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Here is a painful truth: the circus is aas you’re allowed to leave when the show is over My first year in the caravan was a dreaatorial, and the last tere a nightrind your teeth to dust And that’s why the rings in a hiss so long and soft that it had becoh that smelled of blood and wine He was beautiful, , and I was completely in his power And that really, really pissed lared at the man who had killed ht have been attractive Sexy, even But here, now, he was si

"You’re not ot, love And more important, I’m your employer"

I rolled hed My eyes shot to Tish, but she earing a Mona Lisa sently "This isn’t Earth You can’t just walk out the door and find an apart an independent wo simply isn’t set up that way As a fehts here And, for the record, if Cri to be your mom"

I smirked at that She was only a few years older than e coed I’d been before one drink tooWhen I arrived in this freaky parallel world naked and confused, the only thing that had saved me from death by a warren of murderous bludbunnies was Criminy Stain with his ability to turn humans into nearly invincible blood drinkers, Bludmen like himself Tish was from Earth, too, and we’d had so about gering airship captains could actually walk around alone safely But just like a real mom, she would never take my side over Criminy’s

"Besides," Tish added, "have you been to the cities? They’re awful" She held up a creased newspaper frohton You couldn’t pay h, cramped walls And it’s much worse for Bludmen, to be quite honest"

Her voice went bitter as her eyes went far away, and I couldn’t help noticing the crow’s feet that hadn’t been there last year Tish had told me about the witch’s curse and the enchanted locket that e far faster than was fair, the price for her life in Sang My best friend, Cherie, and I had bets regarding how long she would hold off being bludded so she could stay with Crirandes of her third round of breast cancer and that once the tough old bird had passed on, Tish would most likely join us in the life of a predator More years, more resilience, more beauty, and all you lost as a Bludhts once you were inside the city It was a far cry from the sparkly rich vampire stories I’d salivated over back home

For example, I enty-six but looked seventeen, and I was currently so hungry that I could s cookies used to be I sed and looked away

When Crientle and kind "The point, irls, is that this is the best life I can offer you in Sangland What precisely do you lack?"

I fluffed ross, even with the nails painted hot pink "Parties Independence Adventure," Ihis eyes

"I think she means boys," Tish whispered

Criminy snorted and looked offended "There are boys in the caravan Plenty of thes is not ‘boys’ "

"You should have snapped up Casper when you had the chance Or one of the dai I’d done it fast enough to hide my blush I had, in fact, snatched up one of the daiuy I’d , but he was part of the reason I noanted to leave the caravan Underneath his suave, bad-boy exterior, he was as sweet and gushy as the filling in a jelly doughnut The way he was followingme to be his petite amie--so not sexy Even the hot Franchian accent didn’t help

Tish rong about one thing: I didn’t need a boy I needed amy lip carefully with too-sharp teeth "We’d like to try London"

"Over , but I’d never believed it, not until that moment He sees, his sharp features going sharper and his hair crackling with lightning that wasn’t there I shrank down, all o to London," Tish started, and Cri to London I’ll never allow it"

Before he was done talking, I rose fro the sparks in my own dark hair "You can’t stop me! You don’t own me I’m not just another freak in your sideshow"

He chuckled darkly and leaned back, crossing his ar cold "I can stop you, actually I made your papers, and I hold theet into any cities"