Blood Rose

BLOOD ROSE Haven Hollow #26 (Blood Rose Academy) by J.R. RAIN & H.P. MALLORY The Haven Hollow Series Gypsy Magic Cashmere Curses Faerie Enchantment Spandex Sorcery Love’s Goddess Demon in Denim Taffeta Trickery The Black Cat Cocktail Club French Country Frights All Hallow’s Eve Mystic Veil The Yule Log The Broken Mirror Art Deco Apparitions The Vampire's Grave Herringbone Hexes Raising Cain Druid’s Curse Colonial Corpses Angora Alchemy Day Dream Ritzy Business Pan’s Delight Armed & Charmed The Christmas Spirit Blood Rose Georgian Ghouls Other Books by J.R. Rain VAMPIRE FOR HIRE Moon Dance Vampire Moon American Vampire Moon Child Christmas Moon (novella) Vampire Dawn Vampire Games Moon Island Moon River Vampire Sun Moon Dragon Moon Shadow Vampire Fire Midnight Moon Moon Angel Vampire Sire Moon Master Dead Moon Lost Moon Vampire Destiny Infinite Moon Vampire Empress Moon Elder Wicked Moon Winter Moon Sasquatch Moon Moon Blade Wild Moon Moon Magic Moon World Vampire Deep (coming soon) SAMANTHA MOON ADVENTURES Banshee Moon Moon Monster Moon Ripper Witch Moon Moon Goddess Moon Blaze Golem Moon Moon Maidens SAMANTHA MOON CASE FILES Moon Bayou Blood Moon Parallel Moon SAMANTHA MOON ORIGINS New Moon Rising Moon Mourning Haunted Moon Other Books by H.P. Mallory PARANORMAL WOMEN’S FICTION: Haven Hollow Midlife Spirits Misty Hollow Trailer Park Vampire Midlife Mermaid PARANORMAL ROMANCE: Witch & Warlock Vampire Esquire Ever Dark Academy FANTASY ROMANCE: Dark Destinies Gates of the Underworld Lily Harper Dulcie O’Neil PARANORMAL REVERSE HAREM: My Five Kings Happily Never After SCI-FI ROMANCE: The Alaskan Detective TRILOGIES: Crown Of Lies Dark Circus Chasing Demons Dungeon Raider Here to There Arctic Wolves Wolves of Valhalla Lucy Westenra Blood Rose Published by Rain Press Copyright © 2023 by J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory All rights reserved. Ebook Edition, License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Epilogue Reading Sample: Shotguns and Shifters About J.R. Rain About H.P. Mallory Blood Rose Chapter One “I’m going to get kicked out on my first day,” I moaned, shuffling from foot to foot in front of the gilt-framed mirror in the coven’s living room. The stupid portal within the mirror was supposed to have opened ten minutes ago to allow me through, but the incantation I’d been sent wasn’t working. I was convinced I was saying it wrong, but Wanda assured me I’d said it right when she examined the slip of paper that came with my acceptance letter. So, the problem had to be with me. Or, more pointedly, with my magic. Yes, mirror magic was a specialized talent, but the headmistress of Blood Rose Academy was an expert enchantress, and she was the one holding the door open. All I had to do was metaphorically squeeze through the gap, but it seemed I couldn’t even do that right. Blood Rose Academy’s classes started tomorrow, and the entrance welcome and interview was due to begin soon. And I still couldn’t get through the mirror. Because, of course, things could never be simple. “Astrid, you’re going to be fine so will you please stop having a breakdown,” Wanda said, smoothing non-existent wrinkles out of my uniform. She took to fussing with clothes when she was nervous. Mine. Hers. Anything on her racks. I suspected that, as a magical tailor, the feel of fabric soothed her. “I’m not having a breakdown,” I responded. “Well, regardless, you’re stressing me out so take a few deep breaths and try again. I wanted to. I really, really did, but opening the portal seemed impossible with the mirror staying shiny and heartlessly smooth in its frame. I only had five minutes to get through the mirror and into Headmistress Aurea’s office. A second after that and I’d be officially late, which wouldn’t bode well for my future at Blood Rose Academy. Witches were petty on the whole and weren’t inclined to let even the smallest of slights go. And being late on my first day? Yeah, that would be considered a slight. “The child is clearly useless with magic and, thus, should not be allowed entrance to such a prestigious academy,” Hellcat announced in between licking his paws. “And that’s enough out of you!” Wanda railed at him. I swallowed and took a look around the room, disheartened by the lack of people. It was silly, but I’d been hoping for a big send off by my friends and my found family with the witches of Scapegrace Coven. It was evening and I knew, logically that Poppy and Finn couldn’t be here to send me off. He did have school in the morning. Marty and the ghost hunters were off dealing with a spook, dragging Darla along with them. Fifi was showing houses. Roy had a bar to run. Life in the Hollow would and should go on without me here and I fully understood that. Still, was it such a crime to want some assurance they’d miss me? Only Wanda, Lorcan, and Olga graced the foyer of the massive Tudor Revival that had become our coven’s home. Well, and Hellcat, but I actually would have preferred it if he’d stayed home. There was one absence that hurt more than the rest. Maverick, my stupid, stubborn warlock brother had refused my invitation weeks ago. It was silly to hope that he’d reconsider things at the last minute. When Maverick made a decision, it was hard to sway him, and he’d made his opinion on Blood Rose very clear. If there were vampires there, he didn’t want me going, and he wasn’t going to tacitly endorse my going by showing up to give me a hug or his well wishes. But a small, childish part of me