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Okay. Considine Maledictus is Ruin. What am I going to do about it?

Sitting alone in my apartment closet, without a single friend on my squad, with my closest ally probably being Connor—avampire—and without the support of my slayer family, which had been a constant in my life, I was more aware than ever just how alone I was.

I was a lone slayer, and I’d gotten the attention of a top-level vampire.

Surrounded by the unnatural quiet of my closet, I set my shoulders and lifted my chin.I might be alone, but I’m still an O’Neil. Magiford is my home, and I’m not going to back down from it. Not even for Considine Maledictus himself.

EPILOGUE

Considine

The afternoon light was duller today and the air wasn’t so blasted hot. Not that I could really feel it anyway, but it was an indication that the world was officially changing seasons.What day is it, anyway?I didn’t keep track—my days were endless, and seasons were fast passing just like the lives of humans.

Pedestrians—humans, of course—jostled me as they strolled down the sidewalk.

A few stopped to stare, noticing my red eyes.

“Wow—did you see?”

“He’s so handsome!”

“What’s a vampire doing out during the day?”

“What indeed,” I muttered, agreeing with them. WhatwasI doing out in downtown Magiford during the human lunch time, when I didn’t even need to eat?

Between the reason for my lunchtime stroll, and the interesting night I’d had in snake charming with the violent-minded slayer, I was feeling…contemplative.

Why did a slayer think to lead a monster to me, and trust me to help her beat it?

The idea was so outlandish, it was laughable.

Slayers weren’t the vampire assassins they had once been—or perhaps the better way to phrase it would be to say they still were, but now they were available for hire.

Regardless, no slayer would ever willingly fightwitha vampire, much less fight anything besides a vampire.

Is she really so stupidly noble that she was willing to risk it…just to save the city?

It fit with what I knew of her—not that I knew much besides that she was well trained to the point where she hadn’t used any recognizable combat system unique to any of the slayer families.

What was perhaps even more shocking… was that I had helped her.

It was very out of character for me. Which, in hindsight was likely a good thing. It was perhaps the only reason why Killian wasn’t calling me demanding to know why I’d killed a snake—because it was something I’d never do.

This is Jade’s fault.

Yes, that was a safer thing to do: blame my chirpy, invasive neighbor.

All I wanted from Magiford was the chance to not be required tobeanything, to not have to manage anyone, to be without responsibilities.

And then Jade had gone and dragged me off to festivals and shoved more burnt food at me than I’d seen in the past two centuries combined.

It was her fault that I was even being somewhat thoughtful where the slayer was concerned.

I paused in front of my designated place—a small restaurant named “The Flying Curry.”

She said she was in the outside seating? They don’t have any sidewalk tables.

There was an alleyway next to the restaurant, and I could hear voices echoing out of it. Venturing far enough up the sidewalk to look down it, I saw iron gates that were locked in an open position, a handful of tables and chairs, and those tiny lights humans are overly fond of zig zagging over the top of the alleyway.