Two hours later, the sun had disappeared, and the only source of light was from the blazing fire and the few lights from the beach houses. Roman had been right when he said there weren't that many people that Alexia had known before. Besides Leigh and Theo, there were only two people who knew her: a guy named Milo that had grown up in the house next door to hers, and a girl named Alessa.

"I used to follow you and Leigh around all the time!" Alessa said. She was only fifteen years old and it made Alexia sad to think that this girl had died so young. One thing she had wanted to ask all the people who had known her back then was how they had died, but she didn't find it appropriate party talk.

About an hour after Leigh and her group showed up, several groups of people started flooding to the beach. Now that the sun was down, people were ready to party the night away. Leigh and Cheri were in the middle of a crowd of people who were all dancing to music playing from an old stereo. Ellie was chatting up Theo, Roman was talking to a guy he used to work with five years after Alexia had been sent into reincarnation, Demetri was in the house getting more alcohol for everybody, and Alexia was sitting by the fire watching the waves roll in and out, over and over again.

She hadn't consumed any more alcohol since the start of the night and was starting to feel a bit too sober to be having any fun. Her mind was wandering off to the real reason they were in Greece, which was to find her father and to figure out what it was about her that was special. She was in the middle of thinking about sneaking back off to the house to sleep when a bottle of vodka was thrust in front of her face.

"You're being lame." Demetri sat in the lawn chair next to her. She took the bottle from him and took a big gulp. It burned on the way down, but it was a good burn.

"I'm just thinking..."

"I know what you're thinking." He cut her off. "So stop thinking it. We can figure out all that stuff tomorrow. In the meantime, you have two best friends," he pointed at Cheri and then Ellie, "from this lifetime, and a best friend from over three centuries ago," he pointed at Leigh, "that would probably love if you would get up and dance with them."

She took another drink of vodka and looked at Demetri to defend her reasoning for sitting out of the fun, but before she could say anything, he put a finger to her lips and said, "Or, you can take a walk with me and that bottle down the beach."

She stared into his green eyes. It made her feel like she was normal again, like she was still that high school girl that was blown away by a gorgeous guy. She stood up and grabbed her wrap that was hanging on the back of her chair and wrapped it around herself. Now that the sun was down it was a bit too cold to be wearing just a bathing suit.

"Let's go, then." She began walking away from the party, down to the water. She walked just far enough for her toes to get a little wet by every wave that washed onto the shore. At first, they walked in silence, passing the bottle of vodka every few minutes. The sounds of the party were growing quieter and quieter, and soon they wouldn't hear it at all, nor would they be able to see it.

"So why did you have this party, Demetri?"

"Like Roman said, it was a good way for us to talk to people and find out where your father is."

"I don't buy it. Tell me the real reason." She stopped walking and turned to face him. Even though it was dark, his eyes still stood out, as green as ever.

Demetri sighed, giving in to her demand. "I figured if you saw some of the people that were once a big part of your life, it might jog your memory a bit. There is a possibility that you know what special defense you have, but you just don't remember it. The relationship you had with Leigh was exactly like your relationship with Cheri and Ellie. I thought maybe seeing her and talking to her might bring back some memories. If you knew that you were somehow special, you would have told Leigh."

"So that's why you did this? To try to get me to remember things from my first life?" He nodded in response. "Well it didn't work, and now I feel like a whole day was wasted."

"It wasn't a waste, Alexia. Roman and I have been talking to people trying to find out where your Dad might be."

"And have you found him? Have you found out anything?" she snapped.

"Don't get upset with me, Alexia, we are trying. You might not like the way we are doing things, but trust me, it's the best way."

Alexia didn't say anything as she stared out at the water. She felt bad for lashing out at him. He was trying to help, but she wished they weren't acting like this was a vacation. There was no such thing as a vacation for her while her life was in danger. Trying not to let Demetri see her cry, she quickly wiped a tear from her face, but of course he noticed.

"Hey," he said softly as he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "don't cry. Everything is going to be okay. I promise we're going to figure things out. Look at me." The usually forceful and aggressive Demetri waited until she turned around on her own. He tilted her face to look up at him and he wiped another tear from her face. "I always hated seeing you cry."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "And I'm sorry for what I did to you and your brother. I can't believe I was that kind of girl..."

