SOPHIE PAUSED AND looked around, her eyebrows wrinkled together with confusion. There were a few other people in the hallway around her. Several students roamed around in search of their classes and chatting with friends. A few teachers stalked the edges of the hall, stacks of paper in their arms to conceal their weapons. Nobody that she recognized immediately. Nor did she see anybody staring at her awkwardly or expecting her response.

She pursed her lips as her confusion grew.

There was a sudden movement to her right. She turned toward it. A stranger moved at the other end of the hallway, walking toward her, his lips stretched back in a friendly grin. Her eyes widened a bit. The man looked young enough to be a student --younger than her, at least. His hair was thin and straight, framing his face with wispy strands of chocolate.

Sophie forced a pleasant expression on her face. It was obvious that this student had mistaken her for one of his friends or something. It wasn't a big deal, nor did she mind, but she had things to do.

Confusion flickered across his emerald eyes as he drew closer. His smile faltered. "Oh," he said. He stopped in front of her, towering over her. "I apologize. I completely mistook you for an old friend of mine."

"It's alright," she told him. "No harm, no foul."

The man laughed a bit. He lifted a hand and scratched at his head. "I'm sorry to bother you. Before I let you go, though, I have to ask. You wouldn't happen to know where I can find someone named Aelia would you? I've been all over the castle and haven't been able to find her."

Sophie blinked. Students usually referred to her mother as the headmaster. Not her first name. "My mother?" she asked. She gestured behind her, toward the office door, with a small laugh. "Her office is right over there. I'm honestly surprised it took you all day to find her office. There should be maps all over the place to make it easier to find."

The man stared at her. "You're Aelia's daughter?"

Sophie nodded.

His smile reappeared. "No wonder. Now I don't feel as bad about stopping you," he chuckled. "You look so much like your mother. Well, from afar anyways. It's so nice to meet you, Sophie."

He held out a hand and Sophie took it.

"I'm Finn. Finn Frey," he said. "I'm an old friend of your mother's. And your late uncle's. Sorry about what happened with him, by the way. I heard all the juicy details earlier and rushed to get here as soon as I could."

Sophie quirked an eyebrow. "It's been a bit since he passed away," she said.

"I'm well aware," Finn answered. His smile didn't falter. "I would have been here sooner but it was harder to get back into America. I was in Cairo, working deep in a pyramid with several archeologists. Customs didn't exactly like the artifacts that I brought back."

"Oh," Sophie said. "That's cool."

He chuckled. "It's so great to finally meet you, Sophie. I should probably go find your mother now. Thank you for your help."

She smiled at him. "Of course. It was nice meeting you as well."

As Finn continued further down the hall, Sophie glanced back over her shoulder at him. He was a lot different than she'd expected. For some reason, she'd expected an older, more reserved vampire. Someone who had seemed as timeless as the Headmaster had. Or as powerful as her mother.

But Finn seemed a lot younger. A lot bubblier too, and friendly. Kind of like Eli. He also didn't seem to exude an overwhelming amount of power or wisdom. Not to mention, he actually had an interesting job. He was an archeologist. That pretty much made him a vampire Indiana Jones, which was kind of cool to her.

She shook her head and started down the hallway. Part of her hoped that her mother was able to convince him to stay at the school. Finn probably had a lot of interesting stories to tell about the world. Though that didn't seem likely. Who would willingly give up the ability to go explore the Egyptian pyramids to hang out with a bunch of hormone-crazed teenagers?

~

It didn't take long to get to the computer lab. The tech support were super helpful and, after about five minutes, Sophie walked away with a good laptop. After a quick pit-stop at the dining hall, she made her way across campus, toward the clinic, with the laptop and a small bag of food hugged to her chest.

When she entered the clinic, the receptionist glanced up. Her eyes narrowed and Sophie greeted her. The nurse didn't bother to stop her this time.

Sophie made her way to Wolfe's hospital room. She carefully knocked on the door and stepped back, waiting for Aubrey to answer. It didn't take long. Within seconds, the doorknob twisted and the door opened. Aubrey smiled at her, her eyes tired. "I guess Aelia didn't want to open up the server," she said when her gaze landed on the laptop in Sophie's arms.

Sophie shook her head. "Not really. She wanted to keep that as a last resort, if possible."

A small sigh escaped Aubrey. She stepped aside so Sophie could enter and then shut the door behind her. Sophie glanced toward the hospital bed, her expression hesitant.

Wolfe was fast asleep, curled up on his side with a thin sheet pulled up over his shoulders. He hugged a pillow to his chest. The sight made Sophie crack a small smile.

Aubrey took the computer from Sophie and made her way toward a chair situated beside Wolfe's bed. As she sat down, Sophie deposited the food on a small table near the bed and crossed her arms over her chest. She watched Aubrey turn on the laptop. A few moments passed and then Aubrey said, "It will take a day or two. I'll email you once I get some information."

Sophie nodded. She turned to leave and then hesitated near the door. "Have you ever heard of a Finn Frey?"

Confusion trickled through Aubrey's expression. She glanced up at Sophie, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. Her lips pursed for a moment as she thought. "The name sounds familiar," she answered. "But I can't remember how I know it or where I've heard it. Why do you ask?"

Sophie shrugged. "He's an old friend of my mother's and the old Headmaster's. She invited him to campus. She's hoping to make a teacher out of him. I was just curious to see if you knew him or had met him before."

Aubrey's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not sure that I've met him. There is a chance that I met him before I was turned into a vampire. But I don't really remember. My human memories are a bit muddy now."

Sophie nodded. "I was just curious. I'll see you later. Make sure that you eat that food."

Aubrey didn't respond, her fingers flying over the keyboard and her eyes glued to the screen.

fam, 

so I've gone back through and added in some graphics, mainly so this book matches the formatting of Obscure. But I didn't want to go through and make all those adjustments without uploading a chapter! C:

I also wanted to say that I sent out a message yesterday regarding this book. Long story short: because I was finally able to sit down and work out a detailed plot for this book, I should hopefully be able to update it once a week. 

The keyword being: HOPEFULLY

Right now that is the goal. It will depend on how the rest of my semester goes with projects and whatnot. If it doesn't work out, don't fret. This semester ends on May 4th, so I will be able to pick up weekly updates then! I don't plan for this book to be as long as Obscure was so the goal is to have it finished by the end of summer!

 Thank you for your continued patience ♡