Page 117 of Fall into Place

“How many are with him?” Joni asked.

“Eight…maybe ten?” Flora exhaled. “Damn.”

Tess recognized Fern’s pixie cut—and then she saw a mop of curly hair beside Fern.

“Oh shit, Felix is here too,” she whispered to Joni.

“No way!” Joni exclaimed. “Felix Hawthorn?!”

“Yes?” A nearby Felix cosplayer turned around—a hot trans man with extremely debonair energy.

“Sorry, not you.” Tess smiled. “You look great though.”

“Hey, I’m Flora.” Flora made her way over to the hot Felix, and Tess rolled her eyes.

“Flora!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Flora smiled at not-Felix then turned back to Tess and Joni. “Let’s go.”

Tess, Joni, and Flora pulled up the hoods on their respective capes and made their way into the crowd, splitting up to stay inconspicuous. Not that it was hard in this group—for all Tess’s nerves, she couldn’t help feeling a surge of joy being surrounded by all these people who loved Blood Feud as much as she did.

“Tess, on your right,” Flora’s voice came through Tess’s earbud.

“Where?” Tess asked, turning slowly so as not to draw attention.

“Two o’clock. Spiky hair, dark turtleneck.”

Tess saw him—he was short with a muscled build and shifty eyes darting back and forth, scanning the crowd. He was leaning against the lobby bar, which had no one behind it since it had closed hours before. Tess moved cautiously through the crowd, careful not to jostle anyone too hard, keeping her head low beneath her hood. There was a back entrance to the bar, accessible only through a service hallway. Tess slid her employee ID into the lock, waited for the green light, and slipped inside.

It was empty and echo-y in the dimly lit hallway, which was a stark gray contrast to the decorated lobby. Tess rushed fifty feet down to another doorway, then swiped her ID again, crouching low as she crept into the bar. She opened the door as narrowly as she could, hoping the vampire wouldn’t notice the movement behind him.

“I’m behind the bar,” she whispered. “Is he still there?”

“Yes,” Flora’s voice came back. “Move quickly. Drive the stake right between his shoulder blades.”

Tess swallowed hard and gripped the stake so tightly she was afraid she might lose feeling in her fingers. They had practiced staking some sacks of soil at the gardening store, Flora telling them to throw their hips into the movement. After a dozen or so tries, Tess felt like she had the hang of it—but then, sacks of soil didn’t fight back.

Slowly, Tess rose to her feet and got into her “staking stance”—left foot forward, hips open with her body facing slightly to the right, right hand drawn back and ready to strike.

“Do it, Tess!” Flora hissed.

In the time Tess hesitated, the vamp turned around and saw her—oh damn it—

“What the fuck?” he growled.

Tess didn’t think, she just lunged—she drove the stake right into his heart. At first she wasn’t sure if she’d gotten it in far enough—he staggered, but with the crowd there was nowhere for him to go—and then she saw his eyes go glassy and the veins in his face turned black.

“I did it!” she whispered. “I think I staked him!”

“Holy shit, Tess!!!” Joni screeched as quietly as possible.

Tess leaned the dead vamp over the bar. “Where are the others?” she asked.

“Konstantin is moving toward the front desk,” Flora said. “Joni, can you get there?”

“I’m trying,” Joni responded. “There are too many people.”

“What about Felix?” Tess asked, her heart beating faster. She wasn’t eager to put herself in harm’s way, but when she thought of Felix’s sneering expression while his henchmen dragged Callum through the portal, she had to admit, she really fucking liked the idea of watching him die.