“I’m never going to be able to do this, am I?” I asked her. “Even if I do win the games, the Nephilim will never accept me.” This whole time I’d been thinking if I could control my powers, I wouldn’t seem like such a threat. But I would be damned if I sat around while some vampire bastard threatened me and my friends.
“Soph,” I asked. “Are you scared?”
She let out a loaded laugh. “Of course I am! He’s a bloody insane vampire! Do you not remember the story Rachel told you about her family?”
We went to bed, but I still couldn’t get my eyes to close. After Sophie’s breath finally evened out, I got back up.
I collided with a broad chest when I stepped out into the hallway. Why was I surprised? In the darkness, Max’s luminous golden eyes narrowed at me.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he said, his voice a husky rasp. The vibrations of his shifter dominance washed over me, making me want to lower my eyes. I bit the inside of my cheek. The shot of pain with a lick of blood cleared my head. I turned my shoulder to try and edge past him. He moved instinctively to block my path, but his focus shifted to Sophie.
“I have something to take care of,” I said. “Keep her safe for me.”
He caught my wrist when I tried to get past. “Max,” I said, my teeth gritted. “I already have one Neanderthal in my life. I’m not looking to make it a collection.”
I pried his fingers off one by one. He was still standing there caught between his overwhelming need to protect Sophie and his instinct to go after me. I knew which would win out eventually. I just needed to get far enough away that he could no longer sense my turbulent emotions.
The Nightbloods were understandably surprised to see a frail human step over the barrier between Academies. I knew exactly where he would be. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I stepped through the doors of the Nightblood library. Maybe cobwebs in every corner and spiders the size of dogs. There would be ominous organ music playing in the background and lightning streaking through the sky. What I got was a library with a clear glass ceiling that opened up to a moonlit night filled with stars.
This library was twice the size of the one at Bloodline. There were floor-to-ceiling rows of books with rolling ladders to reach them. Andrei was lounging on a couch beside the arched window that overlooked the front of the Academy. He had his legs up on the coffee table and his arms behind his head. He was the only one in sight. No surprises there. It wasn’t like he was a hoot to be around.
I threw the book at him. It struck him in the chest. He didn’t flinch. “That was quick,” he said, his voice amiable.
I sat down on the armchair opposite him. “Aside from the obvious,” I said. “Why are you doing this?”
“Why not?”
He removed his legs from the coffee table and leaned forward. His head turned to the side as though he found me curious. I had a pretty good sense of self-preservation. At the moment, I didn’t feel the same way I did when there was real danger present. It only hit me while I lay there trying to sleep that I wasn’t afraid. I hadn’t been the entire time even though Andrei clearly wasn’t right in the head.
“Why not then? Same question applies.”
“You know why, squirt. You’re such an easy target. A little human with those big innocent blue eyes. Completely unaware of how much danger she’s in.” He allowed himself to smile. It was wide but it didn’t come close to reaching his eyes. They remained flat and lifeless. He placed both palms on the wooden coffee table and leaned on them. His frame was big but there wasn’t much bulk in it. What would happen if he drank blood?
“I’m surprised Captain Nephilim let you out of his sight.” He chuckled. The sound was haunting. I wanted to wrap my arms around myself. I only managed not to do so by sitting on my hands.
“Did he tell you I slept with Chanelle a few years back? She was going through a rebellious stage in a misguided attempt to get his attention. He didn’t even blink an eye when I told him. Not a single hair out of place. Everyone think he’s so perfect. It’s all that bullshit about duty and honour. But I know what it takes to make somebody so cold. He didn’t give two shits about her or anything else. Until now.”
He let his eyes turn and his fangs elongate. The already-gaunt planes of his face became darkened by shadow. There it was. The first thrill of apprehension. I suppressed it as best I could and pounced onto the coffee table. Andrei froze. His lips pulled back to display two-inch-long teeth. I squatted down on my knees and leaned into him. With a scrape of my hand, I drew my hair aside and bared my neck.
“Go on then,” I said. “If you’re such a scary badass, why don’t you drink from me? You keep trying to scare me. Here’s your chance.”
I thrust my neck out, knowing that I was playing chicken with an unhinged vampire. But I was betting on something I’d heard in his voice while he told his story. He definitely despised Kai for what had happened. He called him Captain Nephilim like Kai was a paragon of virtue. Quite the opposite. Kai was arrogant, moody, and often autocratic. He was one of the deadliest killers the supernatural world had ever produced. It was that killing instinct that Andrei had counted on. Andrei had a death wish. Only he couldn’t bring himself to do it. So he goaded Kai in the hopes Kai would finish the job.
I huffed out a breath when I counted to a
