She swiveled her head, taking in the expansive ballroom, “That would be so cool.”

“Oh, we’ll have a girl’s night,” Fiona squealed. “I can do your nails and hair and the kitchen is stocked with the best junk food.”

“It’s best just to go along with whatever she wants,” I told Rebekah. “Are you okay?” I asked on a more serious note. “I’m so sorry all of this happened to you.”

Her head bobbed up and down quickly. “I’m not hurt if that’s what you mean. I know the supernatural exist, but this is the first time I’ve encountered it. It’s a lot to take in.” She took a nervous breath, tucking her hands under her armpits. “Mom and dad…they don’t talk about it, ya know?”

I did in fact, but I wasn’t going to allow my annoyance with my parents show. Rebekah needed me to remain calm. Just like there are towns strictly for otherworldly; there are also all human towns. My parents made sure to live in one of them. Now that I was older, I could see the benefits. But I also didn’t believe in acting like something didn’t exist simply because it made one uncomfortable. By shielding Rebekah from the monsters of the world, they were hurting her. Dorian once told me that knowledge was power, and he was right. If in the future my sister decided to move away, she would encounter a supernatural. It was almost impossible not to. Her lack of knowledge could get her killed.

“You’ve never met one?” Fiona asked stunned.

Rebekah shook her head, “They’re not allowed in our town. And my parents only allow me to go to ‘human-only’ towns,” she paused. “It’s probably best the vampire hypnotized them.”

“What vampire?”

“The boy,” Rebekah said, “the one who you spoke to a little bit ago.”

“Aaron La’Rue? He’s the one who kidnapped you?”

“Yes. He pulled up in a car on my walk home from school. He introduced himself and said that it was important I come with him to save you.” She looked down at the floor, uncomfortable. “I didn’t get into the car, not right away. Then an odd sensation came over me, like I was in a dream. I got into his car and directed him toward our house.” Rebekah made eye contact with me again, “He told me to wait in the car while he spoke with Mom and Dad. He was really nice considering…” A slight blush colored her cheeks.

Fiona and I shared a worried glance. The last thing I needed was my little sister fantasizing about Aaron La’rue. Sure, he looked seventeen but behind the mask of innocence was a monster waiting to sink his fangs into a vein. If it was the last thing I did, I’d make sure it wasn’t my sister’s.

“So he put the whammy on our parents and then what?”

Rebekah took a deep breath, “We boarded his private jet and flew to Washington. The others were there too, but Aaron made sure none of them bothered me. When we landed, we headed here straightaway—”

“Wait,” Fiona said. “He hypnotized you so you would go with him, but not to forget about all this?”

My sister’s dark hair swayed around her head. “No.”

Fiona and I shared another, more concerned look. What was Aaron’s game, or was I just overreacting? I hoped it was the latter.

“Okay,” I said. “So, you guys head to the castle and then what?”

“I was put in a bedroom until you arrived.”

“No one hurt you? Holly didn’t speak to you?”

Rebekah shook her head again. “I didn’t meet Holly until just before you arrived. Aaron talked to me a little bit, but it was about basic stuff.”

I considered my sister for a moment, and then looked at Fiona. “You didn’t see any of this?”

“Holly started playing that damn—excuse the language,” she said to my sister, “music and we all fell into a zombie stupor.”

“Gwen,” someone said behind me. I turned to see Charles. Movement caught my peripheral and my eyes darted to the right. Holly’s body was being loaded onto a cart with wheels.

“May I talk to you for a moment?”

I looked at Charles and nodded, following him to the other side of the ballroom, after excusing myself from my sister and Fiona. Saggy bags lined the underneath of his gray eyes. We stopped in front of two other council members: Miranda and Patrick. I assumed the others were working on damage control. I nodded a greeting to the both of them.

“We wanted to voice our sincerest apologies,” Charles began. “We all suspected Holly was capable of horrid things, but even this surpassed our expectations. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon in our positions. Some leaders will always crave more power. It’s the curse of politics I suppose.” He tucked his hands into his trouser pockets. Soft wrinkles around his eyes and cheeks deepened when he frowned.

“To make amends for the trouble Holly caused and our disregard to the situation, we are granting you a severance—”

“That’s not necessary,” I interrupted.

