Blood and Snow Volumes 1-4: Blood and Snow, Revenant in Training, The Vampire Christopher, Blood Soaked Promises (16 page)

“Yes,” I nodded, unable to say any more. How did he know?
So many questions.
 

“Did
n’t
you want to see me again tonight?” His words sounded hollow, sad.

“Of course,” I said, touching his arm, and regrett
ing
the maneuver immediately
. Professor Pops
mentioned Chace
possessed the ability to
put me under a spell. Did he have me
under
one? If he did, did I care? I really wanted to see him
alone again—kiss
him
, and taste him
.

Gabe wanted us to be just
friends
. No reason to feel
guilty.

From deep within, a female voice whispered,
“Lips red as rubies, hair dark as night. Drink your true love’s blood, become the Vampire, Snow White.”

I shuddered.
My true love?
That wasn’t Chace. At least… I hadn’t sincerely thought about
my feelings for
him. Certainly not love. Lust. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Clearing my throat, I said, “Want to c
ome over to my house after training, around nine-thirty?” My heart beat faster, in anticipation. “In this realm,” I added in a soft voice. We could talk. Watch a movie. Hang out. It’d be fun.

He smiled, and the movement reached his eyes, filling
my stomach
with a giddy joy.

“
Great
idea,” he said.

“Charming is a name that suits you. Did the q
ueen give you the
name?”

He chuckled. “No, it’s the one I was born with.”

I searched his face, checking to see if he were joking. It didn’t look like it.

“
Hmmmm
,” I said, dropping iodine in another beaker.

Chapter 4

L
unchtime finally rolled around, and I briefly considered
evasive maneuvers—like hiding in the bathroom
. I
hadn’t decided what to say to Cindy about Chace and me.

Deny. Deny. Deny, my inner voice shrieked.

I searched the Commons area for her, but
she hadn’t arrived
. Shrugging, I grabbed a greyish lunch tray, placed
a salad
on it, along with a juice, paid the cashier, and headed over to our usual table near the windows. The sun shone through them, bright and cheery, and I hesitated.

Chace was protected from the sun by the Queen’s magic. Supposedly, as a revenant, I shouldn’t need to worry either.

“You’ll be fine in the sun, Frosty.”

I jumped, and spun around. The gorgeous, blond haired Hunter towered over me, a playful grin lighting his features.

“Rude,” I squealed very girlishly.

Several heads swung in our direction. They were probab
ly stunned that klutzy, boyish
Sno
w White could act girly
, or that the handsome Chace Charming
chose
to
grace me with his presence
. At those thoughts, my whole body blushed. They had no idea what I’d done with the incredibly hot Hunter.

Chace’s eyes glowered. “Let’s sit,” he said, walking over to my table.

I obeyed, letting my hair fall into my face. Once we were sitting I scanned the Commons for Cindy. A part of me hoped she didn’t show. Another part of me wor
ried. If Cindy was one thing, she
w
as a creature of habit. If she
had a change of plans, she would’ve told me.

Salvatore and Sebastian walked in, both sporting sour expressions. I waved enthusiastically. They returned
my welcome, but it wasn’t with an
y excitement.

“They’re upset that I’m sitting here,” Chace said, his voice filled with humor.

“Oh, well
,
they shouldn’t care.” I signaled them to come over
, casually tightening my scarf
.

They nodded.

A thought struck me, and I started to panic. “They
don’t know who you are, do they,
” I hissed, keeping my eyes glued on the guys’ movements.

“No. At least I don’t think so.” He shrugged. “
But then they are Adam Henry’s sons, so anything’s possible.”
I heard what sounded like a note of awe in his words, and wondered why. 

The guys picked up their food, and headed over. I searched their faces, trying to discern whether they knew
. I didn’t think so. If they had
, they probably would’ve been a lot more hostile.

“Hi guys,” I said, feeling suddenly nervous.

“Hey Snow,” Salvatore said.

“
Heyah
,” Sebastian added, taking a huge bite of pizza. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

I glanced at the unappetizing salad sitting in front of me. “Not hungry,” I responded, keeping my eyes fixed on a wilted carrot. I was, in fact, hungry, but it wasn’t for the tasteless salad. I wanted Chace’s blood. I gave him a sideways glance, and he smiled, meaningful.

