Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel) (3 page)

He
had simply never seen anything like him.

Kaleb glowered at the way Rome was staring. It was
seriously
pissing
him off. “Got a problem?” he
snapped. “Keep looking at me like that and I’ll give you something to fucking
stare at.”

Rome
quirked an eyebrow involuntarily; he’d been startled by the sound of his voice.
It was deep, and rich, and entirely
not
what he’d been expecting. “I was
wondering how you could have hair like that and not get your ass kicked,” he
said.

Kaleb
rose gracefully from his seat, shocking him again with his full height. “Fear
can be a compelling emotion,” he answered. “And stupidity can make for an
entertaining afternoon.
So are you going to
keep running your
mouth about my appearance, or are you going to be
smart and shut the hell up?” His jaw closed with a clack, lips pulled back in
what was nearly a snarl, leaving his pearly teeth bared.

Rome
slipped his bag slowly off of his shoulder, dropping it near his feet. Every
hair on the back of his neck was standing on end, and the tightness in his
stomach was screaming at him to be ready.

Ready
for what, though? he wondered.

His
eyes flicked over Kaleb’s lean frame. He didn’t look like he’d put up much of a
fight. But that look in his eye, the confidence in his stance, the way he
shifted as though predicting his movements—Rome knew a predator when he saw
one. He knew what real danger looked like. It looked like that wicked little
smile, the sharp edge of teeth peeking out from beneath lips. It sounded like
the quiet cracking of knuckles and the unnatural stillness that had settled in
the air.

Kaleb
took one step towards him, and Rome growled. An avid fascination flittered
across his features, and he continued his advance. He halted abruptly, biting
the tip of his tongue and tilting his head at him in bemusement. It felt like
he’d walked through a wall of heat, the air around him thick and heavy. It was
sending chills up and down his spine.

“Damn,”
Kaleb smiled breathlessly.

“Didn’t
you just say something about stupidity? Because myself personally, I’d like a
less eventful first day.” There was an absence in Kaleb’s gaze that told him he
hadn’t heard a word he’d said. And that, itself, was more unsettling than
anything. “Earth to Cher,” he said, snapping his fingers. “Stop looking at me
with those serial killer eyes.”

Kaleb felt like a moth to flame as he
closed the
distance
between them
. He grabbed for him blindly, unable to fight the
temptation to reach out and touch him. His hands closed around Rome’s arms,
dragging him close as he struggled to pull away. He nuzzled his face into his
neck, breathing in his scent.

“You smell like rain,” he whispered. “Like a dirty fight
played
out under stormy skies. Like blood, and sex, and feral, wild
perfection. I just
need
—” He swallowed harshly around the word, parting
trembling lips as deadly teeth shot down from his gums. He couldn’t hold back
any longer. He slid his fangs sharply into the stranger’s neck, drawing hot,
sticky blood into his mouth.

Chapter 2

It
hadn’t hurt as much as Rome thought it might. Soft sucking sounds filled the
air, and he tensed under the erotic touch of Kaleb’s tongue. He’d latched onto
his neck and sent a jolt of pleasure straight to his groin. Rome almost thought
he might have enjoyed it, if he could only ignore the fact that it was a guy
eliciting these feelings of arousal.

 “Get
the fuck off of me!” he yelled, shaking as he tried to find the strength to
push him away. He gave him one hard shove, sending him stumbling back onto the
sofa. Rome raised a hand to his neck when he felt the blood running down to his
collarbone.

“What
the hell is wrong with you?”

“Do
that again,” Kaleb laughed, lips glistening red. Not many people had the
strength to overpower him like that. His fingers curled around the edge of the
cushion, eliciting a soft groan from the leather. He jumped to his feet a
second later, slamming Rome back against one of the bookshelves. A few
hardcover tomes went tumbling down around them in the struggle.

“I didn’t mean to be so rough,” Kaleb whispered
seductively.
He bent
to lick slowly up the side of Rome’s neck, tasting him with the tip of his
tongue. Rome was frozen to the spot.

The
door to the office swung open, and neither of them noticed.

“Mr. Leonté!” the Dean exclaimed. His outburst had barely
warranted
acknowledgement.
“None of that now,” he frowned, shaking his finger at
him. He closed the
door quietly behind him before raising his hands and twisting his wrists,
rotating the two chairs in front of his desk to face the room. With the simple
sweep of his palm he pushed Kaleb away from Rome, and Rome away from the shelf.
The two stared back at him with looks of consternation and fear. The Dean was
unfazed. He smiled merrily, tapping his index fingers briskly in the air and
sending them plunking down into the seats.

