Bloodline Legacy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 4), стр. 25
“That’s disgusting. He did me a favour. I should thank him.”
Pure vehemence flashed across his face. I remembered Durin’s comment about Kai being raised inside the Reserve. He grabbed me and pressed my back against a tree. It made my stomach flip. “Is this funny to you, Blue? Do you want me to kill him?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I think I’ll make friends with him instead. Think about that the next time you’re fawning all over Princess Nephilim!”
He shrugged. “The next time he comes near you, I’ll make it a reality.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Yes, you can. But I’ll still do it because it’ll make me feel better.”
“How is this about you? I’m the one whose door was defaced!”
The corner of his eye twitched. “Don’t change the subject,” I snapped. “Why did Chanelle feel like she could run crying to you because somebody finally took back your mother’s necklace?”
“Your necklace,” he corrected. “I don’t know why she does anything.”
He was too intelligent to be this dense. “Have you considered that she really means what she says?” Granted I had very little experience in this field, I just couldn’t discount the fact that she might really be in love with him.
Kai shrugged. “What she says doesn’t interest me.” He flexed his hands where he gripped my shoulders. “Stay away from Andrei. He’s insane.”
“Why does he hate you so much?”
Kai swallowed and his expression closed over. “I killed his family.”
I didn’t think I heard right. “Come again?”
He let go of me to scrub at the back of his neck. “His family, they gave into the bloodlust and massacred a village in Romania. I tried everything to bring them back, but it wouldn’t work. I know why he hates me. I understand why he hates me. But I would do it again.”
He said the words as though he’d rehearsed them. There was a good amount of the trademark Pendragon arrogance in them. But all I heard was the bitterness. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his waist. After a few moments, he dropped his head and rested his cheek on my forehead.
“Stay away from him,” Kai repeated. “He’s been out to get me for years.”
I didn’t know how to react to that. So I threw it back at him. Not exactly mature, but I was too flustered from how close he was standing and the frightening implications of his words. “The next time Princess Bitch-Face walks in the room and you fall over yourself to protect her, I’ll kick you in the balls so hard there will definitely be no more Pendragons. What? What’s so funny?”
He tried to temper the self-satisfied smirk that kept breaking out. Cupping my face in his hands, he leaned down and kissed me. “I know it’s hard,” he said. “But promise me you’ll give this a shot. Please.”
I didn’t even know what exactly he was referring to. But I was too far gone not to agree.
11
I had hoped a good night’s sleep would calm some of my nerves. Unfortunately, the sound of supernatural construction was no less irritating than human construction. There was all manner of banging and explosions. At one time during the night, a flash of such bright light flared outside the window that I thought it was morning.
“I’m going to kill someone,” Sophie groaned. She rolled over and stuffed a pillow over her head.
When morning came around, I was so tired I thought I would fall over. It was why I just stood there staring at the Arcana tree in the Grove until a rock hit me in the cheek. The purple nymph wagged her finger at me. I scowled. I was only going to lick the fruit a bit to feel more alert.
Instead, I settled for splashing my face with the water from the pool. It helped a little. Enough for me to realise I’d walked here along a familiar path and with the same ease as always. By some miracle, the construction had been completed on time.
The scowl of death Brigid gave me while I waited in line for food was almost comforting. She wasn’t the only one watching me. I thought I’d had enough of this but here we go again. After what I’d done while at Terran, I wasn’t surprised.
Sophie had some kind of facial recognition radar because she always managed to find our group amongst the throng.
I smiled when I saw who else was at the table. “So,” I said to the Evil Three. “First days at Bloodline Academy, huh?”
Harlow pointed her fork in my direction. “Sorry to burst your bubble,” she said, “but we’ve been here for two weeks. Peter’s been giving us the rundown.”
“Hey, Harlow!” One of the Fae girls walking past waved at her. It wasn’t an ironic wave either. Great. She’d managed to make friends in two weeks while I’d been here almost two years and my circle still consisted of the people around our table.
“It helps if you’re not demon-spawn,” she said.
I groaned. “Remember this was your idea,” Trey said. He was tight-lipped. I noticed Winnie sneaking looks at him from beneath auburn lashes.
“How are the repairs at Terran?” I asked.
Harlow sniffed. “It’s taking a while. With all this rain we’ve been having, the contractors have to keep stopping and starting.” She glanced up at the ceiling. “I can see the advantages of being able to control the weather.”
I took a bite out of my breakfast muffin. “How’s Rachel?”
The Evil Three grimaced in unison. “Not much different,” Alison told me. Rachel had volunteered to watch Giselle but had almost steadfastly refused to be involved in anything else supernatural related.
Sasha arrived with Roland and Diana. Before I could ask the vamp about Andrei, he eyed me speculatively.
“How are you feeling,” he asked.
I cocked my head to the side. “I think that’s the first time you’ve asked me that since we’ve known each other.”
He grinned at me. His fangs were retracted but there was a shrewd gleam in his eyes. “What?”