When the room stopped spinning, Vivienne found herself alone in the cave she’d entered a few minutes ago. She looked around for Adriana, but knew she wouldn’t be there. That was the other side of the veil where she resided. Vivienne didn’t understand all the aspects of the veil. She’d been kicked out of school before they delved into its secrets.

“Vivienne!”

She heard her name echo outside.

Quick sounded desperate. Why would he be worried about her? She’d only been gone a few minutes.

“Vivienne,” he shouted out again.

She’d better go to him before he lost it. She made her way to the mouth of the cave.

She stared around her, shocked.

Outside, the sun was about to set. How was that possible?

She hadn’t been gone that long.

No wonder the guy was tripping out.

“Quick,” she yelled, “I’m at a cave. Quick!” Picking her steps carefully, Vivienne climbed down the slope to the flat ground. With the sun so low, it was hard to see exactly where her foot landed.

Almost to the bottom, she relaxed her tenseness.

Her shoe slid on flat pebbles and threw her off balance. She let out a short scream as she tried to keep from falling on her way down.

From the corner of her eye, a body flew out of the woods and Quick was suddenly beside her.

He grabbed her up before she tumbled down on the sharp rocks and slung her into his arms. When their skin touched, images of his life had flashed before her. She saw abuse, goodness, Adriana, and Maze.

He stared into her eyes as his life passed through her mind. The one thing she didn’t see was details about the killing. And Adriana had told her to ask him. Should she? Could she?

“Did you see everything?” he asked.

He knew and she gasped at the realization. He knew she was an empath.

“No. Not everything,” she whispered.

He seemed a million miles away. What was he thinking?

“Quick?”

“Yeah,” he grunted, “Let’s go.” He set her on her feet then started into the woods.

“There are some things about you that I should know about, aren’t there?”

He gave her a look, and remained silent.

She started to wonder if she should have said anything at all and was preparing an apology

And then it was as if the floodgates opened as he began to talk.

“We all—shifters, I mean—kept low profiles since our small group lived on the edge of New Orleans. For years, our kind had kept a low profile. If anyone knew we were around, human or witch, they would’ve come after us.”

She knew what he was speaking of. She was familiar with the stories witches used to scare their children.

“Maze’s dad was an asshole, not that mine was much better, so he was staying at my house a lot. Mom was always so worried something would happen to get us all caught. She had perfectly good reason for concern. Seemed Maze and I frequently got into dumbass fixes. Not on purpose. Trouble found us no matter where we were.”

Now that, she couldn’t relate to as a kid, but boy, could she relate to trouble following her around after her parents died. She pushed her thoughts away and concentrated on what Quick was saying.

“Before we walked out the door, my mother would always kiss me on the forehead, tell me she loved me, and not to do anything dumber than usual. After a while, Maze got the farewell treatment as well. He pretended to hate it, but I knew he loved having someone care for him.”

His face softened as he’d talked about his mother.

“Maze and I were out celebrating my sixteenth birthday. Nothing was going on so we came home earlier than we usually did. We were going to play video games and hang out in my room. When we opened the door, my mom was screaming and circling the dining room table, trying to get away from my dad. His eyes were wild, insane. Mom was covered in blood, her nightgown ripped halfway off her body. Claw marks had made deep gouges into her torso. She screamed at us to get out.”

Vivienne took his hand. Strong, large, and calloused, she held it tightly.

Fury lit up his eyes. “Dad launched over the table, grabbing my mother around the throat, taking her to the ground. He was choking her. What else could I do? I wasn’t thinking.” His voice was tortured. “I pick up the knife and stabbed him. He refused to let go of her. I stabbed him again, and he still refused. He kept a hold on her until he died. But by then, it was too late. My mother was gone.”

Sadness swept into her heart, but she remained silent, patiently waiting for him to finish, knowing he had more to say.

“The trial I went through was a joke. It was handled by the shifter community. The shifter judge and half the jury were my father’s drinking buddies. I was found guilty. They handed down a death sentence.”

She gasped at the horror. “But how is that even legal? Or possible?

He scoffed. “Shifters make their own rules among themselves. The night before the sentence was to be carried out, Maze broke me out. We came across Adriana. And here I am.” He gave a short, strained laugh.

Vivienne squeezed his fingers.

“The island has been the only safe place for us. My death warrant is still in place. There’s a price on my head.”

He led her onto the back porch of her bungalow.

She’d lost track of time and was surprised to see they’d arrived there.

He paused, his face full of torment. “And still, I let her talk me into going onto the mainland. How could I let her do that? How?”

“Do you mean Adriana?”

He looked down at their clasped hands and said nothing.

She tried again. “Quick, did Adriana talk you into going to the city?”

“Don’t explore the island alone again. Do you understand? I can’t keep you safe if you go running off unprotected.” With that he turned, walked off the porch, then stopped. “It is important to me, to everyone here, that you be a part of Skull Point.”

Vivienne leaned over the railing. “I need to know what to do. Tell me, Quick, what is my purpose?”

“It is the same as your aunt’s, that you as her rightful heir should fulfill.” He turned away and walked into the night.