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I nod. “Now is as good a time as any.”
He gives a weak chuckle. “Sure. Yeah, why not? This day is getting better and better. So yeah, Mia. Yes. When the first bloodthirst hit me at the same time as puberty, because shit has to hit the fan all at the same time, I was told that I sucked a girl dry. I don’t remember it,” he goes on bitterly. “They showed me her corpse afterward.”
Horror grips me. “Ash—”
He sketches a mocking bow and I don’t know what the hell is happening. “I’ve answered, so now I’m free to go, right? Got shit to take care of.”
“Ash, wait.”
He turns to go. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Mia,” he says. “And I’m probably the worst thing that ever happened to you. I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be. Ash!”
He strides away, leaving me open-mouthed.
“What just happened?” I whisper. I had to ask, surely he knows that? It’s not a matter of trust, it’s a matter of having all the information so that Ophelia can’t catch me by surprise again, so that I have all the background to understand what is going on…
What am I doing, though? All four boys admitted to killing someone—even if strangely they don’t seem to remember doing it.
How odd…
Someone is walking toward me and I recognize Ashton’s friend, Percy. “Hey, Mia. Did you talk to Ash?”
“I did,” I whisper. “He seemed… off. Did something happen?”
“Ah yes.” He rubs the back of his neck, frowns. “A bad day for Ashton. He had a phone call from the hospital. His brother has taken a turn for the worse.”
My chest constricts.Oh no.
“Because shit has to hit the fan all at the same time.”
Worst timing ever. What have I done?
Brushing by Percy, I run after Ash but soon I realize I’ve lost him. I turn in a circle, searching for his tall form.
What will he do? Break out of the Academy again to visit his brother? Lose control of his magic and shift? I have to find him. But as I run up and down like a madwoman—I feel mad, mad with fear and panic and grief—someone blocks my way.
“Mia!” It’s a boy from my Astronomy class, though I can’t remember his name.
“What?” Exasperated, terrified, I step around him, desperately looking around for a certain dark-haired, sad-eyed vampire boy.
“You’re wanted at the registration office. I was coming to get you—”
I brush that away. “I can’t. I’m looking for someone.”
“The Headmaster requests your presence. You don’t have a choice.”
Numb, I cast one last look around me. No Ashton. I’ll have to find him later and hope he hasn’t done anything crazy already.
Please, don’t let things get any worse, I think as I follow the boy to the admin building. How could they? They can’t, right? Not possible.
Famous last words.
I’d actually half-expected to find Ashton at the office—perhaps with his sister, or his parents. I had this fear lodged in my head that his little brother had passed away or something had happened to some other member of the family.
I’m both relieved and disappointed not to find him there.
The person talking with Miss Worthy does a good job of distracting me.
