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reddening and lowered my eyes. “Yes,” I said. “We were just messing around.”
    “This is not a game,” Thane said quietly, advancing toward me slowly. “What seems innocent
    could cross the line in the blink of an eye. One mistake might cost Lucas his life. And if he dies, you
    would face the wrath of the entire Guard.”
    I felt hot anger swelling inside, but I refused to blink, determined not to let Thane see how his
    words had affected me. Gretchen planted her hand on his chest, arresting him in his tracks. “They get
    it, Thane. Back off.”
    Thane shrugged. “I’ll leave them in your capable hands, then,” he said, smiling slightly. He turned
    toward Hale, who was frowning at Lucas and me thoughtfully.
    “Actually, Lucas,” Hale said. “We could use another hand with the equipment.”
    Lucas glanced at me wordlessly, then went to help Hale. Stricken, I fled up the staircase to escape
    the armory, Thane’s judgment, Hale’s suspicion.
    Gretchen followed me. “I know you two are being careful,” she said quietly. “Don’t let him get to
    you.”
    I froze in my tracks. Someone had left the TV on in the living room. It was muted, but I didn’t
    have to hear the newscaster speak. The words “MISSING WOMAN” scrolled beneath a smiling photo.
    The next moment, the screen changed and a home movie of the missing woman began playing.
    “Braedyn?” Gretchen said. She followed my gaze to the TV.
    “She was a mother,” I whispered. On screen, the woman played with two little girls at a birthday
    party. Smiling. Happy. Alive. Her husband came onto the screen. They kissed, and the touch was one
    of deep and genuine love.
    This missing woman, this loving wife and mother, she was the Thrall who’d attacked me at the
    mission.

    News of the Thrall’s identity energized the Guard. Thane and Gretchen went to canvass her
    neighborhood, trying to find out what they could about her life before she’d become a Thrall.
    Whatever they’d managed to learn, it wasn’t enough to satisfy Gretchen. If anything, she seemed more
    puzzled after their research trip. I heard her talking to Dad in a low voice after dinner.
    “As far as I can tell, the marriage was real.”
    “Really?” Dad sounded surprised, which made no sense to me.
    “I don’t know,” Gretchen said. “Maybe she played both sides?”
    Before I had the chance to find out what they were talking about, Hale asked Lucas and me to help
    with the dishes. By the time I remembered the conversation later that night, I was already in bed. I laid
    my head down on my pillow, making a mental note to talk to Dad about it tomorrow.
    I closed my eyes in my bedroom, and opened them in the dream.
    As always, I found myself in my own private dream within the larger, universal dream that all
    living things share. A field of roses ringed a tiny meadow. The flowers had once been pure white.
    Now, every petal gleamed a rich blood red, except for a small white spot at its base. I touched one of
    the roses absently. They were my warning. Each time I fed on the spiritual energy of a living human in
    the physical world, the petals grew a little more red, a little less white. I didn’t know exactly how it
    worked, but I knew that it was connected to the angel’s caveat; there was only so much damage I could
    do to others before I’d cross a line. If that happened, I would never become human.
    I turned from the roses, meaning to search out Lucas and join him in his dream.
    She was standing in my meadow, arms crossed, watching me. I took an involuntary step back.
    Honey blond hair cascaded down her shoulders, framing a perfect face. There was no denying her
    beauty. Karayan. The only other Lilitu ever to have been raised by the Guard.
    A jumble of emotions crashed through me, but I fought them back. “What are you doing here?”
    “I see you haven’t changed much,” she said, grimly amused at my reaction. “Not that I was
    expecting a warm welcome. Maybe your basic