“Enough. We don’t have the time for this.” She jabbed a finger at Logan and Nicholas. “You two stay here with Lucy. Sebastian, Geoffrey, your father, and I will find your sister. The rest of you will help Bruno’s team find your aunt.” She snapped her fingers and it was like a pistol shot. “That’s final, not one word out of any of you.

Go. Now.”

The house emptied so fast the silence felt like a slap. I blinked at Nicholas and Logan.

“They don’t really think we’re going to sit around here and wait, do they?”

“Of course they do,” Nicholas replied.

“Look, I’m not sitting around here anymore. Solange needs our help.”

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” Logan said. “You’re sixteen and human.”

“Shut up.”

“I mean it, Lucy. Solange would kill us if we let you put yourself in danger.”

“Logan, don’t be an ass.”

“I have been sleeping in mud. I’m covered in dirt and blood and these were my favorite pants before I landed in raccoon shit.”

I bit back a totally inappropriate chuckle. “Raccoon shit?”

“Lucy.”

I kissed his cheek, wrinkling my nose. “Why don’t you go up and take a shower. If you stop bitching, I’ll even wait for you before I figure out what to do next.” He pushed to his feet, groaning like an old man. “I don’t think I like you anymore.” I patted his head. “Don’t be silly, you love me.”

“Try and stay out of trouble in the ten minutes it’s going to take me to get clean.”

“I can’t make any promises,” I replied primly.

He shot Nicholas a smirk. “Good luck, little brother.” I scowled at his retreating back.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

CHAPTER 19

Solange

Sunday, sunset

When I opened my eyes, Kieran was crouched next to me, his hand on my shoulder. I jerked back, reflexively. Startled, he did the same.

“Easy,” he said. “It’s just me.”

I blinked, pushing myself up into a sitting position. I felt less like a truck had run over me and then backed up to make sure the job was done properly. Now it felt as if the truck had hit me only once.

“What time is it?” I asked groggily.

“Almost dusk. I tried to wake you earlier but you didn’t respond. Scared the crap out of me,” he added, muttering as he got to his feet. “I’d rather be well out of here by sundown.”

I swung my feet over the edge of the cot.

“Okay, give me a minute.” I yawned.

“Whoa.” He was staring at me. I resisted the urge to wipe my face to see if there was drool on my cheek or something. “Your eyes.”

“What? What?” I scrubbed at them violently, horrified at the thought they might have those gross goopy things at the edges. Or were they even more bloodshot? I’d heard of that happening, where the whites ran with blood.

“I think . . . the color’s changing.” He paused. “Is that even possible?”

“Is that all? Now you’re the one scaring the crap out of me,” I muttered back.

“Honestly.”

“I could have sworn they were darker before you went to sleep.”

“They were.”

“But they look really blue now.”

“They probably are,” I replied. “Our eyes get lighter. The really old ones go gray usually.”

“Oh.”

I shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t know how to analyze the way he was looking at me. It made me feel shy and kind of like giggling. And I so was not the giggling type.

“Didn’t you want to get out of here?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He handed me his jacket, which I slipped on over Lucy’s dress. It was torn and stiff with mud up one side. “Are you . . . hungry?” I froze, looked up at him through my eyelashes. He wasn’t offering me blood . . .

was he? I tried not to gag.

“I just meant . . .” His ears went red. “Protein bar?” he explained, pulling one out of his vest pocket.

“Oh.” I took it from him, my stomach suddenly rumbling. “Thanks.” We chewed quietly while I tried to figure out what to say to the guy who had tried to kidnap me for money and then within the week saved me from a bunch of his armed brethren. I got that he was doing it for his precious Helios-Ra, to stop the rogue unit before it did serious damage to the league’s reputation, but still, I couldn’t help but feel as if he might care just a little bit about whether or not I lived through my birthday.

“Can you get us out of here?” he asked once we’d finished our mock chocolate bars. It had settled the hunger pangs but made me thirsty as well. My mouth felt chalky. “Or do we really have to wait until the sun sets?”

“It’s easier if we wait, but I think I can turn the alarm off .” I raised an eyebrow.

“You’ll have to turn your back.”

He turned slowly. The view from the back was just as good as the view from the front. I could practically hear Lucy snickering in the back of my head. I might be the vampire daughter, but she was the one who was a bad influence. No question. I made sure Kieran wasn’t peeking and then cupped my hand over my fingertips as I punched in the code. The light went from flashing red to full red. It was bright enough to have me squinting, my eyes tearing.