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Nova sighed in exasperation as a strand of golden blonde hair slipped out of the hairstyle she was midway through, falling gently across her face.
“Screw this,” Nova muttered under her breath, pulling the hair clip out and watching as the rest of her hair tumbled freely across her shoulders, slightly messy from the past thirty minutes she had spent trying to wrangle it into a manageable style.
She heard a soft laugh from behind her before Addison appeared at her side in the mirror, a knowing grin spread across her face. “I know that feeling,” she spoke, gesturing to her hair with a flick of her wrist. “It took me all of high school to find a style that didn’t drive me crazy.”
Nova smiled at Addison’s words, the tension easing slightly from her shoulders. Although she hadn’t known her camp counselor for that long, she already felt at home when she was around. Addison and the other counselors made everything feel easy, in a way Nova’s world hadn’t felt since she was young.
“For the record, your hair looks amazing when it’s down. I would kill for hair as pretty as yours, Nov,” Addison replied, wrapping her arm around Nova’s shoulders. Nova blushed slightly at the praise, tilting her head as she observed herself in the mirror.
“I’ve had my hair up for as long as I can remember,” Nova finally spoke, running a hand absentmindedly through the soft golden locks resting against her neck. “When you spend your entire life training, there isn’t much time for anything else, much less learning how to manage…this,” Nova trailed off, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Addison’s gaze softened, squeezing Nova’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. “Leave it down,” she replied, picking up Nova’s hairbrush from the vanity and gently running it through the younger girl’s hair.
Nova bit her lip to slow the tears beginning to form. She’d never had someone take care of her the way Addison was. It was an amazing feeling.
“There,” Addison spoke, pulling back a strand of Nova’s hair with her hair clip as a finishing touch. “You look beautiful. Now go find an outfit, the bonfire is starting soon. You don’t want to keep him waiting,” she teased, gently bumping her hip against Nova’s.
The look Nova shot Addison failed to land as the older girl smirked at her before disappearing out of the cabin’s door, her soft humming echoing in the newfound silence.
Nova took one last look at herself in the mirror, her hand reaching up to touch the clip in her hair. She had never seen herself look so free; free from expectations and rules, free from the image that everyone back home had of her.
She felt like herself - the version she wanted to be. The version that she wanted him to see, even if she buried that thought as quickly as it arose.
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Victor leaned against one of the cabins, his gaze scanning the handful of campers setting up the evening’s bonfire. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t even want to be standing where he was, watching the beginnings of an event he had little interest in.
Although he was glad progress was being made towards unlocking the orchard, he had felt more inclined to remain in his cabin for the rest of the night, a sketchbook in hand and his pencil guiding his thoughts.
Victor’s simple plan had been shattered when Zed came racing into the cabin fifteen minutes prior, a huge grin spread across his too-joyful zombie face and a piece of paper dangling from his hand. “Look, Vic! Addie, Eliza, Willa and I finally planned our first-ever camp get together!”
Zed had shoved the paper into his hand, Victor’s gaze scanning over the sketched image of a bonfire and the writing below it. “All are welcome to Camp Rayburn’s Bonfire Extravaganza , where all monsterkind can engage in friendly competitions and fun games,” Victor read aloud, his tone disinterested.
From the corner of his eye, Victor could see Zed mouthing the words as he spoke them. Glancing back up at his counselor, Victor shook his head. “Sorry, man, not interested,” he replied, already turning to locate his sketchbook.
“C’mon, Victor, it’ll look bad if my star camper doesn’t participate in the biggest event this camp has ever seen!” Zed exclaimed. Victor resisted rolling his eyes, reluctantly turning back around. “I think you mean the only event this camp has ever seen,” he replied, sarcasm dripping from his tone.
Zed, ever the ray of positivity, ignored Victor’s snide remark, stepping forward and slinging an arm around the younger boy’s shoulders. “I’m sure she’ll be there,” he whispered, a teasing lilt in his words. Victor shot a glare at Zed, shaking his head vehemently.
