Jason watched Selene’s entire body stiffen. He knew the reason why, too; Miranda looked like Katherine, Pietro’s wife, his murderer. The fact made him a bit reluctant to be around her. What if history repeated itself, he thought, shivering.

“Hello, I’m Miranda. Who are you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. And here I thought I knew all of Jason’s friends.”

“My name is Anita,” answered Selene in a disjointed and stiff tone. It was almost as if she wasn’t there, only her body.

“Nice to meet you. Are you just starting?”

As her smile turned up on the corner, Jason sensed her humor return. “I graduated long ago.”

“When?”

“A very long time ago.” Her smile widened, lighting up her face. Knowing the truth, Jason smiled.

“Then what are you doing here?” Miranda’s humor was gone, replaced with a harsh and cold sternness.

“Visiting Jason, of course.” Jason watched Selene study Katherine as if she were prey. No, not prey. No, Selene was cautiously watching Katherine, wondering how dangerous she was. He watched her eyes rove over, her smile turning into a smirk.

Wide-eyed, Miranda shot a stare at him. “Jason?”

“What? Oh yeah, um, Anita here is visiting on behalf of my father. She’s a friend of the Council.”

Miranda’s eyes seethed and pulsed with animosity. “I find that hard to believe.”

“I wouldn’t,” echoed Selene’s chilling voice.

Sensing the tension, Jason asked, “How’s my father?”

“Michael’s fine. He wanted to know why there was a sudden interest in your family tree. I’m wondering the same thing. Shouldn’t you be focusing on your studies?” There was something there, an undercurrent in her tone. Something told Jason that he needed to tread carefully and was getting too close. But what if he wanted to get close? What if he had dreams of holding her the way his ancestor did?

Jason swallowed, shaking the thought away. “My studies are going very well. Thank you for your concern.”

“You’re confusing concern with curiosity.” “Well, you are cold, aren’t you,” hissed Miranda.

Jason watched Selene’s lip curl into a cruel, vindictive smile. “Oh, you have no idea.” His eyes widened when her hand reached up to pull off her glasses. His breath caught when he saw the lack of red in her violet eyes. She looked like she had centuries ago. Except now, instead of looking happy and full of life, she looked tired, sad, and pained.

“You look familiar,” said Miranda. This time, Jason stiffened. Quickly pulling away from Miranda, he stepped up to Selene’s side.

“Miranda, we’ve got to go. I’ll see you later.” Not waiting for a goodbye, he pulled Selene through the throng of students. Selene replaced her sunglasses back onto her face and easily pulled her arm out of his stiff grip. Underneath the glasses, Jason could tell that she was scowling.

“Oh, don’t give me that look, Selene.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you know why I’m giving you this look?”

“Because I look like Pietro, and I’m dating Miranda, who looks like Katherine. Yes, I know.”

“Impressive. I should kill her.”

“No. My god, do you have a bit of the humanity you once had left?” Selene shrugged carelessly. Jason resisted the urge to shake some sense into her. What have the centuries done to her to make her so cold, to make the girl in the portrait obsolete? “What happened to you?”

“I died.”

“That can’t be all Selene. What happened to you?”

“I killed.”

“Dammit, Selene—”

“Oh, shut up. I am a killer, a hunter. That’s what Vampyres are. We are predators!”

“No, you’re not! You’re more than that!” Selene snorted. “Enlighten me. You don’t know me. You know nothing about me!”

“Wrong. You’re name is Selene Sintas. You have an older brother named Eris Sintas. You were being hunted by the Vampyre King while your brother was being hunted by the Shadowlings. The Queen and her court came to get two bright minds and protect them. To protect you and your brother. You fell in love with Pietro. He came to the Palace to see you. It was there that you fell in love—”

“Stop—”

“Then the Night of Darkness came! Shadowlings attacked, killed your friend Urit, took Azelia from your brother—” “Enough—”

“So then you and your brother went away, back home, to a trap, breaking the barrier of your home! The center of this city! Many died! You were turned! You killed Vampyres! Killed Kyra and Larkin! Took down the—”

“Shut up!” Jason stopped talking and stared at her dumbfounded. Fist clenched, body shaking with rage, Selene was glowing. That’s when he saw them. The runes on her body lit up through her dress like beacons. Eight. There were eight of them. But that wasn’t all. Something in the center of her chest was beating with its own light. But there was something else. Strapped to her thigh was something that pulsed with darkness.

“Selene—”

“You know nothing about me, Jason,” she said before collapsing onto the ground.