Page 9 of Blood Legacy (Eternal Descent (MistHallow Academy) #1)

9

LUKE

My sire’s message, albeit from one of his minions, has left me unnerved. Gaida won’t stand a chance against him if he decides to come for her. Her father will probably agree to a union between them and the thought makes me physically ill to think about Lucius’s hands on her, his cock driving inside her.

My fist clenches as I storm through the Academy, leaving a trail of frightened first years in my wake. I should care. I should be concerned that I’m causing a scene, but this vampire, this woman has done things to my mind that I can’t stop. A decision has been made, and I have to follow through with it. There is only one creature in this world that can protect Gaida from Lucius, and it isn’t me.

Practically crashing through the library doors, I take the stairs two at a time to the top floor. Striding over to Dante, who has his feet propped up on the table while he reads a book in the near dark, I stop and loom over him as menacingly as possible. This insolent little shit needs a lesson or two in not to fuck with me.

He glances up and slowly lowers his feet, placing the book carefully on the desk . Blood Sharing Bonds, I note with disgust. “Sir,” he says carefully, sensing the rage even if he didn’t have inside information. The scent of her on his skin hits me as hard as my sire’s whip and I nearly stumble back.

“Let me be quite clear about something,” I grit out. “You crossed a line earlier. Your accusations?—”

“My observations ? — ”

I slam my hand down on the table, making the book jump off into his lap. He licks his lips, cautious now. “Your accusations are dangerous, Mr DuLoc. You know who Miss Aragon’s father is. You should know that he is a major benefactor of this Academy. Part of my role as Headmaster of this institution is to keep the benefactors happy. The donations that he bestows upon us are vital for those who seek sanctuary at MistHallow. We always have been and always will be a place where creatures can come to feel safe when they have no one else to rely on. When they are being abused and used and have no other way to escape. Now, I can imagine that you have absolutely no idea what it feels like to be alone in this world with no one to help you or be a saviour, but we have many students here who do. I will not let anyone , not even a DuLoc, mess with those lives. Whatever you think you know about me, you don’t. Am I making myself perfectly clear?”

My gaze bores into his and I think I have hit the right chord. But I’m nowhere near done with him yet.

“Yes, sir.”

I need a second before I say the next words, because once they are out there, I cannot take them back. “Miss Aragon needs someone in her corner, Mr DuLoc. Despite her impeccable bloodline, she is an outcast here. Many fear her father’s reprisal if they slight her in any way, many are jealous and petty. You are like her. You understand her better than anyone else can.”

He licks his lips, eyeing me suspiciously. “What are you saying?”

I clench my jaw so tightly, I nearly crack my teeth. “You should be there for her. You are the only one who can. You are a good match for her.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Since when is matchmaking a part of the Headmaster’s job description,” he says slowly.

“When it benefits everyone involved.”

Our gaze locks and I think he understands.

“Even you?”

His quiet question is serious, lacking the usual barbed tone.

“My students are the only thing that matters.”

He sits back with a slight nod. “I have every intention of pursuing Gaida. It’s whether she will have me or not, is the question.”

“Make sure she does, Mr DuLoc. It is in her best interests.”

He evaluates me briefly before he says, “You are wrong. I know exactly what it’s like to be alone in this world. I am merely a pawn in my family’s end game for power.”

“Then you can empathise with those who have it worse off than you.”

He nods once, solemnly.

“Good day, Mr DuLoc,” I say and turn, but then pause and face him again. “If you are a merely pawn on the board, you would do well to remember that Gaida Aragon is the Queen.”

I vanish from his sight before he can respond, landing on the roof of the south tower to stare down over the Academy, feeling like I’ve had my insides punched out of my body, replaced, and then the process repeated about a thousand times.

“Where is she now?” I ask the gargoyle beneath me.

He looks up from his perch. “The laundry room, sir.”

I don’t bother asking what she’s doing in the laundry room as that is obvious. Instead, I leap off the tower, letting myself fall several feet before my vampire powers kick in and I land gracefully on the cobblestones below before instantly teleporting to outside the laundry room.

The scent hits me before I even reach the door. Blood, sex, and Dante DuLoc all over her. My nostrils flare and that ancient and primal thing rears up inside me, demanding retribution, demanding I claim what’s mine. I force it down with considerable effort, digging my claws into my palms until blood wells up.

The soft hum of machines provides background noise to her quiet movements. Taking a deep breath, I push open the door.

Gaida stands with her back to me, loading a washing machine. Her dress—that damned red dress—is gone, replaced by an oversized t-shirt that barely covers the curve of her arse. Her long legs are bare, and her dark hair is pulled up in a messy knot, exposing the nape of her neck.

She stiffens, sensing my presence before she turns. “Professor Blackthorn,” she says, her voice carefully neutral. “This is unexpected. And here’s me partially undressed for the occasion.”

