Victoria took her sweet time, thinking about everything that had happened and been said. Then, Alex. The time they had spent together, how he was the first person she had felt close to in years.
She pressed her palms against the sink, leaning her weight into it. She took a few, shaky breaths, weighing her options. Even if she managed to return to her aunt and uncles’, the situation would be impossible to explain. Illyad, no matter how hospitable, was still a stranger. And Alex...
Alex wanted to see her.
She ran a hand through her hair, closed her eyes, and held her breath. Questions only Alex could answer consumed her thoughts. The need for answers settled heavily in her chest.
She found bandages that would work, then reluctantly left the bathroom.
“Okay,” she said softly, sitting as far from Illyad as possible, her gaze on the floor. “If he wants to meet, then... fine.”

Illyad nodded. "Would you prefer he come here, or would you like to meet at a different location?" He asked. They would be safest if they didn't move around, but he could throw up some protection spells to keep them undetectable no matter where they were.

Alex was pacing around his apartment. Victoria was safe. She was with Illyad. But she was confused. Why wouldn't she be? He cursed himself for not telling her the truth a long time ago. Of course, her issue with supernaturals didn't help him feel open to do so...
No. He couldn't blame her for his deceptions. He had chosen not to tell her. Of course she wouldn't entirely trust him after this.
He sat down and rested his head in his hands. How was he supposed to come back from this?

Victoria looked up and blinked at Illyad. She had not thought about the “where.” She glanced around the room, weighing the pros and cons of both options. They could always meet somewhere public, she supposed, but then she had no idea how far Illyad’s magic could go to keep them shielded.
She leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees and tangled her fingers in her hair. “Here’s fine,” she mumbled.


A butler dressed to the nines led Luc and Nyara down a long hall. The extravagance of the space made Nyaira feel at home. At long last, she was in a place that suited her. Yet, something felt off, from the lush carpet that sunk beneath her feet to the ornate tapestries and paintings that decorated the burgundy wallpaper above the wainscoting. She could not help but look over her shoulder constantly, the feeling of being watched prickling at her nerves. A couple times, she swore she saw something move, lurking around the wall decorations, but when she went to look, she saw nothing out of place.
She had tried asking Luc where they were going, but he had offered little for an answer, and had been silent since asking the butler, who had greeted them after their teleportation, to speak with the master of the house.
The hall came to an end at a large door. The butler held it open for the vampires.
Nyaira stepped into a grand entrance hall behind Luc. Clad in black-and-white marble from floor to ceiling, only a couple couches and armchairs created elegant splotches of color. A small fountain looked as if it had grown from the floor itself near the center of the room, with a grand staircase rising behind it.
The butler hurried forward, his gloved hands clasped behind his back. He led them toward a door on the opposite side of the room, and knocked.
“What?” a masculine voice growled from the other side.
“Luc has returned, sir.” The butler returned his hand behind his back. “He requests an audience.”
A slight pause, than an interested, “Send them in!”
The butler quickly opened the door and gestured for the vampires to go through, offering them a respectful partial bow.
Luc strode into the office beyond, but Nyaira hesitated. She glanced around the entrance room once more, then followed Luc inside.

Illyad nodded. "Excellent. Would you like some time to prepare?" He asked, looking directly at her. He wasn't entirely at ease with this whole situation. Generally speaking, protecting humans didn't mean endangering himself, and normally he would never value someone's life over his own. He had saved many people, and would continue to do so as long as he lived. He preferred to remain alive to do so. The fact that he had already risked his life to save Victoria and would continue to was something that surprised him. Of course, he also knew what could happen if she fell into the hands of vampires...

The rest of eternity would be nice, Victoria thought with a scowl. But even that probably wouldn’t help. Victoria could feel Illyad’s gaze on her. She shifted awkwardly in the seat, resisting the urge to glance up at him.
“It’s not like I’m giving a presentation,” she snapped more vehemently than she intended, the emotions warring inside her all trying to escape at once. “Sorry,” she muttered, taking a deep breath and running a hand down her face. “No. Better sooner than later.”


