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I shut the door, sealing out the oppressive moonlight.

Irving’s eyes drifted over my form before a deep frown twisted his flawless face. “What the hells are you wearing?”

My outfit was the least of my worries now I knew Bellatrix wasn’t present. “I didn’t want to stand out,” I said, brushing hair back from my face. It was a bird’s nest by now.

“As in … You didn’t want to look like … you?” He was having a hard time trying not to say anything offensive.

“Speak your mind, Irving. I’m not my mother.”

“You look like shit,” he said, a little too quickly.

“Fair.” I walked past him, shoulders slumped. I needed a long soak in the tub. My body temperature was dropping again, and I craved the warm water. I no longer felt as though I wanted to crawl out of my own skin, but something about being in this house made me uneasy and itchy; I longed to be outdoors.

Perhaps it was this fucking dress that was making me feel that way. Or perhaps it was that I’d ended up miles from my home, naked and covered in unidentifiable blood. An ache burrowed into my chest as I headed up the stairs, fingers lightly trailing the banister.

“Where were you?” Irving asked, following me.

“Out.” His steps faltered behind me. I paused when I reached my bedroom, my hand on the door. I didn’t bother to look back as I said, “I just needed to be away from Bellatrix. I didn’t want to stand out as a Nygaard, or even a Primal Born. I just needed a moment to be no one.”

“I think I understand that,” he responded. “I don’t envy you.”

With a despairing laugh, I turned to him. “You don’t envy me?” I jabbed my thumb against my chest, my eyes wide as I looked at the Turned vampire. I’d found him five years ago, bleeding from a chest wound in a back alley with fang marks in his neck. He was as white as the moon with black blood smearing his lips. His first gasp for breath had been the moment I dropped to my knees and placed my hand atop his chest.

A slower than normal heartbeat. No pointed ears.

I wasn’t sure when there had last been a forceful Turning, but I couldn’t leave him behind. Not when I knew what it was like to be alone and unable to handle turning into someone and something I didn’t recognize. Not when there was something about him so familiar—like he was a kindred spirit. So, in my mother’s absence, I brought him home. I’d had every intention to kick him to the curb once he had his fill of blood, but suddenly he was on his knees, begging me to let him stay.

I can cook. I can clean. I can do whatever you want. I’m good company. I’m well-read. He’d looked over to our bookshelf and said, I see you like to read.

I wasn’t a reader, really. I liked stories, but I often lacked the focus to sit for long periods of time and pore over words. I had memories of Bellatrix reading to me when I was a child, in the rare moments she didn’t treat me as some unwanted spawn.

In the end, Irving remained in our home as the help. Willing to do whatever to survive in his tormented afterlife while I taught him how to control his bloodlust. Bellatrix wasn’t pleased, of course, but as she often held events for other aristocratic vampires, she soon realized it was useful to have Irving on hand. He wasn’t a bother for the most part and had become one of my closest friends, along with Magdalena.

“You are too sweet to be a vampire,” I told him.

He smirked. “Oh, but I’m beautiful enough.” He flicked his long hair over his shoulder and struck a pose with his hands on his hips. I couldn’t help but laugh.

My joints and head ached, cutting off my laughter. “Don’t worry about me, alright? I’m going to get some rest and prepare for the meeting tomorrow. Did Bellatrix say anything before she left?”

He shook his head, confusion in his red eyes. “She simply left. I heard the front door close, and when I scoped out the rest of the house, she was indeed gone. Her suitcase is gone as well, so I suspect she truly did continue her travels.”

My body relaxed at this news, but I didn’t have the strength to say much else. I simply thanked him for the information and retired to bed for what was left of the night.

The effects of the moon still lingered in daylight as I stood outside of the University of the Arcane. The campus occupied three thousand acres, the main building several stories high with architecture comparable to the castles in the west. In its immense capacity, it felt more like home than Nygaard Manor.

Despite the heat of the summer, I wore a long-sleeved black dress with silvery lace on the bodice. As usual, my alchemy belt was slung over my hips. I’d pulled my hair back, a few pins struggling against my rebellious waves, a few kept escaping, no matter how many times I tucked them back behind my ear. I anxiously ran my fingers over my alchemized snake cuff and took a deep breath.

I’m not sure what the odds were that the Ministry would already have heard of my whereabouts last night, but I’d spent much of the morning trying to come up with excuses. Blaming nectar consumption for this mess up wouldn’t look good, either. I thought of saying I had been outright drugged with something more potent. Or that I had been kidnapped.

Still thinking through scenarios to blame, I stepped into the building. This early in the morning, there weren’t any pupils there yet. The Ministry met before most prying eyes had the opportunity to eavesdrop. Meaning by the fifth morning bell, I was walking in late to the large room on the ground floor.

The Ministry panel was made mostly of elders. Magdalena’s neighbor, spellcaster Gertrude Dalbane, sat hunched over the table, a saccharine smile wrinkling her tan skin and dimpling her rounded cheeks at my entrance. Straight grey hair cascaded over her full shoulders, and she lifted a knobby hand to wave to me. I nodded to her respectfully. Truthfully, I owed her my life, though there was always part of me afraid she’d spill my secret.

I sat with one chair between us and set my briefcase on the floor, corralling my thoughts as I shifted my focus to Felix Morgans.

The human offered a tight smile, his weathered skin beet red as if he’d fallen asleep in the sun. His companion beside him, Katherine Cartright, didn’t smile, but nodded in acknowledgment of my presence. She was the opposite of Felix with sun-kissed skin and blonde hair.

Still missing from the table was the second spellcaster, the third human, another vampire, and one shifter from each of the accompanying packs, totaling five, with the exception of the Lucerin pack. Slowly, members of the Ministry poured in until the table was full save for one seat.