I close the door behind me, keeping my expression impassive despite the rage and desire warring within me. “Miss Aragon.”

Her eyes widen slightly at the sight of me, and I can see her pulse quicken at the base of her throat. The scent of Dante is all over her, mixed with her own intoxicating aroma and the metallic tang of blood.

“Are you checking up on me?” she asks, shifting her stance slightly. The movement causes her shirt to ride up tantalisingly, revealing more of those endless legs. “Making sure I’m following the rules?”

“I thought you might be experiencing daylight fatigue,” I lie smoothly. “As Headmaster, it’s my responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of all students.”

“In the middle of the laundry room? How thoughtful.” Her eyes narrow slightly. “But as you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

“Yes, it’s interesting. You should be showing signs of weakness.”

“You put me on this schedule. I would hardly say that my wellbeing was foremost in your mind. But did you ever stop to think, I’m stronger than you thought?”

I contemplate how to answer that without giving anything away. “Or perhaps you fed from another pureblood vampire.”

She smiles. “Busted.” She turns around to move the washing to the dryer and I nearly groan as the shirt rides up completely, showing me everything I’m missing but can never have. “If that is all?”

It takes everything that I have to step back. “Be careful, Miss Aragon. There are dangers in this world that you cannot fight.”

She straightens up and whirls around. “What?”

“Simply a word of advice.”

I turn away from her, but her voice stops me.

“Luke.”

I face her. “Yes, Miss Aragon.” I maintain the formality even if she insists on breaking it.

“Stop fighting this,” she whispers, tears pooling in her eyes that are nearly my undoing.

“Fighting what?” I ask, though I know exactly what she means. “There is nothing to fight.”

She steps toward me, closing the distance between us. Her scent envelops me, and I force myself not to breathe in.

“Liar,” she whispers, and the accusation hangs heavy in the air. “I can see it in your eyes every time you look at me. You want me as much as I want you.”

“What I want is irrelevant,” I say, my voice hardening. “And you seem to have found an appropriate outlet for your desires.”

Her eyes flash with anger and something else. Danger. “Do you know who I think about when his cock is inside me? Do you?”

I flinch. She sees it and it empowers her.

“I close my eyes when he drives his cock inside my soaking wet pussy, and all I can see is you. All I can feel is you riding me. Still think I’ve found an outlet, Luke?”

My control snaps and I close the distance between us in an instant, vampire speed making me nothing but a blur as I back her against the wall. One hand grips her throat—not tightly, but firmly enough to establish control—while the other slams into the stone beside her head, making it crumble to dust.

“What do you want to hear?” I growl, my fangs descending despite my best efforts. “That I can smell him all over you and it’s driving me insane? That every time I see you, I have to fight the urge to bend you over the nearest surface and claim you?”

Her pupils dilate, the blue of her irises nearly swallowed by black. Her heart races, and I can feel the vibration of her pulse against my fingers.

“Yes,” she breathes. “That’s exactly what I want to hear.”

“It changes nothing,” I spit out, though I don’t release her. “It cannot happen.”

“Why?” she challenges, tilting her chin up defiantly. “Because you’re the Headmaster? Because of my father? Or because you’re afraid?”

My grip tightens slightly on her throat. “Watch yourself, Miss Aragon.”

“No,” she whispers and slides her hand up my chest. “I’m tired of watching. I want to touch, to feel, to… taste.”

I catch her wrist before her fingers can reach my face. “No.”

“I don’t do well with that word, Luke,” she murmurs.

“Learn,” I growl. “I’ll say this in terms that even you cannot fail to understand, Miss Aragon. Whatever you expect to happen between us, never will. I don’t want it to. Do you understand me?”

Her eyes flash with hurt before hardening to ice. “You’re lying, and we both know it.”

“Believe what you want.” I release her and step back, putting distance between us. “Your delusions don’t change reality.”

“Delusions?” She laughs, but there’s no humour in it. “Is that what you call this?” She gestures between us, to the crackling tension that fills the small room. “The way your pupils dilate when you look at me? The way your fangs descend? The way your hands shake with the effort of not touching me?”

“Enough.” My voice is cold enough to freeze hellfire. “This conversation is over.”

“Of course it is.” She pushes off from the wall, standing tall despite her small stature. “You’re a coward, Luke Blackthorn.”

I lose my grip again and find myself right in her face again. “You have no idea what you’re playing with, little girl.”

“Then show me,” she challenges, her blue eyes blazing. “Show me what I’m too naive to understand.”

I slam my hands on either side of her head as I force her back up against the wall. I lean in, close enough that our lips are almost touching. “If I showed you, it would destroy you.”

“Or set me free.”

The scent of her fills my senses, and for a moment, just a moment, I consider giving in. Taking what she’s offering. What we both want.

But then I see Lucius’s face in my mind. The feel of the whip across my back. The lessons he taught in control and power. And I step back.

