Stone Cold Touch. Jennifer L. Armentrout

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      Ah, training. My stomach did a funny little twist, a familiar reaction when it came to training with Zayne. Because at some point during the grappling and evasive techniques, he’d get sweaty, and inevitably his shirt would come off. And, well, even though I was hurting something fierce over the loss of Roth, seeing Zayne shirtless was something to look forward to.

      And Zayne...he’d always meant the world and then some to me. That hadn’t changed. It never would. When I’d first been brought into the clan, I had been terrified and had promptly hidden in a closet. It had been Zayne who’d coaxed me out, holding in his hands a no-longer-pristine teddy bear that I had dubbed Mr. Snotty. I’d been attached to his hip since then. Well, until Roth had come along. Zayne had been my only ally—the only person who knew what I was, and...God, he’d been there for me, my rock these past couple of weeks.

      “So...” Sam drew the word out as I sent Zayne a quick okay and dropped the phone back in my bag. “Did you know that when snakes are born with two heads, they fight each other for food?”

      “What?” Stacey asked, brows furrowing together like two angry little lines.

      He nodded, grinning a little. “Yep. Kind of like a death match...with yourself.”

      For some reason, a bit of stiffness went out of my posture when Stacey choked out a laugh and said, “Your capacity for useless knowledge never ceases to amaze me.”

      “It’s why you love me.”

      Stacey blinked and heat infused her cheeks. She glanced over at me, as if I was somehow supposed to help her with her recently discovered crush on Sam. I was the last person on the face of the Earth to help when it came to the opposite sex.

      I’d only kissed one boy in my entire life.

      And he’d been a demon.

      So...

      She laughed loudly and brightly as she picked up her soda. “Whatever. I’m too cool for love.”

      “Actually...” Sam looked as though he was about to explain some kind of random fact about love and temperatures when the pain in my head flared.

      Sucking in a short breath, I pressed my palm above my eyes and squeezed them shut against the red-hot stabbing sensation. It was fierce and quick, over as soon as it started.

      “Layla? Are you okay?” Sam asked.

      I nodded slowly as I lowered my hand and opened my eyes. Sam stared back at me, but...

      He cocked his head to the side. “You’re looking a little pale.”

      Dizziness rose over me as I continued to stare at him. “You...”

      “Me? Huh?” Frowning, he glanced at Stacey quickly. “I what?”

      There was nothing surrounding Sam—not a single trace of robin’s-egg blue or the soft buttery yellow. My heart tripped as I twisted toward Stacey. The faint green of her aura was also gone. That meant that neither Sam nor Stacey had—no, they had souls. I knew they did.

      “Layla?” Stacey said softly, touching my arm.

      I twisted around, scanning the packed cafeteria. Everyone looked normal except there was no halo around any of them. No soft shade of color. My pulse picked up and I felt sweat dotting my brow. What was going on?

      Searching out Eva Hasher, whose aura I was all too familiar with, I found her sitting a few tables back from ours, surrounded by what Stacey lovingly referred to as the bitch pack. Beside her was Gareth, her on-and-off-again boyfriend. He was leaning forward, arms folded on the table. Staring off at nothing, his eyes were red and glazed over. He liked to party, but I couldn’t remember a time when I’d seen him high at school. There was nothing around him.

      I shifted my gaze back to Eva. Normally there was a halo of purple surrounding the überhot brunette, meaning she’d been slipping into questionable soul status for quite some time. The need to taste her soul was always great.

      But the space around her was also empty.

      “Oh my God,” I whispered.

      Stacey’s hand tightened on my arm. “What’s going on?”

      My gaze flitted back to her. Still no aura. And then to Sam. Nothing. I couldn’t see a single soul.