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myself if he deserves my daughter.”
    “Test? What kind of test?” I finally managed to get away from her. “Please don’t hurt him. Haven’t you done enough? The man can’t remember—”
    “I’ll decide when Jeremiah Campbell has had enough. And, if you want me to spare him, you will call me Mother.” She loomed over me, her power making my hair crackle and lift as if a strong wind had caught it. “Do you understand?”
    “I understand that you want him to fail, Mother .” I glared at her, dredging up courage despite my roiling stomach. “He is far worthier of me than I am of him.”
    “We will see, Daughter, we will see.” She toyed with my hair, freezing me in place when I would have jerked awayfrom her. “So very headstrong. No wonder Circe recognized you. You are the very image of me in my younger years.” She laughed softly, no merry trill this time. “I will be watching. If you change your mind, call for your mother and I will come. And if that man disappoints you, I will be glad to make him suffer, never doubt it.”
    “Make him suffer? Haven’t you already started?” I watched her fade from sight. “Damn you! Stay away. If you won’t help him, just stay the hell away from both of us.”
    I turned and ran down the path toward the castle again. But before I got too close I stopped to compose myself. I could never let the Campbells know that it had been my fault Jerry had lost his memory. Oh, God, what would she do to him next?

Three

    I sank down on a wooden bench not far from the castle, desperate to process what had just happened. I had a mother and not just any mother, a freaking goddess from Olympus. Lucky me. I pulled my sparkly pink phone from my pocket. Thank God. A signal. I hit speed dial.
    “ Amica , I’m glad you called. Did you make it to the castle? Was Jeremiah happy to see you? Oh, and I am in the most fun shop here in Paris. I’m buying you a little gift. Wait till you see.”
    The sound of Flo’s voice, so full of life and normalcy, took me right over the edge. I couldn’t speak, just sobbed, right into the phone.
    “ Mio Dio! What’s wrong? Glory, speak to me!” I heard rustling in the background. “Ricardo, take these bags to the car. I’m going into the dressing room.”
    I took a breath of the cold air, glad that all trace of my mother’s scent was gone, and managed to choke out a few words. “Flo. Sorry. Rough night.”
    “Obviously. So I’m glad you called me.” I heard a door slam. “Now I’m in a dressing room. No one will bother us.I have spent a fortune here. So talk to me. I must know everything. What happened to you? Why are you crying?”
    “I got here. Jerry was happy to see me. Until he had an accident.” My voice wobbled. Accident my left foot. The bitch who claimed to be my mother had done this. Was I going to take her word for that? The mother thing. Right now I couldn’t think past wanting to send her screaming back to Olympus with her butt on fire. Instead I’d wimped out. At least I hadn’t jumped to her command. And I’d sure never join her in Olympus.
    “Is he all right? He isn’t, um, dead, is he?” Flo’s voice shook too. She did love me and what hurt me, hurt her. I couldn’t have a better friend.
    “No, but it’s almost as bad. He’s lost his memory! He doesn’t know me.” I gripped the phone until those pretty crystals made my hand bleed. I’d learned since I’d admired the cover at the phone boutique that sparkly didn’t mean practical.
    “How is that possible? Assurdo. Vampires remember everything. It’s a curse. Why, Ricardo remembers every stupid little thing I say to him. And I…Well, you don’t want to know how many centuries worth of nonsense I have crammed into my head.” Flo opened the door. “I must ask Ricardo about this.”
    “Yes, ask him. I need answers. How to help Jerry. He was stabbed with a poisoned knife. It made him lose the last four hundred years.” I looked around, making sure no one