Sun Kissed (The Guardian Angel Series Book 2) (14 page)

“Whilst I appreciate you upholding the
rules, Mrs Ploit, Ruby is going through a very difficult time right now and I
will stay with her for as long as she needs.”

Mrs Ploit wasn’t the only one taken aback
by Eli’s assertiveness. I’m sure my own open mouth displayed my shock. He was
usually so compliant, so calm. I don’t blame him for being a little on edge
today, especially not with what we were about to go through.

“No, it’s okay. You go and I’ll start
packing up my own things.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.”

He gave Mrs Ploit an apologetic nod, her plum-colored
lips were poised in a disapproving pout as he exited the building. A trail of
his cologne mixed with the crisp scent of the cool air outside wafted past me.
My attention fell back to Mrs Ploit, who was staring at me intently.

“I’m sorry; he’s just going through a few
things right now.”

“Perhaps the higher power will straighten
out the mess that is you and Mr De Luca.”

“Excuse me?” I scoffed.

“Please, it’s obvious, and those who say
they can’t see it are liars. You two clearly have a thing going on, with all
the escorting back to your dorm and the coffee dates. I saw how miserable you
were when he wasn’t here, and since he’s come back, you’ve been more… chipper
than usual, but then, that only lasted for a day or so. What you two are doing
is disgusting and it’s wrong. Goddesses with gods, it has been like that for
centuries.”

I opened my mouth to speak but all that
came out was an offended gust of air. A million comments, questions, and
insults clawed at my throat and I clenched my teeth together, forcing them to remain
unspoken.

“You are what is disgusting and wrong with
this world.” I growled.

How ignorant. Eli and I weren’t different,
except for the particular skills that were unique to both our kinds. I controlled
the elements and Eli was fast, strong, and loyal.

My feet hit the floor hard, but my soft
joggers made no noise against the tiles. As I made my way back to my dorm, I
wondered how she would have reacted if I told her the higher power was a vampire.
She wouldn’t have believed me, of course, but that would make proving it that
much sweeter.

I skipped breakfast and lunch; I didn’t
have the stomach to eat anything. The day was going way too fast. I was running
out of time and I still needed to say my goodbyes.

The door opened and a vanilla scent wafted
in. Mila had come to see me off.

“I have some spare time between classes,
and so I thought I’d come and see you just in case you aren’t here later.”
Glistening tears formed in her eyes, hovering a moment before they fell upon
her cheek

Mila had become my best friend here at SS.
I pulled her into an embrace, her soft blonde hair felt like silk against my
arms.

“I’ll be back.” I sniffled, unaware that my
nose had become runny and my eyes watery.

It was a lie, of course.

“I’ll miss you!” she cried. “You’re my best
friend.”

“And you’re mine.”

We didn’t let go of each other. How could
we? Neither of us was sure when we’d see each other again. Her goodbye was
different than mine. When she held me it was a ‘so-sad you’re leaving I can’t wait
to see you again I’m counting down the days’ kind of hug. My hug was more of a ‘thank
you for everything have a good life’ kind of hug. Both were emotional but on
two completely different levels.

Mila went to class and the dorm room became
bare as I boxed the things Mila had given me when I first came to Sage and
since we’d been sharing a room. Mila was generous, always giving and never
taking. She claimed she had too much and that she was happy to give them away.
In the beginning, I was so reluctant to take anything from her, but over time,
I realized that it truly made her happy. She loved doing things for others.

I pulled the drawer out from my bedside
table and dumped its contents into a box. A picture floated down and landed on
the top of the junk. Two faces smiled up at me. They seemed so carefree, so
innocent. One of the faces I didn’t recognize as my own. I was smiling and was
actually happy. People used to tell me my mother and I looked alike. I didn’t
believe them until now. This photo felt like it had been taken so long ago. I’ve
been through so much since then. The image felt precious in my hand and I
handled it carefully— afraid to bend or crease it. It was taken months before
her death. I wish I could go back in time and warn them about Hank and what he would
become.
What about Eli and Mila?
my subconscious asked. If Hank never
became a vampire, my mum would still be alive, but Eli and I would have never
been bonded. Would we have even spoken? And Mila, would we have become friends
or would I have made friends with the likes of Raina? Maybe, just maybe, this was
how things were supposed to go. Maybe my purpose was to protect the people who
have helped me.

I placed the photo of my mother and me into
a book,
Dracula
, by Bram Stoker. How ironic. I’m relying on a book about
vampires to keep something safe. I placed the book neatly on top of my clothes
and taped the lid shut.

I had floated so far away into my daydreaming
that the sudden hollow echo of knuckles tapping on the door made me jump. I
stacked my three boxes on top of each other so Mila could still make her way
around the room.

“Hunter, hi,” I greeted. “I haven’t seen
you since Tuesday. I thought you were mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at you … I spent the last few
days avoiding you, hoping that maybe I would care less about you and not care
that you’re leaving tonight, but it only made me miss you more.”

I smiled shyly. This was going to be hard.
I had to let him down.

“Look, you’re a nice guy but I —”

“Let me come with you.”

“What? Are you insane?”

“No. I’m in love.”

For the third time today my mouth was left
open, but this time it was so wide I could have caught flies with it. Oh no.

“Hunter — I … can’t — I —” I struggled to
get the words out. Why couldn’t I just say I didn’t have feelings for him? My
stomach twisted and groaned. I couldn’t say I didn’t care for him, because I
did. I liked him more than a friend.

“Come inside,” I uttered.

