I rubbed the whistle around my neck with my thumb, ready to blow it at any second.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Surely you can smell me."

"Oh, I can smell you; it's the sweetest, most delicious scent I've ever smelled in my life, but I won't hurt you." He brushed an index finger along my arm. "Don't be scared. You can trust me."

I hope so. I wanted to head back to the house now. I wasn't even a full vampire and I had craved Eli's and Tay's blood. I couldn't imagine what my blood was doing to Hunter. Every time he swallowed hard or bit his lip it put me on edge. Who knew when he was going to snap?

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"The night I saw you, after an animal jumped out in front of the car ... Your skin was normal. I know that means you killed a G.o.ddess or G.o.d."

"I did."

I flinched at his words.

"But they were elderly, one was in a coma."

"That doesn't make it okay..."

"I know." A sadness filled Hunter's eyes. "Lucian made me do it, he said it was the only shot I had at making you comfortable enough to talk to me."

It was obviously less scary talking to a pale Hunter with black eyes than it would be talking to his real self ... with the translucent skin and pulsating veins. Hank's face flashed through my mind and my spine rattled in fear. At least he was gone now.

"Can we head back?"

"Sure."

We strolled back through the garden and into the house. Immediately, I locked eyes with Eli, who was leaning against a wall with a drink in hand as Liam stood in front of him, chatting and laughing away. Eli walked away from Liam, his intense eyes burning into mine. He definitely wasn't happy with me.

"Ruby, can I speak to you for a minute, please?"

Hunter winked at me and disappeared into thin air.

"Are you crazy?" His voice was low and stern.

"What are you talking about? You told me to be more of a friend to him."

"Yes, I did, but I didn't expect you to run off into the darkness with him."

"I didn't run off. I needed to get some air."

"What you did was stup -" His words caught in his throat as his eyes fell onto my neck.

"Did he do that to you?"

"Do what?" I asked, rubbing my neck.

I couldn't feel any kind of bite. I winced in pain; it felt like I had a bruise.

"What happened to your neck?"

"It's no big deal."

"Did Hunter do that to you?"

I shook my head.

"Tell me who did it, Ruby. Who are you trying to protect?"

"I'm trying to protect you. Lucian did this ..."

Eli turned abruptly and I grabbed at his arm desperately until he turned to face me. "Let it go, we'll deal with it later."

Eli ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation.

"Why are you so on edge?" I asked.

"C'mon." Eli pulled me back out into the garden.

A sinking sensation filled my stomach. It had to be something bad if it had Eli so on edge.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. I don't think I'd ever had the chance to ask him that before. It was always the other way round.

"Aleksandrov is going to help us."

"What? When? How?"

"When we leave for our first a.s.signment at Gerald Harbor in three weeks... Aleksandrov, other wizards, and half of the school's guardians will be there."

Hope, excitement and happiness filled my stomach.

"He's doubled up on charms to protect the school. If we can make it back there, we'll be safe. However, we can't risk it. We need to draw Lucian away from his minions. We need to kill him, just to be safe."

I was worried that if I spoke, it would be in a high pitched excited squeal, so instead I nodded.

"There's something we need from you as well."

"Anything."

"You need to be able to use all of your elements and your sun power. You're our secret weapon, Ruby."

I nodded again.

"Let's go back to the party."

Ugh. Another party. Was it going to be like this every night? I didn't go to my room to put on a dress; I didn't have to energy to. Instead I joined Eli and Lucian at the dinner table and we ate the exact same way we did the first night. When it was over, I crawled back to my room and climbed into bed, still in the pyjamas I wore last night and trained in today. Oh well, dirty or not, I still happily welcomed sleep.

Bewitched.

Here I was again, watching red and white rose petals float down from the twilight sky. I glanced down and I was wearing a long, white gown, a wedding dress. My gaze met smiling faces as they watched me in awe.

The walls of bright green mossy trees that surrounded us were so surreal, so beautiful. In the branches nestled a dozen scarlet tanagers, their deep red feathers standing out against the vibrant green moss. For every two scarlet tanagers, there was one white dove perched perfectly in between them.

"Are you ready, dear?" an old man in a white robe asked.

