That’s it!
Too excited to be creeped out, Olivia reached right into the coffin to give her stepmom a big hug.
‘Whoa! What was that for?’ Lillian asked, laughing.
Olivia grinned with delight as she bounced back up and headed for the door. ‘I can’t explain right now, but I’m getting an idea!’
‘What kind of idea?’ Lillian called after her.
But Olivia was already hurrying out of the room. ‘If it’s a good one,’ she called back over her shoulder, ‘you’ll find out all about it . . . on Saturday!’
Chapter Nine
Ivy felt Brendan’s hand tighten around hers as the Lincoln Vale mall rose before them, glass-walled and impressive.
Ivy pointed at Maya, standing just by the entrance. ‘There she is.’
‘Come on,’ said Maya, hurrying towards them. ‘Let’s not go inside. There’s someone I want you to meet.’
Ivy and Brendan followed her down the street to a small, family-style diner half a block away. The décor was quiet, cosy and completely unsuited to the glamorous woman who sat at a table near the back. Her long black hair rippled down the back of her stylish black trouser suit, an elegant gold choker surrounded her slim neck . . . and even with contact lenses disguising her real eye colour, her resemblance to Maya was unmistakable.
She might look just the right age to have a daughter in high school, but she had to be at least one hundred years old . . . and she was Brendan’s aunt.
‘Oh!’ She gasped, raising one hand to her throat as she rose to greet them. Her gaze went straight to Brendan. ‘Are you really my nephew?’
‘This is Brendan, Mom,’ Maya said.
‘I can’t believe it!’ Carla wrapped her arms around him. ‘It is so amazing to finally meet you!’
Brendan patted her back awkwardly. ‘Um . . . you, too.’
Carla’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she pulled him down to sit with her at the table. ‘This is awful,’ she said. ‘I don’t know anything about you – what you like, what you don’t . . .’ She swiped at her eyes and smiled brilliantly. ‘But I promise: if you write out a list, I will buy you gifts for every missed birthday and Christmas!’
Brendan laughed, visibly relaxing. ‘That’s really not necessary. Getting long-lost family is enough of a gift.’
Carla pressed her lips together for a moment, obviously filled with emotion. ‘It’s like looking at my brother a hundred years ago,’ she whispered at last.
‘Whoa.’ Brendan whipped his head around, his eyes darting around the room. ‘We need to be careful about saying things like that in public.’
‘Of course.’ Carla gave a guilty smile. ‘It’s funny – since I haven’t had any of our kind around day after day, I’ve found it much easier not to let anything slip, because I don’t normally have these conversations any more!’ She sighed, sitting back in her chair as Maya and Ivy took their own places at the table. ‘That’s something our community doesn’t really take into account – that maybe, we get too comfortable among our own company.
‘Not that I don’t miss it.’ Her smile drooped. ‘I really, really do.’
Ivy felt a wave of sympathy as she saw the loneliness in Carla’s eyes. She couldn’t even imagine being parted from Olivia for so long.
Then she tuned back into the conversation and stiffened.
‘. . . but of course there’s no point talking to those hoity-toity Transylvanians who only care about the “rules”!’ She scowled. ‘Trust me, I could do without their kind forever!’
Ivy took a deep breath, forcing herself not to take offence. As she looked down at the table, Maya cleared her throat.
‘Um, Mom?’ she whispered. ‘Ivy’s family are actually from a highborn Transylvanian bloodline.’
‘Really?’ For the first time, Carla looked directly at Ivy. Recognition passed over her face. ‘Oh, of course! I can see it in your bone structure now. You’re a Lazar, aren’t you?’
Ivy shrugged awkwardly. ‘Yup.’
‘Ohhhh . . .’ Carla’s face lit up with interest. ‘You must be one of the twins who were profiled in VAMP magazine! I still have my subscription – it’s about the only part of my identity that wasn’t taken away from me.’