“Well, the best we can hope, then, is for you to try to keep matched to Turner,” Gabriel replied. “It would be nice if you could stay below Molina to keep people away from hunting you before you can defend yourself, but if you can match Turner it will help more than it does now when you fluctuate and get stronger than him. Night humans will sense your power and want to catch you, even if they do not know who you are.”
“I’ll try,” Arianna replied, knowing that everyone in the room was concerned about her safety.
“Good,” Gabriel responded as he stood and walked to her. “I need to get going for now. Tonight, I need you to come over to my house at around nine o’clock. There will be a formal dinner to meet the rest of our family and the leaders of the baku community.”
“Is this a dinner like the one grandfather threw for me, or Lord Winter?” Arianna asked.
Gabriel smiled. “I prefer the one your grandfather threw, if you are up to it.” Arianna nodded. It wasn’t like she was given a choice the first time around. “Since you deserve some sense of normalcy, Devin arranged for you to still have your foods class at the end of the day with Mary Ellen.” Arianna nodded, and Gabriel vanished just as the bell rang to end class.
Turner and Devin escorted Arianna through the crowded hallways to her classroom. Passing person after person, Arianna was surprised when she noticed that every other person she passed was a night human. Arianna stopped when Turner and Devin didn’t enter the room behind her.
“We need to go take care of something,” Devin explained, grabbing Turner’s arm. “Stay here with Jackson and Molina, and don’t go outside until after two.”
Arianna nodded as the bell rang again and people began hurrying down the hallways to their classes. Arianna casually moved to her cooking station where Mary Ellen was waiting, all while listening to Turner and Devin as they walked down the hallway. They stopped not too far away and turned into the math quad.
“Wait here,” Devin told Turner as he entered a room.
“I need to borrow Susan,” Devin said to the teacher, who seemed to easily agree. “Here,” Devin added, as he returned to Turner. “They don’t keep blood in school because it would make it a target, but there are several students here that offer to feed dearg-dul and lycan who are in need of blood. Turner, this is Susan. Susan, Turner,” Devin introduced them.
Arianna was beginning to get angry. She took a lot of blood from Turner, but she didn’t think it would lead to him feeding on another girl. Though they were not dating, she still was angry that he would be doing such a thing with another girl.
“Earth to Ari,” Mary Ellen repeated. “Your nap must have been good. You’re still in a daze.”
“Sorry,” Arianna replied. “What’s on the menu today?” Arianna wanted to keep listening to Devin and Turner, but she found that baking was a good distraction.
“Lemon cake,” Mary Ellen replied.
“Mmm,” Arianna added, looking at the recipe. “Do we need anything from the store room?” Arianna asked.
“We’re low on sugar,” Mary Ellen held out the jar to Arianna.
Arianna hurried to the small hallway between the two rooms. She easily found the sugar and her mind drifted to find Turner and Devin. Finding Turner in the neighboring room, Arianna peeked into the office to look through the glass windows. Turner was in the far corner with his head down on the desk sleeping. Looking around, she noticed Devin was not in the room. She found him sitting outside the room with Molina, both immersed in their own work.
Though she still was mad at Turner and Devin, Arianna relaxed a little; after all, she was home and at school with her friends. Baking the cake with Mary Ellen reminded her of how much she had missed everything back at home. Arianna joked with her friend as they finished cleaning their station. Even though so much had changed, it still felt completely normal to be with her best friend.
“Don’t you want to give some to your friends?” Mary Ellen asked, as they cut the cake they had just made.
“Not really,” Arianna replied. “I’m mad at them right now.”
“Well, fine,” Mary Ellen took several pieces. “I’m not, and they’re cute.” Mary Ellen hurried away before Arianna could stop her. When Mary Ellen returned, she was triumphant. “The cute blond said to stay here with spiky hair girl, and she will take you home.”
Arianna checked the room next door. Turner was gone and so was Devin. What are they doing now? she wondered.
“Are you helping with the diner tonight?” Mary Ellen asked.