I trudged across the foyer, flicked all four light switches up in one swipe, then continued up the stairs, my footsteps echoing in the half-lit stairwell, every step seeming to whisper, "Alone. Alone. Alone."
Gritting my teeth, I pulled open the upstairs hallway door and entered the pitch-black third-floor hall. The door slammed shut behind me, making my shoulders hunch up.
I pushed onward, my eyes adjusting quickly to the dark. I unlocked the dance room doors and turned on the lights. And froze as I was confronted by another crime scene. Right there by the stereo, Tristan and I had sat on the floor, sharing pizza in the semi-darkness for our first date. And then we'd danced together, a silly waltz to make me laugh, then a slow dance until I'd melted into our first kiss since the fourth grade.
Right there in that dance room was where I'd also first unknowingly drained him of energy.
Enough. I shook myself, breaking free of the paralyzing memories and guilt. I had a job to do.
A familiar ache welled up in my chest and stomach, and this time it wasn't from the memories. Oh no. Only one person caused this sensation.
I was no longer alone.
I whirled around and sucked in a breath. "Tristan!"
He lounged in the hallway's entrance, leaning one broad shoulder against the wall, arms crossed. He stared at me, his green eyes the color of a deep pine forest today. "Good morning, Savannah."
I gulped. So wrong for my heart to leap at the sound of my name spoken in that deep, rumbling voice. So wrong of my feet to want to take off running toward him.
"We need to talk," he said, his tone like a brush of his fingertips across my cheek.
I struggled to make my body move toward the Charmers director's office door. Routine. Focus on the morning routine.
I fought to keep my voice even. "What are you doing here? Didn't your parents-"
"In spite of the local rumors, my parents don't actually rule the world."
Frowning, I got the office door unlocked. I walked inside, turned on the overhead lights, then headed for the closet door on shaky legs. "The Clann would disagree with that."
Closet door unlocked, I reached inside for the jambox and Megavox case. And sucked in another sharp breath as Tristan cupped my upper arms, his big hands warm and gentle on my bare skin below the sleeves of my T-shirt. I nearly moaned at the contact.
"Sav, please stop for a minute and listen to me."
Oh sweet lord. How was I supposed to withstand that soft, deep voice pleading with me? I closed my eyes and prayed for strength as everything inside me begged me to turn around and hug him.
"I'm sorry about your grandmother."
His words were velvet-covered blows to my stomach. I couldn't breathe.
"You have to know I never imagined anything like that would happen."
"But it did," I croaked, still facing the closet. "Because of us." Because of me.
He pressed his forehead to the top of my head, his sigh warm in my hair. "We didn't do that. The Clann did. I know how much you loved her. We tried to save her. You, me, your dad and mine, even Dr. Faulkner. She knew you loved her and were trying to help her."
Bitter acid rose up as a sour taste at the back of my mouth. "She shouldn't have even been there. And she wouldn't have been if we hadn't broken the rules. We never should have gotten involved with each other."
"No, the Clann and the vamp council never should have barred us from seeing each other."
Strength slowly seeped back into my body. "Keeping us away from each other was one of the few things they did right."
"Savannah, I love you," he whispered, his voice harsh, as if the words were torn from his lungs. "And I know you love me."
I wouldn't lie to him. I nodded.
"Then why can't you see how this isn't about whether to follow the rules or not? The rules are wrong. If ever two people were meant for each other, we're it. We don't have to let them control our lives. You and I determine our future, not them."
I turned to face him then, needing to see if he was truly this delusional. Didn't he get it? This wasn't about what I wanted, or even what he wanted anymore.
"I'll leave the Clann," he said, speaking fast now. "You know I never cared about being in it anyways. Then they can't stop us. Their rules won't apply to us anymore."
"And break your parents' hearts?" Oh lord, how badly I wanted it to be just him and me, free from the rules, free to be together. But then we'd be just like my parents, always on the run, always hiding. There was nowhere we could go to be together beyond the reach of the Clann or the vamp council. Even if he wasn't in the Clann anymore, he'd still be a descendant. And I would still be a vampire.
His lips thinned. "They'll get over it, trust me."
"And the vampire council?"
"We'll talk to them, convince them that our being together isn't a danger to their peace treaty."
"Tristan, you don't get it. We're not Romeo and Juliet. There's a reason the Clann and the council hate and fear each other. We're a danger to each other, whether you're in the Clann or not. You could set me on fire with one snap of your fingers. And I could kill you just as easily. As long as vamps and descendants are each others' biggest threats, they're always going to be enemies. You and I will never get permission to be together."
"Just because they have the power to kill each other doesn't mean they have to. We can show them that, make them see that they can choose to coexist in peace. Don't you see? You and me together...we're the proof they need to make them believe it can be done."
"Not everything's a simple choice like that."
"Sure it is. You could have bitten me a thousand times by now, but you never did. Right?"
"What about all the times I kissed you?"
He hesitated. "So you took a little energy. It was worth it."
"It put you in danger. I put you in danger. I took a little bit of your life every time we kissed. That's not a choice I can make, either. It's automatic. There's no way to turn that off."
He scowled. "So we'll keep working around it. You're not a danger to me."
He was an idiot. Or suicidal. How could he not see the truth, how impossible this whole situation was? No matter how much we loved each other, no amount of love or wishing would change the fact that I was a threat to his life every second we were alone together. Even now, right this second, he was in danger. And he refused to see it.