by E. M. Moore
I pulled my hands through my hair, thinking about Stephan again, but smiling at Samuel anyway. “I’m glad I won’t have to lose any time. Training is very important to me.”
Samuel’s eyes narrowed as he took stock of me. My shoulders had started to fill out, and now when I put tension in my arms, I had muscles that popped out. I was pretty excited about that fact. The other day, I noticed a refined line around my calf as well. After appraising me, Samuel’s eyes lifted to mine. “Good. Vampire safety should be your number one priority.”
I nodded, glad to have the door open behind me and hear the voices of the princes as they walked out. I was too close to telling Samuel that it wasn’t all vampires who I was worried about. It was just my princes and would always be just my princes.
4
I looked at the choices in my closet, which had slowly begun to build since knowing the Ravanas. It wasn’t just all black Fort uniforms in there; I now owned other types of clothes even though it wasn’t much. I figured The Council meeting would be an occasion where I’d have to semi dress up. Then again, maybe they’d want me in my trainee uniform. I blew out a big breath and shoved both choices into a small duffel bag Connor had let me borrow. Then, I threw in a few more. I had no idea how long we were staying or when the meeting even was. All I knew was that we were leaving in a bit, and for the first time since being captured, I would see a different room other than the one here at The Fort.
Was it weird that I was kind of going to miss this place? It had become a lot like a home to me, especially with the Ravanas nearby. I zipped up the duffel bag and looked around the small space. I’d gone from having almost nothing, this room a lot like my apartment in Calcutta, to slowly filling it with things that told me a lot about the person I had become or wanted to be. There were barbells in the corner that Nic had insisted he purchase for me, so I could work out without even leaving my room. There was the slew of pictures we’d sat for in one of those small picture booths in the movie theater we went to that one time. It was crazy trying to fit four Ravanas and myself into one frame. It was cramped to say the least. Not that I minded much. In fact, it would’ve been perfect except for the fact that it was right after I’d gotten my new tattoo and Christian kept accidentally elbowing me there. In a few of the pictures, I was even wincing in pain.
I picked up the duffel bag and threw it next to the door. As soon as it landed with a thump, there was a knock on the door. I started to laugh immediately. “Well, that was fast.” I ran to the door and swung it open, only to have my mouth drop and step back a few times when I saw who it was. It wasn’t Nic like I expected it to be. It was Evan, Liv, and Shannon. “Oh, hey guys,” I said, my smile immediately dropping from my face. “I didn’t expect you.”
Shannon tucked her red hair behind her ears while Liv hid herself even more behind the corner. “We heard you had to go to a Council meeting,” Shannon started. She eyed the bag at my feet. “Soon?”
I ran my hands through my hair and picked up the bag for something to do. It was awkward to say the least. “Yeah, I leave today.”
I threw the bag back onto my bed and then faced them again. All of them just stared at me. The silence was so long I was about to ask them why they were even here other than to say they knew I was going to a Council meeting when Evan shuffled his feet. “We wanted to just come say goodbye. We know we’ve—”
Shannon finally threw her hands up. “We know we’ve been pretty shitty. It’s not your fault a vampire killed a human guard so we shouldn’t be avoiding you for any reason. Not that we were avoiding you, really. It’s just that, I guess, none of us really wanted to be reminded of it, and you would remind us of it.”
I mentally sighed. Well, this was going well. My very face reminded them that a vampire killed a guard. So? I wanted to say. I was glad Stephan did. If he hadn’t, something terrible could’ve happened. “You know there wasn’t another option, right?” I asked, my eyebrows rising. “She captured me and was going to use me as bait against the Ravanas. Not to mention that she damn near killed Christian. Stephan did what he had to do to save his brothers.” Their gazes met, and then they looked at the floor. Honestly, I didn’t see what the problem was. It was unfortunate she was dead, for anyone to die, but when you behave like that, what did she think was going to happen? Should we have let her go with a promise not to hurt anyone else again? I sighed. “Did Zeke put you up to this?”
