Jace and Aliandra

8/2/2019 Jace and Aliandra

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So there I was about to kiss the most hottest, amazing guy in the world,when the front door of my house opens and unfortunately my veryconservative, very strict parents walk in on ...yeah

Aliandra! Are you making out with that boy? While we were out feedingsoup to the homeless people?! my mother screeched. My father lookedappalled.

Mother. Father. This is Trent, my uh friend. I blushed and lookedaway from Trent.Trent stood up awkwardly, Well Aliandra, it was nice, uh, seeing you.Yeah. Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Hotchkiss, I gotta, um, go, Trentdashed past my parents and out the door. When the door shut behindhim my parents lost their silent demeanor and pretty much exploded.

ALIANDRA ELEANOR HOTCHKISS! my father screamed. His voice sloud boom reverberated throughout the room.

What did we tell you about bringing strange boys to the house when wearen t home!? my mother pointed angrily at me.

Uh, nothing I mumbled, confused.

Well it was implied! We ve always tried to keep you pure and innocentbut all you do is chase after boys! my mother cried out again.Guilty as charged. It was true. Trent wasn't the first most hottest,amazing guy in the world that I d hooked up with before.

Um I couldn t deny it.We have only one choice Aliandra Eleanor. I m sorry, my father shook

his head sadly. My mother pulled a glossy pamphlet from her ecofriendlytote bag and tossed it to me. I caught it, unaware of what wasgoing on. I inspected the cover- an old-century European style manorsurrounded by sprawling grassy hills??

Boarding school, my father spoke up for my mother, who seemed

incredibly sad at the way things were turning out.B-b-b-boarding school?! I screamed.Yes, honey, it s our only ch-NO! There is NO way I m going to boarding school! I screamed, louder

this time. My own parents hadn t learned not to make me madAli-Don t even TALK to me! You aren t my parents! I will go find my real

parents and see if they want to send me away to some boarding schoolI ve never even heard of! my mother cringed and I knew the commenthad hurt her. That was precisely why I said it.

I think it s time we tell her, Arietta, my father turned solemnly to mybawling mother.

Just tell her already! I don t want this anymore! my mother screamed,even louder then I had. She glared at me and left the room in tears.

Aliandra about your real parents .................Bummer...............I stepped on to the plane, with a fierce anger inside, like nothing I'd everfelt before. I was so infuriated I didn't even turn back to wave good-byeto my evil "not-really-my-parents" who were technically my legalguardian and malicious pretenders shipping me off to boarding school. Iwas also so angry thay I didn't even call Trent and say good-bye. Oh,


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well, I am sure there will be plenty of hot guys at boarding school.The plane was medium size, full of everyone that was going to theboarding school, I guess. The one thing that slightly relieved my anger,was my luxurious 1st class seat. I inspected my plane ticket, and beingthe last one to board the plane with my fifty-billion carry-on bags, Icould feel eyes watching me."Dude, com e up here, you hav e got to s ee this gi r l. She is so hot! " Iheard an unmistakenly guy voice and turned to see a crowd of guys from"economy seating" or whatever it was called, staring through the curtainto where I stood, in first class."Pervs!" I snapped and half of them left back to their seats. The otherhalf continued to ogle me."Give me your room number babe!" one guy shouted and the wholeplane snickered."Not even in your dreams," I shot back, sparing the cussing that wouldprobably come soon if they didn't shut up and sit down. I stopped at myseat, unfortunately right next to the curtain leading to economy class.

My seat was next to none other then a guy. OMG. He was soooo hot.Forget Trent!"Hey I'm Logan. Let me get your bags. It seems like you could kind of use some help with all of that. Oh, and take the window seat. Youprobably shouldn't sit by the curtain," the hot guy, Logan, stood up andstepped into the aisle to let me sit down. Wow, he was really nice. Whatwas even nicer was that he stood right in front of the curtain, blockingthe economy-class pervs from watching me any longer."Thanks Logan. I'm Aliandra by the way," I smiled, maybe a littleflirtatiously and sat down next to the spherical window. Logan hoistedmy bagsintothe overhead compartment and shoved one last bag under

the seat in front of him. Finally finished, he sank down in the whiteleather seat next me."Your welcome. So you are going to the boarding school, right?" Loganasked as the flight attendant started babbling about safety procedures."Unfortunately, I am. My, legal guardian told me that my real parentswho I thought were alive and living in Asia, well, he told me they diedlike fifteen years ago when I was really young. So after springing that, he just ships me off to boardingschool, ugh,"Yes, that was what my socalled"father" told me. Then he literally forced me to go to my room andpack so that I could leave for boardingschool the next day. And here Iam."That doesn't have to be a bad thing," Logan turned fully towards me,further blocking the pervs' veiw of me. Thank the Lord."I don't see how it can be a good thing, especially with all the pervy guys.Are all the boarding school guys like this? It's like they've never seen agirl before," I asked him. He only laughed."I'm not, and Ihave some pretty good friends who aren't pervs either,"Logan grinned.So, the rest of the plane ride went wonderful. Logan is amazing and hisfriends-well I was introduced to them, and they are even hotter. Carson


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is pretty quiet, but seemed nice. Edward was soooo hot butI kind of gotsome pervy vibes from the way he looked at me. Gabe,well I couldn'treally tell'cuz he had his iPod headphones in and only said"hey" in anoverly loud voice due to the high volume of his music. Lastly, I met Jace.Right when Jace looked at me his playful, flirty eyes turned stone coldand dark. He glared at me with an immense hate I'd never seen beforelikeI'd done something terrible to him. I shot eye-daggers back and Iknew we would be two people that would never- could never get along.OMG, why did Jace have to be so hot!? It's not fair. I sighed and foundmyself staring longingly at the back of his head. W hat was wrong withme?! I slapped myself as hard as I could and Logan turned around."What was that!" he cried out and took my head in one hand. He turnedmy face to the side and burst out laughing."What!" I yelled and punched his arm playfully."You...red... ha-ha...face...!" Logan literally fell into the aisle he waslaughing so hard. Ugh.I crossed my arms over my chest angrily and bothEdward and Jace turned around. What do you know, Edward practically

looked down my shirt while Jace snickered into his hand at myapparently red face for slapping myself about how hot he was! UGH!Why does life have to be so mean to me? What did I do to deserve all thebad karma? Screw that! I curled up and leaned against the window tofall asleep.I felt really ice cold, firm, yet soft hands shake me, but they were toolulling to wake me up. Suddenly I felt like an electric shock had shotthrough me as two cold but amazingly soft hands grabbed my shouldersand shook me. The soft hands lifted me out of my seat and my eyes shotopen. I was inches away from Jace's face. OMG. HIs breath smelled likepeppermint. We were still on the plane, I realized, the last ones in first

class except for of course the few pervy guys poking their heads throughthe economy-curtain, scowling in jealousy- but they didn't count. Jacelifted me over the seats and heldme in midair above the aisle and Irealized it really was just me and Jace. All of my carry-on bags weregone so it was me, Jace and the pervy guys who didn't count.Is Jac e re ally hol d ing m e lik e that? I sighed deeply and exhaled slowly,feeling kind of light headed."Could you... um... put me down?" I asked quietly. He set me down butgrabbed my wrist forcefully."We should get off the plane Aliandra. People are starting to stare," Jaceliterally dragged me off the plane where Logan, Gabe and Edward hadall of my carry-on bags an d my luggage. Carson stood to the sideawkwardly. I wasted no time yanking my arm out of Jace's steel grip andrunning over to hug the guys."You guys are amazing! I totally freaking love you and I would love youeven more if you'd just carry my stuff to me room for me, maybe... prettyplease?" I batted my eyelashes. It was all I had to do.We got off the plane in -go figure!- the boarding school's private airport.Since when do boarding schools have private airports on their grounds?Jeez. This place was like Buckingham Palace but bigger and waaay more


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hot guys, like the ones at my heels carrying my luggage. I felt like theQueen- but younger and a whole lot more gorgeous.NO WAY! Did I mention this place has co-ed dorms and my room justhappens to be right across the hall from Logan, Carson, Gabe, Edwardand -ugh- JACE.How can a guy be so amazing and so horrible at thesame time? Life is unfair. But aside from Jace, yay!!We stood at my door, all waiting for me to put in the key and go insidealready!Logan grabbed me by the waist and pulled me around to face him,"What's wrong Aliandra?""Oh. My. Gosh. WHAT IF MY ROOMMATE IS A FREAK!?" I screamed."Then get over it," Jace laughed hollowly. I officially decided I hatedJace. Problem solved."Just shut up Jace," I rolled my eyes and put the key in the door.Ok, so before i go inside and reveal my new roommate, I'm gonna take asecond and describe the worst roommate conceivably possible to me.She'd be a ditzy blonde, with a funny accent, she'd be waaay overpreppy,

she'd have a high, tinkling laugh and would be super, superfriendly. I could go on and on but you probably have a very accuratepicture in your mind already and you get my point.I opened the door and there she was sitting on the couch watching someshow called " W hat Not to W ea r ". Oh, you have got to be kidding me!This was my nightmare. She was the kind of girl who gave blondes a badname."Oh, you must be my new roommate. Hi, my name's May Bell!" she saidin the most annoying Texas accent I've ever heard."Aliandra," I muttered. Sensing my discomfort, Logan coughed loudly.Maribel laughed. It was worse then I could imagine. Not even in my

nightmares did the murderous clowns have such a high, tinkling,outrageous laughs. There was no way this was going to work!!I wo ul d r ath er go mak e out with Jac e, th e de vil hims elf , th en stay in ar oom with this d itz!"Ooh, this is just gonna be so exciting! I've never been in a dorm withanybody before! People always find me really annoying and ask for aroom change but you seem really nice. Like the kinda person whowouldn't ask for a room change!" Maribel gushed in her incredibly ahnnoyingaccent. I could feel Logan's hand on my back pushing meforward- toward the door to the bedroom."Could you give us a second?" Logan asked, pushing me through theopen door. Jace gripped Logan's arm and shook his head.