Rome
could feel his heart pounding as the Dean walked casually around the side of
his desk. The chairs were turning slowly to follow his progress. He just
couldn’t believe he’d been attacked by a guy with crazy teeth and a bad
attitude and then shoved into a seat by some mystical force.

In
his defense, it was a bit to take in.

Dean
Oakland inclined his head curiously, looking down at his crooked desk. “What
happened here? Getting to know one another?”

“How nice of you to finally grace us with your presence,”
Kaleb said, wiping his mouth off
on the back of his hand. His eyes locked on the wounds he’d left on Rome’s neck
– the wounds still leaking vibrant red blood. “You
got a little something… right there.” He reached out, dragging a
fingertip
over the wet skin as a smile twisted his lips.

Rome
tensed, jerking away from. “Don’t touch me,” he said tightly.

 The
Dean glanced up from readjusting his desk in time to see Kaleb sucking a
blood-stained finger into his mouth. It wasn’t until then that he noticed the
bite marks on Rome’s neck. Apparently that had been more than a little scuffle
between students.

Rome narrowed his eyes, watching the Dean clench his hand
into a fist. Somehow he knew he wasn’t going to like whatever was coming next.
He inhaled sharply when he felt his blood creeping up the length of his neck
and squirming its way back into his veins. It was hands down one of the most
disturbing things he’d ever felt.

“Perhaps
I should explain,” the Dean began.

“Ya
think?”

“Vardel
Academy has made it its mission to educate young witches like yourselves since
its inception nearly a century ago. We have one of the finest programs of any
institution in the country.
You’re both very
lucky to be
carrying out your education here.”

“Whoa, back up,” Rome said, catching on the word ‘
witches
’.
“I think someone slipped a
little crack into your coffee this morning.”

Kaleb
snickered.

“How
else would you explain what you’ve seen,” the Dean smiled, “other than to call
it magic?” Rome didn’t have an answer for that. “I understand you’ve been
living unaware of your origins, but you come from a very prominent magical
line. And of course, after discovering that you were, in fact, gifted, the
academy was more than eager to admit you as a student.”

Somehow,
Rome doubted that last part the most.

“Well
now I
know
you’re on something, because you just used the word prominent
to describe my family. I don’t know who told you what, but you’ve clearly got
the wrong guy.”

“The
Collective makes their list, I just send out the acceptance letters,” Oakland
explained.

“The
Collective?” Rome mumbled.

The
Dean smiled wordlessly in response.

“And
what, they just
magically
know?”

“They
have their ways.”

“…Well
that’s creepy.”

“As
I was saying, Vardel offers both standard classes, and specialized classes
which are reserved solely for students enrolled in the gifted program. As you
can imagine, these classes are centered on the study and utilization of magic.
Standard students are unaware of the nature of these specialized courses, and
it is to remain that way,” he stressed, sliding two thick
directories
across the surface of his desk.
“Silvia, will you please send Shawn into my office?” he requested, holding down
the page button on his phone.

“Oh,
and before I forget, there will be no biting other students while you’re here.
That behavior is completely unacceptable. The school will provide some variety
of sustenance for you, but feeding off of your
classmates
is strictly prohibited. Are we understood?”

Kaleb
exhaled quietly, tipping his head up in a small, singular nod.

“Good.
Now Shawn here has graciously volunteered to show you to your rooms. Please
direct any further questions you have to him.”

Shawn stepped forward as the Dean took a seat at his
desk. Rome and Kaleb stood simultaneously and he offered a hand out between the
two of them
. “Nice to meet you,” he smiled. Neither of them
moved to take his hand, and he pulled back awkwardly. “So which one of you is
Rome, and which is Kaleb?”

Kaleb
sighed.

“I’m
Rome,” Rome said reluctantly. Honestly he was surprised he didn’t know already.
But that’s how it was. Either people knew him by reputation, or they didn’t
know him at all. Rome wasn’t sure which he despised more.

“You
must be Kaleb, then. I understand you’re half-vampire?”

“Fuck
off,” Kaleb muttered.

“…Wait,”
Rome said, holding his arm out to block Kaleb from leaving. “You knew that one
of us was a vampire, and you still had to ask?
Seriously, have you seen this guy? Which one of us looks like the
supernatural undead to you? I know most people in this town probably think I have
fangs, but contrary to popular belief, I’m not a monster.” Kaleb shoved past,
slipping out of the office and into the teacher’s lounge.

