After Darkness Falls: A Vampire Romance
After Darkness Falls: Chapter 17

All right, she might drop AIH before even officially taking it up.

This week, they were supposed to sample the casual intro classes before deciding on their courses. Chloe had been fairly certain that AIH would be on her final selection, until attending the class at four that afternoon.

Blair had talked about numerous dates and names, neither of which had frightened Chloe. She hadn’t said that the professor was an asshole.

Chloe and Gwen, who’d tagged along, arrived early and sat in the second row. As more students arrived, they frowned in confusion, because all of them were bundled together at the back of the classroom like a flock of sheep.

‘Should we…’

Gwen didn’t finish the question. A door opened, and a stunning creature with long ears and piercing moss-green eyes walked in. The man wore a long black skirt that floated on the floor like a bride’s veil. His torso was bare, and Chloe thanked the gods for it. His body was delicious—golden skin, defined muscles, and a black ring through one of his nipples.

‘You. You,’ he said, pointing to both of them.

His voice was honey and poison, impossible to tune out, so very beautiful that hearing it was almost painful.

They stiffened in their seats.

‘I don’t know you.’

Gwen was stunned into silence. Chloe, who recovered faster, cleared her throat.

‘We’re new.’

‘Evidently. What are you?’

She blinked.

‘Witch,’ Gwen whispered. ‘I’m a witch.’

‘Mh. You.’

His eyes were narrowed and set on Chloe.

‘I’m…I’m—’

The words were stuck in her throat. Why couldn’t she just tell him she was no one, a random regular accepted here? Then they’d just move on.

‘I’m Chloe. Twenty-five. Gemini. I like chocolate and don’t see the point in coffee.’

Word vomit spewed out of her mouth uncontrollably. She couldn’t stop herself. But as hard as she tried, she couldn’t tell him what he’d actually asked: what was she?

‘Mh. Confused, I see. Or powerful. Well, whether one or the other, know that no power can affect me. None. Not the kiss of a succubus, the whisper of a siren, the bite of a vampire, or the howl of the First Wolf himself, for I am Aos Si.’

Oh, right. She blinked. ‘Cool name.’

The class giggled behind her. The teacher’s shoulders sagged, and he rolled his eyes.

‘Silly little girl.’

‘Aos Si, as in one of the fae of Sidhe,’ Gwen whispered, watching him half-fearfully, half in awe.

Awesome. She’d made herself sound foolish again.

‘I didn’t think your kind lived in this world,’ the witch added.

Her eyes dropped to her nails, as if she regretted speaking.

‘My kind doesn’t,’ said the creature, almost threateningly. ‘The name is Fin Varra, and as you know nothing of consequence, you will attend this class for a year and a day, fledgling.’

He turned away and sat directly in front of them on an imposing gold chair with red velvet cushions that hadn’t been there a moment ago.

‘We will resume the lesson where we ended it last Monday, after one of you reminds us of the precise point where I stopped.’

Behind her, Chloe glanced to see twenty-four hands lift in the air as one. There were twenty-four students in the room.

‘Armand.’

‘Yes, sir. We were talking of the human revolt of 1476, sir. Against the Drakes of Transylvania. We stopped at the matriarch’s death, sir.’

‘Very well. I see you were paying some attention. And so, Prince Dracul’s wife was brutally assassinated in his own keep. Works of fiction have broached the subject, but none have been quite fair to his immortal grief. In his sorrow, the prince took his life, leaving two sons and one daughter behind…’

Being a tyrant didn’t change the fact that Fin Varra was the very best narrator to ever tell a story—she had to give him that. In no time, they were engrossed, practically seeing the events he recounted in front of their eyes.

Chloe saw Gwen write down a few notes, but she couldn’t bring herself to claw her attention away for long enough to get out her notepad. She’d have to copy her notes later.

Two hours flew by at the speed of light, and in no time, they were told that they’d see him again on Monday.

Chloe left as fast as her feet could carry her.

‘That was something,’ Gwen said, stunned.

‘Yeah. Something…’

Part of her wanted to bow out of the course; she didn’t need it, and this class would likely take up a lot of her attention. But she knew she’d be there on Monday.

She wondered if that was because she liked the class, or if something else was at work.

‘You will attend this class for a year and a day.’

‘Hey, what’s a fledgling?’ she asked Gwen. The question had edged her mind when the professor had called her that.

‘Oh, a kid, I guess? Like a teenager, not quite grown up yet. I think that’s also what they call birds when they can’t fly yet. It’s mostly used about vampires in this world. A fledgling is a young vampire, not quite in control of their power yet.’

Oh. So he’d called her a little girl. Nice.

‘Can we make a voodoo doll of Fin Varra or something?’

Gwen laughed. ‘Didn’t you hear? ‘No power can affect my sexy ass,” she grumbled in a poor—and hilarious—imitation of the professor’s voice.

They laughed until they reached the great entry hall.

‘I’m starving. You?’

Chloe almost followed Gwen, who was edging toward the cafeteria, but she caught herself at the last moment. ‘You go ahead. I have something to do first. I shouldn’t be too long.’

She headed back to the dorm, took the white box from her bedside table, and walked right back to the Institute, heading straight to the red-doored tower.

She half-expected someone to appear in front of her the moment she crossed the threshold, but the curving staircase was empty. Determined, she walked up each flight of stairs, ignoring the little voice whispering that being here wasn’t quite wise.