Page 8 of What Happened on Roslyn Street?
“I’m not here for you,” I say. “I know how this looks, but my life doesn’t revolve around you. I have other reasons to be here.”
As quickly as she thaws, she freezes right back up.
“What reason could you possibly have?” she asks. “You’re ahuman.It’s only a matter of time before everyone knows you’re a human, and then… what? I lose another friend?”
I don’t owe Margaux anything, but the truth is burstingat the seams. I try to suppress it, my fists clenching as she speaks.
“I’m here to find whoever murdered Poppy,” I say, my voice impossibly low. She can hear, but I pray the other vampires can’t. “I know they’re here, and when I find them… I’m going to…”
“You’re going towhat?” she hisses. “Must I repeat myself? Tobey, you are ahuman! You’re at the bottom of the food chain. You can’t do this alone.”
She’s right, but I won’t admit it.
Fear swells in me, and I smile through it. “Watch me.”
Chapter Three
It’s time for orientation. Great. This is exactly what I want to do when I have a murder to solve.
Do I want to be here? Not particularly, but the most important part of my plan is to blend in. I’m suresomestudents skip orientation, but I won’t be one of them.
If you ignore the monsters, Strode is still your average university. Frankly, if I graduate, it will be a more prestigious degree than I can afford.
Not to mention, I’m still paying Strode prices. I’ll be drowning in debt by the time this is over—I may as well get an education out of it.
Graduating feels like a hefty ‘if’ after my talk with Margaux. She’s convinced I’m more likely to die than get a decent education. Maybe she’s right, but I’ll never know unless I try.
A crowd gathers around a single professor in the courtyard. As I join, paranoia finds me again. My hair stands on end, and the back of my neck prickles. Someone is watching me—one of the students? Or all of them? Theyaren’t. They know. They can’t. Can they? I lift my head higher, ignoring the twisting in my gut.
Anything the instructor says goes in one ear and out the other. I scan the crowd as the professor drones about quiet hours, attendance… all the things I should be listening to. Following those rules isn’t a priority. You don’t catch a murderer by following curfews.
I memorize the faces around me instead, searing them into my mind. There are only ten new students—in anentire year.It’s unfathomable.
Their faces mean nothing to me now, but I file them away for later.
My attention moves to the next student, and I find their gaze is already locked with mine.
He’s unassuming. He towers over the rest of the students by a good few inches. When the sunlight hits his eyes, they’re striking—a mix of blue and green.
I’ve been staring too long.
He lifts a brow. The action is somehow a challenge, as is how he carries himself. His energy sends a shiver up my spine, even as he does what would otherwise be a friendly gesture—lifting his hand and offering a simple wave.
I turn away, pretending I don’t notice him at all.
But his stare lingers.
Hemustbe a vampire; he watches me like he’s planning his next meal.That alone isn’t enough to make me curious about him, but…
There’s still my intuition. My gut instinct is the biggest lead in this case, and I trust it. There’s nothing else to follow, and the prickle up my spine is begging me to chase after him.
Not that I do much chasing—he does it for me.
The stranger makes his way toward me with subtle motions. He stands quietly, but hispresence is loud.
I know he’s behind me without turning. Sure enough—the spot he was standing in is vacant.
I stand straighter—stiff, still, and stubborn.
