21645366 Shipped Off to Boarding School Run by Three Hott Guys

7/28/2019 21645366 Shipped Off to Boarding School Run by Three Hott Guys

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this time. My own parents hadn’t learned not to make me mad…

“Ali-”

“Don’t even TALK to me! You aren’t my parents! I will go find my real

parents and see if they want to send me away to some boarding schoolI’ve never even heard of!” my mother cringed and I knew the commenthad hurt her. That was precisely why I said it.

“I think it’s time we tell her, Arietta,” my father turned solemnly to my bawling mother.

“Just tell her already! I don’t want this anymore!” my mother screamed,even louder then I had. She glared at me and left the room in tears.

“Aliandra… about your real parents…”.................Bummer...............

I stepped on to the plane, with a fierce anger inside, like nothing I'd everfelt before. I was so infuriated I didn't even turn back to wave good-byeto my evil "not-really-my-parents" who were technically my legalguardian and malicious pretenders shipping me off to boarding school. I

was also so angry thay I didn't even call Trent and say good-bye. Oh, well, I am sure there will be plenty of hot guys at boarding school.

The plane was medium size, full of everyone that was going to the boarding school, I guess. The one thing that slightly relieved my anger, was my luxurious 1st class seat. I inspected my plane ticket, and beingthe last one to board the plane with my fifty-billion carry-on bags, Icould feel eyes watching me.

"Dude, come up here, you have got to see this girl. She is so hot!" Iheard an unmistakenly guy voice and turned to see a crowd of guys from"economy seating" or whatever it was called, staring through the curtainto where I stood, in first class."Pervs!" I snapped and half of them left back to their seats. The other

half continued to ogle me."Give me your room number babe!" one guy shouted and the wholeplane snickered."Not even in your dreams," I shot back, sparing the cussing that wouldprobably come soon if they didn't shut up and sit down. I stopped at my seat, unfortunately right next to the curtain leading to economy class.My seat was next to none other then a guy. OMG. He was soooo hot.



Forget Trent!

"Hey I'm Logan. Let me get your bags. It seems like you could kind of use some help with all of that. Oh, and take the window seat. Youprobably shouldn't sit by the curtain," the hot guy, Logan, stood up and

stepped into the aisle to let me sit down. Wow, he was really nice. What was even nicer was that he stood right in front of the curtain, blockingthe economy-class pervs from watching me any longer.

"Thanks Logan. I'm Aliandra by the way," I smiled, maybe a littleflirtatiously and sat down next to the spherical window. Logan hoistedmy bagsintothe overhead compartment and shoved one last bag underthe seat in front of him. Finally finished, he sank down in the whiteleather seat next me."Your welcome. So you are going to the boarding school, right?" Logan

asked as the flight attendant started babbling about safety procedures."Unfortunately, I am. My, legal guardian told me that my real parents who I thought were alive and living in Asia, well, he told me they diedlike fifteen years ago when I was really young. So after springing that, he

just ships me off to boardingschool, ugh,"Yes, that was what my so-called"father" told me. Then he literally forced me to go to my room andpack so that I could leave for boardingschool the next day. And here Iam."That doesn't have to be a bad thing," Logan turned fully towards me,further blocking the pervs' veiw of me. Thank the Lord.

"I don't see how it can be a good thing, especially with all the pervy guys. Are all the boarding school guys like this? It's like they've never seen agirl before," I asked him. He only laughed."I'm not, and Ihave some pretty good friends who aren't pervs either,"Logan grinned.So, the rest of the plane ride went wonderful. Logan is amazing and hisfriends-well I was introduced to them, and they are even hotter. Carsonis pretty quiet, but seemed nice. Edward was soooo hot butI kind of gotsome pervy vibes from the way he looked at me. Gabe,well I couldn'treally tell'cuz he had his iPod headphones in and only said"hey" in an

overly loud voice due to the high volume of his music. Lastly, I met Jace.Right when Jace looked at me his playful, flirty eyes turned stone coldand dark. He glared at me with an immense hate I'd never seen beforelikeI'd done something terrible to him. I shot eye-daggers back and Iknew we would be two people that would never- could never get along.

OMG, why did Jace have to be so hot!? It's not fair. I sighed and foundmyself staring longingly at the back of his head. What was wrong with



me?! I slapped myself as hard as I could and Logan turned around."What was that!" he cried out and took my head in one hand. He turnedmy face to the side and burst out laughing."What!" I yelled and punched his arm playfully."You...red... ha-ha...face...!" Logan literally fell into the aisle he was

laughing so hard. Ugh.I crossed my arms over my chest angrily and bothEdward and Jace turned around. What do you know, Edward practically looked down my shirt while Jace snickered into his hand at my apparently red face for slapping myself about how hot he was! UGH!

Why does life have to be so mean to me? What did I do to deserve all the bad karma? Screw that! I curled up and leaned against the window tofall asleep.I felt really ice cold, firm, yet soft hands shake me, but they were toolulling to wake me up. Suddenly I felt like an electric shock had shotthrough me as two cold but amazingly soft hands grabbed my shoulders

and shook me. The soft hands lifted me out of my seat and my eyes shotopen. I was inches away from Jace's face. OMG. HIs breath smelled likepeppermint. We were still on the plane, I realized, the last ones in firstclass except for of course the few pervy guys poking their heads throughthe economy-curtain, scowling in jealousy- but they didn't count. Jacelifted me over the seats and heldme in midair above the aisle and Irealized it really was just me and Jace. All of my carry-on bags weregone so it was me, Jace and the pervy guys who didn't count.

Is Jace really holding me like that? I sighed deeply and exhaled slowly,feeling kind of light headed."Could you... um... put me down?" I asked quietly. He set me down butgrabbed my wrist forcefully.

"We should get off the plane Aliandra. People are starting to stare," Jaceliterally dragged me off the plane where Logan, Gabe and Edward hadall of my carry-on bags and my luggage. Carson stood to the sideawkwardly. I wasted no time yanking my arm out of Jace's steel grip andrunning over to hug the guys."You guys are amazing! I totally freaking love you and I would love youeven more if you'd just carry my stuff to me room for me, maybe... pretty

please?" I batted my eyelashes. It was all I had to do. We got off the plane in -go figure!- the boarding school's private airport.Since when do boarding schools have private airports on their grounds?Jeez. This place was like Buckingham Palace but bigger and waaay morehot guys, like the ones at my heels carrying my luggage. I felt like theQueen- but younger and a whole lot more gorgeous.NO WAY! Did I mention this place has co-ed dorms and my room just



happens to be right across the hall from Logan, Carson, Gabe, Edwardand -ugh- JACE. How can a guy be so amazing and so horrible at thesame time? Life is unfair. But aside from Jace, yay!!

We stood at my door, all waiting for me to put in the key and go insidealready!

Logan grabbed me by the waist and pulled me around to face him,"What's wrong Aliandra?""Oh. My. Gosh. WHAT IF MY ROOMMATE IS A FREAK!?" I screamed."Then get over it," Jace laughed hollowly. I officially decided I hatedJace. Problem solved."Just shut up Jace," I rolled my eyes and put the key in the door.Ok, so before i go inside and reveal my new roommate, I'm gonna take asecond and describe the worst roommate conceivably possible to me.She'd be a ditzy blonde, with a funny accent, she'd be waaay over-preppy, she'd have a high, tinkling laugh and would be super, super

friendly. I could go on and on but you probably have a very accuratepicture in your mind already and you get my point.I opened the door and there she was sitting on the couch watching someshow called "What Not to Wear". Oh, you have got to be kidding me!This was my nightmare. She was the kind of girl who gave blondes a badname."Oh, you must be my new roommate. Hi, my name's May Bell!" she saidin the most annoying Texas accent I've ever heard."Aliandra," I muttered. Sensing my discomfort, Logan coughed loudly.Maribel laughed. It was worse then I could imagine. Not even in my nightmares did the murderous clowns have such a high, tinkling,outrageous laughs. There was no way this was going to work!!

I would rather go make out with Jace, the devil himself, then stay in aroom with this ditz!

"Ooh, this is just gonna be so exciting! I've never been in a dorm withanybody before! People always find me really annoying and ask for aroom change but you seem really nice. Like the kinda person who

wouldn't ask for a room change!" Maribel gushed in her incredibly ah-nnoying accent. I could feel Logan's hand on my back pushing me

forward- toward the door to the bedroom."Could you give us a second?" Logan asked, pushing me through theopen door. Jace gripped Logan's arm and shook his head.

“Let me handle her. If anyone knows how to get a girl to listen and obey,it’s me,” Jace pushed past Logan and into the bedroom. He shut thedoor behind him and I heard it lock with an ominous *click*.



“What do you-”

“Don’t speak,” Jace pushed me down onto the bed.

“Whoa, if this is why you came in here you can leave right now,” I tried

to get Jace off but he had rock-solid muscles.“Don’t flatter yourself Aliandra,” Jace sneered and held me down by my arms.

“Then what are you trying to do!?” I protested, squirming underneathhis firm, icy cold grip.

“Talk to you!” he cried.

“Um, could you try that without holding me down on the freaking bed?”I asked in frustration.

“No you’d try to run away. Now list-”

“Jace I don’t know who you think you are-”

“No! I said LISTEN! I’m going to leave you alone. I’m going to get out of your life Aliandra Eleanor Hotchkiss and I’m taking my boys with me,”Jace spoke calmly, and it seemed he’d gotten himself under control, “So

you can stay out of our way. You don’t know what we are or what we doso you can just back off.”

“NO. I don’t take orders from people, especially not you Jace,” I spat,“So you can back off.”

He held me down tighter and leaned in like he was about to kiss me. Hislips brushed against my ear.

“Like I said you don’t know who you are messing with and you have noidea what we can do. If you cross my path again sweetheart you aregoing to wish you were never shipped off to this boarding school and that you were never born.” Jace whispered into my ear. He pressed hislips against my neck, then abruptly stood up. Jace unlocked the door

and opened it in one swift motion then was gone.

I sat up, immobile, unable to comprehend what the heck had justhappened. I stared at the wall for ten minutes before I got up in thedecision to unpack and try to fit some normalcy into my first day at

boarding school.

Out in the living room/kitchen/dining room, Maribel was gone and my



luggage was strewn haphazardly by the door. Where were the guys?They should be here, helping me with my stuff. Why had the just left likethat? Then I remembered what Jace had said to me: “I’m going to get out of your life Aliandra Eleanor Hotchkiss and I’m taking my boyswith me.” Ugh. I didn’t think he was really serious about that. WAIT. I

froze in my tracks. How does he know my full name? I only introducedmyself to everyone as Aliandra. I never even said my last name or my abhorred middle name. Things were starting to get weird and I wantedanswers, now. I think I’ll go do that.

I strode across the hall and didn’t bother knocking on the door beforeentering. Empty. I checked the three bedrooms (two more than my room had) and they were empty of the guys as well. Oh well, I’ll find outlater. Time to unpack.

I had so much stuff, I spent fifteen minutes just putting it all in the bedroom. After finally getting everything into the room, I spent twohours unpacking before a loud noise alerted me to the hallway. Peeringout the door, I watched crowds of guys going into Logan’s room. NO

WAY. Party!!! An all-guys party! YEAH!! I was dying for this kind of excitement and it would be the perfect way to piss off Jace. Wait, butfirst, I needed a killer party outfit.

I backpedaled into the room to find Maribel present again, watchinganother fashion show on TV.

“Oh, my, is that another party across the hall?” she didn’t wait for me toanswer, “You that is just sick. The party I mean. All the guys that arepigs at this school go to those parties across the hall. They are just allpigs, I tell you! Worst thing is, people usually stumble in here by accident, so I’m gonna lock the door. The extra lock I had put in I mean.I’ve got the only key right here,” Maribel held up a pink key hangingaround her neck. She got up, inserted the key into the extra lock andlocked the door keeping me out of the party. Ugh.

I stomped into the bedroom and surveyed my closet for the perfect

party-crashing outfit. I zoned in on my extra-short dresses. I chose a black halter-style dress with a plunging neckline, a ribbon-tie back, anda form with a length that just barely covered my butt. It was absolutely perfect. I put on a blood-red trench coat style coat that stopped at my knees and reemerged to the living room. Now all I had to do was getMaribel to unlock the door.

“Um, hey there Maribel. I was wondering if you could unlock the door



for me, I have to go visit the headmaster and then I was gonna go take a walk around campus,” I lied, hoping Maribel would buy into it.

“Sure. Just stay away from that party now,” Maribel tossed me the keys.I unlocked the door and tossed them back. To the party!

I strutted across the hall in my five-inch stiletto heels and knocked onthe door. When the door opened I opened my trench coat a little bit andto my surprise, Edward was standing there.

“Aliandra! This is a surprise. I was pretty sure Jace had scared you off,”Edward blinked several times like he was making sure it was really me.

“So he told you.”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Edward still stood in the doorway, blocking my

view of the party. I leaned against the doorframe, letting my trench coatfall open a little more.

“Uh… you wanna come in?” Edward asked, staring at my dress.

“Sure, sounds like a killer party.” I replied and slipped off my coat. Ihanded it to Edward, who took it, without ever taking his eyes off of me.

Right when I stepped inside the room (which was a whole lot biggerthen my own) everyone stopped and stared at me.

“Don’t stop the party ‘cuz of me,” I winked. Edward wrapped his arm

around my waist and led me over to the group.

“Aliandra. Wow. What a surprise!” Logan smiled and hugged me. I waspleased to see that the only member missing from the circle was Jace.

“Where’s-”

“NO. She cannot be here. Get out Aliandra!” Jace growled, coming upfrom behind me. I spun around.

“No. I think I’m staying.” I stood my ground ready to fight if necessary.

“I warned you that if you ever crossed my path again-” he didn’t finish because rage overtook him and he grabbed my neck and pinned me upagainst the wall. I was being choked.

“You are such an a-” my words were cut off as I blacked out.

So there’s this thing called a hospital, and when you’ve beenseriously, traumatically injured, your caring, loving friends and



family take you there instead of leaving you to die. Naturally, Iknew Jace had choked me until I passed out, which meant I’dprobably wake up in the school infirmary (equivalent tohospital). Boy was I wrong. I sat up and found two incrediblyhot guys leaning over me. I was laying in somebody’s bed (Ihave no idea who!) and my neck hurt ALOT.

“Where am I?!” I demanded, trying to sit up. Logan held medown.

“My room,” Edward stroked my hair softly. I swatted his handaway.

“Watch it buddy,” I snapped and Logan laughed. That waswhen I noticed I was laying under a scratchy sheet, wearing an

extra long button-up shirt and no pants.“Um, what am I wearing and who the heck undressed me?!” Icried in horror. Logan and Edward snickered.

“That would be Soren and of course Jace. Let me tell you, hesure enjoyed that,” Gabe spoke up rolling his eyes and he gaveme a squeeze-hug, “Glad to see Jace didn’t kill you.”

“First off where is Jace I wanna go kick his butt for taking myclothes off while I was unable to fight back. Secondly, who is

Soren?” I asked, making sure I sounded irritated.“I am,” that’s when the god sitting in the armchair stood upand came over to sit down on my- er- Edward’s bed. Edwardand Logan inconveniently left the room.

“You are?”

“Soren.”

“Riiight. So would you care to explain why after Jace the freak

nearly choked me to death, you decided to undress me?!” Inearly screamed at Soren.

“Jeez. Calm down. Your dress was covered in blood and it wasreally… ah, irritating everyone.” Soren replied calmly, though Iwasn’t going to forget how he stumbled on the word todescribe how my blood bothered everyone. Strange. I stillneeded answers and Soren seemed like the person to get them



from.

“Whatever. I’ll yell at Jace later. Speaking of which… who, ah,what is he?” I asked casually. Soren’s mouth literally droppedopen.

“You… you don’t know?! I thought you knew…,” Soren trailedoff.

“Spit it out Soren!” I took his shoulders and shook him.

“They- the five of them, Jace, Logan, Edward, Gabe and Carsonthey pretty much run this school. They are the five noble-blooded vampires!” Soren said and I burst out laughing.

“Oh Soren you’ve got to be kidding me! Vampires?!” I laughed

until I rolled into Soren and almost knocked him off the bed. Heturned me over so I was laying on his lap, staring up at him.

“I’m not kidding. Not only that but he bit you Aliandra. Jace bityou!” Soren cried out.

“With his fangs. Riiight,” I muttered.

“No lie. Vampire’s honor,” Soren put a hand up.

“You’re a vampire too?!” I moaned despairingly. Maybe he was

high…? That would explain the weirdness.“Yes I am.”

“Prove it.”

“No. It’s too dangerous.”

“I SAID, prove it,” I glared at him. Soren was definitely hotterthen Jace. Soren pushed me back down so I was laying on myback and he leaned over me. His eyes turned red and he bareda set of gleaming white fangs I hadn’t noticed before. Helooked wild and untamable. He leaned down and gentlypressed his fangs against my neck. He moved his fangs andlips across my neck sending shivers down my spine. Bolts of electricity shot through me. Before I knew it, Soren’s lips hadmoved up my neck, to my lips and he was on top of me, his lipsmoving over mine with an incredible passion. And I actually



think I was kissing him back. I ran my hands through his hairand wrapped myself around him.

I didn’t hear the door open and by the time Trent had seen memaking out with Soren, the guy I’d just met, and left, it was too

late. I detangled myself from Soren and rushed out of Edward’sroom to chase after my now ex-boyfriend.

“Trent! Trent!” I called and managed to catch him halfwaydown the hallway.

“Trent, I’m sorry! Talk to me!” I grabbed his shoulder andturned him around to face me.