“I don’t care if she’s there or not,” he spit out, trying to convince himself of his words. “She’s my enemy. That’s all she’ll ever be.” As the words tumbled from his lips, Victor knew he didn’t quite believe them. Zed’s knowing smirk poked holes in Victor’s lie as he clapped his hand on Victor’s shoulder.
“The bonfire starts in ten,” Zed replied. He turned to make his way out of the cabin, and Victor let a sigh escape him, his gaze finding its way to the mirror beside his bed. “Don’t spend too long on your hair, Casanova,” Zed’s voice rang out as the cabin door closed behind him.
“Damnit,” Victor grumbled, stepping towards where his hairbrush lay on the edge of the vanity. Zed knew him too well, especially when it came to her .
As Victor slid the brush through his hair, the only image in his mind was one of golden blonde hair, sky-blue eyes, and pretty pink lips.
He was royally screwed.
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Nova took a deep breath as she stepped out of her cabin, her red skirt swishing against her legs as she made her way down the wooden steps. She could feel the weight of her hair against her shoulders, the soft golden strands brushing against the skin her white tank didn’t fully cover.
She had just stepped into view of the already-crowded bonfire when Addison appeared in front of her with a squeal, pulling Nova into a tight hug. “Nov, you look gorgeous! I knew the hair down was the right call,” she gushed, looping an arm through Nova’s and dragging her towards a side table.
Zed glanced up at the sound of Addison’s chatter, a grin spreading across his face at the sight of his girlfriend. “Hey, Nova,” he exclaimed, his eyes widening slightly. “You have your hair down!” Nova’s cheeks warmed, brushing a hand through her hair self-consciously.
“No doubt Addie’s idea,” Zed continued, pulling Nova into a side hug. “It looks good!” Nova smiled at the warmth in his tone, nodding in acknowledgement before glancing at the array of snacks spread out on the table before them.
“I know blood fruit is scarce right now,” Addison spoke up, squeezing Nova’s hand gently. “However, Ray informed us that you guys can still have regular food, so we decided to bring a piece of Seabrook to Camp Rayburn!”
For the second time that evening, Nova blinked a few tears away, overwhelmed by the kindness of her newfound friends. “It means a lot, guys,” she whispered, leaning into Addison’s side.
“If you’ll excuse us, we have to go make sure everyone is briefed on the fire safety rules. By everyone, we mean the vampires,” Addison joked, her tone light. Nova laughed softly at Addison’s words, nodding goodbye as Zed slid his hand into Addison’s and pulled her towards the fire.
Nova was in the middle of examining a plate of spherical cakes labeled “Chocolate Cupcakes” when a voice sounded from behind her. “Weird food choices, huh?” Nova spun around to see a boy around her age stood beside her, his outfit the telltale white, red, and gold of the daywalkers.
She vaguely registered his face as one of the lead trainers for the year above her; someone she’d only had practice with a few times in recent years. “I think they’re thoughtful choices,” Nova replied, setting down the tray she’d been holding. “Zed and Addison put a lot of work into this event.”
The boy, whose name she remembered as Chris, rolled his eyes, his displeasure written across his expression as he eyed the snacks warily. “An event that puts us inches away from our enemies. It’s a disaster dressed in a peace treaty.” Nova narrowed her eyes at him, choosing to brush off his words.
Unfazed by her lack of response, Chris stepped closer, close enough for Nova to grow uncomfortable. Something about him was off-putting, in a way she couldn’t quite put into words. “As the future leader of our people, I’d expect you to see the foolishness of this event .”
Nova shifted closer to the table, her skin crawling as she watched the way his gaze trailed up and down her body. The slight smirk on his lips didn’t waver for even a moment.
“Maybe we can work together, overthrow this little charade. We’d be a powerful duo, don’t you think?” Nova barely had a second to react before his hand landed on her arm, his grip so tight it was almost painful.
Alarm bells sounded in her head at his tone, Nova’s fire gauntlet on her wrist reacting to her fear. Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind swept past her, whipping her hair around her shoulders and heading straight towards Chris.
