I wake up before Cain which is always common. He must go to sleep much later than myself. He spent the last four nights sleeping on the couch at the other end of the room. He won't leave me alone and I can't decide if I like that or not. It's better than being completely alone but I still feel as though I am.

The only time he does leave is when he's called away but he always returns within the hour. Even though he won't say it, I know it's because of Blake. He thinks he's going to break in to my room and kill me like Dominic tried. Cain doesn't feel boredom like humans or even other creatures, he's the most patient of them all and even it just came down to sitting in a chair for the entire day doing nothing, he'd do it.

I'm still wrapped in the blanket above the bed sheets. It was nice to sleep naked, to not have the fabric of clothes scratching and tugging against my bruises all night long. But I can't stay like this all day. I clench on my teeth as I stand to my feet. I approach my wardrobe and I grab a handful of clothes, taking them back to the bed. I sit on the edge and I manage to get my underwear and pants on fine but the moment I raise my arms to try and fit the shirt over my head, I receive an agonizing shooting pain right down my spine. I cry out so loudly that Cain wakes up. Tears pinch my eyes as I drop the shirt from my fingers. He runs over to me as I hold my back.

"What is it?"

"Something's wrong," I say. "I can't. . . I can't move."

"Out of all the souls I consumed, why couldn't any of them have been a damn doctor?" he mutters to himself before charging towards the door. "Guards!" he screams. "Get me Blake, now!"

He comes back into the room but I'm in so much pain that I can't focus on anything else. My back feels like it's suddenly broken, like something has snapped in my spine.

"Bring me the painkillers," I cry.

I keep my hand outstretched for them desperately, he brings me the whole box and I swallow down four with a glass of water.

"You're not supposed to take-"

"I'll take as many as I damn want, you have no idea what pain feels like!" I scream at him.

"I do actually," he says. "When I dream."

"This isn't a dream, Cain this is real."

"What's wrong?" a voice says from the doorway.

"It's her back," Cain says. "She can't move. She's in too much pain."

"Put her face down on the bed."

Cain's hands bend down to grab me. "Don't touch me," I snarl, groaning loudly as I try and push my body away from him.

"He has to look at it," Cain says. "I know it hurts but I have to move you."

I close my eyes, nodding my head. Cain picks me up and turns me, I clench my teeth against the pillow.

"Can I examine her?" Blake says.

"Yes."

"Aurora, I need you to tell me where the pain is," Blake says. "I'm going to add a little pressure along your back, okay?"

"Okay," I say.

His hands press at the top of my bare skin and I remain quiet, he moves them to the lower half of my spine and I squeal into the pillow. He removes the pressure immediately.

"Her lower spine," Blake says. "It could be a fracture or a severe sprain to her lumbar. She needs to be taken to a breeding centre, they have hospital equipment. How has this gone unnoticed for five days?"

"She's been on heavy painkillers," Cain says. "She said she was in pain when she moved yesterday and had trouble bending down but I assumed that was because of her bruises."

"There is a breeding centre in the valley that has an MRI machine," Blake says. "I don't recommend that they touch her."

"Can you perform a procedure? If one is needed?"

"Yes, I think so."

"You're coming with us." My body is lifted again and I really want to smack Cain's face. He manages to hold me still while he places my shirt over my head. He pushes my arms through the holes as though I'm a doll that he's playing around with.

He keeps me in his arms and I cradle my face into his warm chest. My hands entwine around the back of his neck. We leave the room seconds later. He doesn't bother going down the staircase, he takes us up higher and kicks open a door to the roof. I close my eyes as he unleashes his wings and glides us softly into the sky. The painkillers are starting to work, I gaze up at his jaw as a healing sensation washes over me. He has a tight grip on me so I break one of my hands free and I touch his cheek.

"Stop it," he growls.

"I've missed you."

He looks down at me, our eyes connect instantly. It's like I'm looking directly into him, seeing every part of his whole existence through those greenly-blue portals. "This is just because of your health. Nothing else."

"Right," I say. "Nothing else."

"Humans are so fragile," he mumbles. "It's no wonder you had so many hospitals."

I laugh. "And yet you still didn't consume a doctor."

"Don't remind me. I wish I did. If I knew I was going to end up. . ." He swallows.

"End up what?"

He doesn't answer me. He keeps his gaze forwards on the empty sky. I place my hand back to his cheek and he flinches a little but he doesn't reject it. The drugs are making my whole mind fuzzy, it's making me want to say things that couldn't possibly be right.

"Falling for a human?" I whisper.

His eyes flick down and he catches his breath. I can't tell if he's ever considered it or if I've just planted something entirely new in his mind.

"It's okay," I say, resting my face back into his chest. "I hate myself too."

I hear him chuckle and I smile. I feel his feet touch the ground moments later. He walks through some gates and I release my hands from his neck.

"I think I can walk," I say.

"Are you sure?"

I nod and he tips me towards the ground. I press my fingers into his arm, using him as a walking stick to aid my limp. Blake is already here, waiting for us at the steps of the breeding centre with what I assume is the leader. She is a fairly small, big-boned creature with short auburn hair and pale skin. As we get closer, she falls to her knees, bowing her head respectfully.

