If I was dead, I hope it was not in any realm Mertha Krall could enter because I would not have the courage to face her, really. It's the pride, you see. I had more of it than the will to live at that moment.

It was the feeling of nothing that made me believe I was dead. The absence of the headache and the excruciating, scalding blaze of heat were almost surreal and foreign.

However, it was the constant and tiny man-made sounds that made me question my reality. Tinkling of metals, soft footsteps and short whispered words. I almost didn't open my eyes, afraid to shatter whatever illusion my body had summoned to end my suffering.

But I did. The curiosity was too strong. If this meant I was alive and didn't have to meet Mertha Krall in such a terrible state, I'd welcome the suffering again. But that didn't come. I was still painless, however groggy. My eyes took a while to adjust to the bright room. And it took my brain twice longer to remember who found me on the floor in the middle of a bloody vampire trap.

I abruptly sat up in panic, but firm hands stopped me from jumping off the cot. Felix Katz held my gaze firmly. "Relax. It's okay."

"Where am I?" I asked, looking around.

A woman appeared beside him. The beautiful vampire from The Dungeon. Her face was filled with silent amusement and knowing. "We'll have to keep her asleep."

"N-No." But she was already reaching for the clear plastic line of tube, rolling the small mechanism there. As the panic in my chest subsided, Felix Katz gently guided me on my back. There was one more tubing line attached to my hand, feeding my vein with something dark.

I didn't know I had tears in my eyes. Speaking now, I admit I was afraid. Maybe because I knew what was happening. What they were doing.

Yet, despite that, I asked Katz a stupid question. "Are you working for Evensen?" In my head, I was praying he'd say yes. That Evensen sent him and that he was not there to kill me or worse, bring me to the Council.

"I'm not the person to ask," was all he said. Which was the same as yes, I assumed.

"Bring me home. You'll get in trouble for this if we get caught," I said as the vampire increased the dosage of the clear liquid.

"No. We'll both be in trouble."

That's the last I remember. The next morning, I woke up certain of only a few things:

Bellatrix was licking my face.

The fever and pain were gone.

Akira was screaming and blaming Lexie's cat for ruining his experiment.

My pill box was restocked.

And I was a bloody vampire.

***

The anger was most definitely expected, but mostly because I didn't know why I had turned into the creature I hated the most. A vampire couldn't turn someone without consent. Whoever turned me had my permission. Or mayhap forced it out of me.

My thoughts came to a pause when Tiff, with Miles in her arms, was followed by Akira out of the ritual room. He was still angry over the trap, and he was still blaming the cat.

"They were claw marks. You saw them," he said behind her.

Tiff rolled her eyes as she sat across from me in the drawing room. "Maybe it's your dog," she said. "You've been neglecting it."

"It's not my dog, and it had not moved from where it had been lying down the entire night," Akira insisted.

"How do you know?"

"I just know!"

"Well, maybe Bella did it!" Tiff said, waving a hand at Bellatrix.

My familiar stopped licking her leg and stared at my apostles with a soft hiss.

"Not Bella, then," said Tiff, petting her cat.

"Which leaves Miles." Akira turned around, footsteps hard on the floor. Reaching the ritual room, he cried over his shoulder, "Please keep your pets out of this room from now on!"

"He's too obsessed with that thing," Tiff said with a sigh.

Lexie walked in with her tab, her owl perched on her shoulder. "You have to understand him."

Tiff scoffed, but said nothing.

I frowned. "What's there to understand?"

Lexie looked surprised at first. Then, she blinked. "Oh. Right. You don't know his story."

"Everyone knows what the Katamas went through," Tiff said with a sad smile.

I waited, and for a moment, the two of them stared at each other, silently asking who should tell the story. Lexie finally spoke. "Almost twenty years ago, their parents were killed by ferals. They were traveling to Jeremiah for a family vacation. Akiko was ten, Akira just turned one. The train made a brief stop in Haggai." A long pause. "There are many accounts of what really happened. But one thing remains consistent: the ferals jumped into the train and started attacking passengers."

"The ferals were from Exodus, they say. They crossed into Haggai the night before," Tiff added. "They caught the ferals, but it was too late to save five innocent lives on that train. Akiko and Akira had no relatives who claimed them after they survived. The Council placed them in an orphanage. They were provided and cared for, but things were difficult for them, of course. With no parents, they had to work extra hard. They have no one but each other."

"He's lucky he has Akiko. She had been both a parent and sister to him," Lexie said. "He hides it well, but he hates vampires more than anyone."

