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I imagined I wanted to smack her upside the head. Instead, I mused, “Dagursson helping you with that?” The creepy old Viking vamp had chosen her as his teacher’s pet, and I couldn’t resist any opportunity to goad her about it.
“Master Dagursson says I’m the best student of Old Norse he’s ever had. ”
“Master Dag would say anything for a little female attention,” I snapped back. Fine, so maybe I didn’t want to admit that possibly it killed me how she was better at the Norse stuff.
I swung my legs over and began to pull my damp boots back on. “I’m heading back out. ” If Carden wasn’t going to come to me, I’d go in search of him.
“But it’s almost curfew,” she said.
I rolled my eyes. The girl really needed to learn to relax. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll be back. ”
Her body stiffened, freezing into a weird position in her chair. “Don’t call me that. ”
It wasn’t an easy task relacing wet, knee-high boots, and as I did, I wondered what nerve I’d just hit. “Not big on the family thing, huh?”
I thought of my own mother, as I so often did. She’d died when I was very young, leaving me with nothing but an abusive father and a tattered old photograph of her younger self. I’d fled the dad part of that equation but treasured my picture, currently hidden next to a rubbing I’d done of some old runic graffiti. The vampires had confiscated the photo once already, but somehow Ronan had stolen it back, giving it to me at the end of last term when I was at my lowest. I wouldn’t lose it again. I had the feeling that neither the photo nor I would survive if the vampires were to realize it was back in my possession, not to mention its existence was probably a danger to Ronan. Enough people had suffered for their kind gestures on my account.
As for my graffiti rubbing, I didn’t know how vampires felt about personal belongings, and I didn’t want to test the notion, so I’d tucked that away, too, though I needed to do a better job of hiding my stash. I had plans to build a secret panel behind one of my dresser drawers. It was just a matter of getting Frost out of the room so I could construct it.
“I have a new family now,” Frost said, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Good luck with that. ” I’d thought I could create a new family for myself, but my friends had all either died or, in the case of Yasuo, turned from me. So many people I cared for had disappeared from my life—one day there, the next…poof.
I stood. I needed a friendly face. I needed Carden. The wet suede of my boots was cold and uncomfortable, and I stomped my heels into place. I had to get out of there.
But then I flung open the door, and there he was. My glorious, beautiful vampire. White crystals glittered in his strawberry-blond hair, like he’d hiked through snow-covered trees to reach me. He wore a black wool peacoat that did epic things to showcase those strong shoulders, making him look extra manly, like he was ready for some action down by the docks.
I practically sagged with relief. Something I hadn’t known was tensed, loosened. I shuddered in a sigh, realizing only then how shallow my breaths had been. How tense my chest and neck.
I breathed his name. “Carden. ”
CHAPTER FIVE
I stood frozen—how to react? I wanted to fling myself into his arms, but I felt Frost’s presence vibrating at my back. I couldn’t let her discover that Carden and I had bonded. I opened my mouth to say…something, when I heard my roommate’s chair scrape along the floor.
“Master McCloud. ” She’d hopped to her feet, and the words snapped from her, crisp and formal. “How might we serve you?”
I snorted, then quickly covered my mouth to turn it into a cough. How might we serve you? Je-sus.
I looked to Carden, wanting to share a bemused eye roll, but his attention was pinned on Frost. The irises of his eyes had widened, and when he spoke, his voice was a hollow rumble. “You will don your coat. ”
Uh…okay. I was just about to ease this weird tension with some humorous crack when Frost got a peculiar look on her face.
“I’ll don my coat,” she repeated, and her tone of voice made it sound like this was a revelation, like she’d just had the brightest idea ever.
“You will run three laps around the quad,” he instructed.
She gave a firm nod. “I will run three laps around the quad. ”
I gasped, then snapped my mouth shut when I realized my jaw was hanging open. Frost had set about donning sneakers and coat, her movements stiff and systematic like she was on autopilot. I knew vampires had power, but this Jedi-mind-trick stuff was something I’d never seen before.
“Acari Drew needs the use of this room,” Carden said. “Privately. ”
The word gave me a shiver.
Frost’s face was a blank. “Privately. ”
“This is awesome,” I whispered. I’d automatically edged around to stand at his back, not wanting to get in the path of whatever mojo he was currently busting out. “I like Robot Roomie. ” I knotted my hands in the stiff wool of his coat and gave a playful jostle. “Tell her I’m smarter than she is,” I added with a giggle. That’s what Carden did to me—he made me do things like giggle and feel playful, like I was just a teenaged girl, not this cold, trained killer I’d become. “Tell her…tell her she should make my bed every day. That she serves me. ” I was really getting going. I could’ve gone all night.