"Has Blake filled you in?" Cain says.

The creature rises. "Yes. The machine is being set up as we speak."

"I want every single one of our kind out of that building and standing in a line over there." Cain points towards a far wall. "They are not to move until we are gone."

The creature looks confused but she nods. "Of course."

"Blake will go with you to ensure they are all cleared. We will wait. Hurry it up."

I wrap my hand around his arm, sighing against him. I look around the beautiful gardens to our left, it's like a fairy tale here. The neatly-cut hedges create some kind of maze that is inhabited by small fountains, silver benches and apple trees. The building is almost identical to the previous breeding centre that we visited. It is a white-coloured mansion with too many windows to count. I see some of the humans in the windows, staring down at us curiously as they enjoy some air.

The creatures begin leaving the building, a blend of mixed genders, ages and appearances. I start to count them; I conclude at twenty before I give up. They follow their orders without complaint or annoyance, they stand in a line against the wall and do not move.

The female creature is the last to join them. Blake issues a nod at the doorway and then Cain starts moving. I grip tightly to his arm as we enter the mansion. We have to stop abruptly as a pregnant girl walks across the hall in front of us, she glares at us as she carries on towards the opposite room.

She was rude but the others that we see give us warm smiles. I hear some strange noises from one room and I look inside to see a group of girls watching a birthing video on a large screen. I freeze in the doorway, captivated by the sight of a television screen. They didn't have them at the nannery, I didn't think they still existed.

"Aurora," Cain says.

"Sorry." My body moves forwards but my eyes stay glued to that screen for every possible second.

Blake takes us into a small, private room with a scary looking machine in the middle. I stare at the circular hole that generates a light orange glow. In front of it is a type of bed.

"Lay down," Blake says.

I remove my touch from Cain's arm and I lay down on the strange bed.

"Keep your body really still," Blake says. "I'll just be through that door. You don't have anything metal on you, do you?"

I shake my head.

"It'll take a few minutes. Just try to stay relaxed."

Blake leaves through the door but Cain stays with me. The bed starts moving backwards and I close my eyes as the top half of my body enters the machine. There is a loud sound, like an engine starting, and the noise drowns out anything else in the room. I don't know what to expect, I'm hoping that it's not a fracture but the pain was so bad that it can't be good news.

I'm not sure how long I'm in there for. Ten minutes? Twenty? Suddenly, the machine turns off and the bed brings me back into the room. Cain isn't here, he's joined Blake in the other room. I sit up slowly, waiting patiently for them to come and tell me what I already fear is true.

Cain enters first, followed by Blake who carries the digital images in his hands.

"How bad is it?" I say.

"It's not a fracture," Blake says. "There's an inflammation on the lower part of your spine that is causing your pain."

"It's a sprain," Cain says.

"Meaning what?" I whisper.

"Meaning that you need to put ice on it and rest. It should heal in a few days."

"That's it?" I stare at him in denial. "A sprain caused that?"

"Sprains can be just as serious as fractures," Blake says factually, as though he is in fact a real doctor. "You sustained a lot of injuries when you were thrown from the bike, you're lucky it is just a sprain."

"I don't feel so lucky," I mutter.

"You'll live." Cain grins at me. "That's the important thing."

Blake looks at him, I notice the confusion in his expression but Cain doesn't care. "I took the liberty of conducting a brain scan too, just to be sure. Your brain is fine, perfect even. No pressure or internal injury."

"Thank you," I say.

Cain walks towards me. "Come on, let's go home. I'll have ice packs brought to your room. Lots of them."

I groan as I stand up, he laughs at that. We leave the mansion a few minutes later. I stare up at the bright sun as we walk down the steps but just before we take off something lands right in front of us. Two things. One male and one female creature, their faces so clear that I am twelve-years-old again, watching them murder my parents from under the kitchen table.

Cain recognizes them too. He pushes me behind him as he senses my anger, my uncontrollable need to charge at them. His hand is locked to mine, paralyzing me from moving at all.

The two creatures are on their knees immediately, their heads low and fearful. Cain clicks his fingers and they rise.

"Forgive us," the male says. His disguise is a thirty-something male with hunched shoulders and a small beard. The female, his companion, is at least ten years younger with dark, curled locks that fall all the way down to her waist. "We did not know you were visiting."

"What is your business here?" Cain says. "This is a breeding centre not a social convention. Are you stationed here?"

"No," the male says. "We were just passing through and wanted to have a tour before our arrival at the palace."

"The palace? Visitors are not permitted to just drop by on whims."

"We realize that," the female says. "We have some information regarding law-breakers."

"Take that up with my law enforcers. They will investigate," Cain says. He unparalyzes me and gently pulls me around them, blocking me from their view. He suddenly stops and turns back around. "Actually, do come to the palace. I'll meet with you in an hour."

"Thank you," the female says.

I snarl at them but they don't see it. Cain picks me up so fast that I don't have the time to shout things. I've imagined the moment I would see them again a thousand times, I never thought it would happen. I glare at them over his shoulder as we go higher, their faces become blurs beneath the clouds.

"Why would you meet with them?" I demand. "Why would you even give them the time of day?"

"I don't have to explain my reasons to you," he says. "Just trust me."