Fangs for the Memories. Sienna Mercer
to ask her for an explanation. Ivy watched as her twin scrolled through Jackson’s message on her phone for, like, the nineteenth time that day. By now, even Ivy knew it by heart:
PS: I won’t ask you to do this by email, but next time I see you, I hope you’ll be ready to fill me in on all the weirdness that was going on last week. I really want to understand it. XXX
‘Do you think you can put him off again?’ Ivy asked. ‘Maybe if you say that a few of Gleka’s fans are still hanging around . . .’
‘I can’t just keep putting him off forever.’ Olivia squeezed Ivy’s hand tightly in hers. ‘But if I don’t . . .’ She dropped her voice to a whisper. ‘I’ll have to tell him the Blood Secret.’
It was the secret that Olivia herself had solemnly sworn to protect: that vampires were real and lived among humans.
And Ivy was one of them.
‘If you tell him,’ Ivy whispered back, ‘you know he’ll have to go through . . .’ She slid her glance around the busy diner and chose her words carefully. ‘. . . a certain . . . process.’
She and Olivia gave identical shudders, and Ivy knew they were both remembering the Three Tests that Olivia had been forced to go through last year – to prove that, even though she was a human, she could be trusted to keep the vampires’ secret.
‘I’m sure . . .’ Olivia paused, biting her lip. ‘I think I’m sure Jackson could handle it. But I don’t even know how to start that process.’
The papier-mâché skull shifted as someone moved further down the row of booths, until it seemed to be peering down at Olivia with hollow-eyed interest. Ivy reached out and pushed it away. ‘Look,’ she said quietly to her twin, ‘you’re going to have to take this to Dad. He’ll know what to do.’
Olivia blinked rapidly, looking close to tears. ‘He’s going to be so angry at me!’
‘Oh, Olivia.’ Ivy let go of her twin’s hand for just long enough to wriggle off her seat and hurry around the table. Sitting down next to Olivia, she wrapped one arm around her sister’s shoulders. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘You must know Dad well enough by now to know that he won’t blame you for this. He fell in love with a human, too, remember?’ She tipped her head against her human sister’s as she thought of the mom they’d never known. ‘I don’t know exactly how he’ll react when he finds out about this,’ she said honestly, ‘but no matter what, he won’t be angry. I promise.’
‘I guess . . .’ Olivia’s shoulders rose and fell. ‘But what if he demands that I stop seeing Jackson? I don’t know if I can do that.’
‘Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves,’ Ivy told her. ‘We’re just going to get some advice, for now. Right?’
‘Right.’ Olivia leaned back and closed her eyes.
Ivy’s chest clenched when she saw the look on her twin’s face. ‘You want to tell Jackson, no matter what,’ Ivy said. ‘Don’t you?’
Olivia opened her eyes and sat forwards again. ‘I really do.’ She picked up her fork as if she were finally going to eat, only to let it drop to the table straight away. ‘But Ivy, even if Jackson can get his head around the Blood Secret . . . do you think he’d ever forgive me for lying to him about it for almost a year?’ She looked miserable. ‘He might break up with me.’
‘Because you’re being loyal to your family?’ Ivy scowled. ‘If he can’t understand why you kept our secret, then he’s not right for you.’
And that’s no lie, Ivy thought.
Half an hour later Olivia was standing with Ivy outside their bio-dad’s house on Undertaker Hill, shivering in the cold November wind. But it wasn’t only the snow-kissed air that was sending chills through her. The big mansion at the top of Undertaker Hill had never seemed so big, so ominous, and so downright scary before.
Come on, Olivia coached herself. This is no time to be a coward!
Ivy put a reassuring arm around her. ‘It’s going to be OK. I promise.’
‘Right.’ Olivia took a deep breath. I can do this!
Squaring her shoulders, she followed Ivy through the front door and down the strangely quiet front hallway. All that Olivia could hear were the creaks and sighs of the old house’s walls, with no one in sight, until Ivy pushed open the door to the kitchen.
‘Hi, guys!’ Their stepmom stood at the kitchen counter, smiling cheerfully as she lifted one hand to wave at the twins . . . with red, gooey liquid dripping from her fingers.
‘Oh, ew . . . gross!’ Olivia’s head spun as she stumbled to a halt. ‘Is that blood? ’
‘What?’ Lillian blinked, then looked down at her crimson hands. ‘Oh!’ She laughed and grabbed a paper towel to wipe off her fingers. ‘Don’t worry! I’m just making raspberry jam. I’ve been trying out cake recipes for the big charity bake sale at Café Creative. Remember? You guys promised to give me your opinions today.’
‘Oh . . . sure! Of course.’ Olivia tried to sound like her usual perky self, even though she was feeling so sick with nerves that she got a little queasy at the thought of scarfing down any sugary treats – especially blood-coloured ones! But a promise was a promise, so she forced herself to nod, even as she braced herself for something that she wanted even less. ‘Is . . . is Dad around?’
‘I’m right here.’ Charles spoke just behind her, and Olivia jumped. He stood in the kitchen doorway, looking as elegant and formal as usual in a well-tailored black suit and tie. But as she spun around to face him, his eyebrows lowered into a concerned frown. ‘Olivia, what’s wrong?’
‘I . . .’ She swallowed hard. She knew she had to tell him the truth. She knew it! But now that the moment had actually come her chest felt so tight she didn’t know how she could ever squeeze out the words.
Charles nodded gravely, his eyes fixed on her face. ‘I can see that there’s something you need to talk about.’
What is it, sweetheart?’ Lillian’s voice was warm.
‘I think . . .’ Olivia forced out a thin whisper. ‘I think, maybe, you two should sit down for this.’
‘All right.’ Charles nodded to Ivy, who was hovering by the kitchen door and looking worried. ‘I can tell that this is serious.’ He sat down next to Lillian at the breakfast bar and patted the tall chair beside him for Olivia. Obediently, she sat down . . . but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.
I can’t do it. Shivers rippled up and down her body as she looked at her bio-dad’s expectant face.
It had taken her so long to finally meet him – and even longer to really get to know him. Now that she did, his opinion, and his respect, had come to mean so much to her. How was he going to feel when he found out that she wanted to reveal his most important secret to a human outsider?
And what would he think of her?
‘Olivia.’ Charles gave her a slight smile, as if saying that whatever she wanted to tell him was going to be fine.
Ivy stepped up behind her and set her hand on Olivia’s arm. Lillian’s expression was full of concern.
Surrounded by her vamp family, Olivia closed her eyes and nodded to herself. Time to tell them everything. ‘So, you know how freaked out the whole vamp community got when Gregor Gleka came to town?’
‘Mm-hmm.’ Charles nodded, his expression unreadable.
Olivia waited hopefully . . . but he didn’t speak again. Why can’t he just figure it out from that? she thought miserably. It would be so much easier