Page 5 of Let Sleeping Vampires Lie

“I hope you’re right,” he said quietly. “For all our sakes.”

Siris’ laugh echoed from across the room. A cold, mocking sound that coiled around my spine.

Con heard it too.

His eyes flickered red.

And just like that, the real battle wasn’t with Valerian.

My magic surged.

A heated pulse that rolled up my spine and flared beneath my skin like molten metal trying to break free.

I caught myself tensing and forced my shoulders to stay loose, to look controlled even as a storm clawed inside me. The foyer’s soft lighting sharpened around the edges, becoming almost too bright, like the world was being carved in thin, burning lines.

Con stepped half a pace closer, close enough that I could feel the cold steadiness of him radiating against the heat pouring off me.

His voice was low, barely audible. “Easy, Cass.”

Easy.

Right.

My palms prickled, sparks licking over them like restless fireflies. I curled my fingers inward, hiding the glow, forcing my breathing into a slow rhythm even as the magic clawed for release.

The clan was watching.

Even if they pretended not to.

Even if their gazes dipped away the second I looked up.

They knew something had been different about me.

Since Valerian touched my mind.

Since Raven’s tethering spell.

And now, after tonight, everyone would know everything.

My magic.

My instability.

The very thing I had been trying to avoid.

I kept my expression neutral, jaw unclenched, voice even when I spoke—each word a careful, practiced blade. “We’ll hold the clan together. Rene will stabilize, and once he’s back on his feet, the whispers will stop.”

Edward watched me closely, too closely. His eyes flickered once, a tiny shift of surprise he didn’t bother hiding.

He felt it.

They all did.

Most vampires sensed magic the way humans sensed danger. A subtle shift in the air. A prickle across the senses. But when mine flared? It was like a sudden drop in atmospheric pressure before a lightning strike.

“You’re… unsettled tonight,” Edward murmured.

I hated the word unsettled.