I glanced beside me and met Eli's handsome face. I smiled at him. He was so perfect. Now he was going to be my husband.

"Yes."

The robed man began to speak. His mouth moved but no words came out. I strained my ears, I could hear the birds flutter their feathers and guests shuffle in their chair but I couldn't hear the priest.

"I can't hear you," I said but he made no sign that he could hear me, either.

The distinct sound of sticks snapping and leaves. .h.i.tting skin filled my ears. I crouched down, holding my ears. Why was the sound so deafening?

"I object," an emotionless voice called.

It seemed like I was the only one to hear it. I searched the surrounding bushes but I couldn't see anyone.

Then they stepped out from nature's cloak, it was Lucian and Hunter. They both stared at me, crazy-eyed. No one else could hear or see them, only me. One by one, they tore the throats from my unknown guests before dashing up the aisle to the altar where Eli, the priest, and I were standing.

"Eli!" I screamed, but he couldn't hear me.

He turned and smiled down at me. 'I love you,' he mouthed before Lucian broke his neck and he fell into a lifeless heap. Hunter was feeding on the priest and I was left curling into myself. My dress was splattered with blood and dirt. Through my tears I looked at the trees. Crows were devouring my beautiful birds.

"I told you I was a possessive man, Ruby." Lucian chuckled.

"He's my creator, I don't have a choice," Hunter begged.

I lay on the ground, crying up to the sky. Lucian towered over me. "See you when you wake up." His muddy boot came down on my face and I was knocked out.

My eyes shot open and I was breathing rapidly. Sweat beads ran down my face and my hands twitched. I looked around the room, wide-eyed, making sure I was in my room. My alarm clocked blared, sending me a meter into the air. I slammed my palm down hard on top of it.

Why was the dream freaking me out so much? It was, in fact, only a dream. My body ached as I climbed out of bed. My muscles screamed, informing me they didn't want to exercise today. I convinced myself a hot shower would help loosen some of the tension, and it did, whilst I was in the shower at least.

I rummaged through my boxes and found a pair of track pants and a pink tank top. Good enough.

"Right on time," I mumbled to myself when Eli knocked on my door.

I opened the door and a smile broke over his face.

"You're a fast learner."

"Kill or be killed." I shrugged.

Eli's smile faltered.

"I'm not scared anymore."

"We'll see."

Training was harder than yesterday. We warmed up with stretches and a jog, and then moved straight on to weights. When that was done, we practiced defensive fighting. My muscles were threatening to seize up but I fought against their threats. I needed to be in prime condition, I couldn't let anyone down. Our lives depended on it.

"Okay," Eli began. "I'm going to teach you some basic defense. If we were under normal circ.u.mstances I'd tell you to defuse the situation, the last thing you want is a fight. However, we aren't under normal circ.u.mstances and there's no way you're going to be able to talk a vampire into backing off. So first, before the situation escalates, you must pick the right places to hit before the attacker gains full control."

I listened carefully, amazed by his seriousness and professionalism. He was definitely in his element.

"... This doesn't mean you go into a panic mode and start throwing your punches into the air like a crazy person. Conserve your energy when possible, for you need the energy to escape given the opportunity."

Eli came within inches of me and my knees grew weak.

"If I grabbed you by the shoulders," he placed his hands firmly on either side, "What would you do?"

I shrugged.

"Ruby, this is serious."

"I don't know what to do ..."

"Think."

I tried to shrug him off but I couldn't. I punched his chest and he gasped slightly but he didn't budge.

"This is no time to be civil, remember to hit where it hurts: the eyes, nose, neck, groin, knees, and legs."

I swung my leg hard and kicked at his knee but he dropped his hands and caught it just in time.

"Not bad, but if I was a vampire, you'd be dead. Next session we'll focus on strength."

"Is it my turn already?" Mithras called, leaning against the same weathered wall as yesterday.

"Let's just get this over with," I growled.

He smiled.

Eli stood against the tree watching us as we meditated under the sun. My skin was hot and my hair stuck to my skin. It felt gross.

"You know, you don't need to be trained on how to control the power."

"What do you mean?"