Blood And Shadow

The city of Nocturna never slept, but it did change faces when the sun set.

Sera Blackwood kept her hood up as she navigated the narrow streets of the Crimson District, her courier bag heavy against her hip. Inside were twelve vials of premium blood-O negative, fresh from the donation centers in the human quarter. The kind that sold for a small fortune in the vampire establishments that lined these streets like glittering predators waiting for prey.

The kind that kept her alive.

"Another delivery, little mouse?"

Sera didn't slow her pace as Viktor, a lower-tier vampire who worked security at The Scarlet Room, called out from his post. She'd learned early in this business that showing fear was like blood in the water. They could smell weakness, and in Nocturna, weakness got you killed. Or worse-turned.

"Just passing through, Viktor," she called back, keeping her voice light, casual. Human. "You know me. In and out."

His laugh followed her down the cobblestone street. "One day you'll stay for a drink. I'll make it worth your while."

Not in this lifetime or the next, Sera thought, but she just waved without turning back. Viktor was harmless enough, as vampires went. He liked to flirt with the human couriers, enjoyed the game of it, but he'd never actually touched one. The Blood Accord-the treaty that had governed vampire-human relations for the past century-was very clear about consent. Vampires could feed from willing humans at licensed establishments. Everything else was forbidden.

Not that the Accord stopped everyone.

Sera ducked into an alley, taking her usual shortcut toward her final delivery of the night. The Obsidian Tower-the fortress of the Northern Court-loomed in the distance, its black spire cutting into the star-scattered sky like a dagger. She never delivered there personally. No human courier with any sense got that close to the seat of vampire power. Her drop-off was at a subsidiary establishment three blocks away, a high-end blood bar called Crimson & Velvet.

She was five minutes from safety when she heard it.

The sound of a scuffle. Metal on metal. A grunt of pain that sounded distinctly not human.

Every instinct Sera had cultivated over twenty-three years of survival screamed at her to keep walking. Mind your business, stay invisible, don't get involved-these were the rules that had kept her alive and hidden. In Nocturna, curiosity didn't just kill cats. It massacred them.

But then she heard something else. A voice, low and commanding even in pain.

"You'll regret this betrayal, Celeste."

Sera's feet stopped moving before her brain caught up with the decision. She knew that voice. Everyone in Nocturna knew that voice.

Daemon Ashford. Lord of the Northern Court. The most powerful vampire in the city. And the man who had executed her mother ten years ago.

She should run. Every cell in her body knew it. Instead, she found herself creeping toward the mouth of the alley where the sounds originated, pressing herself against the damp brick wall.