It's only the second time she's been here, and on her birthday they'd never left the den where the party had been held.

Gabriel watches her drift down the hallway, moving with grace that at the same time seems awkward and out of place here, and has to swallow hard against the tightness in his chest.

He takes his time before following her, letting her make her own way to the top of the stairs, where he joins her.

"We'll go out the front," he tells her, gesturing down the stairs toward the door in question. "It's not far at all."