Nocturnal

If I heard the word 'formula' one more time, I would burst. Heads lifted as I let my books crash on the table.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of bed." I gave Cameron a fulminating glare, sitting.

Dawn sat between me and V. Head shaking, her lips were a complete white line.

"Something happened?" Phill mumbled her way. He still avoided talking to me. So did I.

"Nothing happened." I flipped open the damn Trigg book. If I had Phillip's fire-berserk ability this would so go up in flames. "That's the problem." Now the three outsiders were giving me weird looks. I met them with dead silence.

Dawn let out a nervous giggle, "We have a test in two days and, well, our teacher is more concerned with goofing off with the class clowns than explaining exercises." She side-glanced me. "Nina has a real problem with it. She went all out on Mr. Erin today..."

"All out?" V asked. Dawn nodded turning serious. "As in...?"

"As in, the dormant volcano exploded and now she has detention this afternoon."

When Cameron doubled forward laughing, I lost it. The flow of emotions from last Saturday still very fresh. I took the lid off my water bottle.

And dumped it over his head, "Laugh about that."

When I realized what I'd just done, it was to late. Our table went silent, others too. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were waiting for his reaction.

Cameron's hair dripped. Water drops plummeted to his jeans. Eyes aiming for mine, he cursed, "What's your problem? Other than being utterly insane." He gritted.

I scoffed, "You. You're my problem. You're laughing because I got detention. I never got detention!" my anger swirled fluidly in my golden irises. "And I have no idea how I'm going to pass that test—there's nothing funny about it!" I slit my lids at his sneer.

"I dislike so very much." The words clawed at my heart.

This time, though, my emotions didn't flatter. "Right back at 'ya, pal." I spat with every little bit of vehemence his voice had held.

And those were the last words we exchanged before he stormed off with the viciousness of a storm, but the deadly swagger of a prying panther. He was borderline annoying. How could I ever put up with someone so... complicated? He wasn't worth the trouble. I had plenty of that, already.

Phillip was looking at me. I glanced away. He was going after Cameron. He always did.

"You two have some serious issues." He slung his backpack over his shoulder, heaving a sigh. I stayed quiet.

After I'd been able to tap into my Power, I'd gone home. My body had been all achy and my head? Pounding. Nothing changed in the following day. It was like I'd been thrown under a bus and survived.

It didn't hurt my ass.

Cameron was such a big time liar. He just did it so I'd do what he wanted. All weekend I thought about it. That locating mission Raphael had handed to me? I needed my ability in control to help them. Cameron was just helping so he could help himself—he was using me just like Phillip had. He needed me.

I had no idea what we were supposed to find, but Raph said it was a weapon. Angels wanted it gone. No matter what. Well, I'd been used once, I wasn't going to be blind again. No more training sessions with Cameron—that's what I'd decided.

I knew how to reach for Power now, how hard could it be to use my ability?

"You may have overreacted," Dawn began looking at me with dreamy eyes. "But I'm so in love with you for that!" she giggled.

Feeling burning gazes everywhere, I felt myself shrink. Why did I always go all-out in public? Especially with him? Argh.

Vanessa said nothing. She'd been trying to reconnect with Dawn. Or so I figured. She'd been hanging out more often, especially over lunch. She was making an effort to normalize everything.

Dawn was in the clouds with it all.

"This is hell..." how was I going to tell mom about detention? It sucked. "I'm never going to learn all of these... it's impossible!" I dropped my head on the open book.

A hand patted my shoulder, looking up I saw Vanessa giving me a secret smirk.

"Maybe we can talk to Mr. Erin. I'm sure he'll be understanding of your reasons. We just need to make him see your point." Was she suggesting...? "I can help you find him." Yep, she was.

"Good luck with that," Dawn muttered. "Mr. Erin's favorite student is Sam—we all can imagine why—she hates Nina. If Ms. Universe hates our friend, she's doomed."

"When did you become so pessimistic?"

"Oh, I'm not. It's called reality." She shrugged. "But that doesn't mean you have to give up. Reality's always changing, right?" Dawn broke into a giggly smile.

By the end of school, Dawn had left with Zeke and I hadn't seen the twins again. Vanessa was with me. Before we went off in search of my Trigonometry perv-teacher, we swung by her locker and bathroom. I stayed by the cubicle door while she drank a blood bag.

Did she rob the hospital's supply?

