"You'll see." He leaned in so that I got a good whiff of his neck. I had the feeling he did it on purpose. "Love your shoes," he said, and I shivered. Like Eve with the apple, Dorian was tempting me.Just a taste, my mind cooed. But I resisted. Now wasn't the time.As I waited for him to help Cindy out, I stared up at the mansion. Lit with thousands of white, shimmering lights, it seemed to possess its own glow. "It's beautiful," I breathed, feeling like I'd stepped into a fairytale land."You ain't seen nothing yet," Dorian said. "C'mon." He stood between Cindy and me and held out his elbows. I took his arm in one hand and my dress in the other. We climbed the steps. The front door opened without any of us knocking, as though they were waiting for us. We went inside. The brothers and Professor Pops stood off to the right. Several of them were fidgeting with their tuxes, but they all wore their masks. One of the brothers, Sebastian, handed Dorian his. He slid it on, moving next to

The guys circulated, rounding up the students into six groups. I stopped at each one, using my newfound vampire gift to convince the students this interruption was a surprise portion of the party. I just hoped the chayot and the vampire queen allowed the students to leave."Sharra. Oberon. This isn't the place for a dispute. It is a room full of human children. Let them leave. They are innocent." Professor Pops' voice rang through the room, loud and strong."I've given you an ultimatum, Adam." Oberon waved his hands at the students. From behind him and along the borders of the room, the chayot pulled swords. "Either Snow White steps forward and accepts her destiny, or the accidental death of a human will be on your conscience."Destiny. The word Kenmei used to describe what I needed to do with the Seal of Gabriel. The same word the vampire queen used when she spoke about what I was to become. I was sick of hearing it. My life was my own, regardless of what Kenmei, the vampire queen,

Vampire and chayot parted to let me pass as I made my way to Gabe. All was silent. I focused on Gabe's heartbeat, concentrated on the distinct thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump coming from his chest."Gabe." I seemed to float toward him, my feet hardly touching the ground.The chayot that held Gabe released him. He held out his arms, a slight smile lighting his gloomy face.I moved faster, allowing myself a moment of hope that Gabe and I could be together. His smile disappeared. "No!" he shouted.I sensed Oberon behind me, felt the heat of his sword. In a blinding flash, I faced him, his blade slicing my shoulder. Immense pain ripped through my body. As I fell to the ground, a glorious red light shot from the Seal of Gabriel and into Oberon. Someone screamed - Cindy, maybe? I couldn't be sure, and the pain from where the fiery blade had cut into me seared so intensely I couldn't concentrate. I closed my eyes, hoping my body would heal the wound quickly, but the pain only inten

Abernathy gave me a knowing glance, and I cringed.Clearing my throat, I steeled myself and tried to glare. The idea of forfeiting one's magic made no sense to me. Why would someone willingly give up such a gift? Choose to mate with lesser creatures? Weakening their power. There was no rhyme or rationale behind the logic. I flapped my wings in frustration. "The unicorns believed as Sharra does, and they are nearly extinct, each generation's magic diluted until the youngest no longer grow a horn and can't communicate with other creatures of magic. It's a disgrace! They are called horses now, and Sharra has sent them all to the human realm to do the humans' dirty work." My words came out ragged, but that was the truth. It was despicable what happened in the name of Sharra's "evolution.""Perhaps," Abernathy said thoughtfully.I fisted my hands, the muscles under my brown fur straining from the pressure. Would he refuse me?A blip confuzzled my mind, and I was no longer in Abernathy'

"I could, but he wouldn't come. He's arrogant like that." I took a deep breath. "We have to do this." I stepped over a pinecone the size of Gabriel's head. "Stay on my shoulder," I told Ryden lightly. If a pinecone fell on her, she'd be squished."I will, Silindra. Everything is so big. I could live in one of those pinecones." To prove her point, a hairy spider as big as my fist crawled out of one. "Holy monster, I'm hiding in your hair," she said with a shudder. I let her do as she pleased. The spider would make the pixilette into an appetizer if it caught her. "I'll get rid of him," Gabriel said, shooing the spider away with the tip of his boot. There wasn't much growing under the canopy of trees, just a lot of dirt, pine needles, pinecones, and the occasional fern. It made sense. The sun was all but blocked from view. Shadows danced within the stilted silence. In the distance, I could hear the waves crashing, and something else. Moaning. "The song of the dead," Ryden whispered,