“I told him we weren’t going to class. And if the bite on your neck is what’s got their panties all wadded up, then it’s no problem. We know where the bite came from, and we know that it’s harmless. So we’ll just go grab a quick breakfast and be back in the room before Jaxon even gets here.”
She’s right. I know she’s right. Plus, it’s not like I’m going to ask how high every time Jaxon expects me to jump. Everyone else at this school might listen to him, but I’m not some supernatural creature. I’m human, and now’s as good a time as any for Jaxon to figure out I don’t play by the same weird, convoluted, terrifying rules everyone else around this place does.
“Sounds good,” I tell her. “Turns out, I’m suddenly really hungry, too.”
“I bet. Massive blood loss will do that to a girl,” Macy says as she disappears into the bathroom, a pair of school sweats and PE T-shirt in her hands.
She comes out two minutes later, and not only is she dressed, but her hair is slicked back in an adorable style, and her face looks like she spent half an hour putting on makeup in front of the mirror.
“What happened to you?” I demand.
“Oh, just a little glamour.” She wiggles her fingers in front of her face. “And can I say how glad I am that you know now? My life is going to get so much easier.”
“Apparently.” Suddenly self-conscious, I grab my purse off my desk and pull out the peach lip gloss I always keep in the inside pocket. I swipe it over my lips as we head out the door. “So how exactly do you do that glamour thing?”
“Oh, it’s just a little trick all witches know.”
“Yeah, well, flying’s still cooler,” I tease.
“Maybe.” She closes the door behind me. “But there’s a lot I can do that you don’t know about yet.”
“Like what?” I ask, totally fascinated.
“Pretty sure that’s for me to know and you to find out…”
41
Vampires, Dragons,
and Werewolves,
Oh My!
The halls are crowded as we make our way to the dining hall—it’s thirty-five minutes before first period starts, and apparently everyone in the school tries to eat during the same half an hour period. Which makes sense. I mean, if I’m not worrying about bizarre fang marks or trying to fit in at a new school, I don’t want to get up one second sooner than I have to, either.
Still, now that I know, everything feels even weirder than normal. People move by us, jostling Macy, bumping into me, or even skirting us entirely the same as they did yesterday. But today, all I can do is look at them and wonder. Vampire? Shifter? Witch? Dragon? It’s so strange, like falling into the pages of a fantasy novel…or a horror movie, depending on how this all goes.
As we walk, I kind of assign monsters to people based on characteristics they exhibit, but I have no idea if I’m right or not. For example, the really athletic ones who bound down the hall with all the energy, I figure must be wolves. But Jaxon moves hella fast when he wants to, so I could be completely wrong.
I want to ask Macy, just to see if any of my guesses are right. But it seems rude to whisper about people’s …species? Identity? Whatever I’m Supposed to Call It? in the middle of the hall where anyone can hear. Or, for that matter, to whisper about it at all.
But at the same time, don’t I kind of need to know? Like, if I cut my finger in front of a dragon, I figure it won’t matter at all. But what happens if I do it in front of a vampire? Do I need to run, or is everything going to be okay?
And why are vampires even in the dining hall if they drink blood? I mean, I saw Jaxon eat that strawberry at the welcome party, but he didn’t touch any of the food at breakfast yesterday. And now that I think about it, neither did any of the other guys.
And if Jaxon does drink blood regularly, where does he get it? Where do any of the vampires get it? I mean, short of kidnapping a fully stocked bloodmobile every day—which seems an impossible feat anywhere, let alone in the middle of freaking Alaska—where do they get the blood?
More importantly, do I really want to know the answer to that question?
Also, I’ve seen Jaxon and Lia outside during the day. I mean, it wasn’t super sunny, but it was definitely not pitch-black, either. So does that mean the whole vampires can’t be in the sun thing is a myth? If so, there are a lot of stories throughout history that got it wrong.
It’s so confusing. Like, supremely confusing, especially since there’s a part of me that still thinks Macy and Mekhi are just messing with me. I mean, yeah, I saw what she did with that teacup, but still… Witches? Dragons? Vampires?