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  Rushing to grab a T-shirt and shorts, I slipped into the hallway. My blood finally began to slow by the time I reached the bathroom. Pulling off the dress, I changed into my pajamas. When I reached my bedroom again, I growled and then starting laughing at Will’s expression as he stood over my bed inspecting the pile of clothes.

  “Hurricane?” he asked with a mock-quizzical expression.

  “You weren’t supposed to see this.”

  I started picking up piles and setting them on the dresser or hanging them in the closet before returning to the bed.

  “You shouldn’t worry about meeting Gen and Edmond,” he said, easily guessing the reason for my clothing-related catastrophe. “After all, Edmond already likes you.”

  “It’s just … They’re important to you, and I’m …”

  “The one I love,” he finished.

  When I came back to the bed after putting away the last of the clothes, Will disappeared and the light flicked off. As soon as I climbed into bed, Will pulled me against him. Resting my head on his chest, I realized that I had been thinking that this routine would go on forever. Only it couldn’t, could it? Will’s companions were only coming to Oregon for one reason, and it wasn’t me. I sighed, trying not to think of anything but the present moment. It didn’t work.

  “What happens when you find him?”

  Will didn’t answer right away, and I turned toward him in the dark.

  “We will stop him.”

  Unless Fidatov wins, I thought, pressing myself closer to Will. I shivered as I thought about him disappearing on Tuesday to follow Fidatov. What if he had never come back? What if Fidatov had buried Will or dropped him into the ocean, and I never saw him again? My eyes started to sting at the possibility of losing someone else I loved.

  “Promise me you won’t go after him alone.”

  When I looked up at him, I could see Will’s teeth flash in a smile.

  “How do you know I’m not the more dangerous of the two of us?” he asked, keeping his tone light.

  “You have a weakness, remember? And he doesn’t, does he?”

  “Yes, but I have more to lose.”

  Part III: The Nightmare

  Chapter 18: Halloween

  In the morning, just after Will disappeared through the bedroom window, I got up and got ready to go to breakfast with my dad like any other Saturday morning. Only this wasn’t any other Saturday morning. I was going to meet the mysterious Gen—and I would see Edmond again.

  At the bakery, I ordered tea and a chocolate croissant. As I looked out the window, I saw a jack-o-lantern sitting outside a store across the street. Suddenly I noticed all the Halloween decorations. A group of kids dressed up as ghosts, pirates, superheroes, monsters, princesses went skipping by with their parents. I turned and watched my dad flip through the newspaper while I burned my mouth on my tea.

  As I stared out at the rain, I tried to think back to a time before meeting Will, but the memories felt fuzzy and less distinct. Spending such a concentrated block of time with Will had stretched and distorted my perception of time’s passing. It didn’t seem possible that I had known him for such a short time. It could have been an eternity, a lifetime’s worth of memories streaming through my mind when I imagined his face, as though every tiny detail held more weight when I was with him.

  By the time we pulled up in front of our house, Will was already waiting. Leaning against the hood of his car, he appeared unbothered by the mist that fell around him. The soft halo of precipitation made him look more angelic. My dad glanced in the rearview mirror and whistled softly.

  “You said this kid has family money?” he asked humorously.

  “An inheritance.”

  I knew that my dad had set up a trust for me after my mom’s accident, and mentioning an inheritance effectively ended a conversation that I didn’t want to have. Jumping out of the car to meet Will, I walked across the street, and he took my hand. When we got inside, my dad was in the kitchen. I blushed, thinking of his sex ed talk.

  “How are you, sir?” Will asked.

  “Not bad, Will. I hear Aven’s meeting your family today.”

  “As close as I have to family,” Will corrected. “Both my parents died a long time ago.”

  There was an awkward silence, and I took that as my cue to bolt upstairs to change. After changing my outfit twice and then scrutinizing my appearance in the mirror, I decided I could use all the help I could get. I changed again—into a blue-green dress—and put on some lip-gloss before going back downstairs.

