The Legend of the Eight: The Twisted (Book 3)

2: Hypervigilance

Nicole shrugged and scratched her forehead while she thought.

"I don't know," she confessed because she really didn't. "But I think now is as good a time as any to try to learn."

WHEN WALTER AND CLARION RETURNED from their errands, they announced that they'd finished enrolling the Eight and Chloe in a local school where they would finish out their senior year.

"Right," Drew chuckled when he learned the news. "God forbid we don't graduate when our home is under siege by a bunch of Darks."

Their first day at the new school was Monday and if Nicole was being honest, she was actually excited. She was excited for anything that was a step towards a normal life. School, graduation, those were both normal things that she'd taken for granted in the past. No more. Now, life was hers for the taking and she would take it all.

After dinner (as two people who hardly ever touched a stove, Walter and Clarion were fans of delivery food), everyone returned to their rooms to finish settling in. In her room, Nicole got the last of her bags unpacked and then looked at her finished room, feeling accomplished. It wasn't saving the Three Realms from Jeremiah and the Darks but it was something.

Afterwards, she wandered out to the back patio where a large pool was glowing with neon lights under the water's surface. Across the pool was a guesthouse where Damon was staying and judging by the shadows moving through the lights, Wil must have been over there too. Nicole wondered if Wil was taking advantage of the fact that Mr. Donovan was no longer her teacher—not that she dared tell her parents she was seeing him.

A sliding door behind Nicole (which led to the kitchen in the main house) opened and out onto the patio walked Cam. He had a glass of red wine with him and he sat across from her at the patio table only once he was closer, she realized it wasn't wine in his cup. It was blood.

"It's okay," he said as if sensing her nerves. "Walter went to the blood blank and stocked up for me. No feeding required."

Nicole nodded slowly. "How are you... How are you feeling?"

She didn't know much about the mechanics of vampirism but what she did know was that vampires needed to feed on human blood almost as often as humans needed food or water. Anything beyond that was a mystery to her.

"I'm better," he answered and he sounded like he meant it. "Not being under Bartemius's control certainly helps."

"So he..." Nicole wasn't sure how to word her question without offending him. "Was he the reason you were so... different in the Shadow Lands?"

Cam nodded and then took a sip of his drink. Nicole was nauseous watching him.

"Dark Vow. I heard Mr. Donovan was familiar with it as well."

"He's Damon now," Nicole corrected him since Mr. Donovan was no longer their teacher. "And he's Wil's boyfriend but don't tell her parents."

They both laughed and then Cam took another drink. Nicole looked away that time.

"I bet Kate's happy to have you back," Nicole said optimistically. "She was a mess without you."

Cam scratched under his nose awkwardly. "Um, I'm not so sure about that. She's been keeping her distance. Not that I blame her. I was pretty terrible in the Shadow Lands."

"She'll come around."

Cam smiled and then fell quiet again while he worked his drink. A few minutes later, Nicole looked at him and opened her mouth to ask him something but quickly shut it.

"What?" he asked, smiling. "You have questions, don't you?"

She bit her lip, as if trying to keep it all in but almost immediately after, the questions began to spill out.

"Do you eat real food or is it just blood? And are churches banned? What about mirrors? And garlic? Do you sleep? What about the sun?"

Cam chuckled again before tackling all of her questions to satisfy her curiosity.

"I can eat real food but I'm fine without it. Churches, garlic, mirrors—all myths. I sleep like everyone else—in a bed, not a coffin. And as for the sun..."

He reached into his shirt and removed a tiny pendant with an orangey-yellow stone hanging from it.

"This is a sunstone. As long as I'm wearing it, the sun can't hurt me."

"So you're basically a human," concluded Nicole and he laughed again.

"Minus the enhanced agility, immortality, and bloodlust."

She smiled at his lighthearted take on the situation. "You seem like you're managing it really well."

"One day at a time," he said, taking another sip and finishing his drink. "The first few days are the worst. But maybe that was just my experience. Maybe it's not so bad for people who aren't under the control of their Dark father."

Suddenly, Nicole heard the sliding door again and she saw Chloe Lawson there, brushing her sleek, dark hair which was wet from a shower.

"Hey guys," she smiled sweetly, crossing the patio and heading towards the guesthouse.

"Um... fair warning," Nicole called quickly before Chloe reached the door. "He's got company."

Chloe stopped sharply and grunted, turning around and walking back to the main house.

"I swear," she mumbled, mostly to herself. "Seventeen years, I don't even know that I have a brother and now that I do, I can never get any time with him."