“What are you girls about?” It was Ronan.

Finally.

Isabella popped to her feet. “Tracer Ronan.”

Her friend had been trying to pull away from me, and the moment I let her go, she flew backward, flopping into the shallow waves.

I skittered away like a crab, and as I did, I spotted my bit of kelp. It was a mauled tangle of brownish green bobbing limply in the shallow water, but I grabbed it anyway, just as it was about to be washed away by a wave. I raised it over my head like a trophy. “I was getting this. Kelp. This is edible.” The words came out rapid fire. I was sure I sounded like a madwoman.

He looked at me for a moment. His expression was hard to read, but I thought I saw strains of worry, anger, exasperation, and just the slightest bit of amusement. His gaze went to the other two. “And you? What did you find while you were mucking about in the breakers?”

Isabella was silent, her face a total blank as she returned Ronan’s stare. It was her innocent look, and I couldn’t help but let out a puff of a laugh at the sight of it.

“Nothing?” He checked his watch. “It’s been over an hour and you’ve nothing to show for it?”

“No,” Izzy said quietly.

He looked to Spidergirl. “You, too, Aubrey?”

So that was her name. Rather than looking at Ronan, she was glaring at Isabella, staring daggers. I noticed how she was soaked while Izzy was mostly dry. Clearly this hadn’t been Aubrey’s idea.

“Fine,” Ronan said. “You have fifteen minutes left in class. There are tiny fish swimming in schools. See there.” He pointed. “Just past the break. You won’t return to the dorm until you catch one and bring it to me.”

Isabella shrieked, her silent innocent act gone. “We have to get in the water?”

“You seem adept at getting wet,” he said. “You figure it out.”

Aubrey stabbed a finger in my direction. “Why doesn’t she have to get a fish?”

“Acari Drew has her kelp. You, however, must retrieve a fish. Now. Unless you wish me to make it two.”

He headed back up the beach, and I followed. It wasn’t like we were walking together, just walking in the same direction. He called instructions to the other girls, telling them to wrap it up, to bring their finds to him at the truck, but I stayed silent. I dared not thank him. The exchange with Izzy and Aubrey could’ve easily been interpreted as him playing favorites, and I didn’t know which would be more dangerous—for him to have a teacher’s pet, or for me to be labeled as one.

Though he ignored me, he slowed until we were nearly side by side. He’d seen my kelp—did that mean class was done for me? When his Range Rover came into view, I gritted my chattering teeth and said, “S-so, does this mean I can go?”

He gave a steely nod, and I peeled off in the other direction, but then he surprised me by calling out, “Wait. Annelise.”

I stopped, peering at him. It was almost completely dark now, and I tried to make sense of his expression in the twilight. Was I about to get it? Would he tear into me about needing to come to my aid? Had he changed his mind—would he make me return to the beach to gather my own fish after all?

“You’re cold,” he said instead. “You know I can’t drive you back…”

For a surreal moment, I thought I heard regret. I was shivering, but my cheeks flamed hot. “That’s cool,” I said quickly. “I can walk. I want to walk.” I tried to sound casual. Normal. At this point, I just wanted to get out of there.

“I’ve a towel in the car.” His eyes were so solemn as he said it. Like he was offering me not just a towel but something more.

I was shivering now, my body seizing and shaking. I’d have killed for a towel, but I also had the gut sense that I needed to get away. I’d been alone with Ronan tons of times. I reminded myself we were cool. This was normal. He was kind of on my side.

And yet we’d always maintained complete formality in front of other people. So what was with the towel? It was such a simple thing, but might it be construed as preferential treatment? He wouldn’t offer Izzy and Aubrey a towel—I’d have bet on it. What would the other girls think?

What would Carden think? I had a feeling Ronan knew about my relationship with the vampire, so why was he even acting like this? Did he suspect our bond and worry for me? Was this his way of looking out for me?

I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what the rules were. So instead I just stared dumbly.

“You’re being foolish,” he said, and his sudden coldness snapped me out of it.

I’d just been imagining things. I was being foolish.

“Sorry. You’re right.” I laughed and shook my head. “I think I must be, like, hypothermic or something.”

He opened the back of the SUV and pulled out something that looked more like a blanket than an item you’d use after a swim. “Take it.”

