Ashes (Book 2 The Kindred Series) (22 page)

She blinked him back into focus,
admiring the masculine beauty of him highlighted by the light
glowing around his edges. “Go on, get up there before they blind me
with that thing.” Her tone was far brighter than she felt, but the
faster he went up there the faster this awful experience could be
over.

He grabbed hold of her, a desperate
urgency radiating from him as he drew her against him. Cassie
didn’t have time to react as his mouth descended fiercely upon
hers, ravaging her with an intensity that left her boneless and
limp. When he pulled away from her, Cassie managed to gasp in a
ragged breath that did nothing to ease the flip flopping of her
heart.

“You’ll always be my queen,” he
whispered in her ear.

A hard lump formed in her throat as she
nodded. Reluctantly releasing her, Devon turned and made his way
through the oddly silent crowd. Cassie glanced rapidly around,
realizing that their kiss had been center stage, highlighted by the
spotlight. Embarrassment did not wash through her; instead, she
straightened her shoulders and glared at everyone who continued to
stare at her.

All eyes turned swiftly away from her
as Devon climbed onto the stage. The silence was suddenly broken by
loud clapping, shrill shrieks, and whistles from the girls.
“Really?” Cassie muttered.

“It’s like the freaking Beatles,” Chris
said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Melissa stepped closer to Cassie,
draping her arm around her shoulders. Kara looked like she was
going to explode with excitement as she gestured Devon down to slip
the crown onto his head. Cassie bit her lip, trying not to laugh as
a look of utter disbelief crossed his face. It was a look that
could have been mistaken for humility, but Cassie knew it was
because he simply did not understand this human customs.

Chris started to laugh, a full bodied
laugh that rumbled out of him. Despite herself, Cassie could not
help but join him, shaking her head as Devon stepped back. Melissa
rolled her eyes again, chuckling softly. “He looks so lost,” she
said softly, her chuckles growing in intensity.

“Yeah he does,” Chris agreed
enthusiastically. “Big bad vampire taken down by a
crown!”

The three of them burst into loud
laughter that drew the attention of the few students closest to
them. They didn’t pay attention as they clung to each other,
laughing loudly. At some point through it, Cassie realized that
they were not truly laughing at the situation. They were laughing
because they needed to. It had been so long since she had heard
their laughter, so long since she had expressed any of her own. The
release was wonderful.

Kara stepped up to the microphone,
drawing Cassie’s attention back to the stage. Wiping back the tears
that had formed in her eyes, Cassie was slowly able to regain
control. Devon was watching her with a raised eyebrow; amusement
glowed in the depths of his bright emerald eyes. She waved at him,
unable to completely rid herself of the silly grin she
wore.

“And now nominee’s for Homecoming
queen!” Kara announced eagerly.

That was enough to make her smile slip
away. Melissa’s hand tightened on her shoulder as the names were
read off. Cassie felt a small jolt of surprise when she was
mentioned. She had expected her name to be as eradicated as she had
been in the eyes of the student body. Well not completely
eradicated as she was still the center of attention, she was just
the most hated person in school now.

“And the winner is…” Again the dramatic
pause as Kara ripped into the envelope. Her bright grin caused
Cassie’s stomach to roll violently. “Marcy Hodgins!”

Loud applause exploded through the
room. Cassie didn’t move, didn’t even breathe as she watched Marcy
eagerly climb the stage. Marcy’s grin was so wide that every one of
her teeth showed. She waved like a queen to the crowd, as she
eagerly accepted her crown and flowers. “Thank you everyone!” she
announced into the microphone. “Thank you so much!”

“They love me, they really love me!”
Chris said with a high falsetto, he fluttered his lashes as he
folded his hands demurely before him.

Despite the sick feeling in her
stomach, Cassie could not help but laugh again. Chris never failed
to cheer her up; he always seemed to know exactly what to do in
order to get a laugh from her. He grinned back at her, his sapphire
eyes twinkling merrily. Without Chris she would have been lost long
ago, adrift in a world that she didn’t understand. They had
survived The Slaughter together, had moved everywhere together, and
had grown closer than any brother and sister ever could
have.