“You should eat. You need your strength for—” Salvatore paused, and glanced over at Chace. “Later,” he finished.

I opened the juice and took a drink to appease him.

“
H
ow do you two kno
w each other?” Salvatore asked
between bites of food, indicating Chace and I with a pointer finger. 

“Oh,” I said, and blushed—again.

Chace saved me. “We’re in chemistry together. Plus the track team.”

Salvatore and Sebastian swapped comical looks.

“Have you seen Snow run?” Salvatore asked.

“Not yet. Maybe today.” Chace grinned slightly, a secret smile I knew was meant for me.

The guys busted out laughing.

Dorian
and Bart joined us at the table.

“What’s so funny?” Bart asked.

Dorian
wore
an angry fr
own
. I watched his eyes linger on my lips, move to my neck, and then glance at Chace. Did he know?

“Charming,” he nodded. “What brings you to our table today? I believe there are ten or fifteen girls hot after your hide. No sense hanging with us guys.”

Chace smiled. “There’s one girl at this table. The only girl I’m interested in.” He glanced at
me, and I was sure my face
turned the color of ripened cherries.

Salvatore sputtered out his milk.

“You’re in dangerous territory here,” Dorian growled.

I watched the way each guy
tensed with animosity, and decided an intervention was necessary. “Has anyone seen Cindy?”

“I haven’t seen her since math class,” Dori
an said, shifting his gaze from Chace to me
.

“Not since c
hemistry,” Chace added.

The other brothers agreed
they hadn’t seen her since
morning.

“Great. Why don’t I have a cell phone,” I grumbled, picking up my juice and taking a sip.

Almost as one, all the guys whipped out their phones. I took Dorian’s as a way to appease him, giving him a petulant look.

“Fine,” he hissed, and I smiled.

Unlocking his phone, I dialed Cindy’s number. It went straight to voice mail. After the beep, I said, “Hey
Cin
. Just wondering if you’re okay. Call me. Oh, I’m on Dorian’s phone because, as you know, my dad and stepmother
won’t give me one
. So call him. K?” After I hung up, I texted a similar message to her number, and handed Dorian back his phone.

“Thanks, Dorian.”

“I’m sure she’s fine. Probably just got hung up talking to some guy.”

I nodded,
trying to act convinced.

The guys finished their lunch, and took off, leaving Chace and I alone once again.

“You don’t need to worry about your neck.” He’d sounded nonchalant and a little smug.

“Really?” I touched my scarf.

He pulled on it, tugging it away. “Yep, the bruises are gone,” he said, giving me a half-smile.

I yanked the scarf from his fingers. “Do I even want to know how you knew they’d be gone?”

“Doubtful,” he chided, and tossed a couple of fries in his mouth.

I’d
noticed he’d eaten several bites of cheeseburger
along with more fries
. “How can you stand to ea
t that?” I asked, scrunching
my nose in disgust.

He laughed. “You get used to it. I need to pretend to be a normal, human boy.” He smirked, and bit into another fry.

I looked around and
said, “I think it tastes like ash. I haven’t been able to enjoy food since right after you bit me.” I tried to look frustrated, angry, but thoughts about how it’d felt the first time… his lips on my neck… and each
time since, only filled me with
longing.

His eyebrows pinched together, but
just as quickly
relaxed
.
“You really are exquisite, Snow. I knew you were extraordinary from the moment I first saw you
, but
I never realized how much until these past few days.”

I would’ve blushed, but
he had me curious
. “You could tell just from biting me the other day?”

“
No, I’m talking about the very
first time. When you were young.”

Whoa. Who
a. Whoa. Had he been the one
? “You
-you marked me?
”

He dipped his head
and took a large bite of burger. I watched him chew, biting the inside of my cheek, nervous. But there wasn’t any reason to be.
Professor Pops said
drone vampires mark
ed
the young.
I knew the answer. It was
him
. That meant several things.
He was older than seventeen or eighteen. He’d
watched
me for a long time. And, “Do you know how my mother died?” I blurted. If he’d been around that long, surely he must’ve seen
her
.

At that moment, the bell rang. He stood and said, “I’ll see you at practice.” Taking his tray he merged
into the thick student traffic
and was gone.