Chapter 33: Vultures, Vipers and Me

Blair froze, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her plastic tray.

The three human girls blocking her path were the same ones who had been gossiping and laughing just moments ago, completely unbothered by Heather’s disappearance. Now, however, they were looking at Blair with wide, sparkling eyes.

"Oh my god, B!" the girl in the center squealed, stepping forward and reaching out as if to link arms with her. "We were just talking about you!"

Blair took a quick step back, dodging the contact. She stared at the girl, completely

bewildered. "B?"

"We saw you sitting with Prince Daemus," the girl on the left whispered eagerly, leaning in. "You have to tell us everything. How did you bag a royal Wolf on your first week? Are you guys, like, official?"

Blair looked at their flushed, giggly faces, and a wave of nausea washed over her. They looked like vultures. They were parasites, flocking to the nearest source of sustenance to

feed off the scraps.

They have ignored and avoided her all this time, but the second Blair was seen with a royal beastman, they were suddenly her best friends?

"We are...friends, sort of..." Blair said stiffly, her voice tight with suppressed anger. "We’re barely even acquaintances. And honestly, do you guys have no shame?"

The girls blinked, their fake, bubbly smiles faltering slightly. "Excuse me?"

"Heather is missing," Blair said, her voice rising slightly over the din of the cafeteria. "She’s been missing since the party. She was your friend, and you haven’t even bothered to look for her!"

The center girl rolled her eyes, letting out a dismissive sigh. The facade of friendliness

vanished instantly, replaced by a cold shallowness.

"Heather knew what she was doing when she went there," the girl stated flatly. "Humans

go missing here all the time, Blair. Are you going to try and track down every single one of them? You should just move on and enjoy having the extra closet space in your room."

Blair stared at her, utterly disgusted. She had always known the beastmen were cruel, but she never thought humans could be so ugly to their own kind. "She was your friend," Blair repeated, her voice trembling with disbelief.

"And she would have sold any of us out for a noble in a heartbeat," the girl countered. She crossed her arms over her chest. "But, if you’re really that obsessed with playing detective... we know what happened to her."

Blair’s breath hitched. She tightened her grip on her tray. "What?"

"We were at the party," the girl on the right shrugged casually. "We saw who she left with."

"Tell me," Blair demanded, taking a step forward.

The center girl smiled, a s predatory look that mirrored the beastmen they all tried so hard to

get the attention of. "Introduce us to Daemus. Set up a meeting with him and some of his royal friends, and we’ll tell you who took Heather."

It was extortion. Plain and simple. Blair wanted to scream at them, to shake the information out of them, but looking at their smug faces, she realized even that wouldn’t make them talk.

They had zero empathy.

Blair’s mind raced. Daemus had messaged his client, but there was no telling how long a response would take. It could be days, maybe even weeks! If Heather was trapped with those monsters in the woods, she might not have days.

Blair swallowed her pride and her disgust. She was desperate.

"Fine," Blair clipped, her voice cold. "I’ll arrange a meeting. Now move out of my way."

The girls’ faces instantly lit up with victory. "Thanks, bestie!" the center girl chirped, stepping aside. "Let us know when!"

Blair didn’t say another word. She dumped her tray in the trash and hurried out of the

cafeteria, needing to put as much distance between herself and the human vultures as possible.

She didn’t have classes until the evening, so she planned to just study in her room.

She power-walked across the central courtyard, keeping her head down, when another obstacle suddenly appeared in her path.

"Blair! Hey!"

Blair blinked, looking up. It was the chatty guy from the welfare office waiting room. He was jogging toward her with a bright smile.

"I’ve been looking everywhere for you," he laughed, catching his breath. "Ready for our lunch date?"

Blair’s brain stalled. "Our... what?"

"Our date," he repeated, gesturing toward the scenic paths leading away from the agricultural wing. "You agreed to it this morning, remember? I found a great spot by the fountains where the furballs don’t usually hang out."

Blair opened her mouth to decline, to explain that she had been having a mental breakdown this morning and hadn’t heard a single word he said. But then she looked at his earnest, friendly face.

"Right. Okay," Blair sighed in defeat.

She tagged along beside him as he led the way toward the fountains. He was very talkative,

launching into a one-sided conversation about his classes and his theories on the best study spots.

Blair just nodded along on autopilot, keeping her eyes firmly glued to the cobblestones to avoid making eye contact with any passing beastmen.

They reached the edge of the grand courtyard. The sun was shining brightly, reflecting off the spraying water of the large marble fountains.

Blair finally looked up from the ground to look at the beautiful fountains, but...

Her heart stopped dead in her chest.

Standing on the opposite side of the courtyard, bathed in the bright afternoon sunlight, was Crown Prince Killian. He was flanked by two other noble beastmen, deep in conversation.

Without the shadows of the hallways or his anger directed at her, from afar, in the sunlight... he was actually very pretty. His silver hair caught the light like spun silk, his face appearing somewhat...gentle.

As if feeling the weight of her stare, Killian stopped talking. He slowly turned his head, his

slitted purple eyes scanning the courtyard until they locked onto Blair.

Blair only knew to do one thing when she runs into Killian.

She didn’t say a word to her date. She spun on her heel and sprinted in the opposite direction, running for her life.

"Wait! Blair? What’s wrong?!" the chatty guy yelled, abandoning their spot and sprinting awkwardly after her.

Across the courtyard, Killian watched the chaotic scene unfold. A muscle ticked in his jaw. He let out an irritated tsk, his forked tongue flicking out briefly.

"What is it, Your Highness?" one of the nobles asked, following Killian’s gaze but seeing nothing but running human students.

Killian didn’t answer. He kept his purple eyes locked on Blair’s rapidly retreating figure until she vanished behind a stone pillar. Masking his irritation, he turned back to his companions.

"Nothing," Killian responded, picking up the conversation where he had left off.