“Is he alright?” Rannulf asked, worried. “What happened to him?”
“We had a close encounter with the Hellhounds. He got hurt.”
“Let’s go see him, immediately!”
Rannulf rushed out, and everyone followed. Roman took his daughter’s hand and from the look on his face, she knew it was really over.
Chapter 27
The following week at school, it seemed that no one, apart from Eva, Bella and the guys knew what had happened. Life went on calmly, as it always was, untouched by the events that could have changed it all.
It was lunchtime, and Eva was sitting in the cafeteria with Frey, Dorian and Sebastian. They were busy chatting, and didn’t even notice when Bella came by and sat down next to Eva.
“Hey, love birds,” she giggled at them. “You guys are the cutest group here.”
“How could we not be?” Frey grinned, and Sebastian punched him jokingly on the shoulder. “Ouch! What was that for?”
Frey was rubbing his shoulder, even though they were all sure that it didn’t hurt the least bit. He just wanted attention.
“For being a smart ass,” Sebastian smirked. “Hey, meant to ask you,” he addressed Eva, “how’s Sorwyce?”
“Well,” Eva replied sadly, “the bad news is that he lost his arm. Amelie managed to stop the bleeding, but it was far too late to do anything about the severed arm itself.”
“What’s the good news?” he asked again, and everyone leaned in to hear.
“The good news is that he will continue to be the best vampire magician this world has ever seen, and he’s going to be even more badass, because he’ll be doing it with only one hand,” she smiled. “Only, of course, if you tell him I used the word badass to describe him, I’ll totally deny it.”
Everyone laughed. It felt good to laugh freely, to know that the danger that was once threatening to consume them all was finally gone. There was nothing on the horizon but clear blue skies, and Eva was eager to find out what the next day would bring, as she gazed lovingly into the eyes of the boys who made her so happy.
“So, are we on for the picnic this weekend?” Bella asked.
Everyone nodded. Their idea was to make a little celebration of what happened, and invite Sorwyce, Amelie and Roman.
“I was thinking, maybe you guys wouldn’t mind if I bring Darlith?” she asked, shyly.
“Woohoo, girl!” Frey whistled, “but, only if he promises not to go all wolf on us.”
“Then you better behave,” Bella replied, with a smile.
“Sure, I don’t see why not,” Eva added, “he’s more than welcome. And, I guess this makes him your serious kinda boyfriend or something?” She tried to remember what Bella told her about him, weeks ago, when she pointed him out during the annual basketball game.
“He gave me a promise ring,” Bella displayed her hand proudly.
There was a little ring, with a pear shaped crystal on her ring finger. It was small and delicate, absolutely lovely.
“I love it!” Eva squealed in delight.
She was too immersed in her awe of the ring, that she didn’t even see the significant glances the guys were exchanging between one another. And, better. Because this way, she had no idea that they were making a little surprise for her.
At that moment, they heard the sound of a commencing school announcement.
“Good afternoon, students, this is Principal Rannulf speaking.”
Eva glanced at everyone at the table. Smiles were spreading wide.
“It has been an exciting school year, one filled with many treacherous traps, but together, we managed to overcome them all.”
The rest of the students had no idea what exactly he was talking about. For all they knew, this was just an exaggerated metaphor for hardships during the school year, and they understood his message as such. Eva knew better. He was thanking them publicly.