"But he barely remembers the attack," I pointed out. They looked surprised. "What?"

"He did not grow up with his parents," Tiff said, disbelief in her voice. "If I had to grow up knowing I could have had what other kids have, I would be angry, too."

"But he had his sister."

"What would you feel if your parents were murdered?" Tiff asked, almost angrily.

"They were," I said, and she stiffened. "The only difference is that I knew them before they were murdered. I knew how they died—burned alive."

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I'm just saying... Gosh, have some compassion?"

I let the silence linger for a while. "Maybe I simply cannot imagine it."

Lexie and Tiff looked at me curiously. "You're really weird," said Lexie. "Sometimes you're nice, sometimes you're cold."

I stood with an apologetic smile. I wasn't sorry I was that way. I was sorry they found out sooner. "I think weird sometimes, which you'll have to forgive. I have much to learn about being human."

Which you're not, a voice in my head added. You're a vampire.

After we broke our fast, I locked myself back in my room and placed Celine in hibernation. I studied Brie's diary again and again, trying everything I could to expose whatever she hid there.

Bellatrix stared at me curiously.

"What do you think?" I asked aloud. Maybe the blood pact was broken because I no longer have the same blood in my veins.

The fox stretched and yawned silently, reminded me that blood pacts didn't care what kind of blood I had. It was all about trust and Brie lost my trust that same day she walked out on me.

The footsteps reached my ears earlier than it should have. When the knock came, I swallowed. It didn't hurt. I was fine. In fact, I had never felt so alive and healthy.

Last night flashed before my eyes. The tubing lines Katz and the vampire fed into my vein.

"Aster?" Lexie's voice said from behind the door.

"Yes?" I asked.

"There are people here to see you."

I threw Brie's diary back into the repertory and opened the door. "Who?" I asked.

"Some people from the HSA." When I blinked at her, she added, "Halo Security Agency."

Because Lexie looked worried, I asked, "And what do they do?"

She swallowed and cleared her throat. "They monitor the halos—Where we've been, what we've been feeling."

I heard Brenna's words echo back in my head.

At the moment, we can only put people to sleep and analyze their day through their recorded emotions—the firing of their neurons, the chemical reactions in the brain—which we sync with time and location.

Bloody hell. "Do they do this often?"

Lexie winced, bit her lip. "I had never met someone from HSA."

I stiffly nodded. "I'll meet them in the study."

Stepping back into my room, I closed the door and paced until I gained enough confidence. I looked at my reflection in my repertory, lifted my chin, and cleared my throat. I had regained some color on my cheeks. How long would it take before I would look like a vampire? I smiled. My teeth were perfect.

Stupid. Of course, they should be. I ran the tip of my tongue to where a fang should be. How do I make it come out?

Bellatrix whined at my feet, reminding me of my visitors. I slipped into a white silk robe lined with gold. It was the best I could find. Squaring my shoulders, I arched a brow. I looked like a witch. An Astral.

"You're Aster Byrne. You're powerful. You're wise." I scoffed. "And apparently, immortal."

There were two men waiting for me in the study. Both sat opposite the desk, and both stood upon my entry. "Good day," I greeted them with a smile, robe gliding in the air behind me.

"Good day," one of them said. "I'm Bishop Helios Feria," he introduced. He motioned to his companion. "Elemental Chan Prose."

I nodded, asked them to sit. As they settled, I did the same in silence and enjoyed their growing discomfort. I didn't ask the loud question at the back of my head. Instead, I waited.

Helios Feria looked twice my age, the same with Prose. "There's no need to feel alarmed," he said. "We're only here for a quick check-in."

I smiled sweetly, which made Chan even more uncomfortable. "Check-in on what?"

Helios placed his tablet on the table. "We received an alert from your halo this morning."

"What kind of alert?" In my pocket, I clasped my crux tightly, willing my body to relax, my heart to slow down.

Helios Feria had a flinty look in his eyes that reminded me of one of my uncles, the priest. Calm, but carried the asperity of hell. "You were tagged with an erratic heart rate at around ten last night. Which led the system to further interrogate your activities the morning after." Without bending his head, he eyed his tablet. "You traveled to The Dungeon right before midnight with Felix Katz."

"Ah," I said, the edges of my crux digging into my skin. "The Dungeon. It has become my favorite place."

Chan Prose smiled a little, and I focused on him. But he glanced away to stare at Feria.

"What were you doing in The Dungeon, Astral Byrne?" Helios asked.

