“Raven made a face at the blood that now stained her fingertips. She wiped her hand on his jeans until the blood was all gone.Gabriel watched her with narrowed eyes and said, "You look old."Heather's mouth fell open.Good God. Don't anger the crazy lady.Raven slapped him, hard. "That's what happens when your supply of fountain water starts to run out and you have to dilute it. You age. Magic can only do so much.""Sucks to be you," Gabriel said.Clearly, he did not value his life.”

“Does this mean I get to be part of the team?” She clapped her hands again.“Yes,” Nate said.“No,” Gabriel said at the same time.“Duuuude,” Nate said to Gabriel between his teeth. “I really want to talk to this Mr. Brooks guy.”“Fine.” Gabriel sighed. “Let her help. I don’t care. But if you die,” Gabriel pointed at Heather, “or get cursed or something, that’s your fault.”Heather nodded merrily, still clapping. “Yay, I’m part of the team.”“We’re not a team,” Gabriel said through gritted teeth.Heather ignored him and looked at Nate. “I think we need a team name.”“Ooh! Good idea.” Nate pointed a finger into the air. “How about Team Awesome?”Heather wrinkled her nose. “Too vague. Team Super Secret Fountain Seekers?”“Too specific.” Nate shook his head. “Team Ash Guy Hunters?”“Ashman.” Heather shook her head. “Too hard to say.”Nate scoffed. “And ‘Super Secret Fountain Seekers’ is easy to say?”Gabriel huffed and started walking toward the door. “You guys can stay here and pick a name and a Team Captain or whatever, but I’m going to find Mr. Brooks.” He opened the door to leave, night falling on the forest around them.Heather said, “Mr. Brooks doesn’t open his door when it’s dark outside.” She shrugged. “So we’re going to have to wait until tomorrow after school.”Frustrated, Gabriel closed the cabin door on the setting sun. “Tomorrow then.”“Perfect.” Nate nodded, shifting his eyes from Scarlet, to Gabriel, and then to Heather.A moment passed.“I call dibs on Team Captain,” Nate said.Gabriel rolled his eyes.”

“You know what I need to do?""Buy earrings?""I need to fully embed myself in Gabriel's life. I need to get to know the real Gabriel Archer.""You need to buy new earrings," Heather said.Scarlet ignored Heather and went on."No more excuses. The time has come. Today, I am going over to Gabriel's house after school.""Good for you. Now let's talk about shoes." Heather put her magazine down. "They suck.”

“Do you think it’s weird to kiss someone you barely know?” No, it’s perfectly normal and gives us a fantastic excuse to make out. Kiss me!“Totally weird,” she said, immediately wanting to slap herself. He nodded slowly. “Me too.” Scarlet’s heart sank a little. Gabriel flashed his dimples. “I guess now I’ve got a good reason to get to know you, don’t I?”Scarlet narrowed her eyes. “Who said I’d let you kiss me even if you got to know me?”He nodded his head with a smile. “Challenge accepted.”

“No, I’m surprised he didn’t say goodbye.”“Well, of course he didn’t say goodbye.” Heather put down her mug. “You would have convinced him to stay.”“That’s not true.”“Oh, please.” Heather rolled her eyes. “You would have been like Oh, Tristan, please don’t go. Stay with me so I can crush on you and giggle at everything you say.” Heather nodded. “That’s what it would have been like. In that high-pitched voice and everything.”

“Tristan followed so close behind her she could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck. Again.“Ten foot rule,” called Nate. “Bite me!” Tristan hollered back, more hot breath caressing her skin with his words. A wonderful shiver ran through her body. Damn him and his beautiful mouth and hot breath and his leather-smelling shirt. She assumed he was headed to his own room in the basement, but when she walked into the guest bedroom, he followed her inside. She turned around to tell him to leave her alone, but his bright green eyes derailed her words. He was so pretty… No! No. He was not pretty. He was in danger of dying. Focus on the danger, Scarlet. She glared at him. “What are you doing?” “I’m sleeping with you.” Was he insane? She lifted a brow. “I thought you were mad at me.” “I’m concerned. Not mad.” “Huh. Well either way you’re not sleeping with me.” “Yes, I am.” He was insane. “No,” Scarlet repeated. “You’re not. You could die, Tristan. We can’t touch and we certainly can’t…sleep together.” She felt her face flush. A look of amusement crossed his face. “I meant sleep, Scar.” “Oh. Well.” She cleared her throat. “I don’t want to wake up next to a corpse, so, like…scram.”

“Tristan was looking at him again."What are you looking at?" Gabriel snapped.Tristan was trying not to smile. "You tell me."Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Quit being a girl.”