After failing as a vampire hunter, 17-year-old Cleo is sent to an academy full of vampires as a false peace treaty. Her true objective is supposed to be finding the hidden heir to the dark world while befriending the current one, but the current hei...
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"This is irresponsible. No."
"Come on, Kaz. Please?"
"No. Especially not with Cleo."
"Kaz, don't be like this."
I poked my head out of the bathroom door, twisting my hair up into a microfiber towel. "What are you two talking about?"
San ran up to me, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout. "Kaz is saying he doesn't want to go out and celebrate his birthday tonight."
"Isn't his birthday tomorrow?"
"It counts as his birthday at midnight. And tomorrow is Sunday so tonight is the best night to do it."
"Do what exactly?"
"We're not going," Kaz said firmly, flipping a page of his book.
How did he manage to have a conversation while reading? I would end up reading the same line over and over again. "What were your plans?"
San sidled up to me, wrapping an arm around my waist and guiding me back across the room to where Kaz was. "We have a tradition that we do every year and I refuse to let it be broken this year."
Somehow, I got the feeling San thought I could convince Kaz. I tried to shrug him off. "If Kaz doesn't want to, then we shouldn't. It's his birthday."
San's mouth fell open. "I thought you would be on my side." He pushed me away. "Traitor."
I laughed. "What was it though?"
"We sneak into a human club for the night," Kaz told me.
"What? A human club?"
"Yeah! Every year on Kaz's birthday we sneak off of campus to go have some fun," San explained.
I didn't know what to do with this information. Never would I have ever thought that vampires would have any interest in a human club. Nor did I think they would voluntarily cross over into the human side of the country. "You've never been caught sneaking off campus?"
"Never."
"And there have never been any problems while at the club?"
"None. We blend in. No one knows we're vampires."
I almost shuddered. These humans had no idea they were dancing with their natural predator— no, that line of thinking wasn't right. Vampires didn't hunt humans anymore.
"And it's super fun because we wear costumes and everything. Humans have an interesting way of celebrating Halloween. It's not really a thing for us," San continued, smiling widening as his enthusiasm rose.
I bobbed my head. "Oh, that makes sense. Not every human celebrates it, either. Depends on their religion and culture. But I think it's a fun idea. I've always wanted to dress up and trick or treat. I'm too old for that now, though."
