Esther looks at everyone and sees shock etched on every face.“That means,” says Lilia addressing Adeline, “that you have a birthmark...”“In the shape of a crown on my back, yes,” Adeline finishes her sentence.“But then, why didn’t you tell us about the mark the first day you met us?” asks Damion looking at Esther.“Because I knew nothing about the mark. I thought that Tasian had chosen Adeline and not me because I was already a vampire and he couldn’t use me. Our father had died by that time so he obviously couldn’t use him either.”“How did you become a vampire?” Brent asks her.“I fell in love with a vampire and converted for him,” she smiles at Brent.“What? So where is he now?”“It turned out he didn’t love me that much. I found that out when I converted.”“Did he compel you to change?” asks Brent.“No and yes. He did compel me a lot which I only found out when the memories started coming back once I transformed. I had planned to change for him as a surprise. Otherwise, I’m sur

Tasha had called Lilia asking where she had gone and Lilia had lied about going out with Brent. She will go back tonight so that she can attend her classes tomorrow.Brent and Lilia go down for breakfast and notice that everyone is already there: Tyrus, Adeline, Esther, and Damion. They are all sitting at the dining table, chatting and eating. Brent and Lilia join them. Lilia keeps glancing at Damion occasionally. He, however, isn’t looking in her direction a lot. Does he feel guilty about what happened yesterday? Or is he mad at her for crossing the line?Brent and Lilia spend the entire morning together thus, she doesn’t get a chance to have a conversation with Damion. She wanted to talk to him alone, but before they left for University. However, she didn’t think that she would be able to do that. The weather is cloudy today and a pleasant breeze is blowing. It looks like it might rain, so after lunch, Damion leaves the house to go for a walk around the town. Sometime later, Esther

At about eight o’clock, Lilia sits in the car with Damion kissing Brent goodbye and waving to the rest of the people. Then, they start driving. Five minutes into the drive, Lilia says, “Damion, I wanted to talk to you about something.”Initially, Lilia had thought that she would talk to him once they reached the University campus, but then she decided that maybe it would be less awkward and difficult if Damion is not looking at her directly. Lilia looks at him and his eyes are fixed on the road.“Go ahead,” he says.“Um- I just wanted to clarify something.”This is more difficult than she had thought.“The thing is that yesterday night, about the same time that it’s now, what happened between us. I just wanted to say that it was an in-the-moment thing. It meant nothing. I hope you don’t think badly of me because of it.”*Damion had braced himself for everything Lilia had just said, but it still hurt. It hurt knowing that it did not mean anything to her. Keeping his voice as casual as

Damion and Lilia are sitting on the bed in Damion’s apartment. They have placed a box of pizza between themselves and are holding a glass of wine each. A movie is playing on the television. They had eaten about half of the pizza when Damion cracked a joke on Lilia. She laughed and playfully swung her arm at him. He leaned back to avoid it and spilled the wine all over his t-shirt in the process.“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lilia says, still half laughing.“It’s okay I’ll just change.”He walks over to the cupboard and opens it, rummaging inside for a new t-shirt. He takes off the one he is wearing. Lilia can’t see him from the bed because he is hidden behind the cupboard’s door but there is a mirror right in the front where she can see his reflection. She notices his abs as he stretches to put the new t-shirt on. He looks extremely hot and attractive and she has a sudden urge to touch him. Lilia shakes her head and quickly turns her eyes back to the television screen as Damion closes the cupboar

Lilia’s head is buzzing. She is sitting in class, but she is not paying attention to anything that the professor is saying. Her head is too full of Brent and Damion and all her feelings. She has been dating Brent for a couple of months now, and she likes him very much. She likes being with him, and she is attracted to him. A lot. Then, is it just attraction? Hadn’t Brent once mentioned that humans often felt infatuated by vampires? Was she just infatuated with him and not in love? No, that can’t be. Otherwise, she would have felt it from the very first day. She had felt attracted to him the first time she had seen him, for sure, but it was because he is an exceptionally handsome man, and it is hard not to notice that. Not because he is a vampire. If she had been infatuated with him, it wouldn’t have taken them over two years to start dating. The night she had attended homecoming with him was the night she had realized that she liked him more than a friend. But now she wonders, if she