Page 72 of Slayer

She snapped her head to me, and Harper stroked her shoulder as if trying to help her remain present.

“Arcanist,” she breathed.

“Holy crap. That’s rare, right?”

She just nodded.

Okay, something sketchy definitely happened, but they weren’t saying anything.

“You guys want to get some ice cream?” I asked to try and lighten the mood. I noticed that the food hall had twenty-four-seven, all-you-could-eat ice cream, and it was included in the tuition.

Dangerous.

“Yes.” Luna looked relieved at that.

“That sounds great,” Harper agreed.

Whatever had just gone down for them to get these runes, it wasn’t pleasant.

The first week of school was brutal. My body hurt from drills, my brain hurt from studies, and I was barely sleeping my very much needed eight hours with the extra practice I was taking to try and get my hunter marks. Muscles I didn’t know existed burned every morning.

I’d officially put Spokane and being an ultrasound tech out of my mind. I was fully in vampire hunter mode. The more I learned about the bloodsuckers and the grief they caused humanity, the more I wanted this. We were like cops. But special forces cops, SWAT team if you will. Working nights to keep the streets a safe place for humans. It felt like I finally had a direction in my life. I had friends. I had money. Everything was going great.

Which was why I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. My upbringing just didn’t have a lot of stability, so I couldn’t allow myself to fully enjoy something. If it felt too good to be true, it probably was.

I was eating dinner in Bloodhall, which smelled like fried food and sugar, with Luna and Harper when Asher walked up to us with his best friend, Jax, beside him.

Jax was a cool guy. He looked like a Hispanic James Dean. He even dressed like he was from the 1950’s with tight jeans, Converse shoes, and a tight white T-shirt. I peered at the hunter marks on his arm as they approached and couldn’t help but wonder if Asher was mad at me still for the very bare arm he sported.

“Hey, ladies,” Jax said smoothly. He was a bit of a charmer but not in an icky way.

“Hey, Jax.” Harper popped a french fry in her mouth.

“Luna, your dress is gorgeous.” Jax said her name like it was a poem in his mouth, and Harper and I shared a grin.

“Oh, thanks, Jax,” Luna said, smoothing the black Victorian gown that she wore with chunky military boots.

“We gotta go for special training,” Asher told me.

I groaned. We had special training from three to four. I literally just got out of training.

“Okay.” I shoved the chicken tender I’d been eating entirely into my mouth and grabbed my bag. “Seeooater,” I mumbled to the girls, who laughed.

I followed Asher as Jax stayed back to talk to Luna and Harper.

“Don’t choke,” Asher joked.

I swallowed the food and gave him a playful grin.

“Wait up!” someone called, and we both stopped.

It was Daphne. She wore black leggings and a tight pink top. Nothing overly flashy and yet she looked beautiful.

“What’s up?” Asher asked her.

“Did you invite Stella to Rose Beach?” she asked him.

He stiffened beside me. “No.”