Death

They look angry.

I feel relaxed, even though I know it's the wrong feeling.

"Marcus, bring him out. I'll text Aleks." The blonde Aimee says.

The men sort of shove each other one last time and then the one I can't stop staring at is gone. My mind tells me it's normal, but I can't fight the feeling that I should be panicking.

I swallow hard, "Why has my father sent me here?" I ask softly.

Aimee looks at Dorian, as if ignoring me and tilts her head, "Fix that. Now."

He sneers, "I don't take orders from you."

"Please."

He smiles the most charming smile I think I've ever seen. "Is there a chance you'll be grateful for this?"

Aimee crosses her arms, "Yes. I'll be so very grateful."

He nods once and then turns to me. He saunters over and kneels next to me. I'm panicking inside, but my brain and my body aren’t communicating.

He brushes a hand against my forehead and whispers something. He turns back around and shakes his head, "I can't. She hates him. If I do it she won't stay. I can't do it."

"She's terrified."

He stands and walks back to her, "Not my problem. I need my daughter back."

Aimee looks upset but then nods. She plays with her phone.

"Are you monsters?" I ask. I feel like I'm caught in the spider's web and watching it, waiting for it to devour me. In the meantime I'm frozen from the poison.

Aimee nods, "We are. We are monsters. Your father is a monster. Your best bet for safety is here in this castle. There is a man named Henry here. He will protect you at all costs."

I close my eyes and wait for things to make sense. I'm scared I will never open them and see anything I recognize from my life.

Chapter Seventeen

Aimee

I hate her again. I can smell the siren and it makes me feel awful. I'm not allowed to tell Sam that she's here with Marcus, but I want to. I want to give him his chance. The air swirls with warmth. Aleks stands beside me looking confused, "Hanna?"

I nod, "Hanna."

"Is her father de…?"

"No." I cut him off. "His idea actually."

Aleks looks disgusted, "To bring her here?"

I shrug, "With what's going on she is safest here."

His face is anxious, "I guess. Where is he?"

I know he's waited years for this moment. Dorian smirks at him, "He's coming brother. You get your rest today. Your vengeance and then rest."

Aleks looks at me funny. He looks confused about something. He stands so close to me the backs of our hands brush against each other.

"Marcus never told me you were coming over Aimes." I glance up to see Shane strolling out from the back hallway.

I clear my throat, "It wasn’t a scheduled visit. I'm here for Roses business."

He looks so handsome, so perfect. He glares at Aleks and then turns his face to mine and smiles again. I would hardly know him he is so different. So prefect and calculated. He is like Marcus. I cringe imagining the things he has done since I killed him. I can't imagine the amount of guilt I have spilled all over my face.

"I've missed you." He says.

Dorian snorts.

"Well, you knew where I was." I say curtly. I don’t want to have the conversation with Aleks and Dorian and sleeping Hanna in the room.

He takes a step toward me and puts his hand out, "Come, take a walk with me. I need to talk to you."

I hesitate and then put my hand in his. I let him pull me away. It's not for the reason he wants it to be. It's guilt. I have a hard time denying him because of the guilt.

His hand is warm and firm. It feels the way I remember, the way it felt years ago.

I try not to see the boy I loved. I try to make myself see the animal I have made him into.

He smiles and nudges me, "What's on your mind?"

I frown, "You asked me to come."

He shrugs, "I don’t like how that lug Aleks looks at you."

I shake my head and look down, "He doesn't look at me." The lie feels weird crossing my lips. I know he looks at me. He does it all the time. Ophelia did something to him.

"He does and you know it." He grabs both my hands and spins me around to face him. He plants his lips on mine. The kiss is forced and rough. I try to push him away, but he forces it. I pull slightly with my hands, zapping him almost. He snaps out of it and steps back, looking hurt. "What was that for?"

I wipe my lips, "You didn’t have my permission."

His eyes darken, "Will I ever?"

I don’t hurt the way I used to when I'm around him. The guilt and anger at myself are there, but I see it. The truth. I didn’t mean to do it. I'm a victim of the circumstances as much as he is. "No. You won't." I say with a great deal of tension I my voice.

He grabs my arms, "Why?" He shakes me and growls.

I pull back, "Screw you." I shove him against the wall. He cracks a painting when he hits it. The frame breaks and the painting drops to the floor. The lit wall sconce flickers from the vibration. It flickers light across his face and fangs. He looks sexy and devastating all at once.