His grip on Nova's arm loosened as he struggled to maintain his balance before the wind overpowered him, and he fell with a thud onto the hard ground beneath them.
Nova struggled to reconcile what she had just witnessed, her thoughts spinning as she realized the wind had aimed for him, expertly avoiding her as if told what to do. The word “vampire” came to her brain just as a dark figure stepped out of the tree line beyond the table.
“Victor,” Nova whispered, watching as the red faded from his brown eyes and his fangs retracted as he came closer. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t a little breathless after… that .
A pained groan from below her drew Nova’s attention to the boy on the ground. Chris’s face was twisted in barely veiled rage as he struggled to push himself to his feet, his fiery glare fixed on Victor.
Nova glanced in Victor’s direction, her face heating as she realized he hadn’t stopped watching her since the moment he appeared.
Victor’s eyes were dark as he studied her, his muscular arms crossed over his chest and a single strand of red-tipped hair falling over his forehead. Nova tore her gaze from his, thankful her blush wasn’t as visible in the moonlight.
“I’m going to kill you,” Chris's voice broke through the tense silence, Nova realizing he had finally stood up and was now stalking towards Victor. Victor merely raised an eyebrow in response, the darkstone around his neck glowing faintly as Chris approached.
“Unless you want to end up on the ground again, I’d suggest you walk away before you do something you regret,” Victor spoke, his voice steadily calm. Nova could feel the anger building in her chest as she realized he was trying to protect her.
She didn’t need protection, and she sure has hell didn’t need it from her enemy. Nova barely registered the words Chris spat at Victor as he spun around and disappeared behind the cabins.
A moment passed in charged silence before Nova spun around to face Victor, her hair swishing around her shoulders and the fabric of her skirt brushing against her legs as she marched towards him, anger radiating off of her.
“I did not need your help,” she growled, shoving Victor’s chest and fighting to ignore how solid it was. “I can handle myself!” An infuriatingly cocky smirk slid across Victor’s expression as he glanced down at Nova’s hand which was still pressed against his chest.
Nova yanked her hand away, her face hot as she tried to school her expression. “Seems like you had it,” Victor replied, sarcasm laced through his words. “That’s why he was able to touch you.” Victor’s voice caught slightly, thinly-veiled anger slipping through his tone.
Nova faltered for a moment, trying to read between the lines, to decode the emotion written across his face. “Why would you help me?” she finally spoke, her tone icy. “We’re enemies.”
An unreadable expression flickered across Victor’s face before it settled back to infuriating nonchalance. “If that’s what you want to call it,” he replied, his jaw tightening. “I wouldn’t call two people who found one of the keys to the orchard enemies .”
Nova flicked her hair back over her shoulder, noticing the way Victor’s eyes lingered on the movement before he tore his gaze away. “We simply were at the right place at the right time. There was no ‘us’,” Nova spat out, spinning on her heel and walking away from a conversation that was evidently going nowhere.
She made it all of five feet before a gust of wind, gentler this time, blew past her and caused Nova to crash into Victor’s chest; who now stood inches away, close enough she could smell his cologne and see the smattering of freckles on his nose in the soft moonlight.
“What the hell?” Nova yelped in surprise, biting back a gasp when Victor’s warm hands encircled her waist, steadying her. His fingers brushed the skin her tank top didn’t fully cover, the contact sending fire coursing through her veins.
“A simple ’thank you’ would suffice,” Victor spoke, his sharp words not quite matching the warmth in his eyes as he looked down at her.
“Like hell I’d thank you,” Nova replied, although the venom she had hoped to infuse in her words didn’t manifest. Victor merely smirked at her in reply, his thumb tracing circles on her waist and stealing the breath from her lungs.
In that moment, the world could’ve ended and Nova wouldn’t have noticed. Not when Victor was looking at her as if she was the only one he’d ever wanted to look at, not when the distance between them was slowly closing, inch by inch, until she could practically feel his lips against hers.
