After hearing that Kingsley and Rhyland would be here tonight, I was hoping I’d snooze for at least twenty-four hours. Unfortunately, vampires aren’t much for sleeping, and I wake up an hour later, dripping in sweat with the worst headache ever. I’d be totally bummed out, except Effie sends me a message almost the instant I open my eyes.

Effie: Yo, yo, yo, yo, Sleeping Beauty, get your ass out of bed!

I smile as I sit up, wiping the sweat from my forehead and noting that the buzzing is still present in my body. Strange. I thought it would’ve worn off by now.

Making a mental note to ask my mom about it, I type back a message to Effie.

Me: How’d you know I was sleeping? Are you stalking me again?

Effie: Whatever. I so only stalked you once, and that was to find out where on earth you took off after school every day, because I knew you were lying to me.

Me: Yeah, I know. I still feel bad about that. I just hate telling people that my mom owns Liquid Red & Blood Magic. People usually get all weird and try to use me to get in.

Effie: Except for me.

Me: That’s because you’re awesome.

Effie: Sure am, but I’m kind of worried you might change your mind after what I’m about to ask you.

Me: What’s up? You didn’t kill one of the council’s bats again, did you? Because my dad’s been super suspicious since the last time one turned up dead, and I had to lie and say it wasn’t you.

Effie: No, I didn’t. And FYI, the last time was totally accidental. How was I supposed to know it’d fly into the window after I shut it?

Me: They do that sometimes, especially when they’re high off blood.

Effie: I know that now. But can I just say that the council has serious attachment issues to their bats. I swear, it’s like they think they’re children or something.

Me: Nah. They’re just pets.

Effie: Pets they love a little too much, if you ask me. I’ve even seen them talking to them. And one time I saw one wearing a little purple dress and bow. Seriously, it’s like those people who dress up their dogs.

I chuckle.

Me: Yeah, I know it’s pretty weird … But, if you didn’t kill a bat, then what favor do you need?

Effie: I need to get into your mom’s club tonight.

I try not to worry over whether she’s using me. I’ve been friends with Effie for almost a year and she’s done nothing but be super nice to me and has never asked me for anything.

Before I can answer, another text pings through.

Effie: Before you start to worry, I want you to know that the only reason I want to go is because I think Austin is cheating on me. And supposedly, at least according to a little gossiping bat, he’s supposed to be at your mom’s club with his skanky lover.

Me: Oh, my God! I’m so sorry, Effie. What an asshat.

Effie: No worries. It’s not like I’m in love with Austin. But he has potential, and I don’t want to throw all that potential away until I know for sure.

Me: Wait? Who’s the little gossiping bat that told you this?

Effie: Well, that’s the weird part. I got an anonymous letter, via magical mail. It said I needed to go to Liquid Red & Blood Magic tonight because Austin was going to be there with another girl.

Me: And you don’t know who sent the letter?

Effie: Nope. I tried to find out, but you know how hard it is to track magical mail.

Me: True … It seems weird, though.

Effie: I’m honestly kind of wondering if the skanky lover sent it. Maybe she wants Austin all to herself, but he won’t break up with me. So, she figures if I find out, I’ll dump his cheating ass. Which I totally will.

Me: Well, I’m here for you, whatever you need. Even if it’s going to my mom’s club. Honestly, I kind of want to get out of the house, anyway.

Effie: Fuck. What happened?

Me: Kingsley and Rhyland are coming home early. They’re supposed to be here tonight.

Effie: What the shit? Did they get kicked out of the training program or something?

Me: Nope. Graduated early.

Effie: Yeah right. Probably because they cheated.

Me: Can you do that in the program?

Effie: I don’t know, but I wouldn’t put it past Kingsley and Rhyland to find a way. They used to cheat off my tests all the time back when we were kind of friends.

Yep, once upon a time, Effie used to be popular, until around senior year when, according to her, she stopped giving a shit about what other vampires thought. She said it was too tiring and she didn’t like the person she’d become. So, she chopped off her blonde hair, dyed it purple, and pierced her lip, nose, and brow. She looked—and still does—like a badass vampire punk goddess.

When she first gave herself the makeover, Nadine and her friends tormented her. That’s kind of how we became friends—by bonding over how we were both bullied.

Luckily, for the sake of our friendship ever developing, Effie never treated me like shit during her pre-rebellion popularity years. It was actually pretty easy to become friends with her. We have a lot in common, from our choice in clothes and rock music to our quirky weirdness. I asked her once how she was ever friends with Nadine, Kingsley, and Rhyland, and she told me she had no idea.

