Sam took a swig of her NST. “What made you decide to stay?”

“Going on the assignment, seeing what kind of fucked up shit goes on in the world, made me realise just how important the legion is. I want to be part of that. And it’s always fun to watch you work, Sam. No one does interrogations quite like you.”

She bowed. “Why, thank you.”

Jared gave her an indulgent smile. “I can agree with Ava on that one.”

“Have you heard anything about the survivors yet?” I asked them before taking a gulp of my NST.

“Mary Jane phoned half an hour ago,” replied Sam. Mary Jane, who had been a nurse in her human life, liked to act as one at The Hollow. “Denny, Stuart, Reuben, and Max have all recovered. The survivors are looking better after being on a drip of blood. They’re healing and not as gaunt, but they’re flitting in and of consciousness. They can move a bit and sometimes they even talk. But they can’t get up, and they’re not making sense. Like someone who has a fever.”

I had to wonder if the survivors even realised they were no longer in the brothel. “Maybe they’re not fighting for consciousness because they’re worried they’re still in that place. This all has to seem dream-like for them.”

“You could be right.” Sam drank the last of her NST and reached for her toast. “Enough on that topic or I’m going to lose my shit again. Let’s talk about you and Salem.”

“Um, let’s not.”

Sam stared at Jared, who narrowed his eyes. I had the feeling they were communicating telepathically. “Fine.” He stomped out of the room, throwing over his shoulder, “You’ve got five minutes.”

When Sam looked at me expectantly, I shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell.”

“Not even about the kiss a week ago?”

I gawked. “How do you know about that?”

She smiled. “I have my sources. And really, Ava, you know nothing remains secret on this island for long.”

Fair point. “He totally sprung it on me. As I was walking out of the restrooms, his hand shot out from the shadows, grabbed me and pulled me to him. Then he was kissing me.”

“Very Salem. He speaks more with actions than with words. So there’s nothing more to report? No more kisses?” I shook my head. “That’s funny. When he came to my office last night, he smelt of two things: soap, and you.”

“All right, fine.” I told her everything that had happened in the past couple of nights.

Sam’s smile got increasingly wider as I spoke. “Salem certainly knows how to knock a girl’s equilibrium. Determined little sod, isn’t he?”

“Hmm. Well maybe he could go knock another girl’s equilibrium and leave me in peace.”

She cocked her head. “Is that really what you want?”

“He pulls faces at me all the time.”

“Because you drive him insane.”

“He’s bossy and controlling.”

“But you’re no pushover.”

“He picks me up by my t-shirts!”

“And it’s absolutely hilarious every time,” she chuckled. “This is the way I see it: you can keep on saying no, keep rejecting him, and insist he back off. Eventually, he probably will. Blokes and their egos never cope well with rejection, do they? Then he’ll give you the space to move on. But it also means that he’ll move on.

“You’ll have to watch him with someone else. And it’s not like you’ll be able to leave. Being part of the legion is a life-long position. Maybe he’ll go back to one of the humans I’ve seen him with in the past” – oh, he’d been with some of the women here, had he? – “or maybe it’ll be one of the new female squad members. Will you be able to handle that?”

“Yes.”

“Correction, will you be able to handle that without causing grievous bodily harm to both him and his girlfriend?”

“No.”

Sam shrugged. “They’re the only two options open to you. You can give him a chance instead of making him pay for what other blokes have done to you, or you can stick to your guns and then watch him with someone else. It’s all a matter of which you prefer.”

Strolling back into the room, Jared glanced at his watch. “Baby, we have to go or we’re going to be late.” Sam’s eyes lit up. At my inquisitive look, he explained. “We’re holding the first round of try-outs for Sam’s new female squad. They’re probably starting to enter the arena as we speak. Sebastian found us twenty potential members.”

“Ooh, can I watch?”

“No. Because if we let you watch, the others will want to watch too and –”

“Please?” Flashing them my brightest, most innocent smile, I vowed, “I won’t tell anyone, I swear. I never went to any try-outs, so it would be fun to see what they’re like.” I could tell they wanted to say no again, so I pouted a little. “Please?”

Jared sighed in defeat, shaking his head at me. “How do you do that?”

Sam shared his exasperation, but she was smiling. “No one can resist those kitten eyes.” Rising to her feet with a clear plate in one hand and an empty bottle in the other, she nodded. “All right, you can come. But don’t invite anyone.”

I placed my hand over my heart. “I won’t, I promise. Who are acting as the interviewers?”

“Us and Evan.” That made sense. Evan was not only a commander within the legion, he was also Sam and Jared’s appointed Heir. That meant he would replace them when they were ready to step down – and probably with Alora at his side, since it seemed that Evan had no intention of letting her go.

“We’re holding most of it in the arena. Go get yourself comfortable in the VIP box.”

So that was exactly what I did. The enclosed arena was located a short distance away from the beach house. The interior resembled a large horse paddock, and each wall was marked from A – D, which represented north, east, south, and west. A large seating area surrounded it, featuring a VIP box on the middle tier. I waited there, watching through the glass as the four females already there fidgeted and exchanged nervous looks.

One by one, another sixteen females piled into the arena, forming a line, looking just as anxious as the others. I was able to tell by the coloured tints to their irises – or, in the case of Sventés, the fact that there were no coloured tints – what breed of vampire they were. Nine were Pagoris, six were Kejas, and the final five were Sventés. Some were having whispered conversations, but their eyes continually darted to the door as they nervously waited for the interviewers to enter. Hell, I was nervous for them.