Chapter 197: Fall Trip, Part One

Chapter 197: Chapter 197: Fall Trip, Part One

Chapter 197: Fall Trip, Part One

Saturday morning arrived sooner than Cyrus Calder would have liked.

For once, he had actually gone to bed early.

He knew St. Alder’s overnight trip started first thing in the morning, so after finishing dinner and his shift at The Full Moon Lounge the night before, he had gone straight home, checked his diary, packed the last few things he needed, and climbed into bed well ahead of his usual time.

Unfortunately, sleeping early had not helped much.

The moment Cyrus closed his eyes, he felt strangely unsettled.

It was not pain or anything he could clearly identify.

The feeling was closer to being watched.

Nothing in the apartment looked wrong, and every time he checked the hallway or listened for movement outside, he found nothing unusual.

Still, the discomfort never completely disappeared.

His sleep suffered because of it.

Cyrus woke two or three times during the night, each time alert for no obvious reason.

By morning, his body felt rested enough, but his mind had not recovered nearly as well.

Frostborn physiology made physical exhaustion easier to handle than it should have been.

Mental fatigue was another matter.

Standing in front of the mirror, Cyrus looked at his own face and sighed internally.

He wondered whether Daphne’s absence last night had anything to do with his restless sleep.

That seemed unlikely.

Still, she had become such a regular part of his routine that her suddenly not appearing had stood out.

Cyrus finished getting ready, took his suppressants, picked up the bag he had packed the day before, and opened his apartment door.

The person he had just been thinking about was standing outside.

Daphne Whitlock held a neatly wrapped breakfast in one hand.

A gentle smile rested on her face.

"Good morning. I hope you enjoy the trip today."

Cyrus accepted the food.

"Thank you."

Whatever had kept Daphne away the previous evening apparently had not stopped her from showing up this morning.

Her routine continued as though nothing had happened.

Cyrus did not ask about it.

The sky outside was dull and gray.

Heavy clouds covered Grayhaven, and the air had the damp smell that usually meant rain could begin without warning.

By the time Cyrus reached St. Alder, several charter buses were already parked along the street outside the campus.

He had heard that the school arranged larger trips by grade level.

Apparently this weekend belonged to their year.

The atmosphere inside senior advisory three was louder than normal.

Students talked across the room, compared luggage, argued over snacks, and discussed what they planned to do once they arrived.

There was still some time before the deadline their advisor had given them, and several students had not arrived yet.

Cyrus sat down at his usual desk.

His eyes fell naturally on the empty seat in front of him.

Faye would not be coming.

For a moment, Cyrus felt the same irritation he had experienced yesterday.

He stopped himself from sighing.

There was nothing useful he could do about it this morning.

Before he could think about the matter any further, his phone vibrated inside his pocket.

Cyrus took it out.

Three messages from Vera Sable were waiting for him.

Are you at school yet?

Come to the nurse’s office.

If you don’t come, I’ll just go find you myself.

Cyrus stared at the screen.

That woman had remarkable talent for making simple things sound troublesome.

If Vera came all the way to senior advisory three to look for him, the result would probably involve more attention than he wanted.

Cyrus stood.

He already knew the route well enough that he reached the nurse’s office without thinking about it.

The door was shut.

He tried the handle.

Locked.

Cyrus looked at the door for a second and wondered whether Vera had called him over purely to annoy him.

Then the door opened without warning.

A hand reached out, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him inside.

The door closed again immediately.

The nurse’s office was unusually dark.

The gray weather outside already limited the daylight, and Vera had drawn the curtains and left the lights off.

For an ordinary person, the room might have been difficult to navigate.

Cyrus could still see well enough.

He looked at Vera.

"What did you need?"

Vera’s eyes were already gold.

They stood out sharply in the dim room.

"Do I need a reason to want two drinks?"

Her tone suggested the answer should have been obvious.

Cyrus exhaled through his nose.

At this point, as long as Vera continued supplying the stronger suppressants, allowing a limited amount of feeding was still an acceptable exchange.

He rolled up his sleeve.

"We have the school trip today and tomorrow. Don’t take much."

Vera looked at his arm.

Then she smiled.

"That’s fine, but I want a different spot."

Before Cyrus could ask what she meant, Vera stepped closer and shifted the collar of his shirt slightly away from his shoulder.

Cyrus frowned.

She did not choose his neck.

