Ash:
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Two hours later, Ash and her mother were crossing the darkened street. As they passed under a streetlamp, Marianne smoothed her pencil dress for the hundredth time, then rubbed her teeth to vanquish any excess lipstick.

Mum's really putting in a lot of effort. Maybe she thinks this is a date with Lücan? Maybe it is. Please let this be a date!

As they walked up to the front door, Ash breathed in the roses creeping up the side of the porch. That little piece of contentment fled as her mum let out a shaky breath and patted her hair. Tonight, Marianne's sandy locks hung just below her shoulders and her fringe tapered fashionably. She'd been in the bathroom so long that Ash had held fears of being late, and the last thing Ash needed was to upset their host before they'd even arrived.

"Should I press the doorbell, or do you want to?" Ash whispered.

"I'll do it." Marianne shot Ash a nervous smile and pressed the button. Music chimed lightly. It was a welcoming sound, as was the aroma of home cooking as the door opened.

Maybe this won't be so bad.

Lücan smiled warmly at Marianne. He had gone to his usual effort and nothing less. He looked immaculate—black suit, white shirt, red tie, hair swept back without a strand out of place. "Good evening, Marianne."

"Thank you?" she replied, appearing dazed.

As he opened the wire door, Marianne was still staring at Lücan. Ash tried not to cringe, but her mum had turned into a lovesick zombie. Ash pulled her past Lücan and into the hall. While he was closing the door, Ash hissed into Marianne's ear, "Snap out of it, Mum!"

"Out of what?" she whispered, checking her hair in the hallway mirror.

"Act normal."

"I thought I was—"

Lücan approached, frowning slightly.

Marianne and Ash smiled brightly at their host.

"And a good evening to you, Ashleigh," he said. "I trust work experience is going well?"

"Um...Yep. Jasper's a really good manager. Although, I've missed my training with Will. Is he here?" She peered down the hallway, hoping to glimpse her friend, but it was just an intersection of hallways and archways leading off to other rooms.

"He is." Lücan's mood seemed to brighten, and he ushered Ash and Marianne down the hallway, turning left and right. "Please, take a seat, while I let everyone know you have arrived."

Marianne and Ash stepped into a large dining room. Ash's mouth dropped at the sight. Above the elegantly set table was a chandelier, which looked to be lit by fireflies. Large bay windows overlooked the front garden of roses, while French doors overlooked the back garden of roses, and Victorian-style lamp posts lit a cobblestone path. There was something magical about the garden, and Ash would have preferred to spend the night exploring outside.

Lücan returned, along with a line of guests. Sasha breezed into the room in a satin pink dress, blonde hair braided upon her head, looking like a princess dressed for a ball. Ash began questioning her own fashion decision—a short silky dress in sunshine yellow. Behind Sasha, Will spotted Ash and gave her an earnest smile. It was in that moment that she realized how much she'd missed him. Then she noticed a guy talking in Will's ear. The guy grinned cheekily, and mussed his brown hair like it was a habit hard to break. Ash swore she'd seen him before. But where?

Her heart sped as Alründ entered, his hair neatly tied in a ponytail and a slim grey suit. He didn't look in Ash's direction at all, he just skirted around the table, as far from her as possible. She wanted him to say something. Hello, at the very least. A smile. Anything!

Everyone stood behind their chairs, chatting away. Ash suspected they were waiting for a cue to sit down. Whatever that cue was she hoped it happened soon, because Marianne and Lücan had begun talking about the unusually hot weather. Ash started to panic. If Lücan glimpsed into Marianne's mind and found the discussion over pancakes that morning she would be in a whole lot of trouble.

Will appeared on Ash's left, surprising her with a kiss on her cheek. He pulled back, his gaze roaming over her face as if it had been months, not days, since they'd seen each other last. "You finally accepted my dinner invitation," he said. "Thank you."

"You arranged this?"

"I might have mentioned the idea to Lücan. I didn't think he'd arrange it this fast, but I think inviting Marianne helped my cause."

She giggled, then whispered, "So, I'm not the only one who thinks there's something between my mum and the host?"

