Grabbing me by the wrist, she takes off again, moving so fast I can barely keep up. We’re both expecting more vampires to drop out of the sky at any moment, and when we make it to the fence without being attacked, I think we’re both surprised. The first police cruisers are veering into sight as Daphne braces her hands together to form a springboard—and then she’s launching me to the top of the fence.

She touches down on the other side right behind me, actual cops shouting at us to stop, but we take off at a sprint as the street floods with people escaping the factory. Cutting a corner, racing past the pumps of a gas station, we pelt into a residential neighborhood I don’t recognize. I’m gasping for air when we reach her car, and I’ve never been so glad to see the dented, rusting shitmobile in my entire life.

I’ve barely got the door closed as we peel away from the curb, and all the traumas of the past hour hit me like a flash flood. I bury my face in my hands so Daphne can’t see me cry, and I try like hell not to sniffle, but her awareness is hotter than the plastic-scented air blasting from the vents. “I know you’re upset, so I am seriously trying not to yell at you, Auggie Pfeiffer, but honestly. What the fuck were you thinking?”

I have to work the knot out of my throat in order to reply. “I’m sick of dying.”

“And you thought partying with vampires was the road to a long, prosperous future?” Her jaw is set so tight I can see the muscles shifting. “What if I hadn’t gotten your text? What if I hadn’t been able to drop everything and save you from fucking Rasputin and his gang of homicidal henchmen?”

“So what if you couldn’t?” My voice is as wrecked as I feel.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Has the Brotherhood figured out how to stop what’s happening to me?” I counter with another question. “Have they come across any spells or rituals or even superstitions, for fuck’s sake?” She has nothing to say, her hand flexing on the gear shift, and I make an ugly noise. “So that’s a no. We’re all just waiting out the clock. What happens when this thing takes me over, Daph? Will you still be protecting me?”

“Auggie, I don’t—”

“I can feel it!” I finally blurt, my voice breaking. “Before, it was just these weird episodes—strange dreams and sensing vampires—but tonight it was … part of me.” My glasses are fogged, and I take them off, tears making it too hard to see anyway. “I was inside people’s heads, experiencing their emotions and stuff … I was connecting people.”

Daphne glances over, her eyes sharp. “What do you mean? What exactly happened?”