Page 2 of Before We Burn

My classes came and went, the day dragging on. If I could get a migraine, I think this is the time it would grow in strength. Each class feels more and more draining. There are barely any New Bloods who are gifted with something…else. Something different.

My mind wanders back to the girl with eye-catching curls who sat next to the windows in my first class. Her mind had been so quiet—almost intoxicating. There was something there. I just needed more time.

I lean back in my chair, watching the first threads of daylight creep across the stone walls. This room—once a sunroom—had been turned into a sanctuary. Funny how places change when filled with enough ghosts.

Two knocks sound on my open door, and I don’t have to look to see who it is. Alexander’s thoughts were always too loud.

“Come in,” I say, blandly.

He slithers into the room, all fake charm and overcompensated poshness. “You look marvelous today,” he says, like he expects me to swoon.

“I look marvelous every day,” I reply, flatly.

He paces and pouts, trying the same tired game.

“You always make things difficult.” He sounds like a disgruntled child who skipped their nap.

“Difficult usually means not interested, Alexander.”

He keeps pressing, trying to use tools of flattery and manipulation, ready to give me the full work up. Our eyes lock, and a silent threat passes between us.

“You know Marzana, I’ve been on this spinning rock a long time, and I have never set my sights on someone until you, and⁠—”

I raise my hand, cutting him off.

I’m not going to allow him to use his age and strength as a way to intimidate me into taking me on a date I don’t want to be on.

“Enough, Alexander. I’m going home to rest. You should do the same.” I roll my eyes at him as I walk from the room.

He watches, sulking like a rejected prom date. Seven-hundred-years old and he still hasn’t figured out how to take no for an answer.

The sun is up by the time I get home, and my neighbors wave at me as I pull onto my street. Most of them liked to get up first thing in the morning, just to see if people would step into the sunlight. Luckily for me, I’m different from other vampires. I don’t know why or how, but I don’t exactly burst into flames in the sun. My first encounter with the sun was completely accidental, and I thought I would burst into flames like one of those bad movies, but I was seemingly unfazed.

It burns, sure. But if my skin is covered enough, it feels like nothing. So on days like today when the sun's rays are weakened by the constant smog in the air, I can park in my driveway and wave at my neighbors to keep up appearances.

Once inside, I slip into my basement sanctuary. My bed sits in the middle, plush with pillows and blankets. Low lighting spills from the warm bulbs twinkling on the walls, and a sigh of relief escapes me as the scent of vanilla eases my senses. I feel so content in moments like these—when the outside world disappears, and I no longer feel those whispers of thoughts around me.

It’s taken me a very long time to be comfortable being alone with my own thoughts. The many years I spent becoming a monster left me scared to see myself through my own lens. I would hide in the minds of others, finding pleasant dreams to nestle into when I was feeling sleepless. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I never wanted to be what they made me to be.

They just never gave me a chance.

I move toward my warmer where I left a couple packets of blood, pouring myself a glass and letting the taste roll over my tongue as I take a sip.

Floral. Clean. Healthy. Whoever this donor was, they’d lived a good life. Probably a short one, but still—better than most.

But me? I am still here. Still teaching. Still praying I’ll forget.

2

THE BLOODLING

MARZANA

No day is the same at Bloodlust. Typically my days start slow and end with me winded and wishing I was on a battlefield instead.

While I get to go home at the end of each shift, the Bloodlings have to stay in the castle. Alexander separated the groups by appearances, so the younger vampires—or Bloodlings—were all on the first floor. It makes it easier for the overnight chaperones to keep their eyes on them. There’s been a few times where we’ve had runners who do indeed run.

I walk through the halls, looking into each classroom to take count of how many students we have. There has been a rise in the number of students we are taking on—one day it went from a random vampire here and there to seventeen in one night.