At three a.m. in a desolate Texas gas station, a gunshot rips through the silence. Calliope, a witch, lies bleeding out on the grimy floor, her life slipping away.

Rory, the night clerk, watches from behind the counter, unfazed. He's a vampire and no stranger to death.

But this time, death knocks differently. With Calliope's life teetering on the edge, Rory is forced into a choice: let her die or condemn her to an immortal fate by turning her into one of his kind. He opts for the latter, whisking her away to his secluded lake house amidst twisted oaks with ghostly veils of Spanish moss.

Beneath the suffocating embrace of a sweltering East Texas summer, a bond begins to form—two damaged souls finding solace in each other. But the peace they've built is fragile, haunted by the mysterious and menacing creature that lives at the bottom of the lake.

Rory and Calliope must confront the monsters not only outside, but also within—as secrets buried in their pasts are clawing to the surface, threatening to pull them under.

Sore Throat, Slight Fever is the first installment of the Young Blood duology, a paranormal vampire romance. Perfect for fans of A Discovery of Witches and Uprooted.