Page 36 of Fortune Academy: Year Three
I burst out laughing as she counted them on her hand. “I mean that’s one, two… three, four, five. Five!” She held up her hand and spread her fingers. “How does that even work? Have you been with, you know, all of them at once?”
I chuckled even as my face turned bright red. “Yes, and it was amazing.”
“I repeat, how does that even work?” she asked as she threw up her hands.
Doubling-over with laughter as my side pinched, I pushed her away. “It just does, all right! Stop with the interrogation!”
She rolled her eyes as she got up and shut the door. “Okay, fine, but the second Melinda’s mind tricks work on you, I’m bringing her over for answers.”
I nodded as I wiped tears from my eyes. “Deal.”
Chapter 14
“You care to tell me how you managed to befriend a vampire while I was gone?” I asked as I crossed my arms.
“You saw for yourself how the veil to Hell is thin,” Olivia said. “Lots of Hell creatures have been popping up, including students from Monster Academy.” Olivia took a spray bottle while she talked and coated a length-wise mirror I didn’t remember being in the middle of our living room before. I gave her a raised brow when a black inky substance trickled down the glass.
“You know, you’re not making that thing any cleaner.”
She chuckled as she added a few more sprits before stepping back. “It’s a portal. Not all of us have VIP access to Hell like you.” She glanced at my necklace. “Impressive work, by the way. Banishing a demon like Lucifer. Yuri’s going to flip when she hears about that.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You sound chummy. I didn’t get replaced while I was gone, did I?”
Olivia pinched my cheek. “Nobody can replace you, bestie.”
“Uh-huh.”
The mirror rippled as a long leg came through, followed by a gorgeous vampire with bright pink hair and ruby lips wrapped around a pink lollipop. I was suddenly glad my guys were no longer in the room.
She smiled at me as she took out the candy, revealing fangs red with blood that dribbled down her chin.
Olivia cleared her throat. “Uh, Yuri. You’ve got… something…” Her words trailed off as she tapped her own chin to indicate her meaning.
Yuri blinked her red eyes and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Oh, sorry. I just fed.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, that’s not creepy or anything.”
“I was being polite!” The vampire exclaimed. “Trust me. You don’t want to be around me when I’m hungry.”
When I glanced at Olivia, she shrugged as if that sounded legitimate to her.
The vampire giggled as she waved around the piece of candy. “You know, a cherry lollipop makes the blood taste all fruity. It makes the experience much more tolerable.”
Olivia nudged Yuri to the couch. “Why don’t you sit down and quit creeping Lily out.”
“Lily?” Yuri asked, her red eyes going bright. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
“Because I talk about her all the time,” Olivia said, with atold-you-soface at me. “She’s my best friend and she’s been stuck in Hell. You were supposed to help me find her in exchange formehelpingyourelease your buddies from the Monster Arena.” She crossed her arms. “The fact that I have to remind you is not encouraging.”
“Wow, making deals with vampires.” Itskedas I sat down. “Can’t say I approve.”
Yuri flipped a pink curl over her shoulder. “Well now that you found her, our deal better not be off,” Yuri said as she pointed the lollipop at Olivia’s face. “Luc doesn’t know I’m double-crossing him. If he finds out that I’m planning on helping all of the supernaturals escape to Monster Academy and form a coup against his little uprising, he’ll have my head.” She shivered. “I’ve seen him do it, too. The guy is a certified psycho.”
“Monster Academy?” I asked, perking up. “Aren’t they the ones attacking us?”
“Only because we can’t stand up to Luc,” Yuri said as she stuck out her lower lip into a pout. “He’s blocked our communications with the Queen and everything. We’re just a bunch of students who haven’t even graduated yet.” She tapped her baby fangs. “I mean, look. I can’t even get them to grow to their proper size.”
Olivia snatched up Yuri’s lollipop. “Maybe it’s because you keep rotting your teeth with sugar. I know you’ve recently turned, but you have to survive on blood. You told me that yourself.”
