THE ROOM ERUPTED into chaos. Curses echoed around Sophie's head and she grasped ahold of the table as it started to tremble. Hunters thundered around her, clutching at their weapons, eyes wide with fear. Aelia remained in her spot at the head of the table, her chair toppled over on the ground behind her. She surveyed the scene with a hard expression, her attention focused on the mess outside.

Sophie watched Aelia calmly move away from the table, the scene a stark contrast to the haste of the hunters. Aelia stopped about a foot away from them, her stony gaze settling on Eli. "Keep my daughter safe. Understood?"

Eli nodded. "She's my first priority."

Aelia seemed to accept that answer. Her gaze shifted toward the door –she almost seemed to see through the curtain that shielded them from the craze. "It's time for a family reunion," she growled under her breath. Then she vanished.

A hand grabbed at Sophie's arm, pulling her away from the table. "Come on," Eli said from her side, his expression hard. His gaze seemed focused elsewhere, through the curtain like Aelia's had been. "We need to get you somewhere safe."

"But what about the others..." Sophie hesitated. The clinks of metal against metal enveloped them, followed by painted grunts and hisses. Her stomach twisted with knots. Aubrey had been outside the dining hall and had probably been caught up in the chaos. She couldn't just leave her.

Eli paused at that. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked back at her. "I'll help them. It's the least I can do right now, after all those years of helping the Headmaster. And Aubrey can hold her own. She'll be just fine. But right now, I need to make sure that you're safe. You're all that matters to me."

Sophie scowled at him. "Well you're not going out there alone."

He scowled right back at her. "Sophie..."

"No," she interrupted, shaking her head. She pulled her arm free and started toward the door, already listening to the vicious noises that resonated from outside. "I can handle my own. It's not like I'm half-human, Eli. Now come on, the others need our help."

Grumbles replaced the outside noises as Eli followed her through the dark curtain. Sophie ignored him in favor of the open door, which revealed a mess of steel and flesh dancing beneath a star-filled night sky. It was almost too much to absorb in one sitting. A mixture of races lingered toward the edges of the camp, fighting together closer to the buildings. Ogres roared, ramming their blue-tinted fists into the chests of snarling vampire fledglings. A group of witches fought with their wooden wands, shooting blasts of flame and lightning. A nymph that looked more tree-like than human twirled around the battle field, whacking the attackers with her thin, wispy branches.

Eli raced forward, throwing himself into the chaos. A small dagger appeared in his right hand, slashing across one chest to another. He moved like a snake, weaving through a mixture of bodies and weapons. Arrows, and multicolored magic swished through the air, zooming right past his head. Sophie tried to follow his movements in vain. It wasn't long before she lost sight of him.

Her senses were overwhelmed with the amount of crazy that surrounded her. All she could smell was blood. It wasn't normal blood –it wasn't human blood, so she didn't feel the need to drink. It smelled more metallic, less floral. She wasn't a fan. The sounds of swords singing, metal clanking, and magic exploding wasn't a happy melodious tune either.

Sophie was jolted back to attention as the sound of metal swished through the air –aimed at her face. Using her forearm, she blocked the blade and shoved back. The attacker staggered and went to catch his balance but she had already lashed out with her fist. Her knuckles slammed into his throat, severing the man's spinal cord. Someone to her right shot at her. She caught the arrow and chucked it back, the triangular tip spearing through the man's forehead.

A blistering pain flared up from the muscles and nerves of Sophie's upper arm. She looked down, watching droplets of dull brown blood trickle down her arm in a spider web-like pattern. Already the puckered skin was knitting itself back together. Sophie surged forward, arm pulled back to attack. Using the heel of her palm, she smashed into the attacker's forehead. The sickening sound of crunching bone and sinew filled her ears.

As the man fell, two more advanced.

"There's too many of them," Sophie said, the realization slamming into her hard. It wasn't just the Night Class attacking –it was the entire Academy. Even the Day class had been transformed.

