Page 104 of Slayer

Why wasn’t she answering me?

She reached out and opened the door before I could press her again to answer me.

Everyone was waiting for me. Asher, Celia, the rest of the students getting runes today.

“You took a while. You okay?” Celia looked anxiously at my arm, and I tugged the sleeve down to make sure my marks were covered.

“Holy crap! How many did you get?” Asher asked, stepping closer.

I peered at Akari, who was sharing a look with Celia.

“A lot,” I said nervously as everyone began to count them.

Celia stepped forward, eyes going up my arm.

“Night vision, regeneration, endurance, speed burst, adrenaline surge, high-force strike, extreme strength. Stella, these are all Ascendant runes.” She sounded stunned.

“Is that good?” She was making it sound good.

“It’s unheard of,” Asher said, and I glanced at him to see that he was peering at me with shock.

“I have one Ascendant rune.” Celia pointed to the one on her arm. “Endurance. I can chase a vampire at full speed for ten miles before I even feel it.”

That was cool. I wasn’t sure what to say.

“She’s a slayer,” Manda said.

My stomach dropped out. “I am?”

Celia grinned ear to ear. “You are.”

“I probably won’t even graduate,” a student named Chase said. He pointed to the one rune on his arm. “I couldn’t handle it.”

Celia moved to his side. “You did great. There’s a place for all of you in Veil Haven. Come on. Let’s head out.”

Slayer. I couldn’t even process that right now.

I spun to see that Akari was gone, and I walked wordlessly down the hallway, feeling slightly numb.

You’ll never be loved.

Your mother is working for the vampires.

Asher is just using you.

The voices lingered as I tried to push them away.

Asher was being quiet too, but everyone else was chatting pretty normally. When we stepped outside and back into the courtyard, Celia turned to us. “You know the more runes you got, the more Veil Stone you took on, and it will take some time for those effects to wear off. I didn’t feel normal until the next day.”

Great. A whole night of this.

I swallowed hard.

“I’m really proud of you, Stella,” Celia said.

“Thanks,” I muttered and then gave her a soft smile before heading back in the direction of my dorm.

I felt like I’d been hollowed out, like a piece of myself was missing. Whatever the Veil Stone did, it had brought all my unresolved fears to the surface, and I wasn’t sure how to deal with it.