The Serpent and the Wings of Night

Drawn to the memory of a life spent with humans like her, 11-year-old Oraya asks Vincent about her family. Vincent reveals that he found her in Salinae, a district beyond the House of Night borders, to which he cannot venture without risking a war with the Rishan who reside in the territory. Oraya is disappointed with this news but resolves to someday go herself to search for her human family members. Although Vincent argues that she would never survive the trip through vampire territories as a human, Oraya pushes him for a solution. Gravely, Vincent describes a way in which she can become as powerful as he is: through a gift from Nyaxia herself.

Oraya awakens in Raihn and Mische’s apartment and claims the room with the most windows because it provides the greatest safety from vampires. Mische enthusiastically introduces herself, and Oraya briefly wonders what Mische’s relationship is with Raihn. They present Oraya with the head of the vampire she killed in the greenhouse. The situation brings an unwelcome memory to the surface, and Oraya recalls Vincent saying the words “I have a gift for you” (112); the memory makes her nauseous, for those are the words he said to her before forcing her to kill the vampire she loved.