Don’t be like that, you’ll see things my way soon enough, Ian said.

Just leave me the fuck alone! I made sure I thought the words instead of speaking them—another outburst would send Dorian and Kye into a tizzy.

A strong gust of wind whipped my hair around my face and heavy footsteps approached. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said as I turned around expecting to see Dorian or Kye. Instead, a man I’d seen at the castle was running towards us. I watched as he took a moment to catch his breath and then he spoke to the two men. Fear was evident on his young face, and his hands danced in front of him as he spoke with rushed words.

When he was done telling them whatever the news was, he turned and hurried back towards the castle. My eyebrows arched as I walked back to the two men. “What was that all about?” I looked between Dorian and Kye. Dorian looked almost bored but Kye’s features were alarmed. “What is it?” I asked again.

“Two bodies were left at the front door of the castle with a letter,” Kye said.

I gasped. “What did the letter say?”

“Challenge accepted.”

9

“Where are you going?” Dorian questioned as I headed towards the mayhem.

Kye was already half way back to the castle, where they’d most likely call a meeting. I had little doubt the witches and warlocks were in an uproar, and I would be expected to be there.

“Back to the castle,” I said and took another step towards the path.

Dorian stepped in front of me. “We have training to do.”

I wrinkled my forehead and frowned in exasperation. “It’ll have to wait.” I shouldered past him and jogged up the trail. There was a large group of people huddled around the two bodies. Holly, and three other council members, stood on the stone steps and worked to calm the crowd. When we made eye contact her face lit up.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please back away from the bodies so Gwen may see who killed them,” Holly announced, her tone pretentious.

The horde of people turned and stared at me expectant. I frowned but stepped forward. They backed away as I walked closer to the two bodies. Sprawled out on the front steps were two men in their early thirties with their necks ripped out. It was a miracle their heads didn’t fall off of their bodies. Nausea gnawed at my stomach from the sight of their tendons and bone poking out. Blood caked the front of their shirts, and their faces were frozen in fear. It was the most macabre scene I’d ever witnessed.

“If you would please assist us in finding out who did this, Gwen.” Charles said, motioning towards the two dead men. He was part of the council, but Holly was the voice, so he was rarely in the public eye.

“Of course, I’ll need to get my cat,” I told them. Dorian said I could penetrate the spirit realm without Aura, but I didn’t want to use these two poor men as practice. With Aura, I’d be able to read their memories without hang-ups.

“I’ll help,” Dorian offered from behind me.

I frowned but didn’t refuse his help, everyone was on edge from the murders and expecting answers. We knelt in front of the bodies, and I placed my hands on the temples of the dark skinned man, cringing at the feel of the gooey, coagulated blood under my fingers. Ignoring my unease, I closed my eyes and focused. With Aura’s help, I felt the stream of magic that connected me with the body; without her, I didn’t feel anything.

“It’s not working,” I whispered to Dorian.

He placed his hand on my forearm and an icy sensation crawled up the length of my arm. A shiver sneaked through my insides from our contact.

“Connect with the death,” Dorian whispered.

I nodded and focused. Sparks of light danced behind my eyelids, and a large home came into view.

The man strolled up the stone walkway, checking his cell phone. When his head came up, realization that something was wrong was evident in his wide eyes and still body. His eyes roamed the area as he looked for the threat. Taking cautious steps, he moved closer to the home. He continued up the walkway, his eyes darting to the side as he watched for danger.

His friend, the other man who lay dead on the steps of the NAWC castle, stood just behind him, his eyes also roaming the area for any danger.

The only warning was the slight ripple in the night air and then she was on him. A woman with jet black hair that hung to the small of her back ceased him by the throat, slamming him against the brick exterior. His head make a sickening crack as it made contact with the stone. Her fingers dug into his throat as she pinned him against the building. Her fangs scraped against his skin as she leaned into the crook of his neck. “You’re either really stupid or really generous. Have you come to make a donation?” Her tongue darted out and lapped at the scratch her fangs made on his throat.

“Fuck you!” The warlock snarled. “I’ve come to let you know the NAWC has declared war.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the vampire sunk her fangs into his throat. The man wailed in pain, and his friend fought the vampire who held onto him. It was useless though, the woman had ripped his throat out, her mouth covered in the sticky red liquid.