Why did it suddenly not seem so bad to be in the arms of her sworn enemy?
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The warmth of Nova’s skin against Victor’s fingertips was intoxicating as he pulled her closer, close enough to smell her floral perfume, to see just how pink her lips were, how her eyes were a darker shade of blue than he’d thought.
She was overwhelming in every way possible, which may have led him to protect her when he wouldn’t have dreamed of a week prior.
It was as if his heart had taken control of his body from the moment she’d walked out of her cabin with her golden blonde hair down and flowing over her shoulders as if she’d stepped out of a fairytale.
Victor hadn’t been able to focus on a single word coming from Zed or Vargas’s mouth at the bonfire when he kept catching glimpses of Nova’s glittering hair and short red skirt. He’d resorted to camping out near the forest just so he didn’t have to pretend he wasn’t losing his damn mind.
Now, with Nova inches away from him, with his hands gripping the curve of her waist and her soft hand curling around his bicep, Victor knew things had shifted between them.
Enemies didn’t look at each other this way. Hell, even friends didn’t look at each other this way. Victor slid his hand from Nova’s waist to rest on her hip, enjoying the way her breath hitched at the motion.
“Do you still think we’re enemies?” he spoke, his voice wrecked as Nova curled his shirt into her fingers. “I-I don’t know,” Nova whispered, her voice catching on the words. That was all it took for Victor to pull her against his chest, his hands splayed over the fabric of her tank top.
“Tell me stop,” Victor growled as he leaned forward, his nose brushing hers. Nova shivered slightly when he cupped her chin in his hand, his fingers tracing her jawline.
“Don’t,” she whispered, officially severing the last shred of restraint he held. Within seconds, his mouth was on Nova’s, her soft lips moving against his with an urgency neither of them expected.
Without breaking contact, Victor pushed Nova forward until her back hit the wall of a nearby cabin, her fingers threading into his hair and tugging slightly.
Victor let out a soft groan as he pulled Nova against his chest, teasing her lips open with his tongue and swallowing the soft whimper she let out at the motion. Pressing her against the wall, Victor trailed his lips across her jaw and down her neck, lingering in the curve of her shoulder.
Nova’s soft hair fell over his face as he nuzzled against her neck, breathing in her scent. Nova’s hands moved to cup his chin, her breathing heavy as her gaze met his. “I still hate you,” she whispered, but her tone betrayed the fact that she didn’t mean it, not in the slightest.
Grinning, Victor pulled Nova back to his lips, his head spinning from the sweet taste of her mouth and the feeling of her hands carding through his hair.
It could’ve been five minutes or five hours before Victor pulled away, warmth spreading through his chest as he took in Nova’s messy golden hair, crooked hair clip, and slightly swollen pink lips.
Reaching out, Victor gently tucked a strand of hair behind Nova’s ear, watching a soft blush spread across her cheeks. “Thank you,” she spoke, her voice thick with emotion.
“So you can thank me?” Victor teased, enjoying the way her eyes sparkled at the challenge in his voice and the way her fingers toyed with the hem of his shirt absentmindedly. A moment passed in silence before Victor spoke, his tone sharp, possessive, unforgiving.
“I’d never let someone come that close to touching you again." Nova’s eyes widened at the sincerity of his tone, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth.
“Why?” Nova whispered, her voice soft. “I don’t know what will happen once we find the other keys. I don’t know if our people will find peace, or if we will become more divided than we already are.”
Victor slid a hand through Nova’s hair, his fingers sliding through the golden strands that seemed to shine even in the dim moonlight.
“I do know that what we have is something we can’t ignore,” he continued, taking in the adoration and trust painted across Nova’s expression as she looked at him.
“Fate brought us together, even if we didn’t realize it because we were blinded by our hatred. It’s about time we followed where it leads us.” Victor barely got the last word out before Nova’s lips were on his again, his mind emptying into nothing but sensation.
“That sounds good to me,” Nova whispered against Victor’s mouth before his hands were on her waist and the rest was history.