“Look Aliandra, I get it, we’re over. No need to come chasingafter me! I saw the way you we making out with that guy and

I’m happy for you. You never kissed me like that. I can tell youlike him, whoever he is.” Trent turned from me and pressedthe button to summon the elevator.

“Trent, I’m sorry. I didn’t know… I didn’t think-” I had no wordsto explain.

“Exactly. You didn’t think. If you want a guy just go back tothat room full of guys. I’m pretty sure that your boyfriend is inthere too if you wanna go back and crawl on top of him,” Trent

scowled at me.“But Trent-”

“No. I came all this way to see you and I walk in to see someguy on top of you! Just leave me alone and let me go back towhere I belong. I’d say home, but it’s not your home anymore.”with that final outburst Trent left as quickly as he’d come.

“Well that was just lovely. Makes me want to puke,” Jacegagged.

“JACE.”

Jace. I think you have some explaining to do!” I let Trent go and walkedtowards Jace with malice in every step. My heart fluttered as his eyesmet mine. Wha- why? There is something seriously wrong with me!

“No, I don’t think so. I told you you’d regret coming here if you crossed



my path again,” Jace replied calmly, his eyes still on mine. My heartskipped a beat.

“That still doesn’t explain why you nearly killed me!” I yelled at him. Iguess I must have said that loudly because people started to poke their

heads out the door. Nosy. Gosh. Why can’t people just mind their own business?

Jace was silent but pulled me back down the hall and into the janitor’scloset.

--JACE’S POV--

It took all of my strength not to kiss her when she was standing so closeto me in that janitor’s closet. I had finally embraced the fact that I was inlove with her. But I knew if she got too close I’d end up losing my self-

control and killing her. Besides, I knew that she’d kissed Soren.

“YOU DIDN’T ANSWER ME!!” she screamed and I can honestly say italmost made me cringe in pain with my extra-sensitive hearing. Theparty-incident was just the first example of how I’d lost my self control.

“I didn’t… I lost it at the party Ali,” I sighed, for once revealing honesty to her.

“You- you called me Ali…” she blinked in disbelief.

“Look I’m sorry. I don’t want to kill you. I’m trying to keep you away from me for your own good!” I tried to make her understand, but Icouldn’t tell her my secret.

“I know you’re a vampire,” she said calmly like it was no big deal. But it was.

“You-you know?!”

“Yes.”

“Who told you?” now I was angry. But not at her. Never at her.

“Soren.” she blushed, probably thinking of her make-out with Soren.

“Soren. I am going to kill him,” I gritted my teeth and Ali lookedconfused.

“Why don’t you want me to know?” She asked quietly, but I could hearher perfectly.



“I’m too dangerous Ali. You need to stay away, far away from me,” Ihung my head in defeat. ARGH! I never lost. This girl was ripping meapart.

“WHAT IF I WANT TO BE AROUND YOU?!” she just blurted out all of a

sudden. Immediately, realizing what she’d said, her eyes widened andher face turned a million shades of red.

That was it. Screw self control!

I grabbed her and kissed her. I wanted her to know I loved her,but I couldn’t bring myself to escape the kiss and tell her. I hadsomething else to tell her too, but she probably wouldn’t wantto hear it.

--ALIANDRA’S POV--

It was if he couldn’t stop himself. He was so different in thatcloset. How he’d actually apologized, then called me Ali, thenfreaking kissed me! Let me tell you- he was a waaay betterkisser then Soren. And this time the kiss felt real. Did he…?Could he…? No. He hated me. So why was he kissing me likethis? He was impossible and amazing all at the same time.

“Jace?” I broke free of the kiss, but he would stop. He kissedme again like he couldn’t control himself. Do vampires run out

of breath? I guess not, but I know humans do. I broke freeagain, panting. He looked at me like he’d been calmly standingthere, breathing normally all along. Ugh. Now that wasfrustrating.

“Still think Soren is a good kisser?” he asked, smirking. I wasstill out of breath and didn’t reply. He thought about it-whatever he was going to say for a second and gave a heavy,labored sigh.

“I can’t do this. I could kill you. And I wouldn’t be able to live

with myself if that happened. I’m gonna go. This time I’mgonna really leave you alone.” he left me standing there in thatcloset, with the mops and other cleaning supplies, trying tocatch my breath. That was officially the best and worstmoment of my life.

Wow. My neck really hurts.



--EDWARD’S POV--

I saw Jace emerge from the closet, and caught a glimpse of Aliandra standing inside, all red-faced and out of breath. Theregoes that. Oh, well there are plenty of other girls in this stupid

school.

“Soren told me what happened man,” I fell into step with my best friend.I was wondering if Jace had really bitten Ali.

“Yeah and your point is…?” Jace looked ahead, an emotionless rock.

“Did you really bite her?” I asked and he stopped in his tracks andturned towards me.

“Yes.” then he turned back around and continued walking towards the

elevator.“But then….” I trailed off, my mind going over the significance of that.

“Yes. I know.”


I stomped back to my room, realizing I was still wearing somebody’soversized, button-up shirt. I had no key. Oops. I knocked on the door,dreading Maribel. She opened the door and stared at me speechless. Istepped inside, to see two more blondes sitting around the dining roomtable playing cards.

“You… didn’t….?” she couldn’t finish the question and I hadn’t realizedthat’s what it looked like had happened.

“Oh my gosh! No. I didn’t. I kind of passed out last night and woke up inmy friend’s room. She didn’t have anything that fit me, so she let me

borrow her brother’s shirt,” I lied hoping Maribel would buy into it. Shenodded but then stopped, staring at my neck.

“Is that a hickey?” Maribel gasped and I noticed her two blonde friendslook over at me.

“What is?” I asked, confused and Maribel dragged me over to the mirroron the wall by the door. She pointed to the bruise on my neck.

“Oh. My. Gosh. Jace. Bit. Me.” my eyes widened and my hands fell to my sides. Maribel gasped.



“JACE, as in, Jace Moonstar, the noble-blooded?” she turned me aroundto face her. Her eyes were wider then mine.

“Um… yeah….” I bit my lip, wondering what the significance of that was.

“That means-”“I’m a freaking vampire!” I screamed at Maribel. She looked calmly atme and for the first time I noticed the fangs in her mouth. OMG. Thissucks.

“Not only that, Aliandra, but you are noble-blooded. The first femalenoble-blooded in over a millennia. You have officially gained pretty much control of all this school. Which is pretty lucky, considering if

you’d stayed here much longer, all of us vampires probably would’veeaten you alive. Not metaphorically speaking,” Maribel’s accent had lost

it’s charm and she sounded evil.

“So…. I’m a freaking vampire?!” I yelled again, unable to think of whatelse to say in this kind of situation.

“Not quite yet. Give it a week, maybe more, maybe less. Depends on how much of Jace’s venom is in you. That’s what you get for going to thatparty. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. By the way, you might want to go talk to Jace poor little mundane girl.” Maribel scoffed.

“Not for long,” I muttered and went into the bedroom to change. This

time I made sure I was covered up before I left the room. I marchedpurposefully across the hall, ready for some answers. I knocked twice

before going inside.

Carson and Gabe were sprawled out on the couch, in front of the TV playing some game on the Xbox 360.

“Okay, somebody here has some serious explaining to do. And DON’Ttell me you don’t know what I’m talking about, I already know that youguys are 2 of the 5 noble-blooded vampires.” I stood in front of the TV screen, ending their game whether they liked it or not.

“Six. Two out of six noble-blooded vampires.” Carson spoke up. I’dnever really heard him talk much before.

“Um, you, Gabe, Logan, Edward and Jace. That makes five. Who is thesixth?” I asked, counting off the five on my fingers.

“You.” Gabe cut in.



“So it’s true.” I sighed, sitting down in defeat in the leather armchairnext to the couch.

“Sorry. It’s not really anything you can get out of… But you should behappy. You’ll pretty much have control over the entire vampire race,

aside from the King of course.” Gabe sat on the arm of the chair I wassitting in. He leaned over me with a grin, trying hard to help me perk up.

“Why? You guys are noble-blooded too,” I shrugged, in confusion of the words coming out of Gabe’s mouth.

“Exactly, us guys,” Carson replied for Gabe, “You aren’t a guy. There’sonly been two girl noble-bloods in history EVER. You being the second.That means you pretty much should be supreme Queen of the VampireRace.”

“But I’m not?” I wrinkled my eyebrows, making a face that Gabeobviously thought was funny. He fell to the floor in peals of laughter.

“Nope.” Carson didn’t seem to think it was all that funny.

“And why not?!” I cried in disbelief. I mean, how cool would it be to bethe supreme Queen of the Vampire Race?

“Because there’s already a King,” Gabe said between fits of laughter.

“So, screw the King. I want to be supreme Queen of the Vampire Race!”

I said in kind of a whiney voice. This time Carson laughed. Gabe’s faceturned grim and dark.

“You’d better not say that around here.” Gabe looked at me very seriously.

“And why not?!” I repeated my earlier phrase in nearly the same tone, “Ishould be able to do whatever I want being the only girl noble-blood!”

“Not when the King’s son is here you can’t say that,” Gabe ignored thepart about me repeating the fact that I was the only girl noble-blood

vampire.“Well who is the King’s son? I want to give him a piece of my mind!” Istood up ready to find whoever this pretty boy was and tell him exactly

what I thought of his dad being King.

“Um….” Gabe didn’t seem to want to tell me. Ugh. More secrets.

“Jace,” Carson spoke up again and my mouth dropped up.



“I made out with the Prince of the Vampire Race?” I asked stupidly. Ididn’t mean to, really, I was just so dumbfounded by the fact that Jace

was the freaking Prince.

“You made out with Jace?” Carson looked shocked.

“Yes, I mean no! I mean… yeah, kinda,” I bit my lip.

“Is that when he bit you?” Gabe asked, sitting on the floor now.

“No. He bit me last night. After I passed out I guess,” I shrugged. Actually, I really didn’t know.

“That would explain why there was blood all over your dress andeveryone went crazy. That would be when Jace and Soren undressed youin front of everyone-”

“IN FRONT OF EVERYONE AT THE ENTIRE PARTY?!” I screamed.

“Yeah…” Gabe looked like he regretting saying it.

“So EVERYONE saw…?” I was horrified.

“Yep, pretty much,” Gabe shrugged as if it were nothing. I slapped bothhim and Carson.

“Pervs.”

“What makes you think I was watching?” Carson crossed his arms overhis chest and pretended to look hurt.

“Oh, don’t even give me that BS. I know you were watching.” I stuck my tongue out Carson just as Jace, Logan and Edward walked into theroom.

“Aliandra.” Jace said coldly. I looked at him once again dumbfounded.

“Just when we you planning on letting me know that you bit me andnow I’m going to turn into a freaking vampire?!” I screamed at Jace. Helooked taken aback that I was yelling at him again. However, last time I

yelled at him, ended up in us making out… so ya never know what youmight get from yelling at a person.

“Oh, you noticed.” Jace said without emotion. Edward glared at him andLogan’s mouth hung open. He ran up and squeezed me into a hug.

“Jace bit you?!” he cried out in surprise.



“Yeah, I guess you’re the last to know.” I replied, squeezing him in thehug even more, “This may be the last time I hug you as a human.” Istarted to cry. Everyone but Jace joined in on a group hug. Loganstepped back and the hug dispersed.

“Wait… does that mean you’re… you’re going to be noble-blooded?”Logan asked in shock as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

“Yeah it does.” I murmured.

“Well in that case, can I get you anything your highness?” Logan boweddown on one knee.

“Get up,” I grabbed his shirt and yanked him up.

“Are you still going to talk to us lower class, o’ high Queen?” Edward

joked his mood improving considerably.“Take this as my answer,” I said startling myself and I went over andkissed Edward. Even more surprisingly, when I realized my mistake, Ikept on kissing him.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jace stride out of the room angrily. Heslammed the door behind him and we all turned to stare. After the shock had worn off I realized everyone was staring at me.

OMG. That’s three different guys I’ve kissed in one day.

3 guys in one day. I know, I know. My mother is right, all I do is chaseafter boys. But this time… I wasn’t chasing after them. They werechasing after me.

Back in my own room, I found it in myself to confide in Maribel and hertwo friends- Lacey and Olyvia. Don’t ask me why, but I guess I just feltlike I needed to stay away from guys for awhile, so I made my best effortat making friends that were girls. I found that much easier now thateveryone in the entire school pretty much knew that I was going to be anoble-blooded vampire in a few days.

“… and then I totally just got up and kissed Edward,” I admitted to thegirls. We were sitting in a circle on the floor in front of the TV, with

bowls of chips, chocolate-covered pretzels and Reese’s Pieces in themiddle. We were playing truth or dare and my truth question hadturned into a complete confession of yesterday’s and today’s events.

“Edward, the noble-blooded Edward?” Lacey asked in shock that I’d



kissed two noble-bloods in one day.

“Yes. I know. I’m horrible. I really don’t know who I like the mostthough,” I sighed deeply.

“Ok, Ali, your turn,” Olyvia sensed my sadness and thankfully changedthe subject.

“Um…Maribel…. I got nothing.” I replied, shaking my head.

“Are you sure?” she asked, grinning evilly at Lacey and Olyvia.

“Yeah. Zippo. Nothing,” I gave up.

“Do you know what the rule is if you can’t think of anything on yourturn?” Lacey grinned back.

“No,” I said hesitantly. Uh-oh.

“The Ultimate Dare.” Olyvia grinned to finish off the grinning triad.

“Which is…?” I inquired, knowing I’d regret not asking Maribel somestupid truth question. The grinning triad conferred in a small circle with

whispers while I sat on the outside awaiting my fate. They all turnedaround at once, still sporting the evil grins.

“We decided-”

“That since the floor of this dorm is mostly guys-”

“That you have to run down the hall in just your bra-”

“While Lacey shouts ‘Aliandra put your shirt on!’-”

“Then you have to take the elevator-”

“Down to the cafeteria-”

“Grab an apple-”

“And come back up-”

“All in 2 minutes.” Maribel finished. I looked at them incredulously.

“What happens if I don’t?” I asked. Eh, on second thought I didn’t wantto know.

“Well-”



“No, no. Never mind. I’ll do it,” I stood up and took my shirt off. Great.Stupid co-ed dorms.

“Ready?” Maribel asked. I nodded, “Olyvia start the timer. Ali, ready,set, GO!”

“ALIANDRA PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON!” Lacey screamed at the topof lungs and I could already hear doors opening. Guys stared out theirdoors. I was met with wolf-whistles and hands trying to smack my buttas I ran by. OMG this sucks. I made it to the end of the hall and Ipressed the elevator button anxious for the doors to open. At the end of the hall I saw Edward, Gabe, Carson and Soren laughing their heads off.Great. Not only was I the soon-to-be noble-blooded vampire a topic of gossip but the guys would be talking about the girl who ran down thehall shirtless for weeks.

The doors opened and I got inside as quickly as possible. I pressed thedoor-close button a million times as all the guys dashed to make it to theelevator in time. Too late. I sighed and sank down to the floor. When Ilooked up I screamed bloody murder.

“Chill Ali! I’m not going to murder you and I don’t even wanna know why you have no shirt on,” Logan shook his head.

“Dare.” I said coldly.

“You know, I can turn around if you want,” Logan offered, being a

gentleman.

“No, no. It’s fine. I don’t really care. We are friends,” I sighed, stayingsitting on the floor. Logan sat down next to me.

“Sorry about the whole vampire thing. I know it’s freaking you out,”Logan put a hand on my shoulder.

“Oh I’m okay with it now. I’m just mad I can’t be high Queen of the Vampire Race!” I pouted jokingly.

“I’m sure Jace would hate if that happened. I mean he is heir to thethrone,” Logan laughed, probably picturing Jace’s face if he found out he

was no longer the heir.

“Not for long. ‘Cuz when the King finds out there’s a new girl in townhe’s gonna disown Jace in no time flat!” I decided and the doors slidopen.



“Oh no! I don’t know where the cafeteria is and I need to get there and back in a minute!” I stood up and looked around the bottom floor of thedorm wildly.

“Come on! I’ll take you!” Logan grabbed my hand and dragged me to a

large red brick building. We burst through the doors and everyone (thefew people still in there) turned to stare at me. I ran as fast as I could to

what looked like the salad bar, grabbed a red delicious apple and wasdragged back to the elevator by Logan.

“How long?” he asked, while I panted breathlessly.

“About 20 seconds,” I cursed under my breath and willed the elevator togo faster. The doors slid open and I gasped. A few guys had actually

waited for me to come back. I stopped in my tracks. Logan gave me alittle push and I sprinted back down to the other side of the hall where

my room was. The door was open and I dashed inside, throwing theapple to the ground triumphantly.

Olyvia stopped the timer.

“Oh my gosh. Less then 1 second,” she gasped.

“I did it? I did it! Yeah!” I sank down onto the couch and retrieved my shirt. I slipped the tee back over my head and sighed.

“Wow. Nice Ali,” Lacey grinned, but not evilly. Maribel put in some

scary movies (WHICH I HATE!) and invited some guys that I’d nevermet before to come and sleepover in our dorm.

“To keep your mind off of your three boyfriends,” Maribel winked as sheintroduced Devon, Chasen, Blake and Austin. More hot guys. Oh, it wasso unbearable.

I curled up under my favorite blanket brought from home and Blake satnext to me as Maribel put in “the Strangers”. Never heard of it but OMGit was scary. I only jumped into Blake’s arms… uh, several times… in thefirst half-hour. I do not like scary movies and I think he could tell. I

finally gave up and hid behind a pillow, eventually falling asleep onBlake’s lap.

I woke up and laughed. Everyone had fallen asleep exactly where they were sitting last night. Including me. On Blake’s lap. Now he was asleep. Wow. This was pretty funny. I started to get up until I was stopped by ahand on my back.



