Eternal

Jack just shrugged, ignoring that jab. “I don’t know. Maybe something big is going down in the vampire world? Maybe she needs his help and he’s not really locked up. Or maybe she just wants to keep him . . . I don’t know, hidden away? Protected somehow?”

I rose on shaky legs, my heart suddenly racing. “Oh my God, Jack. That’s it.” The wheels in my brain were spinning now. That time I breached her mind in her office, she was thinking about a war—some sort of vampire war—and Aidan was somehow connected to that thought. Aidan, and the fact that he’s the biological offspring of King Edward VII.

He can’t know, not till war erupts.

Maybe war had erupted. Maybe Mrs. Girard was off fighting it. And maybe, just maybe, Aidan was fighting, too. Not destroyed. Not locked up and being tortured.

An unfamiliar feeling surged through my veins, quickening my pulse—hope, I realized. For the first time in weeks, I had hope.

“I’ve got to go,” I said, my heart banging noisily against my ribs. “But hey, maybe you should talk to Kate. Give her a few hours to cool down and then, you know, talk.”

“Talk to Kate about what?”

My head swiveled toward the voice coming from the doorway. There stood Tyler Bennett, leaning against the doorjamb.

Of course.

“Well, hey there, Violet,” he said with his trademark cocky grin. “Miss me?”

5 ~ Frenemies

Speak of the devil,” Jack said, glaring at Tyler.

“Y’all were talking about me? Wow. I’m flattered.” Still leaning casually against the doorframe, Tyler didn’t seem to notice the hostility directed his way. In fact, he looked perfectly comfortable in his low-slung jeans and faded flannel shirt.

“Yeah, don’t be,” I launched back. “Trust me. It wasn’t at all flattering.”

“Man, that’s harsh.” His eyes danced with their usual mischief. “Anyway, I was looking for Aidan. I think it’s time we have a little chat. You know, get some things straight. Mano a mano, as we say in Texas.”

The now-familiar pain sliced through my heart at the mention of Aidan’s name. I swallowed hard, struggling to rein in my emotions, to compose my features into something that resembled normal. “Yeah, well, you’re too late for that,” I said at last. “Right, Jack?”

Jack ignored that, instead busying himself with sweeping up the broken glass on the floor.

I just glared at him, waiting to see if he was going to own up to what he’d done in front of Tyler. But he didn’t—of course not. He just kept on cleaning up the mess as if we weren’t standing there watching him.

“Okay, what’s going on here?” Tyler asked, breaking the uneasy silence.

As soon as Jack dumped the broken bits of glass in the trash and returned the surviving test tubes to their racks, he grabbed his backpack off the counter and made for the door. “Sorry to break up the party, guys, but I’ve got to go to football practice.”

“Coward,” I said under my breath.

“Let him go.” Tyler reached for my arm. “Seriously, Violet, what’s going on?”

Taking a moment to gather my courage, I dropped my gaze to my scuffed sneakers, noticing a rip in one seam. “Prepare your ‘I told you so’s,” I said, resisting the urge to bend down and pull on the loose threads. “You’re going to love this.”

I looked up to find him studying my face carefully, his mouth drawn into a tight line. “Actually, I don’t think I am,” he said.

Best to just blurt it out, I decided. “You were right. Aidan was the Stalker. Thanks to our good friend Jack, that is, who was tampering with his serum.”

“What the hell? You’re saying that Aidan really was attacking those women?”

I nodded, chewing on my lower lip.

“When did you find out?”

“The last day of school. That night, in Manhattan,” I clarified.

“And you’re just now telling me because . . . ?”

“Because it was a lot to deal with, that’s why. Besides, what was I supposed to do? Call you in the middle of Christmas dinner with the happy news?”

“Trust me. It’s not like my Christmas could have gotten any worse than it already was,” he said with a shrug. “So what the hell happened? I mean, if he’s the World’s Kindest Vampire like you say he is, why’d he do it?”

“Long story short, he had no idea what he was doing—he’d test the serum on himself and then basically black out while the Stalker took over. Like Jekyll and Hyde or something. As soon as he figured it out, he turned himself in to the Tribunal. That very night.”

“The Tribunal?”

I nodded. “Yeah, it’s like the vampire high court. The ruling body—something like that. Anyway, they’re in charge of all vampire punishment, and after what he did . . .” I trailed off, unable to finish the thought. “Aidan’s gone, and he’s not coming back.”

He reached for my hand, giving it a squeeze. “God, Violet, I’m so sorry. But Jack”—he shook his head—“I mean, are you sure? How do you know he was involved?”

“Because I saw him, that’s how,” I said. “In a vision last fall. Only, I just figured out what it meant. Anyway, he confessed. Kate managed to get it out of him—that’s why he was so pissed off.”

He dropped my hand. In an instant, he was at the door.

“Where are you going?” I hurried to catch up with him, reaching for his sleeve to stop him.

“To find Jack and kick his ass, that’s where.”

I shook my head. “Don’t bother. He had his reasons, okay? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but . . . well, it’s not like he had a choice. Not really.” God, I hated that I was excusing Jack. I wanted to blame him. To hate him. But Mrs. Girard had threatened his little brother. What was he supposed to do? What would any of us have done in his place?

“You’re actually defending that asshole?”

“Well, there’s more to it,” I said, wondering just how much I should tell him. “But can we talk about it later? Right now I need to find Kate and make sure she’s okay.”

I could have sworn I saw a flicker of a smile at the corners of his mouth. “Why don’t you let me deal with Kate?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. I think she’s pretty confused right now.” Yeah, that was putting it mildly. I’d seen the way she was looking at Jack just before she ran out—she was so not over him; I was sure of it. And now that she knew why he’d broken up with her, well . . .

“What about you?” he asked, interrupting my train of thought. His brow furrowed as he peered down at me. “Are you okay?”

Tears burned behind my eyelids, but I managed to blink them back. I was not going to cry. “What do you think, Tyler? No. No, I’m not okay.”

He pulled me into his arms. “No, course you’re not. I really am sorry, Violet. Seriously, you just tell me what you need me to do.”

I took a deep, steadying breath. “I just . . . I need you to be my friend, that’s all.”

Cupping my face with his hands, he tipped my head up till our gazes met. He nodded once, then pressed his lips against my forehead. His kiss was quick, entirely chaste.

“You got it,” he said.