Craved (Book #2 of the Vampire Legacy) (14 page)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Sage crossed his bedroom, gathering his things, packing up ancient artifacts he hadn’t looked at in centuries. He was finally ready to leave this place, his family, for good. He had a large opened suitcase on his bed, and rifled through items, deciding what to let go. He held up a small ivory tusk off his desk, remembering when he had found it five hundred years before. He examined it, then set
 
it down, deciding not to bring it.

As he stood there, by the window, he glanced out, and looked at the Hudson. In the early morning light the water sparkled. In the distance he saw the island he’d spent the night on with Scarlet, the two of them having fallen asleep, clothed, in each other’s arms. It had been innocent, but the most beautiful night he had ever spent on this planet. He could not stop thinking about the moment they woke up together, watched the dawn break together, the sun rise over the Hudson. It had seemed to rise right over them, as if they were in the very center of the world.

Waking with Scarlet in his arms had given him a feeling of being restored that he hadn’t had in years. It made him feel whole again, and it gave him, for the first time in a long time, a reason to live.

They had decided to run away together. Scarlet had decided it would be best to keep up appearances for now, to go back to school in the morning, to face all her friends, to see them one last time, and then for them to leave that night, in the cover of darkness. They made a plan to meet after school, at the big dance that night, and leave from there. They would leave this town, find some place in the world where they could be alone, away from their families, from everyone who wanted to tear them apart. There was nothing Sage wanted more: if these were to be his last few weeks on the planet, he wanted them to be worthy ones. He wanted to live for
himself
for a change.

Scarlet had even talked about the two of them taking off right then and there, at dawn. Sage had wanted to, too. But he thought it would be more prudent for them to leave at night, in the cover of darkness. Scarlet also wanted to have closure with her friends, and Sage wanted a little bit of time to gather his things, and to internally say his goodbyes to his family. Of course, he could not tell him he was leaving. But maybe there was still a small chance he could convince them, get them to change their minds about Scarlet. After two thousand years together, they owed it to him to at least hear him out. If he was successful, maybe, just maybe, they would let her go, and the two of them could live out their final days here in peace.

Deep down, he knew it was a lost cause. His family’s mortality was at stake, after all. They would, he knew, go after Scarlet with everything they had. After tonight, after his deadline was up, they would hunt her down and kill her.

So as a contingency plan, Sage gathered everything important from his room. He had a feeling that, after today, he would never be back here again. And that was okay with him. He would miss his family, after all this time, but he knew there wasn’t much time left to live anyway, and he wanted to spend his final weeks how
he
wanted to spend them—not how his parents wanted him to spend them. Enough was enough. There were no punishments they could inflict on him now that would be worse than the punishment of not being able to spend time with Scarlet.

He hoped that Lore would not be foolish enough to try to attack Scarlet. After all, they all knew it would be useless to kill her without her voluntarily handing over the necklace. But they could be impetuous, especially Lore—and with just a few weeks left to live, who knew how they might react.

“You always were a hopeless romantic,” came a voice.

Sage spun around and was surprised to see, standing there, his sister, Phoenicia.

She stood there, staring at him disapprovingly in the doorway, slowly shaking her head.

“Such a sap,” she said. “Always have been.”

And what are you?
he thought.
Afraid to fall in love? You’ve had your guard up for centuries. Where has that gotten you?

He ignored her, crossing the room, picking up a framed piece of sheet music, signed by Beethoven, and putting it into his backpack.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

“Going somewhere?” she asked.

He pored over his bookcase, taking out a first edition of Shakespeare’s
Macbeth
and inserting it into his bag.

Phoenicia suddenly crossed the room, reaching him with lightning speed, grabbed his wrist, and snatched the book from his hand. She slammed it down on the tabletop, and scowled at him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she hissed.

Now he was annoyed. He frowned back.

“What business of it is yours?”

