Heart hammering, knowing I should turn and fight rather than run, I jogged toward the hallway on the right and peered down it. The old-fashioned electric candles bracketed to the wall were turned down low, and dark shadows lined the walls and pooled along the ground. There were doors on either side, probably bedrooms. The sweet smell of flowers from the column on my right tickled my nose, helping to calm the magic gathered above me. Even so, the picture up on my left felt like a perfect representation of my mood. A small boat rolling amidst crashing waves, its passengers wondering if this was the end.

It won’t be the end.

It couldn’t be. I couldn’t die before I got to slap Emery in the face for failing to meet my expectations. I didn’t even care if it wasn’t his fault; he’d still get a slap.

And Darius needed that punch in the kisser.

But as I stood in the archway of that hallway, the hard clicks of nails on wooden floor of my newbie pursuer getting ever nearer, joined now by other clicks from other pursuers, I couldn’t seem to will myself forward. Vampire magic hung heavy in the air like a fog, hot and sticky. The vampire lurked in these walls somewhere. Not Darius and not a newbie.

A soft hiss invaded my decision-making. The clicks stopped, so damn close.

A glance back and I started.

The newbie vampire stood in the archway behind me, braced and ready to attack, claws out.

“Fickle blanket weavers.” Adrenaline dumped into my body.

I spun and launched forward, readying a spell to toss behind me as I went. Movement registered in my peripheral vision before I could even gasp. Strong fingers wrapped around my forearm and yanked me back.

“No,” I heard, low and urgent.

Magic swirled through my fingertips as I came to a stop, facing Mr. Devilishly Handsome Vampire.

Electricity surged around me, charging my skin before pumping into Darius’s hand and arm. A bug zapper sound preceded him flinching away, and I jumped to the side, my hands already up and weaving a spell. The act strangely felt like knitting, and a stray thought curled away—I wondered if that was why my mother had taken up knitting (before failing at it and stabbing the couch in frustration).

Darius stood in front of me, his hair standing on end and his hands fisted at his side. He looked like he’d just stuck his finger in a light socket.

His hard hazel eyes beat into my head. “No,” he said, and despite his hair issue, his voice came out calm and unaffected. “Do not go that way.”

I glanced down the dark hallway before looking back at the room from which I’d come. The green monster stood frozen in place, looking at me with bunched muscles and thick cords of drool falling from its mouth.

“Why should I trust you?” I whispered.

“I am training you, not trying to kill you,” he said, unconcerned about the newbie vampire panting in the doorway behind him.

“You didn’t do a lot when that other one had its fangs on my neck.”

“I was about to step in when you handled the situation beautifully. I would love to leave you alone and see what new surprises you have in store, but you are exuding a lot of magic right now. Strong, powerful magic. Helpful in keeping weaker creatures at bay, yes, but I worry it might awaken aggressive urges in the elder residing down that hall. I am not sure I could defeat her should she decide to engage, so I would rather not take the chance.”

There was a lot to unpack in that speech, like his belief that my magic would keep weaker creatures at bay when they were still clearly chasing me through the house. Or how my anger toward him softened just a bit from knowing he’d kept an eye on me this whole time. Or the absolute terror of imagining a vampire capable of intimidating him.

Hard clicks sounded, and I tore my focus away from Darius and shifted it to the newbie vamp edging closer. A strange sort of growl preceded a glob of drool dropping from its mouth.

“That must destroy the rugs,” I mumbled.

Another vampire waited behind the first, impatiently shifting.

Darius barely moved, his head turning just slightly, and a wave of his spicy magic filled the space. The closest vampire stopped where it was, but the one behind it scooted up so they were clustered again. Their bloodlust was rising; I could feel it in the dizzied magic mingling with mine. With Darius’s.

My mind whirled, back to wondering if I could trust him, or if he’d purposely stopped me from escaping.

“Why would you let such a powerful creature hang out in your house?” I asked, watching his face for signs of lying. “Especially when you invited me over?”

“I did not foresee you would use your magic this way. I’ve never experienced it before. I wonder if Emery knows of it.”

I pointed up at the organized mass above my head. “That, you mean? Because lately, I always have that brewing, and it doesn’t seem to bother anyone else.”

Darius’s brow wrinkled as he followed my point. “I don’t know what you are pointing at, but what is happening with your magic is a recent development, and it is not standard.”

“That’s a nice way of calling me weird.” I gritted my teeth as the clicking resumed, those hungry buggers edging toward me again.

Darius glanced over his shoulder. But instead of warning them back, he offered me a slight bow and then stepped away. “I’ll leave you to it.”

As if on cue, the closest vampire broke from the pack and lunged for me.

Eat. Kill. Devour.

Fangs, claws, and sinewy muscle stretched across its bones.

That was all I could see. All that registered.

My body locked in deep, paralyzing fear. Energy pulsed and throbbed around me. Spells rolled through my head, one by one, but the only ones I could latch on to were mostly steeped in feelings. Random thoughts. An image of a sunny day, a magnifying glass, and an anthill.

“How is that helping?” I whispered, watching the creature cross the small patch of hallway between us, intent on reaching me and ripping me open.

I knew I needed to move. To do something other than stand around like a fool. Very recently, I had been better than this. I had reacted.

Why was I locking up again?

The creature’s claw came up to slash. Darius twitched, and I thought he would step in. I thought he would grab the hand.

He stepped back.

“Help,” I begged, a sad, feeble little cry that would do nobody any favors.

The vampire grinned, of all things, and the claw swung at my neck.