“You’ve come in contact with lamia?” Aydin asks, his look of shock matching the expression on everyone else’s faces.

“Um...yeah,” I answer cautiously, not sure why this seems to be an issue.

“By the moon, how have you survived this long on your own?”

Evrin’s question seems rhetorical, so I don’t bother to reply. Instead, I focus on the soreness weighing down my limbs and the scratchiness of my eyelids. Every blink feels like sandpaper roughly smoothing and reshaping my eyeballs.

“Well, that ends now. We pack up what we can of her things tonight and arrange to have the rest shipped. Silva, stop and get some boxes, the rest of us will take Vinna to start packing,” Lachlan orders.

“Whoa, what the fuck are you on about? I’m not moving in here with you,” I gesture from the house to the paladin with one of the short swords in my hand.

“That’s correct because we don’t live here. We’re only here on assignment. You’ll be moving with us to Maine. The town of Solace to be exact,” Lachlan arrogantly informs me.

What an asshole.

“Yeah, thanks but no thanks. That’s going to be a hard pass for me.” I tell him as I push off from the wall next to the door frame so I can leave.

“Lachlan is your family, and he’s claiming you; you have to go with him,” Keegan tells me.

“I’m not some sweater in the lost and found or a dog at the pound; you cannot claim me.”

“Vinna, you’re a caster, and as a caster, you’re considered underage and claimed by your parents or a guardian until your awakening,” Evrin explains to me with soft, sympathetic brown eyes.

“You can run, but we will find you. If you don’t come willingly, we’ll get the elders involved. If you fight them, they will bind your magic until you learn to listen. You can make this easy on yourself, or you can make this difficult, but either way, the outcome will remain the same,” Lachlan threatens.

I release the magic of the two short swords I’m holding and reach behind me. I call on the runes for my big ass sword and draw it over my shoulder like I’m pulling it from a sheath on my back.

“Do what you’ve got to do, asshole. But keep in mind, it’s hard to tattle to some magic-binding elders when you’re dead.” My voice is saccharin, but my eyes blaze with the promise of pain.

I’m so tired and pissed off right now. I don’t care if I am related to this fucker. Who the hell does he think he is?

“By the bleeding stars, Lachlan, your Dictator Aylin routine isn’t fucking helping things!” Aydin yells at him. All five of them start shouting at each other, and I take advantage of the distraction and step out of the library. I let my sword dissipate as I retrace my steps to the front door. I grab my bag and bolt. Let the hide and seek begin, motherfuckers.

I spot a familiar auburn-bearded giant in the crowd. He’s wearing a baseball cap, but it does nothing to hide every other prominent feature that Aydin has. It’s like these paladin fuckers want me to spot them from a mile away.

I spent the first two nights after I snuck out in random motels. I thought for sure there was no way they’d find me, but I was wrong. I’m pretty sure they put some kind of magical LoJack on me, but I can’t figure out how to find it, let alone get rid of it.

It either has to do with Lachlan and I being related, or with the blood I gave them for the beacon spell. Caster lesson number one: don’t give your blood to any fucker for a spell. It seems if I keep on the move they can’t track me as well, but as soon as I stop for too long to eat or sleep, these assholes start to close in on me. So, I changed the game from hide and seek to catch me if you can.

I pick up my pace as I weave through the pedestrian traffic on the Las Vegas Strip. It’s night time, and the lights are blazing, the booze is flowing, and the streets are packed with people here to have a good time. I sneak a glance behind me and chuckle at the sight of Aydin being accosted by a group of drunk women, who look like they’re here for a bachelorette party. Either that or they really like dicks and find them to be the perfect accessories--we’re talking light-up headbands, necklaces, rings, straws--these ladies are dicked-out.

I take advantage of their sexual harassment of Aydin and dash towards the closest resort. I navigate my way through the casino, past all the shops, and out the back into a parking garage. I sprint toward the exit and hang left, trying to give myself as much of a lead as possible. I don’t hear anyone behind me but better to be safe than sorry.

