Sky.

I stood at the side of the stage with Tina on the opposite side, waiting for our cues to join in as Amy and Violet showed they really were professional dancers.

'Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister
Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister.' They moved to the side, their bodies rippling slowly and sexily, completely piling the pressure on us.

'He met marmalade down in old Moulin Rouge.' They strutted to the left of the stage and swayed their hips. 'Struttin' her stuff on the street.' They strutted back to the middle as Tina and I strutted on, the two of us filling the space in the middle of the stage.

'She said "hello,
Hey joe, you wanna give it a go?" mmm, mmm.' We rippled our bodies, swaying like waves as we turned around in a circle with perfect timing.

'Itchi gitchi ya ya da da.' We sexily moved to the floor so we were squatted, did an almost-provocative move and then stood up. 'Itchi gitchi ya ya here.' Hands on waist and sway hips to the right and freeze. 'Mocha-choca-lata ya ya.' Back down to the floor and repeat same move. 'Creole lady marmalade.' Amy and I stood facing right, Tina and Violet facing left, hands up and poised, leg bent and wiggle our hips as Zoe struts on right in the middle of us and poses, both hands in their air.

'It's great!' She squealed, clapping her hands together. 'We look hot!'

'Are your parents going to be okay with this? It's a bit… saucy.' I commented and she rolled her eyes.

'My parents just want their little girl to be happy.' She smiled before looking at Tina. 'Tina, you're actually doing okay.'

'Erm… thanks?' She raised her eyebrow.

'So now the track carries on for the last few lines and that's when it then changes over to Rhythm of the Night. We're making good progress!' Zoe clapped her hands together excitedly.

'Thank god!' I groaned. 'Because my thighs are killing me.' From the large number of squats we'd been doing.

'Our thighs will look great in our outfits, at least.' Tina said as she rubbed her legs.

'Speaking of which, I thought we'd try on some tomorrow morning.' Zoe said. 'If everyone's available?'

'Sure.' Violet shrugged. 'Where are we going?'

'There's a shop an hour's drive that does burlesque things and dancewear. A car is coming to get us at ten.'

'Okay, why not?' Amy smiled and I nodded, going to sit down but Zoe grabbed my arm and stopped me.

'Let's get this dance finished.' Zoe said and I nodded, sighing as Amy and Violet taught us the final part of the song.

I was sweaty and pretty disgusting when we finally finished rehearsals and we eagerly grabbed our gym bags and water bottles before heading out of the stuffy dance studio. I came to a halt when I nearly crashed into Trace Benedict.

'Hey Sky.' He smiled cheerily. He was walking with our Assistant Headteacher and they both looked like they'd been working out as they both wore gym clothes with a weird kind of triangular-logo on them and looked sweaty like we were.

'Uhm hi Trace and Mr Calloway.' I replied.

'Hello girls.' Mr Calloway said formally as I analysed Trace, wondering just what he was doing at our school when he wasn't a student and why on earth he'd been using the gym with our assistant headteacher. I couldn't read the oldest Benedict, however, and it made me puzzled.

'Hello Mr Calloway.' My friends chorused, looking equally confused.

'Have a nice weekend.' Mr Calloway said, cheerfully, turning to walk away but pausing when he realised Trace wasn't coming with him.

'Can I walk you back to your dorm, Sky?' Trace asked, leaving me more confused.

'We were just-' I started but Zoe interrupted.

'We'll see you back at the dorm.' Zoe smiled. 'We won't go to dinner without you.'

'Right, okay.' I nodded and they left us to it.

'See you later, Trace.' Calloway said. 'And you, Sky.' And he left us to it as well.

'May I?' Trace asked, signalling to my gym bag. I raised an eyebrow and he laughed. 'I'm trying to be a gentleman, not trying to steal you from my brother. My mother raised us all to be gentlemen.' I let him take the gym bag from me and I took that opportunity to tighten my ponytail, keeping it out of my sticky face. I knew I must have looked pretty gross right now, but Trace being sweaty made things less awkward. 'So have you been dancing?' He asked as we walked up the corridor. Smalltalk. Great.

'Uhm, yeah.' I replied.

'Zed didn't say you were a dancer.'

'I'm not really.' I replied, honestly. 'But Zoe is having this big party and she wants a dance number.'

'Sounds like she's taking after my brother.' He smiled and I nodded.

'A bit like that, yeah.' I shrugged. 'I don't mind though, I did use to dance… a long time ago.'

