Eighteen-year-old witch, Vera Tate, attends a magic university where she meets vampire prince Lucien Lacroix. After being the target of an attack, Vera finds herself in the middle of a century-long feud that results in murder. Now she has no choice...
Early in the morning I woke and prepared for my return to Sage University. A special delivery arrived in my letter box, courtesy of Rhett. It was the paper from The Origin Review. Maybe it was a conflict of interest or something, but the writer of the article was not my sister. It was Spencer. The header was three words in capital letters: SMITTEN, NOT BITTEN.
Making a face at the poor choice of titles, I pulled a long coat over my sweatshirt as I read. The story kicked off about me—a supposedly quiet witch of frosty temperament—caught in the jaws of a fiery and passionate vampire. A little fantastical, but whatever. They were of the opinion that ours was a unique union. Not wrong. The end note had me cringing, though. Spencer claimed that Lucien Lacroix was so fully invested, going as far as to quote his declaration of intent to protect, that there could only be one reasonable explanation. Lucien Lacroix was smitten.
Laughing spiritlessly, but wanting to cry, I folded the paper and headed downstairs. My only amusement out of the article was the possibility that Jordan was upstaged by her romantic partner. Outside that, it was bad. I had no idea how I could face Lucien, or the whole school for that matter, after such a romanticized piece of garbage was published.
The doorbell rang. I swung the door open and exited, joining Lucien on the porch and waving the door locked. "Morning."
"Good morning. Are you ready?"
"Yep. My parents are in the shop if you wanted to say goodbye."
"No need." Lucien shook his head. "I will write them later."
I handed him the paper. "I'm sorry."
Taking the paper, Lucien flipped it open. "Fear not, this was my intention. A learning opportunity for you: if your name must be in the papers, control the narrative."
"You wanted them to think you were . . . that we are in love?" I tried to reel in my grimace the best I could.
"Love is the easiest story to believe. Would you rather they were examining our situation for what it was?"
Our real situation? They'd probably think I set the whole thing up to capture Lucien Lacroix's hand in marriage. I shook my head. "I don't know."
The driver opened the back door as we approached. "Morning, Mrs. Lacroix."
"Morning sir," I mumbled, sparing him a bitter smile as I climbed in.
The door shut after Lucien followed me in, and the driver rounded the car. We were rolling before I knew it. At the end of the driveway, outside the wards, we encountered a bunch of journalists.
My heart tightened as I flattened my hands on my thighs and exhaled a long breath. "Is this really the most interesting thing going on?"
The car peeled out of the driveway onto the main road, the wheels grinding through salted slush and kicking up behind the car.
"They will find another story before long."
"I hope you're right."
"You will come to find I am always right." At his half-smile, I realized he was only teasing.
We pulled into a car wash in the hub of Hillfort. The driver rolled the window down, exchanged a few words and a token with the attendant, and rolled the window back up. With the car lined up on the track, we rolled into the tunnel. There was no soap or water involved. Foam rollers and rotary devices shielded both the entrance and exit of the station before an opalescent web of magic zipped across the surface of the car and vanished behind us. When the spinning devices parted, we rolled out into a different place. A different city, actually. Not just any city, but Origin.
From where we were on the outskirts, it looked like a huge place. Like Vegas. Signs flashed from the inner city between enchanted skyscrapers. The sky was a stunning blue without a cloud in sight. I wondered if it was really blue or it was an enchantment, too, but it appeared real enough to me.
The driver pulled into a run-down Relocation Station left completely vacant. I exited the car as the door opened, thanking the driver in the process and earning a hum of acknowledgement.
Lucien followed me out and handed the man another envelope. "I thank you for your cooperation."
The driver tipped his hat. "Of course, sir. Good day to the both of you."
"You too," I said absentmindedly, still looking about. This was only the second time I'd been to Origin. Part of me wanted to venture into the city's inner limits for a peek, but we were on a mission and I'd have time for exploration another day.
After guiding me onto a gray pad beneath a trio of heat-emitting lamps that had me rubbing my arms with relief, Lucien fiddled with a machine off to the side. It was a marvel of technology and magic. The Relocator essentially used the user's magic for them, making the Relocation spell safe and possible for those without the skill to perform it themselves. It was also far less expensive magic-wise. The machine hummed to life as Lucien joined me on the pad, and in a flash of light, we reappeared at the entrance of Sage University.
My vision was spotty as we headed inside, both of us quiet until we got to the dorms where I thanked him. I didn't say what for, because I didn't want to thank him for any specific thing. He'd done a lot in the last few days.
Lucien bowed his head in return. "If you need anything, even company, you may find me in my classroom."
That wasn't going to happen. Holding back a "Yes, sir", I flagged my hand and we parted ways.
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