Chapter 114-School break

Chapter 114: 114-School break

[A one week school break]

The announcement of the school break came at the end of an unusually long night of classes.

By the time Professor Primrose dismissed them, the corridors of Veris Academy were already buzzing with excitement.

Students poured from their classrooms in groups, talking over one another about where they were going, who they would visit, and how they intended to spend the days and nights away from lessons.

For some, the break meant returning to enormous family estates hidden within the vampire cities, towns, villages, and communes. For others, it meant returning to crowded households where generations of vampires lived beneath the same roof. A few students had already arranged gatherings with friends.

Maisa remained seated for a while after everyone else had begun leaving. She watched the crowd disappear through the doorway without a word.

A school break? She hadn’t really thought about what she would do or where she would go, but there was one person she wanted to see.

"Hey," Sapphire dropped into the empty chair beside her.

Maisa looked over. She knew Sapphire had something to say since the girl approached her first, looking all happy.

Sapphire had already started packing her books into her bag. "So," she said casually, "what are you doing during the break?"

Maisa blinked. She thought about it and came up with only one answer, "I don’t know yet."

Sapphire stopped packing. "You don’t know?"

Maisa shook her head. She was a new vampire with no family in the vampire world, and at current, her mates were not talking to her, and her family home was a death trap, so she was left with fewer options.

Sapphire leaned back. "You don’t have anywhere to go?"

The question was innocent, but Maisa felt something tighten in her chest. She lowered her gaze and didn’t say a word.

Sapphire noticed and quickly softened her tone. "Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that."

"It’s fine."

Sapphire continued packing. "A lot of redbloods don’t really have anywhere to go during breaks. They usually stay at the redblood camp," she paused. "But those who have families usually go back to the communes."

Maisa listened quietly. That was new information to learn. She recorded everyone into memory.

"My mother lives in one of the communes," Sapphire continued. "Well, technically, she was human before she was turned."

Maisa looked at her. "Your mother turned you?"

"Yep," Sapphire smiled. "She’s the one who made me a vampire after she was turned. Our family of two only gave each other, she couldn’t well let me live alone in the hums world, so she turned me and brought me to the vampire world."

There was something warm in the way she said it. She held no fear or resentment towards her mother for turning her, only affection.

"We have a tiny apartment in the communes. Nothing fancy, but it’s home for us."

Maisa smiled faintly. "That sounds nice."

"It is," Sapphire zipped her bag. "I’ll probably spend most of the break sleeping, eating and feeding, annoying my mother, and sleeping some more."

Maisa laughed. Hahaha. Hahaha. "You have quite the schedule."

"I’ll be very busy," Sapphire stood with a playful wink. "What about you?"

Maisa hesitated. Her thoughts immediately went to Evelyn, her aunt. The woman who had taken her in when everything else in her life had collapsed. The woman who had secured her place at Veris Academy and who Maisa hadn’t seen in far too long.

A pang of guilt settled inside her. She had spent so much time trying to survive academy life that she had barely thought about the person who had made that life possible.

"I might visit Zolani," Maisa said. The lie came more easily than she expected. "I haven’t seen her since she left."

Sapphire’s expression softened. "That makes sense. She has been MIA since the blood trial."

She didn’t question it anymore and simply nodded. "Then I hope you two have a good time."

Maisa looked away. She hated having to lie to her friend, but she couldn’t exactly tell her that she was going beyond the border to meet her human aunt.

"Yeah, I’ll try my best to have fun."

Sapphire swung her bag over her shoulder. "Keep in touch, okay?"

"I will. Have fun with your mom."

"Don’t disappear on me either, friend. We have blood mirrors for a reason."

"I won’t."

Sapphire smiled. "That’s my good girl."

She hurried toward the doorway before stopping suddenly. "Oh! And don’t spend the entire break reading."

Maisa raised an eyebrow. "I make no promises."

Sapphire laughed. "You’re impossible since you locked on the nerd form. Getting you away from books is so hard. Breaks are for resting, okay."

"Okay," Maisa smiled.

Sapphire disappeared down the corridor, and Maisa watched her go. For a moment, she simply stood there as her smile faded.

She needed to see Evelyn. There were too many unanswered questions in her head, and perhaps her aunt could give her some of the answers.

"It’s been a while, aunt Evelyn. Do you miss me?"

Right after seeing Sapphire off, she went to the school store and found the store was almost empty.

Most students had already left to catch their transportation home, leaving the usually crowded shop unusually quiet. Maisa walked between the shelves until she reached the section containing communication devices.

She located the blood mirrors and stopped. Her old one was still functional, but she wanted another.

Something she could leave with Evelyn that would allow them to remain connected after Maisa returned to school.

She handed over her academy points and received a small, polished blood mirror in return. The mirror was compact enough to fit inside her palm.

Maisa turned it over. Its surface shimmered faintly. "This will help us communicate here," she smiled. "For Aunt Evelyn. I hope you’ll like my gift, auntie."

The thought warmed her deeply. She tucked it carefully into her bag and returned to the dormitory.

Packing took less time than expected. She didn’t carry much; she put a few changes of clothes, her books, a small collection of souvenirs from Old Scaris, the mysterious medicine, and the blood bags the school gave to all students.

Maisa hesitated before placing the manual into her bag. She stared at it. There was still something deeply unsettling about carrying it.

Someone had given her this, they knew far too much about her and she knew nothing about them but she couldn’t leave it behind.

She needed it to continue training, and perhaps her aunt would know something about the manual. Either way, Maisa wanted it close with her.

Once everything was packed, she slung the bag over her shoulder and left the dormitory.

The academy had become strangely quiet. Most students had already departed for their school break. It was half-term, none of them dared to linger around the academy any longer.

Maisa walked through the familiar halls one last time, passing classrooms she had spent countless nights inside, the library where she had practically become a permanent fixture, and the courtyard where she and Sapphire had shared countless conversations.

She reached the academy gates where a few remaining students passed her.

Maisa kept walking, nobody stopped her or questioned where she was going, and that was exactly what she needed.

Once she was far enough from the main buildings, Maisa turned away from the usual paths.

She entered the forest. The familiar trees swallowed her almost immediately. Branches stretched overhead, turning the path into a tunnel of shadow.

Maisa moved faster and then faster still, and soon she was running. Her bag bounced against her back as she raced between the trees.

She didn’t slow down until the academy was completely hidden behind the forest. "Good, nobody saw me head away from vampire territory," she released a sigh of relief and kept moving.

Ahead waited the barrier. The boundary separates the vampire world from the human world.

Maisa had seen it before from a distance and had crossed it that one time when she went for some air. That time, Zolani came to her rescue and got hurt.

She stopped several steps away. The barrier shimmered faintly between the trees. "This time, if anything happens to me... will you come to save me?"