Good work, Eddie, I thought. You may have just helped get the girl of your dreams back together with her boyfriend. When Eddie caught my eye, the look on his face told me he was thinking the exact same thing.

Angeline watched Jill dart out of the cafeteria, her blue eyes narrowed in thought. “Even if they make up, I don’t think it’ll last. With their situation… it can’t work.”

“I thought you were all about vampire and human relationships,” I said.

“Oh, sure. Back home, no problem. Even out in your world, no problem. But Jill’s a special case. She’s got to stay out of sight and stay safe if she’s going to help her family. Dating him won’t do that, and she knows it—no matter how much she wishes it weren’t true. She’ll do the right thing in the end. This is duty. It’s bigger than personal wants. Jill gets that.”

Angeline then declared she needed to get back to her room to catch up on homework. Eddie and I were left staring.

He shook his head in amazement. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Angeline so…”

“… subdued?” I suggested.

“I was thinking… coherent.”

I laughed. “Come on, she’s coherent plenty of times.”

“You know what I mean,” he argued. “What she just said? It was totally true. It was… wise. She understands Jill and this situation.”

“I think she understands more than we give her credit for,” I said, recalling how much better-behaved she’d been since the assembly—breaking into dances aside. “It’s just taken her time to adjust, which makes sense, considering what a change this is. If you’d seen where she’s from, you’d understand.”

“I may have misjudged her,” Eddie admitted. He seemed astonished by his own words.

Part of me had expected to get chastised by Trey today for having skipped out on Brayden at the dance. Instead, I found Trey missing again from our morning classes. I almost worried but then reminded myself that his cousin was still in town, possibly muddling Trey in “family stuff.” Trey was competent. Whatever was going on, he could handle it. Then why all the bruises? I wondered.

When I reached Ms. Terwilliger’s independent study, she was waiting expectantly for me, which I took as a bad sign. Usually, she was already hard at work at her own desk and just gave me a nod of acknowledgment when I took out my books. Today, she was standing in front of her desk, arms crossed, watching the door.

“Miss Melbourne. I trust you had an enjoyable weekend? You were certainly the belle of the ball at the Halloween dance.”

“You saw me?” I asked. For a moment, I expected her to say she’d been watching the whole dance through a crystal ball or something.

“Well, certainly. I was there as a chaperone. My post was near the DJ, so I’m not surprised you didn’t see me. That, and I hardly stood out the way you did. I must say, that was an exquisite neo-Greco reproduction you were wearing.”