DOFAB#3

Chapter Three

~ KINLEY ~

"I can't believe we have to wait until Monday to select our partners. Talk about two days of torture." Maya's complaining barely reaches my ears as we stand in line waiting to receive our dorm assignments. "How are we supposed to choose when the vampires are so stand-offish? Like hello, we signed up to feed you. At least make an effort to come introduce yourself."

My shoulder rises. But don't tell anyone. Nadora has a strict tradition of letting the savant announce the pairings on the first day. Consider this our first trust exercise, Talrek's last spoken words to me reanimate as if he's still right behind me. He vanished after that, just as I've heard vampires often do.

Guess my new friend and I should have read the fine print, only there was no fine print. Nadora keeps applicants in the dark until you're already here. By then, it's too late. You're staring up at a 6'5 marked vampire who admitted his bloodlust gets the better of him. A vampire of Darkos lineage who's over 1700 years old. How many mortals would still apply to Nadora if they knew they didn't have any say in the vampire they are to be paired with? At least for the first year. I'm hoping at some point there is an opportunity to switch.

Nadora makes no mistakes. Per the headmaster's words, being able to select a new partner is seeming highly unlikely.

"Hey, our names aren't on the list," Maya scans the alphabetical sheet pinned to the wall next to the display of iron keys with corresponding room numbers. "Kinley Rylan, right? Yeah, neither of us is listed." She double-checks again.

"Our names weren't on the list either," a girl dressed in white says. She's standing with three other girls. Two of which are morru according to their colorful attire. I recognize the girl in yellow as the one who curtly responded to Maya's outburst.

"Does that mean we've been cut?"

The girl shrugs. "I'm not sure. My name was drawn out of the lottery applicants."

"If it weren't for the scholarship, I'd be down to hop on the next boat out of here." The girl in a blue dress speaks up. Her stance is wide, arms crossed as she has one hip cocked to the right. Her toned figure reminds me of the eevie of Thorne.

"You'll have to excuse Beck. She isn't fond of blood-drinkers." The girl who shrugged mouths the last word.

Beck is definitely at the wrong school. Blood-drinkers make up forty percent of Nadora's student body.

"I'm Maya, and this here is Kinley." Maya takes it upon herself to introduce us both.

"Ahem." Azlan clears her throat, her stance not much different than Beck's. She's glowering at her charge. Maya ran off the second Azlan got preoccupied with the sheer volume of vampire company she's been forced to tolerate because of her unruly charge.

Maya groans in annoyance. "And this is Azlan, my moral babysitter."

"It is a pleasure to meet you all." Azlan's angelic features shine warmly.

"Ruby." The caramel-brunette who first spoke goes to shake Azlan's hand only to be pulled into a hug.

"Blessed be, child of Zeura. Mother of the Heavens, please watch out for these beautiful spirits of light and let no devil corrupt them with darkness."

Beck scoffs, rolling her eyes at Azlan's prayer. She must not be a devout either.

"Oh...thank you," Ruby replies, her rigid posturing telling she's unsure how to respond to Azlan's celestial embrace but doesn't want to be rude.