My mouth is dry from the tips of my teeth to the pit of my stomach, because for the first time? Someone is making a case for my cooperation that isn’t predicated solely on how much worse the world will be if I make the wrong choice—but on how much better the world could be if I make the right one. And I don’t know if I have an argument against what she’s saying. In a wobbly voice, I manage to ask, “Why me? Why is this happening to me?”

“I don’t think there’s an answer to that question.” Her expression is genuinely torn. “The only thing the Risings we know of have in common is that, in each case, the vessel was someone destined for greatness. Kings and queens, warriors and intellectuals … names you would recognize if I told them to you.”

“I’m only sixteen,” I say, my eyes filming over. All I want, I think, is someone to acknowledge how unfair this is. Someone to tell me that I don’t deserve it.

“When she was sixteen years old, Elizabeth Tudor had been declared illegitimate and stripped of her claim to the English throne. No one ever dreamed that she would go on to become one of history’s most well-known rulers,” Viviane rebuts. “Catherine the First of Russia was a housemaid, Joan of Arc was a peasant, Vincent van Gogh was an emo kid and a dropout … You’ve got no idea what sort of greatness waits inside of you!”

“And I never will, either.” It’s a challenge, but she doesn’t rise to it.

“You might be the key to saving this planet for future generations, Auggie. You could easily be the most important historical figure of all time.” Her expression is deadly serious. “I don’t know what’s going to become of Auggie Pfeiffer after the Ascension. I kind of hope you’ll still be in there, because, believe it or not, I really do like you. You’re the little brother I wished I had, back when I had little brothers and all of them were assholes. That probably doesn’t mean anything to you right now, but it’s the truth.” She pushes a hand through the soft waves of her hair. “Regardless of anything else, if you commit yourself to the League of the Dark Star, you’ll be saving the world. We don’t want bloodshed; we want peace. We want a reality where mortals and vampires can be neighbors instead of enemies.”

“Vampires eat mortals.”

“You guys murder each other all the time!” she protests. “You need to have active shooter drills for your kindergarteners, for fuck’s sake. Dogs kill more people each year than vampires do, but nobody makes sad Sarah McLachlan commercials about us.”

“Azazel wants to turn Earth into his kingdom, like Lucifer did with hell.”