Nightworld Academy: Term One(Nightworld Academy #1)(30)

Yeah, thanks to spending half my weekdays working at the pub. I'm one of the only students who can truthfully say they work, when most spend their days relaxing or studying.

I rub the back of my neck and sigh. "There's a party in the Gilgamesh common room tonight. Come along, if you want."

"Who'll be there?" asks Jamie sharply.

"No idea. Open invitation."

"The vamps?"

I shrug. "Maybe. Clive will want Katherine there, and I'm sure her crew will tag along."

Maeve bites her lip. "Oh. I don't know if I should come."

"Surely you won't let Katherine and her group of idiots put you off?" asks Jamie.

"I'll keep an eye on them," I say gruffly. "I'd love an excuse to kick their arses out of the place."

"As long as I'm not the wallflower in the corner with no friends. Amelia isn't here and I haven't settled in yet."

My heart goes out to her more. Settled in. Made friends. Been accepted.

I finally crack a smile. "You won't. I'll make sure of that."

Why does this girl manage to push through my barriers?





Chapter Seventeen





JAMIE



I don't mind an occasional party for a birthday or end-of-exam celebration, but Gilgamesh parties are known to get out of hand. What else would you expect from a load of shifters? Petrescu parties are also legendary, but because they're secretive and don't often let in outsiders. Rumours that they're debauched and depraved surround them, but few know what happens at a Petrescu party.

Personally, I never want to.

Each school house building has a large common room filled with chairs and rugs, a TV, and a couple of low tables usually covered in fast food debris. Tonight, a good dozen or so people litter the room instead, mostly from Gilgamesh but a few from Walcott, and, as predicted, Katherine and crew. I'm unsure if her romance with Clive is for prestige or mutual benefit. Katherine can keep his primal nature under control by feeding on some of the sexual energy he has a ton of. Do they have sex? I doubt they'd cross that line into taboo territory. Would they?

Inter-racial relationships aren't illegal, but they're rarely welcomed. Compatibility is an issue, especially between shifters and vamps. Immortality is one issue, although the vamps at Nightworld academy are conceived and reach maturity before they stop aging.

Vampire procreation is possible with help from strong, dark witchcraft, but rare. The humans would be shocked to discover vampires can procreate, but they'd be stunned to know vampires aren't all blood drinkers. Those who feed in other ways are equally, if not more, dangerous.

The pneuma and lamia gain their energy from other sources and all have strength and agility unmatched by humans. But along with these powers, they have functioning bodies kept young by their feeding habits.

Luckily for humans—and others—those immortal bodies can't stand sunlight, which will sap their energy. Too much of the sun's energy will fast forward to the age they should be.

So, the Petrescu crew own a whole other reason to walk around with an imagined superiority. Young, good-looking—and immortal.

Maeve stands beside me wearing a short blue floral dress over black leggings and a matching cardigan, unbuttoned. Most here are dressed down in jeans and simple clothes, when usually they're in uniform. Predictably, Katherine stands out in her tight red dress showing every one of her perfect curves and heels that place her at Ash’s height.

To be fair, Katherine stands out whatever she wears. Her and Maeve have similar hair colour, but the comparison stops there. Katherine's pale skin and bright blue eyes draw attention and then captivate.

Not me. Even if she wasn’t a bully, I’d never touch a lamia. Clive is mad.

Katherine targeted Clive last term and instead of resisting, he welcomed her. Either that, or her lamia powers are particularly strong for a young one. Together they make a power couple, as both their families have a strong standing in the Confederacy.

In the early days, Katherine had her sights set on Ash, as many do. He rejected Katherine—he never dates outside his race—so she turned the story around to one where she decided he wasn't worth her time.

Ash laughed her off, told everybody he had a lucky escape, and went back to his circle. He and Katherine clash occasionally still, but Ash keeps that on the lowdown.

What does he think of Maeve?

Theodora told me Maeve is a witch with spirit affinity and that I should help her settle into the academy. The moment I saw her, something struck me as unusual. I knew immediately there's more to her. Her troubled times at school and home came through to me when I touched Maeve's bag on the first day and opened my eyes to the girl beneath the snarky, confident persona.

I’m not sure what Ash’s issue is with Maeve, as he welcomed her when she first arrived. A prejudice against witches? Ash was standoffish to anybody outside of Gilgamesh in his early days, but recently he’s fine.

I deliberately walk over to him first, with the nervous Maeve following, and tap him on the shoulder. The guy is a typical shifter, built like a mountain with arms I swear could crush a man's skull if he locked them around their head. Is this part of his popularity? People's reluctance to tangle with the captain of the rugby team whose physical prowess grows by the day?