Supernatural Academy: Year One (Supernatural Academy #1)(10)

“Does you dad beat you?” I asked, hoping like hell I was wrong. Mostly because I would hate to think Princeps Jones could pretend to be such a loving father, and also because I’d never go to a school with an abuser as a principal.

I waited for her to deny it—almost all victims of abuse denied it. They knew more abuse was coming their way if their abusers ever found out they talked.

It was all about watching for the smaller reactions. Their “tells.” Which, granted, I didn’t know Larissa’s yet, but often the signs were still somewhat obvious.

She shook her head and blinked at me. There was no panic in her gaze; she looked shocked, like completely stunned that I’d asked her that. “Oh my gods! No! Never! He’d kill anyone that hurt me.”

My relief was huge. Unless she was very, very good at acting, she was telling the truth.

She rubbed a hand across her face, before letting out a sigh. “My father protects me. I’m a vampire, but I’m weak. My mother died when I was young, her carotid artery ripped out by a rival of my father. There was … blood everywhere. When it was time for me to feed from the vein, I couldn’t do it. All I could remember was the scent of her blood everywhere.” She coughed, shaking her head. My heart beat faster as I felt her palpable pain. “So now I only feed on bottled blood,” she finished.

“So most vampires…?” I asked softly.

Larissa nodded. “Yep. Bite the vein and drink the blood.”

Right. I should have guessed that. I’d read one or two vampire stories before.

“I’m so sorry about your mother,” I told her. “I found my mother’s body as well. I know how that stays with you.”

Larissa shot me a sad smile, and something struck me then. The same way Ilia had predicted we would be friends, I somehow knew Larissa would be my friend as well.

“You’re going to sit with me from now on,” I declared. I hated that she was isolated in here, away from everyone else.

“And me,” Ilia added.

I smiled at her. “You’re sticking around?”

She nodded. “Yep. Princeps Jones promised that if I found you I could hang around for a while and make sure you were fitting into the world.” She shrugged. “It’s important to me. I’ve been relieved of all other duties.”

An unfamiliar emotion clutched at my chest, and for a brief moment I freaked out, until I realized that it was happiness. And excitement. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt anything except resignation.

I had to say, it was a nice change.

“I’d love to sit with you both,” Larissa said, more life in her voice. “Do you want any help finding your room now?”

“Call me Maddi,” I told her, “and I’d love some help.”

Ilia swung my bag off her shoulder, and I reached for it, relieved to finally have it back in my possession. “Follow me,” she said, leading us back the way we’d come in.

I couldn’t help but look toward the two tables that had drawn my attention before. They were both empty now, but I could almost feel the energy left behind by those who had sat there.

“So you called them the Clovers,” I said. “Where did that name come from?”

Both of them looked at their empty table as well; Larissa’s expression was nervous, Ilia’s was disgusted.

“It’s an herb,” Ilia snarled. “Powerful and strong. It warps the mind of anyone who ingests it—makes them crazy. Those bitches were known for using it quite liberally in their younger years, when they were clawing their way to the top of the junior school, and their first year here.”

Larissa shuddered. “Yes, everyone had to be very careful about anything they ate and drank. My father eventually put an end to it. He had every clover plant destroyed or locked away.”

“But the nickname stuck,” Ilia said.

My face was screwed up as I stared between them both. “Are you telling me they were that level of evil bitch even when they were younger?”

I just couldn’t even imagine it, and I’d grown up in shithole drug-infested neighborhoods.

“You have no idea,” Ilia said, her lips forming a snarl. “Kate is evil. Straight-up evil. Best stay out of her way. She should ignore you if you don’t upset the status quo.”

I held both hands up. “Done. I don’t want to be anywhere near her business, let me tell you.”

We continued through the Academy, and I found myself once again trying to catch sight of everything. I asked more questions than either of them probably expected—even I was surprised. But this was fascinating. Stumbling into a fantasy world was not something one did every day of the week. I was going to suck up as much of this as I could.

As we started up the steps that spiraled inside of the magic users’ tower, I realized how huge these race towers actually were. The stairwell was the size of a small apartment in width. “So all magic user students sleep in this tower?” I asked.

“Yep,” Larissa nodded, smiling freely. It was nice to see her coming out of her shell. “They’re coed, FYI. Supes are very free and easy with sexual relationships, so you’ll have to … let go of some human concepts in that regard.”

I didn’t comment on this, but my gut twisted uneasily. “Kate lives in this section?” I asked as we reached the second level.