“I thought I had been doing a good job of hiding my feelings.” Melanie gave Ree a small smile.

“Uh, yeah.” Ree pointed at her head. “Emotion radar built in, remember? Once I got my head out of my own butt, it kind of became apparent.”

“It’s just all so confusing. I mean, he’s a Dark One. A Dark One killed my dad. And then there’s you and the whole Tria thing. I must have some kind of sadistic need to torture myself.” Melanie met Ree’s eyes openly. “But, I can’t help it. When we’re alone, there is something there.”

“Have you told him?” Ree leaned forward on the counter, bracing her head on her hand.

“What would I tell him? Um, hey, Roland. I know you’re in love with my best friend and all, but why don’t we go out for a movie? Grab some popcorn and kick Dark One ass during the previews?”

“Well, I can see where you might have some trouble with that.” Ree frowned. “The gods really did a number on us, didn’t they?”

“You could say that.” Melanie sighed and looked back at her plate. “It just feels so hopeless.”

“Don’t give up, okay?” Ree reached out and grabbed Melanie’s hand. “Just keep working at it.”

“I hear you, I just don’t know how. He’s been in love with you for so long.” Melanie looked at Ree and winced.

“No, he hasn’t.” Ree shook her head adamantly. “He’s been in love with the idea of me. That’s not the same thing. You just need to make him realize how awesome you are.”

“Okay.” Melanie smiled. “Seems kind of silly to be worried about this type of thing with everything else going on.”

“Not really. This is exactly the type of thing we’re fighting for.” Ree stood up and took her plate to the sink. “And speaking of fighting. I think it’s time we started calling the shots.”

“Oh, I like that.” Melanie dumped her plate in the sink too. “I like a woman in charge.”

“Then let’s round up everyone else and come up with some strategy.” Ree headed out the door, calling for everyone to meet up in Sophie’s office. She decided to turn the fireplace on so it wouldn’t feel so empty and lifeless. She looked around the room, not sure where to sit and decided to take a place on the hearth. It felt wrong to sit at Sophie’s desk and she wanted everyone to feel equal. She had been given more Guardians than usual and she planned on picking their brains today.

Melanie took a seat on the couch and Paden sat next to Ree on the edge of the large fireplace. He touched her knee, making her smile. She laced her fingers with his and tried to soak up his presence through the contact. Weylin and Roland were the next in the room. Weylin threw himself onto the couch and put his head in Melanie’s lap. Roland looked at them for a moment, before grabbing a chair and dragging it toward their small group. He turned it backward and straddled the seat, his arms resting on the back.

Juliet and Bryce were the last to show up, holding hands and giggling. Ree blushed and tried to look anywhere but at them. The emotions and giddiness were rolling off of them in waves and she didn’t want to think about what must have brought that about. Juliet sat on the floor in front of the couch and Bryce knocked Weylin's feet off of the couch’s armrest and sat there. Everyone looked at Ree, and she had to swallow to clear her throat before talking.

“We have to stop running. No more letting the bad guys decide the circumstances. They keep getting the home court advantage, and I think things need to be evened up a bit.” Ree leaned forward. “I’m ready to start kicking ass, and I don’t want to wait.”

“What do you have in mind?” Paden leaned forward to match her, his face taking on a glint of eagerness.

“I was thinking about the attack on my parents’ house. They had Dark Ones stationed nearby to take advantage of the false dark. They must have safe houses of their own to stay in during the day.”

“Yes. There are often nests in abandoned buildings, or in houses where the owners had been turned.” Roland frowned. “They are guarded by darklings, of course. That’s one of the main reasons Dark Ones create darklings.”

“In other words, we would likely have to kill the darklings.” Bryce looked at Ree speculatively. “And I have a feeling you will not be okay with that.”

“Actually, I have an alternative.” Ree looked at Paden before continuing. She knew he would worry about her using too much power, but she was sure she could handle it. “If we capture the darklings, I can remove the taint from them.”

“No.” Paden stood up and paced the room. “That’s too dangerous.”

“Paden, I can do it. You saw me do it at the park.” Ree tried to stay calm, knowing he was just worried for her.

