“The village has always belonged to us. It was only a matter of time before we had need for it,” he said. “It is an appropriate choice to make a home for our kind, to reduce their risk of exposure.”

“How exactly are they safe from exposure there?” I asked. “I mean, yeah, it’s a tiny town—village, whatever—but it’s still townish. There are hundreds of people—”

“The people will be dispatched,” Adante said.

I gasped, and, next to me, Reg made a strangled sound.

“You’re going to kill them?” I managed to choke out.

“Certainly not! Messy business, killing, and against our law.” He looked me directly in the eye. “As you well know.”

Oh, that was totally uncalled for.

“We didn’t kill . . .” I growled, but Lina gave me a warning poke in the back.

“The village of Nowhere has nearly one thousand souls,” she said to Adante. “Surely this isn’t necessary.”

“The infrastructure provides an immediate home for all clan members,” he said.

“But perhaps another village—”

“It is ours!” Adante burst out.

He closed his eyes a moment and fussed with his sleeves. Then he repeated with calm, “It is ours.”

“Why now?” I asked. “You already own most of the land. Not that I understand why you’re so interested. It’s basically a graveyard for the first . . . undoing.” I managed to say the last word without air quotes. “But what about neutral ground? Wasn’t that the deal?”

Adante gave me an appraising look. “I see you’ve learned something of our history. Well, be assured, the promise of neutral ground remains. Our agreement was with slayers, and our interests protect the history of both our kind and theirs. It is the humans we are tired of working around. They have invaded our land. It’s time to take it back.”

Reg said, “So you intend to steal their homes and . . . what? Wipe their minds?”

“The memory fade will be part of it,” Adante answered.

“A migration,” Lina said at my shoulder, her words coming through gritted teeth.

“What’s a migration?” Reg and I asked in unison.

“It’s when entire mortal communities are displaced,” Lina said. “Over the course of our history, it has, in rare cases, been necessary to relocate mortals for our protection or for their own. But it has not been done in the modern age.” She addressed Adante. “It could be extremely difficult.”

He shrugged off her concern. “Protocols will be followed. We’ll subdue the population for easy transport, secure their memories, and deposit the humans a safe distance away.”

Translation: they’ll feed on everyone until they pass out, do a brain swipe, and then dump them all in a field somewhere.

A wave of nausea rolled over me.