Let me handle her. If anyone knows how to get a girl to listen and obey,it s me, Jace pushed past Logan and into the bedroom. He shut thedoor behind him and I heard it lock with an ominous *click*.

What do you-Don t speak, Jace pushed me down onto the bed.Whoa, if this is why you came in here you can leave right now, I tried

to get Jace off but he had rock-solid muscles.Don t flatter yourself Aliandra, Jace sneered and held me down by my


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arms.Then what are you trying to do!? I protested, squirming underneath

his firm, icy cold grip.Talk to you! he cried.Um, could you try that witho ut holding me down on the freaking bed?

I asked in frustration.No you d try to run away. Now list-Jace I don t know who you think you are-No! I said LISTEN! I m going to leave you alone. I m going to get out of

your life Aliandra Eleanor Hotchkiss and I m taking my boys with me,Jace spoke calmly, and it seemed he d gotten himself under control, Soyou can stay out of our way. You don t know what we are or what we doso you can just back off.

NO. I don t take orders from people, especially not you Jac e , I spat,So yo u can back off.

He held me down tighter and leaned in like he was about to kiss me. Hislips brushed against my ear.

Lik e I sai d you d on t know who yo u a re messing with an d you hav e noi de a what w e can d o. If yo u cr oss my path again sw ee th ea r t yo u a re going to wish yo u w ere nev er shi pped off to this boa rd ing school an d that yo u w ere nev er bo r n. Jace whispered into my ear. He pressed hislips against my neck, then abruptly stood up. Jace unlocked the doorand opened it in one swift motion then was gone.I sat up, immobile, unable to comprehend what the heck had justhappened. I stared at the wall for ten minutes before I got up in thedecision to unpack and try to fit some normalcy into my first day atboarding school.Out in the living room/kitchen/dining room, Maribel was gone and my

luggage was strewn haphazardly by the door. Where were the guys?They should be here, helping me with my stuff. Why had the just left likethat? Then I remembered what Jace had said to me: I m going to g et out of yo ur lif e Alian dr a El eano r Hotchkiss an d I m taking my boyswith m e. Ugh. I didn t think he was really serious about that. WAIT. Ifroze in my tracks. How does he know my full name? I only introducedmyself to everyone as Aliandra. I never even said my last name or myabhorred middle name. Things were starting to get weird and I wantedanswers, now. I think I ll go do that.I strode across the hall and didn t bother knocking on the door beforeentering. Empty. I checked the three bedrooms (two more than myroom had) and they were empty of the guys as well. Oh well, I ll find outlater. Time to unpack.I had so much stuff, I spent fifteen minutes just putting it all in thebedroom. After finally getting everything into the room, I spent twohours unpacking before a loud noise alerted me to the hallway. Peeringout the door, I watched crowds of guys going into Logan s room. NOWAY. Party!!! An all-guys party! YEAH!! I was dying for this kind of excitement and it would be the perfect way to piss off Jace. Wait, butfirst, I needed a killer party outfit.


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I backpedaled into the room to find Maribel present again, watchinganother fashion show on TV.

Oh, my, is that another party across the hall? she didn t wait for me toanswer, You that is just sick. The party I mean. All the guys that arepigs at this school go to those parties across the hall. They are just allpigs, I tell you! Worst thing is, people usually stumble in here byaccident, so I m gonna lock the door. The extra lock I had put in I mean.I ve got the only key right here, Maribel held up a pink key hangingaround her neck. She got up, inserted the key into the extra lock andlocked the door keeping me out of the party. Ugh.I stomped into the bedroom and surveyed my closet for the perfectparty-crashing outfit. I zoned in on my extra-short dresses. I chose ablack halter-style dress with a plunging neckline, a ribbon-tie back, anda form with a length that just barely covered my butt. It was absolutelyperfect. I put on a blood-red trench coat style coat that stopped at myknees and reemerged to the living room. Now all I had to do was getMaribel to unlock the door.

Um, hey there Maribel. I was wondering if you could unlock the doorfor me, I have to go visit the headmaster and then I was gonna go take awalk around campus, I lied, hoping Maribel would buy into it.

Sure. Just stay away from that party now, Maribel tossed me the keys.I unlocked the door and tossed them back. To the party!I strutted across the hall in my five-inch stiletto heels and knocked onthe door. When the door opened I opened my trench coat a little bit andto my surprise, Edward was standing there.

Aliandra! This is a surprise. I was pretty sure Jace had scared you off,Edward blinked several times like he was making sure it was really me.

So he told you.

Yeah, pretty much. Edward still stood in the doorway, blocking myview of the party. I leaned against the doorframe, letting my trench coatfall open a little more.

Uh you wanna come in? Edward asked, staring at my dress.Sure, sounds like a killer party. I replied and slipped off my coat. I

handed it to Edward, who took it, without ever taking his eyes off of me.Right when I stepped inside the room (which was a whole lot biggerthen my own) everyone stopped and stared at me.

Don t stop the party cuz of me, I winked. Edward wrapped his armaround my waist and led me over to the group.

Aliandra. Wow. What a surprise! Logan smiled and hugged me. I waspleased to see that the only member missing from the circle was Jace.

Where s-NO. She cannot be here. Get out Aliandra! Jace growled, coming up

from behind me. I spun around.No. I think I m staying. I stood my ground ready to fight if necessary.I warned you that if you ever crossed my path again- he didn t finish

because rage overtook him and he grabbed my neck and pinned me upagainst the wall. I was being choked.

You are such an a- my words were cut off as I blacked out.


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So there s this thing called a hospital, and when you ve beenseriously, traumatically injured, your caring, loving friends andfamily take you there instead of leaving you to die. Naturally, Iknew Jace had choked me until I passed out, which meant I dprobably wake up in the school infirmary (equivalent tohospital). Boy was I wrong. I sat up and found two incrediblyhot guys leaning over me. I was laying in somebody s bed (Ihave no idea who!) and my neck hurt ALOT.

Where am I?! I demanded, trying to sit up. Logan held medown.

My room, Edward stroked my hair softly. I swatted his handaway.

Watch it buddy, I snapped and Logan laughed. That waswhen I noticed I was laying under a scratchy sheet, wearing anextra long button-up shirt and no pants.

Um, what am I wearing and who th e heck undre ssed me?! Icried in horror. Logan and Edward snickered.

That would be Soren and of course Jace. Let me tell you, hesure enjoyed that, Gabe spoke up rolling his eyes and he gaveme a squeeze-hug, Glad to see Jace didn t kill you.

First off where is Jace I wanna go kick his butt for taking myclothes off while I was unable to fight back. Secondly, who isSoren? I asked, making sure I sounded irritated.

I am, that s when the god sitting in the armchair stood upand came over to sit down on my- er- Edward s bed. Edwardand Logan inconveniently left the room.

You are?Soren.

Riiight. So would you care to explain why after Jace the freaknearly choked me to death, you decided to undress me?! Inearly screamed at Soren.

Jeez. Calm down. Your dress was covered in blood and it wasreally ah, irritating everyone. Soren replied calmly, though Iwasn t going to forget how he stumbled on the word todescribe how my blood bothered everyone. Strange. I stillneeded answers and Soren seemed like the person to get themfrom.

Whatever. I ll yell at Jace later. Speaking of which who, ah,what is he? I asked casually. Soren s mouth literally droppedopen.

You you don t know?! I thought you knew , Soren trailedoff.

Spit it out Soren! I took his shoulders and shook him.They- the five of them, Jace, Logan, Edward, Gabe and Carson

they pretty much run this school. They are the five noblebloodedvampires! Soren said and I burst out laughing.

Oh Soren you ve got to be kidding me! Vampires?! I laugheduntil I rolled into Soren and almost knocked him off the bed. He


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turned me over so I was laying on his lap, staring up at him.I m not kidding. Not only that but he bit you Aliandra. Jace bit

you! Soren cried out.With his fangs. Riiight, I muttered.No lie. Vampire s honor, Soren put a hand up.You re a vampire too?! I moaned despairingly. Maybe he was

high ? That would explain the weirdness.Yes I am.Prove it.No. It s too dangerous.I SAID, prove it, I glared at him. Soren was definitely hotter

then Jace. Soren pushed me back down so I was laying on myback and he leaned over me. His eyes turned red and he bareda set of gleaming white fangs I hadn t noticed before. Helooked wild and untamable. He leaned down and gentlypressed his fangs against my neck. He moved his fangs andlips across my neck sending shivers down my spine. Bolts of

electricity shot through me. Before I knew it, Soren s lips hadmoved up my neck, to my lips and he was on top of me, his lipsmoving over mine with an incredible passion. And I actuallythink I was kissing him back. I ran my hands through his hairand wrapped myself around him.I didn t hear the door open and by the time Trent had seen memaking out with Soren, the guy I d just met, and left, it was toolate. I detangled myself from Soren and rushed out of Edward sroom to chase after my now ex-boyfriend.

Trent! Trent! I called and managed to catch him halfwaydown the hallway.

Trent, I m sorry! Talk to me! I grabbed his shoulder andturned him around to face me.Look Aliandra, I get it, we re over. No need to come chasing

after me! I saw the way you we making out with that guy andI m happy for you. You never kissed me like that. I can tell youlike him, whoever he is. Trent turned from me and pressedthe button to summon the elevator.

Trent, I m sorry. I didn t know I didn t think- I had no wordsto explain.

Exactly. You didn t think. If you want a guy just go back tothat room full of guys. I m pretty sure that your boyfriend is inthere too if you wanna go back and crawl on top of him, Trentscowled at me.

