There had to be another way. I glanced up and down the trench at my brothers and sisters shrouded by gray clouds of fog resting heavily in the air, ready to fight for our Master. I wanted him back more than any of them, but this act would alter our way of life for decades, maybe even centuries to come. We'd fought so hard to change the way humans saw us, to shed the perceived skin of violent killing machines. And now here we were, waiting in a ditch ready to slaughter each other.

It was eerily quiet; the abandoned train yard bordered on one side by the river and the other by an expansive field leading up to the forest. At night you could hear katydids in the field, cicadas in the trees, owls hooting back and forth, but not tonight. It was as if they could sense the danger coming. Not surprising considering there were about a hundred riled up vampires in their vicinity. We had our second in command, Dorian, to thank for that.

If we got Nathaniel back— correction— when we got him back, he would be furious. Nathaniel would never sacrifice the peace, not for anything. And Dorian wasn't stupid. He wouldn't have set forth with this plan knowing in the end it would land him exiled. Which could only mean one thing. He wasn't planning on getting Nathaniel back. He was banking on the opposite.

My fingers tightened, nails digging into my palm. I had to make it to Nathaniel first. The signal lit green and the level of magic heightened, sending tingles up my arms. I had seconds. Seconds before the train pulled up and the Tempest Clan crossed a line we could never come back from. Seconds before Nicodemus's minions on the train noticed the ambush and the death began. Seconds to find our Master; the love of my life. Electricity buzzed through the lines above and the distant clacking of the train echoed out across the yard. All faces were trained on Dorian, but as the clacking grew louder, all I could watch were the red headlights of the train as it broke through the gloom.