He didn’t look happy with that statement, but I gave zero fucks. My true feelings about death had been established long ago, and now I was all in for this crazy ride. Every part of it, good and bad.

“Let’s just not waste any more time worrying about what might be,” I continued. “We know there’s a battle to come, and… maybe we won’t lose. Sticking with my sports analogy, I’ve been a dodgeball champion on at least three separate occasions. The balls I have to dodge this time are just bigger and scarier.”

“That’s what she said,” a familiar voice joked from behind us.

Spinning, I almost tripped over myself before scrambling to my feet so I could run, ugly-snot crying toward my best friend. Simone caught me as I sobbed against her shoulder, my relief at seeing her healthy and alive too much to be contained.

When we finally pulled apart, I noticed Lucien nearby, his blond hair a little longer, while his bronze skin and piercing green eyes were as familiar as ever. “Ah, ma petite,” he murmured, stepping closer. “We’ve been worried about you.”

Simone shot him a dark look, and that was all I needed to know that all was not well between my best friend and the enigmatic Vampire Master. “Lucien would not allow me to return,” she bit out. “He said that until Shadow was able to restore the library, it was not safe to travel through any of the normal means. I’ve been imprisoned in his stupid castle, locked away for fear of the vamps eating me.” She raised an eyebrow. “And not in the good way, apparently.”

Lucien’s face was wreathed in frustration, turning his surfer good looks into a more formidable and scarier façade. Shadow Beast three? “You’re the most hotheaded, frustrating, insufferable…” He trailed off, clearly having run out of adjectives to describe Simone.

“Annoying?” I chimed in helpfully and she elbowed me.

“Don’t encourage this asshole of a vampire who couldn’t sparkle if his damn life depended on it.”

Lucien muttered something about her life and its value before he pushed past us and strode over to Shadow, who looked relieved to have one of his trusted friends back in the library. They started to talk, and I knew Shadow would be filling Lucien in on everything that had happened.

Which gave me a moment to catch up with Simone.

“Are you really okay?” she asked, pulling me closer, like she couldn’t believe we were finally together. “What the fuck happened? One minute you were heading off to the Shadow Realm, and the next, Shadow was back here raging like a beast, destroying everything. Not even his friends were safe.”