"Kiss me."

"It'd hurt."

"It hurts when you don't kiss me."

Theo Fairgood is still the golden boy, even if he doesn't have a heartbeat these days.

Kade Renfield is still trouble, even if he's too busy getting his blood sucked to cause much havoc.

It's a new year, and things are looking up. The boys are on track to solve the mystery of Theo's transformation and the strange link tying them together. What's more, they've grown reluctantly fond of each other since the horrifying events of last year, and they're getting worse at hiding it. For the first time in their lives, they have somebody they can truly be themselves around. The walls both boys built around themselves are crumbling down.

Then tragedy strikes. Theo's walls fly right back up, more determined than ever to uncover his sire and take him down once and for all. But to figure out who his sire is, they'll have to decide who they can trust. Enemies lurk in the shadows. Old friends lend a hand or hack it off at the wrist.

In the midst of this new chaos, Kade finds himself plagued by visions of the last people locked into this burning ritual. It's a strangely familiar story, and it doesn't have a happy ending.

It wasn't an accident that Theo was turned into a vampire. It's not a coincidence that his touch burns Kade. This story started a long time ago, and the next chapter might destroy them both...