The office was as elegantly designed as the entrance hall. Larger than Nyaira expected, a fire blazed in a fireplace, and bookshelves lined most of the walls. The couple windows in the room had curtains drawn over them, blocking out the harshest sunrays.
A man who looked a couple years older than Luc stood from behind a large oaken desk.
Nyaira blinked at the warlock. She glanced between him and Luc. Though the two were different in many ways, their features held just as many similarities. Too many to be a coincidence.
“Well?” he asked, suspicion in his voice. “Where is she?”
“We ‘ad a bit of a… mis’ap,” Luc said darkly.
The warlock’s face hardened. “Did you kill her?”
“Do you zink I’m stupid?”
The warlock raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want me to answer that?”
Luc bore his fangs, and took a threatening step toward the desk.
Nyaira rolled her eyes. “We’re all adults here,” she interrupted in a bored tone. “So how about we act like civilized supernaturals?”
The warlock looked to Nyaira as if noticing her for the first time. “You must be the lovely Nyaira. I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
“And I’m sure it’s all true,” Nyaira purred, banishing any unease with a coy smile.
The warlock smirked. “I hope so. I’m Jevan Véron.”
“The Jevan Véron?”
“The one and only.” He gave an arrogant bow. “So what happened to the girl?”
“One of your kind took ‘er.”
“You couldn’t track them?” Jevan sighed, sat back in his chair, and held his fingers in a steeple. “Do you have something of hers? Something of value?”
“I scratched her and drew blood.” Nyaira extended her hand toward him.
“Now that I can work with.” Jevan hurried around to the front of the desk and took her hand, examining her long nails. “Come with me.” The warlock headed toward the only wall without bookcases. The plaster seemed to yawn, revealing a door.
Luc hung back as Nyaira followed Jevan. He pulled his most recent burner phone from a pocket. The feeling that Alex played a part in the girl’s escape still nagged at him. There was something about that traitorous vampire that kept him on edge. He would have him tailed, and knew just the supernatural for the job.

Illyad nodded. "As you wish. Wait here a moment." He said as he left the room, heading into the kitchen.

He opened a portal, just big enough to pull Alex through before closing on itself, he didn't want to risk the integrity of his protection spells. He leaned through it, grabbed the back of Alex's jacket, and yanked him back through the portal, much to Alex's surprise.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Alex growled at Illyad. "You could have killed me!"

"Far from it, youngling. I guided you. If it were a danger, you'd probably be dead, considering your fortune these recent days. Victoria wishes to see you. Or more, she accepts that you wish to see her. I believe she has some questions for you." Illyad told him. "Please, she's in the living room, I shall leave you both to discuss matters." He gestured with his hand for Alex to proceed.

Alex, hesitantly, walked into the living room. "Hey." He said, a little sheepishly.

Victoria took a couple deep breaths once Illyad left. She pulled her hands from her hair and sat up a bit straighter. Her brows furrowed when Alex’s voice reached her from the kitchen. Speakerphone?
“Hey.”
Victoria jumped to her feet and spun around, her heart racing at the sudden reminder of the existence of portals. She looked at Alex for a short moment before the reason she had agreed to see him replaced her surprise and his simple greeting sunk in.
“‘Hey?’” she started softly, her voice growing stronger as she continued, the pang of knowing what he was keeping her on edge. “After everything that’s happened today, the best you could come up with is ‘hey?’” Not wanting to look at him any longer, to see what he was and had hidden from her for so long, she cast her gaze to the floor, keeping only his feet in her sight.

"What am I supposed to say, Victoria?" He asked. "How am I supposed to start this conversation?" He noticed she wasn't looking directly at him, but refused to acknowledge why that hurt. "I get that your upset because I kept this from you, but it was because I knew how you would react if I told you, and I needed you to trust me, so I could protect you. Can't you see that? Can't you understand that everything I've done, every lie I've told, every detail of my life since I met you has all been because I needed to keep you safe?"

“…how you would react if I told you…”
Victoria snorted. “Because this was so much better,” she muttered.
Her lips pulled down in a scowl as Alex finished, and her gaze hardened. “Keep me safe, huh?” she growled. “Is that what these last few years have been about for you? ‘Keeping me safe?’” She glanced to him, anger swimming in her eyes, before she quickly looked away once more. “Is that why you befriended me? Because you knew what I can do, and wanted to keep an eye on me? How deep do your lies go?” She bit her lower lip and wrapped her arms around her midsection as the question that had been burning a dent in her brain now hung in the air between them. “I did trust you, Alex. More than anyone. But only fools knowingly trust a lie.”

