Chapter 2 Welcome to Antiope

Chapter 2

"Happy Birthday Helena. I'm so proud of you." My father, Galen Shaw patted my head and sat across from me at our favorite blood cafe.

After getting the results at the lab, I had called him, fighting my tears to give him the news that I was fit to go the Academy and he'd wanted to celebrate, promising me my favorite blood drink.

If he saw that I was on the verge of wailing, he said nothing, instead choosing to reach over to cover my hand on the table with his.

"Reaper Academy is a place that every Spatian dreams of attending, Helena. Two years that will change your life forever."

"Or that will end up with me six feet under. They will never accept me, Father. I'd stand a greater chance of acceptance if I boarded a ship leaving Spatos and fled the country."

"We both know you can't do that now." He whispered, looking around and raising his brows in warning, a reminder that even though I could no longer see Guardians following me the way they did when I was younger, it didn't mean I wasn't being watched.

Sighing, I withdrew my hand from his, resting against my seat and ignoring the flash of hurt that passed on his face.

He didn't understand. No matter how hard he tried to, he would never understand what it felt like to not belong anywhere. To be feared, hated and treated like other. I didn't blame him for it but sometimes when it was really tough, at night, I wished I had died the night I was born like the other Vamias.

"When do I leave for the Academy?"

"As soon as possible. The session already started. Antiope is a day's ride by train, four days by horseback. I know how uncomfortable you can get in confined spaces so we can always go by horseback, if you want."

One disadvantage of being a Lamia was that they didn't do well in confined spaces, hence the reason I'd been given the room with a balcony that was never locked no matter the weather.

"We go by train. Let's get this over with already."

If I was going to Reaper Academy, I might as well just go there early enough and begin the two year countdown. At least, there would be winter break and end of session break to look forward to.

What exactly was I looking forward to?

Alone time on my bed with novels and television, because television apparently wasn't available in the Academy.

What was worse, from the articles I'd binged read online, Reaper Academy was set in ancient Spatos times. That is, while the other cities had advanced and embraced technology, living in Antiope was like living in the olden days.

No phones for students, no television, horseback and ancient weapons of war.

Well, guns couldn't kill Vampires or Lamias so that last part wasn't so absurd but still, how was I going to survive?

"Here is your order." The waitress said, her human eyes widening as she took me in, finally realizing who I was.

Helena Shaw, hybrid. Most infamous person in all Spatos. Sometimes, I wondered what would happen if one person walked up to me one day and asked for an autograph with the way they stared like I was a celebrity.

I bet I was more popular than Aileen, the country's national fairy because even she had been asked about me on television and she'd wrinkled her nose in irritation at being asked about me like I was important.

"You're her." The waitress whispered, in awe and when I smiled, showing her my four fangs instead of two, she stumbled back, nearly falling, save for my father that caught her by the arm and whipped his head to look at me, his brows raised in question.

I shrugged.

Showing her my fangs, two on either side was childish, but I never said I was mature, did I?

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The train ride to Antiope had nearly killed me and if I'd had a heartbeat, it would have probably stopped working from the agitation of sitting in an enclosed space for 15 hours.

Thanks to the Council's benevolence, plus the fact that the only person willing to sit with me was my father, I'd been given the biggest coach in the train and had to stop myself from reaching throughout, keeping myself busy with a historical romance series about forbidden lovers who later defeated all odds to end up together.

I didn't have a doubt that I would never experience that kind of love. I'd never even kissed anyone before. No one could get past the fact that I was not like them, no matter how beautiful I was and they hadn't even seen me in Lamia form, with green scaly skin, claws and white eyes devoid of pupils.

All I had for romance were my books and television shows, both of which made me happier than I should for someone who would probably never experience love in her lifetime, which was yet to be ascertained.

Vampires and Lamias were immortal, which meant I might be too but given that I was the only surviving Vamia, no one could get their hopes up yet, and by no one, I meant the Council and my father.

I was one of the hundreds of thousands who secretly wished I wasn't alive.

"We are here." My father whispered, knowing it was enough to distract me, thanks to my extra acute hearing. I'd gotten everything in two fold, the vulnerabilities included.

"All passengers alighting at the Antiope station, we have arrived at your destination. Kindly take the posterior doors and have a nice day." A male voice said from the speakers in the train and as I walked behind my father with my extra heavy luggage which felt like a piece of paper thanks to supernatural strength in hand, I ignored the stares and tried to breathe in and out , already excited to be getting out of the confined space.

The big sign that read 'Welcome to Antiope' at the train station was the first thing I saw as I breathed in fresh air.

Well, Reaper Academy, here I come.