'Why did you stop?' He asked. 'You looked like a pretty good dancer on New Year's Eve.'

'Thanks.' I blushed, accepting the compliment so as not to be rude. 'We kinda didn't really have the money anymore so I told my parents I didn't enjoy it as much anymore.'

He looked surprised at that. 'You sacrificed your hobby to help out your parents?'

I nodded. 'Sometimes we make sacrifices for those we love.'

He was quiet for a moment and looked thoughtful, making me wonder what exactly was going through his mind, but he didn't say. Instead he just nodded. 'Yes, sometimes we do.'

We were quiet for a moment as we walked out of the building into the cold air and I was relieved to feel the coolness on my hot skin. 'So why are you on campus? You're a bit old to be a student.'

'Just a little.' His smile was mischievous and made me think of Zed's. 'I thought I'd drop by.'

'And use our gym facilities? Don't you police officers have your own gym?'

'You're awfully inquisitive, aren't you?' He smirked. 'I came back to see Jared… uhm… Mr Calloway. We used to come here together and cause all kinds of trouble.'

'Mr Calloway got in trouble?' I widened my eyes.

'Ironic, isn't it? That he is now in charge of all of you, yet the two of us were always in trouble.' He laughed.

'And you're a police officer.'

'Erm… yes. Ironic.' He just repeated but his smirk was gone. We reached the boarding house and I spotted the most attractive motorbike I'd ever seen. A proper sleek, black Harley Davidson.

'Is that yours?' I asked and his smile was back, this time a proud one.

'A beauty, isn't she?' He said, walking over to the bike and running his fingers over the waxed paintwork. 'Zed is totally jealous.'

I thought of Zed's moped and smirked. 'I'll bet, his moped is pathetic in comparison.'

'He knows it but don't say it.' Trace laughed. 'He can't wait to have a real bike.'

I spotted a few girls from my dorm lingering around outside, watching me, and I knew they were wondering what I was doing with the oldest Benedict brother. It made me a little uncomfortable. 'I'd better go and get ready for dinner.' I said and he nodded, his eyes flicking to meet the eyes of the girls watching us. They looked away and he frowned. 'Thanks for walking me back.' I said as he passed my bag back.

'You're welcome.' He nodded, his face serious and I turned away. 'Sky?' He called out and I looked over my shoulder.

'Yes?'

'Stay safe.' And then his motorbike roared to life and he sped up the driveway, leaving campus.

Zed.

'You think those walls are gonna stop someone from getting into your head, Benedict?' Jared laughed, a hollow sound, and I narrowed my eyes at him. He was an ass, but he wasn't here to be nice and I knew that. He was here to protect his school and his fellow savants, but being a jerk didn't make things any easier. I threw up some stronger walls and I winced as Jared made them crumble and I fell to my knees, clutching my head.

'Try harder!' Drake hissed at me from where he stood beside me.

'Your head hurting, Zed?' Jared taunted. 'Then too bad. You screw up and your soulfinder is dead.'

I let out a low growl, fury trembling through me and I lunched at Jared but Trace jumped in quickly and held me back.

Jared smirked at me. 'At least your reactions are still fast.'

Sky.

I think Albert knows. I think he knows when he watches Isaac and I together that I have to leave, but he doesn't understand. Carlos is my soulfinder and that changes everything. It's going to be a difficult decision to make; do I leave Sky here, where she's potentially in danger or do I take her with me and let her grow up without her father? Albert has no idea how powerful is son is and that itself is dangerous. He has no idea what his son is capable of.

I slammed the journal closed at the sound of a knock on the door. My father was powerful? Dangerous? And what was he capable of?

'Ready to go?' Zoe called out from the other side of the door and I realised we were running late. I'd stayed up reading my mother's journal until late and so far this was the most interesting entry. I had so many questions and so many things still left unwritten. She was in love with her soulfinder, that much I knew. She'd met him out of the blue when on a weekend away with her best girlfriends. She'd told him they couldn't be together but they'd been writing together in secret and he'd eventually gone back to Spain. And through all of this, she was sure my grandfather knew her secret.

I grabbed my winter coat and my bag and fought back a yawn. 'Yeah, I'm ready.'

The town Zoe's driver took us to, an hour away, reminded me of Brighton with its quirky shops and boutiques. The shop she took it in had all of our eyebrows raised when we saw all of the corsets and skimpy burlesque outfits. My stomach twisted with nerves. We were sixteen; was this not a bit too much?

