Page 19 of Blood Legacy (Eternal Descent (MistHallow Academy) #1)

19

GAIDA

Felix’s parting shot intrigues me more than anything else he has said tonight. Because I recognise the look of a man denying himself what he wants most. I’ve worn it myself.

It makes me wonder what Felix denies himself. What mask does he wear that I haven’t yet seen beneath? There’s something about him that reminds me of a perfectly constructed puzzle box. Meticulous, intricate, with hidden compartments I’ve only just begun to discover.

I move to my bed, exhaustion finally catching up with me. The rejection from Luke still stings, but there’s something else bothering me now. Felix’s comments about Luke’s aura being “off” nag at me. I’ve never noticed anything unusual about Luke’s magick, but then again, magick isn’t inherent in me. It’s not something I can dissect as a mage or sorcerer could.

As I slip under my covers, I wonder if Felix is right about everything being connected.

Sleep doesn’t come easily. When it does, my dreams are unsettling. Fragments of conversations I’ve never had, faces I don’t recognise, and always, always, blood. I wake with a gasp just before dawn, my heart racing and my fangs extended.

“Shit,” I mutter, retracting my fangs and wiping a thin sheen of sweat from my forehead. My stomach growls with hunger, and I leap out of bed, needing to get to the dining hall for a few cups of synthetic blood before my first class. Having a quick shower, I change into a pretty pink dress and slip on a pair of nude heels. My hair flows around me, and I look acceptable. But sleep deprivation and daylight hours are taking their toll already.

I try to push the nightmares to the back of my mind as I make my way to the dining hall. Several students glance my way, some curious, others wary. The whispers follow me like shadows. News of severed sire bonds has spread through the academy like wildfire, and being a pureblood vampire in these uncertain times makes me a subject of fascination and suspicion.

The dining hall is already bustling when I arrive. I spot Dante immediately. He is pretty impossible to miss. He’s sitting alone in a corner, sipping a cup of blood. He hasn’t noticed me yet.

I move quickly to the dispenser and pour out two cups of blood before crossing over to him. “Why are you up?” I ask, sitting across from him and placing the two cups down. I jab a straw into one and take a small sip.

Dante looks up, his blue eyes clouded with something I can’t quite define. “Couldn’t sleep. Too many emotions floating around.” He taps his temple. “Empathy is a bitch sometimes.”

I nod, sympathetically. It must be a truly awful thing to be burdened with. “Anything specific?”

“Fear,” he says simply, taking a long sip from his cup. “It’s like a fog settling over the academy. Even the ones who don’t know about the severed bonds are picking up on it.” His eyes narrow as he studies me.

“Felix thinks everything happening at the academy is connected.”

“Felix?” Dante’s eyebrows shoot up. “Since when are you two so chummy?”

“We’re not,” I say quickly, perhaps too quickly. “He came to my room last night?—”

“Oh?” Dante’s voice rises enough that several heads turn our way. I find it interesting that he doesn’t have a scrap of jealousy over Luke, but Felix gets a response from him. It begs the question of whether he thinks Luke is not a threat because I will never have him. I scowl at him, even though this is my brain running away with me.

“He wanted to talk about the severed sire bonds. He thinks there’s something bigger happening, and I think he might be right.”

“Possibly. I’ve been into the sheer hell those two are going through. It’s not pretty. It makes me feel sorry for turned vampires, you know? For us, it’s so different. Born to it, grew up on milky blood bottles and cracked on with life, just normal. For them…”

“I’ve never really thought about it,” I admit, feeling like a selfish cunt.

“Me either,” he says quietly. “Until last night.”

“What are they feeling exactly?” I lean forward, genuinely curious.

“Madness. There are no coherent thoughts at all.”

“That’s...” I struggle to find the words.

“Terrifying,” Dante finishes for me. “And what’s worse is that no one seems to know why it’s happening or how to fix it.”

A hush falls over the dining hall. I turn to see Luke striding in, his presence commanding attention without effort. His face is expressionless, but I can see the tension in the set of his jaw.

“Speak of the devil,” Dante mutters.

“Don’t,” I warn him, my eyes still fixed on Luke.

For a brief moment, Luke’s gaze meets mine, and something flickers across his face—something that makes my heart skip a beat. Longing? Regret? It’s gone too quickly for me to decipher. He looks away, addressing a professor who approaches him with urgent whispers.

