PROLOGUE

I never expected to die before I turned seventeen. I never expected to make it to eighty or ninety either, but I thought I’d at least celebrate my eighteenth birthday next year, maybe even have a big twenty-first party. Considering bloodthirsty monsters have surrounded me my entire life, it was an incredibly stupid thought.

For as long as humans have existed, so have they. They walk among us, breathing the same air. They look like us, speak like us, and enjoy the same pleasures in life. They’re our neighbours, peers, colleagues. But there is one important distinction: these beings have no souls. 

They prey on the weak, waiting until they’re at their most vulnerable before striking. They don’t care about feelings or needs; in fact, the louder their victim screams, the more they enjoy it.

And if I don’t get a move on, I’ll be giving them that satisfaction.

Clouds smother the moon, offering only thin ribbons of lightning to illuminate my path. Thunder accompanies them, rumbling in an ominous warning to hurry, or maybe it’s the frantic pounding of my heart. It’s nothing compared to the fire in my throat and lungs, nor the burning rage in my legs. A moss-covered log sends me earthbound, fresh cuts stinging my palms and knees. I spring back up, ignoring the searing pain as tears stream down my cheeks.

I need to get as far away from that place as possible—as far away from him.

Only when I burst through the trees into a small clearing do I allow myself a break. The rain is heavier without branches to impede its wrath. It lashes my body, punishing me for stopping. I choke back my sobs, filling my lungs with frigid air.

“There you are, Eloise—if that’s even your real name?”

He slips from the trees, as if forged from the shadows and mist that swirls around. The rain barely touches him. It bounces off his smooth, bronze skin, casting a silver halo around him. His jaw is sharp, his dark eyes sharper, and his muscles pull taut beneath his shirt. He’s a vengeful angel, forced to bear the consequences of being born into our world, designed to lull mortals into a false sense of peace.

It shouldn’t surprise me he’s found me, yet my heart still slams into my throat. He prowls forward, his humourless eyes boring into me, forcing me to back away. I stumble, tripping over sticks and my own feet, until my spine presses into a gum tree’s rough trunk. Something crawls along my neck and shoulders—something with too many legs—but I dare not look, nor flick it off.

Doing so could prove fatal.

I swallow my panic, but he can taste my fear. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s amazing the lengths you’ve gone to in order to be one of us.” He steps closer, his pupils dilating until they merge with the deep brown of his irises, creating two bottomless black holes. “I applaud you; you almost fooled me.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I—”

“The damage is done.”

When I flinch, his thin lips twist into a cruel smirk. In two quick strides, he closes the distance between us. He slaps his hands above my head, pinning me in place. His breath is cool against my cheek as he leans forward, reeking of blood—whose blood, I don’t want to know.

“You don’t understand. Please…”

The tips of his canines extend. They gleam in the moonlight, as sharp and menacing as his intentions, while my fear feeds his excitement. There is no room for mercy, not in his eyes.

“Since you want to be a vampire so badly, allow me to help you…”

I squeeze my eyes shut as his lips move across my cheek, travel along my jaw, then down to my neck. We both know there’s no point fighting it; he’ll take his time to make me pay for my actions.

Maybe this is for the best. Maybe I deserve it. It certainly can’t be as painful as what I’ve discovered tonight. Nothing can.

Before he drains my life from me, I open my eyes, searching through the dark clouds for the stars. They're there somewhere, waiting for me. If I’m to be one of them, I’ll need them to guide me home.