Luke didn't see or speak to Maura over the weekend, but when she strode into class on Monday, he immediately noticed that there was something different about her. For one thing, she was smiling. It was an expression he didn't often see her wearing, at least not when they were together.

"Hey, Luke," she said. Even her voice was different, lighter. She seemed to be illuminated from the inside. She was practically glowing.

"Hi," he said as she passed, even though she hadn't waited for his reply. Her attention was elsewhere.

The faraway smile she wore on her face was not for him then. The time they had spent together was not as damaging as he had feared. His feelings wavered between disappointment and relief, which surprised him. As Maura weaved her way down the center aisle to her desk, he wondered what—or who—had put her in such a good mood. She sat and immediately pulled out her cell phone from her bag, her fingers flying over the keys.

"What did you do?" Evelyn demanded over his shoulder, causing him to lurch in his seat. "Or should I ask, what haven't you done?" Luke grunted a reply, and Evelyn huffed behind him.

"Do not feign ignorance," she warned. "The queen will be furious when she finds out that Maura has fallen for some other boy. Were you aware she has accepted an invitation to . . ."

But Luke was barely listening to Evelyn's words. He stared at the back of Maura's head, at the knot of red hair secured at the nape of her neck like a sleeping serpent, coiled tendrils escaping their binding. He found himself suddenly wondering what it might feel like slipping through his fingers. Just as quickly, though, he put that thought out of his mind. What was he thinking? Maura was focused on someone else. His plan had worked.

"Colin is his name," Evelyn said, as though reading his thoughts. She tutted in disapproval. "The queen languishes. She grows weaker by the day—as does her court—and yet you do nothing."

She knelt in front of him then and grasped his arm, turning a pair of dark, pleading eyes on him. They were not the eyes of a faery wearing a human's skin, but the haunting, depthless eyes of an immortal. She had chosen to appear to him in her natural state instead of her human glamour, and she looked especially sallow under the fluorescent lights. He looked away.

"Do you care nothing for your mother?" she hissed, angry now. "Do you care nothing for us?"

Silently, Luke reached into his shirt and pulled out the glass vial so that Evelyn could see for herself that his time spent with Maura had not been completely in vain. She peered closely. "A drop?" she said critically. "It should be half-filled by now. Why have you not turned your charms on this girl?"

He said nothing, though. Certainly not the truth, which was that he had no intention of turning his charms on Maura. Evelyn was the queen's handmaiden, after all. Whatever he said would undoubtedly get back to her, and the last thing he wanted was to attract his mother's ire.

Evelyn rose, her eyes flashing with mischief. Cloaked by invisibility, she slowly weaved her way to the front of the room. Bending at the waist so that her elbows were perched on the edge of Maura's desk, she briefly met Luke's curious gaze. Her faery grin was a little too wide for his liking.

"She is quite lovely," Evelyn crooned. "You purposely hide your feelings for this girl, but I see the way you look at her when you think no one is watching. Tell me, sweet Lucas, does it bother you that she will be dancing in the arms of some other boy?" Without warning, Evelyn reached out and pinched Maura's upper arm.

"Ow!" Maura exclaimed, causing Luke to flinch in sympathy. Evelyn possessed an especially painful pinch, and he'd been on the receiving end of one often enough to know the damage it could cause.

Mrs. Raines, who'd been writing the day's assignment on the board, turned to Maura. "Everything okay?"

Maura rubbed her arm as she glanced over her shoulder at the rest of the class now staring at her. "Sorry. Something . . . stung me, I think."

"Well, go to the bathroom if you need to," the teacher said. "Or the nurse if you start to feel lightheaded."

Maura rose and walked out of the classroom, head down, still massaging her arm.

"Well?" Evelyn said expectantly, now standing entirely too close to Mrs. Raines. "What are you waiting for? Follow her. I promise you won't miss much here." She glanced at the woman and giggled. As soon as Mrs. Raines turned her back, Luke slipped from the room. If he ignored Evelyn's directives, she would surely wreak havoc until he complied.

Maura had already reached the end of the hallway and was just about to disappear into the bathroom by the time he caught up with her. "Maura!" he called out before he could stop himself.

Maura paused, the door open and already halfway in. Her brows pushed together when she saw him jogging toward her. "Yeah?"

He stopped when he had come within a few feet. "Are you . . . are you ok?"

She pushed up her sleeve to reveal an angry red welt. "You tell me. I have no idea what got me, but it hurt like hell."

"Should I take you to the nurse?"

Much to his surprise, Maura laughed. "No. All she'll do is give me an ice pack. I'll be fine."

"Okay."

She stared at him a moment longer. "Did Mrs. Raines send you after me?"

"No."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I guess I'll see you back in class."

Before he could say anything else, Maura disappeared into the bathroom, letting the door swing shut behind her. When he turned to make his way back to class, Evelyn was standing at the end of the hallway.

Watching him.

