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Chapter One

I propped el dance floor Below ainst scantily-clad bodies contorting to the beat A irl wearing a tattered red cloak and strategically placed electrical tape A zombie in more chains than clothes shambled past the couple, headed for a coven of dominatrix witches Fictional characters and sexualized movie monsters milled everywhere Whatthe costulanced at the man beside me Well, not a ainst the wooden balcony rail, his back to the club and dancers A white opera mask covered half his face, but unlike the famous mask of the fictional phantoliness--far from it Nathanial’s features were as sharp and perfect as if they’d been carved by an artist They were also currently set in an expression of annoyed arrogance that was as fake as the mask He’d held that exact expression since we arrived at the club an hour ago

"We showed up We’ve been seen Can we go now?" I asked, swirling the contents of my untouched Bloody Mary

"Kita"

My na as ‘No’ or maybe that I already knew the answer

And I did Tatius, the big bad va of Haven, had sudrink on the rail

And here we’ll stay until we’re dismissed

So far, my introduction into eternity as a va, I shoved the untouched alcohol aside The bartender, dressed as, shock of all shocks, a vas--retrieved the precariously balanced glass beforehabits required a lower iron content

Without the glass, I had nothing to fidget with, andbodies on the dance floor

Sobelow thin skin Soto pain as s descended

A waraze fro from my shoulder, down ripped the balcony rail

I pried aze flicked to the ," I whispered, trying to keep s as I spoke

Not that it le" His expression didn’t change

Not a feature twitched, despite the fact I knew he had no interest in talking to anyone in the balcony crowd

The balcony was VIP only Or really, VIV--Very Important Vampire Some humans were present, as snacks Thankfully, I hadn’t noticed any public bloodletting Yet But, as va with the someone On the other hand, it also meant I had to talk to the other vaerous, in er to ee of Nathanial’s lips tugged doard A sht--and it wasn’t approval We disagreed onhabits, oron only animal blood He was of the opinion that I needed human blood I was of the opinion that it was his fault I was on a liquid diet in the first place, and he better put up witha lock of my tri-colored hair out ofhis look

"I know, I know Vaerated huff "But I can’t change twenty-four years of expressions just because I recently woke up slightly less than alive"

Nathanial shook his head, but a sers slid through ed me from the balcony rail Reluctantly, I followed him into the crowd of vampires

The costumes on this level were more diverse than those on the dance floor below True ant dresses, velvet top coats, and jewel-encrusted masks made the balcony crowd colorful But for every Victorian dress or harlequin was a vaic body parts I couldn’t recognize the native Haven va my previous experience with the local vael was operated by theear

Nathanial conforroup His porcelainponytail trailing down the center of his back, blending with the lush fabric of his opera coat His costuance in siarishly bright Black and orange tiger stripes decorated loves and fuzzy white boots A striped mask completed the outfit My mess of calico locks--my hair’s natural color and a reo--almost matched the costu, what I would be

I glared at the stripes Tiger stripes Liketied Only vamps called Nathanial ‘Her me with him, and I looked up, and then up some more The speaker towered over us, and while I was on the short side, Nathanial wasn’t The man wore a fitted crushed velvet maroon frock coat I could have used as a dress Falls of lace escaped froold mask set with rubies obscured wide features He was so massive, it took me a moment to notice the small woman at his side She was his exact opposite Where he was all blunt edges she was sharp, petite