I frowned, trying to remember where I'd heard that name. Raphael?

The archangel you fought. You really don't remember anything from your past?

Not a thing.

Not even me?

I frowned. Why should I remember you?

Because you and I had something special before you lost your memories.

I was dating a Hermonite while living with the Guardians? How is that possible? You are a minion while I- Is it hard to believe about us?

I'd hurt his feelings. That's not it. I was going to say I was a prisoner of the Guardians. How could we have met? Besides, if I'd known you, I would remember.

There was silence and I wondered what he was thinking. Can you promise me one thing, Lil?

That depends.

Don't let anyone stop you from being yourself.

I smiled. I wasn't planning to.

Good. But be careful.

Let me guess. My psi energy needs to replenish, so I must take it easy.

He chuckled. No. Your energy is growing stronger fast. I'm not worried about that. Be careful around people who didn't fight in the Great Battle.

His words reminded me of the conversation between Lady Nemea and Solange. Are they the ones who don't like me and think I'm a spy for the Guardians?

Who told you that? Now he sounded p.i.s.sed.

It's just something I overheard.

Don't let such nonsense stop you from being yourself. Goodnight.

I frowned. Could he really be from my past? I'd lived with the Guardians before the Great Battle, so did that make him a Guardian? Or was I seeing him, a minion, while living with the Guardians? Or maybe he was just messing with me.

Oh, forget it. I shouldn't be listening to him or believing anything he'd said.

I fell into a restless sleep and dreamed about flying with Green Eyes. He had ma.s.sive black wings. His mouth kept opening and closing, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Then I fell, strange words echoing around me.

Yours always, mine forever.

I woke up with a start, the words still ringing in my head like a distant memory. It was a crazy dream. A minion wouldn't have wings. According to the books I'd consumed over the last week, the ability to fly was rare even among upper-level Hermonites.

I turned, punched the pillow, and tried to go back to sleep, but thoughts of my missing CC chased away all thoughts of the dreams from my head. Who could have taken it? Why had Gavyn given it to me instead of just talking to me? And what was on the crystal? It was obvious he didn't want anyone to know he was communicating with me.

-6-.

"Hey, little sis," Solange said, appearing behind me.

I jumped. I hated it when she did that. She had some serious boundary issues. She never pinged or knocked before entering my bedroom. This time, I forgave her when I realized she wasn't alone. Lottius and Katia were right behind her. I hadn't seen or heard from them since the party a week before.

"Where have you guys been?" I asked, hugging Lottius.

"School," she said.

Like the night of the banquet, Lottius wore black-leggings and a long-sleeved gauzy, see-through, batwing shirt with a picture of a b.l.o.o.d.y mouth with fangs. It had the slogan Top of the Food Chain written on the back. On her head was a baseball cap. I still had to figure out how she, a Nosferatu, could walk in the daylight.

Katia wore a sundress that suited her curvaceous body. She turned around, laughing. "I can fit ten of my dorm room in here." She plopped on my bed and bounced on it. "And four of my beds on this."

Lottius shook her head. "My parents like to have family moments whenever they visit," she explained. "Since I hadn't seen them in months, we had a lot of catching up to do."

"Don't you mean they grilled us on what we remembered from the past and what happened at the party?" Katia said, then hopped off the bed and walked to the window. "Nice view."

"Nice to see you too, Katia," I said.

She laughed and walked back to give me a hug. "Did you get in big trouble for what we did?"

I shook my head. My own company had started to drive me crazy since I'd seen them, which was weird because I was never alone. Servants saw to my every need and guards followed me everywhere. I had even started looking forward to the arrival of my tutor. Father was having a hard time finding one he approved of, according to Lady Nemea.

"Lady Nemea freaked out, but my father was cool with it," I said.

"They can't stay for too long, Lilith," Solange warned.

I'd completely forgotten her presence. "Why not?"

"Because I bypa.s.sed security protocol to bring them up and Malax will know soon. He never misses my tricks."

"What security protocol?" I asked.

"Every visitor to the castle must inform Malax's office. Personally, I don't follow it, but that's just me. If he asks how they got up here, tell them I brought them."

I shook my head. "No. I'm not getting you in trouble when you did this for me."

"Just trying to make up for ignoring you the last week. And FYI, I could get to like this new you."

"New me? What was the old me like?"

