“I was thinking about what we talked about before.”
“What?”
“Why didn’t this happen to Dyl?” she asked, gesturing to herself and the large cat. “You guys used to hold hands and stuff. Plus, you kiss a lot.”
I laughed and punched her arm.
“Shut up.”
“But seriously, before you shared blood, nothing happened to him. You didn’t have to be careful who you touched before that. If we can figure it out, maybe you can lose the gloves.”
I sighed. Wouldn’t it be lovely to go without the gloves? As much as I loved the new ones Bernard had bought me, it was incredibly restrictive. And it would be harder to go unnoticed in public once I left.
“I think it’s because of the timing. Before the thirst started, I was not fully into my powers. It came hand in hand. Even now, I’m not quite there yet.”
“Really?” she asked, her eyes wide. “What else could you possibly do?”
“Fly, hopefully.” I grinned. “Although that’s doubtful.”
“Be careful, Soph. I worry about you. If you attract too much attention…”
“I know. I really just want to be ordinary, deep down. Isn’t that funny?”
She took my hand and squeezed.
“No, it’s not funny. It’s understandable.” I stared at her as she went on. “Being extraordinary has taken everything from you. But it has also bestowed many gifts.”
“‘Bestowed’?” I teased. “Now you sound like an old-school Vamp. So proper.”
She blushed and waved me off.
“It’s a Fae thing. Also, I read a lot.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“That’s an understatement. You used to read more than you talked.”
She nodded.
“I’m more confident now. Thanks to you.”
“No, Karen. You were already changing. You were growing up and coming into your own. You were just quiet because you are thoughtful. And because the human teenage experience is pretty messed up.”
She laughed. “Maybe you’re right.”
“I know I am.”
She smiled and went back to the laptop on her lap. “So, where are you applying?”
“I’m not.”
“But—”
“Karen. I might not live to see nineteen.”
“But you could live to see nineteen hundred! You need an education for that.”
I laughed. “I am educated. I read constantly. In most languages.”
“Whoa. Really?”
I nodded. It was embarrassing, to be honest. I was a freak.
“Yeah. My memory and stuff, it all works a lot faster than normal mortals’. It’s not always a blessing. But it does mean that I can read really fast. I’ve read thousands and thousands of books.”
“Wow,” she said with wide eyes. Then she frowned. “No, but seriously, that’s not the only kind of education you need.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“Okay, I’ll bite,” I joked. Karen pretended to be scared. It was nice, being able to joke around and be honest with her about who I really was. To be myself.
“Well, you need life experience! Friends! The friends you make in college will be with you for life.”
“Not my life. Those friends will die. Not like you and Dyl. You guys will be around a long time to drive me crazy. That’s if I get through this.”
“Right. I guess humans don’t live very long. That’s hard.”
“But you will.”
She tilted her head to the side. “I think I will. As only a smidge Fae, I could expect an extra thirty or forty years. But now… I might live to be two hundred or more. Even Janelle will have an extended lifespan now that she’s experienced the change.”
I nodded. I’d done research into it as well.
“That’s what Caleb said. The mountain Werefolk live to be hundreds of years old, as long as they don’t run into Vamps or hunters.”
“What about Dylan, though? He’s something else now, isn’t he?”
“I don’t know what he is. Maxim is different too. He can walk in daylight, like me. It’s almost like my drinking his blood cured him of his Vampirism. And cured Dylan of his humanity.”
“It’s kind of a hot mess, Soph.”
I laughed. “Tell me about it.”
She gave me a secret smile and handed me her laptop. She knew that if I did anything on my own computer, Caleb would find out. Anyone could find out.
That’s why she’d let me use her laptop so many times after school, although she hadn’t really grasped why. My new identity, bank accounts, and phone were all tied to her IP address, not mine. But I’d run through enough back channels that I was sure no one would ever trace it back to her. I hoped not, anyway.
I made a mental note to send her a new laptop and tell her to trash this one. After I was gone.
The thought of a Vamp finding a sweet Fae like Karen made my blood run cold. Another reason I had to leave.
“Here. I opened the application in a different browser. You should fill it out and apply to a few. Just in case.”
I stared at the computer, more tempted than I could have anticipated. I shrugged. She was right. What harm could it do? If everything went well and my father resumed his rule, maybe I could go to college.
The possibilities were endless.
I looked at the application and the colleges she had selected. All small liberal arts schools. One in Europe. One in Vermont. And one in Boston.
“So, you want to go north. Is what you are saying?”
She shrugged. “It would be nice to get a change of scenery.”
“You’ll get cold.”
She smiled at me and her eyes literally twinkled with magic. “Will I?”
I laughed. “Probably not.” I grabbed a heavy book to use as a lap desk and settled the laptop on top of it. “What have I got to lose?”
“So, prom. It’s coming up. Who are you going with?”
“I don’t know. I probably shouldn’t even be there.”
“Sophie, you have to go. It’s a human right of passage! Isn’t that the reason you’ve done all of this?”
I nodded. Then I sighed.