Liv finally came forward. “No, he’s barely talking to anyone either. I guess it’s just kind of hard for any of us to understand. We’re all going to be guards someday and to think that it could happen to one of us…”
“Listen, Kay was off the reservation. All I know is she was totally distraught and not thinking clearly. She took her anger out on the Ravana Clan—or tried to. Thankfully it didn’t work.”
Shannon narrowed her eyes. “But aren’t you upset with Gregor too? You were mad when you found out he’d made the deciding vote to kill Zeke’s mom’s baby.”
I groaned inwardly. I couldn’t very well tell them that Gregor Ravana was going to make things right. Well, as right as he could, anyway. “I’m upset about that, but you still don’t take your revenge out on innocent people because of it. I didn’t have anything to do with it, and neither did the princes.”
Evan held his hands out. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. We just wanted to let you know that we don’t blame you for what happened. When you come back, maybe we can all hang out, go get dinner or something?”
It didn’t matter? I had to disagree. What if I’d had the opportunity to kill Kay? Would it have been better if I’d killed her instead of a vampire? Was this a vampire-human thing I wasn’t aware of? Because I could say for certain right now that had I been in Stephan’s position, I would’ve twisted Kay’s neck in a heartbeat too. The scene of blood soaking Christian’s shirt was still too raw to bear I wouldn’t have thought twice. I knew I wouldn’t, and that didn’t make me a bad person. “Yeah, maybe,” I shrugged, not committing to anything. If they didn’t like the princes because they saved me, we might as well cut ties now.
My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I took it out. It was Nic letting me know they were waiting outside for me.
I smiled at them. “Well, I have to go. I guess I’ll see you guys when I get back.”
I turned, retreated to the bed to grab my duffel bag, and then made them make space for me as I walked through the doorway. I was just about to walk down the hallway after locking the door when Evan grabbed my hand. “Be careful, Ariana. It seems kind of…weird that the vampires want you to go to one of their Council meetings.” He bit down on his lower lip. “Just think for yourself, and stay safe. Okay?”
He pulled his hand away, and I gave him a half smile. What he said was really sweet, but honestly, I didn’t need it. All I was going to do was step in there and give them my side of things. What could possibly go wrong?
Still, the knot of apprehension that had started in my stomach when I first heard about the Council meeting tightened even more as I walked down the hallway and out the front entrance. I was leaving The Fort again. Almost nothing good happened when I left The Fort.
5
I circled around the side of the building and almost came to a complete stop when I saw all the unmarked SUV’s in the back parking lot lined up one right after the other. “What the…?”
Christian jumped down from the passenger seat from the Jeep in the middle of the pack and strode toward me. When he saw the look on my face, his lips pulled up into a grin. “Crazy, right?”
I nodded. “What the heck is all this? I thought we were all riding up together?”
“We are. This is my dad being paranoid.”
I gazed at the other SUV’s. Some had guys in black tactical suits standing just outside the front while others I could peer into the vehicle windows to see similar uniforms looking straight ahead with no emotions on their faces whatsoever. “Are we in trouble?” I asked, my mind going back to what Eva
n had just said. Was this really not a good thing that I was going to a Council meeting? What was with all the guards if this was just a routine thing?
“No. It’s just that my dad has really amped up our security. Especially since we’re on our way to a Council meeting, he doesn’t want anyone who sympathized with Kay to think they can finish what she started.”
He put pressure on my back forcing me to walk forward. “This is nuts,” I said, still peeking at the guards. By my count, there were at least ten. “Where did you get all of them?”
Christian didn’t answer, only pushed me along, and then held open the back door for me. “Hey, Princess,” Connor said. He’d had to poke his head around Stephan in order to see me.
I gave him a small wave as I looked back up at Christian, waiting for his answer. He had that pensive aura about him again. “Some are on loan. Some are probably retired and just came back for this one event. I don’t know about the others. I didn’t ask. Do you want me to?”
