SOPHIE AND ELI awoke the next day to two urgent emails from Aelia. One was sent to both the staff and the students, announcing the cancellation of classes. Students were also now essentially on lock-down, confined to the their dorms with several teachers assigned to monitor and guard them. The other email was exclusive to the staff, detailing another meeting that was to be held at noon.

"I wonder what she is going to say," Eli said around his toothbrush. He leaned against their bathroom counter, watching Sophie wrestle with a pair of leggings.

"We lost another student," Sophie grumbled. "I'm sure that she's super panicked right now. She will probably put school on hold until we can figure out exactly what is going on. I checked the email addresses attached to the email. I noticed that she called in some old friends."

Eli squinted at her. "Who?"

She did a semi-squat to make sure that her leggings were comfortably in place. Then she stood straight, her hands on her hips, and beamed proudly at Eli. "Well, my old friends. They were actually in the Day class before the last Mating Games, so you may not know them as well. Do you remember my friend Tabatha?"

His eyes lit up and his cheerful "Oh!" came out gurgled, distorted from the frothy toothpaste in his mouth. He nodded and leaned over the sink to rinse his mouth out. Sophie chuckled and grabbed her hairbrush. "I noticed her email was attached to the list of recipients. Kitty's too. I didn't see the twins, however."

"It's been a while since we've heard from them," Eli said. "Those are the ones that went back home, right? Or to the recovery center?"

Sophie nodded. "Something like that."

When all the chaos with the Headmaster transpired, the entire human population at Redstone Academy were transformed. The Headmaster used them as a mini-army of brainwashed vampires against Aelia. Once everything had calmed down, Aelia created a rehabilitation center of sorts. It was located several miles away and was mostly run by former students from the Night Class, who had experience being a vampire and would be able to aid the newly turned. Tabatha, Kitty, and the twins were among the hundreds sent there.

Last Sophie had heard, however, Tabatha and Kitty had both been released. Kitty managed to convince her incredibly rich parents to fund several trips around the world, and wound up turning her adventures into a very lucrative social media presence. Tabatha went back home to spend time with her grandmother, who managed to beat her cancer about a month or so ago.

Both girls had been busy, and Sophie was stoked to see them again.

"Let's go," she told Eli as she walked toward the door. "We need to hustle. We are about to be late to this meeting."

"I know, I know," Eli hummed. He pulled a t-shirt over his head and then followed her out the door.

The moment the door shut behind them, his fingers curled around hers and squeezed tight. She couldn't help it. The action, despite being so small, still made her lips tug back into a smile. It was not only super sweet, but extremely comforting as well.

As they walked, they chatted. Mostly about how loudly Eli snored in his sleep sometimes. He was in denial, whereas Sophie was genuinely surprised that their neighbors hadn't made a noise complaint yet. When they reached the Dining Hall, their conversation came to a quick halt. The massive room was packed to the brim, almost overflowing with people. Sophie stood on her tip-toes, trying to find her mother or, more preferably, Tabatha.

"Aelia wants you both on the platform with her," a voice said from behind them.

Sophie whipped around. Immediately, a giant grin appeared. Tabatha giggled and beamed right back at her. Both girls lurched forward, their arms outstretched, and hugged each other tight.

"How are you?" Sophie asked. She pulled away from Tabatha, giving the girl a good look-over. "Holy cow, I love your hair! It looks so good!"

"Thanks!" Tabatha chirped. She lifted a hand to the crazy beautiful curls that bounced around her shoulders and grinned. Her hair was darker now, more of a dark chocolate color that made her eyes pop. "It took a bit, but I love how it came out."

"It looks good!" Eli told her. He smiled warmly and wrapped an arm around Sophie's waist.

Tabatha thanked him. "How are you guys doing?" she asked. "Especially with what all has been going on. Aelia filled me in on some of the details when I got here this morning."

Sophie pursed her lips. "It definitely hasn't been fun. I'm kind of surprised though that she managed to convince you to come back."

