“Interesting,” Sonia whispered.

“I don’t sense that,” Ruby sniffed.

Poncho looked to her. “Auntie says you would, if you used the blood of the goat.”

Ruby curled her lip.

“Lilah, leave,” Abel ordered.

I turned my head to him. “Leave?”

He gave a short nod. “Leave. We need to talk to the witches and we can’t do that with you and the others here.”

“But—”

“Bao bei.” He leaned to me. “Take Leah and Sonia and go.”

I stared at him.

Then I muttered, “Oh, all right,” and let his hand go. “Sonia, Leah, let’s get outta here.”

We left the room and saw Jezza and Flo wandering down the hall toward it, taking their time, as if there wasn’t a world to save.

“In there,” Sonia told them.

They passed us and the door closed behind them.

“We have enough power to take over the world?”

That came from Leah.

“That’s what she said, but I don’t know what to do with that.”

That came from me.

“This is so frustrating,” Sonia snapped. “It’s like we have it all, we just don’t know what it is so we can use it.”

“Maybe we should stop karate chopping and I should test out my blue light,” I suggested. “You should work on talking to the animals,” I said to Sonia. “And you…” I turned to Leah. “Well, I don’t know about you. A vampire human?”

“I’m getting Lucien’s abilities,” Leah reminded me.

“Well, maybe you should try them out,” I replied. “Maybe there’s something there.”

“It’s a plan, a nebulous one, but it’s something,” Sonia said.

“Leah.”

We all turned to look down the hall and saw Lucien approaching.

He didn’t look happy.

“Darling,” she called, moving his way. “Is everything okay?”

“Breed was with the enemy,” he declared curtly, stopping close to her and putting a hand to her waist. “Are the men in there?”

“Uh…yes, but what did—?” she started but stopped when he bent in, touched his mouth to hers, and then walked straight to the door and through it, closing it behind him.

“You know, for three women who can take over the world, we don’t seem to get a lot of respect,” Leah grumbled.

“Then let’s earn it,” I replied and looked to Sonia. “Let’s go talk to bunnies.”

She grinned and hooked her arm through my elbow.

I hooked mine through Leah’s elbow.

And we went to go talk to bunnies.

* * * * *

I stood in living room two, thinking bad thoughts.

Thoughts of losing Abel.

Thoughts of him leaving me, whereabouts unknown.

Thoughts that made my stomach hollow, the emptiness edged in a dull pain.

Then I swung my arm out, finger pointing at the red Solo cup I put on the table there, and…

Nothing.

“Shit,” I muttered.

I tried something else, thinking of Abel with another woman.