I shook my head and waited as Stephan got out of the Jeep and lent me a hand to help me inside. As soon as I got in, Connor bounced his shoulder off mine. “What do you think? You feel special?”
“A little overwhelmed,” I said truthfully. I spun in the backseat to look at the SUV behind us. There were two guards in the vehicle as far as I could tell, and both were in the front seat with no emotions passing over their faces. “Should I be riding with them? I am supposed to be your guard, right?” Suddenly, panic kicked down a door and settled in my stomach. Why wasn’t I riding with one of them? Did they think I couldn’t handle myself because of what happened with Kay?
Connor put his arm around me, calming my nerves. “No way. We wouldn’t give up this time with you. Besides, we talked them into having you in the Jeep with us because it would be safer. Plus, I don’t know if you’ve seen the looks on the others’ faces, but they look like they have no sense of humor whatsoever and I cannot deal with that right now. It’s either you, or no one in the vehicle with us.”
“Your dad really okayed me being in the Jeep with you to keep you safe?” Wow. That was something.
I met Nic’s stare in the rearview mirror. He was sitting at the steering wheel, his hands draped casually over the leather binding. What I saw in his eyes didn’t look like what I’d said was true, so I just dropped it. One of these days I was going to prove myself to them and to me. I had to.
“So, are you excited?” Connor asked.
“About what? The Council meeting? Not really. I’m actually kind of nervous.”
He cracked a smile. “No, I mean about seeing our house.”
My eyes bugged out of my head. “Your house? That’s where we’re going?”
As I said that, the Jeep started to crawl forward. A quick peek in front of me told me the other SUV’s had started to move too.
“Well, yeah,” Connor said. “Where else?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t realize The Council meetings were held in your house.” A new form of nerves fluttered in my stomach. I’d finally be able to see where I would be stationed when I graduated at the top of my class. (Yeah, it wasn’t even an option anymore to not graduate at the top of my class.) “This is…great,” I said, and meaning every emotion behind it. I could tell the guys were excited, too. Even Stephan was loosened up at the prospect of showing me where they’d grown up. It was Connor though, who’d kept on being his goofy self making the miles and the minutes pass by so fast. We were in Central Pennsylvania and headed to the Adirondacks in New York. It was a several hour drive that didn’t feel that long at all.
When we passed over the New York border, Connor announced that we needed a pit stop. With that, Nic radioed to the other SUV’s and told them we’d be stopping at the next exit. There was no argument from them though Nic hadn’t said it like a question either.
It was kind of amazing watching them interact with others. They were the Ravana Princes and held a lot of power, but that power also left them with being babysat at times such as this. They were important. No one would risk losing them, so at the same time they were also reserved in some ways. With power should come freedom and in a lot of ways that’s what they had. But in some ways, they really didn’t have that. They were constantly called on by duty. Take, for instance, when they’d had to leave me a few weeks ago to attend that Council meeting. I knew they didn’t want to go, but given who they were, they really didn’t have a choice. They gave up a lot for being who they were. I was in awe of them sometimes. It was like this natural push and pull. No, I didn’t think they liked being princes all the time, but also, I think they reveled in the fact that they had the power to bring much needed change to their world.
Stephan squeezed my knee, and I looked up at him. He was regarding me in a way I’d never seen before. You feel alright? he mouthed. I nodded, and the relief on his face was clear. “What are you thinking about?”
I shook my head. There were some thoughts a girl wanted to keep to herself. It was still scary admitting how enamored I was by the princes. How much my life had changed since they came into it. They’d literally saved me from a miserable existence. There was no way I could ever repay them.
He leaned over and kissed my temple, leaving his soft lips there for a beat longer. I closed my eyes, mesmerizing the feelings that surged inside me. I would never get used to this. This would never grow old or tiresome, and I would never take it for granted.
