Katie walked down the stairs just as Byron and her entourage came through the front door. Her heart skipped when she saw Alexis. Alexis looked up, and Katie smiled at her, but Alexis didn’t smile back. She looked worried.

Uh-oh.

She waited at the bottom of the stairs until Byron walked away to her office, and Alexis and Bhal had given their orders to the assembled vampires and warriors. As they dispersed, she skipped over to Alexis.

“Hi, Alex. I missed you.” She grasped at her hand and felt Alexis stiff as a board.

“Did you go shopping?”

“Yes, I was back ages ago,” Katie said.

Alexis nodded and gulped hard. “Can we talk later?”

Katie heard tension in Alexis’s voice. Okay, something was going on.

Alexis looked around her, presumably checking if they had privacy. “I need to talk about today, about every day. I’m struggling—”

Katie cupped her cheek. “Hey, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” Katie expected Alexis’s annoyance to subside, but it didn’t.

“I need to talk to you,” Alexis said softly.

Katie felt Alexis was retreating into her stoic self again. She thought they had gotten past this. “What’s wrong? Something’s changed,” Katie said.

Alexis had spent every night with her this week, but as each day passed, the open Alexis from their time away from London had started to slowly fade, each day becoming a little more distant. She had thought it was just because Alexis’s mind was back on her clan duties rather than spending all her time helping her feel better. But there was more to this.

“Later,” Alexis said.

“No, talk to me now. I’m worried, Alex.”

“I have duties I need to attend to. Later this evening.”

Then she walked off, leaving Katie wondering what was going on. Katie started to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Was Alexis pulling away from her again?

* * *

Amelia’s car pulled up outside The Portal bookshop. Amelia was to have her first lesson with Magda after closing time.

Wilder opened the car door, and Amelia got out. She walked through the shop door and only saw Piper.

“Hi, Piper. Is Magda ready for me?”

Piper smiled. She seemed a lot warmer now that Byron wasn’t with her.

“She’s waiting for you downstairs, Amelia.” Piper pointed to a door in the corner, beside the till.

“Thanks.”

When Wilder tried to follow, Piper said, “No, not you.”

“I go where Amelia goes,” Wilder said firmly.

“Only witches are welcome in our most private space,” Piper replied.

Amelia noticed Piper didn’t seem to care much for anyone who wasn’t a witch. She said to Wilder, “I’ll be fine. You stay up here with Piper.”

Wilder looked torn. “If Byron finds out I—”

“I will take the blame. Don’t worry,” Amelia said.

“Just shout if you need me.”