“Baldur was wrong about the enthrallment,” Ezekiel said, eyes trained on the road ahead. Looming buildings and harsh streetlamps drifted past the car, sending intermittent shadows across the windows. Ezekiel had recounted his relationship with Baldur from the day of his Anointment up to the year of their marriage, when the enthrallment allegedly ended. “He said it was gone, but …” Ezekiel grimaced, a knot forming in his throat. “I don’t believe he lied necessarily, but he was mistaken. He had to be. I was … am still enthralled to him. I’m certain.”

Angela regarded Ezekiel with concern. “But you just said your feelings for him changed—that your love transformed into something more natural.”

“My love for him seemed more natural, but it wasn’t. Perhaps the enthrallment lessened somewhat over time, but I don’t believe it truly faded away.”

“Why is that?”

“Because even now, I still love him.” Ezekiel gave a humorless laugh. “I should not still love him. It’s not possible to love someone after they …” He avoided eye contact, not ready to share that moment of his life.

“You don’t have to tell me anything else if you don’t want to.”

Ezekiel kept his eyes averted from Angela, but he still reached over and gave her hand an appreciative squeeze. “I’ll only say that he did something unforgiveable, and for me to still love him after that, I would have to still be under his enchantment.”

Silence fell between them, and after a moment, Ezekiel peered at Angela out of the corner of his eye. She sat with her head bowed, a pensive look on her face. Ezekiel sighed and feigned a carefree smile. “Don’t pay me any mind. I’m just being an insufferable sad sack.” He opened his glove compartment. “I have some CDs we can listen to. Do you enjoy jazz?”

“Um, sure.”

Ezekiel put on Duke Ellington and tapped his steering wheel in time with the beat of It Don’t Mean A Thing, hoping to brighten the mood in the car.

“Were there others?” Angela asked.

Ezekiel blinked. “Others?”

“People you were involved with … after Baldur?”

“Oh, yes. After Baldur and I parted ways—a story for another evening, if that’s all right—I fell in love with a woman named Eilwen. Then, several decades after her, I took a young gentleman named James as my paramour.” Ezekiel grew solemn. “Neither relationship ended happily, I’m sad to say.”

“I’m sorry. I’m interested to know more about your past, but I keep making you drudge up painful memories. We can change the subject.”

Ezekiel stroked his beard. “Well, we could shift the conversation from my love life to yours. I mean, it’s only fair.”

Angela heaved a sigh. “Sorry to disappoint you. Aside from a few unreciprocated crushes, I have no love life to speak of.”

“What about Mr. Custódio?”

A bark of laughter escaped Angela. “No, Honorato and I are just friends. In fact, he was my only friend.”

“Your only friend?” Ezekiel felt a pang of sympathy.

Angela shrugged. “I wasn’t popular growing up. It was hard for me to interact with other children. I kept channeling their emotions, and as you know, kids don’t have the best impulse control.”

“You mean you acted out on the feelings you channeled from your classmates?”

“Yes. If one kid was really sad, I would spontaneously cry my eyes out. If another kid was upset or angry, I would start breaking toys and throw a tantrum. I didn’t understand what was happening until Uncle Corin explained empathic magic to me. We couldn’t tell my school what was going on, so all of my teachers and classmates just thought I was unstable.”

“I’m sorry you went through that.”

Angela shrugged again. “I had Honorato. We were social outcasts together. He struggled in class with dyslexia, and the other kids bullied him because he was overweight.”

“But didn’t his emotions affect you like the other children?”

“No, he’s never been a very emotive person. Since we were kids, he’s always given off this dry, sardonic air, as you’ve witnessed tonight. It puts off some people, but whenever I’m around him, it’s a relief. Aside from Uncle Corin and Gram, Honorato was the only other person I could be around with no risk of being emotionally overwhelmed. He was my anchor throughout elementary school.”

Ezekiel warmed a little to Angela’s rude friend. “Pesky disposition aside, he seems like a good man.”

“He is, and we care about each other, but we don’t love each other that way.” Angela stretched her shoulders. “Honestly, I don’t see myself dating any time soon.”

“Why is that?”

Angela sighed. “There are just too many unpredictable feelings involved with dating—attraction, heartbreak, jealousy—all those intense emotions, often escalating into something volatile that would adversely affect my powers. If I fell in love with the wrong guy—someone with an erratic mood who heightened my own emotional state—I would become a walking incendiary device with a hair trigger.”

Ezekiel frowned. “That’s quite the conundrum.”

“It’s different with you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean when I channel your romantic and sexual desires.”

Ezekiel almost jerked the steering wheel. “Channel my what now?”

Angela blushed. “I mean, regarding Hugo.”

Ezekiel’s nerves settled. “Oh, yes, of course.” For a moment, he had worried Angela had gleaned something of his regard for her. The fact was he had developed a slight infatuation for Angela—just a harmless case of calf love, nothing more. Still, it would complicate matters if Angela found out.

“I’m sorry. I don’t really mean to channel those things, but I just can’t turn my empathy off. I can erect a mental barrier sometimes to block out other people’s emotions, but it’s really difficult to maintain that barrier indefinitely.”

“No, no, I understand.” Ezekiel rubbed his brow. “When you say channeling my desires is different, what do you mean exactly?”

“I only sensed how you felt for Hugo for a brief moment. The rest of the time, it was muted. If I were to compare your desire with sound, it was like trying to listen to someone through a thick door. I don’t know why your desire is so muffled. All your other feelings are clear as day.”

“I believe my desires appear muted to you because I’m suppressing them.” Ezekiel gave Angela a rueful look. “For vampires, romantic and sexual desires entwine with our desire for blood and death. So I have to quell my infatuation and lust to protect the humans I develop feelings for.”

Angela gave Ezekiel a sad look. “Uncle Corin told me the same thing once, but I had no idea you had to push those feelings down so deep I can hardly channel them. I can’t imagine how difficult that must be for you, having to repress how you feel for someone.”

“It was difficult in the beginning, learning to suppress my attractions, but it’s become second nature after over three and a half centuries.” Ezekiel offered a lighthearted smile. “It’s not something I have to do for the entire relationship. The longer I’m with a partner, the easier it becomes to compartmentalize my amorous desires from my predatory instincts.”