What a clever devil.
The corner of my lips slightly curl. His nostrils flair at it.
“A devil,” I answer. “One I’d say is nearly exactly like you. He taught meallabout control.”
“I’ve never heard of a devil wanting to adopt a human,” Callahan says, though I know what he’s trying to ask.
“Oh, his generosity knew no bounds.” And that’s not a fucking lie. “The nonmortals on Earth are a lot different. His wife was a mage, they were fated, but she couldn’t have kids. Nonmortal children are rare and I just so happened to have similar features as her and being a toddler I was the next best thing. Any more questions?”
I point that question to Professor Asier since he so needed to know how I have such control over bloodlust. My answer to that also wasn’t technically a lie.
Callahan chuckles and asks another fucking question. I had meant mine to be rhetorical.
“Whatareyour natural features, firecracker?”
Not this again with that stupid nickname. I scoff at it but shrug my shoulders. Brushing my hands around my neck I flip my hair. Then I gesture to myself. “Basically this. Black hair, I just dye it blue and pink at the ends, but my eyes used to be brown. Very boring, very original. Can I go now? I have a class to get to.”
Callahan shrugs and turns towards the others. Professor Asier spins around and leaves without a second thought and not caring about the other two I grab my blazer that had been draped across a side chair and start making my way out.
Asher pulls Jullia and Hanna along and eventually begins to lead because I don’t actually know where I’m going. My internal map of this place began and ended with where my dorm building was, where I needed to go to eat, and where my classes were.
Eventually he leads us down a hall the opens up into another courtyard. Stopping, Asher turns towards me and offers my sunglasses and umbrella. I really fucking hate this umbrella.
Taking them, I slide the glasses on and open the umbrella, but now that I’m ready no one wants to move. Finally, after thirty-ish seconds, Jullia moves to stand in front of me and looks directly at me.
“Why did you do that?”
This is the first time I’m hearing her speak like this.
Cold and detached and all that does is hide how hurt she is. I can’t blame her. She tried to stand up for me and I basically shut her down. The only person in this school who has given me any grace.
God I’m a bitch.
Letting the umbrella fall to my side I remove my sunglasses so I can properly look at her. Her lavender eyes watering behind her glasses and her jaw clenching.
“Thorne, the one who exposed me to the sun, he’s a demon, right?” She blinks, registering my words and then barely dips her head. “And Callahan is a devil. The last one in the back, is he an angel?”
She nods again and I’m sure there’s some sort of understanding happening in her mind because her lips start to purse and her brows begin to lower.
“So they’re all celestials and at least one of them is closely related to someone on the Mage Board. I, a lowly being of moral, who is hated by all the races, would have pleaded my case, won because there were too many witnesses, and then eventually ended up accidentally dead because I decided to mess with people who are in a position of power I am nowhere near.”
Jullia squeezes her eyes shut and sighs. A look of dejection but understanding replacing the hurt and anger.
“If I want to be stamped as a legal vampire I need to graduate this stupid university. If I have to bow my head and beg and grovel and submit a bit before some assholes, so be it. And trust me, Jullia. . . “ I wait for her to open her eyes and look back at me. “I’ve had it a hell of a lot worse. Not in recent years, but still. They now know I burn in the sun, and hopefully my responses answered their questions. Let’s just. . . move on.”
Jullia sighs again before fisting her hands and stomping her foot. “Okay. Fine. I will. But it’s still not fair. Just because Callahan and Thorne’s fathers sit on the Mage Board doesn’t mean they get to do whatever they want. But I will agree, we can move on.”
She nods her head and then gives me a smile. Content with that I put my sunglasses back on and pick up my umbrella. Jullia comes to stand at my side and threads her arm through mine. Looking over at Asher and Hanna I realize I forgot they were there.
“Let’s go to class then,” Jullia announces, “even though I’m already late.”
Neither Hanna nor Asher objects so we exit the hall and walk under the rays of the sun. Jullia tenses beside me but it doesn’t affect her walk. Asher moves to stand on the other sideof her and while Hanna stays on my side she still keeps space between us.
“It makes you wonder though,” Hanna says after we’ve walked to the next building where my and Jullia’s next classes are, “why did Thorne, and it seemed the rest of them too, want to see if you did burn in the sun? Did they think you couldn’t? Were they questioning if you were a vampire or something?”
When I turn to Hanna she meets my stare head on and no longer looks like she wants to put a stake through my heart. Jullia hums and Asher looks like he’s curious too but he pulls Jullia away saying we’ll talk about this after class.
Perfect timing too, because the old sounding bell rings and Hanna dips to her class while I go to walk through the door of mine. Even though I’m early and no one is here yet, I can relax in one of the chairs.