Immoral - G. Bailey Page 0,2

the door behind us. The first thing I notice are all the people—after a month of no one, I’m so relieved to see other people. They’re standing in a clearing, which is one large space with at least fifty doors in a half-circle on the other side, and I can vaguely see beds in the rooms through the glass doors. Grey slate walls stretch high, at least two floors, and in every corner of the space are watchtowers with angels looking down on me. The grass feels strange against my socks, but it’s better than the cold stone floors I have gotten used to. The sun shines down on me up here, and bells constantly ring in the distance. The city of the angels lies just outside these walls, so close but so far, it seems.

“Blessed be the angels,” the nice guard kindly says, nodding his head at me, but I don’t reply to him as he drags Bert away, and I spin around to find out who else is trapped in this place. There must be thirty people scattered around the clearing, and I recognise at least eight of them as vampires from the academy, but the rest are strangers. One of the vampires, with her bright red hair, catches my full attention as she smiles at me. I remember her from the academy...and she is only eight. Possibly nine. And oh god, the angels are never going to let her leave here. A blonde vampire woman wraps her arm around the girl’s shoulders and draws her away, but it doesn’t stop me blaming myself for getting her stuck in here. If I could have stopped Riley, if I could have convinced Ren to stop the war sooner. If, if, if. I have to save her somehow, and myself, and that is all that is important right now. I can plan everything else out later.

“Kaitlyn!” Vesnia shouts, and I pause as I see my best friend step around a group of vampires and come to a halt. Her red hair is cut much shorter, falling to her shoulders, and several parts are braided. Her clothes match mine—so does everyone else here—and she looks thinner than I’ve ever seen her. I run to her as she steps towards me, and someone else comes to her side.

“Did you say Kaitlyn?” Thallon’s deep voice washes over me as he follows Vesnia’s stare to me, and we lock eyes. I get to them both, and we all crash into each other, holding on tightly as I breathe them in.

Hell on a cracker, I missed them so much. Tears stream down my face as I back away a little, only for Thallon to kiss me, tugging me closer to him. A loud warning bell rings once in the distance, and Thallon lets me go, stepping back and holding his hands up. “We aren’t allowed to touch like that, but it was worth it.”

I laugh as Thallon gently touches my cheek, leaning my head to the side to see the no doubt redness on my cheek.

“The angels suck; that was a romantic moment they just interrupted,” Vesnia huffs, and I chuckle as Thallon lowers his hands, anger burning in them, but I shake my head. It isn’t worth it. Eventually he smirks at us both and runs his hands through his hair.

“I’ve missed you both. Have you been here the whole time?” I ask them as Vesnia takes my hand, like she needs to touch me for simple contact like I do with her. My eyes stay on Thallon’s, admiring his slight beard he has grown and how his brown hair has lost the sun-kissed highlights and is so much darker now. It makes me wonder how long he has been kept inside, just like me. Wearing only the black T-shirt and thick looking black trousers, I see his arms are bigger as though he has been working out, and his body presses against his shirt.

“Yes. When the academy fell, I was in the greenhouse, and Vesnia was walking with Bryne. He fell off the island, and I caught Vesnia before she did, and then we ran to the gardens, where we got knocked out by falling debris,” Thallon explains, and I meet Vesnia’s eyes.

“Have you seen Bryne where you’ve been?” she desperately asks me. “In fact, where have you been?”

“I’ve seen no one, well, other than a headless ghost,” I reply, and she looks as confused as I feel. “But he couldn’t talk, obviously,