CHAPTER 26 #2
Blaze wore a white tuxedo that somehow managed to make him look even broader, his dirty blond curls carefully gelled into place.
He noticed me as well, fixing his gaze on my cleavage for far too long.
A typical leer pulled at his mouth, but I didn’t miss the unmistakable spark of lust in his green eyes.
I immediately felt sick to my stomach as he raked those eyes down my front, no doubt trying to picture me naked.
If it wasn’t for Alma, I would have walked on past without a word.
Blaze and I hadn’t spoken directly to each other in almost two months, and it needed to stay that way.
Although he hadn’t officially been accused of placing that curse on me, I still believed he’d done it.
Combined with the part he’d played in Sydney’s death, the need for revenge, for justice still simmered in my blood.
There was no knowing what the darkness inside me would do if he tried to talk to me right now.
He hadn’t seemed remorseful at all over his mentor’s death, immediately inquiring about getting a new one.
Since none were available right now, he’d been leeching off of Alma more and more, even intruding on her training sessions with Riku.
As a repercussion, the alliance between the Water and Fire Elemental had begun to fray, and I’d seen them quietly bickering with each other almost every day this past week.
Despite how Alma had treated me in the past, I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for her. She should have heeded Riku’s warning about picking better allies, because Blaze was clearly dragging her down at this point.
Which reminded me of something else Riku had said a few weeks ago, that a part of Alma might respect me, albeit begrudgingly.
Friends? Not a chance. Frenemies? I was curious.
Curious enough that I slowed, that I allowed myself to suffer Blaze’s close proximity long enough to say, “That dress looks pretty on you, Alma.”
Surprise flickered in her sepia brown eyes. “Thanks, sombra,” she replied in her melodic accent, then slid a covert glance toward Blaze before adding, “This should be an interesting night for you. Might be a good time to practice your shadewalking.”
With that, she turned to sashay down the hall.
Blaze followed after her, but not before giving me one last look.
Something about it instantly put me on edge, and I replayed Alma’s words in my head.
I’d thought them a light insult at first, a reminder that I was about to receive a lot of negative attention from angry parents.
But with the addition of Blaze’s creepy glare, I wondered if she was actually warning me.
Interesting night. Shadewalking.
Was Blaze planning something?
My stomach was practically in knots by the time I made it to the great hall. The sound of an orchestra playing reached my ears, along with the steady hum of hundreds of voices. Not just students, but their parents. Their families. Their covens.
Pretty sure I was about to hurl, I slowed, reaching up to touch the invisible pendant resting on my sternum.
Whatever awaited me in there, I was protected.
And once I was reunited with my grandmother, with my own coven, no one would dare touch me.
For the first time in months, I’d finally have someone watching my back.
Someone without an agenda, someone who cared, who I could implicitly trust.
I was just about to step forward and reveal myself to the room when a voice whispered in my ear, “I see you still have it on.”
I whirled, but no one was there. My eyes instinctively darted to the nearest patch of shadows, and when I saw them shift, a smile, a real smile, pulled at my mouth for the first time in months.
“Gran!”
My small, albeit feisty grandmother dramatically emerged from the shadows, a huge smile plastered on her own pale face. “Oh, Winter Snow, how I’ve missed you!”
She opened her arms as I hurried toward her, enveloping me in one of her comforting hugs. I clung to her fiercely, squeezing my eyes shut to stave off the burn.
“I’ve missed you, too. So much,” I whispered, breathing in her juniper scent. My tense body immediately melted into her familiar shape, and for one blissful moment, I was home again.
All too soon, she pulled back to hold me at arm’s length.
“Now, let me get a good look at my granddaughter. Oh, ancestors preserve my old bones, you are breathtaking!” she gasped, her pale blue eyes so like mine brimming with pride.
“A little thinner than I remember but still healthy. I’m so relieved.
You’re handling this challenge so beautifully, Winter.
If only your parents could be here to see how well you’re doing. Your aunt Clarice too, rest her soul.”
At the mention of our absent coven members, the burn behind my eyes increased. “I wish they were here, too. How is Wyatt?”
“Oh, the same. Playing video games far too much and studying way too little. I’d let you talk to him, but it’s ten o’clock back home, and he’s already asleep.”
“Did Pearl stay with him?”
Gran laughed at that. “Hell, no. She would never miss an opportunity like this. The old girl is already inside spying on past acquaintances. You know how familiars like to keep tabs on each other, enemies or not.”
I shook my head, not the least bit surprised that the familiar hadn’t bothered to greet me first. Typical cat behavior, only interested in their own agenda.
“Speaking of enemies,” I started, then bit my lip, not sure how to tell Gran that Thorne was my mentor. She was bound to find out eventually, and I’d rather her hear it from me than through the gossip chain.
“What was that, darling?” Gran asked, staring at me quizzically.
I continued to hesitate, not wanting to destroy our happy reunion. As soon as I told her, she’d bombard me with questions, and I was in no state to fudge the truth right now. She’d see right through my lies, and I couldn’t face her disappointment, not when she was the only one in my corner tonight.
“Nothing. I’ll tell you later,” I replied, relieved when the music changed at that moment and distracted Gran.
She let go of my arms to pat her white hair, which was swept into an elaborately braided updo.
Her black dress was far more modest than mine with graceful bell sleeves and a neckline elegantly wrapped around her throat.
Dark stones glittered in her earlobes, and I recognized them as her signature relic, obsidian.
Even fresh from traveling via portal, she looked flawless and poised.
Not much rattled my grandmother, and if she was nervous right now, I couldn’t tell.
“Well, that’s our cue, darling,” she said, slipping her arm through mine. “Ready?”
No. I wanted to stay out here where it was safe, where I could pretend that I was back home among friendly faces.
“Yes, Gran,” I replied, nervous energy fluttering in my stomach once more as we turned to face the great hall’s open doors.
Just a few steps, and we would be exposed to a world that had shunned us, hated us.
It felt like my first day here all over again, but somehow, it was even worse now.
Most of the students at Heartstone had been too young to be fully impacted by the vampire war and the elders’ downfall, but the generation before them had been in the thick of it.
They’d felt the disgrace firsthand, so I expected their reactions to our presence here tonight to be more severe than anything I’d endured thus far.
Amulet, protect us, I inwardly prayed and took a step forward. Then another.
Just one more step.
“Hold your head high, darling,” Gran murmured for my ears alone as we took that final step together. “Mayweathers don’t bow to anyone.”