"Can we have my party at your place?" Tannin asked me Friday morning. "Please. I'll owe you."

"Let me guess. Lord Zhane couldn't host it at his club?" I asked.

He shot Daeva a glance, his eyes softening. "He dotes on her, so I didn't even try it. She's his only niece."

"Why don't you just cancel your party?" I asked.

His expression grew pensive, then he shook his head. "Nah. She'll know why I did it and things will get weird between us."

"Then combine your parties and use an open s.p.a.ce like Rocky Beach," I suggested.

"Sir Malax will never give us permission to use it at night. He's convinced Guardians could use water as camouflage and attack us."

"Leave him to me." Sir Malax didn't like being hounded, but I kept telepathing him until he gave his permission. By the end of the afterschool training, Tannin had convinced Daeva to have one large beach party together.

The work on the beach started that evening, but I joined them on Sat.u.r.day morning and grinned when I saw senior Earth Primes. Tannin introduced me to his cousin and her friends. He also pointed out some prospective employers. At the pace the group was going, it would take two, maybe three weeks to fix the entire beach. I spied several security guards keeping watch. I was sure they were reporting to Sir Malax.

We were still working when the Subsixers started arriving on the beach. They watched us work, the children interrupting us with questions. Since my Earth powers were the weakest, I played with the kids and kept them away from the others, who were surprisingly nice to the kids. Most of them, anyway. A few were still not used to treating Subsixers as equals.

Word must have spread, because representatives from a few companies stopped by to "see" our progress. I was sure they were scouting out prospective employees. By the time I left, Rocky Beach was a lot less rocky.

I started getting ready early. Bran had promised he'd be there, so I wanted to look nice.

What are you wearing? Katia telepathed me.

I studied my reflection in the mirror and frowned. I couldn't make up my mind-pants or dress. Right now? Panties and a bra.

Katia giggled. To the party, silly. He's going to be there, isn't he?

Who?

The one who makes you have that dopey smile at school.

I do not have a dopey smile. I tried to be indignant, but I ended up laughing.

I've learned to differentiate between your Princess-smile and your talking-to-Bran-smile.

I blinked. You know his name?

There was silence.

Katia? Have you been eavesdropping on my conversations?

No, I haven't. Gavyn told me. He wanted to know if I've seen a guy fitting Bran's description with you. Then he told me he's his younger brother.

Oh. That's okay, then.

There's something else. Promise you won't be mad?

I made a face. What did you do?

I told Gavyn about the party tonight. He'll be there to talk to Bran.

That wasn't going to be fun. No, I'm not mad. I'll see you in a few hours.

I took forever to decide on what to wear and how to wear my hair, but I was happy with my choices-a white-and-blue parachute maxi dress, hair down and held with a simple platinum head chain with a teardrop diamond.

Katia loved the dress, Lottius the head chain. "Very boho," she said.

As usual, Lottius was dressed in black-miniskirt with thigh-high, leather boots, white top, and black jacket. Katia wore patterned blackand-white leggings and a white dress shirt.

The expanded part of the beach was alive when we arrived, modern technology meeting angelic powers. Large CC crystals projected images of popular human bands in the air, and music pulsed from speakers connected to an expensive audio system. Some crystals shot strobe lights in the air while others flashed colored disco lights.

The students were everywhere. When Tannin had said he'd invite the entire student body, he hadn't been joking. Junior and seniors mingled. Some students were in the water, and others lay on blankets on the beach sipping drinks from plastic cups, but the majority of them were dancing in the wider section of the P-shaped beach. Ruby had carried several blankets from the castle and spread them out for us.

"This is amazing," I said.

"About time something fun happened around here," Lottius said. "See you, ladies. I'm going to find my man." She ran to the dance area. We settled on the blanket and watched dancers move in a frenzied trance on the sand.

"Is he here yet?" Katia whispered.

I did a psi scan. "No. Gavyn?"

"He said he'd be late." She rolled onto her stomach.

We watched the dancers. Couples not dancing made out on the blankets around the beach. Some sneaked away from the dance area for some privacy.

"Gavyn said you and Bran knew each other when you lived with the Guardians. Do you remember him?" Katia asked.

"No, but he followed me here."

"Ooh," she said. "That's romantic."

"What's romantic?" Bran asked, and I looked up, my heart thumping and warmth unfurling in my stomach. He looked amazing in black. He wore a baseball cap.

"You following me to the island," I said, sitting up.

Bran c.o.c.ked his eyebrow.

"She didn't tell me, if that's what you're thinking," Katia said.

"I wasn't," Bran said. "I know about you and Gavyn."

Katia blinked. "Oh. Well, uh, he's coming tonight to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to him," Bran said rudely.

Katia rolled her eyes. "He said you would react like that. He's coming anyway." She jumped up. "Do you guys want a chaperone, or should I go dance?"

"Go," Bran and I said at the same time. She took off and he replaced her.

