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Julian is suddenly in front of me, blocking the door. This time, I don’t even start. Is it because I’m all topped up on shock or because I’m too tired now? I have no idea. Maybe a mix of the two.

“You’re welcome, ma souris. I look forward to our next meeting.”

Our next meeting. The feeding. I blush at his words, and he grins, stroking my cheekbone. “I like when you do that. Most becoming.”

I mumble a thanks, embarrassed at his words. He steps to the side, and I go to open the door when he says, “And Andi? When we are alone? Call me Julian.”

I nod. “Ok. Goodnight, Julian.” Then I step into the hallway, closing the door behind me, so I don’t hear if he responds. When the door closes, I sag against the wood, legs feeling too weak to hold me. What was this night? I close my eyes and breathe for a minute, getting my feet back under me.

“Miss Smith?” I hear Gaspard’s voice and open my eyes. It hits me that Gaspard must be a vampire, too. All the scary people at the table when I arrived are probably as well. But I’m feeling too tired and weak to really react to the realization.

Gaspard just stands in front of me, looking as serious and inscrutable as always. “The car’s ready for you,” he tells me.

Wearily, I nod and let him lead the way. We don’t go back through the club, but move through the hallway until we are at a back stairwell. Gaspard walks me down and opens the back door to the waiting SUV. I climb in and look at him, while he looks at me expectantly. Right, my address. “I live at Madame Pearl’s Occult Emporium,” I start. “It’s in the French Quarter at—”

“I know where it is,” Gaspard interrupts. “So does Sebastian.” He nods at the driver. I glance at the man in the seat. He’s wearing sunglasses at night like a dork, or maybe just like a vampire. Who knows anymore? I smile weakly at the man and move to buckle my seatbelt.

“I’ll need your phone number,” Gaspard says. Right, that makes sense. I tell him my number, and he types it into his phone.

“I sent you a text,” he tells me, still all serious. “So you have my number now. Call me if you need anything, day or night. And . . . tell Jade to call me.” Gaspard goes to close the door, but I stop him. He looks at me, a hint of curiosity in his impassive face.

“Gaspard?” I ask hesitantly, not sure if I really want to know. “Did Jade . . . did Jade know? About the Other World? Is that what she couldn’t talk about?”

He pauses for a moment, as if deciding how he should answer. Finally, he says, “Of course she knows. She’s Other, too.” Then shuts the door in my face, and Sebastian drives into the night.

Chapter 8

Andi

Sunday is a long day. I stay in my windowless apartment, scrolling through social media on my phone. It’s from a burner account, with a fake name and fake picture. My own accounts are long deleted. They were some of the first places Colton started harassing me. I don’t have a lot of friends, and no family, so my personal accounts were no big sacrifice. My professional accounts, though, where I had been slowly, painfully building a following for my music, were a harder pill to swallow when I deactivated them. But there had been too many trolls and too much harassment from shadowy sources to justify keeping them.

So now, I’m Emily Tate, a girl I knew in high school. We were friendly once, so I don’t think she would be mad at me for using her name and picture. Especially since I’m not doing anything nefarious with it, just reading clickbait and watching short videos on my days off.

I’m watching a cute video about a kitten being friends with a puppy when my phone vibrates. It’s Jade. Again. I texted her the night before that I was safe when I got back, but she’s been blowing up my phone ever since, wanting details. I want to talk to her. I do. I want to yell at her for sending me in blind. But I don’t know what to say. I should just pick up. But I keep thinking of Gaspard’s words the night before, that Jade is Other.

What does that mean? Is she a vampire too? Or a lycan, whatever that is? Or a witch like Colton? Something else entirely? I’m just so overwhelmed that I don't know if I can handle it right now. Not after being scared to death last night by Julian. But the bodyguard they are going to send me is going to be a vampire, so I need to get over my freaked-out feelings quickly. Returning to my regular life depends on it.

The phone stops buzzing, and the screen goes back to my video, but I can’t focus on the cuteness anymore. I sigh when there’s a knock at the door. Out of habit, I flinch and my muscles tense up, but I get up and tentatively walk to the peephole. I look out to see a guy in a delivery uniform looking bored. Oh, right. Food from my new boss.

I undo the locks and crack open the door.

“Delivery for Andi?” the delivery guy says, still looking bored.

“Yeah, that’s me,” I say, snaking my hand out the door to grab the delivery bag. It’s fancy-looking, with the logo of a restaurant I don’t recognize emblazoned on the side. He doesn’t hand it over, though.

“I need a signature.”

My inner alarm bells go off. What food needs a signature? This is weird, but I was expecting this food, so I open the door a little wider, take his pen, and sign the receipt before handing it back to him. The delivery guy doesn’t do anything odd, just hands over the bag. It’s freaking heavy. I take it and go to shut the door when I hear him mutter, “Weirdo. Who needs that many locks?”

My ears burn at the remark, but I shut the door and do up the locks. “Someone who’s scared,” I mutter back, even though he can’t hear me. He’s lucky that he doesn't know what it’s like to need this much protection. Though now that I know Colton has magic, is it even worth having them? He probably could get in, even with all five of them.

I don’t like that thought, and it makes my stomach flip. Maybe I need to talk to my bodyguard about magical protections on my apartment. They would probably know better than I would what needs to be done.

Dismissing my fearful thoughts, I pull out boxes from the takeout bag, curious about what Julian has sent me. Amusement, a foreign feeling these days, bubbles up in me as I pull container after container out of the bag. How much does he think humans eat? Each container is an expensive-looking black styrofoam with the restaurant's logo stamped on the top. I open one, and my stomach growls at the delicious aroma that meets me. Some sort of fancy steak on a bed of vegetable puree, medallion potatoes on the side, along with asparagus wrapped in bacon. It’s decadent and delicious-looking, and I grab a fork to tuck in while it’s still hot. I’ll look in the other containers later.

I’m about to take my first bite when a banging reverberates on my door. I look up in alarm. That’s an angry knock. Who is it? Colton? Has he found me, even though Julian took out the tracking curse in my blood? Fearfully, I put down the food and move cautiously toward the door. Looking through the peephole, I relax somewhat. Not Colton, but Jade. But she looks pissed.

“I know you’re in there, Andi,” she says, her peeved voice muffled by the door. “Let me in.”