Dalton rushed us to Pedro, who was not happy with Lance for going behind everyone's back to take me down there and trigger a vision. Which was exactly why Lance didn't tell him. He'd known he'd be mad. I tried to come to his defense as much as possible, but Pedro wouldn't hear it.
He only slightly softened when I shakily rehashed the vision for him.
His face had gone long as he backed into his chair and plopped down, dropping his head into his hands. "What do we do?" He asked. It was a weird thing, seeing a king unsure of what to do.
We've all just been sitting in the living area, staring at the floor for an hour.
I finally look up, glancing at Dalton, then to Pedro. "You've been getting calls?" I ask.
Pedro slowly comes out of his stone stance and rubs his jaw in exasperation. "Yes." He sighs. "I got a call from Denmark, then another from Mexico. After they both reported talk of a couple disappearances, but no proof I started calling the other settlements." He explains, looking down as he speaks. "Each place I called it was the same thing. Ukraine, Australia, Africa, Russia-."
"Russia?" Fallon shot up in her seat, her eyes wide saucers.
Pedro quickly held up a hand. "I've spoken to Mathew." He tells her quickly and she sinks back down into her seat a little. "He's fine, but I've asked him to...well, he'll be coming in a matter of days."
Fallon visibly perked up.
"Who is Mathew?" I ask and she smiles.
"My brother." She tells me. "He's the one who got me this little job." She reaches over and pats my knee.
Pedro has a strange look on his face and for a short minute the troubles of the day slip away. "Pedro," I say, starting to grin. "How well do you know this Mathew fellow?"
Pedro rolls his eyes and waves his hand. "Mathew and I are purely friends." He says, but like Fallon likes to say, his mouth was saying on thing, but his eyes were telling something else.
Fallon nearly confirmed it with a wink.
Pedro didn't miss the action and he looks away, his eyes troubled. I easily sensed that it was more than just the new threat and the missing people who were making him uneasy, but I didn't want to press him on the matter in front of everyone.
"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" Dalton sighs exasperatedly, looking over at Pedro and Lance. "How do we up our protective measures without causing a panic? It isn't like we can announce to everyone that there is some kind of magical beings after us for our blood but we have no idea who they are or why they want it or what we're going to do about it."
Lance groans and rubs his eyes. "The people were already all over me when I had the guards set up in front of the city to keep the searchers out." He mumbles. "I was fielding questions all hours for days over it and there was a logical reason for it then, now I don't know what I could tell them."
I stand from my spot, the first movement of any of us in over twenty minutes as we all sat and stared and pondered with no luck. I paced the small space between the table and the TV stand, trying to think of something. I've felt so useless for so long in my family and I just want to actually be capable of doing something.
My eyes stray down onto the table where a stack of papers were strewn across the top.
I prayed for a sign within them, but all that was there were menus and event lists for the upcoming ball. I'd nearly forgotten all about the summer solstice. I chide myself for the little bubble of excitement that still manages to creep up within me at the thought of it. As long as I've been here I still haven't gotten to do anything my mom did, aside from seeing her's and dad's room, which was not all that exciting since Dalton had taken it over, and I've seen the garden...Other than that though, I've not gotten the luxury side of Castrum, only the high intensity everything is falling apart side.
The selfishness of my thoughts ticks me off.
Once I realize I'm actually getting mad at myself I decide it was time to go.
"Come on, Fallon." I mumble sadly. If mom had been here she would've come up with something right on the spot, but like I've always told people, I'm nothing like her. "Let's head back down and let the boys focus."
Pedro stands slowly from his seat, for a moment looking like an older man weighed down by the troubles of a long and haggard life before he slaps on a smile and straightens his back. I know it is only for my benefit.
"Straight to your room, Rosie." He kisses my forehead then gives Fallon a warning look that she bows to. "I'm sorry this hasn't-."
"Don't." I cut him off. "Don't worry about me, just...you guys just keep thinking."
Fallon loops her arm through mine and walks with me out of the suite and onto the elevator. We are quiet for a while, but as we get off to go towards West Wing, I can't help my curiosity being piqued.
"Pedro and your brother?"
I catch her off guard, deep in thought and she stammers to come back to my question.