She came out after stuffing the empty thing in her bag. Her mouth was perfectly clean, not a smudge on it. Every drop was food, I guess.

"Are you sure it's okay to influence him?" I asked when we were near the teacher's lounge. Making someone do something they didn't want wasn't fair—but neither was the detention I got. Speaking of which... "I have detention in fifteen minutes."

"Not when I'm finished." I hesitated. "It's okay, Nina. He won't know a thing, no one will. You shouldn't get a ticket to detention because you wanted him to do his job. That's plain unfair and stupid." Vanessa said with a strong sense of justice. "I can do something about it and I will." A little grin showed. "And this is good practice."

Practice. I had no clue where to start. But that was something to deal with later. I had math to worry over or failing would be my biggest problem.

Vanessa knocked on the door and asked for Mr. Erin. He looked like a hippie, with his shoulder length hair, loosened shirt and round glasses—oh, and the goatee. He wasn't bad looking, just really scurfy.

When he came out into the hallway, Vanessa stepped in front of me and his eyes never once left hers as she talked. It was incredible to see her work, like she'd always known how to mess with a person's head.

"I can't believe that—it's just too cool." I laughed. V blushed. "You totally saved my skin!"

"Stop gushing," she nudged my shoulder. "People are looking and... it wasn't that big a deal."

I walked full of pep in my step, "Yeah, it was. You bailed from detention and convinced him to delay the test—you were awesome plus infinity."

She burst into a laugh, "That makes no sense." I gave a loop-side smile.

"But really, thanks. That was great. Now I have a few more days before I go down in flames." I tapped my chin. "Could you use your compulsion on me? You know, to make good at math?"

"Huh, I don't know. I never really tried influencing someone with Power." There was that. "And that's cheating, isn't it?" she teased.

"What do you call what we just did?"

V sat on the hood of my car. My Toyota was still old, it didn't go any faster than before, but now there was no rust. Only white. Phillip had done a hell of a job with it. Thinking of him brought a deep sigh to my lips. We were past the avoiding-faze, we were on shy-smiles and greetings now.

The more I wanted to forgive him, the more I resisted.

"Did something happen between you and Cameron?" my head jerked at the name. "It just seemed weird that you dumped water on him for laughing. You usually have more restraint." She was right. Compared to other things he'd said and done, laughing had been nothing.

"Something did happen," I threw my book bag inside. "He lied to me. He offered me his help on controlling Power and I took it. On Saturday I went over, he taught me how to reach for it—he said it wouldn't hurt. It hurt like hell." I shook my head, open mouthed. "I thought..." I breathed. "I thought I was going to lose myself in it." My eyes met with V's. "Anyway, I think I figured out what he's been trying to do."

"What do you mean?" she frowned.

"The day I went to their house for answers, after we were attacked, their uncle was there." I figured V was in on the whole fake-uncle thing. She said nothing. I went on, "He gave me this task—mission." I rolled my eyes. "Raphael wants me to help them find a weapon. So they can destroy it."

Vanessa's confusion lifted as she spoke, "So you think Cam's being nice so you'll help them?" I nodded. Her lips turned down hastily. "I don't know, Nina..."

"Why not? Phillip tricked me." A stab of pain spread. "Cameron's been horrible since I moved here. He hates me. Now, suddenly, he's flirting with me? What other reason is there?"

Vanessa's eyebrows arched, "Are you really asking that?"

"Yeah, I am. What would be his other reason? And don't say he has a crush on me. That's what Dawn says—and I love her—but she's bat-shit crazy on that." I leaned on the car with a humph. When Vanessa's lips smacked together, I exasperated. "Really, that's what you were going to say? Where are you and her getting those readings? They're wrong. Cameron doesn't care about anyone but himself and Phill."

V regarded me for a long minute before shifting.

"Probably not," her hushed words made my throat hurt for some reason. "But then again, he did save you."

"Because he needs me alive. He needs my ability." I filled in. "It makes sense, he's been trying to cozy up 'cause he needs me—my ability." This mantra had been replaying like an out-dated hit.

V jumped off my car standing in front of me. A short smile graced her lips.

"I know you're hurt because of what Phillip did, but it doesn't mean that every guy who shows interest in you has an ulterior motive."

I made a face, "This has nothing to do with—"

"Are you sure? Because I haven't known you for a long time, but I know you don't let people in often. And you let Phillip in more than any other guy, and he... well, that happened." Her tone rung with heartache. "I think you're afraid you might actually feel something for Cameron. And you're wishing it's not both ways because you don't want to get hurt."