“Ali?” Blake replied groggily.

“Yeah,” I giggled at how his messy blonde hair fell over his eyes as he satup and pushed the blanket off of him.

“You okay?” he asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.“Yep. Nobody scary people with bags over their heads came to try tomurder me last night. It’s all good,” I hopped over the back of the couchand looked in the fridge for some food that didn’t take effort to cook. Ireally didn’t feel like going down to the cafeteria and I was lucky to finda toaster strudel in the freezer. Wait? Do vampires eat normal food? Oh,

well. I’m not craving blood so it’s all good.

“Want one?” I asked Blake who was still rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“What? Oh, sure, thanks Ali,” Blake swung himself over the back of thecouch and sat down at the table waiting for the toaster to finish cookingthe frozen pastries. I tossed two little frosting packets at him. He rippedone open with his teeth and sucked out all the frosting.

“You know those are for the toaster strudels right?” I laughed, sittingdown across from him.

“Yep. But they’re better without the pastry.” Blake smiled.

“Do.. You… want some blood?” I asked, slowly not sure if that was a

weird thing to say to a vampire or not.“Um no. I’m not a vampire.” Blake laughed and I blushed.

“That’s two of us,” I giggled, “But not for much longer.” I mutteredunder my breath.

--JACE’S POV--

“Dude, you missed it, it was so hilarious!” Soren said for the sixth time,making Gabe bust up laughing.

“WHAT? What was so hilarious Soren?” I growled and fiddled with thegilded dagger my father had given me before I left for this infernal

boarding school.

“Ali…” he started laughing and couldn’t finish the sentence. Suddenly my phone buzzed on the table next to me and I snatched it up to see theilluminated screen reading : 1 new pix message from James. Hmm, Ipondered what it could be and flipped open my Env2 to see the picture



I’d received.

I dropped the phone when I saw the picture and it snapped shut.

“What is wrong with you?” Gabe asked and my grip around the gilded

dagger tightened. Soren picked up my phone, looked at the picture,showed it to Gabe and they both burst out laughing like maniacs again.

“HOW IS THAT FUNNY?!” I yelled at them.

“Dude, that’s what we were laughing about the whole time. Ali wasdared to run down the hall shirtless and somebody screamed‘ALIANDRA PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON!’. Then we all ran into thehall and Ali was dashing towards the elevator in her freaking bra,” Sorenmanaged to say before he started laughing again. This was not funny.

Why did Ali have to get herself into so much trouble?

I started off for her room, then decided against it. I don’t care. I’m nottalking to her. I mean… why’d she have to kiss Edward? Nobody hadever rejected me like that before. I was the PRINCE of the entire race of

vampires! Nobody dared treat me like that! Except the one person whocould. Aliandra Eleanor Hotchkiss. The one girl to ever defy me.

--BLAKE’S POV--

I’d forgotten that she was going to turn into a vampire within the nextfew days. All because she’d gotten too close to Jace- that stupid

bloodsucker prince. Worthless scumbag. He’d be the reason that Ali became the next ruler of the Vampire Race- a very dangerous thing to be. Or she’d die, like the last girl Jace had bitten. But Ali was different, we could all see it in her eyes. In the glow she always had about her. This would be the one of thousands of bitten girls to survive and come out the vampire queen.

Then she screamed. I thought maybe it was because she’d burnedherself getting the toaster strudels from the toaster oven, but when Ilooked up she was standing by her chair, convulsing in pain. She raised

her head to the ceiling and screamed. That was when I realized she wasturning. Or dying.


Searing pain ripped through me and I threw myself to the floor,screaming my lungs out. The pain was too much to bear. I felt like every

bone in my body was breaking and re-breaking again. Somebody was



ripping me to shreds. Tearing me apart with their jagged teeth. All the while I screamed.

“JAAAAAAACE! IIIIIIII AAAAAAAAAM GOOOOOOING TOOOOOKIIIIIIIIILLLL YOOOOOOOUUUU!” I screamed. I saw Blake lean over

me, trying to hold me down but my body was jerking in crazy spasms.Tears rolled down my face as I continued kicking and screaming.NEVER EVER had I felt anything remotely close to this type of pain.

What was happening?!

Oh. My. G- I was turning! Into a vampire. Jace ran in and began yelling.He stopped when he saw me on the floor in the kitchen convulsing withterror and pain. The only thought running through my head was: I’mgonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna freaking die today.

I sat up and I was in my own bed for the first time since I’d been here.

Ohmigosh. I’m alive. And I have an incredible thirst for blood. I’m a vampire. I am a freaking noble-blooded vampire. I stood up, feelingslightly taller. Everything was clearer like I was looking through a cloudy

window before. The world was amazing like I’d never seen it before.Kinda of like an extreme version of HD.

I stood up, ignoring by bloodlust and knew I had to find Jace. He’d havesome answers about this. I left the bedroom and when I opened thedoor, everyone and I mean EVERYONE (including people I didn’t know)

were sprawled across the living room, staring at the door, where I now

stood. There was Maribel, Lacey, Olyvia, Logan, Edward, Gabe, Jace,Carson, Soren, even Devon, Chasen, Blake and Austin. I turned to Blakeand gasped. His blood was so sweet, it called out to me. I took a stepforward, but Logan got up and stood in front of me.

“Can I hug you?” he asked me, bowing his head to me. I looked at himstrangely.

“Yes. Of course. Why wouldn’t you be allowed to hug me Logan?” Ipulled him into a hug. He grew stiff when he put his arms around me. Ipushed him back angrily.

“What’s wrong with you?!” I asked him and he stooped to the floor.Everyone else followed suit except Jace.

“IS JACE THE ONLY ONE WITH A BRAIN NOW? Get up all of you! I’mthe same exact person I was before I got turned into a vampire!” Iscreamed. They all stood up hesitantly. I ran over to Jace.



“What is going on?” I asked him. He shrugged away when I tried to putmy hands on him.

“You’re the only noble-blooded vampire in the world.” he took a step back.

“I’m a freaking vampire! So what? ” I yelled. I hated this. Everyone wasalready treating me like I was higher then them.

“Aliandra, you’re at a higher social position then I am. You rule thisschool and you could rule all the vampires if you wanted,” Jace stepped

back again. This was too crazy for comprehension.

“Ugh. You guys are impossible. I’m gonna go eat,” I stalked out of theroom angrily. This was not turning out like I’d planned.

“Should we go?” I heard Edward whisper.“I don’t know.” somebody else whispered. I poked my head back in thedoor.

“Oh just come on!” I said to everyone. Maribel, Logan, Edward andSoren followed. Everyone else stayed. UGH!

“So would any of you care to explain why everyone is acting so weirdaround me just because I’m a freaking noble-blooded vampire?!,” Iunwound again. I wondered how many times I was going to say

‘freaking’ and ‘vampire’ in the same sentence today.“You really don’t get it do you?” Maribel replied, switching back to herfake accent. Why the forced accent was necessary, I did not know.

“No, I really don’t. Like seriously, why?” I asked sliding down theelevator wall until I was sitting with my back against it. Maribel satdown next to me, reminding me of the night when Logan had talked tome in the elevator.

“Everyone wants to be you. They just have this longing inside to serve

whoever is at the top. You control them.” Maribel put her hand on my shoulder, just like Logan had.

“Be me? That’s strange. And this, longing thing? Can I like turn it off?” Iasked, looking up at the boys around me, then to Maribel.

“Nope. All they’ll ever want to do is serve you. And they are helpless to your every whim and command,” Maribel sighed. I screamed in agony.



“Everyone just needs to chill. I don’t want it like this. AH! I’ve got it,” Icried in triumph. Light bulb!

“What?” Soren offered his hand to help me up and we exited thecramped elevator. I stopped and sat down on the edge of a fountain in

the courtyard.

“I command you to not want to serve me anymore!” I demanded. They looked at me in shock. They blinked twice and I could sense the change,

back to the way things used to be before I was a vampire.

“Come on Ali, I’m hungry and I want food now,” Soren complained. Igrinned.

“Hold on just a sec.”

“What are you doing?” he asked as I stood up on the edge of the fountain“I COMMAND ALL OF YOU, THE ENTIRE VAMPIRE RACE TO NOT

WANT TO SERVE ME ANYMORE!” I yelled as loud as I possibly could.There problem officially solved.

“Can we get food, as in now?” Soren asked, grabbing my hand.

“Sure,” I perked up, then my stomach rumbled. Uh-oh, “Um, andsome… uh-”

“Blood?” Edward cut me off, slinging his arm over my shoulder jokingly.

“Yeah,” I giggled and blushed.

“I’ll get you some blood, baby, just stick with me.” Edward leaned overme, to -ugh- look down my shirt.

“Just because I told you not to want to serve me doesn’t mean you can be a pervert,” I slapped him away and Soren showed up in his place.

“I’m over the whole pervert, randomly kissing you thing. So how’d youlike to go to dinner tonight? My place?” Soren slung his arm over my

shoulder, just like Edward had.

“Nope. Who’s next?” I joked. Logan pushed Soren out of the way.

“Logan??” I laughed as he put his arm around my waist.

“Figured I’d give it a try.”

“And no. Who’s next? Oh, wait all of you struck out!” I put a finger to my



mouth teasingly, “Oops.”

“Can I have like another try?” Edward put his arm back around my shoulder.

“If Edward gets a second chance so do I,” Soren put his arm around my waist, taking a spot on the other side of me. I could hear Maribel andLogan giggling behind me.

“So, what do you have planned for tonight?” Edward asked suggestively.

“Nothing with you,” I grinned at him.

“Ali and I are going to a sleepover at a friend’s room. No guys invited,” Ismiled hugely when Maribel said that. She was saving me! Hallelujah!

“Ok. Now that we’ve all been rejected, can we go get lunch? I think I

might starve,” Logan asked, grabbing my wrist and yanking me in thedirection of the cafeteria.

“Yes, yes. But all I really want is some blood right about now.” Ishrugged. Everyone laughed at me.

“Even the king of bloodlust, Soren can control himself better then you!”Logan laughed, noticing the way I eyed the human who walked by.Soren punched Logan’s arm.

“I am so not the king of bloodlust!” he denied it, stealing a quick glance

back at the human who’d ran by when I eyed him.

“You’re the king and she’s the queen,” Edward joked and Soren perkedup.

“I’ll take that. As long as she’s my Queen,” Soren scooted closer to me.

“I don’t think so,” I pushed him into the wall, with my newfoundstrength.

“Ow,” he rubbed his shoulder.

I entered the cafeteria and everyone turned to stare at me.

“Hey Aliandra!” a bunch of people called and waved. I waved back,smiling and got in line.

“Can I get a steak, completely raw?” I asked the lunch lady. She laugheda little and came back a minute later with a raw steak on a plate that she



held literally as far away from her as possible.

“Here you go Miss Hotchkiss,” the lunch lady replied handing the plateover the counter.

“Can I get an extra couple glasses of blood, for the lady here?” I heardSoren ask.

I went and sat down at an empty table with my raw steak. Logan, Soren,Edward and Maribel sat down around me and Soren gave me fourglasses of blood.

“Thanks!” I gushed and downed all four glasses of blood in ten secondsflat. I ripped the raw steak apart with my teeth and finished that off as

well.

“Alright well I’m full for now. I’m gonna head back to the dorm, and I’lltalk to you guys later. Kay? Bye!” I called and skipped off back to thedorm. I was determined to find Jace and talk to him. It was important.

I burst through the door to Jace’s room to find Gabe making out withLacey. Um… I was just gonna turn around and leave now…

I found Carson in his room.

“Hey Carson!”

“Hey Ali!”

“Um, where’s Jace, do you know?”

“Yeah. He went home. For good.”

held back tears.

“For good? Good, good?” I asked, feeling a lump rising in my throat. He was gone. Gone for good.

“Yeah. He just packed up, muttered a couple of things in Italian andstormed out. Later he called and said he wasn’t coming back. So, I guess,that’s it.” Carson shrugged like it was no big deal.

Eh, he’s gone. No big deal.

“No big deal?! This is a really big deal. JACE IS GONE! GONE forGOOD!” I screamed.

“Wait. How’d you know I was thinking that?” Carson stood up abruptly.



I said that in my mind.

“You said that in your mind?” I asked incredulously.

Yeah. I guess… you can read minds.

“I CAN READ MINDS?!” I cried out jubilantly.

Purple polka-dotted elephant.

“Purple polka-dotted elephant?” I shook my head at him.

“Just making sure you really could read minds.”

Are you in love with Jace?

My face turned a million shades of red.

“So you don’t?” Carson asked slowly.

That is such a big YES.

“Hey! I heard that, and yeah, I think I do.” I blushed deeper.

“Then what are you waiting for? Go get him!” Carson threw his hands upin the air.

“Thanks Carson,” I ran up and kissed him on the cheek, then ran back out of the room. The smile fell from my face.

“Only problem is I’m not sure if Jace is the only one.”

--JACE’S POV--

I stepped up to the young airport worker who inspected my ticket rightafter giving me the up-down. She blushed and giggled when she handed

back the ticket and I rolled my eyes. I was so irresistible and normally Iloved it, but needless to say I was not in the best of moods. To makethings worse, there were no seats left in first class. Not only did I nothave the family jet, but I was being shut out of first class and kicked into

economy. Oh, the horror.

I sat down by the window, ignoring the few giggling girls around me.The seat next to me stayed empty and I got tired of waiting to see whoI’d get to annoy the next hour and a half before the layover. My iPodentertained me for the next fifteen minutes before the flight attendantscame by to check we had our seat belts buckled. Seriously, like I woulddie if the plane crashed. Ha!



Darn, no in flight movie. Well, I guess there wouldn’t be for such a shortflight. Stupid layover. The lack of movie and unfortunate dead battery of my iPod gave me too much time to sit in the cramped, uncomfortableseat unable to recline and think about why I was fleeing boardingschool.

Why did I have to bite her? She was more irresistible than I. Her human blood had called out to me, and before I even thought about theconsequences, the fact she might die, I bit her and then there was bloodeverywhere. Everyone got all edgy and started circling her, but I knew it

was my duty to protect her. Then when she woke up, she kissed Soren. Ishould have been there to comfort her when she woke up, but my pridetook over me and I could not give in to letting her win. I always win. Butthen… when she kissed me… it seemed as if she cared for me as I caredfor her. Like she knew how much I loved her and needed her. The

epitome of my mistakes was continuing on with the cold shoulder actafter that. She yelled at me and then kissed EDWARD! EDWARD, my

best friend! Ali’s confused about who she loves, I can tell. Ali. It hurt tothink her name. An image of her popped into my head. Unfortunately,that image included Edward and Soren with her. And trust me, that hurt

worse.

“Please buckle your seatbelts for our landing in-” the last part was cutout by some mumbling. Whatever. I didn’t really care where we were, I

was just anxious to get on the next plane that would finally deliver me

home. It’s about time I got back to the palace.--ALI’S POV--

This was crazy I knew it, but I couldn’t help myself. I’d done it onimpulse. Of course I told Logan, Edward, Soren, Gabe, Carson andMaribel. Maribel offered to come along and I consented. I was not onefor company but I knew things might not work out as planned and Icould get very lonely. My willingness to spend time with my oncedreaded roommate surprised me. Maribel was turning out to be a goodfriend.

We weaved in and out of the plastic chairs, running to make it in time.People stared like we were maniacs, but not that many. Sprinting madly to avoid being late around here wasn’t so unbelievable. The trek overhere had lent me a lot to learn about Maribel including the fact that shecould see the future. I’d also confided in her me being able to readpeople’s minds apparently. We tested it out more and indeed found that



it was true.

“You ready for this Ali?” Maribel asked as we handed the paper somelady. She gave it back promptly.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. How’s the future looking?” I asked as we dasheddown the hall despite we were there. No time to lose.

“Great. Now run faster!”

--JACE’S POV--

New plane after a three hour layover in who knows where. I was hopingthis time for people in the seats adjacent to me so I would haveentertainment in annoying them out of their minds for the four andhalf-hour flight. The rest of the plane filled up but still, the two seats

next to me were empty. I was told by the flight attendant that I’d behaving company. Guess she was wrong. I sighed and looked down at my phone for the time. Eight o’ five. Night flights were my favorite. The way

you could see nothing in the darkness, then all of a sudden out of nowhere, pinpricks of light shine up and group together to form cities,streets, suburbs even.

I looked up and was taken aback. The person sitting next to me was…

--MARIBEL’S POV--

I blinked twice and stared at my brother. His mouth hung slightly open.“ Maribel ?” Jace asked incredulously.

“Hey big brother,” I shifted my weight from foot to foot, feeling kind of awkward.

“What are you doing here?” Jace patted the seat next to him, motioningI should sit down. But I didn’t. I wasn’t here to see him, Ali was.

“Um… I’m not exactly… I mean, uh…” I stuttered and stopped. Jacecould tell there was something wrong. He always could.

“Just tell me Bells,” Jace inhaled sharply and put his head in his hands.

“Well… it’s not exactly me who wants to talk to you. Uh, Jace, just talk to Ali!” I gave up and pushed him out of his seat. He stumbled into Ali.

“Ali- wha…” he stared blankly at the girl he loved. How could he nothave anything to say?! Poor, poor boy.



--ALI’S POV--

I stood there as still as a statue waiting for Jace to say something.Strange, I couldn’t read his mind.

“Excuse, me flight attendant?” he called for the skirted lady traversingthe aisles of the plane in high heels.

“May I help you sir?” she asked, eyeing the muscles rippling out of Jace’stightly fitted shirt.

Wow. I’m kind of old for him but I wonder if-

WHOA! Did not need to hear that! This mind reading thing was kind of showing me a downside.

“Yes. This young lady here did not mean to board this particular flight.

