Adora crouched down in front of me, wiping a tear away with her hand. “Oh, Cleo. You’re okay. You were so brave. Do you know that?”

My lips trembled. I couldn’t stop the tears. “No.”

She wrapped her arms around me and gently ran her hand through my hair. “Only cowards gang up on someone like that. You must have been so scared.”

Her gesture hurt, but I didn’t want to push her away. She was warm. I let her hug me. “I’m okay,” I said into her sweater.

“No, you’re not. You don’t have to say you’re okay when you’re not.”

“Adora is right,” San said. “Let it out. You don’t need to be on your guard around us. I know it’s easier said than done, but you can rely on us.”

He placed his hand on my shoulder and it was that moment I remembered I was half-naked.

I shot up, startling Adora. San gasped and slapped his hand over his eyes. Adora had been covering me up. Apparently, the guys hadn’t noticed I had half my shirt off. “Turn around Kaz!” Adora barked.

“Already there,” Kaz said, hands clasped to the back of his head as he raised it up to the ceiling.

“You don’t want to wear that, do you? Come on, I’ll help you change.”

I felt more at ease with Adora taking care of me. We went to the bathroom and she helped me out of my ruined uniform and into a pair of clean, silk pajama shorts and a long sleeve top. Her face fell at the sight of all the injuries on me, but she didn’t say anything. Only double-checked the ones Claude took care of and then helped me with the ones on my legs. She rinsed out my hair over the bathroom sink, careful to avoid the bandages Claude had stuck on my neck.

And, bless the girl, she gave me some ibuprofen for my headache.

Once done, she ushered me back into bed, fluffing my pillows and pulling down the comforters. I slid in gratefully, my aching body unwinding on the plush mattress. Adora kicked off her shoes and climbed into the other side, propping herself up on the headboard.

She noticed my curious gaze and smiled. “We’re going to stay the night.”

“All of you?”

“Kaz will guard the door, San has the window, and I’ll be right next to you.”

My voice caught in my throat. “I— I don’t need that.”

Her eyebrows raised. “No? Well, we do. Let us ease our minds then. We want to make sure you’re safe. That’s okay, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, biting back a smile. I knew what she was doing. Trying to make me feel like the brave one. I appreciated it. I didn’t actually want to be alone. And even though vampires were the ones who attacked me, I felt safe with these three.

She lowered her voice. “Besides, Kaz feels really bad about it. He’ll probably want to stay with you for the rest of the semester.”

“That’s not necessary. He shouldn’t feel bad. It’s not his fault.”

“It’s not your fault either, Cleo.”

I chewed on my lip. “It kind of is. My family killed their families. I understand the want for revenge.”

“What your family has done has nothing to do with you,” she said fiercely. “Stop thinking like that. It will get you killed. Don’t just accept punishment for their actions. You’re not like that. You’re nothing like them. I know that. And I know you didn’t fight because for that exact reason. And for Rehan and those other jerks to disregard what you’re here for is loathsome.”

“How do you know so much about me and my family?”

Adora set her eyes downcast. “I’ve told you. My mother hears a lot and she told me. I know she shouldn’t have gossiped, but…”

“Why me specifically? I have a sister, too.”

“Your sister was not the one chosen to change the future. We should be thankful it wasn’t her.”

I shook my head. “No. She would have been the better choice. I’m ruining things already. She wouldn’t have been caught out like me.”

“Nothing is ruined, Cleo. Those students will be expelled. You won’t have to worry about them.”

“They’re going to be expelled?”

“They betrayed the peace treaty. They face worse punishments than that. Claude won’t be lenient. He’s just as responsible for the peace treaty as you are. And those students also betrayed him by attacking you.”

I didn’t think of it that way. No wonder Claude sounded so bitter. No wonder he didn’t fight the orders to watch over me. He had his own obligations, wanted, or not.

Adora’s voice fell. “Umm, and if you make the decision to tell your family about this, I’m not sure what will happen. Those guys might be the cause of the next war.”

I pushed myself up with my elbows. “No. I’m not telling anyone. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. If those students really are going to be expelled, that’s enough for me.” If they were gone, I could feel more at ease. I knew other students still shared the same sentiments, but I’d be more careful from here on out. I learned from my mistake.

“Rehan might not be,” Kaz spoke from the chair he’d dragged to the door. “His family holds a lot of influence. Even on our side, we’re split. There are those who want another war and to take full reign over humans. But the rest of us want peace, too. Not everyone hates humans. We have to tread carefully, too.”

