The thought of not having Eli even for a split second sucked and the familiar feeling of panic constricted my chest. To fight it off, I launched forward, wrapping my arms around his waist and squeezing him against me. I would never buckle under the stress as long as I had him. The stress could be bucketing down but he was the support beams holding the roof off of my head.

"I don't know what I'm doing," I mumbled, tears threatening my eyes. "Help me."

He slid a finger under my chin, tilting my face to his. He ran his thumb in quick soft strokes and it warmed me. "Talk to me," he muttered. "That's all I want from you."

I nodded, my eyes never leaving his captivating stare. His gaze flicked to my lips and then back to my eyes, seeking permission. Only Eli would ask his girlfriend (or whatever I was) for permission to kiss her. Always the gentleman.

He lowered his mouth to mine and my breath escaped me in sudden quick pants as I watched his lips get closer and closer. As they're about to touch, to make everything better, Lyric honks the horn, making the pair of us whip in their direction. In the side mirror, I see Mr. Aleksandrov smirk. a.s.s.

"Not on my watch," he called.

Eli slipped out of my grasp and took hold of my hand. "C'mon, you can make it up to me later when you tell me all about your nightmares."

He tugged me into step beside him and opened the back door. There was barely room for us all, but we managed, even if I did end up sitting with one b.u.t.t cheek on Mila and one half of my torso on Eli. It could have been worse, I suppose.

Forgetting everyone else, Eli laced his fingers through mine and squeezed. As strange as it sounded, everyone seemed so calm regardless of the events that occurred only hours before. We were strong. The council was nothing compared to the evil we'd already faced on numerous occasions and as long as we had each other, we'd come out on top.

We drove for hours. Not a couple of hours, a lot of hours from morning until dusk. Mr. Aleksandrov gave Lyric the directions while the rest of us slept in the back. By the 'rest of us,' I meant everyone except me. I didn't want to sleep. I was too wired and worried to even think about resting. I was on the lookout for signs, trying to get a rough idea of where we were going. I had no idea where we were, but Aleksandrov seemed to know the spa.r.s.e, rough roads well. I heard him tell Lyric that we were going to be okay and that he knew people in this area. How accurate that was, I had no idea, and it wasn't until we rolled into a small town that was filled with old people did I begin to believe him.

"What is this place?" I wondered aloud, leaning towards the window and unintentionally digging my elbow into Eli's stomach to get a better look. He awoke with a jolt and I pulled my elbow back.

"Sorry."

He ran his hand over his face and shifted in his seat so I could get a better look.

"G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses aren't the only ones with communities, you know, and I'm sure the council has no idea this place even exists."

I unclipped my seatbelt and followed Eli from the car. My entire body sighed in relief as my muscles finally stretched and softened against the bone. I twirled on the spot, taking in the cute little town. It was like I stepped into a time machine and went back twenty years. It was quiet and there were barely any cars.

Mr. Aleksandrov straightened his grey robe and ushered us toward a small motel. "All of you stay put until I speak with Gwydion.

I perked up at the sound of his name. It had been so long since I'd seen his chubby, pug-like face.

"Gwydion is here?"

"I'm about to find out, but I can't have you lot walking around the place and making people suspicious. Get a room and wait for me."

Without resistance, we booked a room in the motel and gained a few strange stares from the old people who worked/lived here. We waited a very, very, very long time for Mr. Aleksandrov to come back, and by the time he did, everyone was ready to sleep again, especially me-who didn't sleep the first time.

"All right, we've been granted a stay of three days maximum and given only two rooms. I was hoping Gwydion would be here, but unfortunately, he has other stuff he's attending to and we're on our own. For the time being, keep your heads low and don't aggravate the locals while I figure out what our next move is." He rubbed his hands together and exposed a little silver watch from under the sleeve of his robe, checking the time. "They take curfew very seriously in this town and everyone should be in bed by eleven p.m. So, you have eight minutes before lights out."

We all glanced at each other, feeling like inconsiderate teenagers, and I wasn't deaf, I heard every stomach in the room rumble at the thought of skipping dinner. We'd skipped breakfast and lunch already. Our stomachs were fed up and we groaned out disappointment.

"Breakfast," Mr. Aleksandrov said. "I promise a big breakfast."

With a defeated sigh, Lyric and Xavier took a pillow from the couch each and lay on the floor while Mr. Aleksandrov and Mila unfolded the strange orange sofa bed, leaving Hunter, Eli, and I sitting awkwardly on the queen sized bed, resting against the headboard. The three of us shuffled down and pulled back the blankets.

"My people have been kind enough to let us stay here, but they do not want to be involved in the council's business." We blinked at him, dumbfounded. "In other words, Ruby cannot share a bed with you, Eli."

I couldn't share a bed with him? In a room with four other people? I opened my mouth to protest, but he raised a palm to silence me. "I don't care if you have already. It will not happen here."

We looked sideways at Hunter, who chuckled c.o.c.kily as he pulled his shirt over his head. I arched a brow as he slid under the covers and got as openly comfortable as he could.

"I'm not a complete fool, Hunter. I know about you younger adults and your hormones. You will not be sharing a bed with her, either."

