Chapter 3

THREE

INDI

I was not expecting Torren to go home with the Vauntero family.

Because of that, I waited outside in a tree for a while expecting her to come back out at any minute. The Vauntero family had always been great to me, but they were my King and Queen, so I wasn't just going to invite myself into their palace. But I was at my wits end. My patience was up. I flew down to the front door, then shifted back into my human form.

It wasn't until after I'd knocked on their front door that I realized I hadn't dressed for this occasion, for seeing the royal family. I'd planned to eat take-out from Styrofoam containers on the sofa in my sister's apartment while she caught me up on her life here. I could've waited until she came out, but I was impatient, so that meant I was arriving at the Vauntero palace in my green sweater and matching green loose-fitting corduroy pants that were cropped mid-calf, which meant my beat-up, dirt-covered brown boots were on full display. I looked down at myself and groaned. I looked like a damn watermelon. A girl with pink hair had no business wearing green.

The door swung open, and a tall, pale figure stepped into the golden light spilling from the glowing pumpkins all around the door. Constantine Vauntero narrowed his sapphire-blue eyes at me and growled. "Finally."

Then he spun and vanished into the shadow of the hall.

Typical Constantine. I took a deep breath, then followed him inside. I knew better than to assume he was coming back or saying anything else. That one word was more than most people got from the brooding prince. The guy had to be nearly four digits in his age. I wondered if I'd lose interest in speaking when I was his age.

Wait, did he say finally ? What does that mean? He couldn't have been expecting me, I hadn't told anyone I was coming. Yet there was no surprise in his expression at finding me at their doorstep.

We stepped around a pillar into the living room and I spotted Torren. She was right in front of me but turned to the side so I could only see her profile. My pulse quickened with excitement. Seeing her made me so happy. In my peripheral vision I saw the other members of the Vauntero family lounging around, however they all seemed lost in their own worlds. No one had noticed me yet.

I stopped a foot in front of my sister. "Hi, Torren?—"

She screamed and jumped three inches into the air, instantly shifting into a red panda. All four of her limbs shot straight out like a starfish as she shrieked. Her back hit the ground as her whole body trembled. Those little black eyes were wider than I'd ever seen them. She tried to scramble to her feet but only ended up flailing wildly. Her thick tail smacked into the leg of a chair and knocked it to the ground. She was a ball of paws and fluff. Her mouth hung open in surprise as she screamed.

I grimaced.

Nash Vauntero, who I realized belatedly was the person she'd been talking to, just sighed and hung his head. "We've been working on this."

Gasps echoed around the room followed by whispers of concern.

I bit my lip to try and stop myself from laughing but failed. "Sorry, Tore."

"C'mon. It's okay," Nash said softly as he bent down, took her fluffy little paws in his hands, then lifted her to her feet. "Just shift into anything."

"INDIANA!" Josiah yelled from across the room and then he was charging for me.

All at once the Vauntero family descended upon me. They came forward in a sea of inky hair and sapphire eyes. Their voices all blended together. A million questions came at me all at once: How are you? What are you doing here? When are you leaving again? When will you come back? Why do you have to leave? It was rapid fire and completely overwhelming. I started to feel dizzy and wanted to run in the other direction.

"BACK OFF, LEECHES," Constantine shouted.

They all leapt away from me, even the King and Queen jumped back.

Constantine looked down at them with disgust, his upper lip curled back. "Get ahold of yourselves. Sickening."

Queen Zenobia snort-laughed, then covered her mouth with her hand. She tried to stop herself from laughing. "Sorry . . . sorry . . ." And then she burst into laughter.

King Ailwin sighed and shook his head, standing with both hands on his hips staring at the ground. "We did get a little over-excited on that."

I giggled and ran my hands through my hair to smooth the wild pink strands back into place from that aggressive group hug. "Hello, everyone. I missed you too?"

Nash was crouched down, so he was almost eye level with my little sister who was still in red panda form and staring up at me. Her little furry paws were still raised to the ceiling. She was stuck.

"C'mon, you can do it. You can shift back?—"

"Have you never seen her get stuck?"

Nash's eyes widened as he looked up at me. "Stuck?"

"Yeah, it happens, especially to Torren." I chuckled and held my arms out in front of me. "Come here, Torrey-bear."