Me: Well, according to Nadine, they graduated early, which means their big heads are probably going to be even more inflated.

Effie: Maybe they’ll be so big they won’t be able to fit through the door, and then you won’t have to see them.

Me: Aw, don’t get my hopes up.

Effie: You never know.

Me: Yeah, I know, but I really doubt it. That’s okay. I won’t be here to see them because I’ll be with my BFF, hanging out at my mom’s club.

At least for the night I’ll be gone. Unfortunately, I can’t run away forever.

Effie: Thanks, Raven. You’re seriously the best BFF ever. I totally owe you big time.

Me: Well, if that’s the case, you can let me borrow those killer boots you just bought.

Effie: Deal. See you in about an hour?

Me: Sounds good.

Effie: And, it’s cool if Anders comes, too, right?

Me: Do you even need to ask?

Besides Effie, Anders is my favorite person. On top of the fact that he didn’t go to the same high school as Effie and I, which means he didn’t see me at my most pathetic, he’s also the funniest, sassiest, most caring, best dressed vampire I’ve ever met.

Effie: Awesome. See you in a bit! Peace out, vamp bitch.

Me: Peace out, vamp weirdo.

By the time I get off the phone, I have a smile on my face. But that smile falters when I hear the rumbling of a car engine from outside.

I get up from the bed and glance out the window at the two-story, Victorian home next door. Moonlight trickles down from the night sky, revealing with sleek, black SUVs lining the driveway. Holy vampire mobster mafia.

I squint to get a better look at the inside of the vehicles, and my confusion doubles. Several vampires fill up the front and backseats, ranging from late teens to late twenties, both male and female. None of them appear to be Rhyland and Kingsley.

Why are there so many there? And why are they all driving the same damn vehicles?

Does it really matter? All that matters is you’re gone before they get here.

I turn from the window, shoving thoughts of Rhyland, Kingsley, and the buzzing in my body far, far away into the back of my mind. I head for my closet to find something to wear that will work well with my mom’s club’s dress code. I have a lot of choices since most of my outfits fit well with the edgy, gothic requirement.

Back in the day, I would’ve hated finding something to wear that’d get me passed the front door of the club. I was clueless back then about what sort of style fit me best, and I spent a lot of time wearing trendy, designer clothes that didn’t fit my personality or my taste. I was too desperate to fit in. Pathetically desperate.

That was high school Raven. College Raven figured out she loved edgy, gothic clothes.

After sifting through my clothes, I settle on a black, off-the-shoulder, velvet top that reaches the top of my navel. I top the outfit off with a high waist, short, black skirt; fishnet stockings; platform shoes; and a velvet choker. I trim my eyes with some kohl eyeliner, and dab on some lip-gloss. I’m a minimalist when it comes to makeup.

I decide to leave my hair down, but use a bit of Witches Hair Color Magic that Effie shoplifted from a Wicca supply store to make the bottom of the strands a pale blue. By the time I’m finished, an hour has passed.

Effie should be here any minute.

I exit my room, feeling pretty damn good. But my mood drizzles at the sound of voices coming from the living room. Voices belonging to complete vampire asshateries.

I freeze right before the stairway opens into the foyer and the living room. Fuckety shit, how am I supposed to get out of the house without them noticing me?

If they open their mouths, my night will be ruined. And they will open their sharp, fangy mouths. They always do.

“Oh, my God, I’m so glad you guys are home!” Nadine squeals in delight. “The last year’s been so boring without you guys.”

“I wish I could say the same.” Arrogance mixed with amusement rings in Kingsley’s tone. “But training was awesome. The most fun I’ve had in a long time.”

“Even more fun than hanging out with me?” Nadine teases. But her tone deflates when Kingsley doesn’t answer right away. “What the hell, Kings? Why are you acting like a jerk? And you look so weird … What happened to you?”

“What?” Kingsley asks. “You want me to lie to you?”

I hear a smack, and then Kinsley mumbles, “Ow … That wasn’t very fucking nice, Nadine.”

“I’m not trying to be nice,” Nadine huffs. “I’m trying to be an asshole, just like you.”

Kingsley sighs. “I’m not being an asshole. I’m just … Rhyland, a little help here please?”

“Kings is right,” Rhyland says in his infamously bored tone. “Training was better than hanging around in Mystic Willow Bay. But it doesn’t even matter. Nothing about this conversation matters—it never has. It’s always been completely pointless, and honestly, it’s getting really boring. Plus, I have bigger problems to worry about than if you’re upset.”

