I paused in the middle of yanking a clean shirt on. “House Medeis…who is it?” I cautiously asked.

I felt magic swirl around the property and return, bringing back the familiar and enviably cool sensation the House used to represent vampires.

“Huh.” I finished tugging the shirt on and stepped into my slippers. “Did Gavino invite someone over?” I slipped into the hallway as the doorbell rang again. “I’ll get it!” I shouted loud enough for my family to hear.

“’kay!” Someone—Momoko, I thought—shouted back.

I shuffled down the stairs and made it all the way to the front door where I swapped my slippers for shoes and opened the door, revealing a clutch of approximately twenty vampires crowding the sidewalk, with Killian at the front.

Chapter Thirteen

Hazel

“Good evening.” His voice echoed across the empty lawn. “May we come in?”

I stomped my way down to the sidewalk. “What the heck are you doing here?” I glanced at his retinue, who were carrying duffle bags and various power tools.

“You said to tell you next time I had a plan that involved you.” Killian shrugged, his shoulders barely moving. “It’s next time.”

“And what does that mean?” I unlocked the gate that blocked the brick path that trooped up to the House.

Celestina, armed with a drill, stared expectantly at me over Killian’s shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, come in.” I waved the group in, but grabbed Killian by the arm. “Except you—you have to explain this.”

“As you very well know, I am paranoid,” he said.

“Uh-huh, I’m following you.”

“So it makes me…apprehensive when you are away from Drake Hall,” Killian said.

I pressed my lips together. “I live in a magic House with nearly thirty adult wizards, and you’re apprehensive?”

“Would you rather I say it makes me unbearably anxious?” Killian smirked, looking calm and controlled—the exact opposite of what he supposedly felt. “And paranoia often doesn’t make sense,” he added.

The Drake vampires had slowly made their way across the lawn and were loitering outside the House—although they eyed it, and one or two of them were taking notes on sleek tablets.

“So, what, you’re moving in?” I asked.

Killian perked. “That’s an option?”

“No!”

He gave me a look of disapproval. “You know you are perfectly welcome to move into Drake Hall, but it seems wizards are not as good hosts as us vampires.”

“You’re paranoid, so what do you intend to do?” I eyed Julianne, who was measuring the front porch with a measuring tape.

“I’ll have my people test it. I’d like to know what you’re dealing with and shore up whatever weak spots we find.”

“Define shore up.”

“I have some wards I intend to install—that sort of thing.”

“Oh.” I blinked and relaxed slightly. “That’d be nice.”

Killian raised his eyebrows. “You don’t object?”

“Nah.” I spun around to shout at his vampires. “Just don’t do anything to the House without asking me first—it will get offended!”

Josh gave me a bow. “As you wish, Miss Hazel.”

The vampires scattered. A few went around each side of the House, two retreated back to the gate and started walking the property line, one trailed off to carefully inspect the gates, and Celestina and a few others had taken it upon themselves to start scaling the outside of the House, climbing up the walls and perching on any outcropping they came across to take notes.

“I am pleasantly surprised.” Killian stood so close his arm brushed mine as he watched his people work. “I thought you’d object.”

“To free wards? Never—those things are expensive.” I smiled indulgently at my House. “Besides, it’s probably better if you experience for yourself how well-protected we really are if you are that ‘anxious’.”

Killian made a noise of amusement. “Your doubt wounds me.”

“I’m totally sure.”

The House sent a pulse of magic that rippled beneath my feet, stirring waves of curiosity and worry.

I crouched down, and patted the lawn. “It’s okay, House Medeis,” I murmured. “They’re friends.”

I watched Josh use a sword as a yardstick to measure a window, and I suddenly remembered I was not the only resident of House Medeis. “Shoot—I’ve got to warn everyone!”

I sprinted across the lawn, jumped up the porch stairs, and flung the front door open. “Hey guys, we have some vampire visitors! No cause for alarm, okay?”

“How splendid.” Great Aunt Marraine waddled out of the kitchen with a warm smile. “Have Joshua and Miss Celestina returned—my stars.” Her eyes widened when she saw the vampires sweeping the property.

