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wrapped his fingers around hers. “You’re safe now. I promise you that. No matter what, I will keep you safe.”
     

     
    Chapter Twelve
     
    Who was this guy?
    She thought about pulling her hand away from his, but didn’t. It felt good, warm, and she believed him when he said he’d keep her safe. She hadn’t believed anyone in months, so why should she believe a stranger?
    She didn’t know, but she did. “I’m sorry. I…don’t know who you are or why I am here.  Where is here, anyway?”
    “You are in Thrun’s Ruling Hall. This is my sister-in-law Havalana; she’s one of the great healers.”
    Mara remembered the name, though she had never seen the woman close up. Everyone who’d arrived on the day she had had seen what people had said was the goddess of the Dardaptoans touch a woman and claim her as her sister.
    Mara had never heard of the goddess or any of the Dardaptoan legends. Her mother had kept her and the boys at the edge of the crowd, where they could not see much at all.
    But everyone had spoken of it for days.
    Mara would not forget anything about that first week in this city, in this world. She and her mother had barely been speaking—it wasn’t much better between them now, to be honest—the boys had thought it was all a great adventure until they found the house they’d been given and realized it was small and in poor condition. The worst one in their neighborhood.
    Mara had yet to fully understand why their family had been consigned to such a bad spot. Her mother had refused to discuss that with Mara, as well.
    Perhaps she would have had a better time adjusting and accepting, this new world if her mother had just been more open with information. Mara hated being kept in the dark, hated not knowing what was happening. And her mother had done just that. Deliberately.
    And Mara didn’t see that changing soon.
    Her mother had worked in the real world as a nurse at one of best hospitals in Fort Collins, Colorado. The boys had attended a four-star private elementary school and had had lots of friends, played sports, and excelled. That wasn’t the case here.
    Her mother spent most of the day deep inside the small stone house, the boys struggled to get through a single day at school, and Mara…
    She fetched water and snuck into abandoned libraries.
    A far cry from her work as a humanities student. She’d had to abandon every plan for her future she had made, everything she had worked and studied for. And she had worked hard.
    Thrun and that man Aodhan had taken all of that away.
    “I am Mara Garnier. From Fort Collins, Colorado.”
    Would she ever see her home again?
    “I am pleased to meet you, Mara…”
    There was something in the way he said her name. It had her stomach heating in a way she definitely didn’t expect.
    “Did you give me something, medicine or something? “ Maybe that was it? Although she had learned in recent weeks that medication didn’t work on Dardaptoans. She wasn’t full Dardaptoan, was she?
    Maybe part of her problem was that she didn’t know exactly what she was supposed to be?
    “We gave you a small bit of something for the pain. And we had to get blood in you, of course.”
    She tried not to let her revulsion show. She had never enjoyed vampire lore or movies, and finding herself suddenly being one of those blood drinkers sickened her.
    Her mother had been lacing her drinks and her food with blood for years.
    A sudden rush of longing hit her. “Where’s my mother?”
    “She’s on her way.” The woman patted Mara’s hand. “She’ll be here shortly. In the meantime, tell me about your arms. We need to watch for infection from that horrible green sludge. I cleaned your wounds, and we think we got every bit of it out, but we need to be sure. You are both Dardaptoan and Lupoiux, I believe Aodhan said? That will help you in the speed of healing.”
    Mara thought for a moment. “I am not sure what I am. You’ll have to speak to my mother about that. I