"It wasn't like that, Alexia. You just didn't know what you wanted back then."

"I still don't," she muttered under her breath, which she immediately regretted. He let go of her and started walking back towards the party. "No, please stay." She didn't mean to sound so desperate for his company, but she was desperate. "I didn't mean it like that, Demetri. I didn't mean that I don't know if I want you or Roman. I just don't know if I want this life. Being alive forever doesn't seem so glamorous right now. I've had enough problems in one lifetime, and I can't imagine how to deal with an eternity full."

"Don't think of that now," he responded as he walked back to her. "You're thinking too far ahead. I understand that you're scared, but can we please just have a good time. I've wanted to be alone with you for the past three days and I finally am, so don't ruin it for me by being so worried." He walked up to the dry sand and sat down, patting the spot next to him. "Sit with me." The bottle they had been sharing was half gone now and she was feeling a little bit tipsy. She knew it was a bad idea to be alone with him when she was drunk, but she didn't care.

"I've wanted to be alone with you, too. We never got to talk about what happened in your room. I wanted to apologize for just walking in like that."

He laughed and took the bottle from her taking the lid off. "Don't apologize, I like the way that turned out." He took three big chugs and handed the bottle back, and she mimicked him and took three as well. His arm went around her and pulled her closer to him. Feeling confident with herself, she got up and sat right between his legs, allowing him to hold her tight against his body. They watched the water for a long time, just drinking, enjoying each other's company. After what felt like an hour, Demetri finally spoke. "Your friends are probably worried about you, so we should go back."

"I don't want to." Her words slurred together. "I want to stay with you, on the beach, all night."

He laughed. "I don't think that's a good idea, you never know what could happen if we spent the whole night alone together." Alexia knew what he was getting at, but she didn't care what he thought might happen.

"Can I stay in your room tonight?" It was very unlike her to even ask such a thing, but it wasn't the alcohol talking. Ever since they had arrived in Greece, she had felt so far away from home. But now, sitting with Demetri on the beach, she felt at home. So far, every moment they had shared together had been physical, and it was almost at the point where she was worried that there was never anything else to their past relationships. That had all changed; they had been alone for almost an hour and a half without so much as a kiss. It made her forget that there was another guy on that beach who was madly in love with her that she connected with.

"You're drunk. You don't want to do that." Demetri let go of her and stood up. He wobbled a little bit but was not nearly as drunk as Alexia was. "Come on, we should get back."

"No." She stayed on the sand, half because she was scared if she tried to stand up she would get sick. "I won't leave until you promise, Demetri. I don't want to leave you tonight. I was really sad, and you made me feel better."

"It wasn't me, it was the alcohol."

"I know it was you." She stood up very slowly and took two steps towards him and then flung her arms around his neck and looked right into his eyes. "You want me to stay in your room with you, I know you do."

"I do," he said.

"Then let me." She never looked away from his eyes, holding them right where she wanted them until she got what she wanted.

"Sure, it won't be a problem."

She finally looked away from him with a smile on her face, her eyes stinging slightly. Confidence flooded through her, the same way it had when she made Phil believe what she had wanted. This time, adrenaline infused with her confidence, created a rush she had never felt before.

"I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you," Demetri said. "Are you sure you want to do this? Why did I even say yes to you? I know it's not right. Wait a minute..." He grabbed her and shook her. "What did you just do to me? Alexia, tell me how you did that!"

"Stop! You're hurting me, Demetri, stop squeezing me so hard!"

"You shouldn't be able to do that! Immortals can't use the second defense on other Immortals, but you just used it on me, didn't you?"

"I don't know, I've only ever used the second defense once, and it was on Phil..."

"You didn't tell us that," Demetri said with concern. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I knew you would make a big deal out of it and I was so proud of myself. Don't be mad at me for making you say yes to me. I really just want to stay with you tonight, Demetri."

"You don't see it, do you?" he said, a smile replacing the look of shock he had a moment ago.

"See what?" she asked as she looked around her.

"That could be what Amarantos knows! That you can control other Immortals! You didn't even know you could do it, but you just tried, and it worked. This is amazing!" He pulled her in close and started kissing her. Finally, she thought to herself, and started kissing him back desperately. "You're more amazing then I thought you were," he said while they both caught their breath. "I'm so unbelievably turned on by what you just did. It freaked me out at first but now..."