“So what’s this about Felix?”

“We’re meeting tonight to discuss. He has picked up on magickal disturbances that might be connected to the severed bonds.”

Dante’s expression darkens. “And you trust him?”

“Trust is a strong word,” I say carefully. “But I think his curiosity is genuine. And frankly, I’ll take information from wherever I can get it. We need to be armed if this is only the beginning.”

“Be careful,” Dante warns. “Felix didn’t come to MistHallow with a stellar reputation. There were incidents at his previous academy.”

“I know. He is misunderstood.”

Dante stares at me before he rolls his eyes. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Gaida. Don’t let him play that card with you.”

“What? It’s not a card. He admitted to me last night that the other academies weren’t a good fit for him.”

“Weren’t a good fit for him? You mean, he wasn’t a good fit for them.”

“What is it about Felix that has bit you on the arse?”

He lets out a low growl. “I don’t like dark sorcerers sniffing around my girl.”

I purse my lips at his caveman attitude. “And yet ancient vampire mages are perfectly acceptable.”

Dante’s jaw clenches, and I can see the muscle ticking beneath his skin. “That’s different.”

“Is it?” I challenge, leaning forward. “Explain to me exactly how it’s different, Dante, because from where I’m sitting, it seems like you’re being a hypocrite, and if my suspicions are correct as to why, you and I are over.”

He frowns. “What suspicions?”

“Are you not jealous of Luke because you think he and I are a lost cause, so it doesn’t matter?” I lay it out and watch him closely.

He appears genuinely perplexed when he stares back at me. “Excuse me? Are you being serious right now?”

“Incredibly.”

“Well, Gaida. I can assure you that is not the reason.”

He has retreated. I’ve hurt him, but I need to know. If he is being shady, then I have a right to know.

“So what is?” I press him.

He sighs and rubs a hand over his face. He looks utterly exhausted when he pulls it away. “He is a vampire. So are you. So am I. See where I’m going with this?”

I study him for a moment before exhaling. “Yeah, I think so. Sorry for being a bitch. It’s a sore spot.”

“I know.”

“You look exhausted. Why don’t you try and get some sleep?”

“You coming?”

“Can’t. Got to stick to this stupid day schedule to show Luke I’m not a spoiled brat.”

“I don’t think he thinks that.”

“I think he does.”

He opens his mouth, but I shake my head. “Don’t tell me his thoughts, please,” I whisper desperately. “Please. I can’t go there.”

His gaze bores into mine, and the flash of respect gives me affirmation. “As you wish.”

“If you ever get a read on him that is definitively a closed door between him and me, you can tell me that.”

“I will.”

“Thanks.”

We sit in a semi-awkward silence.

I swirl the blood in my cup, staring down at the crimson liquid. “I’m meeting Felix in the eastern clearing tonight, after sunset. I want you to come with me.”

“Really?” Dante’s surprise is evident. “I figured you’d want to meet him alone.”

“Why would I want that?”

He shrugs. “Just a feeling I get. The way you talk about him.”

“How do I talk about him?” I ask, genuinely curious.

“Like he’s a puzzle you’re dying to solve.”

“That’s not entirely inaccurate. But I trust you more than I trust him.”

“Fair point.” Dante takes another sip of blood. “Eastern clearing it is, then.”

My eyes drift back to Luke, who’s now sitting at the staff table, his posture rigid as he reads something on his tablet. The distance between us feels greater than the mere physical space of the dining hall.

“You’re staring,” Dante murmurs.

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

I kick him under the table. “What are you, five?”

He grins, but it fades quickly. “I don’t trust Felix.”

“Would it be a deal breaker if I said I find him fascinating?”

“No. If you and he were to start something, I would be more concerned about Luke’s reaction than mine.”

“Does deal breaker imply we have something here then?” I ask casually.

“You used that term, what do you think?”

I take a long, slow sip of blood, draining the cup before I answer. “I think we have something here. Something other than crazy hot sex and both being purebloods.”

“Me too,” he says with that half-smile that does things to my insides.

I half-rise and lean over the table to plant a kiss on his lips. I feel Luke’s burning gaze on my back, and I smile against Dante’s mouth. He smirks.

“Did you forget he was there?”