Is there any way she could get off?” Jace asked the woman. I turnedaway from her and my mouth dropped open. Couldn’t we even talk about it? I mean, he just couldn’t send me on back to the airport like I’dnever ran after him in the first place!

“Too late for that,” the flight attendant looked at me, snickered andturned away to glide along the aisle once again.

She’s got no chance.

Jace looked at me again and I felt my heart rip.

“Jace. I didn’t chase you all this way to have you try and send me back. Idon’t know where you are going but it looks like you have no choice. I’mcoming with you.” I sat down in the aisle seat and Jace stepped over meto sit next to Maribel his sister. That was a big surprise. She’d neveracted like he was her brother. She’d never even mentioned it.

“Ali…” Jace started and I snapped back to the present. I noticed Maribelhad turned on her iPod and was staring out the window.

“Jace?”

“I don’t know what to say to you. I told you… I showed you how I feltand then you went and acted like it was nothing.” Jace looked at me,

with hurt in his eyes.

“I-I… I don’t know what I was thinking when I did that. Never mind. Iwasn’t thinking when I did that. I realized the mistake right after I didit. I’m so sorry,” I hung my head and couldn’t help but let a few tears run



down my face.

“The only thing I can say to that is-”

--SOREN’S POV--

At first I was kinda angry when Carson told me that Ali had left to runafter Jace. Then I realized trying to get her to like me was a lost cause.She was clearly in love with Jace, I was just to stupid to see it before. Oh

well. There were plenty more hot vampire girls out there anyways.

“Hey Soren, dude, let’s grab some dinner before the cafeteria closes,”Logan poked his head in my room. I threw the last dart at the dartboard,smirked at the bulls-eye and left the room. All the guys -Jace excluded-and Lacey were waiting in the hall. I noticed Gabe and Lacey holdinghands as we stepped into the elevator. Was I the only one facing

rejection? Well, not considering Edward, because he bounces back fast.

“What’s on the menu tonight?” I asked missing the sign as we walked by.

“Mexican food,” Carson grimaced.

“Oh gross! I’d rather have a girly little salad then eat Mexican food!” Icried and my stomach growled as if in response.

“Hey! It is not girly to have a salad. Besides salad’s aren’t all just lettuce.Some have chicken…” Lacey shot back and I stopped listening to what

she said. It didn’t really matter.“Are you even listening to me?” I suddenly heard Lacey yell in a shrill

voice.

“Yeah, something about some salads have chicken, etcetera, etcetera,” Ishrugged.

“Um, that was five minutes ago and the lunch lady is waiting for yourorder. You are holding up the line,” Lacey smirked.

I grabbed my food angrily, ate it fast and sulked back to our dorm with

Carson.

“Man what’s your problem today?” Carson asked, invading the silence very rudely.

“Nothing. It’s all good now. I’m still in shock that Ali just… left!” Iconfessed.



“Well, Jace won’t want to see her that’s for sure, so we can expect her back anytime now,” Carson joked, elbowing me in the ribs.

All of a sudden the ground began to rock. Earthquake? Nope. Right as Ithought it, an explosion erupted from our dorm, the third floor right

about where… Ali’s room was.

Somebody had set off a bomb in Ali’s room!

--ALI’S POV--

I was afraid that the rest of the trip would be silent but all of a suddenJace turned to me.

I replayed the earlier conversation we’d had in my mind:

“I-I… I don’t know what I was thinking when I did that. Never mind. I

wasn’t thinking when I did that. I realized the mistake right after I did it. I’m so sorry,” I hung my head and couldn’t help but let a few tearsrun down my face.

“The only thing I can say to that is I think it’s better if we just pretend like we’ve never even met each other before,” he turned away from meand I could tell it hurt him to say that.

“Is that a pamphlet for Diamond Ridge Boarding School?” he asked pointing to the pamphlet I had forgotten to take out the side of my

carry-on bag.“Yeah…” I didn’t know where he was going with this.

“Do you go there?” he asked me, looking genuinely curious.

“Yeah…” I was still unsure of what he was trying to prove.

“Me too! Hi, I’m Jace,” he smiled and stuck out his hand. I shook itenthusiastically and my face broke into a huge grin.

“I’m Aliandra, but you can call me Ali,” I couldn’t wipe the grin off my

face.

“You know Ali, you are really quite beautiful,” Jace leaned in closer tome and twirled a piece of my hair around his finger. I was speechless.

“Can I kiss you Aliandra?” he asked. I smiled.

“How’s this for an answer?” I asked and I kissed him.



How she managed to get him I will never know.

I broke off the kiss and giggled.

“What?” Jace asked.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you I can read minds?” I giggled again, motioning tothe flight attendant standing a little ways down the aisle. “Oops.”

“Can you read my mind?” his eyes widened and he looked at me inalarm.

“No actually. I don’t know why I can’t.” I pondered. He gave a huge sighof relief.

“Wait, why? What were you thinking?” I asked, perhaps too curious formy own good.

“Nothing,” he blushed.

“Fine. But one day I’ll wake up and be able read your thoughts and you’llregret ever thinking what ever it is you are thinking!” I threatened andhe laughed.

“How about I just tell you what I’m thinking? Right now I thinking that was one amazing kiss and I want to kiss you again,” Jace leaned in andkissed me again. I was in heaven.

--EDWARD’S POV--

I stepped around the rubble carefully, and couldn’t believe my eyes. This was a major situation. Somebody had tried to kill Ali. This was the laststraw. I was BEYOND tired of people messing with Ali and this was justicing on the cake. I was going to find whoever this was and kill them

before they could kill Ali. Game on.

“Classes start in a week and one of the students rooms just got BLOWNUP!” I could hear headmaster Pierce screaming at somebody on thephone. Nothing he could do would help the situation. This was a

vampire war in the making and you can’t get a human to fix a vampire’sproblem.

“Gabe!” I called out to my friend. His light hair was completely coveringeyes and I couldn’t tell when he looked at me.

“What?” he looked up and brushed the hair out of his eyes.



“Are you up for this? I need your help.” I replied solemnly. Gabe was the best tracker I knew and probably already knew how to find our culprit just by looking around the room.

“Sure. For you. But for Ali too. We have to warn her. I mean, we can’t let

her get hurt.” Gabe started inspecting the crime scene working aroundthe angry-looking forensic experts.

“I agree. But I don’t want to worry her,” I reasoned. She didn’t need toknow that a bunch of people were out to kill just because she was afemale noble-blood. That was kinda how the last girl noble-blood, Alzi,died. Assassinated.

“So she went to chase after Jace? If she’s with Jace, then we call Jaceand tell him so he can watch out for her, but we can make sure hedoesn’t tell her.” Gabe suggested. Jeez he was smart. I never would have

thought that. Maybe he just seems smart because I’m kinda dumb. Gabetossed me his phone and I dialed Jace’s number.

--JACE’S POV--

Kissing Ali was amazing. I told her again and again she was beautifuland she told me what everyone around us was thinking.

“’Kay. See that old lady across and up one row?” she whispered, with herface close to mine.

“Yeah. What’s she thinking?” I asked. The grey-haired hawk-eyed woman turned to look back at us every couple of minutes or so.

“Uh she’s thinking about why we can’t keep our hands to ourselves,” Aligiggled and blushed. I leaned in to kiss her again when my phone (that

wasn’t supposed to be on) rang loudly. I answered it quickly and lookedover to see Maribel sleeping soundly.

“Hello?” I asked, wondering who’d called me. Only a couple people hadmy number.

“Jace? Is that you?” Edward sounded frantic.

“Yes its me. What do you want? I’m kind of busy,” I asked, irritated. Why was he bothering me?

“Well this is important! Is Ali with you?” Edward nearly screamed intothe phone. I turned to look at Ali. She was smiling brightly at me.



“Yes. Would you just get to the point already?” I inquired.

“SOMEBODY IS TRYING TO ASSASSINATE ALI!” Edward yelled, “But you cannot tell her!”

I looked over at Ali again. She was still smiling, luckily, she hadn’t heardEdward’s screaming.

“What? I am going to kill them.” I growled. Nobody was going to hurtmy Ali.

--UNKNOWN POV--

I stroked my chin, deep in thought, as if I had beard. I wondered for amoment what I’d look like with a beard, peering in the mirror, picturingmyself with scraggly hair all over my chin. EWWWW. Not a pretty

picture. Then I snapped back to the present and slipped on the leathergloves over my hands. I pulled the sacred object out of my bag and setdown the bomb carefully. I was sure she was asleep in her room so I setthe bomb next to the door. Checking the activator, I slipped out the

window and alighted on the ground with cat-like reflexes.

Raising the activator high to the building I stood in the wet grass, waiting for my revenge. 5... 4... 3... 2... ONE. I pressed the button andthe room exploded in flames. Mission accomplished. I tossed theactivator into the fire and walked away. My ski mask and black sweatshirt went into my bag, and I blended into the mass of students

rushing to see what had happened in Ali’s dorm.

--ALI’S POV--

Jace looked angrier then I’d ever seen him in my entire life. He punchedthe END button on his phone with an livid fierceness and slammed itdown into his bag.

“Who are you going to kill Jace?” I asked, batting my eyelashes at him.He seemed fazed by my beauty and was speechless for a moment.

“Jace?” I said again, firmer in my tone.

“Uh, oh, I was kidding. Edward told me that Logan stole all of my chocolate bars from my mini-fridge. I can’t live without my chocolate,”Jace smiled. I was dying to read his mind about now because I didn’t

believe a word of his BS. I laughed a genuinely as I could. I was going tofind out what was going on NO MATTER WHAT.



Jace leaned over and woke Maribel up to whisper something in her ear.Her eyes widened and she started to blurt something out, when Jacecovered her mouth with his hand.

I really wanted to know what was going on that Jace was trying to keep

from me, but I wasn’t in the mood for that. All I wanted to do was get off of this plane and get home. Home? Wait, I didn’t even know where thisplane was going!

“JACE!” I cried out alarmingly.

“What?” he turned sharply, fire in his eyes.

“Where is this plane going?” he looked at me like I was crazy, full of endless questions.

“England,” Jace replied. My mouth dropped open.“ England ?” I exclaimed.

“Yeah, we live in the English countryside. You know, huge, old castles?”Jace shrugged as if it was no big deal. Now I’d thought my penthouse inNew York City was nice but seriously, and old English castle in theEuropean countryside?? WOW.

“You okay?” Maribel inquired, leaning over Jace to look at me closely.

“I’m fine. In shock that you live in a castle in England, but I’m great.

Never better.”

“You don’t look fine,” Maribel mumbled, leaning back in her seat.

“When can we go back to school?” I asked slowly, wishing to get back toDiamond Ridge ASAP.

“You don’t want to visit Europe? That’s like every girl’s dream,” Jacelaughed.

“Not mine,” Maribel said happily. Jace rolled his eyes.

“That’s because you live in Europe!” Jace shook his head indisappointment of his sister.

“Wait. Maribel is your sister. So shouldn’t she be noble-blooded if youare?” I asked the one-million and first question of the day.

“She’s my step-sister. She was already a 10-year-old vampire girl when



her mom met my dad and they got married. Technically she’s not relatedto me by blood, but we are still really close,” Jace squeezed Maribel intoa half-hug and she pretended to be choking.

“So… about Europe?”

I squealed as we stepped off the plane.

“Yay!! I can’t believe we are in Europe!” I screamed for about thehundredth time.

“Chill Ali, it’s just Europe. It’s no big deal.” Maribel rolled her eyes andled me through the airport, knowing exactly where she was going.

“Uh, it is to me!” I scoffed. She was unbelievable.

“Europe gets really boring after like… a day. Trust me. I grew up on a

farm in Oklahoma. Coming here was a total culture-shock. But like Isaid after the first day- boring,” Maribel shrugged.

“Don’t listen to her. I see something more and more beautiful each timeI visit Europe. It’s like looking at you. Every time I look it’s moregorgeous then ever.” Jace pulled me into a kiss. AWW! How sweet wasthat!! He was like the best boyfriend ever. And this time it just wasn’tone of those guys that I dated cause he was hot. This time it was real. Iloved Jace, I really did. I could tell he loved me back. You didn’t have toread his mind to see that.

Speaking of reading minds, Maribel’s thoughts continued to drive me tothe point of rolling on the floor laughing. She thought out every littlething.

Step, step, hair swish. Turn to the right to tease the poor guy standingover there. Breathe in, breathe out. Smile and giggle like I’m having agood time. Bob head to the left and swing purse.

I laughed very loudly. Jace looked at me but Maribel who was soconcerned on being enviable to everyone around her didn’t notice. Jace

shot me another questioning glance.

“People’s thoughts,” I whispered and burst into a fit of giggles. This would never get old.

“You know, this whole you being able to read minds thing is getting kindof old,” Jace ran his hands through his hair.



“Not to me. This is hilarious. If only I could read your mind…” Ipondered glancing over at him without turning my head, “What are youthinking right now?”

“That I’m going to show you the village I grew up in,” Jace smiled and

Maribel whirled around to grimace at him.

“NO.” she moaned.

“Yes. We are going back to where I grew up.” Jace grinned proudly.

“You lived in a village?” I asked, curious why the Prince of the VampireRace would grow up in a humble little village in the country.

“Doesn’t mean he lived with the peasants,” Maribel mumbled andcontinued her thinking of impressing the world around her.

Right foot, left foot, smile flirtatiously. Swing my hips and swing my purse like-

You get the picture.

The drive to Jace’s village was silent, but I was paying close attention tothe drivers mind. That made things a whole lot more interesting.

Oh man are these chicks hot. I wonder if I could get their digits. Theblonde one is FINE but there’s something about the dark-haired one…

Could he tell? That I was a vampire? I tried my best to block out histhoughts and avoid his lustful eyes in the rearview mirror for the rest of the drive by kissing Jace. That sure made the driver stop looking at me.

Two hours later we were walking through a village market somewhere inthe English countryside. I was looking at everything while Jace andMaribel looked at me being curious of everything. I skipped about thestands looking at everything from jewelry to pottery to beaded fabrics.

I dashed into a whole building displaying all sorts of beautiful fabricsand Jace and Maribel stayed outside. A strange old lady dressed quite

plainly came up to me her arms full of fabrics. I looked at them. They were nothing special.

“Oh, they are lovely,” I smiled nicely and was ready to leave.

“No, no! These are not for you. I have special piece you will die for!” thelady said menacingly, with a bright smile plastered on her wrinkly face.She set down her fabrics and took my wrist. She lead me off behind a



curtain to a darker room.

“My most prized fabric,” the woman crowed.

Hanging on the wall was a tapestry-like piece encrusted with pearls and

jewels. “It suits you. No?” the woman asked. It was… flashy.

“ALI!” Jace called. I turned to the old lady.

“I should be going. Thank you,” I smiled and turned to leave but shegrabbed my arm with an unprecedented steely grip.

“We can’t have those two nosy companions of yours coming after you,now can we?” the woman held me against the wall.

“Wha-” I stopped as she pressed a rag up to my nose. I inhaled sharply. A strong, noxious scent reached my nose. The world began to fizz outinto blackness and I stumbled about into the entire world went dark.

I sat up and opened my eyes, feeling tingly all over. Still I could not see athing. Grey gloominess clouded everything but a voice rose from themurk.

“Awake, dear princess?” the cruel, cold voice asked me, withoutrevealing a face to match the speech. Something hard and sharp duginto my ankle. I twisted to try and relieve the pain but nothing helped.

“Dear, if you don’t stop moving something very, very bad is going tohappen. There is a bomb strapped to your ankle and I have the button toset it off right here. So let’s stop moving over there or I blow you tosmithereens. Got it doll?” the voice was distinctively male and harsh. It

was cutting.

“Why are you doing this?!” I asked, starting to cry. On top of that I couldfeel blood running down my ankle.

“Revenge.”

The world went black again.

-----JACE'S POV-----

“ Her birthday?” I exclaimed in shock. She hadn’t mentioned that it washer birthday!



“You speak English?” Maribel cried in confusion.

“Quite well actually, though it is a hard language. The hardest,” Elenismiled brightly.

“Are you sure it’s her birthday?” I asked, gulping loudly.“Yes. I’ve been celebrating on my own for the past sixteen years, unableto forget that angelic little face, dying from the poison dart stuck in herneck,” Eleni switched back to her native tongue, which annoyed Maribel.

“Oh. Speaking of Ali… um, you’ll find her, ah, changed, so much so that you may not recognize her from the little girl kept in your memories,” Iswallowed again, my throat feeling unbelievably dry, my palms sweaty.

“You-”

I smiled, and nodded, allowing her to continue.

“JACE YOU TURNED HER INTO A VAMPIRE DIDN’T YOU?!” Eleni burst out in Lucifer’s Language. The words rolling off her tonguesounded evil and out of place.

“How did you guess?” I shrugged sheepishly.

“You seem like the type. Is she…?”

“Noble-blooded, yes.” I nodded once again, grimly.

“I think, no matter what, I will be able to recognize her. I’ve been staringat that face behind my eyelids for sixteen years. If I saw her I’d know.”Eleni sneered, angry with me now, “Also, would you like to explain tome, exactly why you bit her?”

“I lost my self-control. It was sort of a love-hate relationship… ah, withthe hate overpowering the love. One night at a party at my dorm room,she showed up wearing this amazing dress, coming in like she owned theplace. She wasn’t invited and my hate had overpowered my love then. I

went at her, nearly choked her to death. She passed out on the floor and

I lost my control then- I just bit her. A few days later, she turned. Thesecond noble blooded female vampire in all of history.” I explainedquickly, suddenly eager to run up the hill and rip out Carlyle’s throat.

“Shame on you. Is she happy in her new vampiric state?” Eleni saidslowly, choosing her words carefully.

