Page 104

And I love that you came here to check on her.

Her shoulders lifted slightly, as if an enormous weight had been taken off them. “I figured as much when she didn’t come home, but it’s not like Alessandra to forget to text.”

“She was—” he reached for the coffee cup, “—otherwise occupied.” Taking a sip, he continued, “Thank you for your help in getting her there last night.”

Toni looked at him as if she were a scientist and Kenton, a newly discovered specimen.

“You broke her heart,” she said, “and I’d hoped you could put it back together.”

His chest tightened at her words.

He would make it up to her, no matter how long it took.

“Our circumstances are . . . complicated.”

Toni appeared to consider that. “I won’t argue with you there,” she said. “But you should know Alessandra values loyalty above all else.” She sipped her tea. “She’s quick to befriend just about anyone, you know, and she gets burned for it sometimes. Last year, a new teacher was moved into the classroom next to hers. Alessandra showed her the ropes, invited her out with us . . . took her under her wing, so to speak.”

He frowned, not liking where this was headed.

“One day during her planning period, she left the room to make some copies and heard her name. Dropping back, she stood outside the door and listened as the new girl proceeded to tell one of their colleagues that although Alessandra was nice enough, her personality was ‘too strong,’ and she needed to be brought down a peg.”

Rage tightened his hand on the coffee cup, sending a hairline fracture down its length.

“What did she do?” he finally asked.

“Nothing. That’s my point. She stopped spending time with her outside of school, of course, but she was as pleasant to her as ever. Eventually the new girl got the hint and asked Alessandra if she’d done something to upset her. A guilty conscience, perhaps?”

Now Toni was upset.

“Like I said, she gets burned sometimes for being naive, especially about people’s basic nature. But she’s also a quick study. After she overheard that, the girl was dead to her, and good riddance.”

They sat there for a moment, each drinking their beverage, and then Toni set down her tea. “Anyway, I have to get to work. I just wanted to be sure Alessandra was okay.”

As he stood with her, it struck him that she’d taken his word for it. She hadn’t insisted on seeing her friend. “How do you know I’m not lying, that she is indeed sleeping soundly in my bed?”

“I said she was naive, not stupid. Alessandra wouldn’t have come here with you if she didn’t trust you.”

Toni was halfway to the front door when Kenton stopped her.

“Thank you,” he said again, wanting to repay her but not knowing how just yet.

Toni shrugged. “My pleasure.”

She left him standing in the hallway, looking at a table that still contained brochures about the town. If he stayed here, Kenton would need to make this place less inn and more home. Rowan and Drake.

Alessandra values loyalty above all else.

Well, they would have no problem there. She’d won his loyalty, though it had not been an easy battle. There was no going back now, nor did he want to in the least.

What about the other Cheld?

Sinking into a chair—he didn’t even remember walking into the red room—Kenton allowed his mind to wander to the one thing that had been plaguing him all night.

You can’t have it both ways, Lawrence had said.

And he was right.

Could he really make a life with Alessandra and then, when the time came, leave her to kill the next Cheld? A man or woman who was related to her, however distantly, and had the same powerful blood running through their veins?