'Don't worry, I'm not making you wear just underwear.' Zoe said, as if reading her minds.

'It sure looks that way.' Tina commented.

'Can I help you girls?' The young shop assistant asked us. She had a ton of make-up on and she, herself, wore a black corset with her black skinny jeans and heels.

'I'm Zoe.' Zoe said with a friendly smile, but it wasn't returned. 'I called ahead with some requests to put aside.' Tina raised her eyebrows at me this time.

'Sure thing, hun.' The shop assistant said in her West Country accent. She led us out the back where some outfits were already hung up, waiting for us. After trying on my first corset and feeling what it was like when women used to have to wear them, we left an hour later with two outfits; one for the opening number, as chosen by Zoe, and one chosen by ourselves for the rest of the party. I just wasn't sure how Simon or Sally would feel if they ever saw the photographs.

Zed.

I whacked the punch bag harder than before and Drake let out a low whistle, a familiar trait if I thought I was over-doing something. But I ignored him and carried on hitting until he grabbed the punch bag from me.

'Haven't you got a date this evening?' He asked.

'Yeah.' I replied, grabbing a towel and wiping the sweat from my forehead.

'So why the hell are you still here?'

'What time is it?'

'Six, bro, you're gonna be late.'

'Crap.' I hissed.

'Why are you over-doing it?' Drake asked, grabbing his own towel. 'You're going to wear yourself down.'

'I need to up my game, you heard what Jared said this morning.'

'He's trying to get a reaction.' Drake replied. 'You really think there's going to be an attack sometime soon?'

'I don't know, but now I now Sky might be at the centre of all this… her father was murdered, Drake.'

'Are you going to tell her?'

'I don't know.' I ran a hand through my sweaty hair. 'I know too much and to find out her father was murdered… she needs to know but then she'll have to know about all of this.'

'Is that such a bad thing?' He flexed his arm, revealing his tattoo the same as mine; our mark.

'If I tell Sky then she'll be dragged into it.' My stomach churned. 'And that puts her at an even greater risk.' I sighed and grabbed my gym bag, heading for the door.

'She's going to be okay.' Drake said as I left the room. 'I have a feeling Sky can look after herself.'

Sky.

He was late. I'd showered and changed, putting on a nice dress and some heeled boots and my warm coat, but he still wasn't ready and I was starting to think he was standing me up.

'Are you sure you don't want to come to dinner, Sky?' Tina asked and I knew she was thinking the same; Zed wasn't coming.

'I'll give him a bit longer.' I replied. I'm sure there was a good reason he was half an hour late. There had to be, didn't there?

'Well we'll see you later?' Zoe gave me a sympathetic smile and they reluctantly left the girl's common room, leaving me alone. I reached into my bag and pulled out the journal I had been reading, continuing where I'd left off.

Isaac is furious with me. He found one of my letters from Carlos and now he knows the truth. He knows I've met my soulfinder and that, worse, I'm in love with him. I screamed at him, told him he loved him too because I do. It's possible to be in love with more than one person at once. Isaac was my first love, my childhood sweetheart, but now Carlos… Carlos is passionate and strong and unpredictable… and he's my soulfinder… destined to be with me, made my match, my soulmate from conception. He has the other half of my gifts but I'm yet to discover what these are. I can still change the moods of those around me, but I feel maybe I'm getting stronger, better at it. I'm afraid Isaac's gift will hurt Sky. She's just so young and helpless with her bright blue eyes like her father's and my hair… the perfect vision of the two of us, but what if she shares his power? I fear that one day she'll prove to be as dangerous as her father is.

'I'm so sorry I'm late.' Zed was out of breath and stood in the doorway in a shirt and skinny jeans and coat. 'Please forgive me.'

'It's okay.' I gave him a small smile and tucked away the journal into my bag for safe-keeping. 'So where are we going?'

'You hungry?' He asked and I nodded. 'Come on, let's get out of here.'

I rode on the back of Zed's moped as he left Tavistock and headed North and I couldn't help but wonder what it felt like being on the back of a real motorbike like his oldest brother's Harley as we drove along the empty roads. I didn't know where we were going but that was the thrill of it I decided as I wrapped my arms tighter around Zed's waist. His body relaxed at my touch tightening and I wondered why he was so tense and where had he been? After a fifteen minute ride, Zed pulled up at a little Inn next to a river in Dartmoor National Park. I climbed off the back of my bike and put my helmet on the bike next to Zed's. He was awfully quiet, but he took my hand and led me inside anyway. My stomach twisted; maybe he didn't want to be on this date? Maybe he was going to break up with me?