She rushed the other man and ripped out his throat too. His body fell to the ground. Both men were dead within seconds of their approach of the home.

The connection waned, and I was back to staring at the dead man in front of me. “Did they get the message to the vampires?” Holly asked, her voice devoid of any emotion over the lives lost.

I shook my head in aggravation. “Yes, and they were killed for it.”

“That’s what war is, Gwen, people die for their cause,” Holly replied.

I wanted to ask why she wasn’t the one delivering the message for the cause, but I bit my tongue. As I looked down at the two dead men, I wondered how many more would die. The crowd still hovered around the bodies, and I pondered if the scene was enough to scare them into understanding just how serious Holly’s war was.

“The vampires killed them once they declared war,” I told Holly and Charles. Charles, at least, had the decency to look sad over the deaths. Holly, on the other hand, looked happy the message was received.

I stood up and shoved past Holly and Charles and went into the castle. My feet pounded up the stairs and I flopped onto my bed. Aura was curled on my pillow. She stood and stretched, then walked over and rubbed her black furry head against mine. “You’re such a sweetie,” I cooed. I hadn’t spent much time with her, even though she slept twenty some hours a day, I felt bad.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out, I checked the display and smiled at Aiden’s name. My visit to his hotel room hadn’t gone as planned, and I missed him.

“Hello?”

“Good, you’re still awake,” Aiden replied.

“Just caught me, I was on my way to bed. How did the meeting go?” Aiden put more stock in his council than I did. With the witches declaring war on the vampires, I didn’t think they’d jump at the opportunity to help me break my bond with Ian Despereaux.

“They’ll help,” Aiden said, but I could tell there was more he wasn’t saying.

“But?”

He was silent for a moment. Worry trickled in and gnawed at my insides. “Before you hear what I’m about to say, just keep in mind it’s not as bad as it sounds.” I sat up straight and hard-pressed the phone to my ear, my heart beat thudding harder in my chest. “What do they want, Aiden?”

“Two things, actually. First, they want you to convince the NAWC to have a meeting with them.” Aiden paused, whatever the second thing was, I wasn’t going to like it.

“Spit it out already!” I said with exasperation. I couldn’t stand the waiting. My mind raced with all of the worst possible scenarios, and I hated it.

“They want to sample you,” Aiden said.

“Sample me? What the hell does that mean?” My words lodged in my throat when I realized what “sampling” meant. “They want to taste my blood? Drink from me? And you agreed to it?” With each question my voice raised in pitch, and my anger grew heavier in my chest.

“Gwen, a gift of blood is customary when asking the vampire council for a favor. I know it sounds bad, but I wouldn’t agree to it if it was, you know that. Gifting blood is a small sacrifice when it comes to getting rid of Ian.”

What he was saying made sense. When it came to vampires, everything revolved around blood. But that didn’t mean I wanted a council of vampire elders to sink their fangs into my neck. “Let me think about it. As for the meeting with the NAWC, all I can do is ask. Holly’s on a rampage to see every vampire turned into a pile of ash, so convincing her isn’t going to be easy. Why do they want the meeting?”

Two soft knocks sounded at my door. I walked over and opened it to see Dorian on the other side. I held up my pointer finger as a signal to wait. After the news Aiden gave me, I didn’t want to deal with anything else, except crawling into my bed and sleeping.

“They think they’ve come to a solution to end the war,” Aiden told me. I eyed Dorian and turned around, not sure if I should be discussing this stuff with him nearby.

“That would be a lucky break, but I doubt she’d go for it. Maybe I could convince the others members though.” Ending the war before it got started would be an amazing lucky break. The vampire council was smart to not want to go to war with the witches—aside from werewolves, we were their only other threat. Of course with vampires drinking our blood and learning how to produce magic, we were becoming less of a threat to the fanged.

“I miss you, my Gwen,” Aiden said out of the blue. A smile crept along my lips, and the slightest flutter of butterflies twirled within my stomach.

“I miss you too,” I told him, the yearning to see him was almost overwhelming.

“What are you wearing?”

“Yoga pants and a hoodie, why?” I paused. “Oh, no. We can’t do that.” Looking over my shoulder, I eyed Dorian.

He smirked at me and my cheeks warmed.