Starcrossed (Starcrossed 1)

go out there. Hector said that Creon was headed our way.?

?That?s not necessary, Lucas. As long as you keep your distance

from us, we?re well hidden,? Daphne said confidently as she

stepped out onto the sidewalk, rolling her fancy leather suitcase

behind her.

As Helen watched her mother walk out the door, she happened to

glance across the street. Creon was standing on the other side,

staring up at the hotel windows with his reflection-defying vision.

His eyes dropped down when he saw Daphne. Then he looked at

her suitcase, squinting his eyes in concentration.

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As soon as she saw Creon, Helen?s senses rewound to her last encounter

with him. She could still feel his humid breath on her neck

as he whispered preciosa in her ear right before he stabbed her.

Most of all, she remembered the suffocating darkness that had left

her feeling like she was lost in space and utterly helpless. The

terror-echo she felt made her forget for a moment that both she

and her mother were protected by their borrowed shapes.

?Mom! Stop!? she screamed instinctively, reaching out to pull

Daphne back into the hotel.

Creon made eye contact with Helen as she shouted. Then he saw

his cousin Lucas stride up and grab the strange girl frantically.

Creon looked from the cute brunette to Lucas, noticing how they

held each other so protectively. Then he looked back at the tacky

woman with the expensive luggage and smiled. He ran across the

street, his head lowered and his shoulders rounded like a bull.

?Daphne! He knows!? Lucas shouted, throwing Helen behind

him and moving impossibly fast to intercept Creon.

The cousins collided in the middle of the street, both of them using

their momentum to put power into their first punches. But Lucas