Chapter 11
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
We’d gotten back to Celia’s house in Veil Haven just after dinner on Sunday, and Harper was there, wanting to hear all about my day.
When we told her there was a bit of an attack before we reached the portal in Spokane, she lit up.
Then after dinner, there was a memorial for the three students who had died in the school attack.
It was a sobering reminder that this new lifestyle I had found myself in was very dangerous.
When it was time for bed, I slept in Harper’s room again.
“I’m so excited to get my hunter runes tomorrow!” Harper squealed. “I hope I’m a slayer like my mom.”
That was tomorrow? Great. Asher’s hatred for me was going to deepen during that ceremony I was sure.
“What was your dad before he started teaching?” Celia had told me, but I’d forgotten.
“Tracker,” Harper said with a bit of disappointment. “An important role but…kinda boring.”
I didn’t know about that. Finding the vamps that needed to be taken out sounded important and exciting to me.
“Does it hurt? Getting the runes?” I asked. I had no idea what the process was.
“Who cares?” Harper exclaimed. “I just hope I’m a slayer or striker.”
I smiled and then was reminded of my own mother.
Mother. The word still felt weird to say or think.
“So my mom was an arcanist in your mom’s unit?” I hedged.
Harper popped up on an elbow. “Oh yeah. One of the most powerful arcanists of her age. Half the runes protecting the school were designed by her.”
Whoa. I had no idea.
Did she cover me with all those runes when I was a baby? Probably. What did they mean?
It took me a long time to fall asleep.
The first day at Nightguard Academy was overwhelming. I got a schedule, ID card, basic hunter kit, and dorm assignment all within an hour.
I unzipped the leather duffel as I walked down the quiet hallway, the zipper rasping softly, and tipped it open just enough to glance inside.
Everything was packed with almost military neatness.
A roll of smooth wooden stakes sat secured with straps, their ends etched with tiny runes.
A short blade in a black sheath rested along the side, the handle wrapped for grip.
A small metal tin labeled in careful script held rune wafers, each slot marked for speed, light, fire, or scent veil.
Two marble-size glass spheres glinted in a padded pocket, sunlight bombs if I remembered correctly.
There was a compact medical pouch, a slim comms device, and a pocket-size rune notebook with crisp pages waiting to be filled.
I closed the bag gently, my pulse steadying as the weight of it settled against my hip. This wasn’t just school supplies. It was a starter kit for a life that suddenly felt very real.
Next I looked at my schedule, which felt daunting, filled with classes I knew nothing about, but it was also a little exciting.
Stella Sinclair (Legacy) was printed at the top.
8:00 a.m.–8:45 a.m.: Morning Conditioning (Professor Quinn) Physical training and endurance.
9:00 a.m.–9:50 a.m.: Combat Techniques (Professor Kade) Hand-to-hand combat, weapons mastery, and defensive maneuvers.
10:00 a.m.–10:50 a.m.: Vampire History and Lore (Professor Lenora Wraith) Vampire origins and politics.
11:00 a.m.–11:50 a.m.: Rune Identification and Mastery (Professor Elias Hawthorne) Understanding protective runes, sigils, and ancient wards.
12:00 p.m.–12:45 p.m.: Lunch in the Bloodhall
1:00 p.m.–1:50 p.m.: Advanced Weaponry and Tactics (Professor Quinn) Crossbows, stakes, specialized weaponry, strategic combat scenarios, and how to kill.
2:00 p.m.–2:50 p.m.: Vampire Biology and Anatomy (Dr. Alaric Foster) Understanding vampire physiology, vulnerabilities, and supernatural biology.
3:00 p.m.–3:50 p.m.: Specialized Hunter Training/Mentorship (Celia Walters) Individualized training sessions, private mentorship.
5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.: Dinner in the Bloodhall
6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.: Independent Study/Library Research, Evernight Library (Madame Genevieve Beaumont) Research, study groups, homework, exploration of hunter texts, the codex, and vampire mythos.
7:30 p.m. onward: Free time.
The nice woman at the registrar office told me that Celia had put the special mentorship in my schedule at three p.m. and also the independent study in the library to help me catch up, since I was new to this lifestyle.
It looked exhausting, like I was going to eat, breathe, and live vampire hunting for the next three years.
I sighed, already feeling tired.
I peered at my dorm assignment next and frowned.
Girls Dormitory Room 4: Legacy, private room.
Private room? I didn’t want a private room if no one else had one.
Harper and Luna came bounding over to me, their feet echoing down the hall.
“What room are you? We are roomies!” Luna said, indicating Harper.
She wore a black corset today laced over a black long-sleeved shirt with a black miniskirt and black tights.
