It was surreal to hear Nate talking so easily about vampires, werewolves and Mohiri. The last time I saw him he was still in shock from the things I’d revealed to him. It looked like I wasn’t the only one who had changed.

“You met Nikolas?”

“He showed up here minutes after that man brought me home. I told him what I knew and he took off looking for you. He’s come by a few times since you… disappeared. He was sure you were still alive and he refused to go to the service. I asked how he knew but he would not say. I’ll say one thing, he doesn’t give up easily.” Nate gave me a questioning look. “Were you and he…?”

I choked as scotch went down the wrong way. “No. That’s just how he is. He’s pretty intense.”

Nate did not look convinced but he didn’t push it. “So what happened? Where were you?”

I told him everything that went down from the moment we parted on the street in front of the empty building. I had intended to spare him some of the harsher details but I found myself pouring it all out to him as if I’d opened a dam that couldn’t be closed. When I got to the part about my dad, I choked but I forced myself to keep talking. Nate’s eyes reflected my own horror when he heard how Eli had revealed that he had killed my dad and meant to take me as well.

“I killed him.” The fierceness in my voice startled Nate. He didn’t speak but his hand crept across the table to cover one of mine. I went on to tell him about falling into the water and dreaming of my dad then waking up in the room with Aine. His face registered his shock when I explained what Aine was and exactly where I’d been. Then I told him what Aine had revealed to me about my dad’s – and Nate’s – side of the family and what I had inherited from our undine ancestor. Aine had told me to be careful but she didn’t say I couldn’t tell anyone what I was. Not that I would have kept it from Nate. I was done hiding things from him.

Nate was on his third glass of scotch by the time I got to Aine bringing me home. I swirled the liquid in my own glass while I waited for him to speak.

He inhaled deeply. “I honestly don’t know what to say.”

“But you believe me?”

“Yes.”

My body sagged in relief. “You’re taking all of this a lot better than last time.”

He set down his empty glass. “Well a lot has happened since then and I’ve had some time to come to grips with it all.” He eyed the glass in front of me. “Are you going to drink that?”

I slid the glass across the table to him. “Are you trying to get drunk?”

He gave me a lopsided smile. “No, but this is a special occasion. It’s not every day your niece comes back from the dead.”

“I guess not.” I watched the emotions play across his face: relief, joy, awe as color filled his pale cheeks again.

“This is going to be quite the shock for everyone,” he mused out loud. “You’ve been gone so long and we obviously can’t tell people you’ve spent the last three weeks in Faerie land.”

“We can’t tell anyone. I mean we have to tell Roland and Peter and the rest of the pack. And the Mohiri too, though I have no idea how to contact them since I lost my phone. But we can’t tell anyone else. Eli’s master is looking for Madeline’s daughter and if he finds out I’m still alive he’ll come after us again. I’m sure the Mohiri are looking for him and if anyone can find him they can. We can’t let anyone know I’m back until they take care of him.”

Nate frowned unhappily but he nodded. Neither of us wanted to risk another attack. I hated putting him in this spot but what other choice did I have?

I stared nervously at the phone. “I need to let Roland and Peter know I’m back but I have no idea what to say to them.”

“Do you want me to call them?” I nodded and he wheeled to the counter and picked up the phone. “I’ll be in the living room. This is going to be one hell of a call.”

Sitting alone in the kitchen, I listened to the murmurs from the other room and tried to imagine Roland’s reaction, the look on his face at that moment. I’d freak out if I thought he was dead and then he showed up out of the blue. Even for supes, coming back from the dead was a big deal.

I laid my head down on my arms and wondered what the heck I was going to do now. I’d missed almost a month of school – though it wasn’t like I could go back while pretending to be dead. A teenager who falls off a cliff and supposedly drowns and then shows up alive and well weeks later would draw a lot of media attention. I couldn’t stay cooped up in the apartment either because I’d go insane in a few days. There weren’t a lot of options available. I could leave New Hastings and find some small out of the way place where no one would think to look for me but a teenager on her own would raise eyebrows. Or I could try to contact the Mohiri. Before I’d disappeared, I’d already agreed to go stay with them for a while. I wondered where Nikolas was now. Probably off rescuing some other unfortunate orphan, I thought with a sad smile. Although after the trouble I put him through I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d washed his hands of that occupation for good. What would he say when he found out I was back? Would he come for me or send someone else to deal with me this time?

I raised my head when I heard Nate by the kitchen door. “How did he take –?”

My eyes fell on the man standing frozen before me, his dark gaze burning into mine. “Nikolas,” I breathed, stunned by his sudden appearance. How had he known?