Demonic Vampires (Supernatural Shifter Academy #3) - G. Bailey Page 0,20

impressive. Can you do that, Millie?”

“Not a chance,” I admit, swallowing hard. I can’t help but feel a twinge of envy at the ease with which she cast the spell -- how long did that take her to learn? I’ve been practising for almost two semesters and I still have trouble just getting into my form. Sour grapes, I tell myself. She’s on your side.

For some reason, that doesn’t make me feel much better.

With the flat secure, the rest of us are left to spread out and explore the place. I’m reminded of our time at the American Academy, but don’t find myself missing it all that much; at least there are no asshole RAs getting in our way this time.

“Ruby, Xander and I will take the room next to Edith’s, if that’s all right,” Hazel says, turning to the twins for confirmation.

“Of course,” I assure her listlessly. “Go for it.”

“I volunteer for the couch,” Landon announces, putting a sombre hand to his chest with a tone of mock-seriousness that gets a laugh out of me. “It’s a rough job, but someone has to do it.”

Shade elbows him. “Good luck getting away with anything squatting in the living room.”

“Unlike you, Ivis, we’re not all delinquents,” Landon fires back.

“Okay, okay,” I say, laughing. “Shade? Silas? Hunter?”

“The far room is fine with me,” Silas says. He turns to the wolf shifter, who shrugs.

“Fine by me,” Shade agrees. “Boots? Wanna join?” He raises an inquisitive eyebrow, making my face heat up.

“I mean…” I glance over at Hunter, the odd one out. “Hunter? What do you think?”

“Hunter can stay in my room,” Edith offers, coming to stand next to the vampire shifter. “There’s plenty of space. We can set up a sleeping bag on the floor, maybe.”

Hunter looks torn, glancing with uncertainty from me to Edith. Something passes over his face when he sees me -- a combination of melancholy and frustration -- and then he nods. “Um… yeah, sure,” he says, giving the witch shifter a small smile. “That sounds good. Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” Edith purrs, brushing past him as she saunters back to her living quarters. Hunter shrugs sheepishly before trailing after her.

I’m left to watch him go, brows knitting together. What was that about? I wonder. At the risk of sounding vain, I was expecting him to put up more resistance, if not because he got last dibs, then because he’ll be rooming with a virtual stranger. I swallow hard, telling myself not to overthink things. I’m tired and I’m not thinking clearly.

The others begin to disperse, Landon flops down on the couch, and it takes me a moment to realise I still don’t know where I’ll be sleeping. As if on cue, Silas puts a hand on my arm. “Do you want to bunk with me and Shade?” he asks tentatively. “No guarantees he won’t set the room on fire, but…”

I turn to him, relieved. “That would be awesome, Silas. Thank you.”

The dragon shifter smiles, hesitating for a moment before pressing a brief kiss to my hairline. “I’m going to go change,” he announces. “I smell like seawater, and not in a good way.”

Shade unceremoniously barges into our room, and I follow him, dragging my bag behind me. “Silas is right,” I say, dropping my stuff onto a chair by the window. “We’re disgusting. I think I might take a shower.”

The wolf shifter smirks at me. “Want company?”

I snort, rolling my eyes. “Nice try, Ivis.” Without another word, I grab a towel off one of the hooks on the wall and make my way to the bathroom. Everything will look better tomorrow, and this uneasy feeling will go away with some rest.

I hope.

Chapter 9

Silas was right. None of us are exactly camera-ready right now, perhaps me most of all. My hair is hanging in damp strings around my face, and I realise belatedly that I’ve been tracking ocean water around Mollie’s apartment, making me groan. I’m going to have to deal with that, but not now. Right now, what I need is a good cleaning.

The exhaustion starts to creep in again almost as soon as I get to the bathroom. How the hell did Edith cast a high-level spell so easily? Stop worrying about it, I remind myself. You’ve been doing this for less than a year. Instead, I focus on disrobing, my muscles feeling weak from our sudden flight. I feel like I’ve run a marathon, and when I close my eyes to check on my magic, I can