Killian blinked. It wasn’t a crack in his mask, but I was pretty sure it meant I’d caught him off-guard.

I waved my hand. “Good luck with whatever this thing is. I’m sure you’ll be very happy with the result.” I made for the door—intending to get out of the room before Killian could see me crack.

“I hope I never see you again,” he said.

I paused in the doorway, and turned just enough so Killian could see my smile. “Then I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. Well wishes with your ruling the Midwest vampires. It’s obviously what you care about most.”

I wanted to slam the door, but Celestina was right behind me, so that was a big nope.

I clutched my backpack. I didn’t know what it was filled with—I didn’t even have shoes when I arrived at Drake Hall—but it very obviously didn’t have the one thing I wanted most: my katana. The fact they hadn’t given it to me just showed how shallow our supposed friendship really was.

I couldn’t believe I’d been so stupid to think I mattered to them the way a close friend would.

I was so angry, so hurt I could barely see straight as I stormed through Drake Hall. I only vaguely noticed that the few vampires I saw were jogging up and down the hallway.

When I shoved open the front doors, there was a huge motorcade outside—bigger than any of the processions I’d seen accompany Killian even when going to Regional Committee of Magic meetings.

Oh yeah, Killian was up to something all right.

“So where are you taking me?” I asked Celestina with clinical interest.

“Off Drake property.” Celestina gestured for me to walk past all the cars.

I stepped off the sidewalk and onto the driveway, but paused. “Wait, are you literally just dumping me outside the gate?”

That awful, expressionless mask Celestina wore didn’t even crack. “His Eminence is done with you,” she said. “He has no responsibility to find you the means to reach wherever it is you wish to go.”

I followed Celestina, but more out of shock than compliance. They weren’t even going to give me a ride back into town? They lived in the country! Magiford was miles away! I studied Celestina’s back, bitterness seeping into the raw mix of emotions that churned in my chest.

Not only was I not as close to her—or any of the others—as I thought. I was so very unimportant they wouldn’t even bend Killian’s orders to help me survive.

I followed Celestina down the snaking driveway, my emotions building to the point where I was shivering by the time she opened the great dragon gate of Drake Hall.

I hitched my backpack farther up my shoulder and glanced at my guide. “Take care, Celestina. Thanks for the fun.”

Her mask wasn’t quite as perfect as Killian’s, so I saw it drop for a second when her eyes widened before she slapped it back in place and was once again a perfect vampire with an expression that could have been chiseled out of marble.

I think she expected me to yell at her, and I wanted to.

But her rejection of me now wouldn’t take back the laughter we shared, the times she had protected me, or—more importantly—the hours of training she had invested in me.

When I stepped onto the road, she shut the gate behind me with a rattle. No goodbye, nothing.

That hurt.

I took in a shaky breath, and was surprised when I heard a cheerful voice.

“Yoo-hoo! First Knight! Here you are!” Julianne trotted down the driveway, a bright smile on her face as she gazed adoringly at Celestina. “We’re almost ready to leave! There’s just one more inspection—would you come look at the back few cars?”

Celestina listened intently to Julianne and nodded as she let the cheerful vampire lead her away.

Julianne didn’t even glance at me—she was wholly absorbed in Celestina…which was what made me realize Manjeet stood on the other side of the fence, a finger pressed to his lips in the universal sign of silence.

He glanced back at Julianne, then threw something over the wrought-iron fence at me.

I caught it just in time, the lacquered scabbard slapping my hands. I stared down at my chisa katana, then looked at Manjeet, surprised.

He winked, then slunk into the shadows of the trees, popping out by Celestina and Julianne and joining their conversation.

Through the spokes of the fence, I saw Julianne turn around to face the road.

I shuffled so I could cradle my sword in one arm and wave with the other.

She smiled at me—not her usual bright grin but something that was tinged with sadness—and then hurried after Celestina.

I was touched.

Julianne idolized Celestina. For her and Manjeet to team up and get my sword—which Celestina very obviously hadn’t deemed one of my “belongings”…

I was still in my workout clothes and wearing my sword belt, so I secured my katana to my hip, then crossed the street.

What was I going to do? Did I really have no choice but to walk back to Magiford? But where would I even go once I got there?

