Fae of the South (Court of Crown and Compass Book 3) E. Hall (ebook reader macos TXT) 📖

vampires, but I think he means if Lea has a choice between this Emeric dude and me, the answer is not me.

“We’re best friends,” I grind out.

“Not if Emeric wins her over.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” I say and storm off.

My room is still trashed. Aaron isn’t here. I’d like to be able to go to sleep. I’m over six feet and the bed is too short. It’s also lumpy and a spring digs into my back. I close my eyes and try to order my thoughts.

Being turned, getting arrested, being thrown in here, and finding out Lea was too. The almost-fight in the quad and then Aaron’s strange change and warning. Lea dancing with that guy. It must’ve been Emeric, but it happened so fast, I don’t remember what he looked like. I hated seeing her like that. The image of her enraptured and then nearly falling is burned into my mind.

I blink open my eyes.

It’s three a.m. Three more hours until the sun comes up.

When I close my eyes again, I see Lea, her hair shining by the lantern light, her skin soft and smooth. My Lea.

An alarm sounds. For a moment, lost in thoughts, I forget where I am. I find the clock under a pile of things from Aaron’s night table. Six a.m. He’s still not here.

I review the schedule I received. I have a workout first thing. Then breakfast. As I drift downstairs, all the vampires go in one direction and the fae in another. I waffle between following the fae to find Lea, but that deadly combination of hunger and thirst compels me to the vamps.

After getting my blood ration from the dispensary, I go to the track to run. Mist hangs low, muting the buildings. We have half an hour to run the track. It’s only when I complete the eighth lap that my mind goes quiet except for my footfalls. I never want Lea far from my mind, but I feel relief in the distance from my thoughts.

Back in the locker room, the banter is similar to that of my regular high school. I snort. Two brothers, here on charges of assault, get into a tussle. The CAs have to break it up.

Even if my brothers find out I’ve been sent here, they won’t bother bailing me out. My parents are gone. Lea is all I have...and she’s back squarely in my thoughts.

Cole and Felix’s familiar voices rise and fall from the end of the row of lockers. I pause and listen, but a CA calls, “Santos. Tyrren Santos. Report to the Headmistress’s office at once.”

From the other side of the lockers, Cole and Felix snicker.

I take a deep breath and meet the correctional assistant. “Yeah? That’s me.”

He smirks. “Today is not your lucky day.”

As he leads me across campus, a black splotch covers the wall of the auditorium. As it comes into focus I read, Die, Scab.

Being privy to Lea’s Brooklyn Vampire Club world, I know what the term scab means. I also know that vampires can’t die...at least not easily. But what does it have to do with me?

As I enter the administration building, Lea stands at the other end of the hall. I stop.

Her hair is slightly wild as if she didn’t brush it this morning or maybe she didn’t sleep. I give a little wave, feeling slightly awkward.

She lowers her gaze.

Led by CAs, we both enter the Headmistress’s office and sit in wooden chairs.

“Thank you for being so courteous as to join me this fine morning,” Headmistress Jurik says.

“Did we have a choice?” Lea mutters.

The woman’s sharp eyes land on Lea.

“I believe I run a fair facility that gives those who’ve made bad choices the opportunity in a safe environment to learn and reform.”

I should tell her about Aaron.

“I outlined the rules yesterday, but it seems you’ve both already been involved in an altercation and were discovered out of the dorm last night. Now, we have a new piece of artistry adorning the old auditorium. Either of you care to explain?”

We’re both silent.

“As a former professor, I do offer participation points.” Her smile simpers. “No? You didn’t spray paint that on the wall, Lea?” Jurik turns to me. “You’re not willing to confess that you know that she did it? Very well. This is how it works. You get three chances. Three strikes, if you will. This is number one. Any more infractions, you go directly to RIP. For now, you’re on probation.”

“But you can’t prove the graffiti was done by me or that Tyrren isn’t telling the truth,” Lea says.

“I don’t have to prove anything. That’s also how this works.” Jurik stabs her desk with her pointer finger. “Also, Tyrren hasn’t said a word so what truth could he be telling?”

“My roommate attacked me yesterday. My room was ransacked. There was something wrong with him. He was weak, almost gray. It was the weirdest thing.”

“How unfortunate. I know everything that goes on and it’s being dealt with.” Either her eye twitches or she flickers. For a moment, it looked like her face was pale and marred by acid green lines.

I blink a few times. Must be a weird vampire-senses glitch.

“I’ll be watching you.” She presses her palm flat on top of a file. “If you want to participate in the Fae Court Ball and the Rjoklund Games, I suggest you behave yourselves.”

With that, Jurik dismisses us.

I’m quiet until we exit the building. “Morning,” I say to Lea, knocking the rust off my voice. “Feel like breakfast?”

Her bottom lip softens. “Starved.”

We walk to the cafeteria as we did so many times at our old high school but for lunch. Nothing is different except for the uniforms, the perimeter fence, and the tension pulsing between us.

I reach for