Chapter 1

I had no intention of telling anyone I was leaving.

Seraphina hooked her arm through our brother Adrian's and asked sweetly, "Is Budapest fun?"

Everyone flocked back to her. The hall filled with laughter again.

I turned toward my room to pack, but someone caught my wrist.

Julian.

"Remember to get Seraphina's luggage ready," he said under his breath. "Don't leave behind a single gown or piece of jewelry. As soon as the coming-of-age ceremony is over, we're going to Budapest. You might as well come work under us instead of chasing whatever little job you've found."

His gaze traveled over me before he added, "I'm thinking of your future. You never managed to awaken your bloodline ability, after all."

I stared at him, hearing the academy physician's diagnosis all over again.

"Vivian, the main reason your ability hasn't awakened is malnutrition. With proper nourishment and rest, there's every chance you'll recover."

The answer to a problem that had haunted me for years had been that simple.

But even if I never awakened an ability, so what?

My suitcase already held my patents and my certified alchemist's credentials. I had spent years being called useless because my bloodline remained dormant. In response, I buried myself in my studies at the vampire academy, practically living in its laboratories until I graduated at the top of my alchemy class.

Seraphina, meanwhile, cut classes, failed courses, and partied with her friends. At one of those parties, she exposed her vampire identity in front of humans and was expelled.

When we returned home, no one asked what I had learned or how I had lived abroad. Seraphina walked through the door with tears in her eyes and threw herself into our parents' arms, saying she had disappointed them.

"It doesn't matter," Mom told her. "Diploma or not, you'll always be the Vardi family's pride and joy."

Adrian immediately agreed. "Just enjoy being our little princess. I'll always be here. If nothing else, the family can support you for life."

Julian comforted her, too. "Don't be upset. Even if your studies didn't go well, there's still Vivian. Besides, with Vivian around, you'll never be the family's biggest embarrassment."

In their eyes, I would always fall short of Seraphina.

As far back as I could remember, every gaze had turned toward her. We were twins, but she was the dazzling one, the one who always knew exactly what to say to charm our elders. Mom and Dad proudly took her to every vampire banquet.

I might as well have been forgotten in the quietest corner of the estate. Even the servants walked past as though I weren't there.

When I was hungry, I slipped into the cold-storage room and drank old blood by myself. Once, when my parents caught me, they didn't look concerned. They praised me for being so undemanding.

We had been born on the same day, with the same face, but there was room in their hearts for only one of us.

Adrian remembered to commission extravagant gowns for her. Julian gave her a red diamond brooch engraved with his family's crest.

It had been my birthday, too. No one remembered. When they finally did, they waved it away with a promise to make it up to me next time.

When we first left for the academy, everyone worried that Seraphina would have trouble adjusting. I was left to fend for myself.

Keeping up with the nobility cost money. I had none. I survived on hard bread and spent my days in the library and alchemy lab while everyone laughed at the penniless, useless girl who didn't know how to behave like a lady.

That same girl graduated first in her class and brought home the academy's most prestigious trophy.

My family never spared it a glance.

Looking at Julian's easy smile, I finally asked him, "Didn't you once tell me your greatest dream was to take over your family's winery?"

He paused, then shrugged. "I've moved past that. I'll go wherever Seraphina wants to go. If she wants Budapest, then Budapest it is."

He used to tell me the winery was the heart of the Moretti family's business. If he took control of it, he would become their heir. Now he was willing to give up even that for Seraphina.

I finally understood. Staying would accomplish nothing except proving, again and again, how little they cared about me.

I said nothing else. I returned to my room in the tower and began packing my belongings, one by one.