Scarlett wanted to tell her stepsister everything, but she couldn’t. For the first time in her life she couldn’t tell Liveria her secret. Her life was on the line. She was a Vampress who created fire from her palms as if she knew magic. Something was wrong. And she had to find out. Without her little sister blabbing her mouth and messing things up. It was far from the same petty, teenage, Vampiric drama that was usually the case. And she loved Liveria, but her sister had a big fat mouth that wouldn’t stop opening up when you asked it questions. Plus, the situation was important to her. It had to do with Scarlett’s birthparents. She shook her head, as a curly strand of brown hair fell in front of her right eye. “I’ll tell you everything later.” She lied.
Her sister scoffed at her, and Scarlett grabbed her bag that was spread across the table where they both were eating. She then handed her sister’s bag to her. “It’s nothing serious,” Scarlett explained.
“What and ever.” She responded. “Oh, and on the way out we should pick up a new sister for you, because obviously I'm not good enough!”
Liveria then snatched her bag from her sister’s grasp, “I can’t believe you don’t trust me.” Her eyes were glossy, and her eyebrows drew together. “You don’t. Do you?” She questioned, studying Scarlett’s face as she pressed a hand to her throat. The shadows beneath her pale skin was like red smoke that danced underneath her eyelids. They were beneath the dangling dim lamp that hung by the front door.
Scarlett slapped her forehead. “I just can’t tell you right now!” She exclaimed, her jaw clenched as her eyes verted to the ground.
“Wow.” Liveria sneered.
Scarlett avoided eye contact. Before she shut her eyes, Scarlett played with her messily painted black fingernails out of frustration. “I-I promise to tell you when the situation waters down. You’ve got to trust me” She told her, as she gave a half shrug.
She went quiet for a beat and then clasped her hands. “Well, I guess I don’t.” Her eyes didn’t match her reasoning. She seemed upset, but it wasn’t entirely because of Scarlett. Something else was eating her up inside. It seemed as though she wanted to tell her stepsister something but didn’t know how. Scarlett shoved her hands into her pockets and tilted her head. For a moment, she ignored all the drama that happened last night and focused on her little sister.
“Liv, Wait. Did anything happen last night?”
Liveria ran a hand through her hair before she folded her arms with a shrug.“I guess I can't tell you right now.” She spoke sourly, as she smoothed down her skirt. “See you at the conservatory.”
Chapter|Four
The heavy reflection of Scarlett that glimmered through the dark of Silas’s eyes were prominent, as they took in her every appearance, without her noticing.
She peered down at the screen of her oracle. Scarlett sat at one of the table’s in the dining hall of the conservatory, alone. That was usually how she sat anyway. Alone, or with Silas. After last year, she’d liked it that way.
When he approached her, an unreadable expression was painted across his face. Memories from the night before had filled his brain. The fire. The Fey. The ferocity...
“Hey uh, can we talk about what happened last night?” He spoke, his tone low as he met Scarlett’s gaze. As he finally sat down, Scarlett straightened her spine. It’d been two days since they’d spoken. Last night felt unreal to her. “I mean, you can’t just ignore all your problems, Scar.” He said. “You can’t just ignore me.” Silas spoke.
In his hands, there was a blue tray that held two bloodshakes and Manticore sandwiches. One with a straw, another without. Silas remembered how Scarlett liked her drinks with straws. He always remembered everything. Her voice was in a low mutter, as she slouched against the wall behind her. “You didn’t have to buy me lunch. I have plenty of coinage.” He leaned his head forward. “Yeah, well I did it, because I wanted to.” He said, as he sat down.
There was a brief bit of silence. Only the chatter of the room filled both of their ears. Silas then put his hair up messily. When it was pulled back and away from his face, it brought out the strong structure of his jawline. She looked away from him. “Scar, we kissed. We need to talk about it.” He blurted out, his words spilling over each other.
Scarlett’s lips were tight and her eyes were narrowed, as she bounced her leg. It wasn’t just a kiss to her. It was passion, confusion, pent up emotions. Which was why she’d avoided him. She needed to figure those emotions out, but whenever he appeared roses grew straight out of her chest and blossomed into the sea of sensuality that they’d both created.
She bit her lip, “I know.” Scarlett muttered, taking a sip of the drink through her straw. She swallowed, “I know, okay. It was crazy.”
Remembering the feel of his full lips against her own, the way she wanted his body to melt into her own. She sat up straight again, “But let’s just forget about it.” Scarlett said. “And move on. It was late, you were in my room, we were tired. I-It meant nothing. And you’re dating Orika.” She pointed out, with hunched shoulders.
He put his hand over hers, and she swore her dead heart leaped. “But she’s not you.” He admitted, maintaining eye contact
