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people.
    “Nicole, Kelsey, this is Faustine. She’s just back from a prep school in Switzerland.”
    “Cool!” they both exclaimed in unison.
    “It was. It was fun.”
    “And who are you?” Nicole asked, looking up at Ryker.
    “A friend of Faustine’s. We attended the same school in Switzerland,” he explained. The warmth from his breath as he spoke made me rub the back of my head against his chest. Although it was weird for me to be so touchy-feely with anyone, it seemed natural with him.
    “Cool,” Nicole approved. “So, you are Lady Annabel’s daughter?”
    “Yes. Do you know her?” I asked in surprise.
    “Everyone knows of her, but I haven’t met her yet. Our moms were debutants together. So was Kelsey’s mom. So, we’re hoping that you’ll sit with us at school.”
    I assumed that sit with us was code for be in our group . That would be cool as long as Neave could sit with us , as well. And the vamp twins. I wanted them in our group, too. I smiled at Nicole. “Yeah, that sounds cool. I assume Neave and the twins will sit with us as well?”
    The smile faded from Nicole’s face. “Well, we...” she spluttered. “I just meant you . The rest of the group would have to approve any other members.”
    “Who’s the leader?” I asked. I would obviously take over when I could be bothered, but whoever it was for now would have to bend the rules.
    “Taylor,” Kelsey said. “She’s not here. She’ll be back from Long Island tomorrow.”
    “Well, run it past her. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a deal breaker. Who else is in the group?”
    “A few others. Let’s meet up for dinner tomorrow. You can meet them then,” Nicole suggested.
    “I can’t tomorrow. I have something else planned,” I said. Something else , indeed. With a bunch of paranormals. If they only knew! “How about Monday, before school? You can come over to my place for breakfast.”
    “Cool!” Nicole smiled. “I’ll get the girls together. You mentioned twins?”
    “Yes. Audrey and Viola. They were here.... Neave, have you seen them recently?”
    “No, they’re probably on the dance floor.”
    “There they are,” Ryker whispered into my ear, and I followed the direction of his finger with my eyes.
    “Hey!” I shouted, beckoning them over.
    “Hey! Did you two finally talk?” Viola laughed, giving Ryker and me the look .
    Awkward . I ignored her. “Viola, Audrey, this is Nicole and Kelsey.”
    I could feel the twins smirking. Nicole and Kelsey were typically Upper East Side, very unlike the twins, who were more at home here in the Village. I was glad that they were going to be at same school, though. It would be a refreshing change from the same old, same old. We’d shake things up a bit.
    “Hey, nice to meet you,” Viola replied. The twins politely extended their hands.
    “We’re all going to the same school,” I explained.
    I felt Ryker suddenly straighten up and look around. It felt like a heavy, dark aura was invading our space. “What is it?” I whispered, looking over at Neave, who was also looking around.
    “What?” Nicole asked. “Why do you guys look so worried all of a sudden?”
    “Come with me,” Luke said, suddenly appearing behind Neave.
    Had he been here all this time? I hadn’t noticed.
    “You too, Ryker, Audrey and Viola,” Luke instructed.
    We followed him out of the booth. As we made our way through the crowds toward the exit, Ryker’s hand was still firmly planted on the small of my back.
    Suddenly, from out of nowhere, we heard an ear-splitting scream. We stopped dead, as did everyone else in the room. We stood frozen in our spots. The music was turned off, and everyone waited. Then, the sound filled the room again–a blood-curling, high-pitched screech.
    “It’s coming from over there,” I said and pointed toward the restrooms. “Let’s go–” Before I could get another word out, mass hysteria ensued. Everyone around us started screaming, pushing and generally