But Trent-No. I came all this way to see you and I walk in to see some

guy on top of you! Just leave me alone and let me go back towhere I belong. I d say home, but it s not your home anymore.with that final outburst Trent left as quickly as he d come.

Well that was just lovely. Makes me want to puke, Jacegagged.


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JACE.Jace. I think you have some explaining to do! I let Trent go and walkedtowards Jace with malice in every step. My heart fluttered as his eyesmet mine. W ha- why? There is something seriously wrong with me!

No, I don t think so. I told you you d regret coming here if you crossedmy path again, Jace replied calmly, his eyes still on mine. My heartskipped a beat.

That still doesn t explain why you nearly killed me! I yelled at him. Iguess I must have said that loudly because people started to poke theirheads out the door. Nosy. Gosh. Why can t people just mind their ownbusiness?Jace was silent but pulled me back down the hall and into the janitor scloset.--JACE S POV--It took all of my strength not to kiss her when she was standing so closeto me in that janitor s closet. I had finally embraced the fact that I was inlove with her. But I knew if she got too close I d end up losing my selfcontrol

and killing her. Besides, I knew that she d kissed Soren.YOU DIDN T ANSWER ME!! she screamed and I can honestly say it

almost made me cringe in pain with my extra-sensitive hearing. Theparty-incident was just the first example of how I d lost my self control.

I didn t I lost it at the party Ali, I sighed, for once revealing honestyto her.

You- you called me Ali she blinked in disbelief.Look I m sorry. I don t want to kill you. I m trying to keep you away

from me for your own good! I tried to make her understand, but Icouldn t tell her my secret.

I know you re a vampire, she said calmly like it was no big deal. But it

was.You-you know?!Yes.Who told you? now I was angry. But not at her. Never at her.Soren. she blushed, probably thinking of her make-out with Soren.Soren. I am going to kill him, I gritted my teeth and Ali looked

confused.Why don t you want me to know? She asked quietly, but I could hear

her perfectly.I m too dangerous Ali. You need to stay away, far away from me, I

hung my head in defeat. ARGH! I never lost. This girl was ripping meapart.

WHAT IF I WANT TO BE AROUND YOU?! she just blurted out all of asudden. Immediately, realizing what she d said, her eyes widened andher face turned a million shades of red.That was it. Screw self control!I grabbed her and kissed her. I wanted her to know I loved her,but I couldn t bring myself to escape the kiss and tell her. I hadsomething else to tell her too, but she probably wouldn t wantto hear it.


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--ALIANDRA S POV--It was if he couldn t stop himself. He was so different in thatcloset. How he d actually apologized, then called me Ali, thenfreaking kissed me! Let me tell you- he was a waaay betterkisser then Soren. And this time the kiss felt real. Did he ?Could he ? No. He hated me. So why was he kissing me likethis? He was impossible and amazing all at the same time.

Jace? I broke free of the kiss, but he would stop. He kissedme again like he couldn t control himself. Do vampires run outof breath? I guess not, but I know humans do. I broke freeagain, panting. He looked at me like he d been calmly standingthere, breathing normally all along. Ugh. Now that wasfrustrating.

Still think Soren is a good kisser? he asked, smirking. I wasstill out of breath and didn t reply. He thought about itwhateverhe was going to say for a second and gave a heavy,labored sigh.

I can t do this. I could kill you. And I wouldn t be able to livewith myself if that happened. I m gonna go. This time I mgonna really leave you alone. he left me standing there in thatcloset, with the mops and other cleaning supplies, trying tocatch my breath. That was officially the best and worstmoment of my life.W ow. My n eck re ally h ur ts.--EDWARD S POV--I saw Jace emerge from the closet, and caught a glimpse of Aliandra standing inside, all red-faced and out of breath. Theregoes that. Oh, well there are plenty of other girls in this stupid

school.Soren told me what happened man, I fell into step with my best friend.I was wondering if Jace had really bitten Ali.

Yeah and your point is ? Jace looked ahead, an emotionless rock.Did you really bite her? I asked and he stopped in his tracks and

turned towards me.Yes. then he turned back around and continued walking towards the

elevator.But then . I trailed off, my mind going over the significance of that.Yes. I know.

--ALIANDRA S POV--I stomped back to my room, realizing I was still wearing somebody soversized, button-up shirt. I had no key. Oops. I knocked on the door,dreading Maribel. She opened the door and stared at me speechless. Istepped inside, to see two more blondes sitting around the dining roomtable playing cards.

You didn t .? she couldn t finish the question and I hadn t realizedthat s what it looked like had happened.

Oh my gosh! No. I didn t. I kind of passed out last night and woke up inmy friend s room. She didn t have anything that fit me, so she let me


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borrow her brother s shirt, I lied hoping Maribel would buy into it. Shenodded but then stopped, staring at my neck.

Is that a hickey? Maribel gasped and I noticed her two blonde friendslook over at me.

What is? I asked, confused and Maribel dragged me over to the mirroron the wall by the door. She pointed to the bruise on my neck.

Oh. My. Gosh. Jace. Bit. Me. my eyes widened and my hands fell to mysides. Maribel gasped.

JACE, as in, Jace Moonstar, the noble-blooded? she turned me aroundto face her. Her eyes were wider then mine.

Um yeah . I bit my lip, wondering what the significance of that was.That means-I m a freaking vampire! I screamed at Maribel. She looked calmly at

me and for the first time I noticed the fangs in her mouth. OMG. Thissucks.

Not only that, Aliandra, but you are noble-blooded. The first femalenoble-blooded in over a millennia. You have officially gained pretty

much control of all this school. Which is pretty lucky, considering if you d stayed here much longer, all of us vampires probably would veeaten you alive. Not metaphorically speaking, Maribel s accent had lostit s charm and she sounded evil.

So . I m a freaking vampire?! I yelled again, unable to think of whatelse to say in this kind of situation.

Not quite yet. Give it a week, maybe more, maybe less. Depends on howmuch of Jace s venom is in you. That s what you get for going to thatparty. Don t say I didn t warn you. By the way, you might want to go talkto Jace poor little mundane girl. Maribel scoffed.

Not for long, I muttered and went into the bedroom to change. This

time I made sure I was covered up before I left the room. I marchedpurposefully across the hall, ready for some answers. I knocked twicebefore going inside.Carson and Gabe were sprawled out on the couch, in front of the TVplaying some game on the Xbox 360.

Okay, somebody here has some serious explaining to do. And DON Ttell me you don t know what I m talking about, I already know that youguys are 2 of the 5 noble-blooded vampires. I stood in front of the TVscreen, ending their game whether they liked it or not.

Six. Two out of six noble-blooded vampires. Carson spoke up. I dnever really heard him talk much before.

Um, you, Gabe, Logan, Edward and Jace. That makes five. Who is thesixth? I asked, counting off the five on my fingers.

You. Gabe cut in.So it s true. I sighed, sitting down in defeat in the leather armchair

next to the couch.Sorry. It s not really anything you can get out of But you should be

happy. You ll pretty much have control over the entire vampire race,aside from the King of course. Gabe sat on the arm of the chair I wassitting in. He leaned over me with a grin, trying hard to help me perk up.


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Why? You guys are noble-blooded too, I shrugged, in confusion of thewords coming out of Gabe s mouth.

Exactly, us guys , Carson replied for Gabe, You aren t a guy. There sonly been two girl noble-bloods in history EVER. You being the second.That means you pretty much sho ul d be supreme Queen of the VampireRace.

But I m not? I wrinkled my eyebrows, making a face that Gabeobviously thought was funny. He fell to the floor in peals of laughter.

Nope. Carson didn t seem to think it was all that funny.And why not?! I cried in disbelief. I mean, how cool would it be to be

the supreme Queen of the Vampire Race?Because there s already a King, Gabe said between fits of laughter.So, screw the King. I want to be supreme Queen of the Vampire Race!

I said in kind of a whiney voice. This time Carson laughed. Gabe s faceturned grim and dark.

You d better not say that around here. Gabe looked at me veryseriously.

And why not?! I repeated my earlier phrase in nearly the same tone, Ishould be able to do whatever I want being the only girl noble-blood!

Not when the King s son is here you can t say that, Gabe ignored thepart about me repeating the fact that I was the only girl noble-bloodvampire.

Well who is the King s son? I want to give him a piece of my mind! Istood up ready to find whoever this pretty boy was and tell him exactlywhat I thought of his dad being King.

Um . Gabe didn t seem to want to tell me. Ugh. More secrets.Jace, Carson spoke up again and my mouth dropped up.I made out with the Prince of the Vampire Race? I asked stupidly. I

didn t mean to, really, I was just so dumbfounded by the fact that Jacewas the freaking Prince.You made out with Jace? Carson looked shocked.Yes, I mean no! I mean yeah, kinda, I bit my lip.Is that when he bit you? Gabe asked, sitting on the floor now.No. He bit me last night. After I passed out I guess, I shrugged.

Actually, I really didn t know.That would explain why there was blood all over your dress and

everyone went crazy. That would be when Jace and Soren undressed youin front of everyone-

IN FRONT OF EVERYONE AT THE ENTIRE PARTY?! I screamed.Yeah Gabe looked like he regretting saying it.So EVERYONE saw ? I was horrified.Yep, pretty much, Gabe shrugged as if it were nothing. I slapped both

him and Carson.Pervs.What makes you think I was watching? Carson crossed his arms over

his chest and pretended to look hurt.Oh, don t even give me that BS. I know you were watching. I stuck my

tongue out Carson just as Jace, Logan and Edward walked into the


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room.Aliandra. Jace said coldly. I looked at him once again dumbfounded.Just when we you planning on letting me know that you bit me and

now I m going to turn into a freaking vampire?! I screamed at Jace. Helooked taken aback that I was yelling at him again. However, last time Iyelled at him, ended up in us making out so ya never know what youmight get from yelling at a person.

