When Lev lifted Verona from the lake, the girl was passing out. She slumped limply in his arms. Her body was as light as a feather, thought Lev. Does she never eat? Lev still doesn’t understand why girls these days are obsessed with skinny bodies like slates.
Lev didn’t take her back to the dormitory or to the town area. There will be many eyes watching and that is not good for Verona. Especially if the dormitory gets to know about it.
He carried Verona into the woods on the other side of the lake, a suitable distance from the town and closer to Noblebranch. Unlike the residents of Duradel, the noble vampires in Noblebranch wouldn’t give a damn about what was going on around them, as long as it didn’t disturb their comfort.
Lev walked a little into the woods and, after making sure that no one could see them, he laid Verona down on the grass.
“A very heroic act.” Sant emerged from the darkness. Lev knew he caught up with
“Hatchi!” Vero hadn’t even come out of the room and she had already used half a box of tissues to blow her nose. Upon returning to the dormitory, Vero immediately took a warm shower and wrapped herself in layers of blankets. The dorm provided three spare blankets in the cupboard and Vero used all of them. When morning came, the situation had not improved. Instead, now she felt dizzy and feverish. She had thought about skipping today’s class schedule, but this was only her second day. There’s no way she wouldn’t come. After all, she had a lot of things to do. Dizzy, Vero unsteadily walked to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. After making sure that her face didn’t look swollen and that there wasn’t any dirt on it, she changed her clothes. Vero threw her pajamas into the dirty clothes basket and stopped when she found a T-shirt at the top of the pile. It was her savior’s shirt. Vero wanted to meet the person and thank him, but she did
Her image of the kind-hearted man who had saved her life was shattered in an instant. Of all the boys in this city, why did it have to be Lev who saved her? It was more likely for him to let Vero drown than to save her after what she did to him. When they face each other, it’s clear that Lev doesn’t like her. Then why did he save her? Did he hope Vero would feel indebted and submit to him? “It couldn’t be me,” said Vero. “And the video is blurry, so we can’t be so sure about who’s in there—” The blonde girl stamped her foot and pinched Vero’s chin with her slender thumb and forefinger. Her nails stabbed into her cheeks. “This evidence was so clear, yet you still dare to deny it?” she hissed. “Do you think I threw myself into the lake on purpose to get Lev’s attention? You think I’m that crazy?” “Well, yeah!” replied the blonde girl, as if that was the obvious thing. “You smacked Lev’s table in front of all the students. You threw food over Mia’s head.” She released her grip. “If
A chubby girl, wearing black and purple gothic lolita make-up and dress. Vero thought she was seeing a ghost until the girl finally spoke.“Did Fancy Barbie lock you in here?”“Fancy what?” Vero flinched at the name that sounded so tacky.“Fancy Barbie,” said the girl impatiently. She snapped her fingers and moved her forefinger, telling Vero to stand up.Vero stood up, still staring at the girl in confusion. She didn’t want to take a step closer until she was completely sure that the girl before her wasn’t a bully like the blonde.“Are you going out or not? The staff will lock the building soon and you will be cooped up here all night.”“Who are you?” instead of paying attention to the girl’s words, Vero asked about her identity. “How did you know I was trapped in here? Did they tell you to pick me up and you’re going to take me somewhere else, where t
Lev shouldn’t care. He could have just let Conner take Verona and done anything to her. However, if Conner tries to suck Verona’s blood and reveal her secret, Verona cannot get out of Duradel alive.“Fuck,” Lev cursed under his breath. It only took him less than a second to make up his mind.He slid down the dome and jumped into a nearby tree. After that, he jumped down and ran along the edge of the lake, heading for the path that led him to the forbidden forest section. It’s a place where vampires eat their prey.Duradel is entirely in the reign of the vampires. The vampires here hold important positions so they can manage this city freely. And in order to maintain the existence of Duradel, they try to live side by side with humans.Even so, there are times when the vampires get out of control and want to prey on one or two humans here, so the vampire elders create a special place where vampires can freely prey on humans, but they are not allowed to kill them.Conner and his friends
She thought she was a troublemaker all her life. Vero has been in trouble with the police several times for breaking the law, such as breaking into the property, driving at high speed, getting drunk and damaging her ex-boyfriend’s car, and other things that cost her parents a lot of money to get her out of trouble. However, she has never had sex with any boy and has never used drugs. Now she saw it all at once. And soon her virginity will be taken in a painful way. Her blood ran cold, and the only thing she could do was beg God that tonight was just a bad dream because of a tiring day. But when Conner placed a hand on her belly and ran his fingers across it, one by one, slithering up to her breasts, Vero knew her pleas were in vain. Her sobs choked in her throat, making her unable to scream anymore. Tears streamed down her cheeks non-stop and her lips trembled until she didn’t realize she was biting her tongue. Conner lowered his head and kissed her belly while closing his eyes.
“Why do you insist on taking her away from there?”“Because even though many people call me a bitch, I still have a conscience.”Lev snorted derisively. Mia slumped limply in his arms.If Mia woke up and saw who was carrying her, maybe she would die of joy; thought Vero.They walked down the hill, past the dark cabins and the eerie silence. But unlike before, when Vero thought she was alone and no one would help her, this time she felt calmer. Maybe because she had escaped death, or because Lev was with her.The last thought amused her. How could she feel at ease with the person who had kept her trapped in this small town?Even so, Vero occasionally looked back to make sure no one was following them.“They wouldn’t dare follow us,” Lev muttered. Turns out he had been watching her every move.Verona chuckled and waved her hands in the air. “I can smell arrogance in your words, Mr. Deammone.”“Don’t call me by my last name,” Lev scolded.Vero sneered while squinting at him. “I guess all
Ms. Caroline stood before her, wearing a long black nightgown that swept across the ground. Her hair was collected in a loose bun behind her neck and the black color of her clothes accentuated the pale skin of her face.She looks like a ghost in a horror movie.Vero almost screamed at the sight of her, but she kept the scream in her throat. She rubbed her chest and took a deep breath.After recovering from the shock, Vero realized that her current position was extremely disadvantageous.“I—” She glanced at the lake. “I was admiring the beauty of the lake at night.”Ms. Caroline didn’t budge. Even the muscles on her face didn’t move.Vero swallowed hard and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “U-uh-“ She didn’t know what to say, and Ms. Caroline made her even more uncomfortable. Then she remembered the list of rules she got the first day she entered. “Isn’t there no curfew here?” she asked then, trying to justify her being here.“There is,” answered Ms. Caroline. “And the curfew is
Vero looked up and found a boy standing in front of her. He is the boy who appeared when Gothic Jia rescued her from the restroom. And that boy is one of Lev’s friends.“Santiago,” Vero said his name as soon as she remembered it.“Yes, it’s me. But I hope you call me Sant instead,” said Sant while reaching out and helping Vero up.Vero was still panting even though she wasn’t running and Sant was frowning while looking at her.“What happened?”Vero pointed to the hallway behind her and said with faltering breaths. “Blood.” She swallowed, wetting her dry throat. “Someone bit the girl and she was bleeding. B—but, that girl seems to… like it.” Vero’s whole body shivered at her own words.In all her life, she had never seen something as terrible as this.Vero swallowed again. She was so desperate for water and her current body condition made her even more exhausted. The fear did not go away and the more she thought about what had happened earlier, the more hysterical she became. Her hands