Sophia

Pascal grabbed my arm, squeezing it so tightly that it would leave a bruise. I turned to him, anger boiling in my stomach as he glowered at me, his nostrils flaring. “What are you doing outside?”

I pulled out of his grip. “What does it look like? Not like a picnic with a group of scholars, does it? I got attacked! But knowing you, you probably wouldn’t believe me, even if I was dead on the floor right now!”

Turning on my heels, I stomped to the front door.

“Don’t walk off on me like that!”

I rounded the corner, almost bumping into a guard. “And where were you?”

He arched a brow and pulled his gaze to Pascal.

“He was with me,” Pascal answered, and pushed past me to unlock the door.

“Don’t you think it would be better to have at least two guards? You keep taking one with you, but leave me alone here, despite knowing that my family is being targeted.”

Pascal ignored me as he took off his jacket and shoes. I huffed and headed to the kitchen, pulled open the refrigerator, and grabbed a bottle of blood. With shaky hands, I removed the cap and gulped down the content, leaving a sour and bitter taste in my mouth. My stomach recoiled, but the stinging pain from the weapon that grazed my arm slowly subsided. When I finished the content, I threw the empty bottle into the bin, wiping my mouth.

“You’re supposed to learn to protect yourself,” Pascal said as he entered the kitchen, leaning against the counter, arms crossed.

“And how am I supposed to learn to protect myself if I’m getting killed before that?”

He sighed. “You’re overreacting. Nothing happened, and you’re unharmed. You can thank your parents for at least putting you through basic defense training.”

A bitter laugh bubbled up in me. “Aren’t you such a comedian? A group of scholars attacks me, and if it wasn’t for you coming back at the time you did, they would have taken me with them.”

He clicked his tongue. “If you would drink your daily dose of blood, you had a better chance of defending yourself. You’re a vampire. Not a shifter, mage, or human. Your body needs the blood, and you can’t deny it forever.”

I pressed my lips together, swallowing the snappy answers I wanted to give him, knowing he was right. But the stale taste of the bottled blood never pushed me over the edge to consume it daily.

“You could also choose to get blood from the source instead. If that makes it more tolerable for you.”

I shook my head. “Blood addicts? No, thank you.”

He arched his brow. “They are offering their blood willingly, and all they want in return is a tiny amount of your blood.”

“Exactly. And then they get addicted to blood. I don’t want to support that system. You all think it’s fine to turn humans into addicts, as long as they keep offering you blood.”

Pictures of Ashe flashed in front of my eyes. The way I found her in the forest earlier, helpless and not able to use the skills she had as a lynx shifter, because fairy powder took her over.

“That can only come from someone who always lived a sheltered life, and who never had to live through hardships. You should be thankful the elders and vampire community work so hard to offer you the opportunity to get access to blood whenever you want. There were times vampires were slaughtered for drinking blood and tortured by keeping them away from it. You don’t even know what it feels like to starve because your body is still young. You might not need it now, but you will eventually,” he sneered, the wrinkles on his face deepening.

My heart was beating up my throat as I thought about a response I could give him, but my mind came up blank. The hostility waving from him was stunning me, as if he never really liked me.

He cleared his throat. “Situations like today will happen more often in the future, especially when you are on your own, without the safety of the community. Now is the time to take things more seriously, and learn how to defend yourself.”

“I’m very much aware of my situation, and I’m trying my best to improve, but getting attacked on my property is not my fault. I’m supposed to be safe here.”

“I wonder if you are aware of how serious your situation really is, but be it as it may,” he said, turning around to leave the kitchen. “Also, technically, it’s not your property, but Samuel’s.”

He left the room; the door falling close behind him with a thud. My heart raced as I stopped myself from smashing this place. He would regret the day he treated me like this, just like everyone else. It might not be today or tomorrow, but someday it will happen. If that meant I had to live under the same roof as him, follow his rules and take training sessions with people like Carlos, then I would do that. A heaviness settled in my stomach as the upcoming meeting with Carlos entered my mind. Maybe he had changed over the years, and he is a lot more tolerable now. Maybe it all won’t be too bad.

“Again!” Carlos shouted at me, his voice echoing through the forest next to the house.

I wiped the dirt off my face, cursing under my breath as I staggered to my feet, panting in frustration. Carlos looked at me, a frown plastered on his face, not even out of breath, while I barely got enough air into my lungs.

“Focus on the energy within you,” he repeated for the tenth time.

I shook my head. “I don’t know what you mean by that!”

Without a warning, another blast of air rushed my way, hitting me in the stomach and pushing me to the floor. I winced as I gasped for air, holding my stomach to ease the biting pain.

“Defend yourself!” His voice was hoarse from all the shouting.

I sat up, glaring at him. “I’m trying!”

He rolled up his sleeve, muttering something under his breath I couldn’t understand. My body tensed as I braced myself for another attack, trying to get my magic to work, but the little spark that lit up on the tips of my finger fell on the floor like a wet sack.

Before I had a chance to stand up again, a whirlwind built up under me, slowly wielding me into the air. I tried to break free, pushing through the walls of wind, but I couldn’t get away. I screamed, but it felt as if the air got suctioned out of my lungs, while I rose higher and higher into the air until the wind disappeared, and I flew back to the floor. I squeezed my eyes shut as the ground neared, while I clenched my teeth together and braced myself for the impact, but it never came. Peeking through one eye, I saw a soft cloud hovering below me, keeping me from touching the ground.

“I didn’t think you could get worse from before, but here you are, even weaker. People are still calling you unpredictable. I can see why.”

The cloud disappeared, and I landed on the floor, hitting my tailbone. I groaned and rolled to the side, waiting for the pain to subside.

“I can’t believe I have to waste my time with you.”

I struggled to stand and straightened my back, even when the pain rushing through me almost made me stumble over again. “Maybe I just had a terrible teacher.”

He laughed, but his eyes were cold. “Always trying to find someone else to blame. That also didn’t change. When will you start reflecting on your actions instead of blaming others? How can you live with yourself, knowing that if you had been stronger, you might have avoided your family’s death?”

I winced, his words hitting where they hurt the most.

“You’ve strong fire magic, such a rare talent for a vampire, and you’re wasting it! How was it to look into the dead faces of your family?”

He strode forward with each word, coming close and closer, his eyes boring into mine.

“Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.

“What did you say? You want me to continue? Do you wonder if they were in pain when they died? If they wondered where you were?”

He took another step. “Or your little sister? The poor girl is still missing. Don’t you think she is scared and disappointed that her big sister is such a useless mess?”

I clenched my hands into fists. “Shut up!”

His words whirled through my head, echoing louder and louder. I wanted to deny what he said, telling him he was wrong, but I knew he wasn’t.

Carlos leaned down, his nose almost touching mine. “Why? Can’t handle the truth? I’m sure your parents were disappointed in you all this time. You never worked for anything in your life, never took a chance with your gifts, and always ignored the lessons you could have gotten. But you didn’t care about the safety of your family. You deserved to lose everything.”

My ears started ringing as I stared into his gray eyes, so cold and hard, his words still echoing in my head. A familiar coldness rushed through my body, freezing my veins, making me feel strong, yet so vulnerable.

His eyes turned into slits as he stepped backward. “And you will lose everything. No one takes you seriously, and no one misses you when you’re gone. And poor Claire will never be found, all because you were selfish and such a failure.”

“You’re wrong!” I shouted at him, stretching out my arm and summing a huge fireball. The heat of the flames licked my skin and a smile spread over my lips as I watched it fly towards him. But then he parted the fire with ease and jumped towards me.

“You missed, princess,” he said, knocking me out cold.