Page 6 of Before We Burn

“You told us to focus on our instincts… I didn’t mean to⁠—”

“No, no. It’s okay. Bunny, right?”

She looks at me and nods. “Do you always hear voices? Did they tell you to let them do that?”

She shakes her head. “No. They don’t tell me to do anything at all. You just were talking, telling me to focus on my instincts. The sound of your heels clicking and the tone of your voice. I just felt…comfortable.” She shrugs. “I don’t know. Everyone thinks I’m crazy.”

She looks like she’s shutting down again, so I pivot the conversation. Talking about things while you’re already upset and embarrassed doesn’t really get you anywhere.

“Bunny is an interesting name. Why’d you choose it?” I ask gently, trying to get her to feel comfortable enough with me to talk.

She raises a brow, obviously confused at the sudden change of topic. “I was hungry.” Her answer stuns me for a moment.

Typically, the hunger doesn’t hit you immediately after you’re changed—especially if you still have some of your human blood coursing through your veins. Her statement that she needed blood quickly to sustain herself furthers my curiosity. But the question of why hangs heavy in the air.

I smile at her response, not wanting to make her feel as if I’m judging her.

“Do you still feel hungry? I can get you something more than a bunny. Those are usually a last resort—animal blood doesn’t sate us as well as human blood.” I focus on her face, taking in the slight twitches and the way she seems so detached.

Her gift is certainly the cause of her behavior. From the moment her eyes opened, she must’ve been hearing them. The faint whispers first, then the screams and cries for help. Some spirits can be crueler than others. It would explain the oddness she seems to carry. I need her to trust me—to become more comfortable with me—so I can really help her.

“You know, when I was first turned in 2223, I woke in the middle of a field, all alone. I had a piece of crumpled paper in my hand with the name Marzana Popov on it.” I take a breath, remembering that day. It was warm outside, even though the sun had gone down. That type of weather doesn’t exist anymore, since the constant air pollution has made our weather colder than it was 382 years ago. Emotions pool in my gut, and I swallow them before they can crawl to the surface.

“I carry the name as my own, but I have no idea who Marzana Popov was back then. I had to create her. Find her. I met a friend—a really old one—who showed me that things could get better, and now I’m here.” I smile at her. “I wasn’t always in control, Bunny. I understand that sometimes it will be like that for you.” I feel the pull of my past, reliving feelings that plagued me hundreds of years ago.

“Do you regret becoming a vampire?” Bunny asks, the softness in her voice returning.

“No,” I say casually, even though I want to scream that I do. I regret more than just being a vampire.

“If we think about all that we regret in life, there will never be a moment of growth. The more we look to the past, the more you set yourself back. We have to keep looking ahead and pay attention to the now. That’s how we make it through.”

Bunny’s attention is entirely on me, her face frozen as her eyes search mine, trying to find a lie within my words.

“You were a murderer,” she says quietly, like it’s a secret between us.

I laugh, even though my mind flashes back to earlier. The spirits told me they knew me, and I wonder if they were some of the ones I had to kill.

“Yeah,” I say with a shrug, “I was. I still kind of am. But so are you.” I look at her, my eyes gentle. “You killed that bunny because you were hungry. I killed all those people because I thought I was protecting our existence. We don’t know what the humans want. They attacked the witches for simply existing, and now they’re coming for us. Except no one can figure out why.”

Bunny shrugs, her gaze returning out the window as the same footsteps that haunted this classroom the other day reappear. I sigh, waiting for the crude interruption I know will follow.

“Marzana, can I speak to you for a moment please?” Bunny’s attention snaps to Alexander, her curious demeanor shifting to something cold and unnerved.

She moves out of the room with purpose, her eyes trained on Alexander with a face of disgust as she walks by. Everyone who meets him seems to have that reaction.

Rightfully so.

I look at him and sigh. He just ruined a crucial moment. My job is to discover gifts, and I’ve never come across someone as fascinating as Bunny. She could easily have one of the strongest abilities I’ve ever seen, but each time I sit with her, something pulls me away.

Alexander strolls into my classroom, arrogance and attitude on full display, making it clear our brief run-in from yesterday is still on his mind.

“What do you need, Headmaster?” My tone sounds pleasant, but my face lacks any excitement.

Alexander gets off on flattery and brown nosing—both things I refuse to do for him. It seems he seeks it from me more than anyone else, though, and I can never get in his head long enough to find out why.

Using my gift with older vampires is always risky, since they can recognize when someone has entered their mind. And if they’re smart enough, they can use it to trap you in their mind long enough to kill. It’s a double-edged sword I refuse to cut myself on.

“I’m confused why you’re working with one student when there are others that need the help.” He motions toward my empty classroom.