Her nails, lipstick, and even eye shadow were, you guessed it, black.
The contrast against her pale skin made everything pop. I loved her vibe.
“I guess I got a private room? Room four?”
“Yay, we’re suitemates! Room three,” Harper said with a grin.
Suitemates. I guessed that was good. The word sounded warmer than “dorm neighbor.”
“You’re a Sinclair. A private room is standard,” Luna told me, sneaking a peek at my schedule. “I’m surprised they didn’t put you in one of the on-campus cottages with a daily maid.”
On-campus cottage? All alone? I pictured a quiet little house far from everyone and instantly knew I would have hated that.
“Suitemates sounds nice,” I told them as I struggled to lug my two duffel bags across campus, the straps biting into my palms. I had everything I owned in two hands right now. My duffel from Rae’s apartment and now the one from school.
The campus was huge with multiple buildings including Evernight Library, Bloodhall eatery, girls’ and boys’ dormitories, multiple indoor training rooms, and a central hall where all the classes and registrar were.
Not to mention a giant ballroom for events and a smaller ballroom where we’d had the freshman mixer and been attacked.
The stone paths wound between trimmed lawns and iron lanterns.
I trailed beside Luna and Harper, cutting across the lawn as my fingers turned purple under the weight of the two bags, the thick straps digging into my skin.
There were parents and kids everywhere, lugging big boxes and wheely carts filled with stuff, voices overlapping, doors slamming, laughter echoing across the quad.
“Where is the rest of your stuff?” I asked the girls, who only had their school-issued duffel bags.
“Our parents are dropping it off in our room,” Harper said.
Right. I forgot sometimes that the entire world wasn’t on their own like me. I’d been rolling solo for so long I got used to not having anyone show up for me.
Luna suddenly skidded to a stop, and I used the opportunity to drop my bags and rub circulation back into my fingers, flexing them until the sting faded.
“Be still, my beating heart,” Luna whispered as she gazed at someone across the lawn.
“What?” I asked as Harper grinned beside her.
“Byron Mortenson. Luna has been low-key obsessed since sixth grade.”
Luna seemed to have completely checked out of the conversation as she gazed wistfully at a dark-haired guy rolling across the cobblestone pathway on a skateboard, duffel in hand, wheels rattling over the stones. He had the whole baggy pants, wallet chain, ’90s skater look going on.
“Luna Mortenson.” Luna sighed, cocking her head to the side as I tried to keep from bursting into laughter. I’d never been so into a guy that I imagined taking his name. It was cute.
I was about to ask how many children they planned on having when Byron skidded to a stop before a tall, redheaded, artsy-looking chick.
Luna sucked in a breath and held it as Byron planted a really long kiss on her lips.
Oh.
Luna looked away as if the mere sight caused her unbearable pain. “Chloe is a nice girl,” she said almost to herself.
Harper winced. “Byron and Chloe have been dating three years.”
“I should have just asked him to the Frost Fall Gala freshman year like I planned,” Luna moaned.
“Frost Fall Gala?” I asked as the girls began their walk again. I heaved both of my bags, nearly toppling over with the weight, and limped after them with my off-balance load.
“It’s a dance at our old high school where the girls ask the guys. Luna lost her nerve asking Byron freshman year, so we went together.”
“And by sophomore year, he was taken,” Luna said regretfully, shaking her head.
“Only high school? Good, because I hate dances,” I told them.
They both gave me a conspiratorial side glance, concealing grins.
“Oh, but the academy has something even better. It’s called the Bloodmoon masquerade.”
We reached the busy cobblestone path, and my fingers gave out. I dropped the leather duffel, nearly tripping over it.
“Oh, Stella, want some help?” Harper asked as I shook out my hand. It had gone numb. These books were heavy!
“I got it,” a familiar male voice said as Asher swooped in and scooped up both of my duffel bags like they were made of feathers.
“I—” I started, but he was already walking to the girls’ dormitory.
Harper and Luna shared a look and a smile and took off after him.
Dang it!
I jogged to catch up. “I can get them,” I told Asher as I tried to pry one out of his fingers.
He held the bags with a viselike grasp and peered sideways at me. “I’ve been watching you struggle across the entire lawn. Surprised your fingers are still attached to your hand.”
I rolled my eyes, tucking my purple fingers into my pockets. “Fine, you want to be my bag bellhop, go ahead.”
Show-off. Carrying those bags like they were empty!
“Excited to get your hunter runes?” Asher asked Harper and Luna.
They both nodded. “My mom said she was meeting with the guild on a plan for you and the others who didn’t qualify. Hopefully it won’t be too long,” Harper told him.