I crouched down as I let myself shift into a red panda to match Torren. She scrambled out of Nash's hands, then dove into my outstretched arms. My sweet little Torren felt her emotions with volatility. Sometimes this had severe ramifications. And sometimes that meant she got stuck and couldn't shift out of whichever animal form she was in. Whenever I'd leave her with our mother as a little girl, I'd return and trigger this exact problem. I'd learned it was a token of how much she loved me. I'd also learned the way to ease her out of it was to match her.

So while the entire Vauntero family stood around us in a circle, watching us with confused expressions on their faces, I just let my little sister feel all the feelings she needed to feel. I'd left her far too long. Shame on me. I couldn't be away from her that long ever again, not even half that long.

‘Indi. Indi. Indi. Indi. Indi.'

Whenever we were in the same animal form we could speak to each other telepathically. Normally, this was super convenient. But right now, she was just crying my name over and over. Only my name. Even in her thoughts she was stuck. That hurt my heart more than it should have.

I squeezed my eyes shut and dug my red panda paws into her fur and spoke to her telepathically. ‘ I'm here, Torrey-bear. I'm here.'

‘INDI.'

‘ I'm here.'

‘ Are you? Is this real? Am I dreaming?'

Tears burned my closed eyes. Instead of answering her, I sang our favorite lullaby. The one I always sang to her when she was little, when our mother had vanished on us again and I was left to take care of her myself. Sometimes words were too hard, took too much out of us to say. When she was upset it made it harder for me to hold it in, so we would sing or hum our favorite song. Mother had taught it to me when I was little, back before she'd lost herself to the nomad lifestyle.

By the second verse, Torren's pulse had calmed. I felt her magic billowing beneath my paws, so I shifted back into my human form. At first, I was supporting her little red panda weight. But then that pressure lifted so I opened my eyes and found the human version of my baby sister clinging to me.

"You're home," Torren said with a whimper in my ear.

I rubbed my hand over her back. "I'm home."

"You were gone too long?—"

"I know?—"

"Two years, Indi!" She pulled back and her dark eyes narrowed on me. Tears streamed down her pretty face and some of her teal hair was stuck to it. "You didn't say you were leaving me for two years?—"

"I know, I know. You're right." I reached out and pushed her hair off her face and out of her tears, then I wiped her cheek. "I'm sorry."

She pouted her bottom lip. "Don't do that again?—"

"I won't. I promise?—"

"There will be consequences if you break that promise."

My heart sank. "I assure you I already feel that guilt. I've . . . I've been looking for Mother?—"

"Leave her be." She frowned. Her face flushed. "I don't need her, Indi."

Yeah, but I thought I did. I didn't say that though, not with the entire Vauntero family watching. I adored them but our troubles with our mother I tried to keep super private. I cleared my throat and tried to smile. "That's good, since I can't find her."

She nodded and then sniffled and wiped under her eyes. "You look like a watermelon."

I laughed and wrapped her in a hug again. "You know me, always clinging to summer."

"Autumn is the best anyways." She rested her head on my shoulder. "How long are you here? Tell me now so I can prepare myself."

"Torren—"

"When do you leave?" She sighed in my ear. "When's your next dig?"

"I have no departure date set yet."

She gasped and jumped back, her eyes wide. " What? "

At that, I smiled wide. "I have no jobs, no digs, nothing on my schedule. At all."

Her eyes lit up, but she bit her lip and fidgeted with her sweater sleeves. "But you're not staying forever . . .?"

"We're immortal. Forever is a long time." I tried to keep it lighthearted, but her face fell. I reached out and took her hands in mine. "I'm here, Torren, with no end date in sight at the moment?—"

"You'll stay all of spooky season, right?" Her eyes brightened. "Right? All of October?"

"I was planning on it?—"

"Because I need you here all of October?—"

"Why? What's happening?—"

"I'm getting married!"

I gasped so hard I inhaled my own saliva wrong and choked. It took a few coughs before I could speak clearly. "Excuse me, what?"

Torren's face turned as pink as my hair. She bounced on her toes and gnawed on her bottom lip. "I'm getting married, Indi."

My eyes widened. "Oh God. I did hear that correctly. Married? Already? You just got here?—"

"I've been here two years, Indi?—"

"Yeah, two years was a blink of an eye?—"

"To you, out there living the nomad life like Mom?—"

"Hold on. Hold up. Wait a second." I held my hands up and took a deep breath. I glanced around the room at the Vauntero family who was just standing there silently watching us. They were all smiling now. My pulse quickened. "You're serious? You're getting married? You don't have to make that up to get me to stay here?—"

"I'm serious, Indi." She held her left hand up to show me the pretty diamond on her left ring finger. "I'm engaged. See?"

