He was very close—too close—and I was too distracted with calming myself to even care. I took another step and then another.

“Last one.” Hunter informed me as I reached the top.

Then, I stepped into the plane. When I was inside, I froze, unsure of what to do next. It wasn’t until I felt smooth waves of calm sweep over me that I was able to move again.

Hunter’s thumb ran over the top of my hand and he smiled down at me as he stepped past. “You did it.”

I smiled back, suddenly at ease with being on a plane. The hard part was over and now Mr. Aleksandrov was keeping it that way. Hunter strolled down the slim aisle and dropped into an empty seat in front of Mila. Xavier and Lyric were chatting over a magazine in the very back corner and Mr. Aleksandrov had his eyes closed. He was so still, I’d have thought him dead. Right up the front, in a cozy two-seater. sat Faith and Eli. His green irises looked up at me through dark lashes and I dropped my gaze to the floor. I wanted to sit with him—to talk to him—instead I sauntered up the aisle to the vacant seat beside Mila. I felt guilty that I let Hunter hold my hand and stand so close to me, but it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t even for comfort, I just needed assurance. I needed help.

Hunter peered through the gap in the chair at me and gave me a tight, sympathetic smile. Exhaling, I fell back into my seat, raking my teeth over my bottom lip. How the hell was I going to manage this? Hunter could feel my emotions. He knows when I need help and reassurance. Eli can’t feel my emotions…and I can’t talk to him—not with Faith around, anyway.

“You okay?” Mila asked, handing me a big packet of Malteasers.

I glanced down at the tiny chocolate balls and I just had to have one. I took the packet off her and kicked off my shoes. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“I saw you outside…” she lowers her voice to a whisper. “With Hunter.”

I groaned. “Can we talk about something else?”

That was something I did not want to get into right this second. She shrugged. “Like what?”

I popped a Malteaser into my mouth and the creamy chocolate melted onto my tongue, leaving a delicious ball of hard malt behind. “I don’t know…”

“How about girl stuff—normal girl stuff. You’ve lived with humans and went to a normal school. What do they talk about?”

I shrugged. “Boys, mostly, and music…”

“That’s it?”

“No, they also talk about parties, the mall, movies—you know, all of the stuff we can’t be involved in at Sage.”

Mila brought her jean-clad knees up to her chest. “Do you find it strange that we’ve been friends for so long, but have never really had a normal conversation about boys or music?”

“In our world there are more important things, Mila. We’re not as simple as everyone else.”

“Well, we’re on a plane for the next few hours…let’s have a normal conversation. Let’s pretend we aren’t part of some weird secret society. Let’s be normal girls with normal problems.”

I smiled, popping another Malteaser into my mouth. “And what are your problems?”

“Gabriel…mostly.”

I frowned. “Gabriel?”

I hadn’t heard that name for a while. The last time I saw him he was blaming me for Hunter’s ‘death’.

“Yeah…I did something bad, Ruby.”

“Like what?”

A pink flush illumined her features and she looked away from me.

“Like what?” I repeated, emphasizing each word even though I knew exactly where this conversation was heading.

Her eyes flicked onto Mr. Aleksandrov and then she leaned in extremely close.

“Sex,” she whispered.

The bag of Malteasers slipped from my hands and I shot forward. I swiped at it in an attempt to catch it before it hit the ground, only I made it worse. As my fingers grasped the bag it tipped, sending little balls of chocolate shooting down the aisle. The packet landed on the floor and I quickly grabbed it. With an almost empty packet, I straightened myself in my seat and looked up. Various sets of eyes were on me as people craned their necks around their seats. I smiled awkwardly. “Sorry…they slipped.”

“That’s cool,” Faith said, rising from her seat beside Eli and placing her hands on her hips. “Trash the council’s plane. I’m sure they won’t mind.”

