"You're joking."

"I don't joke, Ms. Winters. Surely you realize that." 

"But this has got to be one of the rare exceptions, right?" 

Havik, the skinny vamp, and I came out from under the trellis of dormant wisteria to find the vampire named Telavar and a shiny silver car waiting for us. Telavar raised one dark brow at our new, twitchy addition but declined to say anything.

My face scrunched as I scoured my memory, scratching at my itchy skin before I could catch myself. "You can't be right. The Unseelie princes are Bora and Buran Darhan, sons of the current king, Borneas Darhan. I've studied the Dark Fae nobility for work." 

"With respect to your accolades, Ms. Winters—," Havik continued as he pushed the newcomer against the car, blocking all avenues of escape. "Bora and Buran are simply but two of the Unseelie princes. The political climate of the Court of the Archon isn't usually my affair, but I am aware of the Darhan family's meandering lineage. Xerex has a touch of...infamy among the Unseelie. He's the brother of the Dark King, living alone in mortal society." 

Great. I'd attacked the brother of a king. Great. 

Deeming me speechless, Havik directed his attention toward the new vampire. "What is your name, boy?"

The guy's hands were shaking when he tugged on the hem of his t-shirt, straightening the wrinkled fabric. He kept his eyes on the ground, as was the custom when a young vamp was speaking to a master who wasn't their own. "K-Kyle."

"To which cadre do you belong, Kyle?" 

He shook his head and the uncombed strands of his blond hair swayed. "I'm not from R-Roccia Nera. I'm from Ferryton."

Havik blinked. "Does Baron Di Stefano know you're here?" 

Ferryton was a small coastal town just an hour or so north of the county's limits. It was the city's closest neighbor and a number of humans living in Roccia Nera who refused to work in the west bank's supernatural businesses chose to commute to Ferryton. Though its preternatural population was slight, Ferryton was still outside Roccia Nera's jurisdiction and thus had its own Baron. That man was Lorro Di Stefano. 

I didn't know much about the vampire, as I'd been to Ferryton only once, when I'd been young and living in Amondale with my foster family, the Nashes. I hadn't often gone places with them, seeing as my affliction made them nervous—especially when traveling through the wilds, where demons were known to take the unwary—but I could remember Ferryton. It was rundown and smelled of old fish, thanks to all the canneries dotting its briny coast. I knew Di Stefano kept a traditional cadre, meaning his nightwalkers still hunted humans and other preternaturals too weak to defend themselves. It was illegal, but the authorities had a tough time proving the infraction.

Kyle paled until he looked green. "No. Don't make me go b-back there. Please, I'm begging you."

Havik exchanged glances with Telavar. "Why? It's highly irregular for a young night-son such as yourself to leave his cadre behind." 

Kyle shook, eyes darting past the larger vampire in hopes of finding a way through, terror clear on his sweat-soaked face. "I c-couldn't stay. The Master...did things. He did things to us. S-some of us would go into his compound and n-not come back. He...he...." The poor guy could barely continue. "He drank from us." 

Both Havik and Telavar flinched and grimaced. 

Vampires couldn't drink from one another—or, shouldn't drink from one another. Scholars had debated for years over why this was so, some claiming it proved they were "undead," while others stated it was because their blood didn't get filtered through their kidneys while they were inactive during the day, which led to an abnormal buildup of toxins. I was inclined to believe the latter theory. I didn't like vampires, but if I were to lay my hand on Havik's chest, I'd feel his heart beating. He wasn't undead.

Standing there in the cold November air with my skin burning and my braid unfurling in the breeze, I recalled a stuffy classroom at the city's community college where I'd lectured about preternatural biology in the summertime. It'd been hot, the slide projector humming loudly into the muggy air, the lights off, the professor snoozing at her desk while I'd sat with my back against the cool whiteboard, clicking through the slides. 

Someone from the back of the room had asked, "Why can't the vampires drink from one another? What happens if they do?" 