“For a second. Is he still looking?” I sit down again as Dante’s gaze flicks over my shoulder.

He raises his cup in mock cheers, and I glare at him. “Oh, he’s definitely still looking. Looking like he wants to murder me.”

“Good,” I mutter and turn around to give him a this-is-what-you’re-missing stare.

He is unimpressed. Dante wasn’t kidding. Luke looks like he is about to go on a rampage. The tablet in his hands starts smoking before it blows up, sending electrical sparks up into the air.

Students gasp and scatter as the tablet fragments fly across the staff table. Luke rises with supernatural speed, brushing sparks from his immaculate suit as if they’re nothing more than lint. His eyes, however, betray him. They’re burning with barely controlled rage—and something else that makes my stomach flip.

“Fuck,” Dante whispers, his amusement evaporating. “I think you pushed it too far.”

I turn back to face Dante, suddenly not feeling so smug. “You think?”

“Time to go,” Dante says. “We’ve got about three seconds before?—”

“Miss Aragon.”

Luke’s voice cuts through the dining hall like a blade, silencing every conversation. I freeze, my back still to him.

“My office. Now.”

I turn slowly, meeting his gaze across the room. “I have class in fifteen minutes, sir.”

A muscle ticks in his jaw. “Your professors will be notified of your absence.”

Every eye in the dining hall is on us. The tension is thick enough to cut with a knife. This is no longer just about me and Luke; it’s a public power play.

“Of course, sir,” I say, my voice deliberately light.

As I stand steadily, I feel Dante’s concern radiating behind me. I turn my head slightly. “I’ll see you later,” I murmur, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

As I walk through the dining hall, the whispers follow me like shadows. I keep my head high, and my steps are measured. This is an academy of supernatural beings who can smell fear and uncertainty. I won’t give them the satisfaction.

Luke waits by the door, his expression unreadable now that he has composed himself. As I approach, he turns without a word and strides toward the administrative wing. I follow, maintaining a respectful distance.

The silence between us is electric as we walk through the corridors. Students flatten themselves against walls as we pass, sensing the tension. Luke’s power radiates from him in almost visible waves, making the air feel thick and heavy.

When we reach his office, he holds the door open. I step inside, my heart hammering against my ribs despite my outward composure. He closes the door with a soft click that somehow sounds more ominous than a slam would have.

“Sit,” he says, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

I remain standing. “I prefer to stand.”

His eyes narrow fractionally. “As you wish.”

He moves behind his desk but doesn’t sit either. Instead, he braces his hands on the polished surface, leaning forward slightly.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” His voice is dangerously soft.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Professor Blackthorn.”

“Don’t,” he warns, his voice dropping even lower. “Don’t pretend this is a normal student-headmaster conversation.”

“Then what is it, exactly?”

“You know very well what this is about. Your display in the dining hall?—”

“ My display?” I interrupt, indignation flaring. “You blew up a tablet with your mind because I kissed my boyfriend. If anyone made a display, it was you.”

Luke straightens, his eyes flashing dangerously. “Your relationship with Mr DuLoc is not my concern.”

“Clearly it is, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“What concerns me,” he continues as if I hadn’t spoken, “is your deliberate attempt to provoke me in front of the entire student body.”

I take a step closer to his desk. “And why would me kissing Dante provoke you, sir?” Dante’s words ring out in my head. He’s ancient, powerful, and, by all accounts, dangerous when provoked.

For a moment, I think I’ve pushed too far. The temperature in the room drops several degrees, and the shadows in the corners deepen. Luke’s eyes burn with an ancient power that reminds me just how old and dangerous he truly is.

“You kissed me and then rejected me last night,” I continue, pressing my advantage while I still have the courage. “I was naked in your bed, ready for you, but you didn’t want me. So, you don’t get to act jealous when I’m with someone else.”

The flash of monstrous rage that I see before he squashes it with admirable strength is exactly what I need to keep breathing.

“Jealous,” he mutters. “You think I’m jealous? No, Gaida. I’m not jealous of Dante DuLoc.”

My heart sinks, and I force myself not to collapse to the floor in grief.

“I am so far past jealous that I can’t think rationally,” he continues, walking slowly around my side of the desk.

My pulse thunders in my ears as he approaches, each step deliberate and predatory.

