Foretold, page 28
“ I can think of a reason, ” Peter muttered under his breath before glancing at me, and I had a feeling he suspected Vasilios ’ fixation with me.
I blew out a breath. “ So, I didn ’ t get around to telling my parents this part yet, because it ’ s not that important, but … yeah, it appears Vasilios developed some kind of weird obsession with me. ”
Across the table, Peter ’ s grip tightened around his fork.
“ Weird how? ” Grace asked.
“ He thinks we ’ re kindred because he ’ s half demon, half warlock, and I ’ m half vampire, half witch. In his dimension, most people are full-blooded demons, so he spent his entire life being treated like an outcast. Then he saw me one day and decided we were the same, meant to be or whatever. He ’ s clearly deranged. ”
“ Meant to be? ” Peter grunted in annoyance.
“ Those weren ’ t his exact words, but that was the overall sentiment. ”
“ What were his exact words? ”
I swallowed thickly. “ I think he said something along the lines of, he might be your first love, but I ’ ll be your last . ”
“ Okay, that ’ s some real psycho shit, ” Grace said. “ Straight out of a stalker movie. ”
I gave a half-hearted chuckle. “ I know, right? ”
Across the table, Peter was frowning intensely. I reached over and took his hand in mine. “ Hey, don ’ t worry about it. He ’ s going to go to prison for a very long time. ”
“ Yeah, ” he replied, exhaling. “ With a bit of luck. ”
I traced my thumb along his wrist, and some of his tension subsided. He didn ’ t need to be jealous about Vasilios. I might ’ ve liked him when he was pretending to be Nic, but the real Vasilios was abhorrent to me, especially the part where he plotted to kill my parents and Rita. Not to mention that he had Mr Williams killed simply because he was an inconvenience.
“ So, ” I said, “ do you two want to come with me to Angela ’ s house? I wanted to visit her today and see how she ’ s holding up. ”
“ Sure, count me in, ” Grace replied.
“ I have to go see Clay and apologise for missing my shift, but I can meet you later? ” Peter said.
“ Sounds good, ” I agreed as I dug into another pancake.
19.
It wasn ’ t until after Peter left that Grace decided to grill me on the other things that happened last night. She wasn ’ t interested in the gory details, thankfully, though she was excited that I ’ d finally lost my virginity. Grace had lost hers years ago to one of the older students at St. Bastian ’ s.
When we arrived at Angela ’ s house, she was relieved to see me. We sat in her room and talked for a while, going over everything that had been revealed. If it wasn ’ t for her taking the initiative and trying out a spell to reclaim her memories, I might be hanging out with Vasilios right now, still under the false impression that he was Nic Baumann.
On Monday, we were back at school, and the place was abuzz with gossip. Around every corner, they were gaggles of students discussing Vasilios and how he had been masquerading as Nic. I certainly didn ’ t enjoy the side-eye they gave me, as if I somehow was in on it just because Vasilios had fooled me into believing he was my friend.
Speaking of Nic, it was his first day back at school after spending the last few weeks locked in a magical slumber. I worried he might be rushing things, but he insisted he just wanted to get back to normal.
“ You okay? ” I asked him as we walked through the corridor.
Nic nodded and drew in a breath. “ I ’ m fine. It ’ s just weird being back. I feel like I ’ ve been in a coma. ”
“ Well, you kind of have been, ” I said as we rounded a corner and bumped into Ren. His dark hair was slicked back today, his eyeliner drawn in short vertical lines under each eye like Alice Cooper. I remembered what he ’ d said to me the night of the storm about his grandmother ’ s prediction. Would he one day save my life? Would I be the ruler it was foretold I would become? I decided not to spend too much time pondering it. For now, I was just happy to enjoy the present.
“ So, you ’ re the one everyone ’ s been talking about, ” Ren said, sizing Nic up.
“ And you are? ” Nic asked.
“ Ren Tanaka, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. ” He gave a little curtsy, and Nic smiled in mild amusement.
“ It ’ s a pleasure to meet you, too. ”
Ren glanced at me. “ So, they finally caught Mr Williams ’ murderer and Angela ’ s attacker. I bet you ’ re relieved. ”
“ I ’ m definitely sleeping better, ” I said, and Ren nodded, his lips forming a grin as he brought his attention to Nic.