“Quite actually. After she commanded the entire vampire race to not



desire to serve her, she found happiness in her new state- that is until Ileft her. She chased after me though and it was then we finally put away the hate to just love each other.” I sighed, verging on impatient.

“So you love her then?” Eleni asked, in Lucifer’s Language again. She

seemed to have an unending joy in switching languages she spoke it, while continuing one conversation. I could tell she was pleased that Ispoke many languages, seeing that not many people would know dozensof languages like we seemed to.

“I do. I love her,” I said in one of many Chinese dialects, testing herknowledge. She grinned hugely and returned in Chinese.

“Good. Then you will not hurt her. Now, I think we’ve talked longenough. You said Duke von Druff kidnapped her? The pig. Let’s go gethim.” Eleni stood up, and despite her short height, she looked like a

good fighter and I heard Bells choke back a sob. She looked so similar to Ali…

“So you are with us then?” I switched back to her native language, it waseasier for both of us to speak.

“I am. How could I abandon my sister whom I’ve been wishing was alivefor the past sixteen years?” Eleni kicked her weaving work to the sideand stood by my side.

“What are you waiting for?” Maribel and Eleni asked me at the same

time. I laughed and they giggled at each other. I’m glad they weregetting along. We didn’t have time for quarreling or disagreements. Notif we were going to take down Carlyle and rescue Ali without alerting theguard. I think the easiest way to get in, was to be perfectly obvious, justas if we were dropping by for a normal visit.

I shared my idea to Bells and she agreed that it was a smart plan. Theguard couldn’t NOT let us in and Carlyle would be comfortable seeing us

without his guard around. It was the perfect way to do things.

So we stole a carriage from the nearest place we could find one and rodeup Croft’s hill to stop at the gilded gates adorned with cherubs andguardian angels. The guards at the gates bowed quickly for us and thegates swung open into the black abyss of Diaden Manor. The naturallandscape of the peak of Croft’s hill suited the black-bricked grimness of Diaden Manor. Everything about the old mansion reminded me of ahaunted house without all the cheesy decorations. Perfectly suiting tothe sniveling underhanded rat that was Cousin Carlyle. Eleni grimaced.



“It doesn’t look so scary from far away!” she gasped, her eyes hugesaucers.

“It’s okay. He’s not hard and fierce like his fortress. He’s a huge, teen-sized baby,” I put a hand on Eleni’s shoulder and she smiled up at me.

“Let’s get Ali and… uh, actually what are we are we gonna doafterwards?” Eleni shifted on the uncomfortable carriage seat as itstopped in front of the huge gothic-styled doors of Diaden Manor.

“Go back to boarding school and the one normalcy our lives have left.” Idecided firmly. Once I got my hands on Ali, this European vacation wasover and we were going back to home. Boarding school was our home.Our home. I wasn’t going back without her. Carlyle couldn’t be of any harm to any of us, no matter what he did he was still weak. The weakest

vampire in existence. Weaker then the average human.

“Boarding school?” Eleni asked, curiously, I was assuming that that she was wondering how she would fit into that plan, “What-”

“Come to school with us Eleni! You’d fit in so great! Ali would love tohave you around and I’m sure we could get a good bribe in to accept youmid-semester.” Maribel lit up at the idea. I noticed she’d abandoned herfake accent again, to her normal voice. The accent threw suspicion away from what she really way. It threw away suspicion from her seductive,drawing voice, her ferine, feline voice that just screamed “vampire!!”,

like a flashing neon sign. She rarely ever abandoned her ditzy, over-stressed, Texas accent.

“Oh that would be so lovely. By the way, when do we get out of thecarriage?” Eleni peered out the window. We’d been sitting in front of theBlack Crypt (as Bells and I nicknamed it) for a considerable amount of time.

“We when are fetched by the butler.”

“Old prune,” Maribel muttered. Eleni smiled and peered anxiously out

the curtained carriage window.“Is that the butler?” Eleni exclaimed in surprise. True she was, thereenough stood Buxley, the ancient butler, slowly making his way to greetus and lead us to Duke von Druff.

“That would be Buxley,” Bells grimaced, sighing as she watched Buxley take his ultra-slow labored steps towards the carriage out of the corner



of her eye.

“Gosh. He’s so old and… slow,” Eleni murmured, sitting back withMaribel to await Buxley.

The door creaked open as the footman pulled it open. Buxley offered upa gloved hand that all three of us ignored as we hopped out of the stolencarriage. Buxley’s hand fell to his side.

“Ah, Mr. Jace and Miss Maribel,” the butler’s voice croaked as slow ashis steps had been, “Accompanied by a new face. I’ve not had thepleasure…”

“Eleni.”

“Miss Eleni. You are here to see Duke von Druff are you not?” he turned

back to Bells and I.“Yes Buxley. Where is he at this hour?” I asked, not wanting to follow the unbelievably slow butler to wherever Carlyle was. Plus if he wasthere, we’d have to kill him too.

“The library Mr. Jace, shall I make your presence known?” Buxley askedin a raspy baritone.

“No, I’m quite sure he knows we are here,” I assured him.

“If I may ask, what is the occasion of your unexpected visit?” Buxley,

smoothed out the coattails of his jacket, looking around nervously.Maribel began to sniffle and sob.

“Our very good friend Aliandra was kidnapped from our home villageand we were just wondering if Carlyle could help us lead a search to findher so she’s not put in any harm!” Maribel broke down into tears. If Buxley knew of Ali, he didn’t show it.

“Please don’t cry Miss Maribel. Just run along and find Carlyle. I’m surethat his grace will be able to help in any way needed,” Buxley opened the

giant gothic door for us. We dashed down the hall in an instant. It wason. Oh it was so on.

--ELENI’S POV--

Jace stopped in front of the black, majestic double doors, his feetplanted wide, looking angrier then humanly possible.

“Compose yourself Jace. Let me do the talking,” the gorgeous blonde



said and put once hand on the door, the other on Jace’s shoulder.

“Alright. I’m fine. Thanks Bells.” Jace pulled his sister into a hug and asthey broke off the sentiment, Maribel pushed open the door. A short,skinny, sunken-faced boy sat by a giant crackling fire contained in a

huge marble fireplace. The boy, Carlyle??, was dressed grimly in a long black cloak that covered up whatever other grim clothing he probably had on underneath it. His greasy dark hair was slicked back with allsorts of gel. Ew.

“Cousins. Peasant girl,” Carlyle looked up acknowledging us. My mouthhung open. I growled unexpectedly at him.

“She is no peasant girl Carlyle,” Jace snapped. I could see Carlyle wasscared of Jace but he was trying his best not to show it.

“Why are you here?” Carlyle ignored the comment of Jace’s defense forme.

“OH CARLYLE!” Maribel burst into tears and fell to the ground.

“Maribel?” Carlyle ran over to Maribel and I nearly gagged. He had acrush on her! Oh that is so gross! I saw Jace roll his eyes as if to say “Was this completely necessary?” .

Maribel howled and let the tears flow. Carlyle bent over her withmounting concern.

“My friend Ali, well she was kidnapped! And we have no idea where sheis! She’s the heir to the throne other then Jace and noble-blooded of course but we were at Jace’s hometown and she was kidnapped. Wehave no idea who took her or where they took her! Can you help us findher?” Maribel’s dramatic outburst was inaudible but clever. Carlyle hadno idea we knew he was the kidnapper.

“I will do everything in my power to help you find Ali,” Carlyle smirkedat some inside joke, immediately giving us 200% positivity that it wasindeed Carlyle who’d kidnapped my sister.

“Ah, Cousin Carlyle, but we both know your best effort won’t beenough,” Jace snarled.

--ALI’S POV--

I sat up in the darkness, sitting in a puddle of my own never-endingtears, feeling the device strapped to my ankle pressing into the skin,



forcing it to break and spill my blood into the pool of tears. At once low voices reached my ears, sobbing and hysterics. A familiar, fake-sounding voice. Maribel!

I opened my mouth to yell but no sound came out. So I listened.

Listened to what Maribel was crying about.

“My friend Ali, well she was kidnapped! And we have no idea where sheis! She’s the heir to the throne other then Jace and noble-blooded of course but we were at Jace’s hometown and she was kidnapped. Wehave no idea who took her or where they took her! Can you help us findher?” I could hear Maribel sobbing. How could she not know I washere?! I was right here, behind the fireplace in the grim haunted housecastle. I still couldn’t find the words to speak, but I heard my captorcomforting Maribel.

“I will do everything in my power to help you find Ali,” I heard thehorrid voice that haunted my dreams every night- the awful dreams

where I was reaching for Jace, tortured, dying Jace but then my captorgrinned and pressed the button to execute me before muttering the last

words I’d ever hear, “Now I can be King!”.

“Ah, Cousin Carlyle, but we both know your best effort won’t beenough,” I heard Jace snarl. Cousin Carlyle? Jace? JACE!! He washere, he had to rescue me.

“Whatever do you mean, my dear cousin,” ‘Cousin Carlyle’ my captorasked innocently. Jace had to know that Carlyle was the one who’dkidnapped me!

“What I mean to say is that I know that you kidnapped Ali!” Jace’s voiceshook with anger. He was trying so hard not to kill his cousin, I couldtell.

“What?! Me? ” Carlyle gasped, shocked at the notion Jace would evensuggest that. Jace was here to save me! I started shaking with sobs, thetears rolling down my face even more then before. I gasped and

shuddered, curling a ball and waiting for Jace to save me.

“YOU KIDNAPPED MY SISTER,” an unfamiliar, feminine voicegrowled. Her sister? Did she mean me?? I didn’t have a sister. Reality snapped into focus as if for the first time in the last few hours I’d beenhere. A plethora of people’s thoughts flooded into my mind.

He kidnapped Ali my sister. After all this time, I realize she’s alive only



to find she’s been kidnapped!

He kidnapped the girl I love just so he could have a shot at being King! He was going to kill her! Not anymore! I’m going to save her and finishoff this sniveling rat once and for all!

Oh I hope Ali’s okay! It’s her birthday too! What a shame! Where could Carlyle be hiding her? Hmm… after all the years playing hide-and-go-seek here, where were the best hiding spots? OH! The old dungeonbehind the fireplace! I bet she’s in there. While Jace fights Carlyle Eleni and I will just sneak in there and take her out the back exit. Jace will meet up with us when he’s done with Carlyle.

I caught the entire plan from Maribel’s thoughts. But… what about thebomb strapped to my ankle? I couldn’t escape that by running fromCarlyle! Did Maribel know about the bomb? I reluctantly turned back

to the conversation on the other side of the wall.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!” Carlyle warned and I heard shuffling feet stop,frozen in place.

“Let Ali go and I’ll spare your life Carlyle,” Jace growled gutturally. They all hissed at something Carlyle did and he spoke again, the voicehaunting me every time I closed my eyes.

“Take one more step and I blow Ali to smithereens. You see, I have a bomb strapped to her ankle. The button to detonate that bomb is in my

hand. Move and she dies- do you hear me!?” Carlyle screamed. I couldimage Jace’s shocked face, the shock of being beaten. Realizationdawned on me. There was nothing they could do to save me. I was asgood as dead.

Nothing can save Ali now. She is mine, all mine, dead meat. Nobodycan stop me, I will be King!

I shuddered at Carlyle’s thoughts. But I knew deep down that he wasright. I was dead meat. I was his dead meat. Not even the incredible

Jace could stop Carlyle now. A thought from the unfamiliar girl (Eleni?) struck me.

Ali is just behind that fireplace, I can feel it! If I can distract Carlylelong enough for Jace to knock that button out of his hand, then Maribel and Jace can take down Carlyle and I can go for Ali. Just have to get that remote out of his hands…





idea until now that vampires could cry. That fact was now undeniable, just by the tear-puddle on the floor where I’d been sitting, huddled inthe corner.

“Jace?” I finally asked again, my voice weak and desperate.

“Come,” Maribel said finally. We walked, fast, but it felt slow, two villages over to a huge beautiful castle glistening in the shimmery sunlight.

Maribel led us in through the back, down many halls, up many staircases until we were at a pair of narrow double doors engraved withstrange symbols I did not recognize.

Eleni murmured something under her breath, tracing over the symbols with her fingers. Was she reading it? She certainly wasn’t a vampire,

that I was sure of, but not fully human either. I’d have to ask her later.Now all that mattered was Jace.

“This might be too much,” Eleni stopped her murmuring and stared upat Maribel.

“Is it that bad?” I asked quietly, reaching down to rub my tender ankle.Not that it mattered at all.

“Yes,” Eleni and Maribel said in unison.

“I can handle it.” I replied and pushed open the doors myself. I was NOTsome wimpy girl who cried over a broken nail. I could certainly handle whatever was waiting for me in that room ahead-

“A-” I had nothing to say. The breath was knocked out of me- and not ina good way. In the middle of the cheerily decorated room was a bedresembling one from a hospital- metal sides, all white sheets andpillows, tubes and wires snaking from the nearly lifeless body to dozensof whirring machines and beeping devices. What took my breath away the most was the sunken-faced person lying in the bed. Jace wasgreenish-pale, his sunken-in cheeks black. He looked twiggy and lifeless,

without any pumping blood, his limbs hung by his side like he had noenergy to put them elsewhere. His fingers twitched lightly, every timeone certain machine beeped. His eyes were open but rolled back into hishead so only the whites were showing. His flawless skin was covered in

yellow bruises and stitched up cuts covered with specks of dried blood.His usually gorgeous long hair was stuck to his head with sweat and hismouth hung open slightly, lazily.



I crashed to the floor and lay there in blackness for awhile. When Iopened my eyes Eleni and Maribel smiled.

“Told you so,” Eleni muttered under her breath. They both smiled ateach other, then turned back to the faces of doom and gloom.

“Can I talk to the doctor? Or somebody? ABOUT THAT!” I nearly screamed pointed a quivering figure at Jace’s skeleton lying on thehospital-issue bed looking like an abused corpse.

“I wouldn’t-” Eleni began but Maribel cut her off.

“Let her. We are leaving in a few hours anyways. Now or never,” Maribelshrugged and snapped her fingers in the air impatiently, likesummoning a waiter at a fancy restaurant or something. A man in a

very, very fancy suit walked calmly out from behind a curtain. Ooh,

creepy.

“I am Doctor Villarreal,” the man said with the blankest, blandest, mostuncaring expression I have ever seen in my entire life.

“Why are you here if you don’t care?” I asked him out of nowhere. His blank countenance turned to one of shock.

“What makes you think I don’t care?” Dr. Villarreal asked, his voicecracking.

“Your face. Your emotion. You might as well be screaming it to the world,” I shrugged. He blinked sharply twice and peered in closely atme.

“Delusions. Wrongful accusations,” the doctor mumbled to himself asif… cataloguing my symptoms like I was one of his dying patients.

“I am NOT one of your patients. Right now you are here to tell me aboutJace. The real dying one,” I exclaimed, fighting the urge to punch thisemotionless rock. His face smoothed over, back to blank.

“That is fact. Young Prince Jace is dying. Without me he will withoutquestion die. I need my space to work on him properly, so I suggest yougo on back to your little boarding school before I am forced to have youescorted off the premises.” the doctor looked me in the eyes with anexpression of pure carelessness. I gritted my teeth, kept my dignity andleft the room, but not before I sucked up my courage to bend down by Jace and kiss him softly on the lips.



--EDWARD’S POV--

“Carlyle? Their cousin kidnapped Ali!? The one in the lineage for King?” I asked Gabe. He only nodded. I gasped. The lineage for King of the Vampires! That was it!

“Carlyle wants to be King! He’s going to kill Jace and Ali for thethrone!” I shouted at Gabe.

“No. He’s not. There is another in line,” Gabe shook his head, deep inthought. Did I ever mention he randomly saw short glimpses of the

future? Well it’s true!

“Who? What are you seeing Gabe?” I asked, as Gabe focused in on the future that was conveniently coming to him.

“Eleni.” “Who is Eleni? And does she freaking save Ali or not!?” I yelled.

That was about how things had gone when we found out Ali had beenkidnapped.

Suddenly, my phone rang. Jace’s name lit up the screen.

“Yo dude, did you rescue Ali?” I asked frantically and was surprised tohear another voice on the line.

“Edward?” the ditzy, Texan accent shot through the phone loudly.

“Maribel?” I asked, quite surprised that it wasn’t actually Jace who’dcalled me.

“Yes.”

“Why are you calling off of Jace’s phone?” I skipped the sentimentalgreetings. There was no time for that.

“Uh, my brother… I mean Jace, kind of had this condition and he won’t be back at boarding school for probably the next month.” Maribelgulped nervously and I could hear it over the phone.

“Jace is your brother?” I exclaimed in shock. Nobody knew that Jace hada sister. He never told any of us that…

“Yes. But we don’t need to talk about that now. Listen. Ali waskidnapped. But we figured it out, who kidnapped her and bombed her



room I mean it was-”

“Your Cousin Carlyle,” I cut her off.

“How’d you know?” Maribel stuttered, taken off guard.

“Gabe. He’s the best vampire tracker on the continent.” I laughed andGabe, who sitting next to me smiled proudly.

“Oh. Well anyways. We rescued Ali, but in the process, Jace gotseriously hurt…

--JACE’S POV (the day before at Diaden Manor)--

“What I mean to say is that I know that you kidnapped Ali!” my voice was shaking with anger. I knew Ali was in this room. I could smell herflowery, yet vampiric scent.

“What?! Me? ” Carlyle gasped, backing up against the side of thefireplace. Eleni snarled behind me.

“YOU KIDNAPPED MY SISTER,” Eleni started to advance on Carlylebut I saw Maribel hold her back. Carlyle was mine. I went to lung at Carlyle but he put a hand up, a smirk stretching across his face.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!” he yelled menacingly. What could he possibly do to stop me?