"Matt and him are..." She furrows her brows. "I don't know what to call them."
I nod slowly. "But your brother is...?"
She smiles at my awkwardness. "Yes." She laughs. "He's gay, and I know he holds a great amount of respect for King Pedro, and I suspect it is more than just admiration, but...I don't think the King has ever been very receptive to it."
My frown deepens.
The last time Pedro trusted a man with his heart and his life, he got an enormous stab in the back. It's been years since then, yet I feel like it still haunts him. I saw the look on his face when Fallon brought up Mathew, and there was definitely something there. Something more than just a friendly worry for him, but he also looked so sad.
I was too encased in my worry over Pedro and his broken heart to even pay much attention to where I was walking and my shoulder slams into someone else.
Fallon pulls me over, but it is too late.
I find myself locked in an angry glare from Eyan. "What, the corridor isn't big enough for you?" She snaps before she really even takes in who I am and then she cuts her eyes as she rushes past with one of her friends.
I turn back to Fallon, but it isn't her I see anymore.
I'm in a big room, definitely a nice upper class one.
The lights are down low and there is a man standing near the bed, his bare back to me.
The bathroom door swings open and I feel my face flame and my heart speed up.
Eyan walks out of the bathroom wearing nothing but her skimpy underwear and the man flashes across the room, pulling her body into his, kissing her hard.
I try to turn to leave the room, but the vision won't let me.
The man spins her body around, putting her back to him and the he leans down to her throat, his mouth closing and sucking the blood as she moans. She doesn't look surprised, or scared, she looks...like she's enjoying it.
I want to heave, but then the vision switches to a new man and Eyan outside of the little city.
"Our little secret." She whispers to him and he grabs her greedily, feeding from her just like the other man had.
When he's done he wipes a bit of his own blood across the bite mark and the wound closes right up, leaving no trace of the disgusting thing they'd just done.
Eyan turns to skip away but the man pulls her back by the arm. "You going off to your little boyfriend now?" He asks, wiping her blood from his lips.
"Don't worry." She kisses him. "You know you're my favorite guy."
"Rose?" Fallon looks confused, holding my shoulders and looking up and down the corridor.
I shake out of her grip. "That little whore." I snap, not sure why I'm so angry.
"Huh?" Fallon falls in step behind me.
"She's cheating on him." I whip back around to tell her in a hushed tone. "She's like a freaking little blood whore." Just the thought of her disgusts me.
Fallon's jaw drops and she pulls me in closer. "Eyan?" She gasps and I shush her and nod. "Oh my god, you saw it?"
"Yes." I tell her. "Multiple guys...all vampires."
We start walking again, passing through the doors to West Wing and I will her not to be around because at the moment I'm not sure I wouldn't say something to her.
"Holy shit." Fallon shakes her head and tisks her tongue. "Are you going to tell-."
"I don't know." I whisper quickly as a group of other girls and two guys come towards us, laughing and joking together.
They go past, but one of the guys calls for the rest of them to hold on.
"Hey," He says, holding out his hand to me. "You're Rose, right?" He smiles charmingly.
A girl from the group breaks off and comes over, staking her claim on him by wrapping her arm around his bicep and smiling up at him.
"Um, yeah." I shake his hand and let it go quickly, not trying to make any more enemies for today.
He glances over his shoulder to his group of friends who are waiting and then turns back to me. "So, I know you're related to the king and all, but I've found personally that the girls who are carefully kept are usually the most adventurous." He winks.
"Tommy." The girl chides, giving him a look.
He pulls his arm from hers and ignores her stare. "Me and a few of my friends are," He lowers his voice even more, leaning into me to where I can smell his minty gum. "We are going up to the first level. We want to check out the ballroom, and a few of us have smuggled some fun with us." He slides a flask out of his pocket and winks. "You two want to join?"
I glance at Fallon who looks just as tempted as I am. I was just thinking how I haven't gotten to have any fun since I've been here. Hot guy, new friends, booze, and a secret look at the ballroom. It was too much excitement to turn down.
"Come on, Tommy, she's probably already seen it anyway." The girl gives me an annoyed once over.
"Actually I haven't." I admit.
Tommy smiles widely, holding out his hand. "Cool, then let's go."
I take his hand, but just as quickly let it go.