I run behind the hotel and round a corner that will take me up the side and eventually spit me back out on the Strip. The smell of the alley full of dumpsters hits me, and I pull my shirt up over my nose. I move past the last can of stench when several things fall from the sky to land ten feet in front of me.

Did these idiots just jump from the roof? I skid to a stop as I try to gauge how far it is from the roof of the hotels surrounding me to the ground. I glance around and discover it’s not the paladin in front of me, but something else.

“Hello there, little caster. You’ve certainly been a hard one to pin down,” the lamia smiles flashing just enough fang to leave no doubt as to what he is.

He’s slightly taller than I am and possesses an angelic beauty, just like all the others I’ve encountered. I’ve never seen a female or even a fat fanged fucker. Either lamia are super picky about who can be in their club, or being a lamia makes you stone-cold gorgeous.

I scan the four lamia surrounding me, all of them have brown hair and various shades of alabaster skin. Each of them wears a confident smirk, and I can see the dismissal in their eyes. It’s okay though; underestimation always works in my favor.

“Aww, I’m sorry. If I had known you were looking for me, I would have sorted out your death wish sooner,” I wink at him and watch amusement flicker over his face.

I call on the runes for my short swords, and they flash solid in my hands. The amusement blinks out of the lamia’s expression and is replaced by intense indignation.

“Now, now, little caster, don’t be like that. Be a good girl. I promise we don’t bite...much.”

The four lamia titter at the lame joke as they close in on me.

“Could you be any more unoriginal? Really, you don’t bite much is the best you could come up with? How disappointing. I’d tell you to work on your lines, but you’ll be dead soon.”

The lamia furthest to the left spontaneously combusts into flames. The unexpected inferno makes everyone freeze, and I hear heavy footsteps pound against the pavement behind me. I recognize the cadence of Aydin’s giant stride, and he saunters up to me, fireballs alight in his palms as he takes in the scene.

“Well, look at you Little Badass, how did you know I was itching for a good ashing?” Aydin remarks, excitement and anticipation sparkling in his gaze.

“I’m an excellent gift giver. It’s one of my many shining qualities,” I deadpan.

“Why are we just standing around? Let’s do this.” Aydin’s fireballs begin to grow, and I watch, envious.

“You really need to teach me how to do that.”

“Come home with us, and I will,” Aydin tells me with a wink.

Before anyone else can so much as move, Aydin throws a ball at another lamia. It misses and explodes against a wall, and the magic fizzles out. I lose track of what he does after that as two of the lamia descend on me in a flash. I twist and dodge their sharp claws as I slash and stab with my swords to try and create an opening.

Based on the fireballs Aydin’s throwing, I deduce that’s one way to take them out. I’ve always had to remove their heads. Before my runes and magic armory showed up, I would force my power into the fanged fuckers. It would turn them to ash immediately, but I could never quite master how I did it.

Claws skate across my back, and my magic surges inside of me. I twist and slam my short sword down, and the blade takes a forearm and hand clean off. I follow through with my other sword, and the lamia’s head tumbles from his body. I twirl around and catch the chatty lamia with a blade to the stomach.

“Faron’s coming for you. Your free days are numbered. My sire will own you soon enough.”

My blade slices through his neck, cutting off any more bullshit threats.

I turn to see if Aydin needs help, and find him leaning against the hotel wall. He stands there his arms crossed, one foot on the pavement, the other on the stucco of the wall. He looks like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

“Well done, Little Badass, you went right for the kill each time, no hesitation.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I’ve been doing this since I was fourteen, but I’m glad I could entertain you.”

Aydin rubs the back of his neck and takes me in. “You’re this fucking powerful, and you don’t even have your full magic yet,” he shakes his head and snorts. “Are you going to keep running, or can we move past that and go the fuck home?”

I stare at him not sure what the answer is. It’s clear by now that running is only delaying the inevitable. I may hate how this whole situation played out, but I’ve lived most of my life wishing I had answers. The road to understanding is laid out in front of me, but it’s paved with an asshole of an uncle and his half hostile coven of paladin.

I start walking toward the bright lights and bustle of the Vegas Strip.

“Where are you going?”

“My apartment. You going to come help me pack, or what?”