“Did Celestina pack my cellphone? Probably not if she didn’t include my katana…” I slipped my backpack off my shoulder and unzipped the pocket. It had the fancy clothes Killian had ordered for me—the ones that were stretchy yet padded so I wasn’t forever getting bruises and scrapes in practice. And that was about it. No phone—so I guess calling an Uber was out—not that I had any money to pay for the ride.

Unfortunately it also meant I had no way to contact Momoko or Felix.

Cars revved behind me.

I jumped as the huge motorcade that had been lined up outside Drake Hall rumbled down the driveway.

The dragon gates swung open, letting the cars through. They turned onto the road—the majority of them being SUVs, Killian’s favorite—and turned left, starting the route to the city. I stopped counting at the twelfth car, but I watched them disappear down the road.

Once the last car passed, the dragon gates swung shut, and—to really underline how much Killian wanted me gone—two vampires I didn’t recognize took up guard posts just inside the gate.

“What a jerk,” I muttered, clenching my teeth. My eyes stung as I stared into the backpack. A few tears escaped, leaving scalding trails down my cheeks before dripping into my backpack.

One of the vampire guards turned to stare at me, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

I shouldered my backpack again and started the long walk to the city, walking on the shoulder of the paved road. I’d only been walking for a few minutes when I heard the distant purr of an engine: it was another car.

This one wasn’t from the Drake estate, but farther down the road—a bright blue pickup truck.

I stepped farther into the ditch and wiped my eyes off on my sleeve, but kept walking.

The truck passed me, then slowed to a stop. The front door opened, and a pretty human hopped out. She was about my age with raven black hair and eyes so blue they almost bordered on violet. Her skin was a warm golden color—I couldn’t tell if she was just tan from the summer or if it was her usual skin tone.

She had to have some fae blood in her—that eye color wasn’t natural, and she had the willowy build and beautiful face structure for it, too. But she seemed overwhelmingly human when she squinted at me, scrunching her nose a little. “Are you okay?”

I couldn’t feel any kind of magic coming from her, and her wardrobe—jeans and a plain t-shirt—was something a fae wouldn’t be caught dead in. She probably was mostly human with a faint trace of fae in her family.

My suspicion faded, and I forced a smile. “I’m fine, thanks.”

Doubt clouded her face as she looked from me to the fence surrounding the Drake estate—which was still visible. “You need a ride?”

I started to reject the offer, but almost crumpled.

I had no one. And if I wasn’t careful I’d still be walking to the city after dark. Besides, the kindness of her soul practically radiated off her.

“A ride would be really great,” I admitted in a small voice.

She flashed me a mischievous grin and slapped her hand against her truck door. “Then hop in!”

She climbed in easily, but I was quite a bit shorter than her and hindered by my sword and backpack, so I had to do more of an ungainly scramble. “Thank you.” I tucked my backpack and sword into the area for my feet and wiggled to adjust in the huge seat. The truck had the faintest whiff of hay and dust.

“Of course! Are you headed for Magiford?” she asked.

“Yeah. You can drop me off once we hit city limits.”

“I can take you farther in than that.” She waited until I was buckled in before she started driving down the road. “I have to get to a farm supply store on the other side of the city, so I’ll cut right through it.”

Where could I have her drop me off? The Curia Cloisters, maybe? Despite what Killian had said, the Elite might be willing to help me. Or should I go to the library and hope the Paragon was holed up there again and hiding from the local courts?

“You own a farm?” I politely asked.

“Sort of,” she said. “My parents have a hobby farm—my mom has chickens for the fun of it and has a garden so massive I swear one day it’s going to be ground zero for a plant apocalypse, and my step-dad has a few horses.” She glanced at me and grinned again. “I’m Leila, by the way.”

“Hazel.”

She gave me the side eye. “And you’re a…wizard?”

Legitimately surprised, I gaped at her. “How did you know?”

She shrugged. “Us humans don’t usually walk this close to the Drake estate, and you didn’t seem like a fae or werewolf, and you’re far too alive to pass for a vampire.”

I had been wondering what kind of a person would offer a ride to a strange wizard with a sword. This explained a bit of it. “You live around here, then?”

“Yep—I’m neighbors with the Drakes,” she said. “I’d never suggest trying to slip through their fence, but we don’t have any problems with foxes, coyotes, or uncultured werewolves going after my mom’s chickens. Predators don’t like getting too close. And the Drakes keep some really nice dogs.”