“There’s enough space to add one more plate,” she says, already on her feet, dragging a chair over. She stops halfway, her face spasming with pain.
“What is it?” I ask, bounding over to her.
“Nothing—just hurt myself in PE,” she says, and Tiffany jumps into action, grabbing the place setting and silverware.
As other students trickle into the hall, I inhale the mingled aromas of warm dishes being set out on the buffet table. My emotions are so frenzied that I can’t tell if I want the vampire to show up or not.
“Starving,” says Trevor as he and Zach reach the table.
But when Trevor pulls out the chair next to mine as usual, Salma says, “No, not there.”
“Okay.” He tucks the chair back under the table and pulls out the next one, by Zach.
“Why the extra seat?” asks Zach.
“A Hail Mary for Lorena’s love life,” murmurs Tiffany, and Salma kicks her chair.
“But why the assigned seating…?”
Zach’s voice fades from my hearing becausehe’shere.
William enters the dining hall, and the whole room’s attention finds him—but his eyes go right to me.
My friends’ conversation becomes barely a background buzz as I watch his approach, and I hear some of the louder voices at other tables saying, “Who’s that?” And “Is he an actor?” And “He’s hot as fuck!”
Dressed like the rest of us, without the distraction of his vintage suit, William is somehow even more strikingly beautiful. I’m aware that people are twisting in their seats to check him out, which makes him truly dangerous. A predator who lures in prey with his looks.
The vampire slides into the empty chair next to me without hesitation or invitation. My friends’ voices cut off entirely, but I can’t see their expressions because I have yet to look away from him.
“Welcome to Huntington, William.” I only hear these words because the vampire finally breaks our stare to look at the speaker. “I’m Zach.”
A chill slides down my spine as my worlds collide. The monster I’ve been trying to keep away from my friends is here, sitting among us, and he can kill us at any moment.
There’s no escape for any of us now.
After everyone else introduces themselves, William meets my gaze expectantly. When I don’t say anything, Salma says, “She’s Lorena.”
“Hello, Lorena,” says William, uttering my name for the first time and setting off a series of volcanic eruptions within me. From the way his mouth hitches up on one side, I know the vampire is enjoying this.
I turn away from him.
“What color are your eyes?” asks Tiffany, leaning into the table so that her breasts are squeezed together.Zerosubtlety.
“I cannot see them,” he says, making Zach and Salma chuckle. “Lorena has a better view.”
I wonder if he knows how seductive he sounds when he says that. He leans toward me, until his face crosses my personal space, and I inhale deeper because I seem to be going through oxygen faster than usual.
“Um,” I say as I sink into his amethyst gaze, trying to reach in and read his mind.Why are you here? What do you want?
“They look… purple.”
“That’s what I thought!” Tiffany sounds more animated than I’ve heard her. She did tell us she likes older guys, but I’m pretty sure she was measuring in years, not centuries. “I’ve never met anyone with eyes that color. Where are you from?”
“Not far from here.”
“A New Hampshire native.” She says it like she’s never heard of such a rarity. “Maybe you could tell us what there is to do around here?”
My chest feels squeezed, and I wonder if I’m having a heart attack or a meltdown. It’s hard to tell. My would-be murderer is seated next to me as if this were an ordinary school dinner—but just last night, his fangs were soaked in my blood.
