Fatal Fascinations

Chapter 19: Poisioned Apples

Alex POV:

Rose had corned me after I made my way from Annalina's room and convinced me to ditch the castle for a 'walk in the woods'.

I had no idea what she meant by that, but I didn't care. Caspian couldn't touch me now I laughed inwardly. And Annalina and him work well togther.

As we walked casually down the stairs, my heart sped up at the third sound of footsteps I heard approaching us from the opposite stair case.

As if I already knew, Luca rounded the corner at the top of the staircase across from ours. My heart clenched seeing him in a faded form fittting black t-shirt and light washed jeans.

Maybe it was my imagination, but his eyes seemed to light up when he saw us, bringing a sharp color straight to his irises. He tightened his jaw, the impressive lines of his face accentuated in the light from the chandelier.

I refused to give him a smile and instead forced an unamused and bored expression on my face.

"What are you to up too?" He asked, eyeing us suspiciously.

Rose giggled and gave me a look.

"Nothing," she chirped, raising an eyebrow at Luca.

With that, she pulled me swiftly down the stairs, a small titter of laughter escaping from both of us.

"What has you so excited?" I asked, a smile playing at my own lips.

Rose seemed happier than usual, more secretive and excited than usual. I guess she's embracing the vampire world better than some of us are.

She didn't answer me. Instead, she pulled me lightly down a dimmed hallway. Stupidly, I didn't question her. Instead, I thought about what I needed to do. Always planning ahead. I need to train with Caspian. I need to get strong. King Julian told me I had fire, and I'm going to prove it to him. Then there's Luca...

"Guys!" Annalina's voice called to us. She was shamelessly shagging on pants as she followed us.

Rose paused, motioning for Annlina to hurry up in her endeavor.

"Sorry, sorry," she mumbled, dragging a pony tail off her arm and tying back her overshized t-shirt into a knot.

Coming up to us, I noticed the bags under her mineral gray eyes. She isn't handling this as well as I thought.

"Okay," Rose clapped her hands together. "We are going for a swim."

Rose's POV:

The girls screamed in delight when I showed them the waterfall. It took us twenty minutes to find the exact place, but I was still excited when I managed to find it again. Extremely proud of myself, I couldn't help but grin at their reactions of wonder and excitement.

Granted, I didn't tell them this was Roland's spot. Doesn't matter. It's ours now.

Annalina looked pensive, staring at the clear calm water at our feet.

"How far down does it go?" She asked curiously.

"Like thirty feet by the waterfall," I explained. "It's a lot deeper than it looks."

A small smile coasted over her tired face.

"Perfect," she whispered, standing up to shrug off her jeans and t-shirt.

The sun peeking through the surrounding trees made her skin glow a brilliant white, and her golden hair glistened brilliantly in the morning light.