"Stop talking and just kiss me." She ran her hands through his thick black hair, pulling on it a little bit. He explored her curves and held her tight against him, and she could feel his breathing getting heavier and he could feel hers, too. There was nothing to compare this to, and words could not explain the way she felt. The surge of confidence she got from being able to make him say what she wanted him to and the passion that blazed between both of them made her dizzy with pleasure. She stopped kissing him to take a long drink from the bottle and then handed it to Demetri who took an even longer drink, polishing the whole thing off.

"We drank that whole thing by ourselves." He laughed and hiccupped, which made Alexia laugh, and then the fact that she was laughing about him hiccupping made her laugh harder, and it made Demetri laugh too. He sat back down on the beach and ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath. "Are you sure you really want to stay in my room tonight?" he asked.

She smiled at him. "I'm positive."

∞

The sun was shining in through the open window and there was a light ocean breeze moving around the room when Alexia woke up. Her head felt like it had been hit with a baseball bat and for all she knew it had. It took a moment for the events of the night to come flooding back to her. She had met Leigh, who was her best friend three and a half centuries ago. She also met a guy named Milo and a girl named Alessa, whom she had known in her first life. The party had been in full swing and she had sat back to watch it until Demetri had called her lame. Then she took a walk with him and...

She sat bolt right up and looked around. Oh no, she thought. The room she was in was not the one that she was supposed to be in. The room she was supposed to be in should have Ellie and Cheri in the bed with her, not Demetri. She looked over and saw him lying beside her. His shirt was off; she peeked under the blanket and sighed in relief when she saw that his swim shorts were still on. She laid back down catching her breath trying to remember exactly what had happened on the beach with him. Then it came to her; she had asked him to let her spend the night in his room and when he said no she made him say yes by using the second defense.

The defense didn't last, as he could tell almost seconds after that she had used it on him. Her head was spinning as she tried to focus on what had happened after they came back to the house. She had a brief memory of telling Ellie that it was okay if Theo stayed the night. She remembered telling Cheri that her and some guy, who were both wasted, should share the room they were going to share with Ellie. Everyone had been wasted, that she knew for sure. The only person she didn't remember talking to was Roman. Poor Roman was probably going out of his mind wondering what had happened between Demetri and her. When she couldn't bear not knowing what happened, she shook Demetri awake.

"Demetri," she whispered.

"Hmm?" he grunted back.

"Get up."

"No." He put a hand over his face to protect his eyes. He obviously remembered what she was capable of doing.

Alexia felt shady for doing what she did next, but it had to be done. She moved as close to him as she could and started kissing him lightly on the lips. When he started kissing back, Alexia kissed him harder. He put his arms around her and pulled her right against his body and pulled the covers over their heads.

She stopped kissing him to ask, "Why are we under here?"

He opened his tired, magnificent green eyes and looked into her not so tired blue ones. "I'm hiding from the sun."

"Hungover?"

"Big time," he confirmed. "Are you okay?"

"Why would I not be?"

"Well, you were a virgin, weren't you? I mean, before last night?" Her jaw dropped and when he saw the horrified look on her face, he immediately grabbed her face and made her look at him. "I was joking, I'm sorry. That was mean, wasn't it? I figured you would know everything that happened and would get my joke. I'm sorry."

She wanted to be mad at him for the cruel joke, but she was too relieved to be mad. "That was really mean. I think I deserve something for that."

"What did you have in mind?" he smiled and leaned in to kiss her, already knowing the answer. It was strange how fast her feelings changed when he was awake. When she woke up, she had felt horrified by what had happened and guilty for doing this to Roman. Now she didn't feel horrified, but felt happy. Nor did she feel guilty for what happened with Demetri. It wasn't like her and Roman were together. In fact, while she was laying there with Demetri, she realized that her and Roman hadn't even really connected as more than friends.

Sure, they had shared a kiss, one kiss, and after that Alexia had ignored him and Demetri. She remembered missing Demetri while she wasn't talking to him. She had missed Roman, too, and his calming persona, but she had missed Demetri much more. She had missed the way she could get lost in his eyes, and the way he made her feel confident and flirty. She missed the way they would play off each other, always trying to one-up the other.

"I could get used to this," Demetri said.

