"They've promised that dreams can come true, but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too."

-Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

* * *

Alex jolted awake, gasping and sweating. He hugged himself. Then a second later, another set of arms wrapped around him. Laura held him gently from behind, her hands brushing his chest, her lips pressing against his neck and cheek.

"A nightmare?" she asked.

Alex scanned the tent. His armor sat two strides from their bedroll, and he wore no other protection beneath the sheets. When had he ever been so careless?

"Alex?"

He shook his head. "A nightmare, yeah. Sorry, it was… different this time. It was…"

Different. The man in his dream had been different—someone else. He'd had the same scars as Alex, with some new additions, but that was all. It wasn't him. And it wasn't careless to sleep without armor. They had a top ranker guarding them just outside. Why would he ever wear armor to bed when he lay beside a woman?

He held Laura's arms closer, missing their warmth.

Missing…

"Do you want to tell me about it?" she asked.

He grimaced. "How long have you been up?"

Laura didn't answer, so he assumed hours, As she quietly endured the emotional backlash from his nightmare. She'd wanted to give him time to rest, to recover from last night's wounds. That… and she likely felt guilty they'd reopened during their… late-night "adventures". He couldn't care less about that right now.

"I… could talk about it," he said. "But are you…"

She squeezed him to let him know she was okay. That was Laura, always getting to the heart of the matter. He tightened his lips.

As always, he didn't know where to start. But Laura didn't rush him, and eventually, he just did. He told her about his dream, about the man who'd walked a scorched Earth. Who had no one but himself left for company, and no mourning left in his heart for all the corpses he passed. He'd been fighting the invasion for years, and the war had long since lost any meaning. Earth was a planet no longer worth fighting for, or so it seemed. He was dreadfully lonely.

Until suddenly, he hadn't been. He'd found a dying dragon—Lys. But it took gentle coaxing before Laura got Alex to speak more on the subject.

"I don't… remember what he did with the dragon. It felt right at the time, but… it was awful, Laura. He… he'd done a lot of bad things. But in the end, when he'd had nothing left to lose… I—"

"Ssshh," Laura hushed. "That man wasn't you, sweetie."

"R-right," Alex's lip quivered. "Yeah. It was… just awful, I mean… You and everyone else… I—he was alone again, and I-I… it's funny, huh?" he laughed. "Being alone didn't used to bother me, but…"

"I'm not going anywhere, Alex."

Laura kissed his nape, yet for some reason, her assurance felt hollow.

"War is coming, and people will die. I'm prepared for that, Laura," he lied. "With or without anyone's wishes, the universe moves on, but I… you know the worst part about it?"

Laura turned his head to face her. "It was just a dream, Alex."

The worst part was the dream never ended—but he couldn't say that at that moment. Seeing Laura up close again froze him in place. Then he frowned at the thought. "Again"—as if he hadn't woken up to her each morning these past two months.

"I don't think I can live without you anymore," he said jokingly.

It hadn't been a joke though, and he imagined she would've told him "Live for yourself" again, ad-infinitum, if she weren't too busy kissing him all over. Blushing, he pulled the blankets over her as well.

"You're coddling me too much," he muttered.

"That's because I'm proud of you, Alex," she cooed.

He tried to avert his gaze but she cupped his face, forcing him to meet her eyes. "Hey, I mean it. You've never been someone who could sit in comfort while others suffered. You've never been capable of looking away. That was true even when you'd lost everything."

"But what if it would've been better if I did, Laura? What if I ended up doing something that—"

"Hush, Alex. I understand."

No, she didn't. That empathetic flaw of hers—that presumptuousness, was something she still hadn't moved on from. But he'd learned to tolerate it.

"I really do understand," she insisted. "You're still processing your pain. But now you have me, and Eric, and all the others. You'll never be alone again. You can do so much good, and nobody who believed in you was ever wrong about that. A dumb dream doesn't erase the progress you've made."

Alex was about to argue that it wasn't just a dumb dream, but his attention caught on something else. "You'll never be alone again," she'd said. His eyes widened.