My jaw dropped. " Oh my God! Torren! You're getting married! " I pulled her in for another hug.

" Are you upset? " she whispered in my ear.

I jumped back, already shaking my head. "God no, Torren. I'm so happy for you. I just . . . I am surprised? Shocked? I mean, when I brought you here two years ago, I prayed you'd find happiness, but . . . married ?"

She giggled and looked down at her ring on her hand. "I know."

"How long have you been engaged?"

"Um, since Christmas basically?"

"I just talked to you on the phone, and you didn't say—wait, Christmas? "

"I didn't want to tell you over the phone, Indi. I wanted to tell you in person, but you've been a little hard to track down this year?—"

" Christmas, Torren? "

She shrugged one shoulder. "Right after Christmas?—"

"Wait, Christmas?" Behind Torren, Josiah scowled at her, then turned to Mateo. "Christmas?"

Mateo narrowed his eyes. Now that I saw him and Nash standing a few feet away, it was easy to tell them apart. Mateo had that wild look to him, the kind that made parents want to hide their daughters from. He was always dressed impeccably and just seemed so perfect all the time. His smile was smooth and sharp, whereas Nash's smile was playful, and his hair tended to be a little disheveled. He always had that look of laughter in his eyes, like someone had just told him a good joke. He was always dressed more casually and always looked at ease.

"Nashville . . ." Mateo arched one eyebrow. "Christmas?"

I frowned. Nashville? What about him?

Nash chuckled and rocked back on his heels, looking the picture of ease with his hands in his pockets. "What? Oh, you thought I proposed?"

I gasped. "What? You proposed? To whom? Wait. Torren?"

Torren's face was bright-pink now, but the smile on her face was wide. "I'm marrying Nash?—"

A strangled squeal left my mouth before I could close my lips. I covered my mouth with my hand and glanced back and forth between my sister and Nashville Vauntero. The pieces started to click. Every time I spoke to her since Christmas, she'd mentioned Nash at least once. More than a few times she'd been at the hospital, which was where Nash worked as a doctor. At the parade, when she was spiraling in chaos, it was Nash she'd called out for. When I arrived at the castle, it was Nash she was speaking to and Nash who comforted her when she went all panicked red panda.

I looked to Nash, then back to my sister. "You two? Really?"

"He's my soulmate." She held up her left arm and pushed her sleeve up. "See?"

There on her arm was a black and red image of a butterfly and some stars. Unable to help myself, I looked to Nash. He grinned and walked over to stand beside my sister, then pulled his own sleeve up. The images on their arms were identical.

"Oh my God." I shook my head as new tears pooled in my eyes. "I can't believe it."

Torren looked up at Nash with the sweetest smile, just beaming up at him. "Me either."

"Yeah, you're telling me," Mateo grumbled.

The whole Vauntero family laughed. Three pillows smacked into him off the couch where several of his siblings sat.

He laughed in that carefree, ever-the-naughty-rake kind of laugh. "What?"

"Too soon," Josiah grumbled. "Boo."

Mateo winked at my sister. "I earned it. I did get them together?—"

"Are you taking credit for them being soulmates ?" Lark scowled at him, her bright, neon-pink lipstick perfectly in place. "Seriously?"

"Excuse me, I saw Nash's arm that evening before I went to the parade. There was no mark. And Torren . . . is Torren. No offense, T?—"

"No, that's fair." My sister laughed.

Nash chuckled and shook his head. "You're right, Mateo. Without you being the rake that you are, my soulmate wouldn't have been so flustered, and you never would've been Mufasa'd."

Josiah snort-laughed. Loud.

"And she wouldn't have been invisible at the hospital—which has to be when you touched and the marks appeared." Mateo gave a dramatic bow. "You're welcome."

I opened my mouth, then shut it. "I have so many questions."

Torren groaned and leaned into her soulmate's chest. "Look. Last December, on parade day, I was in charge of the reindeer. I was minding my own business when suddenly Mateo appeared and startled me?—"

"Oh, boy," I whispered, knowing that hadn't ended well because I knew my sister.

