“We’re independently wealthy. Pick out whatever you want. I was born a vampire. I wasn’t turned. I’m not as old as the guys.” Jasmine eyed a leather jacket.

  “Wait, if you were born a vampire, how come you aged? Wouldn’t you have been a newborn always?” Fiona asked, so perplexed about all of this.

  “We age normally like humans until we’re between eighteen and twenty-one and then our aging process slows way down,” Jasmine said.

  “What…what if a hunter and vampire have a baby? Or is that even possible?” Fiona asked.

  “I’ve heard they’re daylight vampires, unaffected by the sun, except like a human who could be burned, don’t need blood, have all the powers of a hunter and vampire combined,” Jasmine said.

  “Oh, I never even thought of that. I was turned last year, so I’m new at all this still,” Caitlin said. “Be sure to pack up a bathing suit or two. They have a beautiful indoor pool that you can enjoy. Can you swim?”

  “Oh, yes. That would be great.”

  After Fiona picked out a few pairs of jeans, a couple of jackets, panties, bras, socks, five shirts, a sweater, a couple of skirts, a dress, two bathing suits, flip flops, a robe, pajamas, and another pair of boots, Jasmine paid for them. Fiona didn’t even want to see how much all that cost her.

  Then they returned to the hotel room, and everyone met up at Fiona’s room to have pizzas delivered.

  Fiona had never paid that much for clothes ever. She was kind of liking her new group of friends. Even the spacious suite they had was gorgeous, all light and airy, not dark and depressing like her—well, Regina’s home. Since Regina wasn’t really any relation to Fiona, in reality, the woman had stolen her and taken her to Oregon under false pretenses.

  “You were going to show me a book,” Fiona said as their meals were delivered.

  “Yeah.” Stasio handed it to her. “You won’t be able to read the language. It’s ancient Welsh, but this tells all about the earlier family lines. Ruric, Levka, Arman, and I are all Welsh princes. We’re listed here. All the families have their own books, but some have been uploaded online in this new electronic age.”

  “That’s where I come in,” Ruric said. “When Arman said he was having the visions of you, we researched who the vampires were who had taken you from your foster family. We’re still trying to learn who your real parents are.”

  “What about the…curse?” If Fiona was to believe any of this.

  “You come into an ability that has to do with dreams when the blood moon is full and you reach your eighteenth birthday,” Stasio said. “Both are a few days away. I mean, some say it’s a curse because there will be rogue vampires who will be after you for your power, but it might be something that really benefits you if you can learn how to harness it.”

  “When we get to Dallas, I want to see the police,” Fiona reiterated, not buying this curse business. She thought that the vampires truly believed in it, but she couldn’t see that having dreams made her powerful. If she didn’t have any control over her life right now, at least she had to know what had happened to her foster brother. She still cared for him and didn’t want to give up hope that he was alive.

  “Yes. We’ll give you the time to check on your brother. But we can’t take too long,” Arman warned. “They’ll be looking for you and they might believe you would try to go there, if they suspect you want to be with your brother.”

  Which was just what Fiona had told Regina. That wasn’t good. “I can’t believe Justin wasn’t my real brother. How can we learn more about my family?”

  “I’ll be searching all the archives I can find to try and locate them. In the meantime, you have to stay with us, and we’ll protect you,” Stasio said.

  “What if you want whatever ‘powers’ I might have just like Tobias and Regina?” Fiona wasn’t dumb. If one group of vampires wanted them, then another could want them also.

  “We help others in need. We’ve gotten in trouble for it also,” Levka said. “If we just didn’t stick our noses into other people’s business, we wouldn’t have any concerns.”

  “Why would you be in trouble for doing something good for people?” Fiona didn’t think it made any sense.

  “Vampire League rules. No helping humans or hunters even when they’re innocent of any wrongdoing and need our help,” Levka said.

  “That’s awful.” Fiona couldn’t believe it. “So you’re telling me you’re good Samaritan vampires then.”