I'd paused and had spun the clicker in my hands. "It's considered cannibalism among the umpir," I'd explained. "Think of it this way: a human who eats human flesh can potentially get kuru disease, a prion affliction that eats away at the brain. Vampires contract something similar, called Jure syndrome. Jure syndrome degrades their mental facilities, and—like kuru disease—has a long incubation period, taking almost thirty to forty years to present itself."

"What happens then?" the same boy had asked. "Do they die?"

"No. They become a revenant, a deadly creature that feeds without hunger and cannot remember who he or she is."

In the present, Havik demanded, "Do you understand how serious your accusation is, boy? Do you know what you're accusing your Master of?"

"Y-yes."

Havik looked at Telavar again, in question, confusion, or warning, I couldn't tell. It was disturbing news, but it wasn't something I had any part in. The vampires would deal with Ferryton's Baron on their own. 

"How did you come to be here with the Unseelie?" Havik dropped the touchy subject for the moment and moved on. "My associate said you were attacked." 

I snorted, then clapped a hand over my mouth. Associate my ass. 

The vampire swallowed as he calmed down. "I-I made a bargain with him through some of his contacts in Ferryton. He agreed to help me and my sister get out of the city if I would work for him. I...." Kyle exhaled, shutting his eyes as a slight flush worked its way up his neck. "I thought I could get away. He dragged me back."

I shivered. Bargaining with the Fae was a stupid, stupid idea. 

A low, disgusted sound rumbled in Havik's expansive chest. I'd bet my next paycheck he'd never make a deal with a Fae. "Have you seen another vampire? A woman with dark hair, small features, about this tall?" He held his hand up to the base of his shoulder. Havik had to be over a foot taller than Theda.

The vampire shook his head. "I haven't seen any other vampires."

Havik dropped his hand, the muscle in his jaw twitching once more. "You have a choice now, boy. Either I take you to our Baron, or you go back to your Fae master. Whichever option you choose, you are not to speak of Baron Di Stefano and you're not to appear before me again. Do I make myself clear?" 

Kyle nodded, and when Havik stepped back, he shot forward and disappeared into the white alleyway without a thought. I wondered what he feared more: Ishcer's judgment or Xerex's punishment.

"Idiot," I whispered under my breath as my shoulders slumped and I scratched my stomach through my sweater's thick fabric. My lead had been a total bust. We hadn't found a single clue, and I'd thrown an Unseelie noble into a glass counter—which ruined the whole concept of my being discreet.

I nudged the car's bumper with my shoe. Given its shine and fine-tuned craftsmanship, I guessed the sedan was expensive, though I didn't recognize the make or model. I was sure I'd never seen one on the road before, which meant it was probably something Havik had custom ordered. I knew Havik was well-off, but that car was ridiculous.

"Nice ride," I told the vampire, voice laced with sarcasm. "Bet it cost more than my yearly rent."

"Careful, Ms. Winters. It's not mine."

I crossed my arms but stopped tapping the bumper with my foot. Eyes on Telavar, Havik jerked his chin toward the car, and the younger vampire wordlessly went to get into the driver's seat, leaving Havik and me alone.

Utterly alone.

"Well then." I cleared my throat, shifting my weight with unease. I couldn't meet Havik's gaze, though I sensed his calculated scrutiny. "I did what you asked. I showed up—so you and your cadre are going to leave me alone, right?"

Havik scoffed as he mimicked my standoffish posture, crossing his muscled arms. "I believe I told you to find my daughter, not waste my time, and I assure you, this little adventure was a waste of my time."

"I looked, and I didn't find her!" I snapped as heat burned my cheeks. "I told you I couldn't do it, that I wouldn't be able to!" Teeth grinding, I threw a hand in Aurel's direction. "You have a freaking assassin in your cadre, for God's sake! Ask him!"

Havik smirked, lips parting just enough to bare a line of white, razor-like teeth. "Still avoiding Wyrd, are we? He's quite put out, especially since you owe him your life."

