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His words infused her with joy. Their kiss deepened, and Claire felt as if she’d come home at last. She knew that this was where she belonged: in Alec’s arms and at his side.

When their lips finally parted, Claire wiped her eyes and rested her forehead against Alec’s chest. “Promise you won’t ever leave me again.”

He held her tightly. “I hope I’ll never need to.”

Claire heard a car approaching. She looked up to find Neil’s Lexus pulling to the curb. Three doors flew open, and Neil, Brian, and Erica jumped out. Claire stepped out of Alec’s embrace, glancing down at the bloody sword he still carried. They had a lot to explain, and she had no idea where to begin.

Neil strode up first, hurt and angry. “Where the hell have you two been?” As he drew nearer and caught sight of their appearance, he stopped short in dismay. “Oh my God. What happened?”

Claire’s hand flew to her cheek, aware that she must be a bruised and bloody mess. “I—had a nosebleed,” she said uncertainly.

“Are you guys okay?” Erica demanded, with a look that conveyed her frustration that they couldn’t talk openly.

Claire nodded silently.

“Shit, Alec. You look like you’ve been through a meat grinder,” Brian observed.

“I feel like it, too,” Alec answered.

“Is that a real sword?” Brian added in awe.

Alec, Claire, and Erica all shot Brian a wide-eyed, silencing glare. Claire saw Neil pick up on their collective response. He frowned.

Erica instantly changed the subject. “Why aren’t you answering your phone, Claire? Why’d you guys leave the dance? You promised you wouldn’t go outside alone … with those weird kids around!”

“Yeah, well, Mr. Patterson told me that Alec was injured in a fight with them,” Claire answered slowly. It was the truth, and Alec’s appearance certainly supported her statement. But what else could she say, with Neil standing there? She hated to lie to his face, but what choice did she have? “So… I went out to help Alec, and then drove him to the hospital. He’s okay now. We just got back.”

Neil squinted at her, obviously not buying it. “How’d you get that bruise on your face?”

“I … tripped on the stairs at school.”

“Bullshit,” Neil said, angry again. “The police broke up the dance. A sophomore went up the hill for some air and found a dead mountain lion on the main stairwell, with its head cut off.” Neil’s eyes swerved to collide with Alec’s. “So, MacKenzie. Did you and your sword have anything to do with that?”

Erica and Brian stared down at the ground knowingly, while Claire shot Alec a silent, desperate glance.

“Does it matter?” Alec replied quietly.

Claire felt the heat of Neil’s gaze as he studied the four of them. “Something really weird is going on. You mind letting me in on it, Brennan?”

Claire swallowed hard. “I … can’t. I’m sorry.”

Neil shook his head in disgust and backed away, raising his hands in the air. “You know what? Screw you guys. I don’t need this.”

“Wait, Neil—” Claire began, racking her brain for some explanation that would smooth things over, but her head and jaw still ached fiercely, and nothing came to mind.

With undisguised pain in his eyes, Neil added, “The first half of the evening was really nice, Claire.” He turned, climbed into his car, and screeched off.

Claire sighed. It hurt her deeply to see Neil leave like that. But no matter how upset she was, she knew that
he
felt worse. And it was all her fault.

“One of these days, you’re going to have to tell him what’s going on,” Erica said.

Claire shook her head. “I hope not.”

“Who says he’d believe it?” Brian muttered.

Just then, Claire heard her mother’s frantic voice calling out from her front door. “Claire? Claire! Where are you?”

“We’re out here, Mom!” she yelled. “We’re okay! I’ll be right there.” To her friends, she said wearily, “She’s got to be
so
freaked by what just happened.”

Brian and Erica looked at the both of them. “What
did
just happen?”

Claire and Alec exchanged a glance. Then she sighed and turned back to their friends with a bittersweet smile. “It’s a long story. You’d better come inside.”

epilogue

A
t Alec’s insistence, Claire and her mom spent the night at a hotel in West Hollywood, while he kept watch over them. It took a double dose of painkillers to stop the throbbing in Claire’s head, which Alec guessed was due to the strain of putting her new powers to such a massive test. Nobody slept much. Claire and her mom were still stunned and afraid Vincent might come back any second, and they had a lot to talk about.

By early next morning, Alec’s wounds were healed. Claire’s mom called the real Mr. Patterson, and to their relief, he was fine. He hadn’t even been on the faculty committee to chaperone the dance. He said he’d fallen asleep in front of the TV the evening before, which made them wonder if Vincent had drugged him to ensure that he didn’t leave his house.

“He’ll be very confused, come Monday, if anyone mentions seeing him at the dance,” Alec commented with a shake of his head.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about us, Claire,” her mom said, red-faced, after she hung up the phone. “I really like him, and I was afraid you wouldn’t approve.”

“That’s okay, Mom.” Claire hugged her. “There’s a lot of stuff I didn’t tell you, so I guess we’re even. It’s fine as long as you’re happy.”

After a quick breakfast, all three made their way to Twin Palms Hospital to visit Helena.

As they surrounded Helena’s bed, Claire’s mom stared down at her with compassion. “You’re actually able to talk with her, even though she’s in a coma?”