"—And the reindeer got a little freaked out and one of them kicked Mateo, then there was a stampede . . . He might've wound up in a coma?—"

" A coma?! " I pressed my fingers to my temples. " Torren, no ?— "

"Torren, yes." Nash laughed but his smile was affectionate as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Mateo woke up before Christmas?—"

"But not before my twin stole my soulmate's heart?—"

"WHAT?"

Nash rolled his eyes. "I did nothing?—"

"You did carry cat-Torren a few times," Ida said helpfully as she re-braided her hair.

Josiah snapped his fingers. "I think he also pet cat-Torren?—"

"And she's my soulmate." Nash chuckled. He turned back to me. "We all thought Torren was Mateo's soulmate because none of us actually paid attention to the details in the soulmate marks. So . . . it was a bit chaotic last December before we sorted it all out."

Mateo held his arm out before I could ask, and I saw almost the identical image on his skin. "Wow. That is similar. Is it because you're twins?"

"Yup," everyone said, except the twins.

Nash hung his head. "Would've been helpful to know ahead of time."

"A lot less entertaining though." King Ailwin winked.

The family laughed again.

I looked to my sister. "One day, when my brain isn't so overwhelmed, I'm going to need a full play-by-play of what happened last December. Okay?"

She bit her lip and nodded.

"So, you're engaged. When's the wedding?"

"They haven't set the date yet," Queen Zenobia said softly. Her eyes were a little sad. "She was waiting . . ."

"Waiting for what?"

Torren just stared at me.

My heart fell right out of my ass. "You were waiting on me."

She nodded. "I can't get married without you, Indi."

"Torren, I'm so sorry I kept you waiting." I gave her another hug, then I turned to Nash and held my arms out. "I'm sorry to you too, Nash."

He bent down and gave me a hug. "We're just happy you're home now."

"Guys, congratulations. This is so wonderful." It was my turn to wipe a tear from my eyes. "I will of course be there. I can't wait?—"

"Good. Because I wanna do it now."

Nash scowled and glanced around. "Literally?"

She giggled. "No, silly. But Halloween is my favorite. Spooky season is the best. I'd love a fall wedding, and since Indi has returned, it's perfect timing."

My jaw dropped. That was crazy fast to plan a whole wedding. "Okay. Right, so we get you married this month. We can do that, right?"

"Hold that thought." The Queen pulled out her phone and hit a few buttons, then she pressed it to her ear. "Hey, Carter, I need you to look at my calendar and tell me when we are free to have a wedding this month."

Torren gripped Nash's hands.

"Yes, this month." The Queen chuckled. "Torren's sister, Indi, has returned and we need a wedding date."

We all just stared at the Queen.

She nodded. "Perfect. Tuesday October twenty-seventh."

" Tuesday? " Nash scowled in distaste. "Why a Tuesday?"

His mother rolled her eyes. "Because spooky season is demanding, and the weekend calendar was already full. Carter says we're all free on the twenty-seventh. Will that work for you two?"

Nash whistled under his breath, then looked down to my sister. Using two fingers, he pushed her chin up and back. "I could marry you tomorrow, so it's up to you, love."

My sister swooned, and I didn't blame her.

She did a little dance, then looked over her shoulder. "Twenty-seventh works for me!"

The Queen nodded. "Write us in . . . yeah . . . of course . . . makes sense. Right, perfect. See you then."

Torren was basically squirming in place.

The Queen smiled lovingly at my sister and her own son. "You're getting married on the twenty-seventh. Carter will be here Tuesday to start planning!"

Torren jumped up and tackled Nash with a hug and a kiss. Then she jumped back and squealed with a little dance. Then she skipped around the room singing about getting married. Josiah jumped up and began skipping and dancing along with her, which caused the younger Vauntero kids to join in.

I chuckled and looked to Nash, my sister's fiancé. "You're gonna have your hands full with this one."

He grinned, his blue eyes sparkling as he watched her. Then he glanced to me and shrugged. "Have you seen my family?"

Before I could respond, Torren hopped over and grabbed Nash, dragging him into what was now a conga line around the living room. There wasn't even music playing, just Torren and Josiah singing.

Two handsome blond guys with light eyes strolled over, stopping on either side of me. I glanced back and forth and smiled. Thomas and Jonathan were brothers, born a few centuries apart, who wound up soulmates to two sisters: Drusilla and Fina Vauntero. From what I'd heard, Jonathan was around my age when his brother Thomas met Drusilla and discovered their marks, which then led to Jonathan and Fina finding their marks. Sometimes it blew my mind that they were so much older than me. They didn't look any older than my forty years, and yet I knew Thomas was somewhere near eight hundred like his wife, Drusilla. Jonathan was younger, but still around five hundred. Immortality was wild.

