writing_shadows

There was at least a row ahead of me and a row behind me, although beyond that seemed fuzzy somehow: boys and girls – ghouls, so it was hard to tell their ages exactly – all dressed in white shirts, black ties, and black trousers or skirts, all with perfect postures, all completely silent, all with perfect posture and pretty (but not too pretty) faces. All of us were listening intently to our teacher, blinking as little as possible.

Which subject we were studying seemed fuzzy too; I could recall the teacher's expression as he rewarded a correct response with a drop of blood, but not what the answer was. It was the taste – not my first, and not my last – that was easiest to recall.

"Daeva has always been my favourite," I laughed in response to a conversation on vitae at the Daeva-hosted party. My claim to have already partaken wasn't technically a lie; I had, of course, partaken of vitae – of Daeva vitae – earlier.

Just not as recently as I'd implied.

It was probably because of that conversation that my Beast yowled so much as I talked to Rex, begged me to just jump forward and sink my teeth into him – after all, Daeva blood was on offer here.

It distracted me, made me less focused than I wanted to be. I didn't feel threatened – his conversational volleys were scattershot; none of them alarmed me, even though one or two came closer than I'd liked. Our words clashed against each other and glanced away again. He was not difficult to riposte, although I'm sure he thought the same of me.

I stood on half of the stair as we spoke, letting my heel hover in the air to remind me that I wouldn't retreat. Ever.

I pressed my tongue to the roof of my mouth as he came out with another so-called insight. If I left it there my mouth couldn't open: I couldn't sink my fangs into his throat, so perfectly exposed between his t-shirt and his ponytail. I concentrated on the sensation inside my mouth, counting each tastebud and focusing on the roughness of the ridge of my palate.

There. I pushed the Beast back. I fought them both back at the same time, without giving an inch.

It's not my banter that makes me better. It's what lies beneath.