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Danny shakes Thane’s hand and shifts his eyes from me to Thane and back again. ‘Yeah, yeah, I can see the family resemblance.’

I avoid catching Thane’s eye. I’m having a hard enough time trying not to laugh. ‘You reckon?’

Sophie doesn’t say anything. Her mouth is hanging open, her eyes are wide and she’s blinking too fast. And then I get it – Thane looked at her.

‘Hi,’ Sophie says in a breathy voice followed by a spasm of giggles.

I can’t believe this! Thane’s not
that
good-looking. Is he?

After a brief conversation he returns to his car and half the school watches as he drives away. Only when he’s completely out of sight does Sophie finally close her jaw. Dreamily she sighs. ‘Where have you been hiding him?’

Her reaction shuts me down. I shake my head and start to walk off but remember something about ‘my cousin’ that should wipe the star-struck expression off her face. ‘He’s only here until he finishes a job and then he’s going home to marry his fiancée.’

Her dreamy face droops.

‘Yeah, they plan to have six kids.’ I can’t help the dig as I hurry off to homeroom, scratching my head. On my way I keep my eyes peeled for a tall redhead with mid-range skin tones and sapphire or mahogany eyes.

Suddenly I’m seeing tall redheads everywhere. How hard is it going to be to find this girl? And then I catch a glimpse of a girl about to enter a classroom up ahead who matches Thane’s criteria of being on the tall side with a sun-kissed complexion and long auburn hair. She stops as if she can tell someone is watching, and I glimpse her face. Even from here, I recognise those eyes – such a beautiful violet they draw me in like nothing I’ve experienced before. It’s the girl from the club. I still don’t know her name, but I will soon. I make a mental note of the homeroom she’s entering before I head for mine.

Then, as if a bucket of cold water just splashed over my head, it hits me. Stunned, and feeling ridiculous that I didn’t
put it together sooner, I come to a stop in the middle of the covered walkway.

Thane said I would have an intense reaction, and that’s exactly what I had that night outside the club when she knocked me into the wall.
She knocked me into the wall!
, if I need confirmation, that’s it.

The girl from the club is Thane’s kidnapped angel! I’ve
already
met her! All I need now is a name.

This is great news for Thane, but not for me. I couldn’t be more disappointed. I had every intention of finding this girl from the club today for myself. Just my luck to fall for an angel who comes from another dimension. I was so sure we were meant for each other. Now what am I going to do? And then I remember the terrible danger she’s in and I thump the nearest object – a timber post – with my fist.

Danny catches up. ‘Jordy, what are you doing?’

‘I didn’t tell you everything.’

He glances at my lightly grazed knuckles and crosses his arms over his chest. ‘Obviously.’

And then I recall Thane’s voice reminding me again this morning that for Ebrielle’s safety I need to keep her true identity secret. ‘And I still …
can’t
’. I run down a couple of steps only to run back up. ‘This is bullshit, man!’

‘What are you going on about?’

I take a deep breath and pull myself together. ‘It’s nothing. I just thought I recognised that girl, you know, from the club.’

‘Are you still thinking of
that
girl?’

I lift my right shoulder and let it drop. ‘Maybe. Yep. I am.’

‘Well, I can tell you something about her.’ He flicks a
look at Sophie, who has stopped to chat with some friends. ‘But don’t let on to Sophie I told you, OK?’

‘Sure, but why not?’

‘All she does is talk about you, constantly asking me questions about what you like to do in your spare time, who’s your favourite band, what shows you like to watch. Man, it’s never-ending.’

Sophie runs up then. I can’t help but smile. Her eyes dart to Danny and back again. Smart and intuitive, it won’t take her long to pick up what my smile is really about. ‘Why are you so cheery suddenly?’ she asks. ‘Did Danny tell you something he shouldn’t have?’

Danny elbows me. ‘Nah, he didn’t tell me anything. He was just filling me in on what I missed while living up on Mount Bungarra with my cousin.’

‘Oh I know!’ Her eyes fling open wider than usual. ‘It was horrible – that poor girl!’

I glance at Danny for an explanation.

‘I was just about to tell you.’

‘Tell me what?’

‘It’s just so sad what happened to her.’

‘Well,
one
of you had better tell me.’

The morning bell rings and everyone who’s still in the walkway moves to class, but I pull Sophie and Danny aside. ‘Tell me about this girl.’

