Eternal

“Well, if it isn’t the boyfriend,” Tyler drawled, winking in my direction as he approached the narrow bed.

“Aw, Vi, you brought your little friend,” Aidan shot back with a grin.

Next thing I knew, the two of them were doing that same little half hug, fist bump thing.

“Good to see you in one piece, man,” Tyler said, sounding—was it possible?—a little choked up. “Though just barely. Shit, what’d they do to you?”

I couldn’t stop the shudder that snaked down my spine, remembering those shared sensations.

“This is nothing,” Aidan answered with a shrug. “You should have seen me last night.”

I was suddenly glad I hadn’t.

Joshua pulled up a chair beside the bed and sat, pulling Cece into his lap. “You think you’ll be back in class soon?” he asked. “We’ve got an art history field trip on Friday—MoMA this time. Won’t be the same without you.”

Aidan nodded. “I’ll be there. Hmm, it appears that I’ve missed some interesting developments,” he said, raising one brow quizzically as Joshua absently stroked Cece’s shoulder. “Anything else I should know about?”

There was a knock on the door, and everyone turned to look as Kate stuck her head inside. “Hey! Okay if we come in?”

We?

“I texted her where we were,” Sophie whispered. “Hope that’s okay.”

“Of course,” Aidan called out.

I could only stare in shocked silence as Kate walked in, a sheepish-looking Jack trailing behind her.

Tyler was on his feet in an instant, his face a mask of fury. “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here, asshole,” he said, stepping directly into Jack’s path.

“It’s okay,” Aidan said sharply. “Violet told me why he did it. He didn’t have a choice.”

Tyler didn’t back down. “You sure? Because I’d really like to kick his sorry ass.”

Aidan closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath, looking as if he were suddenly in pain. “Yeah, I’m sure,” he said at last.

I hurried over to his side, perching on the bed beside him. I ran my hand over his forehead, not quite sure what I was feeling for. “You okay?”

He nodded. “I’m . . . fine. Just tired.”

Cece rose off Joshua’s lap. “Yeah, we should go and let you get some rest. I’m so happy to see you, though. You gave us all such a scare.” Still clutching Josh’s hand, she leaned down and kissed Aidan on the forehead. “Get better, okay?”

“I’ll try my best,” he said with a smile that looked forced. I wasn’t sure what was going on—didn’t understand vampire physiology enough to know exactly how they’d damaged him—but he obviously wasn’t well. At least, not as well as he’d like us to believe.

I remained there by his side, clutching his cold hand in mine while everyone said their good-byes. The feeling that we were family, my Winterhaven friends and me, comforted me. The deeply rooted friendship, the camaraderie there in the room was palpable. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen to us all when we went off to college, scattered about the globe. I couldn’t think about it, not now. Not when we were finally back together again, all of us.

Finally, only Jack and Kate remained in the tiny, cramped space. I kept my gaze down, locked on Aidan’s and my intertwined fingers. I couldn’t look at Jack—didn’t want to remember how he’d betrayed us all.

“I was hoping I could talk to you,” Jack directed at Aidan. “I have . . . I mean, there’s something I’d like to say to you. Alone.”

Aidan shook his head. “It’s not necessary. Trust me. I understand.”

“It is necessary,” Jack argued.

I rose, fiddling with the bedcovers. Clearly, Jack needed to say his piece. “I’ll be just outside, okay?”

“I’ll go with you,” Kate said, then turned toward Aidan, patting his shoulder awkwardly. “It’s really great to see you, Aidan. I’m glad you’re back.”

“Thanks,” he murmured.

With one last glance back in his direction, I followed Kate out, leaving Jack to his apology. Perhaps then we’d all be right again. The Winterhaven Warriors—plus two, if you added in Tyler and Max—back together at last.

I only hoped that this time we wouldn’t be called to a fight.

16 ~ Girl in the Mirror

What about this one?” I stood in front of a colorful painting, tipping my head to one side as I considered it.

Aidan stepped up behind me, laying a hand on my shoulder. “You like this one?”

I nodded. I couldn’t explain it, not exactly, but something about the image—a girl gazing into a mirror— captured my interest. Her weird, disjointed reflection was discordant with her equally odd figure. Still, I got it. I often felt that way myself. “Yeah, I do. What about y’all? And don’t make fun of me,” I added, seeing Joshua’s mouth widen into a grin. For some unknown reason, he loved to tease me about my Southern accent. “Y’all is a very useful word, you know.”

“Amen to that,” Tyler said. “Yeah, this one’s as good as any. Picasso, right?”

“Wow, you have learned something in class,” I teased. “Go figure.”

“Okay, I’m writing it down.” Joshua took out the checklist Dr. Andrulis had given us when we’d gotten off the bus. “What’s the title?”

Tyler stepped up to the card bearing the painting’s information. “Girl Before a Mirror. From 1932.”

“Ah, a fine year,” Aidan said.

Both Joshua and Tyler turned to face him, looking puzzled.

“What? Young men’s fashions were quite enjoyable then,” Aidan deadpanned. “Way better than the 1950s, trust me.”

I just shook my head, amazed as always at the reminder of Aidan’s extraordinarily long youth.

“Dude, you are so freaking weird,” Tyler said.

“Haters gonna hate,” I said under my breath.

“I heard that.” Tyler’s eyes danced mischievously.

Joshua tapped the paper he was holding with his pen. “Okay, so that’s our painting. Now we have to pick our second project. Want to try the sculpture garden? Or check out some photographs?”

“You think they’ve got a naked picture of Violet’s twin at this museum, too?” Tyler asked with a leer.

“Yeah, what was the deal with that?” Joshua asked.

I just stared at him, caught completely off guard. Truthfully, I hadn’t given Isabel a thought in months. I’d been way too terrified about the future to dwell on the past.

“What?” Joshua asked with a shrug. “I figured it was okay to ask now that Tyler knows the truth. I mean, that was Aidan in the photograph, wasn’t it? At the Met?”

Beside me, Aidan reached for my hand. He looked suddenly pale, his eyes hollow.

“Hey, you okay?” I asked, giving his hand a squeeze. When he didn’t reply, I squeezed harder. “Aidan? What’s going on?”

“She didn’t deserve it, what they did to her,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes had a distant, faraway look. “All because of me. And now . . . I’ve put you in danger too.”

“Shh. I’m not . . . It’s fine. C’mon, do you need to get some air?” I was flustered, surprised that he’d gone from his usual self—laughing and making jokes—to this shell of himself in such a short time.

“Yeah, you look like shit,” Tyler said. “Maybe you just need something to eat.” He must have immediately realized his error, because he visibly recoiled as soon as the words were out of his mouth. “Oh yeah. Right. Never mind.”

“Guys, do you mind going on and picking out our second piece? I’m going to take him outside for a few