The band began to play again, catching
Cassie’s attention as the soft song drifted from the speakers. The
lead singer moved forward, reclaiming his microphone. “Now for the
king and queen to share a dance!” he announced.

Cassie ran her hands up and down her
arms as her skin began to crawl. This was the part that she had
been dreading. Melissa’s arm tightened around her. Devon glanced
helplessly at her as Marcy seized hold of his hand. Cassie managed
a wan, reassuring smile as she nodded briefly. Marcy led him
eagerly forward, practically pulling him down the steps of the
makeshift stage.

Chris laughed coldly as he shook his
head. “Could she be any more desperate?” Melissa muttered in
disgust.

“She’s been looking forward to this for
months. Even if I hadn’t fallen from grace I think she would have
stuffed the ballot box just for this dance,” Cassie said
softly.

“Have to agree.”

They reached the dance floor; Marcy
released Devon’s hand as she practically threw herself into his
arms. He took a small step back, a disapproving frown marring his
attractive face as he took a step back. Marcy chose to ignore it;
stepping close once again, she wrapped her arms around his waist
and rested her head on his chest.

The tingling of Cassie’s skin became
worse; her heart lumbered painfully in her chest. She couldn’t
stand to watch this, but she couldn’t bring her frozen legs to move
either. Devon rested his hands lightly on Marcy’s shoulder, holding
her slightly back when she tried to get even closer. Which Cassie
didn’t think was possible.

Groaning softly, Cassie tore her gaze
away when Marcy’s hands drifted down to his ass. Though she knew
that Devon wanted nothing to do with this dance, or Marcy, she
couldn’t stand to watch anymore. “I have to go to the bathroom,”
she blurted, spinning out of Melissa’s light hold.

“Cassie.” Melissa grabbed hold of her
hand, halting her progress. “He doesn’t want this.”

Cassie nodded as she gently tugged her
hand free of Melissa’s. “I know that, but I also don’t want to
watch it.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Cassie shook her head, the crawling of
her skin growing more intense. She couldn’t see what was happening
anymore, but she was certain that Marcy was still doing her best to
grope Devon. “I just need a few minutes. I’ll be right
back.”

Melissa’s eyes were sad but Cassie
didn’t stop. Hurrying swiftly through the crowd, she ignored the
stares and mutters that followed her. She also ignored the
satisfied smirks on the faces of Marcy’s friends. Girls who had
once been her friends too. The only one who didn’t look completely
smug was Kara. Cassie met her gaze for a brief moment, a surge of
hope spurting through her at the sorrow and loss that filled her
old friends gaze. For a moment she felt a connection to the girl
again.

Then Kara blinked, her eyes darted to
the girls surrounding her before she turned swiftly away. Anger
surged through Cassie, anger at Kara, and anger at herself for even
momentarily entertaining the idea that Kara might once again be her
friend. She should have known that Kara would not risk the censure
of the rest of the school. She would not go against the grain by
alienating herself, and becoming the outcast that Cassie
had.

Though Cassie could not entirely blame
Kara, she still couldn’t help the hurt that shot through her.
Turning away, Cassie hurried through the rest of the crowd, forcing
herself not to bolt from the room, and the people inside it. She
burst out of the gym, taking a deep breath of the cooler, fresher
air.

Her hands clung to her arms, trying
hard to stop the shaking that had seeped into her bones. Heels
clicking on the linoleum floor, Cassie made her way slowly to the
bathroom as she attempted to regain control of her wildly swaying
emotions. Pushing the bathroom door open, she poked her head
inside.

Kelly Jackson was at the sink washing
her hands; Kelly froze as her eyes met Cassie’s in the mirror.
Cassie gave her a brief nod before continuing onto one of the
stalls. Closing the door, she leaned her forehead against the cool
metal, grateful for the brief, solitary peace as she inhaled and
exhaled deeply. She listened as Kelly left the bathroom before
popping the door back open and stepping outside once
more.