She pants and grabs my wrist. “Don’t,” she pleads. “Don’t walk away.”

I wrench my wrist from her grasp, fighting every instinct that screams to pull her against me. “I have to,” I say, my voice rough. “This ends now.”

“Why?” she demands, pushing off from the wall to follow me. “Give me one honest reason.”

I whirl around, and she nearly crashes into me. “Because it wouldn’t be proper,” I say with more bitterness than I have ever felt in my long life. “You are a twenty-one-year-old vampire, Gaida.”

She gasps when I use her name, and it makes me ache inside.

“Don’t you see that this can never happen?”

“That’s all that’s stopping you? My age?” Her incredulity is beautiful.

“One of many reasons. You have your whole life in front of you. I have lived dozens of lifetimes already.”

“So?” she cries. “I know how old you are, and I don’t care. It’s one of the reasons why I want you. I need you, Luke. You are the only man that can give me what I need.”

I shake my head, giving her a brief but sad smile. “Not the only man.”

Her shame is endearing. “Dante is?—”

“The one you should be with.”

“No!”

“If you continue to pursue this fantasy, Miss Aragon, I will have no choice but to expel you and inform your father of your actions.”

“Then do it!” she screams, “I don’t give a fuck what he thinks!”

Her vehemence stuns me into silence. For a moment, we stand frozen, her chest heaving with emotion, my own perfectly still with centuries of skilled control.

“You think I care what he does to me?” she continues, her voice cracking. “Whatever punishment you think he’ll inflict, I’ve already endured worse simply by being his daughter.”

The revelation hits me in the chest. I’ve known Aragon for centuries, witnessed his ruthlessness, his calculating nature. But I’ve never considered what it might mean to be raised by such a creature.

“What has he done to you?” The question escapes before I can stop it, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

She laughs, but it’s hollow. “Nothing as dramatic as what Lucius did to you, I’m sure. Just the slow, methodical breaking of a spirit. The constant reminder that I exist to serve his purposes, to be traded like property when the time is right.”

The mention of my sire from her lips, of his methods, makes me nauseous. My hands clench at my sides. “And you think I’m any different? That I wouldn’t use you for my own ends?”

“I know you would,” she says, surprising me again. “But at least it would be my choice. At least I would get something I want in return.”

I step back, needing distance from the intoxicating mix of her scent and her words. “And what is it you think you want from me, Miss Aragon?”

“Everything,” she whispers. “The pleasure of being used by you. The pain of being owned by you. The freedom of being under your control.”

I close my eyes, fighting the surge of desire her words trigger. She sees too much and understands too well what drives me. What could exist between us.

“You have no idea what you’re asking for,” I say finally, opening my eyes to fix her with a hard stare.

“Then teach me.” She steps closer again, her bare feet silent on the stone floor. “That’s what you do, isn’t it? Teach?”

“Not this.” I shake my head. “Never this.”

“Coward,” she whispers again, and this time the word finds its mark.

My hand shoots out, tangling in her hair and yanking her head back to expose her throat. My fangs descend fully, and I lean close enough that she can feel their points against her skin.

“Is this what you want?” I growl, my control hanging by a thread. “To be at the mercy of a monster?”

Her pulse races beneath my lips, but she doesn’t struggle. Instead, she melts against me, submitting completely to my grip.

“Yes,” she breathes, her voice a mixture of fear and arousal that makes my cock harden painfully. “Show me the monster, Luke.”

For one heartbeat, I consider it. Consider taking her right here in the laundry room, bending her over the washing machine and claiming her in a way that will change her life for eternity. The image is so vivid that I nearly come undone right there. But then I see Lucius in my mind again. His cruel smile as he teaches one of his lessons in pain and control. The way he would use her to get to me, to break me all over again. Because that is what he does when he senses weakness, and she is my ultimate weakness.

With a violent effort, I release her and step back, my breathing ragged. “This ends now, Miss Aragon. Whatever fantasy you’ve constructed about us, I suggest you dismantle it immediately.”

Her eyes shine with unshed tears, but her chin lifts defiantly. “You can deny this all you want, but we both know the truth.”

“The truth?” I laugh, the sound echoing harshly. “The truth is that you’re playing a dangerous game with forces you don’t understand. And I refuse to be a part of it.”

“Luke—”

“Professor Blackthorn,” I correct her sharply. “Remember your place, Miss Aragon.”

The hurt that flashes across her face nearly breaks my resolve, but I force myself to turn away. I stride to the door, pausing with my hand on the handle. “I suggest you consider Mr DuLoc’s attentions more seriously. He is, after all, much more appropriate for someone of your standing.”

“Fuck you,” she whispers, her voice thick with emotion.

For the first time in centuries, tears prick my eyes, but I blink them back and vanish from her sight, taking the coward’s way out via teleportation so she can’t catch up to me. If I let her touch me again. It’s over.