Alex couldn't keep the pain out of his eyes as he realised what she thought.
"I will admit, when I first met you, it was because I had found out who you were, what you could do, and I knew that you would be being hunted, and I couldn't let your ability fall into the wrong hands. But that was just what started it. Victoria, for the past few years I've wanted to protect you because I care about you. I met you because of what you can do, but I stayed because I-" Could he say it? Could he admit it? Now? After all this time? "Because I couldn't stop myself from wanting to spend time with you." He avoided saying what he really meant. Fear held him, even now. "Because in all my years of avoiding getting close to people, you're the one person I couldn't handle staying away from. But at the same time, I was terrified of what you would think of me if you ever found out who I really am. I wanted to be honest with you, I wanted to tell you everything, but I was so scared, so incredibly scared. The way you look at me, or don't, now, you don't realise how much that kills me!" He sighed, he'd started now. "The fact that you are obviously upset, and I can't comfort you is bad enough, the fact that it's my fault makes me want to tear myself to pieces. The way you look at me like you're scared of me, like I've done something to make you hate me, it kills me. And it shouldn't. I shouldn't allow myself to feel this way but I can't help it." He fell to his knees, a tear rolling down his cheek. "You have no idea. No idea at all."

Victoria shook her head as Alex began, letting her hair fall slightly over her face as her vision blurred from tears she tried to suppress. Then came his “but.” She inhaled as he paused, her head tilting up ever so slightly.
She fingered her pendant when he spoke of his fear of finding out who he was. Rather, what he was. But that was a fear she understood to an extent. Even though he knew about her ability, she had still not told him for fear of pushing him away, that the way he looked and thought of her would change. And he was someone she could not bear to lose.
She blinked at him in surprise when he fell to his knees.
Victoria let a silence fall between them. Taking a few deep breaths, she sunk to the floor with her knees against her chest, her hand ever on the pendant. After a moment, she took another deep breath and took the pendant from around her neck, caressing it in her palms.
“Like your heart’s saying one thing, but your head another?” Her voice came in little more than a whisper. She exhaled slowly. “I’ve told you that my parents died in a car accident. A hit-and-run. With no witnesses. At least, that’s what all the reports say. But...” She faltered. “But that was just the easiest thing for them to put. The only truth in it is that their car stalled and they called my Uncle Frank for help.” She took another deep breath, her distant, watery focus on the pendant in her hands. When she spoke again, she only hoped Alex’s sensitive ears could hear her. “It was just after dark. They noticed someone at the side of the road, and my dad got out to help. But it wasn’t a human. When...” she took a shaky breath, “when things went bad, my mom got out to try to help fend it off, but they didn’t stand a chance. I was in the backseat. The only reason that vampire didn’t... didn’t kill me, too, was because my uncle pulled up and fired a few of his ‘special rounds’ at it. I’ve tried to forget it, to block it out, but...” She shook her head.
She took another deep breath, closed one hand around the encased rose, and wiped an escaped tear with the other. “You were the best thing that happened to me, Alex. When we weren’t together, I was thinking about the next time we would be. You’re... you were more than just my best friend to me, but...” She closed her eyes and bent her head slightly. She fingered the chain of the necklace and swallowed hard against a lump forming in her throat. “As different as you are, you’re... you’re still a vampire.”

Alex faced her and shook his head. "You don't understand... Despite your ability, you haven't stepped foot in our world." He sighed, running a hand over his face. "In our world, there are 2 types of supernaturals. The ones that belong to the old world, and the ones who belong to the new one. The old world supernaturals believe that they should be in power, that humans are a weaker breed, and want nothing more than to destroy. People like me are part of what is considered new age among our people. We just want to blend in, have normal lives. Live, laugh, love. We want to be human, but we can't do that very easily. That's why I devoted my life to protecting people, because it's the closest I can get."

