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“Champagne.” She shrugged. “One of the mentors, who’s really only a few years older, snuck a few bottles from the kitchen. They were just sitting on the counter.” Her face turned from mischievous smile to horror. “Was it drugged?”

“I believe so,” Julian said. “So what we need to know now is who it was meant for.”

“Who works the kitchen?” I said as loud as I could to those milling about.

“I do.” A young man with dark skin and a smooth head bounded up the steps. His shirt was torn, and I wondered if he’d been fought off by Julian.

“Who was the champagne in the kitchen for?” I asked.

“It was ordered for tonight’s dinner guests,” he said. “But when I looked, there was only one reservation, so I sent up one bottle and left the rest on the counter.”

“Then how’d you end up drinking it?” I challenged, hands on hips.

He shifted on his feet and looked away before answering. “One of the pledges came down and saw the extra bottles. She opened one and poured us some. But we didn’t get much because her Master came in and scolded her before drinking the rest of her glass.”

“Michelle,” I said, disgusted at the word “master” being used so casually.

“Carmichael.” Julian gritted his teeth.

“Then the rest were stolen by the young vamps.” I finished the story and pressed a hand to my forehead. “Everyone go home,” I told the dozen or so left hanging around.

Both of those we questioned turned and walked away with the others without hesitation.

“I’ll take you to yours on the way,” Julian said. “I’m sure you could use a good night’s sleep.”

“And a shower,” I agreed, biting my cheek before I could suggest joining him overnight. He was right, we’d both just been through a lot, and we’d done something that, while I couldn’t regret it, wasn’t exactly born from romance as much as hormones, drugs, and necessity.

Though it hadn’t felt like necessity when he’d gone out of his way to make sure I’d reached my climax despite his hunger, or when he’d sealed my wounds tenderly even though I hadn’t asked him to.

I touched a finger to the spot on my neck, which I could only identify through memory now, and smiled to myself as we walked to the vamp mobile, now safely returned to the parking lot.

“Do you think anyone was harmed while we were…you know…figuring out what to do?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” Julian put the car in gear and zoomed back along the winding road toward home. “But the general knows, and we will catch the perpetrator.”

“All of those people in danger because of a distraction,” I muttered.

“That’s what you think this was?” Julian asked.

“Well, it was obviously meant for us since you made the only reservation. It makes sense. We were supposed to discuss the plan of attack for Mordock. This kind of wiped that out of our heads.”

Julian brought the car to a stop and squeezed the wheel, leaving impressions where his digits sank into the leather. “Someone on the island is working with him.”

“Who?” I stared at him, trying to puzzle it out. It would be a logical conclusion if this was all meant as… “Best case for them, you kill me and we’re both out of the picture. Worst case, we are distracted.”

“I thought he wanted you alive?” Julian reminded me.

That’s when it hit with a wave of nausea so strong I had to open the door for air. “Someone was waiting to turn me after you attacked.”

“What?” Julian was by my side in a heartbeat.

“Like my father. He wants me to be under his control, so it has to be him or…” I paced, trying to work it out. “Someone he trusts.”

Julian stared up at the moon. “You aren’t safe here. I have to get you home, and you need to stay inside. Tell your mother and sister to boost the wards.”

“That’s not a solution,” I said, tugging on his arm. “I can’t just hide for the rest of my life. We need to figure out who it is that’s working for him, and they’ll lead us to him. We can use this to our advantage.”

“Why do you have to be so logical?” Julian asked, grasping my arms.