Michael There’s a hum of excitement in the castle as I pass through the main entrance, rain sliding off my black leather jacket and onto the dark stone floor. The bridge behind me is socked-in by fog as the doors close, and a couple of guards step back in place, standing stoically at attention while I walk with determination toward the throne room. The entire court is here right now. Vampires of varying rank and importance roam the hallways, sending a hushed murmur of conversation through the arching corridors that overlap my footsteps as I round another corner and walk into the throne room, shrugging out of my jacket at the same moment my mom turns and spots me. Her smile shifts from rehearsed to genuine as she excuses herself from whatever conversation she’d been having with three t

