He sighed. “I’m not, it’s just . . . being vampire was getting a little boring—always the same thing, night in and night out. Eat, sleep, hunt, repeat.” He gave me a look of mock disapproval. “Or in your case, eat, sleep, hunt, shop.”

I didn’t disagree.

“After a century of the same, I’m ready for something—anything—new.” Reg said. “Being human could be that new adventure.”

“But we’ve been human before.”

“Not that we can remember. At least this feels new.” He held out a hand to catch a fresh flurry of lilac petals dancing in the air around us. “And it’s not all bad. If it wasn’t for that wretched school, it could even be fun . . . not forever, of course. But for a little while.”

In the distance, the sun had now formed a giant orange dome over the fields, and Reg tilted toward it, soaking in the final blaze of day. I wanted to tell him it wasn’t that spectacular, but the words died on my lips as I watched the changing light alter everything it touched. The lilac bushes went from lavender to royal purple to dusty pink to ashy gray. Every inch the sun slipped on the horizon, the world was painted anew. It was a power I had never witnessed before. In contrast, darkness seemed only to steal color away.

“No doubt this has been a shocking punishment, but . . .” Reg spoke so quietly, I had to lean in to hear.

Stupid human eardrums.

“But it could also be an opportunity.”

“An opportunity for what?” I asked.

“To enjoy scenes like this.” He thrust an arm toward the sunset, as if he wanted to punch it now, rather than soak it up. “To see a clear Caribbean Sea with my own eyes. I’ve only ever seen it under a night sky or in photos. I have endless curiosities about taste and smell and desire beyond blood. There are so many things in the world that humans go on about that we don’t understand. Sunsets versus sunrises, chocolate versus vanilla, the obsession with smells like coffee and gasoline.”

“Gasoline?”

“Apparently, some people love the aroma. I want to know why.”

“So, we’ll find out, okay?” I touched my brother’s arm, a gesture that would have been uncomfortable with any other immortal. Despite the structure of houses and clans we formed to protect us from slayers and other hunters, vampires were loners by nature. But I had never been alone, thanks to Reg, and I couldn’t get through this without him. “We’ll smell gasoline and eat chocolate and get up early and stay up late so we can pick a side on sunrises versus sunsets. We’ll do all of it—and then we’ll get the hell out of here and back in the world where we belong.”

Reg hesitated a moment, sighing into the setting sun, then he nodded once. “Okay, Charlie.”