Oh, you noticed. Jace said without emotion. Edward glared at him andLogan s mouth hung open. He ran up and squeezed me into a hug.

Jace bit you?! he cried out in surprise.Yeah, I guess you re the last to know. I replied, squeezing him in the

hug even more, This may be the last time I hug you as a human. Istarted to cry. Everyone but Jace joined in on a group hug. Loganstepped back and the hug dispersed.

Wait does that mean you re you re going to be noble-blooded?Logan asked in shock as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

Yeah it does. I murmured.

Well in that case, can I get you anything your highness? Logan boweddown on one knee.

Get up, I grabbed his shirt and yanked him up.Are you still going to talk to us lower class, o high Queen? Edward

joked his mood improving considerably.Take this as my answer, I said startling myself and I went over and

kissed Edward. Even more surprisingly, when I realized my mistake, Ikept on kissing him.Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jace stride out of the room angrily. Heslammed the door behind him and we all turned to stare. After the shockhad worn off I realized everyone was staring at me.

OMG. That s three different guys I ve kissed in one day.3 guys in one day. I know, I know. My mother is right, all I do is chaseafter boys. But this time I wasn t chasing after them. They werechasing after me.Back in my own room, I found it in myself to confide in Maribel and hertwo friends- Lacey and Olyvia. Don t ask me why, but I guess I just feltlike I needed to stay away from guys for awhile, so I made my best effortat making friends that were girls. I found that much easier now thateveryone in the entire school pretty much knew that I was going to be anoble-blooded vampire in a few days.

and then I totally just got up and kissed Edward, I admitted to thegirls. We were sitting in a circle on the floor in front of the TV, withbowls of chips, chocolate-covered pretzels and Reese s Pieces in themiddle. We were playing truth or dare and my truth question hadturned into a complete confession of yesterday s and today s events.

Edward, the noble-blooded Edward? Lacey asked in shock that I dkissed two noble-bloods in one day.

Yes. I know. I m horrible. I really don t know who I like the mostthough, I sighed deeply.

Ok, Ali, your turn, Olyvia sensed my sadness and thankfully changed


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the subject.Um Maribel . I got nothing. I replied, shaking my head.Are you sure? she asked, grinning evilly at Lacey and Olyvia.Yeah. Zippo. Nothing, I gave up.Do you know what the rule is if you can t think of anything on your

turn? Lacey grinned back.No, I said hesitantly. Uh-oh.The Ultimate Dare. Olyvia grinned to finish off the grinning triad.Which is ? I inquired, knowing I d regret not asking Maribel some

stupid truth question. The grinning triad conferred in a small circle withwhispers while I sat on the outside awaiting my fate. They all turnedaround at once, still sporting the evil grins.

We decided-That since the floor of this dorm is mostly guys-That you have to run down the hall in just your bra-While Lacey shouts Aliandra put your shirt on! -Then you have to take the elevator-

Down to the cafeteria-Grab an apple-And come back up-All in 2 minutes. Maribel finished. I looked at them incredulously.What happens if I don t? I asked. Eh, on second thought I didn t want

to know.Well-No, no. Never mind. I ll do it, I stood up and took my shirt off. Great.

Stupid co-ed dorms.Ready? Maribel asked. I nodded, Olyvia start the timer. Ali, ready,

set, GO!

ALIANDRA PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON! Lacey screamed at the topof lungs and I could already hear doors opening. Guys stared out theirdoors. I was met with wolf-whistles and hands trying to smack my buttas I ran by. OMG this sucks. I made it to the end of the hall and Ipressed the elevator button anxious for the doors to open. At the end of the hall I saw Edward, Gabe, Carson and Soren laughing their heads off.Great. Not only was I the soon-to-be noble-blooded vampire a topic of gossip but the guys would be talking about the girl who ran down thehall shirtless for weeks.The doors opened and I got inside as quickly as possible. I pressed thedoor-close button a million times as all the guys dashed to make it to theelevator in time. Too late. I sighed and sank down to the floor. When Ilooked up I screamed bloody murder.

Chill Ali! I m not going to murder you and I don t even wanna knowwhy you have no shirt on, Logan shook his head.

Dare. I said coldly.You know, I can turn around if you want, Logan offered, being a

gentleman.No, no. It s fine. I don t really care. We are friends, I sighed, staying

sitting on the floor. Logan sat down next to me.


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Sorry about the whole vampire thing. I know it s freaking you out,Logan put a hand on my shoulder.

Oh I m okay with it now. I m just mad I can t be high Queen of theVampire Race! I pouted jokingly.

I m sure Jace would hate if that happened. I mean he is heir to thethrone, Logan laughed, probably picturing Jace s face if he found out hewas no longer the heir.

Not for long. Cuz when the King finds out there s a new girl in townhe s gonna disown Jace in no time flat! I decided and the doors slidopen.

Oh no! I don t know where the cafeteria is and I need to get there andback in a minute! I stood up and looked around the bottom floor of thedorm wildly.

Come on! I ll take you! Logan grabbed my hand and dragged me to alarge red brick building. We burst through the doors and everyone (thefew people still in there) turned to stare at me. I ran as fast as I could towhat looked like the salad bar, grabbed a red delicious apple and was

dragged back to the elevator by Logan.How long? he asked, while I panted breathlessly.About 20 seconds, I cursed under my breath and willed the elevator to

go faster. The doors slid open and I gasped. A few guys had actuallywaited for me to come back. I stopped in my tracks. Logan gave me alittle push and I sprinted back down to the other side of the hall wheremy room was. The door was open and I dashed inside, throwing theapple to the ground triumphantly.Olyvia stopped the timer.

Oh my gosh. Less then 1 second, she gasped.I did it? I did it! Yeah! I sank down onto the couch and retrieved my

shirt. I slipped the tee back over my head and sighed.Wow. Nice Ali, Lacey grinned, but not evilly. Maribel put in somescary movies (WHICH I HATE!) and invited some guys that I d nevermet before to come and sleepover in our dorm.

To keep your mind off of your three boyfriends, Maribel winked as sheintroduced Devon, Chasen, Blake and Austin. More hot guys. Oh, it wasso unbearable.I curled up under my favorite blanket brought from home and Blake satnext to me as Maribel put in the Strangers . Never heard of it but OMGit was scary. I only jumped into Blake s arms uh, several times in thefirst half-hour. I do not like scary movies and I think he could tell. Ifinally gave up and hid behind a pillow, eventually falling asleep onBlake s lap.I woke up and laughed. Everyone had fallen asleep exactly where theywere sitting last night. Including me. On Blake s lap. Now he was asleep.Wow. This was pretty funny. I started to get up until I was stopped by ahand on my back.

Ali? Blake replied groggily.Yeah, I giggled at how his messy blonde hair fell over his eyes as he sat

up and pushed the blanket off of him.


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You okay? he asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.Yep. Nobody scary people with bags over their heads came to try to

murder me last night. It s all good, I hopped over the back of the couchand looked in the fridge for some food that didn t take effort to cook. Ireally didn t feel like going down to the cafeteria and I was lucky to finda toaster strudel in the freezer. Wait? Do vampires eat normal food? Oh,well. I m not craving blood so it s all good.

Want one? I asked Blake who was still rubbing sleep from his eyes.What? Oh, sure, thanks Ali, Blake swung himself over the back of the

couch and sat down at the table waiting for the toaster to finish cookingthe frozen pastries. I tossed two little frosting packets at him. He rippedone open with his teeth and sucked out all the frosting.

You know those are for the toaster strudels right? I laughed, sittingdown across from him.

Yep. But they re better without the pastry. Blake smiled.Do.. You want some blood? I asked, slowly not sure if that was a

weird thing to say to a vampire or not.

Um no. I m not a vampire. Blake laughed and I blushed.That s two of us, I giggled, But not for much longer. I muttered

under my breath.--JACE S POV--

Dude, you missed it, it was so hilarious! Soren said for the sixth time,making Gabe bust up laughing.

WHAT? What was so hilarious Soren? I growled and fiddled with thegilded dagger my father had given me before I left for this infernalboarding school.

Ali he started laughing and couldn t finish the sentence. Suddenlymy phone buzzed on the table next to me and I snatched it up to see the

illuminated screen reading : 1 new pix message from James. Hmm, Ipondered what it could be and flipped open my Env2 to see the pictureI d received.I dropped the phone when I saw the picture and it snapped shut.

What is wrong with you? Gabe asked and my grip around the gildeddagger tightened. Soren picked up my phone, looked at the picture,showed it to Gabe and they both burst out laughing like maniacs again.

HOW IS THAT FUNNY?! I yelled at them.Dude, that s what we were laughing about the whole time. Ali was

dared to run down the hall shirtless and somebody screamedALIANDRA PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON! . Then we all ran into the

hall and Ali was dashing towards the elevator in her freaking bra, Sorenmanaged to say before he started laughing again. This was not funny.Why did Ali have to get herself into so much trouble?I started off for her room, then decided against it. I don t care. I m nottalking to her. I mean why d she have to kiss Edward? Nobody hadever rejected me like that before. I was the PRINCE of the entire race of vampires! Nobody dared treat me like that! Except the one person whocould. Aliandra Eleanor Hotchkiss. The one girl to ever defy me.--BLAKE S POV--


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I d forgotten that she was going to turn into a vampire within the nextfew days. All because she d gotten too close to Jace- that stupidbloodsucker prince. Worthless scumbag. He d be the reason that Alibecame the next ruler of the Vampire Race- a very dangerous thing tobe. Or she d die, like the last girl Jace had bitten. But Ali was different,we could all see it in her eyes. In the glow she always had about her. Thiswould be the one of thousands of bitten girls to survive and come out thevampire queen.Then she screamed. I thought maybe it was because she d burnedherself getting the toaster strudels from the toaster oven, but when Ilooked up she was standing by her chair, convulsing in pain. She raisedher head to the ceiling and screamed. That was when I realized she wasturning. Or dying.--ALIANDRA S POV--Searing pain ripped through me and I threw myself to the floor,screaming my lungs out. The pain was too much to bear. I felt like everybone in my body was breaking and re-breaking again. Somebody was

ripping me to shreds. Tearing me apart with their jagged teeth. All thewhile I screamed.