"What else do you do in places like The Dungeon?" I asked with a scoff. "I went to procure something."

His brows arched. "With Felix Katz?"

I shrugged. "We're working together for an upcoming mission."

Helios Feria looked down at his tablet once again, as if ticking off questions. "What did you purchase in The Dungeon?"

"I was not feeling well. Since I left Windsor, in fact. If you contact Dr. Mic Spinett, I'm sure he'll be happy to provide you with information about my frail state. Of course, I've been adapting well. The spells come less frequently—"

"No," Helios said, frowning down at the tablet again. "In fact, it had been very erratic. You were also burning for days prior to last night."

"I had a lot to deal with," I said through my teeth. "But I'm better now."

"Only after your trip to The Dungeon," said Chan, speaking for the first time.

"What did you and Bishop Katz do at The Dungeon, Astral Byrne?" Helios asked.

"I bought ingredients for a potion. And as you can see," I said, lifting my hand, "I'm feeling wonderful."

They stared at me for a long time.

"What potion?"

"A concoction of the bowels of a horned toad, snake fangs, porcupine, willow..." I let my words trail off as I smiled at their reaction. "I recommend it. Very effective for fever if you know what you're doing."

Helios studied his tab again without comment, while Chan looked at me with a grimace on his face. Helios smiled at me and stood. "That's all we need."

I blinked once. Twice. "That's all?"

"You've answered our questions," Chan said with a smile.

"We'll just need to verify your statement and we'll file the incident away as per protocol," Helios added.

"Verify?"

He nodded, the corner of his mouth curling just the tiniest bit. "We'll have a meeting with Bishop Katz next."

"Of course," I said, standing, legs a little wobbly.

"Please make sure you don't stay away from your home before the halo's spell next time," Chan told me as I walked them out.

Helios looked around the penthouse. "Where's your virtual assistant?"

"On hibernation."

He said nothing, just looked at me with those stern eyes. "Do you always keep it on hibernation?"

"Not all the time."

"Last night?"

I smiled. "I thought you were done with the questions, Bishop Helios."

His smiling face did not waver as he looked at me for a few extra seconds. "Have a good day, Astral Byrne."

"Good day."

I waited long enough after they were gone before whirling around in panic. My three apostles were standing not far away, looking curious as always.

"What did they want?" Akira asked.

"Nothing. Just some answers to stupid questions."

"Did you leave the Keep last night?" he asked, following me to the kitchen. "The HSA doesn't just pop in for random visits."

"Yes, I left," I said, pouring myself a glass of wine. It wasn't the best, thus still filled, but at that moment, I badly needed something.

"Why did you go out without telling us?" Tiff asked as I gulped.

"Felix Katz came to talk about the mission. I wasn't feeling well, so he kindly offered to take me to get some ingredients for a potion. That's all." They didn't look convinced. "And I may have left the door open. I found a stray cat in the ritual room. It ruined your trap. That's why I didn't tell you," I said to Akira. "It was my fault."

"I don't care about the trap. Why would you go out without telling us?" His frowned deepened.

"You were all sleeping."

"But you went with someone you barely know?"

"He's a Bishop."

"He's a man. Astrals cannot have relations with—"

"I know the rules, Akira."

"What did you get—"

"Stop asking me questions."

"We have the right to question if you're doing something suspicious," Akira said, voice rising.

Tiff and Lexie looked on anxiously.

"I don't own my life to you, young man." My voice was crisp suddenly, the panic building inside me replaced by growing anger. I walked closer to Akira. "If you can't trust me as your Astral, I don't think I can trust you the same as my apostle."

I turned away to storm into my room. "And your trap needs more work!" I could not help but add over my shoulder.

Bellatrix squeezed herself through the door before it slammed shut. Even through the walls, I could hear them arguing outside. Tiff thought Akira went too far. Lexie tried to stop them, almost in tears.

Breathless, I got hold of my crux, stripped my clothes off, and entered the tub. I closed my eyes as it filled with water.

I had the worst temperament. My family had always said so. And this bloody society was the worst for someone like me. One wrong emotion, one uncontrollable spark of it, could put me in danger.

There was nothing I could do now. If I went to Felix Katz, they would know. They'd think I had something to hide.

Stop thinking.

But what if he could not corroborate my story, which was highly likely?

Stop thinking.

I shouldn't have said too much. I should have just—

Stop thinking.

I slid lower, head underwater. Silence.

They know how you feel, Astral. Relax.

Get yourself together.

So I dreamed and summoned the only help I could get.