Thomas leaned into me. "I want to lie and say you get used to the chaos of this family after a few centuries . . . but that would be an injustice to you."

"You'll never be bored though." Jonathan chuckled from the other side of me. "We're always entertained."

They're right. This is gonna be me and Torren centuries from now, hanging with the Vauntero family.

"C'mon, Indi. You look like you need a good drink." Thomas winked down at me, then waved for me to follow him. "As the eldest spouse in the family, ya know, since Connie is still single?—"

Constantine growled so loud the hairs on my arms stood tall.

"—It's my job to provide the proper welcome party for fellow outlaws like myself." Thomas was completely unfazed by Constantine. And that in itself blew my mind. He waved for me to follow again. This time I let him lead me out of the living room and into the sunroom just through the archway. "We have a welcome drink and everything."

I frowned as I walked down the steps after him. "Except I'm not marrying into the Vauntero family."

"Please, Indiana, be so for real." Jonathan scoffed behind me, then slid around to the bar at the far end of the sunroom. "You and Torren are a package deal. We all know that. You raised her, didn't you?"

My face heated. "Yeah, pretty much."

Thomas gestured to one of the red suede sofas that lined the room. "Torren is about to be one of us, officially, which means she'll always be around us. Ergo, you'll be around us. Might as well accept your new fate as an honorary Vauntero and allow us to be your guides."

Jonathan froze with his hands on the martini shaker. "Did you just use the word ergo ? What are we, children?"

"Right, because ergo is a children's word." Thomas rolled his eyes. "And you will always be a child compared to me."

"And this child refuses to let us sound as ancient as Connie. Is that what you really want?"

Thomas sighed and sat on the sofa across from me. "I want a dirty martini. Extra olives."

"I second that." Henry Lu emerged from around the archway. He stretched his arms and back before settling onto the couch beside me. "Nice to see you again, Indiana."

Henry Lu was the only mortal that joined the family, though he hadn't been mortal in about four hundred years. To my understanding, he was also the only mage in the family. Henry was actually the reason I'd come to the Island two years ago. We'd met in China when he was visiting descendants of his family there and I was trying to find out which country in Asia mine came from. One dinner together and I'd been convinced I had to see this place. He'd promised there were all walks of life here and he'd been right. Except for the jinn part. And we were still working on that.

"Hey, Lulu." I bumped my shoulder into his. "I suppose we have you to thank for this?"

His eyebrows rose. Then he laughed in a short burst and clapped his hands. "You're right! Geraldine, you hear that? My trip home to China was beneficial to the family!"

Geraldine, his wife, walked by the archway just to roll her eyes dramatically at him before disappearing back into the chaos of the living room.

"She loves me." Henry chuckled. "So, Indiana, you get any closer to finding out where your family comes from?"

"I've narrowed it down to Indonesia or Thailand." I grimaced. "But Mom's mom was a fae in hiding from Queen Tephine and found herself in one of those two countries. Mom isn't sure. Mom's father was a local vampire who took her in but died when Mom was young."

"And your dad?"

"Mom says he was—and I quote—delicious." I rolled my eyes. "And from her slutty phase on one of her trips to Japan."

"Well, that's a nice mix." Henry shook his head. "I'm sorry. Happy to help you try and narrow that all the way down if I can."

"Thanks, Lulu." I pointed to my sister as she danced by the archway at the front of the conga line, which now had actual music playing along with it. "At least Torren's father we know is South Korean. We also know he is a jinn."

"Torren's father is also a jinn? As in, she's a child of two jinns?"

I nodded.

Thomas, Jonathan, and Henry all whistled under their breath and shook their heads.

"Yeah, that probably explains a lot." I chuckled and held my hand out as Thomas carried a martini glass to me.

"I see I've entered this chat at the right time." Pippin slid onto the sofa on the other side of me. "I also see the outlaws are gathering in the sunroom again. Has this become our room, kids?"

Thomas reached down and tugged on Pippin's pointed ear playfully. "I'm older than you, kiddo."

"And yet I can tell all your children apart."

" OH. Shots fired!" Henry cackled.

Thomas turned to his brother. "I still think we should put colored bracelets on them."

Jonathan plopped an olive in his mouth. "Fina made threats. It's a no-go."