Sophie immediately thought of Tabatha. Her gaze quickly scanned the campsite in search of her friend. A fledgling mistook her search for distraction and jumped forward, a dagger held high. She reacted; her nails tearing across the new vampire's throat. It staggered back, a clawed hand clutching at its throat, and bled out. Sophie hardly paid the dying creature any attention –all of her senses were focused on finding her friends, Aubrey, and Eli. She had to make sure that they were alright.

A hiss sounded to Sophie's immediate right. She ducked down, avoiding the swish of a sword, and snatched the dagger from the body at her feet. As she stood, she brought the dagger up and out –right across the torso of a fledgling. It squealed and dropped its sword.

It wasn't much longer before Eli managed to find Sophie. He worked his way through the crowd, his dagger dripping with blood, and ended up standing behind her, guarding her back. "Aubrey is perfectly fine," he reported, stabbing an attacker through the forehead. "These fledglings are inexperienced, probably freshly turned. I think the Headmaster had started preparing to attack the moment you and Aubrey escaped the castle. He probably had most of the Day Class turned by the time you rescued me."

"Great," Sophie remarked, her gaze raking over the crowd of gore and tangled bodies. "Have you seen my friends?"

"No," Eli answered. "But don't be surprised if they attack you. I'm pretty sure these fledglings have been brainwashed. They're bloodthirsty too. Probably haven't been fed."

That earned another sarcastic great grumbled under Sophie's breath. She returned her attention to the fledgling in front of her, who lashed out with a clawed hand. Sophie caught the fledgling's wrist, momentarily hesitating. Their gazes locked –Sophie's unsure hazel meeting glazed over crimson. For a moment, Sophie realized what she was doing –what she was about do to—and felt horrible.

The fledgling cried out and used her distraction to knee Sophie in the stomach.

Sophie tore the fledgling's arm from her socket, and then lashed out with her dagger to finish the job. As the fledgling collapsed to the ground, she prepared herself for the next attack.

Then she heard a strangled hiss.

She whirled, a fist raised, and then stopped cold. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open –as Tabatha lashed out with a clawed hand. Before her sharpened nails could shred Sophie's face, a hand shot out and grabbed Tabatha's wrist. Tabatha was wrenched sideways as Eli lashed out with his other hand.

"Wait!" Sophie shot forward, grabbing Eli's arm. "It's Tabatha."

Eli glanced over at her, incredulous. "She just tried to destroy your face."

"She's my friend."

"Oh. My apologies. I didn't realize that destroying your friend's face had become a thing."

Sophie chose to ignore him. She stepped forward, her hands clasping around Tabatha's shoulders, and shook hard. Her gaze remained focused on Tabatha's eyes, watching intently to see if the glaze faded. When it didn't work, she asked Eli, "How do I un-brainwash her?"

Eli shrugged. "No idea. Maybe a slap or something?"

Without a second thought, Sophie reared her hand back. Her palm cracked against Tabatha's cheek, and Tabatha's head snapped sharply to the side. A ferocious snarl escaped Tabatha as she regained her senses, her eyes still glazed over. Sophie grimaced as Tabatha attempted to escape Eli's restraints to attack.

"I wasn't serious about that slap," Eli reprimanded, giving Sophie a somewhat annoyed look. His expression was tainted with amusement. "The best way to bring a vampire to their senses would be with blood."

"I panicked," Sophie snapped back. Her gaze dropped to the blood that pooled around them, seeping away from the discarded corpses. "How do I do that?"

Eli didn't answer. Instead, he wrapped an arm around Tabatha's throat, locking her against his torso. He brought his free hand upward to her mouth. She thrashed and screamed out, clawing at his arm. He used her exposed fangs as a blade, slicing a small cut across his skin. Sophie grimaced as the smell of fresh blood, of somewhat good blood, filled the air.

It took Tabatha a moment to register the blood. Within a matter of seconds, she had stopped struggling, her mouth latched onto Eli's wrist. And then a few moments later, the dazed glaze faded from her eyes.

Eli freed his wrist and stepped back, his injury already healing. His gaze was glued to Tabatha, watching for any sign of an attack. Sophie moved forward, her hand reaching out. "Tabatha?"

Tabatha blinked at her. "Sophie?"

And then a brainwashed Kitty chose that moment to attack.