I'll Protect You (Re-Edit #2, 2016)

There's a certain thrill that comes with being arrested

I wouldn't put it past him to do something like that to his family. 

Archer was humming a song as he prepared another batch of coffee. The violet shadows under his eyes had gotten worse since last night's events. The weeks of insomnia and irregular sleeping patterns was now finally catching up to him. His complexion was a great deal paler than it should've been, and there were moments when I caught him standing with his eyes closed for minutes before he would wake up, seeming in a daze. 

Then my thoughts strayed to the fifth level floor where Logan had stared at me, lost in thought, before he took me for a dance around the room. I could still feel his arms around my waist, the way his cologne clung to his blazer, the sound of his voice as he told me about our past, about the first time he danced with me. 

This is all my fault, I thought angrily as Archer slid a mug of coffee towards me. If only I hadn't insisted on going after Alec. If only I had understood that I wasn't the only one that could've stopped him. Logan would still be here--safe and alive.  

Now he was gone and his life was in grave danger--all because I was too stubborn to accept the truth.

Archer's phone rang loudly, breaking the silence of the kitchen. He answered it as he poured his tenth cup of caffeine but instantly, he set down the cup. With his phone still pressed to his ear, he turned to me, a devilish glint in his eyes. With a wickedness in his smile that sent a chill up my spine, Archer said:

"The Dragons are here."

* * *

"You know, you don't have to break every single speed limit when you drive," I groaned as I stumbled out of the car, feeling my heart still beat rapidly as it tried to recover from Archer's street-racing fantasies. 

"Little Sparrow," Archer clucked, sending me a disapproving frown as we began to head deeper into the forest. "You'll never go far with that mindset."

"I can avoid getting arrested with my mindset."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Not getting arrested is actually really entertaining, believe it or not."

Archer snickered, hopping over a fallen tree trunk. "There's a certain thrill to be arrested, little Sparrow. You'll never know until you experience it yourself."

I sighed, my boots crunching on the snow. "Why am I not surprised that you've been arrested?"

Apparently, the Dragons decided to host their gathering in the middle of the forest instead of somewhere normal like a meeting room or Elijah's house. No, we had to drive all the way out of the city and hike through the freezing, empty  woods like we were rebels of a kingdom, rendezvousing to discuss our secret revolution because hey, why not?

 Archer began whistling a Cimerian folk song. The tune pierced through the silence of the forest, and I found myself singing the words along to his melody as we walked. The small pathway we had been using began to fade the further we got, and soon enough, I relied on Archer's confident lead, for leaves and thick roots mounted out from the white blankets of snow, making it hard for us to stick to a straight line. 

It took around ten minutes, but Archer and I finally walked into a small clearing. The grass here grew to my thighs, defying the layers of snow, and the blades brushed against the hem of my coat and fingertips as I passed into the sea of green. A fallen tree split the clearing in half, its bark peeling and ashen. 

"How did you even find this place?" I asked, looking at my brother. He was glancing around the clearing, his eyes narrowed as he peered at the surrounding trees.