Cracked Line — Ann Gimpel

Vampires don't fall in love. Except I did. Not the best decision of my long life. I definitely cracked an unspoken line, but Ariana trounced me as far as line-crossing went. Very few acts constitute crimes in Vampire circles. Hers was the worst. I fled to the Old Country to buy myself thinking time.I still loved her, but what she'd done was so vile I couldn't set it aside.The world is a very different place from when I went into stasis. I woke to wars on every side. Vampires are scarcely strangers to battle. No one's ever accepted us, but they've mostly let us be. It's different this time. Very different. Mortals won't rest until they've wiped out magic.Normally, their efforts would be laughable, but they've coopted help from mages. Ones they've imprisoned and systematically stripped of power until the poor sods would agree to anything in exchange for their freedom—and their magic.We face huge problems, but I'm tackling them one by one. I'll return to Ariana's side, but perhaps only as her comrade-in-arms. Time will tell if we can be more to each other.Time and circumstances. In a world without magic, Vampires will wither along with every other magic-wielder. I cannot let that happen.