"It's my 17th birthday. Of course my father invited a crowd, but they're mostly just his business partners. Soon enough, he'll ditch us and disappear into a private room to discuss 'matters of importance.'"
Bo-Woo noticed Sven stealing glances at her.
"And that Sven Laocard... he's been staring at me constantly lately. Not that I don't have a few theories as to why." Bo-Woo felt a slight flush of embarrassment at her own thoughts.
The moment their eyes met, Sven jerked his head away.
***
'The plan is simple: track them and "escape" alongside them. Our families are partners, so she won't treat me too harshly. Once we're deep in the woods, I'll call my father. We'll get a scolding, sure, but I know Kim Wu-Lan he's soft on kids.'
After lunch, the adults began to retire. The heirs were ushered to the backyard, where a grill was being fired up for barbecue. Only three servants were left to supervise a mob of rowdy 12 to 17 year olds.
Three people sat inside a large gazebo, while others crowded around wooden tables eating, talking, and playing. Sven sat just behind the gazebo, keeping an eye on Bo-Woo Lan and Sarra Jergal.
Sarra looked deathly pale, with deep blue eyes and long dark hair. She wore a voluminous, pleated red dress. Her hands were tiny, her face diamond-shaped, and Sven caught a glimpse of heavy boots peeking out from under her hem.
Sven waited for them to make their move. A sudden doubt crossed his mind: 'Maybe they're worried I'll snitch?'
He stepped away for a minute and noticed one maid leaving while a boy distracted the remaining maid and the page. It was Sam Barnum, weaving some eloquent, fast-paced story.
'No surprise there; he's a Bard in the source material. Wait... did Sarra or Bo-Woo tell him to distract them? I can't remember that detail.'
When Sven turned back, Sarra and Bo-Woo were gone. He bolted after them. Darting past the gazebo, he caught a flash of Sarra's red skirt—she was crawling on all fours through a line of square-cut hedges.
Sven dropped down, balancing on his fingertips and toes, and scurried after them like a spider. He kept his distance; Bo-Woo was a Rogue, and her senses were razor-sharp.
The girls reached a ten-foot fence. Sven watched from the brush as Bo-Woo scooped Sarra up and cleared the fence in a single, effortless leap. Sven waited until they moved off, then scrambled over the fence himself.
He shadowed them through the trees. They were talking, but he wasn't close enough to catch everything—only disjointed words: "Sven"... "vampires"... "dome."
'Are they talking about the vampires found in the city? In this part of the story, they shouldn't know about the spawn yet. Maybe Sarra's father, Otto Jergal, told her.'
Sven circled around to get ahead of them, hiding behind a thick trunk.
"Yeah, that novel about vampires was actually really good," Sarra Jergal was saying.
"I prefer Vlad from The Scarlet Prince," Bo-Woo countered. "He's such a self-sacrificing, devoted husband."
"That's what my brothers, Edward and Karl, read," Sarra noted.
"I even have a red tie just like Vlad's," Bo-Woo added. "By the way, have they taken your measurements for the uniform yet?"
"Yeah, a month ago," Bo-Woo replied.
"So early? There are still three weeks left," Sarra said.
Sven followed them the whole way, alternating between walking and crawling to stay out of sight. Once they reached the heart of the forest, Sven pulled out his phone to call his father. The screen stayed black.
'Crap. I forgot to charge it.'
Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded at the back of his head. Sven crumpled to the ground. He looked up quickly to see Bo-Woo standing over him, her eyes cold and piercing. She pelted him with a stone and then lunged, pinning him down to neutralize the "threat."
"Why are you following us?" Bo-Woo demanded.
"I... I wanted to come with you," Sven stammered.
"Is that why you pulled out your phone? And why you were stalking us silently instead of just asking?" Bo-Woo pressed.
"Yes."
"Liar."
She continued to glare down at him, her weight keeping him pinned. In the sheer awkwardness of the moment, Sven started to smirk. The tension was finally broken by Sarra Jergal, who walked up to them.
"Oh, come on, let's just leave him here," Sarra suggested.
"Not a chance," Bo-Woo Lan snapped.