Gabriella Poole - Blood Ties (Darke Academy)

It was as though her senses were all snapped into hyper-focus.

‘Yes. Good control, Cassandra,’ said Sir Alric. Cassie jumped, almost surprised to find he was still standing beside them. ‘Well done, both

of you.’

Cassie turned to Isabella tentatively. ‘Are you OK?’

Isabella paused, then let out a short laugh.

‘That’s it?’ Incredulity flooded her voice.

‘Isabella? Are you sure you’re—’

‘I’m absolutely fine,’ Isabella said. She looked up at Cassie and grinned, then threw her arms around her friend in a tight hug. ‘See, I told

you, Cassie Bell. There was no need for all that build-up! No sweat.’

Cassie nodded, still a hint of doubt lingering in her mind.

‘Yeah. That was … I guess it was less involved than I expected. Still, I don’t know if it’s something I want to do on a regular basis.’ Her

head was spinning.

‘Regular feeding is a must, Cassie,’ said Sir Alric seriously. ‘As you have seen, if done properly, it is a simple and harmless procedure. But

if you leave it too long – if you let yourself become too hungry – that is when you make mistakes and lose control. And that is when people

get hurt.’

He walked to the door and placed a hand on the doorknob. ‘For the moment, the Tears of the Few will help to sustain you. As long as

their effect lingers, you will not need to feed as regularly as the other Few. You have done well today, but as soon as you feel the hunger

growing, Cassandra, you must let me know, and we will meet again.’

Sir Alric Darke opened the door. ‘Until then …’

CHAPTER TEN

‘I look ridiculous.’

‘You do not. You look gorgeous!’

Cassie and Isabella stood together in front of the mirrored wardrobe, Isabella impossibly elegant in jeans, leather boots and red

cashmere, Cassie obsessively smoothing and tugging at the dark-green silk of her borrowed dress.

‘You don’t like it? You don’t like my dress!’

‘Isabella, I love your dress. It’s what’s inside it that looks like an idiot.’

‘Tchah! You are blind as well as stupid.’ Isabella tossed her hair. ‘I’m looking stunning, darling, and you look twice as good as me. Of

course, I’d like to think I am at least a little bit responsible for that.’

Cassie grinned. Things between her and Isabella had been surprisingly normal since the feeding tutorial, much to Cassie’s relief. Even

so, whatever Sir Alric said, she was planning to stretch things out as long as she possibly could before putting her friend – and herself –

through the strange experience again.

She blinked at her reflection in the mirror. Her light-brown hair had had a proper cut – courtesy of Isabella again: how was she ever

going to pay the girl back for this kindness as well as all the others? Now styled and smoothed, it had a satiny gleam. Isabella had chucked

all Cassie’s congealed and broken old lipsticks and eyeshadows into the bin, and worked some kind of magic with her own vastly

expensive make-up kit. Staring into the mirror was like looking at a different person – a new, way-better-looking version of herself. She

chuckled sardonically at her reflection and again pulled at her dress uncomfortably.

Isabella was right about one thing: she’d let herself get too thin – an invading spirit and the subsequent trauma would do that to a girl –

but the colour of the fabric did bring out her eyes. The contrast with the rich, dark green made her yellow-green irises look brilliantly pale

and piercing.

Her friend gave an exaggerated sigh. ‘Trust me, you look fabulous, OK? Now get your Jimmy Choos on. You’re going to party with your

beau!’

‘Get your Jimmy Choos on, you mean,’ remarked Cassie under her breath, but she felt a thrill of glamour as she slipped into the

gorgeous stilettos. ‘Am I going to be able to walk?’

‘In these shoes you do not walk, Cassie, you stalk.’

‘Sure, whatever you say. I just wonder where I’m going dressed like this. I wish we were going to Coney Island with you guys.’

Perhaps she might even have had a chance to talk to Jake about his extra-curricular activities. Jake was still avoiding being alone with

Cassie, and she was certain it was so that she couldn’t pressure him to give up the hunt for Katerina.

‘Don’t be silly, your date will be so glamorous.’ Isabella shook her head and sighed. ‘Though mine is romantic, isn’t it? Jake and I shall

stroll on the boardwalk, arm in arm. We shall eat Nathan’s hot dogs. We shall ride the Cyclone!’

‘Uh-huh, so you have an excuse to scream and hang on to his neck.’

Isabella gave her a suggestive smile. ‘What else is a rollercoaster for? Ah!’ She gave a shriek of delight as a knock rattled the door of