--JACE’S POV--

“Let Ali go and I’ll spare your life Carlyle,” I growled gutturally, steppingcloser to Carlyle. However that was a lie. I’d kill him after he let Ali goand if I could I’d clone him just so I could kill him again… and again,and again. Carlyle smirked and pulled a tiny black box out of his cloak.

“Take one more step and I blow Ali to smithereens. You see, I have a bomb strapped to her ankle. The button to detonate that bomb is in my hand. Move and she dies- do you hear me!?” Carlyle screeched, raisingthe box high above his head. I lunged for it and he snapped it down

quick. I pulled my dagger and slashed out at him. I managed to get in acouple good stabs before Eleni pounced. The girl was tiny, but amazingly skilled in fighting. She sat on top of Carlyle and took blow after blow tohim. He lashed back at Eleni, fangs bared but had no chance. He gave upfighting and lay helplessly under Eleni’s beating.

Eleni stood up, giving way for me to finish him off. I yanked him up by



his cloak and he let loose a bloodcurdling scream. What a baby! No, that was a lie too. A newborn baby vampire could fight better then Carlyle.

Suddenly with unexpected force, Carlyle gave me a nice roundhouse kick to the chest and I flew back into the wall. Out of nowhere a vampire

lunged from the shadows and began tearing at my skin with his teeth.His eyes leaked blood and flashed with a strange ruby color I’d neverseen before. It was a level of un-control I’d never faced before. We begantearing each other apart, literally. I gashed at his side, he swiped out atmy face. Back and forth, again and again. I wasn’t sure what was stillholding me together anymore as I finally got a shot at beheading themonstrous vampire on top of me. I struck at his neck and bloodspattered all over my face, clouding my vision, and (due to a drop on my lip) spiked my thirst.

I kicked the vampire off of me and circled over him menacingly. He wassmall but muscular and agile. I held him down with my foot and pressedmy shoe into his exposed neck.

“I am going to kill you now,” I whispered and snapped his neck. I rippedhis head from his body and tossed it to Maribel who licked the blood atthe edges tenderly.

“Not quite as good as human blood, eh Jace?” Maribel smirked, glancingover at Eleni for a brief moment. She snickered.

“Don’t even think about it Maribel,” I warned, not looking at her as Itook long strides over to where Carlyle cowered in the corner, crying and blubbering like a baby.

“I wasn’t!” Maribel scoffed, insulted that I would think that. She was bent over the vampire who’d attacked me, ripping him to pieces. I rolledmy eyes and bent down over Carlyle.

“You deserve to die. Now is your time Carlyle. Any last words?” Igrinned evilly at him, preparing to kill him once and for all.

“A-”“Too bad. You don’t get any last words,” I ripped him in half and beganripping him to pieces to burn him- only way to kill a vampire. That was

when I felt my adrenaline high leave and I could feel just how much blood I’d lost and how weak I was. Then the world blacked out.

--ALI’S POV--



“Classes start in a week?” Eleni asked, curiously, staring out the window of the airplane before looking down to the pamphlet for school. I’d madesure that she was enrolled and I was sure we could squeeze her in at ourroom, or find her another room with somebody else when we got there.Speaking of getting there, we had… ten minutes.

“Yeah, a week,” Maribel said quietly, so much unlike her normal self.

“Maribel, are you okay?” I asked, snapping out of my trance, dreamingof Jace and turned to the vampire.

“No. I’m not. I’m… I’m worried,” Maribel sniffled, tears forming at hereyes.

“Me too,” I sucked in a breath and bit my lip. We hugged for a moment,and then broke off as the plane began to dip in for a landing. Eleni took

a deep breath- it was her first time flying.

We were let off the plane first- the whole noble-blooded girl vampirething and all. Eleni marveled at everything she saw. Wait till she saw thefreaking school.

Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me and I snapped around, grabbing aneck. Maribel and Eleni gaped at me. I realized I had Logan against the

wall by his neck.

“OMG. Logan! I am so sorry!” I gasped, letting him go and yanking him

into a huge hug.

“Ouch. Ow. Ow. You are too strong for your own good Ali,” Logangrimaced, rubbing his neck, then his shoulder.

“Logan! I’m sorry! I guess I’m just really jumpy after I was kidnapped, ya know?” I tried to laugh it off lightly, but I knew that Logan hadcaught the crack in my voice when I spoke of the short kidnapping andthe consequences for Jace…

“It’s okay. Just try not to break my nearly unbreakable bones,” he

hugged me again, this time softly.

“Logan?”

“Ali. Just don’t go off getting kidnapped again okay?” Logan said quietly in my ear. I nodded, feeling my eyes well up with tears. Logan pulled me

back, out of the hug and wiped the overflowing tears from my eyes.



“Come on you guys, I am so tired of crying. Let’s just get back to thedorm. Please,” I asked and Logan, Maribel and Eleni followed after me.Oh! Eleni!

I spun around, stopping on the huge green lawn in front of the clusters

of castle-like dorms. Maribel stopped short and bumped into me,causing Logan to bump into her. Eleni stopped with incredibly sharpreflexes and avoided being knocked over.

“WHAT THE HEL-”

“Hold up,” I help up my finger, silencing and cutting off Maribel.

“What?” Logan asked, standing up and offering Maribel a hand. They both glared at me for the fall. Not that it hurt them or anything.Seriously. Babies!

“Eleni!” I exclaimed and she looked up.

“What?” she stood next to me, and Logan gave me a questioning look.

“Logan, this is my younger sister, Eleni,” my hand swept from Eleni toLogan. I turned then, to Eleni, “Eleni, this is my very good, and firstfriend at this school Logan.”

Strangely, instead of the usual ‘Nice to meet you!’, Logan lifted his noseto the air towards Eleni and sniffed. Yes, he sniffed.

“Your scent… it’s unlike any human, vampire, werewolf, demon or othercreature I’ve ever met!” Logan burst out, loudly, mystified by Eleni’sunique scent.

“Have you ever experienced the smell of a half-angel?” Eleni asked him,extremely willing to share her secret. Wait… that would make me a

vampire-angel! Sweet!

“You’re half-angel?” Logan asked in disbelief, sniffing the air again tocatalogue the scent.

“Yes. My- our- mother Marina was a fallen angel. Our father a brave,however human warrior. I was told from the day that Marina died that

Ali was dead as well,” Eleni spoke with an unprecedented sadness in hermagical, soft voice.

“Hold on. So does that make Ali… Are you… half-vampire, half-angel?”Logan’s mouth hung agape.



“Yeah!” I smiled proudly.

“Wow. Do you know what this means Ali?” Logan stuttered, trying tofind the right words.

“No…?” I trailed off, confused at what Logan was trying to imply.“That makes you the most powerful being in the entire world of mythicalcreatures. The ENTIRE world.”

--JACE’S POV--

Searing pain washed through my body whenever I breathed, whenever Imoved. Not even lying still, motionless on the uncomfortable hospital

bed could stop pain from shooting through me like being stabbed by amillion daggers. Before I’d killed the vampire unsuccessfully guarding

Carlyle, he’d cast some sort of black magic spell on me. It made my condition a million times worse then it normally would’ve been.

I heard a door open and expected the funny-looking doctor to scuttle in,checking the whirring boxes and beeping monitors with rapt attention.Instead, my father appeared in my peripheral vision and I didn’t havethe strength to turn my head a fraction of an inch to acknowledge him. Imust have looked like a vegetable.

“Son. I am pretty sure you can hear me, but a spell of black magic wascast upon you. Luckily, years past, I discovered the antidote. The

doctor took the antidote and administered it to you quite quickly. My point here, is to show you that it was, I, your father, who played a part in saving your life. You owe me for this and I already have thought of away you can repay me.” my father stopped, and if I’d had a clear view of his face, I would have seen the too-familiar smug grin that told me he’d

won the argument.

“Do not worry Jace, my son. It is a simple easy task. All you must do iskill Ali.” father’s voice was growing fainter but the last two words rang inmy ears crystal clear and sharp. He slid a dagger in a small leather hilt

under my thigh and said nothing more. The clickety-clack of his boots,alerted me of his going, leaving me to ponder his latest demand. Out of nowhere, I was having this urge to kill Ali. Half of me loved her morethen life itself, but half of me, was tied in blood relation to my father andI had an overpowering urge to have to do what he said.

Suddenly, I heard a new set of feet enter the room and my heard nearly stopped. One machine began beeping like crazy but all I saw was Ali,



standing at my bedside with eyes of compassion.

“Jace?” she said in a small, meek voice. Luckily, the part of me thatloved her, won over the part of me wanting to kill her- for the moment.

My eyes flicked open (before she’d just been a picture in my imagination); now she was real and more beautiful then ever, standing beside my bed, looking ready to cry.

“Ali?” I managed to say.

“JACE!” she nearly screamed, and ran closer to jump down and hug me.She stopped, leaning over me, poised to jump and stepped back, “Sorry,”she mumbled. Ali’s hand was on my bed. I grabbed it and used all my strength to pull her down on top of me. I ignored the pain, only feeling

Ali, laying over me.

I saw Ali blush right before I pulled her down to kiss her. She kissed me back with a passion and lust I’d never felt from her before. Ali moanedsoftly and wrapped her arms around me. I flipped her over, so she wasunderneath me and now we were tangled in all the medical wires andtubes attached to me. Oh, well.

Kill her. A voice in my head said. Kill her now, while she’s helpless inyour arms.

--TRENT’S POV--

Obviously I was mad. For a month now I’d been sulking around the areaof Aliandra’s school, trying to figure out what all these guys had that Ididn’t. Seriously! I’d heard that she’d kissed three different guys thatone day, and was now going out with some guy named Jace.

“Stupid Jace,” I mumbled and a girl raised her head to me, with large,round eyes.

“You shouldn’t be saying that about the vampire prince!” she chided andshook her head in disgust. My mouth dropped open. Vampire prince!

That’s why… Was Aliandra a vampire now too? My voice caught in my throat. I had to find somebody to help me.

Suddenly a sharp pain erupted through my neck as somebody yanked upthe collar of my shirt and lifted me high into the air.

“What do we have here? A puny human in vampire territory,” a rough voice hissed.



“I’m not the only human here!” I spat out and instantly regretted it.

“Who else, mundane boy?” the voice asked, yanking me up higher in theair.

“Aliandra Hotchkiss,” I said again, without thinking. I was dropped tothe ground and my attacker began laughing hysterically.

“One- Aliandra is a noble-blooded vampire,” the voice continuedlaughing, “And two- it’s going to be Aliandra Moonstar soon. She’sengaged to the vampire prince.”

The world came crashing down around me. Engaged?!

“Hmm, Percolus, I think we should take this one to the King. He seemsto know Aliandra.” The last I saw was a fist coming at my face before

my vision was blocked out by my heavy eyelids.--ALI’S POV--

Jace’s lips moved passionately over mine as I lay on top of him. Thefeeling was amazing. Out of nowhere something frigid cold and flat waspressed up against my leg. Jace broke off the kiss, but not because eitherof us were out of breath -we didn’t need to breathe. His hand brusheddown my calf and picked up the cold, flat thing. I propped myself up

with my elbows so I could see what he was holding.

“Ali…” he showed my the long-bladed dagger in his hands. I looked athim questioningly, but he put a finger to my lips and pressed the hilt of the dagger into my hands.

“Please. Kill me Ali,” he pleaded and a gasp caught in my throat.

“NO!” I cried loudly.

“Shh, shh,” he cooed, “You have to. My father commanded me to kill you. I must follow what he says.”

“Kill me? You can’t! But I will not allow you to die either. Why can’t we

just run off? Your father can’t force you to kill me!”

--JACE’S POV--

“You don’t understand Ali,” I exhaled slowly, still bottling up the pain, “Iam attached to my father by blood and therefore MUST do whatever hesays or I will die an agonizing, painful death.” Realization hit her at fullforce. I could tell, for her face went from begging and pleading to grim



and despairing.

“Kill me.” Ali said quietly, offering herself as a sacrifice.

“No. I will not. The only way to end this is for you to kill me,” I pressed

the knife back into her hands.“Is there no other way Jace?” she asked sadly, unable to kill me. I’d haveto get somebody else to do it. Wait. There was one way. It would get my father to take back the order to kill me…

“Well, there is something.” I amended, cautiously. What if she wasn’tready? I mean it was a bit much.

“What? Anything to spare your life Jace. I love you!” she cried out like asong.

“Ali do you really love me?” I asked her sternly, trying to be sure thatthis was really what she wanted.

“Yes Jace! Jace Moonstar, I LOVE YOU!” she yelled to the skies.“Aliandra Hotchkiss, I love you. Will you marry me?” I asked suddenly.She froze and stared at me, trying to soak in what I’d just asked her.

“Did you just… ask…?” she trailed off, speechless.

“Yes I did. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my never-endinglife with you.” I said simply. Her mouth dropped open. Was this too

sudden? Of course it was! I was so foolish to even ask that of her!

“YEEES!” she began to sob- joy? Or hurt? “I love you Jace! Of course I’llmarry you!” Tears of joy. We embraced, still laying chest to chest on thehospital bed, entangled in the wires and tubes.

That was when my father walked in.

“Did you kill her son? Is she dead?” he ran over, like a giddy child. Igaped at him. Ali sat up, brushing off the tubes encircling her. Sheglared at my father, not caring he was the vampire KING.

“Why would he kill his fiancée?” Ali asked with her magical, innocentsounding voice.

“Fiancée?!” my father exploded with rage, his face as bright as a tomato.

“Yep. I don’t think I’m dying anytime soon Daddy.”



--ELENI’S POV--

School was set to start in only a few days Lacey had said. She was becoming a great friend, as well as all the guys at school. They adoredme. Especially Ali’s friends, Logan, Edward, Gabe and Carson…

(a week earlier, ~Ali’s arrival back to the school~)

“Come on Ali, we have to get back to the dorm!” Logan began to pull Alitoward the majestic, castle-like dormitories. Maribel held me back asLogan and Ali raced ahead.

“Eleni, let’s go! We have to get to Ali’s dorm before she does!” Maribelgrabbed my arm and yanked me towards the dorms at inhuman speeds.

“Wha-”

“Her surprise birthday party! But DON’T think about it. She readsminds so-”

“She can read minds?” I gasped, in shock. That was absurd, fairytalefarce!

“Yes. So you have to think of something else so she will be surprised by the party!” Maribel pulled me again, urgently, “Oh! Think aboutpotatoes!”

“ Potatoes? ” I asked skeptically.

“Just do it!” Maribel yelled as she vaulted up into a dorm room throughan open window. I followed cautiously, using some popped-out bricks ashandholds for the climb. Good thing I was good at rock climbing. WhenI crawled through the window everyone turned to stare at me. So many of them looked hungry. I’d been around vampires before and I knew thatmy blood had the sweetest of smells. That’s what I get for being partangel. Stupid blood! The vampires were closing in and I was ready todefend myself when Maribel walked out of her room in a pretty dress,holding clothes draped over her arm for me.

“Eleni! It took you long enough to get up here! Jeez!” Maribel grumbledat my lack of vampiric skills and threw the clothes at me.

“What are-”

“Get changed quick! She’s getting into the elevator now,” Maribelpushed me into the bedroom and closed the door behind me. At once I



heard an eruption of low voices.

“Who was that?!”

“Yeah, her sweet blood almost cost her her life!”

“She’s so gorgeous, but not a vampire. That’s impossible,” I caught oneguys voice.

“I don’t care how pretty she is! If she comes any closer to me I’m goingto suck her dry!” a different guy’s voice threatened, low and cold.

“Nobody is going to suck her dry! I will go to the ends of the earth to protect this girl!” the first voice threatened right back. Who was this and why was he willing to protect me? He didn’t even know me. Plus, I couldprotect myself. I was an extremely skilled warrior in many arts of

fighting, including methods immensely effective against vampires, werewolves and demons.

“Edward, you would protect a human girl you don’t even know?” thesecond voice sneered as I shimmied out of the dress I’d traveled here in.

“ Soren. I know this sounds crazy but I would. Now control yourself!” the first guy, Edward said. I gasped. He would protect a human (well,partially) girl he didn’t even know!

“Then protect her now! I’m going in there to suck every drop of blood

from her body.” “I WILL FIGHT YOU SOREN,” Edward warned and my mind registered footsteps by the door. I was frozen, half changed into a

party dress, standing in Maribel’s bedroom while two vampires fought over me. Unbelievable.

Just as everyone yelled “SURPRISE!” Soren let loose a gut-wrenchingroar and I could hear him collide with someone- Edward? The door infront of me flew inward and I shrunk back into the corner, the dress atmy ankles. Ali leapt through the door and threw herself between Edward

and Soren- the two gorgeous vampires wrestling on the floor, trying tokill each other. Ali stepped between them, gave a small push outward,and they each flew away from her, colliding with the wall on either sideof Ali.

“Leni! Are you okay?” Ali ran to me and we embraced, despite the fact I was huddling in a corner, wearing only my bra and panties.



“Jeez Al, nothing happened! I’m fine. Can I get this dress on and can wego out and celebrate your birthday?” I pleaded with her. No moredrama, please! It was enough finding out that my sister was still alive,

but we had to rescue her from a revenge-driven kidnapper. I didn’t needtwo crazy gorgeous vampire guys fighting over me like I was some sort

of prize.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll get Soren and Edward out of here.” Ali smiled andsqueezed me tightly once before letting me go. I looked up to see one of the vampires, (Edward??) staring at me intensely. The other was lookingat me lustfully, with thirst. That had to be Soren. So Edward was…perfect! Put your dream guy and an Abercrombie model together andEdward would be what you’d get. But so was Jace.