JAAAAAAACE! IIIIIIII AAAAAAAAAM GOOOOOOING TOOOOOKIIIIIIIIILLLL YOOOOOOOUUUU! I screamed. I saw Blake lean overme, trying to hold me down but my body was jerking in crazy spasms.Tears rolled down my face as I continued kicking and screaming.NEVER EVER had I felt anything remotely close to this type of pain.What was happening?!Oh. My. G- I was turning! Into a vampire. Jace ran in and began yelling.He stopped when he saw me on the floor in the kitchen convulsing withterror and pain. The only thought running through my head was: I m

gonna d i e, I m gonna d i e, I m gonna f re aking d i e to d ay.I sat up and I was in my own bed for the first time since I d been here.Ohmigosh. I m aliv e . And I have an incredible thirst for blood. I m avampire. I am a freaking noble-blooded vampire. I stood up, feelingslightly taller. Everything was clearer like I was looking through a cloudywindow before. The world was amazing like I d never seen it before.Kinda of like an extreme version of HD.I stood up, ignoring by bloodlust and knew I had to find Jace. He d havesome answers about this. I left the bedroom and when I opened thedoor, everyone and I mean EVERYONE (including people I didn t know)were sprawled across the living room, staring at the door, where I nowstood. There was Maribel, Lacey, Olyvia, Logan, Edward, Gabe, Jace,Carson, Soren, even Devon, Chasen, Blake and Austin. I turned to Blakeand gasped. His blood was so sweet, it called out to me. I took a stepforward, but Logan got up and stood in front of me.

Can I hug you? he asked me, bowing his head to me. I looked at himstrangely.Y es. Of co ur se . Why wouldn t you be allowed to hug me Logan? I

pulled him into a hug. He grew stiff when he put his arms around me. Ipushed him back angrily.


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What s wrong with you?! I asked him and he stooped to the floor.Everyone else followed suit except Jace.

IS JACE THE ONLY ONE WITH A BRAIN NOW? Get up all of you! I mthe same exact person I was be fo re I got turned into a vampire! Iscreamed. They all stood up hesitantly. I ran over to Jace.

What is going on? I asked him. He shrugged away when I tried to putmy hands on him.

You re the only noble-blooded vampire in the world. he took a stepback.

I m a freaking vampire! So what? I yelled. I hated this. Everyone wasalready treating me like I was higher then them.

Aliandra, you re at a higher social position then I am. You rule thisschool and you could rule all the vampires if you wanted, Jace steppedback again. This was too crazy for comprehension.

Ugh. You guys are impossible. I m gonna go eat, I stalked out of theroom angrily. This was not turning out like I d planned.

Shoul d w e go? I heard Edward whisper.

Id on t know. somebody else whispered. I poked my head back in thedoor.

Oh just come on! I said to everyone. Maribel, Logan, Edward andSoren followed. Everyone else stayed. UGH!

So would any of you care to explain why everyone is acting so weirdaround me j ust because I m a freaking noble-blooded vampire?!, Iunwound again. I wondered how many times I was going to say

freaking and vampire in the same sentence today.You really don t get it do you? Maribel replied, switching back to her

fake accent. Why the forced accent was necessary, I did not know.No, I really don t. Like seriously, why? I asked sliding down the

elevator wall until I was sitting with my back against it. Maribel satdown next to me, reminding me of the night when Logan had talked tome in the elevator.

Everyone wants to be yo u. They just have this longing inside to servewhoever is at the top. You control them. Maribel put her hand on myshoulder, just like Logan had.

Be me? That s strange. And this, longing thing? Can I like turn it off? Iasked, looking up at the boys around me, then to Maribel.

Nope. All they ll ever want to do is serve you. And they are helpless toyour every whim and command, Maribel sighed. I screamed in agony.

Everyone just needs to chill. I don t want it like this. AH! I ve got it, Icried in triumph. Light b ulb!

W hat? So re n off ered his han d to h el p me up an d w e ex it ed th e cr am ped el evato r . I sto pped an d sat d own on th e ed ge of a fo untain inth e co ur tya rd .

I comman d you to not want to s er v e me anymo re ! I demanded. Theylooked at me in shock. They blinked twice and I could sense the change,back to the way things used to be before I was a vampire.

Come on Ali, I m hungry and I want food now, Soren complained. Igrinned.


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Hold on just a sec.What are you doing? he asked as I stood up on the edge of the fountainI COMMAND ALL OF YOU, THEENTIRE VAMPIRE RACE TO NOT

WANT TO SERVE ME ANYMORE! I yelled as loud as I possibly could.There problem officially solved.

Can we get food, as in now? Soren asked, grabbing my hand.Sure, I perked up, then my stomach rumbled. Uh-oh, Um, and

some uh-Blood? Edward cut me off, slinging his arm over my shoulder jokingly.Yeah, I giggled and blushed.I ll get you some blood, baby, just stick with me. Edward leaned over

me, to -ugh- look down my shirt.Just because I told you not to want to serve me doesn t mean you can

be a pervert, I slapped him away and Soren showed up in his place.I m over the whole pervert, randomly kissing you thing. So how d you

like to go to dinner tonight? My place? Soren slung his arm over myshoulder, just like Edward had.

Nope. Who s next? I joked. Logan pushed Soren out of the way.Logan?? I laughed as he put his arm around my waist.Figured I d give it a try.And no. Who s next? Oh, wait all of you struck out! I put a finger to my

mouth teasingly, Oops.Can I have like another try? Edward put his arm back around my

shoulder.If Edward gets a second chance so do I, Soren put his arm around my

waist, taking a spot on the other side of me. I could hear Maribel andLogan giggling behind me.

So, what do you have planned for tonight? Edward asked suggestively.

Nothing with you, I grinned at him.Ali and I are going to a sleepover at a friend s room. No guys invited, Ismiled hugely when Maribel said that. She was saving me! Hallelujah!

Ok. Now that we ve all been rejected, can we go get lunch? I think Imight starve, Logan asked, grabbing my wrist and yanking me in thedirection of the cafeteria.

Yes, yes. But all I really want is some blood right about now. Ishrugged. Everyone laughed at me.

Even the king of bloodlust, Soren can control himself better then you!Logan laughed, noticing the way I eyed the human who walked by.Soren punched Logan s arm.

I am so not the king of bloodlust! he denied it, stealing a quick glanceback at the human who d ran by when I eyed him.

You re the king and she s the queen, Edward joked and Soren perkedup.

I ll take that. As long as she s my Queen, Soren scooted closer to me.I don t think so, I pushed him into the wall, with my newfound

strength.Ow, he rubbed his shoulder.

I entered the cafeteria and everyone turned to stare at me.


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Hey Aliandra! a bunch of people called and waved. I waved back,smiling and got in line.

Can I get a steak, completely raw? I asked the lunch lady. She laugheda little and came back a minute later with a raw steak on a plate that sheheld literally as far away from her as possible.

Here you go Miss Hotchkiss, the lunch lady replied handing the plateover the counter.

Can I get an extra couple glasses of blood, for the lady here? I heardSoren ask.I went and sat down at an empty table with my raw steak. Logan, Soren,Edward and Maribel sat down around me and Soren gave me fourglasses of blood.

Thanks! I gushed and downed all four glasses of blood in ten secondsflat. I ripped the raw steak apart with my teeth and finished that off aswell.

Alright well I m full for now. I m gonna head back to the dorm, and I lltalk to you guys later. Kay? Bye! I called and skipped off back to the

dorm. I was determined to find Jace and talk to him. It was important.I burst through the door to Jace s room to find Gabe making out withLacey. Um I was just gonna turn around and leave nowI found Carson in his room.

Hey Carson!Hey Ali!Um, where s Jace, do you know?Yeah. He went home. For good.

held back tears.For good? Good, good? I asked, feeling a lump rising in my throat. He

was gone. Gone for good.

Yeah. He just packed up, muttered a couple of things in Italian andstormed out. Later he called and said he wasn t coming back. So, I guess,that s it. Carson shrugged like it was no big deal.Eh , he s gone. No big de al.

No big de al?! This is a re ally big de al. JACE IS GONE! GONE for GOOD! I scre am ed .

Wait. How d you know I was thinking that? Carson stood up abruptly.I sai d that in my min d .

You sai d that in yo ur min d ? I ask ed inc redu lously.Y eah. I g ue ss yo u can re a d min d s.

I CAN READ MINDS?! I cr i ed out j ubilantly.Purp l e polka- d ott ed e l ep hant.

Purp l e polka- d ott ed el ep hant? I shook my h ea d at him.Just making sure you really could read minds.

Are you in lov e with Jac e? My fac e t ur ned a million sha de s of red .

So you don t? Carson asked slowly.That is s uch a big YES.

Hey! I h ea rd that , an d y eah , I think I d o. I bl ush ed deeper .Then what are you waiting for? Go get him! Carson threw his hands up


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in the air.Thanks Carson, I ran up and kissed him on the cheek, then ran back

out of the room. The smile fell from my face.Only pr obl em is I m not s ure if Jac e is th e only on e .

