It was hot in here. When did Afton get so hot?

“Are you about ready to go?” Aislin asked whisking into the room.

Alex and I jumped back.

“What are you guys doing?” She looked at us displeased as if guilt was written on both our faces.

“Nothing,” Alex and I both said quickly.

She put her hands on her hips and gave us a skeptical look.

“Gemma’s going with me.” Alex picked up a small sword off the table and tossed it to me, which I caught effortlessly.

Hmm…I guess being a Keeper wasn’t all that bad.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” she protested.

“We’ll be fine,” Alex assured her. “I really don’t think Stephan will be there.”

Aislin shook her head. “That’s not what I’m worried about.

I don’t think he’ll be there either. He was never there.” She paused. “What I’m worried about is you two being alone together in an empty house.”

Wow. Way to put it out there.

“We’ll be fine,” Alex assured her again. “We won’t do anything we wouldn’t do here.” He gave me this weird look that made my skin tingle.

Aislin sighed. “But please hurry. I worry, you know.”

“I know….we’ll hurry,” he said and we headed out the door.

My car was parked in the driveway, and the keys were in the ignition, just where I always left them. (It’s a small town thing). The night air was a bit crisp and I zipped up my purple hoodie.

“Who’s driving?” I asked, standing by the driver’s side door.

“Um… I will,” Alex said, scooting me out of the way.

“Since I know where we’re going.”

I slipped into the passenger seat and buckled my seatbelt. For a while, neither of us spoke. The only sound came from the speakers: “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” by Brand New had popped on when Alex started the engine. I watched the town I grew up in pass by in a blur of colors, the strangest feeling rising up inside me.

All these years here, and I barely remember a thing. But, what would there be to remember? Lonely days of wandering. Emptiness.

“Gemma, are you okay?” Alex asked, and I suddenly realized I was crying.

I wiped my tears away. “I have all ergies,” I lied.

He didn’t believe me, but he didn’t press further, as if he could sense I was in pain, but it was a pain that was shrinking every day, little by little.

“So what do you think of Aleesa?” I asked, changing the subject away from me.

He shrugged, staring straight ahead at the road. “I don’t know….”

Assuming he didn’t want to talk about it, I searched my brain for another topic.

“It’s just that I can’t believe my father did that!” Alex suddenly burst out, gripping the steering-wheel tightly. “I mean, first of all, it’s not even allowed—for Keepers to mix with fey. And for another thing…” he paused. “He cheated on my mom…she wouldn’t have even been gone yet around the time Aleesa was born.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m sorry.”

He flopped his head back against the headrest in frustration. “Things just keep getting worse and worse…

And all because of my father.”

“That’s not true,” I said quietly. “I think this is just as much my father’s fault as it is yours’.”

His hand gripped the steering-wheel tighter. The glow of the pale moon trickled through the window and highlighted the anger in his eyes. “Yeah, well, at least yours’ is trying to fix it.”

“But why is he?” I chewed on my bottom lip, lost in thought. “I mean, I’ve been thinking about it and why the change of heart? My mom said he did it in the first place to gain power like your father, so why did he decide he no longer wanted it.”

“Perhaps being locked away in the Room of Forbidden gave him some time to think about the mistakes he made.” Alex tapped his fingers on top of the steering-wheel. “Time can make people see things differently…I know it did for me.”

I wasn’t sure what he was getting at, and I was afraid to ask him because he had that look on his face again, the one where it was as if I were a rose in a garden of weeds.

“I see you differently.” His voice was as light as air.

Don’t react, my brain screamed, but my heart had other intentions. “That’s because I am different.”

“Yeah, but it’s not that. It’s something else.” He paused, gazing at me intensely, his eyes sparkling even through the dark.

Tell him to stop. “Maybe you see me differently because you understand things now.” I offered. “You know what the star’s power is for and you don’t need to protect me.”

“I’ll always want to protect you,” Alex said, his voice cracking. “No matter what. That will never change.”

“But I can take care of myself you know,” I said, keeping my voice steady even though it was extremely difficult. “I mean, I took down a couple of Death Walkers all on my own.”

“I know. But it doesn’t mean I still don’t want to protect you,” he repeated, his powerful gaze practically burned at my skin.

I let out a gasp from the intensity bursting between us and then immediately felt embarrassed. I turned my head to the window. Don’t blush. Don’t blush. Turn it off. You use to do it all the time.

We remained silent for the rest of the drive. I think we both sensed things were getting a little too intense between us, and if we didn’t back off, we might end up doing something stupid.

Alex turned down one of the side roads that weaved into the foothills of the mountains, thick with trees and darkness.

Not too far up, he made a sudden sharp turn, dipping the Mitsubishi into the trees.

I grabbed onto the roof, bracing myself against the bumps. “What are you doing?” I cried.

He killed the headlights as he slowed the car to a stop. “I didn’t want to pull up, just in case someone is there,” he explained and I gave him an incredulous look.

I glanced at the steep hill we were parked on, and the thick trees surrounding us. “You know this doesn’t have four-wheel drive, right.” It was a Mitsubishi Mirage for crying out loud.

He smiled and his eyes sparkled in the moonlight. “It’ll make it,” he assured me.

We got out of the car and crept up the dirt hill. I could barely see, and I found myself wishing that Aislin’s see-in-the-dark stuff had been a permanent thing. I did, however, notice that there was a lack of stumbling on my part, which had to be because I was a Keeper now.

At the top of the hill, Alex ducked down, and put his arm in front of me, gesturing for me to stay where I was. I stood as still as a statue as he peered over the hill, then let out a breath of relief.

“I knew no one would be here,” he said as he stood up straight.

“The coast is clear?” I asked.

He nodded. “The coast is clear.”

We stepped off the hill and onto the driveway. I could make out the outline of Alex’s two-story house that blended into the night. When we reached the front door, he slipped his wall et out from his pocket. I gave him a funny look, although I wasn’t sure if he could see it through the darkness, and he took out a credit card and held it up.

“I don’t have my key on me,” he explained. With one quick swipe, he had the door unlocked.

“How many times have you done that before?” I asked as he opened the door.

He shrugged. “A few,” he said and stepped inside.

I rolled my eyes and followed him in.

He slipped a flashlight out of his pocket and shined the light around us. “It stinks in here,” he murmured. “Like feet.” He was right—there was a foul smell to the air.

“Welcome to my home,” Alex muttered, heading for the stairway.

“So where is the book?” I asked in a low voice as I followed him up the stairs.

“In my father’s office.” He nodded up at the top of the stairs.

I was little surprised when he took me to a room with black and purple checkerboard walls, dark blue carpet, and a massive canopy bed decorated with dark vines and black curtains, that was clearly not an office.