“So?”
“Should I take the former homecoming king or a four-hundred-year-old Vamp?”
I could feel them both perk up. I thought briefly of Christopher and then dismissed it. I didn’t want them to be able to find him later. And the bond did feel a bit weaker. It was easier to block. I had to try to keep my walls down now.
“Why not take both?”
I giggled at the thought. Was I brazen enough? It would solve the problem of leaving one of them out… and make it easier to say goodbye to them both. Without letting them know that was what was happening, of course.
Neither one of them would ever know it was goodbye. Not until later. Not until it was too late.
I felt guilty about leaving that way, but it had to be done. I had no choice in the matter.
“It’s my birthday. I might be dangerous to be around. If there even is some sort of transformation.”
“What do you think will happen?”
“I don’t know. There haven’t been a lot of hybrids, and there aren’t exactly textbooks about what went down with them. But so far, my powers have manifested gradually. The only drastic changes were the thirst and how I felt afterward. The… other things I could do before just got more pronounced.”
“It’s so cool that you can control the elements. I’m jealous.”
“Well, I am jealous of your hair. It was pretty before, but now it’s… it’s epic.”
She twirled a sparkly pale blonde lock.
“It is kind of hard to miss, isn’t it?”
“Speaking of which, who are you taking to the prom?”
She smiled secretly.
“I’ve had a few offers.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
“No one you would know. He’s not in high school.”
“Ooh, an older gu
y. Look at you.”
“Well, he’s not four hundred years older.”
I blushed. “Touché.”
“Sorry, I didn’t—”
“It doesn’t matter. He knows I like him. It’s impossible not to like either one of them. But we’re not together.”
“That sucks.” She chewed her lip. “I know it’s my fault you broke up with Dyl. I don’t think he’s forgiven me for that.”
“You were right, Kah. I’m dangerous for him. He has to know that.”
I squeezed her hand.
“Friendship is pretty good, right? We still have that. All of us.”
She squeezed me back. “Right.”
Chapter 28
Happy birthday to me. Not.
“Rise and shine, birthday girl!”
My eyes snapped open with a sense of dread. Or maybe it was impending doom? Either way, the day was off to a stupendous start.
Then again… did I smell pancakes?
I sat up and saw Bernard standing in the doorway with a tray. There was coffee, a massive stack of pancakes, and the glowing rose that I had brought home from the Cotswolds. It was still alive, sitting unchanged in a vase on the kitchen windowsill. It fluttered its petals at me in greeting.
I smiled at my guardian.
“You didn’t have to do that, B.”
“Hush. My little girl is all grown up today. I couldn’t be prouder.”
“Girl?”
“Well, you are part-girl, anyway. You know what I mean.”
He settled the tray on my lap and I dug in. He sat at the foot of the bed and grinned at me.
I, on the other hand, did not feel the least bit celebratory.
“Still on for prom?” he asked as I shoveled pancakes into my mouth.
“You made strawberry butter,” I moaned in ecstasy. He nodded.
“So, tell me, who are you going with?”
“Apparently, I have two dates.” Three, if you counted my rendezvous later with Christopher, but who was counting? Christopher had been extremely useful for me over the past few weeks. The bond I felt with him was one-sided, as he had no idea it was there. I could tune him out pretty easily as well. He was a serious person with a good heart. I’d made the perfect choice.
And I felt good about it too. I’d healed his heart completely. His doctors were shocked. I had told him to avoid further testing for a while. I didn’t want him to turn into a human guinea pig.
It was good to know my blood could heal so thoroughly. It might come in handy, although I didn’t really want to become a commodity either. I was more relieved than I could say that I hadn’t harmed him in any way.
Bernard had let me sleep in, so the sun was high in the sky when I came downstairs. I trained for a few hours, with Chillies assisting. I kept expecting my powers to surge, but they didn’t. I went for a run to the waterfall before Caleb awoke, just before sunset. I knew it was the last time I would see it. I stood there, completely alone, and said goodbye.
When I came back, he was waiting.
“Do you feel different?”
“No. Not yet.”
Caleb nodded.
“It makes sense. Your true birthday won’t be until later tonight.”
“What do you mean?”
“You were born at night. You are still seventeen until the moment of your birth.”
“What time was I born? Exactly?”
“If you factor in the time zone and our current location, it was at precisely 10:36:02.” Caleb clucked his tongue. “PM,” he added.
“Okay. That’s a little more precision than I expected, but thanks.”
I sighed. I really did not have an excuse to skip prom now. It would be over, or almost over, by 10:30 tonight. Maxim walked into the room at that exact moment wearing a pristine black suit with a crisp white shirt. No tie. He looked even more like a fashion model than usual. I scowled at him.
“Where were you?”
He held up a clear plastic box holding a cluster of pink peonies affixed to a ribbon. A matching bloom was pinned to his lapel.
“Getting you a corsage.”
I laughed.
“Until three minutes ago, I wasn’t even sure I was going.”
“Of course you are going.” He raised an eyebrow. “Will you be wearing two corsages?”