I laughed once and Eli peered around his seat at me, caution clear in his eyes. Feeling rather defiant, I tipped the remaining Malteasers into my hand, scrunched the red plastic and let it fall to the floor. Faith’s brown eyes narrowed and I smiled at her before turning back to Mila.

I couldn’t believe she had sex with Gabriel. I leaned in close to make sure no one else heard me.

“You had sex with Gabriel? When?”

She glanced down at her hands as she entwined them nervously. “A while ago.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“You’ve been so busy and you always seem so tired. I didn’t want to bother you…”

I sighed, leaning back into my chair. I had been a little preoccupied over the past few weeks and I take full blame for that.

“Was it your first time?” I asked, curious to hear her answer.

She choked on a giggle, like I asked a stupid question. “No.”

“No?” I gasped, my mouth falling open. “When was your first time?”

“When I was fifteen.”

My hand shot up to cover my mouth. Fifteen? Jeez, did I know Mila at all? She seemed so innocent and naive with her long blonde hair and big blue eyes. Sex wasn’t even on the agenda for me until I fell in love with Eli. Sex without love? I don’t think I could ever commit to that.

“What about you?” she asked me. “How old were you when you did ‘it’ for the first time?”

I shook my head. “I’m not telling you that.”

“Ruby, come on. We’re meant to be sharing things—we’re meant to be normal, now spill the goss.”

I sighed. “Nineteen.”

“But you’re—oh. Oh!”

A strange embarrassed smirk contorted my lips and my eyes watered as a scorching flash of heat tore across my face. Mila’s hand shot up to cover her mouth and she laughed into the palm of her hand.

“You didn’t!” She dropped her hand and lowered her voice to the quietest whisper I’d ever heard. “With Eli?”

“Mila, stop,” I demand, my chest hiccupping with a nervous giggle.

“When? Where? How was it?”

“We are not having this conversation right now.” I cringed, angling my head so my long, black hair worked as a curtain between us. I know I asked her those questions first, but having them thrown back at me was embarrassing. Mila couldn’t contain her excited giggle, drawing attention to us. I slumped a little into my seat, focusing on my chocolates.

“Fine, you win for now, but the moment we’re alone you have to tell me everything.”

I rolled my eyes. There was no way I was going to tell Mila everything. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Mila was my best friend, but I couldn’t risk anyone finding out the extremely intimate details of our relationship.

Mila made herself comfortable again, pulling out a magazine from beside her chair. Every now and then she’d peek sideways at me and smile widely. I tried my hardest to ignore her, but eventually it got too much and I moved down a row, dropping into a seat next to Hunter. He was asleep and stretched out in his chair, resting his head against the window. I pulled my legs up, tucking them comfortably underneath me and closed my eyes. Maybe I could get in a few minutes’ sleep before we reach the council.

“If we both fall asleep would that mean we’ve slept together?”

My eyes shot open and I turned my head toward Hunter. He was looking at me and his lips curled into a cocky smile. Then he reached over, plucked a chocolate from my hand, and ate it.

“I was kidding, relax.” He chuckled, sitting upright in his chair.

“Are you nervous?” I asked him, changing the subject.

“About seeing the council?”

I nodded.

“Yeah…who knows what they’re going to do to us.”

I frowned. “You think they’ll do something to us?”

He shrugged. “Do you think they’re flying us all the way to their ‘secret’ city only to talk? Nah, I get the feeling you, Eli, and I aren’t walking out of there.”

“They’re going to kill us?”

He shrugged again. “We’re detrimental to their way of life. Before you came along, life was simple. Go to school, learn who we are, and how to use our powers. After that, you either work the lame jobs they have for us, help the guardians against the vampires, or live a normal life in protected human communities until we die. Now, vampires are breaking into schools, targeting specific people, and your blood can cure vampirism. Not to mention you’re messing with a law the higher power made a very, very long time ago.”

I frowned. “And what law is that?”

“Us mixing romantically with guardian angels.”

Oh. That law.