"I thought… weren't you going back to the covenant after this?"

She smiled, and the joy that spread through him erased everything else in that moment. Laura touched his chest, tracing his new scar. When she noticed how much it healed overnight, she pushed him onto his back and kissed him deeply. Her answer. When she pulled away for breath, there was a dangerous look in her eyes.

"I can't erase your nightmares," she said, "but I can replace them with a different kind of dream."

Alex turned his head away as she reached beneath the sheets. "This can't be a healthy coping mechanism to—"

* * *

Integration 2nd Year Corvo, Azores Islands, Earth 13 Years, 4 Months Before System Reset

As dawn began to break an hour later, Alex and Laura emerged from their tent. He was in the half-ground between fully armored and still mobile, and she wore lighter, enchanted pieces over her battle-robes to stay quick on her feet. Their camp was set on a flat stretch of grass beside a lake, where Eric sat by a stoked fire, holding a fishing rod.

"I'm sorry you had the entire night watch," Laura said as she approached.

"Aww, don't be," Eric said, laughing. "We've got you and Alex in one tent, Alice and Jory in another, and Dalton practically kicked me out before I could even volunteer to sleep next to him. Would you believe that?"

Alex could absolutely believe that, but Dalton aside, it was inevitable that Eric would be the one staying up. The System Event had just concluded yesterday, yet too many factions remained on the islands for them to sleep easy. In fact, they'd somehow found themselves stuck smack-dab in the middle of another faction's camps. Having a Nightmare standing as guard sent a clear message: Don't fuck with us.

The grass-land-lake they'd been situated by was surrounded by steep sloped walls from a massive crater, and hundreds of other tents dotted the landscape. The entire Wooden Stake Guild was here, though there were more tents than people now. As the camp stirred to life, the vampire hunters suited up, cleaned weapons, prepared food, and moved about in a hurried bustle. When they passed by, Alex didn't miss the unfriendly glances thrown their way.

"Did you catch anything, at least?" Alex asked.

"It's a small lake in the middle of a volcanic crater? What do you think?"

"At least two?"

Eric reached into his bucket and held up a reasonably sized rainbow trout. "Don't lowball my fishing game, Alex. I got seven of the suckers."

"I can work with that," Laura said. She rolled up her sleeves, and gave Alex a peck on the cheek. "Love, could you collapse the tent while I prepare breakfast?"

Alex wished she wouldn't be so affectionate in front of others. She had that evil glint in her eye again. He shot her a glare, but there was no real venom behind it.

"Yeah, I'll do that in a sec. Jory's armor took a beating yesterday so I'd like to see its condition first. Eric, you think he's up?"

"Yeah… he's up."

Alex headed toward Jory's tent.

"I wouldn't bother them though," Eric added.

"Why…"

Alex trailed off as muffled noises came from within. Face heating, he returned to the campfire, avoiding Laura's gaze and hoping to God they'd been more discreet than that.

"Well," Eric said, grinning, "that's just a natural consequence of sharing the road with others. For what it's worth, you two were a lot less noticeable."

"Yeah… I'll collapse the tent now," he said hurriedly.

"He was raised with Christian morals," Laura explained.

"And you're a priestess," Alex shot back. "Not needed, thank you."

He got to work, pulling stakes from the ground and storing everything in his inventory. Laura's inventory was smaller, but with everyone else having come from Nightmare, they had—collectively, more storage space than they'd ever need. So how did they end up with so few tents? Well, they'd started with five, but an ambush had left one irreparably damaged. And before that, Alice had "lost" hers and been forced to "borrow" a place in Jory's. It had been a long time coming, and nobody was surprised when they announced themselves as a couple.

By the time Alex returned to the campfire, Jory and Alice were emerging from the tent, slightly disheveled. Dalton was already seated, scowling at everyone over his coffee.

"You seem worked up," Alice noted.

"So do you," Dalton muttered.

"Oh, Dalton's just upset cause he missed me last night," Eric teased.