  Will, who had been standing in the living room talking to my dad, looked up, staring at me in a way that made my cheeks flush. My dad gawked—because I never wore dresses. By the time my dad looked back at Will, Will’s expression was completely innocent.

  “Did Aven tell you her birthday’s not until the end of the school year?” my dad asked.

  I closed my eyes and shook my head.

  “She did, sir.”

  “Good. Sweetie, I’ll be home from dinner around eleven. I expect you home before then.”

  I walked over and kissed him on the cheek before following Will to the front door. When we reached his car, Will opened the door for me.

  “Well, that was fun,” I muttered when he appeared in the driver’s seat.

  “Your father has a right to be concerned.”

  “Yep. And I have a right as his offspring to be embarrassed.”

  I turned and stared at the scenery along the highway, relieved we had a drive ahead of us to reach the coast. My brain didn’t register any details other than the blur of green, which I was too anxious to appreciate. Will didn’t say anything. Instead, some soft classical music I didn’t recognize began playing. I probably would have been interrogating him about Edmond and Gen, but I was too freaking nervous. Sooner than possible, I felt the car veer off the main road, and my heart began pounding wildly all over again.

  “You’ll be fine,” he said.

  I looked around and saw that the car had stopped moving. We were parked in front of the house. A second later, Will opened my door and ushered me to the front of the house. When the doors slid open, I hesitated, feeling like Goldilocks walking into the home of the three bears. I swallowed as we stepped into the entryway. The fire was already blazing, and every light in the house illuminated the structure’s incredible design. Will’s design.

  The cavernous space was so silent that I was able to convince myself there had been some kind of delay, and we were still alone. Relief washed over me. Then music—the most haunting, terrifying music I had ever heard—started playing throughout the house. Will growled.

  “Genevieve!”

  From the corner of my eye, I saw movement. Turning, I watched two figures descend the staircase that led to Will’s bedroom—where I had slept, just like Goldilocks. My breathing hitched as their faces came into view. Edmond, I recognized instantly. Like Will, I couldn’t imagine anyone ever forgetting him. The young woman with him was more beautiful than humanly possible. Gen. She was tall—the word statuesque came to mind—with golden, glowing skin like Will. Her hair, worn in a pixie cut, was a deep, rich honey color, much like Will’s. Actually, she and Will could have been siblings. Only instead of bright blue eyes, her copper-colored eyes seemed to burn through me as the two of them arrived in front of us like visiting royalty.

  Both she and Edmond were dressed in clothing that matched Will’s—tasteful, but definitely high-end. I knew the short black sheath dress she was wearing most likely cost ten times what mine cost, and she looked airbrushed, like she belonged in the pages of a magazine. The two of them together made an impressive pair.

  “I said best behavior, and this is what I get?” Will snapped incredulously. “Symphonie Fantastique? Really?”

  “Dearest William, Berlioz is perfectly appropriate for the occasion,” she said humorously.

  I quirked an eyebrow at Will.

  “William?”

  “Only Genevieve calls me that
.”

  I smiled. I was pretty sure I remembered Edmond calling him that, too. I turned to Gen.

  “Appropriate for Halloween or meeting me?” I asked her.

  “Both,” she smiled wickedly. “You must be Aven.”

  “Genevieve?” I asked, trying very hard to get the French pronunciation correct.

  I extended my hand.

  “Gen, please,” she said, taking my hand.

  I frowned, feeling a strange tickle at the edge of my consciousness, like an itch I couldn’t scratch. Before I could figure out what it was, Will hissed, and that’s when I realized his arm was still resting across my shoulders.

  “Gen,” he growled. “I told you what she is, and the first thing you try to do is influence her?”

  Gen released my hand, and I looked at Will.

  “She didn’t even blink,” Gen said, her expression impressed and frustrated.

  “Aven, forgive Gen,” Will said. “She is incorrigible.”

