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“And you? What are you going to teach me?”

His smile tilted, turned suggestive. I blinked and stood my ground, even though I was slowly beginning to comprehend that I was flirting with a dragon.

“How to survive,” he answered after a short moment. “Come, let me give you a tour.”

He turned and started toward the two massive wooden doors wrought with iron, flanked by stone gargoyles that didn’t move a single inch as Damien neared. I couldn’t help but drop my eyes, not only because the gargoyles’ intimidating and unblinking stares made me nervous, but also because the view wasn’t so bad down here. I noticed that Damien’s jeans fit him extra well around the back.

I sucked in a breath and looked up at the tan-stone castle, with its stained glass windows and protruding balconies, ivy growing up the side that soaked in the most sun. The tile on the towers were a pale blue, reminding me of a peaceful, cloudless sky.

How had this become my life?

And, more importantly, how was I going to manage it?

Damien might have been teasing me, but he wasn’t far off from the truth. My survival instincts could get me through a power outage at a movie theatre, but was I able to handle being in the middle of… well, whatever the hell was going on?

I followed the bossy red dragon into the castle, stepping into a grand and surprisingly cozy foyer. A fireplace crackled without giving off any heat, surrounded by a sunken-in seating area full of couches and throw pillows, a few books left in a messy stack next to a particularly comfortable-looking love seat. The stone exterior didn’t follow into the interior, which had rich wooden floors and warmly painted walls, eccentrically framed photographs adding explosions of color at the perfect intervals. The ceilings had exposed wooden arches and recessed lighting that washed the space in a bright but warm glow.

I was about to compliment his family’s sense of interior decoration, but before I could get the words out, I was hit from behind by a sudden force. Sharp nails dug into my shoulders, sending a burst of pain shooting down my arm. I shouted in surprise and jerked forward, a singular thought blasting through my mind:

Holy shit… The vamps—they followed us.

Chapter 10

Castle Crasher

Damien

“Bambi, no!”

I snatched the overly friendly cat off Robby’s shoulder. She immediately started to purr against my chest, her scratchy tongue licking at my arm.

“Sorry, she loves surprising new guests.”

Robby rubbed his shoulders, honey-golden gaze wide.

“Did she tag you?” I asked.

“Just a little. It’s more the spook. I thought it was the vampires.”

“No vampires, just something even more dangerous.” I gave the fat calico saber cat a kiss on the head and set her gently on the floor. She was the size of a large house cat, with the facial markings of a light brown tiger. Her most distinguishing features (and likely also intimidating) were the two large canines that protruded from her down from her top jaw, curving and menacing although only used to eat her specially prepared salmon dinners. She swerved in an S-shape between Robby’s leg, her white-and-brown tail wrapping around his calf.

“Don’t worry,” I said, holding his elbow for a moment. “You’re safe here. Not only do we have the gargoyles as an alarm system, but you’ve got us. Vampires could be desperate, but they aren’t stupid. They wouldn’t make a move for you here.”

Robby rubbed at the bridge of his nose. I could see this starting to wear on him. He wore his emotions like physical pieces of clothing. It was… interesting. Intriguing. I liked to be more reserved, contained, but Robby didn’t seem to care about what was on display.

“Alright. Let me call my parents to let them know I won’t be coming home. They’ve always been super protective of me. They’re probably gonna freak.”

I nodded and moved aside, giving him space. I busied myself with straightening a couple of books on a coffee table. These were mostly all Warrick’s, who was the big reader of the family. He must have wanted to be out here instead of cooped up in his room. I used to see him reading all the time, but just the walk from his bedroom to the front of the castle drained him these days.

Fragments of Robby’s conversation drifted my way.

“I swear I’m okay.”

Not exactly a lie, not exactly the truth.

“Yes, with a friend.”

Also not exactly either.

“I’ll be back home tomorrow.”

That was definitely a lie.

He hung up the call with a heartfelt “I love you guys.” All truth behind that. Both hands in his pockets and shoulders slumped, he looked tired. And still, he smiled. It was charming, bright. Made the space feel much brighter. It was an interesting effect. I wasn’t really expecting it, but I certainly wasn’t opposed to it either.