--JACE S POV--I stepped up to the young airport worker who inspected my ticket rightafter giving me the up-down. She blushed and giggled when she handedback the ticket and I rolled my eyes. I was so irresistible and normally Iloved it, but needless to say I was not in the best of moods. To makethings worse, there were no seats left in first class. Not only did I nothave the family jet, but I was being shut out of first class and kicked intoeconomy. Oh, the horror.I sat down by the window, ignoring the few giggling girls around me.The seat next to me stayed empty and I got tired of waiting to see whoI d get to annoy the next hour and a half before the layover. My iPodentertained me for the next fifteen minutes before the flight attendantscame by to check we had our seat belts buckled. Seriously, like I would

die if the plane crashed. Ha!Darn, no in flight movie. Well, I guess there wouldn t be for such a shortflight. Stupid layover. The lack of movie and unfortunate dead battery of my iPod gave me too much time to sit in the cramped, uncomfortableseat unable to recline and think about why I was fleeing boardingschool.Why did I have to bite her? She was more irresistible than I. Her humanblood had called out to me, and before I even thought about theconsequences, the fact she might die, I bit her and then there was bloodeverywhere. Everyone got all edgy and started circling her, but I knew itwas my duty to protect her. Then when she woke up, she kissed Soren. I

should have been there to comfort her when she woke up, but my pridetook over me and I could not give in to letting her win. I always win. Butthen when she kissed me it seemed as if she cared for me as I caredfor her. Like she knew how much I loved her and needed her. Theepitome of my mistakes was continuing on with the cold shoulder actafter that. She yelled at me and then kissed EDWARD! EDWARD, mybest friend! Ali s confused about who she loves, I can tell. Ali. It hurt tothink her name. An image of her popped into my head. Unfortunately,that image included Edward and Soren with her. And trust me, that hurtworse.

Pl eas e buckl e your seatb elts fo r our lan d ing in- the last part was cutout by some mumbling. Whatever. I didn t really care where we were, Iwas just anxious to get on the next plane that would finally deliver mehome. It s about time I got back to the palace.--ALI S POV--This was crazy I knew it, but I couldn t help myself. I d done it onimpulse. Of course I told Logan, Edward, Soren, Gabe, Carson andMaribel. Maribel offered to come along and I consented. I was not onefor company but I knew things might not work out as planned and Icould get very lonely. My willingness to spend time with my once


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dreaded roommate surprised me. Maribel was turning out to be a goodfriend.We weaved in and out of the plastic chairs, running to make it in time.People stared like we were maniacs, but not that many. Sprinting madlyto avoid being late around here wasn t so unbelievable. The trek overhere had lent me a lot to learn about Maribel including the fact that shecould see the future. I d also confided in her me being able to readpeople s minds apparently. We tested it out more and indeed found thatit was true.

You ready for this Ali? Maribel asked as we handed the paper somelady. She gave it back promptly.

Ready as I ll ever be. How s the future looking? I asked as we dasheddown the hall despite we were there. No time to lose.

Great. Now run faster!--JACE S POV--New plane after a three hour layover in who knows where. I was hopingthis time for people in the seats adjacent to me so I would have

entertainment in annoying them out of their minds for the four andhalf-hour flight. The rest of the plane filled up but still, the two seatsnext to me were empty. I was told by the flight attendant that I d behaving company. Guess she was wrong. I sighed and looked down at myphone for the time. Eight o five. Night flights were my favorite. The wayyou could see nothing in the darkness, then all of a sudden out of nowhere, pinpricks of light shine up and group together to form cities,streets, suburbs even.I looked up and was taken aback. The person sitting next to me was--MARIBEL S POV--I blinked twice and stared at my brother. His mouth hung slightly open.

Ma r ibel ? Jace asked incredulously.Hey big brother, I shifted my weight from foot to foot, feeling kind of awkward.

What a re you doing here? Jace patted the seat next to him, motioningI should sit down. But I didn t. I wasn t here to see him, Ali was.

Um I m not exactly I mean, uh I stuttered and stopped. Jacecould tell there was something wrong. He always could.

Just tell me Bells, Jace inhaled sharply and put his head in his hands.Well it s not exactly me who wants to talk to you. Uh, Jace, just talk to

Ali! I gave up and pushed him out of his seat. He stumbled into Ali.Ali- wha he stared blankly at the girl he loved. How could he not

have anything to say?! Poor, poor boy.--ALI S POV--I stood there as still as a statue waiting for Jace to say something.Strange, I couldn t read his mind.

Excuse, me flight attendant? he called for the skirted lady traversingthe aisles of the plane in high heels.

May I help you sir? she asked, eyeing the muscles rippling out of Jace stightly fitted shirt.W ow. I m kin d of ol d for him b ut I won der if-


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W HOA! Di d not n eed to h ea r that! This min d re a d ing thing was kin d of showing m e a d ownsi de .

Yes. This young lady here did not mean to board this particular flight.Is there any way she could get off? Jace asked the woman. I turnedaway from her and my mouth dropped open. Couldn t we even talkabout it? I mean, he just couldn t send me on back to the airport like I dnever ran after him in the first place!

Too late for that, the flight attendant looked at me, snickered andturned away to glide along the aisle once again.She s got no chanc e.Jace looked at me again and I felt my heart rip.

Jace. I didn t chase you all this way to have you try and send me back. Idon t know where you are going but it looks like you have no choice. I mcoming with you. I sat down in the aisle seat and Jace stepped over meto sit next to Maribel his sist er . That was a big surprise. She d neveracted like he was her brother. She d never even mentioned it.

Ali Jace started and I snapped back to the present. I noticed Maribel

had turned on her iPod and was staring out the window.Jace?I don t know what to say to you. I told you I showed you how I felt

and then you went and acted like it was nothing. Jace looked at me,with hurt in his eyes.

I-I I don t know what I was thinking when I did that. Never mind. Iwasn t thinking when I did that. I realized the mistake right after I didit. I m so sorry, I hung my head and couldn t help but let a few tears rundown my face.

The only thing I can say to that is- --SOREN S POV--

At first I was kinda angry when Carson told me that Ali had left to runafter Jace. Then I realized trying to get her to like me was a lost cause.She was clearly in love with Jace, I was just to stupid to see it before. Ohwell. There were plenty more hot vampire girls out there anyways.

Hey Soren, dude, let s grab some dinner before the cafeteria closes,Logan poked his head in my room. I threw the last dart at the dartboard,smirked at the bulls-eye and left the room. All the guys -Jace excludedandLacey were waiting in the hall. I noticed Gabe and Lacey holdinghands as we stepped into the elevator. Was I the only one facingrejection? Well, not considering Edward, because he bounces back fast.

What s on the menu tonight? I asked missing the sign as we walked by.Mexican food, Carson grimaced.Oh gross! I d rather have a girly little salad then eat Mexican food! I

cried and my stomach growled as if in response.Hey! It is not girly to have a salad. Besides salad s aren t all just lettuce.

Some have chicken Lacey shot back and I stopped listening to whatshe said. It didn t really matter.

Are you even listening to me? I suddenly heard Lacey yell in a shrillvoice.

Yeah, something about some salads have chicken, etcetera, etcetera, I


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shrugged.Um, that was five minutes ago and the lunch lady is waiting for your

order. You are holding up the line, Lacey smirked.I grabbed my food angrily, ate it fast and sulked back to our dorm withCarson.

Man what s your problem today? Carson asked, invading the silencevery rudely.

Nothing. It s all good now. I m still in shock that Ali just left! Iconfessed.

Well, Jace won t want to see her that s for sure, so we can expect herback anytime now, Carson joked, elbowing me in the ribs.All of a sudden the ground began to rock. Ear thq uak e? Nope. Right as Ithought it, an explosion erupted from our dorm, the third floor rightabout where Ali s room was.Somebody had set off a bomb in Ali s room!--ALI S POV--I was afraid that the rest of the trip would be silent but all of a sudden

Jace turned to me.I replayed the earlier conversation we d had in my mind:

I-I I d on t know what I was thinking wh en I d i d that. N ev er min d . Iwasn t thinking wh en I d i d that. I re alized th e mistak e r ight aft er I d i d it. I m so so rr y , I hung my h ea d an d coul d n t he l p but l e t a f ew t ea r sru n d own my fac e.

The only thing I can say to that is I think it s b e tt er if w e j ust pre t end lik e w e v e nev er ev en m et each oth er be fore, he t ur ned away f r om m e an d I coul d t e ll it h ur t him to say that.

Is that a pam phl e t fo r Diamon d Ri d ge Boa rd ing School? h e ask ed pointing to th e pam phl e t I ha d for gott en to tak e out th e si de of my

ca rr y-on bag.Yeah I didn t know where he was going with this.Do you go there? he asked me, looking genuinely curious.Yeah I was still unsure of what he was trying to prove.Me too! Hi, I m Jace, he smiled and stuck out his hand. I shook it

enthusiastically and my face broke into a huge grin.I m Aliandra, but you can call me Ali, I couldn t wipe the grin off my

face.You know Ali, you are really quite beautiful, Jace leaned in closer to

me and twirled a piece of my hair around his finger. I was speechless.Can I kiss you Aliandra? he asked. I smiled.How s this for an answer? I asked and I kissed him.

How sh e manag ed to g et him I will n ev er know.I br ok e off th e kiss an d giggl ed .

What? Jace asked.Oh, I didn t tell you I can read minds? I giggled again, motioning to

the flight attendant standing a little ways down the aisle. Oops.Can you read my mind? his eyes widened and he looked at me in

alarm.No actually. I don t know why I can t. I pondered. He gave a huge sigh


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of relief.Wait, why? What were you thinking? I asked, perhaps too curious for

my own good.Nothing, he blushed.Fine. But one day I ll wake up and be able read your thoughts and you ll

regret ever thinking what ever it is you are thinking! I threatened andhe laughed.

