We all turned to look at Lyric and his dark eyes surveyed us. “What? She is.”

I glanced at Eli, whose frustrated gaze bore down on me. His jaw tightened and relaxed as he worked its muscle. Without an order from Eli, Lyric and Xavier left the gym. Was Eli angry at me? What the hell did I do?

“Why’d you throw your drink bottle at her head? She was backing off.”

I shrugged. “She made me mad.” His eyes flared with anger and I scowled at him. “Don’t give me that look, she started it.”

“You don’t need to create more problems for yourself. You’ve grown so much. Don’t bring yourself back to that level.”

I threw my hands up in exasperation. “Ask Xavier or Lyric. She started it.”

“I don’t care who started it, but Faith is an elite guard. They’re called elite guards for a reason. Don’t get yourself hurt.”

In my chest I felt my stubbornness rise. “I’m not weak and I’m not afraid of her.”

“I never said you were.”

“Good.”

Eli and I stood staring at each other. My fingers flexed and relaxed at my sides. I was glad I didn’t get into a fight, anyway. I was exhausted after that training session.

“You should be spending time with a real guardian,” I mimicked in my best bitch voice.

Eli laughed and twirled a lock of hair from my ponytail around his index finger, before letting it drop.

“You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“You’re not?”

I sighed. “Okay, fine. Maybe a little.” He stepped closer to me, running an index finger down my forearm. “I don’t like her touching you.”

The way he smiled at me made me feel like an idiot. He took me by the wrist, bringing my hand up to his lips and placed a soft kiss on my fingertips. His eyes watched me and a familiar pulsating feeling filled my stomach. “Don’t stress about those things,” he said, releasing my hand. “You are the only one I want.”

He turned from me and walked toward the door. I followed closely behind, my fingers still burning from his lips.

***

The walk back to my house was awkward, to say the least. Faith made it her mission to walk too close to my back. Every time I felt her breath on my neck, I’d purposely stop and she’d run into me, growling in frustration. Eli shot me an unlimited amount of warning glances during the walk and I took them all with a smile on my face.

When we arrived at Eli’s house and I saw there were no guards on his porch, I realized I was the only one with guards.

“Why am I the only one being babysat?” I wondered aloud.

Faith scoffed like it was obvious. “The council wouldn’t put it past you to do something stupid.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

With a tight, sympathetic smile, Eli trotted up his steps and into his house. I barely got to see the door shut before Faith nudged my shoulder, forcing me down the road. When we reached my house, I stormed up my steps and slammed the door behind me, letting them know loud and clear that they were not welcome. I leaned against the door and scanned the room. From where I was standing, I saw a clear plastic bag on my kitchen counter and I ran over to it. Inside, there was a deck of cards, two novels, and a crossword book with a pen sticky taped to it. There was also a note from Sera.

Ruby,

Here are the things you requested for Hunter.

We’re back now and heard about the Council hearings.

Good luck.

Sera.

I smiled. Before Sera and Aaron went on their mission, I asked them to bring back some supplies for Hunter. It was kind of a sorry gift, I suppose. I hadn’t been down to visit him since I ran from there weeks ago. I’m scared of him and what he’d say to me. What if he hated me now? I grabbed the plastic bag and pushed packing my clothes for the hearing to the back of my mind. Hunter probably had no idea we were leaving tomorrow, to wherever the goddamn council was, and I also wanted to talk to him about the sire thing…I didn’t feel any different. Would he even tell me if I asked? The people that have been studying him said that he refused to answer any of their questions or participate in any of their tests. Why did I think he was going to treat me any differently? When I stepped out, the elite guards were on my tail again.

“Don’t you have packing to do?” Faith snarled at me and I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll pack later.”

“Where are you going?” Tate asked.

“To see a friend.”

When I started heading into the forest, getting closer to the protection border, they became more suspicious.

“Ruby, what the hell are you doing?”

I sighed as I ducked underneath a low hanging branch. “I told you. I’m going to see a friend. You’re not scared, are you?” I asked, unable to keep a snicker from my voice.

“Of course not,” Faith snapped. “It’s daytime, there’s nothing out here.”

“You seem certain.”

“And you aren’t?”

I shrugged, glancing over my shoulder and smiling at her. Her eyes were narrowed in on me. “Look around you, we’re in a forest. There are plenty of snakes and spiders that will kill you as quick as any vampire.”

My smile widened as blood drained from her face. I was satisfied that I’d managed to make her uncomfortable. We walked for a while and I smiled every time I heard her gasp and squeal behind me.

“You have a friend waiting for you in the middle of a forest? You really are a shady character,” Tate chuckled nervously.

“It must be that vampire boy,” Faith added. “The one that they supposedly brought back from the dead.”

I ignored them. Talking about Hunter with strangers wasn’t on my to-do list today and soon enough, we came to the entrance of the underground holding cells. I couldn’t believe they were still holding him down here. He wasn’t a vampire anymore and deserved the same amount of protection as everyone else.

“Wait here,” I told the siblings.

“That’s not happening.” Faith almost chuckled, placing her hand on my shoulder and applying an unnecessary amount of pressure. “Where you go, we go.”

I shrugged her off and turned abruptly, crossing my arms tightly over my chest. I was getting really tired of her following me around and telling me what to do. She was almost as bad as Eli was when I first came to Sage.

“Yeah? Well, I’m going down into this tunnel.”

“Tunnel?” Tate asked, his eyes flitting nervously to its entrance and back. I noticed his chest rise and fall a little quickly. He swiped at the thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He was claustrophobic. This was going to be too easy.

“Come with me if you want,” I stated casually. “It’s awfully dense and tight down there. You might have to crawl toward the end."

