Blood

Chapter Thirty: Unlikely Allies

I wasn’t expecting to run into anyone. The night was still, the only sound coming from the distant rustle of leaves in the wind.The second I touched her shoulder, Kaelin jumped, her eyes wide with surprise.

"What the hell? You scared me."

I raised both hands in mock surrender, trying to quell the rush of adrenaline in my veins. "Sorry about that. What's going on? Why are you out by this time?"

She eyed me suspiciously, folding her arms over her chest. "I should be asking you the same thing."

I grinned, stepping back slightly. "You know the saying—‘ladies first.’ So you say your reason first, and I’ll say mine after you."

"Or I could just tell on you," she countered, smirking.

I shrugged. "Since you can’t tell on me without telling on yourself. So truce?"

"Yeah, sure. I won’t tell on you, if you don’t tell on me."

"Deal," I said, relieved she wasn’t about to run off to find Alistair.

She looked up at the sky, her gaze following the moon’s slow arc across the night. "The moon is beautiful tonight."

"Yeah, I suppose," I agreed, following her gaze. "Why the interest in the moon, though?"

Kaelin paused, then shrugged nonchalantly. "It’s a part of me. Of all werewolves."

I froze for a second, processing her words. "Yo! You're a werewolf?"

She turned to face me, an eyebrow raised. "Yeah. Why is that so shocking?"

I blinked, still stunned. "Well, a minute ago, Riona told me that most students here are witches or warlocks, and now I’m hearing you're not one."

Kaelin’s lips twitched into a small smile. "You’re not a warlock?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I’m a vampire."

Her eyes widened briefly in surprise. "A vampire? And here I was thinking I was the odd one out."

"Guess that makes us even, huh?" I said with a shrug, the conversation flowing a little more naturally now.

"So how do you do all that magic you do during training? I'm pretty sure vampires don't have the power to conjure up fireballs." she asked, genuinely curious.

"To be honest, I don’t know because it's not like I cast spells or anything like that." I replied, rubbing the back of my neck. "I think it has something to do with my heartstone. It gave me powers I didn’t have before."

She tilted her head, her expression thoughtful. "That’s odd. My powers are still the same. The heartstone didn’t give me any new ones. It just strengthened the ones I had already."

"Yeah, I heard that I’m kind of bound to the crystal. We're like symbiotes," I explained. "It gives me more power, and I protect it."

She let out a low whistle. "You’re really lucky then."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Not sure I’d call what I have luck, but sure. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be."

Kaelin smirked, eyeing me. "So you suck blood and stuff? Should I be worried?"

"Nope," I said, holding up my hands defensively. "I don’t. Not anymore. Only fledglings need human blood."

She raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "You don’t?"

I looked away, memories of my past swirling in my mind. "My dad and... my mom—before she died—used to go hunting. They’d hunt down ogres, ghouls, elves, witches, and any other creatures they felt were... abominations. They’d kill them, drain their life force, their magic. That was what we used to feed and feed us instead of blood. We only need the life force of another creature like once or twice every month."

Kaelin’s expression softened. "I’m sorry about your mom. What happened?"

I clenched my jaw, the old pain creeping back into my chest. "It’s a long story. Part of that story is why I’m a guardian today but let’s not go into that."

She nodded, her eyes understanding. "I get it. Sensitive topic."

I took a deep breath and began to walk away. I wasn’t ready to share everything, especially not with someone I hardly knew. If my encounter with Emily taught me anything, it was to never trust anyone because you don't know those who are out to get you. "Guess I’ll see you around."

Just as I turned to leave, I stopped and looked back over my shoulder. "And next time, when you want to bask in the moonlight, try to do it in a place a bit more secluded. I found you without even trying. Imagine how easy it would be if Alistair was the one looking for you."

Kaelin chuckled, the sound light and easy. "Alright, noted. I was already leaving anyway."

I nodded, giving her a final glance before walking off into the night.

Since there's no time again tonight to sneak in through another classmate's window, I guess I'll have to brief Lira tomorrow.