I hightailed it out of there. To my relief, they kept their word and didn't come after me.

When I returned to our hotel room, I found it empty. I dug out my phone and saw that Sera sent me a text telling me she was feeling better and had gone out to lunch.

I moved to my bed, sinking down onto it, and promptly burst into tears.

I felt silly. Even after my breakup with Brian I hadn't felt this devastated. But in the brief time I'd know the Adonises, I'd felt an undeniable connection with them. They were gorgeous, smart, funny—and insane. I never should have let myself develop a crush. As ridiculous as it was to care for a group of men I’d known for less than a day, I was still heartbroken.

But what could I do? There was obviously something very, very wrong with them. Or they were playing an elaborate prank on me, along with that guy who grabbed me. Edelwald? Edelnar? The name sounded ridiculously made up. They could have at least gone for a more realistic name.

“Oh my God, are you crying?” Sera asked.

I blinked, looking up. I'd been so involved in my thoughts I hadn't noticed Sera entering the room. She looked well rested and vibrant; a complete three-sixty from the coughing and sneezing mess she'd been when I left.

“What happened?” she asked, dropping her shopping bags onto the floor.

I wiped my eyes, considering. I could tell her exactly what happened, but it was too humiliating.

“They weren’t interested. Turns out they really did just want me to join them for a group tour. They blew me off,” I said, avoiding her eyes. I hated lying to her, but there was no way I was going to tell her what actually happened. “It’s . . . Brian. This all just made me miss Brian.”

“Oh Liana,” Sera murmured, compassion flaring in her eyes, and a stab of guilt pierced me for the lie. “I’m so sorry. I could have sworn they were all into you—but you know what? Who needs ‘em. I say we take you to another club—“

“No,” I said. The last thing I needed was another man—or men. “I'm going to focus on my nerdy touristy stuff the rest of the time I’m here.”

“OK,” Sera said reluctantly, “but if you change your mind . . .”

“I won’t,” I said, getting to my feet. “I’m done with men.”

But the Adonises remained on my mind. While Sera and I ate dinner in the hotel restaurant, I thought about the way Gabriel looked at me on the streetcar, with a mixture of curiosity and desire. How Noel's French accent shaped my name on his tongue. The way Xavier's face lit up when I told him how much I was into history. The way Adrian blushed whenever our eyes met.

We listened to a jazz band play in the lobby after dinner, and other images came to my mind. The dreams. The dreams I hadn't let myself think about too much when I was around them.

The mysterious dreams had been deliriously erotic; with multiple mouths and hands on every part of my body. Aside from the sexiness, a sense of . . . belonging had flowed through me during the dreams. A sense of peace and calm I'd never felt with Brian, but I'd felt during my brief time with the Adonises.

It's why you’ve had dreams of us, Adrian had said. We’ve dreamt of you too.

I briefly let myself entertain their crazy story. Could it possibly be true? That man—Edelnar—had moved impossibly fast. As had Gabriel. And Edelnar said I belonged with my own kind. What kind? Fae?

Shaking my head, I downed my wine. I couldn't believe I was even entertaining this. I was twenty-two years old. If I wasn't human, I would know that by now.

A jolt of sadness hit me as I thought of Alice. I wished she were still alive. I could call her and tell her what happened, and she'd verbally slap some sense into me. Magic isn't real, honey, she'd once said, when I told her I wanted to be a fairy princess when I was a kid. All of that stuff is nonsense.

She was right. I'd just have to make myself forget about the Adonises and their bizarre story.

But as I drifted off to sleep that night, another thought niggled at me. How did they know about the dreams?

* * *

The next day I woke up determined not to let my experience of the previous day ruin the rest of my vacation.

Sera accompanied me without protest to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and then we toured a nearby old bookstore rumored to be haunted. Sera pretended to be interested as the owner explained the history of the store. She thought I was heartbroken over Brian so she was trying to be a good sport.

Despite my attempts at distraction, the men dominated my thoughts. After lunch, we took a guided tour of the French Quarter, and I couldn't help but recall the buildings Xavier had pointed out the day before. When we stopped to listen to musicians in Jackson Square, I recalled how Noel told me that jazz was his favorite type of music. Earlier that day in the bookstore, my eyes had lingered on a well worn-copy of The Great Gatsby; Adrian told me it was one of his favorite books, he'd read it over and over again. Even at lunch, I remembered Gabriel's confession of po'boys being his favorite meal.

I shook my head as if to clear it from thoughts of them. We left in a few days. Maybe then they’d finally get out of my head.

"Are you sure this is about Brian?" Sera asked, as we headed back to our hotel later that day.

"What?" I asked, startled. Could she tell that I was thinking about the Adonises?