"Shut up, Eric! That is not why I'm upset. And maybe if Alice here didn't toss her tent somewhere, I'd still have one to myself!"

"I didn't toss my tent, Dalton! I just forgot it. It was an innocent mistake."

"Right," he said. "You didn't mean to lose it. Just like you didn't mean to capitalize on the situation and corrupt our innocent bastion of hope, Jory!"

Alice squeaked and clung tightly to Jory's muscled arm. "Ahh! This strange man is bullying me, darling! Please beat him up!"

The campfire went deathly silent. All eyes turned to Jory, waiting for his response. He simply scratched the back of his head, looking like a man with no wisdom to offer.

"There's plenty of unused tents around us," Alex said. "No one would notice anything if one went missing."

Silence ensued. Too soon, huh?

Alex looked around and saw the burial mounds. Yeah, definitely too soon. More people were up now, and more stares were being thrown their way. It seemed everyone and their uncle had enhanced hearing nowadays. He probably shouldn't have said that so loudly.

"Dalton, if you would," Eric said.

Dalton's scowl deepened. "I didn't spend years studying the law to become some mage errand boy."

Still, he set his coffee down and began incanting under his breath. Nothing noticeably happened, which was probably the point.

"Did you use a different soundbite from last night?" Eric asked.

"Used the one of us discussing the Transformers movies," Dalton said.

Alice rolled her eyes. "God, that franchise was shit. Misogynistic as all hell."

"Don't get me riled up before my second coffee, Alice! The first one was peak cinema!"

"Really? In what world—"

Alice cut herself off as Jory placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. He idly scratched his beard-less chin, and again, everyone waited with bated breath.

"...You both have valid opinions," Jory finally said. "And you both have points behind your arguments. I could, once again, share my opinion on the matter as someone who is… passionate about storytelling. But I already did that, and there's no point in playing a fake conversation just to reiterate the same conversation. Now… is probably not the time."

That was wisdom Alex could behind. He had no stake in this debate, but he did remember this argument taking place. That was an hour of his life he was never getting back. Beyond that, the preparations the Vampire Hunters were making in the early light didn't bode well for what was coming. Alex unfolded a camp chair and sat at an angle where his lips couldn't be read by. "Eric, did you—"

"Nuh-uh," Laura interjected, approaching with a large pot from her makeshift kitchen. "No serious talk until everyone has a full stomach… and Dalton has his second coffee. I understand it's a stressful time, but don't take your ribbing too far please. Alice. Dalton."

Eric waved his hand. "Oh, you know us, Laura. We don't really mean—"

"I know," she said. "But please consider where we are, Eric. It's important that we project an air of unity as much as possible."

Eric thought for a moment, then nodded. "Dalton, you should probably choose a different soundbite."

A moment passed in silence.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Hey," Alice said. "Earth to Dalton?"

He didn't respond.

"Uh… do you even have one where you're not arguing?" Alex asked.

Dalton furrowed his brows, then lifted his head. "Ah—found it. Just one."

With a simple incantation, their party regained their privacy. Anyone eavesdropping would hear only a discussion on the indisputable importance of wildlife conservation in a terraformed, monster-overrun Earth—something Alex found it hard to believe anyone would take issue with.

Laura soon began serving plates of grilled trout, the extra one going onto Jory's extra-large plate. She ladled a tomato-based stew over each before handing them out. Alex realized he should have offered to help, but it was too late. She would've told him she wanted to do it herself anyway, but he still should've asked.

Laura smiled as she set his food down in front of him—a tiny heart-shaped onion on top. Then she scooted a chair next to him and placed her own plate down before heading back to her kitchen setup.

"May I help you clean up?" he asked.

"Did I not kiss you enough in the tent? Is that why you feel the need to get me alone again?"

"What—no, I…"

Laura giggled to herself as she walked away, and Alex sighed. No one else knew she was an empath, and she liked to make a game out of flustering him just enough that he could still mask his reactions—like a little secret between the two of them. He considered it another one of her flaws, and it was really starting to grate on him. The problem was, he didn't hate it nearly as much as he secretly liked it. And she knew that. That was what he really hated.

