"G, huh?" Jo purred, peering over my shoulder. "Who's that?"

Oh, shit.

"No idea," I lied, but not as smoothly as I had hoped.

Jo's lightly freckled face lit up with a toothy grin. "Bullshit!"

My cheeks heated up, and I began sputtering. "I-I really don't know. Honest."

I had always been a pretty decent liar; I'd lied to myself constantly growing up.

This will be my last foster home.

I can finally unpack that black garbage bag and settle in.

These people will love me enough to keep me.

But this time was different, something was throwing me off. Maybe it was my impending departure on Saturday?

Or maybe... maybe it was something else? Something that would be excruciating if I examined it too closely?

Like turning my back on the first place that has ever felt like home.

"Yeah, okay," Jo's sarcastic tone pulled me back to reality. "Well, if you're not gonna tell me who this G dude is, will you at least let me see the dress? The anticipation's killing me!"

I laughed at her eagerness, and slowly pulled down the zipper.

A Royal blue bodice with glittery specs twinkled in the glow of our shared bedside lamp. Further down, the top tapered into a V that led to a poofy, Royal blue skirt.

"Woah," I breathed as Jo let out an astonished whistle.

"It's like something out of a fairy tale." She whispered, awed.

"Right?" I agreed, adding, "there's no way I can accept this. It's too much."

She looked at me as if I were speaking in tongues. "Are you nuts?! Do you know how many chicks would kill for a dress like this?"

I zipped the bag up and tossed it on my bed. "It's just so extra! And it looks super expensive. What if I accidentally spill punch on it? Or ripped it trying to dance?"

These were excuses, and pretty poor ones at that. Jo knew it. But I couldn't tell her the truth, not when Duke could pluck the information from her head if he took a notion to.

"Besides, I'm not even sure I'll go." I was surprised by how disappointed I sounded.

Jo gaped at me, but a sudden knock at the door stopped her from saying anything.

"Jo," a girl's muffled voice called from the other side. "It's time for our meeting."

"Coming!" Jo replied, before whispering to me, "we'll talk about this later."

She rushed out after that, and I flopped back on my bed with a sigh. Thank God for extracurricular activities.

I began nodding off again when another knock sounded at the door.

"Miss Ridley," Lucius said, "Dean Lachlan has requested your presence."

Fuck.

I'd completely forgotten about mine and the Dean's dinner plans. And our "raincheck".

Heaving myself out of bed, I opened the door to see Lucius looking as stoic as always.

"Did you know there was going to be a ball on Saturday?" I whispered, closing the door behind me.

"Not until a few moments ago." He replied, leading me away from the girls dorm section. "It is inconsequential. On second thought..." he paused to rub the stubble on his chin. "We may be able to use this ball to our advantage."

I waited until we were downstairs to ask, "how?"

Other students began to fill the lobby heading to the banquet hall for dinner, so Lucius shook his head. "Not now. I will fetch you from your dorm tomorrow at midnight to discuss it."

"Okay," I whispered back, cautiously adding, "Dean Lachlan got me a dress."

"Did he, now?" Lucius asked without looking at me.

"I think it was him, anyway," I mumbled, uneasy. "It was signed G."

"I see," was all he said as he led me out of the university.

I thought we were going to the dock, like I had with Duke earlier, but instead we stopped at the square.

I gazed up at the statue, just realizing that it must have been modeled after Dean Lachlan, when I noticed a plaque on its base.

Gabriel Lachlan the first. Founder of Lachlan University. Established May 5, 1969.

"I'm guessing that this statue wasn't modeled after the Dean's great-grandfather." I smirked, nodding up at the bronze carving.

Lucius looked over his shoulder, then gave our surroundings a quick glance before tapping on the statue three times.

"No, Miss Ridley," Lucius replied with a smirk of his own. "It wasn't."

Suddenly, the statue began to tremble, loudly scraping across stone. It slid back from its spot, revealing a set of stone steps that descended into a dark hole.

"I'm not going in there," I said instantly.

Lucius let out a hearty chuckle. "Come now, Miss Ridley. Where's your sense of adventure?"

I thought of the last time I had felt adventurous, when I found Dean Lachlan and Nero in that cave, and I shuddered.

Lucius must have realized what I was thinking, because his good nature immediately changed. "It will be fine, my queen. You have my word, no harm will befall you."

I gave him an uncertain look before finally letting him take my hand.

