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“So just mind-bend him into never hurting anyone again or drinking blood from psychics,” Hazel said.

“I can’t,” I announced on a sigh. “He glamoured me to never do that to him, and before you ask, I tried to undo it when I realized it, but for some reason, that command feels…sticky. I’ve been trying it repeatedly, but I can’t seem to get past it.”

“It was probably the first he gave you,” Lydia said. “We don’t share this a lot, but glamour commands become weaker the more we give them to someone. Like their brain doesn’t hold on as hard the longer we keep going. It’s why commands are usually short. Combine that with his age and it might be all but impossible.”

“Ooh, I want to hear more vampire secrets,” Daphne said.

“You’re the first honest one I’ve met,” Sam said, opening another can of beer and raising it toward Lydia.

“I’d assume that wasn’t a backhanded compliment,” she said, “but I don’t know what else it could be.”

“I do have a plan, but it involves getting Julian back here. And he’s not planning on ever coming back, nor do I know where to find him. I doubt he’ll answer Zoe’s call a second time,” I said, sitting in an empty seat away from the fire.

“I can get to him,” Sam said. “I have a burner contact number so I can check in on the shifter kids.”

“You’d have to convince him to come back, which might be impossible,” I said on a sigh.

“Not if you tell him he royally screwed up and, because of him, Silas glamoured Char,” Hazel said, raising a fresh beer in a toast.

“A chance to needle him? Done and done,” Sam said, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.

We went over ways to avoid Silas when he returned to the island with the “spare” psychic as he’d referred to them. But we had one day until he expected me to report in for the change, and that wasn’t a lot of time to get ahold of Julian and get him back here.

Not to mention the fact I wasn’t sure what I’d feel when I saw him again without the glamour interfering. Whatever happened, we had to finally deal with this terror from our past so we could both move forward, whether together or separately. And I wasn’t planning on killing myself again—even by turning undead.

“Does everyone know what to do?” Zoe asked when the group finally fell silent.

Sam crushed his empty can. “I like the backup plan where I tear out his throat.”

* * *

It was nearly impossible to sleep, so I decided to do something useful—or at least attempt it. Propping myself up in bed, I took a few deep breaths, closed my eyes, and did something I hadn’t tried since I was ten. I called to Pythia.

I need you.

You don’t.

I startled slightly at her words. Truth be told, I hadn’t expected an answer, and if I had, it definitely wasn’t that.

Why do you only help sometimes? I pressed.

For a moment, I thought she’d gone silent. Then she spoke.

Only when needed.

But you got me captured by MorningStar. You didn’t stop Julian from crushing my charm. I bit my cheek, not wanting to keep launching accusations, but I had to understand.

If you hadn’t been captured, Julian would be dead. If he hadn’t crushed it, Silas would have taken you by force. The future holds only possibilities. I guide toward the best. But they aren’t always perfect.

I blinked my eyes open. I’d never heard her say so much. And what I didn’t expect to find was a semi-transparent, glowing figure in white sitting on my bed with me. My mouth dropped open. She had long hair, huge eyes, and wore what looked like a chiton and a circlet on her forehead.

“Who are you?” I asked, wondering how this ghost or whatever got in through the wards.

She smiled. “I am your guide, Pythia.”

“I thought you were me.” Climbing onto my knees, I reached out to touch her, but my hand went right through as she laughed.

“This takes energy. I won’t be able to speak for a while. But it was time to meet, Char. I am not perfect. But remember, I am here to help.”