I had imagined kissing Athena approximately four thousand times.
None of those versions involved blood, a cemetery, or the possibility that something ancient was watching us from the trees.
But apparently, I was an optimist.
Athena was still standing in front of me.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The second was that she was looking at me like she'd just discovered something incredibly important.
The third was that I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she'd kissed me.
Actually kissed me.
My brain had apparently decided that this was the perfect time to stop functioning.
Athena blinked.
I blinked back.
Neither of us said anything.
Somewhere behind us, a branch cracked.
Neither of us moved.
"Was that—"
"Yes."
"You don't even know what I was going to say."
"I know."
She stared at me.
I stared at her.
"You're being weird."
"I'm always weird."
"Not like this."
Fair.
I looked away before my face could betray me.
Which was ridiculous.
I was a vampire.
I could hear a heartbeat from across a room.
I could smell blood before someone even realized they'd been cut.
I could outrun a car.
And apparently, one kiss from Athena Marlowe had reduced me to a malfunctioning idiot.
Fantastic.
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"So," Athena said quietly.
"So."
"That happened."
"Yes."
Another pause.
"Are you going to say anything?"
I looked back at her.
There were a thousand things I wanted to say.
I wanted to tell her I'd loved her for years.
I wanted to tell her that every time she'd smiled at me, I'd wondered what it would feel like to be close enough to forget everything else.
I wanted to tell her that when she'd leaned toward me, I'd forgotten about the Hollow.
I'd forgotten about my family.
I'd forgotten that I was supposed to be afraid.
For a few seconds, I'd forgotten that loving a human was supposed to be dangerous.
Instead, I said,
"Hi."
Athena stared at me.
Then she laughed.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't the kind of laugh she used when she was making fun of me.
It was softer.
Real.
And somehow that was worse.
"Hi?" she repeated.
"I panicked."
"You've fought vampires."
"Less intimidating."
"You fought the Hollow."
"Also less intimidating."
Her eyebrows lifted.
"You think the Hollow is less intimidating than me?"
"No."
"Good."
She smiled.
And there it was.
That stupid smile.
The one that made everything feel possible.
I stepped closer.
Athena didn't move away.
My fingers brushed against hers.
She looked down at our hands.
Then back at me.
"Axel?"
"Yeah?"
"I meant it."
My chest tightened.
"The kiss?"
She nodded.
"I meant it."
For once, I didn't have a sarcastic answer.
I just looked at her.
She squeezed my hand.
"I don't care what you are."
I swallowed.
"You should."
"I don't."
"You might."
"I won't."
"You don't know that."
"Neither do you."
She was right.
I hated that.
Mostly because she was always right at the worst possible times.
I looked toward the trees.
The feeling had returned.
That cold pressure at the back of my neck.
The sensation of being watched.
Athena noticed immediately.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Axel."
I sighed.
"I think we're being watched."
Her expression changed.
The warmth disappeared from her face.
"By the Hollow?"
"I don't know."
I listened.
Wind through branches.
Leaves shifting.
A distant car.
Athena's heartbeat.
Mine.
Nothing else.
Then—
A whisper.
Barely audible.
"Axel."
I froze.
Athena's hand tightened around mine.
"You heard that."
It wasn't a question.
I nodded.
The voice came again.
This time, it sounded like Athena.
Exactly like Athena.
"Come here."
Athena went pale.
I stepped in front of her.
"Don't listen."
"I'm not."
The voice laughed softly.
It sounded like her.
But it wasn't her.
I knew that now.
The Hollow had used her voice before.
It had learned the shape of it.
The rhythm.
The softness.
The little pause she made before saying my name when she was nervous.
But there was something wrong with it.
Something almost perfect.
And perfect was the problem.
Athena whispered, "What does it want?"
I stared into the darkness between the trees.
"I don't know."
A figure stepped between the branches.
My stomach dropped.
It looked like Athena.
Same hair.
Same face.
Same clothes.
Same expression.
For one horrible second, my brain tried to believe it.
Then it smiled.
Athena's hand slipped from mine.
"No," she whispered.
The thing tilted its head.
"Axel."
I didn't move.
The thing smiled wider.
"You chose her."
I felt my teeth sharpen.
"Stay away from her."
It laughed.
"You already chose."
Athena stepped beside me.
The thing looked at her.
Then at me.
And for the first time, I understood what the Hollow had been trying to do.
It wasn't trying to separate us anymore.
It wanted to know what we'd do when separation wasn't an option.
The thing wearing Athena's face took one slow step forward.
"Let's see," it whispered.
"How much you're willing to lose."
The trees went silent.
And I realized, with a certainty I couldn't explain—
This wasn't the beginning of the Hollow's attack.
It was the beginning of its test.