“It’ll be all right, Emma—we’ll stand by you through thick and thin,” I told her, giving her moral support since I couldn’t offer anything else.
“Thanks, Kaitlyn.” She smiled at me.
“Who knows?” Avery speculated. “Maybe it’ll turn out you’re a Drake in disguise or a sexy Vampire, or you have latent magic powers or something else special and exciting just like Kaitlyn.” He leaned across the table, grinning at her. “Maybe you’ll even find out you’re a disguised Fae noblewoman and you belong in the Seelie Court.”
“Bite your tongue!” Emma exclaimed. “I’d rather eat nothing but cafeteria food for the rest of my life than find out I was one of those stuck-up, snotty bullies!”
She poked at the orange-covered glop on her tray meaningfully, making her point.
“Well, there has to be something special about you, Emma—why else would you be here?” Megan asked reasonably. “Headmistress Nightworthy doesn’t admit just anybody, you know—no matter how much tuition their benefactor is paying.”
“Well, I’m afraid I’m the exception that proves the rule,” Emma said, shaking her head. “There’s absolutely nothing magical or special or even interesting about me in the least. I’m as plain as plain can be. If you looked up nondescript in the dictionary, you’d see a picture of me.”
“I think you’re wrong about that,” Avery said, frowning. “I can’t put my finger on why, but it’s just how I feel, Emmers.”
“I agree,” Emma,” Megan told her. “You’re special.”
“Especially to us,” I said firmly. “We couldn’t do without you.”
I meant every word, but as we all went back to our food, I couldn’t help wondering what was in store for my good friend.
If it was anything as crazy as what had happened to me, Emma was in for a wild ride…
The End? Of course not!
Emma needs her own book (and Avery might get one too. I mean, what's the deal with him and Saint rooming together? AmIright?) Read on for the first chapter of Stone and Secret, book 3 in the Nocturne Academy series, coming very soon. (Well, I mean, in about a month. These books are all over 100,000 words long so it takes a minute to write one, you know?) Anyway, if you have enjoyed Fang and Claw, please take a moment to leave a good review or rating HERE. Good reviews are like gold for an author in this crazy-crowded e-book market. They let new readers know it's okay to take a chance on a new book or a new author. Also, they give me the warm fuzzies. : )
Thanks for being an Awesome reader!
Hugs,
Evangeline
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Stone & Secret
Nocturne Academy, Book 3
Turn the page for a preview.
1
Emma
Bran O’Connor was hard to look at.
I don’t just mean he was ugly, although if I was being honest, he really was. He had lank brownish hair, small no-color eyes, and really just terrible skin. Like pizza-face bad is what I mean. He was also shorter than me, thin verging on scrawny, and one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet.
Ha—surprised you there, didn’t I? You thought I was just going to go on and on about how awful he looked but I really don’t need to—the popular kids at Nocturne Academy did that plenty. He didn't need me piling it on too.
He really was a nice guy, though and there was something about him, something I couldn't quite put my finger on…
But I didn't know that on the first day of our new unit in AP Biology. I just stood there at the front of the room, trying not to let my face sag into an expression of disappointment when Mr. Barron called out,
“Emma Plunkett, you’ll be lab partners with Bran O’Connor. Go find your seat.”
Reluctantly, I went to sit beside my new partner. This was my fault—if I hadn’t been late on the first day of this new unit, I might have gotten paired with someone else— someone like Elian Darkwing .
Yeah, I know his name sounds like something straight out of a vampire romance novel but that's because he is a vampire—or Nocturne, as they call themselves. He's tall and gorgeous and completely unobtainable but hey, a girl can dream right? After all, one of my best friends, Megan, is Blood-Bonded to a Nocturne so maybe it could happen for me too.
Well, not this time, apparently because now I was stuck with Bran O'Connor which was going to be a problem.
I don’t mean it was a problem because he was hard to look at. No, the problem was going to be the extra attention having the ugliest guy in school as my lab partner was going to draw from the beautiful people at Nocturne Academy.
Wow, that sounds incredibly shallow.
I promise I’m not the prom queen type that can’t be bothered with less than perfect people. I’m a lot less than perfect myself.
How do I look, you’re probably wondering? Well, look up the word “nondescript” in the dictionary and you’d see a picture of me. And then you’d promptly forget what I looked like because I am that forgettable. Seriously—dishwater brownish-blonde hair, muddy, no-color hazel-ish eyes, no figure to speak of—that’s me. Plain Jane and completely boring.
Everyone else at Nocturne Academy has something special about them. They’re cool, mysterious vampires, or witches with amazing magical powers. Or they can turn into freaking dragons and fly and shoot fire—which recently happened to another good friend of mine, Kaitlyn. Or they’re pretty, sparkly fairies from