“Fuck you, Rhy,” my sister spats. “You’re such an arrogant prick.”

“You didn’t used to mind that I was,” he drones on, sounding even more bored. “In fact, you thrived on it.”

“What the hell is your problem?” she snaps. “You guys are acting like you’re not even happy to see me.”

“Maybe we’re not,” Kingsley says, then sighs. “Look, Nadine, we’re sorry, but things have changed—we’ve changed. Everything’s changed, and we don’t have to be the guys we were anymore. Our commitment is … gone… for now.” He gives a long pause. Then something in his voice shifts, tightens. “You’ll understand a little bit more when we talk to everyone.”

What in the crazy bats is he talking about? What commitment?

“The only thing that’s changed is that you let your emperor title go to your stupid, fat head,” Nadine bites out. “Just wait. When I become an empress, I’m going to return the favor, times ten.”

“We’ll deal with it if it happens,” Kingsley says with a hint of skepticism.

Huh. So, I guess he and my dad are on the same page.

I smash my lips together, stifling a laugh, as Nadine throws a full tizzy tantrum, cursing and smashing who knows what.

My reaction might be wrong. Deep down, I know Kingsley and Rhyland are being assholes to her and having been on the receiving end of it, I should be more compassionate. But I’m having a difficult time trying to feel empathy for the girl who, only hours ago, grinned at me as she announced that my life was returning to hell.

As Nadine continues to throw a temper tantrum, I deliberate the best way to leave the house while minimizing the risk of my night getting ruined. More than likely, my dad has a protection shield up for the night, so climbing out a window is only going to result in an alarm going off. Then my dad will have to come home from his council meeting early to shut it off, and then he’ll end up in a pissy mood. Still, dealing with my pissed off dad might be better than dealing with Kingsley, Rhyland, and Nadine’s shit. Especially with the mood Nadine’s in.

I’m about to turn around, sneak back upstairs to my bedroom, and climb out the window when an incoming messages buzzes through my phone.

Effie: We’re parked outside! Hurry your cute butt up!

Me: Hold on. I have to climb out the window.

Effie: What the shit? Why? And why the hell is there, like, half a dozen SUVs next door?

Me: Not sure about the SUVs. They just showed up a while ago. And I’m climbing out the window because asshat one and asshat two are in the living room with queen asshat, and I don’t want to deal with them right now.

Effie: Don’t you dare climb out that window.

Me: I’m sorry. I know I said I’d be braver, but saying and acting are two different things. I thought I could do it, but now that they’re here … I’m such a scaredy bat.

Effie: Hang on. Two kickass and very well dressed vampires are on their way to save the night.

Me: You really don’t need to come in here and save me. I can just go out the window.

Effie: No way. You’re not going to let those fuck-holes bully you anymore.

Before I can respond, the doorbell rings. Or, well, a wicked laugh echoes throughout the house, thanks to the creepy, laughing doorbell my mom recently installed. She may have thought she was being funny when she put it in, but right now, I feel like the damn thing is mocking me.

Moments later, I hear the front door creak open.

“Why the hell are you here?” Nadine snaps, furiously confused.

Her confusion is understandable. While my parents know I’m friends with Effie, I rarely bring her to the house since Effie can’t stand Nadine. Plus, Effie has her own place that she shares with Anders and where we can hang out in a Nadine-free environment.

“Nice to see you, too, old friend.” Sarcasm drips from Effie’s tone. “I see you haven’t outgrown your wannabe Barbie phase.”

“You’re just jealous of my gorgeous looks,” Nadine quips smugly.

Effie snorts a laugh. “Oh, my God, do you really believe the shit that comes out of your mouth? Or do your lips just move while your brain tunes out?”

“Maybe it’s all the bleach she puts in her hair,” Anders chimes in, amusement ringing in his tone. “I hear it fries brain cells if it is used it too much.”

“My hair is naturally blonde,” Nadine says with a sassy attitude.

“If you say so,” Anders replies wickedly.

“How dare you talk to me that way?” Nadine screeches. “You don’t even know me.”

“But I’ve heard a lot about you,” Anders says. Nadine must smile, because he adds, “That’s not a compliment, blondie.”

Nadine growls something incoherent before she singsongs, “Kings and Rhy-Rhy, a little help here.”

