Nightworld Academy: Term One(Nightworld Academy #1)(35)

"Not much." He crosses his arms. "I didn't attack. I was invited."

"And how many times have I warned you about invitations, Andrei?" He straightens. "Did you go off campus looking for a girl again?"

Andrei dips his head further.

"I presume that means yes. For pity's sake, you stupid boy, don't you understand that there are hunters waiting for people like you? Have you heard the phrase 'honey trap'?"

"Yeah. I know there are those out there to deliberately tempt me, but I can normally read them," he mumbles.

"Your skills aren't developed enough. You can’t always push past magic that blocks people's thoughts, Andrei. If you paid attention and studied properly, you would."

Andrei looks up. "She wasn't a hunter. This girl works as a cleaner here. I met her in town."

"And why would you meet with a human unless it was for blood?"

"I didn't arrange to meet her," he retorts. "I wanted some beers to take to the party tonight. I bumped into her in the street. The stupid girl was drunk and shouting that she knew me, to impress the girls she was with."

"So, you attacked her?" I gasp. "What about her friends?"

Andrei drags a palm down his face. "No, I—"

"We don't have time for stories. Andrei. Where is she?" Tobias towers over him.

I don't hear Andrei's response. Tobias lifts his eyes skyward and mutters something beneath his breath. "Go to my classroom. Both of you."

I open my mouth to protest but he's looming over me before I have a chance to register that he's moved. Dizziness comes over me, and a familiar sensation like fingers digging into my brain crosses my scalp. I shake my head as recent memories flood into my head, flicking in and out as if someone is sifting through them.

An image of the day on the playing field with Ash sticks however hard I try to dismiss it, and for a moment the memory freeze-frames.

My mind returns to normal again and Tobias smiles knowingly. "If you do not do as I say, I will reveal your secret, Maeve."

"I don't have a secret," I whisper.

"Everybody has secrets."

"Even you?"

His brows shoot up at my boldness. "Yes, Maeve. Even me. The difference is, I read your mind and saw yours. You could never know mine, unless I tell you."





Chapter Twenty





MAEVE



I stand in the corner of Tobias's room, arms crossed tight against my chest as I stare out of the window rather than look at Andrei. He disgusts me. They both do.

"He shouldn't be able to read my thoughts," I say after ten minutes of silence.

"Tobias?" Andrei sneers. "He hides half of his strength. My family knows his history—I know what he's really capable of."

He sits on a desk at the opposite end of the room, feet on a chair. His cocky air is replaced by a troubled expression and knitted brow.

"Can he wipe my mind?" I ask.

"Yours? Little Miss Future-Sighted? Nope. He can search your mind for memories, but that's all. He doesn't even need to touch you like the witches do."

"Why say witches with such disdain? I thought you were all equal."

"There's no such thing as equality," he retorts.

I glare at his rudeness. "Did you kill?"

He blinks rapidly. "No. Did you?"

"What?"

"Your secret. I caught a glimpse from Tobias's mind. I saw death."

I look out of the window again. "Why has Tobias told us to wait here? Jamie and Ash are looking for me."

"I think I can guess." He stretches his arms out behind his back and rests his palms on the table. As he does, his black t-shirt rides up, revealing the edge of taut abs. "He'll be here soon."

"Don't you care about what you did to the girl?"

"News flash: I'm a hemia vampire. I drink blood."

"But you're not allowed to."

He sits forward. "Maeve. I don't give a crap what you think. You've been part of the supernatural world for five minutes and don't know anything."

"You are a patronising jerk," I snap.

"And you are a pain in the arse."

"I can be if you want. I can give you a good kick up it."

Andrei bursts into laughter. "That's not a pleasant way to talk to a guy who helped save your life."

"I thanked you and we moved on."

"Did we?" Andrei jumps down from his perch on the table and strolls across to where I stand. "I sense some tension here, Maeve."

I swallow. "That would be your mesmeric personality, or your attempt to use that on me."

"I don't need to," he says as he traces his tongue along his bottom lip. "Do I? You're like so many other humans. You love a bad boy."

I can't be sure what the effect he has is—fear or attraction—but his arrogance annoys me. "I'm not human."

"Neither am I, but my body responds like one and can recognise yours responding to me."

My mouth dries and I duck away from him. Nothing about vampires or shifters—even witches—is anything like I imagined. How can a vampire have human traits? "You have a high opinion of yourself, Andrei Tepes."