Invisible Lines

It’s the top of the world,

but not really.

The Royal Greenwich Observatory,

a tall red and white building atop a

steep gray and green hill under

gray, somber clouds. A large orange

globe sits impaled on a spire

piercing the sky. From this, all the invisible

ships will set their clocks and dash off

around the world. I, on the other hand,

am reminded of a giant juicy peach

slipping down the Empire State Building.

A pigeon hops and flutters across a

glass-like line in the ground.

The students toss bits of bread and crackers

left from snacks and lunch around the pier,

watching him skitter to eat his fill.

He thoughtlessly skips from one side

to the other, not realizing the importance

of being an hour ahead or behind.

How foolish we must seem, making

such a commotion over an invisible barrier

and a fictional concept

such as time zones.

Memory of a Little One

“Teagen!” she cries, her frightened voice

drifting down the hall and through the two

doors separating us.

Her call jolts me awake

from my attempt at a nap beside my

love’s warm body—soft, sculpted, secure,

though he has yet to see that

in himself.

Her room is a tumble of stuffed

toys, blankets, and dress up clothes.

At the white and pink bed, she

half sits, half stands, rubbing her

eyes, blonde hair tousled.

“What is it, baby?” Kneeling before

her pink clothed form, frail and small,

the only word she seems to know is no.

Wrapped gently in my arms, her head

lolls on my shoulder. She is a stubborn

one, determined her naptime is over

and her father, my love, will not do; in my lap,

she sits and makes a bed of my belly and bosom

where she alternates between quiet contentedness

and a restless search for awakeness.

The soothing swaying of the armchair is spoiled by

incessant squeaking, so I settle for holding her

and renew the search for my own sleep.

Moments later, she slips from my lap

in a whirlwind of energy, and begs, jumping—

her white blonde curls flying up—for the movie with cat bus.

Eternal: Epilogue

Epilogue: Beginning Eternity

Years ago, Valetta had asked me how I imagined my dream life. When I had closed my eyes, I saw a life I wanted, but didn’t think I could ever have. And yet, here I am, with Drei, living in a two story beach house on a lake in a forest. Almost exactly as I had described.

Drei’s sisters had been buried in that single grave I had found. He paid to have them exhumed and cremated, bringing their ashes back with us. The urns had a room they shared with other memories, fond and painful. Pictures, news clippings, items that held special meaning—including the rocking chair Drei had found all those years ago, a maternal family heirloom of mine.

Another special place Drei and I had set up, though I had been reluctant at first, was a garden. It wasn’t like his original, left behind and untended at the original safe camp, but it was a close second. We didn’t have to build a greenhouse, as there was an atrium that essentially functioned as one. Together, we worked to find the right combination and proportions of flowers with the initial goal of replicating the scent still following him around. After a while, Drei and I both decided it shouldn’t be a replica because the original had been a solution to his pain and a gift to me, his love. He suggested I take more creative control over its composition as I was now in need of channeling pain. I didn’t argue, and it wasn’t long after I started feeling better. There was something about catering to life that balanced a loss of it.

Kneeling by the water, I set some blossoms floating into the center of the lake. My yearly ritual, because I didn’t have an urn or a grave to send them to. The lake is the second best thing to him, as it is where we first met and where most of our happiest memories were. It is also where he made his first sacrifice for us.

I brush the tears from my eyes, wondering, not for the first time, if I’ll ever be able to stop crying for him.

“Abriel,” Drei calls from behind me.

I watch the blossoms for a moment more before turning to jog up the stairs to the balcony off our room where he waits. Where he has waited every year on this day.

“Beautiful flowers you chose this year,” he says, opening his arms to me.

“Thank you.” The sadness dissipats again, waiting for next year. Tending a garden really minimized my sadness surrounding the event to the point I only felt it deeply once a year. And like clockwork, it’s back on this day; I wake up with it and that’s how I know to go to the garden and pick whichever flowers speak to me for my annual visitation. “Why does it feel like it hurts more every year?” I ask, gazing out at the small specks on the calm surface of the water.

“Because it is another year you have lived without him,” he replies gently, rubbing my back. “And another year you realize he will not return to say hello.”

There’s a truth to his words, more truth than I want to admit. It is the first year I have asked, and I can’t believe he’s hit on it so well. No matter what had happened, Nick had always popped up somewhere else, smiling, calming me, apologizing for something or another from the time before. Subconsciously, I think I’m still waiting for him to show up and apologize for scaring me so badly.

“Nick is not coming back this time,” Drei whispers. I appreciate his honesty; it’s the only way I’m going to stop crying on this day. And I know that. But some part of me, somewhere deep in my heart, doesn’t want to stop hoping, even if I know I should.

“I added the angel and the guardian to our memories room,” I say, changing the subject. Although they have been available for some time now, Drei has avoided adding them to our collection. I decided to correct the oversight.

“At least it is not a doll;” he smirks and I hit him lightly on the arm. He is never going to let that one die. Though he continues to smile, his eyes darken a little, growing more serious. “There is one thing you have yet to ask me.”

The sky begins to lighten with the coming dawn as I try to think of what he means. When it strikes me, I know why I hadn’t remembered. I haven’t thought about it in years, and now I might finally have the answer I have been wanting since Drei first mentioned it.

“Do you think you have fulfilled your promise to the Lady of the Moon?”

“I strive to deserve your love every day,” he says softly, holding my gaze steadily, his amethyst eyes bright and resolute. “And I will never deserve it until I strive every day hereafter.”

“There is no one else I would rather spend my eternity with,” I confide before he kisses me.

A light crosses the forest and we stop, stepping into our room and closing the French doors. It is my first sunrise since I had a pulse. Most of them before now I had slept through, but not today.

“You know, if we ever grow tired of forever, I could change that,” I remind him, resting my head on his chest.

“I do not imagine I will grow tired of spending my un-life with you, Abriel,” he says as the first rays of dawn fill the room.

I miss it, though, because I’m looking at him, and all of the promises that fill his eyes. Eternity is a long time, but he silently promises he will love me everlastingly; and by the way he kisses me, I can tell he knows the same is true of me.

Eternal: Chapter Seven, Part 6

“It is not yet time for that.” He reached out a hand to me, but I didn’t want to accept it if he was going to ask me to consider never doing so again. “We are not the choice you must consider. We are almost there.”

