Alison opened and closed her mouth a few times. The shock on her face showed just how little she realized about herself.

Throwing her hands up over her face, Alison shrugged. "I'm so sorry, Sarina. Here I am for you today, and you end up giving me a lesson on my psychological issues. That was wrong of me to bring it up at a time like this."

"Oh my god, if I keep having to roll my eyes at you, I'm never going to see straight again. Quit apologizing. This is a hard time for both of us. So what do you say? Are you ready for a walk outside? It's nice and sunny today, almost swimsuit weather."

"Yeah, let’s go. I could use a little exercise after all that emotion." She snickered at her own joke, and Sarina smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. They left the bedroom together, the two guardsmen falling in line a few feet behind them.

Alison elbowed Sarina lightly in the side. "There's a new movie out that looks pretty good. It’s about a werewolf, vampire, love triangle movie a human female. I think it’s meant for a younger crowd, but I still want to see it."

"Sounds good to me. I'd like to go see it, but I don't think Daddy will allow me out of the house for a movie. Even if I take the ridiculous entourage with us." She glanced over her shoulder to give the guards a nasty sneer.

They walked through the back doors and were greeted with sunshine. Sarina closed her eyes for a moment and tilted her head up, basking in the soft heat.

"I can't wait for swimsuit weather," Alison said.

"I know. We're both a wee bit pale."

"Nothing wrong with pale. It's when we start looking like walking corpses that maybe we should consider tanning lotion and sunlight." Alison grinned at her friend as they settled into a comfortable stroll.

Sarina snickered, but it was forced. Her stomach was tight with nerves and her heart was beginning to race. She tried to control it though. She couldn't mess this up.

Just then, Alison fell into a coughing fit. Harsh hacking sounds fell from her throat that surely must have hurt. Alison's hand futilely covered her mouth as greater, wrecking coughs whooped from her.

"One of you, go get some water. Now!" Sarina ordered, shouldering her friend under her arm and bringing her to a bench to sit down. The guard's hesitated, looking at each other in question. The one on the left nodded and the other sprinted away towards the kitchen.

"There, there," Sarina soothed, rubbing soothing circles across Alison's back. The girl's face was turning red from her exertion. Sarina glanced back at the kitchen and glared in frustration. "Where is he already? It shouldn't take this long. Try to take deep calming breaths, Ali."

When the guard turned to look towards the kitchen, Sarina moved fast. She grabbed the heavy, decorative lawn gnome and swung it in a wide arch at the guard's head. The pipe-smoking gnome connected with skull. There was no blood and she glad for that, but adrenaline surged through her body making her faster, stronger. She swung again and slammed the gnome into his cringing face. This time she connected with his nose and a spray of blood exploded from his face. He collapsed to his knees holding his nose.

"Let's go!" Sarina hissed at Alison who'd already stood, the coughing completely stopped.

"Hey, what's going on?" Shit, it was the other guard coming back with the glass of water. He took one look at his friend and tore off after them.

Sarina and Alison ran as if the devil's hounds were chasing them. They were both pumping on pure adrenaline and lykaen strength triggered from fear. They beat around the bend of the mansion and sprinted the distance to Alison's car parked up front.

The hard, heavy rhythm of the guard's feet behind them was getting closer and closer. "Got your keys ready?" Sarina panted over the roar in her ears. Alison answered, but the roar was too loud to hear what she said, but she heard the jingling sound of keys and it was a sigh of relief to her. They nearly reached the car, just a few more feet and she could lock herself inside. She reached for the door handle as Alison ran around the front of the car to the driver's side door.

Something hard slammed into her stomach, flung her back feet after feet until she slammed back down to the earth and knocked the air out of her lungs.

"Did you really think you'd get away that easily, daughter?"

Sarina was seeing stars. She shook her head to clear them, but they were still there. Her head lolled to the side and she saw Alison slumped over by the rear tire, unmoving.

Oh, my God. Oh my God. Using her elbows, she dragged herself through the grass and across the pavement. Her legs weren't working and her stomach felt as though she'd been hit by an eighteen-wheeler.

"Alison!" she cried, but the sound barely came out above a whisper. The muscles in her stomach burned with each breath. With each slow drag across the ground, her muscles bent and contorted until she was panting and a sweat broke out over her brow. Her back felt like someone had had used it for batting practice.

"This is pathetic. Just pick the two of them up and bring them inside," the king sighed. Sarina heard the footsteps coming and told her body to move quicker, to get her friend, get in the car, and speed away. She could still do it. Just move!

But the feet stopped next to her, and rough hands pulled her up into a pair of hard arms.

"Bastard," she said, but the sound that came out was weak and pathetic. Her father came up to her, and the look on his face was so hate filled, so spiteful that Sarina shuddered.

Did he ever love me? Or was I just his property to do with as he wished. She more she thought about it, the sicker she felt. Her mother. Did she really die in a yachting accident or had she just made him this angry? She could see how close to murder he was in his eyes.

She started to ask him if he ever really loved her, but there was a loud crash and then chaos reigned down.

Sarina watched everything through wide eyes. Two men stormed from the forest. They moved almost too fast to see even by her eyes. She had no idea who they were, but they attacked viciously, precisely. In less than ten seconds, she and Alison were seated in the car. The guard’s were taken down so easily she almost laughed. Her father ran back to the house—coward.

From beside her, Alison’s eyes fluttered then blinked several times before opening. "What happened?"

"Shh," Sarina said, "look. We have help." Alison looked outside of the car to see a full on fight taking place. Hard blows were traded between the guards. Their helpers were big, muscular men. One in particular who wore his dirty blonde hair pulled back looked purely lethal. He snapped a guards wrist with a hard turn of his hand, then leaned to the side and planted a kick so hard into the guard's gut, the man spit up blood.

The blonde man turned back to the car and shouted, "Go!"

Sarina didn't wait any longer. Her hands shook so hard it took her three tries to get the keys from Alison and start the car. She threw the car into reverse and barreled down the driveway.

It wasn't until they were a safe distance away, that either one of them spoke.

"Who were those men?" Her voice was a scratchy whisper barely heard above the purr of the engine.

"I don't know, but I'm glad you're ok. I was scared shitless. They hit you, and then you weren't moving. God, Ali, I was so scared."

Alison's eyes watered and tears fell down her face. "One second I was running and the next I was being knocked to the ground. I'm sorry. I don't know why I’m crying. Everything went black like that," she said, snapping her fingers. "Where did those guys come from?"