Void(68)

This isn’t over. I gave up on you once, but I won’t make that same mistake again. I’m a fast learner, remember?

I rolled the note over in my palm before crushing it in my fist. These were just words, worthless letters strung together in a way that was meant to reassure me. I decided right then and there that I was in control of my own actions. If I wanted to pursue something with these men, then it would be on my terms, not theirs.

“Hey, Betty,” I said, rubbing my fingers along her sleek chrome. “How about we go for a ride, girl?”





Chapter 17





I’d never been afraid of the darkness. I learned long ago to wrap myself up in it, to let the gloom coat my skin with its mystery. It seemed like everyone was busy wasting their entire lives trying to escape the dusk. They turned on night lights and hid from the shadows like they had the power to escape the monsters hiding there. But I learned long ago that I thrived in the dark. I learned to love myself there, in the bruised obscurity. And if darkness was my ally, then thrill was my bliss. It was the only way I could escape my tumultuous thoughts.

The engine of my bike purred between my thighs as I barreled down the curves of winding roads. It had been way too long since I’d been able to take her out. She’d been locked up and guarded at Mrs. Coxcomb’s after they caught me sneaking her out one night. It was good to have her back, and I was thankful to my dad for bringing her.

As soon as I got on Betty, I’d gotten the hell off of Thibault Academy’s grounds. As soon as I left the gravel drive and rolled onto pavement, the ominous building nothing but a shadow behind me, I’d smiled. Cool air filled my lungs as I rode further and further away, breathing in the scent of freedom.

I was going fast down the dark streets of the Washington town. My pale blonde hair slapped my cheeks as I switched gears, pushing the bike harder. All I wanted was to go even faster.

I felt free, wrapped up in night and danger, zipping through the questions of who I was and my purpose in this fucked up world, all while pushing further, faster, harder. A sharp turn came up on my right, and I leaned into it so hard that my ankle nearly scraped along the pavement. But it didn’t. It never did. I was cursed with the luck of a demon and blessed with a desire to test its boundaries. Taking risks was in my blood.

Maybe the paragons knew I was gone. Maybe someone had spotted me tearing off school grounds, but that only made my smile stretch wider. It made me feel good to picture Headmaster Torne with his thin lips perched in a scowl as he ordered the guys to search for me. I had to take joy in the little things.

Riding Betty off into the night was the only way I could start to sort through my racing thoughts. Hope was a foolish thing, and I was a foolish girl for thinking one miracle could change anything. So what if I swapped the powers of two supers? I was still a Void. Judge Braxton might have taken me out of exile, but I was still his tool to use. I just didn’t know the rules anymore. If I couldn’t figure out how to control my powers, the council was going to try to control me for the rest of my life.

I revved the engine and passed between two cars, straddling the painted highway lines. The lights from other cars and buildings flashed by as I drove. My instincts let me know every curve and pothole on the road. There was a stretch of straight nothingness ahead, and my latest visit with dad had me in the mood to take a risk. I turned off the headlight to my Suzuki GSX250r and let the night sky blanket me in darkness. I let my body relish in it, feeling like I could breathe again. Tossing my head back, I let out a thrilled scream, my voice ripping away into the dark air.

I was soaring. Flying. Falling.

I inhaled. Exhaled. Inhaled. Held. Held. Held.

I held the air in my lungs like my chest was a cage. Exhilarating tremors of fear and excitement gripped me. I relished in the control of my breath, holding it inside until it felt like my lungs might burst. I got off on knowing that at any moment, I could lose this game. The best games were the ones with the biggest risks. And the biggest risks usually held hands with the darkness that everyone loved to hide from.

The light was easy to love. It was easy to take a stroll through the autumn leaves and let the warm glow of a dawning sun wash over you. It was easy to bask in the summer and fall in love with light reflecting over the water. But that was all overrated in my opinion. I much rather preferred the veiled unknown of night. Some things of the darkness were just misunderstood.

I sensed that the end of the straight stretch was coming up, and I’d have to turn on my headlight soon, but I wanted to wait. I knew the exact moment I’d need to see again—it was the exact moment that the high of the danger would wear off, and I’d have to go back to the school.

I finally inhaled again. Exhaled. Closed my eyes for the last ten seconds, enjoying the darkness for as long as I could until I couldn’t hide inside it anymore. I opened my eyes and slowed down before turning on the headlight again, shrouding the road in a yellowish glow just before a right curve appeared. Just as I leaned into it, I felt a prickling sensation on my back. The awareness that someone was watching me.

I cursed under my breath, my palms instantly growing clammy even with the rushing wind. I knew they’d find me.

As the long curve came to an end, I saw him in the distance. Arms crossed, legs parted in arrogance, with a hint of amusement mixing in with his annoyance. He just stood there, in the middle of the road, glaring at me. Damn vampire.