Victoria gave a slow, almost frustrated sigh. “Yeah. Your friend told me about some of that. And your, uh, reformation. I know I haven’t even stepped foot in your world. I’ve tried to avoid it my entire life. Which was part of the point I was trying to make. That isn’t something that just magically goes away in a couple hours because you find out someone you--” She exhaled through her nose, not wanting to admit the thought aloud. “Someone you care about is a part of the world you’ve feared and stayed away from for almost fourteen years. You’re different. If you weren’t, I doubt I’d even be here to have this conversation. But every single instinct is yelling at me to run out the door. Change takes time.” She enunciated each of the last words carefully. “I would think you’d know that.” She glanced up to him from beneath the thin veil of her hair. She held her breath against the truth of what he was, her heart beating quicker at the visual reminder.

"I know." Alex said, sounding somewhere between relieved and defeated. "But right now, we don't have time. The attack on the city is coming. Nyaira and Luc are after you. They have other people working for them, there's almost no doubt that they'll have some kind of magician, most likely a warlock, to help them. Victoria, please understand, if I could let you go about your daily business and give you some space I would, but if I did that, you'd be kidnapped or dead within minutes, and I'd be next." He closed his eyes, refusing to tell her that he probably wouldn't make it out of this fight alive as it is...

Victoria let her head fall to her knees with a groan at the reminder of the many imminent dangers facing them. In the course of no more than a couple hours, she had gone from avoiding the supernatural world, to being shoved into a vat of boiling supernatural-infested water.
“Any ideas how to avoid adding to that list?” she muttered, before he asked for her understanding.
She groaned again as Alex finished, then exhaled, trying to calm the storm inside her. If she couldn’t stop the plummet to the water, she may as well try to turn the fall into a six-point dive.
Victoria replaced the necklace around her neck, her gaze on her knees. “What do we do now, then?” she asked, her voice flat.

Alex wasn't exactly thrilled that things had gone this way, but he figured this was progress, and so decided to tell her how his plan would, ideally go.
"Well, in a perfect world you'd stay well out of the way, under as many protective wards as Illyad can put around you, while I work on protecting all the people at the school, and try to stop some of the carnage that will be happening across the city. Of course, before that I do need to call in some reinforcements. I can't exactly go in on my own. I mean, we have some people stationed around the city, with extra emphasis on the college, but they won't be enough to keep Luc's forces at bay..." He looked at her. "But you have to stay protected." He told her. "I can't protect the rest of the city if I know you're in danger, because I will be too busy trying to protect you. You are my first priority in this."

Protected. Safety. Safety sounded good. Though, Victoria had the feeling that that option sat on rather rocky ground. And not just for her. The lives of people all around the city were in danger, and, by the sound of it, safety was less of a guarantee for them than it was for her. A seed of guilt planted itself in her at the thought of being protected, while so many others would be hurt or killed. She draped her arms over her knees and laced her fingers together tightly. She felt Alex's eyes on her, but kept her own gaze on her pants.
“Do you know by how many Luc’s forces outnumber you and your allies? Or will, once you round others up.”

Alex shook his head. "We can estimate, but we can never really get an accurate count of Luc's forces. They are being very careful to remain hidden. Stopping them may well be impossible, but we have to try. Every life saved is a small victory." He told her, shrugging. "We can't protect everyone, but we might just be able to save some lives."

Well, that’s reassuring, Victoria thought with a frown at the prospect of being in the dark about exactly how many followers Luc had.
“Yeah, true,” she muttered when he finished speaking. She moved to place a hand to her face, but she stopped when the bandage on her arm pulled at a couple hairs. She tenderly flattened the adhesive, ever careful of the shallow cuts beneath.
Alex’s wound from the shade popped into her mind, and she glanced up at him, a glint of concern flashing in her eyes as it momentarily overpowered the other emotions vying for her focus. “Earlier. When that shade... Are you okay?”

Alex nodded. "I appreciate the concern, but I'll be fine. I heal quicker than most." He smiled at her. "Shade's have a kind of poison, it's lethal to humans, but it just slows down my healing process. If it was anything else I'd have healed almost instantaneously." He shrugged. "It's still healing, but it'll be completely healed by tonight, as long as I don't exert myself too much. That's why I sent Illyad, rather than coming for you myself." He ran a hand over his chest, which he had bandaged since the attack, and thought about the Shade. It bugged him that it was around, especially considering he hadn't seen one in a long time.