"Me too, I could do this for all eternity." She didn't even know why she had said it, she just did. It came from the heart. Laying there with Demetri made her realize two things. First, that she was completely comfortable with him. She was still in her bathing suit, but her wrap was on the floor beside the bed. She had been comfortable enough to sleep in the bed with him in practically nothing. Second, she knew that she had missed Demetri when she was away from him, but Roman not so much.

Demetri's face was glowing; he was smiling like a kid at a candy store. He stumbled over his words and tried talking to her again, much more slowly and calmly.

"Please, don't say that unless you mean it. You don't know how much it would break my heart if you didn't mean it." He looked away from her now; she could tell he was embarrassed. Demetri always held up such a front. He had to upkeep his bad boy image, but Alexia knew there was a soft side to him, too, one that she had held in her heart for three hundred and fifty years.

"Look at me." His face snapped up instantly. "I was wasted last night, and I acted like a hormone enraged teenager..."

"Oh no," he cut her off. "You didn't want to stay in here with me, did you? You never wanted any of this at all..."

"Demetri stop! Let me finish, please." He nodded, and she continued. "And you respected me. Any other guy would have let me throw myself on top of them and rip my clothes off, so thank you for that. I do mean it, Demetri, I realized something this morning. When I was ignoring you and Roman, I missed you and I missed Roman." He looked away again. "But I missed you more, much more."

"Can I kiss you?"

"You don't need to ask anymore." He started kissing her greedily. After so many years she was finally telling him she wanted him, not his brother but him. All his happiness was flowing through him into Alexia. If felt like she had finally come home after a long trip away. She allowed him to climb on top of her and pin her arms down, just like he had in his bedroom two days earlier. They were both in complete bliss, eating up every sweet moment of realizing that they were meant to be together.

"What is going on?!" Still under the covers, Demetri and Alexia froze at the sound of Ellie's voice. Then Alexia ripped off the blanket, so she could assure her friend they weren't doing anything bad. Flustered, Ellie couldn't make a complete sentence, so she blurted out, "Cheri and Roman are sleeping in his bed!" and she ran from the room. Unsure if what they had just heard was true, both Demetri and Alexia bolted from the bed. Alexia grabbed her wrap from the floor and tied it around her waist before running down the hall to see if it was true.

Ellie was standing outside the door and held a finger to her lips motioning for them to be quiet. She pointed into the room and, sure enough, Roman and Cheri were sleeping together in the room Roman was using as his own. "Wow," Alexia mouthed to Ellie who nodded with a wide-eyed expression, then motioned for them to follow her downstairs.

"What the hell happened last night?" Alexia sat in the kitchen while Demetri got her a glass of water. "How did that happen?"

"I don't really remember much of last night. I was flipping shocked when I woke up next to Theo. That guy needs to wake the hell up so I can know what the hell happened between us." She paused for a minute and then asked, "So... how was your night?"

"Fine, thank you." She smiled in a way to let her friend know she had more to tell her than that. "I am dying to know how Roman and Cheri ended up in the same bed. I thought he was all hung up on me."

"Well, you are the one who told them to share that room," Demetri said.

"I did?" Alexia sounded surprised and then she remembered. The boy she had told Cheri to share a bed with had been Roman. "Oh my gosh, I totally did!"

"He must have known that you were sharing a bed with Demetri and figured you had chosen him," Ellie suggested.

"I did choose him." She beamed over at Demetri who gave her a wink. "But I didn't think Roman would go running to Cheri."

"Actually, before he even knew that you guys had snuck off together he was hitting on her hard," Leigh said as she entered the kitchen stretching her arms above her head. "He wasn't even that drunk, either. It seemed legit. I thought he was still into you, Alexia."

"He probably just wants to make you jealous," Demetri mentioned. "I know my brother; we have been fighting over you for way too long, and he wouldn't just start liking somebody else after all this time."

"I don't know, maybe he realized he didn't love me. Just like I realized I didn't love him." She was about to add 'because I love Demetri', but she wasn't at that point yet; she liked him and knew that one day she would love him.

"Maybe he finally met the right girl; maybe you two fought over Alexia for so long, it led him to Cheri. It's like fate." Ellie sounded so sure of herself, it could be possible.

"Everything happens for a reason," Leigh suggested.

