People glanced at one another—the girls in open delight—as they took out their books and started pretending to do homework. Skye palmed her phone, angling it behind her notebook even though she doubted Balthazar would chastise her for using it. Quickly she texted him, OMG WTF are you doing?

The pile of books on top of Lovejoy’s desk … now Balthazar’s desk … apparently let him hide his phone, too. You were exposed at school. Too dangerous. I needed a way to watch over you here.

Since when do you teach history?

Since today. But I’ve lived through a lot of it. That’s got to count for something, right?

It won’t count when Zas checks your credentials and finds out you don’t have any.

Thanks to some hacking—by our mutual friend Lucas, by the way—she’ll find that I’m fully accredited. Apparently I got a master’s in education from the University of Mississippi. Who knew?

Skye turned her phone over, lest she start laughing out loud. Or screaming. Her life was more and more like a supernatural roller coaster all the time.

Within two hours, she definitely felt more like screaming.

“Miss Tierney?” Ms. Loos gave her a look across the anatomy classroom. Skye could barely hear her over the drumming of her heart as the poor man collapsed in front of the room—again—his death drowning out everything else. “You look terrified. Are you well? Do you have some kind of condition I should know about?”

Snickers came from around the room. Skye braced her hands against the desk, her stomach churning. “No, ma’am. I’m fine.”

“This classroom isn’t the place for your personal drama, people.” Ms. Loos pretended to be talking to the whole class, but her sharp eyes remained focused on Skye. This woman got off on picking on the weak—like she was in high school instead of teaching it. “If you’re not capable of handling the subject of sex with maturity, then you should reconsider being in here to begin with. Transfers are still available.”

Skye just hung on. The death began to fade, though the cold sweat trickling down her back and the cramps in her muscles told her the aftermath would be with her for a long time to come.

So, that was zero percent better. She definitely needed to check on transferring out of this class.

As Ms. Loos resumed her talk about how sex differentiation evolved millions of years ago, with mollusks or something, Skye put her head in one hand. This morning, for a brief hour, everything happening to her had seemed like a kind of adventure. A roller coaster. Balthazar’s sudden appearance in her classroom had suggested that everything could be solved quickly and easily.

That had been a brief illusion, though. Now her problems loomed large and dark around her.

Skye took a deep breath. Before jumping competitions, she had gone through a checklist in her mind, making sure every single thing about Eb’s tack was perfect, or if not, how she could handle the difficulty. It couldn’t hurt to try that now.

Problem: Vampires are trying to kill me. Solution: My house is safe. My school is now safe thanks to Balthazar. I have to watch myself carefully anyplace else and minimize going out. Skye groaned inwardly as she realized she was, in effect, grounded. That was a small price to pay for staying alive, though. Maybe she could take up martial arts or something similar. Balthazar would always be the best at kicking ass when necessary, but she needed to be able to defend herself.

Problem: I can see the … psychic remnants of old deaths, all over the place. Solution: None. I can avoid most of the places I find, but whenever a new one shows up, I’ll just have to get through it somehow. That felt a lot harder to accomplish. When no answer presented itself, she pushed herself on to the next issue.

Problem: My ex-boyfriend and his skank girlfriend are all over this school being judgy about me. Solution: None. It wasn’t that big on her list of concerns at the moment, Skye admitted, but that didn’t mean it didn’t suck.

Problem: I never see my mom and dad. I know they need to work hard—to have some space from our house and the family—so that they can get over Dakota’s death. But how am I supposed to get over it? I need to talk to someone about him. I need to remember him sometimes. Solution: Find someone new to talk with. Skye wondered whether Madison might become the kind of friend she could discuss these things with, but she doubted it. Clementine had been a rock to lean on last year at Evernight, but she’d sensed when Skye was sad, or needed support; doing that became much more difficult via text.

Nothing would really take the place of talking with her parents. They were the only ones who had loved Dakota the way she had, who remembered the happy family they’d once had. During the summer, Skye had been so numb that their distance hadn’t troubled her as much; plus, back then, she’d been able to confide in Craig. She had believed that, in time, Mom and Dad would come alive again. Remember her again. So far, they hadn’t.

Balthazar seemed like someone who would listen—

Problem: The guy I had a major crush on is now undercover as my substitute teacher, plus hanging around my house all the time, and I’m already liking him a thousand percent more than before. Also, he’s a vampire, which makes this—complicated. How do I handle that?

A slow smile spread across Skye’s face as she realized the one bright spot in this entire screaming mess that was her life.

Solution: Make Balthazar MINE.

Chapter Nine

BALTHAZAR HAD WALKED INTO VAMPIRE-HUNTER ambushes that filled him with less dread than walking into the Darby Glen High teachers’ lounge.