I stared at him for a moment longer—ensuring he meant what he said—before taking his hand. Drei pulled me into an embrace, holding me tight, and my doubts dissipated as I breathed him in, inhaled his luscious scent. Part of me was frightened by what he might ask of me, but I had trusted him this long. A little longer wouldn’t hurt.

We continued and a knot started forming in my stomach. The further we walked, the more I remembered this place, and, if I was right, we were heading toward my old neighborhood. That meant the choice dealt with either my mother—my adoptive mother, my dad’s wife—or Dad. But the likelihood of my dad being home was slim; before I’d left, he was rarely home. And if this was for my mother…that wasn’t even a choice, really. I wanted nothing to do with her, and that I’d decided long before I’d left.

Sure enough, we ended up at the end of the drive leading to the gate of my old neighborhood. I was grateful we were here and not at the school; I wasn’t sure how I might have handled that, but this I could handle—maybe. There were a lot of good memories here, at least, even if there were some less than pleasant ones to wish me off.

“Your first choice,” he said, stopping at the bottom of the drive. “We can continue, or we can check into our hotel for the night.”

I stared through the darkness at the neighborhood ahead, contemplating the option before me. To go on might mean having to face one of my parents, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure I wanted to just disregard it all. Against my better judgment, I had bottled up the final events here years ago and avoided thinking on them when I could. The downside was I never found closure for myself, and letting go of my own emotions was much more difficult than helping someone else release theirs. So while I wasn’t sure if I was ready for confrontation or reunion—whichever awaited me—I wasn’t particularly keen on giving up a chance for resolution.

“If we continue, there will be one more choice for you to make,” Drei said.

“One more choice.” He nodded beside me. “We’ve come this far,” I said, “why not a little further?”

“Very well.” He turned to start along the outside perimeter.

At first, I thought to suggest we go through the front as I used to know the night guard fairly well; then I realized how long it had been and how much I didn’t know about this place anymore. If it was a different guard, he would probably call ahead to verify my identity and then whatever second choice I had to make would be made for me. Even if it was the same guard, many of my team hadn’t recognized me in my new state and we had lived together. Without a suitable alternative, I jogged to catch up to Drei.

“When I used to visit you at night, I took a back way in, never through the gate. They would have asked too many questions.” After a moment we came to a tall tree and Drei smoothly climbed up to the first set of branches. “Here.”

Though he reached down to help me up, after glancing around—mostly using my element to sense around us—I formed a block of air below me and was sitting on top of the wall in a moment. He smirked—probably at my ingeniousness—climbing the rest of the way and joining me.

“I take it no one is around but us?”

Nodding, I glimpsed over the wall. “Want a lift down?”

He nimbly jumped from the wall and landed in a low crouch on the other side. Slowly, using the air as an elevator, I joined him.

“Show off.”

“I am not the only one,” he said, smiling. “It is not much farther.”

“It’s just down the street.”

He nodded, a brightness to his eyes. I followed his lead out of this yard and onto the street.

In a couple of minutes, we were standing on the driveway of my parents’ house. I had never thought I would be there again—not this soon, anyway. It hadn’t changed from what I remembered, though it seemed larger and more intimidating now. Lights shone through various windows, mostly on the ground level.

“What’s my choice now?” I asked, looking up at him.

“I am not sure if you will take this opportunity, but I have felt for some time now that you left some things unfinished when you came with me,” he said, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t disagree with his conclusion. Maybe Caroline had rubbed off on me and now I wanted to disagree for the sake of disagreeing; I couldn’t be sure. “You must decide whether or not you’ll see your father.”

I had known that was coming. Despite my suspicions, I hadn’t given it much thought. Drei wouldn’t have brought me here if Dad wasn’t going to be home. But could I face him? After he had told me I was the only reason he could stand missing Mom, I’d left him without a word. There wasn’t a note. I hadn’t called, or written, or anything in the years I had been gone. Nothing, in all my experience, could suggest how this might play out. He could hate me for all I knew. Then again, he might be worse than before, and that would be my fault; no matter what anyone else said, it would be my fault, because I’d known how he was. He’d told me how bad he was.

A light came on in what I remembered as my old room. A backlit figure passed by the window and I wondered if that wasn’t Dad. My mind immediately filled with images of him wandering my old room, everything tidied and left in place like some kind of monument to my memory; I wanted to go to him, to show him I was okay and well and deeply regretting the hurt I must have caused him.

But what if he asked me to stay. Part of me would want to say yes, but I had Drei to think about; I had myself, and everyone else…not to mention my movement. I had to lead that; no one else could. If he asked, though…I felt obligated to say yes just thinking about it. Should I face my dad, I knew I wouldn’t have the heart to deny him.

“No,” I whispered, taking in the empty windows, the lifeless exterior, the cold building that once had been my favorite place in the world.

Drei waited until I turned away before he took my hand and we left. He didn’t ask why, though he probably knew; I had a feeling I was thinking loud enough for him to know anyway. But it was the best thing he could have done. As much as I wished I could see my dad again and make it up to him, now wasn’t the time. I wasn’t sure there would ever be a good time. Maybe after this was over, I could start to make amends.

Eternal: Chapter Seven, Part 5

Drei wouldn’t tell me where we were going, just that I would know soon enough. Until then, we were on a train traveling west, and he was keeping a tight hold on our tickets.

“Are you sure I’m going to like this?” I asked for perhaps the tenth time since we had left the apartment that morning. Part of me hoped if I was annoying enough, he’d slip and tell me.

“I cannot guarantee you will,” he said, as he had all day, “but I know it is something you have been considering doing.”

That told me a lot…not really. There were a lot of things I had considered doing over the years and most of them I hadn’t thought much about lately. I was preoccupied with other, more pressing matters. However, it was rather nice to be alone with Drei again and not having to worry about anyone else. Resting my head on his shoulder, I said, “Should I thank you now or later?”

“Neither,” he whispered, taking my hand in his. “Later, you will make a decision. Now you should sleep.”

“I’m not tired,” I insisted, holding back a yawn. I didn’t want to waste our time together sleeping. Especially since this was only my second day with him in weeks.

“You are.”

“You can’t know that.” I hoped I could convince him.

“It is raining outside;” he smiled kindly down at me, knowing he had won. I didn’t hate him for it; I honestly should have remembered it was raining. Rain made the air heavier; I’m no scientist, so I don’t know how to explain how exactly it does, but I can feel it. When it’s raining, I usually feel somewhat depressed if I don’t have someone near me to change that. Lately, that hadn’t been as true; instead I found I felt tired, though I could push past that if needed. Drei insisting I give in to it wasn’t helping anything.