I blushed and yanked the dress up my curvy figure. When I turned

around, this time fully dressed, Edward who was being dragged out of the room was still staring at me.

Stepping cautiously out of the room, Maribel instantly stood at my sideprotectively.

“Everyone, this is my sister Eleni. Nobody is going to mess with Eleni or you’ll have to go through me, Maribel and Jace. Not that Eleni can’tdefend herself. In fact, she’s an excellent fighter, which may be partially due to the fact that she’s part angel.” Ali introduced me and I blushed.She was too nice, but it was true. Not to be braggy, but I AM a superb

fighter in hand-to-hand combat and otherwise.

“ Angel? ” Soren spat out, standing up, alert.

“Yep. Our mom was a fallen angel,” Ali shrugged as if it were nothing.But I knew it wasn’t ‘nothing’. Once people found out you were partangel they started treating you all different. All like you were high andmighty, better then everyone else. I’m really not. I’m just a normal, poor

village girl who somehow got her way into a fancy boarding school in who knows where.

“Ali… that makes you part angel…” another handsome vampire let hismouth hang open in disbelief.

“Yes. I know. But I don’t care. Now can we please just celebrate my birthday?” everyone switched into party mode and the music went up, “I just wish Jace was here,” Ali mumbled the last part.

“Jace is gonna be okay and we’ll have another big party when he’s well



again, ‘Kay?” I hugged Ali tight. We were great sisters already.

(present time)

I was looking forward to meeting more people in all my classes too.

What I really wanted to see though was Jace up and walking, for Ali’ssake. She’d been moping over him so much, I finally just convinced herto sneak in to see him before she died from sulking so much. So off she

went with Maribel to the gigantic European castle where Jace wasrecovering. Lacey was visiting her grandparents in Turkey and Olyvia

was skiing in the Andes mountains. Everyone had abandoned me.Everyone except for the guys…

Unfortunately there were absolutely no extra rooms with any girls so Igot to room with guys. Vampire guys. Including friends of Soren.Luckily, my room was with Edward and he was super nice.

I rubbed sleep from my eyes and sat up. Edward was sitting criss-cross-applesauce on his bed, staring at me.

“Um… Edward? Why are you staring at me…?” I trailed off, sitting upand yanking up my tank top a couple of inches to cover my previously exposed chest.

“You look so serene and peaceful, so beautiful when you sleep.” Edwardmurmured, still staring at me, staying as still as stone.

“Um… that’s slightly, more then less weird Edward,” I muttered, takingoff to the bathroom (YES! The one I share with five guys).

“What?” He asked in confusion as I passed by him on the way out thedoor of our bedroom. I so wish that three of them could cram in oneroom so I could have my own space! Seriously. Talk about lack of personal space!

“If you didn’t get the message there, I was trying to say it’s kinda creepy that you were sitting there watching me sleep.” I turned to face Edwardas I stood in the open doorway.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again,” Edward hung his head a little, like adisappointed child. Ha! I blushed, but then I did something random, onan impulse. I ran over to Edward and kissed him on the cheek. Then Iturned around and walked away like nothing had ever happened, leavingEdward sitting on his bed in shock.

Haha, I loved doing whatever I could to mess with him.



--------ALI'S POV----------

God I am unbreakable! It’s unmistakable! No one can touch me! Nothing can stop me! My phone chirruped loudly and I held my solid glare at the wall. A week and a half had passed since Jace had

proposed to me. School had started. I was on a massive hunt to find people that had known my real mother. Edward was trying to get after Eleni. Jace had recovered. King Filipe had continued to harassme. And I still hadn’t told my ‘parents’ about the wedding.

“Hello?” I asked in my high soprano tinkling voice.

“Dear Lord, Aliandra Eleanor Hotchkiss is that you?!” my ‘mother’,now referred to as Arietta screeched.

“Nice of you to call Arietta,” I said emotionlessly. Arietta gasped and

called for my ‘father’, Devin.

“DEVIN! GET OVER HERE! IT’S ALIANDRA ON THE PHONE!” Arietta yelled and then returned to speaking to me, “Baby, is that really you?”

“This is Aliandra,” I spoke coolly. I wasn’t going to let Arietta get tome.

“Oh Aliandra! Cut the dramatics and stop acting all weird.” Ariettagrumbled.

“Aliandra! What have you been up to?” Devin asked, suddenlyreplacing Arietta’s whiney voice.

“What if I told you I was getting married?” I laughed at the end of thestatement, trying to pass it off as a joke. It worked. On Devin at least.

“I would tell you that you’re too young and I’d fly over there to dragyou back home. We sent you away to get your focus OFF of guys,”

Devin laughed, responding to my “joke”.

“Well, I am getting married. Listen, I know you guys are into the wholeworld of vampirism and all. Just so you know, I am a noble-blooded vampire now, and I’m marrying the guy, Jace, who turned me.” I said slowly. Jace showed up behind me grasping my waist. He planted akiss on my lips and pulled me so I was sitting on his lap. I set my phoneon the coffee table and pressed speaker.

“WHAAT!” Arietta screamed and I nudged Jace. He smiled hugely and



spoke in his soothing, calm voice.

“Hello. This is Jace Moonstar.” he waited for somebody to reply. I could hear Arietta stuttering in the background.

“SO YOU ARE THE DELINQUENT WHO TURNED MY DAUGHTER!” Devin roared.

“I’m not your daughter. Get this straight Devin! My father died and mymother- Marina, you know, the fallen angel, she’s dead too! So you

ARE NOT my parent! By the way Jace is the Prince of all vampires so I wouldn’t yell at him if I were you.” I growled. Silence. Jace stared at me with wide eyes. Was I that insensitive?

“Alright. I understand. I’ll leave you alone Aliandra. Good-bye.” click.The line went dead. I felt horrible.

“Ali…” Jace began but I silenced him with one finger.

“No. No. No. I just want a normal life right now,” I sighed, throwingmy phone against the wall angrily.

“Like not marrying a vampire normal?” Jace’s face looked glum.

“NO! No. I want to marry you. I mean, you have NO IDEA how much I love you, but I meant normal. Like, none of this parental drama and stuff.” I sighed and rammed my head into his cold chest.

“Good. Because if you didn’t want to marry me anymore I think I’d have to kill you.” Jace said simply, uncaringly. I looked up at him,gaping.

“Unh-” a strangled noise escaped my throat.

“I’M JOKING! Ali, whether you love me back or not I will always bemadly in love with you and could not hurt you in any way, shape or

form.”

--TRENT’S POV--

Asifir and Percolus were less then cordial to me. They were taking meto see the King apparently. The vampire King. This was a huge shock

for me. Vampires and all. Right now, Asifir and Percolus had mechained to a pole in the inn we were staying at. I got to sit on the floorlike some sort of prisoner… well, I guess I kind of was their prisoner



but whatever. They fed me occasionally, when they remembered to. Apparently I was to help them and their rag-tag band of rebels takedown the future crown- Jace and now, Aliandra. Asifir and Percoluswere the two guards and assistants to the head of the un-named rebellion, and a man who was very good friends with the King. This

man was always referred to as ‘The Nameless One’ but once, Percolushad slipped and said Jasipar.

“The Nameless One said that we can take you to see the King today,” Asifir came in, waving a dagger around. I was too hungry to fullycomprehend what he was saying until he and Percolus had unchained me and were dragging me down the hall of the dingy inn to whereverthis King was…

The halls were lined with all sorts of gold and gem ornamentation. The

luscious rug lining the marble-floored hall was soft and silk curtainswere draped around the floor-to-ceiling windows. A giant beyond comparison double-door stood at the end of the hallway. Percolus and

Asifir were letting me walk to this door, my arms and feet shackled tobars held by two thickly muscled guards. I felt like I was beingdragged along, but it was more freedom then I’d had in the past weekand a half I’d been imprisoned by Percolus and Asifir. I stopped at the door and was pushed to my knees. The mother-of-pearldoors swung open and a voice boomed above.

“ANNOUNCING THE HIGH KING OF THE VAMPIRIC KINGDOM,KING FILIPE ROVERTO MOONSTAR THE THIRD!”

I looked up, but a rough hand pushed my head down.

--A HALF-HOUR LATER--

“So, on to business, prisoner of the Guard.” the King looked at me. I’dlearned that ‘the Guard’ were the protectors of Jasipar.

“What am I to do?” I said in the whiniest voice I could muster up.

“Trent, is it, you see, I love my son, but I’m afraid he is waiting on my death to ascend to the throne with his revolting wife Alinda, is it now?”

“ALIANDRA.” I said coldly and he nodded in remembrance.

“Ah, yes, that’s what it was. I tried to get Jace to kill Aliandra but hedecided to marry her! I can’t go against that! I love Jace, however, Imust kill him. That is why you are here, Trey.”



“Um, it’s Trent.”

“Right, Trent. You need to get close to Aliandra and separate her fromJace so Jasipar can finish him off. JASIPAR YOU MAY COME INNOW!” the King called loudly and a portion of one wall slid open to

reveal Jasipar.

“Oh. My. Go-”

“Don’t say another word you insolent mortal.” the girl snapped andpushed me against the wall in a strong choke-hold.

“You… a-re Jas-I-jasi-ppp-arr?” I managed to spit out.

“Jasipar is the name I am known by.” the dark-haired tan girl sneeredand threw me into the other wall, behind the King.

“YOU ARE JASIPAR! THE ONE WHO’S LEADING THE REBELLION AGAINST JACE AND ALIANDRA?!” I screamed. Jasipar scowled.

“This mortal is annoying and bothersome. Why must we keep himalive?” Jasipar asked, her eyes flickering red for the briefest of seconds.

“Jasipar. Please. He is going to separate Jace and Aliandra so we cantake care of Jace easier, and then we’ll get Aliandra while she’s down.”

--EDWARD’S POV--

I looked over one row to where Ali sat beside me and I saw her doodlingin the margins of her notebook for the Algebra 3-4 Honors class that Ali,Eleni, Soren and I all had together. The teacher, Mrs. Krening, had beendumb enough to put all four of us in the back corner of the roomtogether. Currently, Eleni was trying to explain the lesson to Soren and

Ali was drawing moons with stars in the middle on her paper. Moonsand stars? Ohhhhhhhh! Moonstar. Wow talk about obsessed.

A little while before school started Jace decided that he needed to buy Ali a ring, a really really extravagant expensive ring. As much as Ali

loved it, she didn’t want everyone to think she was one of those girls whogot knocked up and then felt bad so she married the guy. So she worethe ring ‘decoratively’ on her right hand. The school was pretty much 25to 35% vampires so they already knew that Ali was marrying Jace andthat was perfectly normal, but to the rest of the human population of theschool, 65 to 75%, that would be very strange. As Ali rattled off someanswer she only knew because she read Mrs. Krening’s mind, I watchedher fiddle with the gorgeous engagement ring. My mind suddenly,



unexpectedly flipped to Eleni.

Eleni, who sat behind me, was the absolutely most amazing girl I’d evermet. She was beautiful and not to mention, half-angel! Thatautomatically put her at a position over JACE’S father. Another

surprising thing- she had such a great, humble personality.

Ali coughed, not too loud, but meaningfully, to me. She’d read my mind-I knew it by the look on her face. Ali always told us how completely awful it could be to be able to read people’s minds. I thought it would becool, but she felt it a curse, especially not being able to read Jace’s mind.

Ali once had to sit through a whole detention period listening to a guy’sthoughts about how hot she was and, well, etcetera. It aggravated Aliand pissed off Jace.

I scribbled down a note to Ali and stealthily tossed it into her lap

without dull Mrs. Krening noticing. I’d asked her what, exactly, she’dread in my mind. When I got the note back it said: Everything youthought about my sister. Oops. I should really learn how to block my thoughts from Ali. I mouthed ‘sorry’ to Ali and crumpled up the paper. Itossed it across the entire room to the trashcan. SLAM DUNK! Oh yeah!

Eleni poked my back all of a sudden, and whispered into my ear so I wouldn’t have to turn around.

“What were you thinking about me?”

*i promise yall that i will put up character pix in one of the next few chapters, sooooBANNERS puhleez its suuuper motivating & makes u feel all happy inside.

also,iapologize4 the chapters relative shortness<3, Nicole* ON TO THE STORY

--EDWARD’S POV--

“How did you- I mean I wasn’t! What do you mean?” I stuttered. How could she have possibly known?

“I know you were. Just admit, I’m cool with it.” Eleni smiled.“Fine. Maybe I was. But how did you know?” I don’t know why I just

admitted that, but I did.

“Ali and I totally have like this angelic telepathic thing. It’s so cool,”Eleni smiled hugely and I’m pretty sure my mouth dropped open.

“Whoa.” I turned to face Ali. She was laughing pretty hard. I shot Eleni aquestioning look, “Wait. Your not serious?”



“NO! I could read the note you were passing with Ali over her shouldersilly,” Eleni giggled.

“Oh.” I was silent and turned back around, trying to avoid answering the burning question.

“Are you gonna tell me or not?” Eleni poked my side as we walked to ournext class.

“Well… I think NOT.”

--ALI’S POV--

The worst part about reading people’s minds was hearing how little self control people had with their thoughts. If only they knew that a certain

Aliandra Hotchkiss could read minds…

“I wonder how much he’s paying for that girl. There’s no way he could get a chick like her.” I snapped quickly out of the thoughts of the guy across the row from us in first-class on the airplane.

“You’re family is rich, don’t you guys have like a private jet orsomething?” I asked leaning back into Jace’s open arms and twiddling

with the engagement ring I had placed on my right hand.

“Well, the jet is being fixed right now, after a little accident,” Jacereplied shrugging. I was fine with flying first class this time to the

French countryside where the vampire capital, and the royal palace was.(We were going to meet his mom and brothers and sisters.) The only problem was all the uncontrollable thoughts swarming around me thattook so much effort to block out. A grin stretched widely across my faceas I remembered the last and first plane ride I’d been on.

“What I wouldn’t give to read your mind!” Jace exclaimed, looking downat me as I settled farther into his arms.

“Well it’s not like I can read your mind!” I protested, then drifted back tomy calm smile, “How about I just tell you what’s on my mind? We’ve

played this game before.”

“Alright. I like this game. Go ahead.”

“I was just thinking about last time I got on a plane with you… How wonderful it was. And how you kissed me the first time.”

“Like this?” he leaned in close, twirled me around so I was facing him





“Eleni.”

--ALI’S POV--

“So how many sisters do you have?”

“Six.”

“Wow. How many brothers?”

“Five.”

“So there’s like twelve of you? Like ‘cheaper by the dozen’?” I burst outlaughing. Jace looked back at me seriously.

“Yes. My sisters, Mia, Tiffany and Cam are triplets. Then there’sPrudence, Maribel and Bailee. My brothers Trevor and Corbin are twins.

Um… oh, there’s, Saul, Christian and Ian.”

“Whoa babe. That’s a lot people who probably won’t like me…” I leanedinto him as the shiny Bentley carried us towards the palace in theFrench countryside. He wrapped his arms around me and thedistraction kept me from losing my control and sucking all the blood outof the driver of the car.

“Oh I’m positive they will love you Ali!” Jace whispered into my ear. Ishivered.

“You’re right. And I wouldn’t want to kill them.” I smirked. Jace slappedmy arm playfully. I suppose if I’d been human still that would’ve hurt. I

went to slap him back but somebody’s random thought stopped me.

All I have to do is drive these fools to the meeting spot and then I’ll get the money they promised. What was the address again? 45 O’Reary

Lane? Or was it O’Hearn?

I instantly tied the thought to the shady, shifty-eyed man steering our Bentley down the country path.

OH NO. Somebody was out to kidnap Jace and I! Why would anybody want… OH. MY. GOSH. Somebody wants to make sure we aren’t goingto be rulers of vampire world! Carlyle isn’t in line for the throneanymore cause he’s dead. That leaves me, Jace and… ELENI!

“JACE!” I screamed and shut my mouth. He gripped my arm hard andtraitor driving the Bentley slammed on the brakes.



“I want to go see that… stone house over there!” I shrieked and plasteredmy face to the window. Jace gave me a questioning look that I returned

with a pleading, urgent one. I think he got the message because henodded to the driver and opened the door.

Jace swung me over him and set me on my feet outside the door. I stoodup on my tiptoes to kiss him and whispered in his ear.

“On the count of three run,” I kissed him again and hand-in-hand we began to walk through the tall yellow-green grass waving in the gentle breeze.

“I’m trusting you on this babe.” he murmured.

“One.” We passed a tree with arms reaching gracefully to the heavens.

“Two.” The driver of the car began to yell for us to come back.“Three!” We ran into a full-out sprint. Still holding each others hands weran at vampiric speeds towards whatever safety we could find. When westopped, unnaturally not out of breath, we were sitting on a grassy bluff overlooking a river.

“What was that all about?” Jace asked, entwining his hand in mine.

“I read the thoughts of the driver…” and from there, I explained my theory to Jace. When I was done, his mouth hung open in surprise.

“That’s… unbelievable! I can only think of one person who’d stoop thatlow…”

“Who?”

“My father.”

--BAILEE’S POV--

“Mum, I really don’t think all of this fanfare is necessary.” I rolled my eyes at my mother who was attending to all of the “Welcoming Party”

details with a scary attentiveness. She tended to over-prepare. It was just Jace’s return with his fiancé, Aliandra. I really thought that she hada pretty name and she was so lucky to be a noble-blooded vampire. I’dalways wished I was noble-blooded like my lucky brothers, but girls

were rarely born noble-blooded.

“Bailee don’t be so malevolent! This celebration is going to be beautiful.”



