“People. Warriors. Innocents.” The smile bled out of her voice as she thought about Teagan and what he had done to Tobe's family. She wasn't sure Tobe was ever going to speak to her again. Why was this guy? The Neith all knew what she had been. Who Teagan had been to her. She raised her eyes to meet Jack's unwavering gaze. “Why are you talking to me like I'm a person? You saw what my cousin did to that Carey guy. You must have heard what Teagan did to the Neith in Scotland.” His eyes darkened and his expression grew tight. “I guess I just don't think a person should be judged by who their family are… or by their past.”

She thought of Tobe and the Douglas'. They hadn't judged her either but after what had happened to them… she snorted unhappily. “Give it some time. Stick around me long enough and you'll change your mind.”

Jack shook his head. “I doubt that.”

Before Eden could reply a buzz of static broke the hushed air around them and Jack pressed a finger to the handsfree curled around his ear. He nodded. “OK, I'll be there in a minute.” He sighed and turned back to her. “Duty calls.”

“Anything serious?”

“Oh extremely. Dawson needs to take a piss but he can't leave the Control Room unattended.” Eden laughed. “You better get a move on then.”

He sighed and threw her a quick grin. “Be seeing you.”

As she watched him take the stairs down two at a time, Eden shook her head, smiling at herself.

She needed to stop judging the Neith and expecting a negative response from them all. Some of them were actually OK to her. Feeling a little better about life at Cyrus' mansion, Eden turned around and headed towards Noah's suite.

Eden rapped her knuckles against the open door and smiled anxiously. “Can I come in?” Noah looked up at her in surprise, sitting on the end of his bed. She was glad to see his colour was back to normal now that the toxin had made its way out of his body. “Uh...” he glanced uneasily across his room and as Eden stepped into the room she realised why. She froze as she met the belligerent stare of Alain Valois.

Eden had stupidly assumed Alain had accompanied Emma out on a shopping trip and had thought it the best time to drop in on her… boyfriend?  Was he her boyfriend still? She thought worriedly, eyeing the way his father was looking at her.

“Noah is resting, you should leave.” He flicked his hand at the door.

No wonder everyone forgot Noah was seventy years old. His parents treated him like a child.

Before Eden could respond, Noah stood up. “Dad, don't speak to her like that.” Alain grunted. “I'm not speaking to her in any way. You're still resting.” Noah rolled his eyes. “Dad, I'm fine and I would like some time alone with my girlfriend.” Girlfriend. Eden's chest eased and opened up again.

“Girlfriend?” Alain's eyes widened. “Since when?”

Oh great, so Noah hadn't even told them they'd gotten together.

“Since a while.” Noah shrugged as if it was no big deal, actually seeming amused by the startled unfocused look in Alain's voice as he let his son steer him towards the doorway. Eden watched the interplay between father and son, chewing on her bottom lip, waiting for the explosion to come.

Instead Alain's shoulders sagged in defeat and he threw Eden one last angry glare before walking out of Noah's room with forced dignity. Noah shut the door and turned to smile at her.

Eden shook her head. “Your dad so hates me.”

He smirked as he stopped in front of her, his hands gripping her hips to tug her to him. “He'll come around.”

“Like Tobe has?” she huffed bitterly, the flare of pain in her chest catching her breath.

Noah sighed and rubbed her back comfortingly. “I heard about that. She'll come around, Eden.

Just give her time.”

“According to you then, everyone will come around.”

“My dad will… eventually.”

“And if he doesn't?” she murmured, her eyes fluttering closed as he pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

The feel of him enveloped her in an excited contentedness Eden hadn't known was possible, and she leaned into him, sliding her hands up his chest and around his neck.

“Then he'll just have to deal with it.”

“It just sucks-”

“Eden.” Noah's hands tightened around her.

“What?”

“I've not seen you in what feels like effing forever, so you wanna stop talking about my dad while I'm trying to kiss you? It's kind of a mood killer.”

Noah didn't give her a chance to lash him with the biting retort that was eager to jump off her tongue. He drew her into a kiss so deep, she felt her legs tremble; his tongue flicking playfully across hers and shooting hot sparks to all her good for nothing places.

When he let her up for air, Eden gasped against his mouth and then smiled. It suddenly occurred to her that she had forever and a lifetime to do this with him. “I knew I saved your ass for a reason.” Noah frowned. “'Scuse me, I think the ass saving was done by me.” Eden raised an eyebrow. “Technically I think the ass saving was done by Darius.” She shivered just thinking about it and Noah gripped her closer.

“Yeah, let's not think about it…” he grimaced. “It's definitely a mood killer.”

“But seriously what was that-”

His lips cut her off as they came down on hers hard, crushing hers with a desperation that had her struggling to draw breath. He pulled back, stroking his fingers down her cheek. “Your choice.

Carnage, death talk, or making out with the boyfriend who saved your butt?” With a small smile Eden drew onto the balls of her feet to reach his lips. She kissed him softly and made a happy humming noise against his mouth. “We'll talk about who saved who during intermission.”

He nodded, his eyelids low, his eyes dark. “Sounds like a plan.” For a while at least, here with Noah, Eden could forget the world outside Cyrus' sanctuary. But she knew, deep down in those painful, aching places, that Noah's kisses would only hold it at bay for so long.

Epilogue

Not Over

Darwin Rice gazed around the sparklingly clean and empty foyer of the Winslow Mansion. He curled his lip, still smelling the tang of blood in the air despite the cleaning products that struggled to overwhelm it. His skin tingled as his feet slapped against the echoing marble of the luxury floor. Eyes narrowing on a little black item on the floor, he sighed, frustrated, as he bent down to pick it up.

The tracking device they'd put inside Teagan.

There had clearly been a massacre here and the little son-of-a-bitch who had promised him Cyrus and Darius was dead. Standing back up, Darwin met his colleague's gaze and shook his head.

“Unfortunately, not our time, Peter.”

Peter nodded, looking as grim as Darwin felt. “The rest of the Tribunal wish to cease our attempts to destroy Cyrus. They see this as the first of many new failures in that direction.” Darwin tried to stem the rage that pronouncement fed into his veins. For years Cyrus and his people had hunted theirs even as the Tribunal sought to enforce the laws. They weren't killing people, for Christ sakes. So they took a little soul here and there; it wasn't if the race of man weren't capable of evil all on their own. When Teagan Winslow had opened this door to kicking a hole in the gut of The Circle, a hole that would not heal, Darwin had let himself get caught in the beauty of the promise. Take away Cyrus and Darius, and the Ankh have nothing. The Neith would take control.

The Neith who were so much easier to kill.

He pulled out the photocopy of the old journal Teagan had given him. In it was the key to destroying Cyrus and that little bitch he'd adopted. He looked up from it, searching Peter's eyes.

Darwin wasn't surprised to see the same spark, the same need he felt within. Peter was his best friend because they were the only two on the Tribunal who ever sat on the same page no matter the situation. “Then we act without them.”

Peter nodded gravely. “That could have its consequences.”

“Not if we bring them Cyrus and Darius' heads.”

THE END