**********

They had been plodding along on their assignment, mostly in silence, since the final bell of the day. Just as she had promised, Maura arrived with a page of typed notes that she had organized into a more logical sequence to help smooth the bumps out of the writing process. The anxiety of not finishing the project on time had faded now that Luke was finally cooperating and she had a clearer vision of where they were going.

Maura placed her red pen on the table, the one she was using to make additional notes, and stared at Luke. She had scribbled the major plot points and story elements on index cards, and he was arranging and rearranging these on the table top. She got the feeling his mind was elsewhere, though.

"Are you, like, a closet novelist or something?" she said, breaking the silence.

He looked at her and blinked, the tightness of his features relaxing a degree. "A what?"

She tapped the fledgling manuscript with the tip of her pen. "A closet novelist. You're all quiet and brooding. You think up brilliant stories."

"I'm not. And it's not brilliant."

"I distinctly recall Mrs. Raines uttering the word brilliant when she looked over our notes," Maura said. Luke returned his attention to the index cards. "When this project is done," she added, "will you sign a copy for me?"

His brows furrowed. "Why?"

"For when you write a bestseller and become famous. I can say I knew you when." He shook his head, not responding, but the curve of his mouth gave him away. Maura smiled, too, and got back to work.

"I heard you're going to prom with Colin McCallum," Luke blurted out some moments later.

She glanced at him, though he kept his eyes down. "I am. How'd you find out?"

The only person she had told was Leanne, who had pouted at the news since that meant she didn't have a date now. She couldn't ask their manager Brian since he wasn't a student at their school. Still, Leanne wasn't the type to blab. Not that who she went to prom with was a secret.

"Lucky guess," Luke said. "I just thought, given how you two were with each other the other day . . ."

"Oh. Well, we're good friends. Are you going to prom?"

"No."

Maura wasn't going to say anything but figured it wouldn't hurt. "My friend Leanne needs a date. I know you don't know each other, but she's super sweet. She's really pretty, too. I mean, if that matters to you."

Luke shook his head. "Thanks, but no."

"Ok. Well, think about it. I'm sure Leanne would say yes."

And she would. Leanne had already gushed about how cute she thought Luke was. She often walked Maura to English on her way to history just to sneak a peek of him. She had been trying to get Maura to ask Luke to prom for the past week, but did she really want to go with him? Maura was sure he would say no anyway. If not for the project, they probably wouldn't even look twice at each other. It was too late, anyhow. She was going with Colin.

"Even if you don't want to go with Leanne, we can go as a group. As friends, you know? It's not like Colin and I are serious, so it wouldn't have to be awkward."

"I don't think so," he said. "Prom isn't really my scene."

"Whatever. No big deal." Maura bent her head to her work again but found she couldn't leave it alone. "Are you okay? You're quiet today. Quieter than usual, I mean. Is something wrong? If there's anything you want to talk about? I'm a good listener."

Luke squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you mind if we call it a day? I've got a headache."

Maura closed her mouth. "Oh. Yeah. Are you sure you're—"

"I just have a lot of my mind right now." He rose then and collected his bag, leaving the notes for Maura to deal with.

"See you tomorrow?" But Luke had already started to walk away and didn't answer.

As she cleaned up their things, Maura tried to process what had happened. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure Luke out. She sniffed in irritation. Why was she even bothering? Colin McCallum had asked her to prom. Luke was not her concern.

As she made her way to the student parking lot, she found Evelyn waiting next to her car. She waved at the girl, but her smile faltered as she drew nearer. Something about Evelyn seemed off. The features of her face, normally soft and round, looked sharp and angular. Her eyes seemed a shade too dark.

"What's up?" Maura said cautiously.

Evelyn's mouth hardened and her eyes brimmed with tears. "You broke his heart."

"Excuse me?"

Evelyn took a step forward. "Why do you think he is so morose?"

"Morose?"

"Luke is in love with you and yet you have turned your attention to another!"

Maura held up her hand. "You said he has a crush on me, which, by the way, I still think is ridiculous. He can't possibly be in love with me. We barely know each other!" Even as she spoke, she was quietly assessing Evelyn, now starting to understand why Luke had cautioned her against hanging out with his step-sister.

"He was going to ask you to the dance," Evelyn said.

"Then he should have asked," Maura replied evenly, confused why it mattered so much to her anyway. "Someone else beat him to it."

Evelyn's face crumpled. "Can't you see you are destroying our lives!"

Maura fumbled in her bag for her keys. "Don't be so dramatic, Evelyn. I'm not destroying anyone's life. Now please move. I have to go."

They stared at each other in a silent stand-off. Finally, Evelyn shifted aside without further argument. Maura wasn't sure what she would have done otherwise. She wasn't exactly the violent type.

When she was safely behind the wheel of her car, doors locked, she rolled down her window. "I don't think I can hang out with you anymore, Evelyn. I want you to leave me alone from now on."

Her car started without issue—she could kiss Colin!—and she peeled away. When she looked in her rearview mirror, Evelyn was gone.

*****

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