"I can't." I say finally, letting my gaze drop to the floor. "You guys have fun though."
"You're sure?" He looks surprised, and maybe a little disappointed while his friend looks relieved.
I nod to myself. "Yeah, I've got people checking up on me all the time anyway and I wouldn't want you all to get caught because of me." I lie smoothly.
Tommy shrugs in understanding. "Alright, well we should definitely all hang soon, ok?"
I perk up a little. Maybe they don't all think I'm a totally boring loser. "Yeah, for sure." I smile and watch them creep up the corridor and out of the double doors.
Fallon and I go back to our room and she's smart enough to know not to press me on why we couldn't go too, or on the vision of Eyan. I was feeling annoyed and stressed and lame and just about a whole load of other things. I'd stupidly thought that by finding out I was a princess and coming here was going to make me feel like this whole new person.
I'm still the odd girl out and I'm still just plain old Rose.
I don't know how long past where I just laid on my bed and flipped through the pages in an old outdated magazine I'd found. I had just rolled over, thinking a nap might be nice when the door shuddered under a beating fist and then swung open.
Dalton dashed into the room, his eyes widely searching until they landed on mine.
"For fucks sake, thank God." He shakes his head as I sit up and Fallon stands from her vanity and looks at him in shock.
"Why do you even bother knocking if you're just going to burst in anyway?" I roll my eyes but then I see the way his chest is flying up and down rapidly and his eyes have an abundance of relief. He shoves a hand into his pocket and hits a number.
"It's fine, she's here." He mutters into the phone. "Yes, we will stay here."
I push to the edge of the bed, a feeling of dread building in my gut. "Dalton," I whisper. "What's going on?"
Dalton puts the phone away and looks over at me. "There was an incident." He says softly. "A group of humans," He shakes his head. "They went out exploring on their own and they were ambushed."
"Ambushed?" Fallon holds a hand to her chest.
Dalton paces the room and runs a hand over his hair. "By a man who was chanting things and had white eyes." Dalton looks at me as I gasp. "He took a boy with him. The others were too confused and sputtering out nonsense to tell us much more or who else was with them. I-We worried you may have also been in the group."
I step up from the bed, my hand on my pounding heart. "A boy?" I ask.
"Tommy Kliffton." He shakes his head. "We are going to catch a ton of shit for this because his family have been residents of Castrum for generations."
"Tommy?" I cover my mouth and turn away.
"Oh god." Fallon whispers.
Dalton stops his pacing, the sound of his footsteps stopping. "What?" He asks confused.
I shake my head at myself. I touched his hand, I spoke to him and still...Of all the stupid visons I can get, I couldn't get one when it would have actually helped save someone. What good is this ability if it can't warn me when I need it?
"Tommy was the one who invited Fallon and me to come along." I explain, my voice even and low, just as drained as the rest of me. "He was so nice..."
Dalton ducks his head. "I'm sorry." He says, then snaps his head back up, his eyes wide. "Shit, I need to check on Eyan." He goes towards the door.
"You checked on me first?" I ask stupidly and he rolls his eyes at the door.
"It's my job to check on you first."
I glance at Fallon and she nods once. "Hey, I will go check on her and get our dinner from the cafeteria." Fallon tell him, passing through the door. "You should stay with Rose."
He nods once to her. "Tell her I'll come see her soon."
I roll my eyes and look away as Fallon leaves the room.
I see Dalton rub his jaw, the scratching sound coming from the short scruff that was growing out and then he sighs. "Are you alight?"
"I'm fine." I snap, but then I soften as I turn. I'm not usually the type to want to get into the middle of something or rock the boat, but for whatever reason I wanted to tell him the truth about Eyan. "I need to tell you something."
He furrows his brows and sets his jaw firmly. "Ok."
"It's about Eyan."
His confusion deepens. "What about her?"
I face him evenly, biting my lip for a second before I finally just go with spitting it all out. "She's lying to you."
"What?" His stance is immediately defensive.
I don't waiver under his glare. "She's been cheating on you." I tell him. "With lots of people, all vampires. She lets them all feed from her."
His eyes flash black and his fists clench. "Is that what Lance told you?" He demands. "I've warned him about spreading those lies for the last fucking time!"