"You know what, you're right." Alexia pulled Demetri into the living room to talk to him privately. "I want to find out what's going on between them. I think I know how to make him tell me the truth..."

"You mean using your special defense on him?"

"Yeah, but when I did it to you last night it didn't last long. Do you think it would work long enough to get answers from him?"

"Try it, but I can guarantee you he is doing this just to get to you."

"But Leigh said..."

"It doesn't matter, Alexia, I'm telling you he would not give up on you like this." Demetri sounded serious. "But try it."

"I will, when they come down." She turned to go back into the kitchen, but Demetri grabbed her arm.

"Wait a second. You can't just drag your boyfriend aside and not kiss him after."

"You never asked me to be your girlfriend."

"I thought it was kind of implied," he said nervously.

"Aw, I love watching you squirm," Alexia smirked. "You act like such a badass but really you're a softie." She smiled at him and stood on her toes to kiss his lips.

"I'm only a softie when it comes to you. Otherwise I'm a badass." He smiled at her and kissed her before they went back to the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Ellie asked. She was making a big pan of eggs and bacon.

"Nothing. I just had an idea to figure out what was going through Roman's mind."

"What is it?" Leigh asked.

"Wait and see," Demetri answered for her.

A half-hour later, Alexia heard the stairs creak and knew that Roman and Cheri were finally up. Her heartbeat picked up and she felt adrenaline pumping through her body. She didn't know if she should wait until she could get him alone, or do it right away. Before she thought through the pros and cons of each decision, Cheri skipped into the kitchen obviously in a very good mood.

"Good morning people! I am so happy I don't have a hangover today." She faced everyone else and sighed. "Apparently, I'm the only one. You all look like you're going to die. Don't worry; Roman is really hungover, too." Roman came trudging in slowly and empty of energy. Cheri continued, "So, did everyone else have fun last night?"

"Yeah," Leigh chimed in. "And I know you guys did." She laughed, but when nobody else laughed with her, she stopped and went awkwardly silent.

"Didn't Theo stay over with you Ellie?" Cheri asked, trying to take the attention off her and Roman.

"Yeah, he is still sleeping, or maybe he died. I'm going to go check."

"I'll come with you," Leigh said, obviously trying to escape the weirdness she had caused in the kitchen.

"Who made breakfast?" It was the first thing Roman had said and he didn't look at anybody when he said it.

"Ellie did." Alexia jumped at the opportunity to try to get him to look at her. When he didn't, she tried something different. "So, I know I was wasted last night, and I barely remember coming in, but what about you two?"

Neither of them said anything so Demetri took a shot at them. "Yeah, Alexia didn't even remember telling you guys to go to bed together. Isn't that weird?"

"Nah, my girl blacks out when she drinks all the time," Cheri said. "No big deal." Cheri and Roman sat across from Demetri and Alexia with two plates full of eggs.

"Roman," Alexia called his name trying to get him to look at her.

"Hmm?" he said without lifting his head from his plate.

"Look at me."

He sighed and set his fork down on his plate hard. He looked up at her. "What?" There was annoyance in his voice; he had never spoken to her like that before.

Alexia focused in on his eyes like she had done to Demetri the night before. It was harder with him across the table but when she felt like she had locked onto his eyes she asked him, "Tell me the truth, how do you feel about Cheri?"

"Alexia!" Cheri was looking at her with her mouth hanging open, but Alexia didn't even hear her call her name.

"She's awesome," Roman said, almost in a trance.

"Did you hook up with her to get back at me for choosing Demetri?"

"I don't think so."

She knew she couldn't do this for much longer. Her eyes were burning and as soon as she blinked, she knew she would lose him. She had to ask him one more thing so that Cheri knew her intentions were good.

"Promise me you don't plan to hurt her to get back at me?"

"I swear, I never intended on doing that."

Before the words had left his mouth completely Alexia had to blink. Her eyes were burning so badly it felt like bleach had been poured on them. She couldn't help but scream. She had never tried so hard to make it work before, and it made the sting ten times worse.

"What did you do to him?" Cheri yelled at her.

"I had to know, Cheri. I don't want you to get hurt!" Alexia couldn't even open her eyes to look at her friend's face. She knew Cheri's expression would tell her if she was mad or not, but she couldn't look.

