“I wouldn’t,” Hannah said. “I know how dangerous it would

be, even if she refuses to admit it.”

“Are you crazy?” Eve said. Her voice was muffled against his

shoulder, but Claire still heard it clearly. “No, I’m not going anywhere, and I’m not letting you stay trapped in here without me.

They don’t get to put you in some kind of— vampire petting zoo.

You’re coming home where you belong. With us. With me. ”

“He can’t,” Amelie said. “If he leaves this place, he will be

killed. Not by us, of course. By those who are our . . . protectors. ”

The irony of that wasn’t lost on her, Claire thought, noticing the

twist of her lips. The taste of it must have been bitter.

“Is that true?” Shane turned to look at Hannah, but she con-

tinued to do a middle- distance stare. “Hey. Talking to you, lady!”

“I heard you,” she said. “He’s right that it isn’t safe for vampires outside of this enclave.”

“Enclave?” Claire heard the outrage in her own voice, even though she tried to hold it back. “I don’t care what kind of cool

name you want to give it to make yourself feel better. It’s a prison camp. ”

“They’re here for their own protection.”

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“Bullshit!” she spat back, and Shane put his hand on her shoul-

der. It surprised her enough to stop her from uttering the rest of

what she’d been about to say, which probably wouldn’t have been

quite so nice.

“Claire,” he said, “let’s take a breath. Maybe— maybe this isn’t

a bad thing.”

“What?”

“Maybe we need to just think a little more,” he said. “I mean,

having vampires obeying the rules . . . what’s so wrong with that?

They damn sure don’t obey any unless they’re scared of something.

Not even the rules they make themselves. Right, Amelie?”

“You’re being foolish,” Amelie said. “And disloyal to your

friend.”

“Hey, lady, I’ve been bending over backward for years around

here not to judge you bloodsuckers, no matter what kind of hor-

rible things you did. Give me a break. And you know what? For a

change, give me a little respect, too. Because I deserve that. We all do. All us poor, stupid humans. ” Shane wasn’t entirely wrong, Claire had to admit, though he also wasn’t usually this blunt about it. But then, the vampires usually wouldn’t have let him say these things

without reprisal. “Maybe we should all show a little good judg-

ment and agree that vamps aren’t the safest thing in the world to

have lurking around in your neighborhood—”

“Thanks for being on my side, bro,” Michael said.

“I’m not saying this is the right way to do it. But maybe it’s the

right idea, keeping vamps and humans apart.” Shane shivered a lit-