‘Her name is Ebony Hawkins,’ Sophie finally says. ‘She’s in two of my classes, English and physics.’

‘Ebony. Ebony Hawkins,’ I whisper.

‘Yeah, and during the break her house burned down and both her parents were killed in the fire.’

‘Are you serious? Where was Ebony?’

‘She was in the barn, getting ready for a day out riding with her best friend Amber Lang. Apparently the fire fighters combed the house afterwards and couldn’t find any remains. Nothing.’

‘Really?’ This sends my thoughts into warp drive. I have to get word to Thane quickly. I’m not sure what it all means, but it can’t be good. Ebony Hawkins is definitely our missing angel Ebrielle, and it looks as if she’s in a whole heap of trouble.

While I sit in my homeroom with Amber, waiting for everyone else to arrive, Amber sees through my attempts to remain calm. ‘You know I’m only in the classroom next door until morning break.’

‘I know.’ I move my shoulders around just to check the stretch fabric is holding.

She whispers, ‘Can’t notice a thing.’

The class begins to fill and I scoot her out. ‘I’ll be fine. Stop worrying. I can handle myself. I really can.’

‘I know,’ Amber says. ‘Hon, you’re as strong as a mountain.’

For no logical reason her analogy fills me with a sense of pride and I smile. ‘Thank you. Now – shoo, before you’re late for your own class.’

My homeroom teacher, Mr Alford, says a few words on behalf of the class, but keeps his references to the fire brief. He asks if there has been any sign of my parents yet. I appreciate his sentiment and for making it clear that, as far as our class is concerned, my parents are missing.

He moves on to other items, and the morning passes similarly until the break, when a small crowd gathers at the table where I sit with my friends, who watch everyone like
seasoned bodyguards. They’re doing a great job, ensuring the crowd doesn’t grow too large or become invasive.

Back in class I keep my head down and my mind on my work. It helps, but I’m concerned that if I lean forward too far, someone sitting behind me might notice my uniform straining against the bumps on my shoulders. Fortunately Amber’s stretchy fabric remains in place. I don’t know what I would do today without it.

As the final buzzer rings through all the classrooms, Sophie Hunt walks in and hands me a folded note. It’s from Jordan Blake, the guy Adam Skinner stabbed. He wants to meet me in the car park this afternoon. I stare at the note for so long the words blur and the class empties.

Dear Ebony
,

Sorry to hear about your parents. Life sucks. Take it from someone who knows. You probably don’t remember me, but we met a couple of weeks ago. And you’re going to think this is weird, but we need to talk. There’s something you have to know. Someone you need to meet. After school today I’ll be standing next to the Lambo (a white Lamborghini – unfortunately not mine). You can’t miss it. Please make time to meet me. You won’t regret it
.

Yours
,

Jordan Blake
.

I don’t know what to make of it. Amber walks in, wondering why I’m still sitting in class. I tuck the note into my skirt pocket and quickly pack my bag. In a strangely disconnected state of mind, I walk out of class, hearing but not really listening to what Amber’s saying.

As soon as the car park swings into view, I see Jordan Blake standing exactly where his note said, next to a brilliant-white sports car. There’s a slight nod and a bit of a smile before he turns his head towards the front end of the car and talks briefly to someone sitting in the driver’s seat. Still in this vague state, I don’t tune in to what he tells his friend, I just watch as the friend jumps out and joins him. The tall guy lifts his head and searches for my eyes.

The joining is sudden and powerful and stronger than anything I’ve experienced before. I can’t look elsewhere and have to stop myself from running and jumping into this stranger’s arms. And he’s such a beautiful stranger! Tall, with blond hair and fair skin that appears to glow softly. There’s something about him that’s truly ethereal.

His lips part and he whispers a word. It wafts across the empty space between us as if carried through the air on the wings of hundreds of butterflies. ‘Ebrielle.’

It’s a name. A name I’ve never heard before.

Ebrielle. Ebrielle
. I hear the whispers all around me. It rings with familiarity, or is it the stranger’s voice I recognise? I don’t know what to think, but the moment is so sublime a swell of emotion rises up inside me and makes my eyes fill with moisture.

I suddenly realise I am, unintentionally, holding my breath, because as I continue to stare, transfixed to the potent azure gaze of this astonishing stranger, the earth suddenly sways and the space around me fills with bright white light.