"I have a feeling our host isn't going to act on those feelings," he whispered back.

"You think we should do a bit of match-making through dinner...?"

He gave a sly smile. "Might earn us three-hundred push-ups, though."

"Three-hundred push-ups! You're joking, right?"

"No." He laughed. "I've missed you, Ash."

"Same." Ash wanted to fling her arms around him, so he would know that she'd missed him, too. Instead, she pushed back the hair that had fallen around his face, earning her a brief smile. His hair always seemed to cover his face in some way. In her dream, it always covered his eyes. Now, she could see that he hadn't shaven in days. He hadn't even bothered with a suit, just a black fitted shirt and pants that made him look gothic. And his mood, she swore she could feel it moving inside of her like a black fog, ceaseless and despairing.

"Ash, about last week..."

"Yes?" she said, laying a hand on his arm.

He flinched away.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I hurt my arm today."

"At work experience? Don't tell me Lücan made you do push-ups all day?"

Will frowned. "Not exactly."

"Let me see..." Ash pushed up his sleeve before he could stop her. She stared at the bandage and the blood seeping through. "That's not just a scratch. What happened, Will?"

"A pointless exercise, which failed miserably." He pulled his arm away, but Ash noticed more bruises and nicks on his arm and hand. There were more on his neck, just where the top button of his shirt was undone.

"Are you talking about the mission to rescue Jasper's father?" she whispered.

"Jasper told you?"

Ash nodded, recalling Will's words: 'failed miserably'. "He's still missing?"

Will hung his head, hair falling across his face.

"You tried."

"It wasn't enough. I've had the chance to save him. Twice. Once when Jasper's father was taken, and today."

Ash rubbed Will's shoulder, relieved that he didn't flinch again.

Lücan cleared his throat, silencing the room. Ash thought Lücan would have asked Marianne to sit first, as she was possibly his date, but no. Lücan sat at the head of the table, as if he expected everyone to bow before him. He gestured for everybody to sit.

"I assume you know everyone, Ashleigh?" Lücan asked, glancing around at the guests and pausing on Alründ.

Avoiding Alründ, she pointed to the guy beside him, wearing the cheeky grin. "I don't know him."

"Theodore, stand up, please," Lücan said, sounding more like a drill sergeant.

Theodore rushed around the table and took her hand, kissing the back of it. "Finally, we meet again. I was wondering if it would ever happen."

"We've met?" Ash asked. "When?"

"Here and there. And you can call me Theo."

"Theo?" she mused. "Did we play in a rose garden as children?"

His grin widened. "I knew you had a soft spot for me. Although, I am pretty hard to forget."

Sasha scoffed. "Not for the reasons you think, Theo."

Theo turned his back on Sasha and smiled at Ash. "We also used to jump from waterfalls, play in the purple mud pits—"

"Theordore!" snapped Lücan.

Theo released Ash's hand and strode quickly around the table, returning to the seat opposite her. He peered up, his grin more sheepish this time.

I played in mud pits...with Theo? Ash thought, trying to dredge up a memory of the event.

Lücan looked past Marianne, resting his gaze on Ash. She felt a buzz of energy through her skin, and wondered if those invisible gildé beads had gone into alarm mode.

"I believe there is someone else you don't know," he said. "Perhaps Marianne wouldn't mind exchanging seats with Alründ?"

Marianne tensed beside Ash. The alarm on her mum's face turned to defeat, and she and Alründ rose from their seats. As they passed behind Lücan, Alründ did nothing to hide his anger. By the time he taken his seat beside Ash, his face was a blank mask. Ash didn't want to look at him, in case she gave something away. Lücan was watching his experiment with keen eyes.

"Hi." Ash held out a shaky hand and smiled.

Alründ stared down his nose at her. The handshake was over in two seconds flat.

Placing her hands in her lap, her spirit stung with rejection. She wanted to scream and storm from the room. Crying was definitely an option. Running across the street and back home—she was very close.

This horrible dinner has already delayed my plans to take mum flying. Who knows what will happen afterwards? Alründ and I were supposed to be 'Rushing things.' It was supposed to be a special night!

