My grip tightens on my knife. It might not be a stake, but it’s still going to wound them.

Their eyes track the subtle movement, and the tall one grins. He’s close enough for me to see the flash of his fangs, and I fight a shudder.

All I can think about is those fangs in my mom’s neck.

I bite my lip and taste blood. The magic wants his blood. I want his blood. We are one want.

I’ve never felt so much power. Anger and being backed into a corner turns my belief in myself into a rabid, snapping thing, and the magic loves it, giving me all the power I want.

I stagger toward them. All the fingers on my injured hand drip.

The tall one’s lip curls back, caught between a snarl and a smile.

“You’re going to taste so good,” the short ones says, sniffing the air.

“Good evening.” The voice is chillier than the deepest part of the ocean.

Roman’s shirt glows bright and startling against the dark as he stops just beside me.

I don’t take my eyes off the bloodsuckers. I need to release my knife soon, before it burns through all the nerves in my hand.

“Go away,” I grit out, even though his solid presence beside me eases some of the tightness in my chest. All I can think about is the kill I want.

“I’d listen to the lady.” The tall vampire spits. It lands close to Roman’s gleaming black shoe.

“No,” he says simply. He eyes the knife clenched in my hand with a frown before stepping around to stand half in front of me. “I’d rather not.”

A glint catches my eye. The short one holds his own knife.

Strike now, the magic sings.

The tall one pulls out a knife too.

“Vampires with knives?” Roman asks the question, but his voice sounds disinterested. “You must be new, and this is not a fair fight.”

“Knives get more blood flowing. Otherwise, it’s like drinking from a damn straw,” the tall one says. “And you smell almost as good as she does.”

The short one chuckles. “I’ve got dibs on her.”

“No way,” the tall one says.

Roman turns slightly without taking his eyes off them and says to me over his shoulder, “Would you like me to kill them for you?”

“No. I want to do it. Just loan me a stake.”

He pulls a stake from somewhere inside his jacket. “My apologies, but I only have one.”

The tall vamp strikes so fast I don’t see it. One second he’s a few feet from us; the next he’s pressed up against Roman with his fangs inches from Roman’s neck.

I jump back before I can catch myself. The vamp’s eyes over Roman’s shoulder blink slowly, like they don’t even see me.