“When you wake, we will have reached our destination.”

His arm wound around me, pulling me close. The next thing I knew, he was gently shaking me awake, saying something about arriving.

“Five more minutes,” I bargained groggily, curling closer to him.

“You may sleep when we are returning home, and I promise not to wake you then,” he said, combing the hair out of my face with his fingers. “But for now you have to wake. And look, the rain has stopped.”

Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes to clear the sleep from them. “Where are we?”

“It stops being a surprise when I tell you,” he teased kindly, grabbing our overnight bag and taking my hand.

It seemed since the Council knew, he didn’t care how we were seen in public. Before, everything had to be done with the utmost caution; no one could know—though this attitude had relaxed slightly with my turning. Now it didn’t matter, because the only people we had to be afraid of already knew and weren’t going to do anything about it for a while. Personally, I preferred it that way; it was less complicated.

I followed him along the aisle and down the stairs where we joined a few other travelers waiting to depart. Drei steadied me as the train came to a stop at the station.

“Do you mind walking?” he asked, glancing at me as we headed down the street from the station.

“Not at all,” I said distractedly. There was something familiar about this place. I’d been here before, I knew that, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was driving me crazy not knowing, especially since my mind seemed to be putting a block on whatever importance this place held for me.

“Do you remember?”

We passed the Café Cherie, and I knew where we were. I stopped to stare at it, unsure why he would bring me back here now. Drei turned to watch me, a certain glint in his eye at my revelation. His lips were pressed together, though, as if unsure he was doing the right thing.

“This is where you told me about—”

“And you left me there feeling guiltier than ever I had felt before,” he interrupted. My shock at being home—well, in my hometown—was clouding my judgment. Until my movement was fully in motion, it was dangerous to admit being an elemental.

“You said I’d have to make a decision,” I said slowly, staring through the large glass windows. This was the beginning, and some part of me was convinced it might also be the end. “Does that have to do with us?”

Eternal: Chapter Six, Part 4

I was anxious to see Jake again. He had always been different from the others with this air of wisdom and patience; not just that, but he had this way of seeing more in a situation than most people might ever see. It was one of the reasons I wanted him on my team.

That he was in college now seemed appropriate enough, though it also seemed strange. Not strange in a bad way, but strange all the same. The last time I saw him was when he was 15 and leaving to return home; now he was 20, if I had kept track of my years properly.

Valetta had left an extra note in the folder saying she hadn’t spoken to him, but she had managed to find a copy of his schedule. I wouldn’t ask, despite my curiosity; I had accepted long ago that they had their ways of obtaining what they needed. If I didn’t ask, I didn’t have to know, and right now, I didn’t think I wanted to.

The campus clock tower struck noon; scanning the schedule, I headed toward the business and computer science building—with the help of a friendly student who was kind enough to ask if I was lost. I vainly wished I could have assured her I wasn’t, but what would have been the use? Other than to seem smarter and end up stranded anyway?

Walking through the campus, it started misting, and as hoods and umbrellas opened to keep the students dry, I was filled with envy. College had been something I’d been working towards. It had been my dream, my one salvation from the life I hated so much. It was going to free me, in more ways than it did for most people. For me, it was my chance to start over, to be who I wanted to be, do what I wanted to do—for the most part—and not ever have to look back. I had been doing so well; I had already applied and was well on my way…and then I had been screwed over by whatever plan of the universe was at work. When I had visited Kora, it didn’t feel like such a big deal. Probably because I was still so antsy about recruiting people I hadn’t seen in several years. Now I was nervous about this last one, and distractions were more than welcome. This environment, just being in it, was reminding me of everything I had planned for myself, and how every single one of those plans had been destroyed. Shattered. Picked up and tossed into a black hole.

I promised myself when this was over, I was going to work towards a degree; granted I wouldn’t be able to actually go to a university or anything, I could take online classes. It was a close second. Besides, even though I wasn’t happy about not having what I had wanted for myself, what I ended up with wasn’t so bad. There was Drei, all of my friends, and parts of myself I had figured out after all. It honestly could have been worse.

Eternal: Chapter Six, Part 3

“Why did you dye your hair?”

Shrugging, she replied, “I just wanted a change. You see so many people with blonde and brunette and others who try to pull off the red-head and—I just wanted to physically appear different. Since I am anyway…even if they can’t know that.”

“Understandable.”

“When you were in high school, did you ever just want to stand out?”

“I wanted to; I wanted to be on the outside who I felt I was on the inside, even before I knew who I really was,” I said, trying not to think too much on what things had been like, or how quickly they had changed for the worse. “But things were safer where I was…or so I thought.”

“Do you ever wish you could have changed? That you had risked a little and been who you wanted to be?” she pressed, her blue eyes widening.

“Some days I wish I had—that I hadn’t been so scared of…what it would have meant to be my own person. Because having to be my own person on someone else’s terms was not easy. Not that it would have been easy on my terms, but it would have been my choice then.” My gaze settled on my clasped hands in my lap; her questions were bringing to the surface many emotional memories I had been avoiding. Although I could blow off her questions, I didn’t want to. If I could give her my truth, perhaps it would help her find her own. “Other days, I’m somewhat grateful for my cowardice, because I honestly could not imagine if things would have been better the other way. I can only see them ending up worse in my situation.”

Again, silence seemed to fill the space between us and I hated sounding like such a damper. My situation was different from hers. I thought it was great for her to express she was different in a way that would draw attention but not from the wrong people. I personally couldn’t guarantee that if I had made the same decision to be different, my actions wouldn’t have drawn the wrong attention. She had the advantage overall; she could handle herself, and she had already learned to deal with and accept having an elemental power. At her age, I was just discovering mine.

“I think what you’re doing is great,” I finally said, unable to stand the silence. “It’s good to be able to express yourself in ways that don’t endanger you. Drei and the rest would be really proud of you.” I smiled at her.

“You, too?” she asked, glancing at me before diverting her eyes sheepishly.

I couldn’t help but smile; I would never have kids but it felt like they had been mine, especially that first year. I was their temporary mom, their older sister, their liaison to the occasionally unfriendly and intimidating vampires. That was me. “Of course. I’m proud of you. I’m proud of all of you.”

Xenia hugged me, and I hugged her back. She had grown up well over the past couple years and I really was proud of her. Instead of taking out whatever angst she may or may not have had by doing something stupid, she was being smart about it, even if it never felt like enough. It was refreshing for me because it proved to me why I was doing this.

