Suddenly, being queen of the damned vampires seemed like a pretty great alternative.

The guard in the gatehouse was too busy taking cover to stop me. There was nothing between me and the forest except for a bridge over the moat ahead.

And the dead bodies.

The moat was full of bloated corpses, with bite marks all over them and bloodstains on their clothes. Blood floated in perfect ribbons in the water. I tried not to stare as I dashed down the bridge, which shook and trembled under the weight of the horses and knights still following me. The dragon followed us all, with no preference for whom he cooked to death with his breath.

Sweat clung to the back of my neck. One of the ribbons on my dress smoldered and I had to yank it off. The tip of a sword tore through my sleeve, piercing my skin. The dragon’s breath was like thunder overhead, and its shadow swallowed the light when it passed over me. I smelled burned hair and scorched earth. One of the knights fell screaming into the moat, the tunic under his armor on fire.

Flames ate through the grass. I kept my eyes on the forest. I needed to find trees that were too thick to let horses pass, where the leaves would conceal me from the dragon. The flap of leathery wings created whirlwinds of dirt and pine needles. My long skirt twisted around my knees. I stumbled, heat searing my back.

And then I was finally in the woods, running over the uncomfortable ground, heedless of my bare and bloody feet. It was cool and green, like the forest at home. The dragon blew more fire, scorching through the top branches. Birds fled, squawking. Fiery leaves fell over me, burning like paper. The knights stopped at the edge of the field, suddenly losing all interest. They turned as one and stalked back to the castle, as if they’d forgotten all about me. I found a sturdy tree and clambered up into the branches to get a better view. The knights had turned away even before the dragon lost sight of me and concentrated his fiery breath on them.

I clearly wasn’t a threat here in the dark green woods.

Which meant the castle was worth protecting.

Or at least something within it was worth protecting.

It wasn’t much to go on, but it was more than I’d known before. You know, when I was actually inside the castle, where the knowledge would have done me some good.

And then, dragons and dragon knights weren’t the only thing to worry about.

Chapter 3

Lucy

Sunday afternoon

I spent most of Sunday dialing Nicholas’s cell phone even though I knew he wouldn’t answer. There was no reception at the camp, but I was secretly hoping he’d gone back to the farmhouse. It was early November and the sun had only set about an hour ago. It was too early for him to answer regardless of where he was. I called Bruno, just to feel as if I was accomplishing something. “Any news?” I asked.

“Afraid not, lass,” he replied, sounding tired. “We’ll be sending a message in a few hours. And waiting to get information from those still loyal to us at the camp.”

“And Nicholas?” I almost ached just to say his name. Everyone was always so worried about Solange being hurt because she was so unique, or about me because I was human. It had never seriously occurred to me just how hurt Nicholas could be. The Drake brothers just seemed to have the kind of luck that saw them through bad places. I never imagined that their luck could run out.

I couldn’t think like that. He wasn’t missing, he wasn’t dead. In fact, he might very well be Solange’s only hope. I had to hold on to that. “Madame Veronique hasn’t murdered anyone yet, has she?”

“No. You know the Drakes are harder to assassinate than that. So don’t make yourself sick.”

“Sheesh, one little breakdown and everyone fusses,” I teased. When Nicholas first went missing, I’d climbed onto the roof of the dormitory and screamed until Theo, the school nurse, threatened to sedate me. With the kind of year I’d had, I figured I was allowed a little primal scream therapy. “I’ll see you soon, Bruno.”

My homework was therapeutic: kickboxing, track, and practice at the gun range. My mom would be horrified at just how relaxing it was for me to watch those targets spin. I was heading back to the dorms when I spotted Jenna in the archery field with her crossbow. I made a detour. Archery was my favorite class and Jenna’s aim rivaled mine. I watched her arrows slam into the targets and itched to hold my miniature crossbow. Jenna turned when she heard my footsteps.

“Are you okay?” we asked in unison.

She lowered her crossbow. “Just a headache. I’m off classes for a few days, but I just couldn’t sit around anymore.” Her red hair was in its usual ponytail, a bandage on her temple. “You saved me. If you hadn’t sent Spencer to find me, I probably would’ve ended up as a vampire’s next meal.”

“I didn’t save you,” I said, flinching. “It’s my fault you were there in the first place.”

She shrugged. “Who knew civilian parties could be so dangerous?”

I snorted. “Now you know.” Since this was Violet Hill, that wasn’t even the scariest party I’d ever been to. “And I’m sorry.”

“Hey, you got me back home. We’re even.” She frowned. “Is it true you saw the Blood Moon camp?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Pretty cool. You know, if my best friend hadn’t dragged me out back with the intention to drain me dry.”

“Dude.”

“Yeah.”

Jenna shook her head, then winced, her hand touching her temple briefly. “I thought Solange was this delicate little thing.”