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diplomas.”
    â€œWho?” asked one of the other girls, and Lucette almost wished that she cared. The others chattered excitedly, and some wondered whether it might be the slayer commander himself, or one of the handsome actors from the palace theater company, or the lute player from the musical ensemble that had entertained them all at the graduation dance last night. Lucette had attended at her mother’s insistence, but she had hung out in the back room, practicing her backflips and lunging stabs all night. It had been difficult to explain the torn dress to her mother, who’d made all the wrong assumptions.
    â€œI don’t want to spoil the secret,” Miss Eleanor said, clasping her hands together.
    Lucette yawned.
    The music started, and the girls watched as the line of boys dressed in slayer uniforms—tight black fabric from head to toe, masks with
hoods that attached firmly to their shirts, and virtually impenetrable neck protectors—marched into the room. Why didn’t the girls get masks, not to mention neck protectors?
    A mask would help her right now. There was an uncomfortably high risk that someone from the royal court would be in today’s audience, and if anyone saw her, her father might find out. She didn’t fear for herself—he always forgave her, even when she cut off her hair. But her mother was another matter. The charm school lie weighed around her mother’s neck like a stone.
    If her mother weren’t so proud that Lucette had made her way through nearly three years of school, Lucette would not even have attended the ceremony today, but her mother planned to be in the crowd in disguise. And after all the queen had done to ensure that her daughter obtained vampire-fighting skills, walking across a stage to pick up a certificate was the least Lucette could do to make her mother happy.
    The girls were supposed to slink across the stage and strike a provocative pose before receiving their diplomas, but when her turn came Lucette stepped onto the stage and stopped, momentarily blinded by the bright lights. This is crazy , she thought, and in one final act of defiance, she kicked off her uncomfortable high-heeled shoes and strode across the stage, executing a high sidekick, and then a series of walking punches before finishing with a series of cartwheels—no simple feat in the clingy dress. Finished, she landed next to the mystery presenter.
    The crowd fell silent, and then people began to murmur, seemingly shocked by her behavior. She hoped her antics at least had distracted anyone who might’ve recognized her. Even if they were shocked, it was better than suffering the humiliation of wearing that dress in front of the crowd.

    After making a short, sharp bow to the masses, she turned . . . and looked into the glaring face of her father.

    A few hours later, Lucette pressed her ear against a thick, wooden door. Behind that door, her parents were talking—more like yelling. At least they were in the same room, which was an improvement these days.
    â€œPrincess,” one of the guards said as he stepped toward her, “I’m supposed to make sure you don’t touch the door.”
    Lucette gritted her teeth. As if a splinter could even get through the ever-present gloves that she was still forced to wear around the castle. She stepped back, pretending the guard had won, then leaped and kicked. Her foot passed inches from the guard’s shocked face. “Leave me alone!” she snapped.
    He backed away, and feeling slightly guilty, she pressed her ear to the door again.
    â€œThis is the last straw, Catia!” Her father sounded furious. “I know we disagree about how to best protect our daughter, but how could you have let this happen?”
    â€œDon’t you see, Stefan? The curse is inevitable—that’s how curses work. If you’d had your way, she would have ended up alone in the dark, night after night, tormented