"Oh my God."

We all jumped at the sound of a soft feminine voice. A pretty blonde girl skipped down the steps into the sunroom. Her blue eyes were wide and sparkling. She looked familiar, yet I couldn't remember meeting her.

"I finally catch an outlaw side quest." She grabbed the red sofa beside Pippin and dragged it over so she sat between us. Then she spotted me, and she gasped. "You must be Indiana!"

I leaned forward to shake her hand. "I am. Have we met?"

"Nope, but my brother told me about you." She shook my hand. "Granted, it's hard to get the scoop from him. Unlike Thomas, Jonathan, and Pippin, my brother lets his age show. You'd think he was older than Constantine."

I frowned. "Who is your brother?"

" Lexington, " they all said in perfect unison.

"Ah." I giggled. "I heard the good news. Both about his soulmate, Carter, and that you got engaged?"

She held her finger up to show her ring. "Married now. Orson has made me an official Vauntero."

"There's a real blonde kink in this family, isn't there?" I pointed to the four blondes sitting around me, then to myself and Henry. "And an Asian kink."

The brothers threw their heads back and laughed. Pippin buried his face in his hands and shook his head. Liza's jaw hung open. None of them had realized this.

Henry cleared his throat. "Well, they are all so identical, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised they want partners that don't look like their siblings."

"And yet their genes are the ones that reproduce. Not a single blond kid. Impressive." I pursed my lips and leaned to the side to watch the family in the living room. "Maybe there's hope for someone else. Is anyone else dating?"

"Lark was dating Brittany last fall, a cute brunette, but they broke up. Josiah has a new boyfriend every week. Mateo has a soulmate mark but . . ." Henry leaned in to whisper, ". . . he hasn't been able to figure out who it is. "

I snort-laughed. "That's some karma for the playboy, eh?"

They all laughed and nodded.

Liza curled her legs up under her chin. "So, Indiana, are you seeing anyone?"

"Oh boy." Pippin jumped to his feet. "That's my cue to leave. I can't be an accomplice to . . . whatever this is about to be."

Before I could ask, Liza scooted closer to me with a bright smile. " So? "

"Um, no, I'm single." I watched Pippin rush out of the sunroom.

"OH. We should change that." Liza rubbed her hands together like a comic book villain. "Who can we set you up with? Boys, any ideas? Maybe Kallahan?"

"No way, he's too pretty." Jonathan downed the rest of his martini. "She needs someone a little scruffier."

Liza nodded. "Like Hemming?"

Henry pursed his lips. "I don't think we should be setting her up with one of the Vaunteros?—"

"Why not?" Thomas scowled. "It's worked wonderfully for me and Jon. We get to spend immortality with our sibling and our soulmate. Maybe Indiana wants that with Torren?"

Henry sighed. "Vaunteros are royal and will definitely all wind up with a soulmate. Indi has touched all of them?—"

" Has she now? Heyyyy, " Jonathan giggled and wagged his eyebrows.

"See? This is why people think you're children." Henry squeezed my hand. "I'm going to drag them away from you before this gets any worse. Let's get coffee tomorrow for a proper catch-up?"

"Yes, please." I smiled up at him as he stood. "Thanks, Lulu."

He winked, then grabbed Jonathan and Thomas by the sleeves and literally dragged them back into the living room, leaving me alone with Liza, who scooted closer. So young. So eager for life and cheerful. I wondered what that must have felt like. My youth had been spent raising my little sister.

"INDI!" Torren bounced through the archway, her eyes bright and her cheeks flushed. "Why are you hiding in here?"

"We were just discussing getting Indi a date for your wedding." Liza waved for Torren to join us. "Which naturally made the boys run for cover. It played out perfectly. Now we can girl-talk properly."

My eyes widened. "You planned for that?"

She scoffed. "You didn't think Lex got all the brains, did you?"

I sighed and leaned my head back against the sofa. "I definitely did not think that."

Torren plopped down on the sofa beside me. "So, Liza, who do you have in mind?"

Liza leaned forward. "Sadly, only Kallahan and Hemming are single, but I just don't think they're right for her."

"Agreed, they're not right. But there are lots of vampires and fae on the Island. One of them will be a good match."