  “Yeah, we are,” Arman said. “Though you should know that I tend to remind everyone of the rules so they don’t get into as much of a hassle.”

  “Does that mean with regard to coming to rescue me also?” Fiona asked.

  “Are you kidding? He was going to help you whether any of us wanted to come or not,” Levka said.

  Fiona smiled at him. “Thanks.” Then she lost the smile. “I think.” Though a part of her was relieved that she wouldn’t have to return to Regina’s house and see Tobias or Clarissa either, she still wasn’t certain going with these people was a step in the right direction.

  “We need to get some sleep. We leave in four hours.” Levka took Caitlin’s hand, and they left the room.

  “We’ll be in the room next door.” Arman pointed to the adjoining door. “Just call on us if you need any help.”

  “We will.” Jasmine kissed Stasio and he kissed her back.

  Fiona was thinking about how they should really be together, but she guessed she’d really messed that up for them. Maybe at the next place they stayed, they could get an extra room and they could be together. She also noticed that Levka had spirited Caitlin away even though she’d said she would stay with Fiona and Jasmine.

  Fiona got a call and when she looked at the caller ID, she realized it was Regina and her heart began beating like crazy.

  Everyone still in the room was watching her.

  “Regina,” Fiona whispered, as if she could hear her through the phone when she hadn’t even answered the call. “What if she can track me through my phone?”

  “This is not good,” Arman said. “Levka, none of us thought about Fiona’s cell phone. Regina just called her.”

  “Aww, hell—” Levka said then, “Let’s go. We’ll drop the phone in someone’s vehicle on the way out.”

  Then Arman said, “We’ve got to pack right now and move.”

  “I’m sorry. I never thought I would be on the run from vampire rogues.” Fiona shook her head. “I heard…heard Levka talking.”

  “Yes. You heard his telepathic communication,” Arman said.

  Okay, so Fiona guessed she really could hear their communication that way.

  It didn’t take long for everyone to pack, and no one argued about it either. Fiona was surprised how well the group worked together.

  Then they headed outside into the dark and Levka found an unlocked car door. He slipped the phone inside and locked the door and shut it. “Let’s go.”

  The next thing she knew, they were flying again, invisible, and she didn’t think she would ever get used to this. “Where are we going now?” She thought of each of the vampires and hoped they would all hear her.

  “Sedona, Arizona,” Levka said. “We’ll stop there for four hours. After that, we’re on the move again.”

  “Okay, I can’t make reservations while we’re flying,” Ruric said. “When we land, I’ll do it.”

  “When you do, make reservations for Las Cruces, New Mexico after that,” Levka said.

  “Gotcha,” Ruric said.

  “When I talk to you, are you all hearing me?” Fiona asked.

  “Yeah,” Ruric said, everyone else agreeing.

  “But we need to know if you can talk to only one person or several in the group,” Arman said. “When Caitlin telepathically speaks, she can’t target individuals.”

  “Alright, I’m speaking only to you, Arman. Thanks for saving me from Regina and the others.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said.

  “Did anyone else hear what I said to Arman?” Fiona asked.

  “Not me,” Jasmine said, everyone echoing her response.

  Then Fiona tried to speak only to Jasmine and Caitlin. “Thank you, Jasmine and Caitlin, for saying you would share a room with me.” Though Levka seemed to have the final say in that. “If…if we can’t get more rooms this time at the next stop, why don’t the two of you stay with your boyfriends?”

  “Someone has to stay with you,” Jasmine said.

  “Jasmine’s right. You can’t be alone in case Regina, or her cohorts, catch up to us,” Caitlin said.

  “We only heard Caitlin’s response, no one else’s conversations,” Levka said. “It appears you can direct your telepathic conversation to only those you wish to speak to.” He sounded relieved.

  “Great,” Fiona said. At least one good thing was going for her, besides being rescued from Tobias and Regina. She just hoped Arman and his friends truly were decent vampires and not conning her like Regina had done.