  “I am not,” she shot back with a dazzling smile.

  “Did you just try to make me cluck like a chicken?” I asked Gen with a laugh.

  “Something like that,” she said wryly as she leaned into Edmond.

  Something in my head clicked, and I realized that Genevieve and Edmond were together. Like together together. When I looked up at Will, he was frowning again, but this time at Edmond, who shrugged as though he had just relayed some information that Will should have expected. Before I could wonder about it, Will began pulling me toward the sofas, angling me closest to the fire. Gen and Edmond sat down across from us, and I couldn’t help feeling like this was the most mismatched double date in history.

  I had no idea how much Will had told them about me, and I couldn’t think of a single question that wasn’t insanely embarrassing. Do you really suck people’s energy right out of them? How many people have you killed? Why are you all so freakishly beautiful? BTW, who turned whom into a pranic vampire? Do you still have sex? Awkward.

  “Clearly you have some scintillating questions for us,” Gen said lightly.

  Will shot her another look.

  “What?” she demanded. “You’ve told her what we are, and I must say, the mortification she’s exuding is quite delicious. She must be clinging to some lovely queries.”

  I straightened up.

  “It’s just that when I ask about certain things, Will gets—”

  “Tense?” Gen finished. “Edgy, perhaps?”

  I nodded with a crooked smile.

  “If this is all for introductions …” Will said with a strange note of discontent in his tone.

  I frowned at him.

  “Oh, but we’ve only just met,” Gen laughed.

  “Yes, and I imagine you would cause even more trouble if I were to leave Aven in your company. Edmond, I thought you were going to try to exert a good influence on her.”

  “You speak as though I’m the reclusive misanthrope,” Gen said.

  I looked to Edmond, who raised his hands.

  “Don’t hold me responsible for their lack of decorum,” he said lightly.

  Will stood up and offered his hand to me, glaring at Gen and Edmond. Taking his hand, I stood, still frowning at their conversation. I felt like I was missing something critical.

  “It was interesting meeting you both,” I said as Will ushered me toward the stairs.

  When we reached his room, the door swung shut behind us, and I stumbled over to the sofa, feeling dizzy. Will settled next to me, pulling me against him.

  “Why did you drag me out of there?” I asked curiously.

  I snuggled into Will’s rock-solid frame, grateful that the house remained so warm. I was cold and really tired. When Will didn’t answer, I glanced up at him.

  “It’s not often that a human—an empath—is outnumbered three to one by our kind,” Will said, frowning. “We naturally draw energy from creatures around us almost by osmosis. It’s instinct. Together, that predatory inclination is stronger, and we’ve likely been consuming your energy unconsciously.”

  I swallowed.

  “That’s why I’m so tired?” I asked, stifling a yawn.

  “I knew it was a risk in bringing you here,” Will nodded. “But I also told you that I could return energy.”

  “Equilibrium,” I smiled sleepily, remembering his definition.

  “More difficult to achieve, but well worth the discipline.”

  “I think I’ve felt it,” I blushed.

  Will laughed.

  “Not quite.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. “I know I’ve felt something.”

  “You’ve felt only a fraction of the energy in reverse.”

  “Really?” I asked, half skeptical, half in awe.

  His hand slipped through my hair, caressing the nape of my neck.

  “Would you like me to show you?” he asked with a thinly veiled urgency that made me shiver.

  His eyes were spellbinding in their intensity, and I nodded. Suddenly I wanted things I couldn’t even put into words, which scared me. Thinking of how it felt when Will kissed or touched me, I took a shuddering breath. I wanted to be with Will more than I was afraid of the danger. When Will’s other hand came up, his thumb brushing my lower lip, I closed my eyes.