We carefully went downstairs, his massive, cool hand gently clasping mine. The passageway was narrow, maybe two feet wide, and it was dark, but not terribly so.

Not until the statue above shifted back to its original position, that is.

"Um, Lucius..?"

"We're nearly there." He mumbled, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.

And he was right. In less than five minutes, we stepped off the stairs and were greeted by dim candle light. As my eyes adjusted, I caught sight of a massive room made out of stone, with a huge iron chandelier holding hundreds of candles hanging from the ceiling.

"My queen," Lucius released my hand to give me a deep bow. "These are your subjects," he swept his hand across the room, indicating the other people I hadn't noticed.

There were at least sixty people, some of whom I'd recognized as professors. My calculus professor, my English Lit teacher, and my biology professor were sitting at the same round table, sipping on champagne flutes.

The doctor and nurse from the clinic were there, too, standing near the opening of the stairs.

"Miss Ridley," the doctor came up to curtsie. "Or should I call you queen?"

"No-no, you don't have to do that." I waved my hands. "Audrey is fine."

She smiled, revealing dazzlingly white elongated canines. "Okay, then. Audrey. How are you feeling?"

Her unexpected fangs threw me off, and it took a second to find my voice. "Good. Better, actually, since I've eaten and taken a nap earlier."

"Wonderful!" She brushed my arm with a gentle pat. "Be sure to continue resting. You aren't like the rest of us yet, so recovery will take a lot of effort on your part."

"Not like the rest of you?" I mused aloud.

She nodded, her strawberry-blonde curls bouncing with the motion. "A vampire. You haven't begun your transition from half-ling to immortal yet."

My what?!

"Oh," I felt angry, scared. "Right, of course."

There was absolutely no way in hell I was going to transition into anything besides a college graduate.

"Well, I should go mingle," the doctor offered me another fanged smile. "It was lovely seeing you again, Audrey."

She left to chat with some people at a table on our far right after that.

When she was out of earshot, I glared up at Lucius. "What the actual fuck?"

"I won't allow that to happen," he hissed at me. "Not if it's something you do not desire."

Before I could say anything else, Lucius took me by the elbow. "Come, we don't want to keep Gabriel waiting."

Begrudgingly, I let Lucius lead me down a Royal blue carpet to an elevated part of the floor at the back of the room.

Dean Lachlan was seated at a gilded throne behind a thick wooden table, an empty throne beside him. It was a little smaller than his, but just as ornate, with intricate filigree and beautifully carved roses on either side of the top.

"Ah, Miss Ridley." The Dean stood up, positively beaming. "Please, have a seat with me."

I obeyed, stepping out of Lucius' hold to sit in the empty throne beside Dean Lachlan.

He waited until I was seated, to sit down and take my hand. "I have missed you, my queen. How was your day?"

Suddenly I thought of my lunch with Duke, how he had told me about his human life.

And then mine and Nero's kiss came to mind unbidden. That last memory sent a wave of frustrated desire over me, and I cleared my throat.

"It was fine," I chimed, just remembering that Duke might have been in the room.

I quickly scanned the crowd, and sure enough, there he was, sitting near mine and Dean Lachlan's table.

His auburn hair was combed in a stylish way tonight, and looked like it may have been trimmed. I wondered if he had heard what I was thinking, but noticed him glaring at Nero across the room.

Please don't be mad at him. I thought at Duke.

He turned his caramel eyes on me, and I gasped softly as his voice filled my head.

I am not mad at Nero. I envy him.

"Is something the matter, Miss Ridley?" Dean Lachlan pulled my attention away from Duke, his blue eyes warm.

"Oh, no," I shook my head. "I was just thinking."

"About our conversation this morning?"

I blushed at the memory of making out with Dean Lachlan, and he supressed a groan.

"I've been thinking about it, too." He sighed, bringing my knuckles to his lips. "Which reminds me," he added, planting a feather-light kiss on my hand. "Could I have everyone's attention, please?"

The low rumble of voices ceased, and all eyes were directed to our table.

"Now, I am certain you all know why you are here. However, I'm afraid our guest of honor does not." He turned his sights back on me, and flashed a kind smile. "Miss Ridley, you are our queen by birth. But now is the time to make it official."

Releasing my hand, the Dean fished around in his pocket to pull out a tiny velvet box. "Be my bride, and claim your birthright."