She giggled again from her kitchen setup. He sighed miserably.

When he looked up Alice stared at him, sauce smearing cheeks. "Alex… do you have any idea how lucky you are?"

"Yeah, how did you do it?" Dalton asked. "Laura told me she was celibate."

Uh… Alex decided to pretend he hadn't heard that.

"I would've told you that too," Alice said to Dalton.

"In what universe would you even have the chance?" he countered.

Her next response was cut off as Eric leaned across the fire "No, no, Dalton's got a point though. How did you do it, Alex? After all that love advice we gave, don't you think we oughta' know?"

Love advice?

Alex met Eric's intense stare dubiously. When he'd returned from the meadow of flowers that day, Eric and the others had been staking out his run-down abode. The man himself had been lounging in Alex's favorite office chair, faced away until he'd opened the door. Then he'd swiveled around—hands clasped, one leg over the other—and said, "A little bird has whispered you're in need of advice, my recently-blessed friend."

Alex set down his plate, scowling. "What advice? You mean how you guys had me stay up all night drinking as you tried to pry details from my lips? How was that supposed to help me prepare for my date?"

"Hey," Eric said defensively, "There was some good advice in there."

"Yeah," Alice added, snickering, "Like Eric's 10-step seminar on how to plan a shot-gun wedding with just under 24-hours of notice."

He pointed as though she'd just said something entirely agreeable. "See?"

That even got a laugh out of Dalton.

"But pleease, Alex." Alice was practically shaking him from her camp chair now. "Deeets!"

He sighed. Truthfully, he still wasn't sure how he'd ended up here. As far as he was concerned, Laura purely lost out in this transaction. There were probably men far more attractive and attentive than him—ones who hadn't started off by demeaning her beliefs and getting into fist fights. She probably would've been better off with anyone else.

But no, that was disrespectful to think. He was young and Laura was nearing her thirties; he'd feared this was just puppy love to her, or that she was just caving in to his own emotions. But she'd shown him time and time again she was serious about this.

He pierced the heart-shaped onion with his fork, examining it.

"It doesn't really matter how or why," he said. "I just need to honor that decision and do my best to match her."

"Well spoken," Eric said. "When my wife took me, I was just the high school bum who knocked her up. What's important is what you do from there, Alex. Who you were yesterday doesn't matter. It's about what kind of man you make yourself today."

Alex accepted his offered fist bump with some reluctance. "Thanks, I appreciate the sentiment. But I'd like to steer the conversation away from my love life?"

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. It just makes me happy seeing all my friends paired together like this."

Dalton shifted uncomfortably.

"...If we could butt in just a little longer," Jory said. "I'd like to say that you have a lot of admirable qualities, Alex… and Laura sees them too. But I respect that you'd like to move on from this topic. And it would take me a while to list them."

"Yes, there's that too!" Eric exclaimed. "Sorry, Alex. I wasn't trying to imply that you're equivalent to a high school bum who would forgo protection behind the bleachers just because he saw it in a movie once, then end up tarnishing the perfect record of the most beautiful woman who definitely would've been valedictorian if she hadn't had to raise a child during her senior year." He sucked in air through his teeth. "Let's see, what's another cheery subject…"

The smile Jory had put on Alex's face was wiped over the course of Eric's unsolicited parable. An uncomfortable silence followed.

"Hey Dalton!" Alice filled it with. "How's your love life going? Is Jess still setting you up on a date when we get back? Whatever happened to that?"

Dalton stoically pushed up his glasses and turned toward the rising sun. "Ask when I've had my third coffee."

He probably hadn't expected her to actually do so.

The sun slowed its ascent, and Alex ate quietly, letting the rest of the party fade into background noise, as he often did. Humans only had one mouth, and he never really understood how they used it for both eating and talking. Especially when the food was this good—and the conversation this poor.

He focused on each bite, trying to piece together every spice and ingredient. The heart-shaped onion was a nice gesture, and it made him think he should do something romantic too.