She notices Thane instantly.

They stare at each other across the parking lot, neither one moving, not a muscle, except for when Thane whispers her name.

Ebony’s focus is intense, solely on Thane. I doubt she’s seeing anything but him; not her friend, or a car backing out of the space beside her. Certainly not me.

Suddenly all the colour drains from her face. I realise a fraction after Thane that Ebony Hawkins is passing out.

Unbelievably, Thane catches her. He moves so fast I don’t see him between the moment he leaves my side and the moment he’s cradling her in his arms, one big hand preventing her head from hitting the concrete.

Amber spins around, confused and panicking. She goes from surprised to hysterical in a nanosecond. ‘Ebony? Oh no, what’s wrong? Ebony! Can you hear me?’ She looks up at Thane as if the dude who saved her friend from a smashed head or, at the least, a very bad concussion, must also know why she fainted. ‘Did you see what happened?’ She sees me coming and narrows her eyes. ‘Why is it whenever you’re around something weird happens to Ebony?’

I don’t have time to figure out her bad attitude towards me, so I just shake my head as I barge past.

Thane lifts her so gently and with such care it’s as though he’s afraid that after all this time she might disintegrate in his arms. He heads straight for the Lambo.

A woman rushes out of a blue Mazda and steps in front of Thane, pointing back at her car. ‘You can put her in the hatchback, thank you.’

Without breaking his stride, Thane drags his eyes grudgingly from Ebony’s face to the woman. ‘She will be more comfortable in the Lamborghini.’

‘It was kind of you to help, but this girl is my responsibility.’

The look Thane sears the woman with makes her take a step back. But he calms quickly. ‘Please excuse me, but I mean no harm. I would just like to talk to Ebrielle and I believe she would be more comfortable in my car.’

‘That might be, but I don’t know you.’ She turns to her daughter with raised eyebrows. Amber shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders. ‘Apparently, neither does my daughter, and if my daughter doesn’t know you, young man, I guarantee that neither does the girl in your arms, whose name, by the way, is not Ebrielle.’

Sensing a fight, some lingering kids start to gather round. Amber tugs on her mother’s arm. ‘Mum, he saved her from cracking her skull open. We can talk details later. We don’t want Ebony waking to a scene. She would hate that.’

She cares about her friend enough to defy her mother. I like that.

Thane nods gratefully and keeps moving. I lift the
passenger door. As he lowers Ebony into the front seat, he reclines it by a third, gently moves her hair off her face and, without taking his eyes off her, explains himself to mother and daughter. ‘My name is Nathaneal. I’m a close friend of Ebony’s family.’ He looks up at the mum first, and then at Amber. ‘I know her parents. I have information she will want to hear.’

I quickly explain, ‘He’s my cousin and he means her biological parents.’

Amber says, ‘
Really?
She’ll want to meet you for sure.’ Anticipating her mother’s reaction, she pins her with a pleading stare. ‘You don’t understand, Mum, but she needs this. Trust me.’

My estimation of this girl goes up another notch.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Amber, and normally that would be all right, but my responsibility right now is to protect the daughter of my dear friends who can’t be here to do so themselves. What reason is there to trust this stranger?’

‘I don’t have one other than my instinct, Mum.’

‘When Ebony saw this young man, she fainted. How do you explain that?’

Looking straight up at Thane, Ebony’s eyes flutter open and the two of them lock gazes. It’s like no one else exists.

Damn, I wish she’d looked at me like that when we first met.

Mrs Lang finally gets her attention. Ebony nods at her. ‘I’m all right, Dawn. Can I have a few minutes to speak with …’

‘Nathaneal.’

‘Well, if you’re sure, Ebony. I’ll wait in the car. Come over when you’re ready.’

When Mrs Lang leaves, Ebony’s eyes move to Thane’s face again. He’s still hunkered down beside her. ‘Do you really know my biological parents?’

‘Yes,’ he answers. ‘I know them both.’

She glances up at me with her eyebrows raised, as if I would know whether this dude is for real. ‘Is this true? I was told my birth mother died in childbirth.’

What am I supposed to say to that? Every instinct I have tells me Thane is the genuine article. He’s shown me his wings. I saw them with my own eyes.
He
is living proof.