Chapter 5: Eyes of Sunset

*Esmeralda*

Fear rippled through me as my classmates continued to stare at me. I suddenly felt small, like I was nothing more than a mouse that escaped its cage. My breathing was started to quicken as well, reactinng in time with the subtle rise in my heart rate.

I shook my head hard, trying to snap out of this sudden stupor. I had no reason to be afraid. These boys were my classmates. They weren’t going to harm me. And they were just boys on top of that.

Maybe my body was reacting as if I was in danger because of the strange surroudnings I found myself in. This looked far from an ordinary classroom with its dark Gothic fixtures and high ceiling. The desks were made of a rich wood and the chairs were lined with a fine velvet. It looked cozy but also alien.

There also seemed to be a strange gloom settling over the whole room. It caused a shiver to go through me. The colors in the room were rich but it was as if the energy itself was frigid and cold.

I knew the true reason for my body’s reaction though and it was the look in my new classmates’ eyes. There was something odd about them, something almost sinister in the way that their dark pupils were fixed on me. I shuddered, realizing that it reminded me a little too much of the way my stepfather would leer at me before he beat me up with his drunken fists.

The boys started to murmur among themselves, their eyes still on me. It was clear from their expressions that they hadn’t expected a new student, especially one like me. I was tempted to sniff myself to see if I was giving off some kind of mysterious stench that I didn’t know about.

But no, it wasn’t repulsion in their eyes. It was kind of like curiosity, only more aggressive. It was different from threatening though. I wasn’t getting the impression that they wanted to harm me, even if they were acting like I had a second head.

I tried to duck my head and move toward one of the empty seats and then gasped when several of them started to approach me, their eyes filled with curiosity. As they got closer however, I noticed something else.

At first, I thought my classmates were brown-eyed boys but they weren’t the typical shades. None of their eyes were blue or green either. Their orbs could have passed for hazel perhaps at a quick glance but I was close enough now to notice they were more of a reddish-brown, like the color of wine.

Their wine-colored eyes kept me rooted in place as they approached me. The boy who had taken the lead had light brown, almost goldish hair and extremely handsome features. He smirked at me as he got closer.

He was pale but his pallid complexion did nothing to take away from his beauty. I was a little breathless as my eyes raked over his smooth features.

I felt my eyes shift to the door, still feeling that urge to flee for some unknown reason.

The mysterious boy stopped in front of me, one slender eyebrow curving slightly as he gave me a look up and down. “I’m afraid that the two of us haven’t had the pleasure of meeting before,” he said in a velvety voice that caused me to shiver once more.

I badly wanted to avert my eyes from his but it was as if an invisible force was holding on to the back of my neck, keeping my head tilted up so I looked up into his intense irises.

Somehow, I managed to speak despite the fact that my throat felt extremely dry all of a sudden. “I’m new,” I said in a voice that couldn’t have been very high above a whisper.

He grinned wickedly, tilting his head slightly as if amused by my nerves. He bent his head slightly so that I was suddenly very aware of his delightful, masculine scent. “What an odd name,” he commented, chuckling lightly. “I don’t believe that I’ve encountered it before.”

It was obvious that he was messing with me. I took a breath to calm my nerves but I still felt just as shaky as I giggled slightly. “No, sorry,” I said, not sure why I was apologizing. I bit my lip for a brief moment. “My name is Esmerelda.”

“Ahh,” the boy hummed, his dark eyes brightening slightly. “Now, there is a name I’ve heard but not often. It is a beautiful name. Emerald suits you.”

I felt my feet shift slightly as blood burned beneath the skin of my cheekbones. A few of the other guys stepped closer to me, so that they formed a half-circle around me.

My heart rate spiked when I realized that I was surrounded by handsome but frightening men. It was weired because they were just boys. Although they were as handsome and gentle as Rosaline described, which made them look like princes in fairy tales, there was no reason for me to be afraid of them.

As if on their own, my feet stepped back so that I was almost out of the door I had just stumbled through.

The leader narrowed his eyes slightly and stepped around me, leaning against the doorjamb, effortlessly blocking my way in case I had intended to leave. I don’t think I was trying to but now that the choice had been made for me, I felt even more vulnerable.