"It isn't a lie." I say over him. "I saw it myself. I had a vision, Dalton, she's cheating and lying."
Dalton shoots across the room, my personal space gone as he glares down at me with black eyes and I shrink back from him. "Are you that fucking desperate?" He yells. "You're that bored in your own damn life that you need to make up lies to bother me with?"
"I'm not lying!" My voice cracks and I push away, going to sit on the edge of Fallon's bed.
For the first time in a long time, tears find their way to my eyes, not staying encased within the lids, but actually falling over the edge. I feel more than foolish and dumb to be crying right now. Now? Now of all times? After everything that has fallen apart at my feet or gone wrong since I've been here this is what pushes me over the edge?
Him?
"Wait," his voice is close and low. "Are you-Are you crying right now?" I hear the surprise in his tone and it only makes it worse.
I try my best to hide it, choke it back and reel it all back in. I try to push it back down within me where I keep everything else, but I know he already knows.
"Hey," He whispers. "I didn't mean...I'm just...I'm sorry."
I want to make it stop. The beat of my heart, the burn in my eyes, and the wet hot trails down my cheeks but it's no use. Once the flood gates were opened, there was no holding them back. I've tried so hard to be strong and level headed here, and then now in such a stupid situation I can't stop the tears. Everything feels overwhelming, even breathing.
I hide my face away and try my hardest to gain back some sort of control but I feel like I'm falling over a sharp edge into nothingness. Everything that I've been fighting off since I got here now swims in my mind. Bodies, blood, death, fear, worry, it all swarms my brain, giving me no relief.
I'm so consumed in it I don't even notice his touch until his arms are already wrapped all the way around my body and I'm leaning into him closer. I cry into his neck and my own arms cling to him as well. I hold onto him like he's the only solid thing in the world.
After a long time my breathing slows and sanity slowly seeps back in, blocking out all of the darkness.
I realize shakily that his touch had brought me back from the brink.
But it shouldn't be Dalton.
Can't be.
I jerk away suddenly, the quickness of my actions even surprising me. There is shock on his face as he looks up at me, maybe even a little hint of hurt hidden in his eyes.
"Rose..." He whispers, reaching a hand towards me.
I take another step back. "Don't talk to me." My voice shakes. "You should just go."
"Hey-."
"No." I shake my head, pulling my arms around myself to keep them from reaching for him instead.
He stands and walks towards the door, but stops short before leaving, turning back to face me. "What's your problem?" He asks, crossing his arms.
I look away. "That's my line." I say, almost laughing until I remember why I'm mad at him in the first place. He just stands there, staring at me, waiting for an answer and something tells me he isn't going to leave until I do. I run my hands through my hair quickly and sigh. "I saw you today!" I spit out.
"Saw me?" He holds up his hands in confusion.
I look away from him, staring over at the wall instead, the memory of those sunken sad eyes behind the glass haunting me again.
"The blood slaves." I whisper. "I saw you."
He's so quiet that I sneak a peek back over at him and I see it as realization hits him and he almost looks angry. "That isn't what you think." He says after a minute.
"So you don't go and drink from slaves who have no other choice? You don't just happen to be the guy they also die with sometimes?"
Rage flashes in his eyes, fire flickering within them. "I have never once hurt any of them!" He yells at me.
I can't believe he'd have the audacity to lie. I'd never taken him for a liar before.
"Oh, really?" I snap. "Then where do they go then, Dalton? Huh? Because I know you don't always bring them back like you did today."
He looks away, angry, but also a little something else there. He sets his jaw firmly like he doesn't want to say something, while at the same time his eyes come back to me silently asking me to understand something I'm not getting.
Then I remember what he said to the blonde girl.
If you change your mind...
"Oh my god." I whisper. "Do you kill them so they don't have to be prisoners anymore? So they aren't trapped as slaves for life?" I don't know what answer I hope for. Which is better? Is it more humane if he's only killing them to give them a way out?
Before I can think too long on it he shakes his head at me.
"Of course not!" He shouts, then snaps his mouth shut. "I'm not killing them, or even feeding from them, I'm..." He turns his back and I drop to sit on the edge of the bed, a gasp passing my parted lips.
"You're letting them go."