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The two of them glared at me before Leander sneered, “Fucking human scum.”

“What did I do? I haven’t done jack shit to either of you.” Why did they hate humans so much? It wasn’t my problem and it wasn’t like every species didn’t steal from each other. Even bugs did it.

The news must have been really bad for him to flip his script with me so suddenly. He went back and forth between semi-decent and asshole and I struggled to keep up with the random swings in his mood.

Adrian straightened his shoulders. “We have family matters to attend to, and you will remain here. You are locked inside this house for the duration, but don’t fret. We’ll return,” he informed me.

“Oh yay, I look forward to it.” I smiled at Adrian.

Maybe I shouldn’t have because the sheer weight of dark energy that rolled over me had me sliding off the couch and onto the floor. I gasped for breath as Leander’s shoes stopped right beside me.

“Your kind should be wiped from the universe,” he hissed. “Useless, slutty, self-serving pigs.”

His foot came down on the top of my head, and he slowly increased the weight. I couldn’t move, couldn’t do a single thing to stop him. I couldn’t even catch my breath.

“Leander,” Adrian said, tugging his friend away, “we need to go. He’s waiting for us; he needs you.”

The redhead’s face changed in an instant, returning to the pleasant but arrogant countenance I was used to. I shut my eyes and rolled over and when I opened them, the two men were gone.

I stayed on the hardwood for several minutes, trying to get my bearings, until my breathing regulated. Would Leander have crushed my head and sent me off to some unknown Realm if Adrian hadn’t interfered? It was likely.

A lot of good my fancy stick had done me.

The atmosphere was different in the home with the two of them gone. The ominous weight in the air lifted, and it didn’t feel nearly as confining. If they hadn’t left, I never would have known there was a difference. It was freeing and invigorating at the same time.

I sat back down on the couch, my staff in hand like I was some kind of mystical wizard and examined the room. This was the perfect opportunity to find an advantage. Maybe I couldn’t steal any Fae blood like the crows wanted me to, but... but wait.

Directly in front of me, right there on the coffee table, was the napkin. My hand shook as I reached for it, and my staff fell to the floor with a noisy clatter.

There was Fae blood right here. Holding the cloth by a clean corner, I let it flutter open. Some of the strange, ebony liquid had dried, and it was even beginning to flake, but in the center, some of it was still moist.

What do I do? Now that I had it in my hand, I couldn’t make up my mind. Assistance from the crows would have been fantastic but if I moved, I could lose the dried bits. Should I suck on the wet part, or did I need to inject it into my veins? How did the Fae differ from the vampires in utilizing blood? Did they even use it?

They must, or the crows wouldn’t have suggested that. Assuming I understood the birds correctly, at least.

Seeing as I was already dead, it couldn’t hurt that much to just go for it, could it? The thought of being away from Kiam bothered me—deeply. What if I died? Would I ever see him again?

There wasn’t much of a choice, though. I had to do what I had to do, and the first order of business was surviving.

Bringing the fabric closer to my face, I stuck my tongue out. The napkin was only an inch away while I sat there, shaking. What I was about to do could, and likely would, change everything.

Fuck it.

It probably would have been more pleasant to shove a fork into a light socket. The pain that wrapped around my spine felt like what I imagined blue propane flames to feel like, the kind that burned everything away in an instant.

I couldn’t scream, I couldn’t yell, and I convulsed on the floor, twisting around like a snake. Even the Fae’s blood had it in for humans. The piercing pain swirled through my body at a relentless pace before slowly ebbing away.

When I sat up, the navy-blue material of my dress was moist and clung to my legs. I wiped the sweat from my brow and stood, waiting. The napkin was still clutched in my fist, and I glanced at it, watching some of the dried bits drift to the ground.

The chances of finding a plastic baggie to store it in seemed slim, but I set off to find the kitchen, anyway.

There was no one in the room and I opened every drawer I could find. After a lot of digging around, I found a plastic bag. It even had a zipper closure.

I was carefully tucking the napkin inside when I felt a tingle run through my body. I froze in place waiting to see if I’d drop dead or maybe even sprout wings. Wings were vastly preferable although I’d feel really strange flapping around in the air.

Please don’t let it be wings.

Nothing happened. There was no detectable change other than my body being briefly overcome with pain.