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“Does it typically take this long?”

“It depends.” Although they could easily have raced up the hill, they took their time as regular people would. “We’re assuming this person is aware of their ancestry and has been trained.”

Unlike Alessandra.

“I wonder what triggered them?”

He’d asked himself the same question. “Obviously they must have come into contact with a vampire for the first time.”

“Are there a lot of them? Kenton gave me a very nonanswer when I asked him.”

“Far be it from me to defend Kenton—”

Alessandra made a face at him.

“But that’s only because he doesn’t know. No one does really. All we know for sure is that there aren’t enough for us to have been discovered yet.”

“Except those few times you were.”

She was correct. Turning a human was tricky. Not only did the vampire have to be skilled enough to drain the victim one heartbeat away from death, but they also needed to administer a Nine Herbs Charm—the same one his sister-in-law had used to cure hopeless cases in the thirteenth century—on the wound. But it had been done, first by his brother Torr, who had only wanted to save the handmaiden he thought he’d killed. Then many times after that. Periodically, some idiot vampire killed an innocent or got sloppy without proper knowledge of the procedure. Luckily, most of those incidents had been adequately covered up by older vampires since most people were not truly open to the possibility that immortal beings were real.

“Speaking of the wide world of vampires,” he said as they approached his driveway, one which he’d hardly used since arriving. Although he loved the convenience of driving, and how small it made the wider world, he found he much preferred to walk everywhere in town. “I don’t suppose Kenton has heard from his brothers?”

Alessandra snorted. “Yeah. No. I don’t think they’ll be getting a wedding invitation.”

Drake had left town at the same time as Laria, and though they hadn’t discussed it, they all knew why. He’d also sensed the new Cheld. It had become a race.

“At least Kenton’s brothers didn’t find this person first.”

If they had, the poor soul would likely already be dead.

Lawrence led the way up the side stairs, and Alessandra waited on the porch so he could put away his groceries.

When he finished, he decided to test his Cheld protégé, something he did every so often to hone her skills. He and Kenton fought very differently, and they wanted her to know everything they did. She stood watching the town below, not paying any attention to what was behind her. He knew the train whistle would sound any moment. Sure enough, a minute later, its whistle echoed up the hill, reverberating all around them. He used the distraction to rush her, intending to capture both wrists behind her back and immobilize her.

To his surprise, she sensed the attack and blocked him, simultaneously kicking him behind the knee.

Were he most other men, or vampires, Lawrence would have gone down.

“Nice,” he said, pleased with her progress.

Grinning, Allie strutted away from him, heading toward the former B&B. He followed. For someone who hadn’t even known about her abilities two months earlier, she’d come to revel in them. She claimed she still planned to teach history at Stone Haven University, where she’d been hired last May. But Lawrence had a feeling that was not her only role to play. He’d seen Cheld go on to amazing feats, some having to do with vampires, and others not. Athletes and even advocates, many used their unique skills in fields that could utilize incredible strength or superhuman hearing.

His gut told him Alessandra Fiore would be one of the most impressive.

“Look what I dragged home,” Alessandra said to Kenton, who sat on the second-floor balcony. He held his glass up, as if to toast them. In the past, Lawrence might have suspected the red liquid inside to be something more than the sloe gin the Englishman enjoyed, but now that Kenton drank solely from Alessandra, he had no need for anything extra.

“Fantastic,” Kenton said dryly.

“I came for her company,” Lawrence said, only half joking, “not yours.”

“I’ll have Mary bring you a drink,” Alessandra cut in. “You see. It is quite useful to have a maid.” She paused, then added, “I . . . will be right back.”

Lawrence caught Kenton’s eye as soon as she disappeared inside. “I didn’t imagine that?” he asked.

“Nope,” Kenton said, grinning at the door. “She’s up to something.” But they left it at that, both of them eager to discuss the newly discovered Cheld. They shared the latest news—a whole lot of nothing—and speculated on what would happen next. After a while, Lawrence began to wonder what was taking Alessandra so long.

“Funny how timeless it is, the idea of matchmaking,” Kenton murmured. Lawrence followed his gaze toward the entrance of the balcony and froze.