  9

  When they reached their next destination, Ruric managed to get them enough rooms and a honeymoon suite so that Arman and Fiona had a living room and a bedroom with two queen size beds. That meant Ruric had a room of his own, but they couldn’t risk Fiona staying alone in a room.

  “I’ll sleep on the sofa,” Arman offered, being the gallant prince that he was.

  “Okay, thanks,” Fiona said.

  Arman had hoped she would be fine with him staying in the other bed in the same room, but that was the difference between Stasio and Jasmine. Both of them were vampires. Fiona was probably still afraid any one of them would want to suck her blood while she was sleeping.

  Humans could be compelled to do things, but as a hunter, she couldn’t be. He smiled at her, willing her to invite him into the bedroom to take the other bed while she slept in the one by the window. He reassured her she would have the most wonderful sleep, just in case they were wrong about her being a huntress.

  She smiled at him, like she thought he had something else in mind. A kiss? He could just see going in for a kiss goodnight and getting attacked by a black belt in some form of martial arts.

  He was the one known for not taking big risks in their little group. But then he decided to throw caution to the wind and drew close. She was looking wary, but tired too. Then he pulled her gently in for a kiss, hoping she didn’t knee him where it counted.

  To his surprise, relief, and delight, she kissed him before he even had a chance to kiss her. He had a lot of experience and he suspected she didn’t have, but when she kissed him, he felt a strange kind of connection, like they belonged together and the visions he’d had of her had prepared him for this moment.

  He was really getting into the kiss when she pulled away, her face flushed, her breathing hard, her heart beating rapidly.

  “Why…why does it feel like I’ve known you forever?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I felt the same kind of emotional and physical attraction to you.” And he couldn’t believe it.

  Levka said to both Arman and Fiona, “Go to sleep before we have to leave again. Talk to each other tomorrow.”

  Fiona’s eyes widened.

  Arman said, “He’s only guessing we’re talking or something. He can’t read our minds. Night, Fiona. We’ll talk later.” Then he gave her a warm hug, kissed her briefly, and left her alone in the bedroom.

  “Wait,” she said. “You can use the other bed. Otherwise, you’ll have to waste time making up a bed on the couch.”

  “Okay, thanks.” He was going to ask her if she was sure, but he didn’t want to sabotage the offer.

  Then they all settled down before they had to leave again. Arman was hoping that the phone they had left in a vehicle was headed in an altogether different direction from where they were headed.

  “It won’t be safe going to Dallas to check on what happened to my brother, will it?” Fiona asked Arman after she slipped under her covers.

  “Probably not. But if you have to do it, we’ll understand.” Arman rested his head on his pillow.

  “Regina will call on reinforcements and you’ll be outnumbered. We can’t risk that. I can check newspaper reports later, right?” she asked.

  Relieved, he said, “Sure.”

  “If they were able to track the phone to our last location, I’m worried they’ll think we’re going this way.”

  “Right. We can talk to the others when we get ready to leave,” Arman said.

  “Or now, so everyone can make other plans. I’ll do it,” Fiona said. “It’s my decision to take a different route.”

  “It’s a good decision.” Arman was glad she wasn’t feeling shy about bothering Levka, though he was a bit amused. He didn’t like bothering Levka when he retired to bed with Caitlin unless it was a dire emergency. Well, even before Caitlin was with him.

  Then Fiona said to everyone, “Hey, if it works for you, let’s go to somewhere other than Dallas. Regina might figure that’s where I would want to go.”

  “How about Houston?” Levka asked.

  “That works for me,” Fiona said.

  Everyone chimed in that that was a good plan. “I’ll make the reservations for the hotel,” Ruric said.

  Then they went to sleep, but only for a short while. Not long after that, Levka was waking them for lunch and then another flight.

