Selene stood alone in the middle of the forest on the outskirts of Seraphim. Once again, she was being tracked.

If there was one thing Selene hated more than anything, it was being tracked. It pissed her off. One day, her brother would have to come for her himself; eventually, people would stop risking their lives for him.

After three hundred years, Selene could not believe that Eris could still convince some poor, stupid fools to track her down. She wished that Lilith would take the challenge, but sadly, she was too smart for that.

Sniffing the air, heightening her hearing, she sought out her tracker. It had annoyed her enough that she missed dinner. A twig broke, leaves moved—this Vampyre was sloppy. Pulling out Nuri’s Shadow, the blade that was forever latched to her thigh, hidden by an invisibility spell, she ran for a distance, purposefully leaving deep prints in the ground.

Finding herself a tall bushy tree, she hid high in the leafy branches, waiting for her prey. Her tracker followed her tracks slowly, neither sniffing the air for her scent nor listening for her breathing.

Tsk, tsk, brother, you should have sent someone more skilled, she thought while moving silently like a cat through the trees, landing behind him. Moving up behind him, she pitied him.

He was so young, probably not past his fiftieth Vampyre year, at most. She felt a little bad stabbing him through the heart before snapping his neck, catching him in her arms as he fell back. Lying him down, she shut his eyes and took a silent moment to pray for his misguided soul. Opening her eyes once again, she stared down at his body as she activated her Fire Rune, keeping it centered on him, powering up the flames until they burned blue. Waiting until there was nothing left but bones and ash, she ran the fifty miles back to the city.

***

Selene ran down the paved streets of Seraphim. Thankfully, not many people were out this late at night to see the red in her eyes as she hurried to the blood bank, its clear doors sliding open as she approached, letting out the cold, sterile air. Selene pulled her wallet from her jacket and searched it. She needed her R.I.D.C.—Roamer Identification Card—to get blood. Once again, thanks to her, the external use of

Fairy Dust was allowed. Of course, Roamers could only buy it legally at authorized shops and were subjected to visits by someone from the King’s Garrison every few years. It was a price worth paying for living a normal life.

With relief, she pulled out her RID as she approached the smooth and gleaming silver counter. She recognized the girl working the counter, Cassandra, who smiled back at her.

“Hello Amelia, RID please.” Sometimes Selene forgot that she had changed her name.

“Of course.” Handing over her card, she looked at the lies printed on it. Her age, her name, her birthplace, they were all lies. Nevertheless, Cassandra didn’t know that.

Taking the card, Cassandra waved her hand over the counter to reveal the tower for Selene to place her hand on.

“Please place your hand on the handprint. As always, you will feel a little pinch.” While Selene placed her hand on the scanner, she watched her RID scan again, revealing her information on a HoloScreen. Technology has improved dramatically over the past three centuries.

A little pinch drew her attention back to her hand. The purpose was to make sure she was who she claimed to be, how much blood was in her system, and how much she needed to avoid succumbing to Blood Hunger. Looking up at Cassandra, whose eyebrows knitted together, worry began to fill Selene.

“You may remove your hand.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No—well, yes. Your blood levels are incredibly low, not dangerously low, but you need at least seven quarts, and I can only give you a gallon. You’ve over-exhausted yourself. Oh, Amelia—”

Selene stifled a laugh. “Don’t worry, Cassandra. After a few hundred centuries, I’ve learned how to resist the Blood Hunger.”

Offering her a weak smile, Cassandra looked away. “Right, of course. Sorry, I just always forget how old you are.” She looked back at the screen. “It says you live with two certified blood donors. I can give you a gallon, but it’s supposed to last a week. Can you get the rest from the donors?”

Selene hated drinking from them but nodded reluctantly. “Yeah.”

“Excellent, I’ll be right back.” Handing her back RID, she scurried off. Her white uniform hugged her curves tightly, highlighting the intense darkness of her pitch-black hair. Selene looked around, noticing she was all alone, before making her way to one of the uncomfortable silver seats.

Settling down, she felt her ConEx vibrate and pulled it out of her pocket. Answering the call, Lily’s face appeared, stormy gray eyes worried.

“Selene! Where are you? Why weren’t you at dinner? Mom was freaking out! I’m freaking out—”

“Lily, if you calm down and give her a second to talk, she’ll explain everything.” The voice was unmistakably Luke’s, Lily’s twin brother. He must be driving, she thought, staring into Lily’s face, taking in the gray background in the fringes, definitely in the car.

“Selene, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, at the Blood Bank in district three, the one on Ember Street.”

“Why did you miss dinner?”

Selene sighed, briefly looking away from her wide gray eyes that filled the small screen. “I’ll explain back at the apartment, okay.”

“Why—oh. Yeah, okay. Do you want us to come pick you up?”

“No. I would rather you go straight home.”

“But—”

Luke’s deep voice quickly broke up the conversation. “Selene, I’m gonna drop Lily off at home and come by to pick you up. You know she’s not going to let up.”

“Yeah, I know,” she sighed, slightly relieved. “See you soon. Oh, and Lily, I’m fine, really.”

Hanging up, she shoved the phone back into her pocket. A familiar scent filled the air as the doors to the Blood Bank swished open. Selene didn’t need to look up to see who this person was who took a seat next to her.

“Hello, Penelope.”

“The Vampyre Queen said you would be here and sent me here a few days ago.”

“Took you long enough.”

“Eris knows you’re here.”

“No, he doesn’t; his pet did. His pet, who is dead and gone, managed to track me. I’m fairly certain he didn’t get the chance to say anything to my beloved brother.”

“You don’t know that.”

Fury rose within her, twitching her arms, tightening the tension in her muscles. “I’m not running again. I’m not changing my name again and uprooting them. I can’t. Each time I do, Eris wins. So let him come so I can kill him and end this like I should have done centuries ago.”

“The Queen said you would say that and strongly advised me to deter you.”

“It would be an attempt in futility.” Selene kept her face down, her mouth set in a firm line. She was so tired of running and hiding. This was no way to live her life, constantly looking over her shoulder, keeping Lily and Luke constantly afraid, with everything they owned half-packed.

“Just be careful. She told me to give you a warning. ‘The day you refused the choice, you sealed his fate. Darkness is coming, one you must face alone.”

“How foreboding.” She almost rolled her eyes, but hesitation calmed her. Omens were not to be ignored.

“Take it seriously, Selene.”

“I will, Penelope.” Finally, looking up at her, she offered Penelope the slightest of smiles, a small crook in the left side of her mouth. Dark cherry red bangs fell over Penelope’s face. She was dressed in black, with red stripes on her pants and a leather biker jacket. She could almost pass as Gabrielle’s sister if not for her blue/gray eyes.

“Tell everyone I said hello, Penelope.”

Penelope tipped her head in a slight nod. “Be safe.” She left, her boots making no sound as they made their way out the door, once again leaving Selene all alone in the bright white room.

“Amelia, here’s your gallon.” Cassandra was smiling at her, with no knowledge of what had just transpired. Taking the gallon and thanking Cassandra, she let one single thought fill her head. Let him come.