“It was really good to see you again,” she said, pulling back.

“We’ll be in touch. But I shouldn’t keep you any longer from your friends.”

“Talk to you soon, Leirba.” At my pleased but shocked look, she added, “Yeah, Valetta told me about that, too. It’s different. Pretty…but different.” Then she was off to the boutique.

I sat for a while longer, just wondering how many other elementals felt as trapped as I had and she did, and how many were capable of breaking out in some small way like Xenia had. It hadn’t occurred to me until then how many there might be. I mean, I had felt trapped, but I was more worried with fitting in than standing out and fulfilling my own need to be myself. But hearing her put it that way, seeing the way she was settling to handle it, gave me even more motivation—if that was even possible—to succeed. If I could, no elemental would ever have to settle for being less than who they were again.

Eternal: Chapter Six, Part 2

Xenia was next on my list, not because I couldn’t find Jake first but because I wanted to save Jake for last. I knew there was probably going to be more for us to talk about; I would like to think I wasn’t avoiding the inevitable, but giving myself more time to prepare for it. I knew the likelihood of that being true was slim to none.

Valetta had found Xenia’s home, school, and even managed to find out her plans for the weekend—which involved some shopping, a movie, and dinner with friends. It was easier for Valetta because she hadn’t changed at all from when they had last seen her, but it was no use being bitter. I would have to figure out how I would talk to her alone and avoid keeping her from her plans for too long.

I sat in the middle of the mall, watching people pass for a while, wondering why I wasn’t seeing her anywhere. Then a group of giggling girls walked past and Xenia’s name was mentioned. There wasn’t a single blonde in the group, though. All of them had either dyed their hair blue or green, except for one girl who had chosen purple.

“I seriously did it;” the purple haired girl laughed, and I knew it was Xenia. Her looks may have changed, but her voice hadn’t—not much anyway. “I was not going out with him. He thinks we dyed our hair to make a statement about society and stickin’ it to the man.”

“But that’s not it at all;” one of her blue haired companions giggled.

“Exactly.”

Xenia whipped her head around for a moment in my direction before turning to her friends. “I’ll meet up with you at the boutique. There’s someone I have to see real quick.”

Her friends agreed and continued on as if this wasn’t unusual for her to be running off for a moment; she watched them for a short while. When they had all done their peeking over their shoulders and were back to laughing and gossiping, she turned around and took a seat next to me.

“She wasn’t kidding when she said you’d look different;” she crossed her legs at the knees, resting her chin on her hand.

“So she told you I was coming?” I asked, turning to face her.

“Of course she did. How else do you think she knew what I was doing today?”

“Makes sense;” I nodded slightly. “Did she tell you what I was coming to talk about?”

She shook her head, the purple locks escaping over her shoulder; she pushed them back behind her ear. “Valetta said she’d leave that for you.”

I debated whether to jump straight to business or not. I didn’t care to, but at the same time, she had already segued into it. But I wanted so much to ask about her hair. It had been a beautiful gold color and now, though still beautiful, it was purple. I was curious as to what prompted the change, especially since it wasn’t just her that had changed.

Then I remembered she was here with friends and my goal wasn’t to monopolize her time. If I had time at the end I’d ask, but she had already cut to the chase.

“I’m beginning my movement soon,” I started, deciding to just put it all on the table and see what she’d make of it. “Right now I’m recruiting everyone, yourself included. Don’t feel like you have to say yes; you don’t. It shouldn’t interfere with school, but you’d mostly be there for opinions and other kinds of input. The only downside is we have two years.”

Xenia nodded slowly, sitting back and crossing her arms, her eyes downcast as she contemplated my words. “Two years, is it?”

“It’s all I can guarantee.”

“And I’m guessing you’re going to say what this movement is about when everyone is together?”

“Of course. As soon as the school year is done for everyone.” I studied her carefully. If she didn’t say yes, I didn’t know who else I would choose. I had my mind set on her helping, but I’d ultimately have to respect her decision.

“I like the sound of a challenge,” Xenia said after a moment. “I don’t get enough of one as is, and it’ll be kind of fun to see some of the others again.”

“You don’t have any concerns?” I didn’t want to leave her with questions if I could help it—other than the main one, that is.

“Nope. It’s straightforward enough. I’m kind of looking forward to it,” she said, nodding her head, sitting forward on her hands.

Silence enveloped us despite the hustle and bustle of the crowds. It wasn’t long before I couldn’t help but ask—I knew if I didn’t soon she would excuse herself.

Vampiric: Chapter Twelve, Part 2

“The property was engulfed in flame by the time I returned. At first I was stunned, not understanding what was happening. Then I rushed inside, searching for my sisters. Ashlyn and Avery were already…they were so still when I found them. From what I could tell, they had been restless and playing a game in the parlor. The door had been left barely open and my sisters had been pressed against it as if that is where they had fallen. I carried their asphyxiated corpses outside, unable to stand the thought of them burning. I ran back inside for my parents, finding them dead and bloodied, their skin already beginning to burn. The rancid smell was embedding itself into my skin and burning my nostrils, so I left, unable to do anything more.

“When I returned to where I had left my sisters, she sat there, waiting; my sisters were nowhere to be seen. She taunted me, saying I had brought this upon them. No one refused her, and that was why they had to be taken from me. Then she wrapped her arms around me, beginning her seductions anew. I tried to kill her, not fully understanding what or who she was, but knowing I wanted her dead;” his anger seeped into his words, his voice shaking again but from emotions far more sinister than pain. “Knowing she deserved to be dead.

“I was seized from behind by two of her boys, several more circling us. She traced a finger along my face, explaining how she loved my energy and was glad I had made it difficult for her. Then she bit me.

“When I woke a few days later, I found she had changed me, one of her boys explaining what that meant exactly. He said I was hers, and that meant she could use me however she wished; then he fed me my first meal. I was shocked when he threw the woman at me. She was bleeding from a cut in her neck and I realized how famished I was. That woman was not my last, but each that I fed on, I regretted later,” he said, though I wasn’t sure why he was telling me this. Knowing he had killed people…I understood it was his condition, but it can be difficult to see your hero as…flawed.

“Not long after my awakening, she called me to her; she promised if I behaved she would tell me what had happened to my sisters. Where they had been buried.” He shook his head, clutching my hand between both of his. I hadn’t realized how painful it was for him when I had asked before. Never in my dreams did I think it could be this horrible.