Claire nodded. “And today, I want to try something new. I’m hoping you’ll both be able to see and hear what I do when I touch her.”

She instructed Alec and her mom to hold hands in a circle with her and Helena around the bed. “On the count of three, I’ll take Helena’s other hand and complete the circle. If this works, it’s going to feel really weird. Just relax and go with the flow. Remember, she can be kind of persnickety. Oh—and I hope you like English gardens.”

Her mom looked puzzled and wary.

Claire took a breath. “One. Two. Three.”

She took Helena’s hand and closed her eyes. Instantly, Claire felt a jolt of energy pass through her. The sounds of the hospital disappeared, there was a flash of blank whiteness, and then the three of them were standing hand in hand on a great green lawn. It was the same English garden as before, with twittering birds, sunlit paths, and borders of colorful, fragrant flowers waving in the breeze. Claire spotted Helena nearby, sitting quietly on a bench in the shade of an enormous tree. She was no longer wearing her dark blue dress, but instead looked ready for a garden party in a stunning floral print dress and large, stylish hat.

“This is beautiful,” Claire’s mom said, staring around them in wonder.

They dropped hands as Helena walked over to them with a welcoming smile. “I see you’ve brought guests. How nice.” She fixed her gaze on Claire’s mother, who she seemed to find particularly fascinating. “So
you
are Lynn. The cause of all this trouble.”

Claire’s mom seemed taken aback by this unexpected remark but returned Helena’s gaze with proud determination. “Yes. I am.”

“Well, well. You’re pretty enough,” Helena mused, “but I hope there’s more to you than that, considering a highly regarded Grigori left the fold on your behalf.”

Claire’s mom blushed in embarrassment. Claire felt her own temper rising. “Helena, can you try to be pleasant for five minutes, please? We’re here because we need your help.”

Helena shrugged. “Forgive me. It is our way to be blunt. Alec understands what I mean.” Turning to Alec, she observed, “You are even more handsome in person, young man.”

Alec’s eyebrow raised. “In person?”

“A figure of speech. I am pleased that you heard my call and returned when Claire needed you. And you, young lady, your performance last night was impressive.”

“Alec’s the one who saved my life.” Claire reached out a hand to him, and he took it affectionately.

“Yes,” Helena agreed, “but he’s had training, and has done such things for over a century. You, on the other hand, were operating on instinct alone. You opened your mind to the possibilities before you. You saw through Vincent’s illusions, and—in spite of the pain it caused you—you managed to convey that truth to Alec. Quite a masterful feat.”

“Aye, it was,” Alec acknowledged, putting his arm around Claire and drawing her close. “But Vincent’s still out there,” he added grimly. “He could come back anytime. I’ve been thinking it over all night long. He’s too powerful to take down on our own. I ought to report in and let the Elders know he’s gone rogue.”

“You can’t do that!” Claire cried, her heart hammering in fear as she pulled away to stare at him. “They’ll find you and make you go back!”

“It’s worth it, if it means you’ll be safe,” Alec insisted.

“Such heroic sacrifices are currently unnecessary,” Helena interrupted with an authoritative wave of her hand. “I wish I had foreseen Vincent’s true nature sooner—but I summoned my strength and managed to report his actions last night.”

“You did?” Claire asked in surprise.

“Thank God,” her mom said quietly.

“I left out Alec’s involvement, of course, just as I deliberately neglected to mention his ill-advised …
liaison
… with you, which we will have to hope they do not discover.”

The color rose to Claire’s cheeks.

“But wait,” Alec added suspiciously, “there’s no way you could have reported Vincent without telling them about Claire.”

“Quite right, young man,” Helena replied. “But that was inevitable. A Halfblood is a serious potential threat. There is no way the Council would rest until they found out who it was.”

“What?” Claire cried, upset. “So how are you any different from Vincent?”

“Vincent’s opinions are too black-and-white, and his behavior reprehensible. He rushed things just for closure on his old case. Whereas I—as the Council has decreed—am going to give you what no Nephila has ever had before. A mentor. Someone to teach and guide you.”

Claire’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Wait a minute.” Claire’s mom bristled. “I’m grateful that you intervened on my daughter’s behalf. And I appreciate your offer. But it’s my job to take care of her, not yours.”

“I beg to differ,” Helena returned with a tight-lipped smile. “You have done just fine nurturing Claire through the formative years of her human existence. But you do not possess the necessary life experience to train a Halfblood Nephila. Beyond her visions, she may have inherited the other half of her father’s abilities, and will face difficulties you cannot begin to imagine. It remains to be seen what the Council will do about Vincent—if and when they find him. But as he so astutely noted, there are others who will either want her dead or on their side. And the Fallen’s means of influence are so cunning, she may be unaware of what is happening.”

“Even so, she needs
me
. I’m her mother. What gives you the right to step in all of a sudden, out of nowhere? Who the hell are
you
?”

Helena didn’t respond. Instead she closed her eyes, as if summoning a deep, inner strength. To Claire’s dismay, the connection between them suddenly ended. The garden vanished. The three of them were all standing once more around Helena’s bedside in the hospital, staring down at the comatose woman’s pale, motionless face.