“Yes, her hair is red,” Regan said testily. “Don’t be such a dimwit, Larissa.”

“I’m not,” the girl called Larissa protested. Her eyes narrowed to slits. “I just meant that if her hair is red then this must be your co-consort. I’ve seen her around of course.” Larissa continued to address Regan, not me. Apparently I didn’t even warrant a direct interaction. She grinned slyly at Regan. “What a blessing it must be to have her by your side. A real dragon rider.”

“Oh, yes, it’s a blessing all right,” Regan agreed, her voice dripping with contempt. “She’s everything I could have wanted in a fellow consort.”

The other girls were looking me up and down. I felt like a cow at an auction house. But at least they weren’t bothering Florence.

“She’s pretty, Regan. I didn’t realize how pretty she was,” said one of the other two girls slowly. There was a glint in her eye. I got the impression none of these highblood girls actually liked Regan, even if they were part of her social circle. “Stunning, really. No wonder Lord Drakharrow paired her with Blake.”

The girl reached out a hand as if to touch my hair.

I slapped it away.

She laughed as if this was hilarious. “Oooh, prickly little bitch, isn’t she? Well, you’ll put her in her place, won’t you?”

“She has a lot to learn about her place in the world, that’s certainly true.” Regan narrowed her eyes at me.

“I can’t believe they actually paired you and Blake with a blightborn. I mean, really, what was Lord Drakharrow thinking? To mate his own nephew to...” The girl looked around furtively and dropped her voice. “A fucking barbarian. I mean, is her blood even clean? Have you tasted it?”

“Of course, I haven’t fucking tasted her, Gretchen,” Regan snapped. “I already told you that. Neither has Blake. She’s off-limits. For now.”

I felt anger rising inside. There was no way in hell either of them were ever tasting me. Ever. I’d die first.

“Neither of you will be getting a taste,” I snapped. “In your dreams. I didn’t ask to be made your stupid consort or to be betrothed to your asshole fiance. And if you think things are going to go even one step further, you have another thing coming.”

The girls all stared at me.

“By the Blessed Blood, she really is ignorant, isn’t she?” one of the girls whispered finally. “Is she... you know?” She tapped a finger against her temple. “All there? No wonder she climbed that dragon on the first day.”

They all snickered, even Regan.

“She’s practically an imbecile,” Regan announced. “You know I adore and honor Lord Drakharrow. He’s practically family to me, after all.” Regan gave a long-suffering sigh. “But I can’t help but feel he made a terrible mistake. Medra’s no match for me and she’s certainly no match for poor Blake.” She looked me up and down. “She’s blightborn trash. That’s what she is. Refuse Blake saved from a garbage heap. She has no idea what she’s doing. I suppose she’s just grateful for the free food.”

The other girls burst out laughing.

I opened my mouth in a fury, barely struggling against the urge to slap Regan full in the face.

“Medra! There you are!” It was Theo. He pushed his way between the girls, a broad smile on his good-looking face. “I was wondering if you’d ever show up one of these nights.”

“You invited her here?” Regan hissed, looking back and forth between Theo and I.

Florence was acting like if she stayed quiet enough everyone might just think she was invisible. I didn’t blame her.

“You have a lot of nerve, Theo,” said Regan.

“Of course, I do,” he said flippantly. “I’m a Drakharrow, aren’t I?” He turned to me and slipped his hand in my free arm. “Come along now, Medra. Come along now, Medra’s friend. Be welcome, be welcome.”

“I’ll tell Blake about this,” Regan hissed as Theo started to pull us away. “It’s an outrage. This is a private party. I started these bonfire nights in the first place. It wasn’t your place to invite anyone.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up, Regan,” Theo said, sounding bored. “Who do you think told me to invite her in the first place?”

Even though I knew it must be a lie, I almost laughed as Regan’s jaw dropped open.

“You’re lying,” she whined, her voice rising an octave. “You’re such a liar, Theo.”

“And you’re such a vapid bitch,” Theo snapped. “I pity my cousin for having to breed with you someday.”

He tugged us away from Regan’s furious wailing and towards a large log that had been set up on the other side of the fire where two highbloods were sitting.

Theo made a shooing motion. “Go, go. Find some place else to sit. My friends need this seat. Move along, thank you.”

To my amusement, the highbloods did exactly that, hurrying away and finding a new place in the sand, where they looked back at Theo nervously.

Theo pulled Florence and I down onto the log, arranging one of us on either side of him.

“There,” he said with satisfaction. “That’s much better, isn’t it? Beautiful night. Beautiful fire.” He let go of our arms and fished inside his shirt. “Beautiful night for...” He pulled out a small glass bottle of a swirling, shimmering liquid. “A bit of ambrosia?” He grinned wickedly.

I had no idea what was in the bottle, but I caught Florence staring wide-eyed at the contents.

“Is that Crimson Ambrosia?” Florence asked.

“What is it?” I leaned forward, curious.

“Don’t try it, Medra,” Florence said immediately. “It has a completely different effect on mortals than it does on highbloods.”

“That’s not quite true,” Theo countered. “Have you ever tasted it?”

When Florence said nothing, he raised his eyebrows. “Well, I have and I’ve associated with blightborn who have. It can be very pleasurable for both species.”

“I don’t have to try it to know that it’s highly addictive,” Florence said quietly. “It causes euphoria in highbloods,” she explained, looking at me. “But in mortals, the euphoria’s effects are compounded. It can cause hallucinations and make you even more susceptible to thrallweave.”

I shuddered. “No, thank you.” I looked around us. “In fact, after that last unpleasant encounter, I think we should go. Right, Florence?”

Florence looked relieved. “Sure. I wouldn’t mind going back now. It’s getting late.”

Theo looked back and forth between us with an incredulous expression. “What are you girls talking about? You just got here. The night is young. You can’t leave.” His face turned serious. “Look, I understand, okay? Regan got her claws into you before I saw you. She’s not the most hospitable.”

I laughed hollowly. “You could say that.”

“But you can’t run from her. That’s exactly what she wants you to do.”

I bristled. “I’m not running.”

“Seeing you leave when you just got here will make Regan very happy,” Theo countered. “Besides, she’s just jealous of you, Medra.”

“Jealous?” I sputtered. “Of what? She clearly hates me.”

“Of course, she hates you,” Theo said, grinning. “She hates anyone who she thinks is a threat. Actually, she hates most everyone so that’s not quite true. But you, she definitely sees as a threat. You should be flattered.”

“Her life seems pretty perfect so I don’t see how I’m a threat.” I shrugged. “She knows I don’t want her boyfriend and he certainly wants nothing to do with me.”

“Blake wants nothing to do with Regan either so it sounds like you’re all in the same boat,” Theo said.

I shook my head. “No, that can’t be true.”

Theo glanced around to see if anyone was nearby. “Look, she and Blake are on the rocks.”

I eyed him skeptically. “No way. I saw them in the library the other day. They looked like the perfect happy couple.” I glanced across the fire at where Regan still stood. She was surrounded by a different group of highblood students now. She had regained her poise and seemed to be animatedly telling a story. The entire group around her was laughing. “They seem perfect for each other, too.”