Chapter 13 Allie
ALLIE
“Movie after training?” Jared asked as we took the stairs from the second-floor balcony down to the school’s backyard and the huge cemetery it abuts. Ancient and spooky, which makes it a great training area with the kind of demony vibe that gets you in a kick-ass frame of mind.
At the moment, I hoped Jared’s mind was elsewhere.
“Movie?”
He shrugged. “I saw they added some new stuff to the streaming queue.”
“Depends on what you’re thinking.” I shot him a sideways look. “If you say horror, I’m vetoing.”
“Good,” he said, “because I’ve had enough demons and training and practice battles over the last few days.”
I was right there with him. The last five days after the demons attacked the party had been crazy, with Mom and Daddy and Marcus and Cutter going into major overdrive on training, and dragging me along with them to teach, demonstrate, spar, whatever.
And, yes, it made a difference—the newbies were doing great, and they all have a new level of confidence—but at this point, I was actually craving an assignment that required opening a musty old book and tracing a demon’s lineage.
“Not action or horror,” Jared assured me. “Honestly, I was thinking we could pick something with less plot and more...atmosphere.”
“Atmosphere,” I repeated as my cheeks warmed. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”
His grin was slow and deliberate. “I have no idea what you’re implying.”
“Uh-huh.”
He flashed me the sexy grin that always makes me melt, then held my hand as we paused on the stairs with the grounds spread out in front of us. The sloping lawn, the old stone path, and beyond that, the cemetery where my parents had found Antonio’s body at the start of the semester.
The side gate from my literal party crashers had been repaired, but I could still see the pile of lumber that Stuart and Ren had used to fix it.
The sun had set over an hour ago, and the moon was rising, painting everything in a silvery glow. For a moment, it almost looked peaceful. Like a normal school with normal students and normal problems.
We reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Eliza and Sophie waving from a few yards down the path.
“Hey,” Sophie said with her sweet smile that we’d only newly discovered.
Over the last few days, she’d been coming out of her shell—and doing great in training.
Part of that’s probably because of Eliza’s steady mentoring, but most is because she kicked ass on my birthday.
And that kind of ass-kicking is a serious confidence builder.
Trust me. I know these things.
“Hey,” Eliza said. “Heading out?”
“Just a walk.” I gestured vaguely toward the cemetery. “Needed some air.”
“Watch where you wander,” Eliza said, her tone teasing. “Zane went down there a while ago. Said he wanted to clear his head. We wouldn’t want anyone to interrupt any...private moments.”
“Eliza!” Sophie practically squeaked the word, and I shot Eliza a scowl. She definitely wasn’t following the Approved Kate Connor Rules of Mentoring.
“We’ll be careful,” Jared said dryly. “Wouldn’t want to traumatize the new kid.”
“Too late,” Eliza said. “Pretty sure watching you two spar yesterday already did that.”
“That wasn’t sparring,” Jared said with a glance toward me. “That was me losing badly.”
I shrugged. “You’re the one who said not to pull my punches. Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”
He tapped my nose. “I love you.”
“So you’ve said,” I teased as my cheeks went pink. Saying it that first time had opened a dam, and we said it to each other all the time now.
This, however, was a first—saying it in front of other people. Or, more specifically, saying it to each other in front of other people, without having first told my mom our new status quo. That, I think, is what qualifies as a major mom/daughter fail.
With a small grimace, Jared turned to Eliza and Sophie, who were both blushing as hard as I was. “So, yeah. Maybe don’t mention to Kate that I said that. I’d rather not be staked in my sleep. Or to Eric, for that matter. Or Stuart.”
He paused, then shrugged. “Not Eddie, either. Actually, you know what? Just don’t mention it to anyone.”
Eliza was trying so hard not to laugh that she looked like she had to pee.
“We won’t mention it,” Sophie said. “We don’t have to. Everyone already knows.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“Come on, Soph,” Eliza said, still giggling. “Let’s do some weights, then stream Rocky.”
Once they were back inside, we continued down the hillside toward the cemetery, our fingers twined. “Come on,” he said, tugging my hand as we reached the flat ground of the cemetery, stretching out around us.
Some people think cemeteries are creepy, but I loved this place. It had a quiet, settled feeling. Not creepy. Just...patient. Like it had seen a lot and wasn’t surprised by much anymore.
And—bonus points—when we’d first started to fix up the mansion to become the school, Daddy and I had made a powder from the bones of saints, then spread it over the ground. And presto—demon and zombie deterrence courtesy of actual saint remains provided by the Vatican.