I had to tell him my feelings for Eli. I couldn’t
lie to him. I couldn’t tell him I didn’t have feelings for him, because I did,
but not like I did for Eli. I love Eli. Hunter’s blue eyes glanced nervously up
and down the corridor.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m leaving today,
anyway.”

I stepped aside, letting Hunter into my room.
His alluring scent filled space. I paced across the room to crack the window
slightly before I swooned. Hunter sat on my bare mattress and glanced sadly
around the room.

“You haven’t said anything about what I
said,” Hunter prompted.

“I know, uh, look, there is something I
need to tell you.”

“I don’t care if you don’t love me back,
Ruby.”

“No, it’s not that.” I grasped his hand and
it shocked even me. My body was acting as if I wasn’t in control. His eyes
looked hopeful and I cringed in sympathy.

“I like you, I do. I like you more than a friend,
but I’m in love with someone else, and —”

“Eli,” he said matter-of-factly.

I let his hand drop back to his knee and I
collapsed onto Mila’s bed.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it.”

“It’s okay. I kinda knew anyway.”

The long silence was deafening and I bit my
lip waiting for the speech about how it’s wrong to love a guardian angel.

“Does he know you’re leaving?”

“You don’t —” I cut my words off with a
large exhale. This conversation was getting more awkward by the minute. I’ve
never been a ‘tell everyone everything’ kind of girl. In fact, I kept most
things to myself and let everyone else figure out what they want, but I felt
bad for Hunter. I dropped my gaze to the floor.

“He’s coming with me.”

I didn’t want to look at his face when I
said it. He shifted uncomfortably on the bed. His lips formed a straight,
impassive line and his mood shifted. His once colorful blue eyes turned bleak
as he stood up and slumped into himself.

“I should go,” he whispered under his
breath.

“Hunter, wait!”

Without a glance in my direction, he was
gone.

Not-So-Empty Threats

The late sun’s rays had long since
disappeared and been replaced by a myriad of stars dotting the inky canopy. Now
that the dull weather of today had blown over, a low moon hovered effortlessly
in the twilight sky, bestowing a very dim light upon the land. A light breeze
rustled the leaves as the enveloping darkness blotted out all but the faintest
light. I couldn’t appreciate the night’s beauty. I was too tense, too aware of
my surroundings. In my world, darkness didn’t bring safety, it brought fear and
uncertainty. It brought death.

“Are you ready?” A voice as smooth as
velvet cut through the harsh air.

In the dim light I found a friendly face …
Eli’s.

I nodded, my finger tracing the smooth
texture of my whistle.

“Did you say goodbye to everyone?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”

I followed behind Eli as he led me over the
school oval and into the thick bush behind it. The wind speed had picked up and
the air grew colder. I resisted the urge to hug myself, worrying that it might
make me look weak. If I was going to do this then I needed to look as fierce
and unbothered as Eli. He glanced back at me with a reassuring smile, making me
wonder if he heard my thoughts.

The wind pushed and pulled the trees surrounding
us. I kept my hands out in front of me, careful not to trip or get whipped in
the face by a branch. If it wasn’t for the gap in the tree canopy that allowed
the moon to shed light on the ground, I wouldn’t have noticed when we had come
to the school’s border.

“This isn’t the way we came last time.”

“Your right, it isn’t. It leads to the same
place; it’s just a different gate.”

The cast iron gate squealed as Eli pushed
it open. The noise sent tingles rolling down my spine — being in a spooky
forest with a screaming gate is enough to put anyone on edge.

We pushed further into the thick forest.
The wet ground sploshed and bubbled with every step we took. The inky sky had
turn pitch black. The light of the moon was fading as clouds passed in front of
it, creating new shadows and dark patches around me. The wind wailed between
distorted trunks, carrying the scent of rotting wood. I moved faster, ignoring
the wilderness that grabbed at my jeans. The bush seemed so daunting, I
couldn’t help but feel claustrophobic. Then we stepped out into the clearing.
Cool air chilled my lungs and my vision swayed with my dizziness for a few
seconds before normalizing.

“Just in time.”

I searched the darkness for Eli, but he
blended too well. His voice was colder than the wind. A lavender scented gust
of air blew past my face. I glanced sideways at Eli, who was staring into the
darkness of the clearing, his jaw clenched. Wrapped around his arm was Ludiia,
smiling up at him.

“I missed you,” she purred.

“We’re ready to go,” I stated.

One by one, pale faces began appearing out
of the forest, surrounding us. I reached out and grabbed Eli’s arm for support
I was so scared. Why weren’t we leaving? Why were we being trapped in a circle
of vampires? I didn’t understand.

“Uh-uh-ahh. You can look but you can’t
touch,” Ludiia hissed, pushing my hand off Eli.

Eli shot me a sympathetic glance. Even Eli
wasn’t dumb enough to cause a scene right now.

The moon slid out from behind a cloud,
making the pale faces glow. Each vampire had their own freaky look. Some were
tall, some had scars, and some had no hair, but none of them were as scary as
Lucian. I inhaled sharply as he stepped into view. Even in my nightmares he
wasn’t this frightening. Although he looked normal, his presence and power made
his features seem scarier.

“You’re late.”

“By one minute,” Eli replied curtly.

“Two minutes,” he corrected sternly. “But
who’s counting?”

Only Lucian could sound so sarcastically
upbeat and threatening at the same time. Most vampires were angry and serious,
but Lucian was enthusiastic. It made me more cautious. At least with an angry
vamp, you already know what’s going to happen. Lucian lured you in on a false
sense of security before pulling the rug out from under your feet.

“You were going to attack the school
because we were two minutes late?” I asked in disbelief.