Edge of Twilight by MAGGIE SHAYNE Page B

complaining.”
    Amber poured, and Willem sat. His sharp gaze slid carefully over Sarafina’s face, and Amber knew he saw something there. Maybe some clue of the emotional breakdown she had experienced during his absence. God love her, she’d pulled herself together in a hurry. Fixed her hair, her face, put on clothes. But Will knew her too well not to notice something was off.
    Rhiannon sat, as well.
    â€œSo are you going to tell me, or do I have to guess?” Willem asked when Amber set the tea in front of him.
    Amber frowned. “Tell you what?”
    He made a face, shook his head, sipped the tea and set the cup down. “Come on, kid. I know you. I know your so-called aunt there, and I know my wife. You’ve been plotting strategy.”
    Amber licked her lips and averted her eyes.
    â€œDon’t do it, Amber,” he said softly. “Don’t try to find Stiles.” Turning his gaze to Sarafina and then Rhiannon, he went on. “If he finds out where Amber is, he’ll come for her. You both know he will. It’s not worth risking her life on the slim chance you can save mine.”
    â€œDon’t you think,” Amber asked, “that decision should be left up to me?”
    He met her eyes. “Suppose it works, but you get yourself killed? You expect me to live with that?”
    â€œYou risked your life to save mine, Will. I’m only returning the favor.”
    â€œYou’re only a girl.”
    She glanced down at the walking stick, where it leaned against the table beside his chair. Then she jerked her gaze up and across the room. The stick flew like a well-aimed spear, at a speed so fast it hissed through the air. Just before it sank into the wall, Amber flicked up a hand, and it stopped dead. She flipped her hand over, and the stick turned vertical, then sailed easily back across the room and right into her palm. She set it down on the floor, leaning it against the table. “I’m not only anything, Will. I may look young. I may be young, chronologically. But I’m a direct descendant of the most powerful vampire I know.” When she said it, she looked to Rhiannon. “You sired Roland, he sired Eric, Eric sired Tam, and all of you, together, saved my father from certain death when you gave him your blood to transform him into what you are. That blood runs in my veins. And I may not be a vampiress, but I’m not a human, either. And I’m stronger than any of you know.”
    Will nodded slowly. “I know you are. But you’ve been sheltered, protected. You’ve never had to fight to survive, to kill or be killed, Amber. It’s not something you pick up overnight, and it’s not easy. No matter how strong youare. Experience is worth as much as power. And while you have the latter in abundance, you have very little of the former.”
    She held his gaze. He held hers right back, stubborn as ever. She said, “Rhiannon is taking some of my blood to Eric and Tam’s tonight. They’ll work on it in Eric’s lab, with help and input from my parents and Roland. They might find the answers there. We don’t necessarily have to bring Stiles into this at all, if he’s even alive.”
    â€œOh, he’s alive,” someone said. All eyes turned toward the doorway, where the two newcomers stood: strong, powerful Dante and his small, frail-looking companion, Morgan.
    Dante’s eyes went straight to Sarafina’s, and their gazes locked. She trembled a little, rising to her feet, and Amber knew it was harder than ever for her to keep her emotions in check, now that her beloved Dante was here.
    He swept forward, wrapping her in his arms. “I’m here for you, my precious ‘Fina. I always will be.”
    â€œDon’t make promises like that, Dante,” she whispered. “You know life is uncertain at best, cruel at worst.”
    He closed his eyes, no doubt feeling her pain. Sarafina was a