“You would be too worried about saving them to protect yourself. It’s not the same when you’re fighting.” Paden looked at her and frowned. She hated seeing him frown so often; she missed his relaxed smile.

“Paden is right. It’s much more expedient to kill them.” Roland nodded toward Paden. “You have to remember that many of them wanted to be darklings.”

“Isn’t it possible some of them didn’t ask to be changed? Or didn’t understand what was really happening?” Ree knew some of the people wanted it, craved it, like the guy from the square.

“I’ve heard of some Dark Ones creating darklings for convenient meals and there were Dark Ones with harems.” Roland shrugged at Ree’s sharp intake of breath. “Remember how they can make you feel. It’s part of it all.”

“That’s disgusting.” Juliette said.

“It’s just like crack addicts who prostitute themselves out for drug money. Only with this, they get a dose of blood that makes them faster and stronger.” Bryce squeezed Juliette’s shoulder.

“That’s disgusting, too.” Juliette shook her head. “I don’t know why anyone would ever want to be dependent on something like that.”

“Did you have a harem?” Melanie looked at Roland suspiciously. Everyone in the room turned to look at Roland in curiosity. Ree remembered bits and pieces from when she was Tria, but for the most part it was a blank.

“I did things I am not proud of before Tria restored my humanity, but having a harem was not one of them.” Roland looked at Melanie, his eyes clear and fierce. “Don’t forget I was changed against my will. I think it gave me a distaste for it even when my morals were not to be seen.”

Melanie nodded her understanding. Ree looked at Roland and tried to distinguish his emotions. They were tumbling through the room in a flurry of confusion. Anger, guilt, and surprise were the strongest feelings, though she also felt something bright that he kept trying to smother. She couldn’t help but hope it was something to do with Mel.

“Okay. We go to these places, wherever they are, and what? Run in and take out as many Dark Ones as possible?” Paden sat back down next to Ree and took her hand once more.

“No. We take them all out. Then there will be no one left to tell Tristan anything.” Ree looked back at her friends. “And if I can’t take the taint out of the darklings, then we do what we have to.” Standing up, Ree walked toward the map of Savannah that Sophie had on her desk. She didn’t want to think about killing darklings; she would deal with that when the time came. “Roland, do you have any ideas about where the darklings might be?”

“It’s fair to say they are spread throughout the city, not just the Historic District. Our best bet is to scout the abandoned buildings.” He stood up and walked over to look at the map. He tapped his finger on a street. “I’m pretty sure there is a nest here in the abandoned house on the corner.”

“It might not be a bad idea to watch the night clubs for activity. We could try to follow them back to their hidey holes.” Bryce walked over to look at the map where Roland was pointing.

“We should split up and try to cover a bunch of places.” Ree looked at each of her friends. “We don’t engage unless we have to. We need to take out as many Dark Ones as possible. The less they have at the final battle, the better our chances.”

“Don’t engage?” Melanie stood up, dropping Weylin’s head onto the sofa.

“Hey! I was comfortable.” Weylin sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

“What if they attack a human?” Melanie stood across the desk and frowned at Ree.

“We can’t let them kill innocent people.” Ree frowned. “If you have to intervene, make sure no one escapes.”

“So, when do we leave?” Weylin stood up and cracked his knuckles.

***

The cold wind was almost painful as they crossed the water, and the choppy waves made Ree’s teeth slam together. Low clouds took away any light the stars might have offered, leaving the group to find their way in the dark. Ree gripped the railing next to the boat console as they crashed down.

Paden moved to stand behind Ree, his hands settling on her waist and offering his warmth and support. She leaned back into him and sighed when he wrapped his arms all the way around her. She was worried about their plan, scared she was making the wrong move. The fact was, the more information they had, the better off their group would be. She just wished she had been able to run her plan past Sophie.

“It’s going to be okay.” Paden leaned forward, his lips touching her ear.

She shook her head and tried to not be surprised at how well he read her. “I’m scared something will go wrong.”

“Something will go wrong.” There was a note of amusement in Paden’s voice.

“What?” Ree jerked around to look at Paden in surprise.

