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“She did. But it was more than that. We had a real physical attraction that seems to transcend time and space. And I think she might have remembered me from seeing me at the Dallas mall,” Arman said.

“Oh, about that, I’m afraid she did. She asked me if I’d been there,” Ruric said. “I said not that I recalled. I was afraid she would think we followed her here and would think we were up to no good. There isn’t any easy way to handle that.”

Arman shook his head. He hadn’t thought of the consequences of her recalling that incident two years ago.

“We don’t know what her curse is, Caitlin, but I suspect she has no clue she’s a huntress,” Levka said. “In other words, that means she’s not even trained in the art of swordsmanship to fight rogue vampires.”

Jasmine smiled. As their assassin, she came in handy. “Count me in for going to high school. This could be fun.”

Going to school was not Arman’s idea of fun, but saving Fiona was a necessity, if the nightmares he was having was any indication. “I’ll be there.”

Stasio was too busy to say whether he planned to go to the school with them or not as he searched documents online.

Ruric only smiled. “I’ll go, but since I believe she really thinks we were in Dallas when she was.”

“Which could make her all the more wary of us,” Arman said, exasperated. “What if she believes we all came here for some nefarious purpose where she is concerned?” That’s what worried Arman. He should have come alone.

4

When Emma pulled up in front of Fiona’s great aunt’s two-story, colonial brick house, ten cars still sat curbside and again, Fiona couldn’t help but wish that she still lived with her parents. Not that her home life had been so great in Dallas where everyone made fun of her about her father being the town drunk, and her mother, the ultimate enabler, who hid his liquor, which only catapulted him into more drinking binges.

Why her mother had gone out with him that fateful night was still a mystery. Fiona couldn’t help envying her brother, Justin.

“Well, here we are,” Emma said cheerfully.

Fiona realized then, she’d been staring at her great aunt’s house, lost in the past. “Yeah.” Except for the dim lights of candles flickering behind sheer white curtains, the house looked dark. Ambience, her great aunt would say.

“Are you all right?” Emma asked.

“Yeah.” Not really, but Fiona definitely didn’t want to tell Emma about her family. It was best to pretend they were as normal as everyone else’s. Though the truth was Emma’s mother was kind of a flamboyant, artistic flake, and her husband had abandoned them and then got himself killed, so maybe not everyone else’s families were all that normal either.

“Call you tomorrow. But it’ll be later. Randy and I are going to the Oregon Coast in the afternoon.”

“Seashore,” Fiona parroted, when she thought she saw something travel across her great aunt’s roof like a panther moving silently, swiftly—something large, black, and…a person? Oak trees stretched their massive branches over the roof, swaying in the cool breeze, casting dancing shadows across the gray shingles.

Too vivid an imagination? Or did she now need glasses?

“Fiona, I’ve picked you up and dropped you off at your great aunt’s house what…fifteen times in the last three months since you moved here? You always seem so happy to leave her home, and so reluctant to return. Is there something wrong?”

“No, sorry. I told you I hadn’t slept well last night.” Though, since Fiona had moved here, she hadn’t slept well any night. She couldn’t put her finger on the reason either. “Listen, have fun at the seashore. Maybe we can go there together sometime.”

“Yeah, get a boyfriend and we’ll make it a foursome.”

Fiona’s hopes were instantly dashed. “Yeah, okay. As soon as I see Tux again, I’ll ask him if he wants to go.”

“Tux?”

“The guy I danced with.”

“Sure, great idea.”

A tall, thin man, dressed entirely in black, pulled the curtain sheers aside in her great aunt’s living room window and stared at Emma’s car.

“Got to go.” If Fiona could have sneaked into the house and avoided her great aunt’s party guests, she would have. But she’d been caught.

“Night, Fiona. Oh, and please don’t tell anyone I ran over a guy tonight. Okay?”

“I won’t. He was fine. No one needs to know.” Fiona knew if she told her great aunt about it, she would never let her ride with Emma again. Fiona climbed out of the car, wondering if the man at the window realized how rude he was, staring at her like that. But it was more than rude. Defiant, as if he wanted her to know he knew she had arrived home, and she needed to get inside. Worse, she worried he would realize she wasn’t comfortable at her great aunt’s house and mention it to her. Relations were already strained enough.