I demanded, pointing at the book, “I read the entire thing twice, and I didn’t read that part anywhere!”
“You’ve read the condensed version. You should have read the full version.” he grinned, “Which is in my possession, but since you refused to speak with me, I never had the chance to hand it over to you.”
“You’re a brute.”
“You’re in luck.” he whispered, leaning in, “This brute happens to get a kick out of snarky bitches.” with that, he strode off into the dining room. Tyler looked at me with wide eyes.
“Aria, you are insane.”
I glared at him, “This didn’t work how it was supposed to. It was supposed to work out with everyone who wanted to leave leaving and everyone else continuing with this stupid thing.”
“Well, at least Cayton got one he likes.” Same laughed weakly. I looked at her.
“Seriously? I know you think Cayton has a thing for me, but its not going to happen. I’ll find another way out of this. I’m not worried.” I was lying through my teeth. I couldn’t be more worried. Cayton didn’t know about my brother. My brother!
“What’s that look?”
“Sam, he doesn’t know about Adrian.”
“Holy crap, you’re right!” Sam said. Tyler looked at us.
“What’s going on?”
“It’ll be fine! I’ll just tell him and - oh shit, Sam.” the realization hit me like a ton of bricks as my eyes widened, “That could get me killed.”
“Wait, Aria, did you say Adrian? You’ve got a letter from him.” Tyler flashed to the small table beside the door and back, handing me a small envelope. “This came this morning.”
Sam and I looked at each other as I took the envelope and opened it. How did he find me? I pulled out the paper to see that Adrian had scribbled me a short letter. I sat on the stairs and began reading.
Sister,
I found them. It wasn’t hard - they were roaming the streets with recruiters. All I had to do was talk to the right person. I started training right away, and I’m a natural. They helped me track you down when I came home and you weren’t there. I asked around, and some of the neighbor guys said they saw you fighting a leech.
It wasn’t hard once we were in the city. A few people saw you get snatched, and they recognized your picture. If I was right, you’ll get this letter.
Please respond when you receive this, Aria.
Adrian.
I looked up at Sam, who was watching me closely. “He made it. He’s in.”
“What’s he going to do?”
“I don’t know.” I said, folding the letter as I stood up from the stairs. I was aware of Tyler watching us and following carefully. “He said he asked around to find me, and I just need to write back. I’ll send him a letter tomorrow, I suppose.”
Sam nodded as we walked into the dining hall, where Cayton was making an announcement.
“Ladies, I have some…possibly unfortunate news. Upon further consideration and under advisement of my trustees, I have decided to discontinue this competition. With that, I ask that you pack your bags this evening, and in the morning you will all be escorted from the grounds and sent off. Please, enjoy the rest of your evening here.” he finished and sat back in his seat. that’s when the muttering started.
I didn’t miss the glares thrown my way by a handful of girls, but I ignored them, sitting at a table in the back with Sam. Marley, Tyson, and Tyler joined us.
“Thank you, Aria.” Marley said with a small smile. I returned it.
“No problem.”
“You sound upset.”
“She didn’t read the full version.” Tyler explained, “She didn’t know she had to make a deal with Cayton.”
“Wait, did she invoke the Right?” Tyson asked. Tyler nodded.
“Yup, and Cayton’s terms were that she stay and become a vampire.”
“Oh, Aria!” Marley gasped, her eyes wide. “Are you sure you want to do this? Take the right back!”
“She can’t.” Tyson told her softly. “Once it’s been accepted by the other party-which it has - it can’t be undone.”
I looked at them closely as they kept talking. I’d noticed the way Tyson was always near her. The way he spoke softly to her.
I gasped loudly, and they all looked at me. I pointed between them. “You two are dating!!”
“Sh, Aria, not so loud!” Tyson snapped. I smiled, practically giggling.
“That’s cute!” I said, “When did that happen?”
“Only a few days ago.” Marley said quietly, “He was helping me out with training a lot and-and it just kinda…happened. Please don’t say anything! Cayton would kill him!”
“Why would Cayton kill him?” Sam asked, whispering as we all leaned in.
“It’s against the rules for us to date his candidates.” Tyler explained in a low voice, glancing around. We probably looked incredibly suspicious, leaned in close together in the back of the room, but I didn’t really care. “So, what was in that letter?”
