Blood Warrior (16 page)

But sometimes, the right thing can feel so very, very wrong.

Chapter 32

I woke up early the next morning when a knock sounded at my door. Pulling myself out of the bed, I stumbled over to the door and threw it open. A very pissed off Nelly stood outside it. I wondered why for just a moment, then it hit me. I had forgotten that I was supposed to meet up with her last night. Whoops.

“Hey, Nell,” I said, weakly.

The anger on her face kicked up a notch. “Don’t ‘hey, Nell’ me, Alexa. Do you know how worried I’ve been? I didn’t sleep all night. Neither did Jack or Daniel. We were all up waiting for you to come back.”

I rubbed my face. I knew she had a right to be mad at me, but I just didn’t feel like dealing with it this morning. Not after everything that had happened last night. My next words came out much harsher than I intended.

“Yeah, well, I’m sorry, but I kind of had a lot going on. My world doesn’t revolve around you, you know.”

Her expression switched to one of hurt and my stomach clenched. Again with the anger. I should be ashamed. Nelly wasn’t acting any different than I would if the situation was flipped. Hell, I’d probably be a whole lot meaner than she was being. I took a deep breath and tried again.

“I’m sorry, Nell. Really. I had a lot of stuff going on. I guess I kind of just… forgot,” I said.

She brushed past me and sat down on the bed. She sighed and pushed the hair out of her face. “What’s going on, Lex? I feel like you’ve been really guarded lately. You used to tell me everything, and now, I have no idea what’s going on in that head of yours.” I sat down beside her and rested my head on her shoulder. She ran a hand through my hair and whispered, “I’m worried about you. Tell me what’s going on.” I did. I told her everything. Starting with my feelings for Kayden, to the conversation with the man in the blue suit. I ended by telling her what I had said to Kayden last night. It took a while, but like always, she just sat quietly and waited for me to finish.

“Why did you do that?” she asked when I was finished.

It took me a minute to realize she was talking about Kayden. I sighed, “I don’t know. Because I can’t seem to control myself around him. I can’t do anything but tell him everything that’s on my mind. That’s dangerous right now. I don’t know who I can trust. His presence makes me feel…”

“Happy?” she finished for me.

“Yes, but it’s not only that. It makes me feel vulnerable. I can’t trust myself around him. He makes me feel stronger and weaker at the same time. I don’t like feeling that way and not being able to stop it.”

She was silent for a long time, then, she just hugged me. I took comfort in her embrace. If nothing else, I would always have Nelly. I could always trust her to be there for me.

We broke apart and she smiled at me with that wonderful smile of hers. I smiled back because I couldn’t help it. Nelly just had that way about her that made her moods contagious.

“Go shower and get dressed,” she said.

I glanced at the clock; it was seven am. “Why?” I asked. I was planning on just going back to bed. I was still so tired after last night.

She shook her head and smiled again. “Because you’ve got class starting in an hour.”

Oh wonderful. I had forgotten that I was scheduled to start school this morning.

The ceremony last night made me official, and now I had to head to class with the other fighters. I hoped I was ready. Better yet, considering my mood, I hoped
they
were ready.

I showered and headed out toward the building that was designated for the Brocken students. Nelly and I split ways when we reached a point where she had to head in a different direction. All of the schools were relatively close together, and I hoped that we would at least get to have lunch together.

“Good luck,” she said, giving me another hug.

“Thanks.”

I was almost to the building when a warrior I didn’t know stopped me. He had on the all black uniform and was kind of handsome in a way-too-old-for-me kind of way.

“Miss Montgomery?” he asked, stopping in front of me.

“Yes,” I said, slowly.

He nodded. “The Queen has requested an audience with you. I will escort you, if you would follow me.”

My shoulders sagged. I just wanted to go to class so that I might be able to slip into some sort of routine. I didn’t want to deal with anymore politics right now, but really, I didn’t have much choice.

“Okay,” I said.

He seemed a little amused at my reluctance to see the Queen. I decided I might like this guy.