"Alexia, look at me!"

"What the hell, Alexia!" Roman yelled at her now. "How did you do that?" He turned to his brother. "Demetri, that's it! She can use the second defense on Immortals! When did you find out? Why did you not tell me?"

Demetri wasn't paying any attention to his brother. All he was concerned about was Alexia. She was still holding her eyes shut tight. The burning was slowly going away, but not nearly fast enough.

"Alexia?" Cheri's voice was concerned. She ran to her side and tried to make her look at her. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's her eyes, Cheri. They're strained from what she just did." Roman was at her side now too. "You didn't have to do that. I would have told you honestly anyways."

"I'm fine, it's going away now." It was almost gone; there was just a slight stinging left in the back of her eyes. She flashed her eyes open and it didn't hurt her too much. Cheri was the first person she looked at. "I'm sorry, okay? I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I wouldn't hurt her, Alexia. She's a sweet girl, and things were made pretty clear last night. I acted on something I had been feeling since the day we picked you guys up from Java's."

"Good to know," Alexia said in relief.

Ellie, Leigh, and Theo had joined them in the kitchen now. "What did we miss?" Leigh asked. She seemed to know exactly when to say the wrong things.

"Nothing at all." Demetri gave everyone a warning look to not mention what had happened. "Roman likes Cheri, that's about it."

"Alright, can we get over that topic, please?" Cheri was blushing and so was Roman. They both stared at their plates playing with their food.

"Well, people," Leigh announced, "I think we are going to head out. You know me, I don't like to impose too long. Alexia, you should for sure stick around for a while. I would love to catch up with you."

"Thanks, Leigh, I'll for sure look you up when I come back in August. See you guys later. Nice re-meeting you both."

"You too," Theo said in his deep voice that made Ellie clutch the counter. He turned to her and said, "I had a good night." He bent down and kissed her on the cheek before walking awkwardly away.

Demetri watched them go from the window in the kitchen, making sure they were out of hearing range before he started talking. "Okay, so I'm pretty sure that you are the first person in history to ever be able to use the second defense on an Immortal. We can't tell anybody. We don't know who we can trust."

"Wait," Ellie said. "I missed something. When did you use the second defense on an Immortal?"

"Last night, and right now on Roman," Alexia said in a hurried voice. "I don't know if that's what Amarantos knows, though. I mean, it's really hard to do, and the longer I do it, the more my eyes burn. I don't see it being very helpful when Amar comes for me. I won't be able to use it against him for too long, and even if I could, it wears off really fast. I think there is something else about me."

"Like what?" Roman questioned.

"I don't know for sure, but I have an idea. I can get mad and turn on the first defense in an instant. I can use the second defense on Immortals and I easily used it on Phil with my first try. There must be something about the third defense that I can do, too, right?"

Everyone considered this for a moment. It seemed very probable, and it made perfect sense. The hard part would be finding out what she could do with the third defense.

"I think you could be right," Demetri affirmed, "but we should still track down your dad. Roman, did you get any leads?"

"Not really. Everyone I asked knows he is still around, but they just don't know where." Roman shrugged. "We can go to the markets and ask around."

"I know where he is," Ellie chimed in.

"You?" Roman asked incredulously. "How do you know?"

"I was talking to Theo, and it's one of the few things I remember about last night. By the way," she said, turning to Alexia and Cheri, "let me just say, Theo is a great kisser from what I remember, but not so good at having a conversation."

"Ellie, this isn't really the time to talk about that," Roman said slightly annoyed.

"Fine, I will tell you two later. He said he lives in the original village; he is one of the only remaining people who live there. The old structure isn't safe blah, blah, blah, but he says he is still there."

"Alright then, I guess that's where we're going. Demetri and I can go talk to him, and we will explain that you're here and want to meet him."

"I'm going with you," Alexia said.

"I don't think it's the best idea," Roman said, looking to Demetri for support. "He might go into shock from you just turning up on his doorstep."

"I don't care. I'm his..." she paused, "was his daughter. I am going with you."

"Demetri, you know this is a bad idea, tell her."

"I think she should decide for herself."

"Don't give me that bullshit, Demetri. She already chose you, now you don't have to let her do everything she bloody well wants!"