“ Do you know that your friend here had the gall to suspect me at one point? ”
Nic glanced at me, eyebrows raised. I shook my head, chuckling, “ I ’ d be silly not to suspect the new student. ”
Ren folded his arms, his tone teasing, “ I ’ ll be expecting a box of chocolates and a dozen roses as an apology any day now. ”
I chuckled some more. “ Right. ”
I left Nic with Ren as I continued to my locker, my heart skipping a beat when I spotted the back of Peter ’ s head. He stood talking to Sophia and didn ’ t notice me approach until I slid my arms around his waist and gazed up at him. “ Hey. ”
His mouth curled into a soft smile. “ Hi. ”
“ Oh! I ’ m so happy this is finally happening, ” Sophia exclaimed, clapping her hands together.
I grinned, and Peter looked a smidge self-conscious at his best friend ’ s enthusiasm. Nevertheless, I stretched up and pressed a kiss to his cheek, enjoying the way his gaze heated at the contact. “ Want to go out somewhere tonight? ” I asked him quietly.
“ Sure, I ’ m not working, ” he replied, caressing my cheek.
“ We could go to a movie, ” I suggested, and Peter nodded, pressing his mouth to mine. I was ridiculously excited about the prospect of going on a very normal date with him.
“ So, what ’ s going to happen to Vasilios? ” Sophia asked, breaking through my Peter haze. I turned to face her. My arms were still around his waist, and I felt him stiffen at the question. We hadn ’ t spoken about it since, but Peter certainly wasn ’ t pleased about why Vasilios had gone out of his way to get close to me. I didn ’ t blame him. If the roles were reversed, I would be jealous as hell. Not that Peter had anything to be jealous about. I ’ d rather pull my fangs out with a pair of plyers than ever lay eyes on the demon warlock again.
“ He ’ s been charged with ordering Mr Williams ’ murder, and his friend Sven has been charged with doing the actual killing, plus the attack on Angela. They also killed several vampires who they ’ d been influencing with their demon powers. My father said the Hawthorn Council had a vote last night. It ’ s been decided that they ’ ll each spend thirty years in the Prison of Thorns. When their time is up, they ’ ll be sent back to Oreylia and forbidden from ever travelling to this dimension again. ”
“ Thirty years, ” Sophia said. “ It almost doesn ’ t feel like enough for taking so many lives. ”
“ I ’ m just glad they ’ re out of our lives, ” I said, tightening my arms around Peter.
“ Yeah, me, too, ” Sophia agreed. “ I can ’ t believe I played chess with a killer. ”
“ You can tick that one off your bucket list, ” Peter said with a hint of humour.
“ Right, because that was a big ambition of mine, ” Sophia chuckled.
Later on, Peter and I were walking hand in hand to Mrs Tanaka ’ s Clairvoyance class when we heard a commotion coming from the direction of Rebecca ’ s classroom. We shared a look and hurried to see what all the noise was about. The classroom door was slightly ajar, allowing us a glimpse inside. Rebecca stood by her desk, and Grace sat in the front row, a big shit-eating grin on her face.
“ What did you just say to me? ” Rebecca demanded.
“ I said you ’ re a stuck-up bitch, ” Grace shot back, and I frowned. Something about the interaction felt off, and then it hit me. This was their big ruse finally being played out. Grace was pretending to speak out of turn so that Rebecca could punish her, thus making it known that she wasn ’ t a teacher to be messed with.
“ Why is Grace being so rude to your sister? ” Peter whispered, his warm breath hitting my ear and sending tingles down my neck.
“ It ’ s not real. Grace is pretending to misbehave so that Rebecca can punish her and make all the students who think she ’ s a soft touch respect her more. ”
“ Huh. That ’ s actually pretty clever. ”
“ That ’ s it, ” Rebecca declared, with her hands on her hips. “ I ’ m sending you to Principal Wolf ’ s office, and I ’ ll be recommending you spend the next month in detention. ”
At this, Grace ’ s eyes bugged, and I suppressed a grin. I bet she wasn ’ t expecting Rebecca ’ s punishment to be quite so extensive. I saw her mouth the words, A month, seriously, Becks?
