I rub my eyes and blink against the burning sensation. “Okay, what spell was it though?”

She beams. “Night vision.” She dusts her hands off. “So you don’t have to stumble around in the dark blindly when you get to the castle.”

“What about Laylen?” I ask, picking up the sword from off the floor.

“He doesn’t need it,” she tells me, giving Laylen a once over, looking at him in a way that I look at Alex sometimes and I remember how she told me they use to date. I wonder if she still has feelings for him? “He already has night vision.”

Laylen doesn’t reciprocate the look, I think still carrying around too much pain from her abandoning him in his time of need. “We should go,” he says and Aislin looks hurt. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay with this thing?” he asks, nodding at the sword. “It just about landed on my foot.”

I thread my fingers through Laylen’s and take a deep breath. “I’ve got this. Trust me.” I actually sound confident, although I don’t feel that way.

I don’t bother looking at Alex, knowing it’ll make it harder to leave. But I can feel him watching me from across the room, arms folded, as he sinks into the shadows. Then I shut my eyes and do what I need to do. I picture the lake, the forest circling it, the grey-stone castle in the background. And then suddenly I’m falling with Laylen by my side.

I manage to land without falling, but that might be because I use Laylen’s arm for support. Once we’re both settled on the ground out in the forest just a little ways from the castle, I glance up at the sky. The full moon shines vividly, silver speckles of stars and the darkness surrounds us, but I can see as clearly as if it were day.

“Amazing,” I say, touching the corner of my eye.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Laylen states, playfully prodding me in the side.

I nod, lowering my hand. Silence encloses us and for a moment we just stare at each other, feelings connected to the bite attempting to fight to the surface. We’re alone.

“We should get going,” I finally say.

He nods, unable to take his eyes off me. “Yeah, we should.”

I nod again and then start hiking through the trees toward the castle and Laylen follows my lead. Twigs and leaves crunch under our shoes, the cool air nips at my skin, and the silence is driving me mad.

“Why did you go to Stasha’s?” I ask, attempting to break the silence. “She doesn’t seem like a very good person.”

“Yeah, but neither am I.”

“Don’t say that,” I tell him. “You’re a good person. You’re here with me and you don’t have to be.”

His expression is guarded. “Maybe I have an alternative motive.” His gaze flicks to my neck where my pulse is throbbing.

“Don’t do that,” I say. “Don’t pretend you’re bad because you think everyone thinks you are.”

He gives me a hard look but then sighs. “I was standing outside of the Red Dragon, debating whether I wanted to go in or not, when Stasha showed up out of the blue. I think she hangs out there sometimes, but she didn’t want to admit it, so she pretended to be wandering around the area. She asked me if I wanted to go back to her house and I went with her because the only other option I had was going inside the Red Dragon.”

I zip up my jacket. “Well, I’m glad you left with her then, even if she is a lunatic.”

He chuckles and for a split second, some of his pain alleviates. “That she is.”

“You know, Aislin was upset the whole time you were gone,” I tell him. “She cried a lot.”

“Aislin always cries,” Laylen says, shoving a branch blocking his path. “She’s been that way forever.”

“Yeah, I know, but she still cares about you. I can tell.”

“I know.”

“Have you… Have you ever thought about forgiving her?”

He shakes his head. “I’m not ready to do that yet.”

I nod. “Okay, I understand.”

“What about you? Did you cry while I was gone?” he asks it so casually, but his tone portrays the mere opposite. Tension builds and the vein on my neck throbs. I can’t help but think about what it feels like when he sinks his fangs into my skin… drinks my blood… sheer ecstasy.

“Oh, yeah, I cried until my tears ran out,” I joke, trying to break the tension. “In fact, I locked myself in my room and refused to leave until someone found you.”

He’s reluctant at first to go with the joke but gives in and smiles. “I knew you secretly had feelings for me. I’m glad you finally admitted it.”

I laugh and he swings his arm around me, pulling me close to him. “Honestly, I could be okay with this.” He brushes his lips across the top of my forehead, spreading heat to my toes, but a different kind of heat than Alex’s touch brings. What that means, though, I have no idea. “Just you and me.”

Part of me agrees with him that I could stay like this forever. Just Laylen and me. No electricity reminding me of what I was and what I could never be. No worry about falling in love with someone that could lead to my death and his. Life would be simpler if I just fell in love with Laylen and he loved me back. The problem is, though, I know from the silence on the back of my neck that it isn’t happening, at least not at this moment.

As we reach the edge of the forest, Laylen steers us behind a large oak tree as the lights glowing from the castle windows light up the dark. “Okay, we’re probably just going to have to make a run for the back.” He peeks around the corner of the tree trunk and out into the area in front of the castle, which is a long, wide, stretch of grass, where anyone can see us if they’re looking out. “I don’t see anyone outside… And I think I see the rock Alex was talking about.” He looks over his shoulder at me. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? Because I can just do it. It might be better for you to stay here.”

I shake my head. “No way. She’s my mom and this is my thing. I need to do this. Everyone’s always taking care of me and protecting me all the time and I’m getting tired of it. Besides,” I raise the sword, “I have this.”

He inches back from the sharp tip of the blade. “Alright, then let’s go.”

We charge out from the trees and race across the dewy grass toward the castle. I trip over a rock, but catch myself, but Laylen takes that as a cue that I need help. He grabs me by the arm and effortlessly lifts me up and throws me onto his back.

“I should have done this in the first place,” he says, then speeds up so fast that everything becomes blurry and incoherent. I try to keep the sword away from him for the rest of the journey, holding my breath for most of the way and only breathe freely again when he stops and sets me back down on the ground in front of a gigantic rock.

“I’m guessing this is it,” Laylen says, then presses his hands to the rock and easily shoves it aside. Beneath it is a hole burrowing deep into the ground. Even with my night vision, I can’t see the bottom.

“How far of a drop is it?” I wonder, leaning over cautiously and peering down into it.

He shrugs. “There’s only one way to find out.” Then without warning, he jumps down into it.

“Laylen,” I hiss, kneeling down by the edge. “Are you okay?”

“Go ahead and jump,” he calls out. “It’s not too far and I’ll catch you.”

I glance back at the castle and the trees, then slide my legs into the hole. Without any hesitation, I jump in, knowing if I dither, I’ll psych myself out. Gripping onto the sword handle, I fall into the darkness, but not for too long and then I’m safe in Laylen’s arms.

“Holy shit,” I breathe against his chest as I clasp my arms tightly around his neck and squeeze my legs against his hips. “That was nerve racking.”

His hands are tense on my waist. “Yeah… I guess so…” His fingers shift downward and dig into my hips. As his head leans in, his lips brush the crook of my neck. Before I can stop him, he’s kissing my flesh, his tongue sliding out and his teeth grazing but not entering. For a moment I let him, because it feels so good and I feel like a complete asshole when he’s the one that pulls away.