A sly twinkle appeared in Tabatha's eyes. She giggled and put a hand on her hip. "Well, your mother does have a way with words. Not only will I have my own apartment while I am here, but she allowed my grandmother to come along. Nana is absolutely stoked about living in a castle."

Sophie laughed. "I bet! That's awesome. Is she here now?"

Tabatha chuckled. "No. Since she hit remission, Nana has been wanting to get back into a hospital setting, only as a nurse. Your mother convinced the nurses in the hospital wing to allow her to help. Nana is aware that some sketchy things are going on. Being around the other nurses will allow her to help out and will also keep her protected."

"Is she still human?" Eli asked.

Tabatha nodded and heaved a small sigh. "She won't let me change her. She knows all about us, and is totally down to keep it a secret. But she doesn't want to be stuck at sixty-five forever."

"That's understandable," Sophie remarked.

A whisper washed through the Dining Hall, and then died out, taking all the conversation out with it. Heads swiveled toward the raised platform on the other end of the room, where Aelia stood. She stared somberly out into the crowd, her gaze scanning over the multitude of faces until her eyes locked with Sophie's.

Sophie sighed softly. She glanced over at Tabatha and smiled. "We will have to catch up later," she whispered. Tabatha nodded in understanding, her lips tugged back into a warm grin.

Eli's hand stayed on the small of Sophie's back as they weaved through the crowd, making their way to the platform. As they approached, Sophie noticed that Aelia was not alone. Finn stood behind her mother, his arms loosely crossed over his chest. His gaze seemed to be focused intently on Sophie and, more specifically, on the way that Eli's arm kind of wrapped around her. A strange emotion flickered within his eyes, something that Sophie couldn't identify.

Aelia smiled at them. Her smile didn't quite seem to reach her eyes.

Sophie stopped in front of her and Eli lowered his hand. Aelia moved closer, reaching out and pulling Sophie into a quick hug. The action caught Sophie off guard and was over before she could process it. Her mother had hugged her plenty of times, but tended to wait until they were alone. She had never been keen on showing a lot of affection in public, especially not when they stood before a crowd of people that were waiting for their attention.

Sophie watched as her mother stepped back, and turned to address the crowd in front of them. "Thank you all for coming," Aelia said. Her voice easily carried across the room, tainted with a grim undertone. "As many of you know, we have lost another student. It was no accident, either. The human police, along with our own security, have confirmed that foul play has occurred. And as a school, this is simply unacceptable. I have postponed all academics until we make progress on apprehending a suspect."

Aelia seemed to hesitate. Finn stepped forward and lifted his hand in a lazy wave. "That's my cue to jump in," he said with a lighthearted laugh. "I'm here to talk with you about our potential suspects."

Eli and Sophie shared a look. Immediately, Sophie's thoughts turned toward the strange creatures from the forest, the ones with the cloudy eyes, and the deep scratches that she'd seen at the crime scene.

"I know some of you may have encountered these creatures, or at least have heard of others encountering them. I believe there are some hunting in the woods around Redstone Academy," Finn said. He glanced toward Sophie. "I have been studying them, and I am here to share with you all that I have learned."

Several excited murmurs washed through the crowd. Finn's gaze seemed to burn straight through Sophie. He paused for a moment, and then turned his gaze back toward the crowd in front of him. "First things first, these creatures have a name. They are called Revenants."

hey friends!

I know it's been a while since you've seen an update for this book. I really can't begin to thank you all enough for your continued patience and support. I know how frustrating it can be to have to wait for new chapters! 

I am hoping that a more regular updating schedule will be worked out soon. Unfortunately, my life has been absolutely crazy, in the seriously not too good ways. It's honestly been extremely hard to write. I'm hoping that it will start to balance out soon and that I will be able to start posting more frequently. 

Again, thank you so much for your patience. It genuinely means the world to me! ❤