Brushing off the insinuation, I asked, "How do you know I have trust issues—have you been in my head again?" the thought made me a little angry. I liked privacy.

"No," V smiled lively. "I didn't need to. I've known someone like you for a long time."

"Who?"

"Cameron."

***

I threw the covers over my head, glad that I was finally in bed. Mr. Erin didn't explain much, but he always sent extra batches of homework.

I groaned turning over. It was almost midnight. I'd been hitting the books since I drove home. Dinner had been cut short for me. My stomach would surely come alive sometime soon, and if it wasn't that, maybe a precognitive dream. With my luck anything was possible.

Turning again, I caught sight of something black on the back of my chair. Fingers dug into the comforter. Cam's hoodie.

I hadn't put it on since Saturday.

That day... we... if Phillip hadn't walked in we would've kissed. I would've kissed Cameron Leale.

The guy who mistreated me since I arrived at Haven Hills. The smart-mouthed boy who couldn't keep his trap shut, especially if he didn't have anything nice to say. The person who had the most intricate personality I had ever met. The guy whose eyes trapped me in a wild adventure, the one who caused some trippy shiver to crawl down my spine whenever he was near.

Yeah, that guy.

The one who only showed signs of humanity for his brother. Who was a first rate jackass and confused me, thrilled me and...

I couldn't understand why. Why I felt safe with him—him of all people?

It made no sense. It shouldn't.

But as I forced myself into a restless sleep, Vanessa's confession gripped at my heart. And a truth I knew, but didn't understand, resurfaced. I refused it, escaped it.

Because there was no way it was true.

***

I dodged an immensity of people as I hurried for the double doors. I'd been busy side-tracking Daren and Sam—who seemed to be hell bent on running into me every step I took. Not that they were throwing insults, it was because I couldn't stop grinning when I saw Daren's broken nose cane.

It sounded sadistic, but I didn't like their guts. Plain and simple.

I'd also been busy detouring from Cameron.

During English I was met with a pair of midnight eyes. They unsettled me, all of him made my skin crawl. He hadn't spoken a word, though. Which made me think that maybe I'd read his signal wrong. His eyes could've been saying 'nice bracelet' and not 'we'll talk later'.

Looking down at my wrist my excessive positive thinking deflated. I wasn't wearing a single bracelet. So, my main goal became to leave school grounds before anything went wrong.

No more spectacles here, I promised myself.

I'd arrived late for school and the only parking spot I'd found was the one behind the school, by the dumpsters. Where the bathroom window me and V had used to snuck in were.

My Cam-alert rang through. Darn, I was so close. Why, why did he have to be everywhere? Why did he have to be leaning, crossed armed, on my Toyota's front?

"Unless you want me to run you over—move." I bristled batting my eyes on his opposite direction. "Are you deaf?" he hadn't moved an inch.

"You've been avoiding me."

"It's amazing you're able to understand that, but not the word 'move'."

His lip didn't curl into a smirk. They remained set in a steely line. Coldness ran his eyes. I held my ground as Cameron shut his eyes, inhaled to the depths of his soul, and stepped forward. Eyes opened exposing a restrained wave of pure anger. There were other things. Something akin to regret flashed as he looked over my shoulder. It disappeared as they glided back to mine.

"You should be avoiding me." A prickle of fear lit my chest—was that excitement? Oh, good God, was I turning into an adrenaline junkie? Please, say it isn't so! "I'm not fond of cold showers. Not one bit."

"Consider it payback for all the other times you harassed me. Our first day, for example—or at the Lighthouse?" I took a step to him, even if my brain told me to make it backward. "Not that I expect you to remember anything. You probably make it a very fun game of scaring and embarrassing girls—"

"I remember everything." The tone was silky and in that single heartbeat, anger vanished. Just for one beat. "And I don't make a hobby out of scaring girls, not that that's any of your business."

That didn't flatter me one bit. "Isn't there anyone else you can torture?"

"Probably," his lips slithered into an amused curve. "I'm sure they're not as fun as you, though." Strangling wouldn't kill him but it would knock him out. "I'm not here to argue over your little moment of insanity. I'm here to tell you we're training today. Calling on your Power should be easy, figuring out how to use it—"

"No thanks."