Fuck
, Rome thought. This day was just getting better and
better.

“The
boy does have a point,” Dean Oakland smiled.

“I
was trying to be polite,” Shawn said, “unlike someone.”

“Whatever,”
Rome breathed, snatching his backpack off of the floor. He caught up with Kaleb
near the stairs.

“I
didn’t mean to imply that you were—”

“Do
I look like I care?”

“Yeah,
actually, you do.”

Kaleb
glared at him.

“You
asked, I answered,” Rome said.

“It
was a rhetorical question.”

“I
know that. It still doesn’t change the fact.”

“What
fact?” Shawn asked, drifting over.

“That
he’s a liar,” Kaleb said. He smirked, holding Rome’s gaze. “You are your own
special kind of monster, aren’t you?”

“Okay,
I think maybe I should get you two to your rooms.”

“Is
that a threat?” Rome said.

“Not
at all. I’m just letting you know—I know what you are.”

“Come
on, getting into a fight on your first day isn’t—”

“Shut
up,” Rome barked, holding up a hand to silence Shawn as he kept his eyes
trained on Kaleb. “Don’t pretend like you know me.”

“I don’t have to pretend,” Kaleb smiled. “There’s only
ever one thing hiding beneath sheep’s clothing.”

“You know,” Shawn interjected, “you’re adjusting quite
well. Most people would have had a difficult time accepting everything you just
learned.”

Rome
ambled past him, muttering, “I’m not most people.”

He
curled his fingers around the banister, walking slowly down the stairs as Shawn
took point. Kaleb seemed intent to shadow him the entire way. That left a
strange sensation in the pit of Rome’s stomach.

“This
is the student lounge,” Shawn said. “It can be used for studying or
socializing. The west wing is reserved for gifted students, and the boys’ dorms
are found on the north side of the hall. Obviously, the girls’ dorms are off
limits, and vice versa. Oh, and just so you’re aware, the balconies are not for
smoking. If you’re even found carrying cigarettes on school grounds, you will
be suspended without warning.”

“Why
don’t you just show us to our rooms already and trust that we both have the
common sense to wipe our own ass?” Rome said. “And by the way, neither of us
smokes, so stop making assumptions.”

“How
do you know he doesn’t smoke?”

“Does
he smell like cigarettes to you?”

Kaleb
smiled, looking away.

“I
didn’t realize you’d smelled me that closely,” he said.

“Shut
up,” Rome grumbled.

“Are
you two done yet?”

Rome
rolled his eyes, trailing after Shawn as he led them down the wide hall. He
kept his eyes fixed on his boots, watching his reflection in the polished
hardwood. Large doors lined either side of the hall, and vibrant light fixtures
spanned the length of the ceiling. This place was even nicer than he’d
expected.
That only managed to make him feel
more out of place
. Before today, he’d never even seen the outside of the
building. Despite being a part of Redwood Bay, Vardel Academy sat alone on the
outskirts of town, secluded by trees and miles of endless road. It was almost
the farthest he’d been from home. Shawn came to a sudden halt, and Rome nearly
crashed into him. Admittedly, he hadn’t been paying much attention. He was too
busy trying to ignore the gnawing sensation in his gut. It didn’t take much to
figure out it that it had something to do with Kaleb. The longer he was around
him, the worse it was getting. Even his teeth ached.

“These are your dorms,” Shawn said, holding out two keys.
They reached out and plucked them from his fingers. “You’re each assigned to
the opposite room. You’ll find that three uniforms have been laid out for you
on your beds. Don’t worry about size; they’ll automatically adjust to fit.
Classes don’t begin until tomorrow, but you are required to wear your uniform
at all times, meaning you will need to change into them for orientation.”

“I
think we’ve got it,” Rome said.

Shawn
was more than happy to leave them to it.

Kaleb
glanced at Rome after he left, tossing his key at him and watching as he
fumbled to catch it. Rome hucked his key at him in response, and Kaleb’s hand
shot up, catching the small piece of metal with ease.

“Screw
you too,” Rome groused, turning the key in the lock.

The
door opened into the center of the room, looking straight across to a large,
arched window that was spilling light across the hardwood floors. A king-sized
bed lined the right wall, covered in crisp white sheets and decorative pillows.
The frame of the bed was made of solid wood, and the nightstands that sat on
either side were done in a matching cherry red. A decent sized desk and two
tall bookshelves took up the left wall, and a closet jutted out on the right
side of the door.