Dhampirica

VIII

IN THE DAYS THAT FOLLOWED, Yvanna found herself to be the most popular person on campus — second only to Lord Dante, who was constantly being showered with the commiserations of other students. Yvanna, who was once a mere fly on the walls of Invictus Academy, was now being applauded for her bravery and success in saving six nobles last weekend. However, she was finding it difficult to accept praise after praise when Lord Dante stood at her side, bearing an expression of utter malcontent. Since the Ou Yangs' party, something had changed in his demeanor. There was a stiffness to his gait, an added harshness to his words. His usual recalcitrance now bore the faintest edge of hostility.

As the week wore on, the discourse shifted from the events of last weekend to the one upcoming: Lord Dante's 21st birthday. Anyone and everyone wanted to attend the party and, as far as Yvanna knew, anyone and everyone was going. Lord Dante was disconcertingly nonchalant about who to invite, and so it was left as open invitation. Some two-hundred students, several dozen other nobles, as well as a select few celebrities, RSVP'd. From what she had heard, the Skygale Villa had more than enough space to host the staggering number of guests that appeared to be attending. She had asked one of Lord Riccardo's security guards for a comprehensive list of the guests, but he had laughed and told her that it was not her concern.

Whilst everyone fretted over what to wear and what gifts to bring, Yvanna was concerned about the work cut out for her this coming Friday, but Soren informed her that Lord Riccardo already hired enough security to match the size of the party. And thankfully, after Lord Riccardo's reprimand last Saturday, she no longer had to be concerned about her noble escaping from her sight. For the entire week, Lord Dante obediently stayed by her side and rarely ordered her away as he normally did. It seemed he had been secretly looking forward to his birthday party after all, even though he said nothing of it aloud. He was content to ignore her, and she was content to be ignored.

When Friday came around, she obediently followed him as was her duty, carried his textbooks and accepted, on his behalf, the mountain of gifts which came his way. Most of the presents were comprised of expensive gift cards, tickets to luxurious interstate resorts, and vintage bottles of wine. It was impossible to fit all the gifts in his locker, so she borrowed a professor's storage room for the day, and avoided thinking about when she would have to carry them by herself to Soren's car. Although West offered to help her, she declined, not wanting to draw him into the range of her noble's ire. She did not think Lord Dante would lash out at him; he never lost his temper in the presence of others. But Yvanna thought it would be best to do what was expected of her on her own.

When the day was done and Lord Dante's classes had ended, they returned home to get ready for the evening. The party would start at 8:00PM and had no exact end time, though she guessed it would go on until the early hours of the morning. Since Yvanna did not need to wear anything but her uniform, she instead debated on if she should change into a fresh set of clothes. Since she had a little over an hour to kill, she decided to have another shower and do just that.

After she was done, she waited downstairs in the foyer with Soren. At 6:33PM, Lord Dante's face appeared at the peak of the stairs. He was dressed in a crisp black shirt, partly unbuttoned, and a suit the color of red wine. His dark lustrous hair was slicked back behind his ears and his eyes ever darker with displeasure at the sight of her.

"Shall we?" he said to Soren, before leading the way to the garage.

The Skygale Villa was the most glamorous place Yvanna had ever set her eyes upon; a dazzling waterfront venue with glass walls overlooking the glistening black waves of Lake Michigan. It was a cold November night, even for a vampire, and so they promptly headed inside. There were three levels to the building: bar and dining, as well as a dance floor, on level one; a second dance floor on level two; and a private lounge and smoking area on level three. Although their party had arrived early, a few dozen guests were already inside.