Eli laughed once under his breath and I gratefully slipped off the bed and joined Mila on the couch. Hunter put his shirt back on, much to Lyric and Xavier's amus.e.m.e.nt, and both he and Eli slipped under the covers. I should have found it funny, the both of them sharing a bed, but I didn't. I wanted to be held by Eli just like this morning.

"Ruby, can I speak with you a moment?"

I regarded him curiously before I slipped from the couch and stood out in the hall with Mr. Aleksandrov.

"Hunter is sired to you just like we thought, isn't he?"

There was no point in lying so I nodded my head. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I shifted my weight onto my left leg and crossed my arms over my chest. "You had him locked in an underground cell for months. He didn't need any more tests performed on him."

"Being sired to you is a very important side effect. It needs to be tested.

What if it progresses into something else or affects how either of you operate?"

"It doesn't." I ran my hand over my face. "Look, I'm really tired. Can we talk about this some other time?"

Even under all of his facial hair, I saw his jaw clench. "I guess some other time will have to do."

He whipped around and went to his own room-the room he had all to himself. With an exasperated sigh, I headed back to my room. I flicked the lights off before everyone's curious eyes could fall on me and climbed back into the sofa bed.

"You know," Hunter said, his voice disrupting the long silence. "If you two girls wanted to explore your 'young adult' hormones, I'm sure no one here is going to mind."

Mila and I groaned while the rest chuckled-I think I even heard Eli laugh.

"What is wrong with you?" I grumbled, punching my pillow a few times to make it puffy. "Go to sleep."

They didn't go to sleep and it bothered me for the first few minutes. They spoke about things I didn't really care for, like football and spiders, but once I had my eyes closed for a solid period of time, sleep took me and all conversation fell from thought.

Damp leaves attached to hard branches slap me in the face. My nerves are electrified, like I'm holding an umbrella over my head as I climb to the very tip of a tree during a lightning storm. My legs ache-the burn matching my lungs. I can't breathe...but I can't stop. If I stop, he'll catch me and I don't want him to catch me.

"Help me!"

I flinch, keeping my head down as Mila's scream a.s.saults my ears. I remind myself over and over that it's not real...it's him, Lucian, playing tricks on me. He wants me to forget that I'm running from him. He wants to use my friends against me, to catch me, but I won't let him, not this time.

"Ruby!" she squeals, sending violent gooseb.u.mps over my body. "Please!"

Her voice sounds desperate...like she's in pain. I falter and stumble forward. It's not real. It's not real. I draw myself to full height, drag in a shaky breath and push on. It begins to rain and I lick my lip as a drop falls on it, to moisten my cracked skin. I recoil from the copper taste-blood. I purse my lips together and lower my head, pushing myself to my limits. There's nothing driving me...I'm thirsty, hungry, exhausted...but my fear of Lucian spurs me on. Not a second later, I hear a shrill, evil laugh and then slam into a rock-like figure. My head spins and I fall back. Pain crepitates over my skull and I grit my teeth against the instant headache. I keep my eyes shut, refusing to look at him. I shake my head profusely, wishing he'd just leave me alone.

"Please," I whimper, letting my head roll to the side. "I've had enough."

"I'll decide when you've had enough."

I feel his hard, cold fingers grip my arms and squeeze.

My eyes shot open and the feel of Lucian's hands on me didn't go away. I gasped and tried to sit up, to get away from the pressure on my arms that was meant to be fake, a figment of my imagination.

"Ruby," a familiar voice whispered. "It's okay."

Eli's voice soothed me and I brushed the hair that stuck to my lips off my face.

"I'm okay." I exhaled, breathing a little easier.

I felt the need to say it aloud, to convince myself that Lucian was dead and he couldn't hurt me or the ones I loved anymore. I shivered and Eli removed his hands from my arms. The minute movement was enough for me to get a better grip on my reality. Safe. My reality was safe. Without a word, I shuffled over on the couch to make room for him. My back pressed firmly against Mila's, but I was sure she wouldn't mind. Eli waited a few seconds before giving in and slipping in beside me, and I barely waited for him to get comfortable before I pushed myself into his arms. We didn't speak for fear of waking anybody else up. I wasn't ready to speak yet, anyway. Eli wanted to know all about my nightmares, but what could I say? I saw Lucian every time I closed my eyes and that was the extent of it. I closed my eyes, but didn't dare fall back asleep as he trailed soft kisses along my forehead. Strangely enough, they seemed sympathetic. Instead of a.n.a.lyzing it, I pressed into him and enjoyed the company. This was the first time since having the nightmares that I've had any kind of support and it felt nice. I wanted to savor it and get a feel for having Eli there for me. I thought him knowing would make things harder, but he was doing such a good job and I don't know how I coped without him before now. I needed him. I always did.

Chapter Eleven.

I opened my eyes and squinted around a brightly lit room. Instead of being in the sweet comfort of Eli's arms, I was in Mila's. I glanced over my shoulder at her face. Blonde strands stuck to her face and shook as she breathed through her nose. Yep...Mila was most definitely spooning me.