“No plan is fail proof. All we can do is out best.” He leaned down to kiss her forehead, but a large wave sent them both stumbling into the railing they had originally been holding onto. Paden caught hold of the bar and scooped Ree against his chest. He chuckled and looked down at her. “See? Nothing goes as planned. You just do your best.” With that, he leaned down and caught her mouth in a sweet kiss.

When he pulled back from her, his eyebrows pulled together in worry. Confused, she blinked and realized her eyes were casting a soft glow on his face. She looked over her shoulder and realized they were close to the dock of the dilapidated safe house.

“Don’t dock! Keep going!” Ree hollered at Roland. He slammed the boat into gear and, as they tore away from the dock, Dark Ones poured out of the shadows. Ree threw her hands out toward the bank and let the energy flow out of her hands. The Dark Ones at the front shattered into a wave of ashes. Before the dust of the dead had even started to settle, more Dark Ones had taken their place and this time Ree realized they were holding weapons.

Ree called for everyone to get down and flung the power at the remaining Dark Ones. She threw the power again, this time toward the trees near the house. Loud cracking cut through the roar of the boat engine as the trees fell across the path to the dock, keeping any other Dark Ones from having easy access. She was seething inside when she turned back around to look at Roland.

“Where are we going to go? They know we’re headed for the city.” She gripped the edge of the console and took a deep breath. “Do we scrap our plan?”

“No. We pretend to run back to the island and hit another dock.” Roland headed for the island and they all grew quiet.

“So, we pretend to run because that’s what they are used to us doing.” Ree spit the words out in disgust. There was a soft groaning and the metal under her fingers bent under the pressure. She moved her hand and sighed.

“Yes, but we aren’t really running this time.” Roland smiled at her. “We’re letting them assume.”

“And you know what that means!” Weylin shouted over the motor and crash of waves.

“No, what’s that?” Melanie looked at Weylin with wide innocent eyes.

“Oh, you know! It makes an ass out of you and me. I mean, them and us.” Weylin looked at Melanie in shock. “Get it?”

“No. How does it make an ass out of them and us?” Melanie hollered.

“Assume. It’s spelled A-S-S, then U, then M-E. So it makes an ass out of U and me.” Weylin leaned toward Melanie and pointed at his chest.

“It makes an ass out of M-E?” Melanie shook her head in confusion.

“Me! It makes an ass out of ME!” Weylin pointed at his chest again. Everyone died laughing and Weylin looked around the boat in frustration. “What? Oh. I see, you’re so funny, Melanie.” He sat down on the bench next to Mel and crossed his arms.

“Ah, c’mon, Wey. You know it was funny!” She threw a friendly arm around his shoulder.

“Well, it would’ve been funny if it hadn’t been me.” Weylin looked at her from the corner of his eyes and smiled.

“And that’s exactly why it is funny.” Juliet laughed from the other side of the boat.

Chapter Thirteen

After circling Sanctus Island once, Roland had set course for Savannah again. After what felt like a torturous eternity, they arrived at a dock behind a local restaurant. Roland shut the motor off and expertly coasted into a spot before Paden hopped out and used the rope to secure the boat. Ree jumped lightly to the wooden dock and looked at the building in front of them. It was an old house that had been extended to include other buildings, and was currently a very popular themed restaurant.

“Does anyone else find it ironic that we just parked behind a pirate restaurant?” Jules stepped onto the dock and tilted her head.

“Argh, matey.” Weylin stepped up behind her. “Let’s go a-raiding!”

“Will they mind that we docked here? Our boat isn’t going to be towed, right?” Ree looked at Roland, her eyebrows pulled together. “This is a really busy place, and they might need the space.”

“No. I know the owners and the managers. We will be fine. Plus, it’s better to leave the boat somewhere there are a lot of people. We’re less likely to be attacked in front of so many witnesses.” Roland lifted one of the seat cushions on the boat bench and pulled out weapons for the group. “Take what you can conceal and let’s go. We’re getting a much later start than we planned.”

“Bryce and Juliette, take River Street. Weylin, you come with me and Paden. Melanie and Roland can check out the abandoned houses.” Ree had been thinking about the groups on the way over. Melanie raised an eyebrow at Ree and shot a look at Roland. His expression was completely neutral, but she could sense his worry. “We meet back here just after dawn. No reason to be out in the daylight with the cops looking for us everywhere.”