We talked along the way as we walked, and I was grateful for this. I was sick of the older warriors just acting like robots. I wanted some normal interaction with other people. I also just wanted to take my mind off of Kayden.

“What’s your name?” I asked when we reached the council building.

He hesitated, then said, “Marcus, but I just go by Mark.”

I held out my hand. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mark, I’m Alexa.” He smiled a full smile and shook my hand, then he led me into the building and took me to the Queen’s personal office. It looked more like a sitting room, where one might have tea, than an office. Everything was decorated in silver and black, and white roses and other exotic plants that I couldn’t identify lined the walls. One side of the office was a large window, stretching from floor to ceiling, and overlooking a beautiful garden. There was a large Oak desk near the far wall and a daybed placed tastefully off to the side. I looked to my right to see the Queen sitting in a very expensive looking chair that was facing a very expensive looking couch. I walked over and bowed before sitting down on the couch.

She raised her eyebrows. Was I supposed to ask to be seated? Whatever.

She was wearing a black pants suit with a silver silk blouse underneath, and she was sipping a cup of tea. Her blue eyes studied me over her cup and I shifted a little in my seat.

Looking down at my clothes, I saw that I was wearing black stretch pants and a black tank top. I would have dressed nicer, but I thought I was just heading to school where I would have to train. Whatever.

“It’s nice to see you, your majesty,” I said.

She smiled then and it made her looks a little less sharp. “It’s nice to see you as well, young Warrior.

I struggled not to roll my eyes. I really wished people would stop calling me that. I had a name, and I kind of liked it.

When she just sat there, I cleared my throat. “Um… you wanted to see me?” She nodded. “I wanted to thank you personally,” she said.

I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Well, you’re welcome, but what for?” She laughed, a short, high pitched sound that sort of grated my nerves. Shaking her head, she said, “I suppose you save the lives of monarchs every day, young Warrior?” Oh,
that
. How could I have forgotten about that? I guess with everything else on my mind, I hadn’t really thought about how I had pulled her away from the podium just before it had exploded.

“Actually, you were my first,” I said. “But you’re welcome” She nodded and again grew silent, but this time, a look of regret and sadness came over her features. I waited for a moment and then decided that she wasn’t going to talk unless I asked her to. I worked to keep the frustration off of my face.

“Is there something else, your majesty?”

She met my eyes and nodded solemnly. “Yes, there is, and please, call me Camillia.”

Well, then, call me Alexa
. “Okay,” I said instead.

“I deeply regret being the one who has to tell you this, but I think you have a right to know,” she continued.

“Okay,” I repeated. This was really starting to annoy me

She reached over to the small table that was beside her chair and picked up something shiny. My heart dropped when I realized what it was. My face must have given me away, because she nodded again, that sad expression still on her face.

She handed me what she was holding and I stared down at it. It was a necklace; my Mother’s necklace. It was the only piece of jewelry that my Mother had ever worn. It was silver and delicate, with a small, silver sun hanging from the chain. I closed my fist around it.

My tongue felt thick in my throat and my heart felt like it had just been ripped from my chest. “What are you trying to tell me?” I said, and not very nicely.

She sighed before answering, and for whatever reason, it made me want to jump out of my seat and punch her in the face. I didn’t. It wasn’t her fault. She was just the messenger. Plus, that would be just stupid.

“We sent someone to do cleanup after you arrived here. It is routine for us to do so as we don’t want to risk exposure to the humans. I asked them to search the surrounding area, in hopes that we could locate your mother for you,” she paused then, and I realized that I was breathing heavily.

“And we did find her,” she continued, not meeting my eyes. “She had been drained dry. I’m so very sorry, Alexa.”

I stood up abruptly. I had known that the chances of my Mother having survived were very slim, but I guess I had just been holding on to the hope that maybe, just maybe, she had. Having this woman tell me that she was dead was just too much for me. I was pretty sure I was going to cry, and I refused to do it in front of her.

I turned to leave, and she called out to me. “If you wish to skip classes today, I will inform your instructors. Take some time for yourself.” I stopped and opened the door. “That won’t be necessary,” I said. Then I stepped out and closed the door behind me.

