Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“Now that you say it, it’s obvious. If that’s not what she was doing out there, what did bring her to campus?”
“Don’t know.” Lucien slowed to a reasonable speed. The trees crowded in on us, creeping closer to the road, and the road itself grew smaller as he turned onto the street leading us out of town. “Since we’re speaking of Saylor, we can safely guess it’s nothing good.”
I flicked an earring on the tip of my finger, thinking of all the scenarios that could or have led me to a secluded area at night. Lucien was right—it was nothing good.
“What was it like in high school?” I asked. “I would’ve been there with you guys if I hadn’t gotten myself shipped off to boarding school. I’ve always wondered what I missed. Is it like pretty much every high school movie ever made?”
He chuckled. “You’re talking to a vampire frozen in the body of a nineteen-year-old man. I’ve lived every high school movie ever made. If you want a comparison, Regalia High was like... Forks High School in Twilight.”
I gasped. “You’ve watched Twilight? Oh my goodness, is that like your soap opera? You throw popcorn at the television, yelling that a real vampire would neeevvverr do that.”
Lucien laughed so hard the car drifted into the wrong lane. This is why the man didn’t like getting behind the wheel. He was liable to drive his Porsche into a tree.
“I never thought of it like that, but now that you say it, it’s obvious. That is why I watch vampire shows and movies—to laugh at all the things they get wrong. But one thing Twilight gets right is what it was like in our high school. There are the normal, average kids who study, goof around, do their homework, and hookup behind the bleachers.
“Then, there are the Royals. A group of impossibly gorgeous creatures gliding through the halls without looking left or right, because they don’t notice or care that other people are around. They sit at their own tables, speak only to each other, and look around the place like they’d rather be anywhere else and you’re lucky they chose to be there at all. That’s high school in Regalia, and not just six years ago. It’s every one I’ve been forced to attend over the decades. The idea that the rich and connected are better than everyone else has lasted a long time.”
I nodded, soaking in his words. “I wish Winter and I went to high school together, but after hearing that, we would’ve been better off in a school that wasn’t Regalia High.”
“What was the Catholic school like?”
“Oh, well, I bet you’ve heard the stereotypes. Honestly, it was nothing like that. Some of the sisters were severe, though plenty were sweet, kind, and understanding of what it’s like to be far from your home and family. On the weekends we would...”
Lucien and I fell deep into talking about St. Thomas’s, Regalia High School, the life we’ve had outside of both, and how his was more varied and colorful than mine. I never knew what stories he was taking from someone else, or which were his that he set in a different time period—whichever it was, his stories were damn interesting.
“—three men were waiting for me around the corner. I knew they were there.” He pointed to his ears. “Heightened senses. But I thought they were kicking back enjoying a cigarette. I had no idea they were there for me until they knocked me down and tried to put out their cigarette in my eye.”
I hissed. “Did they really?”
“Oh, yeah. Their boss was brought to my clinic the week before. He got into a knife fight and it was”—he whistled—“nasty, Luna. Slashed across the face, ruining his left eye. He demanded I save it, but there was nothing I could do. Naturally, he decided if he didn’t get to keep his eye, I didn’t get mine.”
“Wow. That’s the kind of business that makes you opt for early retirement in Barbados.”
He chuckled. “I was thinking about it. It does get tiring patching up you broken humans and getting a knife in the gut instead of thank-you.”
“They stabbed you?” I cried.
“One guy got in a lucky shot while I was twisting Cigarette Man’s arm so far back, it snapped. With him howling in the dumpster, I snapped Knife Man’s neck and fed on the last one. All three bodies were deposited on their boss’s doorstep the next morning. Funnily enough, I never heard from him again.”
“That’s a badass story even if it’s made-up.”
“All true, my lady,” he replied, light smile gleaming in the rearview mirror. Lucien Calais could wear the most ridiculous getup. He could paint his face white and dress like a clown. Nothing would lessen the impact of that smile.
I was so caught up in our conversation, I didn’t remember we were going somewhere in particular until the trees opened up, revealing the strip of bars, clubs, and beach hangouts that clung to the edge of town. Early morning on a weekday, there wouldn’t be many people around and a single glance told me there wasn’t. No one pulled up a stool at the beach bar or flitted from club to club, collecting a buzz, and yet the parking lot was packed.