"Ava," I corrected automatically, then remembered my manners. "I mean—yes, sir. It's nice to meet you."
He laughed, a warm sound that made me feel less nervous. "Ava it is. Welcome to Harper Manor, little one. I think you're going to like it here." He led us inside, and I forgot all about best behavior. The foyer was bigger than our whole apartment, with a sweeping staircase and a chandelier that looked like frozen waterfalls and paintings on the walls that seemed to watch us as we walked past.
"The boys are around somewhere," Mr. Harper was saying to Mom. "I'll have them come say hello at dinner. Give you two a chance to settle in first." Boys. I perked up at that. I didn't have any siblings, and the kids at my new school didn't like me much. Maybe Mr. Harper's boys would want to play.
"How many?" I asked, tugging on Mr. Harper's sleeve. Mom gave me a look, but he just smiled.
"Four. Well, three are mine by blood—Caleb, Ethan, and Leo. Mason is... family in every way that matters." Something flickered across his face, there and gone. "They're a bit older than you, but I'm sure they'll be happy to show you around."
A bit older turned out to be an understatement. I met them at dinner that night, seated at a table so long I could barely see the other end. Mom was next to Mr. Harper, talking in low voices about grown-up things I didn't understand. I was at the other end, surrounded by empty chairs, swinging my legs because my feet didn't reach the floor.
Then they walked in. Four of them, just like Mr. Harper said. But he hadn't mentioned that they were practically grown-ups themselves.
The first one through the door was golden. That was the only word for him—golden hair, golden skin, warm brown eyes that seemed to glow in the candlelight. He was tall and broad-shouldered and moved like he owned the room, like the air itself made way for him.
He stopped when he saw me. Just... stopped. In the middle of the doorway, blocking the others behind him. His nostrils flared. Once. Twice. Something shifted in his expression—something I was too young to understand.
"Dad," he said slowly, not taking his eyes off me. "You didn't tell us Elena's daughter was..."
He trailed off. Didn't finish. But something passed between him and Mr. Harper, some silent communication I couldn't read.
"She's young yet," Mr. Harper said from the other end of the table. His voice was careful. "Nothing's certain."
"It's certain." The golden boy's voice was quiet. Absolute. "You know it is." I squirmed in my seat, confused. They weretalking about me like I wasn't there, like I was something to be discussed rather than a person sitting right in front of them. I didn't like it.
"Hi," I said loudly, because Mom always said the best way to deal with being ignored was to make yourself impossible to ignore. "I'm Ava."
The golden boy, Mason, I'd learn later, finally moved, walking toward me with slow, deliberate steps. Behind him, the others filed in, and I felt their eyes on me like physical weight.
"Hi," Mason said, stopping beside my chair. He crouched down so we were eye level, and up close, I could see that his eyes weren't just brown. They had flecks of gold in them, like honey in sunlight. "I'm Mason. It's nice to meet you, Ava."
"Thanks." I didn't know what else to say. He was looking at me so intensely, like I was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen, and it made something flutter in my stomach that I didn't understand.
"I'm Caleb." A shadow fell over me, and I looked up to find the biggest person I'd ever seen looming beside Mason. He was huge, taller than my dad had been, with shoulders like a mountain and eyes so pale blue they almost looked silver. His face was hard, all sharp angles and a jaw that looked like it was carved from stone.
He should have scared me. Everything about him screamed danger. When he looked at me, something in those icy eyes softened. Just a little. Just enough.
"Hi," I whispered. He didn't smile. Didn't speak again. Just stared at me like he was trying to see inside my head, then gave a short nod and moved to take a seat across the table. His eyes never left me.
"Don't mind Caleb. He's not much of a talker." This voice was lighter, teasing, and I turned to find a boy with dark hair and green eyes sliding into the chair next to mine. He was leanerthan the other two, with sharp features and a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm Ethan. I hear you like books."
"How do you know that?" I asked, surprised.
"I know lots of things." He tilted his head, studying me. "What's your favorite?"
"Um..." I thought about it. "Alice in Wonderland. The one where she falls down the rabbit hole and everything is weird and backwards."
Something flickered across his face. "Interesting choice. A girl lost in a strange world, surrounded by creatures who want to possess her." His smile sharpened. "Do you ever feel like Alice, Ava?"
I didn't know how to answer that. Didn't know why the question made me shiver.
"Ethan, stop being creepy." The last boy dropped into the chair on my other side, and when I turned to look at him, he grinned, a bright, mischievous expression that made him look younger than the others even though he was probably the same age. His hair was dark and messy, his eyes gray like storm clouds, and there was a dimple in his cheek when he smiled. "I'm Leo. Ignore everything these idiots say. They have no social skills."
"I have excellent social skills," Ethan said mildly.
"You just compared a ten-year-old to a girl getting chased by monsters." He counted back, a smirk on his lips.
"The creatures in Wonderland aren't monsters. They're manifestations of—" He shot back, frown on his face.
