Chapter 18 #2
He pulled back, cupping my face and peering into my gaze. “I’m into you way more than I should admit.” He brushed his fingers over my lips. “Dance with me?” he asked.
Oh crap.
Greyson.
“You know how you didn’t want to hurt Daphne, so you didn’t tell me you liked me this whole time?” I hedged, my voice dropping as reality crashed back in.
He nodded, jaw tight, eyes never leaving mine.
“Yeah. Well, I don’t want to hurt Greyson,” I told him.
He frowned. “So no dance? You’re gonna go back out there and dance with him after that kiss?” He sounded like I’d just killed his dog.
“Is that okay?” I asked. “Greyson and I are just friends. He’s really nice, and I don’t want to damage him for the next girl.”
Asher blew air through his lips, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Man, this is not how I envisioned this going.” Then he laughed, low and rough. “Okay, yeah. Go dance with Greyson while I try not to plan his murder.”
I laughed, slapping his chest, but he caught my fingers in his hand before I could pull away, pressing a kiss to my knuckles that sent a shiver straight up my arm.
“I’m kidding. I think it’s incredibly sexy that you’re so kind. A woman with a heart of gold is a rare find.”
Heart of gold. The words lodged somewhere deep in my chest and stayed there.
“Thanks.”
“How about this? You finish your night here with Greyson .” He growled the name. “And meet me on the girls’ dormitory rooftop at midnight for one dance.”
I grinned, the tension easing just enough to breathe again. “Do I want to know how you know how to get onto the girls’ dormitory roof?”
“You do not,” he said with a smirk.
I chuckled as happiness bubbled up inside me, bright and terrifying all at once. “Okay. I’ll meet you there at midnight.”
He nodded. “See you then, Tyson.”
I punched his arm. “Let that nickname die!”
“Never,” he teased and then disappeared down the hall, leaving the air buzzing where he’d stood.
I leaned back against the brick wall, panting, heart racing, trying to process what had just happened.
After finally using the bathroom, I went back out to thank Greyson for the water, and we danced some more, slower now, steadier, my thoughts split between the boy holding my hands and the one waiting on a rooftop for me.
When we were tired and it was nearing midnight, we went to find a seat and talk.
“This was really fun,” Greyson said with a grin. “You’re not the best dancer?—”
“Hey!” I interjected, laughing despite myself. I had stepped on his feet a few times.
“But I would love to go out with you again,” he added, hopeful but careful.
I steeled myself, heart sinking. “I had a ton of fun too, but to be honest, I’d like to just be friends.”
“Oh.” His face fell, then smoothed out as he nodded. “Okay, yeah. That’s cool.”
I felt awful. Reaching out, I grasped his upper arm. “I’ve had a crush on someone else since I got here. You never really stood a chance. It’s not you.”
He relaxed a little at that. “Okay, that oddly makes me feel better. Who is it?”
Why not tell him the truth? “Asher.”
He began to nod. “Makes sense. You should tell him you like him. He’s a closed-off dude, will probably never approach you.”
He was giving me dating advice? “You’re a great guy.”
“Thanks.” He looked a little sad at that.
I stood and so did he.
“Hug?” I asked. We hugged, and then I ran over to Luna and Harper, calling them into a huddle. “Okay, don’t freak out, but I’m going to meet Asher on the girls’ dorm roof so?—”
“What!” Harper screamed so loud people stopped to look.
“Girl, I’m freaking the freak out,” Luna said. “Tell us everything.”
I grinned. “No time. Just don’t wait up.”
“Screw that. I’m waiting up,” Harper said.
“Hells yeah, we are,” Luna added.
I grinned. “K, byeeee.”
I slowly backed away from them and ran out the exit.
Since I’d met Asher, it finally felt like things were slipping into place.
It was slow going in my heels, and I was already ten minutes late for my rooftop date with Asher.
The campus was eerily deserted, every light and laugh pulled toward the dance, leaving the paths quiet.
I popped off my heels so I could walk faster across the cobblestone pathway, the cool stone biting into the soles of my feet as I lifted my dress and hurried.