“Years passed in what seemed like days, and each time I would request that one bit of information I wanted, she refused me. She insisted I had failed to be attentive enough. I had yet to accomplish this for her, or that. Somehow, I had managed to displease her. And yet I had done everything she asked of me and more. I abandoned my humanity and buried my feelings of remorse after each hunt; I gave her no reason to despise me. Every time she denied me, though, I grew to loathe her more.”

Drei stopped talking and studied our hands, as though that image gave him strength. As though it reminded him I wasn’t her, and I wasn’t here to hurt him.

“You don’t have to tell me everything now,” I told him. His amethyst eyes held mine, a look of disbelief obvious, as though I was missing something. And I probably was. But how could he expect me to catch all the little things he wasn’t saying when I was worried about what telling me this was doing to him?

“You do not understand what is happening yet,” he whispered, glancing away again. After another moment of silence—in which I couldn’t help but wonder why he felt it had to be done now when we had eternity—he began again. “I overheard her speaking, one day, of how she would never tell me where they were. She treasured my company too much. At dusk, before the rest awoke for a night of ravaging, I killed all of them. Decapitating each one in their sleep, and setting the place ablaze.

“I wandered then, unable to die and unable to live; I avoided feeding until I absolutely had to, and could usually be found drunk and unmotivated, occasionally brawling with drunken humans. It seemed the worst existence to be stuck in…until someone came along and gave me a bit of hope.” A smile cracked his lips. “Gloria found me brawling with a human. She told me to stop searching and then walked away.”

“You followed her,” I said, sitting up. I wasn’t sure how long I could stay sitting up, considering I felt light-headed and ill after doing so. Drei perched on the edge of the mattress beside me, taking my hand in his again.

“Of course. Gloria is how I learned of elementals, clairvoyant vampires, and about the emptiness filling me. She told me not to give up on love because it had not given up on me. But for the meantime, I had to stop seeking it, else it would continue to elude me. It was not until speaking with her, I even realized love was for what I had been searching. The moment she said it, though, I knew it was true.

“After my conversation with her, I recalled the legend of the Lady of the Moon. She had always fascinated me, and I had studied her extensively throughout my living days. So I vowed to her, if she would bring me love someday, I would strive to deserve it.”

“Did you?” I asked, watching him carefully. He seemed so fragile as he spoke, I was terrified he would break and leave me alone in this place. As disappointed as I was that he was here to begin with, having him with me was better than being alone.

“I am not there yet,” he chided gently, squeezing my hand again, a smile barely visible on his lips. “Over the next few hundred years, between trying to locate my sisters while avoiding remembering my actions, bettering myself emotionally, and, in the past few decades, searching for and saving elementals, I began to find a balance in my life. The anger was still there, the first response to anything unpleasant, but it was no longer ruling alongside grief. Stoicism was my aim, and when I came across Valetta, she seemed at first to help that goal be attainable.

“For the longest time, I had thought she was the one I was to love. That was when I built my garden,” he said, holding my gaze again. “It was to help soothe unpleasantness and, in part, be a gift. Gloria stopped my thoughtlessness. She was not the one, nor had she ever been. She provided love, but I had none in return for her as much I longed to—which was a truth I could not deny. I valued Valetta, but I felt obligated to behave in ways to communicate love for her. Valetta did not handle the truth well. For many years, she was understandably upset;” he hung his head and furrowed his brow. “I did not mean to harm her emotions, but I could not allow us both to live untruthfully, and she did eventually forgive me, though, as you might know, her protectiveness is still fierce.”

“I definitely know,” I said, grinning sheepishly as I remembered how cold she had once been toward me. It seemed like forever since I had seen her, longer so since she had despised me.

“When Gloria first told me of you,” he continued, glancing at me again, “I had the most remarkable urge to bring you myself. We had never harbored an air elemental before, and I had thought that was why I was so eager. I had not meant to contact you before you had an inkling of the changes you would undergo, but seeing you struggle those nights to sleep, I could not help myself. You reminded me of my sisters in your restlessness. It was not until later I discovered how unlike them you were—are at times. How troubled and unhappy you were, yet stuck where you had no wish to be, even if you would not admit as much to yourself.

“Before I had reached this realization, your similarity to my sisters was unbearable. I had not meant to…but I found myself biting you.”

“So that was you.”

“You knew all the while,” he said, as though he might have raised an eyebrow at me had the situation been different. “I did not dare trust myself after that. If I lost myself in thinking of my sisters, I was sure to turn you, and that would be unacceptable. I knew that. Yet I could not help but return occasionally and watch your growth. You were never to know I was there, but I could not help but let myself be known when those men proved their intentions were dishonorable. Particularly towards you.”

I brushed a lock of hair from his pale face. “Thank you for that. You didn’t have to, but you saved me anyway.”

“But I did,” he said, shock lacing his voice. “I have already said you reminded me of my sisters, but I had come to realize you were different from them in so many ways. As you healed, I volunteered my stories, hoping they would help you. And as I did, I grew more protective of you, as I had been of my sisters, but…in a way that made little sense to me. It remained that way until it was far too late for me to alter the situation.”

“What do you mean?” I recalled his protectiveness, thinking of it then as unnecessary. Confusion kept clouding my thoughts and I didn’t see how this explained anything.

“I was—am in love with you. With the Council, the emotion is as punishable as the deed,” he said solemnly.

“Drei,” I said, smiling and trying to cheer him up. “We don’t have to worry about them anymore.”

Drei turned from me and his whole body seemed to sag under a new weight. “Abriel, we do.”

Vampiric: Chapter Twelve, Part 1

Chapter Twelve: The Missing Pieces of the Puzzle

Wherever I had ended up was dark. In all my imaginings of death, I had never thought it would be dark. It had always been bright—on the brink of blinding—with a gentle melody leading me along to a place full of people who knew me, who had been waiting for me. To be in darkness made my failure seem far more stark.

“Before I explain,” Drei’s voice said from the darkness, “I need to tell you the story you’ve been requesting to hear.”

Hearing him so close wasn’t a comfort. I was terrified by the thoughts of what could have happened to him, especially after I had wanted him to stay safe. Being here—if it was where I thought I was—was not by any means safe.

“Where are you?” I asked, my voice harsh, my throat dry and constricted. Another oddity; I didn’t think death meant you still suffered bodily needs like thirst.

A lamp came on, temporarily blinding me. Once my eyes adjusted from the shock, I saw Drei sat on the edge of a nearby chair, hunched forward and seeming unable to look at me.