“Everything that you do is my business. Everything that goes on around here is my business. Especially now. You’re so cavalier, as if nothing matters, as if we have all the time in the world. We’re all counting on you. Have you forgotten? And here you are, in another one of your romantic escapades, as if you haven’t a care in the world. You can fool mom and dad, but you can’t fool me. I know you could care less about getting the key from her. I know that you’ve fallen in love with her. You don’t care about any of us. You will die, and you don’t care about that either, do you?”

He stared at her, his eyes narrowing as he felt a rage building. That was so like her. His entire life she had plagued him, always the first to point out his faults—or her perception of his faults. She was a cynic, that was her problem. She didn’t believe in love at all.

Sage had given up trying to answer her centuries ago. She would never understand anything when it came to love.

Especially now. How could she possibly understand about Scarlet? How could he explain to her the way Scarlet made him feel? The way she looked in the morning light? Her grace? Her sensitivity? Her kindness? He could barely understand it all himself.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he said.

“I want you to say that you will get the key. That you will do it now!”

She stared back at him with intensity, but he slowly shook his head.

“It’s a myth,” he said. “Don’t you see? We’re destined to die. All of us. Our destiny has always been two thousand years. And nothing we can do will change that. Attacking some poor girl is not going to change your life.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“You wouldn’t be trying to protect her unless you thought it was all true. That she really was the one.” She narrowed her eyes further. “I’ll be that she even offered you the key already—and that you said no. You did, didn’t you?”

He looked at her, blushing. It was uncanny how she could always read him.

“What do you care?” he said. “What are you going to do? Kill me? We’re all dying anyway.”

She shook her head in disappointment, and as she did, suddenly he saw something he had never seen before, in all his centuries of knowing her: a tear forming at the corner of her eye.

“After all this time, do you even care at all about me? Or yourself?”

He softened, feeling bad, and realizing he couldn’t lie to her anymore.

“Phoenicia. You’re my sister. I love you. I really do. But I’m sorry. She’s worth all of it and more to me.”

Phoenicia narrowed her eyes in anger.

“Is this girl, this stranger, worth even more than me?”

Her face reddened as she turned and stormed out the room and slammed the door behind her.

Sage knew that wherever she was going, trouble would soon follow.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Scarlet walked through her high school halls in a daze, hardly aware of where she was. She felt as if she were walking on air. She couldn’t stop re-living her night with Sage; his energy still lingered with every step she took. For the first time, she was hardly bothered by all the kids around her, swarming in every direction, she could barely hear the noise. She didn’t even care. Because now, for the first time she could remember, her heart was full. She was madly in love with Sage. Completely obsessed with him.

Her feelings for Sage were so overwhelming, she could hardly think of anything else. She felt it like a shield, hovering around her, protecting her. It felt like now, nothing could get to her. With Sage by her side, she felt invincible.

And soon enough, tonight, the two of them would take off, get away from here, away from her parents, her friends and all their petty drama, to a world of their own. To a place where they could be together, without anyone trying to get between them. All she had to do was get through this day, make it to tonight, to the dance, where Sage would meet her, and they would leave together. Her heart was pounding with anticipation; she already couldn’t wait for the day to end.

The bell rang, and she glanced at her phone as she headed towards her English class. She saw all the missed calls and texts from her dad, and cringed. She hardly knew how to respond, and couldn’t deal with it right now. She also noticed that Maria hadn’t texted or called. As she headed to their joint class, she braced herself for her reaction.

Scarlet entered the classroom just in time. It was already filled and she noticed immediately that her customary seat, next to Maria, was taken. She couldn’t believe it: Maria always made sure that seat was reserved for her. Now, some other kid was sitting in it. Maria, sitting in her usual seat, didn’t even look over at her. It felt like a betrayal, and it was a clear message: Maria didn’t want Scarlet sitting next to her. This did not bode well.

Scarlet hurried down the row, and as she did, Maria glanced at her, then pointedly looked away.

