Vincent removed his tie and went to Klara, slipping it over her head from behind and letting it fall over her neck. She grinned at him, and he grinned back. Then she gave him a slightly confused look. “I’m sorry,” he said with a chuckle, stepping back. He unbuttoned one of the top buttons of …

The bodies of everyone on the dance floor thronged, throbbed, and bounced. Green and pink lights shot out in rays and spun, creating flickering strobes across the dance floor. Marielle was in the center, jumping and grinding with everyone else. She didn’t know a single person, although she recognized some faces. Spring Break was like …

Vincent sat in the corner of the lab, hands laced together, leaning his forehead on his thumb knuckles. He took a deep breath in and slowly let it out again through rounded lips. Then he reached up with the fingers on his right hand and gently stroked, then straightened, his wedding ring. He wondered when …

“Oh, great,” Liam sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as though he had a headache. “Two Chambers.” He looked them both over with a mix of curiosity, confusion, and annoyance as they approached him. Then he looked upward as if speaking to a deity above. “What did I do?” “Listen to me, monsieur. He’s …

Liam came through the scene with wide, mortified eyes. He stood in the middle of the hall observing the damage, taking in the acrid smell of rot and sewage mixed with blood and death. Chunks of ice slowly glided across the floor. The white-clad corpse lying near the stairwell caught his attention, as did Tayane’s …

Marielle made a soft sound and turned onto her side, grabbing a pillow and holding it against her body. Then she stretched toward the headboard, yawning as her eyes slowly opened. It took a minute, but she remembered where she was and looked to her right. Vincent was staring at her, eyes still warm and …

Vincent smiled proudly at them from the observation window, then came back out into the lab, hands in his pockets. “Now, if you all don’t mind, I need to sleep,” he announced. He went to Marielle. “Will you be okay?” “I’m going to spend some time with Austin today,” she admitted, and waited to see …

(Translations in trivia) When Austin pulled up to his house, Marielle was a little startled. For some reason, she had imagined Austin living in some stuffy penthouse or high-rise apartment with a giant fireplace and gaping windows where everything was stark white and the floors were peppered with large, silver, drop-shaped sculptures reminiscent of the …

PART 1: VINCENT Chapter 26   Marielle felt strange at home alone. She fed Felix and sat on her couch for a long while, feeling the rush of blood Austin had perpetrated upon her. She was excited… aroused… dissatisfied. She hated Austin for this… and yet, somehow inside, she knew she would never—could never—truly hate …

Marielle’s eyes became saucers. “He?” she cried, cramming her shoes on and rushing to Vincent’s side. He glanced at her and nodded. “Oui. In my dimension, Fade is a man.” He stretched his left arm and brought out Headhunter, practicing perfect trigger control. “How is that possible?” Vincent shrugged and pushed his glasses back up …