“Right here,” he whispered, his eyes dark and sorrowful.

The light partially illuminated the room around us. The entire space was dark, heavy curtains drawn over what appeared to be the only window. I had been tucked under sheets and thick woolen blankets on a bed. Thus far, the only thing consistent with my imaginings of death was that I didn’t feel like myself; something was very odd and not quite right with me.

 “Everything will make sense when I finish,” Drei said; I could have sworn I could feel his insecurity. That couldn’t be, though, because I remembered losing touch with the air in the hospital. I decided to trust Drei would make sense of this all.

“Okay,” I said, watching him carefully.

“Nearly 400 years ago, before I was turned, I met someone,” he said softly, the shame rising from the memory engulfing him. “At the time, I was finishing my studies at university. A few of my peers went to celebrate the end of exams, though most of us had another the following day. It was at the pub where she noticed and seduced me. There was no hiding what she was doing; she openly admitted what she wanted. When I resisted, insisting I could not partake that night, nor anytime soon as I was returning home after the commencement exercises, she told me I would be unable to resist her. Unfortunately, that was also the truth.

“She released me from her spell long enough to pass my final exam and receive my diploma. I had planned to make my escape after the ceremony and return home, but she awaited my exit and seduced me anew. I spent the next several weeks with her, not realizing how much time had elapsed until a letter arrived from home, requesting my immediate return. She was livid, insisting I would be unable to leave.” He rubbed his temples as though he could still hear her protests. “I knew I had to go. I missed my sisters, and she had underestimated the strength of my love for them. So one day, as she rested, I left, hoping that was the last I would see of that place.”

“What happened?” I asked, my voice still scratchy but slowly returning to normal.

Running an unsteady hand through his hair, he said, “A month later, she showed up in my bed chambers. There was no way she could have been there, let alone have known that is where I was. She scolded me for leaving her, insisting it had been a poor choice. That I wanted to please her, keep her contented, or she would drain me. It was my first indication as to her true nature. She presented me an option, then: I could devote myself to her and leave my family straight away, or I could deny her. Though she guaranteed I would not like the consequences of denying her, I…I could not imagine disappearing from my sisters’ lives. They needed me…they were still young and impressionable…you understand.” His voice was pleading, as if trying to convince me they didn’t deserve their fate, whatever it had been. “And I believed myself intelligent and resourceful enough to elude whatever consequences she promised.”

“Drei,” I whispered, not wanting him to continue. His hands and voice shook from the pain of the memory; I reached a hand out to him, though he was just out of reach. For as long as I had wanted to know, I didn’t want him plagued by remembering after he had worked so hard to forget. I hated seeing him pained, especially when there was little I could do about it.

“No, you must know to understand,” he asserted, moving his seat closer and taking my hand. I could still feel the pain and shame clouding the air around him, but the contact seemed to renew his resolve and stop his trembling.

“For weeks she showed up, issuing the same offer, and each time I remained insistent on staying. One evening, I had been taking a stroll, considering my future and whatnot when she appeared. I thought she was there for the same reason she had been the nights previously, so I ignored her. Until she stopped me. She teased me a while, asking for another chance to fix things between us. When I explained I would have to refuse her, she stalled with small talk. After an appropriate interval of time, she let me go with no proposal, no threats or consequences. I was sure I had finally convinced her she did not need me. How naïve I was,” Drei lamented, cradling his head in his free hand, gripping tighter to mine.

Vampiric: Chapter Six, Part 5

It dawned on me I could have read him instead of waiting for an answer. That had to be what Mom had done. But I also realized that I wanted more to hear than to take it from him. “What do you need to tell me?”

His face burrowed into his hands momentarily, before he raked his hair with his fingers.

“You're being tested this week. But they're rumored to be trying a different approach. They started last week, and the people they tested then aren't moving around yet. They're just…lying there…staring at the wall, but they don't say anything. One of the three looked at me today when I came in; it was creepy how empty his eyes were.”

“What are they doing to them?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t hear the tremor in my voice.

“From what the guys are talking about, they're trying to tap into the element itself.”

“That doesn't make sense. We are the element, it's us. We can use it—”

“So why can't it use you?” he interrupted calmly.

That shut me up. Not so much the idea of it, but the memory it triggered: losing control in high school. Before I had run away with Drei and left my Dad and everything else behind. In my indecisiveness, something inside me took over and fought for me; it wasn’t me, but it was a part of me. I'd been afraid of losing control ever since.

“But why? They could end up destroying someone.”

“They don't care about the person; they only care about how to harness and use the element against any who resist the government and the country.”

Remembering what Mom had told me about the air, I said, “The elements have the will to support life or let life die, but they don't tolerate people who think they should be able to choose which it is.”

“Abriel,” Nick asserted, gripping my forearm and holding my eyes. “They don't care.”

My gaze bore into his hand, touching me, but not really seeing it. A thousand thoughts swarmed my mind as to why they should care; a million combated as to why they didn't. Despite all the words filling my mind, none seemed to fit my lips well enough to escape. So I abandoned thinking about it, unable to quell the mixture of emotions beginning to overwhelm me.

“What—what else did you need to tell me?” I asked, struggling to stay calm.

His hand slipped down into mine, and I could tell he wasn't watching me anymore. “I can't. Everything else is from Gloria, and I promised not to.”

I would have nodded—used to hearing that I couldn't be told what Gloria, a clairvoyant vampire, had predicted in my future—but I couldn't even manage that. After having spent years avoiding losing control again, I was about to be dragged off amongst people who would try to induce it. It petrified me, to say the least, but it also angered, sickened, worried, and upset me.

Nick pulled me into his arms, running his fingers through my hair and whispering words that didn't make sense. Not among the hordes of emotion and thought concerning what was coming. No matter how I tried not to think about it, it came back—twice as forcefully and unnerving as before—until I couldn't help but cry into his shoulder, hoping my fears were for naught.

Vampiric: Chapter Four, Part 4

The problem with being trapped in a white room with hardly anything in it was there was nothing to hide behind when the other occupant started to drive you batty. So I settled for pouting in a corner, my back to her as she started babbling on again about the guy she thought would come for her. There didn’t even appear to be dust in the room, otherwise I probably would have entertained myself with a mini dust devil. So I half listened to her nonsense about a guy with cinnamon hair and deep brown eyes while I tried to imagine what it would be like when Drei burst through the door. I didn’t expect it to be any time soon, but if it happened—

Forcing the doubt out of my mind, I silently cursed her for putting that seed there in the first place and then returned to my images of Drei storming in with guards draped hopelessly over him, trying to stop him. It was melodramatic and ridiculous, yes, but it was better than listening to her tell me it would never happen. Looking at her, it was obvious what happened when you gave up hope in this place.