  “I just thought about another thing. Regina knew your name, Arman. How did she know you would come after me?” Fiona asked, while they had lunch in the suite—Chinese food this time.

  “We know about her, but I don’t know how she would know about me, unless she has had visions of your white knight coming to save you,” Arman said.

  Fiona laughed.

  He liked her laughter. He liked dancing with her too. And she was really pretty. He liked blondes and her enchanting green eyes always captured him and drew him in—now, when he finally got to see her in person again, and in the visions and dreams he’d had of her.

  He was glad she had changed the plan so that they now avoided Dallas because he knew everyone had been worried about going there in case Regina figured they were heading to that location.

  “Where are we going after this?” Fiona asked.

  “We’re flying to another country.”

  Fiona frowned. “I don’t have a passport. Which country?”

  “Scotland. We can take care of the passport issue,” Levka said. “Our vampiric persuasion is very…persuasive.”

  “That comes in handy then.”

  “It does,” Caitlin said. “Before I met these guys, I couldn’t have done half of all the things we’ve done—the hotel reservations, flight reservations, even purchasing the meals, and clothes. So they can make sure that you bypass the passport issue. We often get first class seats on the planes too. But it means that we bump people out of their seats sometimes. I…well, I didn’t think I would like being like that, but you know those people always have the wealth, first class everything. So it doesn’t hurt for them to live like the common man every once in a while.”

  Fiona smiled. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I have another idea. It might be kind of absurd, but can we go to Moody Gardens on Galveston Island? I’ve always wanted to go but my parents wouldn’t take us, and my brother never wanted to go. No way would Regina or the others suspect I would drop by there. Nor that if Arman ‘stole’ me, that he would take me there.”

  “Moody Gardens it is,” Levka said.

  Arman said, “If they access the worldwide registry of important vampires, then they would know I’m from Wales. But we’re not going there. They would have to dig a lot further to learn where we might be living now. That should take time and we have a lot of friends there who will back us up.” He sighed. “As to Moody Gardens, unless you mentioned to Regina or the others that you always wanted to go to that location, she might make a trip there or send people you don’t know there. Otherwise, it should be safe.”

  “No, I mentioned I wanted to go to Dallas to the university to join my brother. I don’t know if he would have been okay with it, but that was what I had planned to do. I guess all of that’s out now.”

  “Online courses,” Caitlin said, smiling. “You can do the whole thing that way. Well, depending on what you want to study.”

  “I don’t know yet. I’m sure whatever I would have planned will have to be changed considering the circumstances.” Fiona hated uncertainty and this was more than she thought she would ever have to deal with. Having some control over her life was important, so being able to go to Moody Gardens gave her a tiny sense of having some say in her life. She didn’t want to think about the blood moon, or her birthday, or about any powers she might end up having. She didn’t really believe she could have any, truthfully.

  She still didn’t know if she could trust these vampires. She’d just met them and they’d taken her away from, well, people she thought she knew. She might think they were lying about her relationship with Regina and Tobias, but Fiona didn’t believe Regina or Tobias had been telling her the truth either.

  Maybe she was being silly about going to Moody Gardens, but everyone seemed to think the idea was perfectly fine, so she was glad for that.

  “Okay, are we ready to go?” Levka asked. “We’ll stay in Houston, and then travel to Galveston from there. It’s only an hour away.”

  “Why not go straight to Galveston instead of stopping in Houston first?” Fiona hoped they didn’t think she sounded like she was afraid they might change their minds and just get on a plane for Scotland in Houston.

  “Sure,” Levka said. “It’s so close, that will work. Ruric?”

  “On it,” Ruric said.

  When they arrived at the hotel on Galveston Island, they all went to their rooms—Caitlin staying with Fiona while they took turns showering, and then joined the rest of the gang to see Moody Gardens.

  “So I was surprised you all eat food,” Fiona finally mentioned.

  “Yeah,” Caitlin said. “So except for showing off fangs in anger, we look like any other human. Except, I’m also a witch.”