“Hey, no fair,” Nic’s husky voice called out from the front seat. “Some of us are driving and can’t even look at Ri right now let alone touch her.”
Stephan’s lips split into a smile while they still touched my skin. “Sorry…not sorry?”
The princes all laughed, Connor the loudest. It really was an un-Stephan like thing to say. Not that he didn’t have a sense of humor, but that was more of a Connor-ism.
“Laugh it up,” Nic barked. “Wait until Christian and I make you and Connor take the front seats so we can sit next to her.”
Connor’s hand shot out in front of me and pointed to the side of the road. “There’s the first exit.”
Nic had to break a little harder than he should have had to had he been paying attention to what he was doing. Then, he swerved to get over into the exit lane. The road curved around parading through a forest of pine trees before we went down a small hill that leveled out right near a gas station. Nic pointed ahead and looked in the rearview mirror at Connor. “That good enough for you?” he asked.
Connor gave a quick nod, and Nic pulled into the gravel parking lot, kicking up dirt and stones in our wake. I looked around at the small gas station surrounded by trees, and the stretch of road yawning for miles in either direction. The place looked abandoned except for the blinking Open sign in the front window. There were only two gas pumps, and in the far right of the parking lot, a broken fence surrounded something that looked like it hadn’t been used for years. Street lights jutted out from the dirt at the corners of the parking lot, but they swayed in the slight wind. One was even leaning as if it hadn’t worked in a long time while one of the others had the glass completely broken out of it. A quick check on the ground looked as if the glass still lay at its base. Whoever owned this place definitely didn’t keep it up like they should.
“The land that time forgot…” I mumbled.
“Tell me about it,” Nicolai said. “Let’s make this quick. Everybody out, be back in five.”
The princes all pushed their doors open. As soon as Connor got out, I noticed a black SUV had pulled up next to us on that side, and no doubt, there was another one flanking us on the other. Nicolai spoke briefly with a guard as we walked to the front entrance. That same guard stood right near the entrance as we all walked inside. He looked me up and down, his brown-black hair cut close to his head with dull brown eyes. He looked rather unextraordinary compared to the princes, except he had a chiseled face, though it was rough. Not the smooth concrete that the Ravanas had, but this guy looked as if he had put up a tough fight
for his life one or two times. I nodded at him finally, and he nodded back.
The interior of the little gas station store smelled musty and stale. There was an older gentleman at the front counter who narrowed his eyes at us as soon as we entered. The guys all split up, Connor heading toward the restrooms as the others grabbed a haul from the snack and drink aisles. I stayed near the front, gazing out at the window toward the guards we left behind. One had come in and swept the place before us and then left, but that same guard who’d eyed me was still stationed outside. He was unmoving, facing straight ahead, but I had a feeling he was well aware of everything going on. I took stock of the way he carried himself, trying to mimic him in the shoulders. I pulled my own shoulders back, and then up, pushing my chest out. There was just something in his demeanor too. Something that said, ‘Don’t mess with me.’ I wanted to be seen that way, instead of the way Kay had made me look. Like a damsel in distress instead of the kickass guard I needed to be. I may as well start now.
I looked around, making sure I could spot all my guys in the small store. The bathroom door was still shut. Nicolai was now near the sports drinks; Stephan was glancing idly at the sunglasses while Christian had just picked up a bag of chips. I glanced at the guy at the counter; his eyes were still narrowed, almost glaring at my guys. He hadn’t said anything when we came in. In fact, now, I could sense waves of hostility floating off him. He was not happy that we were here, not at all. His jaw was clamped shut, and his yellowing eyes were filled with hatred.
The bathroom door creaked open, and I went to turn when a small sticker in the front window caught my eye. It was a picture of very cartoony looking vampire fangs, much like one would see around Halloween, with a circle and a line through it.
No…vampires?
How in the…? I moved toward Christian, grabbing the hand that held his newly acquired chips. “We need to go. Now.”