At least not exactly.

The place Vera settled on was lower, close to the top of his shoulder where it met the base of his neck.

It was somewhere between the safer shoulder location they had already negotiated and the neck position Cyrus absolutely refused to give her.

Vera fed before he could argue further.

The initial discomfort faded almost immediately beneath the strange Bloodborn effect.

That part still bothered Cyrus.

His body knew blood was being taken from him.

Logically, every instinct should have told him to pull away.

Instead, Vera’s ability dulled that resistance and replaced it with a muted, unnatural warmth.

Cyrus kept his thoughts clear.

He could still move.

That mattered most.

If Vera tried taking too much, he would stop her.

Fortunately, she seemed to remember his warning.

Before Cyrus decided the amount had become excessive, Vera released him on her own.

She remained close for another moment.

Cyrus expected another bite.

None came.

Instead, he felt a brief damp touch against the skin near where she had fed.

The faint medicinal scent that always seemed to follow Vera filled his senses for a second.

Then she stepped away.

Her golden eyes narrowed with quiet amusement.

Cyrus touched the spot.

"What did you do?"

Vera smiled.

"Nothing important."

Cyrus stared at her.

She had definitely done something.

Vera had never looked more suspicious than when she claimed innocence.

Cyrus decided not to waste time arguing.

Whatever nonsense she had pulled could wait until after he checked it himself.

He turned and left.

Once the door closed, Vera opened the curtains.

Gray daylight spread back through the nurse’s office.

She sat down, leaned comfortably into her chair, and closed her eyes.

Cyrus’s blood carried fresh memories.

Vera slowly sorted through them.

The visit to the Sloane estate appeared first.

So he had already reached the stage where he was visiting Audra’s family.

Interesting.

The actual meeting with Warren Sloane was less dramatic than Vera would have expected.

Still, it gave her another piece of Cyrus’s increasingly complicated life.

Audra had the glamourkin ring.

Warren knew far more about rare-bloods than an ordinary person should.

And Cyrus clearly considered the ring important enough to maintain his relationship with Audra carefully.

Vera smiled faintly.

Hopefully the school trip would produce something more entertaining.

When she opened her eyes again, the gold gradually faded from her irises until they returned to their usual dark color.

Meanwhile, Cyrus had already turned into the nearest restroom.

He went straight to the mirror.

Then he saw what Vera had done.

A pink mark showed against the pale skin near the base of his neck.

It looked uncomfortably similar to a hickey.

Cyrus stared at his reflection.

The mark sat in an irritatingly precise location.

His shirt collar covered part of it, but not all.

Anyone looking closely could notice the exposed edge.

Cyrus felt immediate resignation.

So that was why Vera had stayed close for another second.

She had done it deliberately.

There was no chance he was canceling or changing the entire trip because of something this stupid.

If anyone asked, he could say an insect bit him.

Technically, that would not even feel completely dishonest.

The insect simply happened to be named Vera Sable.

Cyrus adjusted his collar upward.

The mark became harder to notice.

That would have to be enough.

Being more visible at school had created inconveniences he never dealt with when his hair covered half his face.

Now even small details could attract attention.

Something as minor as a strange mark near his collar could easily become another rumor.

Worse, rumors involving Cyrus had a habit of dragging other people into them.

He preferred avoiding that if possible.

By the time Cyrus returned to senior advisory three, less than ten minutes had passed.

Most of the class had arrived.

The room was noticeably fuller and louder.

Cyrus sat down.

Between the poor sleep and the small amount of blood Vera had taken, a wave of fatigue finally caught up with him.

He yawned before he could stop himself.

Almost immediately afterward, their advisor entered.

The room settled.

Attendance came first.

Names were checked.

Students were counted twice.

The teacher reminded everyone to keep track of luggage, phones, and assigned groups.

Once the head count was confirmed, the entire class filed out together.

The hallways filled with students from the rest of the grade doing the same thing.

Outside, teachers directed everyone toward the waiting buses.

Cyrus stayed with his assigned group.

Owen Keats and Iris Wexley were already handling the organizational details, which made sense considering they were the vice class president and class president.

Audra joined them soon afterward.

Since the group included both student leaders, their seats ended up relatively close to the front of the bus.

The arrangement was simple.

Audra and Iris took two seats together.

Cyrus sat beside Owen nearby.

With everyone finally aboard, the trip was ready to begin.