It took a while for anyone to answer my question. They all wanted to win. Why? What was so important that they would risk their lives with such a violent game?
Like before all the boys looked to Ethan. He gave no response but ate like the question was not even asked.
Bellamy rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Such a coward."
"Whatever," Ethan grumbled between his straw.
I patiently waited for someone to say something. Not even Brucie uttered a word.
The movement of the sweat on my smoothie cup caught my attention. My gaze diverted to Bellamy. He nibbled his burger with his eyes on the table. I kept my mouth shut and looked back to my cup. He wanted to show me something, and I wanted to know why they were acting weird.
The moisture from the cup connected like dots to a puzzle. It spread across the whole side of my cup. An image then appeared in the moisture. A girl. Black hair with soft orange eyes. A small, cute face.
"Amanda Feol," Bellamy said, keeping his eyes on the table. "Pretty, isn't she?"
She was, indeed. Judging from the looks of it, she was their age.
"She's in our class," Ethan confessed. "We're having a formal dinner. With all this conversing of war, the headmaster of our school thought a get together would ease our minds."
War? They must be referring to the one in the human world. Then, it would mean they didn't live here.
"Most of our parents have gone to help in the fight," Jason explained. "For the past week, no one has been focused, you know. We hear this witch is powerful. Unlike every other battle, this one seems scary. There's a slight chance our parents won't return."
My gaze slid from the sullen boy. Mother was indeed powerful. She used that power to inflict fear in others, building an army. For the past few centuries, she had recruited over a hundred powerful men. This war was going to be terrible. People were bound to die. But, Mother's main focus was the head of each community and the High Council. Once they were dead, she would rule. Everyone that didn't submit would be killed.
Being able to listen to her thoughts had taught me a lot. Not only that she was selfish and ruthless, but what her main objective was. Father. Her love for him had turned into something poisonous. It drove her to her death, and for her to possess her child. A mere mistake, as she would call me.
Who would blame her? Father mated her best friend under the Red Moon. Friends were supposed to stick together, not stab each other in the back. Yet, it didn't matter how many times the memories played over in my mind. Mother had two choices. She could have started over instead of taking the dark path. But, no, she had to show father.
And, here I was several centuries later, stuck in a God-forsaken place with an angel who refused to give us the whole story of why she summoned us. I manipulated for centuries, caught in a web with no escape. No more. I was never going to be that weak again. No one was going to use me ever again.
"Hence, the reason for the formal dining," Bellamy added. "A night to take out dates and relax."
Sounded nice.
"Amanda and I are friends," Ethan admitted. "I want to ask her to the dinner party but I think she likes Jason."
Oh.
Jason's cheeks reddened at the accusation. "I told him that was not possible. She's a vam-wolf. Her mother and my mom are friends. She comes over to my house all the time. Ethan thinks something is going on but I keep telling him there isn't."
Ethan scoffed. "I can hear your heartbeat, you know. Stop lying. We're friends. If you like her, it's okay. I mean, this is Amanda. What's not to like?"
Jason didn't seem to buy into his friend's generous words. "I don't like her."
Ethan was right. Jason's heart did accelerate every time the name Amanda was mentioned. He did like her. It was either he wasn't sure of his feelings or something happened between the two. I could see why he didn't want to tell Ethan. The boy seemed to really like this Amanda girl.
Bellamy slurped his smoothie. "You see what I have to deal with?"
I did see. This was quite a dilemma.
"It's just that I want to know," Ethan bit his burger. "I want to know who she likes. I don't want to be the fool chasing after someone who likes someone else. There is no honor in that. Father said it's best to know the truth and deal with it accordingly than to move blindly by my ambitions and desires."
"But, Ethan wants Jason to ask Amanda if she likes him," Bellamy filled in. "And, Jason would rather Ethan ask her himself. Ethan thinks that Amanda will be more open and honest with Jason because they've known each other for so long. Jason thinks she might get the wrong idea if he asks and it might put a strain on their friendship."
Brucie brushed crumbs from his mouth. "But, in reality, they are both scared of what she might say, so no one wants to do it. The loser of the marble game had to do it."
Now everything made sense. It explained why Ethan was so upset when they lost.
Brucie relaxed in his seat. "I offered to help, but they said no."
Ethan raked his hand through his hair. "It would be weird."
I tapped the table. "So, what are you going to do now? I know the answer might be scary but it will be a relief to know your next step. Don't you guys want that?"
Jason observed his food. Ethan munched his burger.
Bellamy sighed.
Ethan wrapped the wrapper around the rest of his burger and rested it on the table. "You guys watch my food. I'm going to the bathroom."
Jason and Bellamy released a long breath once Ethan was gone.
I arched my brow at the boys.
"She kissed me." Jason's confession got me choking on my burger. I had to drink a few gulps of my smoothie.
"It was a game," Bellamy clarified. "We got bored one day and went to hang out with the girls. A joint game or whatnot. Ethan wasn't there because his Father had taken him training. No matter what, Ethan never misses those things. It's the only time he gets to spend time with his dad one on one. After all, his father is the leader of the Vampire Association in France. It is only expected that Ethan is the best, second to his dad."
Ah.
Under the umbrella of the High Council, each country was given a leader for each community. Those were second in command to report to the High Council of any incident. It was how the High Council was able to manage each of the communities without having to be everywhere at once.
The Baltimores have been a big help to the vampire community. On more than one occasion, Father and Ethan's father have corresponded. The last time I saw him and his wife, they were without a child. Some vampires were said to be barren, unable to give birth. It looked like the Baltimores figured out a way. Ethan came. I should have picked up on the resemblance.
"Anyway," Bellamy continued. "One of the girls thought it was fun to play hide and go kiss." He paused for a second. "It's a game where either the boy and the girl hides. Whoever finds who has to kiss them. Us boys thought it would be less weird to seek, so we hid. Unfortunately, Amanda found Jason and that's that."
What a weird game? Why would kids even be playing such a thing?
"Okay," I searched my brain, trying to come up with something coherent to say. "That sounds innocent enough. Why don't you tell Ethan?"
Sure he would understand.
Jason scoffed. "She was supposed to kiss me on the cheek but instead she kissed me on the lips. Ethan would get angry. You see, he has a temper. I must admit, I do get a little scared of it sometimes. The last time he got upset, Brucie had to tie him down. It took Ethan three hours to calm down and he only did because Bellamy put him to sleep. When we say Ethan is the best, he is. I've seen him take down three grown adults in a fight. It's safe to say, if I tell him what happened, he might get mad."
Hmmm. A sticky situation indeed.
Jason held down his head. "And, I don't want him to be mad at Amanda. Or me. I still want to be his friend. But, he won't understand."
He still had to tell him. The truth would be better out in the open. That was what Ethan wanted.