Page 57 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Thrall

"Want to skip next class?" I tried to change the subject, not particularly wanting to think about my own heritage right then, especially with my dream fresh in my mind.

"Sure," Novalie said easily. "What do you want to do instead?”

"I propose an experiment.” She shot me a look of interest and I smirked. "How much alcohol does it take to get an undead vampire drunk?"

"A lot," Emerson said, matter of fact as she seemed to appear out of thin air. She shrugged when we looked at her in shock. "I read."

"Well, good thing I have more than enough to go around,” Novalie said smugly and I gaped at her as we reached my room.

"When did you have time to pick up booze?"

She shrugged. “The debut might be important yada yada, but it’s a party at the end of the day and I donotgo to a party without having pre-drinks first."

"Wise," Emerson remarked and I snorted, pushing open my door and freezing when I saw what was laid out on the bed.

"Am I seeing things," I said slowly, walking inside, "or are there three gorgeous dresses on my bed?"

Novalie squealed, clapping her hands together as she hurried over to look at them. Emerson closed the door behind us and I joined Novalie at the bed.

The first dress had a high collar studded with black gems that glinted when I picked it up. There were no sleeves, and the front of the dress was a triangular shape that would emphasise my waist, made up of an intricate dark lace interwoven with more glittering black gems. The skirt flared out into some kind of sheer tulle and a note fell to the floor as I admired it.

Wear the black set.

I grinned. Hayes. I knew exactly what he was talking about—he seemed to like buying me lingerie and nightwear, more of it randomly showed up in my room intermittently. The most recent had been a matching black lace set that had sheer cups and sheer knickers with optional garter clips that I'd probably go without.

"These look tailored," Novalie said, admiration clear in her voice as she held up a red dress that bordered on black.

"Boy's got connections," Emerson added, eyeing the last dress. "I don't want to know how he got our measurements though, do I."

We laughed and Novalie left to grab the drinks she'd squirrelled away in her room.

"Do you like it?" I said quietly as Emerson hesitantly touched the dress meant for her. It was a pale lilac with gold accents forming a shimmering corset effect and sheer loops to rest on the sides of her arms.

"It's beautiful," she admitted and I beamed. "I'm just not sure what point there is to me attending the debut. I obviously won't have any family there."

"You're wrong," I said steadily, looking down at my dress and thinking about what I might do with my hair. "I'll be there. We made history, you and I. A new sire line. They're going to want to look at us—and I say let them stare. Stuffy bastards won't know what hit them."

Emerson laughed and I was happy to see her smiling—it couldn't have been easy leaving behind everything she knew for this life she hadn't asked for. But I knew she could go and see her family any time once she was done at Ashvale, though eventually they'd notice that she wasn't ageing.

"Try and have fun tonight," I murmured as Novalie burst through my door, having used her foot to open it somehow because her arms were so full of bottles. "God. We're going to be on the floor before we even get to the debut."

* * *

As it turned out,it was seriously fucking hard for an undead vampire to get so much as a buzz. Though, Novalie decided to take one for the team and get horrifically drunk so I could drink from her and experience a buzz that way. Even then, it wore off fast.

But I didn't need the alcohol, not really. For the first time since being at Ashvale and awakening as a vampire, I felt completely at home in my skin—like this was where I was meant to be all along. In this dress, with this man, and these friends.

"You look beautiful," Hayes leaned down to murmur as we queued to enter the hall.

"Thank you for the dresses, and for being here with me."

I wasn't sure I'd ever seen Hayes eyes as light as they were right then, before he leaned down to kiss me and I welcomed him eagerly. This was new for us, being so openly together. Everyone knew about the blood bond, but not everyone knew that we'd accepted it, and each other. We were much stronger together than we could ever be apart and, more than anything, it was nice to have someone who you knew would always be there. But in that moment, when we kissed, I felt less like a vampire and more like a princess. The credits would roll any second and this would be our happily ever after—but the reality was a little different. We were lining up for a ball filled with the most powerful undead vampires in our world. In this story, I was more likely to be the monster than the princess.

"Are you nervous?"

Hayes looked surprised. "No. Are you?"

“I already have all the family I need."

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