Page 28

Vanity has never been my sin of choice.

I try to say I didn't embrace one of the seven foundation sins that everyone was guilty of.

Pride, and my boastful nature I had been called out on more than once, was my sin of choice.

But looking at myself now, it was closely followed by Vanity.

I legit looked like death warmed over.

The fang marks on my neck were swollen and purple-streaked with red; fang marks took longer to heal because of the toxins coating them to kill the living tissue. These didn't show signs of toxin exposure, which was odd, but they still looked nasty. The claw marks weren't overly deep, but in some places, they had to do sutures inside and out to get them to close up and stop bleeding. The tissue around those was dark purple and black, with signs of necrosis of the tissue, but it wasn't spreading so that was good...

They would scar horribly though.

When I exited my room, Harper and Slevin turned to regard me.

"Are you going to rob a convenience store at this hour?" Slevin asked when I pulled the hood of my hoodie up.

Harper shook his head in warning. "Where are you going, Love?" he asked, but his tone made it more than apparent that he already knew.

"I need to talk to Viggo," I said.

"The dorms are on lockdown," Harper reminded me.

"Very well," I said then headed to the windows and went to open them. "We are only four stories up."

Harper was quick to catch me and he blocked the window. "Don't even think about it," he warned.

"I've done it before," I reminded him.

"Fractured ankle and two months of detention was the result," he reminded me. "And I know you can't even lift your arms above your head to open the bloody window... You aren't wearing a bra or shirt, are you?"

"Okay, that's fair," I conceded. "And no, I am not. But I need to see him, okay? Viggo saved my life, I don't know how, but I know he did. When you all were fighting and I was being ripped apart from the inside out, Viggo was the only one who was able to reach me and was able to put it together quickly enough that he knew what to do. No one else did," I reminded him.

Harper shook his head. "Love, all of this started once he came to Vancouver. Historically, the one that's cursed or shadows follow knows how to evade it," he reminded me.

I gave him a look. "Viggo's not cursed, but he is hiding something from me. I can either attempt a four-story drop, or you help me get across campus. I am getting over there one way or another, Harper. Are you going to help me or are you going to fight me?"

Harper growled and tried to stare me down, but I wasn't going to back down.

I needed to see Viggo and thank him.

Slevin joined us. "This is just ridiculous," he said, wrapping his arm around my waist then blew Harper a kiss before everything turned into a blur of swirling gray.

My body was suddenly gone and yet I could feel everything around me; the soft breeze blowing through the campus, I heard how it rustled through the trees, each breath the roaming patrols took made little clouds of frozen steam in front of their lips before dissipating.

The pain that was in my body was gone, for just a moment, and I felt completely safe and at ease.

But just as quickly as that contentment was there, it was gone when my consciousness slammed back into my body when we appeared on the roof of the visitors' complex on the opposite side of the campus.

"I got you," Slevin said, steadying me. "I should've warned you that I was going to wield my cock of wizardry like that. Sorry," he said with a giggle.

I looked around, confused. "How did we?" I started to ask.

"I started casting the moment you and Harper started arguing," he explained. "I've been working on muted shade teleportation, a means to prevent being noticed, but bringing someone with me is a little harder so it took longer."

"That was impressive," I said.

He smiled. "Thank you. I don't agree with Harper and his animosity towards Prince de Babineaux. When they were fighting, when you needed us most, Viggo was the only one who was able to help you, was the only one who heard you when no one else did. You were his sole concern when you should have been ours. We dropped the ball, and Harper is kicking himself in the ass for that. Jo has lost her damn mind apparently and is dropping F-Bombs more than you do now, but one problem at a time. We almost lost you, Beautiful, and we can't handle that."

My bottom lip quivered and the tears flooding my eyes stained my cheeks.

I couldn't figure out why I was so damn teary-eyed and emotional lately!

"Don't cry, Beautiful," Slevin said, wiping away my tears. "We can't handle losing you, and if seeing Prince de Babineaux is what you need, I support that because it is what you need. I'll always support you, Ari, no matter what. Now let's get in there before someone thinks I just broke up with you or something," he said with a wink.

"Thanks, Shorty," I whispered before kissing him on the forehead.

The guest housing was on the far side of the campus and Slevin got us there effortlessly, landing us on the rooftop care of wizardry teleportation which was highly frowned upon for obvious reasons. The emergency exit was propped open for smokers, which wasn't safe in the least, but it was something we could utilize and would close behind us.

I honestly had no idea what I was going to say to Viggo.

I needed to say thank you for helping me with the issue in our suite and the Upír attack at the hospital.

But that was as far as I had gotten.

"Are you okay?" Slevin asked, closing the rooftop access door behind us, making sure it was locked. "Stupid question, I know, but it was nice of me to ask."

"Yeah, it was, and I don't know what to say to him," I admitted. "It isn't like I have anything to lose, a bit of dignity, nothing major... I have no idea what room he is even staying in! Do I just knock on every door until I get lucky?"

Slevin held his hand up and a condom appeared in it. "In case you get lucky," he said with a smirk.

I glared at him. "You are not remotely funny," I informed him, snatching the condom and then shoved it in my pocket, to his surprise. "Shut up," I grumbled before heading down the stairs then pushed through the door leading to the fourth floor. "I honestly don't know why I tolerate you sometimes," I started then stopped.

"What is it?" Slevin asked, concerned.

I shook my head then headed back to the stairs and went down to the third floor and pushed through the fire exit.

Slevin followed, watching me.

Halfway down the main hall, I felt a strange sensation pulling at me from down a short side hallway, so I stopped in mid-step and looked down the hallway.

At the end of the hall was a single door with an unadorned plaque next to it.

Slevin shook his head, watching me. "I'll take care of the guards on the main floor," he said before kissing me on the cheek. "Just say what you have to say, what you feel like you need to say, and if it's just silence that's comfortable between the two of you, enjoy it. Hang out all night if you need to. But if you do leave, let the roaming patrol know so they can take you back to the dorm. Okay? I'll take care of Harper and the fit I know he's throwing."

I kissed Slevin on the cheek then watched him skip down the hall before taking the stairs.

"I hope this is the room, otherwise I'm going to look like the biggest freak in the world, more so than I already am," I grumbled before knocking.