He just wasn't sure what.

He'd already plucked all the low-hanging fruit—foot massages, shitty poetry, metal-forged accessories, jewelry, armor, and weapons. Laura had quite a bit of strength when she called upon the Seven Sisters. Maybe he could teach her to use swords more effectively? No, he was probably missing the mark.

He'd have time to figure it out later, he supposed. The most romantic thing he could do right now was see her through the next battle. Then when they got back… home.

He sighed. Was that too much to hope for?

The two of them under one roof… Well, his apartment wasn't big enough, and it was a complete mess anyway. Then there was Laura's reassignment to the Seven Sisters' New York branch. Should they search for a place nearby? Or was that moving too fast? He supposed they were already sharing a tent and that was… similar, in a way. He'd have to talk more about it with her later.

Laura retook her seat beside him. She simply stared at her food, not eating.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Not hungry?"

Ah—because she'd spent all that time cooking. No wonder. Maybe if he fed it to her in bites? He hadn't tried that before… and the idea of doing it in front of everyone was mortifying, but...

He reached for her plate anyway. Yet as he lifted the spoon she just shook her head, smiling lovingly, and he set it back down. He might've been embarrassed but then she gripped his hand, her fingers trembling slightly. He steadied them.

"Everyone, if I may?" She said. She sat straighter, placing her right hand over her heart. "Eric, Jory, Alice, Dalton, Alex. If you remember, I promised you all that the Seven Sisters' other mission on this island would not place you at additional risk. Last night, that promise was broken. For that, I sincerely apologize, and more than that…" She smiled. "I am so, so grateful that you all helped me further my cause. The Seven Sisters have accomplished all that we set out to, and after last night, I now know that wouldn't have been possible if I had done it myself like I'd tried. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

She was the picture of grace in that moment, tears forming in her eyes—not from weakness or pain, but from pure gratitude. Alex loved this woman. And right then, he didn't care who else saw or knew exactly how much.

It was clear from everyone's expressions they felt similarly, if not in the same way.

"Of course we'd help you, Laura." Eric said. "And we'd do it again. When Alex told us what was happening, I…" He trailed off, his expression uncharacteristically solemn. "In Nightmare, Laura… there was a time when I stood by and did nothing, and regretted it. This whole thing with the New Fire Ceremony is beyond just me, and even if it wasn't, there's no way any of us were letting you sneak off alone to die like that. You're one of us, Laura."

Laura quavered as Eric's words hit home. Then she turned toward Alex, her expression tearful, yet somehow foreboding. Her gods had visited him in his dreams, just as they'd promised, and Laura had been upset at first that he'd leaked that information and followed after her—that he'd had the gall to risk any life but hers. He stood by his decision, yet still quailed a bit under her full attention. Especially as he realized what it meant.

"Wait—"

She clutched the back of his neck so he couldn't escape, then dragged him into a kiss.

Eric and Alice hooted and hollered. Dalton grumbled something under his breath. Their voices faded as Alex's focus was stolen completely by Laura.

Frankly, she was a terrible kisser. Too much tongue. She didn't relent.

But despite that, he melted.

* * *

Friedrich Richter was carrying a coffin on his back to the burial grounds when he suddenly paused outside of the outsiders' camp. A woman of striking beauty, much like his darling Freya, suddenly leaned over and began kissing the young man next to her. Cheers went up around their campfire, and for a moment, he almost cheered too.

But then he remembered—he carried Karl on his back. And he'd had one waiting for him back home too. His own Freya.

Not wanting to stare too long or eavesdrop, Friedrich moved on.

Wow… that woman's very passionate about wildlife preservation, he thought with a blush.

Then again, who wouldn't be?

* * *

As soon as Laura pulled away, Alex was overcome with shame for giving in to his animalistic urges and engaging in such an egregious display of public indecency! He hid his reaction well enough from the others, but then Laura demanded to be spoon-fed her food. She looked directly into his eyes with each bite, savoring his mortified embarrassment.