I closed my eyes and shook my head. My sister wanted me to stay on the Island permanently, so she wanted to find me a boyfriend. That was painfully obvious. Not that I blamed her, especially after I'd been gone for two years. I just wasn't in the market for a relationship. There were too many unknown variables in my life, too many things I was trying to figure out to let a guy get added into the mix. But I didn't want to rain on my sister's parade when I'd only just got here, so I just let her have fun with Liza while they were scheming about single guys on the Island. They were even discussing mortal guys, which meant she was super desperate.

Torren gasped. "Wait! What about one of the Bow boys? Though I wish Will was in town still, he'd be perfect for her."

My heart stopped. No, no, no. Abort mission, Indi. Get her off the Bow family before she goes and suggests you date your ex. I lifted my head and cleared my throat. "Ladies, thank you, but I can find my own date to the wedding."

Liza snapped her fingers. "OH! Use the Neverland dating app!"

Torren dove for her phone stashed in her boot. "Actually, I already started her a profile this summer?—"

"— Torren, you what? "

"You owe me this, Indi. Two years." She shoved her phone into my hand. "Start swiping or I'll set you up on a blind date with Will Bow. I'll call him to come to town and that's a lot of pressure on a date."

I groaned and looked down at the first picture of a black-haired vampire with a sharp smile.

"No, no. That guy just wants a housewife." Torren swiped no for me. Then she groaned. " That guy wants minimum five kids."

I shuddered.

Liza leaned over my left shoulder and made a gagging sound at a picture of a blond werewolf. "Dated him last year. Don't get me started. He eats food that's been in the fridge for over a month?—"

"Ew," Torren and I said together.

"Red flag. Next." Torren swiped again, then gasped. "Look! He has pink hair like you!"

Liza scowled and pointed to the writing below his picture. "He and his girlfriend are looking for a third. No judgment but not what Indi needs. Next."

"Oh, that's Jethro Bow." Torren angled the phone toward her. "No, he's so serious. Dammit, why can't Will be on here. He's a goofball and a hard worker."

"They'd look pretty together but okay. Next." She swiped, then giggled. "Another Bow! Now, I dated Brian, he's so much fun."

"He has a great sense of humor?—"

"No, he's so young." I grabbed my phone to stop them. "I dated a nineteen-year-old once. Never again."

"I dated a nineteen-year-old a few years ago. It was uncomfortable."

I looked up as a tall drink of water walked in. He had a warm, kind smile and soft green eyes. The black scruff on his jaw matched his black hair. He was very handsome and had a slight wild edge to him, but not as wild as Mateo or Kallahan.

Torren grinned up at him. "Hi, Daniel!"

"Hey, Torren." He sat on the sofa across from us and pointed to my phone. "Believe it or not, the humans actually do dating apps better. Everyone here is immediately looking for marriage. Or worse, a soulmate."

Torren scowled like he smelled bad. "How is that worse?"

Daniel sighed dramatically. "Because they refuse to chat via the app. They have to meet right away, then immediately shake hands and look to see if there's a mark on their arm. I'm just glad the whole fae kissing requirement is over, because that would've been intolerable."

I grinned. "You're fae?"

He turned his head to the side to show his pointed ear. "And thankfully I've been living in Vegas for decades, so I was never subjected to the kiss test I've heard so many horror stories about since arriving here."

I shuddered. "Was that a real thing? I thought it was a myth guys used to have an excuse to kiss me?"

"Oh, they definitely used it to their advantage, but it was real." He scratched the scruff on his jaw. "And the fae girls weren't any better, from what I hear."

"They didn't do that in Vegas?"

He shrugged. "Soulmate marks don't show off Megelle Island, so there was no point."

"Touché." I smirked. "I've traveled all over the world but never to Vegas. Is the dating there as horrible as everywhere else?"

"I wager it might be worse." He laughed. "Sin City has a connotation that does not bode well for faithfulness."

"Neither does immortality for a lot of people."

He grinned and held his hand out. "Dandre Ward, but everyone calls me Daniel. Nice to meet you."

"Indi Chase. Most here call me Indiana." I leaned forward and shook his hand. "Likewise."

We held each other's stares for a moment, then at the same time we looked down to our right arms to see if soulmate marks had appeared. They hadn't. I cursed and hung my head.

Daniel laughed. "See? I'm just as bad. And then it's like, okay there's no mark, but is there still a point in dating?"

"Ya know, it's a good point. What's the point in dating for real when I could bump into a stranger and find a soulmate?" I picked my phone back up. "Maybe dating for fun while I'm here isn't such a bad idea."