“Totally worth the detour.” Dal looked at Sera, smiling. “Ladies dig tanks.”

“There’s nothing sexier than a man who can shoot his ammunition at one thousand miles per hour,” Sera said.

The commandos roared with laughter.

“You can introduce Sera to your family while you’re at it,” Callum said to Kai.

Sera wondered if Callum and Dal knew Kai’s intentions as well as Tony did.

“Kai’s family might have problems with my uncouth ways,” she said.

She just couldn’t stop talking. Freaking out? No, not her. Not ever.

Her dragon snorted.

Kai looked at her, holding her gaze in his electric blue eyes. “They will love you.”

His words stunned her to silence, so serious, so intimate, so devoid of pretense or humor. He didn’t look away.

“Um…” Sera cleared her throat. “You should keep your eyes on the road.”

He looked back at the road, but she could still feel him staring at her through his other senses. And she could feel his magic sensing her, trying to soothe her turbulent emotions.

They didn’t have much time to play footsie with their magic, however, as they’d arrived at the designated graduation parking lot. Proving that he could read parking signs when he wanted to, Kai parked neatly next to a bright red convertible with the top down. The drizzling had stopped sometime between waking up and the end of breakfast, so the owner of the car wasn’t crazy—well, at least not any crazier than any other filthy rich mage with kids at this university. His bumper sticker read, ‘Big Daddy’. Oh, boy.

Just past the parking lot, pale wooden chairs with pretty blue bows tied on the back were arranged in picture-perfect rows across the lawn, an aisle every ten chairs. Each chair was facing the raised stage with flower-tipped speakers on either end. Overhead a rainbow hung in the sky, twinkling, magical in its own right.

Sera looked out across the rows of chairs. Many of them were already occupied by mages dressed to impress. Male mages in elegant suits. Female mages in dresses and dainty hats with face nets. There were so many magic families in the crowd today. Sera couldn’t help but wonder how many of them belonged to Alden.

The worst part was she just didn’t know. If they had defected to Alden’s side, their magic was doing a good job of hiding it. She couldn’t feel that familiar magic she usually sensed from people bound to Alden. Alden must have figured out how to hide the connection. He knew she could sense them, and he didn’t want her pointing fingers. At least not yet. She was growing more and more certain that this was all leading up to something big happening at the Summit next week.

A breath of familiar magic wafted toward her, and Sera turned, unable to hold back the grin that curved her lips when she saw Alex headed her way. Her sister walked across the lawn with unfettered confidence, turning heads in a stunning dress from the Fairy Queen. The dress was a lot like Sera’s, except with thin, slinky straps rather than cap sleeves.

Sera rushed forward, hugging her sister. “You made it.”

“Just in time too,” Alex replied, her blue eyes twinkling with excitement. Her magic was positively buzzing.

Sera noticed the blood on her arm. “Did you get attacked on the way from the airport?”

Alex glanced down at the blood. “What? No. Ok, yes.” She grinned. “Some crazy mages tried to snatch me. How did they even know what flight I was on?”

“The Grim Reaper has eyes everywhere,” Sera told her.

“Then it’s time to poke out those eyes. Logan and I put down his minions at the airport. The blood is not from them, though.” She lowered her voice and whispered, “It’s from Logan.” She wiped it off her skin with her fingertip then sucked it, her eyes closing in ecstasy. She sighed, then opened them again. “We got a little sidetracked.”

“Is this about how you were bitten by a vampire and took on some of their traits?” Sera asked.

“Kind of, but it’s more about my bond with Logan. I only want his blood.” She licked her lips. “Drinking it is like an instant orgasm.”

Sera wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she asked, “Where is Logan?”

“He’s ‘checking the perimeter’. Sexy, isn’t it? He’s concerned about more attacks on me.”

She rolled her eyes, but Sera could tell her sister loved Logan’s adoration.

Alex touched Sera’s necklace, tracing the gems with her fingertip. “Nice sparkles you’ve got there.” Her eyes twinkled nearly as brightly as the diamonds.

Someone tapped the microphone, summoning people toward the stage. The ceremony was starting soon. Alex and Sera put their arms around each other and walked down one of the aisles. Some of the stuffy mages stared up at them, a mix of curiosity and disgust on their snooty lips.

Alex stared back at them. “What’s the matter? Haven’t you ever seen so much awesomeness in one place?”

The mages quickly looked away. Sera and Alex took their seats, cracking up.

“You, darling, are absolutely incorrigible,” Naomi told Alex as she sat down beside them.

“If there’s a cure for what I am, I don’t want it,” Alex told her.

“As well you shouldn’t,” replied Naomi. “There are enough boring people in the world. We need more excitement.”

“Speaking of excitement, where’s Makani?” Sera asked her.

Naomi dropped her voice to a whisper. “He’s on a secret mission.”