“And dumb,” I add. Across the dining hall, Nate frowns at me as he picks up his plate.
“What did the guy do to piss you two off?” asks Trevor, looking curiously between us.
Nate takes a step in our direction.
“Nothing,” I say quickly. “We’re just over this whole history project.”
Hearing my answer, the vampire heads to the buffet table instead.
By the time I approach Minaro’s classroom, my body is trembling at Nate’s imminent deadline. He’s going to kill me at the end of the hour, and there’s no one here who can help me.
I’m trapped.
Desperation claws at my throat as I open the door. Only one student is already seated.
When he sees me, he gets to his feet, as if this were the eighteenth century.
I trace the sharpness of his jaw and the smooth planes of his face, and it feels like it takes my brain hours to register what I’m seeing.
He’s back.
CHAPTER 39william
William has gone centuries without breath, yet this is the first time he feels breathless.
While he could picture Lorena perfectly in memory, the effect of her physical presence cannot be replicated. Even the scent of her blood seems more alluring, unique from all the others here.
He has no idea how she will receive him after he abandoned her. What she will say—
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed the worst of you. I was wrong.”
An apology was not what he was expecting.
“Mr. Pride!” says Director Minaro. In his distraction, William did not even sense her entering the classroom. “When did you—?”
“No questions,” he compels, locking eyes with the instructor.
“No questions,” she echoes in agreement.
The door swings open.
“Oh my God! You’re back!” Tiffany stares at William with her jaw hanging open. Beside her, Salma’s eyes grow wide, and the blood drains from her face. Her heart rate increases in a way that signals distress and deep fear.
Is it possible Lorena broke her confidence and told her friend about him?
Before William manages to say a single word to Lorena, Salma pulls her away, toward their usual seats.
“Hey, you’re back!” Zach sounds genuinely thrilled about William’s return.
“Let us get started,” says Minaro. “William, we are readingDracula.”
She hands him a pristine paperback copy, and he looks down at the cover.Stoker.
The name is haunting him.
The door swings open again, even though all the chairs are taken. Nate and Cisco nearly topple into each other in their haste. They look at William, and while Nate stalks toward him, Cisco compels Director Minaro out loud: “We need to meet with William.”
“Please go with these gentlemen,” says the director.
