the oily substance part and a small flicker of blue bursts through.
What the—
I fight through the nausea and climb up the base of the statue, edging my toes around the figures. The desire to touch the orb is strong, so strong it feels like a compulsion. I reach for it and—
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
Marshal’s voice is hot in my ear and his hands are on my waist, pulling me down and dragging me away from the statue.
“I, uh,” I look back at the orb. It’s fully black again. I swallow and say, “I was just trying to get a better view.”
“You’re making a scene,” he replies. I glance around. A group of students, including the twins, watch us closely. “That’s twice today. Are you trying to get us exposed?”