“Granted, the council didn’t make that law originally, but they still uphold it because it makes sense and they’re conditioned to it.”

I sank into my chair with a loud exhale. To be honest, I’d heard so much random stuff about our way of life I wasn’t sure what was what anymore. It changed every week—I’m allowed to do this. I’m not allowed to do that…it’s too much and I can’t keep up.

I jumped as the distinct sound of Eli clearing his throat next to me pulled me from my thoughts. I looked up at him and his eyes were only on Hunter. Hunter exhaled in response to Eli’s silent question and rose to his feet.

“I suppose I can switch with you. Consider it my compensation for not killing me when you had the chance.”

I smirked at Hunter’s comment, but Eli didn’t.

“If I had it my way, you’d be dead.”

“Eli,” I growled under my breath.

“It’s all right, Ruby,” Hunter responded, slipping past me. Before he left, he leaned down, bringing his mouth by my ear. “I guess I’ll thank you for saving my life later, when Mr. Feisty Pants isn’t around.”

I slapped my hand over my face, dragging it over my eyes, nose, and finally the subtle rises and dips of my lips before I let it fall into my lap. Kill me. Now.

Eli’s body was taut and rigid as Hunter stepped past him with a smile. Eli dropped into the seat next to me, refusing to get comfortable. Before I spoke to him, I peered around the corner of my seat at Mr. Aleksandrov. My curious stare is met with one of his purple irises. And in that single open eye, he sent me the clearest warning I’d ever seen. He needed to relax. I wasn’t going to make out with Eli here in front of everybody. We had some control over our urges. I turned back to Eli but he didn’t even look at me. I watched him as his jaw clenched and his fingers gripped the seat.

“You let him get to you,” I whispered, shifting my body to face him.

He snapped his head in my direction, his eyes flaring. “You let him get to me.”

“Me?”What the hell did I do?

“Yes, you’re an enabler. You encourage him with your smiles.”

“He was being nice. I was appreciating the gesture.” Eli still hadn’t looked at me, so I allowed myself one little touch of the back of his hand. “Don’t let this come between us. It’s not worth it and we already have the world working against us.”

Eli sighed and I watched his frustration melt away. “You’re right. Sorry. It’s this whole thing—the council, Faith, Hunter—”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain anything to me. I understand.”

He rested his head against the headrest. “You do?”

“Sure, you’re stressed and tired. It makes you moody and it’s okay.”

He watched my fingers gently stroke the back of his hand. “I guess you don’t feel much better than I do.”

I shrugged, still neglecting to tell him I’d hardly slept since Lucian invaded the school. “I’m doing all right…right now I feel a little anxious.”

“Because of the flight?”

I shook my head. “Because I want to touch you more than this…and I can’t.”

The corners of his lips twitched as he fought a smile. “I love you,” he muttered, low enough for only me to hear. “So even a touch this small satisfies me.”

My heart swelled in my chest and now I was the one smiling. “Are you always so sweet?”

“For you? Always.”

We both laughed and Eli glanced over my shoulder. His smile faded and he turned his attention from me to out the window. I glanced over my shoulder to see Faith glaring at us. Subtly, I retracted my hand from Eli’s wrist and straightened myself in my seat.

“She’s going to be one big pain in the ass while we’re there, isn’t she?” I murmured and he laughed once under his breath without looking in my direction.

“Big time.”

I shifted in my seat, preparing myself for a nap. If I wasn’t allowed to touch or talk to Eli, then all I had left was sleep. The last thing I wanted was to fall asleep in front of everyone, afraid I’d have a nightmare, but since I was beside Eli, maybe he’d make me feel safe. I closed my eyes and not a second later, I fell asleep.

Chapter Five

His ice cold grip cuts off my circulation and his cool breath blows icily over my face. My chest burns due to lack of oxygen and my fingernails ache from desperately clawing at his arm. No matter what I try…no matter how hard I kick and thrash and gasp for air, Lucian won’t let me go.