Julian kept giving me water. I told him I was fine, but he insisted I looked like I was trying to hydrate myself. I didn't object when he handed me the chocolate cake and cookies though.

About a half an hour had passed since Julian sat me down at the table, and the tension between us hasn't died down. I wish I could read his mind like he could read mine; it would make things so much easier.

A thought that has been on my mind since mine and Tristan's dance was eating at me. I wanted to know if Julian had a soulmate. I mentally kept slapping myself because my brain was telling me that if he liked me, then he obviously didn't have one, but my heart sank at that the thought of him ever having one. Then, a pang of guilt kept hitting me when I thought about it because Tristan told me that I was his soulmate. So, wouldn't it be considered cheating since I felt something for Julian? Unfortunately for me, I was sitting next to a mind reader, who most likely heard everything.

"Julian..." I drew out his name.

He gave me a knowing look.

I continued, "Do you have a soulmate?"

Julian's lips lifted slightly before going into a flat line. Drawing a breath, he started to speak, "I..."

A booming voice cut him off. It was King Gabriel announcing that he was going to talk about the progress of coexistence.

"Come on. He wants you up there when he speaks," Julian sighed, taking my hand and leading me to where the King stood.

"Do I have to speak? I'm not prepared," I asked nervously.

"He might have you say a few words about how you feel about vampires. Don't worry though. You will be fine," he reassured me.

My feet carried me onto the platform where King Gabriel stood, and hundreds of eyes were on me.

He was already in the middle of his speech. "...good will come out of coexistence. We have set up a blood bank company as a cover to collect blood to prove that we don't need to directly feed from the source. Once we have enough, we can slowly come out of the shadows and show humans that we don't need to harm them. We can reveal where we get our blood. Some of you may be wondering if the humans will continue to donate after finding out about our existence. As long as we don't pose a threat, the human government will require blood donation in fear we might retaliate. After all, we are the superior race. Claire is a prime example of how humans may react when they find out about us. I will let you all listen to her testimony," the King preached and motioned towards me.

I was frozen. It was my turn to speak, and I didn't even know what to say. I wasn't prepared.

Just be honest. Julian's voice echoed through my head.

I took a few deep breaths. "Um...hello. My name is Claire Fields, and I'm a human as you all know." A small amount of laughter came from the audience. "I was kind of freaked out when I came here...to be honest. I had no idea that you all existed, but I've been treated great since I came here. To me, you all are just people with special abilities—superheroes. I can see that humans might be doubtful at first...but if you show them what your King just explained, then I'm sure we could all live together peacefully. So...yeah. Thank you."

My face felt hot, and I felt lightheaded again. I was so nervous. My anxiety began to melt away when a low applause echoed through the ballroom. I didn't humiliate myself at least.

King Gabriel nodded towards me with approval. "There you have it. She is a glimpse of our future, and I hope that it has converted the skeptics. I hope that I can eventually convince you all to accept our newfound future. Thank you all for coming tonight. Enjoy the food and dancing," King Gabriel boomed.

Some people nodded and a few had scowls on their faces. I turned to Julian, who gave me a reassuring smile. When I turned back towards the crowd, a force suddenly lifted my body and flung it against the wall like I was a rag doll. A scream reached my ears, but I couldn't tell if it was mine. The music stopped, and the sound of fighting broke out. My head pounded as I tried to lift it off of the floor. My vision was blurry, and black spots threatened to take over. Everything happened so fast that I couldn't register what just happened.

"Claire!" Julian's voice echoed in the distance.

Strong arms picked up my limp body, and I felt as if I was flying. My eyes couldn't open anymore, and my breathing slowed. The next thing I felt was warm, metallic liquid pouring into my mouth—blood. Someone put blood into my mouth, or maybe it was mine from hitting that wall so hard. After a few moments, my eyes felt lighter and the headache ceased.

When my eyes fluttered open, they were met with Julian's; they were full of worry and panic. I looked around and noticed we were no longer in the ballroom. We were in an unfamiliar room. The only light was the moon shining through the window. Sounds of crashing and yelling echoed in the distance.

"What..."

"The castle is under attack, princess. You were thrown pretty hard against a wall. I had to give you my blood to heal you," Julian explained.

"Oh my... Tristan! Where is he? Where is the King and Queen?" I questioned frantically as I sat up.

"Calm down. They are fighting the attackers. I had to get you out of there. It's a blood bath in that ballroom. They will be okay, but for now we need to keep you hidden. I think they were after you again." He wasted no time helping me stand up. "We need to get out of this castle."

"Where are we going to go? There's nothing but woods, Julian. We need to make sure that they all are okay," I argued.

The muscle in his jaw contracted as his eyes turned obsidian. "I know you want to make sure they are safe, but you need to remember that they are protecting you; they are vampires and you are human. If you go back out there, you are defeating the purpose. All of this would be for nothing, okay?"

I wanted to go against him, but he was right. I sighed in defeat and took off my mask, "Okay, but why are they trying to kill me? I thought that it was safe now."

"I'm not sure... I think it's the vampires who are against coexistence. We won't find out unless we get out of here alive." Julian gave me a stern look with his last sentence.

I nodded in agreement. When Julian opened the door to peek outside, the fighting got louder. He wiggled his fingers at me to follow him as he stepped into the hallway. Besides the fighting in the ballroom, it seemed quiet here.

Tingling shot through my hand the moment Julian intertwined his fingers with mine. Pulling me through the dimly lit hallway, he quietly surveyed the surrounding area, checking around each corner before we ascended further. After running through the halls for some time, I finally recognized where we were at; it was the back entrance.

"Where do you think you guys are going?" A masculine voice filled my ears.

We whipped around to see Collin, the man from the first ball that creeped me out.

"Julian, it has been fun trying to get the little human, but it's about time you hand her over. I'm growing tired of these games," Collin taunted and stepped closer.

"Collin," Julian spat his name as if it were laced with poison. "I should've known it was you this whole time."

A sinister grin grew at Julian's tone. He chuckled manically, "Am I so unpleasant that you think the worst of me?" Julian's fangs peaked underneath his lips as he shielded me.

"Wait. Don't answer that," Collin pointed at us and sneered. "On a serious note, I'd like to have her come with me now."

"Like hell I'm giving her to you. She's mine," Julian growled.

Collin's upper lip pulled up to reveal white canines. He untied his mask and threw it to the floor before stalking slowly to us like a predator on the hunt. His dark eyes locked on Julian's, never blinking.

"Aw. Does someone have a little crush? You should get in line, old friend. It looks like the Prince has an eye for her too. I never took you two for ones to share."

Immediately, Julian's warm eyes were swallowed by darkness. His fists clenched, and his body was visibly shaking. I've never seen him this angry. By the smirk on Collin's face, I could tell that he was purposely taunting him because he wanted him to attack first. He was planning something.

It terrified me that I didn't know what this man was capable of, and what was worse, was that as a human, I was useless.

Before I could blink, Julian lunged at Collin in a fury.