Vampire's Kiss by Verónica Wolff Read Free Book Online Page A

then, dollies.”
     
    I scooted back my chair and grabbed my bag, too. Maybe we could make a quick escape before the Initiates attacked. Maybe if we pretended to make idle—and unaware—chatter, we could get back to the safety of our dorm rooms. I made my voice calm, playful even. “They’re always on me about the swim thing, but never you. How is it
you
learned how, farm girl, out there in the middle of the country?”
     
    No movement from behind me.
Still safe.
As I stood, Iclenched my arms at my side, willing the tray not to tremble in my hands. I tossed off a giggle and hoped it didn’t sound too nervous. “Wait, don’t tell me. I’ll bet you had a swimming hole, right?”
     
    Emma nodded. She had just opened her mouth to speak, when Masha plopped down where Ronan had been sitting a moment before. “Going so soon?”
     
    Her Russian accent was a pert lilt, in contrast to the ginormous bullwhip found on her person at all times. In fact, it was only due to the restorative properties of vampire blood that I no longer bore a razor-thin scar where she’d once cracked that whip across my cheek.
     
    Crap.
I’d been in Masha’s sights from the beginning, and it’d only gotten worse since the tournament. Maybe it was because Alcántara acted as if he favored me—I was still learning how it worked around here, but I didn’t think vampires generally cared about Acari above and beyond how they might taste.
     
    Whatever the reason, Masha took every opportunity to harass me—tripping me in the hallway or other equally mature exploits—and, at the moment, I really wasn’t in the mood. Hoping to defuse the situation, I lowered my chin to indicate respect, while forcing my eyes to meet hers. Masha was one of the more advanced Guidons, and Guidons didn’t like being ignored. “I…”
     
    Hands clenched my shoulders from behind and shoved me back in my seat. “Yes, little Acari. Don’t leave. We’re not done with you yet.”
     

CHAPTER SIX

     
    T he new set of hands clawed into my shoulders before releasing me. “You haven’t even finished your lunch. Waste not want not, isn’t that right, Masha?”
    I recognized Guidon Trinity’s voice as the one attached to the talons.
     
    Double crap.
     
    I snuck a glance. Trinity was the last person my friend would want to see. Ever since Emma had backed out of the challenge, Trinity had been harboring a real hard-on for her. And the funny thing was, they were two of the only redheads on the island. It was bizarre, like some sort of ginger fight club.
     
    Other than the hair, they were opposites. Unlike North Dakotan slow-talking Emma, Trinity had a crisp, northeastern accent and stank of East Coast privilege. I’d bet that, like Lilac, she’d traded boarding school for juvie before finding herself in this place.
     
    “That is exactly right.” Masha toyed with the thin tip of her whip and shook her head, making a
tsk
sound. “People go hungry, and yet this Acari thinks to leave food on her plate.”
     
    Trinity sat down, and her eyes glinted as they settled on Emma. “But not Emma.
Acari Emma
is still eating.”
     
    I felt other Initiates come and hover around the table, not about to miss the spectacle. They didn’t sit down, though. Apparently, this was to be Masha’s and Trinity’s show.
     
    “Chewing like a cow,” said Masha.
     
    Trinity leaned in. “Did you have cows on your farm, Acari Emma? Because I think you still stink like shit.”
     
    Emma was pretty stoic, her face often void of expression, and it was no different now. Unfortunately, this had the effect of riling the Guidons. Trinity especially looked like she wanted to get a rise out of her.
     
    “Look at her,” said Trinity, and as her voice grew louder, the other kids in the dining hall got quieter. “Shoveling that food down like a hick. Are you
extra
hungry? Or is that just how hicks eat where you’re from?”
     
    There was the barest flash of emotion in Emma’s eyes. I