Mark was standing in the foyer as I came walking past. He didn’t move from his post on the wall, but he did speak to me.

“How did it go, Alexa?”

I just shook my head and kept walking. I didn’t mean to be rude to him, but I was afraid that if I stopped, I might start crying. I burst through the front doors and took a deep breath. I clutched my Mother’s necklace and fastened it around my neck. Then, I took off in a sprint toward the direction of my school.

Chapter 33

I ran as hard as I could; it was the only thing that kept the tears at bay. I reached the school in record time and headed to the room number that was first on my schedule. I opened the door and stepped inside. It was more of a gym than a classroom. Other students were facing off in hand to hand combat, but when I entered, they all stopped and stared at me.

A man, who I assumed was the instructor, spoke first, “How nice of you to join us, Warrior.”

I just looked at him. I couldn’t think of anything to say that didn’t involve a curse word, so I didn’t say anything at all.

“Well, I hope you’re as good as they say,” He continued, “Because the person who is late gets to pair up with me.”

My heart jumped in excitement. This, I could handle. I’d never wanted to fight someone so bad in my life, and if he wanted to volunteer, then that was his mistake.

“I can’t wait,” I replied, and the class erupted into laughter as the teacher’s face went red.

We fought, and we both got our asses kicked. The rest of the students in the class just watched as we beat the crap out of each other. He was good, really good, and on any other day, I’m pretty sure I would have gotten taken down almost immediately. But, I was so full of anger and rage that my body seemed to act on its own accord. I was seeing red, and if the bell hadn’t rung, I doubt I would have stopped attacking until I passed out.

At the end, I was bloody and bruised and dripping with sweat. I looked up to see that he was in the same condition. He dismissed the class and we all started to file out.

“Warrior,” he said, as I was exiting. I was the last person to leave seeing as how I was still trying to catch my breath. I turned to face him. He nodded his head and smiled a bloody smile. “Not bad.”

I managed to smile back, wiping some blood from my lip. “Yeah, right back at ya.” He laughed and waved his hand for me to go. I left the room to find almost all of the students from my class waiting for me.

They all wanted to tell me how awesome I was in class just now. For the first time ever, I welcomed the attention. It was a good distraction from everything else that was going on in my life. I realized how nice it was to be treated kindly by my peers, after being treated like a freak for my entire life. But, these vampires didn’t see me as a freak, they thought I was cool. It was all pretty… cool.

Finally, they all left to go to their next classes, and I realized then that I was smiling. I exited the building and reached into my backpack to retrieve my schedule. Then, a smell wafted over to me that had me whipping my head around to find its source.

A guy was leaning against the wall, a lit cigarette dangling from his hand. His build suggested that he was a Brocken vampire, and his clothes suggested money. He was kind of handsome, I decided, in a way that seemed effortless. My eyes darted to his cigarette. A sly smile came over his face as eyes as blue as day came up to meet mine. He reached into his pocket, eyes never leaving mine, and produced a pack of menthol cigarettes. He held them out in offering.

I took one. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” he replied. He tossed me a lighter. I lit the cigarette, tossed it back, and turned to leave.

“You are amazing,” he said from behind me.

I turned back to face him. I wasn’t really in the mood for small talk, but there was something about him that made me want to pay attention. “Thanks.” He gave a small bow, sly smile still on his lips. “I’m Tommy. You’re Alexa, right?” I nodded and he continued, “I’ve never seen anyone hand it to Patterson like that. I think he was kind of surprised too.”

I looked down at my body, which was covered in black in blue. “I think I got it handed right back to me.”

He laughed at that. He had a cute laugh. “You didn’t get knocked out. That’s amazing in itself. That guy’s a beast.”

“Yeah, I kind of noticed that.”

“What’s your next class?” he asked.

I glanced down at my schedule and groaned. “World History,” I said. “Why do I have to take that? I thought that we just trained to fight. Why would I need to know the history of our world?”