"Well, this morning just got awesome."

I snapped my head up and spotted Hunter leaning against the wall, playing with a rubber band. He twirled it around his finger and smiled mischievously at me.

"Spooning. I like it."

I rolled my eyes and dragged myself out of Mila's grip. She inhaled sharply and expelled it with a heavy yawn. She arched her back like a cat and pulled a pillow over her face. I didn't blame her. I looked around the room. Eli and Xavier were leaning chatting by the far window, but Lyric was gone. The second I thought his name, the door opened and all I could smell was bacon. It smelled so good my mouth pooled with saliva and my throat burned at the thought of eating it. Mr. Aleksandrov and Lyric brought in two large platters adorned with bacon, eggs, sausages and toast. On the other, many variations of fruit sat, just waiting for me to taste them.

Mila shot up out of bed and made a break for the bathroom. Without a word, she dived through the door and slammed it shut. We looked after her, the lot of us puzzled.

"What's wrong with her?" Mr. Aleksandrov asked me and I shrugged my shoulders.

"I have no idea."

We sat around the sofa bed, chatting and laughing-most of the discussion consisted of us making fun of Mr. Aleksandrov and this strange little town. Whatever the conversation, I was just thankful no one brought up the night before or the council. As I sat and watched everyone eat, I had this strange sense of belonging tug at my heart. What if we don't fight the council? I frowned at myself. What if we run and never look back?

"I just hope you know what you're doing," Lyric said, pulling me from my thoughts as he bit down on a piece of toast. "Your decisions affect all of us and no offense, but we are all too young to die."

"What do you propose we do then, Lyric?" Mr. Aleksandrov responded.

"I say we go back to the council and tell them we've realized how pushy we've been and leave everything as it is."

"You're holding that much honor to the council? They'll kill us where we stand. Do you honestly believe they had no idea Lucian was a vampire? I guarantee you they knew the day he was turned. They left him in power because he shared important vampire information. Lucian was using them to further his cause as much as they were using him."

Mr. Aleksandrov was right. How 'honorable' could they be if ninety-eight percent of our population didn't even know they exist? Up until a couple of months ago, we only knew of Lucian, the higher power. Beyond him, there was nothing. G.o.ds, G.o.ddesses, guardian angels-all of us-were taught that the higher power ran everything.

"We could run," I added. "We could stay off their radar and just... I don't know... be normal."

I ignored the way everyone stared at me like I'd suggested we take the whole council on naked.

Mr. Aleksandrov shook his head. "We'd never get away with it and I'd never abandon Sage Sanctum."

"So what's the plan then?" I demanded, getting frustrated. I wanted a plan. I wanted to know what the h.e.l.l was going to happen next. I was way too anxious to live minute by minute.

"We move inland, today. Gwydion has a cave-like house a few miles from here. He a.s.sures us we'll be safe there."

"And then what?"

"And then we stay there until I can find a way to expose the council."

Now it was my turn to stare at him like he was crazy. "You want to expose the council? Are you insane? People would freak out!"

He shrugged. "The people have us. We're better leaders than the council will ever be. Who hides from their people?"

I pushed my plate away and crossed my legs on the floor. "We can't run an entire species. We've barely finished school."

"Thousands of people already trust us. We've started something we can't back down from. All of this, Hank, Lucian, and now the council, it's all connected and we can't give up now. We started this and we have to finish it."

Mr. Aleksandrov stood up and brushed crumbs off his new, dark blue robe. "Finish up. We're leaving in half an hour."

He turned on his heel and left the room. After his exit, the rest of us sat around and picked mindlessly at our plates.

"We're all going to die. You guys know that, right?" Hunter announced.

None of us answered him... partly because we knew he was right.

I was beginning to hate traveling, especially in cars. I swear the last few years of my life have been spent driving in a car. We were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by dense forest and a long, never ending road that stretched out in front of us and refreshed to meet the horizon every mile we drove. On the plus side, we didn't all have to squeeze into the one car. Eli, Hunter, Mila, and I took one car and Mr. Aleksandrov, Lyric, and Xavier took another. I relaxed back in my pa.s.senger seat, ignoring the mumbling conversation between Mila and Hunter in the back. I heard Gabriel's name a few times and decided that was a conversation I didn't want to drop in on.

"Do you have any idea how far away we are?" I asked Eli as I stared at the rear of the other group's car.

"No clue."

He tapped his fingers in rhythmic beats along the steering wheel and Hunter laughed under his breath. "Did you see the people that lived in that town? Out of their heads, the lot of them. I don't trust anyone that wears a robe in summer."

I opened my mouth to reply with some witty retort when suddenly, Lyric slammed the brakes on his car and the tires squealed against the tar, piercing my eardrums. I heard Eli swear and Mila scream before our own car screeched and slammed to a halt. I was thrown forward in my seat, only to be caught by my seatbelt before I crashed back into my chair and winding myself. I felt Eli's hands on me immediately, touching my hair and my shoulders.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his green eyes wide and worried.

I nodded as I rubbed my already sore throat and ignored the way my bones seemed to vibrate inside me.