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R AMYN A JTAF’S BODY HELD GRACE IN ITS FRACTURE. H ER NECK LAY to the side, her arms folded on her chest like she was cradling an infant. Her legs, which should have bent unnaturally, were covered with her scarf, curling around her delicately. If Kidan hadn’t seen the fall, she would have believed Ramyn’s body had kissed the ground instead of plummeting toward it.

Yusef’s eyes were glassy. “How… who…?”

As the campus authorities lifted her, the hair shifted from Ramyn’s face, revealing her lips. Earlier today, they’d been a lovely shape, a heart with a rounded bottom shaded in brown honey. Now they were dry of their moisture, cracked, and most of all, stained with red . Kidan’s vision narrowed. She wasn’t imagining it. Ramyn’s lips were painted as if she had been blood-kissed before being thrown off the tower.

Kidan rushed forward, breaking the perimeter drawn by campus security. One officer caught her, but she fought, elbowing his gut until the man swore and let go. An image pulsed in her eyes. June lying under the moonlight, neck twisted at an angle, lips bloody.

Kidan seized the stretcher and turned Ramyn’s head forcefully. Distraught gasps echoed around her. Ramyn’s throat was punctured by two bite marks. Kidan swiped her thumb across Ramyn’s wet lips. A few students turned sharply away, aghast. It was blood.

Kidan snapped her gaze to the crowd. Was the murderer here?

“Get her away,” someone barked, and Kidan was dragged away.

They took her to a tall Black man dressed in a white shirt tucked into gray pants. He wore a badge next to the Uxlay crest. CHIEF DETECTIVE .

“What’s your name?” he demanded.

Kidan stored a specific dislike for all authority figures. They’d failed her at every turn regarding June, forcing her to take matters into her own hands.

“Look at me when I’m speaking to you,” he ordered.

Kidan did, and his nail-like eyes hooked into her soul. They brimmed with intensity, a raw darkness that told her he’d stared into death’s eyes and lived to tell the tale.

“Kidan,” she bit.

“What were you doing with the victim?”

“I was checking something.”

“Why?” he spat.

Kidan ground her jaw. Why should she trust him? Her gaze traveled to the crowd. Nearly everyone stared at her instead of the crime scene. Her neck prickled at those harsh eyes, their glare meant for something foul and horrific.

The chief detective noticed and indicated for her to follow him. Glad to shake off those accusing whispers, Kidan followed. They entered a colorless one-level building and sat opposite each other in a cramped room.

The ground rippled under her, morphing into the prison cell they held her in until her bail was posted. Wet cement mixed with dried vomit, and alcohol filled the space. She tried not to focus on his badge.

You’re not there anymore.

He questioned her again. Holding her breath, Kidan explained how the case mirrored June’s. She told him she had seen Susenyos with Ramyn in the Southern Sost Buildings, but the chief detective’s face gave nothing away.

She squirmed under his blank expression, wondering if he’d bring up her case.

Professor Andreyas interrupted them, taking long strides into the small room. “The Sicions will be here soon. They’re being pulled away from an important task. I hope you have a lead.”

“Head Andreyas, as always, I appreciate your knocking.”

“A name, chief.” The professor’s voice wavered in impatience.

“I should ask you for a name. The dranaics fall under your responsibility. Is it possible you missed signs of insurgence?”

The professor’s demeanor darkened. “Are we so certain it’s my department at fault? Throwing someone off a tower reeks of human desperation.”

The chief narrowed his eyes. “There were bite marks. Kidan here and her study group were in the Philosophy Tower. One of them even ran into the Languages and Linguistics Tower, a young man by the name of GK. Kidan says she saw Susenyos Sagad with Ramyn Ajtaf.”

Her gut tightened. Professor Andreyas was Dean Faris’s companion. Would they consider this a false accusation?

“I’ll let the Sicions know,” the professor said evenly. “I want this closed before Acti Gala week.”

Once he left, Kidan turned toward the chief. “I can help.”

“No, go home. Be safe.”

“Home,” Kidan repeated in disbelief. “With the vampire that did all this! Please, let me help.”

She fisted her hands as a minute ticked by. Her shoulders shook.

“Listen.” He sighed. “We need solid evidence pointing to Susenyos. Anything that can be tested and connect him to some crime. Bring me something like that, and I can do something about it.”

Kidan blinked, relief stirring in her. When she was free to go, she spotted the scarf in a tub, set aside on a desk. Her neck warmed, then went cold as if it was coiled around her. A hole expanded in her chest.

Had Ramyn been targeted because of her?

The officers were occupied with different duties. She quickly swiped the scarf, tucking it inside her sweater, and exited. Holding on to it was an unbreakable promise. Kidan would bring Susenyos to justice or die trying.