“It is,” Charles said in all seriousness. “It is our jobs as your council to protect the witches. We not only failed in doing so, but also pushed the issue between you and Holly to the side. Because of her, multiple witches died at the hands of the vampires. When all of us were blind to her deceit, you saw the truth. We would also like you to consider filling the spot on the council.” Charles continued, “We could benefit from your merit.”

I glanced at Miranda and Patrick. They both nodded in agreement. My face slackened in surprise. Being asked to become part of the NAWC was one of the highest honors for our kind. None of the members were younger than two hundred and held wisdom I had yet to possess. At twenty-six, could I really stand over my peers and expect them to put their faith in me when half the time I didn’t have faith in myself? I was still learning who I was and that was okay with me.

“I think we shocked the girl speechless,” Patrick commented.

I smiled, my mouth falling open but hesitating to form words. “I—I am flattered, truly, but…I cannot accept. My place is in Flora.”

Charles considered me for a moment, his mouth curving into a frown. “I’m sorry to hear that, Ms. Sparks. But perhaps you’ll change your mind in the future. We won’t always be around and we’ll need capable witches to take our spots.”

I nodded. “Perhaps, but I’m losing my witchy powers now that I am embracing my spirit walker side.”

“We suspected that might happen,” Charles said. “But, you’re still a witch, just a different kind. And you’re always welcome here.”

I smiled. “Thank you for the offer, but it’s not the right timing.”

“Well then,” Charles gave a small smile, “just the severance for now.” He looked at Miranda. She held out her palm and whispered words my ears didn’t catch. A rectangular piece of paper appeared in her hand and she gave it to me. It was a check made out to me. My eyes fell on the amount and my jaw dropped open. I looked up at Charles, Patrick and Miranda in turn with wide eyes.

“This amount cannot be correct.”

“I assure you it is,” Miranda smiled. Since she handled the NAWC’s finances who was I to argue? I began to laugh, giddiness overwhelming me.

“Thank you,” I told them.

* * *

Later that night Fiona, Rebekah and I were surrounded by a mountain of dessert platters and pizza boxes. I found out my sister was on her school’s volleyball team, a grade A student and in love with someone named Chase Crawford. When I asked her if they were dating she burst out laughing. Her eyes glittered when she was amused. “He’s an actor,” she told me. When I asked if she was dating anyone out of Hollywood, she said our parents would not allow her to date. No surprise there.

“She has our song on here,” Fiona said, swiping through my sister’s iPod. Since Aaron had nabbed her on her walk home from school, she had her book bag with her. She informed me she never went anywhere without her MP3 player.

“What song?”

“Toxic,” Fiona replied with an amused smile. “When your sister was eighteen she and I made up a dance routine to this song,” she told Rebekah.

“I have no clue what she’s talking about,” I said.

“Oh really?” Fiona countered, setting the iPod on the docking station and pressing play. The pop song filled the bedroom and she hopped up from the bed and walked to the middle of the room. She began to move her hips, arms and legs in a choreographed dance. Rebekah watched her with interest, laughing when Fiona forgot a step.

“Are you seriously going to make me do this alone all to save face in front of your little sister?”

I looked at Rebekah, shaking my head but getting up to join Fiona. She restarted the song and we took our places. When the lyrics began, we both belted out the words and moved in timed precision. The dance was a little on the sexy side. I just hoped I wasn’t scaring my sister.

When we ended, she clapped and laughed. A second round of applause sounded from the doorway. We all looked over to see Dorian leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and a grin on his face.

“Enjoy the show?” I asked.

“Very much.”

I held my finger up to indicate I needed a minute to Fiona and Rebekah, and walked over to Dorian. We stepped out into the hall.

“So this is what women do on ‘girl’s nights’?”

I shrugged. “Sometimes,” I said. “Others we just drink and bitch about men. Both are equally fun.”

“I wanted to let you know I bought our plane tickets. Our flight is in two hours.”

I looked over at my sister chatting with Fiona. I knew she had to go home at some point, but tonight was too soon for my liking.

“She has school, Gwen,” Dorian reminded me. “Maybe you could talk your parents into allow you to visit sometime. Illinois isn’t very far from Flora.”

I nodded. “Okay, thanks. We’ll get ready.”