And an idea I’m still pretty proud of.
“So,” I said, because comfortable silences were nice, but I wanted to hear his voice. “The attack. You still haven’t told me what you thought of how the students did.”
“Sure, I did,” he said. “I told you that night.” He pitched his voice low as he continued. “You just forgot because you had other things on your mind.”
“By now, you should know better than to tell me anything important when we’re cuddling.”
He chuckled. “Fair. And same goes. As for the kids—”
“Students,” I corrected.
“Trevor’s the one who really surprised me,” he said. “The way he got Timmy to safety—no hesitation. And then he came back out. Kid could’ve stayed inside where it was safe, but he soldiered on.
“And almost got himself killed for it.”
“But he didn’t. Your dad made sure of that.” Jared paused. “How’s Eric doing, by the way?”
“Good. Marcus says the stitches can come out in a few more days. Mom’s been hovering, which is driving him crazy.” I kicked at a loose stone. “He keeps saying he’s fine, but I saw those wounds. That demon would’ve torn Trevor apart.”
“Your dad’s tough. And now Trevor owes him.”
“Daddy doesn’t see it like that. We’re all in this together. No one owes anybody anything.”
Jared shrugged. “True. But even so, isn’t paying back a mortal debt the karmically polite thing to do?”
“Maybe. I guess so. I mean, I would. So would you, right?”
“I would,” Jared said. “But I don’t think Trevor sees it that way. I think he’s more in your dad’s camp.”
“Really? Did he say something?”
“Nothing like that. He’s been even more withdrawn since the attack. Like he’s embarrassed that he needed saving. I could be wrong, but I’ve met a lot of folks over the last hundred-plus years. You get a sense.”
“That’s fair,” I said. “But maybe he’s not embarrassed. Maybe he’s grateful and doesn’t know how to show it.”
“Could be.” Jared shrugged. “I’ve known plenty of people who hid their better qualities behind bad attitudes. Sometimes it’s the only armor they have.”
I thought about that. Trevor had barely spoken to anyone since arriving, and when he did, it was usually something sharp or dismissive. But Jared was right—when it mattered, he’d moved without thinking. Saved Timmy. Came back to help. That meant something.
“What about Zane?” I asked.
Jared didn’t answer right away. We’d reached the edge of the cemetery now, and he paused, looking out over the rows of weathered headstones.
“He’s good,” Jared finally said. “Really good. Taking down that true-form demon—that’s not easy. Most hunters never even see one.”
“He got hurt doing it.”
“He did. And he didn’t hesitate. The guy’s got guts.” Jared’s brow furrowed slightly. “But...”
“But what?”
He shrugged, a gesture that managed to convey frustration. “I don’t know. Something about him rubs me the wrong way. Can’t put my finger on it.”
I studied his profile. Jared had seen things, survived things, and developed those spooky vampire instincts. If something was pinging his radar about Zane...
Then again, Zane had been nothing but helpful since arriving. Friendly, skilled, good with the other students. He’d literally taken claws across his chest to save my dad.
“He does seem to avoid you,” I said slowly, remembering a couple of times when Jared had sat near Zane in the common area.
..and Zane had suddenly remembered he needed something from his dorm room.
“Have you noticed? Like, he’s fine with everyone else, but whenever you’re around, he finds somewhere else to be. ”
“I noticed.”
“Maybe he’s just weirded out. You know—the vampire thing.”
Jared made a noncommittal sound. “Maybe.”
“Give him time. He’s new, he’s adjusting, and you can be a little intimidating.”
He cocked his head. “I’m not intimidating.”
“Oh, please. You’re a hundred and twenty-seven years old and you drink blood.
That’s at least a little intimidating.” To be fair, Jared didn’t drink human blood—that stuff was like a drug to vamps.
He stuck to the animal kind. But since Jared had yet to give the Intro to Vampires lecture yet, the newbies’ only point of reference was pop culture.
“Fair point,” he conceded as we wandered deeper into the cemetery, past the older graves with their crumbling angels and worn inscriptions, toward the newer section where the headstones were simpler but better maintained.
I didn’t see Zane anywhere—he’d probably already headed back, and that was just fine with me.
I wanted this time with Jared. Just the two of us, away from the chaos of the school.
“Here,” Jared said, stopping near a low stone bench tucked between two ancient oaks. “This is a good spot.”
I sat down, and he settled beside me, close enough that our shoulders touched. Above us, the first stars were beginning to emerge, faint pinpricks against the darkening sky.
“Remember when you first showed me the stars?”