"Well, you haven't seemed that broken up about him. It's an odd coincidence that you seem so heartbroken after things went south with the four hotties."

Sera was staring at me with vague suspicion, and I looked away. She could be irritatingly perceptive sometimes.

"It just made me realize how much I miss him," I lied, avoiding her gaze. Sera's shoulders slumped; she had somehow sensed I was lying.

"When you want to talk, I'm here," she said, reaching out to squeeze my hand.

I abruptly froze just outside of our hotel while Sera entered ahead of me. I could have sworn I felt eyes on me—it was the same sensation I’d felt in the cemetery.

I turned. I was both disappointed and relieved to not see the four Adonises. It’s for the best, I told myself. They had probably found some other naïve tourist to seduce, though jealousy skittered through me at the thought.

Later that evening, I sat cross-legged on my bed, flipping through my worn copy of New Orleans: A History in a futile attempt to distract myself, while Sera dressed to go out. She had made friends with some Tulane grads while she was out to lunch the previous day, and they were going to try a new club.

“If you change your mind about coming, let me know. I will not let you spend the rest of the vacation sulking," she said, giving me a half-firm, half-playful look before she left.

Once she left, I shut my book, rubbing my eyes. What were the Adonises up to right now? Were they in some club like Flame right now, chatting up some other lovestruck tourist?

Pushing away the thought, I got up to pad to the bathroom. As I reached for my toothbrush, I stilled.

My heart leapt into my throat, and my toothbrush slipped from my grasp, clattering to the floor.

In the mirror, I could see Edelnar standing in the center of the hotel room, his cold grey eyes trained on me.

I opened my mouth to scream, but he was instantly on me, his hand pressed to my mouth.

“Hold still, Liana,” he murmured. “I’m taking you home.”

And my entire world went black.

* * *

I came to with a gasp.

Panic seared my insides as I looked around. I was in a massive bedroom; it was twice the size of my tiny apartment back home.

As soon as I sat up, Edelnar appeared by the doorway. He gave me a pleasant smile, as if I were a guest he’d invited over for coffee and not someone he’d just kidnapped.

“Liana,” he said, his eyes roaming over me from head-to-toe, in a way that made me feel naked. “Now that you’re awake, we need to be properly introduced.”

I stumbled out of bed, trying to appear brave though I was quaking with fear.

"Let. Me. Go," I hissed. "I don't know what's going on between you and Gabriel and the others, but I have nothing to do with it. I'm never going to see them again, so just leave me out of this."

His eyes darkened dangerously when I mentioned Gabriel, and he moved towards me with slow lethality. It took everything in my power not to cower against the wall, and I held myself rigid.

"You're right about never seeing those monsters again," he snarled. He stopped until he was only inches away, his expression softening. "Liana," he murmured, reaching out to touch my face, but I jerked out of his reach.

“I’m—I’m leaving, and you're not going to stop me," I warned, stepping around him. But he grabbed my arm, studying me. Genuine surprise flickered across his handsome features.

“You really don’t know, do you?” he asked.

I yanked my arm out of his grasp, whirling to race for the door. But he beat me to the door, moving impossibly fast.

“I’m losing patience with you, Liana,” he growled. "I didn't want to do it this way, but so be it."

He lifted up his arm. Fear darted through me as I instinctively lifted my hands to shield myself. As I did, a ferocious burst of light exploded from my hands, shooting towards Edelnar. His eyes widened as the force of light hurled him backward out of the room.

I looked down at my hands, astonished. But there was no time for me to try to contemplate what the hell just happened—I needed to get out of here.

I raced out of the room. Edelnar lay on the ground, unconscious, and I darted past him down the hall.

I was in a massive penthouse, and as I ran out of the hall and entered a living room, I saw the skyline of downtown New Orleans outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. At least I was still in the city.

I scrambled to the door, wrenching it open and darting out.

I screamed when I saw four male figures sprinting towards the door. But I stilled when I saw who they were. Gabriel, Adrian, Noel and Xavier.

Noel was before me at once, gripping my shoulders.

“Are you alright, ma cherie?”

“There’s no time for that,” Gabriel said, and my pulse sped up as he looked past me, opening his mouth to reveal . . . fangs. “Get her out of here. I’ll deal with Edelnar.”

Noel pulled me into the circle of his arms, and before I knew it we were back in the same living room they’d taken me to the other day.

I stumbled, dizzy, but Noel held me steady. Adrian and Xavier hovered, watching me with concern.

Once the room was steady again, I looked down at my hands. That flash of light that burst from my hands had been real. Gabriel’s fangs had been real. The enormous speed at which Noel had taken me from the penthouse had been real.

I looked up at them, trying to keep my voice steady as I spoke.

“Tell me everything.”