“He’s a she. You’ve met her, actually.”
Sarah frowned. “She’s a shifter?”
“The vampire. Moira.”
Something ugly slithered in Sarah’s eyes. I straightened and watched her carefully. We hadn’t been on the same page the last few days.
“You helped a female vampire with a construction project,” Sarah said flatly. “And she paid you in cookies. Did she pay you anything extra?”
Her voice was too sweet to be sincere. “Sarah. You sound jealous. Is there anything you’d like to talk about?”
She scoffed, a sound I’d never heard her make before. Sarah had always been sweet and submissive, pliable and friendly. This was a sound that sounded wrong coming from her.
My mind rewound back to earlier when Moira smiled at me. She’d been filthy, covered in dirt and cobwebs and mold, and I thought she was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.
I regretted the feeling immediately and had looked away for fear I’d tell her or kiss her or do something unforgivable.
“Women don’t make cookies for men they’re friends with,” Sarah said.
“She didn’t make them for me. These are a couple of days old. Moira sent me home with some because we didn’t have time to eat.”
Sarah watched me with those clear blue eyes for a long moment. Finally, she smiled and held her hand out. “Why don’t you go take a shower? I’ll take those to the kitchen. We can share them after dinner.”
Crisis averted. “Thanks. I’ll be quick.”
Sarah’s nose wrinkled again. “No. Take your time. You’re dirtier than I’ve ever seen you.” She took the cookies and stepped away. “And maybe shampoo twice.”
I grinned and pretended to lunge at her. Sarah laughed, but it felt forced and the moment was broken.
“Wash behind your ears,” she said with a smile and hurried away.
I watched her golden hair swing all the way until she turned the corner.
Normally, I watched her because I couldn’t get enough of her. Today, I watched her because I wondered if Sarah was the person I thought she was.
Was I misremembering her or had something happened?
To me? To her?
The ground underneath me felt unsteady and unfamiliar.
Later, under the spray of hot water and the feeling of suds running down my body, I imagined Moira behind me, her fingers scratching through my hair the same way they had last night.
I let out a groan of misery. What the hell was happening to me?
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Mom knew I was onto her. She would have already gathered any information I could use to track her and take her by surprise. Mom wanted me to come to her and would know when she’d beaten me down enough for me to give in. She’d always had a knack for knowing when I was about to give up.
The mistake was involving Ethan, and she had yet to realize when he was involved, I’d never give up—even if it meant losing him forever.
Armed with a handful of cookies and a thermos of Earl Grey, the next morning I stepped outside to find Evie.
My best friend sat barefoot on the ground. Her dark hair swayed in the wind, and her eyes were closed. A small smile rested on her lips.
From the shadows of the trees, a red fox came out and padded over to sit at my feet. “Hey Ember,” I whispered, nudging the fox over as I settled myself on the ground to wait for Evie to finish communing with the earth.