The waiter greeted us with a friendly smile and sat us right next to the log fire so I shrugged off my coat and Zed ordered us both drinks.

'Zed?' I said as he scanned the menu, creases on his forehead from frowning.

'Yes?'

My stomach twisted again and I frowned. 'Do you want to go back to school? You're not particularly acting like you want to be here.'

'I'm sorry.' His facial expression softened and he looked up at me. 'I'm being a dick.'

'What's wrong?' I asked. 'Did you not want to be on this date? Because you were thirty minutes late.'

He flinched. 'That's completely my fault, I lost track of time.'

'What were you doing?' I asked as images of him with girls danced through my mind.

'Drake and I were in the gym.'

'Again?' I frowned. 'Is that why you were so tense? Have you overdone it?'

'Probably.' He said, glumly. 'Can we start again and forget that I've been an idiot? Because I do want to be here, with you.' He held out his hand across the table and I look it after some hesitation. 'You look beautiful by the way.'

'Flattery won't win me over.'

'Of course not.' He gave me the mischievous smile I was used to seeing. 'So how did I win you over? Was it the Tiffany's bracelet?' His eyes drifted to my wrist where, of course, the bracelet he'd bought me for Christmas was sat.

'You can't buy me.'

'True, otherwise I'd have won you over a lot earlier.' He replied with a chuckle as the waiter returned with our drinks. He placed them down on the table and took our food order before heading off again.

'So why all the working out?' I asked as he ran his thumb over the back of my hand. 'New Year's Resolution.'

He gave me a lopsided smile. 'Something like that.'

'Mysterious.' I raised my eyebrows and realised I wasn't getting anywhere at all. 'So I picked up my outfits for Zoe's party today.'

His eyes lit up and he gave me a slow and sexy smile. 'Any chance of getting a preview?'

I twirled a curl around my finger and smiled. 'I don't think so.'

'You're telling me I have to wait three weeks to see you in it?'

'Yep.' I smiled and he looked at me with intense eyes.

'But I'm your boyfriend.'

'And that gives you extra rights?' I grinned. 'Just wait til you see the dance I've been learning too.' He swallowed and I watched as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down in his throat.

'Is it wrong that I just want to pull you onto my lap and kiss you to death right now?' Zed said, his voice low, showing me that I was having the desired effect.

'It's a shame you brought us to a restaurant on our date.'

'If it was warmer we'd have been on a moonlight picnic.' He replied, his gaze drifting to my lips. 'Then I could have kissed you all I wanted.'

Our food came and the tension had moved away from Zed being late to a new kind of tension as we stole glances at each other as we ate and then as Zed spoon-fed me bits of his dessert. But I had to say something about something that had been bothering me from the previous night.

'Why was Trace on campus yesterday?'

Zed looked caught off-guard for a moment before he regained his composure. 'He was visiting me and Yves.'

'So why was he with Mr Calloway coming from the gym?'

'They both went to school together.'

'So he said.' I replied and Zed grabbed his jacket.

'Shall we go?' He asked and I hadn't missed the swift change in the topic. It made my stomach churn and my heart sink. Something was going on.

'Yes,' I nodded, feeling annoyed. 'Let's.'

We walked out to Zed's bike and he sped us back to campus, and this time I didn't hold me as tight as I had. When we got back and I was ready to say goodbye, Zed looked awkward and shifty and he wouldn't let me into his head. There was no denying that he was hiding something. He couldn't even look me in the eye. All I wanted to do was run, hide and cry. How could I have been so stupid to think that Zed Benedict actually cared about me? In silence, I kissed him on the lips, a kiss of goodbye as well as goodnight, and then I walked into the boarding house. The girls were sat in the common room, watching a movie and their eyes flicked to look at me.

'Sky?' Tina called out. 'What's happened?'

I didn't reply as a tear rolled down my cheek. I stalked up the stairs and along the corridor that led to my room, but I wasn't expecting to see what I did. My bedroom door was open and someone had been in my room searching for something. I staggered backwards, feeling sick as I assessed the damage; a broken mirror, clothes spread out across the floor.

'Oh my god!' Tina hissed from behind me, grabbing me before I could fall. I hurried into my room, panicking as I searched for my mother's journals. But, other than the one still remaining in my bag, they were gone.