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“I know,” she said, taking a drink. “Lawrence told me you were forced to leave a town you all loved because the wrong person learned of your existence.”

Worse, nearly every vampire slaughter in history had begun with that same idea—turn a town into one of the very few places considered “open.” A place where the residents knew of, and accepted, their kind. Until the wrong people learned of them and word spread guaranteeing the Sect’s arrival.

“I’m afraid intolerance is at an all-time high, and social media has made our position even more precarious.”

“But why couldn’t it be done?” she pressed. “My aunt and uncle know about you guys, and they’re not completely freaked out—”

“A rarity, as I’m sure you know.”

Toni shrugged, not wanting to agree with him. “I’m just saying, anything is possible.”

Anything but that.

“Toni, the Sect’s more dangerous than ever. They’re employing new tactics, killing brazenly . . . ”

He drifted to a stop. Torr wasn’t accustomed to speaking so openly with a human, and Toni’s expression told him she’d heard enough. A few months back, he and Laria had set out to protect what they’d thought to be a new Cheld coming into his powers. It had proven to be a trap. The Sect had lured them in and attempted to kill them. They’d survived the attack, but one of their own, an over-two-hundred-year-old vampire, had been slain. Unfortunately, the Cheld murderer had cloaked himself again, and they’d lost him somewhere in Amsterdam. There’d been no sign of him since. But between their ongoing issues with the Sect and Kenton’s brothers, who knew Alessandra and her brother were both Cheld, the last thing they needed was to draw more attention to Stone Haven. An open town? Not going to happen.

“So,” Toni hedged, “are you really planning to hang out in our humble little town all month?”

Torr leaned against a giant column that supported the vaulted ceiling.

“Unless we’re needed.”

With Lawrence out of commission, Torr and Laria were now responsible for finding and protecting any Cheld who came into their abilities, or aroused, as they called it. That had been one of Torr’s prouder moments, the word originating as a joke. Surprisingly, it stuck.

“So . . . how often does that happen, anyway?”

Toni had begun to learn of their world when Alessandra aroused after Kenton and his brother came to town in June. But because her father had been adopted and apparently ignorant of his bloodline before his death, she’d known nothing of her special heritage as a descendant of his brother Alec.

It was Alec’s wife who’d been the architect of their fate.

Lady Isobel had been a powerful healer. Today, she’d likely be labeled a witch. Her words, uttered in grief for the husband who’d been killed in the conflict between the Derricksons and the Morleys, had cursed both families. They’d become the first vampires. Horrified by what she’d unwittingly done, she’d attempted to reverse the curse, but her efforts had instead given rise to the Cheld. Her own descendants had developed the power to control or, if necessary, overpower vampires.

So Lawrence and Torr and Laria had set out to protect the Cheld, their descendants, and the Morleys set out to kill them.

“It could be tomorrow. Or six months from now. As you can imagine, there is really no way to predict it.”

Toni cocked her head to the side. “Do you think Lawrence will have a difficult time hanging back when that happens?”

Torr knew he would. He had, after all, been their chief, a position he’d taken seriously. Although Lawrence wanted to be normal, he would have a hard time stepping down after centuries of protecting his siblings and the Cheld. He may never have asked, or expected, to become chief, but he’d filled the role for too long to shake it off easily.

Still, even Torr knew when it was best not to say something.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this happy before.”

Lawrence shot him a glance. He could hear every word even though he was clear across the room. A fact Toni had likely forgotten before initiating this heart-to-heart.

“Oh geez. I’ll never get used to that.”

Lawrence winked at her.

“You know, you’re not half as bad as your siblings make you out to be,” Toni said, changing topics.

His brother laughed, the sound echoing over the sounds of construction.

“Neither are you,” he teased.

Toni’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, but you are a cad.”