I did, shivering with relief as it absorbed the excess water from my clothes. It was a dark color—green maybe?—though hard to tell for sure in the moonlight. The edges were frayed, and errant threads tickled my hands. It was an old towel, not some standard-issue thing. Ronan’s personal towel. I imagined it was the one he used after he surfed.

I had the weirdest urge, and as I brought it to my face to scrub my cheeks and eyes, I inhaled deeply, seeking some Ronan scent. I smelled the brine of seawater, and sniffed again, trying to detect the other scent that lingered just on the edge of my senses.

The squawk of girls cut through the air—the other Initiates returning.

I abruptly wadded up the towel and tossed it back to him, hoping he couldn’t read my expression in the dark. “Thanks.” My voice came out way more earnestly than I’d intended.

“Annelise, it’s merely a towel.”

“No, I mean for earlier.” I realized that was what I’d been wanting to say the whole time. “Thanks for what you did on the beach.” That hadn’t just been him being a teacher—he’d been looking out for me. I may not have known why, but I knew. I’d seen it on his face.

I expected him to deny it, to blow me off in his usual way, but instead he shrugged it off. “It wasn’t entirely on your account. The leggy one had it coming.”

He gave me a quirky grin that made me trust him. Made me want to take a risk. I strained my ears, making sure the other Initiates were still far off. I had a minute. Maybe two. Before I could chicken out, I asked the one question on my mind. “What happened to Emma?”

His face shuttered instantly, but his voice was kind. “Emma is gone. Let her go.”

“She was alive.” I knew it now, knew it in my bones. “They took her to the keep. What happened to her there?”

“You have enough to concern you without thoughts of the vampires’ keep. It’s my understanding that Alcántara has given you this term’s assignment. Is that correct?”

“Yes, but—”

“Then that is what you must focus on.” His tone was stern, relentless. “Alcántara’s assassination class is infamous. Many girls have lost their lives not taking it seriously.”

“But I—”

“Let…it…go.” He paused between words, drawing it out, trying to make me hear. “You must. Unless, perhaps, you want to find yourself in the same situation.” His words gave me a chill—and not for the reasons he would’ve thought. Did I want to find myself taken to the keep? He didn’t know just how close to the mark he was—I was desperate to see inside.

“Well…” I gave him a sheepish look. “Actually, I was kind of thinking I might want to. Break in, I mean.”

“To the vampires’ castle?”

At my nod, he laughed. He actually laughed.

“It’s not funny. I mean it, Ronan.”

The smile lingered on his face, but his eyes hardened. “If you think you can simply break in, you’re more foolish than I took you for.”

“I’ll figure out a way. What if I threw a fight? I could lose on purpose, and—”

“Don’t even think it. Don’t even say it.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice to a menacing whisper. “You go into that castle, you’ll never come out again.” Pain bled onto his features, until he looked genuinely distressed by the thought.

“Don’t tell me you care, Ronan.”

He blew out a shaky breath. “Good Christ, Annelise.”

I couldn’t help the smile that popped onto my face. Maybe I wasn’t as alone as I thought. Not nearly. “You do care, don’t you?”

His upper lip twitched—a smile he didn’t want to give me just then. “For one so smart, you’re quite clueless.”

It was a clear night, the moonlight vibrating on my skin, so I sensed the veil of shadow the moment it fell over my shoulder. Carden, standing behind me. I’d been so focused on how close the girls were, I’d forgotten how likely it was that he’d appear. I was still getting used to our connection. He’d probably set out to find me the moment he sensed my distress on the beach.

“Clueless.” My vampire repeated Ronan’s last word, and he didn’t sound too pleased. Great. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see Carden, or that I kept secrets from him. On the contrary, I’ve confided so much more to him than I’ve ever told Ronan. I just wanted to chat with Ronan without Carden misunderstanding…like he was clearly doing now.

I couldn’t see his face, but if Ronan’s utterly blank expression was any indication, Carden was giving him his best death glare.

“Master McCloud,” Ronan said. “We were just finishing up class. To what do we owe this honor?”

Ronan would wonder what Carden was doing there, and sure enough, I heard his thought process in the shifting tone of his voice…at first surprise, then skepticism, and finally the sound of a suspicion confirmed. And of course it was—showing up like this was a pretty bold move on Carden’s part. If Ronan had had a hunch about our relationship before, Carden appearing like this would be enough to confirm it.