I march straight to the bouncer at the velvet rope, giving him a cocky smile that feels as if it’s wearing me, and he waves me back inside. Within moments, I’m lost in the crush of bodies again, dancing, making contact. If this is all the time I’ve got, then I’m going to live it as hard as I can.

The air is muggy with the sweetness of the artificial smoke, and my temperature rises as I throw myself around. This great big rock is hurtling through space, and we’re all trapped on it until I cough up the apocalypse, but right now, this dance floor is my whole universe. Strangers smile at me without menace, matching their rhythms to mine, and then we move on to new strangers and different rhythms. Soon, a dreamy buzz is damping the hard edges of my fear.

I dance with a girl, and then a boy—and then two boys, and the hum gets louder. Maybe it’s the vampire blood pumping through my system, or maybe it’s something else, but everyone I touch stays with me when I move on. The girl is mad at her friends, and her anger is a fleck of ash caught under my tongue; the boy is a vampire, recently Turned; and the couple’s desire leaves me confused and aroused, my body a network of sparks.

The electricity is too much for me to contain. I can sense when it erupts from me—when the hum leaps beyond my skin and touches someone else, our connection as secure as if we’re holding hands. And it spreads like smoke, enveloping one dancer after another until I contain multitudes, until I’m delirious with connectedness. The crowd is a mess of emotions, but I get to choose which ones I put my hands on, and I choose bliss. All these people are one with me somehow, part of a seamless current that runs through my blood, and I pick up their thoughts like coins from a fountain.

… finally in love …

… didn’t know it was possible to be happy …

… hope I remember this night forever …

“Auggie!” The voice pierces my haze, and I look up to see that Gunnar has found me. “Look, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you the whole truth. I’ve got no idea how I can make it up to you, but this…”