“Killian brought a crew here,” I said. “They’re checking our defenses for us. Could you tell the others?”

“Yes, of course.” Great Aunt Marraine pursed her lips, and for a moment I worried she was upset with me for letting so many vampires in. “This is quite the problem, Adept,” she said, confirming my fears. “I don’t know if we have enough blood packs for everyone!”

I sagged in relief and laughed. “It’ll be fine.”

She shook her head. “This is a sign that we should increase our blood delivery order. Although it’s possible we may end up wasting some blood packs then if we don’t often have visitors of a vampiric nature…”

“It’s fine,” I assured her. “I’ll take whatever ones are almost expired to Drake Hall and feed them to Killian.”

“I am glad I can be your garbage disposal.” Killian’s dry voice came from directly behind me.

“Sounds fun!” Great Aunt Marraine said. “I’ll leave you kids to it and go tell the others.” She winked at me with a lot more suggestion than I liked, and made for the main staircase.

“Why did she wink?” Killian asked, his breath stirring my hair.

“I have no idea.” He was so close I almost smacked into him when I turned around. “Yeah, so I wanted to ask about the power tools. What are they for?”

“Weak spots.”

“Ah.” I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah, see that’s the thing about having a magical House. As long as I’m doing my job it can self-repair for the most part.”

“Oh?”

Celestina and Josh appeared behind Killian’s shoulder, joining us in the front hallway. “Your Eminence,” they murmured.

Killian glanced back at them. “Did you find something?”

“No,” Celestina said. “We wanted to procure permission to conduct our search inside as well.”

“Yeah, go for it,” I said.

Josh nodded and retreated back to the porch. “We have permission to enter,” he shouted.

“You were saying the House is self-repairing?” Killian asked.

“Yes,” I said. “It’s because of the magic in it—it renews the House. That’s why it needs an Adept—the Adept keeps the magic flowing and provides extra power. In return the House is capable of magic wizards can’t normally perform on their own.”

“If it’s damaged, how fast does it repair itself?” Killian asked.

I frowned a little as I searched my memory. “You know, I’m not sure. I never really thought about it.”

“Then we ought to test it.” Killian pulled a handgun from its holster, which was hidden by his suitcoat.

“What? No!” I leaped toward him and tried to push the gun back under his jacket.

Killian easily peeled my hands off. “It’s something you should be aware of.” He racked his gun, pulling the slider back to load a bullet into the chamber. “For safety’s sake.”

“You just want to try shooting the House to see if it will react,” I hissed.

“Perhaps,” he acknowledged. “I haven’t had the pleasure of actually seeing House magic in such close quarters.” He narrowed his eyes. “I am very anxious to see if it’s worth all the sweat and blood you have pushed into this ancient place.”

Yeah, that was pretty rich considering he was probably older than the House. But obviously, he wasn’t going to give up.

“Fine. It’s your head on the line.” I held my hands up and backed off. “But the House has a personality of its own, Killian. You really don’t want to tick it off.”

“Is that so?” Killian said in a factual tone. He flicked off his handgun’s safety and nonchalantly shot the floor.

Slivers of wood sprayed the air, and instantly the ground parted beneath Killian’s feet, sending him plunging into the basement. The wood floor sealed up behind him, repairing the bullet hole, making it look as if nothing had happened.

I turned to Celestina. “Please allow me to express my congratulations on becoming the new Drake Family Elder.”

Celestina stiffened in alarm. “You believe the House will kill him?”

“Nah.” I shook my head and laughed. “It probably has him locked in a closet somewhere in the basement. But he’s not going to get out until it’s no longer quite so mad at him. Ahh, well. Serves him right.” I folded my hands behind my head and stretched out my shoulders as I wandered in the direction of the kitchens. “I wonder what we’re having for dinner…”

Celestina hurried after me. “Do I have permission to search the basement for His Eminence?” Her voice was tight with alarm.

“Celestina, you can chill,” I said. “The House won’t kill him. I invited you guys onto the property, and it knows better than to murder my guest.”

Celestina glanced worriedly back down the hall.