"What's going on with you and Carlos?" Sonia asked.
She nibbled on a half-eaten tater-tot. I stabbed my chicken nugget with a Spork, smeared it with ketchup and popped it into my mouth. How was I going to explain to her that her cousin was part of a hate group that threatened me because the Prince was having an ego crisis?
"Nothing," I muttered.
Sonia raised an eyebrow. "You two have been avoiding each other all day," she reminded me. "You two won't even be in the same room." She gestured to the empty seat beside her. "He doesn't even want to join me for lunch."
I shrugged. "Ask him what's wrong," I said.
"Rin," Sonia began.
I sighed. "Look, ask me, okay? He's the one being weird. Besides, when have I ever talked to Carlos? I mean, I guess we're friends but not really." I shrugged. "Seems to me like he's the one with the problem."
I stabbed another nugget and popped it in my mouth. Wearily, I glance out the cafeteria's windows. It had been a rough night, to say the least. Not only did I expect Pat to send her people after me but I also expected that the Prince was going to pop in and get what he wanted. I sat up. No, the Prince wouldn't do that. He would want me to submit and taking my blood by force would mean that he failed. Honestly, I wouldn't put it past Pat to send people after me.
Now, I wasn't sure if telling the Prince the truth had been the best course of action. Sure, there hadn't been any news on a massacre overnight. Then again, I couldn't trust the media. I couldn't trust anybody. Who was to say that Sonia wasn't part of the Purists . . . I glanced at her. She was busy frowning at her lap to notice my stare. No, I couldn't lump her in with those guys. Not without proof and even if I did tell her, she would confront Carlos, and Pat would know what I said and there would just be a whole lot of trouble.
The only person, so to speak, I could relatively count on was the Prince. I had to give it to him. He was straightforward and didn't beat around the bush.
After lunch, I headed upstairs. The Prince was in the room playing on his phone. Hesitating, I stopped at the door. He hadn't said much either. Then again, he didn't say much when the Tutor was around. The Prince had also ignored me. Believe me, I wasn't complaining but it almost felt odd.
I quickly crossed the room and took a seat. The peeping sounds continued. I cleared my throat.
"About what I told you last night. That's between us, right?"
It was dumb of me to think that it would be. After all, the Purists were crossing many lines in their pursuit to get rid of vampires.
"It-it's not like I want them dead, just you know, in prison for causing disturbances and threatening . . . innocent people."
An exaggerated sigh came from the Prince. The peeping sounds stopped and he turned around. Taken back, I could only stare at him. I hadn't expected him to react.
"You don't seem to get it."
I frowned. "Get what?"
"How should I put this in a simple way even you could understand?"
"Hey!"
He snapped his fingers. "I don't care about what happens," he said simply. "As far as I'm concerned, humans can go around harassing and killing vampires."
I gaped at him. "W-what?"
"Try to keep up, okay?" He cleared his throat. "I'm willing to sacrifice a few if that means that my people finally realize that humans need to serve us."
I opened and closed my mouth like a dying fish. He chuckled.
"Honestly, I haven't had this much fun in a very long time. I should have done something like this ages ago. As far as I'm concern, all of this is working out."
"S-so, let me get this straight," I whispered. "You want these – these purists to create chaos to further your agenda?"
The Prince cocked his head. "In not so many words, yes."
My legs trembled and I plopped down in my seat. I knew that the Prince wasn't all there and nothing he did made any sense but this was beyond anything I would have thought. I breathed deeply trying to come to terms to what I just heard.
"I-if these Purists continue to threaten me," I muttered. I looked at him. "Doesn't that mean that they can go as far as to kill me if I continue to associate with you?"
His brow furrowed.
"If I die," I continued, "then that means that you won't get what you want." I nodded to myself. "You have to prevent that from happening."
For the longest time, he didn't say anything. It made sense to me. I could use the Prince's obsession with getting my blood to protect myself from Carlos and his "friends". Whether I could convince the Prince to go along with it was another thing altogether.
"Okay," he said suddenly. "It should be fun."