Starcrossed (Starcrossed 1)

yourself everything has changed.?

?He was heading right for the school,? Helen said defensively.

?And what was he going to do?? Cassandra yelled back, suddenly

furious. ?Attack a pathetic mortal? Use your head, Helen! For some

reason the two women who attacked you haven?t told the rest of

the Hundred Cousins that you exist, probably because they want

the glory of killing you alone so they can have a Triumph. Creon

might be thinking the same way, but if he isn?t, he will tell Tantalus.

That means half of the Family is going to be here in a few

days?and you can?t even hold a sword yet!?

?Back off, Cassie!? Lucas said heatedly. ?We were raised for this,

and Helen?s had what? A whole week to adjust?? He looked at Cassandra

through the rearview mirror, and even in reflection his eyes

looked intense. Cassandra threw up her hands in surrender.

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?You?re right, Cassandra. I didn?t use my head,? Helen said, rubbing

her stomach. ?Maybe we could talk to him.?

Ariadne made a strangled sound.

?What? Why are you all so scared of him?? Helen asked.

?He?s a Shadow Master,? Ariadne said ominously from the front

seat. ?He can stop light. It?s unnatural.?

Helen though about the darkness that wrapped itself around

Creon and she knew what Ariadne meant. The sun wouldn?t shine

on him, and Helen had instinctively felt like there was something

wrong about that.

?Shadow Masters are rare,? Lucas tried to explain a bit more

calmly, but Helen could still hear the fear in his voice. ?There

haven?t been very many of them in our House?s history, but every

one of them that we know about has turned out to be, well . . . evil.?

A few tense minutes passed with Cassandra cupping her hands