I brought a hand up to my throat, fighting off the phantom feeling of being choked. Of course Rehan would be the one excused from his actions. Is that also why he’d been the one to take things so far? “I understand.”

“But that doesn’t mean he’ll come within ten paces of you again. I’ll make sure of that.” Kaz’s voice took on a sharp edge. “He won’t touch you again. Him or Felix.”

“Felix?” Adora repeated. “Felix was there, too?”

“No,” I said quickly. “Felix saved me. He stole me away from the rest of them. He got Evander and is helping him identify everyone who attacked me.”

A clattering came from San’s side of the room and I winced at the scrape of wood on the polished floor. He must have had his seat balancing on two legs and then fell backward. His head popped up over the armrest, red hair mussed and eyes gleaming. “Felix did what?”

“Why is that so shocking? Why did you warn me to stay away from him?” I asked. While he was definitely unsettling in the classroom, he had come to my rescue. It was hard to judge him.

“It’s just strange,” Adora responded, furrowing her eyebrows. “When he heard you were coming to the academy, he said he’d kill you.”

Kaz folded his arms over his chest. “In fact, he described multiple ways in which he would do so.”

My stomach rolled. “But then why would he help me?”

“That’s why it’s confusing,” Kaz said. “I don’t trust him. I don’t want him near you. Near any of us.”

Adora frowned at him. “Kaz, relax.”

“I was ordered to keep her safe.”

Was this really tearing him up? I felt a surge of affection for him. “I snuck out because I knew you’d follow me, Kaz. Don’t think like that. I’m sure if you knew I left you would have come with me. I won’t sneak around again.”

His features creased. “Why did you sneak out?”

“I went to the library.”

“And I couldn’t have gone with you?”

“I wanted to be alone.”

“And they waited for that moment to make their move.”

“I appreciate the fact that you worry about me, Kaz. And if there weren’t so many of them, I would have been fine. I just didn’t want to hurt anyone and risk our peace.”

Adora flung her arms around me again. “You’re so precious.”

“Ow, Adora.”

“I take back what I said before,” Kaz said.

I fixed the hair Adora had mussed up before turning to him. “What?”

“About not being able to trust you. I shouldn’t have said that to you. If I hadn’t said that, maybe this wouldn’t have happened—”

“I’m sure it would have happened no matter what.”

“But you wouldn’t have snuck off without me.”

I held my tongue, glancing down at the hardwood floors. I definitely still would have. It made me feel guilty. I didn’t want to lie and say I wouldn’t do it again… because I knew I would.

Kaz left his seat and came over to me, crouching beside the bed so we were eye level. “I believe you now.”

“Huh?”

He brushed the lingering hair out of my face. “That you’re here for the right reasons. You didn’t fight back because you wanted to protect us all. The change you said you want isn’t a lie.”

I held his gaze. “No. It’s not.”

“Then, I’ll be on your side. You won’t suffer alone again.” Kaz took my hand into his and brushed his lips over the top of my fingers. “You have my promise.”

A blush spread across my cheeks. “Y-you don’t have to go that far.”

A secret smile appeared at his lips. “When I was assigned to be your bodyguard, I hated the idea, but now I feel like it’s something I was meant to do.”

“Me too,” Adora said, butting her way in. “Kaz, you can’t just steal all the sweet moments. I have said from the beginning Cleo would do great things. Even before we knew her!”

I raised my eyebrows. “Did you?”

“Of course!”

“And don’t forget me,” San chimed in. “I believe in you too, Cleo, I’m just not abandoning my post unlike that slacker over there. No one is getting in here on my watch.”

Kaz flipped San off.

Adora chuckled, but then turned serious. “It’s okay though if you want to lie low. Those guys didn’t scare you off, did they?”

Yes, they scared me. That was true. But I’d been wrong. I wasn’t alone. I didn’t know how, or why, but I had three people on my side. Three people that cared about me, somehow, despite our differences. Three people who would curl up and sleep in my room because they wanted to protect me. Three people who I hadn’t known for more than a week, but still felt more like family than my actual one.

And when I startled awake in the early hours of the morning, mind full of too real nightmares, I just reached out my hand and felt Adora’s warmth next to me, saw Kaz’s soft hair spilling over the comforter where he fell asleep by my side, and heard San’s snores as he spread himself out in front of the balcony door.

I wasn’t alone anymore.