“Nothing.” I said hastily.
“Really? A letter from a boy and you’re going to say its nothing?” Tyler smirked. Marley leaned in, grinning. Tyson followed suit.
“You’ve got a boy?”
“No.” I shook my head. “It was just a letter from my brother telling me how he’s doing.” it wasn’t a complete lie. Just a slight omission of the truth.
“Maybe you’ll be able to visit him.” Tyson said, “I mean, Cayton isn’t heartless, and I bet you could get anything you wanted from him.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, giving him a look.
“It means that I think, secretly, Cayton is thrilled that you’ve invoked the right, because that means he can have you without this hassle.” Tyson smirked. Marley looked at him, looking as confused as I felt.
“You mean Cayton just wants Aria? Why didn’t he just pick her, then?”
“Because originally, it wasn’t like that. He didn’t expect her to be out that night. It was luck. He seems to always be able to identify your scent, though, which is odd. I don’t think he’s had any of your blood.” Tyler said.
I internally groaned. “Does it matter if he has?”
“Yes. A taste could lead him to be more interested, more inclined to want your attention. Believe it or not, we don’t drink directly from the vein. Its considered intimate, mostly because the fresh blood causes a spike in whatever part of our brains that controls interest and cravings.” Tyson went on. Tyler looked at me.
“Why?”
“He…may have had some of my blood.” I said sheepishly. Tyler’s eyebrows shot up and he and his brother exchanged a glance.
“Cant’ say we’re surprised,” Tyson said.
“It explains the way he watches you.”
“And the way he paces.”
“And how he’s always asking how we think your training is coming along, even though its only been two weeks.” Tyler finished, giving me a hard look, like he was studying me. “When did he get a taste of your blood, anyways?”
“That night he snatched her.” Sam piped in. “They fought. She has that gash on her leg from where she tried to kick him.”
I nodded. “Its scabbed over now, but it was kind of deep. There was some on his mouth when he tossed me into the limo like a rag doll.”
“That doesn’t mean he had some.” Tyson murmured, thinking. He looked back up at me. “Did anything else happen in the limo? Did he act…aggressive? A small amount of blood is enough to peak a vampire’s hunger without sating it, and it would make him cranky.”
I shrugged, “You could call it that. I mean, he freaked out when it wouldn’t stop bleeding. Told me he was hungry and would, quote, ‘mark up my pretty skin’, and he pinned me down, like he was gonna bite me.”
“Did he? Bite you, I mean.” Tyler questioned. I shook my head.
“No. just hovered over me, shaking for a minute before sitting back and taking a deep breath.” I said, shaking me head. “Why?”
“Well, we aren’t sure, but he may have accidentally began the marking process. It wont work with just a taste of your blood, but it certainly starts it for him.”
“The marking process?”
Tyler nodded, “Yes. While we don’t have mates like Weres do, we can mark our loved ones as ours. It gives us a mental connection to them, and a stronger bond. it’s a survival thing, really. Its so that if we get separated from the one who bears our children, or who will bear them, we can find them. It helped continue our line. it’s a recent development in Vampirism, and isn’t fully understood. Its only been around for the last two thousand years or so, compared to the millions of years vampires have been around.”
“We suspect it came about when humans started killing us off.” Tyson said. “We’re not sure Cayton even knows its happened.”
“So basically you’re saying Cayton has a crush on Aria?” Marley asked. The twins shrugged.
“Essentially and basically, yeah.”
Sam gave me a look. “Adrian is not going to be happy.”
“Is that the boy?”
“My brother.” I said sternly. “Anyways, I couldn’t go see him even if Cayton let me go.”
“Why not?” Marley asked. I gave Sam a look.
“Might as well tell them.”
“Fine.” I huffed, “That night I got snatched, I was only out because I was trying to find him. He ran off to be a hunter after being dumped by Hannah over there.”
“Hol-y shit, Aria,” Tyler hissed. “A hunter? And he knows where you are?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Its not a big deal. I’ll tell him I’m fine, right? He wont worry. He trusts me.”
“If you’re sure.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I’ll write him tonight and we can send the letter off in the morning.”