Making her way to the sink, Cassie
turned the cold water on. Splashing her face, she found her control
slowly returning as the water shocked her out of the dull haze
suffusing her. Grabbing some paper towels, she dried her face. The
door opened and closed again, she didn’t look up; she couldn’t take
the shunning and disgust anymore. She was in control again; she
didn’t need to be rattled out of it.

Footsteps rang across the floor,
stopping behind her. Cassie frowned, a chill swept down her back as
her heart leapt into her throat. A shimmering wall seemed to come
down upon her as a wave of terror suffused her. Freezing like a
deer trapped in the headlights, Cassie’s hands tightened upon the
sink, her heart lurched and leapt as fear seized hold of her
muscles locking them in place. She knew who was behind her, knew
who had come in. She knew what he wanted, but her body refused to
react to such knowledge.

Slowly, ever so achingly slowly, she
lifted her head to look in the mirror. Julian stood behind her; a
cruel smile twisted his beautiful face as his icy blue eyes clashed
with hers in the glass. His white blond hair was spiked up in
disarray, showing off the hard angles of his perfect face. Though
Cassie was petrified into immobility, her mind somehow processed
the fact that the just out of bed style looked good on him. Though,
she was certain that there probably wasn’t much that didn’t look
good on him.

For a moment they simply gazed at each
other, silently surveying the competition. He was enjoying playing
with her like a cat with a mouse, practically salivating at the
thought of draining her dry. She was simply trying to get her brain
to work again as she struggled to grasp the ramifications of this
situation.

“For what it’s worth, you definitely
had my vote.”

Cassie’s mind lurched into action as
his melodic voice pounded into her ears. The terror tearing through
her was pushed aside as her survival instinct finally kicked into
high gear and years of training poured through her. He would kill
her if he got a hold of her, and there was no one around to help
her. She wanted to kick herself for turning Melissa down, but she
was extremely grateful that her friend was not here now. At least
they wouldn’t both be killed tonight. Melissa could go on with her
life, even if Cassie couldn’t.

No matter what happened though, no
matter how this all turned out, she was not going down without a
fight, and Julian would not walk away from this without
injury.

“Though you aren’t a queen, you can be
my princess.”

With those purred words, Julian
launched at her.

CHAPTER
14

Devon finally managed to extract
himself from Marcy’s desperate, grasping touch. There had been a
time when he had thrived on his inherent ability to attract women,
a time when he had reveled in the endless parade of them. Not
anymore. He wished he could flip a switch and turn the ability off,
but unfortunately it didn’t work that way.

Making his way across the floor, he
steered clear of the girls that attempted to approach him. All he
wanted was to get back to Cassie, take her in his arms, and rid
himself of the lingering feel of Marcy. The girl had no shame
whatsoever; he tried hard not to shudder at the reminder of
her.

He stepped clear of the crowd, frowning
as he spotted Chris and Melissa, minus Cassie. Worry filled his gut
as he scanned the students gathered near them. “Where’s Cassie?” he
demanded, far more abruptly than he’d intended.

Melissa lifted an eyebrow, studying him
with an amused expression. “The bathroom, she’ll be right
back.”

Devon shifted; uneasiness grew in him
as he perused the crowd once more. He didn’t like the idea of her
being alone, even if there were a lot of people in the building.
Folding his arms, he tapped his foot as he fought the urge to go
after her. She needed her freedom, without it she would rebel,
chafing against any restraints placed upon her. Even as he reminded
himself of this fact, his anxiety level hiked up a
notch.

Reaching out, he used his powers to
search for her presence. He had become so in tune with her that it
was easy for him to shift through the people surrounding him,
shoving aside their personalities as he reached for her. His mind
clicked onto hers, his body going numb with the cold that suffused
him as her terror pounded into him. For a moment he couldn’t move
as her fear tore into him, leaving him frozen in place.