“What happened?”

Naomi went from green to snow white.

“Naomi?”

“She tried to set me up with someone.” The words scraped out with strained patience. “The owner of a magical herbs store in the city. My mom invited him to Fairy Island for the weekend. She sat him next to me at every meal. And for two days, she was not-so-subtlely leaving us alone together. ‘Oh, Naomi, could you and Cloud cut the vegetables?’ ‘It would be great if you and Cloud could collect some firewood.’ Blah, blah, blah. For two whole days.”

“His name is Cloud?” Sera asked, trying hard to keep a straight face.

Naomi sighed. “Yes. He comes from another commune down the coast. He says it’s a lot like Fairy Island. Pacifist living, natural foods, drugs.”

“Sounds peaceful.”

“It is in small doses, but after a while it gets really boring,” Naomi told her. “Cloud is also half-fairy, half-mage. Of course my mom approves. She thinks I’d become more normal if I ‘mated’ with him.”

“Her exact words?”

“Verbatim.”

“How did you like Cloud?”

“Bah. Don’t get me wrong. He’s a nice guy, and his body is…” A dreamy smile slid across her lips. “…well, nice too.”

“But?”

“But he’s always stoned.”

Sera snorted.

“He’s so drenched in Fairy Lily that every time he comes within three feet of me, I practically get a buzz off of his scent.”

Fairy Lily was one of the more potent magical drugs out there. It was a favorite of mages and fairies—especially the young and privileged generation of San Francisco’s elite magic dynasties. Not only did it get them high; it gave them a temporary magic boost. Which led to them doing really stupid things. Like attacking random people on the street. Or deciding it would be a splendid idea to take over the city. Sera had fought enough magic-drunk supernaturals high on substances like Fairy Lily to hate the stuff with a passion.

“Is he smoking the drugs or selling them?” she asked Naomi.

“Both.”

“Well, at least he lives in the city. You won’t even have to move after the wedding,” Sera said, smirking at her.

“Cute, Sera. Real cute.” She heaved a frustrated sigh. “Why can’t I ever meet someone exciting?” She turned to Sera, looking at her with hopeful eyes. “Does Kai by any chance have a brother?”

Sera thought back to her conversation with Kai in the restaurant. Naomi must not have heard him talk about his sister who died. It was just as well. Kai was a very private person. He didn’t let just anyone see beyond his hard and unyielding dragon exterior. But he had let Sera in. That meant something. He trusted her.

“No,” Sera said, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. “He doesn’t have a brother.”

“Shame,” said Naomi. “Cousin?”

“He has a lot of cousins, but I’ve only ever met one of them. And he tried to overthrow the Magic Council and take over San Francisco with his army of zombie mages. I suppose that qualifies as ‘exciting’.”

Naomi shook her head. “Nah, a bit too crazy for my taste.” She stopped and pointed at the large house across the street. “We’re here. The Castle.”

With its white walls and tall turrets, the building was certainly more like a castle than a house. Little was left of the former battery. When the supernaturals had moved into the Presidio, the family who owned the plot had made massive renovations. Not long after the builders had finished, the owners had all died in a bizarre accident. The next owners hadn’t survived the year. Neither had any of the owners who followed. Before long, people had decided the place was cursed. Nowadays, only ghosts would wander anywhere near the house—or linger long on Haunted Loop. Whatever had killed the mages obviously didn’t have an appetite for the Otherworldly.

And yet there was a band of delinquent vampires hiding inside the Castle now. They were either brave or mad. Probably both. From the looks of the top-of-the-line security system protecting the grounds, they weren’t short on cash or competence either. Money, madness, bravery, and skill. Add to that an impenetrable fortress and at least two dozen vampires—and those were just the ones that Sera could sense. She couldn’t sense the boy Naomi was looking for, but the castle was enormous—and there were larger sections made with iron, which bounced magic like an echo chamber. This would be…interesting.

“Where’s a dragon when you need one?” she muttered.

You called?

I was talking about Kai, she told the dragon inside of her. But do you think you can help here?

Does making sarcastic comments help?

No.

Then, no.

If we combine our magic, we might be able to blast a big hole in the side of the building, her dragon told her.

Let’s just call that Plan B.

Fantastic. I’ll warm up a fire spell.

Sera didn’t comment on her dragon’s confidence that Plan A would fail. She was too busy trying to think up a Plan A.

“Do you have any ideas on how we can get inside?” she asked Naomi.

“No. I was hoping you had an idea.”

“Hmm.”

Naomi gave her an encouraging smile. “You always have ideas.”

“My ideas generally involve pulling out my sword. Somehow, I doubt that will help us here.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “We could wait until dawn.”