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Lucien’s entire body has tensed. Instantly, he’s gone from a stressed out professor tending his orchids in a weird-ass greenhouse to a predator who might be ready to tear me apart.

“Say more,” he barks.

“He’s the one who’s looking for The Covenant. Said a bunch of stuff about stepping out of the shadows, making the rules, being apex predators, destroying humans.” I fish my phone from my pocket. “Here. I recorded it.”

I pass it to Lucien and he presses play.

I’ve never seen a vampire vomit, but he looks like he’s about to. As he watches the video, his fist clenches so tightly that blood starts to trickle down his closed fingers.

“Cambridge is just the beginning,” Nix declares, his volume rising through the screen. “We will take control not just of this city, but of every city. We will step out of the shadows and take our rightful place as the apex predators of this world!”

When the noise dies down, he continues.

“Imagine a world where we don’t have to hide what we are. Where we can hunt freely, where our power is acknowledged and respected. A world where we make the rules, and humans are nothing more than cattle to serve our needs.

“But this isn’t just about dominance. It’s about freedom. Freedom to be who we truly are, without fear or shame. Freedom to build a society that caters to our needs, our desires. A world where we can thrive, not just survive.”

A voice calls out from the crowd, “How? How can we possibly do that? The humans outnumber us, and they have weapons, technology⁠—”

When he speaks again, Nix’s voice is low, almost reverent. “What if I told you there was an ancient power that could turn the tide in our favour? A power that could bend reality itself to our will?”

The audience falls silent.

“Who here has heard of The Covenant of Shadows?”

The video cuts out.

“Where’s the rest?” Lucien shakes the phone then swipes, as if there’s another video I’m hiding from him.

“More were arriving. I couldn’t stick around.”

“Damn it, Kim.” Lucien hurls my phone across the room. It hits the glass wall of the conservatory. Behind the blind, there’s a cracking sound. Both the glass and my phone have broken.

“Fuck, Lucien.” I stride over and pick up the phone. The screen is shattered.

“You should have stayed. We need to know what he’s planning.”

“I don’t think he went into his exact step-by-step strategy, Lucien. He was trying to fire them up. Talking about the power of The Covenant. Stuff we already know. I thought it was better to get out and bring you the intel rather than get caught, die, and leave you in the dark.”

Lucien flexes his fingers. He looks like he wants to kill something.

I take a few steps toward the door.

He is breathing hard and fast, like he’s fighting the urge to scream.

“Lucien—” I am in the doorway, hand at my waist. Because I’m not dumb enough not to carry a stake even though Lucien and I are ‘friends’.

“This isn’t just any old evil vampire, is it?” I have been watching his face, and now I know I was right; he’s scared. And I have never seen Lucien Thornfield scared before. “Lucien?”

He meets my eyes. His are darker than I have ever seen them, and freckled with red. “No, Kim, it’s not just any old vampire.” He strides toward me.

I reach for the stake.

He raises his arm, then slams it toward the wall, his flat palm landing on a large black button.

The blinds roll back, pale sunlight flooding the room. It catches his heel and makes a sizzling sound.

Lucien pushes past me into the darkness of the corridor.