This was the closest we'd been in a long time, shoulders pressed together as we lay side by side on our stomachs. He b.u.mped me with his shoulder. I b.u.mped him back. Chuckling, he turned his head, and I could feel his eyes on my face.

I glanced at him. What?

His eyes roamed my face, from my hair to my lips, and then met mine. You look amazing.

You, too.

He chuckled. "Can we sneak away like the other couples?"

I glanced over my shoulder. Ruby and Callum were closest to us, but the other guards were keeping a close watch on us, too. "The guards would stop the party and make everyone hate me forever."

"The people adore you and would get over it."

I turned my head and tried to see his face. The brim of his cap was in the way. I tilted it. We were so close, if I moved just a little, our lips could touch. I wanted to kiss him.

"I know what you're thinking," he whispered huskily.

I smiled and let go of his hat. "Exactly the same thing you're thinking."

A gleam entered his eyes. "Do you think they'll throw me in the dungeons if I kiss you?"

"Don't even joke about the dungeons."

He laughed, reached out with his other hand, and ran his fingers up and down my palm in a gentle caress. He turned his head and pressed a kiss on my shoulder. My heart jumped and I looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Other students were curious, but they didn't intrude.

"Look at me. I'm still here," he said.

"You're silly." I let my head rest on his shoulder and he pressed his cheek against my temple. We watched the dancers. Several kept glancing at us, probably trying to figure out who he was.

"Did we ever throw a party like this? You know, when we were with the Guardians?"

He was quiet as though thinking up a way to answer me. "No. We went to clubs."

"Just you and me?"

He hesitated again. "And friends. But this is the most relaxed I've ever seen you."

Relaxed, not happy. "When was I happiest?"

Instead of answering, he rolled onto his back. The lights from the makeshift dance floor flickered across my face, but he had the better view since I was still on my stomach.

"When you and I were alone together," he said.

"You do that a lot, you know," I said.

He reached up, took a lock of my hair, and twirled it around his finger. "Do what?"

"Hesitate before answering."

"I don't want to interfere with your-"

"Journey," I finished. I studied him. He stared right back, but I felt his emotions. He was struggling with something that both worried and scared him. I took a mental step backward and decided to stop pushing. "My father wants me to meet my grandfather."

Bran stiffened. "And?"

"I don't know if I should."

"Why not?"

"I'm not ready. We did terrible things, Bran. Gavyn told me. I don't care that the dark lords do terrible things and must be stopped. Guardians hurt innocent people, too. I have to forgive myself first before I can talk to my grandfather."

He stopped playing with my hair and frowned. "Who told you about dark lords?"

"Solange. She was drunk and let it slip. Then she told me never to mention dark lords or demons again."

"Solange was drunk?" Bran repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah. You know, speech slurry, eyes droopy, and staggering."

He shook his head. "No, she couldn't have been drunk. We process alcohol too fast to get drunk. She must have come home right after possessing someone."

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Solange is half-Lazarus, so she can shift into smoke form. The only time a Lazarus acts loopy is after a possession."

"What's that?"

"When a Lazarus enters a human, takes over, and makes them do evil things. When they come out, their senses need time to adjust."

So, when I'd seen Solange and her friends acting like they had a hangover... "I hate that she's like that. I can accept her lying about her memories, jealousy, tantrums, and even the possibility that she's behind my memory loss, but for her to be evil is just wrong. I mean, she's my sister."

"You are not her keeper, Lil. She made her choice," Bran said. "Just don't ever let her possess you. A Lazarus can destroy you from inside out. One possessed Gavyn and screwed with his head and energy. By the time she finished with him, the brother I knew was gone. Overnight, he started doing terrible things. I tried to help him, but I finally gave up."

"I didn't know."

He shrugged. "What I'm trying to say is that you can't change someone who doesn't want to change. You can love them, get angry with them, but you can't blame yourself for their choices. What exactly did Gavyn tell you?"

Bran's expression didn't change as I talked, but his anger slowly swelled. "Gavyn said he was only kidding about Coronis Isle, but I think he felt sorry for me because of the way I'd reacted. Is it true?"

"Yes, but there are things you don't understand and that I can't explain yet," he said.

His refusal to answer some of my questions was frustrating. We were still talking when Katia came back with Skylar and Ravan. The couple's curiosity was obvious, but they didn't ask who Bran was or recognize him from school.

We had to wait until they left before continuing. Bran confirmed the things Gavyn had said, except the one question that had bugged me for days.

"Was he right? Did someone erase my memories here on the island?" I asked Bran sat up, his eyes not leaving my face. He spoke cautiously. "I don't know. It's true that Raphael didn't erase your memory during the battle, because the Guardians taught us how to block them. But I don't know whether it happened right after the Tribunal handed down their sentence and you joined your father, or later on the island after you left. That's a question that only you can answer when your memories return."