“We’ll wait here.”

Faith turned to her brother, her green eyes glowering at him. “Like hell we are. Don’t be such a sook, Tate.”

“You can go, but I’m waiting right here. Besides, where can she go? There’s only one entrance and exit.”

Faith watched her brother for a few long seconds before exhaling and turning her attention back to me. “You have fifteen minutes and then I’m coming down to get you. Got it?”

Without a word, I whirled on my heel and entered the tunnel. It was actually quite spacious, but I wasn’t lying when I said it was dense. I could feel little beads of sweat form on the back of my neck and when I reached the bottom, I peered through the mirror to see what kind of mood Hunter was in. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning on his jean-clad knees with his elbows. Although I couldn’t see his face, he seemed bored. His black hair was getting long and it tumbled across his forehead. He impatiently flicked it away before his blue eyes swept over to the mirror, making my stomach drop. He was looking right at me, his face pinched in frustration. Did he know I was here?

I stepped away from the mirror and over to the door. A loud clank reverberated through the holding area as I pushed the door open. I kept my gaze on the dirty, concrete floor as I closed it behind me and I dragged in a deep inhale through my nose before turning to look at him. His blue gaze flitted to my face and my heartbeat sped up. His eyes were heavy, sleepy, and dark bags hung underneath them. He looked as tired as I felt.

“Hey,” I managed to say and the corner of his lips twitched.

“Hey.”

I stepped closer.

“De Luca doesn’t want to come in and say hi?”

His bitter tone startled me. “I came by myself,” I told him. “And I brought you a few things.”

I studied his expression and watched it shift from annoyed to relieved.

“Can I sit?” I asked, gesturing to the bed.

He nodded, his gaze dropping to the floor. Slowly, I made my way over to the bed and sat down.

“You didn't have to bring me anything. I've gotten used to counting the cracks in the concrete wall.”

I smiled. “Yeah, that sounds like a lot more fun.”

I pulled a red deck of cards from the bag. “Do you want to play?”

Hunter glanced at the cards and then at my face, like he was trying to understand what I was doing exactly. His blues eyes darkened and his lips straightened into a thin line.

“Did they send you? To see if I’m sired to you?”

“No,” I answered truthfully. “I’m here of my own accord. As a friend.”

He shook his head. “I thought that ship had sailed. This is the first time you’ve visited me since that day.”

He was referring to the day I got out of the hospital months ago. Back then, Hunter’s emotions were all over the place because he’d been transformed back into a god. He demanded things I couldn’t provide and I had to leave. I couldn’t handle it. He was right. I hadn’t returned since then and maybe that was awfully ‘unfriend-like’ of me.

“I know. I’ve been dealing with a few things of my own…between training and Eli and now the elite guards,” I exhaled, dropping the cards back into the bag. “As selfish as it sounds, I really haven’t found time for anyone else, but I’m here now, right?”

He turned his body toward me and all of his muscles were tensed. “Did you say elite guards?”

“Yeah. We have to go to a hearing in the council’s city. We leave tomorrow and the elite guards are here to make sure I don’t do anything stupid.”

His blue eyes flared desperately, widening into full circles as he launched himself to his feet, startling me. “You’re leaving? You can’t leave! You can’t leave me here!” His chest began to rise and fall rapidly as he paced the room, his shoes scuffing the rough concrete. After a few minutes, he stopped pacing and leaned his forehead against the far wall, tapping his knuckles in an uneven rhythm.

“Hunter, you’re comi—”

“Ruby, I’m connected to you,” he interrupted me. “You left with Eli yesterday and I couldn’t breathe, my chest hurt and I freaked out…I don’t want to go through that again. You have to convince them to let me go with you.”

He didn’t look at me when he spoke and I kept my gaze fixated on the back of his head.

“How do you know I left with Eli? It could have been Mila or Xavier.”

He shook his head. “I know when you’re around him…I feel everything.”

Oh. God. No. Surely, he didn’t mean everything. He turned to face me, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. His face was sullen and uncomfortable. I felt warmth rush to my cheeks and an uncomfortable heat seared down my neck. “You mean you feel—”

“Everything.” He emphasized the word, making my stomach turn.

Well, the visit definitely took a turn for the worst. I certainly didn’t want to rub that part of mine and Eli’s relationship in Hunter’s face. It surely couldn’t be something he enjoyed feeling.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

He shrugged. “I can put up with all of that, mostly because I like to feel you happy, but I can’t deal with not being near you…It’s torture.”

Aching for a change of subject, I said, “I was about to tell you that you’re coming with us. The council wants to see you, too.”

Hunter with drew his hands from his pockets and ran them roughly through his hair. “Oh…” His eyes widened again. “You can’t tell anyone what I just told you, Ruby. If they know I’m sired to you, for sure they’ll keep me locked up longer, please.”

I rose to my feet, rubbing my sweaty palms along my pants. “I can’t promise you that. Eli will find out I came here today and he’ll ask questions about you. I can’t lie to him.”

I dropped the plastic bag onto the unmade bed and Hunter took a step toward me.

“I’m not asking you to lie. I’m asking you to withhold the truth for a little while, that’s all.”

I exhaled. “I can’t and I won’t keep it from Eli, but I can try and keep it from Mr. Aleksandrov.”

He pondered it for a little while before replying. “Good enough.”

He stepped closer and his arms shot out, pulling me into a hug. The touch of his skin shocked me. It was so warm. So alive. I smiled. I did that. I brought him back. When he pulled back, he kept his hands firmly on my shoulders.

“What time are we leaving tomorrow?”he asked, his mood skyrocketing from depressed to excited.

“First light, probably.”