“ Even if Jace is marrying to a girl he changed himself!” I heardTiffany mutter. I rolled my eyes. Her more-than-sisterly attraction toJace sickened me. I was the only one who knew. If the rest of my sistersand brothers knew, she’d be scum to them.

“Bailee! Come over here, behind these flowers.” Mum instructed, hercrown starting to tilt off of her teetering up-do.

“Yes ma’am.” I grumbled and heard Tiffany snicker as she walked pastme. I thought quick and stuck out my foot. SHE FELL FLAT ON HER FACE. I sank to the floor with tears pouring out of my eyes because I

was laughing so hard. Mum gasped and Tiffany was crowded by her,Mia, Prudence and Tiffany’s snobby friends Raylene and Luna. A familiar hand was offered and helped me up.

“Thanks Maribel.” I said dusting myself off. Mum wouldn’t be happy

that I “mussed my sundress for the party” oh no! It’s the end of the world. Note the heavy sarcasm.

“No problem-o Bailee. Those of us who choose to use our brains and beourselves instead of bowing down to Tiffane need to stick together.”Maribel smiled, switching to her fake accent as villagers began pouringinto the plaza. Her normal voice was so seductive, feline and feral thatshe felt the need to cover it with a ditzy southern accent.

“Do you think Jace will like the festival?” I asked Maribel as we sat down

in our small thrones behind Mum’s large one, next to father’s empty one. It was no secret that Maribel, though our step-sister (like Mia,Tiffane and Cam), was Jace’s favorite. She even went to school with himand Aliandra.

“He’ll say he likes it because he’s too nice to tell Mum otherwise, butlater he’ll tell Ali he hated it because he hates feeling high and exalted.He believes that a position reserved for God and so do I.”

“Ali??”

“Aliandra.” Maribel explained, giving me a valuable insight on just how close she and Aliandra were.

“Oh. Do you think I’ll like her?” I was unsure of what she was like. A Tiffane or a Maribel?

“My, my! You will LOVE her! She’s the most amazing girl I know.”Maribel shrieked in delight. I jumped back in surprise.



“That doesn’t mean Tiffane and her clones will like her,” I decided andMaribel nodded in agreement.

“Bailee!” a familiar, comforting guy-voice yelled across the piazza. Ismiled, and was met by a questioning look from Maribel.

“My best guy-friend.” I explained, getting a look from Maribel that said:“I bet he’s more than just a friend.” That’s what everyone thought,except Tiffane and Mia who believed Prince Blake Corin Marcus Von

Abernethe was too good for me. I may have liked Blake as more asfriend, but I wasn’t sure how he felt about me, so I was totally fine with

being friends. Maribel had never actually met Blake, seeing as how she was always off traveling the world like an ambassador for the royalfamily, or attending boarding school with Jace.

“Blake!” I stood up to embrace him in his usual giant bear hug. Today he

picked me up off my feet and spun me around. I giggled as he set medown, and noted Maribel’s eye roll.

“Saved me a seat?” Blake asked and I smirked at how his gold circlettilted ever-so-slightly off his head, half covered by his messy brown hair.

“Of course I saved you a seat,” I motioned to the throne next to me onthe opposite side of where Maribel sat. Blake, being a Prince, always hada seat with my family during celebrations and always chose to sit next tome as opposed to my brothers (some of his good friends) or Tiffane in all

her horrid-ness. Today, my brothers did sit on the other side of Blake,sucking him into their football conversation at once.

“We’re starting a team and you should totally join Blake!” Trevorsuggested, and I turned to talk to Maribel again.

“You totally like him!” Maribel whisper-accused, pointing a finger at me.

“Do not!” I gasped, trying to seem shocked by the very idea of it.

“You so do!” Maribel just wouldn’t give it up.

“Fine,” I admitted out of frustration. Right then I jumped as Blake slidan arm around my waist.

“Who’s this?” he asked, nodding to Maribel who smirked.

“Oh, I forgot! This is my sister, the one I was telling you about, Maribel.”I looked back up at Blake who gave a small wave to Maribel.



“Hey,” he said simply. Maribel brushed a clump of her giant platinum blonde curls behind her shoulder.

“Well hi there!” Maribel over-stressed the accent, “It is so nice to meet you. Bailee had had nothing but good things to say about you!” I turned

my face away from Blake and gaped at Maribel.

Suddenly, the conversation was interrupted by a loud burst of fanfareand a trilling, introductory musical piece following. Jace and Aliandra

were arriving! Blake removed his hand from my waist so we could allclap for the couple’s entrance.

Unexpectedly, a gorgeous dark-haired beauty burst into the piazza.

“Help!” she cried, looking distressed, and Jace ran in after her, lookingaround with wide-eyes.

“Aliandra.” he said sharply, trying to get her to be quiet.

“ Please help us! There is a man trying to kill us!”

--BAILEE’S POV--

Mum took in a sharp breath next to me. A gasp crossed her parted lipsand Tiffane scoffed. Aliandra, the girl who looked like an Egyptian

beauty, looked around like everyone was going mad and she finally realized what was going on.

“Oops,” I barely caught her mumble. She calmed down and linked herarm with Jace’s. She smoothed out her casual, bold-printed dress andsatisfied, Jace led her forward. Aliandra smiled, trying to keep her cool

but I could tell underneath she was bursting, wanting to cry out againlike she had before.

“Jace!” Mum exclaimed.

“Mum. What’s with the festivities?” Jace asked, his face growing dark.He didn’t care much for the high life, with everybody celebrating him all

the time.“We are celebrating your home coming!” Mum clapped her handstheatrically. Jace scrunched his face up, trying to comprehend why onearth Mum would do such a thing. Aliandra looked up at him pleadingly,and his face melted. I could see the love they had was surreal.

When Jace looked up, he was smiling.



“This is splendid Mum. Thank you!” Jace gushed, and hugged Mum,somewhat stiffly.

“Mum, this is my fiancée, Aliandra.” Jace stepped aside to reveal the beauty. At a closer look she was even more beautiful; breathtakingly so.

“Hi,” Aliandra murmured quietly, but no so much to escape the crowd’s vampiric hearing.

“Hello Aliandra! It is so nice to finally meet you in person after all the wonderful things we heard about you,” Mum put on a fake smile, herdistaste for Aliandra showing through.

“It’s nice to finally meet you ma’am,” Aliandra smiled and embraced herin a formal hug.

“Please, I insist on you calling me Desiree,” Mum fake-smiled again. Aliandra didn’t seem to notice.

“Ali, this is Mia, Tiffane, Cam and Prudence.” Jace introduced hisfiancée to the Queen of All Evil and they moved on to Mum’s other side

where we were seated.

“MARIBEL!” Aliandra squealed and ran up to Maribel.

“ALI!” Maribel screeched and they hugged each other like best friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

“Ohmigosh I’ve missed you so much. We were in a Bentley and there was this psycho driver trying to kill us and-”

“Ali,” Jace cut her off, motioning for her to move on.

“This is Bailee,” Jace gestured, and then turned to give Maribel a quick hug.

“Hey! I’m Ali, but I guess you already knew that.” she giggled and Irealized I had been wrong. She’d seemed like the stuck-up, ‘Mia’ type

but she totally wasn’t.

“Hey Ali, nice to meet you,” I tried to smile as genuinely as possible andshe grinned back.

“Alright this is… wait, you’re not my brother. This is Prince Blake CorinMarcus Von Abernethe. Hey man, what’s up?” Jace gave him one of thehandshake, man-hug things and Ali smiled at Blake.



“Here’s my brothers! Trevor and Corbin. Saul, Christian and Ian.” Jacepointed to each and they all got handshake man-hugs from Jace. Music

began to play and suddenly the piazza broke out in dance. Finally thefestivities were starting and the formality was over with.

My brothers circled Ali, asking all sorts of questions.

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“How many humans have you killed?”

“None.”

“Wow.”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Purple.”

“Favorite gemstone?”

“Emerald or… sapphire.”

“Favorite movie?”

“The Notebook.”

“Aww. How sweet? NOT.”

“Shut up Corbin. How many siblings do you have?”

“I… don’t… know… One, I think.”

“How can you not know?”

“I was adopted and my mom was a fallen angel! I just met my long lostsister several months ago!” Ali protested and my brothers shut up.

“How many times have you slept with Jace?” somebody blurted out. No

doubt it was Trevor.

“N-” she trailed off, her mouth hanging open in shock.

“Guys! That is not something you should be asking her!” I gasped andpushed into the circle formed around Ali. My brothers broke apart,mumbling apologies and going off to find dancing partners.



“Thank you Bailee!” Ali gushed. Jace swept her off into a dance and Ifound myself standing alone. All by myself. Where had Maribel gone?

“You look quite beautiful today. Oh, but that grass stain on your back offsets the whole pattern. Atrocious!” I heard Blake behind me, talking

mockingly, mimicking Mum’s critical tone.

“Well if we are in the business of criticizing, let’s talk about you Blake! Imean look at your hair. The way your crown is falling off of your head,slipping down off of your messy hair is so… hot.” I said quietly. Hestared at me without blinking for the moment and smiled.

“Come on Bailee. I wanna show you something.” Blake pulled me off,out of the piazza.

--JASIPAR’S POV--

“We need inside help.” the words rang through my head. I was sure of this.

“Hello?” I pressed my ear anxiously to the iPhone in my hand that I wastrying to not break under my iron grip.

“Jasipar, doll? This had better be important, I’m at a killer party,” thesoft, snooty voice rang through the speaker and I grinned. This wasperfect.

“Speaking of killer, I’ve got an interesting job for you. A proposition perse.”

“Another company job?” she asked, using the code word for anassassination or murder. It meant she was in a place with lots of people

where she could be easily overheard.

“Yes. Exactly. I think you will enjoy this one greatly.” I smirked, goingover the plans in my head for the millionth time since I’d cleverly devised them.

“Who’s the client?” my dear friend asked in a giddy, excited voice. Ididn’t just think she’d enjoy the kill, I was sure of it. I knew that she

wouldn’t like Aliandra.

“Aliandra Hotchkiss. Soon to be Aliandra Moonstar.”

“Perfect.”

--ELENI’S POV--



“Well… I think NOT.” Edward ran from me, in a flash, using the unfairadvantage of his super vampire speed. Ugh. That was totally not fair. Oh

well, I’ll see him next class.

I stopped at my locker, pausing in front of the shiny red metal door to

spin the dial on the just as shiny red lock. Everything in this schoollooked so brand-new and nice! I swung my huge locker open without somuch as a creak and peered at myself in the mirror within. The curls oneither side of my face were still pristine and perfect. My bangs sweptaway from my face and lay perfectly over the top part of my forehead.My makeup was still just as fabulous as when I put it on that morning,

but it was minimal- I didn’t have a complexion or a face that was in needof makeup.

I felt someone approach me from behind, noiseless of course, but I’d

been enough battles and ambushes to know when someone was behind me. Soren.

“Soren I know you are there,” I replied, ruining his fun.

“Darn! I was so close to winning!” Soren whined. The guys had made into a game to

see who could sneak up behind me without getting caught. None of them had

won yet and I was particularly confident they never would. I was always,

always on my guard.

“Soren, you guys are never gonna win!” I gave him a huge hug and he

lingered in the embrace for a little longer then I’d like. He was stillfighting his addiction to my scent after the whole incident on Ali’s birthday. I’d learned to forgive, but well, it was still so hard for him.Luckily, once he’d gotten to know me, he assured me he would never beable to live with himself if he killed me. Still, Edward was my knight inshining armor, my hero. I’d never forget how he fought for me that day,even though I was a complete stranger. Even his fighting had to do withthe deliciousness of my scent apparently. I didn’t care. He’d fought toprotect me and that was all that counted in my book.

“Hey where did Edward go?” Soren asked randomly, “We all have nestclass together and he is usually around here somewhere.” Soren mused.

“Actually, he went off to talk to this girl he likes apparently,” I grinneddevilishly.

--ALI’S POV--



I smiled as I watched Blake lead Bailee off. They seemed like they likedeach other and would make a really cute couple. I really liked Bailee. Shesaved me from Jace’s prying brothers and she seemed more nice anddown to earth like Maribel. Mia I wasn’t to sure about. She seemedsnotty and too stuck-up to like anybody that wouldn’t do whatever she

asked.

“So I was thinking, that we should have the wedding here, in the royalgardens!” Jace’s mum, who’d asked me to call her Desiree gushedcoming up to Jace and I where we sat together on a bench watching thefestivities in our, well Jace’s honor.

“That would be lovely. It’s so beautiful out here.” I smiled back atDesiree’s incredibly fake smile. I had a feeling, like Jace’s father, she didnot like me.

“Jace darling, what do you think?” Desiree asked, upholding herincredibly snooty voice.

“I don’t care Mum, as long as I get to marry Ali,” Jace murmured andkissed me softly. My heart soared. He was the sweetest guy ever and tothink I used to hate him. I wouldn’t dream of it now.

“Jace! That’s so sweet!” I threw my arms around my neck and huggedhim.

“Aliandra, I think we should go look at wedding dresses right now!”

Desiree exclaimed yanking me onto my feet.

“I really don’t think now is the best time!” I tried to protest and gaveJace a look of warning.

“Maybe I should come along,” Jace suggested, trying to save me.

“No, no! Don’t be absurd! Wedding gown shopping is for the ladies of the bridal party only!” Desiree denied Jace and I knew there was no way of getting around that.

“Well, in that case Maribel is my maid of honor. She should come. Soshould Bailee!” I suggested. Desiree looked horrified.

“Bailee?” Desiree exclaimed.

“Yes. I want Maribel my maid of honor and my bridesmaids to be Bailee,my sister Eleni and my friends Lacey and Olyvia.” I smiled proudly.



Desiree gasped. “Wouldn’t you much rather have Mia be your maid of honor?” I laughed, trying not to gag. Not a thing on earth would makeme want to have Mia be my maid of honor.

“No. Maribel is my best friend in the whole world. I want her and only

her to be my maid of honor.” I tried to break it to Desiree in a nice way, but she looked ready to faint.

“Well that’s alright,” she amended, looked pleased with herself for hersolution. “We can still have Mia be a bridesmaid. She looks ravishing inpurple.”

“Um… I don’t-”

“Nonsense! I’m sure she’d love to! Mia! Maribel! Bailee!” Desiree calledthe three over. Maribel was at my side immediately. Mia stopped her

grinding on some guy and appeared at her Mum’s side, gazing lustfully at Jace. Disgusting. Bailee, however, was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is that malevolent child?” Desiree exclaimed.

“ I saw her go off with Prince Blake earlier.” Mia confided to her mother.I gasped. Why would Mia tell Desiree something like that?

“No she didn’t. I’ll go find her.” Jace glared at Mia before jogging off insearch of Bailee.

--ELENI’S POV--“Who does he like?” Soren asked curiously. I assumed he knew, and

would have mentioned that girl’s name. I guess not.

“I thought you knew.” I said flatly.

“Oh. Right. I guess I do, but you’re right here so it doesn’t make any sense.” Soren replied. Right after he said it, his eyes grew wide and heclapped a hand over his mouth.

“No, no, no, no, no, NO! I did NOT just say that! Edward IS NOT madly

in love with you Eleni! I never ever just told you that,” Soren exclaimed.

“Hey guys what’s up?” Gabe came up behind Soren, an arm slungaround Lacey, his girlfriend’s waist.

“I did not just tell Eleni that Edward is madly in love with her!” Soren burst out and then clapped his hand back over his mouth. He walkedover to the locker and banged his head against the metal several times.



“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” he muttered to himself. Gabe looked confused.

“What’d I say?” he asked. Lacey giggled, understanding what happened.Sometimes I thought Lacey was way smarter then the group of noble-

blooded vampires that ran this school.

“Never mind Gabe.”

The school’s shrill late bell silenced any further conversation and ourgroup dispersed to our classes.

I slid into the last empty seat in the classroom- Soren to my right andoddly enough Edward two seats in front of me. Something seemedamiss. It finally clicked. Usually, there was an extra empty seat in class,

but not today, which meant there was a new kid.

I looked wildly around, until my eyes settled on the girl in the seat nextto me. She was new no doubt and didn’t look very young, except for herunfortunately short height.

“Hey. You must be new, I’m Eleni!” I smiled, turning to the new girl.

“Jasipar de Shanna.” the short girl replied with a curvy smile.

“Hey ‘Leni who’s the new girl?” Soren nudged me and I winced. He’d hita bruise from where I’d unfortunately ran into a metal beam the otherday.

“This is Jasipar.” I smiled proudly. The moment I said it, Edward spunaround and looked at me with wide, alarmed eyes.

“Miss Thornton?” Edward waved his hand frantically in the air.

“Yes, Edward?” the teacher said, walking down the row to talk toEdward. She was a vampire and knew that Edward often had noble-

blood emergencies to attend to.

“Headmaster Pierce asked Soren, Eleni and I to come to his office at1:15,” Edward said, and I knew it was a lie. What was up with him?

Miss Thornton didn’t even ask for a pass or confirmation that Edward’sstatement was true, she just sent us off.

“Edward what is wrong with you?” I screamed once we were inside ourdorm.

Ignoring me completely, Edward turned to Soren. “Soren, doesn’t the



name Jasipar ring a bell?”

“No, not particularly.” Soren shrugged and flopped down on the couchinside Edward’s room.

“Jasipar de Shanna… the Sifrafuse Assassination of Malta? Ring a bell?”Edward asked desperately.

“Edward! What is going on?!” I screamed, but they continued to ignoreme.

“Jasipar. De Shanna. Jasi…” Soren trailed off, his already pale, stoneface paling several more shades. “It can’t be. Jasipar de Shanna. The

world’s greatest assassin. She killed all of our parents,” Soren said,referring to the group of powerful vampire boys that ruled the boardingschool, “Except Jace’s.”

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