Scarlet walked past her, feeling hurt. On the one hand, she understood. From Maria’s perspective, Scarlet had stolen Sage away. But that wasn’t true, and it wasn’t fair. Sage had never liked Maria; Scarlet had even tried to set them up, and he just didn’t like her.

Scarlet felt that Maria should realize that, and that the way she was acting just wasn’t fair. She was living in a fantasy. Sage would’ve ended up with someone else, whether it was Scarlet or not.

But Maria could be so possessive and territorial and jealous that if anyone ever even talked to anyone she remotely liked, she took it as a personal insult. For Maria, this was like a nuclear bomb. Scarlet hoped that she would be big enough to get over it, because Scarlet wasn’t going to let Sage go. But clearly, Maria was not budging. This time, it was bad. In all the years she had known her, she had never seen Maria like this, so furious at her. Scarlet had a sinking feeling that this would be the end of their relationship.

The thought saddened Scarlet as she took her seat in the back row, set down her books, and turned and looked out the window. If that was how Maria wanted it, then that was how it would be. After all, after tonight, Scarlet wouldn’t be here anymore anyway. Soon, none of this would matter anymore. Soon, she would be with Sage, far away from here.

“Okay class, please open to Act Five, Scene Three of
Romeo and Juliet
,” Mr. Sparrow said. “The famous tomb scene. Show of hands: how many of you read this last night?”

A few hesitant hands rose.

“Very good. So then you will know what I’m talking about.”

Scarlet zoned out, as her thoughts turned back to Sage. She thought again of last night, of all that he told her, of who he was, who his family was. She remembered that orb he had created, in her palm, remembered watching it float away. She believed him. It was obvious, he was not like anybody else. And she felt in her heart that the two of them were meant to be together. Two immortals. Two different types of creatures. Unlike anyone else on earth. They were destined for each other.

Most of all, he understood her. He didn’t make fun of her when she said she was a vampire; he understood. He wasn’t even surprised. And he wasn’t afraid. For the first time, it made Scarlet feel comfortable in her own skin, in who she was becoming. It also made her feel greatly relieved that she could be around Sage without wanting to feed on him.

But Scarlet then thought of Sage’s limited life span, of his few weeks left to live, and she felt overwhelmed with sadness. It wasn’t fair. To find the love of her life, and only have a few weeks to be with him—it just wasn’t fair.

“And that is what makes this play different,” the teacher announced. “Romeo and Juliet each decide to die for each other. Without their love, they feel that life is not worth living. They are just from two very different families. Families that want to tear them apart. When all they want is to love each other.”

Scarlet looked up, paying attention to Mr. Sparrow’s words for the first time. She looked up at the lines he’d written on the board:

O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die.

“Juliet’s last words, as she kills herself with Romeo’s dagger. That is what makes it a love story. Their sacrifice. How many of us are willing to sacrifice like this for love? Will any of us ever encounter a love this great?”

Scarlet thought about that. Romeo had given up his life for Juliet’s; Juliet had given up her life for Romeo. Shouldn’t she give Sage her necklace? Why was her life worth more than his?

The class sat there, in silence, when suddenly the bell rang.

As everyone headed for the door, Scarlet noticed Maria hurry out faster than the others, clearly wanting to avoid her. Scarlet sadly gathered her things, still thinking of Mr. Sparrow’s words, and headed for the door—when she heard a voice behind her.

“Scarlet?”

She turned, and saw Mr. Sparrow sitting on the edge of his desk.

“Are you okay? Usually, you’re the first one to answer. Today you seemed a bit…out of it.”

She was touched by his concern. He was the only teacher that ever even noticed, or cared.

“I’m fine. It’s just that…” She stopped, wondering what to say. “I guess it’s just that there’s a lot going on for me right now. But I love the play. And I love everything you said.”

He smiled back.

“I know high school can be overwhelming,” he said. “So much stress at once. Especially in this year. My advice to you is to just try to focus on the work before you. Allow yourself to get lost in the text. Shakespeare’s writing is four hundred years old, but if you really get lost in his stories, in his characters, you’ll be surprised to see that everything he wrote about is still relevant today. We learn that others have suffered from the same things as we, for hundreds of years. We are no different. That connection to history, to others—it can help you make it through.”

