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Jade takes a deep breath. “Okay. But just because you’re you. I wouldn’t do this for anyone else.” She closes her eyes and puts out a hand. Jade mutters under her breath, and for a moment, nothing happens. Then, like a tiny lick of flame, a little orb of light appears over her hand. Her hair moves, as if blown in an imaginary wind, glowing gold at the tips. Little vines of golden light appear over patches of her skin like glowing tattoos, and her ears seem to lengthen, ever-so slightly. Her eyes open, and they too are glowing gold. Then she stops muttering, and the orb disappears. All the glowing stops, fading away into nothing.

“It’s beautiful,” I tell her, meaning it. Her true form was nothing like the red eyes and writhing shadows of Julian’s.

“Thanks,” she says lightly, but I can tell she is pleased. “It’s not as grand as some of the other witches I know, since my power is pretty weak, but I like it.”

“You wear it very nicely,” I reiterate. “It becomes you.”

She smiles and suddenly hugs me. “I missed you today.”

I hug her back. “I missed you too. Sorry again.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I can’t believe that stupid vampire, scaring you like that. At least you won’t have to see him again.”

I pull back out of the hug. “Actually . . .”

Her left brow raises. “What do you mean, ‘actually . . . ?’”

“The blood contract they gave me was to be the donor exclusively for the head guy, Julian.”

Now both her brows go up. “Julian? He told you his name?”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“Because he’s an ancient vampire and those guys are weird as fuck. They haven’t been mortal for centuries, and they forget how to be normal. Especially when they’re like the Commandant and lead a huge organization and wield tremendous power. He’s got hundreds of lesser vampires to do his bidding. No one, and I mean, no one, calls the Commandant Julian. Not even my disrespectful ass.” Jade looks at me, assessing and slightly impressed. “Does he like you?”

“What are we, in high school?” I ask, even as my cheeks flame. Then I remember Julian saying that he liked it when I blushed and get even redder.

“Oh, my Goddess! Do you like him?” Jade looks aghast and amused all at the same time.

“No! I mean . . . no. It’s just that . . . he’s very pretty.”

“They all are,” she tells me, still sounding amused. “Vampires are meant to attract prey, so they all have a certain magnetism.”

“Not all of them,” I say. “No offense to you, but I’m not attracted to Gaspard. At all. He’s still Mr. Scary to me. But Julian . . . I mean, he’s scary too, but he was also . . . nice? Understanding? Generous?”

Jade looks incredulous. “I’ve never in my life ever heard of the Commandant described that way. Girl, I’m happy that you’re feeling attracted to people again after the shithead-that-shall-not-be-named, but be careful, okay? Like I said, ancient vampires are weird, and they forget how to treat people. He may not be the best horse to get back on, if you take my meaning.”

I laugh and roll my eyes. “I’m not going to ride him or anyone else. I’m not in a headspace to do that. I just like looking at him, and I won’t mind giving him my blood.”

“Yeah,” she says, sounding a little dreamy. “Giving blood to a vampire is nice. Especially if you’re riding him.”

“Jade!”

“What?” she laughs. “It’s true!”

I laugh with her, even though I’m still a little scandalized. This is nice. It feels like hanging out with the girls again, which I haven’t done for months. It could be better, out at a cute brunch spot, not in my crummy apartment, but it’s still nice. Maybe when I have my bodyguard, I can go out with Jade on the town again, without having to worry about “accidentally” running into Colton.

I sober, thinking of Colton. “Did you know that Colton was Other, too?” I ask Jade, changing the subject.

“What? No. What is he?”

I think back to last night, what Julian told me. “He’s a warlock. Apparently, he's really powerful and leads this coven called the Circle of Nightshade?”

Jade hisses. “Colton is the leader of the Circle? That’s bad. That coven is nasty. No wonder he kept finding you.”

“Yeah,” I reply. “He even put a curse on me so that he could track me. Julian removed it.”

“What did that cost?”