Vampire Academy: New Generations

Chapter 9

I snapped into her mind, once again seeing and directly experiencing what went on around her. She was sneaking into the chapel's attic again, making me feel better. Like last time, she met no resistance. Even though this was good I couldn't help but think that the priest couldn't be any worse about securing his own chapel. Focusing on Eden's gaze, I noticed sunrise lit up the stained - glass window, and Jasper's silhouette was framed against it from where he was sitting in the window seat. "You're late," he told her. "Been waiting a while." Eden pulled up one of the rickety chairs, brushing the dust off it. "Would you believe me if I said it was because Evie was questioning me?" He shook his head. "Evie? Like Evangelista Winchester?" He asked as if I was a movie star. Eden's smile made a frown appear on his face. "She scares me." He said quietly.

"I'm surprised." She said as a patch of sunlight lit up his crystal-blue eyes. "You know Dacia Turner? I saw how Evangelista beat her. She was a full on killing machine until she won. I feel sorry for the people she fights against." Eden looked shocked. "She wouldn't hurt a fly!" She said as Jasper looked at her questioningly. Eden frowned. "Okay. She wouldn't hurt a fly unless it was asking for it." Eden refined as they both burst out into slight laughter. "Did you see what happened to Ian today?" Eden suddenly asked. "Yeah. He was covered in flames." Jasper said as Eden nodded. "Whoever did it had them under control but it was still super dangerous." She sighed. "You realize someone probably did it for you?" He suddenly said. This made Eden sit up.

"I mean... he was giving you and Evangelista a hard time. She was doing pretty well against Ian but I guess someone thought she could've used the backup. Besides, you realize this'll shut anyone else up about the whole fox thing, too." This got her thinking. "They shouldn't have done that." He sat up and leaned toward her. "Attacking someone else with magic is forbidden. Even attacking Strigoi is still frowned upon!" She said as Jasper nodded. "My brother thinks those rules are stupid. I mean, using magic as a weapon against Strigoi is so helpful to guardians. Instead of the warm and fuzzy stuff, we use it for." He said as Eden nodded. "Strigoi wouldn't keep killing so many of us then." She whispered quietly. He noticed her change in mood and changed the subject.

He knelt in front of her so they could look each other in the eye. Feeling him so close made her hold her breath. A smile curled his lips as he began to talk again. "So. What...um, what was it like?" He asked. "What was what like?" she asked. "Being out there. Away from the Academy." She hesitated for a moment. Late question. It had been weeks since we'd gotten back. "It was great. No one knew who I was. I was just another face. Not Moroi. Not royal. Not anything." She looked down at the floor. "Everyone here thinks they know who I am." He nodded. "One more thing." He asked. "What?" She glanced back at him. He leaned forward. "Of all the rumors I heard about you no one ever questioned how you got blood." She looked away, and I could feel her cheeks starting to burn.

"Promise me you won't tell if I tell you the truth." He nodded. "It was Evangelista, wasn't it? She fed you." Eden was about to disagree when he kept talking. "Well. If that's not friendship, I don't know what it is," he blurted out. She laughed. "One minute." She said as she dug through her backpack. In a moment, she pulled out a folded-up sheet of paper. She unfolded it and gave it to Jasper who gasped. It took me a minute or two before I saw what was on the paper through the back. She wouldn't. Not my wanted sign. "She's... wanted? In 2 states!" He looked surprised, looking up at Eden to make sure she wasn't lying. As Eden took it back, I stared at my mug shot. I'd dyed my hair brown and wore heavy makeup and was almost unrecognizable right now. I didn't know she kept a copy. "Don't tell anyone," Eden repeated as Jasper stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and sat up on one of the crates. "Who am I going to tell? This just makes me want to be more scared of her," he said as Eden laughed. "No joke. I'll never talk to her or bring anything about this up." He said as Eden continued to laugh. I couldn't help but smile. He really was de-stressing her just as I'd wanted him to.