"A pain in my a.s.s." She made a face and chuckled. "Kidding. Frail, pale, and afraid of her own shadow. You two"-she pointed at my friends-"don't overstay your welcome." She disappeared.

"Your sister is scary," Katia said.

"It's all an act." Some of the time. She said weird things and was unpredictable.

Katia laughed. "It's not fair we can't stay. I want a tour." She turned around and frowned. "Where's Lottie?"

"She was here a minute ago." The door to my closet was open. "In there."

Katia grabbed my wrist before I could take a step toward the closet. "Did you mean it? You know, about visiting the minions?"

I nodded slowly. "Yes. I just don't know when. My tutor will be arriving any time, and then I'll be in lessons."

Katia frowned. "You are not attending the Academy?"

"Not yet. My father said I have some catching up to do first, so I'll work with a tutor for a while."

She frowned. "How long is a while? The tourney is this semester."

"Tourney?"

"When we compete and pit our powers against each other's. Juniors, that's us-ages seventeen to twenty-compete against the hateful seniors-ages twenty-one to twenty-five. It is the first time we're doing this, so everyone is super-stoked."

"Hey, you two," Lottius called out from my closet. "Get in here. You have an insane amount of jewelry, Lilith."

"With you on our team, we'll cream them," Katia whispered. "They say you have all the powers of the Princ.i.p.ality Azazel. Queen Coronis had only three."

I didn't want to discuss my powers. My missing CC was still a priority. I'd been searching for it since the night of the party. "So, tell me about Lord Gavyn. Do you see him often?"

Katia blushed. "Whenever he's on the island, but at times he just comes to visit me. Why?"

"Are you two mated?"

She shook her head. "No, but I'm thinking about it."

Now for the real question I wanted to ask. "Was he in the Great Battle?"

"No. He was on a business trip."

Green Eyes said not to trust those who weren't in the battle. "So, his memories are intact?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"I want to ask him something about the Great Battle. I mean, I saw the reenactment, but I still have questions. I tried talking to your uncle and aunt during the party, but they didn't want to discuss it."

She rolled her eyes. "They never do."

"Can you arrange a meeting when Lord Gavyn visits?"

"Sure. He's a favorite of your father's and was very concerned about you when you were unconscious."

So, what was in the CC he'd given me? I was dying to find out.

"Guys!" Lottius called again.

"Let's go before she turns mean," Katia said, laughing. "She hates to be ignored."

Lottius was trying on a diamond choker when we joined her. She studied us suspiciously in the mirror. "What are you two up to?" she asked.

"Thinking up ways to p.i.s.s you off," Katia said.

"You do it every time you open your mouth. Some of these clothes, Lilith..." Lottius shuddered.

"Hey, no disrespecting my clothes," I said. "Solange changed their colors to darker hues, but Lady Nemea threw a fit, so she changed them back. Personally, I like darker colors." I touched the eggplant-colored summer dress I was wearing. "So, I color the ones I wear and change them back to keep the peace."

Katia pulled a teal dress from the rack, pressed it against her, and preened in front of a mirror. "I like this one. I think I saw it on the cover of Fashion Week Digest a few months ago."

"What is Fashion Week Digest?" I asked.

"Next time, we'll bring magazines," Katia said. "We are going to give you a crash course in pop culture."

"Don't include me in your madness," Lottius said. "I don't care one way or the other about humans and their interests."

"So you keep saying," Katia retorted, then glanced at me. "Don't listen to her. She scours their fashion magazines like a miner searching for gold. I hate saying this, but we need to go before Sir Malax finds us," Katia added.

"Oh, let him," Lottius mumbled, removing the choker.

"Really, Lottie?" Katia snapped. "After the long lecture your mother gave us?"

"She's always on a soapbox." She carefully put the jewelry back in the gla.s.s case. "I thought the whole purpose of coming here was to take Lilith to the beach with us."

"Really? Let's go," I said.

Katia shook her head. "I don't know. Solange said-"

"Forget what my sister said," I said. "Anywhere is better than staying indoors. Please."

Katia still appeared undecided.

"If we get busted, you can say Lilith commanded you and you couldn't say no because she's the princess," Lottius said.

I grinned. "I like it."

"I don't," Katia retorted.

Lottius groaned. "Just zap her, Lilith."

"What?" Katia and I spoke at the same time.