Rebecca shrugged, looking like she was suppressing a grin of her own.
“ Fine, I ’ ll behave, ” Grace pleaded, suddenly changing her tune, but Rebecca stood firm.
“ It ’ s too late now. Get up. I ’ ll escort you to the principal ’ s office myself. ”
Reluctantly, Grace rose, picking up her bag while Rebecca walked her out of the classroom. I grabbed Peter ’ s hand and pulled him farther down the hallway, so they didn ’ t spot us.
“ You can ’ t be serious about me spending a month in detention, ” Grace murmured once they were out of earshot of the class.
“ I warned you that the punishment would be severe. This isn ’ t going to work if I go easy on you, ” Rebecca replied.
Grace groaned. “ Ugh, it ’ s almost sexy how strict you ’ re being right now. ”
“ Don ’ t start trying to distract me by pretending to flirt. I know all your tactics. ”
“ Who says I ’ m pretending? ” Grace shot back.
Rebecca gave a sigh. “ Just keep walking. You made a deal with me, and now you ’ re going to see it through. ”
They continued down the hall, and we could no longer hear their conversation.
I glanced at Peter and found him studying my face. “ What? ”
“ You said something to me once about Grace being besotted with someone. It wouldn ’ t happen to be your sister, would it? ”
“ Good on you for cracking the most obvious case in history, ” I teased and gave him a shove. “ Come on. We ’ re going to be late for class. ”
Peter stole a kiss, and butterflies fluttered through my belly before we hot-footed it to Mrs Tenaka ’ s classroom.
Oddly, Vasilios ’ comment about how long our lives would be compared to Peter ’ s entered my mind. I resented the cold truth of the statement, but it did make me see my cousin ’ s love for Rebecca in a slightly different light. In years to come, Grace would no longer be a student and Rebecca would no longer be her teacher. Their age gap wouldn ’ t be such a big deal when they ’ d both lived for over a century. Perhaps then, Grace could finally come clean about her feelings.
Or, more realistically, she would be long over her schoolgirl infatuation with my sister.
At the end of the day, Peter met me by my locker, and we headed out. I was ridiculously excited for our movie date, but as we exited the school, Peter stopped mid-stride, his eyes on a woman standing near the gates.
“ Is that your mother? ” I asked, and he nodded, his expression grim.
“ What do you think she wants? ”
“ I don ’ t know. Wait here while I go and talk to her. ”
I stood by the school building, watching as Peter approached his mum. She looked emotional as she pulled him into a hug. It lasted longer than typical, and I got the sense that she ’ d really missed him. They broke away and spoke for a few minutes before hugging again. Peter returned to my side.
“ Let ’ s go. ”
“ Aren ’ t you going to tell me why your mother came to see you, ” I said, full of curiosity.
Peter touched the spot below his ear. “ She wants me to come home. I told her that so long as my father is still living under that roof, it wouldn ’ t be happening. ”
“ Does your father want you to come home, too? ”
“ She said he does, but if he really wanted me back, then he would ’ ve come to see me himself. What he wants is for me to start working at Indigo again, and that ’ s never going to happen. ”
“ Good. You seem much happier since you ’ ve been working on Clay ’ s market stall. ”
“ He ’ s been letting me help him with some of the spells. That way, I get to keep a percentage of the profit. He knows I ’ m saving for a place, and he wanted to help me out. ”
“ He sounds like a good guy. It ’ s a relief to know that not all the demon warlocks out there are bloodthirsty psychopaths. ”
Peter nodded, and we made our way over to my car. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something on the drive into the city.
“ Penny for your thoughts? ” I asked while the radio played quietly in the background.
He rubbed his jaw. “ Do you really think he ’ s a psychopath? ”
“ Who? Vasilios? Of course. Look what he did to Mr Williams. That isn ’ t the action of a sane person. ”
“ Yeah, but maybe if we ’ d been through what he had, we ’ d go a little bit murdery, too. ”
“ First off, murdery isn ’ t a word, and second, he ’ s Theodore ’ s son. Psychopathy is in his blood. ” I realised my error when I glanced from the road to Peter and found him frowning.
