“Really?” Camilla cried, her eyes widening. Olivia nodded, biting her lip to contain her smile. “I’m so happy for you!” Camilla threw her arms around Olivia, accidentally knocking one of the ferns. Olivia giggled.
“I knew you and Ivy would find some answers if you kept looking,” Camilla said proudly.
Olivia had to admit that their perseverance had paid off. She and her sister had been trying to solve the mystery of who their parents were since they’d first realized they were twins.
“Thanks, Camilla,” Olivia said, hugging her again. “I wanted to tell you in person.”
“So who is he? Who’s your dad?” Camilla asked, her voice bursting with curiosity.
Olivia pursed her lips, savoring the moment.
Camilla read her face. “I knew it!” she squealed. “It’s a celebrity! I always thought you two had George Clooney’s nose!”
“Nope,” Olivia shook her head coyly. “Even better.”
“Antonio Banderas?” Camilla whispered in awe.
“Well then, who?” Sophia said excitedly, wrapping her arm around Ivy’s as they made their way out of the cemetery.
Ivy’s long dark hair fell in front of her face. “He’s, uh, his name is... Karl Lazar,” she sputtered. Why am I having so much trouble telling my oldest friend the whole story? Ivy wondered. Somehow, this was just too unbelievable to blurt out.
“Lazar?” Sophia repeated. “You mean that Transylvanian vamp aristocrat who fell for a human?”
Ivy nodded dumbly. “That’s amazing! Do you know if he’s still alive?” Sophia asked.
“Oh, he’s alive,” Ivy said.
“How do you know?” Sophia pressed.
“He’s been in hiding for the last thirteen years,” Ivy answered.
As Franklin Grove Middle School came into view in the distance, Sophia’s steps slowed. “Ivy, why do I think there’s something you’re not telling me?”
Ivy smiled shyly, relieved that her friend knew her so well. “Because there’s something I’m not telling you?” she replied.
As Sophia searched her face, Ivy took one last deep breath. She pushed her hair out of her eyes. “My dad is my dad,” she announced, the words rising into the air like smoke.
Sophia looked at her blankly.
“My dad is my real dad,” Ivy clarified.
Sophia did a double take. “You mean your father, Charles Vega, who you’ve known for your entire life...”
“... is Karl Lazar,” Ivy finished.
Sophia peered at her in disbelief. “You’re biting my neck, right?”
Ivy grinned. “No fangs, remember?”
“But why would Mr. Vega pretend to be Ivy’s adopted dad when he’s actually her real father?” Camilla asked.
“We don’t know.” Olivia frowned. “Maybe because he didn’t want Ivy to know she had a twin.”
“But why not?” Camilla pursued. All Olivia could do was shrug. She wanted to tell her friend everything she and Ivy had learned: about how their father was a vampire while their mother was a human and that he’d separated the twins after their mother had died. But she’d taken a Blood Oath never to violate the First Law of the Night, which meant she must never reveal the existence of vampires to a nonvampire. It was a bummer, because Camilla was super smart, and Olivia thought maybe she’d have some ideas about why Mr. Vega had done what he had.
Ivy and Sophia climbed the school steps. “Does your dad know you know?” Sophia asked. Ivy shook her head. “Olivia and I talked about it and agreed that we’re not telling our parents yet. Olivia’s mom is going to flap like a bat when she finds out the truth. And my dad’s already utterly uncomfortable around Olivia.”
They went inside and were walking across the lobby when Ivy heard someone call her name in a stage whisper. She looked around, but none of the students milling around the lobby was looking her way.