Chapter Seventy-One

The entire class comprises of Vincent tossing looks over his shoulder and Adrian sitting about as relaxed as a cat above water, looking like he might interrupt the lecture to lunge at him at any given moment. I’m too focused on keeping an eye on Adrian to prevent something like that from happening to pay much attention to what’s being taught, which is going to make the take-home lesson for this extremely difficult. As soon as the Professor dismisses the class, I jump to my feet and try to push Adrian out into the walkway, determined to get into the hallway before Vincent can instigate an argument with him. This proves very difficult to achieve with Adrian’s stubbornness, remaining where he is without so much as budging at my efforts to move him.

Luckily, I notice the auras of several Wolves in the lecture hall, who seem to have caught on to the tension between Vincent and Adrian. As the rest of the students gather their things and flood into the hallways for their next lessons of the day, the Werewolves and other Vampires in the hall remain, watching each other cautiously to see what events may unfold. “Adrian, please,” I plead, stepping in front of him to try and block the challenging gaze that Vincent is returning him. “Let’s just go. You said you would let me meet with Jasper, didn’t you? You promised.”

Adrian continues to glare over my shoulder, so I grab his face in my hands and force him to look down at me instead. As expected, as soon as his eyes see the pensiveness of my expression, he sighs, focusing on me. The darkness of his gaze begins to fade and he reaches to caress the back of my neck, seeming to find comfort in my touch. His expression remains tight, however, but he seems to shake off the idea of fighting and turns to grab our school bag from the desk. He locks eyes with the Werewolves, who have come together to form a loose group around each other in case they need to jump into action. They incline their heads, showing that they are ready to do whatever is asked of them at their Alpha’s word. Their likeness to a gang is kind of scary, but I have to admire their loyalty, even if it’s based on fear.

Seeming to have received whatever the silent message is, Adrian grabs my arms and tugs me towards the door, dutifully ignoring Vincent’s antagonizing gaze. I, on the other hand, accidentally look up at him as we pass by, catching his eye. He grins and raises an eyebrow in a way that makes me feel see-through as if he knows about my secret. My heart skips an uneven beat at the perceptive look and turns away, picking up my pace to get out of the hall. Though he didn’t actually say anything, I knew exactly what message he was trying to send me, and I don’t know who let him in on it or how he found out. All that I know is I have to find a way to keep him from blabbing in front of Adrian. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Maybe I can convince Serene to confront Vincent about whatever he might know and persuade him to keep his mouth shut.

Once we’re in the safety of the hallway I turn to check Adrian’s reaction. He still holds tension in his shoulders and his jaw, but feeling me curl my fingers around his seems to help remind him that I’m here with him. He doesn’t say anything, but seeing my look of concern, he offers a tight smile to reassure me that he’s alright. I don’t really buy it, but I allow him to get away without explaining himself, for the time being, considering that I have something of my own to worry about right now, too. As soon as I get a moment, alone, I’ll send a message to Serene to let her know about my request for her to speak with Vincent.
Adrian leads me to a common area inside of the school that I haven’t noticed before, where there are several chairs and benches for students to sit and socialize or do their homework. The space seems surprisingly innovative for the age of the building, so I note the exact location in my brain for reference. I recognize the back of the head that we walk towards, sitting with headphones in as he leans over a laptop, typing away at the keys in concentration. He seems to sense Adrian’s arrival, because he turns in his chair to look at us with a smile.

Jasper looks the way he usually does, flooding me with relief. I really thought the worst when I saw him laying in the snow yesterday, barely alive and covered in so much blood. He should be dead, yet he looks as happy as ever as if nothing happened. As if he hadn’t almost lost himself to the Madness in his mind, as if he wouldn’t have come back if it weren’t for Adrian. I swallow, finding it suddenly hard to keep my mask up. I’m just so happy to see his face. As soon as his eyes lock onto mine, though, my steps falter. I know it isn’t my physical eyes that can see it, but there is a red string that suddenly appears, translucent as though I’m looking at a hologram. Turning to glance at Adrian, I can still see the line that connects his heart to mine, looking more solid and defined than the one that draws mine and Jasper’s fingers together. Has the heartstring always been there, or has something changed?

Japer’s light eyes flicker to meet mine, his smile wavering ever so slightly. Not totally similar to the shock that I felt the first time that Adrian touched my skin, a tingle begins in my hands, beginning at the ring finger of my right hand, and shooting up through my arm through the rest of my body. It’s my right hand this time, though, not the left like Adrian’s lifeline is. There’s something that makes both of theirs different, which I might assume is due to their different relationships with me.

The interaction lasts only a split second, not even long enough for Adrian to notice with his quick eyes. Jasper covers the strangeness of it by fixing his smile into something easy and relaxed as he raises form his seat to come and greet us. “Hey, Lydie,” He grins, though I detect the shimmer of curiosity in his eyes as he comes to wrap me in a tight hug, dutifully ignoring the warning growl from Adrian. He doesn’t whisper anything in my ear as he bends down, yet I can still hear the question cross my mind as if it were my own thought. ‘What the hell is that?’

“I haven’t seen you in a few days, I was starting to worry about you,” I say, giving him a tentative smile. ‘I think I know.’ I can’t explain how, but I know what the string of fate connecting us to each other means. Not that he is my soulmate like Adrian, but my Familiar. I don’t know how it’s possible or if it even is, but that’s what my instincts are telling me.

“I know, I wasn’t feeling very well, but I’m okay now.” Jasper pulls away before the hug is too prolonged to cause suspicion, and his expression remains as impassive to the oddity as before, though his gaze flickers to the spot where the red string between us is touched by fingers. It isn’t there now, seeming to have disappeared as soon as he wrapped his arms around me. I was so distracted by the strange feeling to appreciate his hug, especially being so grateful to see him alive and well. Jasper ducks his head in a respectful nod towards Adrian and extends his hand, silently inviting us to join him at the table he was sitting at. He takes his seat again and closes his laptop, glanc ing at me over the top of it. He heard what I was thinking, or otherwise sensed it. Did he even know about my bloodline, that I was capable of magic at all? I’m sure that someone told him; he grew up with me, after all. It was only a secret kept from me.

Adrian glances down at me with a slight frown, though he doesn’t address my comment as we follow Jasper over to his study area. We split apart to sit at the empty spaces on either side of him while I try to remain discrete about what just happened. Jasper seems equally as conflicted, but at least he’s willing to keep quiet about it in front of Adrian for the time being. ‘Can you hear me?’

I lock eyes with Jasper, hearing his words in my mind despite his lips remaining still. I press my lips together and fold my hands together in my lap, feeling suddenly cold. ‘Yes, I can. You aren’t going to tell him, are you?’ I ask, glancing at Adrian.

Jasper does the same, opening his mouth to say something about how cold the weather is, making conversation so Adrian doesn’t become suspicious of the awkward silence. ‘Your secret is safe with me.’


*End Part One *