Chapter 45-Unworthy

Chapter 45: 45-Unworthy

As night continued to settled over Veris Academy in a wash of deep black and cream clouds, the last traces of daylight disappearing behind the enormous towers as the academy shifted into its nightly rhythm.

One by one, enchanted lamps along the courtyard pathways flickered awake, illuminating the gathering students and the rows of buses waiting beyond the main gates.

The vehicles for the trip had been arranged according to bloodline, each bearing the distinct colors that identified the vampires who would ride inside them.

The whiteblood carriage stood apart from the others but it wasnt taken out since Varitreyawould ride with the dtudent council and the other whiteblood student wasnt on campus. It reserved for the highest-ranking students.

While black, blue, crimson, and dark-red buses occupied their designated positions in neat rows.

Professors moved between them with lists in hand, calling names and checking attendance while students crowded around their friends, carrying bags, arguing over seats, and excitedly discussing everything they had heard about Old Scaris.

For once, the academy felt almost normal. There were no emergency bells, no combat challenges, no angry announcements from the headmistress. Just hundreds of young vampires preparing to leave campus together.

Maisa arrived at the sight with Lumi, that alone was enough to change the atmosphere around them.

The moment the pair crossed the courtyard, conversations began to lower into whispers.

Maisa felt the attention almost immediately. She kept her expression neutral, but her eyes moved carefully across the crowd.

Some students stared openly at the sight that looked unnatural, others turned away whenever she caught them looking and a few redbloods offered her small smiles, while several mixedbloods watched with cautious curiosity.

The natural-born vampires were less welcoming. They found the sight of a redblood walking next to a blueblood to hurt their eyes.

Kriza was among them, the blackblood stood near the blackblood bus with several classmates, her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her eyes followed Maisa and Lumi with an expression that was difficult to mistake.

Envy and beneath it, resentment. She had been trying with everything she had to make a place for herself with the rich and powerful fiery four and failed repeatedly and yet, Maisa just swoops in and finds a place with them.

First the princess had intervened for Maisa and fed her white blood to heal her wounds, then there was Zolani and her visits to the redblood dormitory room A126.

Now, Lumi Ashbourne, the academy’s brilliant blueblood prodigy and one of the most admired students in their year, was arriving beside her as though the two had become friends overnight.

To Kriza, it looked less like coincidence and more like Maisa was slowly claiming pieces of the student council one by one.

"Unbelievable," she muttered.

One of the girls beside her glanced over. "What’s unbelievable?" She tried to sound less angry even though she too was boiling hotter than the sun at the sight of Maisa being friendly with Lumi.

Kriza’s eyes narrowed. "Look at her. So annoying!"

Despite Lumi being of a lesser blood than her, she wanted to win her favour for various reasons, her parents. It was no secret that Lumi’s stepfather was the queen’s advisor and her mother was on the blood council. She had power and influence that outweighed Kriza’s black blood.

The girl followed her gaze. "She’s just walking," she said, knowing that was the problem but not showing it.

"Exactly," Kriza’s mouth tightened. "She shouldn’t be walking with Lumi."

Another student raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Kriza scoffed and glanced at them. She realized it was the exchange student from Reval Academy, a private school for pure blackbloods, with no mix of other bloods. So she didn’t understand the strict rules that bloods followed in open schools that hosted all bloods like Veris.

"Because she’s a redblood, duh!" Kriza said like that was to be expected. "She’s unworthy. Period."

There was no answer to that, everyone understood the implication but clearly Maisa didn’t or perhaps she was simply pretending not to.

She kept walking beside Lumi until the blueblood suddenly slowed.

"Zolani!" Lumi called out.

Maisa followed her gaze. Zolani stood several meters away, already carrying her travel bag. Her crimson hair had been braided into a ponytail, leaving several soft strands framing her face.

Her crimson uniform looked striking against her warm complexion, and unlike the rigid elegance of Varitreya or the intimidating sharpness of Addessa, Zolani carried herself with a natural warmth that made her seem approachable even in a crowd filled with powerful vampires.

Beside her stood another girl, Sophia Thornheart, who was one of the first people to notice Maisa and Lumi together.

The blueblood had long dark-blue hair gathered loosely behind her shoulders and a sharp, intelligent gaze that seemed to notice everything.

She was Lumi’s closest friend and had spent years beside the blueblood prodigy, which meant she knew exactly how unusual it was for Lumi to voluntarily spend this much time with a redblood.

Beside Sophia stood Jane Vonderheide, a mixedblood with dark crimson curls and an expressive face. She was Zolani’s closest friend and had noticed the same change in her friend.

Jane crossed her arms. "Her again," she frowned. It was all Zolani talked and worried about.

Sophia glanced at her. "With Lumi this time. I don’t like this."

"Exactly."

The two exchanged a look and then Jane lowered her voice. "Do you think they’re hiding something from us?"

Sophia’s gaze remained fixed on Maisa. "I think everyone is hiding something, Jane."

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the only answer I have," Sophia let out, unable to explain why their friends were suddenly orbiting around Maisa like they were planets and she was the sun.

Jane sighed. "Zolani has been acting strange since Maisa arrived. Always looking after her, buying her gifts and every conversation always starts and ends with Maisa."

"Lumi too, I mean the acting strange not the rest of that stuff..."

"She barely talks to me anymore and when she does, it’s about Maisa."

Sophia frowned. "Lumi still talks to me."

Jane gave her a pointed look. She doubted their bond was still the same as it used to be. If it was anything like what she was dealing with, then they had a strain in their friendship too.

"About school," Sophia admitted under the pointed look from Jane and then went quiet.

It was true. Lumi still answered questions when Sophia asked them. She still attended study sessions and sat next to her. She still corrected Sophia’s notes when they were wrong and gave her study tips but something had changed.

Lumi’s attention seemed divided as though part of her was constantly somewhere else and with someone else.

Jane looked toward Maisa. "Everything changed when that girl arrived."

Sophia’s expression hardened slightly. "That’s what bothers me."

"What part exactly?"

"Nothing about Maisa makes sense."

Jane nodded slowly. She knew exactly what Sophia meant. She was experiencing it first hand on her end.

"The princess, Zolani and now Lumi, this girl has some big agenda brewing that we can’t see and i bet, it’s going to turn everything upside down," Sophia let out.

Jane counted them on her fingers. "Three members of the student council, all behaving differently because of one redblood."

Sophia looked toward the fourth member of the council bus. "And Addessa?"

Jane shrugged. "She hates her guts, at least that’s normal."

They both laughed quietly. Then Jane’s expression became serious again. "I just hope Maisa isn’t interfering with things that shouldn’t be changed."

Sophia didn’t answer because deep down, she wondered the same thing. "At the end of the day, we can all agree... she is unworthy of their attention and care."

"I agree."