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CHAPTER NINETEEN

ISOLDE

Somehow, I manage to make it through the rest of my classes without further incident. The taste of his blood still tingles on my tongue, a potent reminder of the connection we shared. It’s a distraction I can’t afford, not with the looming threat of whatever hunts me and the increasingly tangled web of alliances and enemies at SilverGate.

After classes, I head straight for the dining hall, my stomach rumbling with a hunger that gnaws at my insides. The vast room is already buzzing with activity, the air thick with the scent of blood, food and the undercurrent of supernatural power. I scan the crowd warily and receive a multitude of envious, hostile or lewd looks back. I guess the news of me with my hand wrapped around CJ’s cock has spread .

What a surprise. It’s not like it was a private moment.

“New girl,” a smooth voice says from behind me. “Heard you’re looking for a good time?”

I spin around to face off with a vampire who, under other circumstances, I would say is good-looking with his blonde hair and green eyes. Right now, his gaze is raking me up and down and lingering in all the wrong places.

“You heard wrong.”

“Did I? Rumour has it, you and CJ Aquila had it off in the arena for everyone to see.” He leans in closer. “Only little sluts engage in live sex shows, hmm.”

“Call me that again, and I will flatten you,” I growl, even though my heart is thumping wildly at this confrontation. My breath comes heavier, and my palms sweat. I’m lightheaded, and when he moves in even closer, I step back.

He knows he has me right where he wants me now. I’ve shown weakness.

His eyes flash with triumph as he advances, backing me towards the wall. The noise of the dining hall fades, the chatter turning into distant background noise as my focus narrows to the threat in front of me.

“You think you can take me?” he taunts, his voice low enough that only I can hear. “You’re just a little girl playing in the big leagues, Isolde.”

My back hits the stone wall, and I press my hands flat against it, grounding myself. I take a deep breath, trying to coil my defensive magic, but it’s sluggish, responding to my fear rather than my command. His hand shoots out, grasping my wrist painfully, his fingers digging into my skin.

“Let go of me,” I demand, my voice steady despite the panic rising within me. I won’t let him see my fear, won’t give him that satisfaction.

He leans in, his breath hot on my face. “Make me.”

His other hand moves to grip my waist when suddenly he’s ripped away from me.

But it’s not CJ who has him in a chokehold.

In fact, it’s no one.

The invisible rope around his neck, tightens as my eyes widen. I lift my hand as it tingles, a fiery burn and that’s when it slams home.

I’m doing this.

I’ve developed a power I never had, or possibly I always had but didn’t know about.

The vampire struggles against the invisible bind choking him, his eyes bulging in panic. The air around me crackles with magic, and I can feel the raw power coursing through my veins. It’s exhilarating. It’s liberating. It’s utterly terrifying.

Students nearby notice the commotion, their conversations faltering as they turn to stare. But this is just another fight. Same shit, different day.

The vampire’s struggles grow weaker, his face turning an alarming shade of purple. I loosen my grip slightly, just enough to let him breathe but not enough to free him.

I hold his gaze for a moment longer before releasing him completely. He staggers back, rubbing his throat, his expression one of shock. “What the fuck?” he croaks.

“I told you, I’d flatten you. Lay your hands on me again, and you won’t walk away with a head. Are we clear?” I don’t know where this monstrous side to me has come from, but I quite like it. It turns out, I have the powers to back up the attitude I’m throwing around, and everyone in the dining hall can see it.

He stumbles away, and I glare at everyone who is staring. No one says anything, they simply go back to their conversations and food like nothing happened.

Good. I could do without the attention.

Striding over to the blood dispenser, the crowd of vampires queuing parts for me, letting me cut in. Feeling bad, I grab a cup and quickly fill it to the brim, and then slink off, hoping to have this in relative peace.

No such luck.

Isaac and CJ are not far away, watching me, looking mad as two snakes who have been stamped on. I lift my chin higher and turn around, going back the other way and out of the dining hall. I don’t need them to hover and interfere. I’ve got my own way to make here, and I will.

For whatever reason, I ended up here, something I will find out, whoever is hunting me had better beware, for I am Isolde Morvoren, the vampire bitch who?—

“Dammit!” I cry as I trip over my own feet and tumble down the stairs, splashing blood everywhere, making it look like a scene from a very gruesome murder, that half the academy has witnessed and ruined any street cred I might’ve gained a few minutes ago.