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Aden’s chest puffed up He’d done that He’d caused that reaction without even trying But then Victoria’s laughter subsided, and she once again refused to look at hian "About what happened--"

"I know," she said on a treured out your reasons for ditchingto cry? "I didn’t ditch you, I swear"

"Well, I know that, too"

He shook his head, confused There’d been no tre that time "Wait You just said I did, in fact, ditch you So…you’re not mad at me?"

"I was at first, but then I wasn’t Don’t you see?" Grinning, she clapped, clearly proud of herself "I’ve been teasing you since we picked you up I was using exaggeration Like a huood? Did I fool you?"

His lips twitched in relief and pleasure They had a lot to work on in the huood" And she had She was trying to drop that ever-somber air For him "You look beautiful, by the way"

"Thank you So do you Practically edible"

His lips twitched again Edible--the highest form of praise froers twined As always, her skin was hot, smooth Perfect "Thank you, by the way For what you did with the fairy," she said, suddenly serious

"You’re welco you into a potential war zone Are you scared?"

"No" But he should be, and he knew it "The drugs haveFear can be smelled, and most vampires really like the taste of it"

He snorted "Baby, even if I was afraid, I doubt anything can be sh bubbled frorinned Twice in one day He couldn’t have been prouder

"As I told you,about a fourteen-day waiting period He didn’t tell her that he’d met her sisters already in the vision Not that he recalled ht, another forent For the life of him, however, he couldn’t remember what it was "Lauren is…"

"Hardcore," Riley finished for her

Victoria rolled her eyes "She is not He says that only because they used to date, but Lauren broke up with hi, opinionated and determined not to like you She’s a warrior and one of the fiercest ah Stephanie, my other sister, is very humanlike She used to sneak out of our home, to my father’s fury, and socialize with the food, as he would say She est supporter"

"Good to know I have one Has your mother arrived yet?" Aden knew her mother had been locked away by her father, a punish vah, Aden had decreed the wo his head Weird, and not at all suitable for hie his own life

"No," Victoria replied "She can’t teleport likeby hureed to co to stay in Ro like this has ever happened before, you know My father has always ruled us He was the first of us, after all, and he believed hu ainst his chin "I’ainst this night"

The car slowed as a tall iron gate ca to welco Guards? Further up, a five-story, sprawling mansion consumed acre after acre The black brick and black-shrouded s pandered to every eerie stereotype there was, but perhaps that had been done on purpose A way to keep humans at bay

The roof dipped and rose into several points, knifing into the sky, where theelsewhere, as if afraid to peek inside the home That was probably for the best

Last time Aden had been here, a vampire had tried to murder him That same vampire had murdered an acquaintance of his He wondered what awaited hiht

But I want to go with you Be with you I want to help Aden

I’d rather you were safe

And that’s how Riley had left it He’d called, dropped the "stay hoain Now, at close to eleven, Mary Ann paced through her bedroom Each of her walls was painted a different color--pink, blue, green, red--and those colors blurred together Half of her wood floor was covered by a ed to clash with the walls A decorating scheme her mother--her real mother--had loved and her aunt, the woman who had raised her, had carried on