  Will growled before his lips grazed mine. Then his hands slipped around my waist. By the time I opened my eyes, I was in his lap. My breath caught when I saw his expression. His hands skimmed my sides as he leaned forward to touch his lips to mine again. When he bit my lower lip, I felt a sudden jolt of pure craving. My lips parted, and I gripped the front of his shirt as his tongue skimmed past my lips, sending another thunderbolt of hunger racing through me, settling low in my abdomen. I reached for the buttons on his shirt before reality caught up with my brain. When I pulled away from him, my breathing was ragged.

  “What I felt just now … Was that me or you?” I gasped.

  “Both,” Will said, the blue of his eyes glowing.

  He reached forward, his fingers caressing the inside of my wrist. Adrenaline was spiking through my veins, and it felt like I might not sleep for days. When I pulled away, curling up on the far end of the sofa, Will’s eyes flashed with a feverishness that frightened me.

  “I’ve been so good for so long, Aven, but being with you—I can’t trust myself.”

  “You’re not alone there,” I mumbled.

  Will shook his head and moved closer.

  “No. You can’t understand the all-consuming nature of it, Aven.” He smiled sadly. “After all, you aren’t a monster.”

  He reached out, taking my hand in his as he stroked the inside of my wrist again. His eyes locked with mine, and I felt another surge of longing burst through me, but this time it was worse. It was painful. Like the feeling in my throat after finishing a cross-country race in eighty-degree weather—when I knew the water would hurt going down no matter how badly I wanted it.

  Without realizing what I was doing, I crawled back into Will’s lap, one hand gripping his hair as the other hand tore desperately at his shirt. Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to his and then bit him. Hissing, Will caught my chin in his fingers and pulled me from his lap, setting me on the couch before he stood.

  “Unfortunately, you’ll never truly appreciate how painful that was for me.”

  I gasped before my hand flew to my mouth.

  “I practically attacked you.”

  Will laughed, but the sound was humorless, almost pained.

  “Attacked would imply I hadn’t enjoyed every second of it, and allowing you to believe it was your doing would be dishonest of me.”

  I shook my head.

  “I don’t get it.”

  “Aven, you were feeling my desire. You were acting on my craving for you.”

  “Wasn’t some of what I felt my desire?” I asked wryly.

  “Yes—and yours only increases mine.”

  I had never felt anything so overwhelming, just on the edge of painful.


  “Do you feel like that all the time?” I asked cautiously.

  “No. It is both better and worse when I’m with you.”

  “Um, how does that work? Better and worse?”

  “I’ve developed a tolerance across many decades. While the craving for energy is always there beneath the surface, it is manageable. With you, though, it’s different. I crave more. I crave different things. The urge is stronger. So much stronger.”

  He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they burned into me.

  “But the energy I take from you, like I said, is also much stronger than what I would take from a normal human. Regrettably for me, it makes it that much more difficult for me to resist going too far. It also makes being parted from you rather excruciating.”

  My eyes widened.

  “Are you saying you go through withdrawal when we’re not together?”

  Will nodded, and I frowned.

  “Wait, does that mean I’m just some addictive substance—like cigarettes or heroin—to you?”

  “You are not just anything,” Will said. “You are everything to me. Most addictions are habits people wish they could quit, a sickness that destroys their lives. You are what has given my existence meaning.”

  I jumped off the couch, but it didn’t help our height difference.

  “Have you ever thought that we’re the perfect match? I feel too much, and you feed off of that energy. If I remember correctly from freshman-year biology, that’s symbiosis.”

  “My taking energy from you, even in small amounts, would be more aptly described as parasitic than symbiotic,” Will countered.

  “You’re saying I don’t get anything from you, but I think you know that’s not true. Because you know my energy is different when I’m with you. I feel more alive with you than I’ve felt … in a long time.”

  “That is true of both of us,” he said, touching my chin.

  I smiled, feeling like we had reached an understanding. Then I remembered the conversation that had taken place between Will, Edmond, and Gen before we had come upstairs. As though I’m the reclusive misanthrope, Gen had said before Edmond’s comment about not being responsible for their lack of decorum. Who had they been referring to?