Looking past Alründ, she stared at Lücan with open hatred.

Lücan drummed his fingers on the tablecloth, a subtle lift of his eyebrows, as if challenging her to more than a stare-off.

Ash threw her napkin on the table, unable to stand Lücan's presence a second longer. She was partway through rising from her chair when Jasper entered, pushing a food cart laden with entrees. She grumbled as Alründ snatched her hand beneath the table and pulled her into her seat.

Jasper placed the first plate before Lücan. He wheeled the cart around to Marianne's side, working his way around the table. When Jasper reached the vacant spot at the far end, he winked at Ash. The spark in his eyes was missing. He was dressed in a black suit, his hair combed back on top and one side. All of his piercings were gone. He looked very un-Jasper-like, and it upset Ash no end. She would have bet that this was Lücan's doing—changing Jasper into a waiter and a chef for the night. Jasper already had a career—several. Worse, Lücan was making Jasper work after news that his father never returned home. Suddenly, Lücan seemed all wrong for Marianne, and Ash didn't want her mum anywhere near him.

"Marianne, a word?" said Lücan quietly, inclining his head towards the back garden.

Marianne stood, her eyes darting to Ash before she left with Lücan through the French doors. Ash glanced at them through the windows. Marianne was clutching a lamp post with one hand and talking with the other, but Lücan was as still as a statue, his lips barely moving. Ash hoped they were talking about their own burgeoning relationship and no one else's. The suspense became intolerable. Needing a distraction, Ash looked around the table. Will was holding his forehead, elbow leaning on the table for support.

"You okay?" she whispered.

"No."

Without thinking, Ash reached out to rub his shoulder.

Will sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes, as if waking up. "Don't comfort me, Ash."

Ash shifted away, unsure of what mistake she'd made this time.

"If this day couldn't get any worse, I invite you to dinner and Lücan decides to test you. I'd tell you to escape while you still can, but there's no point."

"There isn't?"

"I wouldn't try," said Jasper, placing an entrée before her. It was a plate of rice paper rolls—vegetarian. Piled on top were little garnishes of grated carrot and bean shoots, chili, and a dipping sauce. Jasper had gone to a lot of trouble to make it look professional. If she left now, she would possibly end the dinner party and Jasper's hard work would go to waste. As he served Alründ the entrée, Jasper whispered to Ash, "Remember what I taught you earlier, about putting that wall around your mind?'

Ash nodded, noticing Will and Jasper's concern.

"Don't let it slip. Ever." Then Jasper walked back to the vacant spot at the front of the room and started his entrée.

Closing her eyes, Ash checked the protection around her mind. She winced. Her invisible wall was weak, like it was made of cheap plastic instead of reinforced glass.

I'm doomed. Doomed!

"Ash," Alründ said softly. "Think about what needs protecting. If it's important enough, you'll find a way to make your mind a fortress."

"But I'm panicking. I can't concentrate," she breathed.

"Then we are doomed."

"Not helping, Alründ!"

He laugh-grunted in that way of his. That sound alone was worth protecting. But there was so much more... All of the nights she'd flown with Alründ, the way he would smile unexpectedly, making her spirit spin lightly and merge with his. Even now she could sense Alründ's spirit was silver, with motes of gold spinning through it. Those golden motes were her spirit, floating with his. Closing her eyes, she smiled. She might not have been able to hold him, but no one could break their spirits apart. She hoped. Then other spirits touched hers, and it wasn't long before she had sensed every spirit at the table.

Ash frowned, doing a recount of the number of people at the table verses the spirits she felt. There were two extra spirits, and neither belonged to Marianne and Lücan, who were still outside. Ash tried to pinpoint the extra spirits to their source, but it was faint. She opened her eyes, and asked, "Is it just me, or does anybody else feel another presence or two in the room?"

As everybody frowned in her direction, Ash wished she could hide under the table. The Sepheri began to quieten, each person sitting thoughtfully as they glanced around the room. At once, every set of eyes shifted to Sasha's nervous gaze and then lowered to her belly.