“When I think of you with him, I don’t feel jealousy. I feel rage,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper when he grips my chin. “The kind of rage that makes me want to tear this academy apart stone by stone.”

“Give in to it, Luke.”

I watch his control fracture before my eyes, the rigid discipline he’s built over fifteen centuries crumbling as he stares at me. His hand on my chin tightens, not enough to hurt, but enough to hold me still as his other arm wraps around my waist, pulling me against him with inhuman strength.

“You have no idea what you’re asking for,” he growls, his voice so deep it’s nearly unrecognisable.

“Then show me.”

His mouth crashes down on mine with bruising force. This isn’t the controlled, restrained kiss from before. This is primal, desperate, and hungry. His fangs extend, nicking my bottom lip, and the taste of my blood mingles between us, intensifying everything.

I moan into his mouth, my hands fisting in his shirt, tearing at buttons that scatter across the floor. He lifts me with one arm as if I weigh nothing, sweeping everything from his desk with the other. Papers and books crash to the floor as he lays me down on the polished surface.

“I’ve tried to stay away,” he says against my throat, his breath hot on my skin. “The gods know I’ve tried.”

“Stop trying,” I gasp as his hand slides up my thigh, pushing my dress higher. “I want this. I want you. I need you, Luke.”

He pulls back just enough to look into my eyes, and what I see there makes me shiver. It’s something ancient and possessive, dark and hungry—a predator who’s finally stopped denying himself his prey.

My dress tears under his impatient fingers, the sound of ripping fabric echoing in the room. I tremble under the onslaught of his strength, my nipples peaking hard against the lacy fabric of my bra. He hooks his claw into the middle and rips it off me. My breasts tumble free, and he growls.

I arch my back, offering myself to him as his mouth descends, capturing one hardened peak between his lips. His tongue swirls around my nipple before he sucks hard, drawing a cry from deep in my throat. The sensation sends electric currents straight to my core, making me wet and aching. He bites down, and an orgasm hits me so hard that I nearly weep with the intensity.

Somewhere in the distance, I hear a pinging sound, but I ignore it.

Luke spreads my legs wider, before he hooks his fingers into the scraps of silk I call underwear and drags them down my legs. I’m completely exposed on his desk now, vulnerable and wanting as he stands between my thighs, looking down at me with hunger in his eyes.

The pinging persists, and he smiles. It’s slow, dark, menacing almost.

He reaches over the desk and picks up a scrying mirror. He places it on the far side of the desk and says, “Davos. What can I do for you?”

“Luke?” a male voice echoes around the office, to my absolute horror. “Are you there?”

“I am. I’m just in the middle of something. I can hear you.”

“Right,” he huffs, in a way that tells me he is a bit annoyed at having to talk to a blank mirror, whoever this Davos character is.

Luke presses his fingers to my lips before he takes my hand and slides it over my pussy, making me cup it gently.

I am frozen solid. I daren’t even breathe in case Davos hears me.

“We have something to discuss,” he states.

“Go on,” Luke says, pressing my fingers inside me, making my mouth drop open in a silent moan of pleasure. “I’m listening.”

I bite my lip to stifle any sound as his eyes fixate on me, masturbating on his desk. I take over the control. My fingers move inside with maddening slowness. His eyes stay transfixed, watching with dark amusement as I struggle to maintain my composure.

“The Council is concerned about the severed bonds,” Davos continues, oblivious to what’s happening. “Two cases in one academy is unprecedented.”

“I’m handling it,” Luke says, his voice remarkably steady as he watches me finger-fuck myself. I grip the edge of the desk with my free hand so hard, my knuckles turn white.

“Are you? Because rumours are spreading. The other academies are getting nervous.”

I add a third finger, stretching my pussy before sliding them over my clit. I’m going to die. I’m actually going to die right here on his desk while he conducts official business.

“The situation is under control,” Luke says, a slight edge to his voice now. “I’ve implemented additional security measures and have my best people investigating.”

I can feel another orgasm building, pressure coiling tight in my lower belly.

“The Council wants a full report by the end of the week,” Davos says. “And Luke, they’re sending someone to oversee things.”

Luke’s jaw tightens, the only visible sign of his displeasure. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Too late,” Davos says as there is a loud knock on the door. Luke freezes, as do I, when we both sense my dad on the other side.