Exception [discontinued]

Chapter 13

(Nico)
I grunted quietly as I did the most stupid thing a person could possibly do in this situation.

I sliced my hand opened.

I could practically feel my face draining of color. This is it. This is where I die, I had time to think before Will grabbed my hand, forcing to opened so my palm faced the floor. I stared at his face. He seemed to be making an a effort to only breathe through his mouth. His eye were crimson, his pupils reduced to pinpricks, but they held a certain defiance that gave me a small shred of hope.

Slowly, slowly, he turned my hand to look at my palm. He visibly gulped at the sight, and I was temped to do the same. It was no simple cut; beads of blood were gathering too quickly for my liking. How had I managed that with a plate shard?

Will took a deep, shaky breath, closing his eyes and knitting his eyebrows. Just as I thought he would crush the bones of my poor hand, his grip loosed. His thumb suddenly covered my cut, applying a slight pressure. I wondered what he was doing until my hand went numb. I thought back to the first time I saw Will, setting his fingers over a girl's bite mark and reducing it to a little scar. All Vampire Aristocrats have a certain power that follows through their bloodline, I remembered. Will is a healer.

A pleasant feeling spread through me, warming me and relaxing my tensed muscles. Will's hand left mine, and all that was left of the cut was a small scar, then even that faded.

I looked up at him in amazement. "Thank you," I said.

"It's nothing," I flinched at his tone, "Hey, why don't you go walk around for a while? You know, get a feel of the town and such.."

I nodded slowly. "Okay," I said, "see you later, Will." I could tell he just wanted to get rid of me for a while so he could calm down. I understood. I turned to leave.

"And, Cutie?" I turned back. "Please, don't try to escape. There are guards around the perimeter, and they're quite rough. I don't want to see you get you get hurt. Okay?"

I hesitated, then nodded. "Okay." There was no point in escaping anyway. The Association would assume I was dead, and if I tried to return, they'd just kill me for fear that I'd been bitten.

"Thank you. Now go. I'll clean all this up," he said, gesturing at my broken plate and his chair, which has been knock on its side when he stood up. I nodded again and left the house.

(Will)
I let a heavy sigh of relief when the door shut behind him. I picked up what was once Nico's plate and threw it away, then I righted my chair so I could slump down into it.

I stared at my hand, the one that had Nico's blood on it. He smelled better than I'd anticipated, better than any human I'd smelled before. I almost lost it. I almost broke the promise I'd made not five minutes before.

I sighed, standing up, and went to the kitchen sink to wash it off. Thirst tore at my throat. I grabbed the closest empty container–a small bowl–and filled it with water. I barely gave the tablet time to dissolve before gulping it down.

Why can't I seen to control myself around him?

(Nico)
I sat down on a bench a good way from Will's house-mansion-thing and stared up at the stars, trying to find the constellations. I thought I'd found Orion when I heard something shuffling around in the alleyway behind me.

I turned, but if anything was there, the darkness covered it. I sat still for a few moments before doing what any stupidly impulsive person would do in this situation. I went to check it out.