Shadows Entwined (Shadows Descent #3)

23. Violet

23

VIOLET

The dining hall is quiet as we enter. Most students have either fled back home or are probably holed up in their rooms, terrified of everything that is happening right now, leaving the vast space feeling hollow and abandoned, apart from a few brave souls whose hunger has got the better of them.

“I’ll grab some blood cups,” Caine offers.

“No, you guys sort yourselves out. I’m capable of getting my own.” I give him a smile to take the sting out of my words, but the fact is, I want to sneak a cup or two in before I return to the table. I’m ravenous. The human blood I consumed feels like days ago, and the itch is becoming something I have to scratch. Urgently. I can’t let the craving get in the way of everything I need to do, and I need to be strong. As strong as I can get.

I meander over to the dispenser, trying not to appear too eager as Flint starts assembling sandwiches.

My hands shake slightly as I grab a cup. The rich scent of the synthetic blood fills my nostrils as I fill it, making my fangs ache. I quickly down the first cup, relishing the warmth spreading through me. It’s good, but I know there is better stuff out there. This will do for now until we can get down to the Blood Bar.

Glancing back at the others, I see they’re still occupied with getting food. Good . I quickly refill my cup and drain it again, feeling my strength returning. The edge of my hunger dulls but doesn’t disappear completely. It never really does.

Grabbing two more cups for appearances, I make my way back to the table where the others are settling in with their meals.

“Feel better?” Thorne asks quietly as I sit beside him.

Busted . I nod, meeting his knowing gaze. He always seems to see right through me. “Getting there.”

Flint pushes a plate with a rare steak sitting in a pool of bloody juice across to me. “You should eat something solid, too. Keep your strength up.”

I eye the food warily. Regular food doesn’t hold much appeal these days, but I know he’s right. Also, the sight of that steak suddenly makes me want to inhale it and go for seconds. Smiling gratefully to Flint, I pick up my knife and fork, cutting into the juicy steak. The first bite is hesitant, but as soon as the flavours hit my tongue, I’m ravenous. The rare meat and blood satisfy something primal in me. Before I know it, the steak is gone and I’m eyeing Caine’s plate hopefully.

He chuckles and slides his barely touched steak over to me. “Go ahead, snowdrop. I can always get another.”

I devour his steak as well, feeling my strength returning with each bite. When I finally sit back, feeling sated for the first time in days, I glance up, slightly embarrassed. “Sorry. Guess I was hungrier than I thought.”

“Don’t apologise,” Thorne says softly. “You need your strength. We all do.”

Caine stands up to replace his steak and I pick up my cup, sipping slowly now, just needing a bit of a top-up. I’m not going to let this stop me from securing some human blood from the Blood Bar, because I know I need everything I can get right now.

Caine returns, and we sip and eat in companionable silence for a few minutes, each lost in our thoughts about the coming Convergence. The weight of what we’re about to face settles over us like a heavy blanket, but I push it aside, not wanting to think about that until we have to. This is downtime, and we need to use it to refresh our bodies and minds and deal with the coming war.

After the guys finish and we clean up our plates, Flint slips his hand into mine. “Blood Bar?”

“Yes, please,” I say quietly.

He nods but doesn’t say anything. I know he’s worried about the effects of human blood, but I think I’m okay. I’m not vamping out and going crazy for it. It’s just there, that itch that is hard to ignore. Maybe that will get worse now, but I can’t let that stop me from doing what I need to do.

We head outside into the cold, fresh air and make our way around the back of the building to the Blood Bar, sticking to the deep shadows of the short winter day. It’s deserted when Flint pushes the door open.

Caine and Thorne wait by the door, keeping watch.

Flint leads me behind the bar, quickly locating a refrigerated storage unit. He opens it and pulls out several bags, which he hands to me without comment.

I cradle the precious blood bags against my chest. “Thank you,” I murmur.

He nods, his expression unreadable. “Just be careful, okay? We need you sharp.”

“I will be,” I promise. “This is just to make sure I’m at full strength. I won’t overdo it.”

“Do you want them now or later?” Thorne asks as we rejoin them by the door.

“I think later. We can synchronise. Flint can recharge the crystal, and I can drink these.”

“Sound plan,” Caine says. “So, what do we do now? It’s still hours off midnight.”

I consider Caine’s question as we exit the Blood Bar, the weight of the blood bags comforting against my chest. What do we do with these hours stretching before us, the calm before the storm?

“I don’t know. I feel like we should be doing something, but I don’t know what exactly.”

“I think we head to the library and see if there is anything we’ve missed about the Old Ones. Like how many of them are there? If they all want a piece of Violet, things are going to get ugly,” Thorne states.

I gape at him in shock. That hadn’t even occurred to me. “Shit. You’re right. We need to know what we’re potentially up against.”

Caine nods grimly. “To the library then. Maybe we can find some information on how to banish or trap them if they do show up.”

We make our way to the library, and I tentatively voice the thought we probably all have. “Should we try the underground chambers?”

“Fuck,” Flint mutters. “But yes. I was thinking that, too.”

“Same,” Caine says. “If there were anything above ground, even in the restricted section, Blackthorn would’ve told us about it.”

“Great,” Thorne murmurs. “Are we sure? That place is strength-sapping.”

“Good thing I brought these then,” Flint says, magicking up a backpack he has kept hidden all this time, and it’s rammed with food and more blood bags.

I grin at him and add my two to the haul. “Well, aren’t you the little Boy Scout then?”

He frowns. “What’s that?”

I snort. “A human thing. Never mind. Their motto is like always be prepared, or something.”

“Ah, well, then. Consider me your Boy Scout.”

The library is similarly deserted when we enter. The statue of Morgana is still in place, although I’m not sure why. Maybe she was stone encased in stone. I glare at it, feeling all sorts of emotions, I just don’t have the mental bandwidth to unpack right now. Tearing my gaze away from her face, I feel along the base for the button. “Ready?”

“As we’ll ever be,” Caine mutters, and I press the button.