“ Then it must be in my blood, too, ” he said in a low voice.
I reached out and squeezed his thigh. “ It ’ s not the same. You ’ re only distantly related to Theodore. And we have no idea what kind of life Vasilios lived before he got here. He said Oreylia was a harsh place, and even in that harsh place, he was considered an outcast because of his mixed heritage. That has to affect a person ’ s sanity. ”
Now, Peter smiled. “ I think you just made my point for me. ”
I rolled my eyes. “ Okay, you win. Poor little Vasilios has some kind of villain origin story that we ’ ll probably never know all the details of, but that still won ’ t make me feel sorry for him. If he was free right now, he ’ d be out there plotting to murder my parents and take over the city. ”
“ I guess it ’ s good that he ’ s being sent to a prison no one ’ s ever escaped from, ” Peter said.
“ Yes. Now can we try and forget about Vasilios? I want to focus on enjoying our date and your handsome company. ”
Peter ’ s smile deepened as he leaned towards me and placed a featherlight kiss on my neck. “ As you wish, ” he murmured, and desire coiled in the pit of my stomach.
Oh, I was going to have a really hard time keeping my hands off him in the darkened movie theatre.
20.
It was Valentine ’ s Day, and I was puzzling over what to wear.
Peter had something special planned. He said to be ready at eight, but I couldn ’ t decide whether to wear trousers or a dress. A dress seemed like the fancier option, but it was still February, and even my dhampir genes couldn ’ t defend against the bitter cold outside.
Oh, screw it. I ’ d wear the dress. Hopefully, whatever Peter had planned for us would take place indoors. I pulled the deep blue midi dress from my wardrobe, laid it out on the bed, and went to see if Rebecca had any hair accessories that I could borrow.
When I returned to my room, armed with a hair clip the same colour as my dress, I paused in the doorway.
“ How had he … ? ” I said, walking over and admiring the vase of red roses sitting on my dresser. They shimmered with magic, and my skin tingled as I pictured Peter sneakily teleporting to my room to leave them for me to find.
How romantic.
There was a white card nestled within the roses. I plucked it up, a smile on my face as I opened it to read the message. Then, my face fell as my heartbeat sped up, eyes scanning the neat, cursive letters as anxiety swarmed my belly. This wasn ’ t Peter ’ s handwriting. No, this was the same handwriting that had been on the note in my locker, the one left by Vasilios.
Dearest Darya,
Is it too soon to ask if you miss me? I have been wallowing in this cell for only a week, and already, the walls are closing in. But never fear. I have a plan to reunite us sooner than you think. In the meantime, I hope you like the roses. I ’ ve bespelled them with a little surprise. Simply pluck a petal from one of the stems to reveal it.
Happy Valentine ’ s Day,
Yours always,
V.
xxx.
Panic coursed through me as I stared at the roses. They continued to shimmer with magic, but I didn ’ t dare touch them. For all I knew, the spell could be a malevolent one. And if the dark look Vasilios had given me when he realised my deception was anything to go by, in all likelihood, it was designed to cause harm. I dashed from my room, finding my parents downstairs in the living room.
“ Darya, what is it? ” Mum asked, eyeing me in concern.
“ You both need to come upstairs, ” I said, out of breath.
They followed me up, and I gestured to the flowers.
“ Are those from Peter? ” Dad asked.
I shook my head. “ They ’ re from Vasilios. ”
“ That ’ s not possible. He ’ s been sent to the Prison of Thorns, ” Mum said.
“ Look, ” I told her, handing her the note. “ That ’ s definitely his handwriting. ”
Mum studied it while Dad eyed the note over her shoulder.
“ How the hell did he manage to get the flowers in here? ” I asked in alarm. My skin crawled at the possibilities.
“ It shouldn ’ t be possible, ” Mum said, her hand hovering over the flowers. She was far braver than I when she plucked off a petal, and then the flowers emitted a strange tune.
“ Is that a song? ” I asked, the melody sounding familiar.
“ I think so, ” Mum said.
Vasilios had bespelled the flowers with a song. But why? My dad ’ s face was thoughtful as he listened. “ It sounds like “ Sealed with a Kiss ” by Bobby Vinton. ”