I was just nearing the dorms when a slice of shadow burst to life in front of me, the darkness tearing open like fabric.
I instinctively leapt backward, dropping my heels and tossing my dress upward as I grasped my stake, my heart slamming into my ribs.
Emilie stepped out of the darkness like she owned it.
“Hello, Stella.” She grinned, slow and pleased, her gaze dragging over my dress. “Oh, big night?”
“What do you want?” I gripped my stake tighter, feeling the runes on my arm tingle, heat blooming beneath my skin like they were waking up.
Her gaze dropped to my arm, her smile sharpening as if she sensed the power stirring there. “Oh, just like your mother.”
What the hell did that mean? Did my mom have a lot of hunter runes? My pulse hammered as I swallowed the question down. “What do you want?” I asked again.
“Thanks for depositing that money.” Her tone was casual, conversational. “But with inflation and all, I’m going to need you to raise it to thirty grand a month.”
“Go to hell!” I snapped and surged forward, rage cutting through the fear.
She sidestepped me in the blink of an eye, faster than thought, and suddenly she was behind me. My breath caught as my gaze snapped up, and my stomach dropped.
Asher had been standing there the entire time.
“Money?” He was holding his sword, his knuckles white around the hilt, his hands shaking.
“Do it or else,” Emilie growled from beside me, her voice curling around my spine. Then she was gone, swallowed by the shadows as if she’d never been there at all.
“What the hell was that, Stella?” Asher demanded. He still held his sword out, his stance defensive, like I was the threat now. “Why are you working for the vampires?”
“No!” I stumbled forward, panic clawing up my throat, but he backed up a step, putting distance between us.
“ Then why the hell did a sire just thank you for sending her money? ” he screamed, the sound ripping through the quiet night.
Crap. This was bad. “Listen, my mom was mixed up with something, and I’m trying to figure it out. She was wiring her money and… I canceled it.”
He frowned, confusion warring with anger. “It didn’t sound canceled.”
I cleared my throat, my chest tight. “I canceled it and then…restarted the payments?—”
Asher’s eyes went wide. “You’re working with the bloodsuckers!”
“No.” My voice broke. “She told me at our hunter mark assessment that if I didn’t start back up the payments, she’d kill my mom.”
Asher dragged a hand through his hair, frustration pouring off him. “Your mom’s been dead almost two decades, Stella. Tell me you’re not that naive.”
I whimpered, tears filling my eyes before I could stop them. Was I? Was I really that desperate to believe she was alive? So desperate for a mother that I bent to a vampire’s threat?
“I—”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice cracked, the hurt finally breaking through the anger. “You realize how hard all this is to believe, right?”
Crap. Why hadn’t I told anyone? Because of my mom’s letter. Because of the warning.
“I’m not used to having people care about me.” My voice came out small. “I thought you’d all look at me the way you’re looking at me now.”
He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know what to believe, Stella. You need to tell someone. Celia. The guild. This is big.”
No.
“Asher, I can’t.” I reached for him again, my fingers brushing empty air as he shrank away. “I have the shadow mark. The guild might kill me, and my mom left a letter telling me not to trust any hunters. There’s more to this. I just need time to figure it out.”
“The guild won’t kill you.” He looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
“They killed Serafina Vale, the last one to have this mark.” My voice shook. “Look it up. Please. I need you to trust me. There’s something bigger going on here. I’m scared.”
For the first time, something in him shifted. He lowered his sword, his gaze flicking to my lips before he shook his head, jaw tight. “I can’t believe this. I can’t even look at you right now, Stella.”
Then he turned and walked away, giving me his back.
Tears blurred my vision as I followed a few steps behind him before stopping, my chest aching. I felt like I had nowhere to go. I knew this would happen. I knew this place was too good to be true. I knew eventually everyone would turn on me.
When I got back to the dorm, I left a note for Harper and Luna saying my date with Asher was canceled. Then I curled into my bed, pulling the blankets tight, and tried to sleep.
The look Asher had given me, filled with disbelief and disgust, played on repeat in my mind all night long, and I wondered if I was screwing everything up. If I was doing this all wrong.