How about I just tell you what I m thinking? Right now I thinking thatwas one amazing kiss and I want to kiss you again, Jace leaned in andkissed me again. I was in heaven.--EDWARD S POV--I stepped around the rubble carefully, and couldn t believe my eyes. Thiswas a major situation. Somebody had tried to kill Ali. This was the laststraw. I was BEYOND tired of people messing with Ali and this was justicing on the cake. I was going to find whoever this was and kill thembefore they could kill Ali. Game on.

Classes start in a week and one of the students rooms just got BLOWN

UP! I could hear headmaster Pierce screaming at somebody on thephone. Nothing he could do would help the situation. This was avampire war in the making and you can t get a human to fix a vampire sproblem.

Gabe! I called out to my friend. His light hair was completely coveringeyes and I couldn t tell when he looked at me.

What? he looked up and brushed the hair out of his eyes.Are you up for this? I need your help. I replied solemnly. Gabe was the

best tracker I knew and probably already knew how to find our culprit just by looking around the room.

Sure. For you. But for Ali too. We have to warn her. I mean, we can t let

her get hurt. Gabe started inspecting the crime scene working aroundthe angry-looking forensic experts.I agree. But I don t want to worry her, I reasoned. She didn t need to

know that a bunch of people were out to kill just because she was afemale noble-blood. That was kinda how the last girl noble-blood, Alzi,died. Assassinated.

So she went to chase after Jace? If she s with Jace, then we call Jaceand tell him so he can watch out for her, but we can make sure hedoesn t tell her. Gabe suggested. Jeez he was smart. I never would havethought that. Maybe he just seems smart because I m kinda dumb. Gabetossed me his phone and I dialed Jace s number.--JACE S POV--Kissing Ali was amazing. I told her again and again she was beautifuland she told me what everyone around us was thinking.

Kay. See that old lady across and up one row? she whispered, with herface close to mine.

Yeah. What s she thinking? I asked. The grey-haired hawk-eyedwoman turned to look back at us every couple of minutes or so.

Uh she s thinking about why we can t keep our hands to ourselves, Aligiggled and blushed. I leaned in to kiss her again when my phone (that


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wasn t supposed to be on) rang loudly. I answered it quickly and lookedover to see Maribel sleeping soundly.

Hello? I asked, wondering who d called me. Only a couple people hadmy number.

Jace? Is that you? Edward sounded frantic.Yes its me. What do you want? I m kind of busy, I asked, irritated.

Why was he bothering me?Well this is important! Is Ali with you? Edward nearly screamed into

the phone. I turned to look at Ali. She was smiling brightly at me.Yes. Would you just get to the point already? I inquired.SOMEBODY IS TRYING TO ASSASSINATE ALI! Edward yelled, But

you cannot tell her!I looked over at Ali again. She was still smiling, luckily, she hadn t heardEdward s screaming.

What? I am going to kill them. I growled. Nobody was going to hurtmy Ali.--UNKNOWN POV--

I stroked my chin, deep in thought, as if I had beard. I wondered for amoment what I d look like with a beard, peering in the mirror, picturingmyself with scraggly hair all over my chin. EWWWW. Not a prettypicture. Then I snapped back to the present and slipped on the leathergloves over my hands. I pulled the sacred object out of my bag and setdown the bomb carefully. I was sure she was asleep in her room so I setthe bomb next to the door. Checking the activator, I slipped out thewindow and alighted on the ground with cat-like reflexes.Raising the activator high to the building I stood in the wet grass,waiting for my revenge. 5... 4... 3... 2... ONE. I pressed the button andthe room exploded in flames. Mission accomplished. I tossed the

activator into the fire and walked away. My ski mask and blacksweatshirt went into my bag, and I blended into the mass of studentsrushing to see what had happened in Ali s dorm.--ALI S POV--Jace looked angrier then I d ever seen him in my entire life. He punchedthe END button on his phone with an livid fierceness and slammed itdown into his bag.

Who are you going to kill Jace? I asked, batting my eyelashes at him.He seemed fazed by my beauty and was speechless for a moment.

Jace? I said again, firmer in my tone.Uh, oh, I was kidding. Edward told me that Logan stole all of my

chocolate bars from my mini-fridge. I can t live without my chocolate,Jace smiled. I was dying to read his mind about now because I didn tbelieve a word of his BS. I laughed a genuinely as I could. I was going tofind out what was going on NO MATTER WHAT .Jace leaned over and woke Maribel up to whisper something in her ear.Her eyes widened and she started to blurt something out, when Jacecovered her mouth with his hand.I really wanted to know what was going on that Jace was trying to keepfrom me, but I wasn t in the mood for that. All I wanted to do was get off


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of this plane and get home. Home? Wait, I didn t even know where thisplane was going!

JACE! I cried out alarmingly.What? he turned sharply, fire in his eyes.Where is this plane going? he looked at me like I was crazy, full of

endless questions.England, Jace replied. My mouth dropped open.Englan d ? I exclaimed.Yeah, we live in the English countryside. You know, huge, old castles?

Jace shrugged as if it was no big deal. Now I d thought my penthouse inNew York City was nice but seriously, and old English castle in theEuropean countryside?? WOW.

You okay? Maribel inquired, leaning over Jace to look at me closely.I m fine. In shock that you live in a castle in England, but I m great.

Never better.You don t look fine, Maribel mumbled, leaning back in her seat.When can we go back to school? I asked slowly, wishing to get back to

Diamond Ridge ASAP.You don t want to visit Europe? That s like every girl s dream, Jace

laughed.Not mine, Maribel said happily. Jace rolled his eyes.That s because you live in Europe! Jace shook his head in

disappointment of his sister.Wait. Maribel is your sister. So shouldn t sh e be noble-blooded if you

are? I asked the one-million and first question of the day.She s my step-sister. She was already a 10-year-old vampire girl when

her mom met my dad and they got married. Technically she s not relatedto me by blood, but we are still really close, Jace squeezed Maribel into

a half-hug and she pretended to be choking.So about Europe?I squealed as we stepped off the plane.

Yay!! I can t believe we are in E ur o pe ! I screamed for about thehundredth time.

Chill Ali, it s just Europe. It s no big deal. Maribel rolled her eyes andled me through the airport, knowing exactly where she was going.

Uh, it is to me! I scoffed. She was unbelievable.Europe gets really boring after like a day. Trust me. I grew up on a

farm in Oklahoma. Coming here was a total culture-shock. But like Isaid after the first day- boring, Maribel shrugged.

Don t listen to her. I see something more and more beautiful each timeI visit Europe. It s like looking at you. Every time I look it s moregorgeous then ever. Jace pulled me into a kiss. AWW! How sweet wasthat!! He was like the best boyfriend ever. And this time it just wasn tone of those guys that I dated cause he was hot. This time it was real. Iloved Jace, I really did. I could tell he loved me back. You didn t have toread his mind to see that.Speaking of reading minds, Maribel s thoughts continued to drive me tothe point of rolling on the floor laughing. She thought out every little


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thing.St ep, st ep, hai r swish. T ur n to th e r ight to t eas e th e poo r guy stan d ingov er th ere . Bre ath e in , bre ath e out. Smil e an d giggl e lik e I m having agoo d tim e. Bob h ead to th e l e ft an d swing pur se .I laughed very loudly. Jace looked at me but Maribel who was soconcerned on being enviable to everyone around her didn t notice. Jaceshot me another questioning glance.

People s thoughts, I whispered and burst into a fit of giggles. Thiswould never get old.

You know, this whole you being able to read minds thing is getting kindof old, Jace ran his hands through his hair.

Not to me. This is hilarious. If only I could read your mind Ipondered glancing over at him without turning my head, What are youthinking right now?

That I m going to show you the village I grew up in, Jace smiled andMaribel whirled around to grimace at him.

NO. she moaned.

Yes. We are going back to where I grew up. Jace grinned proudly.You lived in a villag e? I asked, curious why the Prince of the Vampire

Race would grow up in a humble little village in the country.Doesn t mean he lived with the peasants, Maribel mumbled and

continued her thinking of impressing the world around her.Right foot , l e ft foot , smil e fli r tatio usly. Swing my hi ps an d swing my pur se lik e-You get th e pict ure .The drive to Jace s village was silent, but I was paying close attention tothe drivers mind. That made things a whole lot more interesting.Oh man a re th ese chicks hot. I won der if I co ul d get th ei r d igits. Th e

blon de on e is FINE but th ere s something abo ut th e d a r k-hai red on eCould he tell? That I was a vampire? I tried my best to block out histhoughts and avoid his lustful eyes in the rearview mirror for the rest of the drive by kissing Jace. That sure made the driver stop looking at me.Two hours later we were walking through a village market somewhere inthe English countryside. I was looking at everything while Jace andMaribel looked at me being curious of everything. I skipped about thestands looking at everything from jewelry to pottery to beaded fabrics.I dashed into a whole building displaying all sorts of beautiful fabricsand Jace and Maribel stayed outside. A strange old lady dressed quiteplainly came up to me her arms full of fabrics. I looked at them. Theywere nothing special.

Oh, they are lovely, I smiled nicely and was ready to leave.No, no! These are not for you. I have special piece you will die for! the

lady said menacingly, with a bright smile plastered on her wrinkly face.She set down her fabrics and took my wrist. She lead me off behind acurtain to a darker room.

My most prized fabric, the woman crowed.Hanging on the wall was a tapestry-like piece encrusted with pearls and jewels.


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It suits you. No? the woman asked. It was flashy.ALI! Jace called. I turned to the old lady.I should be going. Thank you, I smiled and turned to leave but she

grabbed my arm with an unprecedented steely grip.We can t have those two nosy companions of yours coming after you,

now can we? the woman held me against the wall.Wha- I stopped as she pressed a rag up to my nose. I inhaled sharply.

A strong, noxious scent reached my nose. The world began to fizz outinto blackness and I stumbled about into the entire world went dark.I sat up and opened my eyes, feeling tingly all over. Still I could not see athing. Grey gloominess clouded everything but a voice rose from themurk.