"Nina—"

My hands shot up keeping us apart, "I said no. I don't want to be helped anymore. Not by you—or your brother. Actually, it would be swell if you kept some distance from me."

Cameron sure wasn't reserved about his Kid Flash speed. I turned to my car and a woosh later, he was standing between me and the door.

Bloody brilliant. "Move."

He flexed his jaw, "Is this because of yesterday?"

"So what if it is?" I fumbled for my keys, desperate for a distraction. "We both hate each other. We're on the same page—and I'm tired of being used."

His forehead crinkled as the ebony eyebrows knitted. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you and your twin." I grounded. "From day one you despised me. He got close to me. Phillip lied. You... you only want to help with my Power because you want to keep him and yourself safe. You want me to find whatever deadly weapon the Angels want destroyed." I crossed my arms at his mild frown. "You never cared about me and my safety. You just need me." The last part left my lips in the form of a whisper. "I'm a means to an end."

"You're nuts," he bit. "I'm not using you."

"You lied to me." I accused. "You lied to me about the pain. It was suffocating, Cameron! I thought I was going to die of asphyxiation. And... and my body felt beaten up. I could barely move the next day. It felt like it was tearing me in half."

His hand hovered next to my cheek. Only to drop. He clenched it into a fist.

"This is what that's about? I told you, you wouldn't have done if I told you the truth—"

"Yes, I would!" I hated when people thought they knew me, what I thought, what I did. "I would've done it..." because you were there, I thought with a pang of anguish. Because I trust you instinctively.

Cameron drew a sigh, "Whatever," he shook his head. "I haven't been manipulating you. So, just come with and I'll teach—"

"No." I stomped the word. "I'm not going anywhere with you. You were awful to me and now you want me to believe you changed? From night to day?" his arms crossed. The air crackled with energy. I was getting on his nerves. "What, I don't do what you say so you'll shock me into submission?"

"I wouldn't do that," he countered, voice lowering, hardening. "And if I wanted you to do something for me threats are a much easier route."

Recognition flashed in my eyes, "Leave my family alone."

He groaned massively, "That came out wrong. That wasn't what I—"

"Oh, save it." I clenched my hands. "I don't care what you meant. There are two things I hate in this world, Cameron. Heights and liars."

"Like you never lied a day in your life. You're a model of perfection." His chest rose heavily.

"No, I lie. But I do it for a good purpose. I only lie when I really have to and it's to keep the people I love safe. You told me I would be fine, guess what? I wasn't." I said harshly.

"You're being really unreasonable." I started for my—getting in my face, Cameron whispered, "I'm getting tired of playing this game, Nina." His face was darker, strands falling forward, banging on my own forehead. "I'm not a knight in shining armor, I won't be there every time to safe you—so you better know what you're choosing right now."

"No one would mistake you for a white—"

He talked over me, forcing me to shut up. "What's it going to be? Are you going to give me the benefit of the doubt or are you gonna act like a scared little girl?" his eyes doubled in size, and their sheer sight was hypnotizing.

He thought I couldn't do it. He thought I wouldn't. Why? Because he was the hot-stuff everyone wanted?

Newsflash, I wasn't everyone.

"Don't paint yourself as the tough guy who isn't afraid of anything. Because you're as much of a scared little boy as I am." Our gazes were leveled. Unwavering, both trembling with challenge—fire. "You like to let people in as much as I do, Cameron. That's why you're making this ultimatum, you know fully well what I'll choose. You want me to choose it—because you would, you'd choose the easy way out. You'd walk away." I swear he lost his perfect pose for a minute in time. "You don't want to let me in." He backed up then. I stepped up. "But you keep pulling me to you. You're messing with my head and I don't like it. You say it's not because you want to use me. Then what is it, what do you want from me?"

A struggle went on behind his shadowed eyes, leaving my own in a turbulent current of want and need.

"What I want..." he mussed. "What I want and what I need to do are two different things." He tilted his head. "Right now what I need to do, is help you. It doesn't mean I want you close to me. Believe me, it's the biggest favor I could ever do for you." Those words sent some sort of spasm through his body. "Come with me."

"No." He drew his lips in, then let out a frustrated grunt, stepping aside.

Maybe I was wrong making this on-spot decision. Maybe Cam's intentions were pure. I choked a laugh at that—purity was something he didn't have—but my gut hadn't been wrong before. Not when I thought there was something strange with the twins. Not when I thought Phillip was too good to be reality.