Dalton tapped his fingers against his mug, already on his fourth coffee. "For the record, I am happy for you two. And you as well of course, Jory. I'm just… in a miserable mood right now."

Laura licked the spoon just subtly enough to avoid making an indecent gesture of it. This time, Alex really did blush.

"And you're happy for me too, right?" Alice asked.

"If Jory is satisfied with this arrangement, then I'm appeased."

Dalton took a sip of coffee as Alice spluttered an affronted response. Another argument began, but strangely, their heated exchanges never bred any real negativity. Dalton was happiest when he had something to complain about, and Alice just loved spewing insults and passive-aggressive remarks at someone she knew wouldn't actually be hurt by them. It was only the rest of them who suffered.

By the time Alex fed Laura the last bite of her godly cooking, he wished the moment would never end. But as soon as mealtime rules were no longer in place, it was time to talk business.

Because they were in a world of shit.

"Eric, did you hear anything from Donovan?" Alex asked.

As if flipping a switch, the party dropped their banter, and the mood shifted instantly. It was yet another reminder that, no matter how jovial they seemed, these were people who had survived Nightmare.

Alice was the one to answer. "There's been no news on our side either. Given that it's been a week now, our assumptions that he's been captured or killed are probably correct."

"Or he fled," Alex said. "That man's more shrewd than he lets on. It's possible he sensed the danger coming and escaped."

"What are the odds he just betrayed us?" Dalton asked.

"Negligible," Laura said. "I took precautions. Let's just hope it's as Alex says and that he's still alive. For now, it doesn't change the situation. We're at the vampire hunters' mercy when it comes to getting off this island. At the very least, I was able to throw my weight around and guarantee a return trip, but Galvan is forcing us to take part in the extermination."

Alex grimaced. We should've just stolen one of their boats. If we'd restrained their personnel and left a coded beacon, they'd probably have been found by their own people faster than the vampires.

As the only one who could sense his thoughts, Laura shot him a disapproving look.

Jory sighed. "It is a shame that this is how he repays us. We did not have to announce ourselves… or warn him of what they were walking into. Even if I am glad we did, it's unfortunate that our efforts to stay hidden these past months… have been wasted."

"Did we really have to?" Dalton asked. "If we're talking weight, then Galvan has more to throw around than even Nightmares. They would've been fine, right?"

"No, probably not," Eric said. "He's strong, all right. Much stronger than me. But even if he'd be fine, what about his men? The Blood Mists can't be defended against with sheer strength alone. And they're only going to get thicker since the Assassins' been fatally wounded with holy energy. There's nothing to hold back when you're on death's door anyway. If they'd walked in unaware, I reckon there would've been serious consequences."

"And now that he's aware, the idiot decides to just march in anyway," Alice said. "Taking us all with him."

Eric sighed. "Yeah… that's the crux of the issue. Makes me regret warning him a little too… but what can you do?"

"We could break ourselves out," Alex suggested. "We'd be stranded here a while, but the Seven Sisters could dispatch a new ride for us, right?"

"Correct," Laura affirmed. "But we wouldn't be able to do it without getting blood on our hands."

She shot Alex that look again, and he had the thought that it was their own fault for holding them to unreasonable terms. Then again, they were technically here illegally, and he didn't want the vampire hunters' blood on his hands either. He was six months sober from killing without provocation, and now wasn't the time to relapse.

More than that, he also didn't want to be trapped on an island with one of the most powerful Guild Leaders in the world after killing some of his men.

Dalton pushed up his glasses. "Not to sound like a broken record, but what are the odds he's the one who, so to speak, sank our submarine?"

"Higher than I'd like to admit," Eric said. "But Laura's right. There's no point in dwelling on it. We just have to ride this out. And while Galvan may be stubborn, he's no idiot. There's gotta be a reason he's rushing this rather than waiting out the Assassin's death. Alice, did you find anything?"

The ranger nodded. "I only overheard bits and pieces, but I've gathered enough to piece together what's going on."

