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“Don’t be sorry, I wanted to stop in and see. I had to pick up some more salted caramels from the candy store for the kids. My grandmother was right: nothing better than a sweet treat after a good spook, but at the rate we are going through the caramels, we might’ve made the house a little too spooky.” Aerin held up the candy-striped paper bag filled with smaller bags of wrapped caramels.

“How’s Gideon handling the wait?”

“Not great. He was hoping the museum records would have some information for him, at the least trigger his memory, but nothing. We found four other shipwrecks between 1870-75, but not a single word about the Draque. I’m beginning to wonder if someone erased any trace of it.” She didn’t let slip that she wondered if the sea was trying to hide his past so he could start afresh, much like how Clìodhna, daughter of the Sea God, Manannàn mac Lir, had given her a new life. Still, as much as she wanted him to stay with her, it was selfish of her to stop him from uncovering his truth.

“Or if there were no survivors, there was simply no one to report it, and we both know Kennie doesn’t like leaving scraps,” Miranda said.

“I thought I’d give Gideon some space while I ran some errands and picked up dinner before the tourists start arriving for their evening scare,” Aerin said, relieved they were only opening the house from eight p.m. to eleven p.m., because she didn’t think she could handle having strangers in her house for a second longer than necessary. Besides, a limited time slot didn’t leave time for stragglers.

“I get what you mean. The festivals are great for business, but I’ve barely had a second to myself,” Miranda said, looking a little troubled herself, but Aerin didn’t want to pry into witches’ business.

“I’m afraid he’ll start getting desperate. The last thing I want him doing is suffering through a witch’s memory retrieval as I did.”

“Memory spells are messy business, but what about a tarot or palm reading? It might offer him some insight,” Miranda asked.

“Or, we wait for more flashbacks?” Aerin couldn’t keep him trapped in ignorance for her own sake, but after what happened at the museum, his touch had awakened something she’d long buried: desire, longing, want. It wouldn’t be easy to lock away her feelings and find happiness in her solitude once more.

“Flashbacks, that’s a good start. If you can find what triggers them, I suggest using the triggers to ease him into a memory.”

“Blood, when he feeds. He accidentally bit me, and it triggered his memory. Sometimes, even being around me will trigger a glimpse into his past,” she said, leaving out the intimate details.

“A siren’s song can make someone forget, tell you the truth, or manipulate another’s actions.” Miranda’s brow furrowed, and Aerin sensed she was on to something. “You can access parts of the mind others can’t. You can get into the corners of the mind; his psyche is trying to block out, but I warn you, once you open Pandora’s box, there’s no closing it, and you might not like what comes spilling out.”

Aerin left Miranda to deal with a waiting customer, having taken up enough of her time with her vampire troubles. Using my song is an option, but what if Miranda is right? What if I don’t like what we find? Aerin walked to the Pizzeria to collect her order. It wasn’t her decision; she didn’t want to keep anything from him. She wanted him to stay, not because he was blind to another life stolen from him.

“We’re celebrating!” Aerin exclaimed, dropping the pizza box on the coffee table in her father’s old study. They had moved the couch and the TV in because the sitting room now looked like a pirate’s den, and they needed somewhere to relax away from the spook. Gideon paused the TV, and she was relieved to see he wasn’t reading the records for the tenth time. Between playing the Vampire Pirate, who scared the life out of tourists the past few nights, and obsessing over the records, he hadn’t rested since the night at the museum.

“What is this?” Gideon asked, lifting the lid.

“Pizza.” Aerin beamed, deciding to turn Miranda’s idea into something good instead of something to fear. “Don’t worry, the one with the anchovies is for me. I got you a plain cheese. You can add some blood to your dipping sauce for an extra kick. One of the vampires in the pizzeria recommended it.”

“And why are we celebrating with pizza? We didn’t find out anything new from the records.” Gideon sat back on the couch and stretched his arms above his head, exposing his chest in his unbuttoned shirt. Aerin bit her lip, recalling how good those muscles felt under her fingertips.

“Because I’ve a terrible idea that might turn out to be a good idea, but first you need to eat something,” Aerin said, snapping her attention back to the pizza and her plan.

“Fine. Can I try a slice of yours?” he asked as she sat with her legs crossed beside him.

“Sure.” She handed him a slice with anchovies and pineapple. “The perfect blend of salty and sweet.” She waited for his reaction.

“It’s not terrible.” His eyes widened as he wolfed down the rest of his slice, then reached for another and added some of the blood sauce to make it easier to digest. “Want to finish watching this with me while we eat? Then you can tell me your idea.”

“Perfect.” She smiled to herself, glad to see him eating.

“I figured I should get up to date on some popular vampire culture. It might even trigger some memories,” he said, picking up the boxes of the most popular vampire films from the last decade.

“Dracula? Nosferatu? Twilight? Blade?” She picked up the DVDs he selected from her collection.

“I didn’t think my kind would become so popular among humans. I might not remember my life, but I know the terror our nature inflicted on theirs and how we reveled in it. I didn’t think we’d out ourselves, or that humans would accept us.”

“Most humans don’t know vampires exist. There are some myths and legends,” she explained, picking up the remote to press play.

“That makes more sense, and why are they wearing so much leather?” he asked, looking at the back of the Blade trilogy boxset.

“Not a fan of leather?” Aerin stifled a laugh.

“It’s expensive, takes a long time to make, and isn’t very comfortable to wear on its own,” he reasoned, eating another slice of pizza. “This movie is ridiculous; imagine going to school over and over again. I hated my education. I’d never willingly return to school. Though my education was far more formal. These teachers are more cordial than my private tutors, who wielded silver rulers with an iron fist. And what a foolish vampire to fall in love with someone so young. Too young.”

“I’m only ninety-four,” Aerin teased.