I roll my eyes. I hate it when she calls him Rhy-Rhy. It sounds so childish. Then again, Rhyland and her act pretty childish sometimes, so I guess the name is sort of fitting.

I blow out an uneven breath, realizing that, if I don’t quit being a big, old scaredy bat, Effie and Anders are going to have to deal with Nadine, Kingsley, and Rhyland. And that isn’t fair to them.

Summoning a deep breath, I step the rest of the way down the stairs. But the second I step foot into the foyer, I nearly run back upstairs with my tail between my legs, because all five of their gazes shift to me and an alarming silence grasps the air.

Vampires of all vampires, I hate being the center of attention, especially when over half the attention is negative.

Still, I keep my chin held high, refusing to cower, though I feel like I’m going to yack out all that blood I drank at dinner.

You can do this, Raven. One foot in front of the other.

Obeying my thoughts grows more complicated the longer Rhyland and Kingsley stare at me, though I refuse to meet their gazes. Or, well, at least I try to, but my eyes get the best of me and stray in their direction.

They don’t look the same as when they left, other than they’re still tall and lean. Kingsley’s brown hair used to be much longer, but now it’s cropped close to his skull. He has a sleeve of shaded tattoos on both arms and is dressed in a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, along with black jeans, and clunky boots. He used to be a polo shirt and slacks sort of guy, so this is a one-eighty in the looks department. The look fits him better, though, as if this is who he’s been all along.

Rhyland looks a little bit more like himself, dressed in all black with clunky boots and leather bands on his wrists. Unlike before, he now has a piercing in his brow and bottom lip, the edge of a tattoo peeks out of the collar of his shirt, and his blond hair that was once short now reaches his chin.

When my eyes finally meet Rhyland’s, I become painfully aware that one more thing is different about him. The unemotional, detached look he always wore has now altered into an intense smolder. And all that intensity is focused on me at the moment. And while most females would swoon themselves to death from the look, me…

I crinkle my nose. Sure, Rhyland and Kingsley are hot … until they open their mouths.

Rhyland gives me a funny, curiously amused look that puzzles me deeply. Why is he looking at me like that? Where’s the cold, I-don’t-give-a-shit expression he normally wears whenever he looks at me? And why am I getting the strangest sense of déjà vu?

I don’t know how long I would’ve stood there stupidly staring at him like a spazz if the buzzing didn’t suddenly hum to life in a current of strong voltage.

Snapping out of my trance, I tear my gaze off Rhyland and step toward the doorway, more than ready to get this night on the road.

“Where are you going?” Nadine asks with her hands on her hips.

“Out,” I reply.

“Since when do you go out?” She purposefully eyes me over. “And since when do you dress like that?”

Effie mouths, “Put her in her place.”

“Like what?” I play dumb, but I’m nervous, an old habit I’m discovering is difficult to kick.

“Like …” Nadine grins. “Like a vampy skank.”

“Well, clearly I’m going to a place where I can be a vampy skank, then,” I quip. “But FYI, we usually prefer the term ‘sexual-driven vampires.’ Skank just sounds way too skanky.”

Holy hell, did I just say sexual-driven in front of everyone?

As my cheeks flood with warm—yes, despite our frosty body temperatures, vampires can blush—I hurry toward the door to get the hell out of the spotlight before my luck runs out and Kingsley and Rhyland intervene. I’m surprised they haven’t already. In fact, they’ve been awfully quiet.

Like the calm before a storm.

“Did you hear that, Rhy?” Kingsley asks in a teasing tone.

Dammit! So close.

“Hear what?” Rhyland replies amusedly.

“They’re going to some place where sex-driven vampires hang out,” Kingsley says. “Maybe we should go with them. You know how much I love anything that has to do with sex.”

“Sounds like a fan-fucking-tastic plan to me,” Rhyland plays along, the humor in his tone foreign and unsettling. “What do you think, Raven? You got room for two more in the car? I promise we’ll be on our best behavior.”

I don’t know what they’re up to, but I’m positive nothing good.

An urge overcomes me then, either from the lingering magic in my hair dye or that nagging buzzing under my skin. Or maybe from the confidence I gained over the last year. Whatever the reason, I find myself turning around.

“Sorry, but the car doesn’t have enough room for your big, overly inflated heads.” I whirl around before I can see their expressions and usher Effie and Anders out the door.

Two steps forward, a set of fingers wrap around my upper arm. Even through the sleeve of my velvet top, the contact is scorching and sets off the buzzing nips under my flesh like soft fangy nips.

