Page 23 of The Goddess is Awakened
West probably should have been in the old staffing quarters back when it was common for faculty and everyone else to live on campus back in the day, but the ghosts put him in the dorms, and Church was rooming with him.
“I’d like that, but you may get sick of me.”
“Are you kidding? You’re worried about people using you because you’re an energy vampire, and I have to worry about that because my dad is a god, and everyone wants to date my idiot brother. We’re practically soulmates at this point.”
“You may get some drama from Belladonna, the campus vampire queen. She wants me for her hive.”
I just shrugged. When did Inothave drama surrounding me?
“She can join Kaylee Krauss’s hate club.”
“Belladonna isn’t on the same level as Kaylee. For one, she’s a lot stronger, and her family used to be royalty. I went to high school with her. She’s not dumb enough to mouth off to a god and do anything that would get her caught. You won’t see her coming.”
“I haven’t used magic against anyone in this school yet, but it would be stupid to get me to use it against you. They’ll learn that really fast.”
“Excuse me? Was that just a love zap across my arse that sent me tumbling out of a tree?”
“Some supernaturals would consider that foreplay. And I could have done muchworse instead of hearing you out.”
“Noted. We’re back at our dorm. I’m on the fifth floor.”
“Bye, Church. If you don’t come hang out with me again, I might have to give you another zap.”
Church gave me a cheeky wink,
“No need to flex your witchy-woo. I’d love to.”
I thought I was about to meet a really nasty vampire on my walk, but Church was someone I very much wanted to get to know better.
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Church was definitely…enthusiastic. I hoped he’d join us in the dining hall a few times, but he was literally waiting outside my dorm room when I woke up to walk me there. I told Matilda and Mags about Church when I got back because we told each other everything, and they both thought I should invite him to play with West and me at the moon orgy.
It was an idea, but I wasn’t even all that sure if Church wanted to hang out with me at first. I’m sure I gave him a good boost, and he liked how I tasted, but hanging out? I got that totally wrong. I was probably just as bad about trusting people as Church was, and even if I did find out what my god powers were, I wasn’t going to find it any easier to make friends.
“I thought I’d walk you to the dining hall.”
Matilda pinched me.
“He’s cute for a guy,” she hissed.
And he had vampire hearing. My twin was about as subtle as a brick. I could tell Church heard her, too, because his spine straightened, and he stuck his chest out just a bit.
“This one has promise. He has manners and seems trainable,”Mags said.
I just rolled my eyes and took Church’s arm. Mags tended to treat men like pets, which was kind of ironic considering she spent alotof time as a giant black dog from Hell.
“At least your sister thinks I’m cute,” Church murmured.
“That’s high praise because my twin isn’t attracted to guys at all. My familiar agrees. My sister has impeccable taste, and she’s not wrong. You’re very pretty.”
Headmaster Krauss was eating on the stage with Kaylee and her minions when we got to the dining hall. I was pretty sure they were all expecting favors. There was a points system here. The dorm that earned the most points by graduation would get a letter of recommendation from the headmaster and the professor of their choice. Graduating opened doors, but those letters guaranteed you’d get hired anywhere you wanted. I was pretty sure a lot of them were up there kissing ass for letters and because they thought they could get away with anything.
Headmaster Krauss didn’t live on campus and only joined us in the dining hall when she was going to make an announcement. I had no idea what she would say this time, but when she addressed us, she always talked down to us, and no one liked what she had to say.
I’d deal with that once I heard what she had to say. I saw West sitting with Oscar and Ren when we got in line. How adorable was West? When he saw us in line, he gave us an enthusiastic double thumbs up. I'd probably never know whether that was for Church or me, but he was super excited we were eating breakfast together. He immediately turned around to gossip with Ren and Oscar, who seemed less interested in the whole thing.
The cooks at the Academy made fantastic food. We filled our plates and went to sit. Church was an utter gentleman and carried my tray. I got shoulder checked by a gorgeous, white-blonde vampire. That wasn’t an accident. She was trying to make a point.