I bit my lip and nodded.
“If Dylan still wants to go.”
“He does. Trust me.”
“I have to be out of there by ten.”
“Not a problem.” He smiled at me warmly. “I can take you home at any time.”
I’m only going so I can see you in that dress.
I exhaled in annoyance, glaring at him.
How do you even know what I’m wearing?
There were three dresses. I traveled three hundred miles to see the green one in action.
My jaw dropped. Caleb looked back and forth between us. Maxim winked and turned.
“You’d better get dressed. These promenades start early.”
“You look beautiful,” Bernard said, admiring me from my bedroom doorway. “The other two dresses were stunning, but this one is just… you.”
“Really? I’m not exactly sugar and spice and everything nice.”
“Who is?” He shrugged. “It’s youthful but it has an edge. There’s something elegantly ironic about all that tulle.”
I studied my reflection. He was right. I freaking loved the dress, even if it was overly feminine. There was a strength in the sharp cut of the bodice. And the black ribbon at my waist and matching black ribbon at my neck were playful but a little bit gothic.
My black silk gloves and black patent kitten heels completed the look.
Little did he know I’d be trading my heels for loafers at the end of the night. Or that I’d be leaving him behind. Maybe forever.
I threw myself into his arms, squeezing him tightly.
“Oh, Bernard, I love you so.”
“What’s all this now?” He asked gruffly. “I love you too, Cherie. But you know that, of course.”
He hugged me back before leaning away to look at me. His big, dear, handsome face peered down at me with a worried look.
“Are you all right, Sasha? Is something amiss?”
“Nothing. It just feels like the end of something.”
“It is. Your childhood is over.” He winked. “But I promise you can still have pancakes and bubble baths. Nobody ever outgrows everything.”
I hugged him again, forcing myself not to cry. I rarely cried, so that would only arouse suspicion. I was doing this to save him, I reminded myself. To protect him.
I would face the New Leaders alone. I would create an army once I got to Italy. An army of creatures. An army of monsters, like me. Insects and animals that would never have survived more than a few days, weeks, or months without the transformation.
No one I loved would suffer one more moment because of me.
This town would be safe. Karen’s family would be safe. Nightfall, I was even worried about Janelle. Vamps wouldn’t be too pleased to find a true Were living in the Continental US.
I had to leave. I’d waited almost too long to protect them all. I should have done this long ago. But if I left now, at least they would be spared the coming war.
One way or the other, it would be over before they even knew it began.
I grabbed my tiny handbag. It was extremely annoying that I was going to have to leave so many of my things behind, but it was what it was. I’d stashed some of my clothes with Christopher days ago. He had a bag full of fancy clothes that he had no idea were there, waiting in the back of his SUV. He would only remember when it was time to bring it to me.
Tonight.
“Guess it’s time to go,” I said, worried he would hear the wobble in my voice.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said, pressing another kiss to my forehead. Then he took my hand and led me down the stairs. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t lie to him. Not even now.
; Maxim was waiting, pacing back and forth. He stopped and stared at me. Dylan was on the couch. He stood next to Maxim. I knew I would never forget seeing them this way, both so tall and handsome. Both of them adoring me. They were two sides of the same coin. One dark, and one light.
And me, I was somewhere in the middle.
I smiled and took their arms while Bernard snapped pictures. Even Caleb’s eyes looked a little watery.
“Remember, you only have until ten, ten fifteen at the latest.”
“I’ll make sure I am somewhere where no one will get hurt.”
He nodded. “Come home. This is the best place for you.”
I kissed his cheek quickly, so I didn’t have to answer. I didn’t want to lie to him either.
“Thank you for everything, Caleb. I love you. You’ve been a good father to me.”
He stared at me, his brow furrowed. But he looked pleased as his face opened into a slow smile. I realized I should have said it more over the years. Much, much more.
“Why, thank you, child. I love you too.”
I stepped away, knowing the time had come. I watched them standing there for a heartbeat. Then I nodded.
“Let’s do this.”
Dylan opened the door and Maxim took my arm. We walked outside and I blinked. Maxim’s motorcycle was parked along with Bernard’s car and Dylan’s. And there was a big shiny SUV. It was huge. I didn’t recognize the brand.
I squinted.
It looked like… a hummer.
“What is that?”
“My new ride,” Maxim said wryly. “If I’m going to be escorting a princess around, I am going to need something appropriate.”
My heart did a little flip-flop. He’d done this for me? I swallowed and tried to smile. I knew that Maxim had accrued a lot of wealth over his four hundred years, but I hated that he had wasted any of it on me. Chilies wrapped himself around my feet. I reached down to scratch his chin. Spidey and Centi clambered out onto the porch, making Dylan jump.
“Do they usually come outside like this?”
I shook my head, stroking each of my pets in turn. They knew I was leaving. I could hide nothing from them. Thankfully, they couldn’t speak.
I wondered if Karen knew. I felt certain she did. She had to have sensed something. Hopefully, she knew I would come back if I could.
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