"It has nothing to do with that! It's her father and it should be her choice. Obviously, I'm not saying she should be the one to go to the door, but there is no reason she can't come and wait out on the street while we talk to him."

"I think we should all go," Cheri piped up. "This is something that we need your help with and Alexia will need our support, so we all go."

Twenty minutes later, everyone was dressed and ready to go to the village. Roman said it was only about ten minutes from the market so it wouldn't take too long to get there. It was a beautiful day outside and the girls were all wearing jean shorts and loose tank tops, and the guys were sporting long swim shorts and black muscle shirts. It was nice to escape the winter back home and be in some sunshine. After they passed the market, they took one long street to the old village. Alexia enjoyed watching the people on the street; the part of town they were in wasn't as modern as most of the towns, and the people here worked hard for a living.

Demetri and Alexia weren't sure how to handle themselves around everyone else. It seemed like it was going to be one of those relationships that are easy when you're alone together, but when you're around people, you don't know if you should hold hands or put your arm around each other's waist. Alexia had never seen how Demetri acted with other girls. His attention had only been on her. She didn't know if he liked showing off that he had a girlfriend. He seemed like the type of guy who liked to appear single, even if he wasn't. She wasn't just another girl he had a crush on. She was the girl he had chased after for over three centuries. She was the girl who could finally make him happy.

"It's right around this corner," Demetri mentioned as he turned to Alexia. "I just want to brace you for what you might see. This is a really old village and the way we used to live was completely different and..." She kissed him to shut him up.

"I'll be fine," she assured him.

"I just don't want it to overwhelm you. I don't know if you're going to remember any of it. Okay, I'll stop. I'm acting like Roman."

"Just a little bit," she said laughing. He held out his hand for her to hold. She took it and butterflies rushed into her stomach. "Thank you," she whispered.

With Roman, Cheri, and Ellie leading the way, they turned the corner and faced the small village. It wasn't that bad at all. Sure, the houses were old and probably not safe to live in, but the place had a special feel about it. Alexia was bathed in déjà vu as she walked forward down the small street that separated the two rows of houses. As she rounded a small bend, the breath was knocked out of her. She didn't even have to ask, as she already knew.

It was the cliff, the same cliff that once upon a time she had plummeted from to her death. It jutted out from the ocean like a sore thumb. Before she even had time to process it, she was running to it. She knew from her dream that there was a set of rickety stairs that you could use to get to the top. Nobody tried to stop her, not even Demetri, because there was no stopping her when she wanted something now. She could make you let her do whatever she wanted, at a price, of course.

Faster than she imagined, she was at the foot of the old stairs, carefully climbing up, testing the stairs that looked most unsafe. And then she was at the top of the cliff, inching forward slowly toward the edge. She looked down. There were several jagged rocks at the bottom. She backed away and shut her eyes. She backed into something solid that turned out to be Demetri.

"I should have warned you," he said softly.

She said nothing; there were no words to prepare her for this. She was standing on the very cliff that she had stood on three hundred and fifty years ago. This was the last place that she had been alive.

"Alexia, let's not stay up here. We are here for a reason, and this isn't that reason, okay?"

She remained there, hugging him, as it was all she could do to keep herself from falling apart. He was patient with her, not bugging her to get it together, but letting her do what she needed to do, which was hug him.

"I think I'm okay now," she said as she pulled away from him slowly, trying not to look back out at the water. "Never let me come back up here again."

"I can't promise that, but I will try. Let's go."

Ellie and Cheri were waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her, but Roman was nowhere to be seen.

"Alexia, are you..." Ellie began but didn't bother finishing because she knew by the look on her face that Alexia was not okay. Ellie and Cheri pulled her into a tight hug and didn't let go for a long time.

When they finally let go, Alexia was feeling much better, and wanted to get away from the damn cliff.

"Where did Roman go?" she asked.

"He went to knock on your dad's door," Ellie replied. "He said he would come get us if he was there."

"I don't know if I can handle this."

"You can do this. I know you can," Ellie said. "Just think about what we're going to find out from him."

"Alexia," Roman said as he came fromaround the corner with a man in his late forties. He had salt and pepper hair,with skin that looked like it had seen a few too many sunny days. His eyes werebrown, not blue like Alexia's. If she didn't know any better, she would havenever assumed this man was her real father. "This is your father,Hector."