street and down the levee. She lost consciousness before she hit the water.

---

The room that swam into focus was unfamiliar. Sayeva opened her eyes, then squinted as all her senses hit her at once. Pain shot through her body. She shifted into human form, healing the broken bones, and wrapped herself up in blankets.

Outside, the night had grown darker; the supermoon hung low beyond the window. The last thing she remembered was falling into the bayou; but unlike after the ball, the time she had lost did not feel as significant. Only an hour had passed since then. A general inspection of the room's sparse decoration plus the strength of Samuel's scent gave her more confidence as well.

She found him sitting on the front porch with a glass of wine in his hand. The a...

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