"Nice one, Ash," Sasha hissed.

"Sorry!"

One look from her brother and Sasha started crying. She stared down at her hands as Lücan and Marianne chose that moment to enter the room. Ash felt terrible, more terrible when Lücan's gaze zoned in on Sasha.

Marianne knelt beside her chair. "Sasha, what's the matter, sweetie?"

"She's pregnant," Lücan said gruffly, pacing the room. "This shouldn't be possible. I don't know whether to smile or cry."

"Smile?" Theo suggested.

Lücan's gaze hardened.

"Who's the father?" Theo asked, keen for some gossip.

Sasha froze for a moment. "You are."

"Me?" Theo laughed. "No. No way. Impossible. That was months ago."

Will straightened in his chair. "I never knew you two were together. Sasha forgot to mention it."

"I don't believe that's any of your business, Will," she said.

"You really believe I'm the father?" Theo asked.

She nodded and looked out the window. Ash could feel Sasha's emotions as if they were her own—uncertainty, fear, protectiveness over the little lives inside of her.

A laugh burst from Lücan's mouth. It was kind of scary. "Unbelievable!" he shouted, sending everyone jolting back in their chairs as if they'd just reached terminal velocity. Ash gripped Alründ's hand without thinking, hiding their hands between the chairs. Bad move. Lücan zoned in on that very point to where she was joined with Alründ. "You two, you are going to be the downfall of everything. And I mean everything."

"Us?" Ash squeaked.

"Stop controlling us, Lücan!" Alründ snapped. "You may be a big shot in the universe, but yell at Ash again and I'll—"

"Continue that sentence and I'll banish you for a very long time."

Ash shook her head, not believing a word. What have I done, really? I'm not the one who's pregnant.

"That is not why I am angry, Ashala," he said, scarily quiet. "You bound Will to you and now you will see that bond through to its completion."

"No," she breathed.

Will leaned forward in his chair, fiddling with a band of leather around his throat, his eyes pained as he glanced at Ash. "You don't mean that, do you?"

"I..." She shrugged helplessly.

"Lücan," Marianne said, pulling him by the arm. "Let's take a moment. Maybe step outside for a second—"

He shirked away from her. "Feel free to step outside, Marianne, but I'm not moving until I've made certain things crystal clear to the girl in front of me." He leaned down, inches from Ash's face, his eyes shining like they could catch alight at any moment. "If you knew how difficult it's been to keep your identity from you in order to keep you safe, you would understand exactly why I'm angry. I've had to keep just enough distance between you and Will so you wouldn't remember everything, whilst keeping you close enough that you could continue the bond you started with him those ten years ago. That bond you began has prevented the right pairings. The Fates themselves paired you and Alründ before your conceptions. Somehow, they missed a young girl's silly whim to make stars at will. You were never meant to make Will that star, Ash. That one act has set your life on a new path, one that affects not just you but Alründ, Will, and Sasha. None of you will ever find true happiness." He waved his arm around the room, showing Ash the stunned faces of Will and Theo. Sasha cried harder. Jasper and Marianne looked at Ash with pity.

"I..." I will not cry. When Ash peered across at Alründ he was staring at Lücan with fury. "I'm sorry," she said to everyone.

Lücan closed his eyes and stood in disgust.

Alründ leaped from his chair. With his golden mane flying wildly and his teeth bared, he looked like a beast as he spun towards Lücan. "Why did I ever look up to you, admire you? Seeing you treat your Ash with such little respect... How could you do that to her? To me?"

Lücan stood tall, his eyes shimmering gold—a sign that Alründ should back away fast. "If you think I'm the villain here, then look to the skies, Alründ. I am a speck of stardust amongst the angels, a golden mote caught in their turbulent winds. But think of me as the villain if you will, for I will not apologize."

Alründ looked ready to shout every obscenity under the sun when two words slipped from his mouth, "I quit."

Rage flared in Lücan's eyes.

That's when Ash bolted past him, almost tripping over Alründ as she made for the glass doors. The stupid handle refused to budge. She swore softly and yanked the handle, relieved when the door sprang free.