She thought to herself: he has no idea how right he was.

“Thank you, Mr. Sparrow. For everything,” she said meaningfully, knowing this would be the last time she ever saw him again. “I just want you to know, I really enjoyed this year.”

“The year is not over yet!” he said, with a smile.

“I know. I just want to say, if for some reason I don’t see you again, thanks for everything.”

He gave her a puzzled look, but before he could ask what she meant, she hurried from the room.

Scarlet walked into the hall and spotted Maria, closing her locker. Maria began to turn, and Scarlet hurried over to her. She figured it was now or never: she wanted to clear the air, and at least voice her side of the story.

“Maria,” she said.

Slowly, reluctantly, Maria stopped and turned. She was scowling back.

“What do you want?” she snapped.

Scarlet was taken aback by her anger.

“Look, I’m really sorry about whatever it is you think happened, but I didn’t steal Sage. You have to know that.”

“Oh no? So what did you do exactly? He just walked away by himself?”

“It’s not like that. I tried to set you two up. I really did. But he just wasn’t into you.”

Maria scowled, embarrassed.

“Is that what he said? Or is that what you are saying?”

“That’s what he told me,” Scarlet said.

But Maria just got angrier.

“Well, how could he be into me with you stealing him away? You didn’t give him a chance.”

“It wasn’t like that. I swear,” Scarlet said. “He came up to me.”

“Oh, really? Like you had nothing to do with it at all?”

Scarlet felt like this was going nowhere.

“Look, I would never steal anyone out from under you,” she said. “But it’s not like you two were dating. You didn’t even know each other. And he liked me. He approached me. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.”

“You could phrase it any way you want to,” Maria said. “But the bottom line is, you betrayed me. That is something I will never forgive. You were supposed to be my best friend. You were supposed to look out for me.” Maria leaned forward. “We’re done. I don’t know you anymore.”

Maria slammed her locker, and turned and marched away.

Waiting for Maria down the hall were Jasmin and Becca. They each gave Scarlet a snotty look, then turned and marched off with Maria.

Scarlet could not believe it. Maria had managed to turn her two other best friends against her. She felt like she’d been excommunicated from her group of friends. She’d never felt so alone.

As she walked, the halls felt a lot bigger, and a lot less friendly.

Scarlet spotted someone heading towards her out of the corner of her eye, and she couldn’t believe it: Blake.

Oh no
, Scarlet thought.

She braced herself. She could only imagine what her dad might’ve said to him the night before. She was already cringing with embarrassment. She was beginning to think that coming to school today had been a bad idea. Could this day get any worse?

“Hey,” Blake said.

“Hey.”

“So I like ran into your dad last night,” he said, sounding nervous. “He like cornered me in at the party. He was pretty pissed.”

“Sorry,” she said. “I really am.”

He shrugged.

“Whatever. He thought I was like a druggy or something. He’s so got the wrong idea. Is he always like that?”

Scarlet shrugged.

“He’s pretty protective, I guess.”

Blake looked down and toed the floor.

“Well, like, anyway,” he said, “I’m sorry that, like, you left when you did. I didn’t really, like, get a chance to finish talking to you.”

Scarlet looked at him.

“Actually I think you had your chance. But you let Vivian get in the way.”

It was time for Scarlet to air the truth. She’d had enough of half-truths. He could either take it or leave it. She really didn’t care anymore. Now, all she thought about was Sage. Blake had had his chance; he was too late.

The weird thing was, it was like Blake sensed it. He was acting differently towards her. It was like he sensed that she no longer cared—and that made him want her even more. In fact, she had never seen him seem so into her before.

“Well like listen, anyway,” he continued, stumbling, “the dance tonight. I really want to take you. Will you be my date?” he asked, finally looking up and asking her directly.