"I owe him nothing!" I paused to take a breath as my exclamation rung through the empty lane. I lowered my voice when I spoke again and mastered the anxious knots tightening in my gut. "Answer my question; why not have him look instead?"

"Wyrd is not here, as you well know." 

I did know. I'd been in his empty house just a few hours prior. 

Frustrated and more than a little terrified, I went to storm off—when Havik's hand wrapped around my wrist. Startled, I struggled as he turned me to face him. I threw my weight into resisting, but Havik held me fast, lifting my balled fist toward his face until my wrist was level with his mouth.

Grinning, his lip curled to reveal those savage canines. I stilled as my heart thundered in my chest and my jaw trembled.

His thumb swept soothing circles over my clenched knuckles as he used his free hand to slide my sleeve down, revealing my pale forearm and the luminescent scars. They glowed with unbridled ferocity in the dark of night, and though I tried to stop him, Havik only swatted my worthless attempts aside.

His strength was impossible. 

"Let go—!"

Havik was staring at the scar, the one we'd seen in Xerex's shop. He had the look of a man gazing at an unleashed tiger; enraptured by the primal beauty, but scared to death of the beast's unpredictable nature.

The vampire knew what I was. I'd always suspected he knew something, but that expression was unmistakable. He knew.

"What do you know about me?" I quietly demanded, wishing he'd let me pull my sleeve back up before someone came walking by. "Tell me."

Havik laughed, warm breath crawling across my bare skin as his brilliant eyes flashed. "Curious, Ms. Winters? And here I thought you didn't want anything to do with my kind."

"I don't!" I struck him—hard—in the chest, the blow met with a resounding thud. Havik snarled, fingers tightening, and I choked on my own breath.

Vampire, my mind reeled. A big, pissed-off vampire who's backed into a corner and quickly losing his patience.

"You will find her," Havik whispered, fangs gleaming in the moonlight. "Or you will take her place."

"Are you threatening me?!"

"It's a threat. And it's a promise."

The vampire loomed, immovable as a mountain and just as rigid. Perhaps he couldn't play word games with the same acumen as a Fae, but Havik made up for any verbal deficits with sheer presence and power. In a typical confrontation, I think he would have liked to humor my struggles—but it'd been almost four days since his daughter had disappeared. Havik didn't have the patience to humor me or anyone. He was running out of time.

The horror of the creature's words washed through my thoughts and sucked me into the undertow. Take her place?! As in, her place in the cadre?! He couldn't—! He wouldn't—!

"I'll tell you everything I know, Grae—," the vampire crooned as he kissed my wrist and I felt the barest touch of his hard teeth grazing the tender flesh. So close to danger. So very close. "—if you find my daughter alive. If you don't...well, let's just say you and Wyrd will have an eternity to work out your differences."

Havik released me and I snatched my arm back, scrambling to cover the glowing scars. I didn't have a snappy retort for him. I couldn't string two words together to form any kind of sentient response. If the vampire's goal had been to terrify me senseless, he'd succeeded.

Oh God, he's going to turn me into—! 

Satisfied, Aurel Havik returned to the waiting car, pausing only when he had one foot inside the vehicle. He turned to me, part of his face bathed in the artificial light emanating from the car's interior, the other part highlighted by the cold brilliance of the moon. He was a monstrous thing, handsome and uncompromising, a devil woken from a nightmare to haunt my every mistake.

I shouldn't have agreed to search. I should have gotten in that taxi yesterday evening and gone straight to the airport. I should have fled when I had the chance, because now I was caught in Aurel Havik's net and he wasn't going to set me free.

"Be careful, Ms. Winters. You bite the beast, and he may bite back."

With a graceful duck, Havik vanished into the car and Telavar pulled away before the door had fully closed. I stared at the retreating taillights and swore quietly under my breath. What in the hell have I gotten myself involved with?

This night couldn't get any worse.