Confused beyond imaginable, I twist around to see who grabbed me. Then my confusion and worry multiples.

Rhyland is holding my arm, with an alarmingly panicked desperation possessing his face.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go out tonight,” he says in a low, almost frenzied tone.

My insides quiver in panic, in fury, and in something else. Something I can’t quite connect a word to. I don’t know what he’s doing, if he’s threatening me or what, but his hand on my arm is making me wildly nervous.

I swallow hard, glancing at the doorway and willing Effie and Anders to come back inside. But they’re nowhere in sight.

“Please let go of my arm,” I say in the steadiest voice I can muster.

Rhyland only tightens his grip, seeming in pain. “Raven …”

The sound of my name slipping off his tongue causes a storm to thunder inside my chest. I’m not sure if Rhyland or Kingsley have ever called me by my real name. I’ve always been Nadine’s annoying younger sister.

“Let go of me.” I attempt to jerk back my arm, but his grip only constricts, not in a painful way, but in an overwhelmingly intense way.

Nadine grins at Rhyland. “And there he is.” She beams happily.

Rhyland doesn’t even so much as glance in her direction, his gaze boring into me as he grinds his teeth. “I can’t let this happen again—”

“Rhy.” Kingsley places a firm hand on his shoulder. “Let her go for tonight. We need to take care of a few other things first, anyway. You know this.”

Nervous adrenaline courses through my veins. Rhyland, Kingsley, and Nadine may have teased and tormented me before, but never has Rhyland gotten in my face like this.

Maybe becoming an emperor has changed him. Maybe the extra power and ego boost really did mess with his head.

Kingsley’s words replay in my head.

Let her go for tonight? We need to take care of a few other things first, anyway?

“Are you threatening me?”

“We’re not threatening you.” Confliction swirls in Rhyland’s eyes. He still doesn’t release my arm.

“Then. Let. Me. Go.” I cringe at the tremble in my voice.

Rhyland’s gaze travels from his hand on my arm to Kingsley, who stares him down hard. “Not yet,” he mouths. “Not until it’s time.”

I shiver from the warning, causing Rhyland’s gaze to snap back to me. He stares at me for a pummeling heartbeat or two longer, then reluctantly peels his hand off my arm, slowly lifting his fingers one by one.

An exhale rushes from my lips, and Nadine busts up in laughter.

“You look like you’re about to piss your pants right now.” The delight in her eyes makes my blood boil.

“Go to hell.” It’s such a stupid attempt to regain some of my confidence back, but I’m too shaken up to come up with a clever comeback. Too shaken up to think clearly. So shaken up I’m kind of scared. And I hate that I am.

Always afraid.

Not wanting to give them the pleasure of witnessing me freaking out, I spin around, dash out the door, and hurry down the stairs and to the front lawn where Effie and Anders are waiting for me.

“What the hell took you so long?” Effie hisses as I approach her.

I wonder how much she saw and heard. When we get in the car, I’ll have to ask her.

“Let’s just get the hell away from here.” I stride across the dewy grass and toward the car, noting the black SUVs still parked next door.

She trades a concerned glance with Anders, and then she follows me.

The three of us hop into her car, and then she revs up the engine. I tell myself not to look back at my house, to just let it go, yet the compulsion to do so consumes every inch of me. I end up giving in and peeking through the window, and my pulse instantly quickens.

Rhyland is standing in the doorway, watching the car with his arms crossed and a calculating look on his face. In the background, Kingsley is heatedly talking to Nadine. She keeps shaking her head then her gaze drifts to Effie’s car and fury flares in her eyes.

I swallow hard, unsure what’s going on, but knowing it can’t be a good thing.

I keep my eyes on the house until Effie peels away from the curb. Then I turn away, but not before Rhyland uncrosses his arms and stares down at his hand. His hand that, only minutes ago, was gripping my arm.

I place my hand over the spot where he gripped me. Beneath the fabric of my shirt, my skin feels … well, sparkly and tickly and familiar.

Strange.

Lowering my hand, I roll up my sleeve and inspect the skin. For the craziest moment, I swear the veins under my skin move, like ribbons twirling in iridescent water. But when I blink, my skin is normal again.

I resist a gulp as I roll down my sleeve, my insides raveling tightly with my nerves. All of this—the scorching heat his grip brought and the brief illusion of my veins moving underneath my skin—seems like magic.

Witches magic.

And the last time Rhyland had a witch use magic on me, I ended up looking evil in the eye and tasting the scent of death.