Eleni cinched the belt tighter on her blue terry-cloth bathrobe. “Tell me what’s troubling you, child.”

“I’m fine. Just jet lag and—” Olivia stopped when she felt a flash of anger emanating from her grandmother. “Sorry. I’m used to telling people I’m fine when I’m…not.”

Eleni sighed. “I understand, but you should know better than to lie to me.”

Olivia nodded, relieved that her grandmother’s anger had quickly dissolved. She knew all about her grandmother’s strange gift, for she was the only grandchild to inherit it. They could both tell when a person was lying. And they could sense people’s emotions.

“I’ve known you all your life, but I’ve never seen you this…frazzled,” Eleni continued. “You were happy and relieved when you arrived, then you were annoyed with me during the party.”

Olivia winced. “Sorry.”

Eleni waved a hand in dismissal. “No matter. That’s what family’s for. But there is something else troubling you. Something…dark. And hidden.”

Olivia groaned inwardly. It was hidden. She’d been repressing it for months. “There is a problem, but I–I don’t want to talk about it.” She took the blanket off the wall and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“It frightens you,” Eleni whispered.

Olivia’s eyes welled with tears. He frightened her.

Her grandmother looped an arm around her and pulled her close. “Don’t be afraid, child. You’re safe now.”

She hugged her grandmother and squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears to go away. Yia Yia had always been the one she relied upon, the one she told her secrets to. When she was young and struggling to adjust to her empathic abilities, it was only her grandmother who understood.

Eleni patted her on the back. “Who is frightening you? Is it a man?”