In my mind, I knew that this was just a bunch of boys in a classroom. They couldn’t do me any harm, especially out in the open like this, in front of all these other witnesses. A quick glance at the other kids in the room though, made me think that even if these boys tried something, they wouldn’t do anything about it.

The golden-haired boy leaned in even closer toward me. “You seem nervous, Esmerelda,” he said.

I stiffened. “Not at all,” I said shakily. I laughed once. “I might just be excited since it is my first day.”

“Hmm, is that so,” the guy practically purred, leaning even further into me, one hand going up to press against the wall beside my head.

My heart rate was pounding in the way an alarm would scream during an emergency. It felt like a warning, like it truly was trying to prepare me to flight or fight. Judging by the rippling muscles beneath this boy’s school uniform and by the fact that he was currently staring at me the way a lion would look at a defenseless bunny, I was definitely going to want to flight.

He started to lean in toward me. I took a step back but he had me caged in between the wall and his body. He lowered his head so that his eyes were now level with mine. I tried to speak but even if I had some prolific words conjured up, I wouldn’t have been able to utter them as frozen as I was.

The leader just smirked more openly, looking every bit like the predator that had its prey cornered. He shifted so that his body was practically pressed up against mine. I thought I heard a couple of his buddies chuckle in anticipation of what was to come.

He dropped his head even further, his lips angled toward the side of my neck. My body snapped into action just slightly and I turned away from him. I couldn’t quite get my legs to move. They felt like jelly, like they were going to give on me at any moment.

Why was this happening? This guy didn’t even know me and he wanted to abuse me just like my stepdad would? I debated screaming but I apparently didn’t even have the physical ability to do that. I just squeezed my eyes shut, praying that this nightmare would just end.

“Richard.”

The boy froze and turned slowly toward the deep voice that had apparently acknowledged him. I opened my eyes and followed his gaze, my heart stuttering once again when I focused on my savior.

Handsome couldn’t even begin to describe the boy stepping into the classroom. It seemed as if every boy in this school was beautiful, just like my roommate had said but this particular one had nothing on the rest of them.

His face looked like it was carved out of the most precious marble, the dips and curves of his cheeks and along his chin delicate and yet deliberate by some insanely talented artist. He was as pale as a marble statue as well but that only served to bring out to shimmering color of his silver hair and his equally breathtaking purple eyes that looked like rare amethyst stones.

This boy looked like the type who would be swarmed by people but he was clearly feared by his peers. Our other classmates all backed away when he appeared, giving him a wide berth so they could make way for him.

I tore my eyes briefly from the gorgeous purple-eyed male to glance at Richard, just now realizing that this was the boy that Roslind loved. She still had a box of chocolate hiding in her bag, wondering when she should give it to Richard.

The entire room fell silent as Richard and I were approached by our dashing classmate. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when a loud slapping sound rang out and Richard’s head jerked to the side.

A couple quiet gasps sounded around us but it was otherwise silent as Richard straightened and calmly turned to face purple eyes, whose hand was still raised from slapping the other boy. “You’d best not try my patience,” he seethed, his purple eyes glinting with malice. “I am well aware of what your intentions were, Richard. It would be in your best interest not to try it again.”

Richard clenched his jaw but he seemed to know better than to argue with this guy. He lowered his head respectfully and turned to go, wandering toward the back of the room, presumably to his desk.

I was able to breathe much easier now that Richard wasn’t in my personal bubble. It took several moments for my heart rate to drop back down to what would probably be considered a safe number but I was already tempted to slump against the wall behind me in relief.

My relief was short-lived when I focused on the pair of purple eyes that were watching me intently. I froze briefly before straightening, feeling as if I was being assessed.

I had heard mysterious rumors about the night school but nothing that had really suggested that my classmates would be violent. Even the boys who had been watching the exchange between me and Richard calmly seemed somehow capable of being just as aggressive toward me if pushed even slightly.

But this was nonsense. We were of the same age, and it’s impossible for them to hurt me.

The next moment, I heard Richard say, “Follow your orders. Since you’re the president of student union...Elijah Thorn.”

He spoke with mockery in his voice, but I ignored it. All I could think about was Rosalind’s warnning.

It’s OK to talk with anyone in the night school. Just stay away from one of them.

The president of student union. Elijah Thorn.

Now he’s right in front of me.