"Tell me what I can do to fix things?"

I shake my head, "Shane, I liked the school boy you were. I liked you for years. Years. But in the last couple we have become people that don’t match anymore. You kill things for food and so do I, but I maintain a strict diet. You feed off humans like they're cattle. I am against the things you do. We can never make a relationship out of that."

His brow stitches together, "I love you still."

I shake my head, "You don’t. You don’t even know me anymore. I'm not the same girl. You and me were always doomed. It doesn’t matter how many times Ari messes with the time, you and I don’t work. We never have and it's time we grow up and move on."

He snarls, "I don’t want to move on."

I grimace, "You have already. I can smell her on you."

His face drops. He smiles sweetly, "I have to eat Aimes."

I shake my head, "Not like Marcus you don’t. You chose that." I turn my back on him to leave. He grabs my arm and drags me back. He pulls me to a room and slams the door. I struggle to get away from him. Memories of Oliver attacking me flood my brain. I shove him hard. He staggers back. I point at him, "If you touch me again I end you. Childhood together or no."

He smiles at me sadistically. I don’t know him anymore. Just as he doesn’t know me.

I wink to the main hall. Tears have flooded my eyes. Aleks looks at me concerned. I shake my head, "I'm fine. Just finishing something."

He takes my hand in his and squeezes. Marcus walks into the room behind Henry. He walks holding a man that looks remarkably like Aleks, only older

Henry shoves him into the middle of me, Aleks, Dorian and Marcus.

I look for it. The monster. He is apparently out of control. I always try to see the monster when I take their lives.

He looks normal, smug but normal.

He smirks at Aleks, "Aleksander, my son. It's been too long. You never visit."

Aleks stands tall, "I need to say something to you."

His father grins stupidly.

Aleks steps into his face. "I forgive you for ruining my life. For making it so I was cursed alongside you. For destroying everything I held dear. For shaming me and making everyone think I hurt that woman. I forgive you for being weak and pathetic. May the gods take a small measure of pity on you. The small measure you never gave anyone else. Any of those girls." He grabs his arms and plants a kiss on his father's cheek.

The man's face turns bright red. "You always were a weak pathetic little shit." He growls and twitches. He makes a movement toward Aleks, but Dorian is there in a flash. He grins, "I would like to say fuck you, you asshole wanker. You never were the father you should have been to my brother there and you have never deserved a son as remarkable as he is." He pulls back and punches him in the face. The man's head snaps back. He comes back with ferocity, but Dorian has already winked away. The man snarls and twitches as the monster tries to get out. He looks the way they all do, when I kill them.

My palms are burning with the need.

Aleks grabs my hand and an amazing thing happens. I suck from him. I remember the way it was on the beach. The way he fed me back then. He bends down while I suck from him and kisses my cheek. His father's face breaks into a grin that’s full of contempt. "I don’t believe you introduced me to your lady friend Aleks."

"I never will father."

Marcus grumbles, "On with it then Henry. Get your revenge."

Aleks squeezes harder, "If I disappear with him, I need you to know I have loved you with all of my heart for a very long time. I have loved you everyway possible. As a girl, as a Rose, as a lover and friend."

My heart stops beating, I'm sure it has. I never realized that with the death of his father he could go too.

I turn to face him, squeezing his hands, "I don’t remember loving you but I know I do. I know I have."

He nods. We ignore the huge hands reaching for his father and the bright white light of the magic neither of us has ever seen before. We stare at each other. I hold my breath. His father screams, painfully. The room swirls suddenly, with the electrically charged air and voices, girl's voices. Tears stream down Aleks's cheeks. He grips me harder. He closes his eyes. The voices become whispers. Gratitude and kind words.

They swirl above us in a storm like a tornado. The paintings, drapes and lamps tremble with the movement. My hair is sucked up inside of it, but my eyes never leave his face. I'm terrified he will be gone and I will never have the chance to fall in love with him again.

The air becomes completely still. It stops so suddenly, I almost feel an impact from it.

Aleks's hands grip mine. He opens his eyes one at a time. The intense light, that never seemed real, is gone but the icy blue color remains. I squeeze his fingers. He smiles a crooked grin making my heart beat start again. I sigh and let him envelope me. Dorian rips him from my arms and hugs him.