"Sorry I couldn't come with you," Alex said.

She smirked. "Don't be. I heard about how your wounds reopened last night."

Alex coughed. He would have to set some clear boundaries with Laura to make sure this "openness" between "just us girls" didn't become a problem going forward. Fortunately, he didn't have to redirect the conversation himself.

Alice's expression immediately grew more serious. "Galvan's not an idiot. You're right about that, Eric. But his reasoning doesn't make things any better for us. It's not that he has a counter to the Blood Mists. He's just willing to accept the costs. He believes he can wipe out the remaining vampires on this island if he acts now."

"Go on," Eric said.

"This was the plan from the start, apparently. The Albescu Family and some other prominent lineages have determined the headquarters of the Blood Lotus Clan and are preparing to launch an assault. Neary a hundred vampires are still holed up on this island, and Galvan's received intel that if the extermination coincides with the assault, none of the Elder-level threats will be available to defend them. Worst case, the only one who could come to their aid is 'just Anne.'"

A moment of grim silence followed. Dalton pinched the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses "Just Anne? Ugh. Only Galvan could earn the arrogance to say that. I'll believe he's capable of fighting the Red Mistress, but she's still one of the strongest Nightmares. It won't be easy even for a top ranker like him. And while he's tied up with her…"

"Fuck," Alex muttered. "He's aiming for a pyrrhic victory."

Alice corrected him there. "They're vampire hunters, remember? They don't care about the costs as long as the vampires end up dead. I feel sorry for them, but this is their cause, not ours. If we just look after ourselves, we should be fine."

Laura looked conflicted but nodded. "They probably have some mild protections against the Blood Mists. If I can save any others, I will. But my priority is getting the six of us out of here alive."

For a moment, an underlying tension settled over the group.

"Well, shucks," Eric said. "Why does everyone always forget I'm a Nightmare too!"

"Maybe you should be out there sucking the blood from children instead of accepting shitty brand deals," Alex said.

"HP Fruity is not a shitty brand!" Eric exclaimed. "Who doesn't want a fruit punch-flavored health potion?"

Jory grunted. "They are actually… pretty good. And all their proceeds go to protecting endangered toucan species."

"See? Thank you, Jory! And who doesn't want an HP bottle with my handsome face on it?"

Jory had no wisdom to offer there, but Eric was probably happy enough just getting a few chuckles going. As the others drifted into lighter conversation, Alex wasn't feeling it. The Vampire Hunters' camp was bustling now, and that same unnerving feeling he'd woken up to had returned. He was reminded of his dream suddenly, and as Laura gripped his hand, he didn't care who saw him kiss her.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I know," she said.

Alex wanted to hear her say it, but his reasons were driven by fear. She'd already told him she wanted her first time to be at the right moment, when she was ready. When it was special. She kissed him again, then he pulled away to go fix Jory's armor.

An hour later, an envoy arrived for them, and they stood assembled before a large cavern opening. They found themselves crowded in by the hundred or so remaining vampire-hunters as Galvan gave his speech. Although they were a sight for poor eyes, it didn't show on their faces. These were men and women who lived for the sole purpose of what they were about to do. And they had all lost comrades to the very creatures they were going in there to kill. Alex squeezed Laura's hand, hardly listening to the speech. It only regurgitated what Alice had told them.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Jory muttered.

So did Eric. The man asked about Alex's trait, but he didn't bother answering. You didn't need dangersense to know what was in there. The stench alone was enough. Vultures circled, unable to tell where it was coming from. Crows cawed, still not full from the feasts they'd had this month. Enraptured, with fear in his heart, Alex watched the fall of one crow's feather—its downward spiral. The hand that wasn't iron-clasped around Laura's, he held out; it landed. He froze as it caught fire in his palm, the black becoming red—not a crow's at all, but the feather of a phoenix. Ashen, it slipped his grasp.

The time came when he had to let go of Laura's hand. He adjusted Nychta's scabbard on his hip, then marched into the vampires' underground lair. Into a trap.

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