Why should it be wrong about Cameron?

Coming Friday afternoon, I wanted to blow my brains out and Dawn wanted to eat her frustration away. We'd been over multiple problems, surrounded ourselves with books and researched similar math exercises to the ones we were supposed to know.

We were beat.

I huffed toppling over my bed.

"You know, I came here to study—all you're doing is a whole lot of moping." Dawn threw an eraser, hitting my arm. "I know moping seems a crazy lot of fun compared to Trigg but when the test scores come back you'll tear out your hair thinking, 'why didn't I listen to Dawn, why—why!'"

I chuckled at her bad impression of my voice. "This coming from the girl who's spent the last ten minutes yelling 'eureka' and not getting one single problem done." I mumbled into the pillow. "This stuff is too complicated for my noodle..."

Dawn hooted from the end of bed. "Maybe it's because your noodle is off somewhere else—not in mathematics." Frowning, I lifted my head, the hair a complete mess. Her sparkly eyes told me she was up to no good. "Cameron and Nina sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G—" holy baloney, she was singing that kiddy-song. Worst of all, she didn't stop as I threw out a pillow. "—first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage!" She giggled rolling out of the way as I slapped her shoulder.

"No one's going to sit in any tree!" And definitely no babies, the only thing Cameron could ever give me was a real bad headache. "What is your deal? I wasn't even thinking about that asshole."

"Then what were you thinking about?"

"How badly I'm going to fail this test?"

Dawn sighed in agreement, euphoria partiality gone. "It would've been worse if Mr. Erin hadn't changed the date. How did you convince him, anyway?"

Your Vampire best friend mind controlled him into it. "I might have teared up." I went for a shaky laugh.

Five minutes into a new whack at rectangle triangles, Dawn paused staring at my profile.

"Did you get into a fight?" Oh, seriously? "Cam hasn't sat at our table for three days straight. He's not angry with Phill, or me or... V, I think. So, that leaves you." Cameron and me had been on the outs since Tuesday. "You can tell me, I won't tell a soul."

I knew that. I just couldn't come out of the closet and tell her I was a freak—plus, the twins wouldn't support the decision.

"He's Cameron. Do I need any other reason? He's annoyingly complicated and every time we're together we fight, we don't get along." Except maybe when he lowers the walls. "We're better off apart."

"Well, I should tell you that even from across the room you guys still go at it." Was I missing something? She had on a naughty grin. "You're still having eye-sex with each other."

That was much worse than the idiotic song. "We. Do. Not. Have. Eye-sex." I breathed every word.

"Ah," she mused. "But you have the other kind of sex?"

"No!" I threw my arms in the air. "We have no type of sex. At all. Never."

"My mom always says we should never say never." Obviously her mother had never met Cameron. "I need to pee." What a change in conversation, I chuckled as she hopped to my personal bathroom—turning with slit eyes. "When I get back we're going to hit those books like nerds on steroids."

I rolled off bed as the doorbell sounded. Mom and Nigel were out in the city, shopping for my secret eighteen birthday present—which must be something really important since my birthday was a week away—and Henry was at a friend's house for a sleep over.

"I'm going," I skipped down the stairs almost tripping myself—huh, didn't people know patience? "Oh, hell no."

I stared with a clamped mouth. He stared right back making a rather comical frowny face.

"Hello."

"Hello?" I'm sure this could be the beginning of great joke. An Angel knocking on my door? It would sell. "What are you doing here?" I found myself speaking slowly, dragging each word like I was talking to an alien.

His creased eyebrows grew worse, "Why are you talking like that?"

"Because it's not every day I get an Archangel on my doorstep." My face blanked and I muttered to myself, "That was probably the craziest thing I've ever said—" shaking off the weirdness, I leaned on the door. "And again, why are you here?"

Raphael's twenty-some features lost their edge, growing passive.

"I'm here to help you mastering your ability, since you've turned down Cameron's offer." I couldn't say I hadn't been warned.

Not like I cared. "In that case, I'll tell you exactly what I told your nephew. Thanks, but no thanks. I'm capable of doing things on my own—" closing the door in his face proved to be useless. He stopped it. Not with his hand, either. "How are you—"

"Wind," he answered tipping his head forward, a breeze rushed past me and the door pushed against my hand, shoving me backward. Holy cow. "I control it. Now, I strongly advice that you rethink the answer."

