The class was awfully boring for Cole. He found it really annoying having to be in high school all over again. He wondered if Avelyn ever got tired of it.
Then he remembered something.
The real Cole was a tease.
So he leaned forward slightly.
"Hey Avelyn. You doing good over there or should I come replace the one sitting beside you."
Avelyn rolled her eyes without looking at him. "Yeah, no. Piss off, Cole."
"Ouch, Avelyn," he said dramatically, holding his hand over his chest.
Mirabel turned around. "Go back to calling her blondie. Avelyn sounds awful coming from you. No offence, Avelyn."
Avelyn cleared her throat and sent Cole a dirty look.
"Will you guys stop bickering and keep quiet?" the teacher said sternly.
Avelyn faced forward again.
How foolish of him. And he was boasting about having Cole's memory.
"Are you talking to me?" Cole suddenly asked, turning slightly toward her.
She looked at him, confused. "What."
Are you hearing my thoughts?
Yes, dumb head. So now I know what you are thinking about.
Her eyes widened just a little.
You are in my head?
Only because you are loud.
Oh this is good.
Stop smiling, he warned.
The classroom speaker suddenly crackled.
"Avelyn, report to the principal's office."
The entire class turned to look at her.
"What? I didn't even do anything wrong," she said out loud.
"Looks like someone's gotten into trouble," Bianca whined from the back.
"Avelyn, please leave the classroom," the teacher said.
Cole immediately stood up. "Let me go with you, blondie."
"Sit down, Cole. Now. Avelyn, go."
Avelyn picked up her bag. "I'll be fine," she told him.
He slowly sat back down.
If I sense you are in danger, I will not care if my cover gets blown, he said inside her head.
She gave a small nod.
"I'll come looking for you after class," Mirabel added.
Zane gave Avelyn a quiet nod as she stepped out of the classroom.
The door closed behind her.
And for the first time that day, Cole stopped pretending to be amused.
After a few minutes, Avelyn got to the principal's office and knocked lightly.
"Come in."
She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Dr Emma and Ms Wilder were already there.
Her stomach dropped a little.
"Good morning," Avelyn greeted.
"Morning, Avelyn," Dr Emma said gently. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling better," she replied, though she wasn't convinced that was why she was here.
No way they called her out of class just for this.
"Do you remember what happened?" Ms Wilder asked.
Her pupils glowed faint red.
Avelyn felt it immediately.
Compulsion.
Oh, so that's what this is.
She forced herself to relax.
"Errmm… not really," she said slowly. "Cole told me we had an accident on our way back home. Lilian's was more severe."
She kept her heartbeat steady.
Or at least tried to.
"Yes, dear," Ms Wilder said smoothly. "Unfortunately, we lost the driver in the accident. Do you wish to see Lilian now?"
Avelyn's chest tightened.
Lilian.
Something about that name felt wrong now.
Too sharp.
Too heavy.
"It would be unfair of me to say yes," she said carefully. "We already planned to visit her after class. I think it's better to wait for them."
She forced a small smile.
Inside, she was already planning her exit.
This room felt wrong.
Everything about it felt wrong.
Ms Wilder's lips slowly curled into a smirk.
"Then you leave me no choice."
Avelyn frowned. "What do you m—"
Dr Emma moved fast.
A sharp sting hit her arm.
"What—"
Her vision tilted instantly.
Oh.
Anesthesia.
Her legs gave out before she could react.
The last thing she saw was Ms Wilder standing over her.
"Something is fishy about her," Ms Wilder said calmly. "The compulsion didn't work."
Dr Emma glanced down at Avelyn's unconscious body. "You're sure?"
"I could hear her heart," Ms Wilder replied. "It was too fast. She was lying."
She tilted her head slightly, studying Avelyn like a puzzle.
"And I don't like puzzles I can't solve."
They moved Avelyn to the private wing and they finally at the front of Lilian with only a glass door separating them.
"She's here" Ms wilder announced
"Yeah,I can see that.Bring her in" Lilian demanded
"That wasn't our deal"Ms wilder said
"What the heck!" It happened so fast Ms Wilder didn't even process it.
One second Avelyn was beside her.
Next second she was gone.
The glass door stood wide open, slowly swinging like it was mocking them.
Dr Emma blinked. "Did she just…"
"Teleport?" Ms Wilder finished, eyes darkening.
Inside the isolation room, Lilian stood there casually like she hadn't just broken every rule of reality.
Avelyn hung limply in her arms, still unconscious.
"How is she doing that?" Dr Emma whispered, voice shaking.
Ms Wilder didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes were locked on Lilian.
No.
Not Lilian.
Something else.
Because the girl standing in there wasn't the same one that got bitten.
Her posture was wrong.
Too relaxed.
Too confident.
Too aware.
Like she was the one in control of the room now.
Lilian tilted her head slowly, smiling.
That smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Relax," she said lazily. "I told you I keep my promises."
"You said you wanted blood," Ms Wilder said coldly.
"And I have it," Lilian replied, glancing down at Avelyn like she was a toy she finally got bored of wanting and now had.
Dr Emma swallowed. "Put her down."
Lilian looked at her.
And laughed.
A low, husky laugh that didn't sound like a teenage girl at all.
"Doctor," she said, almost amused. "You're in no position to give me instructions."
The air in the room felt heavier suddenly.
Ms Wilder stepped forward, jaw tight. "You forget yourself."
Lilian's smile widened.
"No," she said softly. "You're the one who doesn't understand."
Her fingers brushed Avelyn's hair almost gently.
"I don't need your permission anymore."
That sentence hit different.
Dr Emma felt it immediately.
This wasn't a delayed transformation.
This wasn't a mutation.
This was something else entirely.
Something old.
Something wrong.
"What are you?" Dr Emma asked before she could stop herself.
Silence.
Then Lilian's eyes slowly shifted to her.
And for a split second…
They flickered.
Not red.
Not black.
Something darker.
Something that didn't belong in a human body.
Dr Emma stepped back instinctively.
Lilian noticed.
And smiled wider.
"Oh," she whispered. "You're starting to see it."
Ms Wilder's voice dropped dangerously low. "Put. Her. Down."
This time it wasn't a request.
The temperature in the room dropped instantly.
Pure vampire authority.
The kind that usually made people kneel without thinking.
For a normal person, that would have been enough.
But Lilian didn't even flinch.
Instead…
She looked amused.
Then bored.
Then mildly irritated.
"You're really loud for someone who still thinks she's the strongest thing in this building," Lilian said flatly.
That was when Ms Wilder felt it.
For the first time in years.
Fear.
Small. Sharp. But real.
Because she realised something in that moment.
She couldn't read Lilian.
Not her heartbeat.
Not her scent.
Nothing.
It was like trying to sense a ghost.
"What did you become?" she asked quietly.
Lilian didn't answer.
Instead, she looked down at Avelyn again.
And for the first time…
Her expression changed.
Not cruel.
Not playful.
Hungry.
Not vampire hungry.
Something worse.
Something ancient.
"Well," she murmured softly. "Let's see why you're so special."
Outside the room, Dr Emma grabbed Ms Wilder's arm. "We need to stop this."
Ms Wilder didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't breathe.
Because for the first time since this all started…
She wasn't sure she could.
And that terrified her.
Inside the room, Lilian smiled slowly.
And tightened her grip on Avelyn.