“…I felt so bad disappearing for all that time and then showing up again with a baby. And that I led him on for hours before taking him to see her; he was so angry; I knew he would be. I hated dropping it like that on him. I hope he’s forgiven me. Charlie never did forget well…”

I turned to look at her then, leaving behind any thought of completely ignoring her. Something in her ramblings was triggering a memory of mine—no, not mine. It was my father’s. The one I had taken all those years ago before leaving him. My mom had left for a year and then she showed back up with me, leaving me in his married hands, trusting him to protect me from ending up in a place like this.

She was older than in the memory, but that was a given. What I didn’t expect was that she had the same build and features. How could it be that the person in my father’s memory, and the woman in front of me, were one in the same. They couldn’t be.

“What’s your name?” I interrupted, praying she would say it was something other than my mom’s.

She gazed at me, smiling softly. “You’re not mad at me for being honest?” she asked, her pale cerulean eyes large and doe-like. “I was really worried about that.” She fidgeted with her fingers, twisting one fingertip between two fingers on the opposite hand.

Her comment made me wonder how long I had been ignoring her, how much I had missed, and how much of it I might have wanted to know.

“What’s your name?”

“What’s yours?” she countered, springing up and darting across to sit in front of me.

“Abriel,” I said, wondering how someone her age could have so much childish energy; especially when I was feeling exhausted. Perhaps it was a side effect of whatever experiments they conducted there.

She clutched my hand excitedly, bubbling about how pretty my name was and how she’d always liked that name. Then she abruptly changed subjects, saying, “My name’s Tyrene, but everyone calls me Ty—I guess I should say used to call me Ty; no one really calls me that anymore—except for the one night guard.”

My mind felt like it overloaded and shut down.  She couldn’t be my mom. This bubbly woman who had looked so worn and defeated to my father the last time he saw her. This person who shared my element, who had given up hope on anything ever changing. She just…couldn’t.

“You look really familiar, do I know you? From before obviously,” she babbled, oblivious to what I was going through.

“I’m—I mean, I think I’m—” The words stuck to the roof of my mouth and I couldn’t seem to pry them loose. Though I had learned to cope with so much that never made any sense, this topped it all. I couldn’t even manage to say it.

“Come to think of it,” she prattled onward, “I named my baby girl Abriel. I don’t know how long ago that was; you kind of lose track. I think the one guard who is really nice to me all the time said my record shows I came years ago; like—”

“Twenty-one?” Part of me prayed she’d say that wasn’t right.

“Yeah!” she screeched, bouncing again before sitting on her feet. “How’d you know?”

“I’m your daughter.” The idea kept being rejected by my brain, even after I said it aloud. It wouldn’t fit; I had thought I’d find her dead, or out doing something, but I never thought I would find her here. Not like this, at least. I had convinced myself, when I thought on it, that she would be serious and plotting; that was so far from the truth.

“Really?” she squealed, her eyes nearly bulging out of her skull and clutching me close. “How’d you get here? I gave you to Charlie so he’d take care of you. You weren’t supposed to end up here at all.”

Nothing I came up with could fully answer her questions. I ended up here by accident. By sheer chance. He did care for me—until everything blew up in my face. And I was still figuring out how to cope with finally meeting the one person who started it all.

Vampiric: Chapter Three, Part 3

“To us!” Caroline shouted over her team, standing on a table, now dressed in a hippie skirt and wrap blouse. We all quieted as the last of the champagne flutes were passed around. The gold in her eyes shined brighter as she gazed around, seeming to compliment everyone’s efforts in turn. “To a successful first broadcast. To everyone here. And to Abs, for getting us out of there before a run-in with the wrong people.”

Drei smiled at me from across the crowded room on the top floor of the warehouse. My cheeks flamed as everyone else turned and smiled, those nearest me giving a friendly pat on the back. I tried shrugging it off as though it were no big deal, but the attention was quickly returning to Caroline, so it didn’t matter.

“Let’s drink to a better tomorrow!” She downed the flute’s contents.

Someone started up some music and more drinks were passed around. While people paired off to dance or grouped to talk about the night and anything else, Caroline made her way towards me, Conan and Ian not far behind her.

“Conan doubled back after everyone cleared out,” she said, barely audible over the music. “Gov goons. If you hadn’t noticed it, we all would have been locked up by now…” She let her voice trail off, but I knew what was coming.

“You don’t owe me anything,” I said before she could say what she wanted. Personally, I didn’t want her to owe me anything. It would make when I left her operation that much easier.

Confusion and then some version of relief crossed her features, followed by her business-like demeanor. “You say that now, but everyone wants something sooner or later. I don’t forget my debts.”

I nodded for lack of something better to do; I wasn’t going to say what I was thinking.

Caroline stepped closer to me so her next words were spoken directly into my ear, her breath warm and unnerving. “I'm glad you signed on. I was wrong about you.”

She walked away. I knew what had prompted the compliment; that was obvious. But it felt like there was something else Caroline had been insinuating. Something I was missing. It worried me it might be something that could make a mess of things, too.

“Congratulations,” Drei praised, appearing beside me and interrupting my thoughts. He had left his flute behind somewhere; I didn't blame him. The moment I found a table, I was ditching mine. Alcohol was not what I needed; my thoughts were jumbled enough as it was.

“Thanks.” We were back to appearing together but not in a relationship, and it wasn't easy. Part of me wanted to let go of all the pretense and kiss him right there.

“I better head back that way,” he said before I could talk myself into anything.

“Okay;” I offered a weak smile. I knew he needed to bond with the other bodyguards if he wanted to be accepted by them, but that didn't mean I wanted him to go. The words “stay with me” were on the tip of my tongue, but I held them back. Part of not being together in public was not giving people an excuse to think you were together. I think that was the hardest part for me. I wanted so badly for us to be whoever we wanted to be, and the kiss yesterday didn't help things any either.

Drei sauntered across the room, gracefully slipping through the crowd as if the room were clear.

“That was amazing how you knew they were coming,” Conan said from behind me. I turned and was greeted by his sea-green eyes studying me curiously. “How did you know?”

“Ask C,” I said, having picked up on the fact she ultimately knew everything. “If she'll divulge that information.”