"Oh, yeah? Why?"

"Because you posses no knowledge about the use of Power. Alone you will never achieve anything." I thought he was going to say "or we'll mark you as an enemy". "And it's important that you learn fast, time is fleeting."

There was a door opening upstairs. I looked over my shoulder with a grimace. Please don't let her come down.

"Look—"

"Nina?" Dawn yelled all the way from my bedroom.

Damn, "I'm at the door, be right there!" I yelled, facing the blond Angel. "Here's the problem all-mighty-immortal-one, I have a friend—a complete human friend—over. Meaning whatever my answer is, you need to scram to your heavenly plane—now. I don't want to explain who you are or what you're doing here. Capiche?" I hissed in a hush.

He gave me a dubious look, eyes following up the stairs.

I braced a hand on a hip, "Well?"

"Alright," he nodded. "I'll come later."

"I'm okay with never..." I muttered. Then to Raph I gave a tight smile. "Good. Bye-bye, now."

This time I successfully slammed the door.

As I marched up, I ran what I'd just done in my head. No one should be crazy enough to talk with that much glib—not when I knew exactly what the handsome not-so-normal guy downstairs was. He stopped the door with wind, I hadn't felt anything. I hadn't know he was using.

"Who was it?"

I blinked rapidly, shaking cobwebs out. "No one." She threw a look. "Of course it was someone, it just wasn't important. Just a neighbor asking if we'd gotten his mail by mistake—you'd be surprised how much it happens." I faked a smile plopping beside her. "FYI, if you don't stop soon, you won't fit through my door."

She took another chocolate cookie from the plate—my mom had poured a whole box of them, she thought serving it on a nice plate meant it was baked home—just to spite me.

"I burn enough calories trying to understand what's the meaning of a tangent. It's like reading Chinese only worse." She was right on that.

We cracked through another batch of unsolved problems until it was late and almost dinner time. Mom and Nigel arrived when Dawn was about to leave. On her way out, she thanked my mom for the cookies—I avoided a laugh. Dawn knew they weren't homemade but I appreciated it, besides it won her points with mom.

After dinner, I helped mom with the dishes trying to guess what my special gift would be. Her lips were sealed. Groaning, I didn't bother trying my luck with Nigel. He was cooked up in his office—or as he liked to call it, adult-hours. He was acting his own age, working.

"Shit—" I covered my own mouth bracing my back tightly into the door. "Don't do that—whatever you did." How was he in my bedroom? And seriously, was privacy too much to ask on this Earth?

"I opened the window." He said as if it were obvious.

Looking past him, I saw it was open. Pretty sure I'd closed it. Talk about creepy.

"As my ex-boyfriend's-fake-uncle you need some ground rules." I huffed one hell of a breath never pulling away from the door.

His perfectly designed eyebrow perked, "I said I'd come back." I'd hoped his agenda was full. "I didn't think you'd like me to knock on the door again. This was better." And now I knew who Cameron took after. They both liked giving me mini-heart-attacks.

Cutting to the chase I said, "My answer hasn't changed. I'm not too crazy about the idea of being used as a pawn. I'm not some weapon—I'm a living, breathing life form, 'kay?" I drew into myself as thin strands dangled in front of his gaze. "What... what are you doing...?"

He grabbed my arm; lifting the sleeve, I saw the scarred tissue I'd been hiding so thoroughly. Raph's champagne eyes imprinted on it—the nicest sensation, warm and breezy, brushed my skin. Suddenly my arm was cleansed. The skin was sun-kissed, no marks covered it, just like it had been for the last seventeen years.

"It's gone..." I mused, marveling the miracle. Cam told me this was Raphael's special ability—one of many. "That's amazing." Raphael didn't reciprocate a smile—he was so serious. "But... but this doesn't mean I'll do what you want—you can't bribe me."

"It's not bribing," he started. "It's a show of good faith. I'm not here to force you to work with us, I simply want to make you see that an alliance will be mutually beneficial." I held my breath as he towered a second longer. Then he backed up. "You help us, we help you. It's a win-win."

When he put it that way... I nibbled my lip. How could I be certain that I'd be safe in all this—that my family would be alright?

"I... I need time to think. This is all too sudden, too fast." I rasped.

"Don't take too long." Raphael gave me a tilt of the head before moving fast—too fast for me to track. All I heard was a window shutting, then, I was alone.