Awake, dear princess? the cruel, cold voice asked me, withoutrevealing a face to match the speech. Something hard and sharp duginto my ankle. I twisted to try and relieve the pain but nothing helped.

Dear, if you don t stop moving something very, very bad is going tohappen. There is a bomb strapped to your ankle and I have the button to

set it off right here. So let s stop moving over there or I blow you tosmithereens. Got it doll? the voice was distinctively male and harsh. Itwas cutting.

Why are you doing this?! I asked, starting to cry. On top of that I couldfeel blood running down my ankle.

Revenge.The world went black again.-----JACE'S POV-----Her bi r th d ay ? I exclaimed in shock. She hadn t mentioned that it was

her birthday!You speak English? Maribel cried in confusion.

Quite well actually, though it is a hard language. The hardest, Elenismiled brightly.Are you sure it s her birthday? I asked, gulping loudly.Yes. I ve been celebrating on my own for the past sixteen years, unable

to forget that angelic little face, dying from the poison dart stuck in herneck, Eleni switched back to her native tongue, which annoyed Maribel.

Oh. Speaking of Ali um, you ll find her, ah, chang ed, so much so thatyou may not recognize her from the little girl kept in your memories, Iswallowed again, my throat feeling unbelievably dry, my palms sweaty.

You-I smiled, and nodded, allowing her to continue.

JACE YOU TURNED HER INTO A VAMPIRE DIDN T YOU?! Eleniburst out in Lucifer s Language. The words rolling off her tonguesounded evil and out of place.

How did you guess? I shrugged sheepishly.You seem like the type. Is she ?Noble-blooded, yes. I nodded once again, grimly.I think, no matter what, I will be able to recognize her. I ve been staring

at that face behind my eyelids for sixteen years. If I saw her I d know.Eleni sneered, angry with me now, Also, would you like to explain to


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me, exactly why you bit her?I lost my self-control. It was sort of a love-hate relationship ah, with

the hate overpowering the love. One night at a party at my dorm room,she showed up wearing this amazing dress, coming in like she owned theplace. She wasn t invited and my hate had overpowered my love then. Iwent at her, nearly choked her to death. She passed out on the floor andI lost my control then- I just bit her. A few days later, she turned. Thesecond noble blooded female vampire in all of history. I explainedquickly, suddenly eager to run up the hill and rip out Carlyle s throat.

Shame on you. Is she happy in her new vampiric state? Eleni saidslowly, choosing her words carefully.

Quite actually. After she commanded the entire vampire race to notdesire to serve her, she found happiness in her new state- that is until Ileft her. She chased after me though and it was then we finally put awaythe hate to just love each other. I sighed, verging on impatient.

So you love her then? Eleni asked, in Lucifer s Language again. Sheseemed to have an unending joy in switching languages she spoke it,

while continuing one conversation. I could tell she was pleased that Ispoke many languages, seeing that not many people would know dozensof languages like we seemed to.

I do. I love her, I said in one of many Chinese dialects, testing herknowledge. She grinned hugely and returned in Chinese.

Good. Then you will not hurt her. Now, I think we ve talked longenough. You said Duke von Druff kidnapped her? The pig. Let s go gethim. Eleni stood up, and despite her short height, she looked like agood fighter and I heard Bells choke back a sob. She looked so similar toAli

So you are with us then? I switched back to her native language, it was

easier for both of us to speak.I am. How could I abandon my sister whom I ve been wishing was alivefor the past sixteen years? Eleni kicked her weaving work to the sideand stood by my side.

What are you waiting for? Maribel and Eleni asked me at the sametime. I laughed and they giggled at each other. I m glad they weregetting along. We didn t have time for quarreling or disagreements. Notif we were going to take down Carlyle and rescue Ali without alerting theguard. I think the easiest way to get in, was to be perfectly obvious, justas if we were dropping by for a normal visit.I shared my idea to Bells and she agreed that it was a smart plan. Theguard couldn t NOT let us in and Carlyle would be comfortable seeing uswithout his guard around. It was the perfect way to do things.So we stole a carriage from the nearest place we could find one and rodeup Croft s hill to stop at the gilded gates adorned with cherubs andguardian angels. The guards at the gates bowed quickly for us and thegates swung open into the black abyss of Diaden Manor. The naturallandscape of the peak of Croft s hill suited the black-bricked grimness of Diaden Manor. Everything about the old mansion reminded me of ahaunted house without all the cheesy decorations. Perfectly suiting to


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the sniveling underhanded rat that was Cousin Carlyle. Eleni grimaced.It doesn t look so sca r y from far away! she gasped, her eyes huge

saucers.It s okay. He s not hard and fierce like his fortress. He s a huge, teensized

baby, I put a hand on Eleni s shoulder and she smiled up at me.Let s get Ali and uh, actually what are we are we gonna do

afterwards? Eleni shifted on the uncomfortable carriage seat as itstopped in front of the huge gothic-styled doors of Diaden Manor.

Go back to boarding school and the one normalcy our lives have left. Idecided firmly. Once I got my hands on Ali, this European vacation wasover and we were going back to home. Boarding school was our home.Our home. I wasn t going back without her. Carlyle couldn t be of anyharm to any of us, no matter what he did he was still weak. The weakestvampire in existence. Weaker then the average human.

Boarding school? Eleni asked, curiously, I was assuming that that shewas wondering how she would fit into that plan, What-

Come to school with us Eleni! You d fit in so great! Ali would love to

have you around and I m sure we could get a good bribe in to accept youmid-semester. Maribel lit up at the idea. I noticed she d abandoned herfake accent again, to her normal voice. The accent threw suspicion awayfrom what she really way. It threw away suspicion from her seductive,drawing voice, her ferine, feline voice that just screamed vam pi re !! ,like a flashing neon sign. She rarely ever abandoned her ditzy, overstressed,Texas accent.

Oh that would be so lovely. By the way, when do we get out of thecarriage? Eleni peered out the window. We d been sitting in front of theBlack Crypt (as Bells and I nicknamed it) for a considerable amount of time.

We when are fetched by the butler.Old prune, Maribel muttered. Eleni smiled and peered anxiously outthe curtained carriage window.

Is that the butler? Eleni exclaimed in surprise. True she was, thereenough stood Buxley, the ancient butler, slowly making his way to greetus and lead us to Duke von Druff.

That would be Buxley, Bells grimaced, sighing as she watched Buxleytake his ultra-slow labored steps towards the carriage out of the cornerof her eye.

Gosh. He s so old and slow , Eleni murmured, sitting back withMaribel to await Buxley.The door creaked open as the footman pulled it open. Buxley offered upa gloved hand that all three of us ignored as we hopped out of the stolencarriage. Buxley s hand fell to his side.

Ah, Mr. Jace and Miss Maribel, the butler s voice croaked as slow ashis steps had been, Accompanied by a new face. I ve not had thepleasure

Eleni.Miss Eleni. You are here to see Duke von Druff are you not? he turned

back to Bells and I.


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Yes Buxley. Where is he at this hour? I asked, not wanting to followthe unbelievably slow butler to wherever Carlyle was. Plus if he wasthere, we d have to kill him too.

The library Mr. Jace, shall I make your presence known? Buxley askedin a raspy baritone.

No, I m quite sure he knows we are here, I assured him.If I may ask, what is the occasion of your unexpected visit? Buxley,

smoothed out the coattails of his jacket, looking around nervously.Maribel began to sniffle and sob.

Our very good friend Aliandra was kidnapped from our home villageand we were just wondering if Carlyle could help us lead a search to findher so she s not put in any harm! Maribel broke down into tears. If Buxley knew of Ali, he didn t show it.

Please don t cry Miss Maribel. Just run along and find Carlyle. I m surethat his grace will be able to help in any way needed, Buxley opened thegiant gothic door for us. We dashed down the hall in an instant. It wason. Oh it was so on.

--ELENI S POV--Jace stopped in front of the black, majestic double doors, his feetplanted wide, looking angrier then humanly possible.

Compose yourself Jace. Let me do the talking, the gorgeous blondesaid and put once hand on the door, the other on Jace s shoulder.

Alright. I m fine. Thanks Bells. Jace pulled his sister into a hug and asthey broke off the sentiment, Maribel pushed open the door. A short,skinny, sunken-faced boy sat by a giant crackling fire contained in ahuge marble fireplace. The boy, Carlyle??, was dressed grimly in a longblack cloak that covered up whatever other grim clothing he probablyhad on underneath it. His greasy dark hair was slicked back with all

sorts of gel. Ew.Cousins. Peasant girl, Carlyle looked up acknowledging us. My mouthhung open. I growled unexpectedly at him.

She is no peasant girl Carlyle, Jace snapped. I could see Carlyle wasscared of Jace but he was trying his best not to show it.

Why are you here? Carlyle ignored the comment of Jace s defense forme.

OH CARLYLE! Maribel burst into tears and fell to the ground.Maribel? Carlyle ran over to Maribel and I nearly gagged. He had a

crush on her! Oh that is so gross! I saw Jace roll his eyes as if to sayW as this com pl e t e ly necessa r y? .

Maribel howled and let the tears flow. Carlyle bent over her withmounting concern.

My friend Ali, well she was kidnapped! And we have no idea where sheis! She s the heir to the throne other then Jace and noble-blooded of course but we were at Jace s hometown and she was kidnapped. Wehave no idea who took her or where they took her! Can you help us findher? Maribel s dramatic outburst was inaudible but clever. Carlyle hadno idea we knew he was the kidnapper.

I will do everything in my power to help you find Ali, Carlyle smirked


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at some inside joke, immediately giving us 200% positivity that it wasindeed Carlyle

Documents

Jace and Aliandra