“Why can't you just tell me?” he flirted, moving to clear hair off my shoulder and brushing my cheek in the process.

Before I was unable to hide my discomfort and disgust, I excused myself and walked away. Conan wasn't a bad guy as far as I could tell, but I didn't enjoy the close proximity he took with me. As far as I knew, I hadn't done anything to suggest I was interested, but who knew? When you couldn't show off your boyfriend—or he you—things became complicated.

There was a table of refreshments I hadn't noticed earlier. That's where I left my champagne flute as I left the room. The hallways on this floor were pleasantly dark and quiet, the noise of the party muffled. Walking to the end, I leaned against the wall by a window, the panes frosted slightly and fogging over upon impact with my breath. I drew a heart in the condensation, remembering when my dad and I used to draw out whole comics on the windows of our rooms during ski trips. Not for the first time, I wondered how he was doing. He seemed to pop up in my thoughts every once in a while and I felt guilty leaving him in the state I had.

After he had shared everything he knew about my mom, he was a mess. The memories were still painful, even after all these years. The next day I left without telling anyone, and I wondered if he was as destroyed by my absence as he was by my mom's supposed death. My real mom, not my adoptive mother who put me through the paces of high society.

I reached out my senses, hearing the ocean roar in the distance. It took me a moment to realize there was another sound that shouldn't be there.

I tried to remember if there was anyone who hadn't showed up for the celebration. Counting the cars parked below, I knew everyone was here. So then why were there cars approaching? This stretch of the dock was pretty much abandoned, and I couldn’t fathom why a caravan of vehicles would be coming out here so late.

I pulled the conversations from the vehicles and found nothing but silence. These definitely weren't party goers. It didn't seem possible the government would have been able to locate the headquarters so quickly. Not after all the precautions they had taken.

Unless they had seen Conan circling back and had someone follow him.

Elemental: Chapter Eleven, Part 6

I chose to forego my sleep—not that I had been sleeping much anyway—and seek Drei. It was quite a hike to where Valetta guaranteed I would find him. The pine trees relented to my passage, almost in assurance I would get there.

The sun fell daintily though the branches and pine leaves, scattering light across a rocky ledge. Drei sat in the dappled light, gazing across the hilly landscape where black birds took flight in search for unfortunate mice and insects, or new nesting grounds.

“I’m sorry,” I said, standing a few yards away, “for scaring you.”

His gaze swiveled around as if searching for the source of the sound. When his amethyst eyes met mine, he shook his head gently, sighing. “I should apologize;” he seemed to search for the words to say, unable to hold my gaze for long. “You saw Nick as a person with a heart instead of a disagreeable occupation.”

“What happened to him?” I was timorous at the possible answers running through my mind. Depending on whose idea it had been, the options seemed to range from bad to worse, not finding any happy medium.

“I offered him a place with us, under our protection,” Drei said. “He turned me down, and I will not pretend I was not somewhat joyous. It would be too suspicious following us afterwards, he reasoned. Then he proposed his plan.”

“His plan?” If it had come from Nick, I was almost too afraid to ask. It was worse than if it had been Drei’s plan. In my imaginings, at least.

“He had us beat him, a real thrashing. Valetta ensured we avoided beating him senseless—it was a wondrous feeling,” he admitted, his features lighting up. I shook my head; I couldn’t help it. They were my guys and I should have known there would be violence somewhere in the plot. Okay, I did know, but I was hoping there wouldn’t be. “Then we hogtied him and left him afloat on the lake in a boat he found behind one of the cabins.”

“That sounds like Nick,” I admitted, a slight smile playing across my lips. “He always liked the big twist of surprise and huge impressions.”

Drei seemed like he was about to say something—he would turn to me, or part his lips slightly—but he didn’t for a while.

“What?” I asked, sitting next to him.

“We know why the government killed his family.”

“I know,” I replied, quietly. When he gazed at me with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, I continued, “He told me—I don’t think he meant to—when he told me he was—you know.”

“Are you still upset with him?” Drei looked away again.

A sigh escaped me; I had known this was inevitable, just as he had known this conversation was coming sooner or later. “I won’t lie. I miss him—a lot more than I thought I would.”

“Do not fret;” Drei smiled at me. “Nick is bound to show up somewhere down the road.”

“Did he say anything…before we left?” I asked, unable to help myself. I knew he had talked to me, but what would he have said to Drei or anyone else? And did he tell them something he didn’t tell me? Like I really wasn’t going to see him again? I knew Drei said I would, and Nick, too, but that didn’t mean they weren’t conspiring together; I could see Drei agreeing to go along with it.

“How about you watch?” Drei suggested, as he settled back. I sat across from him and watched as he closed his eyes, summoning the memory; I viewed it as it played above his head.

“You may join us,” Drei offered, hands buried in his pockets.

Nick chuckled. “It’s polite of you to ask, but you know I can’t.”

“It would be for her. Not for me.” Drei paused, struggling with the words. “She needs you.”

Nick shook his head, a slight curve to his lips. “We both know she only needed me as a substitute. A temp, if you will. And we both know,” he added, “that the unknown risks of me following outweigh any good I may or may not do.”

“I thought I would offer;” Drei shrugged.

“That’s a good thing, man;” Nick smiled. “It means you’re noticing her as a person, not just as another elemental needing to be saved from the oppressor’s inexplicable wrath.”

“I will take that as a compliment…?” Drei said, furrowing his brow.

“That’s what it is. Look, just don’t leave her lonely again, or I may just have to pop back in.”

“You can be sure she will be well accommodated on that front.” Drei stood taller—if that was even possible—as if to emphasize his point.

“Good.” Nick turned to leave but whirled around again, an index finger raised skyward, a devilish grin on his lips. “One more thing. We have to make this look believable….”

Drei sat up again, his eyes open, cutting me off from whatever came next.

“He has a good heart,” he said good-humoredly, sincerely.

“Yeah,” I agreed, beginning to feel sleepy.

“You have yet to achieve a good day’s rest.”

How did he always know? Then I remembered what Valetta had said. The two of them, they see everything. I should have expected as much.

Scooting over so I was next to him, I leaned against Drei—too tired to even fathom the walk back—and he smoothed my hair back from my face, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. His embrace really was comforting. And there was that luscious scent again. Smelling it now made me realize I had begun to miss it.

“Sleep is important,” he whispered, pulling me under whatever spell he had over me. I didn’t fight it; it was pointless to try. Besides, sleep sounded amazingly wonderful. And Drei made the comfiest pillow.