Page 83 of Fall into Place

She reached for his hand—but then thought better of it, that would be a stupid thing to do in front of half the clan. So she let her fingers brush his, and even though it was just for the briefest moment, it made every part of her body feel warm.

“I really am hungry.” She smiled.

He grinned back at her, his expression tender and joyful—like he was proud to stand by her side. Tess’s emotions flared; she felt exactly the same way.

The banquet table was piled with all kinds of food glamoured by different vampires to suit their own tastes: platters of Chinese lacquered pork, tender braised lamb shanks, steaming pots of Indian stews, bowls of fluffy whipped potatoes, and gorgeous leafy salads with bright lemon dressing. Tess grinned as she filled her plate; this had to be the best—and weirdest—book club pot luck dinner in history.

“Are we ready to begin?” Nantale clinked her glass as the vampires took their seats. There were a few smaller tables set up so the vampires could eat while they talked; Callum and Tess sat at a table with Sylvie and Hamish.

“Did you try some brisket?” Sylvie nudged Tess. “I glamoured that.”

“It’s so good!” Tess raved. Her own parents had never bothered to celebrate Jewish holidays or cook traditional Jewish foods; Sylvie was starting to feel like the bubbe she’d never had.

“Okay, in the first place,” Angelique was addressing the group, “I don’t know how we’re supposed to form an opinion with just one book. What do they say about us in the sequels?!”

“Ask the human.” Antoinette pointed at Tess. “She’s obsessed with them, right? Isn’t that her whole thing? She’s like our fangirl.”

“It’s not my whole thing,” Tess muttered.

“Tess, tell me the truth.” Hamish reached across the table and put his hand gently on hers. “Do I have a bigger role in the sequels? How would you characterize my dramatic arc?”

“Um…” Tess bit her lip. “You’re kind of a side character?”

Hamish’s expression turned dark. “What did you just say?”

“If we can all please focus for a moment.” Nantale closed her eyes. “I think we can agree that the most pressing matter is to discover August Lirio’s true identity.”

“Yeah, so I can kill them.” Hamish sniffed.

“No,” Nantale said coolly. “Because that person clearly knows intimate details of events that transpire on the Isle—which means it’s possible they live here. And if someone on this island has a way to communicate with people back in our world, that’s something we should know about.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sylvie cut herself another piece of brisket. “August Lirio is Felix Hawthorn.”

A stunned silence fell over the room—Tess turned to Sylvie.

“Why do you think that?”

“Because he made himself the hero,” she said, as if any kindergartner should have reached this conclusion. “You all hate how you were portrayed in the book, right? You think it’s unfair? None of it was true? Ask yourselves who thinks of you that way—and who thinks Felix is a hero. Felix does.”

Tess gazed at Sylvie with wonder. She had to admit, it was a pretty solid theory—it definitely made more sense than any vague ideas Tess had considered.

“Hold on.” Callum rubbed his temples. “If Felix had a way to communicate with people back home, wouldn’t we know about it? Be hard to keep a secret that big on an island this small.”

“Oh,” Tess blurted out. “Actually—Felix did tell me he had a secret, something only his clan was allowed to know about.”

“You’re talking to Felix too?” Hamish’s eyes went wide. “You are messy.”

Callum turned to Tess, a tamped-down fury building behind his eyes. “Did you think it might be a good idea to tell me about this?”

“I’m sorry, it was in the orchard,” Tess said quickly. “And then you and I fought and then you almost died and then Sylvie cured you and here we are and I’m telling you now, okay?”

Callum looked like he wanted to say more, but Nantale interrupted.

“Tess, what did Felix say?”

“Um, nothing specific.” Every vampire in the room was staring at Tess; her skin was crawling. “He just mentioned that at his castle—he said they were working on a way off the Isle. And I wonder—I mean, if he’d figured out a way to communicate with people back home, that would be a big step, right?”

“This is it.” Callum looked at Tess with a burning intensity. “This could be our way home.”