“Well if you hadn’t been in the woods--”

“Oh! Was I supposed to schedule my woods time?”

“The woods are dangerous for humans--”

“Well if you hadn’t snapped my crossbow--”

“I didn’t touch that piece of garbage!”

I slammed the door shut behind me. Toby and Nico--blessedly still on their separate beds--abruptly stopped arguing, and stared at me.

I tossed one blood pack to Nico, and one to Toby.

“You’re welcome,” I said, pointedly.

“Thanks, Paige,” they both chimed.

“Where did you get these?” Toby asked, as Nico tore into his.

“Student health center,” I said, pulling my sweatshirt off. I crawled up onto my bed next to Toby as he started drinking.

It was late. I had classes in the morning. I wanted to disappear into sleep.

“That crossbow was working just fine,” Toby muttered.

“It snapped in your hand before I was anywhere near you,” Nico said. His voice was calm, but I could see his knuckles whiten.

“I wouldn’t have needed to use it if you hadn’t rushed at us--”

“Not tonight,” I groaned.

“But--”

I sat up again. Some of the color was returning to Nico’s face as he drank, and I could see his cheeks start to fill out. Toby too looked healthier than he had all week--the blood packs were going to be a lifesaver.

If these boys didn’t kill each other, first.

“Toby,” I said, “Nico can help you get adjusted.”

“He’s not staying, is he?” Toby said, looking affronted.

“I’m no more interested in spending time with an infantile vampire than you are interested in learning from me,” Nico said. “I’ll be gone as soon as I am back to strength.”

I looked at Nico.

“Are you going to go back to sleeping in the woods?” I asked. Nico shrugged.

“If I must,” he said.

“We’re already crammed in here,” Toby said to me, quietly. “I know you want to be able to help everyone, but is this really the way?”

“Nico, what happens if Draven catches you again?” I asked, trying to keep an objective tone. I hoped the two of them would listen to reason--but it felt unlikely, given the way they’d been sniping at each other so far.

“You can’t keep living like that,” I said. “You’ll stay here until we figure out how to keep you safe.”

“I will accept shelter,” Nico said, “but only temporarily.”

“Of course,” I agreed. “And in return, you’ll help Toby?”

“Of course,” he said.

“I’ve gotten this far on my own,” Toby muttered. I rolled my eyes.

“Can you continue to obtain these blood packs?” Nico asked. I sighed.

“I stole them from work,” I admitted. “I probably can’t get them too often, but it’ll take the edge off, at least.”

“Stolen blood?” Nico asked.

“Don’t judge me,” I said firmly. “You ate it.”

He sank back onto his bed. I climbed back onto mine, and Toby wrapped his arms around me.

I thought about watching Asha insert her ID into the vending machine.

“What if we could get an ID for you?” I asked quietly.

“He cannot register,” Nico said immediately. “They will find the mark--”

“My friend got a fake ID in high school,” I said. “A fake human one. For drinking.”

“That doesn’t scan to a database though,” Toby said. “Right? Vampire IDs track how much blood a vampire gets.”

I heard Nico groan when Toby said that. I thought about his family refusing the Accord--I had never imagined having to ration my own food like that. Vampires were only allotted enough to stay healthy--but never enough to reach their full power.

“I”ll go to the library in the morning to look into registering for an ID,” I said, nervous again about stealing blood from work. I’d never even shoplifted before.

Getting a vampire ID was just like getting a social security card, as far as I knew. The problem was… how do you get a social security card for someone who disappeared hundreds of years ago? Or a vampire who isn’t supposed to be a vampire at all?

And did the library have books on mediating between the two half-starved vampires living in your dorm room?

“You’ll have to go after your bio class,” Toby reminded me.

“Yeah. And my work shift,” I said with a yawn. Another afternoon in the EMT van.

It was too much.

I snuggled into Toby’s cool arms and thought again about what Nico had said about Draven.

I had been so focused on helping Toby through his transformation that I hadn’t processed the full weight of what it meant to learn that Averus vampires had survived the war. That the family who had caused so much bloodshed over the Accord was still walking the earth--let alone roaming the woods, just off-campus.

And that Draven, the leader of the clan, was somewhere outside of my little room. The vampire who had led the bloodshed of the post-Accord war with so much cruelty.

Nico’s own brother, who had attacked and tortured him just hours ago.

I eyed Nico’s still form on the other bed. Had he been honest about his relationship with his brother? If Draven was really after him--trying to catch him, or break his willpower--what would he do if he found him here?

And was getting Nico back in the fold really all Draven was after… or was that just a step in the homicidal vampire’s grander plan?

I shivered. Toby pulled a blanket up over my shoulders, but I wasn’t shivering from the cold.

Keeping Toby safe had felt intimidating enough, with his vampiric transformation and Averus mark forming. But when I invited Nico to stay, I hadn’t even thought about the danger of attracting the attention of the original villain of the Averus history books.

I tried to think about my unfinished bio homework as I drifted off to sleep. I didn’t want to invite Draven into any dreams… and I wasn’t prepared that night to have any nightmares.