Just the thought of that and jet lag exhausted Eden.

A knock at the door stilled them in their conversation. Noah’s mom, Emma, came in carrying a tray of food and the drug Eden was taking. Somehow she had managed to apologize to Emma for what she had done to her. They were all under strict command from Cyrus never to mention the compulsion again because it would make things worse for Eden with all Neith if word got out. Still, she had felt she needed to say something. And Emma had been incredibly cool about the whole thing, including the two hundred bucks she’d stolen from her. In fact Emma was the only thing Eden liked about Noah. His dad Alain was a grumpy old man trapped in a young twenty something’s body, and he clearly didn’t trust her one iota (OK, so maybe she didn’t blame him for that). And of course Noah, himself, was of questionable character.

“Thanks.” Eden smiled as Emma lay the tray down.

“You’re welcome. Nearly all packed?” she asked, gazing at the clothes strewn across the bed.

“I do not think this much clothing is necessary.” Cyrus rubbed his jaw, looking it all over.

“How long are we going to be there?” Eden asked.

He shrugged. “I am unsure.”

Emma grinned at that and began to leave. She threw over her shoulder as she opened the door, “Then maybe you’ll need more clothes.”

Val smiled at the thought (the woman loved shopping!) but Cyrus groaned. Eden found herself chuckling and was surprised by the sound. She stopped and gazed at her hands.

“It is alright to smile, Eden.” Val reached over and squeezed her hand.

She looked at up at these two powerful warriors who had designated themselves her guardians. “Maybe I’ll feel that way too sometime.”

Cyrus raised his eyebrows, appraising the clothes. “I am confused. I thought all these clothes would bring a smile to your face but it seems I have been misinformed about teenage girls.”

“Oh no.” Eden pulled the t-shirt he held out of his hands. “These rate a smirk of pleasure.”

“Ah good.” He grinned now, something he didn’t do often. It lit up his whole face. He was so handsome. She could see why her mom would have fallen for him. “I am worried that the jet will not fly with the weight though.”

Yup. He had said ‘jet’. The jet. Eden still couldn’t get over how loaded Cyrus was. They were flying into Scotland on his private jet. How surreal was that? He said it was for security purposes, and from all the talking on his cell he was doing, Eden gathered he had people in high places misdirecting where his jet was taking off for so that if anyone (Cosmina, Neith, or Tribunal) did successfully break through Cyrus’ security, then they would end up heading for the wrong country. She was pretty sure she’d heard the word ‘Minsk’ a couple of times.

She snorted at his joke and reached over for the drug on the tray Emma had left. Unabashedly, Eden rolled up her sleeve and administered it herself, the prick of the needle barely registering. She felt her hunger whine inside her chest at the injustice. Sighing at its lustful and still very strong fight, Eden’s eyes flew between Val and Cyrus, thinking about all those human souls she was soon going to have to deal with. It was bad enough being trapped in a house with the delicious Michelin star souls of the Ankh, but she had a connection to them now and didn’t want to hurt them. She didn’t know any Scottish people from Adam. Those were some seriously in danger foreign souls.

She sighed, exhausted just thinking about the struggle she was about to undergo. “You think Scottish people are less tasty… ‘cause that would really help me out.”

The End